January 15

Snow!!! A nice coating of the white stuff fell last night and is coming down still. I hope to enjoy it before it turns into a slushy mess.

Breakfast:

1 soft boiled egg
green pepper slices and tapenade
I was the one stealing chicken apple sausage from my youngest this morning-ha!
tea

Lunch:

Chili
Carrots and tapenade

After taking advantage of our 1 inch of snow (sledding, snowball fight, snowman building, shoveling and plowing with a plastic snowplow) I nuked a bowl of chili from last night. Chili is better the day after since the spices have had a chance to really co-mingle.

Snack:

Carrots and cucumber with tapenade
Coconut flakes and 5 pecans, chopped up
More chili
Half an apple with walnut butter
1 hard boiled egg

I ate breakfast and lunch pretty early so was quite hungry by mid-afternoon.

Dinner:

Whole roasted chicken
Roasted winter vegetables

This is my favorite recipe for roasting a chicken. It's simple, straight forward and hasn't failed me yet.

Recipe (paraphrased):

1 2-3 pound whole chicken
Kosher salt
pepper

Dry the bird, inside and out. Salt and pepper inside then truss bird. Rain salt over outside. It makes for a delicious, crispy skin once cooked. Place in roasting pan that is lined with sweet potato slices or carrot slices to keep drippings from smoking. Roast 50-60 minutes at 450 degrees. Let rest 15 minutes then carve up and serve. Goes well with butter and mustard. The potatoes at the bottom the pan were delicious, especially the ones around the edges that were gooey and crispy but soft in the center.

There are great videos on youtube for trussing and carving a chicken.

Roasted winter vegetables:

Tonight we chopped up one of each of the following:
yam
sweet potato
parsnip
rugabega
celery root
turnip
onion
beet (yes, just one baby beet. They were too hard to peel.)

Mix together with olive oil and some herbs if you have them. Cook along side chicken, giving a shake 1-2 times.

Two weeks in and I can say I have lost one more pound and am looking quite ripped. I am amazed at how quickly the visible changes occur. Hip is sore, but I think this is an injury that is far beyond just inflammation due to omega-6s. Muscle up is coming along and I have posted everyday. Half way there! I am beginning to really want a cup of coffee, just for the taste. But I can make it another two weeks, no problem.