Shutting Down

After much consideration I've decided to roll this blog into my homemaking blog - Modernish Homemaker - because I am not having enough time to dedicate to writing unique material for this blog. Paleo and CrossFit and whole foods, ancestral diet, and other health topics - including, yes, paleo recipes, will be posted as part of Wellness Wednesday posts on that blog. I hope that by merging these blogs I'll have more time to research content and to live out the wellness principles of ancestral health and functional fitness. I hope you will join me there as I continue down this journey to better health inside and out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Whole 30 - Week 2 Recipe Round-Up

The hardest thing for me about the Whole 30 is finding time to cook when I usually go to CrossFit right after work and come home bushed. I also must confess, that despite my Suzy Homemaker tendencies, I hate to do dishes (I think because I worked in the cafeteria dish room during my most stressful year of my life - junior year of college. Can you say adrenal fatigue?). Since my house doesn't have a dish washer I have to do them all by hand, so I tend to procrastinate about doing them. In any case, this week's recipes were, fortunately, mostly quick to cook. Which always makes life easier!

Southwestern Chicken Soup

Ingredients
1 chicken breast, chopped
3 cubes of frozen bone broth (about 1/2 cup thawed)
1 tomato, chopped
1 green chili, chopped (remove seeds for milder flavor, retain for added spice)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/4 white onion, chopped

Directions
In a medium sauce pan, combine ingredients and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Then lower heat to a low simmer, cover and allow to slow cook for an hour. (You can also make this by throwing the ingredients into a slow cooker in the morning and cooking on low all day while you're at work).

Steak Salad

Ingredients
Flank steak (you choose your serving size)
Mixed greens
Strawberries, sliced
Nuts (your choice, for added crunch - I recommend walnuts or almonds)
Olive oil

Directions
Cook flank steak with a little sea salt and pepper to season. You can cook in a tbsp. of ghee or coconut oil if you have a very lean cut. Then slice in thin strips or cut into bite sized bits. Put on bed of mixed greens with sliced strawberries and nuts to garnish, olive oil for dressing. (Don't use the olive oil for cooking, just add at the end - it's unstable at higher heats).

Bunless Sliders

Ingredients
Ground beef or bison (about 1/2 lb.)
Iceberg lettuce
Your favorite plan-approved burger fixins - bacon, tomato, onion (red, white or yellow), mustard, mayo, mixed greens, etc.

Directions
Make small 2-3 oz. patties out of the ground beef. Season with sea salt and pepper. Grill or cook on stove top to your liking. (My personal preference is to cook them in a pan with a little ghee - I'd usually use butter - to medium well). Use iceberg lettuce leaves to create a bottom "bun" for each slider, then add your favorite condiments. Top with another iceberg lettuce leaf "bun".

Whole 30 - Week 3 Meal Plan and Shopping List

Almost Done! In the home stretch! I'm excited to be almost through with this. While it's been a learning experience I'm just not the type that can live for too long on a diet that is very restrictive. Even with busting through cravings, I just dwell too much on the things I "can't" eat. When I "can" eat them, but just choose not to, I don't seem to dwell on them as much as when they are completely forbidden. In any case, this is what I've got planned for Week 3.

• Egg Drop Soup
• Cranberry and Grilled Chicken Salad
• Beef and Broccoli
• Pot Roast
• French Onion Soup
• Shrimp Scampi

My shopping list for this week isn't too bad, since most of these ingredients I still have in my home from earlier weeks. In fact, the only big purchase for this week is the roast. While it's possible to get conventional roasts around here quite easily, and we have grass fed ground beef available now - the grass fed prime cuts, like steak and roasts, are hard to come by. This means a trip to the health food grocery store half an hour away. If there's not enough time for the trip, then I'll probably just substitute some grass fed ground beef sliders (which is my usual stand by for a quick and easy paleo meal).

Paleo Lifestyle News

More interesting articles to share about health and wellness with a paleo slant.

7 Ways Sitting Will Kill You from Popular Science - Relaxing is good - but the more low impact leisurely standing and walking you do during the day, the better!

Why You Can't Stop Eating Junk Food from MNN - About how food companies use the addictive qualities of empty calories to keep you eating more.

Why Americans Wash Eggs and Europeans Don't - From Forbes.

Inadequate Sleep May Make You Eat More from MNN - As if you didn't already know that sleep is important.

Whole 30 - Week 2 Meal Plan and Shopping List

Here's what I have planned for Week 1, starting on Friday, some of these are recipes I've already shared, others are new ones I'm trying and will share as I make them.

• Southwestern Chicken Soup
• Steak Salad
• Shrimp Ceviche
• Bunless Sliders
• Scallops and Asparagus
• Salmon Almondine

Here's my shopping list (I already have most of meat, poultry and fish for this week in my freezer, so I'm mostly just getting the fresh ingredients).

• Green chilies
• Tomato
• Flank steak
• Asparagus
• Scallops

Breakfasts will continue be boiled or scrambled eggs and a piece of whole fruit. Yes, it's boring, but it's fast and I'm not a morning person, so I just won't be up for cooking something fresh for every meal. With boiled eggs I can make a few in advance and easily grab go if need be. Lunches will be leftovers, primal pacs, plan-friendly lunch meat and/or bone broth. During week one I had a lot of clementines and chicken soup for lunches.

My workout plan is to continue CrossFit WODs 3-4 times each week, walk to work as much as possible (about 2 miles round trip), and do yoga with my DVD at home 2-3 times per week. Here's what I expect the coming week to look like:

Monday - Walk to work and CrossFit
Tuesday - Walk to work and CrossFit
Wednesday - Morning walk and/or yoga
Thursday - Walk to work and CrossFit
Friday - Walk to work and CrossFit
Saturday - Active rest, casual walk around town, maybe yoga
Sunday - Rest

If you liked this post you can check out many other great bloggers at these blog link ups every week!

Prepping for a 3rd Whole 30 Attempt

I'm planning to try another Whole 30 during the month of March after postponing it for February. I am not planning to go anywhere overnight during the month, until the very end for Easter, so it should be easier to plan all my meals and be able to avoid non-plan foods. I have written up weekly meal plans with recipe options and shopping lists. I have signed up for the daily emails as well. I fully expect to be successful this time around with what I've learned from previous unsuccessful attempts. I am also going to invite other people at my CrossFit box to join me, for additional support, if they are interested.

Here's what I have planned for Week 1, starting on Friday, some of these are recipes I've already shared, others are new ones I'm trying and will share as I make them.

• Crustless Quiche
• Chicken Soup
• Salad with Baked Chicken Breast
• Mahi Mahi
• Baked Chicken Thighs
• Shepherd's Pie

Here's my shopping list (I already have all the meat, poultry and fish for this week in my freezer, so I'm mostly just getting the fresh ingredients).

• Mushrooms
• Prosciutto (organic, nitrate and cargeenan free)
• Leeks
• Baby Spinach
• Roma Tomatoes
• Romaine Lettuce
• Sweet Potatoes
• Clementines
• Coconut Water
• Eggs

Breakfasts will be boiled or scrambled eggs and a piece of whole fruit. Yes, it's boring, but it's fast and I'm not a morning person, so I just won't be up for cooking something fresh for every meal. With boiled eggs I can make a few in advance and easily grab go if need be. Lunches will be leftovers, primal pacs, plan-friendly lunch meat and/or bone broth.

My workout plan is to continue CrossFit WODs 3-4 times each week, walk to work as much as possible (about 2 miles round trip), and do yoga with my DVD at home 2-3 times per week.

If you liked this post you can check out many other great bloggers at these blog link ups every week!

Primal Snacks for One

Some times you just need a snack, am I right? For me the feeling tends to hit mid-afternoon, since I tend to have a longer break between lunch and dinner. Here are some primal snacks that are low in sugar too, so they are low-carb friendly as well. (If you don't tolerate dairy, just ignore those options)

• Full-fat dairy cheese (pastured, organic and/or raw if you can get it)
• Plain, full-fat yogurt (again, pastured, organic and/or raw, if you can get it)
• Jerky (be sure to check ingredients, most grocery store brands have added sugar and/or MSG)
• Nuts and seeds
• Organic deli meat
• Whole fruit (preferably something low in sugar, like a green apple or berries)

What are your favorite snacks to have on hand?

Honey Walnut Shrimp Salad

This recipe is inspired by the honey walnut shrimp at Panda Express (their version is not paleo - but it's better than the orange chicken or sweet and sour pork).

Ingredients
7-10 shrimp, cooked and peeled
1 tbsp. paleo mayo
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. coconut oil
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp. crushed walnuts
1 cup cabbage, roughly chopped (about 2 full leaves)

Directions
Add cooked and peeled shrimp to a small sauce pan with a teaspoon of coconut oil to warm. Stir honey, mayo and walnuts together to make dressing. Add warmed shrimp to this. Chop veggies and add to a bowl. Pour honey shrimp mixture on top.

Easy peasy! Took me 15 minutes, if that.

Interesting Articles To Share

Found these articles today on the interwebs, the first two from Living Green Magazine, both of which would be supportive of a paleo lifestyle. The first talks about how we need the sun and how it has helped to define the rhythms of life, and what we're missing out on with our artificial lighting and disconnect from nature. Read The Full Article Here.

The other talks about how unpackaged whole foods can help lower the BPA in our systems (often ingested in minute amounts from the plastics so many of our foods are packaged in. Read The Full Article Here.

This article from MNN links phthalates to an increased risk for obesity in children.

Here is a great article, called Why I'm Not a Vegan, that describes how nature uses death to create life - just like the classic funeral ending "ashes to ashes, dust to dust".

Last but not least, this other article from MNN shares a study that shows too much TV may lead to decreased sperm count in men.

Ancestral Health and Healing Diets

I read two great blog posts from other bloggers today that I thought I'd share with you.

One discusses the similarities and differences between three prominent gut healing and autimmune healing diets, including paleo.

The other discusses traditional diets (think Weston A. Price and Nourishing Traditions) which share many features with paleo/primal diets. (In fact, on the rare occasions I eat gluten-free grains, I try to follow traditional preparation practices, such as soaking).

Enjoy!