Blog Give Away!!

So in an effort to share my knowledge and experience with primal/paleo eating, I thought I'd give away my copy of the Primal Blueprint, by Mark Sisson (think Marksdailyapple.com).  Its a great book and helps with gaining a foundation for understanding why you should change the way you eat.  I don't take him 100% literally and I suggest you take what he says and find ways to make changes that still fit your lifestyle.  However, this book has A LOT of really good information in it and is one I highly suggest.  So, how do you win?  Well it's simple really, just follow my blog!  Click on that little link that says follow and you are entered.  On March 31st I will pick a winner (randomly, using technology...ohhh ahhh) and will either bring it to you if you live locally or ship it to you.  Below is a picture of the book.  Mine does not have the jacket but those just get in the way anyways.

So, remember, all you need to do to be entered to win this book is follow my blog.  I'll announce the winner on March 31st!

Paleo Recipe - Shrimp Stir Fry with Mango Salsa and Cauliflower Rice

Alright, I'm not one for bragging and don't think of myself as being a good cook, but tonight I'm bragging about my amazing meal!  The title says it all, I made Shrimp Stir Fry with Mango Salsa served over Cauliflower Rice.  While it sounds complicated, its actually super easy to make, cooks fast and is super filling!  As I eluded to on Facebook, the recipe will be zone based so you might need to read through some of my earlier posts to understand it.  If you have questions or need clarification, let me know!

What You Need:

• 1 jar of coconut oil (I found a reasonably priced jar at Whole Foods)
• Frozen Shrimp (as much as you want/need, I based my recipe on zone)
• 1 head cauliflower (will probably only use a half if it's just two people eating)
• Stir Fry Veggies (whatever veggies you want, I used a bag of veggies I found at Albertsons)
• 1 jar peach/mango salsa (also found at Albertsons, you can make your own if you like too)

This is more descriptive than a normal recipe, but I made it up so I can write it however I want :)

I cook my stir fry in a certain order so I can properly measure everything.  So first I thawed, peeled (because I bought the wrong shrimp) and cooked my shrimp.  I used coconut oil this time around instead of olive oil adds great flavor, makes me think I'm somewhere tropical!

I got this stuff at Whole Foods, comes as a solid but heats up nice and adds great flavor!

After the shrimp was cooked I measured out 8 blocks of protein from the shrimp.  1.5 oz of shrimp equals one block so I measured out 12 ounces (the rest got saved for another day).

Next I sauteed my cauliflower rice.  This was SOOO simple to make.  Take 1 head of cauliflower, cut off the green stem part and then pull apart the individual stocks.  If you have a food processor with a grating plate then you'll want to use it, otherwise you can use a grater.  I put the whole head of cauliflower (cut in small enough pieces) through my food processor.  The end product looked like this:

Looks like rice!  Has a texture like cous cous, very good!

I then sauteed 4 cups of the 'rice' with some coconut oil for a few minutes.  You can microwave as well.  Once again I measured it out.  After it was cooked it ended up being a little over 14 ounces.  So I divided that by 8, which gave me about 5.25 ounces and the rest was Matt's portion.  It takes on whatever flavor your cook it with, definitely will be a staple in my cooking!

Last I sauteed my veggies, which I bought in a nice little fresh pack.  I used once again, coconut oil and water to steam them in the pan.  Finally I put everything together and topped with with store bought peach mango salsa.  1/2 cup for me, 1 cup for Matt.  It's so simple, so healthy and SO GOOD!!

You would never know that wasn't rice underneath!

 I hope everyone enjoys, we did!

PALEO 101

I'm not an expert, by no means, and I don't have any formal education around nutrition, nor do I have a rock solid body which would be evidence that I have a solid understanding of, and ability to stay on track with, a good nutrition program.  What I do have is experience with trying different ways of eating and over a year of researching and learning about the paleo diet, which has left me with a lot of resources.

When I first went Paleo almost everyone around me made comments such as: wow, good job but there is no way I could give up bread.  So, what can you actually eat?  If you don't eat grains how do you get carbs?  I felt mostly alone in my adventure as no one around me seemed to care about this new, crazy way of eating.  That was before Crossfit.  Now, many member of my crossfit family are starting to learn more about the Paleo diet and are starting to make significant diet changes, YAY!  So to help everyone making the transition, here are some thoughts as well as helpful links with TONS of great information!

Tips

1. Ease in to it.  If you're anything like me, you're an all or nothing kind of person.  If you slip once then you'll slip again because like I said, all or nothing.  The key to switching from the traditional/conventional way of eating/living is to take it easy.  Try switching out one meal for a few days.  For me dinner is the easiest, and most important meal, to make paleo since I work out in the evening and eat dinner afterwards.  Once you've adjusted to thinking about dinner differently, switch out breakfast.  Then lunch.  I recommend lunch last as it takes the most planning (for most of us) because we're not at home. 
2. Allow yourself a few cheats.  Trying to be perfect all of the time is VERY tiring.  I wouldn't know, because I'm perfect, but that's what I hear :)  I talked a lot about this idea of striving for perfect in my blog last year.  I think a healthy target to aim for, and something I am borrowing from Mark's Daily Apple, is the 80:20 rule.  In short, aim to eat and live the paleo lifestyle 100% of the time, knowing that 80% is okay and life isn't predictable so 80% is great.  Allow yourself a few cheats, it makes sticking to your chosen lifestyle a little easier and more enjoyable.  My cheats when I'm fully paleo?  Dark Chocolate (over 70%), red wine, coconut milk ice cream!
3. Plan Ahead!  I can't say how important planning is when eating paleo.  Since the goal is to not eat processed foods, you would have to assume that a lot of what you're going to eat will need preparation, so plan ahead.  Cook extra servings whenever you do cook.  Cut up all your veggies when you get home so you can easily make meals when you get home.  I used to go shopping every Sunday and then spend the evening cutting up all my veggies, cooking meat and generally getting things ready so that I could put together a quick salad for lunch every day.  It makes ALL the difference regarding sticking to this lifestyle.
4. Crock pot - if you don't have one, get one.  There are tons of recipes where you can just throw meat and veggies in a crockpot and leave for work.  Its a big lifesaver and it tied to number 3, planning ahead and making extra whenever you cook!
5. Have fun!  The point is to try something new and feel good!  Don't beat yourself up when you slip, eat things you like to eat (just no grains!) and allow yourself flexibility and slips, its okay.

Here are a few of my favorite links with TONS of good information:

Mark's Daily Apple
The Foodee Blog
Primal Kitchen Chaos
Health-Bent
Crossfit Journal ($25 subscription, tons of good info although not all diet based!)

Also some things to think about:  it's not a one size fits all approach.  Mark's Daily Apple/Primal Blueprint suggests you shouldn't eat dairy, but there are people who eat paleo + dairy, nothing wrong with that.  In fact I'll likely include cheese and cottage cheese in my diet as I slowly make the transition back.  Additionally, The Primal Blueprint suggests you shouldn't do a lot of cardio and shouldn't need to work out all the time.  Crossfit is a good way of being more primal with your workouts, but if you enjoy doing something, I mean really enjoy it, then by all means figure out a way to make it fit.  There are so many resources out there on how to eat primal/paleo while continuing the lifestyle you enjoy.

At the end of the day it's all about being healthy and happy.  Happiness is part of being healthy, so think about what makes you happy, what you enjoy and figure out ways to add those things in to your life!

I hope this was helpful for those starting to switch over.  I'm not an expert and am always looking for new recipes, blogs and information, so please share, ask questions and let me know how it's going!

Have a healthy and happy Tuesday!

Transitioning Back to Paleo

When I first switched over to the paleo diet I was mostly by myself and people thought I was a bit crazy.  Now several people at CFA are switching over and its helping me get motivated again to switch back over, all the way (not just one meal a day!).  So in honor of starting to make that transition back, here is a recipe that was posted on a few other Paleo blogs that looks WONDERFUL!  I plan on serving it with chicken...or shrimp!

Chicken/Mango Avocado Salsa/Spanish-ish Cauliflower Rice

Mango-Avocado Salsa

 

1 ripe mango, diced

 

1 tomato, diced

 

2 green onions, finely sliced

 

1/4 c. lime juice (about 2 1/2 limes)

 

1 jalapeno, mince

 

1 avocado, peeled, seeded, diced

 

• Combine first 5 ingredients in bowl. (Can be made 3 hours ahead; refrigerate.)
• Closer to serving time, stir in diced avocado and season to taste with salt and pepper. *Salt is not Paleo, so if you choose to use it here, be conservative.
• The second recipe is my own creation, inspired from different recipes on the web: Spanish Cauliflower Rice. Cauliflower rice is just cauliflower chopped up in a food processor, the end product looking very much like, well, rice.

Spanish-ish Cauliflower Rice

 

1/4 c. olive oil

 

1 1/2 small Vidalia onions, chopped

 

1 red bell pepper, chopped

 

1 poblano pepper, chopped (you can just use standard green bell pepper if you want)

 

1 jalapeno pepper, minced (more if you want it spicy)

 

2 stalks of celery

 

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

 

2 cups of cauliflower rice

 

1/4 teas. ground black pepper

 

1 T cumin

 

1/2 teas. oregano

 

Salt to taste

 

• Heat olive oil over medium heat, then add onions, peppers, and celery. Saute until soft, about 3 mins.
• Add garlic, and cook for another minute while stirring, then add cauliflower and pepper, cumin, and oregano.  
• Cook until cauliflower rice is tender

 

1 cup of cauliflower rice is approximately 81 calories, 7g carb, 4g of fiber, not to mention 119% of your daily recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C (as opposed to 1 cup of white rice, which is 212 calories, 44g carbs, and less than 1g of fiber..oh. And 0% Vitamin C).

Odds and Ends

So my proud week of accomplishments was squashed when I redid my baseline workout (last done on 12/3) and was 5 seconds slower than before.  However, I moved right on to a 2nd workout, which I requested since I won't be able to workout this weekend. 

I donated blood this morning and feel good about that.  I'm a universal donor, so you're welcome :)  I personally think I should have waited to weigh myself for my challenge until after I gave blood, just kidding, kind of.

I had to do box jumps holding 16lb kettlebells in each hand, that was difficult.

I have to work over the weekend and stay at the Hilton in downtown for an off-site, I am less than thrilled.  One, because the Hilton in downtown Portland is a pretty crappy upscale hotel.  Two, because Matt actually has this weekend off and I have to work.  Three because I just feel like be crabby about having to stay at the Hilton and work over the weekend.

Yesterday we had our homecheck for fostering dogs, which was awesome!  I finally met two people who know and understand what I do, that RARELY happens!  Also, they seem like awesome people and I can't wait to start fostering, especially because our first foster dog will likely be a puppy, even though I'll be happy with any dog, but most happy with a puppy!

Matt is slowly building a crossfit gym in our garage and I love it!  When I work from home I can get in a quick lunchtime workout, its great!

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday, 1 year away from the big 60!  Sunday is my Brother's birthday, the big 25 and his last birthday as a single man (well by single I mean not married).

I found a blog yesterday that posts a new paleo recipe everyday, check it out under my Health and Fitness Favs section, its the Foodee Blog. 

That's it, and possibly until next week.  I hope everyone has a happy and healthy Friday and weekend as well!

The results are in

Quick post because I'm swamped today, but my 60 day challenge is over and I wanted to report my results.

Weight Lost
Since starting this 60 day challenge I have lost 6.8 lbs, which should be rounded to 7.  I wanted more but I slipped here and there and haven't been as strict as I should have been.  But I am still celebrating this progress!  I also don't have a way to measure body fat lost, but I'm sure that would have been a great number to see!

What I've Gained (in a good way)
The challenge was 60 days to a better me and part of that was weight loss, but the other part was getting stronger, fitter, faster, better.  I've done that and I'm proud of that!  The first way I can measure this is my Crossfit Total scores, which in a previous post I noted corresponded with my challenge.  When I started my deadlift was 245 lbs, on Monday I did 275!  My started backsquat was 175lbs, on Monday I did 200!  My press didn't change and is still 80lbs, which means I have something to work on for next time around!

Also, I ran a 6:30 mile, my fastest mile ever I think!  I can also now do 1 unassisted ring dip, I want plenty more but 1 is an accomplishment!  I feel great, my times are down, my strength is up and that's all I can ask of myself!

So Whats Next
I think another challenge is in order, and this time I have some very specific goals.

Goal #1 - Lose another 7 lbs
Goal #2 - Be able to do 5 unassisted ring dips
Goal #3 - Be able to do 5 unassisted handstand pushups
Goal #4 - Be able to do 1 muscle up
Goal #5 - Get my deadlift to 285 minimum, 300 ideally
Goal #6 - Get my backsquat to 225
Goal #7 - Be able to do #95 thrusters and overhead squats in a workout
Goal #8 - Be able to powerclean #130

So those are my goals, not sure of the timeline I'll put around them yet, I'll probably outline that in my next post.  There are a lot of goals there which require me to focus on different things.  I'm thinking I'll set aside 4 weeks to focus on certain areas at a time strength wise and hopefully by May I'll be able to report that I have achieved several if not all of my goals!

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy Thursday!

March

How is it already March?!  Also, why is it so cold outside?!  Yesterday I started day dreaming of the sunny Caribbean vacation we are going to take next May (yes more than a year from now) when Matt gets off probation.  I want to go here:

Turks and Caicos

 So, I've been debating, one big reveal on Thursday of overall progress, including my Crossfit Total results, or do I share now?  Why Thursday you ask and not tomorrow?  Well its my 60 day challenge so I make the rules.  I gave myself 60 days to make some self improvements, so on day 61 I will report the results. 

I'll be honest, I'm hoping these next two days will get me down one more total pound :)  So, I have decided to wait.  I will post on Thursday how much strength I have gained as well as how much weight I have lost on Thursday.  For now, I'm dreaming about my Caribbean vacation!

Cozumel 2010