Day 20-BaCoN!!!

Yesterday I finally made the long trek to that monstrosity of a store called Whole Foods. It was my first time going to any Whole Foods and I was very excited. My mini-me accompanied me on this trip and of course the first thing she needed when we got there was to find the bathroom because she drank too much on the car ride (even though I had warned her against doing so.) :)

Do what did I think?

I was impressed, overwhelmed and a tad disappointed all at the same time.

I was impressed at the variety of fresh fruits and veggies, and the size of the store.

I was overwhelmed because of all the choices and there being so much to look at. And plus, the store was BUSY! I had a hard time looking because I was jostling for space in which to shop.

I was a tad disappointed in that I didn't find more paleo-friendly fare.  They did not have a very good selection of nut-butters.  I was hoping to find an assortment that was free of peanut oil, soy, or other rancid oils high in PUFAs.  I picked up sun butter against some reservations as it it only contains sunflower seeds and salt- but also said may contain soy.  May?  I have noticed that a lot lately.  Is it their way of not being liable in the event someone has an allergic response to their product? *nods Yeah probably...


My main goal was achieved in this trip. BACON!! Whole 30 is very strict about bacon- it must be nitrate and sugar free. My local grocer carries nitrate free- but not sugar free. I found two different kinds of bacon at Whole Foods that is sugar/nitrate free, and two others that have a very small trace of sugar (I will save for after Whole 30 nevertheless). Last night and today and the Applegate Farms bacon- very primal-licious!!

Dinner last night was Hot Ceasar salad. This is my own Paleo version of something I enjoyed while living in Atsugi, at the Chief's Club every Friday with my girlfriends. It was my favorite day of the week. I didn't teach on those days (I taught English while living in Japan), so it was my day to myself and with my good friends. We would end up with a section of the restaurant to ourselves. We usually had our favorite waiter wait on us- he knew what we wanted to drink and always was ready. I miss those days dearly!

So here is my Primal-licious version-

Hot Ceasar Salad

(Determine the amounts according to your likes and the number of people you are serving.  I made this for my family of four- I used two peppers and one onion and a bag of shrimp).

Bell peppers, sliced
Onion slices,
Garlic, sliced thin
Mushroom slices
Tomato slices (forgot this time so not in the picture)
Raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
Fresh greens
Homemade mayo
BACON!

Cook the bacon in a hot Wok/large str-fry pan. After it has reached desired crispness- remove bacon to a plate and set aside.

Next sauté the onions, garlic and peppers until veggies are soft. Add mushrooms and cook until soft as well.

Add shrimp and cook until shrimp is nice and pink. Remove from heat and add tomatoes, stir to coat and heat the tomatoes.

Arrange salad greens in a pretty bowl, top with shrimp and veggies. Crumble desired amount of bacon on top and finish with a drizzle or two of homemade mayo.

Enjoy!

You don't have to totally "carmelize"  the onions, but I prefer them nice and soft to cut their strong flavor.

Final product- shrimp and bacon go together so deliciously- don't you think?

Tuna/Spinach Salad and a box jump owie

What is a fast go-to meal that you love?  A simple one I like is tuna mixed with homemade mayo and some dill weed- and then thrown over a bowl of baby spinach.  I can't do this everyday because I get tired of tuna pretty quickly- but you can substitute the tuna for shredded cooked chicken turkey, or other meat.  If I do chicken I like to add some pecans and sometimes cranberries or raisins (just a few.)  

I live for homemade mayo!  I basically use the recipe from Everyday Paleo's stuffed avocado recipe- with my own little tweaks.  It is runny, not thick like regular mayo- so I really should call it a "dressing:

Add one fresh egg, 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (you can adjust this to liking), salt to taste (I have been using pink Himalayan salt lately- so yummy), 1 tsp of mustard (prepared yellow mustard like French's), a pinch of cayenne and whatever other herbs or spices you want (garlic powder, dill, etc)- to your food processor. Blend for a count of five.  Then add one cup of EXTRA-LIGHT olive oil (must be extra-light- try the regular or extra-virgin and you will know why you need extra light- yuck!)- pouring slowly while the processor is mixing.  Once the oil is all poured in- mix for another 5 seconds.

You can also use avocado oil for a different taste- I like it!  The mayo is good as long as the egg you used is good.  So if the cart on eggs say they expire in Nov 12th- that is when you throw out the mayo. Usually the mayo doesn't last that long for me because I eat it it pretty quickly.

In other news- I fought the box jump and the box jump won.  It took me a good 9 months after starting CrossFit to finally gather the courage to jump on the box.  I could do it with a tire but I was terrified of the wooden boxes we used.  I would literally approach the box with every intention of jumping up, and then chicken out.  And the one day I just did it.  If anything has held me back in CrossFit- it has been me.  Yes, I have back problems and that makes me slow down from time to time and then there are family commitments, etc etc.  But I know I would be a lot further along in my training if I didn't psyche myself out so much.  Self-doubt and fear and my biggest enemies.  I should throw a little self-sabotage in there for good measure.  

Little by little, I am working through all of this.  I have to remind myself not to compare myself to others but to look back and appreciate how much I HAVE accomplished.  For example the box jump- I can do those pretty well- most of the time!  I have only fallen twice so far.  This last time I was in the final 30 seconds of an AMRAP trying to finish my 5th round with 15 box jumps.  I got to number 12 and then all of the sudden the room was tilting and I was landing on my side.  I got right back up and got two more in before the buzzer went off- so I was one short of completing the round.  But I still RX'd that shit!  Coach Dave said I shouldn't count the one where I fell because I didn't achieve full hip extension.  But I called BS on that and said he can't prove it because there are no replay cameras and then accused him of being a "replacement ref."  Haha, it was all in god humor of course.  I was a little embarrassed to fall- one cannot do that gracefully.  But I am secretly proud of my "war wound."

Butt Sweat Angels, Fish Oil and My Lunch

Today was a good day as far as being a cave girl.  I at right, except for a little dairy (I am using full cream in my coffee because I cannot find my organic coconut milk I like to use.)  I had an awesome WOD, and I had an awesome lunch.

My lunch- Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf (see yesterday's post), spinach salad with homemade mayo dressing, and my coconut water I forgot to drink yesterday.  I was stuffed, and it was yummy.

Today my WOD consisted off push jerks, lateral burpees, and kettlebell swings.  I literally told my coach that the bar was too heavy, but he made me keep going anyway.  It was a rough WOD, but I felt awesome afterwards for having done it.  You know how your muscles feel all nice and warm after a good workout?  That is a great feeling.  I also made a nice butt sweat angel after I was done:

I had run out of my fish oil so I decided to pick up some of the Stronger Faster Healthier Brand of fish oil (sold ay my box).  It is liquid so I wasn't sure how I would like it.  This kind I picked up is vanilla.  There is no gluten, sugar or soy in it.  And it was actually quite tasty!  I did burp it up a couple of times afterwards (I had the full dose of 2tsp which is almost 5000mg- I usually take 4000mg with the pills), but it wasn't an unpleasant taste at all.  One wouldn't know it be fish oil.  I am impressed so far- I might just stick with it.

Speaking of fish oil- my hubby is now taking it.  He has super high cholesterol, and had been to a cardiologist to have his heart checked out.  His heart is super healthy, including great blood pressure.  But for some reason his "bad levels" are off the charts.  I was dreading what he was going to be prescribed as I believe some meds do more harm but good.  But I think his doc has caught on and he prescribed fish oil!  That really gives me hope.