Paleo days 5-7, Weekly Roundup & Paleo Fueling for Endurance

Just when you start to think you are a mildly talented human being, your Mum owns you on a ride. No matter how hard you pedal you really don't make any ground. Your quads burn, oh how they burn. And then you realise, she keeps looking back to make sure you are still there. Because she knows she is kicking your butt. Note to self. Go to more spin classes.

Fortunately eating paleo does not hurt body nor ego nearly as much. As I round out the last 7 days I have to say that I have shocked even myself in a couple of ways.
1. I have not eaten a single piece of bread or chocolate or refined food. I cannot recall a time in the last 5 years when this has happened. Noteworthy.
2. I haven't even been interested in eating chocolate. Beyond noteworthy. Astounding.
My digestion is fantastic. Probably the best it has been in a long time. My energy levels are good too. Although I did get smashed on the bike today, I am confident it was not due to the way I fueled. I think I may have lost a little weight, but I don't ever weigh myself. I just know that my pants are getting a bit looser.

As a food roundup for the last 3 days I will include anything new I have tried but leave out anything I have
already posted, so this is not a true photo food diary, but I'm sure you can use your imagination. Here goes.

Ummmm. This is an apple.



Re-worked Meatloaf with Creamy Brussel Sprouts and Kumara.
I combined the meatloaf from earlier in the week with a few tablespoons of tomato passata. Then I blanched some brussel sprouts and dressed them with mashed avocado, salt and pepper and baked some sweet potato slices in the oven. Delish

I have no doubt that cavemen sat around with good friends and had a wine or two on a Friday evening...



And a really good Chicken Salad with Raspberry Dressing.

I have been on riding, running & swimming rations (what, you haven't heard me whinge about it repeatedly) for 3 weeks now so I have not had to fuel for endurance with paleo eating yet. Today was my first attempt and I think it went quite well. I didn't struggle with any nausea like I sometimes can and I didn't crash (energy-wise, or literally for that matter).

Pre-ride - I usually have toast with almond spread, so I improvised and used banana instead. Its also a medium release of carbohydrates to top up stores from the night before. The almond spread has fats and proteins to help to slow down the gastric emptying and just generally keep the meal well rounded. Sports nutritionists like to use a lot of carb heavy foods pre and during events and not a lot of fibre, fat or protein, but I find my body just doesn't love that. You should always do what works for you.

During ride - I have been using organic fruit packs for a while, so I knew I would digest these just fine and I did. I swapped my Gu electrolyte drink for organic coconut juice and I put a pinch of Himalayan salt in it. The coconut juice is naturally high in magnesium and potassium, but has less sodium that a sports specific drink so the salt helps with that. I have to say the tatse of this is SO much better than any electrolyte drink I have had. I find them too sweet, especially if you have to drink a lot.

Post ride - The trusty blueberry, glutamine, banana, maca, cashew milk (recipe and instructions to come) recovery shake. mmmmmmm.

So how did I find paleo fueling - easy. To be honest I didn't have to change a lot of my normal practices. Depending on the length of your ride it would be more expensive to use coconut juice that a sports powder, but I don't have a problem with that because at this stage we don't ride longer than 2 1/2 hrs.

Wow...If you are still reading then I really do owe you a prize. How about a cashew milk recipe tomorrow - will that do?

Until then, enjoy your life, enjoy your training and enjoy your food. That's what its all about right?

Day 4 - Coconut Butter and Other Delights

Day 4 started with delightful clients and a really upbeat feeling at work despite howling icy winds and sleeting rain. Hello Winter, not overly nice to see you. But I think Winter is fantastic - not because I like cold weather. Au contraire. I like Winter because it helps us to appreciate sunshine. And the smell of the warm summer nights air. And straight hair because the rain hasn't made it go frizzy. Ahhhh the simple things.

So paleo today looked like this

Choc Nana Smoothie - caveman style. Cavemen had blenders didn't they?

Coffee & Coconut Butter

I had noticed these little snack packs of coconut butter at the health food store and figured what better time than now to give them a try. The verdict ... they grow on you. The first 2 mouthfuls were horrendous. The rest of it tasted awesome. Just like blue cheese. Be warned though, don't eat one of these without some water nearby. It has the texture of dry peanut butter. Give it a try!

Roo Casserole

Leftovers from last night tasted just as good. Oh how I wish I had cooked more.

Paleo Banana Bread & Coconut Juice

I got the recipe for this awesome bread HERE. Truth be known I may never stop looking at this site. Its pretty and interesting and the recipes look delish. The only changes I made ... because I am incapable of following a recipe perfectly, is that I used 1c Almond meal and 1c Coconut flour instead of 2c Almond meal. This meant that I had to add an extra 1/2c water because the coconut flour is a lot dryer. I also substituted the honey for agave, simply because I didn't have any honey in the cupboard. Last of all I didn't using baking soda because I'm pretty sure it's really un-paleo.

Carob Kibble Nibbles

I think it is time to get Instagram. It helps to disguise that both the iphone camera and myself are rubbish when it comes to photography.

Meatloaf with Baked Zucchini and Kale

I used THIS meatloaf recipe, only I used beef instead of chicken, fresh garlic and onion and no basil. I told you, I have a substitution problem.

With the cold snap I'm completely uninterested in vegetables unless they are stewed or baked, so I'm just going with it...

Today was a day off training. Its really hard to get inspired when the only form of cardio you are really allowed to do is the cross trainer. Wanna come to my pity party? I'm serving freshly cooked paleo delights.

And remember ... "you are far too smart to be the only thing standing in your way" - Jennifer J Freeman.

Paleo Days 1 to 3

In the interest of full discolsure I am going to admit that I just wanted to try out paleo before I declared to the 2 people that read my blog (i'm sure one of them is my mum) that I would do it for 30 days. So this being Thursday, I have completed 3 full days already.

I will give you the pics of the different breakfast, lunches, dinners and snacks I have had over the last few days later in the post but initially I want to talk about how I feel physically.

In a word - awesome. It was definitely a challenge not to run to the freezer and make some toast every afternoon when I was tired and had been up since what feels like the middle of the night, but with a bit of craving control (see previous post) and organisation to have plenty of foods on hand that I can eat, it has really been pretty easy. I feel like its pretty under control now. Using the Carob Kibble Nibbles when I felt like I needed sugar also helped a lot.

I feel like I have more energy and my appetite has decreased a bit. It will be a big test in a few weeks when I return (fingers crossed) to 7 or 8 hours of running, riding and swimming a week to see if  I can cope with the absence of sugar and bread. I am hoping to have fully adapted by then.

So what have I eaten over the past 3 days?

BREAKFASTS

Paleo Banana Berry Smoothie

Serves 1

100mls Coconut milk (see tomorrows post for the one I use that has no additives)
200mls Water
1/2c Blueberries
1/2 Banana
Raw Protein Powder

1/2t Glutamine

Blend ingredients and serve

LUNCHES

Avocado, Tuna and Celery Sushi with Capsicum and Coconut water

Avocado, Tuna and Celery Sushi

Serves 1

1/4 Avocado
1 lge Celery stalked finely chopped
1 sml tin Tuna
Salt & Pepper to season
2 sheets Nori

Combine avocado, celery and tuna and then divide mixture between 2 nori sheets and roll.

Salmon with Garlic Broccoli

Garlic Broccoli

Serves 1

2 cups Broccoli chopped
1 Clove garlic chopped
1t Coconut oil
Salt and pepper to season

Place coconut oil in heated pan and melt. Add broccoli and garlic and cook quickly on high heat. Make sure broccoli is still a bit crunchy, season and serve.

Mediterranean Chicken with Spicy Cabbage, Kale and Pumpkin Fry

Mediterranean Chicken

Serves 4

1 500g jar Tomato Passata
3 cloves Garlic roughly chopped
6 Free range Chicken thighs, skin off

Preheat oven to 175degrees. in a medium baking dish place chicken evenly in dish. Mix passata and chopped garlic together and season with a little salt and pepper. You can also add fresh herbs if you like. Pour tomato mix over chicken, place in the oven and bake for approx 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Spicy Cabbage, Kale and Pumpkin Fry

Serves 1

1/4 sml Purple cabbage finely sliced
100g Pumpkin diced into small cubes
2 stems of Kale chopped
1 clove Garlic
1/2t Cumin
1/2t Coriander seeds
1t Coconut oil

Place coconut oil over medium heat with garlic and spices and cook for 1-2mins. Add pumpkin and stir regularly. When pumpkin begins to soften add cabbage and cook for 2mins then add kale and cook until all vegetables are still slightly crisp. Serve.

SNACKS

Fruit Puree & Almonds + A Coffee & some Medjool Dates

And of course Carob Kibble Nibbles randomly throughout the day.

DINNERS

Roo & Vegetable Casserole - Best thing I have made in AGESSSSSS

Roo & Vegetable Casserole

Serves 2

300g Kangaroo Fillet
2med Carrots chopped
2lge stalks Celery chopped
1 Onion diced
2 cloves Garlic roughly chopped
1T Coconut flour
2t Coconut oil
500mls Organic stock

Place 1tsp coconut oil in hot pan and very quickly seal the meat. You really don't want to over cook it so seal for 2 minutes then put to the side. Reduce pan heat and place last of coconut oil in the pan and add garlic and onion and allow to become translucent. Return meat to pan and add coconut flour. Stir and cook for 1 minute before covering in stock. Allow to gently simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes. Add the vegetables and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes or until sauce has thickened to desired consistency. Serve.

Sausage with Baked Vegetable Stack and Avocado Tahini Sauce.
This was also uh-mazing.

Sausage with Baked Vegetable Stack and Avocado Tahini Sauce

Serves 1

2 Organic Beef sausages, cooked in a pan
3 slices Sweet Potato cut 1cm thick
1/2 Zuchini cut lengthways into 3 1cm slices
2 stems of Kale chopped

Sauce
1/4 Avocado
1t Tahini
2t Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to season

Preheat the oven to 170C. On a baking tray lined with baking paper place the sweet potato and zucchini and cook in the oven for approx 10 minutes before turning to cook the other side for 10 minutes. Cook your sausages in a pan.
Then to make the sauce you simply mash and combine all ingredients and set aside.
For the last 2 minutes of cooking your vegetables, place the kale on top and return to the oven so that it softens. Then you simply assemble all of your ingredients. I placed the vegies on the bottom, then the sausages, followed by the kale and then the sauce on the top.

Wow...marathon post. You can see why I am loving this way of eating. I really don't feel restricted in any way and I have had plenty of energy for my workouts, which have all been strength training so far. I am hoping to post a photo food diary daily so that it won't be as mega as this one.

Train hard. Enjoy life. Much love x

Pa Pa Paleeeoooowww

The best decisions are always made in the presence of cake and wine. Everyone knows that.

So it made sense that on Sunday, after the consumption of wine and cake, whilst doing the weekly grocery shop, I made the final decision that I would give 'paleo' a go. And ever since I have been hearing "Pa, pa, paleeoooowww" to the tune of Sussudio by Phil Collins in my head at least 20 times a day.

So here is the deal. This is how the paleo diet is meant to work. But its important to note that I don't think it is a miracle, or a cure for anything or even a brand new idea. It just makes sense to me really. Not everyone will like it and not everyone will feel their most well and happy eating this way. If that's the case then use your noggin and don't do it. Groundbreaking huh?!

I will follow the guidelines with 3 exceptions, because, as I say time and time again, I don't believe in "diets" and if I didn't have these exceptions, then, for me, it would become a diet and I can't be on a diet for 24hrs, let alone an ongoing basis.

For 30 days I will eat;
Lamb, chicken, fish, beef and kangaroo - All either organic or free range, basically the best I can find
Eggs - Again organic and free range
Vegetables except potato (because its gross)
Fruits
Nuts & Seeds
Organic Oils like coconut, flax etc

I will avoid;
Grains
Cane sugar
Processed foods that are not raw (for more info see below)
Dairy

My exceptions to the rule are;
Protein powder - There is no chance at all of me eating meat for breakfast every day. None. So I have chosen to stick with my normal smoothie breakfast which contains raw protein powder sourced from sprouted seeds and grains. I have, however substituted the almond milk in it (which contained sugar) with organic coconut juice that contains pulp which makes it creamy and thick.

Coffee - 1 a day with a dash of soy milk. Because I like it. And I have to be up at 4.30am 3 days a week.

Carob Kibble Nibbles - These. rock. my. world. I just discovered them. They are literally carob pods chopped up and then packaged. No heat processing, no refining. Technically they belong to the legume family so are a no no, but if having a small handful of these every day helps me not to eat a family block of chocolate, then I'm happy to make the sacrifice. PS, they can be found HERE if you live in Melbourne

Processed foods
Processed foods are not allowed when you are eating paleo, but the term 'processed' is pretty vague really. I mean, if something has water added to it, then technically it has processed. You can see how this could get tricky. So I am doing what I always do and marching to the beat of my own drum - as long as the foods are raw and organic - meaning not heat treated and wholefoods meaning no artificial or nature identical flavours, colours, sweetners, preservatives, blah blah blah then I will eat small amounts in moderation. I will endeavour, however to eat atleast 90% of my food from the traditional paleo list.

As you can see if you are a traditional paleo-er this post will have you up in arms about my rule changes, but if that's the case then relief is only a 'click the x' away. Then there will be some of you shocked by how many times you can say 'paleo' in 1 post. And then there will be the rest of you who are hopefully interested in what I'm going to eat, how it will all taste, how it will make me feel and of course whether or not I fail miserably.

Only time will tell kids, only time will tell ...