Paleo Lasagna

Just put a "Follow me by Email" tab on the right hand side - so any of you that don't have the time or inclination to stalk this very random blog can be sent an email when new info is posted. It will be much easier to communicate this way with our fellow paleo challenge comrades as well.

Day 3 and it looks like we have officially 29 participants that have committed to clean eating, deer antlers, crazy wods and locking up the liquor cabinet for 8 weeks. Best of luck to all!


I was contacted by Alex Born of www.rebornhealth.com about his Paleo Coaching business.  He offers grocery store field trips for anyone interested in learning how to navigate the grocery store. He will be hitting Schnucks, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods and all the details can be found on the website.

Have you done any food prep yet for the rest of the week?  Nicki and Erin got together and made Paleo Lasagna among other things - here is a link to their recipe at an AWESOME paleo blog - check it out:
Bigeatstinykitchen.com

Thought you all would appreciate this one as well:)

Breakfast Favorites

Day 1 starts tomorrow so I thought I would list our go-to favorite breakfast ideas for those of you that will be mourning the loss of toast, cereal, and cream in your coffee.

 BARx Breakfast Favorites:

Yes, It is Christmas in September

11. Kristina's Spaghetti Squash Quiche Pinterest
10. Tim's favorite - bullet proof coffee - Coffee with a spoonful of grassfed butter and coconut oil
9. Sweet Potato Muffins
8. Lauren's Quiche
7. Banana and Sunflower butter (no recipe needed) - Preworkout tried and true standby
6. Paleo Pancakes
5. Easy Egg Frittata
4. Paleo Oatmeal
3. Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash
2. Fried Egg and Brussel Sprout Skillet
1. Steph's All time favorite - Scrambled eggs with tomato, salmon, and avocado.

Lauren's Quiche

Lauren's Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust

Ingredients:
Sweet potato
8 eggs
half a can of coconut milk
chicken sausage
spinach
onion
garlic powder
pepper

Cut a sweet potato into discs and line the bottom of a pan. Mix the rest and bake at 375 for 55ish minutes

Sadly it has been months since I have posted on this Paleo blog as life has gotten busy and I have gotten lazy in my Paleo ways.  But now I have no more excuses, BARx CrossFit will be participating in the Lurong Paleo Challenge starting September 16th and I am ready to dust off my Paleo Recipe book and start practicing what I preach.  There are some great resources out there and I am not going to take the time to go into detail on why you should give this challenge a try, except - what do you have to lose?  8 weeks of eating healthy and  seeing what good food can do for your body composition, energy, athletic performance, and recovery.

I will in my best effort try to post all of the recipes I experiment with over the next two months.  I will not be reinventing the wheel, so there will be links to the places I find these recipes as well as reposting some of the tried and true recipes that I have used in the past.  This morning starts off with Crispy Pork Egg Squares.

Crispy Pork Egg Squares

Ingredients:
Left over Pulled Pork tenderloin*
eggs
salt and pepper
Avacado

I filled the bottom of a mini loaf pan with pork but you could use a muffin pan as well. Crack an egg on top and bake at 375 for 20-25 min.  There was enough meat for 4 squares today and I wrapped up the leftovers to get me through the rest of the week.  Everything is better with avacado so I topped it with 1/2 an avacado and sprinkled a little Franks Red Hot on top.  Voila!

Chicken Bowl

Chicken Bowl - Great recipe from Alicia H.  Keep those recipes coming!!

 

Ingredients

• ½ sweet potato
• 1 chicken thigh, excess fat removed
• 2 slices of bacon
• baby spinach
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Cook whole sweet potatoe in microwave (4-8 min depending on watts).
2. Add your two slices of bacon to frying pan.
3. Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken thigh.
4. As soon as some of the fat begins to render in your pan, push the bacon to one side and place your chicken thigh into the bacon fat.
5. Cook chicken and bacon on one side for about 4-5 minutes, then flip.
6. Your bacon will cook a bit faster, so once it is done, place your sweet potato in a bowl and top it with bacon.
7. To finish the chicken thigh through, add a tablespoon of water and cover for about 3-5 minutes or until cooked through. Do what I do, check before you much.
8. In the last minute or so, add a handful of baby spinach leaves
9. Add chicken thigh to your bowl.
10. Last but not least, grab a fork and knife and cut it all up. Mix it all together.
11. Top with a pinch of salt and pepper.

I (personally) scoop my sweet potato out of the skin before putting it in the bowl.  I love this recipe because I can make it for myself for a quick meal but it would  be easy to quadruple and make for the family.  The picture (and original recipe) doesn't include cooked spinach.  I added it to get my greens in and thought it was delicious.

Stupid Easy Paleo Spaghetti and Meatballs

This one popped up on facebook today from Paleo Pot and I always stop and investigate when a recipe looks easy and involves a crockpot.  Check out full recipe at http://paleopot.com/2013/03/stupid-easy-paleo-spaghetti-squash-meatballs/

The blog will be back in action this month because we have a new Whole 30 challenge ramping up and now have two gyms cleaning up their diets.  For those of you looking for the information to get started here is a summary of the plan.  Email me at stephanie@barxcrossfit.com if you want to jump in the challenge.

Spring Paleo Challenge

In January we had over 20 members at CFVP dive into a Whole 30 contest and had some amazing results.  These people made the commitment to eat clean for 30 days and while we ended up picking one champion, everyone was a winner. Everyone lost inches, pounds, gained energy, and showed measurable improvement in athletic performance.

Several of you have asked for another challenge, so here it is, our Spring Whole 30 Challenge.  We are putting this out there for CFVP and BARx members – a great chance to share recipes, struggles, helpful tips and support.

The Whole 30 Challenge - Step by Step:
1. Research the plan to decide if you are two feet in ready to commit.  For the Whole 30 to be effective there is no dabbling, you need to be prepared to follow the program to the letter for 30 days, no cheating!
Go to The Whole 30 January Challenge
for all the specifics on the Whole 30 plan and the fantastic resources that are available to us including :

• The Whole 30 Program Rules
• Free PDF guide with meal planning, shopping lists, etc
• Free Whole 30 Forum - Connect with others doing the program, get support and advice, ask all the questions you want, and allow our awesome members and moderators to give you some much-needed accountability.
• The Whole 30 Daily Newsletter - Receive an email for every day of your program, packed with helpful information, motivation, and fun little “rewards” for making it through another day.

2.      Contact me to get  weighed in and get body measurements, before pictures, and performance numbers.  This time around we will be measuring a couple of movements of your choice – examples - one minute AMRAP: Row for meters, strict pullups, pushups, ring dips, hspu, back squats @ 50-60% , etc.  You choose what you want to see improvement in. Start talking this up with the other members and lets get a big group on board.  The more people we have going through this journey together, the more support we will have to keep us all in check, share tips, help each other in moments of weakness, and create a positive vibe. 

3.      Pick a start date -  You can start any day between April 1^st and April 15th. 

4.      We will plan a dinner at Hot Pot Smoothie on Manchester for all participants and guests - stay tuned for dates.