All Dressed Up!

     Learning to be creative with condiments and dressings is essential to keeping garden salads, slaws and meat/egg salads interesting. Stock your fridge with a few different homemade dressings, and the flavor combinations for salads are endless! Making dressing from scratch sounds like a lot of work at first, but it just takes a few minutes; once you try it you'll never go back to the pre-packaged junk!

 The basic foundation for any great homemade dressing begins with a few simple ingredients, EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) and Lemon Juice or Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

Although the use of Vinegar and Unpasteurized Honey are to be limited on the Paleo plan, I think the health benefits of the two far outweigh the consequences of their use. In my opinion, the small amounts of each are acceptable in moderation.
These are just a few of my favorites:

Creamy Basil Dressing  

• 3 Tbsp. Leeks, chopped (just the white part)
• 3 Tbsp. Sesame Tahini (ground sesame seeds)
• 1 Cup EVOO
• 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar or 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp. Raw Unpasturized Honey
• 1 1/2 Cups Fresh Basil Leaves
• 1/2 to 1 Cup Water
• Salt-Free Lemon Pepper Spice mix

Tomato Chili Vinaigrette

• 1 Cup EVOO
• 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar or 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
• 2 tsp.Dried Dillweed
• 1/2 tsp. Celery Seed
• 2 Tbsp. Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Pepper
• 1-5.5oz tin Tomato Paste (find the one that is just tomato no additives)
• 1-1 1/2 Cup Water 

Anyberry Vinaigrette

• 1 Cup fresh or frozen berries of your choice
• 1/2 Cup EVOO
• 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
• 2 Tbsp. Leeks, chopped (just the white part)
• 1/2-3/4 tsp. Mustard Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Basil, dried & 1/2 tsp. Dillweed, dried
• Pinch of Rosemary, dried

Procedure is the same for all 3:

1. Combine all ingredients in blender, puree until smooth
2. Add water to achieve desired thickness
3. Keep in a sealed container for up to 1 week in the fridge
4. Creamy dressings may thicken when chilled, just add a bit of water or Lemon Juice to loosen them up!

These dressings also make great sauces for grilled fish and chicken!

HAPPY BLENDING!

Breakie Got You Stumped???

Southwest Steak, Peppers & Eggs

     So we're one day into the 60 Day Paleo Challenge and the most common question so far has been....
"What am I supposed to eat for breakfast?" Followed by..."What do you mean I can't have my oatmeal?" and "You mean I have to drink my coffee black?"

    When I first embarked on my Paleo journey I had the exact same questions. I thought, "There's just no way in hell I'm going to drink black coffee!!" Before converting, I thought only long distance truckers ate steak and eggs for breakfast! Turns out, black coffee has a completely different intrigue than it's creamy, sweet counterpart; and steak and eggs IS actually the breakfast of champions!

A few tips to make Paleo breakfast time a little easier:

1. If we learned to prefer coffee with cream and sugar, surely we can also learn to enjoy it without! Be a bad-ass and have it black!
2. If you really can't let go of the creamy flavor, coconut milk works well. Watch out for the canned stuff though, it has a tendency to curdle. I love this Coconut Milk Powder it's great to have on hand for all sorts of recipes!
3. Learn to like "supper foods" for breakfast
4. I always make sure I have leftover protein from supper to add to my morning omelette. Its super quick to toss some eggs, and chopped up veggies in a pan and voila!!! A perfect start to your day!
5. If you're in a rush, some apple slices with organic almond butter is amazing too.
6. Smoothies are also great in a rush. Often my day at the gym starts at 5 am, way to early to even contemplate cooking!! For those early mornings I will make a smoothie the night before and keep it in the fridge until morning. Smoothie and a few almonds and I'm off to a great start!

     The dish above was this mornings breakfast.

What better way to kick off the Challenge than a hearty breakfast! 

Southwest Steak, Peppers & Eggs 

• 1/3 cup leftover Roast Beef, chopped
• 2 Whole Eggs & 2 Egg Whites
• 1/2 Orange Pepper, chopped
• 1/4 Cup Onion, chopped
• Mrs.Dash Southwest Salt-Free Seasoning

1. Saute peppers and onions in a little EVOO with the southwest seasoning
2. Once peppers and onions are brown in color, add the beef. Saute until meat is warm
3. Add eggs, cook and serve topped with a bit of tomato or avocado

This recipe is totally versatile! Use any meat you have leftover in the fridge. Experiment with veggie and spice combinations.

Arm your kitchen with a variety of Salt-free seasonings and herbs and you'll never have a boring breakie!

Happy cooking people!!

Anyone up for a challenge??

Welcome to the 60 Day Paleo Nutrition Challenge!!

Certain food groups like grains, dairy, sugar and legumes are probably having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing it…..

 Is your energy level consistently low or non-existent?
 Do you have unexplained stiffness, pain or soreness in your muscles and joints?
 Are you training hard but still struggling to losing weight
 Are you pretty lean but still have a little extra jiggle in certain areas?
 Do you have a condition such as eczema, digestive upset or allergies that medication hasn’t helped?

These are a few of the symptoms that may be directly related to the foods you eat. Even the so-called “healthy” stuff might actually be causing you harm.

So how do you know if these foods are affecting your body in a negative way?

Eliminate them completely.

Cut out all the inflammatory, insulin-spiking, calorie-dense, nutritionally void food groups for a full 60 days and let your body heal, recover and reset from the negative reactions those foods may be provoking in the body.

What, exactly, does that mean?

Strict, 100% compliance with the diet and 10 Commandments for 60 days.

By committing yourself to this challenge you’ve made a huge step towards increased energy & performance and decreased inflammation & body fat. You will be amazed at the changes that will take place over the next 60 days. Committing to this challenge 100% will radically change the way you view food and your relationship with it. You will be supported in many different ways through the process to ensure your success. I will post helpful information and recipes here on the blog regularly, so follow along!

Challenge begins Monday July 26th and ends Thursday Sept 23rd!!
Leave a comment or send me an e-mail @ jennbodyfit@live.com to get started!!

Here is a bit of info on the Paleo principle.....

More info.....

Paleo "NAY FOOD" List

     Sometimes it is very easy to decipher which foods are healing us and which are harming. The above is a great example! Any fool knows a juicy fast food burger and fries is just a heart attack waiting to happen!

   Other times the choice isn't quite as obvious. Items such as grains, flours and pasturized dairy have been "sold" to us by the government and the agri-lobbyists as healthy options, when in fact, they are the root of the majority of disease and obesity that plagues society today!

     I will post more on the ill effects these foods have on our bodies in the near future. Overconsumption of these and other foods spike our Insulin levels and cause inflammation in the body leading to all sorts of awful health issues. For now, here is a list of foods to AVOID or EAT RARELY on the Paleo/Primal meal plan:

More Info.....

Paleo "YAY FOOD" List

Click image to enlarge

  

     Here is a list of the food allowed on the Primal or Paleo meal plan. Simply put, eliminate all processed foods and sugars, grains and grain-like seeds (Quinoa, Amaranth...) beans/legumes, dairy, starchy veggies, salt & nitrate containing foods and extra fatty meats.

    Instead, eat a diet rich in lean proteins, lots of vegetables (particularly green ones), nuts, seeds and heart-healthy fats. Some fruit and a little starch to fuel your recovery process. Supplement with inflammation busting Omega-3 fish oils.

    This food pyramid is courtesy of  Castle Grok. A great resource for recipes and further information on living Primal in the modern world.

With all of these options the possibilities are endless :)

More Info....

Berry Hydration Sensation Smoothie

     There has been a heap of fuss over the Coconut lately!! Rightly so, turns out it's a serious miracle food!! I find the Coconut in all forms an incredibly useful addition to the Primal athletes kitchen. Coconut Water is the clear juice found in young green coconuts.

A few fun facts about Coconut Water.....

• Contains 5 essential electrolytes needed to stay hydrated before, during & after exercise
• Has more Potassium than a banana. Helps prevent cramping, regulates blood pressure & heart function
• 100% Natural. No added sugar, fat, cholesterol or preservatives

More Info...

Passion Discovered

  

      I'm sure by now many of you have noticed that my life, body, mind and soul have been taken over by this thing called CrossFit. A year ago one of my gym members Sheila came in for her regular workout... or so I thought. As I was working away at the front desk, out of the corner of my eye I saw Sheila doing some movements I had never seen before. Crazy intense stuff like tossing a giant 16lb medicine ball from a deep squat up to a target high on the wall, then immediately dropping to the floor for a round of  Burpees. I was completely intrigued, I couldn't take my eyes off her! As I watched I wondered, why would anyone knowingly put themselves through that business! Those of you that know and love the dreaded "Burpee" understand what I mean. At times it almost looked like she was having fun! Between gasps for air and the odd rest to regain her composure, I actually noticed her smile a few times.

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Paleo Simplified

     So far a huge part of my journey living by the "Primal Rx" has involved a bit of a dietary shift. I'm goin' Primal people!! I've always had a fairly healthy diet, with the odd cheats here and there of course. Throughout my culinary career I have explored every gastro-genre imagineable! From 4 diamond cuisine to street fare, you name it and my hands have been in there! Among my culinary expolits, one theme has remained:

Eat fresh, local, wild, organic happy food raised, grown and prepared with love, respect and pure intention.

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Getting off on the right foot!!....or should I say thigh.....

     So I was thinking....what better way to celebrate my very first blog post (and my new Chrissy PR) than with a super Paleo-licious meal! This chicken was a flavor explosion! NOT KIDDING. Chicken thighs are a bit of an underdog in the chicken world. After years of living in fear of consuming the dreaded "fattier" bits of  the bird, sacrificing flavor and texture for the leaner "over glorified" breast meat, I'm converted. I'm totally a thigh girl now, and you will be too when you try these bad boys!!

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