Round 2: Day 7

Day 7:

Tomorrow will be the completion of your first week of the 21 day challenge which means only 14 days left overall! I hope you are starting to feel and see the benefits of living a primal lifestyle:)

On Day 3 I challenged you to try new primal approved meals for the rest of the week, so I hope you found one you really liked:) That being said, I also mentioned that on Day 7 you would SHARE this new meal {and other favorite primal dishes if you'd like} for a big Sunday dinner with your family and/or friends! So make a run to the store for any last minute items for your primal feast:)

For Day 7 take a REST DAY... no strenuous physical activity. Spend meaningful time with your family by taking a walk or playing a game. You could also take this day to have some personal time to yourself: read, write in your journal about your primal experience thus far, or nap;).

Do you remember part of your challenge today for Day 6? You are to forage in a restaurant and eat primally. Below is where I like to forage because of their great meat options! I usually get the 'Close Talker Salad' with steak and other delicious veggies! I hope your forage was a success!

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast-

Lunch- on Sunday's I go for the leftover's! Heat up leftover meat, soups, or you could even do a shepherd's pie by throwing all your leftovers into a casserole dish and bake it {it sounds weird, I know, but it is good!}

Dinner- beef round eye seasoned with  salt and pepper baked in the oven with a side of veggies {my husband made this a few weeks ago and it was TO DIE FOR!}; fry some chicken and veggies with a side of fried plantains in extra virgin olive oil and sea salt...another dish my husband made!

Dessert:

Hot Almond Milk

• 2 cups almond milk
• 2 tsp 100% natural honey
• 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Put almond milk in pot over low-medium heat. Stir until milk is hot and foaming around edges. Add honey, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Stir together and serve hot in large mug.

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-primal meal shared with family and/or friends

-what you did on your REST DAY

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

Round 2: Day 6

Day 6:

What did you do for Day 5's PLAY day? Leave a comment below!

Here is tomorrow's challenge:

(1) Try a new aerobic exercise. If you find yourself at the gym for most of the time then get out and try something new! Go bike riding, try rock climbing, play tennis, {or if it is freezing outside...} jump on a rowing machine or whatever else it is you would like to try.

(2) Forage. Go out to dinner with your significant other, best friend, or entire family to a nice restaurant and eat primally. You might need to substitute a side dish of buttery mashed potatoes for steamed vegetables or ask for olive oil and lemon for salad dressing or ask to hold the non-primal sauce on your steak.

Meal/Snack & DESSERT Ideas:

Breakfast- shredded sweet potatoes with eggs atop and fried in a pan.

Lunch- asparagus wrapped in bacon and baked.

Dinner- pan cooked tilapia with seasonings in a pan using olive oil or coconut oil.

Snacks- pickles; deviled eggs; cucumber salad.

DESSERT- baked pears...simply delicious!

Baked Pears

• 4 small pears
• 1c hard apple cider
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1t cloves

Set oven to 400 degrees. Slice bottom of pears so they stand upright. Pour hard cider in a medium sized casserole dish. Add pears standing upright. Place cinnamon sticks and cloves in the cider and around the pears. Bake for 1 hour or until pears are tender and skin comes off easily. Let cool and enjoy!

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-new aerobic exercise

-forage experience

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

Let's Talk:

If you're itching for something sweet {especially around the holidays}then have a little indulgence, such as 75% dark chocolate, red wine {if you drink!}, or a primal dessert. But I want to make a point that we are not recreating unhealthy foods by making them primal. We are being primal by eating protein, veggies, and fruits/nuts/dairy in moderation. 

Success Story

If you can handle graphic photos, then you do not want to miss out on this INCREDIBLE primal results story of a burn victim. You do not even have to read the story because these photos say it all...

Eating primal will heal you from the inside out!

*Again, the photos are of a burn victim, so they are very graphic.*

Round 2: Day 5

Day 5:

We are on Day 5 tomorrow and about to wrap up our FIRST week! I'm getting pretty excited to see/hear about more results! 
The typical first week results that I hear are as follows: increased energy, decrease in cravings, decrease in hunger between meals, decrease in bloating/"my tummy is flat", "mental clarity", no headaches, and decrease in constipation. 

For Day 5, your challenge (besides eating primal, increasing movement, getting sunlight, getting enough sleep and relaxing before bed...right?!) is to PLAY. Go play a sport you love, go on a hike with your family, play frisbee, go slack lining, go sledding/tubing in the snow, paddle a canoe or play basketball in a gym. Grab your family/friends and enjoy yourselves together doing what you love!

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- scramble eggs with mushrooms, peppers, spinach and onions; cook up some sausage with eggs and a dash of cayenne pepper.

Lunch- make a broccoli soup or other vegetable favorite.

Dinner-

Spicy Mexican Sausage Stew

• 4 large sausage links, sliced into 1/4-1/2 inch chunks
• 1 red or green bell pepper, chopped into medium chunks
• 1 white onion, thickly sliced and chopped in half
• 1 tomato, diced into medium chunks
• 1/2 can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 can El Pato tomato sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1T olive oil

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan and add sausage. Stir sausage until brown on all sides. Set sausage aside. In the same pan, add all ingredients except for the cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cook until tender. Then add sausage back to the pan, cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add salt and pepper as desired. Turn heat down to a simmer or 1-2 stove setting. Cover and let cook for about 2 hours. Let cool and serve topped with chopped cilantro or other garnish.

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-what your "PLAY" activity was

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

Let's Talk:

During the last challenge I had a discussion about green beans with my mother. Weird, I know. But relevant to this primal challenge! My mom told me about her previous night's primal dinner and mentioned her side of green beans. I stated that green beans were also a legume, so (as my mother always does) she researched this out. Green beans ARE a vegetable, but also a legume. Legumes are a little harder for the GI tract to digest and have anti-nutrient properties, but, hey, they are better than eating a piece of bread;) Recently, Paleoista discussed green beans on her website. Check out the link and check out her recipes! She's fabulous and has an amazing transformation story. You can also go here to read my further explanation and article on green beans.

Primal Trailer

This is a trailer to Mark Sisson's 21 day challenge.

I love seeing the before and after pictures! It makes me reflect on my own pictures/results from earlier this year.

Because of this challenge, my life has changed and I became passionate about health/fitness.

Since then I have shared my story with others, started a blog, created my own 21 day challenge for others similar to Mark Sisson's, and have people telling me about their amazing results! 

I couldn't be more happy.

Round 2: Day 4

Day 4:

By tomorrow (Day 4), I hope any headaches or cravings that you may have been experiencing are easing up.

For me, the first 4 days were tough as I was coming off of that carb addiction. I felt like I was constantly eating primal snacks to help get me through at first. So, for day 4, don't restrict yourself to a breakfast/lunch/dinner schedule. Eat when you are hungry. If you don't get hungry until 10 am, then wait until then to eat! Eat according to the primal food pyramid until you feel satisfied, but not to the point of feeling stuffed. For day 4, we are going to listen to our bodies!

Along with listening to our bodies, there will come a point when our bodies will be so great at properly storing and burning fat that we may not feel hungry for many hours! Later on we will practice random fasting from food to see how well our body is at fat burning:) You will be amazed!
Once, I was impressed to hear Mark Sisson describe in a podcast at just how well his body is at fat burning. Mark said he was able to eat a dinner in the evening time and would not feel hungry until the next day at 1pm, which is when he would indulge in a delicious primal meal. Amazing!

Exercise:

So, my husband found something new to try for primal exercises:) he loves it and felt it work after his first workout. This will be great for the parents out there with kids {especially if you are a stay-at-home parent!}
It's called MovNat. It looks silly {which is why the kids will love it}, there is pretty much no equipment required, and it is quick {which I'm sure YOU will love!}

Go here for a MovNat workout!

Here is a little bit about MovNat which "is for everyone"! I also love this because it encompasses the primal lifestyle.

Lastly, for Day 4 try to focus on standing up straight, walking/standing without shoes (or try bare minimalist shoes like the ones I'm wearing above!) and stay on your feet for most of the day. We are trying to increase our movement and avoid the american sedentary lifestyle. So, if you find yourself at a desk most of the day, find ways to stand more and take brief breaks. Remember to hold good posture and ensure your workspace is at a proper height for YOU. The last two years of my life working as a nurse in an office, I found my upper shoulders/back in an awful state of pain, numbness, and tingling due to my inappropriate work space. I also carried around a laptop in one arm ALL day! Once I started the 21 day challenge, I adjusted my work space, moved more, and held my laptop in both arms while setting it down as much as possible to save my back.

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- sauté spinach in a pan with salt and have eggs/bacon on the side (this is what I made for my husband this morning); make a big spinach smoothie with berries or other fruit if you're in a hurry to go to work/school/or do errands.

Lunch- did you make pulled pork yesterday? use that shredded pork to top off your green salad and mix together guacamole to add on top!

Dinner- finish off that pulled pork (againwith the pork?) with lettuce wraps and add sliced avocado, onion, and tomatoes; make Ginger Garlic Sesame Seed Chicken.

Ginger Garlic Sesame Seed Chicken

• 4 chicken thighs, fat trimmed
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos
• 2 T garlic, minced
• 1/2 small onion, thinnly sliced
• 1 T sesame seeds
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1 T coconut oil

Set oven to 350 degrees. Heat large pan over medium heat with coconut oil. Trim extra fat off chicken thighs. Salt and pepper chicken as desired on both sides. Place in hot pan and cook top of chicken thigh for 5-7min. Mix remaning ingredients in a small bowl. Flip chicken thighs and place mixture over top. Place pan with chicken thighs into oven and cook for 30min. Remove from oven. Scoop mixture from bottom of pan on top of chicken thighs. Let cool for 5min. Serve.

Snacks- make a veggie plate of your favorite veggies; throw salt on sliced tomatoes (my favorite!)

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-movnat experience

-what you did to improve your workspaces and avoid a sedentary lifestyle

-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

Round 2: Day 3

Day 3:
Tomorrow is Day 3!

I hope Day 2 was more successful with being more creative in your primal meals/snacks, increasing daily movement, and relaxing before bed.

A friend of mine, who did the last challenge, downloaded primal recipe e-books to her tablet which got her excited about trying new primal meals! I want to challenge everyone to try new primal approved meals this week, so that on Day 7  you can make your favorite new recipe for your family and/or friends to share. This might also be a great opportunity to share what you are doing with your family/friends and get them excited about health, healing, and FOOD!

Besides trying new recipes, on Day 3 please focus on making and preparing all your primal meals from home. This will take planning (maybe even days of planning), but it will help you avoid the temptation of running to a local burger chain restaurant to satisfy hunger. From Day 3 forward, plan and prepare meals from home.

Also on Day 3, GO OUTSIDE! Grab some sunshine and soak in Vitamin D. If there happens to be no sun on Day 3, check the forecast and plan a sunny day to enjoy outside. To be primal is to get an appropriate amount of sunlight. Yes, tan=healthy! This will be explained below in 'Let's Talk'.

Lastly, do a favorite aerobic exercise about 50-70% of your maximum heart rate. To determine your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. So, if you are 30 years old your heart rate will be 220 - 30 = 190 beats per minute. Do this aerobic exercise no longer than 60 minutes and, importantly, what is most comfortable for YOU! So, if you're used to walking for 30 minutes, then do your exercise for 30 minutes.

Meal/Snack Ideas: {These are only suggestions and recipes for your guidance, so no need to eat exactly what's written! Eat as much as you want and when ever you want always following the primal food pyramid.}

Breakfast- french omelette with chives {I just ate this tonight!}

French Omelette

• 4 eggs
• 1T fresh chives, diced thinly
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1T olive oil

Heat olive oil in pan on # 3 stove setting or low-medium heat. Ensure olive oil gets up the sides of pan. Beat eggs vigorously with all ingredients until batter has a smooth consistency. Pour in heated pan. Take spatula and gently scrape the middle of omelette from side to side in a plus sign design every few minutes. This will make little clumps throughout the omelette. Continue until omelette is still wet on top with many chunks and swirls of eggs and sides are easy to lift from pan. Loosen sides of omelette and fold in half. Cook for another minute and then serve on plate. Sprinkle more salt and pepper if desired.

Lunch- throw that delicious leftover salmon atop your green salad with seasonings; slice large chunks of eggplant and top with tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, seasonings, sprinkled with a hard fermented cheese and then bake!

Dinner- make pulled pork in your crockpot and serve with your favorite vegetables (pulled pork meat can be used for many other meals!)

Snacks- create a new smoothie using coconut milk, almond milk or water; find a primal coconut drink with pulp (check those ingredients to stay away from sugar and other chemicals!)

{I also just had this above drink tonight:) My husband knows me well.}

Document:

-where you shopped for primal foods
-how you increased your daily movement

-aerobic exercise and minutes completed

-new primal meal recipe tried
-relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits

Let's Talk:

Today I was just talking about sunlight being important in our health. The sun helps us absorb Vitamin D which is great for cellular function. We can do all we can to get enough Vitamin D from our diet, but it still will not be sufficient. This is why being in the sun is important! I'm not telling you to go outside to fry yourself like a chicken, I am telling you it is healthy to get an adequate amount of sunlight to large areas of your body. Once you feel you've had enough sun, such as a slight change in color (NOT red), then go get in some shade! Stay away from harmful chemicals that come in tanning lotions and sunscreens. Just get an adequate amount of sun and then get out of it for a while. Sunlight will also boost your mood and energy. Having tan is also a protector for you. It also is said that by not enough sunlight you can actually develop cancers! I just spoke to another nurse today who said her mother developed melanoma, so the doctor told her to stay out of the sun completely. This led to poor lab results and multiple cancers. You bet your body needs that Vitamin D!

So do your body and your spirit a favor by getting OUT of the house, office, or wherever you find yourself most to enjoy the sun. Then, when you return, you will be happier and healthier!