The Aesthetic Goal Conundrum

To be perfectly honest, the following observations might not lead you to a life altering epiphany.  But maybe they will.  I don’t really have any direct answers this time.  Just a view from different angle that may help you find your own answers.

I would like to make it clear that from here forward I am only speculating and sharing my professional experience.  I am in no way implying that my speculations apply to everyone, and maybe not even the majority.

I noticed something very interesting when Sarah and Chrissy brought their Paleo Talk Seminar to my gym.  They both showed us pictures of what they looked like before paleo nutrition and proper exercise, and both of them went into detail about how miserable they were at that time.  We could all easily make comparisons between the women in the pictures and the women standing before us.  The aesthetic transformations were astounding and they both look amazing today, but that part went unmentioned.  Neither Sarah or Chrissy ever said they didn’t like the way they looked, only that they couldn’t stand the way they felt.  Hmmm.  Like I said, very interesting.

Throughout my career, the biggest changes in physical appearance have more often than not been achieved by those without aesthetic goals.  Furthermore, clients who are the most driven by aesthetic goals alone, sometimes to the point of desperation, are usually those who struggle the most.  It’s a frustrating paradox for both client and trainer alike.  I have some tenuous theories, but no definitive solutions.

First of all, I have always suspected that the personality type who spends a lot of time worrying about how they look might also be the type that worries more about everything.  If so, then we can assume elevated cortisol which means more fat and less muscle.  If you are a stress case with way too much on your plate and bad sleep patterns, major physical changes will be tough to achieve.  Throw in some stress about your appearance and you are officially stuck in a negative feedback loop.  Worrying about how you look = more stress = more cortisol = more fat/less muscle = more worrying about how you look.  (Important note:  If this is you, more exercise is likely not the answer unless you aren’t exercising.  Caloric restriction diets are also a bad idea.)

Second, body loathing probably goes hand in hand with low self esteem in most cases.  Whether the relationship between how you look and how you value yourself is correlated or causal, the outcome is often difficulty with compliance.  An attitude of “I don’t deserve better than this” will block your path to success every time it rears its ugly head.  If you sometimes feel like efforts to improve yourself are pointless, especially if you have struggled with your self image for a long time, you probably cheat on your diet and skip workouts more often than you should.  This, of course, also creates a negative feedback loop.  Cheating = more self loathing = more feelings of hopelessness = more cheating.

My best advice – find a way to enjoy the means to the end.  Most of us with success stories love the way we eat and truly enjoy our workouts.  You can too.  The easiest way to learn to enjoy your journey is to find people to journey with.  My clients at CPC cheer for each other, encourage each other when the going gets tough, and contact each other when someone starts slacking off.  Without asking, I’m sure Sarah and Chrissy can attest to the same thing at Norcal Strength and Conditioning.  Another great way to stay motivated is to focus on physical capacity goals.  Stop thinking about your appearance every time you drag yourself to the gym and start thinking about lifting heavier weights, moving faster, and accomplishing things that your friends think are impossible.  Posting a video on Facebook of you doing a pull-up or a heavy back squat will put you on the receiving end of much admiration (and maybe a little envy).  Each little personal record will act as a stepping stone to a new you.  One day you will be on your way to the shower and the mirror will stop you in your tracks.

“What the….?  When did I get so hot?!?”

Changing your focus could change your life.

The Aesthetic Goal Conundrum is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

The Broken Fitness Industry

At the risk of making a few enemies, there is something that needs to be said:  The great majority of the fitness industry produces garbage results.  There, I said it.

Okay, so most of you already knew that, but maybe my insider’s perspective will aid you in deciding where to get fit and who to ask for help.  I’m sure I already sound like an arrogant ass who thinks everyone else is terrible and I’m amazing, but some of the following was gleaned from my own mistakes and you probably don’t live anywhere near my gym anyway.

First, let’s address the big corporate gyms, often referred to as “Globo Gyms” by those of us on the outside.  These big corporations are first and foremost… well, big corporations.  Their agenda is all about profits and that doesn’t necessarily coordinate with your agenda of getting fit.  I’ll break it down for you.  Their primary concern is EFT – or electronic funds transfer – which is the total amount of funds transferred automatically from your bank account to theirs each month.  They have a couple of tried and true methods of getting you to agree to this arrangement.  Filling their facilities with shiny expensive machines is where they start.  They are betting on you walking in with no knowledge and gasping at their amazing display of seemingly easy to use equipment that is certain to finally get you fit.  After your tour, the real dirty tricks start.

When I worked in management for one such place (oh the shame!), I was once told by a regional vice president that the fitness department (personal training) was a wash in most of their locations and didn’t really bring in much money.  He went on to explain that when a new member had a good experience with a trainer, regardless of whether or not they bought training, the length of time before they canceled their membership was greatly increased.  I made a mental note of his exact words, “the length of time before they canceled their membership…,” because it meant he was absolutely sure they would eventually quit and his only concern was about when it would finally happen.  The message was clear – nobody gets enough results to stick around so we just try to milk them for whatever we can before they leave.  At that particular (enormous) company, trainers receive 3 days of education before they are turned loose on the unsuspecting client who believes them to be experts.  Pumping gas on Thursday and teaching you to squat on Monday.

The one good thing these gyms offer the world is starting place for trainers who are exceptionally driven to do good work.  It can be hard to get started as a trainer and the corporate gym scene gives would-be good trainers a place to get their feet wet.  Such a trainer will have to take his/her education in his own hands (which is always the case anywhere in my opinion) but at least he/she can make some money while they learn and build a client base that will probably follow them when they leave.

Next, let’s talk about the trainers themselves.  I am of the opinion that if a person becomes a trainer solely because they love to workout, they will likely perpetuate the broken industry.  Trainers need real passion for the science behind the results their clients seek or they probably won’t help many people.  Unfortunately, they may still make a great living because almost anything they throw at a new client will work for a short while, and frustrated plateaued people will often hang on for a long time without making progress, clinging to the memory of those initial results.  The trainer might not even understand their disservice because they can easily blame the client when things don’t work out. “They must be cheating on their diets,” they may say, and of course they would be right.  Nobody will go hungry forever on a miserable starvation diet and hours of cardio.  Especially not when it’s handed down apathetically by a trainer completely disinterested in nutrition.

If a trainer is only motivated by wanting to be in a gym environment all day, they will tend to spit mainstream fitness and nutrition platitudes at every question on a subject that doesn’t interest them.  The answer probably isn’t more cardio, more starving, or more meal replacement shakes.  The extreme is the “go heavy or go home” type who think all problems can be solved with more intensity.  These trainers are all over the world at this exact moment beating the holy snot out of clients who are more likely plateaued due to bad nutrition, elevated cortisol, or even adrenal fatigue.  It’s sad, really.

Please understand that fitness and nutrition are subjects in which more formal education does not always result in a more qualified professional.  Nutrition especially tends to be badly broken at the academic level so more time in a classroom often means more brainwashing and bad science that must be overcome before a worthwhile service can be provided.  But I’m generalizing here.

Last but not least, I need to address high-intensity interval training (HIIT) movement led chiefly by CrossFit.  I own a CrossFit gym and use CrossFit methodology to some degree everyday, so please hear me out.  When CrossFit first hit the scene the fitness world began to change in remarkable ways.  Gathering clients in a group of like-minded individuals and putting them through workouts that are timed or scored is a brilliant way to get intensity out of people that wouldn’t otherwise perform as well if you begged, threatened, or offered them gold.  But call a spade a spade.  If you are more concerned with a time or score than the quality of your movements, you are competing in a sport, not working to advance your fitness and health.

It frustrates me every time I hear people debating over whether or not a repetition of a specific exercise “counted” or not.   Your goal should never be to perform a movement just adequately enough for it to “count” in some sort of sloppy competition apparently designed for rapid fire crap.  And please don’t make the mind-numbingly stupid claim that this is the only legitimate way to get fit.

So how are you suppose to find good training in a broken industry?  The most important thing you can do is look for a trainer with a deep passion for their work.  When someone loves what they do, it shows in ways they can’t hide.  You will likely find such a person by referral.  Ask everyone in your world if they know a good trainer, even the people who don’t exercise.  You never know who has a roommate or cousin who won’t shut-up about their amazing trainer.

Once you have a name and an appointment to meet the person who uses it, you will need to listen intently for signs of passion.  Does the trainer in question seem excited about the opportunity to train you?  Do they appear to know what they are talking about and deliver the information in a way that says “I love this stuff”, or are they just trying to get into your wallet?  Do they want to know about your goals?  Do they thoroughly understand and recommend paleo nutrition?

When you are satisfied that you have found a passionate trainer, you will need to ask some tough questions.  Begin with something like, “How will you get me back on track if I hit a plateau?”  His/her answer should be about how they intend to determine the cause of your plateau, and not how they would immediately turn up the intensity of your workouts without a second thought. Next, you might want to ask how they feel about cardio and endurance training.  If you aren’t specifically looking for help with a marathon (for some strange reason), you will want to find a trainer that won’t impose such harmful methods upon you.

If everything appears to be in order, you will need to test out this rare find without a massive commitment.  A good trainer will put their money where their mouth is for a month and prove themselves to you.  If they are adamant that you buy into a long term commitment without showing you what they can do, walk away.  In my gym, people begin with a month of education in which the first workout and the last workout are exactly the same.  We time them in both workouts to put the quality of our product on the line.  In every assessment I say, “If you don’t improve, you would be crazy to give me any more of your money.”

As usual, I could rant for hours, but I think you have what you need.  Just promise me you won’t settle for mediocre training.  You deserve better and so does my industry.  Please don’t reward bad trainers with your hard earned money.

The Broken Fitness Industry is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Brace yourself.  I’m coming at you with all guns blazing on this one and you aren’t going to believe what you’re about to see.  First things first, if you haven’t read my diatribe condemning your bathroom scale, please begin there.

Alright, now that you are caught up, let’s revisit Deb from my last post.  Deb has been kind enough to let me exploit her for your education on these here interwebs and I am very grateful.  Showing the world where she started isn’t easy, but she is a kind person who wants to help you and she has accomplished some remarkable things in her health and fitness.

So here is Deb at the beginning of a contest we held at my gym in January of last year.

Here she is at a size zero with her nutrition dialed.  For the full effect of this picture, place your thumb on your screen directly over the ugly guy on the right.

And here she is a couple of weeks ago after a lot of hard work that has dramatically increased her fitness capacity.  I didn’t actually intend for this post to be all about Deb’s accomplishments, so I won’t repeat her numbers here.  Suffice it to say, my money would be on Deb versus the average American girl half her age in a contest of any exercise I have ever convinced her to perform.  Now for the really good part.

I spent my entire career waiting patiently for the right situation that would produce the picture below.

Now that you are done staring in amazement, eyes darting back and forth between the two Debs and down to “155lbs” to make sure you read it right, let this information really sink in.  Let it change your perspective to something healthier.  Forever!

Now go throw away your scale.

Faced with the facts above, basing your goals – or even worse, your happiness – on the number on your scale is absolutely ridiculous.  I’ll give you an example of why weight is useless information in all but extreme cases.  Let’s pretend Deb came to me at a weight of 200 lbs and told me she wanted to get down to 155 lbs.  Which side of the picture above do you think she would prefer?  Do you think she would have been satisfied with the left side?  Look at her face.  She is ecstatic with her body on the right, but on the left she can hardly stand to have her picture taken.  We can glean from this that goals based on weight are too vague to be useful.  If I had only given you her circumference measurements (waist, hips, thighs, bust, etc.) and no photos, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind which 155 lb Deb you would have chosen as the more aesthetically appealing.  But when you look in the mirror and see a body like the Deb on the left you probably say, “Damn, I need to lose some weight.”  Now you have undeniable evidence that defies that thought.  Losing weight is not what you want and pursuing a number on your scale is not the path to success.  It will drive you insane, though.  But that’s probably not your goal.

Change your perspective to something healthier.  Forever!

For those of you that may be having a hard time believing how all this can possibly be true, click here and hit Deb up on Facebook.  She will be happy to befriend you and answer your questions, but please be reasonable.  She has not volunteered to coach you, just to be your motivation.

Edit: One little point I left out of this post is that Deb totaled up her calories just for fun a few weeks ago.  She came up with an average of slightly over 3900 per day.  Take that calorie restriction diets!

Attention Scale Addicts, part 2 is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

I used to go to the gym with a mission.  A mission to fall on the ground in a heap, to crawl out of there with every muscle twitching, every fiber burning, every breath feeling like my last one, but it was a victorious feeling because I DID IT.  Then, I hit a big fat ugly wall and my entire life changed.  I will not bore you with the details but I went very quickly from being all or nothing – not only in life but in the gym – to barely being able to drag my tired, sorry, over-trained, under-slept, stressed out body out of bed.  It took me several months to recover from what I had done to myself, and during those months, I often asked myself – what the hell was I chasing??  I am not a competitive athlete and never will be, I am a MOM a WIFE a WOMAN and today I am happy to be strong enough to pick up some weights, wise enough to know when I shouldn’t, aware of my own capabilities and lack of capabilities, and most importantly; I have finally figured out what I am “going for” when I show up to work out.  I go to the gym to escape from the kids, to feel a sense of community, to hug the people that I love and call friends, to feel good about myself, to fit into my jeans, to discover what new and fun stuff my mommy of three body can do and be proud of whatever that might be.  I go to the gym to know that not every day is a good day and that for me, the stop watch doesn’t really prove anything, and I go to prove that I really have NOTHING to prove.

The moral to my rambling story?  I would like to introduce you to a person who without even realizing it, has been and continues to be an instrumental influence on my new and much more productive outlook on what fitness is for me; and that person is Andy Deas.  I am grateful that he has joined our Norcal family and I am grateful for what I have learned from training with him and from reading his blog, Chasing Capacity.  Most of you know Andy as the co-host of the Paleo  Solution with Robb Wolf and I hope you take the chance to know him further by reading his musings on fitness, and life in general.  Oh, and if you haven’t thought about it in a while, the next time you go to work out – ask yourself, “What am I chasing??”

Now, a recipe!! Dinner tonight seriously rocked and was ridiculously easy.  I have been rushing like a mad woman all day, came home, threw open the fridge and saw some chicken that needed to be cooked, a jar of sun dried tomatoes, some bacon, and some basil.  Hello dinner!!

Basil Bacon Wrapped Chicken

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast tenders or chicken breasts cut into 1″ wide slices

1 – 8.5 oz jar of julienne cut sun dried tomatoes

8-12 fresh basil leaves

8-12 bacon strips

Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.  Grease a baking sheet with either grass fed organic butter or coconut oil.  Take a chicken piece, top with a large scoop on sun dried tomatoes, top that with a basil leaf, and wrap the whole thing tightly with a piece of bacon.  Place all the wrapped chicken pieces on the greased baking sheet, sprinkle them all with pepper, and bake for 15 minutes.  Finish under the broiler for 3-4 minutes to crisp the bacon.  I served the chicken with kale steamed in chicken stock and carrots cooked in the pressure cooker.

Enjoy!

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What are YOU chasing – and of course a recipe… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Along with having a lot of fun with our cooking demos, I am also inventing new words, and if anything, giving my family yet another reason to laugh at me!!

In this demo we make Savory Cauliflower Fried Rice, Pork Chops, and my Walnut Pesto Sauce.

Savory Cauliflower Fried Rice

1 head organic cauliflower – steamed

1/2 red onion – minced

3 garlic cloves – minced

2 tbsp fresh basil – diced

1 egg

2 tbsp coconut flour

1 tsp sea salt

black pepper to taste

3-4 tbsp coconut oil

In a large mixing bowl, add the minced onions, garlic, and basil.  Place the steamed cauliflower in the bowl as well and add the egg, coconut flour, salt, and pepper.  Using a potato masher, mash the cauliflower down to the consistency of rice.  Mix all the ingredients well.  Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the cauliflower rice and saute for 7-10 minutes or until the “rice” starts to crisp up a little and the onions are tender.  Remove the rice and keep warm in the oven.

Pork Chops

4 pork chops (I used thin cut pork chops, they cook faster…)

2 tbsp olive oil

pinch of sea salt

black pepper to taste

2 tbsp coconut oil

In a large mixing bowl, drizzle the pork chops with the olive oil, add the salt and pepper, and let the pork chops sit (if you have time) in the fridge for about an hour.  In the same skillet as you cooked your cauliflower rice in (no need to even clean it), add the coconut oil and heat over medium high.  Sear the pork chops for 5-7 minutes on each side.  Slice and serve on top of the cauliflower rice and drizzle with the walnut pesto sauce.

Serve with a green salad.

Enjoy!!

How Hot is YOUR Kitchen?? – Another cooking demo…. is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Crispy Baked Okra

About 20 pieces of okra cut into bike sized pieces (makes about 3 cups after cut)

4 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Put the cut okra into a large mixing bowl, cover with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and mix well.  Spread the okra evenly on a cookie sheet and bake in a 450 degree oven for 25 minutes. Be sure to stir half way through the cooking time for even crispiness.  Eat immediately!

Stuffed Eggplant

2-3 small eggplants ( I used 2 small Italian and 1 giant Japanese eggplant)

1 red bell pepper diced

1 small red onion diced

6 garlic cloves minced

5 tbsp olive oil

3/4 C julienned sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil

1 ½ C chopped fresh basil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Remove the green stems from the eggplants and cut in half lengthwise. Using a paring knife, gently cut out the insides of the eggplant, leaving a eggplant “shell”.  Drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil into the bottom of 9×13 glass baking dish and place the shells of the eggplant on top of the olive oil in the baking dish.  Dice the insides of the eggplant that have been removed.  In a large saute pan, add the 5 tbsp of olive oil, diced eggplant, bell peppers, and onions.  Saute over medium heat for 7-10 minutes.  Add the minced garlic, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Mix well and cook for another minute.  Pile the mixture into the eggplant shells and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the shells are tender.

We served grilled chicken with the eggplant and okra.

Enjoy!!

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Stuffed Eggplant and Crispy Baked Okra is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Shrimp Flying Saucers

2 Heirloom of Beefsteak tomatoes – sliced

1 lb cooked medium sized shrimp tails removed

2 cups chopped purple cabbage

½ a small red onion finely diced

1 small cucumber peeled, sliced, and diced

4 Omega 3 enriched hard-boiled eggs peeled and chopped

1 tbsp dried dill

1 tsp garlic powder

Pinch of cayenne pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tbsp spicy brown mustard

Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Handful of sliced almonds

Cut the cooked and cooled shrimp into halves or thirds, depending on the size of your shrimp.  In a large mixing bowl, toss in the cabbage, cucumbers, onion, shrimp, and egg.  Add the dill, garlic, mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper and mix well.  Serve huge scoops on top of the thick sliced tomatoes.  Top with a sprinkle of sliced almonds.

Enjoy!

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Shrimp Flying Saucers… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

One of our rock-star clients at Norcal and a dedicated Everyday Paleo reader recently shared with me her 3 month before and after photos.  Michele L. is a living testament to what hard work and dedication looks like.  We live in a quick fix society and most folks want results now; which is why our TV commercials are littered with “Lose 10 lbs in 1 week with this magic pill” ads.  The truth is, real people have to work real hard in order to change their lives, and Michele did just that.  Here is what Michele had to say about her 3 month transition and Everyday Paleo,

“OM-gosh!  I’m so excited… As I mentioned before, you have totally inspired me and how you make eating well simple with all of your tasty recipes!  I can’t wait for what the next three months bring.”

Michele, YOU are an inspiration and thank you so much for sharing your photos with us, you deserve all the credit for your hard work and dedication, congratulations!

Paleo Women

Speaking of powerful women, Laura Keenan, owner and founder of Paleo Women Snacks and Granola’s, recently commented on one of my blog posts and offered to send me some free samples of her Paleo Granola, and wow, I’m so glad I took her up on her offer.  All 4 of her flavors are delicious, my favorite being the Cappuccino granola. I placed an order the very next day and my kids are looking forward to packing her granolas in their lunch boxes!  So, for you busy paleo women out there, (and men too of course), here is another great resource for awesome and wholesome paleo snacks to pack for on-the-go families.  Thank you Laura!

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A Rock-Star Paleo Woman and “Paleo Women Snacks and Granola’s” is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Now to get off track a bit, I must mention that I recently signed up with a local farmers cooperative here in Chico called GRUB. Every Wednesday we go to the GRUB farm and for only $75 a month we get a weekly hook up of an amazing assortment of organically grown fresh vegetables.  It’s a great experience for the kids. We get to visit the farm where the food is grown and meet the people who harvest and care for the land.  The harvest right now is so bountiful that I am sharing my portion with a friend and splitting the cost, so for around $9 a week we are feeding a family of 5 with fresh organic vegetables.  The moral of my story is, look for local resources and even on a tight budget it’s possible to find fabulous, paleo food!

So, this week we received everything from our GRUB share that is necessary for Ratatouille, and although this is a simple dish, my family gave it 5 stars!  We served the Ratatouille over grass fed ground beef hamburgers.  If time allowed that evening I would have made my meatballs to go with it, but the hamburgers worked just as well.  

Ratatouille

1 large zucchini

1 large red onion

4 garlic cloves

2 green bell peppers

4-5 tomatoes

2 Japanese eggplant

5-6 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

A pinch of cayenne pepper

6 stalks of fresh rosemary

Peel the garlic cloves and with the flat side of a chefs knife, press down hard on the garlic to crush the cloves.  Cut all other vegetables into large chunks.  In a large soup pot heat the olive oil over medium and add the onions and garlic.  Saute until the onions and garlic start to soften and add the remaining vegetables except for the tomatoes. Cook the veggies with the onions and garlic stirring often for 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, cayenne, and rosemary, mix well and bring to a boil.  Let the Ratatouille simmer for 15 minutes or until the eggplant is soft and the tomatoes are reduced down to a soup like consistency.  Serve immediately over the meat of your choice.

Enjoy!

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Ratatouille!! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Summer Vegetable Omelette

8 omega 3 enriched eggs scrambled

6 slices nitrate/nitrite free bacon diced

1 bell pepper diced (I used an orange one)

1 yellow summer squash halved and sliced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

3 green onions diced

1 cup fresh basil leaves diced

2 tbsp olive oil

Spoonful of julienned sun dried tomatoes

In a large saute pan cook the diced bacon until almost crispy.  Add the bell peppers to the bacon and and saute in the bacon grease for 2 minutes.  Add the summer squash, mushrooms, and onions to the bacon and peppers and saute until the mushrooms are tender.  Remove the mixture from the pan and set aside.  Add the olive oil to the same pan and heat over medium.  Pour in the scrambled eggs so that they are evenly covering the pan.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes, make sure the pan is not too hot so that the bottom does not burn.  Do not disturb the eggs.  After 3-4 minutes, move the eggs carefully to the oven and cook under the broiler on low until the eggs are firm, about another 4 minutes.  Move your pan back to the stove top and on one side of the open faced omelette, add your veggie and bacon mixture.  Top with the fresh chopped basil and with a large spatula, carefully fold the omelette closed.  Cut into thick slices and serve with a spoonful of juliened sundried tomatoes on top.

Enjoy!

Also pictured is a super fast lunch I made for myself and the kids with similar components to the omelette.  I quickly stir fried 4 sliced gluten free basil chicken sausages from Trader Joe’s with 1 diced red bell pepper and 1 cup of sliced mushrooms and served it all over steamed kale with some left over mashed sweet potatoes on the side.  Very simple and satisfying!!  : )

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Simple and Seasonal is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Making it happen can also mean getting those work outs in, even while on the road.  The last time we visited the in-laws, we loaded up our boys along with all of our nephews and nieces and hauled them to the park for a family workout.  The kids had a blast, and we got in some exercise – it’s all about making it happen!

We can choose to, or choose not to; it’s really as simple as that…  Trust me – I am FAR from perfect but I know that putting in the extra degree of effort is worth it in the long run and making choices that sometimes seem more difficult  at that moment, actually make everything else in life much more enjoyable and manageable.

Cheers!

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Making It Happen… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Ginger Shrimp Salad

1 lb medium shrimp (tails removed, cooked, and de-veined – I buy them frozen and already cooked)

3 green onions

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

Pinch of sea salt

Palm full of red pepper flakes

Juice from 1 lemon

Fresh Arugula

Olive oil to taste

1 Avocado

If you are using frozen shrimp like I did; thaw, drain, and pat dry with paper towels.  If using fresh shrimp, remove tails, de-vein, and toss into boiling water.  Bring the water back to a simmer.  Once the shrimp rise to the top remove them and place in ice water.  Then drain and pat dry with paper towels. Toss the cold shrimp with the lemon juice, ginger, garlic, onions, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.  Serve on a bed of arugula garnished with sliced avocado and top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Curried Hash

2 sweet potatoes

2 zucchini

2 shallots

2 omega 3 enriched eggs

1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

5 tbsp coconut oil

Peel the sweet potatoes and rinse.  Using a food processor or a cheese grater, shred the sweet potatoes and the zucchini.  Using a hand held chopper, finely chop the shallots.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded potatoes, zucchini, shallots, eggs, and spices.  In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium, add the hash, and cook stirring frequently until the potatoes are soft and start to crisp up.  Serve immediately.  This is a great post workout snack!!

Enjoy!

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Ginger Shrimp Salad and Curried Hash is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Here are a couple of quick and easy  meals that helped us get through this rather hectic week:

Chicken Sausage, Shrimp, and Kale:

Saute two sliced red bell peppers and one medium yellow onion in olive oil

Add 1 package of gluten free chicken sausage and one bag of frozen shrimp

Stir in one jar of marinated artichoke hearts and 2 big spoonfuls of sun dried tomatoes

Serve over a pile of steamed kale

Dinner in five…

Brown 2lbs of grass fed ground beef

Season beef with a little sea salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder

Pour in one jar of Trader Joe’s Organic Marinara sauce and one can of organic diced tomatoes

Add in 5 sliced zucchinis and simmer together until zucchini is tender.

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Five minute rounds… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

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Two dinners to dish about… is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Finding balance….or not! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License