Primal Nut

Stress, sickness, laziness… none of them are excuses. I’ve been slacking lately. I’m talking about both staying primal and updating the blog.

This is how I feel lately:

It needs to stop!

My goals by the end of 2012 (some more immediate than others):

1. 90% Paleo
2. Lose 40 lbs. (~2/week) (not final goal)
3. 9 minute 2k time on the erg (rowing machine)
4. Join a Crossfit gym and afford the monthly membership (~$135/month)
5. Become a skating referee for roller derby
6. Upload 4 videos to Primal Nut Recipes (once a month)

Obviously, all of these goals work together nicely.

To reach #1,#2, and #3 I’m going to track my food and exercise online.  I’m not sure which site is the best and if I’ll be able to share on my blog, but there’s got to be a plugin for that, right? Comment and let me know!  To be honest, I feel like this back-and-forth between paleo and SAD (Standard American Diet) is worse for me than just sticking with one or the other. I end up eating more fat while I’m also eating carbs. Not always at the same time.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I read somewhere that that’s a recipe for disaster.

To track my progress on the Concept II, I’ll be sharing my logbook. My baseline 2k will be done this week, as soon as I don’t feel like complete crap (I’m still getting over a wicked case of bronchitis). In college my best time was 7:16. I think 9 minutes is a very realistic goal.

#4 is just a matter of budgetary constraints and prioritizing. It kills me that Crossfit is so expensive. I understand that the equipment is top notch and you’re basically getting feedback from a personal trainer on what to do and how to do it, but $135/month is jaw-dropping.  Starting CrossFit is exciting to me, mostly because I already have a Concept II rowing machine at home (that’s 16 years old BTW)! Also, it reminds me of the heavy lifting I did in college. I’ll take a WOD over an hour on the elliptical any day.  Plus, I’ve always been super competitive. So I would push myself by trying to beat my last WOD time, lift heavier, row faster, etc.

Leave a comment below about CrossFit, sticking to 90% paleo, budgeting, or just say hi!

Yes, that’s right, pizza with a meat crust. Wowza!  This may sound horrible, but it is delicious! It reminds me of meatballs or meatloaf, but tastes like pizza.

The finished product! Topped with onions and green pepper

You can get the recipe and see other variations on other Paleo blogs, but here’s what I did.

CRUST:
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. oregano
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 lbs. ground beef
2 eggs
salt & pepper

For the sauce, you can make your own, but I decided to use a can I already have laying around (all natural). After that, it’s up to you how creative you want to get! I just added what we had in the fridge: green pepper, onion, cheddar cheese.

Let me know what you think. Comment, rate, subscribe…

I should have some new videos coming soon! We changed a light fixture in the kitchen and it’s not working, so lighting is a bit of an issue right now. But don’t worry, we’ll make it work!

Head on over to NaturallyEngineered.com and fill out the Paleo community survey!

“The purpose of this survey is to collect information about paleo diet community members, including demographic information, medical conditions, dietary preferences, and physical activity.

Why should you participate?
The resulting data will be invaluable in terms of understanding the nature of the paleo movement. It will be provided to other bloggers and researchers with the goal of providing a clearer picture of how the paleo diet has affected the lives of its adherents. The survey itself is relatively short and should only take a couple of minutes to complete.

As well, several incentives for completion of the survey have been provided, and will be explained further at the end of the survey. These include a coupon code for Paleo Treats products and the opportunity to win one of several giveaway Amazon.com gift cards.

This survey will be closed on March 26th, 2011. After which, the data and a methodology analysis will be made available to the public.”

Big Ass Salad. This is the easiest and healthiest thing to whip together on Paleo. If you think living primal is hard, or time consuming, think again. It’s easier to shop (check out my grocery list) and it’s easier to prepare. You don’t have to worry about making super complicated recipes, although you can, it’s as simple as throwing together some veggies and grilling some protein. My B.A.S. usually includes lots of cucumber, red or orange pepper, cherry tomatoes, onion, hard boiled eggs, bacon, and Creta Farms deli meat. Sometimes I don’t need dressing, but if I do I use Newman’s Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette (I know it’s not 100% Paleo…I need to make my own dressings). Another great ingredient for B.A.S is broccoli slaw and carrot strips. The combinations are really endless.

Check out this video about Big Ass Salads from Mark Sisson where he explains how easy it is to throw together a great primal lunch.

2 Minute Salad from Mark Sisson on Vimeo.

Here are some of my B.A.S. creations:

[Show as slideshow]

I don’t expect you to believe everything I say without some backup.  Here is a list of some of the information that helped me change my view of nutrition and the food industry.  Not all of this is entirely Paleo, but all roads lead to the same destination (*yay* natural fat/meat/veggies/whole food, *boo* carbs/sugar/corn/processed).

Fat Head -  In addition to chronicling writer Tom Naughton’s weight drop while on a diet of burgers and fries, the film provides interviews with doctors, nutritionists and others to drive home his thesis that most of what we know about “healthy eating” is wrong. Watch it FREE on Hulu, right now! He also frequently blogs here about current issues in nutrition.

If you want straight facts, check out his speech on the Big Fat Fiasco.  Broken out into 5 parts here -

• Part 1 – http://www.youtube.com/user/FatHeadMovie#p/u/6/exi7O1li_wA
• Part 2 – http://www.youtube.com/user/FatHeadMovie#p/u/5/cmwNpUJUjPg
• Part 3 – http://www.youtube.com/user/FatHeadMovie#p/u/3/TuxDuLKz39c
• Part 4 – http://www.youtube.com/user/FatHeadMovie#p/u/2/Z9mQ-QZkZpk
• Part 5 – http://www.youtube.com/user/FatHeadMovie#p/u/4/cEayi6IBjZw

Check out Mark’s Daily Apple. There is a TON of information on this site.  Read Primal Blueprint 101 to get started.  Be careful though! You might get sucked in to his site for days! Here’s another article on Why Grains are Unhealthy.

If you prefer listening to reading, subscribe to Robb Wolf’s podcast – The Paleo Solution

Here’s Paleo in a Nutshell! A perfect video to show others when they start questioning your crazy new eating habits.

Here it is, five weeks later and I’m finally starting this blog. I’ve already learned so much about the Paleo diet and living primal. But before I jump into this head first, let’s back up and understand how I got here.

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with carbohydrates. Even as a kid, “bread” was my favorite food. Luckily, I was always active and played sports all the way through college. I didn’t really see a harmful effect until after I graduated. Minus a few drops in weight due to strict diet phases, I gained an average of 10lbs a year from 2004-2010. That doesn’t seem like a lot until you add it up. 60lbs.

With the popularity of food industry documentaries like Food, Inc. and diet documentaries like Fat Head, I was gradually exposed to contradicting science. I kept digging deeper to uncover the truth about nutrition and choose my side. Initially, it didn’t make sense to question the USDA and their simple pyramid that promotes low fat and whole grains.  But once you examine the studies and really dive into the meat of the issue (pun intended), you’ll find huge gaping holes and bad science.  Plus, I remembered my own experiences with low carb and calorie counting diets. I finally dropped all my preconceived notions about what was healthy and used my common sense.  I know carbs and sugar are bad, so the biggest mental hurdle for me was befriending natural fats.  After researching hours on the internet over winter break, I finally started to believe what I was reading.  It makes more sense that human beings are meant to live on meat, vegetables, and natural fat.  Nothing processed.

Soon after this revelation I found Paleo and have been following it as a way of life since 1/1/2011.