Paleo Pancakes

Here is a really good recipe for pancakes that is Paleo friendly. I found this on www.cathletics.com.

These are really tasty and good for you.

1/2 cup nut butter (either almond or cashew - NOT peanut butter)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 eggs
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla (I omit this - they taste fine without it)

mix all the ingredients together (use an electric mixer for best results).

in a large skillet add a little coconut oil to the pan (you can use canola or other oil, but coco oil adds a good flavor)

pour the batter in the pan. I like to leave the batter cooking for a little longer than with normal pancakes, it makes them easier to flip and the batter tastes better.

i use either agave nectar or local honey (nothing added to it) as a "syrup"

This usually makes about 6 pancakes, with a total of 15 blocks of fat, 1/2 block of protein, 1/2 block of carbs.

The long road back

I've been able to get by in my life without really watching what I eat because of my very active lifestyle. I mean, I used to say "oh, I could lose 5 pounds" but in reality I didn't need to lose any weight. After gaining 50 pounds with my pregnancy, I really do have weight to lose. It's the first time in my life that I have said "I need to lose 20 pounds". Okay, admitting you have a problem is the first step...now what?

Well, step 2 was working out again. I love Crossfitting and playing sports, so that was easy. Now I'm on step 3 and it's a step that I would like to be able to skip. It's the step where I have to give up eating things that I love and eat smarter.

I'm addicted to sugar. I'll admit that I love cookies, cake, bread, tortillas, and even plain sugar (when I was little, I used to lick it off a spoon). I could lose weight by just eating less, but we all know that doesn't help my body in the long run. I could continue eating "low fat" this and "low calorie" that and be just fine. I've done that before. But this time, I want to do it the right way and eat food to fuel my life. Now that I am breastfeeding, it's not only my body that is relying on the food I eat.

Two popular options are The Zone and Paleo or some combination of both. I've zoned before and don't mind it too much, but the counting of everything gets to be quite intensive. Paleo has always scared me because I can't eat grains, sugars, and even dairy. I would like to eat Paleo, I'm just not sure I can give those things up. I read Ray's post and his results are inspiring, another reason to try Paleo.

This week, I've started really trying to watch what I eat. My goal is a Paleo lean with dairy mixed in there. I can't go cold turkey with the no sugar, partly because I don't want to and the other part is that I don't want to do anything too drastic right now. So far the results have been good. The scale actually fell below 160 pounds for the first time ( I was 190 pounds the day I gave birth). A good weight for me is around 140-145 pounds. There has been cheats this week, already, but each time I fall I get back up on the horse on the next meal.

I think the key is to make better choices. Even if I eat some grains at a meal, I try to make sure it's not the bulk of my meal. I guess what I want to accomplish with this post is that it's okay to not be a perfect Paleo eater or a perfect Zoner. Just try to make better choices. I find that once I start making a habit of good choices, the bad ones are not as tempting.

I plan on checking back in throughout this process and using you guys as my accountability partners. Feel free to ask me about it at the box! I know Coach Jim demands my menu every now and then :)

Take care -

Beth aka Teach

Nutrition Goals

What are your nutrition goals?

Weight loss? Muscle gain? Increase performance?

Did you know the number 1 factor that can halt your nutritional goals is lack of sleep?

It's crazy, right? It seems so simple, but our super busy lives keep us from always getting that ever so important shut eye. Sleep is a huge contributing factor to helping you attain your nutritional goals. Make sure to really rest on your off days and get those 8 hours of sleep your mom always said you needed.

When you wake up from that great night of sleep, be sure to eat a good breakfast. This is your time to break the fast (hence the word breakfast)! Think outside the box when it comes to breakfast foods. Stay away from seemingly convenient breads and cereals. It's not all bacon and eggs either. You can get creative with leftovers or other non-traditional breakfast foods. For example, I sometimes will grill up some pork chops, have a serving of steamed broccoli and a handful of almonds. You don't just have to have "breakfast" foods for breakfast. Of course, grilling in the morning is not always convenient so, make it the night before. If you take a few extra minutes to plan out your meals, it's easier to enjoy healthy meals and get plenty of rest.

-Tris

Behold The Bacon Loaf

5 x 6 weave of bacon

10 slices of bacon, chopped and cooked (save the fat)

1 lb of ground beef and 1/2 lb of andouille sausage plus the cooked bacon bits (not in photo)

Rolled up...

and baked.

Add broccoli and cauliflower cooked in fat from the bacon pieces and slice the loaf into 1 inch rounds.

Recipe and photos courtesy of the Jarmon's (Nate "Skywalker" and Tammi "Princess Leia"). Nate holds a CrossFit Nutrition Certification (given by CF nutrition expert, Robb Wolf) Robb Wolf's Blog

Here's a link to a topic on fat and insulin sensitivity by Robb Wolf "fat and insulin sensitivity"
to clarify the stance on bacon. - G

What's in Your Bag?

Lunch is what's in my bag!

No excuses are allowed when it comes to packing your lunch. I drive 25oo miles a month, have no access to a microwave and still manage to pack my lunch everyday. Yes, it can be a bit lonely eating in your car everyday, but if you want to get out of the office (or your car in my case) pop in to a book store or a coffee shop to eat your lunch. Trust me, no one will notice that you are not buying anything... I do it all the time. Plus, think of all of the money you are saving!!!

I usually take whatever I have leftover from dinner and eat it cold for lunch. For example, tonight for dinner I had all natural chicken sausage (Buddy's all natural is my favorite because it is low in sodium- only 100mg per link) with tomato sauce and spinach. For lunch I will pack up some raw spinach and put the sausage and tomato sauce over it and have it as a cold salad type thingy without dressing. I will also pack a peach or some other type of fruit if I want a little something sweet after my meal.

Pack plenty of snacks and water. The key to packing your lunch is to never run out of food. That does not mean eat it all at once. Just make sure you keep enough food around so you never make an unhealthy food choice out of boredom. Snacks can be nuts and seeds, cut up veggies with a homemade dip (see recipe below) or an apple with almond butter.

At least give it a try a few days this week and see how you feel! It's not that hard...it's just LUNCH!!!

Veggie dip recipe:
1 cup canola mayonaise
1 tbsp dried dill ( I like Simply Organic Dash O' Dill)
A few slices of roasted red pepper (if you use jarred, pat them dry first)
Blend in a food processor or blender until smooth
This recipe makes plenty to use all week.

Happy 4th of July!

4 Reasons to make healthy food choices

Here are 4 reasons I choose to stop and think about what I eat:

1. Working out and eating healthy compliment each other.
2. I eat food that fuels my body for a hard days work and provides it with the right nutrients.
3. Most food manufacturers don't care, so I SHOULD.
4. I look, feel and perform better.

If I care about myself enough to workout and try my hardest on every single WOD, why wouldn't I care enough about what goes into my body to fuel those WODs?

Tips for surviving the 4Th of July junk food fest BBQ:

• Try to find a lean protein on the buffet. If all that is available is burger patties, take the burger (sans the bun) and other veggies and make a salad.
• Say no thanks to the potato salad that is made with who knows what, and pass on the chips. Instead, go for fresh fruit.

This may sound simple, but it is very easy for your brain to not work when you are staring at a buffet spread with tons of tempting JUNK! Learn how to retrain your brain so that it can see junk food as truly just junk.

You care enough to do CrossFit...why do YOU care what YOU eat?