New goals for a new year!

Hello - this is Patti. Just thought I would take a minute to post a comment on why I wanted to start Paleo again. First, I feel like crap from eating too much crap since basically Halloween. I've gained 10 to 12 pounds since last spring and frankly I want to get back to where I was before. Not that weight loss is "supposed" to be the goal of Whole 30, it actually partly is one of my goals. I have some clothes that are fitting tighter and I'm not liking the cellulite on my arse very much either! Second, I do want to get back to where I was last year being able to run between 8:15 and 8:30 pace without feeling like I'm going to die or my whole body aching for days afterwards. My hope is that by cleaning up the eating, I will recover faster and be faster overall. Anyway, I can definitely use the moral support from those of you willing to do this too.

So, what are your reasons for doing this?

A Couple of Recipes

Sweet Potato Salad

1 lb sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 medium red apple
1/2 small red onion
1 avocado
2 limes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 handfuls of roasted pumpkin seeds

Boil the potatoes until fork tender. Let cool. Mix apple, onion and avocado with cooled potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, add olive oil and squeeze in lime juice. Toss together, adding pumpkin seeds last. About 4 servings. It is yumm

Also, easy and pretty straight forward but I though I'd add it while I was here...

I don't like Kale but I do like cabbage so put together it was pretty good.




Turkey Sausage with kale and cabbage.

I cooked the sausage first, then sauteed the kale and cabbage in the pan until it just began to wilt; added back the sausage and let that all simmer up for a few. It was pretty good.

Two New Recipe Sites and Two Days Left

Hi All,

Well, it's hard to believe how quickly the past 28 days have gone by and that I only have 2 days left of 100% Paleo. Things have gone so well this time, that I'm a little nervous to try any sugar, dairy, grains, or legumes. I'm not sure it will be worth it. We also only have two more days left before vacation in the Dominican Republic, so I won't be posting for awhile....but, I did find two new Paleo Recipe sites to leave you with that both appear to have some amazing and tasty recipes....Enjoy!


Girl Gone Primal

This Primal Life

Oops, almost forgot to share this with you...

A friend at work gave me these recipes for homemade Lara Bars, check them out....

Larabar Recipe 1

Larabar Recipe 2

What is great is all you need is a food processor and some foil to wrap them. No oven needed. I may have to try making these this weekend for a little airplane snack for our upcoming trip.

How's it going?

It seems we have all had some busy schedules lately....so thought I would check in. I am on day 24 and going strong. Due to a busy schedule for me, I haven't had a lot of time to experiment with new recipes, other than a roasted cauliflower side dish from the Living Primal Cookbook that I whipped up the other night to acompany our steaks. It was fairly easy...roast cauliflower on a pan with a little olive oil and sea salt, dry roast some nuts (I used walnuts) for a few minutes in a skillet. Mix up a sauce consisting of coconut milk, tablespoon of olive oil, dijon mustard, a little sea salt and pepper. Then mix it all together. It was pretty good and beat my usual microwaved cauliflower in water.

Anyway, just saw this recipe for Sweet potato hash on the Foodee widget and am so making this this weekend.

Has anyone tried experimenting with new veggie dishes? Do tell.

Renee's before and after pics!

I had to share my before and after pictures. The picture on the left was from August 2008 at a cousins reunion party at my aunts house. The picture on the right is around April 2010 at a Mary Kay makeover party. I went sugar/flour free March 22, 2009. Pretty amazing what a year can make! I had been doing crossfit only a few months when the April picture was taken. I am way more buff now that I have been crossfitting for over a year.


I will be 2 years sugar/flour free on March 22nd. I have been pretty much eating paleo since July 2010. I have had no rice/potatoes/beans/artificial sugars and a very, very small amount of dairy since then.

I truly believe that I owe my success to being part of Challenge Fitness. Good workouts, good friends and lots and lots of encouragement from everyone there. I think being around people that are so athletic, in shape and healthy has made me want to be more athletic, in shape and healthy. I have made goals I never thought I was capable of!

All I know is that the chick on the left would never be running the Shamrock Run this Sunday and LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!

Thank you everyone for helping me become a healthier me. I know my family is appreciating it!

Renee

Checking In...

Hey,so how is everyone doing on their Paleo Challenge?
I just realized that tomorrow, I will be half way through (day 15) and can't believe how fast it has gone by. This is my second time doing a 30 Day Paleo Challenge. It seemed fairly easy to me the first time around, but this time seems even easier. One thing I am noticing myself doing this time is rather than focusing on the foods I "can't have", I am focusing on all the wonderful foods that I can have and many new foods and recipes that I've never had before. It's like exploring a whole new world. The other thing I am noticing is a huge improvement in my running (I think Kaci can attest to that). The first time I did the 30 Day challenge, my knee pain from arthritis improved immensely, but I didn't really notice any performance gains. Today, I am happy to say that we ran 6 miles at an average pace of 8:18 min/mile. My average for that distance has historically been around 8:45 to 9 minute miles. I truly believe that sticking to a Paleo Diet has been the key factor in this gain. Not only am I running faster, but my recovery has been amazing! I don't have all the aches and pains in my legs anymore that I was having before after running. It has been great!

So how are all of you doing?
Anyone notice anything positive? Negative?
Anyone try a recipe with a new vegetable yet?