Category: Paleo

Recipe: Crock Pot Chicken & Butternut Squash

Crock Pot Chicken & Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, gizzards etc. removed
1/2 butternut squash, cubed (about 3 cups)
carrots, sliced thick (about 1 cup)
celery, sliced with some of the greens included (about 1 1/2 cups)
5-6 garlic cloves, left whole
1 sweet yellow onion, sliced thick
dried thyme leaves
ground pepper
paprika
Sea Salt
1 bay leaf

Instructions:

  1. Clean Chicken, pat dry, and place in crockpot
  2. Place Bay Leaf in bottom of Crockpot next to chicken
  3. Add veggies around the chicken so that it ends up “nestled” in veggies
  4. Sprinkle the thyme leaves, ground pepper, and paprika over the top of the chicken & rub into skin

  5. Sprinkle a little bit of sea salt over chicken and veggies

  6. Cook on High for 2-3 hours, then turn to low for another 2-3 hours

This dish makes it’s own (delicious!) juice so there is absolutely no need to add liquid.

When you’re ready to eat, remove the chicken from the pot. It will be tender and may fall apart, so be careful! Serve with the veggies, and top with some juice from the pot.

I’ve found that this is a particularly good post-workout meal because of the butternut squash. I usually lift in the evening in my backyard, so if I have this cooking, all I have to do when I’m done liftin is come in and fix a plate – this eliminates the need for me to fix a post workout snack, wait an hour, and then eat dinner 🙂

Recipe: Mini Meatloaf “Muffins”

Mini Meatloaf “Muffins”

I’m always looking for ideas for portable “snacks” that are high in protein. . . One popular favorite is the “mini-meatloaf”. These are super easy to make, and ultra portable! You can play around with the veggies and swap out different kinds (mushrooms, squash, cabbage, ect) to tailor these to your personal tastes.

Ingredients:

Sauce:
½ can tomato paste (No Salt Added if available)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ of a green bell pepper finely diced

Loafs:
1 lb ground meat (turkey, beef, buffalo, lamb, pork, or a combination!)
½ of a green bell pepper finely diced
½ of a red bell pepper finely diced
½ of a white (or yellow, or red) onion finely diced
½ shredded carrot
1 egg (Omega-3 if available)
½ can of tomato paste (No Salt Added if available)
1 tsp garlic powder (Minced garlic works great too)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt


OPTIONAL: 4 slices of nitrate-free, no sugar added bacon chopped (If you want to increase your fat intake)


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees


Sauce:
This part is easy. Add water to tomato paste until you get a nice consistency and mix all ingredients together. A nice consistency would be one similar to ketchup.


Loafs:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a big mixing bowl.
2. Fill Muffin Tins about ¾ full with meat mixture
3. Paint some of your sauce on top of your mini-loaves.
4. Put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
5. After cooked, paint some more sauce on top of your loaves and serve.


These make perfectly portable snack-sized protein/veggie portions! They can be frozen and thawed at a later time as well!

A Fridge stocked with Paleo food is a Beautiful thing!!

I went grocery yesterday morning on my way home from CrossFit, and stocked up on all of my grub for the week, but I decided yesterday afternoon that I would go ahead and prep most of it all at once.

Usually, I cook meals each night, and throw together a salad from scratch every day at lunch, but it’s interfering w/ my schoolwork in the evenings b/c by the time I cook and clean up from dinner, I feel like half the night is gone!

So I transformed into Chef-Boy-R-Paleo last night and cooked up a storm 🙂

My fridge is now stocked with:

Cooked Ground Bison, already portioned into 3-4 oz servings

Cooked Egg Whites already portioned
Cooked Breakfast Turkey Sausage Links
Baked Chicken Tenders (enough for 3-4 days)
Paleo Turkey Meatballs (a John Berardi Recipe that I LOVE! I’ll share it below!)
Collard Greens/Onions/Garlic Sauteed in Olive Oil
Green/Red/Yellow/Orange Peppers/Onions/Garlic sauteed in Olive Oil

Roasted Beets (YUMMY!!)

Broiled Brussel Sprouts
Carrots already diced up for salads
Scallions already diced up for salads
Pre-cut broccoli & Cauliflower
SOG Paleo Hummus (another YUMMY recipe find!)
SOG Paleo BBQ (yep, yet another great home-made paleo condiment)
Hard Boiled Eggland’s Best Eggs (for salads)
Watermelon (cut up and portioned)
AIN’T IT PURTY?!?! 🙂

I also have some meat that I didn’t cook yet, b/c it will be easy to just throw it on the grill or in the oven for a quick dinner:

  • Wild Salmon
  • Wild Snapper

  • Bison Steaks

And of course, I have the essentials that don’t require prep:

  • Fresh-Ground Almond butter

  • Pastuerized Egg Whites

  • Baby Spinach (for salads)

  • Avocados / Tomatoes / Onions

  • Coconut Water (for PWO)

I feel SO great having 95% of my cooking done for the week, and the combinations are endless w/ the stuff above!

One of my favorites: Throw some of the sauteed peppers/onions in a bowl w/ ground bison, a diced tomato, and half an avocado – YUM

Now, I’ll have my evenings free for the rest of the week to concentrate on nothing but schoolwork – Yay!

Here’s the link to the Turkey Meatballs reference above: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/berardi85.htm#14 – I make it exactly as directed, except I only make the turkey “meatballs”, and not the green beans b/c the green beans aren’t 100% paleo.

A fully stocked fridge, and a backyard full of fitness “toys” . .it doesn’t take much to make me happy 😉

Upping my Caloric Intake

Okay, it’s official – I need to put on some (healthy) weight in order to really maximize my potential in Olympic Lifting.

Have you ever seen a 5’9″ 135 lb Oly Lifter at the competitive level? Yeah, me neither!

Here’s the game plan (changes to workouts):

  • Cut out CrossFit Endurance sessions (for now)
  • Continue to follow Coach Wilkes Oly Lifting Programing 5x per week
  • Do CrossFit MetCon workouts 5x per week (3 on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off), but spend more time working on skills like ring dips, chest to bars, hand stand pushups, ect. . . . and also concentrate more on proper form, technique and full ROM than speed – I think that the speed will come if I improve the rest of it

Here’s the game plan (changes to eating plan):

  • Staying Paleo, but increasing Caloric Intake from 1,300 range to 1,800 range
  • Majority of extra calories will come from red meat and healthy fats
  • More Steak, Ground Beef (grass-fed), Whole Eggs, Avocado, Nuts, Nut Butters, ect.
  • Will eat steak/ground meat w/ slightly higher fat content (85-90% lean instead of xtra lean)
  • Still going to try to keep fruit and simple carb intake to a minimum, but will eat approx 6 oz sweet potato immediately post-workout (after my Oly lifting sessions, not MetCon)

I’ve never actually tried to put on healthy weight before – I hope that a considerable amount of it will be muscle, but I know that the “other stuff” is going to come along for the ride, and I’m okay with that, as long as my performance and lifts increase simultaneously.
I have no idea how quickly I will see a difference, as I’ve never done this before and don’t have any past experience to draw from. For now, I’m going to set a goal of reaching 145-150 in the next 4-6 months, with a large portion of the gain hopefully contributed to increased muscle mass (and resulting increased strength).
If anyone has reading this has any suggestions or critiques of my plan, please feel free to fire away! I’m new to this, and it will definitely be an experimental process – and I’m sure I’ll make adjustments along the way.
If you don’t think my goal is realistic, or if you think I’m under-shooting it, please feel free to chime in there too!

Productive Day!!

WOW! I had such a productive day today 🙂

I got a ton of schoolwork knocked out, and then tonight, I got most of my cooking for the week taken care of!

I just finished cooking:
Paleo Bison Meatballs (perfect for snacks)
Mini Swt Potato/Spinach Frittatas (perfect early morning pre-workout)
All Natural Organic Chicken Breasts (enough to get me through Thursday)
Baked Sweet Potatoes (for my post-workout recover snack)
Hard Boiled Omega-3 Eggs (for salads and late-night snack)

I’ve also got all of my meals planned out for the week – lots of yummy stuff on the agenda: Wild Salmon, Wild Mahi Mahi, Grass-Fed Beef Steaks, Organic All Natural Chicken Breasts, Bison Meatballs, Frittatas, Collard Greens, Organic Broccoli, Baked Beets, Mashed Cauliflower, Brussel Sprout “fries” . . .Yep, it’s going to be a GOOD week 🙂

WooHoo 😉

A little more schoolwork, and then I’m hitting the sack!

Feeling Better!

Had an AWESOME day today!

Started out with my first CF workout since Monday – I hate being sick, but when you start feeling better it’s like you’re a new person 🙂 Today’s workout was 75 Power Snatches for time. I did RX weight at 55lbs and finished in 9’26”. I was really focusing more on maintaining proper form than I was on my time though.

Went to Sun Harvest after CF and bought some Wild Salmon, Wild Red Snapper, Grass Fed Beef, Buffalo, and some Organic Veggies (oh yeah, and a few of those yummy date rolls too!)

Came home, knocked out some schoolwork, and then went for a nice long run this evening. . . well long for ME anyway! I ran 3.55 miles. I had to stop and rest for about 5 minutes at the half way point, and again at the 3/4 point, but it still felt really good to get out there and run. It was a beautiful night for it with a cool breeze and a pretty sunset 🙂

After my run, I came home and cooked up the Wild Salmon – sooo yummy! I tried a new recipe tonight and it turned out great!

Salmon
Onion
Tomato
EVOO
Salt/Pepper

I drizzeled the salmon w/ a little EVOO, then sliced the onions and layed over the salmon, and then sliced the tomato and layed on top of the onions. Then I drizzled a little more EVOO, and sprinkled with some salt and freshly ground pepper. Then I wrapped it in foil and baked at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. It turned out PERFECT! I served it with some sauteed zucchini and squash.

Bed time now!

Sweet Potato Frittata Recipe + Update

Okay, I haven’t checked in for a while b/c I’ve been CRAZY BUSY between school, work, and lifting, but I’m going to try to be a little more regular w/ my updates going forward.

A quick update – My diet has NOT been going so well 🙁 It’s not that I have been eating total crap all of the time, but it has definitely not been Paleo, and there has been a good amount of crap thrown in there. . .

Back on the wagon yesterday though, and so far so good 🙂

It never ceases to amaze me what a HUGE difference my diet has on my performance. Perfect example – I did the “Nancy” WOD about a month and a half ago, and PR’d it at 14’50”. Did it this morning, and it nearly killed me, and my time was 21’42”. That is seriously just sad. Granted, I was sick all weekend but still, I have to contribute the majority of the excess time to my crappy diet.

It was nice to have a little “reminder” like that this morning – even though I had already committed myself to cleaning up my diet again ASAP, and have already prepped all of my food for the week – that extra little reminder will help to keep me on track and remind me just why I’m following Paleo Guidelines.

As for my workouts – I’ve gotten 95% of my lifting workouts in, but have only been making it to about 3 CF sessions a week b/c of school/work schedules. I will be SO happy when I’m finally done with school!! Only a few weeks left 🙂 My Oly lifts have been getting better, but my CF performance has gone down significantly due to my crappy diet. I can only imagine how much my Oly lifts would have improved had I stayed strict w/ my diet over the last month! That’s okay though – the past is the past, and all I can do is concentrate on the future.

For the next week or so, I’ll be updating my blog with what I’m eating in an attempt to keep myself a little more accountable.

Mini Sweet Potato Frittata Recipe:

I created the BEST recipe this weekend that is PERFECT for me for pre-work out 🙂 I call them “Mini Sweet Potato Frittatas”. I sauteed onions, red peppers, yellow peppers, spinach, and tomatoes in some olive oil, and cubed some sweet potatoes and cooked them in a skillet until they were soft and mushy. I combined all the veggies and the sweet potatoes, added a little salt and pepper, and then spooned equal amounts into 14 muffin pans. Then, I beat 3 eggs + 8 egg whites really well, and then poured the eggs over the veggie mixture in the muffin pans. Then, I baked them at 375 for about 15 minutes, and that was it 🙂 I froze about half of them, and the other half is in the fridge. 2 of the little mini-frittatas makes a perfect pre-workout snack for me 🙂

And in case anyone is wondering what’s in my homemade oatmeal pancakes:
Old Fashioned Oats, Egg Whites, Protein Powder, Apple Sauce, Banana, Cinnamon

I’ll be phasing these out over the next day or so b/c I want to try to go strict Paleo without the oatmeal. If I have a problem w/ energy loss again though, I’ll add my oatmeal back in.

Okay, so far, here’s what I’ve eaten today:

4:30am – 2 mini-frittatas (pre-workout)
6:30am – 3 oz sweet potato + 1/4 scoop lean dessert protein powder + 2 walnuts (post-workout)
7:45am – 1 homemade “oatmeal pancake” + 1 T Natural Almond Butter (breakfast)
11:00am – 4 oz lean steak grilled + salad w/ spinach, 1 hb egg, avocado, tomatoes, onions, carrots, and balsamic vinegar
3:00pm – 3 oz chicken breast + 1/2 plumcott + 5 brussel sprouts w/ evoo
7:00pm – 4 oz tilapia + 2 cups broccoli + slivered almonds + evoo

Kick-off of 8 Week Paleo Challenge!

I had such GREAT success with the 8 week Paleo Challenge that I did with the Alamo Crossfit Crew that I decided to start one of my own!

During my last challenge, I was strict Paleo (w/ the exception of steel cut oatmeal each morning) from June 1 through July 26th. In the process, I dropped 15 lbs of fat and 3 inches off my hips, and all of my PR’s improved. Additionally, I felt awesome and had very few cravings for crap! I FINALLY found a healthy way of eating that I can stick to and not feel deprived!

I stayed pretty strict Paleo w/ an occasional cheat after the challenge ended, up until last week at my parents house. Last Wednesday, I went out to dinner with a girlfriend, and CHOWED on some killer Mexican food at Abuelo’s. . . followed by an ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery! I had every intention of jumping right back on the wagon, but proceded to continue with cheats over the next week. Bagles, Beans, Cheese, and Chocolate – you name it – I ate it!

As any idiot would deduce – this led to feeling like CRAP! Why do we do this to ourselves when we know what the end result will be??

Before I get into the details of my challenge, I’ve got to post a picture of the food porn that I gorged myself with last night, as a send-off to my non-paleo week of hell:

That would be a juciy Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe, HOT, FRESH and CRISPY Wendy’s french fries (w/ the obligatory ketchup of course!!!), a Coke Classic, and an Oreo McFlurry from McDonalds. . . yes, that’s right folks . . the Wendy’s ice cream machine was broken so I drove my happy ass to Micky D’s to get my final ice cream fix!!

While I do have to admit that this all tasted heavenly in my homework/stress induced feeding frenzy at 11 pm, I definitely paid the price! I feel like HELL this morning. . . .and am thrilled to be back on the Paleo Wagon!

So, here are the details of my Paleo Challenge:

  • Dates: August 24th – October 17th (8 weeks)
  • Vices: Oatmeal & Protein Powder
  • Incentive: $2 per strict Paleo Day, $1 per PR (Lift or CF Benchmark), and $5 per week that I complete all scheduled training sessions (5 sessions Oly Lifting, 5 CF WODS, & 3 CF Endurance WODS) added to “splurge” pot.
  • Penalty for Cheating: I do not plan to cheat. I will not cheat. However if some freakish thing happens and I do happen to eat so much as one bite of a non-paleo item that is not one of my vices, I will be forced to empty my “splurge pot” with no chance of earning back the money lost.
  • At the end of the challenge, I will take the money in my “splurge pot” . . . and SPLURGE on something totally off-the-wall that I would typically not treat myself to – like a really nice pair of jeans or something along those lines

So basically, I will eat strict Paleo with the exception of oatmeal. I have made this modification because the goal is to follow a nutrition program that works for me, improves my performance, and is something that I can live with for the rest of my life. I have learned through trial and error that I am NOT gluten sensitive, and that my energy levels hit ROCK BOTTOM mid-day if I do not eat 1/4 cup of oatmeal in the morning. Additionally, I start gassing out mid-WOD because I simply run out of fuel.
Regarding the Protein Powder – some consider this acceptable under Paleo Eating and others say it’s a “no-no”. I don’t really care what anyone else says – again, I’m doing what works for me, and I have found that there is no better recovery food for me personally than mashed sweet potatoes & protein powder! Recovery time is the only time that I will use PP though.
Potential “PitFalls”:

  • Business Meeting in late Sept (will have to deal with airports, travel, and “social events” while staying strict paleo; will have to take substantial amount of paleo food w/ me; will have to deal with peer pressure of all of my co-workers to “eat something”)
  • Oly Lifting Cert in San Antonio mid-Oct (will have to deal w/ travel and “social events” while staying strict paleo; should be easier than business meetings b/c will be around other “health-oriented” people)
  • Final month of college classes is September and I’m taking 3!! – this will cause significant stress and long nights of study. My coping mechanism for stress has always been food, and I like to reward myself after the completion of a difficult assignment with ice cream. I need to break this cycle of rewarding good behavior with food.

Goals for Paleo Challenge:

  • I don’t have any specific goals such as “drop x # of lbs”
  • My goal is to remain strict Paleo the entire 8 weeks without a single cheat
  • I also hope to increase PR’s and cut body fat so that I’m at my ideal “fighting weight” by the end of the challenge

So that’s it! Wish me luck! I’ll be posting pics of my yummy Paleo Eats over the next 8 weeks, commenting about my energy levels and performance gains or losses, and probably doing a little bit of whining in the first week too!

Back Again. . . yeah, I know . . . it’s been a while!

Okay, so I decided to start my blog back up b/c I’m getting serious about training for the Crossfit Games 2010 and I’d like some place to track my progress, make notes about workouts, meals, and vent when I’m sore or frustrated without pulling down a friend or my hubby!

So here we go 😉

Since January a lot has changed, and I’m not detailing it all b/c I doubt if anyone will be still checking in from TDP or “back in the day” when I was training for figure competitions.

To Summarize:

  • I found the Paleo Diet, and LOVE IT!
  • I eat strictly Paleo 99% of the time with the exception of 1/4 cup of steel cut oats every morning. I modified the diet to work for me and my energy levels, and feel better than I ever have, and don’t feel even a little bit deprived!
  • Started my Paleo way of life with an 8 week “challenge” that ran from June through July 2009 – I came in second place, but ate strict paleo every day of that 8 weeks (w/ exception of oatmeal), and dropped 15 lbs of fat in the process and 3 inches off my hips 😉 The weight and inches have stayed off since.
  • I am now eating for performance and not for physique. The physique is following nicely, but I am not measuring anything – I’m eating strict paleo choices, Zoning most of my meals/snacks (via eyeballing method!), and eating when I’m hungry – usually every 3-4 hours, but not always
  • My PR’s have been steadily increasing since going Paleo
  • I am currently CrossFitting at CCCrossfit (http://www.cccrossfit.com/ ) 3 days on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off
  • I started Olympic Lifting 5 days a week w/ Molly, Pam, and Eduardo at CCCrossfit about 6 months ago, and this replaced my “standard” lifting in the gym

Okay, now for a little update on my life outside of just the workout/nutrition stats 😉

  • Still in School, but graduate either end of Sept or Oct!!!! SWAMPED and STRESSED right now, but all of this will be over soon!!
  • Attended the Crossfit Games in Aromas this year with Molly and the Alamo Crossfit Crew (http://www.alamocrossfit.com/ ) – had a blast and got a fire lit under my butt! I Want to Compete next year, and am going to do EVERYTHING in my power to make that happen!!
  • Recently went home to VA for 2 weeks for personal reasons, and had the IMMENSE pleasure of training (O-lifting) under Coach Wilkes and his boys (Cody, Coard, and Caine) at Chesapeake Crossfit while I was there (http://www.chesapeakecrossfit.com/ <—check data-blogger-escaped-out=”” data-blogger-escaped-span=”” data-blogger-escaped-them=””>!!)
  • Also had the pleasure of WODing with the AWESOME group of people (Brad, Andre, Grant, Brandon, JRock, Austin . . . ) at Sparta Fitness Crossfit while I was there – another great affiliate in the Hampton Roads Area (http://www.spartafitness.com/ )
  • Back home in TX now with a more well-rounded and diverse view of all things CrossFit!!

I’ll be posting tomorrow with a list of short term and long term goals, and my “plan of attack” that I will implement in order to accomplish them.
I’ll then be posting regularly w/ random thoughts, workout times and weights, meal ideas, pictures, and whatever else spills out of my head!