I love food. No, really. I can’t get enough of it. But with summer rapidly approaching, and women’s clothes made with the same amount of fabric of two throw pillows and a napkin, I knew I needed to slim down a little bit.

The husband and I work out several times a week at a CrossFit gym (The first rule of CrossFit is that you can’t NOT talk about CrossFit!) and the Paleo diet is pretty popular among the “bros” there. I had success losing some weight before the wedding last year by doing paleo, so I figured I would start doing it again, no problem.

Big mistake. HUGE!

I literally gained a half a pound a day with unfettered paleo. I had not a crumb of bread, no granule of sugar, and spent a fortune on all the hard-to-find paleo ingredients required to make their convoluted recipes. Almond flour alone cost £5.00 ($7+) for a dinky 250g (1.5 cups)  glorified “sachet.”

So what was I doing wrong? I began tracking all my food and  entered all the recipes I’d been making into Calorie Count’s recipe analyzer and saw my problem staring back at me: 1000 kcals a day on mixed nuts! 500 kcals a day on (expensive, raw, virgin, cold-pressed) coconut oil! 200 kcals on maple syrup?! That’s just nasty.

Needless to say, I was one unhappy camper.

I decided I needed an overhaul of my diet, and a careful and well planned menu seemed to be the best way to do it. I started making a menu for my husband and me, and a detailed grocery list to accompany it. This would take the guesswork out of daily meal plans, allow me to develop my cooking skills, and really create some badass recipes and dishes – all while knowing I was keeping my daily caloric intake in check.

The Curious Cafe was born.

Established 4 whole weeks ago, The Curious Cafe is my attempt to design well-rounded meal plans for two people who love food and want to lean out. Every week contains a wide variety of dishes that satisfy our hunger pains and sweet tooth cravings, while still being “healthy.” I’ve lost 3lbs since I started menu planning, and still eat pretty well (I have, however, cut down on my maple syrup consumption!).

My plan going forward is to document my cooking attempts and bring you a realistic version of cooking and meal planning that are easy to follow. Most websites show you glossy photos of beautiful looking dishes, and are light on instructions or things to look out for. I aim to be open and transparent, and give you recipes that have alternative ingredients and methods, and accurate photos – making a mess can be fun!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this journey with me, and that you learn something along the way. Happy cooking!

Julia a.k.a The Curious Nutritionist