Primal Blueprint Journal DCarr10760 (David) page 8

[Jac]

Hi David. I came to your journal because your name is the same as my Dad's brother! The family emigrated to Australia in the 1930s from Ireland, to continue their criminal ways . I'm from New Zealand. I loved reading your descriptions of your walks! Places like Long Island Sound, and thinking of clams for dinner make me feel like I'm in a novel, lol.

Interesting point about protein intake. I've been primal for about 18 months, but have struggled a bit over the winter with sugar demons. I've started wondering if I've let the protein slip too far, too.

[DCarr10760]

Hi Jac! Thanks for stopping by! My paternal Grandfather emigrated to the U.S. about 1900 from Ireland, I've been back twice now, but not to trace my roots or anything, either for business or holiday. One day I hope to go back with my sons and do some Ancestral searching.

In other news...

Today is another travel day, which will include lunch, so I am skipping breakfast. Among the conventional admonitions about skipping breakfast is that it will cause you to overeat in subsequent meals. Maybe this is true for some people, but not really for me. My problem is that with the IF I didn't eat enough in later meals. So lunch is likely to be a big salad with whatever meat I can get on it. I will try to have just one beer. My travel partner for this trip is a big drinker. I can't keep up, but I can offer to drive which lets me off of the hook.

Last night SWMBO and boy met me after work for a swim at the beach, it was lovely. We are all fair skinned so we avoid the beach during the day. But the beach at 5:00 in the afternoon is wonderful, it is still warm and sunny, but with the golden hues of evening. The beach we go to is at state park and is quite large, by Connecticut standards. It was amazing how crowded it was even so late. SWMBO had packed me a bathing suit and the one she grabbed was one of my "skinny" suits. I didn't think it was going to fit but surprisingly, it did!

So despite my not losing pounds at a blistering pace, stuff is moving around! I've lost an inch around my waist in the past three weeks, so that is good!

Later: At work now. Somebody brought in a big coffee cake this AM and I am glad I am leaving soon so I don't have to sit in the adjacent office and listen to it whispering to me. Fortunately by the time I get back this afternoon it will be just a memory.

[DCarr10760]

Well, I was good all day today! My lunch partner is also dieting so we didn't drink at all, instead went to Panera Bread and had a great salad with chicken and avocado and an apple, I skipped the "bakery product 99cent upgrade" and had black coffee. It was really good!

She looked up my salad on MFP and it was 500 cals. So I will need a hefty dinner tonight. +/- 1500 cals. :-/ Gulp!

[DCarr10760]

I'm not sure I ate enough at dinner, but I was satisfied. I'm making beef jerky and threw all of the trimmings (the fatty parts) in a bowl and fried them up in a bit of bacon fat, tossed in some garlic and summer squash and cabbage and spices. It was weird, but I liked it. It was probably 10 oz of meat. Had a nice heirloom tomato right off of the vine nom nom nom. A piece of dark chocolate and some walnuts. I don't imagine it would equal 1500 calories...

Anyway, the jerky is in the dehydrator. We'll see how it turns out. I used the cure-spice packet that came with it. Probably loaded with nitrites :-(

As time goes on I'll develop a recipe.

[DCarr10760]

The beef jerky is done and wow! Yum! It is all I can do not to eat all the jerky! I used the cure/spice packet from that came with the dehydrator, but since that wasn't enough to do the amount of meat I was drying, I added extra salt, cayenne, smoke flavoring soy sauce and pepper.

I might've dried it a bit too long, it is decidedly crispy, More so than the commercial variety. Maybe I cut the meat too thin, maybe both. But it's a solid first effort and I am pleased!

So breakfast was beef jerky and the best peach I ever had. They're in season now and came in our CSA box yumm...

[Siobhan]

The peaches are great this year, aren't they? I wish I had some jerky to go with mine!

[DCarr10760]

Went to lunch with one of the owners. Had a dozen Clams and a small lobster, extra veggies, hold the potatoes...and a Guinness. Kind of a stormy afternoon, phone is dead, my work is done.

Tonight I go to Vermont to my nieces wedding. I am looking forward to it. It'll be the frist time all of my siblings (there are 6 of us) and I have been together since my Mom passed in 2003 (getting near 10 years, wow!). It should be fun!

[DCarr10760]

Here at the hotel in Brattleboro, breakfast was scrambled eggs and sausage, a bit too institutional and too salty, but...

My older boys (23 and 21) from the first litter arrive at lunchtime, so maybe we will go out for something better. Just got back from the fitness center where I lifted heavy things. Now on to the pool!

[DCarr10760]

Food was a challenge this weekend, the wedding was lovely, though it poured rain throughout the service, but we huddled into a huge tent and it did not dampen our spirits! It was, however, a vegetarian reception so I ate a big lunch Beforehand and just foraged a bit at the reception, the food was excellent, just not very primal, lotta bread, lotta beans. So I managed on salad and beer. I also had my yummy beef jerky!

There was dancing, but the sound system kept dropping out so we all sang and danced. It was a Unitarian-Jewish fusion wedding and the most fun I've had in a good long while!

Food was spotty all weekend, restaurant fare and a lovely vegetarian brunch. I skipped the hummus and bagels and ate a lot of boiled eggs and salad greens. I survived.

I took my long walk this morning, had part of a delicious cantaloupe from our CSA box and a cup of coffee.

This should be a somewhat quiet week at work thankfully. No travel plans, but there looms in the near future a trip to Pittsburgh and my hopefully triumphal return to Canada if the Canadian Authorities approve my work permit.

Looks like lunch will be a Greek Salad with some Chicken or something. I'm hungry right NOW! :-)

[DCarr10760]

A little place opened up near here and they serve salads with grass fed beef!!! It was yummy!