HealthNut

Three weeks ago, if you would have asked me what my favorite food was, I would have listed off a handful of unhealthy foods and desserts along with my all-time favorite Starbucks drink, a Toffee Nut Latte. And now, after only a few short weeks I can tell you that my favorite foods now consists of all-natural peanut butter (Justin’s Nut Butter is my favorite: http://www.justins.com/), coconut oil glazed sweet potatoes on the grill, and almost any kind of protein tops my list. It is weird that only after a few weeks my love for Mexican food has been replaced, and it didn’t hit me until this past weekend when Dan and I went out to dinner to a Mexican food restaurant, and afterwards we both admitted to not enjoying ourselves because it was so bad for us.

A lot of people think it is hard or expensive to eat the way Dan and I have started to eat. But to be honest, if you take the time out to cook your own meals, and spend a little money on extra protein, your body will start to change, and so will your attitude.

Now, let me back up for a second. I can’t take all the credit for starting this new way of eating. Your Life Extraordinary (https://yourlifeextraordinary.com/) is running a 7 week nutrition challenge at our gym and although I didn’t officially sign up, a friend of mine did, so Dan and I decided to go along with their diet plan and see how we liked it. So far, so good. I am not telling you that you must eat like this, but the basics are that you should only eat protein, vegetables, and good fats. Yes- this means cutting sugar, carbs and those zero calorie/fat free drinks. Reading this, you may think I am crazy. But I am telling you, I do not crave the sugar, or the carbs. The hard part is adding fat to my diet. I am a victim to the low-cal, fat-free, sugar-free foods/drinks and so to add avocado to my lunches, or whipping cream to my coffee was really odd to me, and hard to do. But now- it makes since. Fat keeps you full longer, and then your body recognizes it as a fuel source and then goes for the stored fat in your body to burn.

So, boil some eggs, cook your lunches a week in advance, and plan out your dinners so you do not fall victim to fast food, or not eating breakfast- and I promise you in a few weeks, you’ll feel great too.

Togetherness

So, Dan and I have spoken to a lot of people who do not understand how we are so regimen and plan out our meals for the entire week. Well for me, I grew up in a household where every Sunday my mom would make a grocery list on an envelope and on one side would be her list, and on the other would be Monday through Sunday of what dinners she was going to make. We didn’t eat out much as kids, which then I probably hated my parents for, I am thankful for today. This has made me persistent on what dinners I am going to make and when. Speaking on Dan’s behalf, he is very regimen-oriented, and before he even met me, he would prepare his lunches for the entire week, package them up, and then they would be ready to take. Being together has made life easy, and now we have a pretty set schedule every week, and consider it our time to bond when we grocery shop and cook our weekly lunches.

I spoke to a friend today that vented about needing to eat healthier and would like to get a list of what Dan and I are cooking for the week and how we prepare it; so I figured more people may be interested in it as well- So here it goes. (Also, note I realize today is Thursday April 11, but I am going to take you back to Sunday when we normally do our grocery shopping and prepare out meals).

Sunday mornings, I like to enjoy a nice Toffee Nut Latté made exclusively at home, and I make it a double-shot Latté. Of course. While I enjoy my caffeine, Dan and I start brainstorming what we want to make for the week. Thanks to pintrest, men’s and women’s health, and other great websites we sometimes resort to new recipes, or old ones that we have either ‘pinned’ or ripped out of magazines. Today we found two new recipes for our lunches! Yay! It is always exciting trying something new… And scary. But either way we found both of our lunch recipes on pintrest. Dan said he was in the mood for pork fried rice. I was in the mood for a crock-pot, pot-roast. I will start with where I found the pot roast recipe, what all is in it, and how we prepared it.

 

Pot Roast, lunches for Monday & Wednesday

Website: http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/05/crock-pot-pot-roast-recipe/

What you need:

-A Crockpot

-4 Cups of Beef Broth (website calls for 2 cups, but we wanted more juice)

-1 Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

-3 Pounds of Pot Roast/Chuck Roast – Boneless

-1 Packet of Onion Soup Mix

-6 small potatoes – Diced

-1 cup of baby carrots (website calls for ½ cup, chopped. I like baby carrots better)

-1 cup of Celery – Chopped

-1 small onion – Diced (website calls for ½ cup of onions, but we used the whole onion)

-Pepper

What we did:

1. Place Pot Roast in the crock pot
2. Put everything else in the crock pot and sprinkle some pepper on top.
3. Cook on high for 3 hours
4. Turn over pot roast and then cook on high for 1 more hour.

After it’s done:

1. Dan and I have microwavable glass containers that we put our lunches in, but this meal allowed us to have two lunches for me, and two for him, so four total. Dan’s are about double the size of my lunches, and I ate this for lunch on Monday and Wednesday.
2. When you place them in the container, let them cool down for about a half hour while you clean up and then place them in the fridge.

Next meal we found was:

Pork Fried Rice, Lunches for Tuesday and Thursday

Website: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/pork-fried-rice-1000-visa-giftcard-giveaway/

What you need:

-3 eggs (website calls for 2)

-1 tbsp. BRAGG Liquid Aminos (website calls for light soy sauce)

-1 ½ tsp. sesame oil

-3 tbsp. coconut oil (website calls for vegetable oil)

-2 cloves of garlic

-4 cups of brown rice (minute rice works fine)

-3 spring onion, sliced, separate green and white parts (website calls for 2)

-2 pounds of pork (we buy the one that is already chopped up and packaged)

-2 pounds of beef tips (we buy the one that is already chopped up and packaged)

-2 carrots, diced and cooked

-1/2 cup frozen green peas

-1 tbsp. oyster sauce

What we did:

1. Boil some water for the rice
2. Cook the rice according to the package. Dan and I use the store band of Minute instant brown rice, where they are in bags, and you place the bags of rice in boiling water for 8-10 minutes. Do this first and then go onto the next step while the rice cooks
3. Beat the eggs with 1 tsp. BRAGG liquid aminos and ½ tsp sesame oil. Heat up a non-stick frying pan and add 1tbsp of oil. Pour in the eggs and swirl around to coast the bottom of the pan. As the egg cooks, push the edges towards the center and let the uncooked eggs ooze towards the edges.
4. Flip once to get the other side cooked
5. Once eggs are cooked, flip over onto a chopping board and cut into small square pieces. Set aside.
6. Heat up a wok, or frying pan and add 2 tbsps of coconut oil. Add the garlic and fry for 3 minutes. Watch out- It splatters.
7. Add the 4 pounds of meat to the pan. Cook, and then transfer to a large bowl once it is just about fully cooked.
8. Add the rice to the same pan you just used for the meat and 2 tsps of BRAGG liquid aminos. Cook for about 3 minutes.
9. Add in the spring onions, the carrots, the peas and the oyster sauce. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
10. Add the meat back into the pan and stir around for 3 minutes
11. Put food into containers, and then the egg on top from earlier.

This created four meals again (all of our meals, as you may see soon make 4 meals so we each have a lunch for two days during the week). I ate this meal on Tuesday and Thursday.

I am sure you are probably not reading this anymore, but if you are and you are interested here is what my meals were planned out as for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Monday:

Breakfast: Protein Shake (Warmed milk, 1 scoop chocolate protein whey mix)

Snack: Gala apple with 1 cup of 0% Fage plain yogurt

Lunch: Pot Roast

Dinner: Deli sandwich (bread, turkey meat, lettuce, tomato, pickle, swiss cheese and mustard)

Tuesday:

Breakfast: 2 Hard Boiled Eggs

Snack: Gala apple with 1 cup of 0% Fage plain yogurt

Lunch: Fried Rice

Dinner: Salmon & Crackers (Cherry tomatoes, avocado, cream cheese, pepper, smoked salmon, crackers) Fun meal where you put together your own small bites. This makes us eat slower, but get very full.

Wednesday:

Breakfast: 2 Hard Boiled Eggs

Early morning, at work: 8oz black coffee (French Roast, Starbucks, K-cup)

Snack: Gala apple with 1 cup of 0% Fage plain yogurt

Lunch: Pot Roast

Dinner: (I have school on Wednesday nights) Banana, grapes, cranberry muffin, DanActive Probiotic drink, hard boiled egg.

Snack once I got home: handful of almonds

Thursday:

Breakfast: Protein Shake (Warmed milk, 1 scoop chocolate protein whey mix and 1 shot of espresso)

Snack: Gala apple with 1 cup of 0% Fage plain yogurt

Lunch: Fried Rice

Snack: Muffin (co-workers daughter made them.. I had to try them out)

—Today is Thursday, and I haven’t had dinner yet, but this is the plan—–

Dinner: Hambergers, no bun, ketchup and mustard and some potato chips

Friday:

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs

Snack: apple

Lunch: egg salad sandwich

Dinner: Attending a wedding – whatever food they have there.

My next food posts wont be nearly as long, but I will start sharing more of what we cook, and how we make it our own. Hope you enjoyed this first food post, as there will be many more to come.

PaleoWithATwist

This past week Dan and I decided to try the “new” craze: The Paleo Diet. The concept is to eat like a caveman and it has also been referred to as the Stone Age diet and the Hunter-Gatherer diet. If you are 100% dedicated to this diet it consists of eating fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils. It takes the idea of what was consumed during the Paleolithic era. This is where it gets its shortened name: Paleo.

Dan and I had to be realistic with our lifestyles. We enjoy being healthy during the week but then have no rules when it comes to the weekend. We like to live healthy and active lifestyles, but also want to have a life, and have fun without the guilt of cheating on a diet. So, we made a grocery list, are giving Paleo a shot and so far, so good. One amazing recipe that both of us probably had dreams about last night was found on paleomg.com and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Copied and pasted from the web site here are the instructions and ingredients:

Ingredients

• 2lb pork roast
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
• 2 anaheim chilis, seeds removed and chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, seeds removed and chopped
• 1-2 jalapeño peppers, diced
• 2 cups chicken or beef broth
• 1 (8oz) can of diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Pull out your crockpot.
2. Place your pork roast in the crockpot and place all the veggies around it.
3. Pour your green chiles and tomatoes over the pork.
4. Toss in all the spices on top.
5. Pour your broth in the crockpot.
6. Turn your crockpot on low and cook for 6-8 hours.
7. Once the time has elapsed, use some tongs to shred your pork and mix all the ingredients together.
8. Consume & Enjoy!

http://paleomg.com/paleo-crockpot-pork-green-chile/

Now when I say “Paleo With A Twist” it is because after the meal was done cooking, we added some brown rice to it to make it more of a meal, and so although the diet says ‘no carbs’ we have a few carbs added, but the “good kind.” Every diet has its rules, and a lot of people find it very hard to follow every single rule or find the perfect diet. But from one healthy person to the next, if you exercise, and eat in moderation, the world will still go round, and you will still be healthier than most of American’s are today.

Fuel

The two most important things besides training is what you put into your body. Although I am the first to admit that I enjoy my weekends & am not strict on dieting Friday through Sunday, I know that I need to keep my body as fueled up as possible around race time.

Here are my top 5 rules for fueling your body

First rule – Don’t starve yourself, it will only hurt you in the long run (pun intended)

Second rule – The entire day before, drink at least eight 8oz glasses of water

Third rule – Carbs really are your friend. The night before, I like to eat a light pasta dish with fresh veggies and some sea food.

Fourth rule – On the morning of the race, eat Oatmeal. This has been the best meal before any race I have done. It is mild enough and doesn’t slosh around in your stomach.

Fifth rule -You don’t only fuel your body with food, but your brain needs inspirational fuel. During the race, smile. It helps, I swear.