Zone Vs. Paleo

My experience with the zone and/or just doing paleo.....it is on the food and supplements page

Turkey Sausage Patties

I love breakfast sausage, all the salty goodness and great flavors; but I hate the fact that most of the stuff in stores in heavily processed.  There is a shit ton of weird stuff listed in the ingredients that I don't even know what they are.  Scary. So I thought...well I could just make my own and then it will taste better, fresher (if that is a word), and healthier! Score!

With some over-medium eggs and sauteed kale for breakfast!

This makes about 6-8 little patties....

You will need:
1 lb of 99% lean ground turkey ( you could use the 93/7 and it would be good too)
1 egg
1 tsp fennel
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Making these delicious patties of awesomeness:
1.) Take a medium-large bowl and add all ingredients in bowl
2.) Mix the ingredients thoroughly...I used to my hands, it works the best :)
3.) Create a 1-1/2 inch ball
4.) Flatten to about 1/2 inch thick
       You will want it a little flatter than you would normally think, the meat expands a wee bit when cooking
5.) Repeat with the remainder of the meat mixture
6.) Heat skillet, or griddle to medium-high heat
7.) Add oil of choice...I used olive oil for these...let oil heat
8.) Add all patties to heated oil and brown both sides of the patties ( about 2 minutes per side)
9.) Once you have browned both sides, turn heat down to medium heat.
10.) Let patties cook for about 4-5 more minutes or until center is not pink anymore.
11.) Remove from heat and let rest on paper towel until cool enough to cram in your mouth

You could also make this into ground sausage if you were wanting to do something else with it.

Enjoy!

New GymLife Post!

USAW Sports Performance Level 1, amazing experience...I feel better already.

Bicarbonate Loading

Interesting findings that sprung my curiosity to the enhancing effects of bicarbonate loading.. Post in Food and Supplements!

French Toast Pancakes.....Yes you read that right

"Paleo" French Toast Pancakes

  A lethal combination of delicious goodness.  I don't know how much I would call these pancakes paleo, I mean technically they fall with in the guidelines of paleo but these break some barriers.  The taste is absolutely incredible.  I had originally found a recipe called "Saturday Morning Pancakes" on Farmer K's Kitchen and I didn't have some of the stuff so I improvised and they turned out far better then I could have imagined.

Makes 8 pancakes....I tried not to eat them all in one sitting....I just ate them later in the day.  They are actually good out of the fridge too!

You will need:

-1 &1/2 C + 1&1/2 Tbs Almond flour

-1/4 C + 1 Tbs Flax meal (ground flax seed)

-2 tsp. Pure vanilla

-1/4 C.Honey ( I used raw honey...yum =) )

-1/2 tsp Salt

-1/2 tsp Baking soda

-Heaping 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

-2 Eggs

-1 C. Hot water

Sorry for the weird increments for the almond flour and flax meal; in order to get the right consistency I had to goof around with how much stuff I put together

Alrighty now time to prepare (this recipe is super easy!)

1.) Put all of the ingredients together in a bowl [besides water and honey.]

2.) Take honey and put in a bowl, and add the hot water to the honey to make a honey solution

3.) Add honey solution the bowl with all of the other ingredients. 

4.) Stir together well. If it is too thick add a tad bit more water, I would say Tbs by Tbs until desired consistency.  If the mixture is too thin for your liking add almond flour or flax meal Tbs by Tbs until you have the viscosity that you prefer.  

5.) Heat griddle.  Spray with coconut oil spray (butter, ghee, coconut oil would work as well)

6.) Take your 1/4 C. measuring cup and use as a scoop for pancake batter. 

(You might have to spread batter out a little once on the griddle to make sure it isn't too thick)

7.) They bubble just like normal pancakes, don't flip right when bubbles start but wait just 1 min or so and then do your flipping!

8.) Serve with real maple syrup or honey almond butter on top

Enjoy!

No Zone blocks calculated with these...pretty much a treat that is mostly fat and moderate on carbohydrate (the honey adds quite a bit...prolly why they are scrumptious) 

Buffalo Stew

At this point...it looks like I eat all my meals in bowls haha. That is not the case but for the meals I have prepared lately bowls have been the easiest to eat out of!

Bangin' Buffalo Stew

   I know, I know it is summer and stew isn't the first main dish that pops into one's head, but I had buffalo in my freezer and also a long day of work ahead of me.  So I wanted to come home to dinner all ready for me later!  This turned out really well, I surprised myself...but hey its been one wonderful week for me so what can I say.


Takes 15 minutes prep.....8 hours cook time......6 big bowl servings (technical measurements huh?) 
You will need: 
1 Tbs. Olive oil
1 lb buffalo stew meat cut
3 Stalks celery; chopped
3/4 C. Baby carrots; halved length wise
1 Medium yellow onion; sliced
1-8oz. Container of crimini (baby portabella) mushrooms; sliced
1 quart vegetable stock (low sodium, preferably organic)
SPICES!
1/2 tsp chili powder (ancho chili used)
1/2 tsp course black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder (granulated)

Cooking time:
1.) Put crock pot on high heat while it is empty
2.) Put olive oil in and let heat
3.) Add meat to pot and let slightly brown
4.) While meat is browning add half of the pepper and all of the garlic powder
5.) Add vegetable stock
6.) Add all of the other ingredients except mushrooms
7.) Let cook on high for 1 hour
8.) Turn heat to low
9.) Add mushrooms
10.) Let cook for 8 hours

The meat will fall apart in your mouth, the carrots will be soft but not mushy, the mushrooms add so much flavor to the stew.  This reheats very well and lasts for a couple of days in the refrigerator.

P.S.  I had a tough time estimating the block content on the soup...you never know exactly what you are going to get with each ladle full.

Take care of your joints!

Joints on your body that is...  =)
Fish oil post in Foods and Supplements

Yay! Breakfast Staple!

Cauliflower Mash

My version of oatmeal

       

       During my early days of lifting and then as I progressed through my figure competitor days oatmeal became a comfort food to me.  This was the last grain that I let go of when converting to paleo...and man I hung on by any thread that I could.  Oh the very best combination is oatmeal and peanut butter all swirled together.  I went without any sort of oatmeal-esk for about six months until I discovered this.  I originally found a cauliflower mash recipe on the CrossFit Journal, but I ended up making tweeks of my own that made it even more incredible.  This is one of the only recipes that I prepare a large batch and reheat before I eat it.

This recipe makes about 4-5 (1 cup) servings....

amount created depends on how large the head of cauliflower is. 

You will need:

1 Large head of cauliflower

1 can of regular coconut milk...none of the "lite" shit

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Ground Clove

Coconut Oil

Pure Vanilla

Preparation:

1.) Chop head of cauliflower in to med-large sized pieces.

2.) Heat large soup pot to medium heat

3.) Put 2 tsp of coconut oil; and heat oil

4.) Dump all of cauliflower into pot; let cook/brown just for a few (2-3) minutes

5.) Add one whole can of coconut milk to cauliflower 

Spice time!

     1-1/2 tsp cinnamon

     1/2 tsp nutmeg

     1/4 tsp ground clove

     1 tsp vanilla

6.) Stir together and put lid on pot

7.) Bring mixture up to a medium (not rapid) boil for 5 min

8.) Take heat down to low to low-med for 15-20 minutes or until cauliflower is soft and smashable

9.) Remove lid and use a potato masher to squash the cauliflower to desired oatmeal-like consistency

10.) Stir and turn off heat from burner

11.) Let mixture sit on burner still without the lid for about 5-10 minutes

   This last step I have found to be a good one, this allows for moisture to escape from the cauliflower mash allowing for it to reduce. It holds its texture better and when the sugars reduce down it allows for the cinnamon to enhance the sweetness so that no other sweeteners have to be added to it.

Enjoy!  And put the rest in a glass storage container for the remainder of the week.

P.S.  1 serving has far more fat than carbs so for blocks it rounds out to 1.5 blocks CHO and 10 blocks fat..this calculation is without any toppings

As shown in the picture I added about 1/4 of blueberries to it and some flax seed.

Distracted

          I was in the midst of studying for my summer Exercise Physiology class and all I can think about is how I am have been dialing in on my nutrition...and how much it has been helping my day to day recovery. Eating paleo has helped more than just my lifting but my overall energy levels.  But a concern of mine right now is whether or not I am eating enough.  It sounds kinda weird for me to say because often times I feel like all I do is eat.  One day I recorded what I eat throughout a typical day and I only eat around 1500 kcals a day...I suppose that is alright.  Maybe I should just switch my ratios; more protein versus more fats and slightly less CHO.  Nutrition is such an ambiguous topic and each persons metabolic system is so individualized that if something works for someone that for another person it could actually add 10 lbs of fat straight to their ass.  Finding a balance is the key to almost every single aspect of life and that holds especially true for nutrition.  Fuck.

Cooking

I love to look up new recipes and I enjoy trying new things but I often see that the recipe usually serves 3-4 and that is all fine an dandy if you have 3-4 people to serve.  I on the other hand, have one, uno, just me and I am far too lazy or stubborn to divide the recipe by four so I end up not making it all.  It sounds foolish but hey everyone has their weird quirks about them, I suppose that is one of mine. So I like to create recipes just for one person, it works out well because if you are like me and are just wanting to try a dish to see if you even like it this presents a perfect opportunity.  A new recipe I posted was Fajita Filling, it is simple, yummy, and just for one.

New GymLife Post

I ranted a bit about my gym days in a new GymLife post and added a funny video that I am sure people will get a chuckle out of.

Nobody

I am not sure if anyone will read this and quite frankly I don't care if anyone does....well sort of.  I want to share my recipes, weightlifting programs, and thoughts with others.  Having a healthy lifestyle is what I love and enjoy; as lame-sauce as this sounds I want to help others who want the same things in life that I do.  Enough sentiment, I am going to post my fucking deliciously amazing paleo recipes and share my weird random thoughts. Enjoy!