Sunday, April 29, 2012

I butter my broccoli....

In the beginning.....

Back in early 2010 I decided to go on a quest.


Not that sort of quest but more of one focused on health, fitness and the pursuit of an amazing physique.

The truth is I was tired of looking the way I did. I wasn't happy and I didn't feel good. I was somewhat active. I ran and thought that was all I needed to do get trim and healthy. Here's a before:


Now some people are looking at that and thinking, "I wish I was there now!" But in truth this blog really isn't about you (I'm only teasing!). And while my appearance matters to a certain degree, what I really want to point out is that I didn't feel good. In fact, I felt frumpy, had no clothes that fit properly, and kept thinking, "Someday I'll get up and do something about it." Which brings me back to early 2010....

I had no clue how beneficial weight training was until I started researching it online. There are scores of articles on why women should weight train and not be afraid of the heavier weights. I saw women like Jamie Eason, Ava Cowan, Erin Stern and Nicole Wilkins and knew I wanted to have a body like theirs. When I looked up their workout routines I discovered they didn't put a huge amount of their focus on cardio but instead threw themselves into the weight room. That's when I was ready. I wanted buns of steel.*

One day, I joined the gym and never looked back. I looked up hundreds of different exercises and took note of them in my iPhone. I even considered jumping into a figure competition for the hell of it (which I've never done, but who knows what the future holds?).

I learned the most important thing I've ever learned in my life. Consistency pays off:



<---This photo was taken in November 2011 and I was feeling bloated that day. 


This photo was taken around the same
time. --->




Sorry, but you have to have a good diet too....

Diet is EVERYTHING. You cannot eat crap otherwise you'll probably look like crap too. You are what you eat, right?

After I joined the gym I tightened up my diet too. Here is what it looked like when I first started:

Breakfast @ 7:00AM: egg whites, oatmeal
Snack @ 10:00: Nonfat Greek yogurt, granola, maybe some fruit
Lunch @ 12: Chicken/fish, brown rice or something else whole wheat, salad
Afternoon snack @ 3: protein shake or something like that
Dinner @ 6: More boring crap
Gym session at 8:00PM
Post workout: Protein shake, blah blah blah

In truth, it worked for me. It really did. But I never really felt satisfied. I wouldn't eat red meat because I thought the amount of saturated fat in it was not good for me. I love tri-tip and if someone prepared it I might have a slice or two but would immediately feel guilty afterward. I didn't eat cheese unless it was fat free. The only healthy fats I consumed were nuts, avocado, olive oil, and those found in fish (which are great and I still eat those). I even stuck to egg whites for fear that the yolk would give me mass amounts of cellulite.

Slowly but surely I started delving more and more into the nutrition world. I discovered a funny word, "Paleo" and learned that it is an interesting lifestyle. This was the first diet I had ever heard about that refrained from eating grains and legumes. I was truly surprised. I had heard that whole grains and legumes were essential in any healthy person's daily meals. That's where you get your carbs, right?

I did more research. I read the book, The Paleo Solution, by Robb Wolf. It just made sense. Grains, gluten, legumes, can actually do more harm then good. Robb explains this perfectly in his book. I highly recommend that you grab a copy if you are interested.

Now my diet looks more like this:

Breakfast @ 7:00AM: 2 eggs, sauteed kale or broccoli, raw sauerkraut, small fruit
Snack @ 10:00: Full fat Greek Yogurt with blueberries and a small amount of raw honey, or a larabar or I just skip all together
Lunch @ 12:Protein (this varies constantly, usually dinner leftovers), salad with a homemade balsamic dressing
Afternoon snack @ 3: Organic Beef Jerky, small amount of macadamia nuts (if I hadn't had nuts that day), or small fruit/veggies
Dinner @ 6:Meat and veggies sauteed in butter
Gym session at 8:00PM
Post workout: chicken and sweet potato/pea protein with banana/whey protein with a banana and berries if I failed to prepare chicken beforehand

For a long time I struggled with food. If I ate something that wasn't "on plan" I told myself I screwed up. I would mentally punish myself which would leave me feeling really down. I've come a long way since then. I've learned that food is meant to be enjoyed; real food that is. I don't eat junk but I enjoy the whole egg, a large piece of tri-tip, chicken wrapped in bacon, full fat cheeses, and naturally sweetened treats.

I've come a long way and still have much to learn. I'm not going to sit here and say, "If you want to look like me, you have to do this!" That statement simply is not true. Everyone is different and everyone reacts differently to food. If there is anything I have to say about food and what you should be doing it's this: Avoid processed food; eat real food. That's really all there is to it. Next time you're in the grocery store, choose foods with little to no ingredients. Look at the labels of the foods that you are used to eating. You might be surprised at what you find.

For anyone reading this who has also come a long way in their fitness journey, I would love to hear what's worked for you. Please post any tips and suggestions you may have for others beginning their new lifestyle. I don't think there's one specific magic formula that works other than whole foods and consistency.

And for those of you who haven't started, what are you waiting for? Get to it and start feeling better today, NOW. You can do this.





*Please note: I tried to find a funny picture of "Buns of Steel" but when I googled it, nothing appropriate came up. Use your imagination, which I'm sure you're doing anyway.

Easy Grain-Free Pizzas

Pizza has got to be one of my favorite things. The hot, gooey cheese, spicy pepperoni, warm pizza sauce and soft bread underneath....what's not to love? It's an easy food to eat and I don't know many people who don't like some variation of it. The problem with it, of course, is everything. Pizza Hut's pizza's are loaded with sodium, carbs and a high amount of calories. But, being the responsible company they are, they listed their nutrition information here. If you enjoy Pizza Hut pizza, think again about consuming their product. Instead, I'm going to share an easy recipe with you that I think you may enjoy. This recipe was originally inspired by one I found here.

Here is what you will need:

1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
3-4 eggs (I used 3 and added a little bit of water to thin out)
1-2 tbsp Italian Spice mix (optional)
Butter, ghee, or coconut oil for sauteeing

Find a suitable pan and preheat it on medium. Mix the coconut flour and eggs, then add in the Parmesan cheese. Next, add in the spices. Play around with the amount of spice you want to use. Coconut flour tends to be a little sweet (to me at least) so adding the spices really helped add to the pizza flavor. Let the dough sit for a bit so the coconut flour can absorb the liquid. It should look something like this:




Once your pan is evenly heated, add your butter, ghee or coconut oil and wait for it to melt. Once melted, use a spoon to scoop a small portion of the pizza dough onto the pan. This is what mine looked like:


I made them small because the dough is easier to flip. If you have never worked with coconut flour (or almond flour for that matter) it's different than regular wheat dough. In my opinion I think it's a little more delicate. Play around with it and see what works best for you.

Once your pizza pancakes are evenly cooked, remove them from the pan and place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. This is where the fun part begins: your toppings.

I chose to make my own pizza sauce according to a recipe I found here. This is what I did: 

1 7 oz jar of tomato paste (I try my best to stay away from canned tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups water (I used a little less because I wanted it thicker)
1/3 cup olive oil (Again, I used a little less here, too, because I wanted the sauce thicker)
1 tsp crushed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tsp Italian Spice Mix



Mix the ingredients together and bring to a boil. Once it begins to bubble, lower the heat until it simmers. I let it sit like this for awhile stirring occasionally, and when I was ready to top my pizzas, I turned the heat down to low. It took about 15 minutes. The original post recommends you let the sauce stand for several hours so it absorbs all the different flavors. This batch makes enough for several batches of your coconut flour pizzas so you can let it sit in the fridge overnight if you plan on making them again. I take the extra sauce and freeze it so it doesn't go bad just sitting there in the fridge.

Once your sauce it ready spread it along the top of the coconut flour patties along with toppings of your choice. Mozzarella, pepperoni salami, sausage, whatever your little heart desires. My son likes to keep it simple and just top it with cheese. I prefer some meat on my pizza so I generally top it with salami (since I always keep that on hand).
 
Final step; place your pizzas in the oven and broil them for a few minutes. I usually leave them in there for around 5 minutes but I watch them to make sure they don't burn. When the cheese is melted, pull them out, let them cool, and enjoy the wonderful thing that is pizza. 


A recipe like this is easily modified. You can sub the Parmesan cheese for many other things. Play around with it and find what you like best.

Let me know what other variations you tried so I can give them a shot! Enjoy!