Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
What I eat. What I do. How I roll.
Yesterday I got an email from a friend asking me what I eat, what I'm avoiding, and what I do for exercise (like when, where, etc). I haven't had much time to blog lately, and thought it would be the perfect time to update my blog since I'd be writing the same stuff in an email anyway.
In our daily diet, we follow what is termed the Paleo-Zone diet the best we can. CrossFit Journal 21 recommends "eat meat and vegetable, nuts and seeds, some fruit, and no sugar." This is essentially the Paleo philosophy. The Zone aspect comes into play by making sure every meal and snack you eat is a balance of protein, carbs, and fat.
While our diet is not close to being clean enough, we have come a long way from where we were last year.
Yes I will tell on myself and say I brought home cookies from a girls night out party and ate 6 of them yesterday before I threw the rest of the box away.
We have cut out most grains and starches. I no longer buy bread or make bread (ok, so sometimes I do bake bread). I avoid cooking with pasta, potatoes, ramen (I'm not even sure that's a real food), and rice. We have also cut way back on the amount of milk we drink as a family. We do not keep soda in the house, and very rarely do we have fruit juice on hand.
However, our fridge is consistently well stocked with fruit such as oranges, apples, pears, grapes, etc. I like to keep strawberries and blueberries in the freezer. Our girls go through fruit quickly, it's their preferred snack. If there is candy in the house they'll eat it, but if it's not here they don't ask for it but just reach in the fridge for some fruit. We probably eat more fruit than recommended, but it's better than candy or potato chips.
Meat/ Animal protein is essential for growing kids and for helping one's body recover/rebuild after a hard workout. We eat a lot of chicken, turkey, fish, cheese, and eggs. Beef occasionally depending on the cut and how good of a sale it is. Very rarely we eat deer when we're blessed with some from a friend.
I like to grill, bake, broil, or steam. I avoid breaded chicken or frying my meats when I can.
Yes you can get some protein from beans and soy. But beans are more carbs than protein, and beans give us horrible gas so it's not worth it for me. From the reading and research I've done, the human body assimilates animal protein better than plant protein, and a plant's amino acids are not the best for rebuilding muscle.
Eggs are cheap protein, and easy to fix for a quick meal or snack. You can poach them or fry them in small amounts of canola oil for breakfast, or lunch sandwich on some tortillas. Or you can hard boil them for a take along snack.
I do not eat pork. I avoid it if at all possible. It's just a personal preference of mine, and Jerimiah will eat it any day of the week. To me, there's a reason swine were forbidden to be eaten under the Old Testament Law. Swine are natural garbage disposals, and will eat anything including manure or other dead animals. They are great for rooting around, and turning the soil if they are temporarily penned in an area you plan to make a garden, but I don't consider them good for food. Plus the way most of the pork on today's market is raised/produced is not healthy for the animal or for me.
I also avoid Catfish for the same reason.
Cows thrive when fed fresh green grass. Poultry thrive when given free range to eat bugs, worms, and vegetation. (Have you ever had a garden and let chickens free range through it? In my childhood experience, they like tender peas and beans. We had ducks a few years back and they constantly ate my tomatoes!)
Vegetables, I buy as fresh as I can get them. Kale, spinach, Romaine, tomatoes, cauliflower, etc. Veggies I usually buy frozen are peas, mixed veggies, corn, etc. I love farmers markets and farm stands. There is a "You Pick" farm down the road that I'm going to try for next year for most of my veggies. I tried several years to have a garden of my own, but we have numerous stray cats in the neighborhood and I got sick of cleaning cat mess out of my soil. If you can grow your own, do it! If not buy it as fresh as you can get.
We eat a lot of oatmeal for breakfast, and I'll occasionally make pancakes with cornmeal and whole wheat or rye flour.
I don't like to cook with pasta. But spaghetti squash is a great substitute for spaghetti nights.
What about no sugar or sweeteners? I have cut out almost every sweetener from my personal diet. I do use raw, local honey in my coffee and on the kids oatmeal. But no processed sugar, no sucanat, no turbinado sugar, no molasses, no stevia, no splenda, no aspertame, etc. Splenda and Stevia may say on the box the have no sugar or no carbs. But research has shown that just tasting something sweet causes your body to respond by increasing insulin in your bloodstream. Frequent insulin spikes wreck havoc, and the crashes cause cravings for more, resulting in a really bad roller coaster ride mentally and physiologically.
We eat fats such as olive oil, canola oil, almonds, cashews, and avocados. If I can I like to avoid fast foods, fried foods, lard, shortening, and most oils.
Well, kiddoes, I'm out of time. My youngest is stirring in her bed so I need to grab a quick shower. I hope to answer the rest of this question tomorrow!
Be Blessed
In our daily diet, we follow what is termed the Paleo-Zone diet the best we can. CrossFit Journal 21 recommends "eat meat and vegetable, nuts and seeds, some fruit, and no sugar." This is essentially the Paleo philosophy. The Zone aspect comes into play by making sure every meal and snack you eat is a balance of protein, carbs, and fat.
While our diet is not close to being clean enough, we have come a long way from where we were last year.
Yes I will tell on myself and say I brought home cookies from a girls night out party and ate 6 of them yesterday before I threw the rest of the box away.
We have cut out most grains and starches. I no longer buy bread or make bread (ok, so sometimes I do bake bread). I avoid cooking with pasta, potatoes, ramen (I'm not even sure that's a real food), and rice. We have also cut way back on the amount of milk we drink as a family. We do not keep soda in the house, and very rarely do we have fruit juice on hand.
However, our fridge is consistently well stocked with fruit such as oranges, apples, pears, grapes, etc. I like to keep strawberries and blueberries in the freezer. Our girls go through fruit quickly, it's their preferred snack. If there is candy in the house they'll eat it, but if it's not here they don't ask for it but just reach in the fridge for some fruit. We probably eat more fruit than recommended, but it's better than candy or potato chips.
Meat/ Animal protein is essential for growing kids and for helping one's body recover/rebuild after a hard workout. We eat a lot of chicken, turkey, fish, cheese, and eggs. Beef occasionally depending on the cut and how good of a sale it is. Very rarely we eat deer when we're blessed with some from a friend.
I like to grill, bake, broil, or steam. I avoid breaded chicken or frying my meats when I can.
Yes you can get some protein from beans and soy. But beans are more carbs than protein, and beans give us horrible gas so it's not worth it for me. From the reading and research I've done, the human body assimilates animal protein better than plant protein, and a plant's amino acids are not the best for rebuilding muscle.
Eggs are cheap protein, and easy to fix for a quick meal or snack. You can poach them or fry them in small amounts of canola oil for breakfast, or lunch sandwich on some tortillas. Or you can hard boil them for a take along snack.
I do not eat pork. I avoid it if at all possible. It's just a personal preference of mine, and Jerimiah will eat it any day of the week. To me, there's a reason swine were forbidden to be eaten under the Old Testament Law. Swine are natural garbage disposals, and will eat anything including manure or other dead animals. They are great for rooting around, and turning the soil if they are temporarily penned in an area you plan to make a garden, but I don't consider them good for food. Plus the way most of the pork on today's market is raised/produced is not healthy for the animal or for me.
I also avoid Catfish for the same reason.
Cows thrive when fed fresh green grass. Poultry thrive when given free range to eat bugs, worms, and vegetation. (Have you ever had a garden and let chickens free range through it? In my childhood experience, they like tender peas and beans. We had ducks a few years back and they constantly ate my tomatoes!)
Vegetables, I buy as fresh as I can get them. Kale, spinach, Romaine, tomatoes, cauliflower, etc. Veggies I usually buy frozen are peas, mixed veggies, corn, etc. I love farmers markets and farm stands. There is a "You Pick" farm down the road that I'm going to try for next year for most of my veggies. I tried several years to have a garden of my own, but we have numerous stray cats in the neighborhood and I got sick of cleaning cat mess out of my soil. If you can grow your own, do it! If not buy it as fresh as you can get.
We eat a lot of oatmeal for breakfast, and I'll occasionally make pancakes with cornmeal and whole wheat or rye flour.
I don't like to cook with pasta. But spaghetti squash is a great substitute for spaghetti nights.
What about no sugar or sweeteners? I have cut out almost every sweetener from my personal diet. I do use raw, local honey in my coffee and on the kids oatmeal. But no processed sugar, no sucanat, no turbinado sugar, no molasses, no stevia, no splenda, no aspertame, etc. Splenda and Stevia may say on the box the have no sugar or no carbs. But research has shown that just tasting something sweet causes your body to respond by increasing insulin in your bloodstream. Frequent insulin spikes wreck havoc, and the crashes cause cravings for more, resulting in a really bad roller coaster ride mentally and physiologically.
We eat fats such as olive oil, canola oil, almonds, cashews, and avocados. If I can I like to avoid fast foods, fried foods, lard, shortening, and most oils.
Well, kiddoes, I'm out of time. My youngest is stirring in her bed so I need to grab a quick shower. I hope to answer the rest of this question tomorrow!
Be Blessed
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Eating This - Crock Pot Chicken
1 5-6 lb roasting chicken
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled and whole
1 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
3/4 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 pound large mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 medium onion, sliced into 1/4 wedges
1/2 - 1 pound carrots, washed, peeled, and cut into long slices
Wash chicken, rinse inside of cavity thoroughly and discard gizzards and neck. Remove skin of whole chicken if desired. Tuck wings under the back to secure, and place in a crock pot. Put whole garlic cloves in cavity of chicken. Sprinkle salt, lemon pepper, thyme, and rosemary evenly over chicken breast. Arrange mushroom slices on top of chicken. Arrange onion wedges and carrots around chicken.
Cover and cook on low all day long, or on hight 4 hours or until chicken temps at 160F.
Serve with steamed brocolli and a large mixed salad.
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled and whole
1 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
3/4 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 pound large mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 medium onion, sliced into 1/4 wedges
1/2 - 1 pound carrots, washed, peeled, and cut into long slices
Wash chicken, rinse inside of cavity thoroughly and discard gizzards and neck. Remove skin of whole chicken if desired. Tuck wings under the back to secure, and place in a crock pot. Put whole garlic cloves in cavity of chicken. Sprinkle salt, lemon pepper, thyme, and rosemary evenly over chicken breast. Arrange mushroom slices on top of chicken. Arrange onion wedges and carrots around chicken.
Cover and cook on low all day long, or on hight 4 hours or until chicken temps at 160F.
Serve with steamed brocolli and a large mixed salad.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
10/14/2009
Warm Up
400 M run
10 Each:
Trunk Rotation
Leg Swings Front and Back each Leg
Side Leg Swings each leg
Inch Worms
Arm circles
Arm criss-cross
Heel to toes
WOD
2 Rounds
21 Situps
21 Kettlebell Swings - 25 lb KB
42 Step Lunges (21 each leg)
21 Back Extentions
Cool Down
Upward Dog
Lunge Stretch
Contrast Shower
I still had some heel pain, so I broke up my run with walking, but I was able to make almost all of the distance at a jog.
400 M run
10 Each:
Trunk Rotation
Leg Swings Front and Back each Leg
Side Leg Swings each leg
Inch Worms
Arm circles
Arm criss-cross
Heel to toes
WOD
2 Rounds
21 Situps
21 Kettlebell Swings - 25 lb KB
42 Step Lunges (21 each leg)
21 Back Extentions
Cool Down
Upward Dog
Lunge Stretch
Contrast Shower
I still had some heel pain, so I broke up my run with walking, but I was able to make almost all of the distance at a jog.
Eating This - Spinach Mushroom Scramble
Spinach Mushroom Scramble
1 Tablespoon canola or olive oil
1/4 onion diced
8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
4-6 Medium/Large mushrooms, washed and sliced
2-3 cups baby spinach leaves
1 small to medium avocado
Warm oil in large pan over med low - med heat. Add diced onion, and saute a bit.
in a bowl whisk eggs and milk together. Pour into pan with onions. Immediately top with sliced mushrooms and spinach. Stir frequently, to turn mixture, till egg is cooked completely. Portion evenly onto 4 medium plates.
Skin and quarter advocado. Slice quarters and arrange on plates beside eggs. Serve with a 1/2 cup bowl of cinnamon oatmeal sweetened with a touch of honey or stevia.
This does have a bit more fat because of the added avocados. But its a fat that is good for you and your brain. I give it to my kids often because they are growing and need it. But you can omit it if you choose to.
1 Tablespoon canola or olive oil
1/4 onion diced
8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
4-6 Medium/Large mushrooms, washed and sliced
2-3 cups baby spinach leaves
1 small to medium avocado
Warm oil in large pan over med low - med heat. Add diced onion, and saute a bit.
in a bowl whisk eggs and milk together. Pour into pan with onions. Immediately top with sliced mushrooms and spinach. Stir frequently, to turn mixture, till egg is cooked completely. Portion evenly onto 4 medium plates.
Skin and quarter advocado. Slice quarters and arrange on plates beside eggs. Serve with a 1/2 cup bowl of cinnamon oatmeal sweetened with a touch of honey or stevia.
This does have a bit more fat because of the added avocados. But its a fat that is good for you and your brain. I give it to my kids often because they are growing and need it. But you can omit it if you choose to.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Eating This - Sandwich wraps
One thing that can really throw your diet off is not keeping things simple. It's really easy to let yourself (myself, I'm the pot calling the kettle black here) look at what's on the "what you can eat" list and get so overwhelmed until trying to pick something to eat is stressful!. When you start stressing about what to eat, you're really shooting yourself in the foot. The food you eat needs to be healthy and nutritional because it is your fuel, not only for your workouts but for your daily life. But you can over think about what you're going to eat, letting food dominate your thinking instead of focusing on more important things. Also, thinking about food so much makes it harder to keep eating under control!
Here's a simple lunch or snack that is yummy. It does not take much thought, and is easy to make. Prepare several ahead of time to keep in the fridge to grab through out the week.
Sandwich wraps
1 low carb tortilla OR one large Romaine lettuce leaf, washed and patted dry
1-2 oz Muenster cheese, sliced thin
2 oz thin sliced black peppered ham or leftover turkey breast/chicken
1-2 cups mixed prepared Romaine lettuce and baby Spinach leaves
1 Tablespoon Honey Mustard
1 Tablespoon mashed advocado
On the tortilla or the lettuce leaf, layer the cheese, ham or other meat, and mixed lettuce to fill. Top with mustard. Start to fold and roll tortilla/lettuce leaf. Spread the mashed advocado near where the seams will meet up to help seal the wrap, and finish rolling up the wrap.
Eat with a piece of fruit or some berries.
Enjoy
Here's a simple lunch or snack that is yummy. It does not take much thought, and is easy to make. Prepare several ahead of time to keep in the fridge to grab through out the week.
Sandwich wraps
1 low carb tortilla OR one large Romaine lettuce leaf, washed and patted dry
1-2 oz Muenster cheese, sliced thin
2 oz thin sliced black peppered ham or leftover turkey breast/chicken
1-2 cups mixed prepared Romaine lettuce and baby Spinach leaves
1 Tablespoon Honey Mustard
1 Tablespoon mashed advocado
On the tortilla or the lettuce leaf, layer the cheese, ham or other meat, and mixed lettuce to fill. Top with mustard. Start to fold and roll tortilla/lettuce leaf. Spread the mashed advocado near where the seams will meet up to help seal the wrap, and finish rolling up the wrap.
Eat with a piece of fruit or some berries.
Enjoy
Monday, October 12, 2009
Eating this - Berries and Chocolate
I wanted to share this simple snack with you all out there!
I have been pretty good with my diet/eating habits lately, but there are times I just HAVE TO HAVE CHOCOLATE! Chocolate isn't necessarily bad for you, only when it's eaten out of moderation is it bad. And having no self discipline to eat it in moderation is my problem. I can keep a stash hidden for those emergency times, but if I let myself go so long that I'm craving it like there is no tomorrow, I will eat the whole stash.
So I've come up with a simple snack that lets me have my chocolate every other day or so. Now I don't get such strong cravings for chocolate.
1/2 cup blueberries or 1 cup strawberries,
2 oz favorite cheese
1 TBSPN organic dark chocolate chips
1-2 cashews (for the saltiness) or 1-2 Raw Almonds
Put berries in a sandwich baggie. Portion the cheese into a snack baggie. Portion the chocolate chips and nuts into another snack baggie. Put the snack baggies in the sandwich bag with the berries.
This makes a quick snack that is balanced in protien, carbs, and fat. Portion a bunch ahead of time to stick in the freezer for an easy grab and go snack on the days you are out and about.
Enjoy
I have been pretty good with my diet/eating habits lately, but there are times I just HAVE TO HAVE CHOCOLATE! Chocolate isn't necessarily bad for you, only when it's eaten out of moderation is it bad. And having no self discipline to eat it in moderation is my problem. I can keep a stash hidden for those emergency times, but if I let myself go so long that I'm craving it like there is no tomorrow, I will eat the whole stash.
So I've come up with a simple snack that lets me have my chocolate every other day or so. Now I don't get such strong cravings for chocolate.
1/2 cup blueberries or 1 cup strawberries,
2 oz favorite cheese
1 TBSPN organic dark chocolate chips
1-2 cashews (for the saltiness) or 1-2 Raw Almonds
Put berries in a sandwich baggie. Portion the cheese into a snack baggie. Portion the chocolate chips and nuts into another snack baggie. Put the snack baggies in the sandwich bag with the berries.
This makes a quick snack that is balanced in protien, carbs, and fat. Portion a bunch ahead of time to stick in the freezer for an easy grab and go snack on the days you are out and about.
Enjoy
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