Paleo Halfway point

Well, whit and I have made it past the halfway point in our 30-day Paleo food challenge and considering what we've had to face thus far, I'm pretty sure we can make it the rest of the way. Not that it has been easy by any means, but we are both determined people and have not allowed ourselves to quit.
A few highlights:
Day 1 was probably the roughest; we were both moody and immediately sick of deli-meat. We had neglected to stock up on Paleo friendly food, so did not have any variety and only had a bag of almonds for snacks. that night we went to a cookout at a friends house and had to turn down Ice Cream cake (are you serious? the 1st day and I have to turn down that?!)
Day 2 was also tough as I still hadn't gone to the food store and was eating the few items we had on hand that were allowable. that night was another cookout for me, where I had to turn down microbrews and tortilla chips and eat another plain burger.

Making things even tougher for me was a lingering fatigue from my 1/2 Ironman. Since the race I haven't felt right and haven't been able to feel fully recovered. Each day I wake feeling exhausted and worn out, like I just got done racing. This pain would normally be soothed with: a good beer, Hotbox pizza and then maybe some chocolate chip cookies. I have always used comfort food to ease my frustrations, even this spring as I learned more about how evil sugar and gluten really are. This was one more reason I wanted to make it 30 days w/o all that crap - to break the physcological hold that food/sugar has on me. I guess I had hoped that I could evade any serious stress during the challenge, but I guess it's good that I am having to do this in less than ideal conditions b/c that will better prepare me to endure in the future.

By the end of the first week, we were both ready to quit and try this "another time" (a LONG time from now). Whit apparently doesn't like nuts and so every snack that I bought/made with nuts was un-appealing to her. We also learned there is a creative limit of foods that can be made w/ almond meal and unshredded coconut. On the good side, I found coconut milk to be an adequate (though not quite equally sweet and candy-like) addition to my morning coffee. Also, whole foods and trader joes became our favorite food stores and I stocked up on various nuts, seeds and jerky - the much needed snacks to get me through the day.
The 2nd week began well and we both regained determination even as we hosted a few African kids for a few days. They were passing through on a tour w/ the African Children's Choir and Whit was excited to have them stay with us. This also included preparing meals and lunches for them and while I suggested that we give them Paleo friendly food, whit strongly objected that "kids don't like that stuff" (note: they are from AFRICA, where a number of people are still considered hunter/gatherers... in the end we compromised, they got equal amounts of nuts to the processed snacks and no bread or cookies)
the week ended with more temptations - another cookout (yes we enjoy the combination of food and friends on a regular basis) that had homemade mac-n-cheese, Oreo balls AND chocolate cake staring me up and down (I spent most of the night outside). It was my idea to bring some food that we could actually eat to the party, so we brought a sweet potato dish and a tasty salsa Whit had made that day. Unfortunately, the sweet potato dish was awful (no sugar and too much ginger) and without chips, there wasn't much to eat the salsa with (we put it on our burgers). Thank you to all of our friends for putting up with us and my poor planning.
The next day I went to the Brickyard 400 (NASCAR) and had to leave super early and would be gone all day. I had planned to bring a big cooler w/ meat and veggies, but the guy that got us the tickets assured us that we would get food from one of his friends. So, I only took an apple and some seeds, which turned out to be a huge mistake. We did a ton of walking around and I had eaten all my food by 11 am and was starving. I paid $5 for a hamburger and only ate the meat even though my stomach was screaming at me for more. I ended up leaving early and racing home for some real food, but was proud of myself for once again not giving in to the temptation of crap food (beer, ice cream, pretzels, nachos, etc) that I saw all around me.

As we head into the last half of this, I can truly say that the sugar cravings have diminished and I can see myself living/eating this way on a permanent basis. I know I will have sugar, gluten and beer again at some point, but for now, I know that I can live w/o them and even be happy w/o them. Although I haven't felt the best with the fatigue issue, I have leaned out some as has whit and we both can see the difference this is making on our bodies. I do hope more people will try this as it is amazing how good you can feel and look just by eating well.
I will post some of the better recipe's we've found in case anyone is interested...