Lurong Paleo Challenge- Week 2

Things I learned after the first week:

- My caloric intake for weight loss was too low! So was my carb count. I am going to add in sweet potatoes and more berries to increase both of these things.

- My fat was low just by a bit so I am going to try and add either ghee or coconut oil (in moderation) once a day to boost both my fat and caloric intake.

I don't dream about food, but last week I dreamt that I was in a donut factory and when left alone I ate 3 donuts by myself and filled a box to take home.....I might be going through sugar withdrawl.

I found a company, Urban Remedy, that makes some paleo dessert-like items. I ordered a few from the website (and I was really thankful for the gift card I had recieved because it was so expensive!) and now I have a little arsenal of paleo-friendly sweet snacks that I can have to curb my craving and still eat clean.

After week one I am feeling very good! It was not as hard to stay on track as I had thought and I really was looking forward to the challenge at the Cider Fest. I made a deal with myself that as long as I ate clean, I could have the cider and I was successful. There were no temptations and the cider was worth the cheat.

Meal prep for week 2 :

Post WOD breakfast- pumpkin spice protein shake worked last week so I'm sticking with it this week!

Breakfast- Egg Cupcakes

 

 Big thanks to Fawn who provided me with this recipe for these little egg muffins! I tried one today after I made them and it was yummy. I traded in the mushrooms for zucchini and did not use but one tablespoon of coconut oil for the double batch that I made and then 1/4 tbsp to line the muffin tin. 

I will be pairing these with a cup of blackberries and/or a plum.

Lunch- Cilantro Lime Chicken and Sweet Potato

 This was a recipe that someone at clinic handed to me and asked if it was paleo....and it was! I made a copy and decided to try it myself. I haven't tasted it yet. But it smells amazing and was extremely easy to make.

I will microwave my sweet-tater and toss a bit of ghee on it with some cinnamon since that was so delicious and easy last week.

Dinner- Crockpot Cashew Chicken and Cilantro Lime Cauliflower "Rice"

I have never made anything with chicken thighs before....and for good reason! I had to trim them to death to satisfy my delicate meat sensiblities. After what felt like hours of snipping chicken bits, I had to cook them in the pan before tossing them into the pot. The result was delicious! Like chinese food but you can tell there is not a ton of salt in it. While this was good, I will be reserving it for another time when I am not doing more labor-intensive dishes.

As Audrey would say, "THIS ISN'T RICE!" but it sure looks like it! It was very simple and quick to make this when I used the Vitamix to chop it up, Years ago when I was paleo I chopped up my cauliflower by hand.....Never. Again.

I think this will be wonderful to eat with my "chinese food" Cashew Chicken and I read a few articles about how great cauliflower is supposed to be for you.

Snacks- You guessed it! Hard boiled eggs and Tabasco!

Here's to another week of eating clean!

Jenn

Lurong Paleo Challenge- Week 1

My crossfit box, Ardent Crossfit, finally talked me into participating in the Lurong Paleo Challenge. This has me tweaking my meal prepping as well as changing somethings from the last time I decided to eat paleo. This time around I am determined to make meal prepping less labor intensive and to keep everything as simple as possible.

This is what I have set for meals for Week 1:

Crossfit @ 0530 followed by a protein shake with a generous scoop of canned pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice,  and unsweetened almond milk.

Breakfast- Frittata 

Found the recipe for this at StupidEasyPaleo.com http://pinterest.com/pin/127648970663883439/ and it smells amazing! I cut it into 5 slices and packed them all in glass containers to toss in my cooler. I am pairing this with fresh black berries.

Lunch- Steak with Pico de Gallo and avocado

I made homemade paleo pico de gallo just to be sure I wasnt getting anything "extra" from buying it pre-made (recipe in photo). I found a recipe for paleo steak marinade that I used for a guide ( 5 grass fed sirloins, 2 tbsp EVOO, 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, steak seasoning, juice from one lime) and tossed my steaks on the grill. I double checked that both EVOO and white wine vinegar were acceptable on the Lurong website, and they are in moderation. After letting the pico sit in the fridge, I divided it up over 5 days and prepped half an avocado.

Dinner- Shredded Chicken with cabbage, broccoli and carrot mix

My friend Tara suggested this easy, crock pot meal. I checked at the Lurong website to make sure this brand of buffalo sauce is acceptable for the challenge before I prepared it. I tossed 3 chicken breasts in the pot on low for 6 hours, shredding and mixing occasinally.

Then I prepped 5 baggies of cole slaw and rainbow salad mix. I did half and half of each to make sure I am getting a variety of veggies.

Snack- I have steamed up some eggs to eat if I have a hunger attack and I like mine with Tobasco which is approved through Lurong.

I preemptively bought some 100% unsweetned cocoa and froze some bananas incase I have an attack of the sweet-tooth as well as 3 bottles of Malbec.....because you can have 6 oz of red wine a day. Ill try not to take advantage of that :P