Scaling Back -- literally and figuratively -- On Nuts and Fruits

So in order to keep myself from indulging too much with fruits and nuts, I decided to only allow myself one or the other each day. One day I could eat fruit and no nuts. The next day I could eat nuts, but no fruit. I think this trick was somewhat successful for a while… but after a week or two I found myself coming home at 3 in the morning from work and eating a shit ton of frozen berries right out of the bag… or mindlessly munching away at nuts while watching TV, because “I could” that day. So last week, I decided I wouldn’t eat ANY nuts or fruits for three days (Monday through Wednesday) and just focus on getting more protein and vegetables in me. It was actually surprisingly easy. Since it had already been over three weeks since I started Whole 30, carb withdrawal (or needing energy from carbohydrates) wasn’t an issue. My body didn’t really need the fruits or nuts, because I have become a “fat burner” not a “carb burner.” To learn more about being fat-adapted (or a fat-burner) read this article by Mark Sisson. You may know him better as Mark's Daily Apple!

It was so easy in fact, that by Thursday I was thinking I would just go the rest of the week  with no nuts or fruits….maybe even until my Whole 30 is over!

But Bob, of course, roasted nuts that night. His seasoning is perfect… and right out of the oven I couldn’t say no! I went the 3 days, so I decided to eat those delicious, roasty nuts. I haven’t touched the leftovers though, because I decided to go another 3 days (Friday through Sunday) without nuts or fruits. Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I may have some fruit for dessert. I may not.

Fruits are a significant source of sugar, which causes an insulin response, which causes fat storage. Nuts are calorically dense and if eating more than a small handful add up to a significant amount of carbohydrates too. If one of your main goals is to lose weight during Whole 30, I would suggest after you start feeling great (2^nd or 3^rd week) you should cut way back (or even better – cut out) nuts and fruits. They are great healthy food choices for weight maintenance, but can slow weight-loss progress. If you are doing Whole 30 for other reasons then go nuts! :-P

CrossFit PR and Leaderboard Triumph!

It’s Bob and my 1 year anniversary! We will not be celebrating by going out to dinner or indulging in a decadent dessert. I think Bob is going to grill some steaks (yum)! Maybe we will throw the rest of the zucchini from our CSA on the grill too. We decided last year that we would go to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver to celebrate our mutual love for beer and each other for our anniversary. We leave for Denver in 12 days! Very “paleo,” I know! ;-) What is WHOLE 30 approved? Bob gave me a paleo cookbook this morning (along with a dozen roses and a pumpkin beer to be consumed after Whole 30 is over). Already started reading, “Practical Paleo” by Diane Sanfilippo!

In other news, I made the leaderboard at CrossFit this week! That’s a first for me! And during my Whole 30 too…

On Wednesday we did the benchmark WOD, Nicole: AMRAP in 20 minutes of 400 meter run and max rep pull-ups (unbroken). Your score equals the total amount of pull-ups you complete over the course of the WOD. My score was 70 and I got the second highest score out of all the girls! I had never done Nicole. When I saw the WOD my goal was to get 100 pull-ups. After finishing the WOD I was thinking about how I wish I could run faster… I would have been able to get more pull-ups in. But needless to say, I am pretty happy with my score. I guess 100 is a good goal for the future. I really need to work on my running.

 On Thursday we had time to find our split jerk 1 rep max. Pull-ups and jerks are my two favorite (strongest) movements, so it was a good week for me… or should have been at least. For some reason I was having trouble with split jerks on Thursday. 125lbs has been my 1 rep max for months… maybe even 6 months. I even had just split jerked 125 the week before. I jumped to 115lbs too quickly and failed. I was pissed! It got into my head. I scaled the weight down a little bit, succeeded at 115, but failed when I bumped up the weight to 125. I hated those weights and I took my failure personally. I am a horrible person! I have to be; otherwise I wouldn’t have failed so completely. I left the gym without stretching with everyone in the noon class, because I couldn’t stand to be there anymore.

Well, Friday was a new day! I completed the WOD, which was: -5 rounds for time- 200 meter run, 5  squat cleans (135#/95#), 5 Shoulder-to-overhead (135#/95#). I scaled the weight down to 85lbs (hey it was fifth day WODing in a row) and completed the WOD in a little over 15 minutes. After stretching with all the ladies in the class, I decided to take some time and work on my back squat form with low weight. While working I noticed Coach Ian (owner of CrossFit Mission Gorge) getting all the high split jerk numbers to put up on the leaderboard. THAT killed me after my failure the day before. In between my back squat sets I peeked over at the list Ian was making. If I had performed like I normally would have the day before I totally would have made the leaderboard. I continued my squats, but couldn’t help feeling bummed out. Should I just suck it up, admit that yesterday was not my day, and accept that being on the leaderboard isn’t that important – that it doesn’t prove anything. I couldn’t let it go. I went up to Ian and told him that 125 has been my 1 rep max for split jerks for months and I asked if I get it today could I still get on the leaderboard. Ian said, “Yes, if you get it now before you leave.” Awesome! I knew despite my tired body after WODing and squatting I could get 125. I had just the week before and I had no choice, but to do it right then and there. After a few warm-up sets, I loaded the bar. 115 –easy. 120 – easy. I took a 2 minute rest. 125 – got it! Phew! I loaded 1lb baby plates on each side – I mean, I have to at least try for a PR! 127 – eeeeeeh, got it! So my new PR for split jerk is 127lbs and I got up on the leaderboard for that lift too! All in all, it was a good week. :-)

Recipe: Slow Cooked Round Roast (AKA Paleo Pot Roast)

We used a lot of the goodies from our CSA in tonight’s dinner! This morning I started our protein portion of dinner by filling up our crockpot! I used the onions and the herbs (sage, thyme, oregano) from our CSA along with a grass-fed beef round roast we bought from Whole Foods yesterday. For the sides I roasted some of the zucchini that came in our CSA with olive oil, garlic powder, herbs de provence, fresh cracked black pepper and Himalayan pink salt (which only takes about 15 minutes at 450 degrees). I made a side salad out of the lettuce and yellow cherry tomatoes that came in the CSA and also added red bell pepper and avocado. I dressed by salad with my homemade Garlic Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette… I even ended up topping the salad with the meat-marinated onions from the crockpot. ;-)

Recipe: Slow Cooked Round Roast (AKA Paleo Pot Roast)

What you need:

2 medium sized onions

2 lb grass-fed round roast

Garlic powder

Paprika

Fresh cracked black pepper

Sea salt

1 Tablespoon coconut oil

2 cups beef broth

½ cup balsamic vinegar

Thyme

Sage

Oregano

1.) Chop onions and line the bottom of crockpot.

2.) If you are not using grass-fed beef, trim the fat. If you are using grass-fed beef you may leave the fat on. Rub garlic powder, paprika, pepper, and salt on all sides of roast.

3.) Heat skillet to medium-high. When skillet reaches medium-high heat, add coconut oil. Brown the round roast on the two biggest sides (which takes about 1 minute and a half per side).

4.) Place roast on top of the onions in the crock pot. Add beef broth (or broth of your choice), balsamic vinegar, thyme, sage, and oregano.

I left the meat cooking at the low (8 hour) setting. You can cook at whichever heat setting is most convenient for you.

When ready to serve. Slice roast into half inch slices and top with the onions and juice in the crockpot.

The Not So Fast Food Truck

Since it was a little bit cooler out today, I thought Bob and I should go on a hike or something. We decided to do one of the longer, more difficult trails at Balboa Park. We ended up at Balboa Park a little later than I was expecting. I started to grow tired as I felt the day’s endeavors -- a decent 20 minute morning WOD, errands, etc  -- and only having fuel from one meal (left over chicken curry) finally settle in my body. When we got there I told Bob that we should do a shorter trail. We followed trail 2, which is a little over 4 miles. It was a nice walk – no hike by any means. Oh well. We will have to do a hike soon.

Anyway, after our walk we went to Whole Foods in Hillcrest. The Not So Fast Food Truck is there every Wednesday night from 5-8pm. I thought it would be nice to not have to go home and cook dinner. Neither of us have eaten at the first ever paleo food truck. It’s pretty cool to be able to order off of a menu and not have to modify (although, some of the menu items come with high quality cheese).

We shared the tacos (with snapper, pico, and avocado), the turkey burger AKA El Pavo Diablo (with jalapenos, roasted red pepper, avocado, and aioli) and the sweet potato hash (with avocado and bacon). The tacos were okay – a little boring. I thought the turkey burger was awesome. Let me tell you, the aioli made my night. I love mayonnaise and I haven’t had any during the Whole 30, because a.) I’m too lazy to make my own and b.) if I did make it I would probably consume too much of it. The sweet potato hash was pretty good. Definitely get yours with avocado and bacon!

With those 3 items and 2 sparkling sodas, our meal cost about $30… kind of expensive. I mean, you get what you pay for, but unless you have a lot of money, this is a once and a while treat. Cooking and preparing healthy food for yourself or your family is obviously more affordable and it tastes just as good. Not having to cook every once in a while is good too though. This is only the second time I have eaten out during the Whole 30 and it was nice that this time I didn’t have to worry about the quality of the ingredients or that the questions I asked about the preparation of the food weren’t answered correctly.

I apologize for not having a picture. I brought my camera with every intention of taking a few pictures of our dinner. Once the food came I started chomping away and I forgot all about taking pictures for my blog!

Recipe: Indian Chicken Curry

We got our first Suzie’s Farm CSA today! Yay!

Bob and I have been on the Whole 30 program for 23 days now (only a week left!). In the last 23 days we have only eaten out once. And the food wasn’t nearly as tasty as the food we have been cooking at home. If you have been very committed during your Whole 30 like us, you probably haven’t really gone out to eat too much either. For those of you who miss going out for ethnic food, this is an easy paleo recipe for you. Spice up your Whole 30 menu a little bit with some Indian cuisine. Preparing ethnic food might seem too exotic, unfamiliar, or intimidating, but this recipe is very simple. I promise.

 Indian Chicken Curry

What you need:

2 Tablespoons coconut oil

2 large sweet onions

3lb chicken breast

8 Tablespoons curry powder

2 teaspoons cayenne powder (optional – the cayenne definitely adds a good kick. If you like spice, but not “spicy” try only 1 teaspoon your first time and see how you handle it)

Fresh cracked ground pepper to taste

Prep:

Peel onions and cut in half. Thinly slice. Cut chicken breasts into bite sizes.

Cook:

Put wok on medium heat. Add coconut oil. Add onions and stir so all onion slices are coated in oil. Stir occasionally. When onions are slightly brown (be patient this took over a half hour for me) add curry powder, cayenne powder, and fresh cracked black pepper. Blend everything together and stir for 3 minutes. 

  It should look like this after about 3 minutes of stirring all the dry ingredients with the onion and oil. After you get this saucy consistency, add the chicken.

 Stir in chicken. After chicken is cooked, turn off heat. Let sit for 3-5 minutes for the sauce to thicken. Stir and serve.