The Paleo Effect...

I've heard the word Paleo thrown around a lot over the last couple of months and thought to myself "what the bloody hell is Paleo"?

So with a bit of research I am going to share with you the latest diet craze that seems to have a lot of people talking.

The Paleolithic diet is also known as the Caveman, stone age or hunter-gatherer diet. The diet is a modern nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that humans would have consumed in the Paleolithis era; an era that lasted about 2.5 million years ago and ended around 10,000 year ago when agriculture was developed.

The staples of the diet consist of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots and nuts. The no-nos of the diet are grains, legumes, dairy, salt, refined sugar and processed oils. Water to drink, with some people recommending tea, and alcohol and fermented drinks being restricted from the diet.

Lean proteins support strong muscles, healthy bones and optimal immune function and should make up about 56-65% of each meal.

Fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients and have been shown to decrease the likelihood of developing a number of degenerative diseases including cancer, diabetes and neurological decline. These should make up 36-45% of each meal.

I was reading the latest Oxygen magazine last night and the article about the cover girl, Penny Lomas, which outlined her training and diet program.

penny rocking the Oxygen cover

Penny is a personal trainer and figure competitor from Melbourne and follows a Paleo diet. She explains that her diet is high in protein and high in good fats and she has a carbohydrate load day every fifth day which consists of sweet potato, red Himalayan rice or brown rice.

Penny's diet looks like this ::

Meal 1
100g meat and a small handful of nuts or almond butter. 1tsp fish oil and a black coffee

Meal 2
100g salmon and veggies and 1tsp coconut butter

Meal 3
100g beef and veggies and 1tsp coconut butter

Meal 4
100g of white fish and veggies and 1tsp butter

Meal 5
100g of chicken and veggies and 1tsp fish oil butter

Meal 6
100g beef or 3 whole eggs and veggies and 1tsp flaxseed oil

Penny is a figure competitor so obviously her diet is very strict and portion controlled but you can see that there is a bit of variety in her meals and this could quite easily be adjusted to suit different people's dietary requirements.

penny on the left

Following a Paleo diet does not necessarily mean you are following a "body-builders" diet. From my research on the internet there are whole families that eat regular meals that follow the Paleo diet. Some of the recipes I have come across look delicious and what is surprising is that a lot of children follow the Paleo diet due to their parent's belief in the philosophy.

I came across some amazing and pretty beautiful blogs that are completely dedicated to everything Paleo.

One blog that really caught my eye was Rubies & Radishes. Arcy follows a Paleo diet (although she does eat potatoes) and blogs about her nutritional lifestyle and the simple, healthy and quick meals she cooks.

Here are a few recipes to show you that eating Paleo doesn't need to be hard or boring.

Sun-dried tomato and basil stuffed chicken breast

Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons pine nuts
4 sun-dried tomatoes, marinated in olive oil, chopped
1/4 cup basil, chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
1-2 tablespoons ghee
salt + pepper

1. Place chicken breast in between 2 pieces of wax paper and using a meat hammer or rolling pin, beat until chicken is thin enough to roll.
2. Salt & pepper both side of the chicken breast.
3. In the center of each chicken breast, place 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon pine nuts, 2 sun-dried tomatoes, half of chopped  basil.
4. Starting at the broader end, roll chicken around the filling and secure the chicken breasts with a toothpick.
5. Heat ghee in a skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Brown stuffed chicken breast on all sides.
6. Add chicken stock to skillet and any extra ingredients you have left over to the skillet. Place lid on skillet and  lower heat to simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
7. Remove chicken from skillet and cover with foil to keep warm.
8. Reduce sauce: Turn up heat until sauce is boiling, once boiling, reduce heat to low and allow sauce to cook to desired consistency.
9. Pour sauce over chicken & serve with veggies of your choice.


Banana muffins

Ingredients
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup honey
3 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 cup cacao nibs

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. In a mixing bowl, mash bananas until smooth, then add eggs, honey, coconut oil, vanilla and almond butter and mix thoroughly.
3. Add coconut flour and cinnamon, mix really well.
4. Let batter sit for 5-10 minutes (tangent: I had to go feed Indy in the middle of making these & I found that when the coconut flour sat for a few minutes, it absorbed the liquids really well and the muffins turned out with better consistency ... who knew? trying to bake and manage a baby at the same time, would help me discover new cooking techniques!)
5. Add in baking soda and cacao nibs. Mix until baking soda is mixed through.
6. Fill muffin tins all the way. This made 9 muffins. You don't need muffin wrappers for these, the muffins slide right out of the tray.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Remove muffins from the muffin pan or tip on their side and let cool. 

All the ingrediants are super healthy, not expensive and follow the paleo diet.

I look at my diet at the moment and it does, somewhat, follow the Paleo philosophy. I do eat legumes, a lot of legumes, but I think that when it comes to healthy eating it is about what works best for you and your body and there is no right or wrong answer. If I take some of the Body for Life diet and mix it with some of the Paleo diet I think I get a diet that is working for me!

If you are wanting to know more about Paleo some other awesome blogs to check out are ::

Paleo Plan by Neely Quinn
Nom Nom Paleo by Michelle Tam
Paleo Parents An awesome blog for families with children

Sick...!

I am sick again! Twice in one month! Last month it was four days down with tonsillitis and now it is a killer cold. I could feel it coming last Tuesday but powered through work, training and dieting.

Did this make me more sick? Is sickness inevitable whether you rest or carry on with life?

Sunday and Monday in bed and this morning I went for a walk and am now back on the sofa. I will go back to work tomorrow as I am going to get cabin fever if I don't. I want to work out, I want to feel happy instead of this negative person that has started to question herself.

I went to the doctor on Friday as I am frustrated. Frustrated that I have not been sick for years and have now been down twice in a month. If there is something wrong with me I want to know so I can fix it. I am not the type of person to just sit and hope that things will fix themselves. I had some blood tests to check my iron and zinc levels and also my thyroid. I will get the results later today. My doctor and I ran through my diet; he is happy with what I am eating, it is healthy and is not missing anything. I am training the perfect amount; a lot less than I used to which he is happy with. It is now five days a week for 50 to 60 minutes with three to four one hour walks a week. For him to say my training and eating was not the cause of me getting sick was a relief.

I talked to Simon last night. I told him I had massive doubts about my competition. I doubt that I am good enough. I doubt that I will be able to stand up there in a bikini and heels and show (nearly) all of myself. I am not one to show off myself and deciding to enter this competition is not just about challenging myself with my training and eating it is about pushing myself to go outside my comfort zone and do something that is totally not me. Is how I am feeling normal or am I just looking for a way out? Is getting sick my body's way of telling me that I have taken on too much; working, studying, training, dieting, helping look after Simon's kids and still being me.

I have just texted Chris ::

"Tell me honestly if you think I will be ready for next month? Having doubts about myself and don't know whether it's because I am sick and was in bed all day yesterday or if it's normal to feel like this when you have set yourself a new challenge. Freaking out a bit!"

His reply ::

"Honestly I was waiting for the freak out to happen, it's natural. Your immune system should be in better shape and it is obviously a concern to me. Your health and well being is my #1 priority! Lets go over everything on Thursday and we will work things out."

So I am normal and my freak out is natural and I will relax until Thursday until we work out a plan of action.

I am looking at the positive of being home from work and this is that I have been able to make some lovely, healthy meals which I have been able to eat off a plate instead of from a tupperware pot at my desk.

rice cakes with chicken, avocado and salad

spinach omelette with ham, sweet potato & veggies

my first attempt at meatballs for Simon :: beef mince, parsley, onion, garlic & chili in tomato sauce

and my healthy version with a little olive oil & no sauce :: they fell apart but still tasted yummy

I am going to go and do my food shopping this afternoon and spend a few hours prepping my meals for the next few days. I will pack my bag ready for the gym in the morning in the hope that I feel up for it. I have the Hunger Games downloaded which I started watching yesterday and I will finish before Simon comes home later. I am resting. I am not used to resting. It feels weird!

The wagon...

So this weekend I fell off the wagon! It was the first time in a long time that I went out and when I say out I mean out out!

suited & booted :: city styling

To the City to celebrate Simon's friend's 40th birthday. I had heaps of fun, lots of dancing and too much wine. More wine than I have drunk in a long time and although we weren't home late, home time included toast and muesli and then a magnum. It was good! Why do things taste so much better when you have been drinking?

I woke up the next morning a bit hungover and was hungry. I ate my normal oats and eggs for breakfast. And then I ate muesli with banana and almonds. And I was still hungry! Simon and I sat there and ran through all the yummy things we could have for lunch. There is nothing better than a naughty lunch when you are feeling a bit dusty. Ben Bry's was my hangover cheat meal choice and god it was good. And then we shared a waffle from Barefoot Cafe. And then I was full and filled with guilt.

I beat myself up on the inside all afternoon and all this morning even though I know I have to live and enjoy my life. As I packed my food last night ready for work today I tried hard to remain positive about my cheat meal (and cheat wine). I need it. I need to have a reward at the end of the week as something to look forward to and I also need that cheat meal at the start of the week to help me re-set and re-focus for the week ahead.

I am also going to go for a big letterbox drop this afternoon in Palm Beach (one of the perks of my job) and then hit the gym. Shoulders and arms today and I can't wait. Instead of thinking of this as punishment for eating too much of a cheat meal, I am going to think of my work out this afternoon as my reward for enjoying my Saturday night and enjoying a beautiful day with Simon doing nothing but relaxing, eating and hanging out.

beautiful palm beach

The power of my own positive thinking. And the cheat I now realise I needed to help me re-focus for the coming seven weeks!

Kicking goals...

Today I am proud of myself!

Today marks the day that I can say I made it through Dry July. I made it one whole month without drinking alcohol.

I have kicked a massive goal and can now feel proud of something that I have achieved using my own self belief and determination.

At the moment I feel like I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it. There are times in my life when I do doubt myself and my capabilities so I am finding that if I set myself a goal and succeed it only reinforces to myself that I can achieve big things!

Today is Tuesday and my cheat meal is not until Saturday so it looks like I am actually going one month and four days with no alcohol. I am thinking a few glasses of sauvignon blanc with my mexican!

Do you set goals? Do you see the benefit in giving yourself a task that you know you want to accomplish? How do you feel when you achieve a goal? Or when you don't?

My new goal is to compete in a bikini/fitness competition. The date for my new goal is Sunday 30th September. Eight and a half weeks to see what I can achieve with my body. I have my doubts and fears that I will not be good enough and if I decide closer to the time that I am not ready or I change my mind then that is fine. I will enjoy the preparation, the food, the training and I know I will learn a huge amount.

I have thought a lot about whether I do need to get up on stage and be "judged" and I have realised that, at the end of the day, I need a goal to work towards. I need to know that the hard work is for something, and I think that this is the right decision for me.

This is a new journey that I will share...