CrossFit S3

The Paleo Flu is spreading through the gym!

As I walked into open gym tonight I could feel everyone’s eyes shoot bullets at me, like I had a target on my head.  There were a whole bunch of pissed off people working out tonight.

I heard a lot of stories and took a lot of questions on how people were feeling and some of the mental and physical changes that people were experiencing.  Some of them were pretty funny.  The basic question for most was quiet simple, “Is this normal?”.

 Yes, this is normal. 

When I am trying to introduce people to a Paleo diet, I try not to mention that you will feel like SH@# for the first few weeks.  So, I am telling you now.

 You have the Paleo Flu.

Symptoms include but are not limited to:

• Fatigue
• Sugar Cravings
• Decrease in Performance
• Nausea
• Irritability
• Muscle Soreness  
• Brain Fog
• Constipation or Lack there of
• Sluggishness
• Headaches

I know you feel like crap now but you will soon experience a sense of well being you have never felt before.  You will wake up ready to go and your performance at the gym will increase every time you step foot into it.

There is a lot of bio chemistry going on in your body right now.  Your body is so used to using the ready available glucose from the abundance of carbs you have been eating and using them for energy.  Without those carbs your body now has to convert fat and protein into glucose to use for energy, which is a bit of a process.  Until your body can do this efficiently and it becomes the norm for producing energy, you will have these symptoms.

You may feel this way for two to three weeks or you may not feel this at all (consider yourself the luckiest person at the gym).  Just trust me and rest assured that what your body is feeling is normal and you will not feel like this for the rest of the challenge. 

A lot of people are still nervous about eating fat.  The funny thing is, that is exactly what your body needs.  Increasing your “good” fat intake right now might just make you feel better. Try it!

Stick with it.  Imagine yourself scaling a very steep cliff.  You are pushing yourself to make it to the top.  You may be out of breath, tired and in pain but at the top of the cliff is the most beautiful scenery you have ever seen.  Don’t miss out on the sight, keep pushing and get to the top.  I will be right behind you helping you every step of the way.  

I hope to see all your smiling faces at the gym in the morning.

Here is a peek at what we had for dinner tonight.  We ate a steak with this delicious salad.

Sumi Salad

1 small Napa Cabbage  (or ½ large)

8 scallions – chopped

8 oz. slivered almonds

4 tablespoons sesame seeds

2/3 cups toasted sesame oil

2 to 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

Sea salt and garlic powder to taste

 Shred the Napa Cabbage very thin and place in a salad bowl with the chopped scallions.  Toast the slivered almonds and sesame seeds in a pan on the stove with about 1/3 cup of the toasted sesame oil.  After the almonds and sesame seeds are toasted put mix in with the cabbage and scallions.  Dress the salad with the rest of the toasted sesame oil and apple cider vinegar.  Toss the salad and serve.  Very tasty!

TIME FOR A CHANGE

Change Your Habits and Change Your Life – 2012 Nutrition Challenge

This challenge is guaranteed to provide results.  It was developed to guide you to new habits that will change your life.  This is an individual challenge because it is up to you to make the change in your lifestyle.  It is up to you to challenge yourself to make these changes.  We have offered a grand first prize because we know this will be difficult, but we know it can be done and when it is done right you will get results.

Nutrition:  You will receive 1 point for each day you eat within the parameters of the approved foods list.  You will lose 1 point for EACH cheat meal, do not eat cheat meals.  The first 28 days is strict without a cheat window.  The last 28 days you may have 1 – 4hour cheat window per week.

2012 Nutrition Challenge approved foods list.

Workouts:  You will receive 1 point for each workout during the week.  You must complete at least three workouts in the box to receive these points.  You can earn a maximum of 5 points during the week for your workouts.  The other two workouts can be done outside the box for example a run or yoga class will count as a workout.

Rest and Recovery:  You will receive 2 points for taking a rest day during the week.  We think rest days are that important they deserve 2 points.    

Journal:  You must keep track of all your meals, workouts and rest days in the journals provided.  A journal must be turned in no later than Tuesday of the following week at 8pm.  You will lose a point off of your grand total at the end of the challenge for late journals.

Challenge_Log2012

Points Summary:  You can earn a maximum of 14 points per week.

• 7 points for nutrition
• 5 points for workouts
• 2 points for a rest day

Before and After Pictures:  You must take a before picture (men without shirts and women with sports bra) on the first day of the challenge and an after picture on the last day of the challenge.  You can submit both pictures along with a testimonial at the end of the challenge.  You must turn these three things in to win.  We will use these pictures and testimonial to choose the winner in case of a tie.

Entry Fee:  You must turn in your $25 entry fee by the first week of the challenge. 

Travel, parties, friends and family, it’s the most wonderful time of the year!!!

Nutrition seems to be the last thing on all our minds when it comes to the holiday season.  We are so close, just two weeks to the end of this crazy time.  I have read so many blogs lately about how to handle the holiday season, “10 steps to staying on track during the holidays” or “Keep your eyes on the prize, stay healthy for the holidays”.

 First let me say, ten steps are way too many for me to take right now.  Don’t get me wrong, I will keep my eye on the prize, but I will let up on the reins a bit.  There are only two things to think about here, exercise and eating.  It is that simple and  I have made a simple pact with myself.

• Exercise – I will keep my training up by making it to the gym during the next two weeks.  If I can’t make it to the gym, I will do a travel workout or something I can do at home.  I did the deck of cards workout the other day with my kids and they really kept me going (great set of little trainers on my hands).  Just because my nutrition is not on point right now, does not mean I will wait until January to pick everything back up.

•  Eating – I do eat a Paleo/Primal lifestyle and on occasion I may stray a bit.  It really has become a way of life for me.  I also know that salty, sweet or cheesy things taste delicious!  There is a reason why people can’t say no.  I find the more I do deny myself the taste of  these ”treats” on certain occasions, the more I will over eat them and become a whole different person (almost wild animal like, maybe out for the kill).  I plan on…having a plan.  Easy enough, right?  When I have parties to go to, or I am going to someones house for dinner and there will be less than Paleo food there, I plan on allowing myself a bit of indulgence.  I will not go “wild animal” like but allow myself the taste and also the repercussions from that food choice.    

 Just MAINTAIN, that is all I really need to do right now.

Because why, you ask????

 A nutrition challenge is right around the corner for me to make huge gains, that is why.

 Yes, I said it!  We are going to have a nutrition challenge starting January 2, 2012.

 Challenge: 1. a demanding or stimulating situation / 2. a call to engage in a contest

You have two weeks to MAINTAIN your exercise and eating habits and then you can take part in a nutrition challenge that will change your life.  Here is a short break down of the rules.

Change Your Habits and Change Your Life

56 days to a New Life

CroS3fit 2012 Nutrition Challenge

January 2, 2012 through February 26, 2012

Nutrition

• Clean Start – first 28 days strict Paleo – no questions
• You will eat REAL FOOD
• You will not eat SUGAR, GRAINS, LEGUMES, DAIRY,  PROCESSED FOOD or ALCOHOL
• Half Way – last 28 days you may have 1 – 4hour cheat window a week.
• A detailed list of rules will be available on next week’s blog.  This will contain an approved foods list.

Exercise/Rest

• You must workout at CrosS3fit at least 3 times per week
• You must take a least 1 rest day per week
• A point scale will be in the list of rules on next week’s blog.

Journaling

• You must journal all food, exercise and rest.
• You must turn that journal in every Monday.
• A journal will be provided in the list of rules on next week’s blog.

 Before and After Pictures/Success Story

• You must take before pictures.
• You must take after pictures.
• You must complete a success story and turn all three in at the end of the challenge.
• This will determine the winner in the case of a tie.

Rules

• $25 buy in fee
• Completion of set nutrition, exercise and rest goals.
• Completion of before and after pictures along with a written success story.
• Winner takes all!
• Grand Prize – A free membership for the remainder of 2012.

Join Today

 Change your Life!

So we all thought I was “back”, even I did. 

It took a lot for me to write my last post, it was tough stuff to write. I wrote what I truly believe contrary to mainstream beliefs and made some people mad. 

I also recieved tons of support.   So I will give it another go, because I can not believe what is going on in our food industry and how little people know.  I want to talk about it.    I know most of you who read this blog (disclaimer: my personal views and opinions written in an online journal) believe and promote my nutritional views as well.

It is funny for me to think of myself in some sort of cult or crazy conspiracy group for my nutritional views.  If eating REAL FOOD, that makes me feel and look better, puts me in one then I am happy to be there with all of you crazies.  This notion that putting emphasis on the quality of food is some sort of fad diet is also absurd to me.  Maybe I am crazy!

I want to eat real food and I want to know what I am eating!    

There has been some bad press on the Paleo/Primal Diet lately and it has been grouped in the subcategory of FAD DIETS.  Misconceptions on this lifestyle (the lifestyle I choose to live) has been hard to watch and read about.  Even Robb Wolf himself has been pushed to the edge http://robbwolf.com/2011/09/14/framework-matters/ (read his take on some of these said articles and appearances).

I have not been on a fad diet for two years.  I did not lose 60 (+or-) lbs. on a fad diet.  I have changed the way I feel, look and everything I know about nutrition.  My eyes have been opened and they are staying open.  Check out http://justlabelit.org/ this is a great website that could open your eyes to what is really in the food we eat and why it should be labeled.

                                                                        OK! Let’s get back to business.

 We all know I am crazy and want you to eat real food with me (so I don’t feel so alone) I am going to push it on you some more.  I get a lot of questions about pre and post workout meals, so I am going to tell you what I do.  I will stress once again I like real food and that is what I eat to prepare my body for a workout and repair my body after a workout.

A pre workout meal consists of a protein and a fat.  Just to get a hormonal response.  I do not want to eat carbs before a workout because I want to use what I have stored in my muscles and liver.  Once these stores are depleted, guess what happens!  I use fat from my fat stores for energy, I now have become a fat burning machine.

A pre workout meal could look like a hardboiled egg and some macadamia nuts or some grilled chicken (snack size) and avocado.  A hardboiled egg is my preferred protein choice and either avocado or a small amount of nuts are my preferred fat choice.  I also eat a whole hour and a half before my workout, some people can eat up to fifteen minutes before a workout but I am not one of them.  As long as I am within a 75 minute window before a workout I will receive the hormone response I am looking for.

A Post-workout meal consists of carbs and protein.  I have used all my stored carbs during my workout and need to replenish these.  I also need to start repairing my muscle tissue so protein is great at this point.  I have this meal within fifteen to thirty minutes post workout and it contains little to no fat because I do not want to slow done the uptake of the glucose from the carbs I have eaten.   Eating within this window also allows me to curb any major cravings at my next meal as well.

A post workout meal could look like grilled chicken or cooked protein from dinner the night before and a higher glycemic carb such as a sweet potato, squash or sometimes carrots.  The recipe below is one of my favorite post workout meals.  Very easy to make and eat…protein and carbs in one nice package or pie in this case. 

What do you do after a workout?  Do you choose real food?  I would love to hear some of your meals and ideas.

                                                                                 Paleo Shepard’s Pie

Filling

1 lb. grass fed beef

1 carrot

1 small onion

1 stalk celery

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

3 cloves minced garlic

1tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Mash

2 acorn squash

Drizzle of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the beef is a pan and set aside.  Lightly sauté the filling vegetables in a pan and then mix with the browned meat.  Mix the remaining filling ingredients with the meat mixture.  Place mixture in a casserole dish.  To make the mash, cook the acorn squash by cutting them in half and placing them cut half down in a covered dish with ¼ cup water at the bottom.  Place in the microwave for 8 to 10 minutes.  Scrape out the acorn squash form the shell and mash.  Mix in olive oil and salt and pepper.  Spread mash on top of meat mixture and bake for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Yes, I am still here!!!

Yes, I’ve been away for a while.  Yes, a lot of things have been going on in my life.  Yes, I am still totally fascinated with nutrition and the food we choose to eat. 

With the changes in my life, I now more than ever, want to search out the best quality of food and life for my family and for you, my friends.

I have been doing a lot of thinking while I have been away, thinking about nutrition and life itself.  I joined CrossFit S3 two years ago and never thought that I would be standing where I am today.  I joined to lose the “baby weight”, which is what I called it then (wink wink), utterly obsessed with how I looked and how I gained so much weight. Today I look back and see that when I joined I literally changed the direction my life was going.  The weight I had gained was from a life that was headed for sickness and disease.  I am healthy now and on a path that is energizing, fulfilling and lots of fun, not just for me but for my family as well.  I wished somebody a Happy Rebirthday for their 1 year anniversary for joining the CrossFit community, and that is really what it is, a Rebirth into a new life.

It has become a normal part of life in America that when you hit a certain age you will be on blood pressure medication, cholesterol medication and diagnosed with type II diabetes, still people continue their lifestyle thinking medication will cure them.  These medications mask the disease still growing in their bodies and sometimes causing other complications.  The truly sad thing is most people believe it is a sign of aging, but in fact, these diseases are the result of the Standard American Diet (SAD).  A SAD diet is rich in processed foods that take a toll on the body.  The truth to the matter is that if you are an average American you are highly diseased.  I want people to know that it is not normal to be on medication, but it is standard in our society.  You have a choice not to have a heart attack, stroke, diabetes and cancer.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” Hippocrates, 460 B.C.

It is normal to use food as your medicine.  It is normal to heal yourself with the food choices you make.  It is normal to feel healthy and strong when you choose real food.  When you make the decision to be healthy and strong you must educate yourself with information on nutrition and the quality of food you eat. 

My goal is to weed through all the information for you.  Give you advice and share my experiences with diet and nutrition.  We all can become healthy, stronger and disease free individuals. 

One of the perks to fighting disease with your nutrition is you end up looking really good too!  You naturally have a glow to your skin, you have a fit lean body and you have energy to enjoy life.  Disease free and a hottie, what is stopping you!

Tom Ka Gai

(Thai Coconut Chicken Soup)

¾ pound boneless, skinless chicken meat (organic free range)

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 can coconut milk

2 cups chicken broth (organic or homemade)

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root

2 fresh limes (squeezed for their juice)

4 thinly sliced green onions

1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro

2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms

Cut chicken into strips and sauté in sesame oil until meat turns white.  In a large pot bring coconut milk and chicken broth to a boil and reduce heat.  Add ginger, lime juice, mushrooms and chicken.  Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.  Add green onions and cilantro the last five minutes.  Enjoy!

“No” Peanut Thai Sauce

½ cup Sunbutter (sunflower seed butter)

½ cup coconut milk

1 fresh lime (squeezed for the juice)

½ cup pureed apple

1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger root

3 gloves fresh minced garlic

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree.  Keep in refrigerator.  

Its summertime and we have started wearing less clothing, we have put on our bathing suits and uuuggh!  So, we are not exactly where we wanted to be.  We had grand plans of showing off our six packs at the pool only to show up with a two pack. (pony size no less)

This is not the time to get discouraged and fall back into our old routine of fad dieting. These diets will just put a cramp in your lifestyle and not reach the heart of your health and how you live. 

Remember dieting doesn’t work!  I know you are tired of hearing the same line over and over, but it is the truth, plain and simple.  For years we have been following conventional wisdom of calories in / calories out and it just does not work.  We also have fallen prey to the food guide pyramid and the never ending promises of all food marketers.   We need to concentrate on the quality of food we are eating and the effects on our body.

“The number of obese Americans has nearly tripled in 30 years…..while the amount of fat we’re eating has actually decreased.  It’s our carb consumption that’s on the rise “ Men’s Health

Our old “dieting” beliefs don’t work.  The ones that tell us to cut down on calories, eat less fat and do long bouts of exercise.  It is funny, these beliefs are so set in our minds that they become our first thought as we look in the mirror and we don’t like what we see.  We don’t even take in to consideration our energy levels, our health or our quality of life. 

I want to share an eye opening scenario with you.  I recently watched a talk Gary Taubes (Author of “Why We Get Fat”) gave at Google and he used this scenario to bring light to the way the government is telling people how to lose weight when in fact it is doing the opposite.  

I have just invited you to a dinner party at my house.  I tell you that I am having the winner of “Top Chef” cater it.  There will be amazing food and drinks there and you do not want to miss this. A feast of all feasts and you need to COME HUNGRY! 

Now, it is the day of my big party.  How are you going to prepare yourself to COME HUNGRY?

I am going to give you a few minutes to think about this, so you will have an “Aha, moment”.

               a-ha! mo-ment : Eureka is an exclamation used as an interjection to celebrate a discovery.  It comes from Ancient Greek meaning “I have found it”.

Think about my question just a little before you read on.  Again, how are you going to prepare yourself to come hungry?

THE ANSWER PLEASE

Before you came to my party you most likely:  Ate less throughout the day, maybe you said skipped some meals or ate smaller portions, but any way you look at it you:

 ATE LESS CALORIES

You also may have thought I will workout harder, the term work-up an appetite may have popped in to your head.  You may have thought about doing one more workout, doubling up on your workout for the day, but any way you look at it you:

INCREASED YOUR EXERCISE

Exactly, even to the tee, how the government or conventional wisdom is telling you how you should lose weight “eat fewer calories and exercise more”, is exactly how you would prepare your body to be hungry and eat a gluttonous meal.  Aha!

This just does not work, so do not even try it.  Pay attention to the quality of the food you are eating.  Choose whole real food to supply your body with the fuel it needs.  Don’t skip meals and remember to replenish your fuel after a workout with a post workout meal.   You get it now!!!

This week’s recipe is ahhh –maze- ing, as one of my four year olds put it, yes I have two four year olds!!!  This recipe came from the CrossFit Journal and a series they are posting with a chef who is a CrossFitter himself.  Lots of good stuff!

Meatza

1 lb. grass fed ground beef (or any ground meat you like)

2 sweet Italian sausages (I used turkey sausage from EarthFare)

½ cup chopped mushrooms

½ cup chopped onions

1 egg

1 tbs. Minced garlic

Italian seasoning to taste (I used Mrs. Dash Italian)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, use your hands to get a good mix.  Place the mixture on a cookie sheet and press out to form a crust.  Place the cookie sheet in a 375 degree preheated oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until meat starts to brown and is cooked.

Here is the fun part, what do you like on your Meatza?  I would love to hear back or see pictures, let us know how yours turned out. 

I used:

Tomato sauce (my own made with fresh tomatoes fresh garlic or you can use organic from a jar)

Sweet Red Peppers

Black Olives

Stem or sauté veggies in a pan and drain out juice.  Spread tomato sauce on the meat crust and cover with veggies.  Place back in oven for 10 mins.

I also used (pictures above):

Pesto Sauce (recipe posted on this blog)

Tomatoes (I used fresh from the Farmers Market tomatoes, so sweet)

Both of these turned out great.  A new family favorite for sure!

The retirement of the food guide pyramid happened a few weeks ago.  I was glad to see the grain heavy, confusing and ill-advised symbol go.  Is its replacement much better?  I think it could be one step closer, but light years away from what our nation should be eating.  The new symbol is a plate “My Plate”, which is sectioned off to represent the different food groups and their respective portion sizes.  The grains section still makes up a good portion of the plate, slightly less than the pyramid but still a big amount.  The guidelines are pretty much the same, yes the ones that have made us obese and diseased.

The confusion is still there.  The grain industry is finding cheaper ways to produce more grains with methods not allowed by any other country.  We are getting foods that are making us sick and told by the government these foods should make up a good portion of our diet. Yes, I am going on a rant!  I just don’t see how this is possible.  Click here for Robyn O\’Brein\’s story, it is so amazing to me and it makes me mad that this is happening.  It is a long video but full of information we all need to know. 

 So, let’s spread the word.  Take out all the processed foods from your diet.  Look in your pantry and in your fridge and if you find anything with more than five ingredients in it, toss it.  If you can’t pronounce something, toss it.  If it has soy in it, toss it (next rant, just so you have something to look forward to).  Visit your local farmers market, they aren’t scary you can find really good things there.  Tell your friends how good you feel after you have cleaned up your diet, they will also notice how good you look.  I feel like we all can start a chain and the word will get out.  We all can look, feel and perform better.

When we clean up our diet it doesn’t have to be boring we can find foods that we love that our natural and fresh.  I have enjoyed the farmers markets lately and local growers that are selling there fresh fruits and vegetables.  Here is a wonderful dessert recipe that I made with strawberries from my next door neighbor, I sliced and froze them.  She gave me such a large basket full of her delicious strawberries we couldn’t eat them fast enough.  You can definitely taste the difference between store bought and home grown/farmer’s market fruit.   This recipe is a little twist on Strawberry Shortcake.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Almond Delight

2 cups Almond Flour (fine flour not meal)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cup coconut milk

3 tablespoons grape seed oil

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon raw honey

1 quart fresh strawberries sliced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Mix together first five (dry) ingredients.  Add coconut milk, oil, honey and vanilla; mix just until combined.  Drop tablespoons of dough on oiled baking sheet.  Bake until golden brown.  These will form into fluffy cookies.  While these are baking, slice your strawberries.  Let strawberries chill and cookies cool.  Use an almond delight cookie for the bottom, top with chilled strawberries and place another almond delight cookie on top and serve.

Avocados have to be one of my favorite foods to eat.  I could eat them at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Avocados are so delicious and are packed with such great nutrition that it has become the new apple….”one a day keeps the doctor away”.

I add avocados to my meals as a healthy FAT.  Even though they are considered a fruit they are not a carbohydrate but provide us with monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat.  In the past the avocado was vilified for being too high in fat, with 85% of its calories coming from it.  The fat found in them is all beneficial and can contribute to a very nutrient dense diet.  The fat found in avocados is quite unusual.  It provides us with several disease fighting and nutrient absorbing fats.

• Phytosterols:  sterols such as beta-sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol are the key components in managing inflammation.
•  Polyhydroxylated Fatty Alcohols (PFAs): Unique lipid molecules that reduce inflammation.  These lipid molecules are found in avocado oil.
•  Oleic Acid: A monounsaturated fat known to lower heart disease.  Oleic Acid helps with the absorption of fat soluble nutrients such as carotenes.

Along with all the “good” fat a serving of avocado provides, it also is very nutrient dense.  It provides you with 20 essential nutrients.  These nutrients include potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins, folic acid and fiber.  Consider adding avocados to your salads, salsa and even on top of your eggs in the morning.  They are full of flavor and endless health benefits.

Here is a recipe for fresh guacamole.  You can use it to dip veggies, spread on chicken breast, top a grass fed burger or use as a filling for hard boiled eggs.  This recipe is so fresh and yummy, a perfect summer addition to any meal!    

Fresh Guacomole

• 2 avocado – peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 chile pepper, seeded and minced (optional, I like a little spice)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 10 cilantro leaves, minced
• fresh lime juice from 1 lime
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mash together.  Enjoy!

More challenge results!  Changing habits and lifestyles with amazing results!

Holly Hill

“It’s all about positive energy.  At S3, I’m lucky to have great coaches and great fellow CrossFitters to support and encourage me along this journey – and have fun!   Finding the right combination of exercise and nutrition is key.  When I started the challenge, people would say it was a huge sacrifice to change my habits.  What I know now is that it was an investment in my future – my future health and my future well-being.  Isn’t that worth it?!  Now, I have the tools I need to help me become a better me!  Thank you, S3!  Let’s keep dancing!”

Real food is the best way to get all the nutrients your body needs.  There is nothing like creating a meal with all real food and displaying it on a plate.  I feel like an artist who has just created a masterpiece.  Real food does not come in boxes and real food does not have to be marketed with flashy colors.  Real food is fresh and clean and naturally colorful.

Real protein is found in meat, chicken, fish, seafood and eggs.  Eggs are the perfect protein, wrapped up in a nice and neat little shell (natures packaging).  Eggs contain all the essential amino acids our body needs (22 to be exact) and the amino acids from eggs are absorbed quickly.  Eggs are said to have the highest biological value, this means every nutrient we receive from an egg is used.  You get the biggest bang for your buck with an egg.

Many people have been misled to believe that eggs are bad for us because of the cholesterol in them.  There are many studies that show that there is no correlation between dietary cholesterol and the cholesterol found in our blood.   I wrote in detail on this topic in “Fat, what’s it good for”.  Besides the cholesterol you get from eggs, they also contain a wealth of vitamins, the most important is B12 that support muscle contraction and the actual breakdown of fat. 

Pasture-raised eggs supply us with the most nutrients.  An animal raised in its natural environment is much healthier and its eggs are much healthier.  A hen that is in a cage, does not walk, does not forage for its food but is given steroids to grow just does not produce healthy nutrient dense eggs.  Most of the eggs we find at our grocery store are mass produced in this way.  You can get true pasture-raised eggs through a farmers market or directly from a local farm itself.  If you are unable to get these eggs choose the best eggs at your local grocery store.

There are many terms out there used on the packaging of eggs.  Free-range, cage free and all natural, these terms do not mean that the animals were raised in a natural environment.  Some of these animals may not have lived in a cage but they were packed in a henhouse without seeing the light of day and not eating their natural diet.  Choosing Organic is the best bet at your local grocery store.  These hens are given an organic diet, free of antibiotics and are given some access to the outdoors.  These eggs are a little more expensive. 

The benefits you receive from eggs go on and on.  They contain so many vitamins and minerals that help us achieve optimal health.  If you have been staying away from eggs, now is the time to add them to your diet.  Strong, lean and healthy muscles need them.

Now, for my masterpiece this week.  I have a delicious summer salad for you and the colors are just beautiful.  Rainbow Kale Slaw, courtesy of Whole Foods with some slight modifications.

Rainbow Kale Slaw

1 bunch Lacinato Kale (aka dinosaur) – stem removed and leaves thinly sliced

4 cups shredded purple cabbage

2 oranges peeled and segmented

1 small red onion thinly sliced

1/3 of each- yellow pepper, red pepper, orange pepper thinly sliced

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

¼ cup fresh squeezed orange juice from one orange

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp ground mustard

2 cloves fresh garlic

Sea salt and pepper to taste

 In your salad bowl combine kale, cabbage, orange segments, onion, pepper and sunflower seeds.  In a smaller bowl whisk together vinegar, orange juice, ground mustard, garlic, sea salt and pepper.  Pour over salad and toss.  Refrigerate for 1 hour and serve.

More great results from the 90 day challenge:

Colleen McDonough

My main motivation for participating in the “90 day Nutrition Challenge “ was the grand prize.  I never thought of the other benefits I would achieve.  I became stronger and leaner.  I am more fit then I have ever been in my life.  I celebrated my 45th  birthday during the challenge, the best present I received was when someone said “you are ripped”.  I never thought I would ever hear that about me!

You can ask a hundred different people what “healthy” eating is and you may end up with a hundred different answers.  Really over the past few decades we have been hearing this food or that food is “healthy” or “not healthy” and our nutritional wisdom is developed into a pyramid that allows us to make “healthy” eating easier, right?. (I am shaking my head no as I write that)  We went through a period of time when the top of this pyramid was vilified and we were told that “fat made us fat” and if we ate it we would die of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.  The food marketing industry went crazy and fat was stripped from everything.  Now we know that the real fat was replaced with something that is far worse for us.  Our society continued to get fat and diseased despite this course of action.  Our nutritional wisdom becomes confusing and we are stuck at the grocery store with all these packages shouting at as to buy them because of the health benefits they can give us.  I am just plain confused!

Many people ask what I eat and are shocked when I tell them.  They are taken back by the fact I do not eat whole grains or dairy and really feel sorry for me, almost like I am going to develop a disease or that maybe I am malnourished.  They say “of course you lose weight, when you cut out big food groups you have major calorie restrictions”.  When I tell them I feel great, I am the strongest I have ever been, the happiest I have ever been, the fittest I have ever been,  and I eat more calories than ever before it really comes as a shock to them.  These people automatically think I am starving myself.  They have no idea that I eat real high quality food that is packed with naturally accruing nutrients.  I am fascinated with the subject of nutrition and excited by the results that I have received and others in our community have received. 

So, where do I get my information?  I have a list of go to books that I have structured my nutrition and new lifestyle around.  I am constantly reading and gathering new information but these four books really have had the most impact on the way I eat.

• Omnivore’s Dilemma

Most people are blind to the fact that most of the food found in our grocery store is really not food at all.  A great book to read on this subject is Michael Pollan’s “Omnivore’s Dilemma”.  In his book he investigates the food we receive in our grocery stores and some of the fast food chains.  He follows it from its very beginnings to the shelf and on to our plate.  I even bought the children’s version of this book.  I really think this book is one of the best and most enlightening books on nutrition that you can read.

•  Paleo Solution

Our ancestors lived for thousands of years as hunters and gatherers and did not have the diseases that our society is dying of today.  The book “The Paleo Solution” by Robb Wolf gives you an in depth look into the real science behind what we should eat.  Discover what our bodies were meant to eat.

•  Why We Get Fat

Nutritional science has dropped the ball and given us misguided information.  Gary Taubes reveals all the mistakes of nutritional science and debunks the old mindset of “calories in, calories out” in his book “Why We Get Fat”.  Find out how insulin and hormone regulation can lead you to a healthy life. 

•  Primal Blueprint

With all the information that the books above give you, living it is the hardest part.  “The Primal Blueprint” by Mark Sisson gives you a plan you can live by.  I incorporate many of his principals in my life.  Reading this book gave me the framework to create my own “Blueprint”.

*I know many of you are looking for the next set of results but you have to wait until next week.  Stay tuned and see more amazing results.*

I have a fun recipe for you this week.  They go great will anything.  We had them with grilled chicken and asparagus in the picture below.  It really turned out to be a gorgeous meal.

Onion Patties

3 cups diced sweet onions

½ cup almond flour

¼ cup almond or flaxseed meal

1 tsp baking soda

2 cloves fresh minced garlic

A pinch of cayenne pepper

3 egg whites

¼ cup coconut milk

Mix all dry ingredients together.  Whip egg whites and coconut milk together and add to dry ingredients.  Add the diced onion and mix together.  Form into patties and place on an oiled backing sheet.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes or until tops are browned.  I flipped my patties halfway through.