April Challenge with the Hubby :)

Living a paleo lifestyle 90% of the time is what I strive to accomplish.  It can be difficult when the person you spend most of your time with isn't quite on board with this way of living.

In March, I asked my husband (who loves his sandwiches, snacks and beer) if he would do a 30 day Paleo Challenge with me in April.  After some consideration, he agreed and for 30 days we did not have any sugar, grains/bread, dairy, or alcohol.  What we did eat was meat, fruits, vegetables, seafood/fish, nuts.

The first week was a challenge, but after 2 weeks - it got much easier. We both noticed after 30 days we were calm, collective, our communication with each other improved drastically, we had a lot of patience and we were sleeping much better at night.

He is now starting to understand why my goal to live a Paleo lifestyle is important to me and we now try and make all our meals Paleo.  Of course with him having the occasional sandwich and beer on the weekends ;)!

Below are some photos of the types of meals we ate and continue to eat after the challenge.

Breakfast was by far my favorite meal of the day. 

Paleo Pancakes, Organic Sausage & Organic Bacon

Organic Bacon, Scrambled Eggs with left over beef, fruit & avocado

boiled egg, avocado, fruit and pecans

Here are some examples of our dinners (which we often had left overs for lunch)

Grass-fed steak on the BBQ!

organic chicken meat pie with sweet potato
    

Organic Chicken & Veges with Salad

Organic meatball soup - big hit in our house! Lots of leftovers

Organic Beef Goulash

Organic Shrimp with Asparagus

Here are some photos of the snacks we had:

homemade beef jerkey

Larabars if really having a bad day. I usually cut them in 3 pieces for 3 snacks

Tuna Balls

Organic Dates with Pecans - tastes like pecan pie!

coconut milk ice cream - expensive, but delicious!

It was a fun challenge and it helped that we did it together.  It's something that we are proud of! I can't wait until he does the challenge with me again.....he thinks otherwise ;)

This challenge allowed me to scratch #10 off my 101 list!

Almond Coconut Balls

Remember those peanutbutter balls with coconut?  Well here is a Paleo version.  I found this recipe in one of my Paleo Cookbooks from http://www.paleocookbooks.com/  but I didn't have hazelnut meal in my cupboard so I changed it slightly.

These were SO SIMPLE. Honestly took me 10 minutes to make.  This would be a perfect recipe to get the kids involved too!

No cooktime. Just mix, form balls and put in fridge.
Definitely satisfies my sweet tooth too!


Recipe

1 cup of almond flour
1/2 cup of coconut flour
1/2 cup of almond butter
4 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of cocoa
coconut

Mix ingredients, roll coconut on balls, cool for a few hours in fridge.

February Meal - Meatball Soup

This is by far one of my favorite winter meals.  This is my February meal - and follows Paleo guidelines. 

I got the recipe off of http://www.cavemanstrong.com/ .

It took no time at all to make and we had leftovers for the next two days!

Definitely recommend!

Paleo is the Solution!

Crossfitters believe in a certain way of eating - the Paleo way. Anytime there is a book on Paleo I read it and take in whatever information I can. 

Robb Wolf's book The Paleo Solution was an easy read (with a few chapters that were detailed - but I could still follow)

He gives some great - easy movements that anyone can do anywhere - plus gives a 30 day meal plan.

I was surprised by some of the humour Robb Wolf used - especially when explaining the different types of people that he has helped (or tried to!)

I recommend for anyone who wants to be healthy and avoid disease!

Crusted Paleo Salmon

Replace almond flour with regular flour & bread crumbs - and you have a paleo-crust batter that you can pretty much use with any meat - chicken, fish, beef, etc.  This time I tried the batter with salmon and it was even a hit with my husband!

Ingredients

1/2 cup of almond flour
1/4 tsp of coriander
1/8 tsp of cumin
4 salmon fillets
2 tsp of lemon juice
sea salt & black pepper






Instructions

Preheat the oven to 500F.

Combine almond meal, coriander and cumin in a small bowl

Spritz the salmon with the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Coat each fillet with the almond meal mixture.

Place skin side down on an oiled pan

Bake at 500F for 15 minutes

Lemon & Garlic Herbed Chicken

Another quick meal - Lemon & Garlic Herbed Chicken. I found this on a Paleo website - but can't remember the website.

 Ingredients

chicken thighs
4 cloves of garlic
Lemon juice
Lemons sliced
Fresh Thymes

Instructions

Place chicken thighs on baking dish



Mix lemon juice, thyme & garlic in a bowl & based over thighs.

Baste thighs with marinade & put in oven at 350 until chicken is cooked & crispy

Coconut Shrimp!

Have you ever been to a cocktail party and the server offers you coconut shrimp that melts in your mouth? 

Below is a recipe I found on a paleo website called Paleo Mama: http://paleomama.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/paleo-coconut-shrimp/

Ingredients

12-15 shrimp
 1 - 2 eggs
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of garlic powder
1/2 cup of almond flour
1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tbsp of coconut oil





Instructions

Beat eggs with spices

Combine flour & coconut in shallow dish

Take shrimp - dip in eggs - then in coconut flour & Continue until all shrimp have been dipped and covered.

In frying pan  - melt coconut oil and cook shrimp 2-3 mins each side until shrimp is golden brown.  Let set for 5 minutes to allow coconut to stick to shrimp.

Quick and Easy Meal

I was alone for dinner one night and decided to make a quick Paleo meal. I had left over beef & fresh spinach in the fridge and a ripe avocado.

Below is the result! It was delicious, was quick, and was a great meal for one.

Ingredients

a couple of handfuls of spinach
1 avocado diced
1 cup of diced beef
olive oil
lemon
garlic (or spice of your choice)

Instructions

Mix first 3 ingredients in bowl
Make a dressing with 3 last ingredients and drizzle on top of mixture

So Simple, So Tasty!

I wanted to make something healthy for my friend's birthday  - but wasn't sure what to make.  I was browsing Paleo recipes and came across a Pecan Pie recipe that consisted of all natural ingredients. It was the perfect desert!

Here is a photo of the Pecan Pie I made!  It looks good - but was a bit "puddingish" probably because I didn't have a food processer and had to use a blender and add much more water han called for. I can't remember where I found the recipe - but below are the ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 cups of almonds (soaked & drained)

36 pitted dates

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of seasalt

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 cups of pecans (soaked & drained)

olive oil

Instructions

Soak almonds for an 1 hour and drain (save the water)

Put almonds and 10 dates in a food processor and blend until they come together into a crust-like consistency.

Add a small amount of water (saved from soaking the dates) if necessary to aid in bringing almonds and dates together.

Grease a pie plate with olive oil

Use a spatula to press the almond-date crust into the bottom of the plate or pan forming a full pie crust.

Put the finished crust in the freezer until you are ready to fill it.

Combine the remaining dates, fresh lemon or lime juice, cinnamon, sea salt, and vanilla in a food processor and blend until the mixture takes on a smooth consistency. If needed use a small amount of water left over from soaking dates

Spread the date filling evenly over the almond-date crust.

Arrange pecans on top of date filling and press down lightly to help keep the pecans in place.

My Paleo/Crossfit Story

Tyler, the owner of Cornwall Crossfit (http://www.cornwallcrossfit.com/) asked me to write a little something about my Paleo / Crossfit experience.

He posted my story on his website. READ HERE. He wanted me to highlight what I have been doing since the New Year.