Paleo Restaurant Review: Burger Bar Chicago

The quest to review restaurants in our neighborhood with paleo potential continues...bringing us on an unplanned evening out to Burger Bar Chicago.  As the name implies, this place is focused on their burgers - and accordingly, beer.  I'll take a good burger any day, but since going paleo beer has slipped to last place behind wine and liquor for me.

What we ordered:
Me - Belly Up Burger (grass-fed burger with cider braised pork belly, apple slaw and roasted onions) w/o bun, served with sweet potato fries and a glass of pinot noir.
Ryan - El Fuego Burger (grass-fed burger with jalapenos, pickled red onions, oaxaca and guacamole) w/o bun, served with sweet potato tater tots and a glass of pinot noir.

The Good:

• Although all specialty burgers do not automatically come with grass-fed beef patties, the upgrade is only a buck.
• The specialty toppings, read pork belly, are delicious.  Overall, the burgers were very good.
• Wine for $6/glass - that's a deal in these parts.

The Bad:

• Sweet potato fries were a disappointment, although utterly delicious, they were heavily coated in some type of breading.  I had a few before realizing this and then stopped eating them (although Ryan had no problem polishing them off).
• Sweet potato tater tots were a disappointment, mainly because they just didn't taste very good - kind of like fried balls of sweet potato mush.
• Not so bad, but definitely noticed, was our servers disappointment at our healthy choices - no bun?! none of our amazing craft beers?!  grass-fed??

Overall the burgers were awesome, sides - not so much.  If I get a hankering for a high class beer and burger while watching a ball game - I might go back. 

More than anything, testing out restaurants for paleo options makes me realize we are damn good cooks and I like my cooking more than most restaurants.  Must start working on own restaurant plan...

Paleo Mother's Day Brunch

Although no mothers were actually present for breakfast, we could not help but prepare ourselves a good brunch in honor of mother's day. 

• Bacon!
• Fried eggs
• Paleo waffles made with coconut flour
• Blueberry cinnamon sauce

Really, I love brunching on any given sunday - holiday or not!

Paleo Restaurant Review: Roy's Hawaiian Fusion

Roy's was my favorite restaurant prior to going paleo.  My parents took me there for my 21st birthday, and I've been a slew of times since then at different locations across the country.  Almost always for a special occasion because Roy's isn't cheap.  However, if you stick to their prix fixe menu, you will leave very well fed without having to refinance your house to do so.  Oh, and on Mondays they have make your own prix fixe.  So check that out too.

I've been to Roy's twice now since going paleo and it still holds up!  They now have a Gluten Free (GF) Menu, which you can also apply the prix fixe (all but one the items in their prix fixe were offered GF).  This isn't another cop-out GF menu either, where they simply list items that were previously GF to begin with.  Roy's makes the extra effort.  For example, my fav, the Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi-Mahi becomes the Macadamia Nut Dusted Mahi-Mahi sans gluten.

Roy's isn't the perfect paleo meal, but can be if you so choose.  You sit down to a small bowl of Edamame - similar to chips & salsa at most Mexican restaruants.  Legumes;  no good.  Let them sit there and eventually your server will catch on and take them from the table.  It is a Hawaiian Fusion restaurant, so many of the dishes are Asian inspired and include soy and/or rice.  Potatoes are another starch you'll see on the menu often.  Overall, the plates are filled with paleo goodness (meat, fish, & veggies), with a few unwanted ingredients (soy, rice, butter).

Oh, and I almost forgot.  Prior to going paleo, my favorite dessert in the world was Roy's Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle (a chocolate molten lava cake, with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a raspberry puree).  It came as no surprise that I now consider this to be quite possibly the best cheat dessert after I saw it on their GF menu.  The only difference is that the original comes with a scoop of vanilla on top of a small cookie, but for the GF version the ice cream rests on small bed of coco nibs.  Sure, it's loaded with sugar and dairy, but it's still GF right?  No, it's not good for you, it is still a pretty big cheat, but it's so good, it's not the type of cheat that you'll regret later on (a la most desserts - especially those containing gluten).

To avoid the temptation of having to eat 2 Souffles (which means that I eat 1 and 1/2 and Stacey eats 1/2), I ordered a GF prix fixe, and Stacey ordered an app and an entree from the GF menu.  I had the Short Rib Bi Bim Bap App, the Kalbi Grilled Hangar Steak Dinner, and the Souffle (to share).  Stacey ordered the Roasted Beat Salad, and the Iron Seared Filet Mignon.  We both started off with a specialty cocktail (another can't miss at Roy's), and Stacey followed up with a glass of wine with her steak.  The whole meal came out to about $120.  A hefty sum, and had we not had a $100 gift card thanks to credit card rewards, we'd have eaten at home.  Without drinks, and sticking to the prix fixe you could get out of there spending less than $100 tip and tax included.

Why We're Giving Up Coffee for 100 Days

It's May Day, while some people might be out celebrating International Worker's Day or decorating a Maypole - we are celebrating our 50th day off the coffee, and caffeine in general.  Both being coffee lovers* we can picture the look of utter shock on the face of other coffee lovers who may be reading this.  We know, it sounds crazy.  Going paleo doesn't mean you have to give up coffee, and/or caffeine.  Why give up something that could still be considered paleo?  It's not like it's bad for you; coffee is a natural antioxidant, black tea has been associated with decreased instances of some diseases, and according to Ryan, ancient ninja masters drink tea!  (For the record we also gave up black and green tea, but still drink herbal tea on occasion). 

Well, after reading the Whole9's Coffee Manifesto, we figured why not give it a try.  We decided to give it all up for 100 days.  Ryan also mentioned the desire to not be addicted to any substance.  Both of us agreed that giving up caffeine was easy and we drink coffee because we like the taste more than anything - and probably the habit or ritual of it.  Having a cup of coffee means the day can now commence.  Although prior to giving it up, we both had noticed that going even a day without the 1 or 2 cups usually meant an afternoon headache - so it was definitely time to kick the habit.

What we've observed over the first 50 days coffee/caffeine free:

• Headaches only happened the first 2-3 days.  The duration for caffeine withdrawl is typically 48 hours, but can last for up to a week.  Although incidence of withdrawl symptoms in caffeine consumers is only 50%, so if you quit - maybe you'll be in the lucky half of the population. 
• Ryan craved coffee for the first 2 weeks, I only craved it for a few days.  The weekends seem the most difficult.  We both enjoy making a good breakfast while sipping coffee on a Saturday/Sunday morning (typically post workout, even though it might be better to drink coffee before a workout and rehydrate post-workout).  Herbal tea has really been a perfect replacement for these times and suppresses any coffee cravings I might have. 
• After the first month, I only had cravings when walking past a coffee shop and catching a whiff of freshly ground beans.  Not fair they can spit out those smells. 

Occasionally, I'll see someone walking with a coffee cup and I'll get a little envious, which makes me consider drinking decaf as a special treat from time-to-time once our 100 day trial is over.  Unless, over the next 50 days, I decide the benefits of living sans caffeine are too great. 

Benefits we've experience:

• It's easier to fall asleep and get a good night's sleep
• Whiter teeth
• No more dependence (afternoon headaches) on caffeine
• Fat loss!  I'm not sure if this is related to eliminating coffee, but I have noticed that some stubborn belly fat that wouldn't go away during our 45-day challenge is finally disappearing.  Ryan has a theory that it is related, since coffee consumption leads to increased cortisol levels, which can lead to more belly fat. 
• Less general crankiness
• Save money - $2-$4 per day adds up fast
• It's easier to stay hydrated now.  In the past, I would occasionally experience muscle cramps due to dehydration.  These occur very infrequently now, and I can usually pinpoint why they happen - either drinking alcohol, or not drinking enough water.  Before, they would often occur even though I'd been drinking a lot of water, and I wouldn't know why.  Probably the coffee.
• More counter space - storing our coffee maker and bean grinder, we have more room for other things.

So, we have 50 more days to go and depending on how this list of benefits grows - coffee may be out for good.

* Our love of coffee has run deep.  We both drink it black, truly appreciating the flavor of coffee, not just using it as a sugar/cream/caffeine vehicle.  We owned 2 coffee makers prior to this trial (now down to 1), 1 french press, 1 bean grinder, and more coffee mugs than cups (we also own 2 tea kettles - for rare days we might not have any beans).  Ryan has even been able to identify our favorite Chicago coffee, Intelligensia, in a blind taste test. 

The Best Paleo Dessert Ever - Two Ways!

You do not have to give up dessert in the name of paleo.  Sometimes you just want a little treat, and that's ok (at least I tell myself that).  I think we have found the ultimate guilt-free paleo dessert. 

Of course, we always have the option of making some delicious paleo banana ice cream, but even though it's just bananas - it is a sugar bomb and reserved for rare occasions.  There's also the option of these amazing double chocolate peppermint brownie bites, but again they do have a teensy bit of maple syrup.  Recently we've been indulging in these two desserts, and I consider them 100% ok for everyday.

Here they are, one hot and one cold - both using the same ingredients!

Blueberry Compote over Coconut Cream (2 servings)

Blueberry Compote over Coconut Cream

• Heat about a cup of frozen wild blueberries in a small saucepan over medium heat
• As the berries begin to warm up they will breakdown and get saucy, I usually only keep them on the heat long enough to warm through - but if you want it really saucy, keep it on longer
• Add cinnamon and nutmeg to berries to taste (I like a lot!)
• Place 2-3 tablespoons coconut cream concentrate* in a small dessert dish and top with the blueberry compote
• Eat slowly and savor!

* For the coconut cream concentrate, I use either Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate or Artisana Coconut Butter.  Both are dee-lish, I lean toward Artisana because I think its creamier. 


Coconut Cream & Blueberry Bark

Warm coconut cream just until it has a creamy consistency.  I place the jar in a container of hot water to do this, if you have a warm kitchen - that may not even be necessary

Spread the coconut cream out on a piece of parchment paper, to about 1/4-1/2 inch thick

Sprinkle with frozen blueberries and wait about 8-10 minutes

The frozen blueberries harden the coconut cream, break apart into bite size pieces and enjoy!

 

Coconut Cream & Blueberry Bark

Chicago Paleo Restaurant Review - Vinci

One thing our 45-day challenge taught me is cooking good food is not difficult, it just takes some time and planning.  On those occasions when time and plans do not come together, having some go to restaurants where we can get a relatively 'clean' meal is critical to my long term happiness.

Friday night was one of those nights.  Earlier in the week we returned from vacation and, aside from picking up a handful of staples, no real meal planning had taken place.  I had a Groupon to Vinci, which has a decent gluten-free menu, so dinner out was on!

Appetizers

• Italian sausage in a tomato sauce with goat cheese (normally we don't do dairy so for us this was a little cheat) - for me, the sausage was a little bland, could have kicked up the spice level a bit.
• Beef carpaccio with mustard and tomato sauces and arugula salad - very tasty.

Entrees

• Grilled pork chop, sauteed spinach and smashed yukon gold potatoes with cheese (I tried the potatoes and they were delish, but could only take a couple bites) - this was a great dish, the pork chop was HUGE and seasoned well, maybe a little too much salt in the spinach.
• Grilled duck breast with broccolini, fonduta stuffed tomato and grilled polenta cake (this was Ryan's entree) - the duck was delicious, and the broccolini got good reviews too.  Ryan enjoyed the cheese stuffed tomato, a pretty decent cheat given the amount of cheese - which resulted in some congestion later on...

Overall Thoughts

The service was truly wonderful and accommodating.  Had we been more particular, I'm sure they would have subbed out items for more paleo friendly alternatives.  Was also pleased that the gluten-free menu was actually more extensive than the one posted online. We went at this meal with a little bit of a cheat mentality, so cannot consider it a solid paleo meal.  But, it was at the minimum gluten-free and that's about as low as I want to go.  If you do dairy, you could easily consider this a good option to get a primal friendly meal in Chicago.  Also, the location is perfect if you are on your way to a show at the Steppenwolf Theater, it is right next door!

Returning to Restaurants

After 45-days of preparing all of our meals at home we were excited to take a couple nights off and go out to eat.  We fully intend to continue to eat paleo, but will do our best when eating out.  With that said, returning to restaurants was sadly a disappointing experience.  Thursday we went to Old Town Social, and last night we went to El Barco Mariscos, two of our Chicago favorites.  Thoughts about each experience.

Old Town Social

• What used to say "grass-fed burger" now says "Wisconsin beef burger."  So instead of sticking with just a burger, we opted for salads with steak instead.
• They ran out of Duck Wings (like buffalo wings, but with duck = more fat, more flavor, more paleo!)  so we took a chance on the Caldo Verde.  The soup of the day, which included a mixture of greens, potatoes, and garnished with sardines.  Sardines were a first for both of us.
• Stacey realized she does NOT like sardines.  I can tolerate them, but am also not a fan.
• The steak salad was delicious, but left us still feeling a little hungry.  We're used to eating huge meat-filled plates a home.
• Our check was about a quarter of what we spend on a week's worth of food.  Yikes!  We forgot how expensive it was to eat out.  

El Barco Mariscos

• Before we even left for El Barco, we had a lengthy discussion about whether it was okay for me to bring a bag of plantain chips with us to the restaurant.  I have a weakness for chips and salsa, which come complimentary.  I conceded and didn't bring the plantain chips.
• We did it!  We left the tortilla chips on the table untouched!  I'm so proud.  Although, I did have a couple spoonfuls of salsa while waiting for our food to quell my urges.
• Food is served family style at El Barco.  Normally we order the plate for two which is a huge platter of meat, seafood, and veggies.
• We decided to order three big, family style appetizers instead to avoid the breaded fish/meat on the traditional plate.
• We ordered and enjoyed a plate called Mariscos Al Chingadazo (shrimp, squid, chicken, mussels, and octopus, and whatever is in chingadazo seasoning/sauce), a plate of grilled squid (included potatoes), and a big bowl of ceviche (avocado, fish, shrimp, octopus, salsa, and lime).
• Despite mostly paleo ingredients we began to feel a bit congested after eating.  We're assuming the food was not "clean," and that they used some sort of oil we haven't used during our challenge.
• Overall a decent dining experience, but again our bill was about a quarter of what we spend at the grocery store for a week's worth of food.

Thoughts and Revelations:

• We have become better cooks that we thought enjoying our home-cooked meals as much if not more than the restaurants'.
• Holy crap, eating out is expensive!
• Holy crap, eating out is ridiculously expensive when you keep ordering your new favorite adult-paleo-beverage Tequila on the Rocks!
• If we eat out we're going to have to assume that even though the main ingredients are paleo, the food might not be clean.  

Our 45-Day Paleo Challenge Results

Ryan's Results
After 45-days of eating 100% paleo I feel terrible.  Ha!  Gotcha, I feel like a broken record, but when I eat paleo I feel great.  Period.  As expected I am full of energy, and I have lost a little body fat.  I am now beginning to see my ab muscles without having to flex, something I wasn't even able to do when I was working out twice a day playing college basketball.  If I am surprised by anything I would have to say it's an increased cognitive energy.  I seem to have a better recall on memories.  Not that I feel "smarter," but that now I can remember things I already knew more quickly.

Also, my knee problems are beginning to temper.  I was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter Syndrome at an early age and have been dealing with the condition ever since.  Something I always felt was untreatable is now beginning to feel a little better, even though I continue to perform exercises that were unheard-of a few years ago (squats, box jumps, etc.).  I attribute this partly to wearing Vibram Fivefingers shoes when working out and also to balancing out my omega-3/6 ratios.  The paleo diet is supposed to reduce low-level inflammation, but I never thought it would begin to cure my Osgood-Schlatters.  Now after long runs, my calfs are sore, not my knees.  I don't consider myself "cured," but I think I'm getting close to feeling like it.

Going forward, I will continue to eat paleo, but will allow myself to eat out on occasion.  Eating out is near impossible to stay paleo, but I am going to make a concerted effort to do as well as I can.  Who knows, after several months of eating 95-100% paleo maybe I will begin to say that I'm smarter and will self-diagnose my Osgood-Schlatters as cured.  Time will tell.  I plan to share one way or the other.  Thanks for reading.

PS.  For those keeping score, I don't think I lost or gained any weight.  I didn't measure myself before we started because weight is a terrible barometer of health and fitness.  I had lost weight over December/January due to inactivity following surgery, and was expecting to gain a little during the challenge as I got back into weight-lifting, but I think that I stayed the about the same, losing some fat and gaining some muscle.  I'm just now beginning to lift heavy weights again, so it'll be interesting to see what happens here on out.

Stacey's Results

After 45 days of following our paleo challenge rules, I am one happy camper – for so many reasons.  The primary goal of the challenge was to just do it – I did not identify any specific goals.  But, I did measure myself at the beginning just to have a benchmark for comparison.

Quantitative results:

• Lost 1.5 inches from waist, 2 inches from hips, 1 inch from thigh and 1 inch from arm measurements
• Lost 6 pounds (I didn’t think this would be possible since we really ramped up strength training and I definitely gained some muscle)

Qualitative results:

• I feel awesome; happy, rested and satisfied.  I find things that normally might have pushed me close to the edge or set my mood to change – have a much smaller impact on my emotions.  Overall I feel more even keeled.
• I sleep so well!  (thank you blackout curtains)
• My level of fitness is much improved; I can run, row, stair step and lift much more than I could pre-challenge.

Obviously, we plan to continue on this path.  For the first time, I am intrigued by experimenting with the foods I eat and trying (or eliminating) things to see how that makes me feel.  Next up, eliminate coffee (and all caffeine) for 100 days – currently on day 11 and feeling great!

The last day of our paleo challenge!...and some chicago paleo restaurant options

It’s hard to believe it is already DAY 45, the last day of our paleo challenge!  This day finds me full of mixed emotions. 

On the one hand, I’m super excited we made it a full 45 days on our paleo rules, existing well within the limitations we set out.  For example, we had very little fruit and virtually no honey or other natural sweeteners – much less than the prescribed rules allowed.

On the other hand, I am scared!  I have been a meal planning machine for the past 45 days, and with the end of the challenge approaching, our last meal plan ended today.  Yesterday the thought of not having a planned paleo lunch pushed me over the edge and I planned out our meals for another week.  I’ve determined that I need to keep planning, the difference is that now the plan includes some scheduled restaurant stops.  These are restaurants that will provide some paleo options, if not paleo – at least ‘primal’ – for us that means potentially adding in some dairy.

We need to make sure to not let the restaurant meals over take the planned, home cooked meals.  We already have 2 nights of dining out scheduled for this week, partially due to just being able to!  But, these are very good paleo option restaurants.  If you ever find yourself in Chicago and in need of a paleo option, these should work:

• El Barco Mariscos – specializing in serving an abundance of grilled seafood and meats served family style, also serve a great ceviche! (will be staying away from the sugar-filled margaritas this trip – maybe just go for some straight tequila!)
• Old Town Social – specializing in charcuterie, they also have amazing specials (often involving delicious roasted meats).  At the very least, they serve a grass-fed beef burger topped with bacon and an egg – take it bunless and you’re good to go.

Complete 45-day Paleo Challenge, check.  Continue paleo lifestyle, working on it!

#45 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls (the second time)

Make Your Own Coconut Milk

Oh coconut milk, how I love you.  I never realized how much I enjoy all things coconut until we started our paleo challenge.  Now I crave coconut chips, or the occasional spoonful of coconut cream that has separated from the coconut water in the can of coconut milk.  Then there is the coconut creme concentrate from Tropical Traditions that I just discovered - that with some blueberries, heaven.

I have heard how easy it is to make your own coconut milk.  So, given my new and undying love of coconut, it was time to try my hand at coconut milk making.  By making our own we will also save money and avoid the added preservatives - guar gum, anyone? - found in canned coconut milk

All you need to make coconut milk:

• coconut chips or shredded coconut
• water
• blender
• big bowl
• colander
• cheesecloth

I think you could probably mess around a bit with the proportions, but I used the following ones with success, so they might be a good starting point:

1. Combine a little under a cup of coconut (chips or shreds) with 1 cup of hot water in a blender, blend for 3 minutes or so
2. Pour into cheesecloth lined colander placed over bowl
3. Squeeze all milk out of cheesecloth and return coconut to blender
4. Add another 1/2 cup hot water to blender and blend for 1-2 minutes more
5. Repeat steps 2 & 3 - and now you have coconut milk!

St. Patty's Day - Paleo Style

Sláinte!

Yes, it's St. Patty's Day in Chicago.  Yes, it's 5 days early.  Yes, it's an all day event.  And yes, we've packed a paleo survival kit to help get us through the day.

Due to the large number of participants, the city typically throws its party the Saturday preceding the actual holiday.  This lends itself to day drinking and incomprehensible irresponsibility...or crazy good times.  A few highlights (awesome, stupid, or otherwise):

• The river is dyed bright green.  It's fun to watch the dying boat snake down the river, but the river is already sort of green.  Ew.
• The mythical St. Patty's day parade.  We've attempted to catch this parade several times, only to be distracted by Irish pubs along the way.  We've heard that it actually happens, but have no visual proof.
• The actual St. Patty's day parade(s).  The "real" St. Patty's day parade occurs on the South Side, several weeks before March 17th.  This parade was so "real" it's been banned for 2 years now.  I now consider the thousands who take to the streets on their way to one of the thousands of green parties to be the real parade.
• One of the best people watching days ever.  I see you drunk guy.  We all know it's not coffee under that Starbucks coffee lid.  Several people will either be wearing their liquid-coat, or are visiting from warmer climates and simply don't realize that despite it being March, it's still freezing here.  Some of these people are fun to gawk at, others just make me feel sorry for them.  
• Green beer.  Not exclusive to Chi-town, and also pretty stupid.
• Irish Music!  Always a delight.  Seemingly every bar & pub has some sort of live Irish music, and several will include a Riverdance troupe.  Such fun music!
• Irish beer, Irish whiskey, corned-beef & cabbage, potatoes...not exactly paleo...

So we've already worked out, and are packing a St. Patty's Day survival kit.  To stay true to our challenge rules, we're going to stick to wine and acceptable liquors, and will get our drinking done early in the day.  We're going to eat lunch before meeting up with friends, and since we'll be around a lot of non-paleo food/drink we're bringing along some snacks to whip out in case we begin to have any cravings.  Here's what we've got:

• Summer Snack Chips (chips made of Summer Sausage from Paulina Meat Market)
• Coconut flakes
• Larabars

When you are treading in paleo-unfriendly waters, what do you pack in your survival kit?

The Paleo Grand Slam Breakfast!

Sunday morning we made ourselves a special breakfast treat - our very own paleo version of the American classic, the Grand Slam.  And our version is so much better than the original!

The Paleo Grand Slam:

• Bacon (of course)
• Poached eggs (we only had one, but I could have gone for two)
• Coconut flour pancakes
• 4 eggs, beaten
• A little less than 1/2 cup coconut flour
• cinnamon and nutmeg, I like a lot - but add depending on taste
• A little more than a 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk
• Mix all together - I made the pancakes in a frying pan with a generous amount of coconut oil, which created a nice crispiness to the outside of the pancake
• Blueberry sauce - simply frozen blueberries warmed in a saucepan with a good sprinkle of cinnamon

Another week of delicious paleo meals - week 3 menu plan is on!

Well, I'm bringing back some favorites in week 3.  There are just some recipes (meatballs and chili for example) that are so easy to make ahead and stretch over multiple meals - that I feel like I need them.  My goal for week 4 is to find some new "stretchy", go-to meals. 

I made our egg muffins, meatballs and chili last night - so we are pretty set for the beginning of the week.  The exotic 'meat' we are experimenting with this week is bone marrow and the big adventure for sunday will be using my new pressure cooker for beef stew!

Week 3 Menu	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday 2/21	veg & bacon egg muffins	roasted beet, kale and shrimp salad	taco salad bowl (x2)
Tuesday 2/22	veg & bacon egg muffins	taco salad bowl	meatballs & spaghetti squash
Wednesday 2/23	bacon, eggs & avocado	meatballs & spaghetti squash	"breaded" pork cutlets & brussel sprouts
Thursday 2/24	pork cutlets & eggs	beanless chili and jicama chips	chipotle lime salmon & steamed spinach
Friday 2/25	salmon & egg scramble	beanless chili & veg	paleo shrimp and grits
Saturday 2/26	eggs & beanless chili	pork chops with roasted apple and onions	roasted bone marrow, salad greens and leftovers
Sunday 2/27	paleo pancake & blueberries	tuna & veg	beef stew (pressure cooker!)

Day 4

We bit off a bit more than we could chew at the gym today.  Feeling a little too fatigued to type, so today's gonna be quick.

Day 4 thoughts:

• We said we were only going to eat starchy tubers (really just sweet potatoes) after big workouts, and we definitely earned them tonight.
• Commuting to the suburbs from Chicago can be hit or miss.  Today was a miss.
• The sun seems to be staying out later.  We're all for days getting longer.
• Despite eating paleo for 4 days now, I think my body is still working my Super Bowl pig-out out of my system.  I can feel it turning though.

Niklas Hjalmarsson #4

Chicago Blackhawks