A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 8

Day 8:

Tomorrow we start WEEK TWO of the challenge!

Agenda:

1. Complete a very short, yet intense, tabata air squat workout. A tabata workout is usually 8 sets of a specified movement being performed for 20 seconds with 10 seconds of rest in between. It is an amazing workout that you can get done in just minutes! Below is a large group of people performing this tabata style workout, so feel free to do it along with them or you may do it on your own:) Count your total reps and document.

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- mixed eggs, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes poured in cupcake pan(s) and baked.

Lunch- find hot dogs/sausage that are antibiotic/nitrite/nitrate free and dab primal approved condiments on top {read those labels if not making your own condiment!} Add a side of greens.

Dinner- below is a big salad with homemade pickled radishes {never been a fan of radishes, but pickled are delicious!} along with baked chicken and remaining fried plantains.

Dessert- have you made/tried coconut milk ice-cream? Literally, just coconut milk and coconut pieces. Check your labels, or better yet, make your own!

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-tabata air squats total reps

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

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 7

Day 7:

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

Agenda:

1. 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!
2. Rest... 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;).

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 {love beef round eye!}; fry some chicken and veggies with a side 

of fried plantains in extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.

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

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 6

Day 6:
What did you do for Day 5's PLAY day? We are going ice skating tomorrow. Leave a comment to share what you did/will do :)

Agenda:

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.

{This was from a forage to Moe's Southwestern Grill.}

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

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 5

Day 5:

We are on Day 5 tomorrow and about to wrap up our FIRST week! These are the typical first week results that I hear: 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 me, I have my mind back again and no more headaches. Today was goooood:)

Agenda:

1. 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!
2. Ensure you are getting plenty of sleep, at least 8 hours. From here on out, plan ahead so you get enough sleep and take the time to relax 2 hours before bed {I know the mom's are thinking, "YEAH RIGHT!" To make things more calming, turn off the TV, computer, put away phones and other gadgets. Dim the lights, read books with your kids, etc. Create a more calming environment to help everyone wind down.

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

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

Zucchini Egg Bake with Italian Sausage

Ingredientes:

3 tbs butter
1 shallot, chopped finely
5 small zucchini, grated (or 2-3 large)
1/2 lb italian sausage link(s), cut into 1/2 inch chunks (or other meat)
3 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated (optional)
salt & pepper to taste

*This is a spin off of a Mark Sisson recipe that you can add leftovers to. Last night I made this dish and added 4 small purple potatoes we had left over.

Set oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in sauté pan. Then add shallots and zucchini and sauté for about 7min or until zucchini is tender. Once zucchini is tender, put it in a colander and gently drain off the extra liquid. Add the italian sausage to the sauté pan (by themselves or with other leftovers) and sauté until slightly browned on all sides. Mix the zucchini and italian sausage together in a large pie dish or an 8x8 pan. Season with salt and pepper or other seasonings. Add beaten eggs and mix well. Smooth the top and add the grated cheese. Cook uncovered in the oven for about 35 min or until slightly browned around edges and cheese is crispy.

Great for dinner or breakfast!

A New Year's Primal Challenge: Day 4

Day 4:

Agenda: 

1. Listen to your body. These first 3 days have been tough as I have been coming off of that holiday carb addiction. I find myself more hungry and 'snacky'. So, for day 4, don't restrict yourself to a breakfast/lunch/dinner schedule. Eat when you are hungry, listen to your body!
2. Perform a MovNat workout.
3. 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 below!) 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. 

Side note regarding agenda item #1: 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!

MovNat:

A month ago, my husband found something new to try for primal exercises:) we are loving it. 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.

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

mmmmilk

During my first challenge a few people asked me about dairy in the primal lifestyle. How good is it for you? How much to eat? Here was my answer: limit your dairy, however some high-fat, unpasteurized dairy is beneficial in moderation and if you are not lactose intolerant. Commercial dairy that is pasteurized and homogenized is rid of harmful bacteria, but also rid of healthy bacteria, enzymes and nutrients we need. The other downside is the amount of antibiotics, pesticides, EGF (epidural growth factor that is believed to increase cancer risk), casein (stimulates some auto-immune properties) and hormones that are found in dairy. It is also believed that dairy can worsen acne which, in my case, I believe was true. Unpasteurized, raw and fermented dairy has probiotics for a healthy immune system due to minimal processing, low levels of casein, and allows people to avoid allergic reactions with lactose. So, stick with either no dairy, raw fermented dairy, raw high-fat dairy, raw milk/cheese, or organic hormone/antibiotic free dairy. This is the best order according to Scott Kustes, friend of Mark Sisson, mentioned in 'The Primal Blueprint'! Lastly, we want to get the majority of our fats from animal fats which is what our body wants/needs, so do not solely rely on dairy for high-fat consumption. Again, no dairy or dairy in moderation:)