Monday - Day 1

The Primal 21 Day Challenge: Day 1

Tomorrow is the start of the Primal 21 Day Challenge! So, have you completed these things?

• take a before picture
  
• (new) write down your goals (i.e. lose weight/gain weight, increased energy, clear skin, etc.)
• rid your kitchen of primal unapproved foods
• shop for primal approved foods

If not, read the previous posts and start right away! You can wait until tomorrow to shop--I'm sure you can forage through your fridge for proteins/veggies/fruits/etc. to hold you over:)

Below is Day 1 (tomorrow)'s challenge agenda...

Agenda:

1. Make your week a little easier by determining meals and packing lunch's/snacks. 
2. Determine different ways to increase daily movement and perform them at 3 different times during your day (see ideas below).
3. Decide different relaxing techniques that do not involve technology and do these before bed to ensure a restful sleep (see ideas below).

Meal/Snack Ideas:
Breakfast- fried eggs seasoned with sea salt/pepper/cayenne pepper or as desired; nitrite/nitrate/antibiotic free cured bacon (I buy the brand of bacon called 'Applegate' from a wholesale store in bulk and freeze the extra packets); and veggies (pictured below were leftover purple potatoes-I would not suggest eating potatoes on a regular basis if you want to lean out, but there is not much of a difference between potato and sweet potato nutrients-recipe will be added.) 

Lunch- spinach salad with boiled eggs, tomatoes, olives and an extra virgin olive oil dressing with sea salt and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Dinner- Lamb Shoulder Chop

If you follow my Instagram (beprimal), you already know I raved about this recipe! It was juicy and flavorful. My mouth is watering just thinking about it...

Ingredients:

• 2 large lamb shoulder chops
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (I used grey sea salt from whole foods that I keep in a jar nearby)
• 2 cloves fresh minced garlic 
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves

Mix all ingredients, besides meat, in a bowl ensuring to mash minced garlic into olive oil well. Rub all over chops. Place into ziplock bag to marinate about an hour in fridge to induce flavor and then/or cook on medium high heat over stove on a pan rubbed with olive oil.

Add a colorful side salad with your favorite veggies (pictured is sliced green pepper/cucumber/yellow and red tomatoes because they needed to be eaten ASAP!) I love to drizzle olive oil, lemon juice, and sprinkle salt on my salads as a dressing:) or balsamic vinegar (remember to check the ingredients.)

Snacks- you will most likely need snacks throughout the day as you will be more hungry from coming off of the american carb diet! Have some in-season fruit (peaches are delicious right now!) or cut up some tomatoes and avocado and sprinkle with salt. Check the side under my grocery list for more snack ideas.

{Psst! There are fried eggs below the tomatoes in this picture for a grab-and-go breakfast I had the other day.}

Increased Movement Ideas:                      

Walk your dog; take 30-60 min breaks from work to walk around, get a drink, etc; walk to the store; take your kids to the park; take a family stroll after dinner; take the stairs instead of elevator.

(Ensure this is happening at least 3x/day.) To BE primal is to MOVE a lot.

Relaxation Ideas:

Dim/turn off lights as the sun goes down; light candles; read a book; put on computer dimmers or download a dimmer from online; turn off your TV/phone/tablet/computer at least 2 hours (yes, TWO!) before bed; read to your children; spend time with family/friends.

Lastly, document!

• where you shopped for primal approved foods
• how you increased your daily movement during 3 different times in the day
• relaxation techniques tried
• energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
• satisfaction level with meals
• hunger level between meals
• struggles
• benefits