Sugar Sugar

I found this while paleo/CrossFit blog stalking today. Any comments? Uh-mazing.

Confession

This Saturday our gym traveled to CrossFit OKC to participate in the annual CrossFit Fight Gone Bad fundraiser. OKC has a great facility and a lot of great people. We all had a fantastic time. Thanks for having us guys! On top of a great workout, they hosted a fabulous post FGB cookout. I love post workout eating. I had some grilled chicken (which was to die for), a great cabbage salad (must find the recipe) and of course lots of fruit and veggies. I did indulge in a mini piece of so papilla cheesecake which is a long time favorite among my college friends. Yum.

It started out as a great, healthy CrossFit/paleo kind of day. That was until....Outback. My husband returned Saturday morning from a two month stint in Michigan for medical rotations. I was beyond excited to see him. We decided a date night was in order. Outback was all over the TV during the Florida/Kentucky game that day. They kept advertising this honey dijon chicken with sweet potato fries. Needless to say, we were both craving some Aussie goodness by halftime. Florida had the game well in hand so we headed to Outback.

Never in my right mind did I think I would fall off the wagon like this:

• Half loaf of the best bread ever
• Two chicken quesadillas (appetizer)
• Caesar Salad (I did resist the croutons)
• Honey Dijon Chicken (OK in my book)
• Every last sweet potato fry on my plate (oh goodness)
• HALF Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Pie (no comment)
  

I almost needed to be rolled out of there. Meals like that are great reminders of why I am sticking with paleo. I never want to feel like that after I eat ever again. It was so good while it happened, but so wrong when it was over. Hopefully we both learned a lesson in self control. I had to share my sins. Today is a new day and my salad full of chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, sunflower seeds and olive oil never tasted better.

Don't let a bad meal or a bad day ruin your pursuit of nutritional perfection! Tomorrow is a new day! Keep it up.

Salad = Yum

I used to think that eating salad was boring. It is easy to see why. What do you normally get when you order a side salad at a restaurant? Some iceberg lettuce, carrot shavings, a cherry tomato or two, heaps of cheese and croutons. Even when you order a salad as a meal your limits are many. Most have some sort of breaded chicken, cheese, and minimal extra veggies. I have become the queen of the annoying orders. I like to specialize my salad to perfection so it fits the caveman lifestyle. The best place to do this is not at a restaurant, but at home!

The past few nights I have deviated from my normal protein with veggies as sides. I've just been throwing everything together in a big bowl and let me tell you it is the only way to go! Tonight, don't think, just grab. Pull out your lettuce and four or five veggies. Make sure you have your protein and fat and create your own salad combination. Here is what mine consisted of last night:

Field greens
Radish
Onion
Tomato
Avocado
Sunflower seeds
Grilled chicken (already prepared by me for the week)
Dried cranberries (organic, no sugar added...my 2nd serving of fruit for the day)
Olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar

Oh me. Oh my. It was yummy. Not only yummy, but insanely satisfying. Tonight I'll do the same thing, but I'm going to throw in some zucchini. Salads can be a meal. Salads can fill you up. Salads made from a variety or "whatever is in your veggie drawer" are awesome. Get crazy and mix it up.

What do you put on your salad to make it extraordinary?

Cookies!...and Other Stuff

I saw this website on Son of Grok's site today. Caveman cookies! Sweet! I might have to try some.

In other paleo news, I fell off the wagon on Sunday. It was deliberate and premeditated. I went to my future sister in law's bridal shower. I enjoyed pistachio cookies (amazing) and mini strawberry shortcakes. I didn't let myself feel guilty. I just enjoyed it and moved on. I didn't feel completely horrible afterward and the rest of the I ate very clean. It is so wonderful to have been able to make the transition from super strict paleo to occasionally adding in non paleo items. Of course, the sugary treats remain very minimal and only during very special occasions. That sugar fix should last me quite awhile. Back to lean meats and veggies!

Speaking of veggies, I can tell such a difference in my body since I have increased my veggie intake. It is amazing. I'm holding steady at about two servings of fruit at day and veggies with every meal and as snacks. Cucumbers have become my best friend. I love that crunch! I've also been getting at least eight hours of sleep a night for the past few weeks. I can honestly say I have never felt better. Sleep is a marvelous thing. I hope all of you are getting enough of it!

Baked Walnut-Cinnamon Apples

It is becoming apple season. This time of year apples are amazing. My mom used to make these all the time when I was growing up. I love baked apples. I am going to try this recipe out for a fun dessert in the next week. I might even try it out tonight to eat as a treat during The Office premier!

Baked Walnut-Cinnamon Apples
4 apples
1 c raisins
1/4 c walnuts
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp natural vanilla extract
1/2 c water

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Core and pierce apples with a fork in several places around the center, to prevent them from bursting. Mix raisins, nuts, cinnamon and vanilla in a small bowl. Fill center of each apple with mixture. Place in a glass baking dish and pour water into pan. Cover with foil and bake for about thirty minutes or until tender. Serves four.

Veggie Up

The transition to cut my beloved Larabar intake down is going well. As you know, I have swapped the Larabar for veggies as my mid day snack. I have been pleasantly surprised at my response. Sure, I miss the sweet goodness of the fruit, but my veggies last so much longer. I can munch on them for hours and I don't feel hungry. I am really excited about this and anxious to see what happens over the next few weeks.

The Radish
My parents love radishes. Growing up they would occasionally show up in my salad. I know my mom was trying to get me to like something new. I would usually eat them if they were there, but I ate them so fast I never really developed a taste for them. I just tried to get them down because I knew I did not like them. This weekend, for the first time ever, I actually took time to taste a radish while chewing. I was visiting my parents and my mom made this great veggie plate. I have to admit I am now a radish fan. Hooray! I am quite ecstatic that I found another veggie to add to my list of usual fall backs. Why the radish? The radish is rich in folic acid and potassium. Did you hear that ladies? Folic Acid. It is also a good source of B vitamins and calcium. Plus, one cup of these babies only has twenty calories. They have a great peppery flavor to them. Toss them in your usual salad to spice it up or eat them raw. If you haven't had one before then your project this week is to incorporate the radish into your diet.

Old Chicago
In other paleo news, I went to Old Chicago on Saturday to watch some of the OU game. I made the conscious decision to have my first real non paleo meal since I started all of this over six weeks ago. I came to love Old Chicago while visiting my sister in Colorado Springs during her time at the Air Force Academy. "OC's" was a hang out for the cadets. They have the most amazing pizza dough on the planet. I tried to play it a little safe and ordered a thin crust individual pizza topped with Canadian bacon, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. I asked for very minimal cheese. They listened well because I could hardly see the cheese. It wasn't even worth having cheese. As much as I love Old Chicago pizza, and boy do I love it, this just didn't have the same thrill. About thirty minutes after eating my stomach started to cramp and ache. After a few laps around Super Target it felt better, but I kept thinking to myself how eating that pizza just didn't have the same effect anymore. I didn't like how it made me feel. It was a good experiment. Plus, I got to see the OU game for free.

So what about you? Is there a food you used to love that just doesn't appeal to you the same way now that you have tried paleo?

Priorty Number One - Fresh Foods

Flu season is quickly approaching. It actually may have never left with H1N1 swirling around the globe. It is as important as ever during this time of year to keep your immune system in tip top shape. How do you do that? Eat fresh foods! If you eat fresh veggies, fruits, meats and seafood as often as you can, then you will dramatically increase the trace nutrients in your diet. There is a lot of evidence that shows that the immune system works better when it is nourished in the correct way. Cookies, pizza, and Baked Lays don't nourish anything.

I have been completely guilty in the past of buying large amounts of fresh food, throwing them in the fruit and veggie drawer in the fridge, forgetting about them and tossing them in the trash two weeks later. What a shame. Remember how ridding your home of non paleo foods keeps you from indulging? Well, if your fresh foods are out of sight the same thing happens...except we want to eat those foods. We need to see them.

Quit using your fruit and veggie drawer. Give your shelves in the fridge a good scrub down and properly display all your fruits and veggies where they are the first thing you seen when you open the door. Keep your celery and carrots washed so you can grab them and random for a quick snack. Keep your grapes and apples in bowls. All the colors will help your fridge stay bright and inviting. No one likes to open the fridge and see there is nothing to eat. Keep it stocked!

Be careful though, you don't want to buy too much at once. Keep enough on hand to hold you five to seven days. This way you will always have crisp veggies on hand. No one likes to eat wilted veggies. That is not the way nature intended.

Muscle Up Update:
Yesterday I started my new game plan to hit the muscle up. I officially have twenty days to get it done. I'm working on getting a good dead hang false grip pull up and super super deep ring dips separately. After some good work on those I'm going to try to string them together. My wrist is pretty sore today from that stupid false grip. It is the price I must pay. It will happen.

Conventional Wisdom

Read this great post from Mark's Daily Apple. Really interesting.

CrossFit Games 2010

A few details regarding the 2010 CrossFit games were released on the games site website yesterday. Yes, it is September and the games aren't until July, but it is never too early to start getting mentally prepared. Believe me...I am a planner...I'll be obsessing about it from now until game time.

In May I competed in the my regional and placed 10th. The top five qualified for the games. It was a great learning experience. It was a chance for me to see how I really stacked up against other females and what areas I needed to improve on to be more competitive. I've been working extremely hard since the qualifiers. My goal is to make it to the games. This year, however, things are going to be a little bit different.

Ever since I read the few details on the games site my head has been spinning. What kind of area are the sectionals going to cover? How early are the sectionals going to be? What do I need to start doing in my training right now to get me as prepared as possible? Our qualifier was stacked. Three of the top five females actually placed in the top ten at the 2009 games. Wow! We had some amazing females. I've already competed against some of the very best. I know I have it in me to do well. Training does not start in December or January...training starts now.

I'm also so grateful that I have made the adjustments in my nutrition. I can see the results paying off in WOD's. I am more motivated than ever to keep it up so I can keep seeing the great results. Why stop something that has done nothing but positive things for me? I've been incorporating a lot more veggies into my diet the past week. The Reasor's (Tulsa's grocery store wonderland) salad bar has been a life saver. I head over there during lunch and load up on leafy greens, broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, egg whites, grilled chicken, sunflower seeds and olive oil. Yum.

I love setting goals for myself. I need something to work towards. My current goal is to get my first legit muscle up before the end of the month. I feel it coming any day now.

What goals are you setting for yourself? What keeps you motivated to keep your nutrition and workouts on track?

A Good Cause

It is not too late to donate to my Fight Gone Bad team! Any amount will do. So far I have raised $70! Thank you to everyone who has donated. You guys are awesome. I compete on September 26th!

Go Here to Donate to My Team!

Here is more information if you didn't see my initial post about the fundraiser.

There is still plenty of time to sing up to compete yourself!

Feet go Paleo?

Just like the paleo diet takes our nutrition back to the stone ages, some runners are taking their feet back to the stone ages too. That is right...running barefoot.

Check out this article about the new craze. Running barefoot.

By they way, I have sat through two lunches at Mexican restaurants this week and have not wanted to snag a chip once. Not once! Since I am now allowing myself an open meal or two during the week I thought for sure my hand would be on the move towards the chip basket. It was actually quite content picking up my water glass while waiting for naked fajitas. Awesome!

First Day of the Rest of My Life

Today is my first day living the paleo life without a "challenge". It feels awesome. I had salmon for breakfast, a mini larabar for a mid morning snack, a great salad from Camille's for lunch and another small piece of salmon this afternoon. I throw in nuts throughout the day to munch on when I need a little something extra. I've been keeping lemon in my water to give a kick. I have no desire to go back to my diet coke at all...at all. Isn't that awesome? I feel a little bit bad for Coca-Cola because they are going to lose quite a bit of income because of my departure. Sorry.

The best part of all of this is that now if feels natural. I'm not fighting with myself to not have oatmeal or add cheese to my salad. It is quite exciting to have made such a change in one month. It makes me wonder what else I can improve on in just a month...

Should You Be Eating Like a Caveman?