Paleo Plate Pictures: Day 3

Here's what's for dinner:

Honey Lime Chicken (added some olive oil, chili powder, lime juice, honey and pepper & grilled it up)
Roasted Pesto Cauliflower (toss cauliflower in olive oil & pesto & add a dash of garlic salt. Roast at 425 for 20-30 min depending on your preference. I add a sprinkle of fresh parm cheese after 20 min & bake another 10 min)
Grilled Pineapple

Growing up we always ate cauliflower raw. I had never even eaten cooked cauliflower until I started Paleo last year. Now it's one of my favorite veggies to roast. There's another roasted recipe that calls for red wine vinegar that's pretty delish too, so maybe I'll share that one later.

The thing I love most about Paleo (besides how ridiculously awesome it makes me feel) is that it forces me to try new things and experiment with food. Through the years of playing mommy chef, the end goal was to just get a warm meal on the table. So I found myself on autopilot, repeating the same recipes and simple meals week after week. I don't necessarily feel there's anything wrong with that; it's a method of survival some days. But I do think it takes some of the fun out of cooking and you unavoidably end up in a food rut.

I didn't realize how bad it was until Cora went to dinner at a neighbor's house a few years ago. They had halibut, brussel sprouts and mashed sweet potatoes, all foods I'd never cooked. Cora cleaned her plate. When said neighbor was dropping her off, she mentioned she'd never seen a 6-yr-old so open to trying new foods. I realized what a disservice I was doing my family by regurgitating the same menu week after week. Clearly Cora was (and always has been) willing to try new foods. If I wasn't introducing new foods to my daughters when they were young, they would eventually get stuck in that food rut as well.

They don't always eat all the crazy Paleo recipes I make, but they do try them. And I love that they are exploring new foods and new ways to prepare old foods right along side me. Don't get me wrong, they'd choose fudgy brownies over a Paleo banana coconut muffin, but I'm just happy I can convince them to try both!