We’re leaving on a jet plane

So, off we go on our vacation to New Zealand. The kitties are living it up in Vegas, the stupid chicken just started laying eggs again (she went mini-broody for a while), and the dogs will be well attended to by two sets of friends. I have packed, unpacked (thought I had too many clothes), repacked  (got scared it wasn’t enough), and finally just zipped up the suitcase and walked away.  I keep reminding myself that it’s not like we’re going to an impoverished country.  I’m pretty sure I can find a store if I’ve forgotten anything.  Plus, I want enough room (and weight allowance) to bring things home!  I find it amusing that the high temperature in Auckland is 60F and the low is anticipated to be 54F. I think we get larger temperature swings here in San Diego!

We stuck with that whole mini-Paleo diet for about a week. We both lost weight, but I suspect we just aren’t carb/gluten/grain-sensitive since 1) no one experienced any bouts of extreme energy or happiness, 2) there was no noticeable loss of bloat (or gain, once we shoved tortilla chips in our mouths), and 3) no adverse effects either abstaining from or re-encountering tasty carbohydrates. The little amount of weight I did lose came back after a couple of days and then went away again once I started running on the treadmill (working through Season 2 of True Blood!) and letting Jillian Michaels kick my butt via DVD and OnDemand. In all honesty, it wasn’t the diet itself that made me crack; it was the constant cooking at home. I’m sure people “better” than me at “clean eating” can easily maneuver their way around restaurant menus, but I had a hard time thinking of how to do it. In the end, I was tired of cooking dinner and I just wanted to go out and eat something someone else had made. Ironically, we ended up at Starlite where I had the crispy-skin chicken and Travis had a non-battered whole fish, both of which I’m pretty sure are diet-legal. Of course, he had a beer and I had a mule and then we went to Coronado and made ourselves sick finishing a peanut butter-hot fudge sundae.

And now we’re off to our vacation where diets are definitely not allowed. I look forward to as much lamb, seafood, cheese, wine, and chocolate as I can get my hands on. I suspect we’ll do a lot of walking, hiking, roaming, and other such activity, but I’ve also never really worried about it. I mean, no matter where we go, my clothes always still fit on the trip home. How much does one have to eat in a week before you seriously don’t fit your own clothes??

I have been working like crazy this last week trying to feel prepared to leave the office. At least I know that once we set foot on the plane, there’s nothing more I can do.

One tasty thing I did take away from this “diet” was a biscuit recipe that managed to keep me full from breakfast to lunch. Travis wasn’t too fond of them because of the nuttiness from the almond flour, but I liked them. They went well with almond butter or a fried egg in the morning.  And bacon.  They go really well with a crisp slice of bacon.

Almond Flour Biscuits

2 c. almond flour

¼ c. coconut flour (coconut flour makes the biscuit “breadier”)

3 eggs

½ tsp. baking soda

1 c. sour cream

Mix everything together and then scoop onto a lined baking sheet. I used a disher and ended up with 10 nice-sized biscuits. You don’t have to pat them down because the sour cream keeps the batter moist enough that they’ll spread and flatten a little during baking. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes.