Meal Prep

Rest day is the perfect time to prepare your meals ahead of time. Making the trip to the grocery store several times per week to buy whole foods will allow you to plan out your meals so you’re never left in a bind, forcing you to settle for fast food on your way home from work. Also, preparing your meals can be a great opportunity to spend time with your kids by getting them into the kitchen to help you cook- all while learning and developing healthy eating habits. Here are a couple of essential  items to buy for effective meal prep:

• Tupperware
• Cooler or Insulated Lunch Box
• Shaker Bottles

2015 Nutrition Challenge

Get ready for T-Town's first Nutrition Challenge of 2015! Beginning next Monday, Jan. 19, we will have a 6-week Paleo-ish challenge to help you reach your goals just in time for the Crossfit Open! Hurry up and register - there are only 20 spots available. The challenge is $125 per person. Contact Coach Paige at paigecftt@gmail.com for more information and to reserve your spot

Are You Eating Good?

Paleo Pumpkin Muffins

Soooo good. Especially in the fall and winter season. Serve warm!

Ingredients
1½ – Almond Flour (Used Bob’s Red Mill) (940cal)
3/4 cup – Canned Pumpkin (60cal)
3lrg – Whole Eggs (215cal)
1 tsp – Baking powder
1 tsp – Baking soda
½ tsp – Ground Cinnamon
1½ tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (5cal)
1/8 tsp – Salt
1/4 cup – Agave Nectar (240cal) (optional and paleo-controversial)
10g (1/3 scoop) – French Vanilla Whey (Didn’t have Vanilla) (40cal)

Instructions

Grease 6 muffin tins with coconut oil
Mix all ingredients. Pour mix into the 6 tins.
Bake at 350F for 25 minutes on the middle rack.
Stick almonds in the top when they come out hot.

Paleo Carrot Cake

This is a moist and delicious carrot cake with a hint of orange. Very much like a ‘real cake’.

Ingredients

6 eggs, separated
1/2 C. honey (or less)
1 1/2 C. carrots, cooked and pureed
1 T. grated orange rind
1 T. frozen orange juice
3 C. almond flour

Instructions

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
-Beat the egg yolks and honey together.
-Mix in carrot puree, orange rind, orange juice, and almond flour.
-Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in.
-Spoon into a greased, loose-bottomed 9-inch springform pan.
-Bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
-Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Curry Chicken

Ingredients
Sauce and Chicken:

1 lb of boneless/skinless organic chicken breast
1 can unsweetened Coconut Milk
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped or crushed ginger
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
Fresh cilantro and red onions for garnish
Cucumber
Curry Rice:

1 med head cauliflower - 20 oz
1/2 teaspoon ground curry
1 green onion - finely chopped
dash of cayenne pepper, sea salt, ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Instructions
Start by heating up some medium-diced chicken on the stove.
As it cooks, prep the sauce. Just put the coconut milk in a large sauce pan, and start adding the spices, lemon juice, and ginger. Keep that heating up while you move on to the cauliflower.
The fastest and easiest way to do the cauliflower is to chop them to small florets, then microwave them for a few minutes until they get soft. This is critical. Then, toss them in a food processor and just dice.
Somewhere in the middle of step 3, take the somewhat cooked chicken, place it in a glass 8x8" baking pan (pyrex style), and pour the sauce over it. Then toss it in the oven at 450 for about 20 minutes. This lets the sauce really cook into the meat and thicken up just a touch.
Now that the cauliflower is good and chopped, toss it into a hot pan with a bit of olive oil and just stir fry it like you would have rice.
When it's all done, take a scoop of 'rice,' pour on some chicken and curry sauce, and garnish with red onion, cilantro, and cucumber.

Coconut Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

•3 cage free eggs
•¼ cup + 2 tbsp. coconut flour
•2 tbsp. unsweetened coconut milk
•2 tbsp. honey
•2 tbsp. coconut oil
•½ cup frozen blueberries
•¼ tsp. vanilla
•¼ tsp. salt
•¼ tsp. baking powder

Makes 6 Muffins
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Combine the eggs, coconut oil, coconut milk, honey, salt and vanilla in a bowl and whisk them all together to make sure it is thoroughly mixed.

3. Sift the coconut flour and baking powder into the mixture. Make sure there are no lumps.

4. Carefully fold in the blueberries, and pour into the greased muffin tin.

5. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Enjoy.

There you have it. I hope you enjoy it.

Enjoy!

Try this out for a few months

Eat the following:
•Lean Meats
•Eggs
•Vegetables
•Nuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia, almond.
•Low Glycemic Fruits (eg. Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.)

Do NOT eat the following:
•Processed Foods- including bread, pasta, noodles, anything in a can
•Beans- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and peas
•Potatoes
•Dairy products
•Sugar
•Salt
•Fruit juice
•Sodas

Meal Portion and Timing:
•Balanced Meal: double Protein, 1/2 Carb and 3X the Fat
•Eat a balanced meal within an hour of waking up and every 3-4 hours after that without allowing 6 or more hours pass without eating.
•Remember Breakfast really is the MOST important meal of the day… do NOT skip it.

Want to know my secret?

Do you feel like fit people know a secret that they aren't telling anyone? Do you wonder "What am I missing?" There's no secrets or magical drinks that are going to equate to an elite level of fitness. It takes constantly varied, functional movements, executed at high intensity to increase your work capacity across broad time and modal domains. You must have solid eating habits where your meals are made up of lean meats, veggies, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. (PALEO) These foods must be eaten at levels which support muscle gains, but not fat. Does this sound familiar? Have you heard this over and over again? Then you are in on my secret.

Paleo Story

Thanks Fuel As Rx for a great story about the benefits of Paleo. Continue Reading..

"Once I actually read "The Paleo Diet", "The Paleo Diet for Athletes" and a whole lot of research papers, I was left with one conclusion. I needed to try this 'Paleo thing' for myself.

That leads me to where I am today. I know that the Paleo way of eating makes me feel GREAT, perform better than I ever have, and I rarely if ever get sick. There are a lot of people that think I'm a "little off my rocker", but I'm alright with that. I know how I feel. I also know all the benefits I am getting, from a health and disease prevention standpoint, by eating this way. When I am questioned by others in my profession I simply stick with the facts. It is extremely difficult to argue a diet that promotes eating lean meats, vegetables, fruits and heart healthy fats. It's all there; (carbs, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc.), it's all unprocessed, and it's all backed up with research and most importantly 'real life' experiences - not just mice and monkeys!! "

Embrace your inner caveman with the Paleo Diet

When you think of a caveman, do you summon up images of Fred Flintstone chewing on a leg bone? Maybe you picture long-haired, bearded insurance pitchmen? Think again. You might just have cavemen living in your neighborhood. Or at least someone who eats like one. Continue reading here

Real Food

1)Food grows and dies. It isn’t created.
2)Food rots, wilts, and becomes generally unappetizing, typically rather quickly.
3)Food doesn’t need an ingredient label (and probably isn’t in a package either).
4)Food doesn’t have celebrity endorsements.
5)Food doesn’t make health claims.
Don’t over-think things. You know what foods will make you healthier and what won’t.

Eating Paleo

I have been living in the Zone lifestyle for the past 2 years, but more and more I have gone the paleo route. The big difference between zone/paleo is choosing favorable carbs over unfavorable carbs. If a man could not have eaten something 10,000 years ago, why would I eat it now? (processed shit)


1.Enjoy eating paleo. Enjoy what you eat. If you are unhappy with what you are eating you are unlikely to continue to keep eating that way, and once the nutrition is gone, staying fit and healthy becomes much harder.

2.Pre-cook food. Spend a few hours at the beginning of the week and cook big batches of food. This will allow you to minimise the amount of time that you have to spend cooking during the week.

3.Cook more that you need. This is similar to the previous tip, the idea being that if you cook more than you need for one meal then you can eat it later, or the next day.

4.Rather than cutting yourself off from all of those foods which you enjoy that aren’t 100% paleo friendly, simply eat smaller amounts and be moderate.

5.Do not keep junk/unhealthy food that you know you shouldn’t eat, in the house. For most people, if it is in the house they will eventually eat it.

6.Do not run out of food. This is horrible. Do not let it happen to you.

7.Try planning out your meals for a week. This comes easily to type one personalities, for the rest of us it can be a nuisance. Though this has the benefit of ensuring you know what you need in the house for the week, and eliminates that time wasting period during which you try and figure out what you should cook for dinner.

8.Keep a handy meal replacement shake/can of tuna in your car/office/desk/bag for a paleo friendly snack in case plans change.

9.Learn to use spices; this will do wonders for you and will offer variety and different flavors to your meals.

10.Eat lots of vegetables; try and eat a good variety with many different colors