Success!

I'm still learning my way around. I don't know where anything is if it is not within a one mile radius of my house, the gym or hospital. Awesome. Tonight I was on the prowl for something decent to eat. I had nothing prepared at home and felt far too lazy to actually come home and cook.

When I say I don't know where anything is I'm serious. I drove aimlessly singing Britney in my car hoping to come upon something that sparked my interest. There are a lot of restaurants here that we did not have in Oklahoma and a lot of favorites from home that are not here. I made it out to Hall Road and saw Salsarita's. I had heard it was pretty good and I am always up for Mexican. (Ted's I miss you!) I decided to go for it.

I'm pretty excited about my find. It is a great paleo spot! I ordered a taco salad sans the taco shell. Remember, don't be afraid to be particular when you order! They had a great variety of meats. Grilled chicken, grilled steak, pork, shrimp (Yes, shrimp! Hallelujah!) and a few others. Not only that, but they don't charge extra for guacamole AND I had about two scoops. I do love my guacamole. I topped it off with plenty of fresh pico and was good to go. No cheese, no sour cream ::insert strange look from girl behind counter here:: but I was happy and hungry.

I made it home just in time to watch Grey's Anatomy. All in all it was a very successful evening.

Tomorrow I will be grilling a pound and a half of pork chops. I'm pretty excited. This weekend I'm making a care package for my sister who is deployed in Kuwait. She requested baked goods with chocolate. I love chocolate about as much as a I love guacamole...which is a lot...this could be a problem...

I'm Back...For Real

After driving from Oklahoma to Michigan, moving into a temporary apartment, looking tirelessly for something permanent to move into, flying back to Oklahoma to move out and close on the house, flying back to Michigan, moving into a super, wonderful condo and moving out of a temporary apartment...I finally feel settled.

It only took one month.

I finally have all my stuff...and by stuff I mean, I have my kitchen back! I have all my pots and pans, my George, my coconut oil, my steamer bags, a big, beautiful fridge and lots and lots of storage. It is feels like heaven.

We have been in our new digs for six days. I cannot tell you how much living "in limbo" as I have called it will wear you down and let you talk yourself into eating things you don't normally even consider eating. I have sent far too many emails to friends "back home" admitting things like, "I just ate half a bag of Twizzlers" (movie night!) or "I just ate a meal from McDonald's." Welp, that is life for you. Thankfully, getting into a good routine is super easy.

I visited one of the natural markets, Randazzo's, that I live only .7 miles from (hooray!) last Friday. It is beautiful. Everything is fresh....nothing frozen! I purchased two pounds of flank steak which made me a little bit giddy. I love flank steak because I love red meat and it is super lean so I feel like I can eat it all the time. If you haven't made it before I highly recommend it. I prefer to broil mine. Here is what I did:

• Marinate 2 lbs of meat in olive oil, worchestershire sauce, a little sea salt and pepper
• Refrigerate for three to four hours
• Broil on high for eight to ten minutes per side
• Let meat "rest" and then cut into eight 4oz pieces

I steamed some asparagus (of course) to go with the steak. The Mr. was more than thrilled with dinner. I think I only cooked dinner for us twice during our one month stint in the apartment aka dorm room. Poor guy. I'm also making sure to kick the morning off right by boiling eggs. Having a nice, paleo friendly go to protein source for me is key to staying on track.

What do you do every day to make sure you stay the course?

I want to give a shout out to some of my Tulsa ladies who are embarking on a month long zone challange. Keep it up girls!

Michigan is treating us well. Our new gym is great. I'm looking forward to getting back into blogging and being in the kitchen. I will close with some famous words from little orphan Annie...I think I'm going to like it here.

I Made It!

I finally made it to Michigan after a long thirteen hour drive north with my dog. I went through multiple bottles of water, cans of diet coke, an entire bag of twizzlers, a small bag of gummy bears, lots of trail mix, turkey jerky and a stop at Jack in the Box. Don't give me grief. It is a car trip and I was moving. I did what I had to do to make the drive bearable! Really, it was all Paige's fault anyway. Her treat bag was loaded with the good and the bad, which I 100% appreciated! Thanks Paige!

First order of business when I got to Michigan was to go to the store. Our temporary apartment had three items that you could consume:
1. Diet Dr. Pepper
2. Sliced deli ham
3. Pickles

I found a Kroger not far from our humble abode. I felt like a kid in a candy store. I was starting from scratch. I needed everything. I got my good old favorites like asparagus, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, blueberries and strawberries. I bought some pork chops and lean ground turkey. Then, I found heaven. An organic isle. Huge jars of almond butter and ten plus flavors of larabars! Oh me oh my. I no longer have to trek all the way to Whole Foods to get my treats!

There are a few really neat looking natural food markets here. I have been to one on a prior trip when we were scoping the place out. I'm going to try to visit them next week and report back on them.

Weird thing about Michigan...they sell alcohol in grocery stores. I know everyone probably thinks Oklahoma is strange because we don't, but I'm still getting used to seeing it when I walk in.

I honestly have to say I'm having a hard time eating regualr, full meals. I'm working from home now so my schedule is very differet. It will be 3PM and I realize I haven't eaten lunch. I know once I get in a better routine I'll be eating every two hours like before. :) I jumped right into the gym here. I'm going to start running some classes next week which I am very excited about. No sense in waiting around, right?

What a Difference a Week Makes

A full week of strict paleo down. Feeling awesome. I am feeling so awesome in fact I am going to keep it up another week. I guess to say I was on "strict" paleo would be a bit of a lie. That was the goal, but I did have a few deviations. Nevertheless, I was eating clean about 98% of the time and my slight deviations were very slight.

I already feel leaner and lighter. Muscle ups and handstand push ups towards the end of the week are a true testament to that. Maybe I was having a good day, but moving through those movements felt like a breeze compared to how they had been feeling. I'm not a scale girl, but I think if I were to get on a scale I would be happy with what I saw.

The steamer bags have been phenomenal! Get them now. The best news is that last week we sold our house! YAY! This means I can start destroying my kitchen again. Of course, I will be packing up my car and making the move north this weekend...fingers crossed. I fully plan on demolishing that kitchen when I get there though.

I've been eating a lot of shrimp. A LOT. Tonight I'm cooking up a pound of beautiful, lean pork chops. I have some gorgeous blackberries and raspberries as well. Eating good food just makes me feel exactly that...good! I've needed to feel like this again and I'm so thrilled that after only a week I'm getting there. It doesn't take much to get back into a good routine. Make the decision and do it. I dare you.

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.