Bachelorette-style Paleo Diet (or what I eat when the kids aren't home)

Source: wwworks

My kids spend every-other-weekend with their father.  I drop them off Friday night before dinner and he returns them around lunchtime on Sunday.  These long weekends are a blessing to me - I can escape the house, go hiking or take a long walk around the neighborhood, do my grocery shopping, run errands, and mainly get caught up on all the stuff that's hard to do with my two shadows tagging along.

This last weekend was a "long weekend" and I spent most of it in front of the computer dealing with my business stuff: updating my business website, organizing the mess I call a desk, and devising a financial plan to get us through the rest of the year.  I did take a short walk down to the Asian store when my brain started to drool out my ear - a sure sign I need a break.  ;-) 

I don't cook a lot when the kids are gone.  I just don't see the need to go through the hassle of defrosting and cooking something when I don't have an audience.  So, on those "non-kid weekend" I find that my diet ends up revolving around eggs and peanut butter (and no, not together - ewww!). I once jokingly told a friend, "If I didn't have the kids, I'd stock my kitchen full of eggs, frozen veggies, celery, apples, and peanut butter.  My food budget would be like $100 a month!"

As I've said before, I buy a lot of eggs - usually around 8 - 10 dozen for  two weeks.  Why so many?  Well, They're not only a super cheap source of protein and fat, but also so versatile. For example, I can:

• fry up a couple to go along with a bowl of frozen veggies or carrot sticks - this is my go-to-meal when I'm starving and don't have a lot of time to cook
• make a Spanish Tortilla (aka - "everything but the kitchen sink" egg bake) with lots of garlic and diced vegetables instead of potatoes.  
• medium-poach a couple eggs and immediately mixing them into a bowl of piping-hot broccoli - the heat from the broccoli helps to finish cooking the yolk so it's not slimy.  

And then there's peanut butter.  I know that some Paleo-enthusiasts poo-poo the idea of eating PB, electing to eat other nut butters or sunflower butter instead.  My problem with these peanut-butter-alternatives is that they're usually super expensive.  I can get a large jar of peanut butter for $2 (yes, the full sugar stuff - it spreads better and I like the taste - go ahead...shoot me) but can't seem to find something even closely comparative when it comes to almond butter or sunflower butter.  Even Trader Joe's prices make me cry.

So, yes, I eat straight peanut butter - I call it my daily dose of "healthy fat".  When I want a carb (usually before bedtime or at breakfast), I'll slice up an apple and slather on the peanut butter - the fat and protein makes sure I don't get a sugar rush.  Or when I want a quick snack to hold me over to the next meal, I'll load a dollop of peanut butter on to a stalk of celery and eat it over the kitchen sink. And of course there's always the "a tablespoon of peanut butter makes the munchies go away" moments of life.  Mmmmmm...peanut butter....  *Homer Simpson's drool*

What do you eat when you don't have an audience to cook for?   Do you cook or order out?  Share your ideas and recipes.