Keep it Simple

I do what I can to keep my life simple. I have a tendency to stress and worry and if you know me then you probably know I plan and over analyze...a lot. The older I get the more I try to get away from this part of my personality and just relax, but I kind of love this part of me.

I say it over and over again, but the last few months have been stressful. Regionals, moving, selling our house, our house still not selling, being a thousand miles away from my spouse for two months and counting, etc, etc, etc.

Today I am starting a week of super strict paleo. Just a week! A kick start if you will. However, one of the reasons I haven't been as "on" as I like is because I'm trying to keep my house incredibly clean for showings. This means the George stays under the cabinet unless I am cooking a lot of protein at one time. My skillets haven't seen the light of day. I have all of them packed in boxes except for my mini that I use for my eggs! I know there are ways to get around these issues, but I just haven't been motivated enough to really try. I still eat pretty well most of the time, but I'm not cooking at home anymore so obviously there is more deviation than I like.

Today I am picking up these little guys at the store.













I used to use them a lot and then I used them all and they were gone. I kept forgetting to buy more. God created these just for me. He wants me to keep it simple. You can store your ready to go meal in the bag for up to two days before steaming and eating! This means tonight I can prep a couple bags for lunches at work this week and then heat them up at the office. It will be just like our great stir-fry that we kept in the freezer, but I don't need a stove top to cook them! I can have shrimp with fresh veggies almost everyday! Sure, my coworkers are going to hate me again, but whatever.

Here is what I am making tonight. I know, start drooling now! I'm going with the rosemary instead of the dill weed.

Go here for more great steam bag recipes or make up your own. All you have to do is add your meat, veggies, spices and heat. What could be easier?

Powerful Food Combinations

I get the "Eat This, Not That" e-newsletter from Men's Health. Sometimes they have some really great and interesting information. Today's e-newsletter talked about powerful food combination's. We all want to get the most out of what we eat, so I went through and grabbed the paleo friendly suggestions. Here is the article if you want to look for yourself. I paraphrased.

Combo #1
Tomatoes and Avocados
If you eat paleo I think it is a rule that you HAVE to like avocados. I wouldn't survive without them. The are my fat. Paired with one of my favorite fruit/veggies of all time (the tomato) you have got a powerful duo.

Tomatoes fight cancer and the fat in the avocado helps make the cancer fighting antioxidant in the tomato more viable. Can't beat that, right?

Combo #2
Broccoli and Tomatoes
Two great colors. Green and red! It is like Christmas on your plate. Basically, both of these help fight prostate cancer and when paired together they are even better. Experts don't really know why yet, but they say it does. I really don't think eating more broccoli or tomato is going to hurt you, so you might as well do it!

Combo #3
Blueberries and Grapes
Eating a variety of fruits gives you access to a variety of antioxidants. Blueberries and grapes are two of the best, so eat them together and you are doing great things for your body. If you are watching your sugar intake I would recommend to go heavier on the blueberry and lighter on the grape. Blueberries are a wonder food.

Combo #4
Lemon and Kale
I love lemon, but I have to admit I have only had kale one or two times thrown in a salad with numerous other things. Adding some vitamin C (from the lemon) to your plant based iron (kale) will help boost your immunity and muscle strength better (yay!) than if you were to eat these two things separately. Other good plant based sources of iron are leeks, beet greens, mustard greens and swiss chard. I haven't tried many of those so they are going on my list.

Combo #5
Red Meat and Rosemary
I feel smart because I do this one all the time. I throw rosemary on pretty much anything I cook protein wise. It is one of my favorite herbs. Many people are concerned about grilling because of the carcinogens that are produced on the charred meat. Rosemary contains two acids (rosmarinic and carnosic) that help lower the cancer causing stuff in charred meat.

Combo #6
Turmeric and Black Pepper
I do not like curry. I have not liked it since I was little and I do not like it to this day. Many people tell me I am missing out, but I just can't get into the flavor. However, if you are a curry fan you are in luck! Turmeric which is used in curry is known to fight cancer and help fight inflammation. Add black pepper to it and it helps make the spice more viable to your system. Curry lovers rejoice!

Combo #7
Garlic and Fish
Again, another staple of my diet...more the garlic than the fish, but I love both. Basically, eating your fish cooked with garlic helps lower cholesterol better than eating both alone. Does anyone actually eat garlic cloves alone? Hmmm...

Combo #8
Eggs and Cantaloupe
At first glace this combination does not sound too appealing, but if I think about it I pair these together at breakfast often. Cantaloupe was my favorite fruit growing up. I don't eat it as much now because I find it very time consuming to cut up, but when I visit my parents my mom always has a plate of cantaloupe cut up and ready to go! Basically, great proteins like eggs work better to when you pair them with good carbs like fruit, not other carbs like breads.

I hope you found this information interesting! Keep eating good food and you are bound to put together a great combination and not even know it!

A Few Things I Have Learned and a Challange

This time last year I was embarking on a new adventure....a paleolithic adventure! I was only six days into my paleo challenge. I remember it being tough, but I remember being determined. A year later, I have learned a lot about nutrition and how the body works. I have learned that calories in and calories out are still important, but the quality of your food is just as important if not more. I have learned that splurge days are a must, splurge months (like what I have been on lately) are not. I have learned that I too can be lean and mean. I learned I like a lot of foods that I thought I didn't. I learned that playing with new flavors and spices in the kitchen can be fun even if it doesn't always turn into a "hit". I have learned you can eat fish for breakfast even if other people think it is weird.

Learning is fun.

I plan on reading the Primal Blueprint this month. I still haven't gotten around to it. Life kind of got in they way, but hey, that's life!

A new challenge to myself: I will only speak positively about myself! I have gotten into a very bad habit in the last few weeks of saying things like, "I suck", "I'm slow", "I'm huge". None of these things are true. I'm just in a valley after a very high peak. It happens. I will feel like me again soon. As my college coach used to tell me, "Only good hitters go into slumps...bad hitters are always in a slump!" I wouldn't say I'm in a slump...I'm just not on a streak! As fitness and health enthusiasts I think it is easy for us to be hard on ourselves when we have a bad day or two in the gym or eat something less that optimal for a few meals. We need to give ourselves a break. We need to remember that the ultimate goal is to lead a full and healthy life...not always win.

I'm a work in progress.

Gooseberry

The other day I dropped into Reasor's after my workout. Pretty typical of me to walk in covered in chalk, sweat and other CrossFit goodness. I headed over to the produce because I was running seriously low on fruit. I typically go for berries and grapefruit. A man was stocking something I hadn't seen before. Gooseberries. Hmmmmm....

I have heard of gooseberry pie, but I really had no idea what you did with gooseberries. I decided to grab a small container. They weren't too expensive, less than the other berries. I was proud of myself for picking up something new.

The next day I headed to work with my little baggie of gooseberries. I was all excited to tell my co-workers what they were when they saw them. Then I ate them....

Sour. Not sweet. Not really good at all.

I did a little research on gooseberries. Here is what Wikipedia had to say about the very cute gooseberry and their culinary uses:

"Gooseberries are best known for their use in desserts such as Gooseberry Fool and Gooseberry Crumble. In some countries, like Portugal, gooseberries are very appreciated as a beverage, being mostly used mixed with soda, water or even milk."

Apparently most people don't eat the berry raw. Most people would cook it down. I read that helps bring out the sweetness. Well, I tried. I probably will not be making gooseberry pie. I'm just too lazy.

Have any of you ever had success with the gooseberry? It is just such a cute little berry...I imagined it tasting completely different!

In Skill of the Month News:
I got three pistols the other day AND I walked on my hands for about five feet. I have never done that before. Quite an accomplishment.

Starting the Week Off Right!

Today I made a trip to Whole Foods. I put together a very colorful, healthy salad. I recently started adding beets to my salad when I go to whole foods. They always have them right next to the radishes, which I love. They are really fun combination. The radish gives a little kick and the beet is just a little bit sweet.

Nutritional Benefits of the Beet:

• The pigment that gives the beet it's rich color is also a powerful cancer fighting agent.
• Helps lower cholesterol levels
• Beets contain betaine which helps lower inflammation. Chronic inflammation can be linked to heart disease, osteoporosis, cognitive decline and Alzheimer's, and type 2 diabetes.

How to Prepare Beets:

• Grate beets and serve in salad (that is how Whole Foods has them. Delicious!)
• Cut beets into chunks and add them to when roasting veggies in the oven.
  
• Marinate steamed beets with fresh lemon juice, olive oil and herbs.
  

I felt so great eating a big box full of colorful greens and veggies. Their roasted chicken is marvelous as well so it supplied some great protein. Of course a trip to Whole Foods isn't complete without stocking up on Larabars and almond butter. I think I'm good to go for at least a few days!

As most of you know from reading, I started giving myself a skill a month to work on leading up to regionals. I went through muscle ups, handstand push ups and double unders. All three things I improved on drastically by just concentrating on putting in a small amount of time most days of the week. Quality work pays off, even if it is a short amount of time! After watching the 2010 CrossFit Games this weekend I have decided on my next skill.

The Pistol.

What is a pistol you ask? A one legged squat. They are horrible and for some reason (aka lack of practice) I can't get the hang of them. I think my weekly yoga will help as my flexibility continues to increase. I'm committing to about 10 minutes of pistol practice at least five days a week for the next couple of weeks. I've already found some videos that go through some good progressions to help get the feel of it. I have to up my yoga to twice a week...

They threw pistols in at The Games. Watching the ladies bang those things out this weekend made me realize how far I really have to go in the next year if I want to make it in 2011. I knew I had a lot of work to do, but watching those ladies really impressed me. I have to kick it up about ten notches and then some.

What is your new goal for your nutrition or fitness?

Benefits of the Blueberry

I love summer for lots of reasons, but lately I'm loving it for all the wonderful fresh fruit! I've been on a blueberry kick the past month. I was also excited to find out that Michigan, my future home state, is one of the largest blueberry producing states. If you need other incentives other than great flavor to add the lushish blueberry into your diet, here are the top ten health benefits provided by the blueberry according to Women Fitness!

1. They have the highest antioxidant capacity of all fresh fruit.
2. Neutralize free radicals, which can affect the disease and aging of the body.
3. Aid in reducing belly fat. (remember, belly fat is the worst kind of fat...it is hard on your internal organs!)
4. Helps promote urinary tract health. I would explain how the berries help, but it is pretty "science-y"
5. Been proved to preserve vision.
6. Brain health. The good stuff in the berry helps prevent degeneration and death of neurons.
7. Heart disease prevention. High fiber content helps dissolve bad cholesterol!
8. Constipation and digestion benefits.
9. Cancer prevention.
10. They keep you fresh, active, fit, sharp and close to nature!

Enjoy summer time and hit up your local farmer's market for some wonderful summer fruit!

Judgement

Yesterday during my lunch hour I was out running some errands. I decided to stop quickly at Qudoba and pick up some lunch. I was without food at work, which is always a mistake, but I can actually find some great paleo friendly meals at Qudoba. Right now they have a fabulous mango salad. It is basically greens topped with chicken and mango salsa. Instead of the dressing I get salsa verde and add a little guacamole. Oh my goodness it is so delicious and yes, very paleo and healthy!

Anyway, the line was moving at a very slow pace. This gave me the opportunity to observe the food choices made by those in front of me. I saw a guy about my age get a giant beef burrito filled with rice, beans, cheese and more cheese. I saw an overweight lady order a monstrous quesadilla and ships and salsa. I watched a teenage girl in front of me get nachos topped with ground beef, ladles of queso AND shredded cheese. The thoughts in my head were horrible. I kept thinking over and over what a horrible choices they were all making, how gross I would feel if I was eating that, etc. I wanted to run up to her and say, "No! Stop! Don't do it!" I wanted to smack myself in the face! Who am I to judge what other people eat? I started thinking about it and I do it all the time.

I have co-workers that talk to me about their "healthy" eating which includes loads of starchy carbs and dairy. I have to remind myself that at least they are trying to be conscious of their diet and make better choices. That is a very good thing. What works for me doesn't have to work for everyone else, but I do believe in the way I eat. I know people probably judge me all the time as I spoon sunflower seed butter from the jar into my mouth and follow it up with celery sticks. I am the "weird" girl.

Do others run into this problem as well? Do you think awful things about the choices others make? It makes me feel so guilty! I promise I'm actually a nice person.

I'm also having a serious craving from some trail mix today. I've been a little low on my fat lately so I am going to blame it on that. I need some macadamia nuts!