I was doing so good until Friday came along. Friday included Froyo, pizza and Katy Perry!!! Saturday I did 2 WOD's and was feeling good about myself, however after consuming too much wine and pizza again I woke up Sunday feeling like crap! So, I'm starting the week off with good, clean food and will be starting the W30 challenge on 8/1!! Below is a recipe I quickly whipped up yesterday to take for lunch today.
I found this recipe here. It took maybe 15 minutes to make and is super tasty!
Taco salad:
•2 lbs. organic, grass-fed ground beef (fresh, or frozen and thawed)
•1 can (16 oz.) of organic diced tomatoes (read ingredients!), or dice your own
•1 tsp paprika
•1/2 tsp chili powder
•1/2 tsp cinnamon
•1/2 tsp cumin
•1 head of fresh, crisp romaine lettuce, chopped
•1 each yellow, green and red pepper, diced
•1 jar of organic salsa (or make your own )
Guacamole:
•4 fresh avocado, pitted and mashed
•1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
•2 limes, squeezed for juice (squeeze them like you’re deadlifting!)
•1/4 tsp cumin
•1/4 tsp chili powder
•1/2 tsp sea salt
•fresh ground black pepper, to taste
•fresh cilantro (chopped), to taste
Instructions:
Prepare the guacamole ahead of time, and chill while you make the salad. Mash the avocado in a glass or ceramic bowl* to desired consistency. Pour the lime juice over the avocado right away to prevent browning. Use a wooden spoon* to mix in all other ingredients.
*The lime juice in this recipe is reactive with metal, so avoid metal mixing bowls and spoons. Plus, we always prefer alternatives to plastic.
Start to brown the ground beef. Add tomatoes and spices and simmer until it’s no longer pink. Drop a pile of chopped romaine on a plate, top with ground beef, sprinkle with diced pepper and cover with fresh salsa. Spoon a hearty helping of guacamole on the side.
We’d also like this topped with black olives, onion or chives, or any other fresh vegetables you can think of. You can also boost your leafy green consumption by using baby spinach as your salad base… but there’s something about the warm ground beef on top of the crispness of romaine that we really like. (A blend of both lettuce and spinach might be just the thing.)
We don’t count calories or blocks, so we’re not sure what this would work out to from a macronutrient perspective… but if you Zone, you can easily figure that out for yourself. Add or subtract fat in the form of more or less guacamole, and if you need more carbs, consider adding pineapple or making a mango salsa instead of the traditional tomato-based version. Olé!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Paleo/W30 Recipe - Grilled Burger Salad
I was a bit skeptical about grilling lettuce on the BBQ but this turned out to be a really tasty dinner and was SUPER easy to make! Prep time (less than 5 minutes) cook time (how ever long it takes to cook your burgers, probably 10 minutes).
I used green leaf lettuce instead of romaine because I don't really like romaine. It worked just as well. Also, I only put olive oil on the lettuce, no spices. For my 'dressing' I mashed up two avocados, added in some lime juice and crushed red pepper and it was delish!!
Recipe can be found here.
Ingredients:
•2 grass fed beef burgers
•2 hearts of romaine cut in half & drizzled with olive oil, salt, & pepper (cut length wise so it stays together)
•2 avocados smashed
•juice of half a lime
•sliced red onion
•handful of fresh cilantro chopped
•few handful of cherry tomatoes halved
Grill the burgers on the grill until done. Put on a plate and set aside. Grill the romaine a few minutes on each side or until slightly wilted with grill marks. Remove from the grill and roughly chop and put on two plates. Mix the avocado, lime juice, fresh cilantro, and a little salt and pepper to make the “dressing”. Top the romaine and tomato with the burger, the sliced red onion, and the dressing.
Here is my salad:
I used green leaf lettuce instead of romaine because I don't really like romaine. It worked just as well. Also, I only put olive oil on the lettuce, no spices. For my 'dressing' I mashed up two avocados, added in some lime juice and crushed red pepper and it was delish!!
Recipe can be found here.
Ingredients:
•2 grass fed beef burgers
•2 hearts of romaine cut in half & drizzled with olive oil, salt, & pepper (cut length wise so it stays together)
•2 avocados smashed
•juice of half a lime
•sliced red onion
•handful of fresh cilantro chopped
•few handful of cherry tomatoes halved
Grill the burgers on the grill until done. Put on a plate and set aside. Grill the romaine a few minutes on each side or until slightly wilted with grill marks. Remove from the grill and roughly chop and put on two plates. Mix the avocado, lime juice, fresh cilantro, and a little salt and pepper to make the “dressing”. Top the romaine and tomato with the burger, the sliced red onion, and the dressing.
Here is my salad:
Monday, July 18, 2011
Paleo/W30 Recipe - Meatloaf Muffins w/Sweet Potato Icing
This was a super simple meal with great flavors! I made this yesterday at the same time as the Pad Thai. The sweet potatos really became a side for me as I made them up in advance and stored them separately in the fridge. However, simple and tasty!!
Recipe can be found here.
The Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb of ground beef
1 apple, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 eggs
1/2 cup of Almond meal
basil
nutmeg
garlic powder
21 seasoning salute
6 small sweet potatoes
nutmeg
cinnamon
The Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Poke holes in the sweet potatoes and bake for 30 minutes or until tender.
Set aside and let cool.
In a large bowl add apple and red bell pepper. Mix in 2 eggs and mix well. Add ground beef and Almond meal and mix well with your hands! Add seasonings. I forgot to add tomato sauce or tomato paste but the flavor was great without.
In muffin tins add meatloaf mixture. My meat filled 12 tins exactly. Bake for 20 minutes or until meatloaf is done. While they are in the oven scoop out the center of the sweet potatoes and mash with a fork. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and mix a little more. Add the sweet potato mixture into a baggie and cut off one corner (just like if you were going to add icing to something) and top the meatloaf muffins with the sweet potato.
Recipe can be found here.
The Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb of ground beef
1 apple, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 eggs
1/2 cup of Almond meal
basil
nutmeg
garlic powder
21 seasoning salute
6 small sweet potatoes
nutmeg
cinnamon
The Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Poke holes in the sweet potatoes and bake for 30 minutes or until tender.
Set aside and let cool.
In a large bowl add apple and red bell pepper. Mix in 2 eggs and mix well. Add ground beef and Almond meal and mix well with your hands! Add seasonings. I forgot to add tomato sauce or tomato paste but the flavor was great without.
In muffin tins add meatloaf mixture. My meat filled 12 tins exactly. Bake for 20 minutes or until meatloaf is done. While they are in the oven scoop out the center of the sweet potatoes and mash with a fork. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and mix a little more. Add the sweet potato mixture into a baggie and cut off one corner (just like if you were going to add icing to something) and top the meatloaf muffins with the sweet potato.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Not quite yet
So I haven't started the Whole 30 just yet. I learned my lesson that eating super clean for even a few days and then having a cheat like frozen yogurt can have unintended consequences, yikes! I had a big break through yesterday and got 6 handstand pushups, had to kip them, but still did them! Yes!!! I got to check off one more item on my list of things I can't do. Every time I get to do this I get more motivated to conquer the next thing!
I had cinnamon roll french toast for breakfast this morning and I can barely keep my eyes open right now. Partly due to the weather, mostly due to my horrible, yet yummy breakfast! 8/1 is fast approaching and while I plan on eating as clean as possible, I'm not sure I'll give up some of my cheats until we all start the challenge. As soon as I get the motivation to go grocery shopping I plan on making a meatloaf muffin with sweet potato icing recipe which sounds really good! I'll post the recipe as soon as I make it. Go to love lazy Sundays!
I had cinnamon roll french toast for breakfast this morning and I can barely keep my eyes open right now. Partly due to the weather, mostly due to my horrible, yet yummy breakfast! 8/1 is fast approaching and while I plan on eating as clean as possible, I'm not sure I'll give up some of my cheats until we all start the challenge. As soon as I get the motivation to go grocery shopping I plan on making a meatloaf muffin with sweet potato icing recipe which sounds really good! I'll post the recipe as soon as I make it. Go to love lazy Sundays!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Paleo/W30 Recipe - Coconut Crispy Chicken Salad
This salad is GREAT! I made it yesterday and didn't end up eating it until today. So with that said the chicken was a little less crispy than I'm sure it would have been if I ate it right after making it. That said, it was still really good! The recipe called for unsweetened dried cranberries and to my knowledge no such thing exists. However, I found freeze dried cranberries and mangos at Wholefoods. NOTHING is added to them at all and they are crunchy and tasty and delish!!! Great as a topping to this salad or just as a snack!
Anyways, below is the recipe. For the dressing I just made up a small amount to use as needed because I didn't want it to get soggy. I mixed a small amount of lime juice, spicy mustard (with no sugar added to it) and coconut milk. SOOO Good! Also, I used Coconut meal instead of Almond meal, figured it would give it a little more coconut taste!
I found the recipe using Chowstalker. You can find the original recipe here.
Ingredients
1.5 lbs chicken breast (used about 1/2 for this and the rest i'll eat for lunch this week)
1/2 cup almond meal
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1 head of green leaf lettuce
1/2 avocado
1/2 small red onion
1/6 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
1/4 up sunflower seeds
1 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons mustard (spicy brown, i would have used something milder, but it was the only one I had that is paleo friendly)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Cut chicken breasts into small 3 bite sized pieces, about 1/4 inch think
2) Set up 3 bowls 1 with almond meal, 1 with eggs, and 1 with coconut flakes seasoned with salt
3) Dredge all chicken pieces, first lightly in almond meal, the lightly in the eggs, then press a little bit firmer into the coconut flakes. Lay coated chicken in a single layer on a plate before cooking.
4) Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a pan on medium high (if you use 1.5 lbs of chicken like me, you'll probably need to use to pan) when the oil is hot place the chicken in the pan, and cook for 3 minutes
5) When chicken has browned flip over and cook for another 3 minutes
6) While the chicken is cooking prepare the salad, cut up lettuce and top with diced avocado, cranberries, sunflower seeds, and thinly sliced onion. Separate evenly into two bowls.
7) Make dressing by juicing lime in top a bowl and a mustard, whisk together and then slowly whisk in olive oil. Taste and then season with salt and pepper if desired
8) Remove chicken pieces from pan and salt to taste.
9) Top salad with chicken pieces (3-4 each) and dress with lime dressing.
Anyways, below is the recipe. For the dressing I just made up a small amount to use as needed because I didn't want it to get soggy. I mixed a small amount of lime juice, spicy mustard (with no sugar added to it) and coconut milk. SOOO Good! Also, I used Coconut meal instead of Almond meal, figured it would give it a little more coconut taste!
I found the recipe using Chowstalker. You can find the original recipe here.
Ingredients
1.5 lbs chicken breast (used about 1/2 for this and the rest i'll eat for lunch this week)
1/2 cup almond meal
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1 head of green leaf lettuce
1/2 avocado
1/2 small red onion
1/6 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
1/4 up sunflower seeds
1 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons mustard (spicy brown, i would have used something milder, but it was the only one I had that is paleo friendly)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Cut chicken breasts into small 3 bite sized pieces, about 1/4 inch think
2) Set up 3 bowls 1 with almond meal, 1 with eggs, and 1 with coconut flakes seasoned with salt
3) Dredge all chicken pieces, first lightly in almond meal, the lightly in the eggs, then press a little bit firmer into the coconut flakes. Lay coated chicken in a single layer on a plate before cooking.
4) Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a pan on medium high (if you use 1.5 lbs of chicken like me, you'll probably need to use to pan) when the oil is hot place the chicken in the pan, and cook for 3 minutes
5) When chicken has browned flip over and cook for another 3 minutes
6) While the chicken is cooking prepare the salad, cut up lettuce and top with diced avocado, cranberries, sunflower seeds, and thinly sliced onion. Separate evenly into two bowls.
7) Make dressing by juicing lime in top a bowl and a mustard, whisk together and then slowly whisk in olive oil. Taste and then season with salt and pepper if desired
8) Remove chicken pieces from pan and salt to taste.
9) Top salad with chicken pieces (3-4 each) and dress with lime dressing.
Paleo/W30 Recipe - Paleo Pad Thai and Sunshine Sauce
I have to say, this recipe was pretty dang close to the real thing and was REALLY good! Below is the recipe as stated in the Whole 30 success guide. I made the following changes:
I used 4 chicken breasts instead of 2. Rather than measure out the spaghetti squash I just used a whole squash. I also don't like peas and neither does Matt so instead I added green onions in place of the peas. I topped the dish with fresh cilantro and slivered almonds. It ended up giving us about 4 servings. The sauce didn't needed to be changed, was more than enough to give everything great flavor. SO GOOD!!
I would recommend cooking the squash ahead of time to save time.
Ingredients for Pad Thai:
Heat some cooking fat in a pan over medium heat. Saute the onion and snap peas until crispy-tender, not too long. Then set aside.
Heat a little more cooking fat in the pan. Mix the raw eggs with the coconut aminos. Pour in the egg and let spread out into a pancake. Cook the eggs in a flat sheet until they are set and beginning to brown, then flip to lightly brown the other side. Cut the eggs into strips and set aside.
Heat a little more fat in the pan. Add the spaghetti squash, snap peas/onions, eggs and chicken. Stir fry until heated through. Add the Sunshine Sauce and stir fry until everything is well blended and hot.
Top with any or all of these:
Double the recipe below for the Pad Thai and DO NOT USE THE WATER.
Ingredients:
Blend all ingredients (except water) in a food processor or blender. If desired, add water slowly until the sauce reaches your desired thickness. Eat.
** I just used a fork to blend in a bowl and it worked just fine!
I used 4 chicken breasts instead of 2. Rather than measure out the spaghetti squash I just used a whole squash. I also don't like peas and neither does Matt so instead I added green onions in place of the peas. I topped the dish with fresh cilantro and slivered almonds. It ended up giving us about 4 servings. The sauce didn't needed to be changed, was more than enough to give everything great flavor. SO GOOD!!
I would recommend cooking the squash ahead of time to save time.
Ingredients for Pad Thai:
- Grilled chicken thigh or breast, diced (portioned for two).
- 2 cups cooked spaghetti squash
- 1 cup snap peas, slivered
- 1/2 onion, sliced thin
- 2 eggs
- 1 TBSP coconut aminos (I found it at Whole Foods)
- Cooking fat of choice (I used coconut oil)
- 2 batches of Sunshine Sauce (recipe at the bottom!)
Heat some cooking fat in a pan over medium heat. Saute the onion and snap peas until crispy-tender, not too long. Then set aside.
Heat a little more cooking fat in the pan. Mix the raw eggs with the coconut aminos. Pour in the egg and let spread out into a pancake. Cook the eggs in a flat sheet until they are set and beginning to brown, then flip to lightly brown the other side. Cut the eggs into strips and set aside.
Heat a little more fat in the pan. Add the spaghetti squash, snap peas/onions, eggs and chicken. Stir fry until heated through. Add the Sunshine Sauce and stir fry until everything is well blended and hot.
Top with any or all of these:
- Chopped Cashews, almonds or sunflower seeds
- Chopped scallions
- Chopped cilantro
- A squeeze of lime juice
Double the recipe below for the Pad Thai and DO NOT USE THE WATER.
Ingredients:
- 2 TBSP organic Sunbutter (if you are doing Whole30, be careful only the Organic Sunbutter brand doesn't have added sugar etc, I made this mistake so will have to be more careful next time!)
- 2 TBSP lime juice
- 1/2 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon chili-garlic paste
- 1 tsp coconut aminos
- 2 tsp coconut milk
- Dried or fresh ginger, to taste
- 2 TBSP water, as needed
Blend all ingredients (except water) in a food processor or blender. If desired, add water slowly until the sauce reaches your desired thickness. Eat.
** I just used a fork to blend in a bowl and it worked just fine!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations: Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Review/Giveaway
First I have to say that I LOVE the Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations blog. I stumbled upon this blog through Chow Stalker, another great PALEO site. There are tons of great recipes and information on this blog. Best part, he is offering a Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil giveaway! For all those crossfitting paleo nerds out there, this is our kind of giveaway! Visit the link below to learn how to enter the giveaway. And while your at it, if you read my blog consider following it as I plan to add recipes and lots of great informatoin regarding the Whole 30 I'm about to embark on!
Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations: Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Review/Giveaway
Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations: Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Review/Giveaway
Cleaner Eating
So I'm close to Whole30 type eating, however since I have planned cheats coming up, I've decided to wait to dive in to it completely until at least next week. I will be going wine tasting with my dad this weekend (and other family and friends!) as a belated fathers day gift. Who am I to deny him his father's day gift by not drinking wine with him?! Haha, so knowing that is on Saturday I figure I'll eat as clean as I can while still enjoying heavy cream in my coffee and maybe some FroYo at some point this week too. Since I'll be going 30 days CLEAN I figure I can have one last cheat. You can save your comments if you don't agree with me because I'm pretty stubborn and don't plan on changing my mind anytime soon on the FroYo!
One other thing I haven't given up yet is stepping on the scale. Now I don't do it near as often as I used to and DON'T step on it after a cheat day but have to say that I am pleased to see my numbers return to pre vacationish just after two whole days of clean eating. I know I'm not supposed to step on the scale during the Whole 30 and I mostly promise I won't :)
After last night's 2lb PR (hey gotta celebrate the little things) and tasty shake, I'm feeling more confident going in to this that I can continue to gain strength and improve in the gym while cleaning up my eating and *fingers crossed* losing some weight.
The food I cooked up on Monday is almost gone, enough for Matt and I to both have lunch. That means when I get home from the gym tonight, dinner won't be ready. I always find that either I cook too much and it goes to waste, or not enough and then I'm left scrambling. So today when I can find a spare minute I am going to find a few new recipes, hopefully easy ones, to make tonight and tomorrow while I'm working from home.
One other thing I haven't given up yet is stepping on the scale. Now I don't do it near as often as I used to and DON'T step on it after a cheat day but have to say that I am pleased to see my numbers return to pre vacationish just after two whole days of clean eating. I know I'm not supposed to step on the scale during the Whole 30 and I mostly promise I won't :)
After last night's 2lb PR (hey gotta celebrate the little things) and tasty shake, I'm feeling more confident going in to this that I can continue to gain strength and improve in the gym while cleaning up my eating and *fingers crossed* losing some weight.
The food I cooked up on Monday is almost gone, enough for Matt and I to both have lunch. That means when I get home from the gym tonight, dinner won't be ready. I always find that either I cook too much and it goes to waste, or not enough and then I'm left scrambling. So today when I can find a spare minute I am going to find a few new recipes, hopefully easy ones, to make tonight and tomorrow while I'm working from home.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Paleo/W30 Recipe - Post Workout Shake and a Pasta Salad!
So yesterday's shake was N A S T Y! However, not one to give up after one failure, I decided to give it another try today! Today's shake was T A S T Y!!! I am feeling more confident about transitioning completely to Whole 30 now that I know I have a post workout shake that actually tastes good!
Oh also, I got a 2lb PR on my Push Press tonight! I'm now at 120!
Recipe:
4 eggs whites (16 grams of protein, add more or less depending on what your nutritional needs are)
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup organic unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup coconut milk
I blend everything together in my blender and keep cold until I'm ready to drink it. This one actually tasted really good! If you add more protein than listed above be sure to add carbs too in order to get a good carb:protein ratio.
Pasta Salad
This is a SUPER simple recipe that I created on my own (well modified from one I found online but still)
Cook 1 spaghetti squash (takes about an hour in the oven so do this ahead of time)
Cut up 4 cooked chicken breasts and add to the spaghetti squash (after cooking and shredding of course)
Add 1 red pepper (or other colors or even other veggies you want)
Mix everything together. Then add lemon and lime juice for flavor with some olive oil for desired 'wetness', since this is your dressing. I also added some onion powder. Otherwise, nothing to it. Serve cold!
Oh also, I got a 2lb PR on my Push Press tonight! I'm now at 120!
Recipe:
4 eggs whites (16 grams of protein, add more or less depending on what your nutritional needs are)
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup organic unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup coconut milk
I blend everything together in my blender and keep cold until I'm ready to drink it. This one actually tasted really good! If you add more protein than listed above be sure to add carbs too in order to get a good carb:protein ratio.
Pasta Salad
This is a SUPER simple recipe that I created on my own (well modified from one I found online but still)
Cook 1 spaghetti squash (takes about an hour in the oven so do this ahead of time)
Cut up 4 cooked chicken breasts and add to the spaghetti squash (after cooking and shredding of course)
Add 1 red pepper (or other colors or even other veggies you want)
Mix everything together. Then add lemon and lime juice for flavor with some olive oil for desired 'wetness', since this is your dressing. I also added some onion powder. Otherwise, nothing to it. Serve cold!
W30/Paleo Recipe - Paleo Casserole
So I am making an effort to clean up my eating so that when I make the 8/1 cutover the only things I'm really giving up are my occasional cheats, alcohol, my coffee creamer and sweetener, and gum. Oh yeah, have I told you I'm freaking out about not being able to chew gum!! I am paranoid about having bad breath and ALWAYS have gum in my purse so I can ensure I'm never THAT person. However, on the Whole 30 I can't chew gum. This freaks me out more than not being able to use my heavy cream and Truvia in my coffee! Yikes!!!
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I got really brave yesterday and aside from doing the workout RX (well at least the front squat, 5 rounds of 7 135# front squats) I also made my own recovery 'shake'. It was GROSS! I almost threw it back up about 10 times. However, with some tweaks here and there I think I can come up with something not so nasty. My shake yesterday consisted of 2 raw eggs, 3/4 cup pumpkin, 1/4 cup coconut milk (canned) with cinnamon and nutmeg. I blended this up and although it was supposed to be pudding, it wasn't. For today I'm going to try it again but I am going to add in some applesauce as well. My carb to protein ratio was not optimal yesterday so I'm hoping that today it will be better!
I also cooked my pants off yesterday! I made some avocado deviled eggs for a pre-workout snack. I simply mixed the egg yolks with avocado and a little tomato paste to create a super healthy snack. They don't taste as amazing as normal deviled eggs, but again with a few tweaks I think this will be a great snack!
I also made a paleo casserole (recipe below). I didn't use the eggs because, well lets be honest, that 'shake' I made yesterday left me a little egged out! It turned out really good though. I just added spices as I went and came up with a SUPER healthy, SUPER clean meal!
On top of that I made a 'pasta' salad which I'll post later today or tomorrow. Enjoy!
Paleo Casserole:
Recipe can be found here.
Ingredients:
Turn on your oven to 400•. Slice your zucchini on a mandolin into thin noodles and set aside. Cook our meat on your stove top. While the meat is cooking cut up your carrots on the mandolin and grate you sweet potato with a cheese grater. I find sweet potatoes to hard to slice on my mandolin. When the meat is almost cooked add the tomato paste, onions, garlic and the mushroom. Cook for a few minutes more. Once the meat is cooked add it to a large bowl and add in the zucchini, sweet potato and carrots. Whisk the three eggs and add those to the bowl along with the spices. Mix everything together and add to an 9″x13″ dish, cover with foil and toss in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and cook another 20 minutes and you are all done. Enjoy.
**I added onion powder and chili powder to the beef and a little bit extra to the dish as well**
I got really brave yesterday and aside from doing the workout RX (well at least the front squat, 5 rounds of 7 135# front squats) I also made my own recovery 'shake'. It was GROSS! I almost threw it back up about 10 times. However, with some tweaks here and there I think I can come up with something not so nasty. My shake yesterday consisted of 2 raw eggs, 3/4 cup pumpkin, 1/4 cup coconut milk (canned) with cinnamon and nutmeg. I blended this up and although it was supposed to be pudding, it wasn't. For today I'm going to try it again but I am going to add in some applesauce as well. My carb to protein ratio was not optimal yesterday so I'm hoping that today it will be better!
I also cooked my pants off yesterday! I made some avocado deviled eggs for a pre-workout snack. I simply mixed the egg yolks with avocado and a little tomato paste to create a super healthy snack. They don't taste as amazing as normal deviled eggs, but again with a few tweaks I think this will be a great snack!
I also made a paleo casserole (recipe below). I didn't use the eggs because, well lets be honest, that 'shake' I made yesterday left me a little egged out! It turned out really good though. I just added spices as I went and came up with a SUPER healthy, SUPER clean meal!
On top of that I made a 'pasta' salad which I'll post later today or tomorrow. Enjoy!
Paleo Casserole:
Recipe can be found here.
- 2 pounds of ground meat
- 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
- 2 Zucchinis
- 1 Sweet Potato
- 2 Carrots
- Onion
- 3 cloves Garlic
- Handful of Chopped Mushrooms
- 3 Eggs
- Oregano
- Salt n Pepper
Directions:
**I added onion powder and chili powder to the beef and a little bit extra to the dish as well**
Monday, July 11, 2011
Preparing for W30
I did a lot of research last night and bought the Whole 30 Success Guide today. I actually found TONS of recipes I'm excited to make and am honestly looking forward to starting this challenge. In fact, I might start it earlier than the 8/1 date just because I'm so excited about it and try to go longer than 30 days so I'll still be doing it with everyone from the gym. For now I'm starting to make small changes to clean up my eating. I know they say to jump right in to it, that it's not hard. And maybe it's not hard, but it can be really expensive to buy all new food for your house. So for now I am going to use up some of the things sitting around the house, slowly transition from heavy cream in my coffee to coconut milk, from bacon and eggs to veggie scrambles and hopefully start feeling that much better each day!
I learned some interesting things from reading the success guide which differ a bit from other paleo websites. First, pineapple is actually a preferred fruit, whereas apples are not. I thought pineapple had too much sugar and was to be avoided, however I'm reading differently, which is great and awesome and I'm excited because Matt and I both LOVE pineapple!
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Also, I see green beans are included on the shopping list of what vegetables to buy, I thought green beans were off limits. I still don't plan on adding them in, but now I'm curious. Also, corn is technically a grain, not a vegetable...WOAH! That changes some thinking now doesn't it!
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I knew that fats were important and should come from good sources, however I always considered almonds a good source. Turns out, they are more of an occasional type of fat source, below are the best fat sources for both monounsaturated and saturated fats:
I have to say that I am REALLY excited to go to the Sherwood farmers market this weekend, I'll be filling the dog's backpacks up with tons of fresh produce! If anyone knows of a great place to find CHEAP farm fresh eggs please let me know. Eggs have been an important protein source for me and will likely increase in importance since they are so easy to prepare and go well in so many different things. However, it can be expensive to buy organic, farm fresh eggs from the store so I'd like to find a better option if possible!
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Also, if you haven't already, you should check out Chow Stalker! It's a GREAT website with tons of recipes. It's linked on the sidebar of my blog, so check it out!
I'll be posting some recipes this week, once I try them, with my reviews and revisions if any were made!
I learned some interesting things from reading the success guide which differ a bit from other paleo websites. First, pineapple is actually a preferred fruit, whereas apples are not. I thought pineapple had too much sugar and was to be avoided, however I'm reading differently, which is great and awesome and I'm excited because Matt and I both LOVE pineapple!
- Preferred fruits include: blackberries, blueberries, cherries, kiwi, cantaloupe, papaya, pineapple, plum, raspberries, strawberries
- Avocado, avocado oil, hazelnuts/filberts, macadamia nuts, macadamia oil, olives, olive oil, coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut flakes, coconut milk, animals fats
- Almonds/Almond butter, brazil nuts, cashews/cashew butter, pecans, pistachio
I have to say that I am REALLY excited to go to the Sherwood farmers market this weekend, I'll be filling the dog's backpacks up with tons of fresh produce! If anyone knows of a great place to find CHEAP farm fresh eggs please let me know. Eggs have been an important protein source for me and will likely increase in importance since they are so easy to prepare and go well in so many different things. However, it can be expensive to buy organic, farm fresh eggs from the store so I'd like to find a better option if possible!
Also, if you haven't already, you should check out Chow Stalker! It's a GREAT website with tons of recipes. It's linked on the sidebar of my blog, so check it out!
I'll be posting some recipes this week, once I try them, with my reviews and revisions if any were made!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Whole 30 Rules
More importantly, here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.
- Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels (and your Success Guide FAQ), because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
- Do not eat processed foods. This includes protein shakes, pre-packaged snacks or meals, protein bars, milk substitutes, etc.
- Do not consume alcohol, in any form. (NEW! And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
- Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, millet, oats, corn, rice, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
- Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, kidney, lima, etc.), peas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, tamari and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
- Do not eat dairy. This includes all cow, goat or sheep’s milk, cream, butter, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream.
- Do not eat white potatoes. It’s somewhat arbitrary, but they are carbohydrate-dense and nutrient poor, and also a nightshade (refer to your Success Guide FAQ for details).
- Most importantly… do not try to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold. This means no “Paleo-fying” less-than-healthy recipes – no Paleo pancakes, Paleo pizza, Paleo fudge or Paleo”ice cream. Don’t mimic poor food choices during your Whole30 program! Those kinds of food miss the point of the program entirely.
he Fine Print
A few concessions, based on our experience, and those of our clients. These are less than optimal foods that we are okay with you including during your Whole30. Including these foods in moderation should not negatively impact the results of your Whole30 program.- Fruit juice as a sweetener. Some products will use orange or apple juice as a sweetener. We have to draw the line somewhere, so we’re okay with a small amount of fruit juice as an added ingredient during your Whole30… but this doesn’t mean a cup of fruit juice is a healthy choice! Refer to your Shopping Guide for clarification.
- Processed Meat. On occasion, we are okay with organic chicken sausage (those that are nitrate, sugar, gluten and dairy-free), and high quality deli meat, packaged fish (like tuna or smoked salmon) or jerky. Read your labels carefully, because Whole30-approved processed meats, especially jerky, are hard to find.
- Certain legumes. We’re fine with green beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas. While they’re technically a legume, these are far more “pod” than “bean”, and green plant matter is generally good for you. (Refer to the FAQ for details.)
- Certain processed foods. We’re okay with cans or jars of olives, coconut milk, sauces and spice mixtures like tomato sauce or curry, or vegetables like sweet potato or butternut squash, but only if the labels prove they’re “clean”. (Refer to your Success Guide FAQ for details.)
- Vinegar. NEW! All vinegar, with the exception of malt vinegar (which generally contains gluten), is allowed during your Whole30. This includes white, apple cider, balsamic, red wine, rice, and other non-malt vinegar varieties.
Count Down to the Whole 30
Read through my blog and you'll know that I know that I need to be strict about my diet. I have been paleo for awhile now (with cheats) but it's more of a dirty paleo as I still use protein shakes, protein bars and recovery shakes which are definitely not clean, real foods.
A girl at my gym posed the Whole 30 challenge, and since I'm not one to turn down a challenge, I told everyone that I'M IN! I am nervous because I have a few things that I allow myself as cheats which I'll have to give up. These are more comforts to me, habits that start my day (heavy cream in my coffee), end my workouts (recovery drinks) and end my hectic work weeks (nice cold glass of beer or a glass of wine). I started to try to justify some cheats here and there but really, what does that say about me that I can't go 30 days without cream, recovery drinks or alcohol? I know that I need to reset my body and get my diet back on track. I really want to achieve some of the body weight movement goals I've had for awhile (strict pullups, handstand pushups, ring dips) and I know that if I can bring my body weight down a bit it will make it easier to achieve these!
So what is the Whole 30? Well, it's basically 30 days of eating really clean. Real food, no sugar, no grains, no alcohol, no legumes, no fake/processed anything. You can read more here: Whole30
So with this challenge looming in the very near future I figured it was time to start blogging again as a way to share successes, struggles, recipes etc. I am trying to get prepared now by slowly getting rid of the non-Whole 30 stuff in my house and transitioning to different post WOD recovery food etc. Certainly the last thing to go will be the cream for my coffee!!
So for today I am going to try to research some dinner ideas. Dinner is the meal I need the most help with. Breakfast is almost completely Whole 30 compliant so I'm going to start with the meal that isn't and work my way through all meals as part of planning for this challenge. Matt is going to do it with me so that will be fun!
A girl at my gym posed the Whole 30 challenge, and since I'm not one to turn down a challenge, I told everyone that I'M IN! I am nervous because I have a few things that I allow myself as cheats which I'll have to give up. These are more comforts to me, habits that start my day (heavy cream in my coffee), end my workouts (recovery drinks) and end my hectic work weeks (nice cold glass of beer or a glass of wine). I started to try to justify some cheats here and there but really, what does that say about me that I can't go 30 days without cream, recovery drinks or alcohol? I know that I need to reset my body and get my diet back on track. I really want to achieve some of the body weight movement goals I've had for awhile (strict pullups, handstand pushups, ring dips) and I know that if I can bring my body weight down a bit it will make it easier to achieve these!
So what is the Whole 30? Well, it's basically 30 days of eating really clean. Real food, no sugar, no grains, no alcohol, no legumes, no fake/processed anything. You can read more here: Whole30
So with this challenge looming in the very near future I figured it was time to start blogging again as a way to share successes, struggles, recipes etc. I am trying to get prepared now by slowly getting rid of the non-Whole 30 stuff in my house and transitioning to different post WOD recovery food etc. Certainly the last thing to go will be the cream for my coffee!!
So for today I am going to try to research some dinner ideas. Dinner is the meal I need the most help with. Breakfast is almost completely Whole 30 compliant so I'm going to start with the meal that isn't and work my way through all meals as part of planning for this challenge. Matt is going to do it with me so that will be fun!
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