Sunday - Day 7

Woo Hoo:) One week down, 14 days to go! You CAN do this.

I hope you enjoyed your Saturday and are  getting ready to forage tonight! My husband and I went to the farmer's market to get some produce {cantaloupe, tomatoes, eggplants, peaches, cabbage} and I found beautiful flower bouquets! Tonight we are going to a Brazilian restaurant to forage...wish us luck!

Day 7 Agenda:

1. I challenged you to try new primal recipes and on Day 7 SHARE this new favorite recipe {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- cook up some mushrooms to go with your breakfast! I just got a whole lot today that I can't wait to eat.

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 delicious!}

Dinner- Pulled Pork!

 And for leftovers use the pulled pork on top of a salad. My favorite toppings (if you couldn't tell by my last post) is a fried egg and guacamole with lime juice....yum.

Bed time snack- Hot Coco{nut} Milk

Ingredients:

• 2 cups coconut milk
• 2 tsp 100% natural honey or stevia
• 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Put coconut 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

Saturday - Day 6

What did you do for Day 5's PLAY day?

Day 6 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 cycling, try rock climbing, play tennis, 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. This might seem hard, but I have found it actually isn't. Most places serve meats/fish/poultry and vegetables, right? If needed, just ask for olive oil and lemon for that side salad or to hold the non-primal sauce on that steak. 

{I have shown this picture before in my other challenges, but I think this is a great example of foraging. I went to Moe's Southwestern Grill and found great meat for my salad!}

Meal/Snack Ideas PLUS a dessert:

Breakfast- shredded sweet potatoes topped with eggs all fried in a pan.

Lunch- asparagus wrapped in bacon and baked.

Dinner- Meatloaf topped with Guacamole & Fried Eggs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground beef
  
  {This is what I picked up from my local grocery store. That's right! No need for fancy stores, folks.}
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp celery seeds 
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 white onion minced finely 

Mix all ingredients together with a fork. Line a baking sheet with tin foil, shape meatloaf using a bread pan and then put on baking sheet. Bake on 400 degrees for 40min. or a higher temp for less time to make it a little crispy. Let cool and add my toppings mentioned above or one of your own:)

Guacamole Ingredients:

• 2 avocados
• 1/4 cup of minced purple onion
• 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• a few dashes of salt

Mix all together!

Snacks- pickles. 

My husband loves to make his own...

DESSERT- Baked Pears

Ingredients:

• 4 small pears
• 1 cup hard apple cider
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp 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

Friday - Day 5

We are almost to the close of our first week! At the end of week one, my participants usually share these results: 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.

Day 5 Agenda:

{My sister and I tried paddle boarding this summer in North Carolina. Love it!}

1. Play! Go play a sport you love, go on a hike with your family, play frisbee, go slack lining, go paddle boarding  or play basketball in a gym. Grab your family/friends and enjoy yourselves together doing what you love. 
2. Sleep at least 8 hours/night. 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- my breakfast-to-go this morning...

An egg frittata with greens, olives, and lemon juice/olive oil/salt/pepper. The one thing I missed was some shredded hard cheese on top! 

Lunch- baked eggplants with tomato sauce.

Dinner- Spicy Mexican Sausage Stew

Ingredients:

• 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

Thursday - Day 4

Day 4 Agenda: 

1. Listen to your body. These first few days might be tough coming off of that carb addiction. I have found myself to be hungrier and very 'snacky' during this time, 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 {see below}.
3. Focus on your posture 24/7. As a nurse, I had developed upper back/neck pain on my left side. It became more constant and painful which brought me to the chiropractor. After the pain left, I stopped going. I bet you can guess what happened. It came back! I thought, "There has to be a better way than spending money on a chiropractor for the rest of my life!" So, I invested in minimalist shoes (barefoot shoes/five finger shoes), I walked barefoot often, and I focused on my posture after reading some of 'Becoming a Supple Leopard' by Kelly Starrett. After doing this for a week, my back/neck pain was gone. GONE! This is worth trying.

Here is a video of Kelly speaking to a Crossfit group.

So, from now on during this challenge, focus on your posture  ALL THE TIME (it takes practice, guys!):

1. Feet straight and below lungs.
2. Squeeze your buttocks.
3. Tighten your tummy- take a deep breath and as you exhale tighten your abdomen.
4. Use torque by pushing the outsides of your feet in the ground. You want to almost feel like you're only walking on the outsides of those feet!
5. Chest slightly out and shoulders back. 
6. Head facing forward and neck in neutral position (over spine). 

Regarding posture while sleeping, watch this video:

{I apologize about the language!}

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!

MovNat:
During the spring, my husband found something new to try for primal exercises:) This will be great for the parents out there with kids because the kids will love it! 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 clip about MovNat which "is for everyone"! I also love this because it encompasses the primal lifestyle.

Meal/Snack Ideas:
Breakfast- my breakfast-to-go this morning...

Did you make that delicious eye of round with my mustard vinaigrette tonight?! If you did, scramble up some eggs in the morning and drizzle leftover vinaigrette on your eggs like I did:) also pictured is colorful bell peppers chopped and all seasoned with salt and pepper. Honestly, I think the eggs are so tasty with just the vinaigrette! Confession: I might or might not have had more for dinner tonight...

Lunch- baked salmon on a bed of lettuce.

Dinner- Ginger Garlic Sesame Seed Chicken.

Ingredients:

• 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.

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-movnat experience

-posture successes/weaknesses/what to do better

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

Wednesday - Day 3

I hope Day 2 went well for everyone! Let's see what's going on for tomorrow...

Day 3 Agenda:

1. Try new primal approved meals this week. Then on Day 7,  you will make your favorite new primal recipe for your family and/or friends to share. Take that opportunity to get them excited about eating clean, delicious foods and feeling healthy!
2. Focus on making and preparing all your primal meals from home. This will take planning and preparation, 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!
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 {if it's cold, bundle up!}. To be primal is to get an adequate amount of sunlight.
   
   {Hmmm, so tan=healthy? YES! But avoid getting sunburned. Studies show that lack of the "sunshine vitamin" (Vitamin D) causes cancers!}

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- French Omelette with Chives

Ingredients:

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

Heat olive oil in a medium sized pan on # 3 stove setting or low-medium heat. Ensure olive oil gets up the sides of pan. Beat eggs vigorously (yes, make some loud noise in that bowl!) 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- did you make the Chicken Broccoli and "Cauliflower Rice" Casserole? Heat that up and serve. Seriously, heat up or get creative with your leftovers. Stretch that money. I had our leftover casserole for breakfast AND lunch:)

Dinner- Eye of Round Roast with Mustard Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• eye of round roast
• a few dashes of salt/pepper/thyme
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1 Tbs olive oil

Set oven to 500 degrees. Cut the strings off eye of round. Depending on how large your roast is, season with the salt and pepper (I had a 2 lb. roast and sprinkled a tsp or so of sea salt, a few dashes of pepper and a few dashes of dried thyme.) Mince garlic and then mash into olive oil well until almost dissolved. Rub over meat and ensure seasonings are spread throughout. Place on a baking sheet covered with tin foil and place into oven to cook for 6min per pound, so my I cooked my 2 lb. roast for 12 minutes.) Then, turn off the oven and let the roast sit for two hours. DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR. When done, take out and slice thinly and drizzle with vinaigrette. Add a side salad or veggies and enjoy!

 

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Tbs dijon mustard (check for clean ingredients)
  
• 1 Tbs white wine vinegar
• 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• dash of sea salt

Mix all together and drizzle on meat:)

Snacks- Don't go crazy buying a bunch of prepared snacks...save your money for the best meats, veggies and fruits! But, have you tried this coconut water? Devine.

It's a favorite primal drink of mine.
Be sure to check ingredients! Ensure there is no sugar, preservatives, and other chemicals.

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

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

Tuesday - Day 2

How are you feeling after Day 1? Typically, those who have taken my challenge (including myself!) have headaches or feel tired the first few days. This is normal after coming off of the american high carb/sugar diet. We are all addicted to the sugar! Most of my participants have said it took them about 4 days to get over these side effects and then they started to feel "great" and "energetic"! So, hang in there:)

Day 2 (tomorrow's) Agenda of the Primal 21 Day Challenge:

1. Continue daily movement today and throughout the rest of the challenge: park far away from work, take the stairs instead of elevator, take a break every 30-60 min. from your desk job, or go for a walk.
2. Complete a maximum repetitions workout. At the end of the challenge you will do this again to see how you have improved.
3. Lastly, take a cognitive ability test HERE to compare with at the end of the challenge. I always feel so dumb when I eat sugar/grains and alert when I eat primally, so it will be interesting to compare! {It takes about 45 min.}

Take about 5 minutes to find your maximum repetitions of:

• Pushups (Keep body in straight line, hands shoulder width apart, hands and toes on floor, touch chest to ground. To modify, keep knees on floor along with toes.)

• Sit-ups (Put a rolled up towel lengthways or pillow beneath buttocks and back. Put bottom of your feet together to make a diamond with your legs. When you lie back, reach back as far as you can with your hands and then crunch forward reaching as far as you can with your hands to your toes.)

• Pull-Ups or Chair Dips (Grip the pull-up bar with the top of your hands facing you, wide grip, pull your body up until your chip is above the bar. For chair dips, take a chair and sit just in front of it by gripping your hands on the edge of the chair. Your body will be in a sitting position just in front of the chair. Dip down as far as you can and then push yourself back up.)

• Plank Holds (Get into the pushup position, hold this position for as long as you can.)

• Squats (Stand shoulder width or a little wider if you have long legs. Keep your arms stretched out in front of you and lower yourself down by pushing your buttocks back, keeping your back flat, and keeping your knees behind your toes and going outward rather than inward. Go as low as you can, preferably below parallel.)

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- egg frittata

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• a handful of spinach
• sliced mini bell peppers (or other veggies)
• olive oil or butter/ghee
• salt/pepper

Set oven to 350 degrees. Mix eggs well in a small bowl. In a small skillet (I used a small cast iron pan), warm up olive oil/butter on medium heat over stove. Pour in egg mixture. Season with salt/pepper. Sprinkle spinach and bell peppers on top. Let cook until bottom/sides start to become more solid (you can use a spatula to check sides). Then place in oven to finish cooking until all of the egg mixture is solid and spongey. Let cool, add a side of bacon or fruit and eat up!

Here was my breakfast-to-go this morning:

Fried eggs and leftover pulled pork on top of a bed of greens. Seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper!

Lunch- grilled/baked chicken on top of a green salad. Use balsamic vinaigrette or my favorite mixture of lemon juice/olive oil/sea salt as a dressing:)

Dinner- Chicken Broccoli and Cauliflower Rice Casserole 

{My husband and I enjoyed this tonight for dinner!}

 Ingredients:

• 2-3 chicken breasts (I used boneless)
• head of cauliflower cut into florets (leave out big stems)
• head of broccoli cut into florets 
• garlic/sea salt/olive oil (to rub on chicken)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (cold)
• 2 Tbs arrowroot (to thicken the "gravy")
• 1 1/2 Tsp olive oil or butter (ghee)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (check ingredients or make your own)
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• a couple dashes of pepper

First, bake chicken by slicing in half horizontally and rubbing down with garlic/sea salt/pepper and placing on baking sheet. Cook at 350 degrees for 20min or a few minutes longer until internal temperature of chicken is 165 degrees. Set aside. When cool, cut into small pieces or shred.

 Next, make the "gravy" by whisk coconut milk, arrowroot, olive oil or butter, chicken broth, salt and a couple dashes of pepper together in a saucepan over medium heat. The mixture will quickly become thick and once it starts to bubble continue stirring for about a minute. Set aside.

 Steam cauliflower florets for a couple minutes (I used our large crockpot by adding some water to the bottom, placing the tin cover on top of that-it sits halfway in the pot-and cover with the lid. Once it starts steaming and getting hot I added the cauliflower, covered with the lid and let it steam for a few minutes.) You could also boil them for a couple minutes. You do not want them very tender. Set aside. Then add the broccoli to steamer/boil broccoli until tender and set aside.

Next, pulse cauliflower in food processor until it makes "rice" or you could use a stick blender to blend it up some. It might be a little mushy, but that's okay! 

Cook cauliflower "rice" in a skillet with a little bit of butter, lemon zest, pepper and salt for a couple of minutes. Add the "gravy" and mix together. Remove from heat. Add chicken and broccoli to combine. Put in a casserole dish and bake in oven for 20min at 350 degrees. Enjoy!

Don't forget to document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-relaxation techniques tried

-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}

-satisfaction level with meals

-hunger level between meals

-struggles

-benefits

If you haven't done so already, take a 'before' picture and if you are really looking to lose weight, take body measurements/weigh yourself.

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