Paleo Day 1 in Review

Goooood morning!!!!

I am quite proud to say that I had a PHENOMENAL day 1 back on the paleo diet. I wanted to share my first day successes with you as well as some recipes too!

Luckily, yesterday was a snow day. This helped me get my week started off right as well as meal prep. I usually meal prep on Sundays, but this week we were doing a home improvement project in our downstairs bathroom. As a result, I simply didn't get the time I needed to plan ahead.

In the morning, I started myself off with a paleo spin on coffee. I LOVE COFFEE!!!! I used my handy dandy Keurig to brew a strong cup of Tully's Madison blend (a new one that is a little bitter, but an excellent extra bold coffee). Instead of the normal Splenda/Fat Free French Vanilla, I switched to Unsweetened Original Almond Milk (1 tbsp) and Organic Agave. I am not going to lie to you - it isn't as good. But it certainly did the trick with the caffeine :).

Since I was off, I decided to cook a BIG BREAKFAST! I cooked 4 egg whites scrambled with a little bit of unsweetened original almond milk, oregano, basil, parsley, garlic sea salt, cracked pepper. I topped them with avocado slices and homemade Paleo Sriracha Sauce (20 minutes and you have it for the whole week!). I also cooked low-sodium turkey bacon as well. Here was the delicious, filling result:

I highly recommend it! For the record, no butter was used, just coconut oil spray to grease the pan for my eggs.



For lunch, I had Shakeology (the only non-paleo exception I am making). I made it with one cup of Unsweetened Original Almond Milk, one scoop of Chocolate Shake-O, a handful of ice and 1/2 of a frozen banana. It was quite tasty! For a mid-morning snack prior, I had a small 1/2 cup serving of pomegranate arils (full of antioxidants AND savory too).

After my shake, I prepped a few snacks. First: paleo bread. Yes, I am Italian. I LOVE BREAD. The thought of no bread makes me so, so sad. So, I made some paleo approved bread that is easy to make and incredible on the taste buds. Here is the final product:

Here is the recipe:

Follow my fitness instagram, too! @kerricrowfit

I also made a quick and easy snack - paleo sweet potato chips. You simply slice a medium-sized sweet potato thinly, toss in 2 tbsp of organic extra virgin coconut oil (or olive oil), add rosemary and garlic sea salt (or any seasoning of your choice). Lay on cookie sheet greased with coconut oil spray, not overlapping but touching is okay. Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes, flipping after 7 minutes. AMAZING!

The left is before, the right is after. Crunchy, satisfying, and guilt free. Helped me cure my snow day munchies, that's for sure!

Finally, dinner! I made this scrumptious entree:

Paleo Roasted Pork Tenderloin (I adapted it for the crock pot). I sliced fresh brussel sprouts in half, coated them in 2 tbsp of organic evoo, sea salt, and pepper; then, I baked them in oven at 400 for about 15 minutes. Sliced and toasted some paleo bread with butter as well. I highly recommend it!

I had homemade chocolate chip cookies at home, and didn't even try one. Great NSV :).

Happy Paleo,

Kerri

Welcome back...

Hello, everyone! Starting March 3rd, I am picking back up where I left off last August. Truth be told, I did not continue the paleo lifestyle past my thirty day challenge last summer. I loved the results, but keeping up this diet is a little more expensive and also difficult to stick to. However, nothing is going to hold me back this time. I am 3000% determined!!!

The only modification I will be making is for my Shakeology in the morning, with almond milk. However, I am going to be 100% paleo with everything else.

Stay tuned for more recipes, motivation, and ideas on what products are the best!

Happy paleo,

Kerri

Where the HELL do you buy this weird paleo food stuff? How do you get started?

I am from South Jersey. The town I live in is REALLY far away from the likes of Whole Foods, Wegman's, or Trader Joe's, which are stores that many paleo eaters frequent for groceries. I thought to myself, there has to be a better way than driving ALL the way up this busy highway 35 minutes one way...

That's when I discovered iHerb! This place offers all of the paleo staples (and more!) and GET THIS - if your order is $80 or more (which it probably will be) you get FREE next-day shipping. No traffic. No bullshit. All the reviews are there which is immensely helpful for new dieters.

If you want to see for yourself - new customers can get $5 off your order of $40 or more OR $10 off your order of $80 or more - use my coupon code JNP319 to get started.

By the way - you may be thinking... what ARE paleo staples?

1. Coconut everything - oil, oil spray (for cooking), milk, yogurt, crystals/sugar, aminos (for all that delicious Asian-style dinner food), flour
2. Almond - milk, flour, raw almonds, butter
3. TONS of fresh fruits and veggies, organic if possible (avoid corn or potatoes... but not sweet potatoes!)
4. MEAT - leaner the better. Chicken, salmon, tilapia, pork, bacon, turkey, etc.
5. Organic ground flaxseed meal
6. Some type of protein powder you enjoy
7. Agave sweetener or stevia
8. Arrowroot - very important
9. Eggs!
10. I recommend walnut and sunflower oil too!

Happy paleo ;)

Paleo Pancakes

I've been DYING to try to make paleo pancakes. I kind of used what I knew from other "homemade" recipes for pancakes. This is what I did:
1 1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut milk
4 large fresh organic eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
dash of sea salt
OPTIONAL, but recommended ;) (1 scoop of vanilla protein powder)

You mix the dry ingredients. Then beat the 4 eggs in a separate bowl. Once they are whipped nicely, you can add the coconut milk and vanilla extract. After the liquid is well blended, combine the wet and dry ingredients together until you have a dough consistency. After you have a pan on medium-high heat sprayed with coconut oil spray, you can get to work! I also like to make them in "silver dollar" style because it makes me feel like I am eating more. The nice thing about this recipe is you will have plenty of dough leftover for another day! Less prep for the win! Top these bad boys with 100% pure (and if cost allows, organic) maple syrup. What a DELICIOUS breakfast!

Here is the finished product... YUM

And my two furry, four-legged "kids" - brotherly love for the win!

Making Healthy Choices

Truth be told, I had a really tough week last week eating. I did WONDERFUL for breakfast and lunch each and every day. I always have a paleo-approved protein shake for breakfast and a salad/fruit/veggies for lunch. The dinners were homemade and paleo for the first half of the week (saw a number on the scale I haven't seen since high school!). Alas, my other half went away on business and my healthy eating kind of crumbled : /. I think it was an amalgamation of many factors that led to my meltdown: crazy working hours, cooking for one person sucks and the beautiful and breathtaking wedding weekend of my co-workers Liseidy... let's pause for some pictures of the amazing day!

Their love was so abundant and filled every corner of the room. Unfortunately, the fabulous gourmet eats and top shelf open bar also filled my stomach... some examples...

  This doesn't cover the cocktail hour, appetizers, desserts, breakfast bar, or many other unhealthy things I consumed :). Everyone needs a cheat day and this was well worth it.

Unfortunately, my "cheat day" turned into a cheat 4-day weekend. So today I woke up, got on the scale, saw the damage, and vowed to clean it up.

Started my day with a fat-burning blackberry protein shake (recipe is mine).

12 oz. almond milk (I prefer original, unsweetened in shakes)
1 cup of fresh organic blackberries
2 scoops of your favorite protein (I use Bio Chem Gluten Free Vanilla Whey... tastes FANTASTIC)
6 ice cubes
1 tbsp of Organic Golden Flaxseed Meal

Result:

Had a classic salad at Panera for lunch with grilled chicken, all veggies and protein with a little balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

But... for dinner....

I had a terrible and annoying work day, so I decided to slave over a difficult paleo meal as a distraction.

Had an Asian Fusion theme in mind. I determined early on to try Paleo Effect's Chicken Fried "Rice" recipe  that turns cauliflower into delicious, quasi-rice goodness! I followed this exactly as described... and it turned out PHENOMENAL and SINFUL... just like real fried rice. My honey and I devoured this!

The finished product!

Paleo General Tso's.... something I was dying for. All the recipes I found seemed a little blah. So I decided to combine the sauce recipe from Paleo Effect and use the veggie stir fry recipe from Primarily Paleo but put my own spin on it. The veggies I used were (fresh and organic): yellow onion, green pepper, green onions, carrots, brussel sprouts, broccoli. The sauce thickened just right from the arrowroot and this recipe turned out AMAZING. 

Paleo Chicken Fried "Rice" - AKA Cauliflower

YUMMY!!!!

Drunken Woodchuck Chicken + Paleo Bread

Hello everyone! I am writing to you belated to share how a few new recipes I've tried have tasted so you can try the goodness yourself.

July 9th - dinner - Paleo Drunken Woodchuck Chicken (a recipe I adapted from this Paleo Effect recipe).

I adapted their recipe because #1 - I was out of Woodchuck and had only Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Cider. #2 - I have a hubby (and this case my father) to consider, so I used drumsticks for a more hearty (if a little more fattening) meal. We put these on the grill, and as you can see, served with steamed green beans and some leftover mashed sweet potatoes, made a DELICIOUS and healthy meal! My advice to you - let them marinade covered in the refrigerator for MUCH longer than the recipe calls for. While the chicken did taste wonderful, the reality is that the apple cider flavor really didn't come through as much as I would have liked. Lesson learned!

I also made Paleo Bread (using this Paleo Effect recipe). Here is what the bread looked like from start to finish... love the taste, but I will say my oven required much longer than 35 minutes. Ahhhh to have "bread" again!

All done... delicious!

Paleo Meatloah + Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Food Review - Paleo Meatloaf, Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Good evening everyone! I tried two new recipes from http://www.paleoeffect.com tonight. I stayed up all night last night trying to find some yummy paleo approved recipes that I can make for both me and my other half (he's a big eater!). So, here are my thoughts!

The Paleo Meatloaf recipe from Paleo Effect called for many ingredients. I followed the recipe exactly as indicated but did not include minced red chili peppers inside. Don't get me wrong, I love spicy food, but as both the meatloaf recipe and the glaze called for cayenne pepper, I figured that would be enough punch for me. And boy was I right! One hour after entering the oven, this savory dish (which fit right into a small loaf pan) had a fabulous flavor and was extraordinarily juicy. My hubby LOVED it too! We finished it with pleasure :). I highly recommend trying this. If you make it for a family, though, I would double the recipe!

The Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes recipe sounded fantastic and I love sweet potatoes so I was really excited to try it. The premise is to dice the sweet potatoes, toss in a paleo staple mixture of olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper, but also add minced garlic. They go in the oven at 400 for 25 minutes, then you mix them up with various spices and coconut milk using a hand mixer and voila! While the flavor was fantastic, I found that with my oven I needed to leave them in longer to get really soft all the way through. I actually think these would be delicious just diced and baked too!

While everything was in the oven, I used my time wisely to pack lunch for the hubby and me tomorrow. Some of you might wonder... what can you eat for lunch on the paleo diet? The answer is a lot of yummy things! I personally prefer to pack a large salad (tomorrow is spring mix, baby spinach, red onion, sliced toasted almonds, homemade paleo french dressing, roma tomatoes) with 2 cups of mixed berries (organic strawberries, blackberries, blueberries), and one serving of tonight's mashed garlic sweet potatoes. For snacks I packed organic baby carrots, an organic gala apple, a Lara Bar, and some mixed nuts/dried fruit. I might not eat it all, but have to be prepared for emergencies :).

Have a lovely night... can't wait to try drunken woodchuck chicken tomorrow night ;).