Gingery Broccoli & Beef

So back from vacational eating which definitely did not go as planned. All the bad food just kinda threw itself at my every time I entered my parents kitchen making it very very difficult to escape. But whats done is done so yesterday I got back on track by pretty much never entering the evil kitchen between breakfast and dinner. My parents actually make it really easy to eat primal since they always make some great meat, lots of vegetables, a salad and then potatoes or bread on the side, so the bad eating is all on me. Today I went home to my own apartment and the first thing I did was to go grocery shopping to fill up the fridge with vegetables, fruit and meat. Now I'm seriously armed to do this whole primal challenge thing. Speaking off apparently Marks Daily Apple is having a challenge starting September 7th (I thought it was august) so even though I have made a head start, I might actually sign up on the site, just to be a bit more accountable...

Today has been okay as far as the eating thing goes, I have been doing okay, though probably a bit too heavy on the fruit and almonds. I'll definitely try to limit that in the next few days. For dinner today I made Gingery Broccoli & Beef. It is funny how a vegetable that I never really cared for can become a favorite just because you start preparing it differently.

I had prepared to go for a short sprint workout this evening, to get more primal stuff into my workout schedule but I didn't feel to great this evening so just stayed inside relaxing. I'll try to get the run done in the morning before work to get a great start to the day.

Vacation

So once again it has been a while since my last post, but at the moment I am vacationing in my home town visiting my parents and all my friends. So this week has been nothing close to normal eating, and I can definitely feel the difference. I did make one of the paleoplan recipes yesterday and it turned out very very delicious. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of it so I guess you'll just have to take my word for it. This coconut chicken is definitely something I would serve for dinner company. The cocunut taste from the crusting is very subtle but still gives it an asian feel. I made my recipy in the oven instead of the frying pan, and that turned out really well. I guess it could be made without the coconut flour if your not a fan of that taste - I'll probably try that as well.

My vacation is done on Sunday so Monday everything should be back to normal by monday. My plan is to do a paleo/primal challenge for 30 days from monday. I will be eating somewhat strict paleo with one cheat meal per week (which as my september looks right now will probably be spend on cocktails - better cheat well if I plan to cheat). I have been planning to try doing a more primal kinda workout for a while but since I had to do long training runs/bike rides/swims as a part of my training it really wasn't possible - until now. I must admit though that I absolutely hate walking so I will probably still do one or two 10km runs during the week, but if I'm doing them alone I'll try to do a more sprint based fartleg workout. I guess biking is seen as moving at a slow pase, and since it's about time I got back on the bike - some easy rides would probably be a great. Other than that I am planning to do strength training 2-3 times a week, and perhaps one or two yoga sesions to stretch and strengthen my back.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

Chicken Mediterranean

So the last few days have been rather quiet, due to yet another visitor - hopefully everything will get back to normal once the summer is over. Anyway I made Grilled Chicken Mediterranean with roasted asparagus for dinner Saturday night. I really like finding new ways to cook chicken, since the normal grilled chicken is rather bland in the long run, and this was definitely an easy version.

Saturday night I went for cocktails with a friend, nothing paleo about that, but really really delicious and definitely good for the soul (or the first few were anyway - after that it probably got a bit blurry). So normally I would end up eating a fallafel or kebab on the way home since drinking kinda brings up the "I need bad food with tons of salt" in me, but instead I made it all the way home and then had my left over lunch for very early breakfast. Always good to eat something before crashing after a night like that, makes the next day a lot easier...

Good things comes to those who wait

So yesterday after my evening run I had planned to make paleo beef stew. But since I really didn't feel like eating at all, which is rather common after a run I decided not to force it and just eat something light later if I felt like it. But since the meat was already thawed and ready to use I kinda had to make the dish anyhow since I absolutely hate throwing away food.

So I prepped all the ingredients, threw them into the pot and let it simmer for a few hours until I had to go to bed. So when I warmed it up again this evening and served it with paleo rice (cauliflower) it was absolutely delicious. The meat was so tender that it almost fell apart and the wine/tomato flawor was just delish. As I have mentioned before I'm a rather impatient cook, but I'm definitely learning a thing or two about giving the food the time it needs. Since I'm not really a wine drinker (give me a mojito anytime) i froze the leftover wine into ice cubes to be used in dishes in the future. That way the fishes won't get drunk on my behalf. I made enough stew to last me through dinner tonight as well as lunch and dinner tomorrow.

For desert I had some unsweetened applesauce with coconut flour on top, very simple and very fresh tasting. Another great dessert that I also got from paleoplan.com is frozen blueberries with almond butter. The recipe actually calls for normal blueberries, but since it is summer the frozen version makes it an almost ice cream like treat. Unfortunately the berries I bought wasn't that sweet, but I fixed this by adding a few drops of sweatener (even though that probably isn't allowed).

Today's exercise was a 30min strength training routine carried out in the safety of mu own home. This way the only one looking was my cat and she doesn't make fun of me - that I know about anyway.

Cacao Nip Pork Chops

So my tattoo excuse doesn't really count anymore since it's not that sore anymore, so I'm back to working out like normal - or almost. I can't go to the pool or in the lake due to bleaching and infection, so I'm stuck with biking and running for now. I eased into it all with a 30min yoga workout today and it definitely felt a lot better than it looked - I'm really not the graceful swan kinda type. Also today was another day of IMF which went without any problems what so ever. It's amazing how you can go a whole day and not be hungry, but it is probably a consequence of the steep decline in training hours that has followed my back problems.

For dinner I had cacao nip pork chops with green beans. But I ended up with a rather different variation I think. Since it's still summer in Denmark butternut squash is non existent in the danish stores, so the salad thing that was to be served with the pork chops got canceled. Instead I spiced up the green beans by adding carrots, red onions and cherry tomatoes to get more vegetables into the dish. Also I kinda missed the "nip" part of cacao nip so just used normal cacao as a spice. All in all it tasted great. This is the great thing about something like paleoplan.com - you get all these different recipes and if you have an open mind you will taste some great food that you wouldn't have thought of othervise.

Next time I'll follow the recipe and see what the difference is.

Cool Looking Breakfast

So this morning I had baked eggs in bacon rings. This is by far one of the coolest looking breakfasts I have ever made, and it really bumbed me out that I was only serving them for me. Next time I have friends sleeping over this will definitely be on the menu. I just roasted some red bell pebbers as a vegetable side dish. When they are roasted to the point where they begin to get black spots they will become very sweet and delicious.

Intermittend Fasting day

So after some great days with friends from back home (and their small bundle of joy) not really thinking to much of food and exercise it is time to get back to reality. This has been hindered a little by the fact that I ended their visit by getting a tattoo on the hip, making the whole running thing a bit difficult until I can wear running tights again :-). But hey I needed my friend to hold my hand.

So yesterday I went for a long walk which definitely doesn't suit my temper, but I guess it was better than nothing. Should have been out walking today as well, but it has been pouring down all day, so just stayed inside relaxing on the couch underneath a warm blanket - life is good.

So since I new I couldn't run today I figured it was a good day to practice intermittent fasting. I have done this before and really like how it makes me feel, so as long as my training schedule doesn't interfere with this I am going incorporate this into my week.

I stopped eating yesterday at 6pm and then went 24 hours without eating until today at 6pm. I really haven't been hungry today, I guess the whole "doing nothing all day" might influence that. At 6pm I had Paleo meat loaf with roasted green beans.

In Denmark we normally make a variant of this dish by using ground pork and then wrapping it in bacon instead of topping it with barbecue sauce. Definitely two very different dishes, but both tastes really great. In the meal loaf I used coconot milk insted of almond milk since the latter is rather difficult to find in the danish stores.

So apparently stretching isn't for wimps...

So last week I got some rather crappy news. I went to my physiotherapist because my bag was making a fuss again, and apparently I should have been listening to the yelling a lot sooner. So the muscles in my bag are getting even more cramped up and I can't even go 40km on the bike without it hurting. So the triathlon is on hold for now, and so is the long bike rides until I get this sorted out. At least I can still run and swim, so it's not all rainy clouds. Speaking of I went for a 10km run this morning in pouring rain - which was great (yes I'm weird like that).

I'm still trying to eat paleo which will hopefully get a lot easier now when my training amount decreases. I havn't uploaded anything new the last few days but that because I have been eating a lot of the same things as I have already shown, and also just easy food that doesn't require much preparation.

But yesterday I had Zucchini and Beef-Mince which doesn't look like much but tasted great and was really easy and fast to make. Next time I make it I would probably add some more vegetables to spice it up a little.

Today I had Curry chicken for dinner which took a bit of preparation since you pretty much make the rice yourself, but it was totally worth it. I think it is so great that you can find substitutes for pasta, rice and potatoes - and by doing, at the same time you get a lot of vegetables. For those who are wondering by making the rice yourself I just meand chop up the cauliflower in the food processor and the frying it in a pan. I fried the "rice" in curry to spice the dish up even more, and next time I'll probably add an apple to the mix since curry and apple go great together.

So next week I'll have yet another visit from some great friends (hey they might be reading this) so the whole paleo will be depending on the food available where we go to eat and what they are up for. So I probably wont post again for a few days...

Getting back on track...

So it's been a while since my last post due to a family visit from my "not the least bit paleo" parents. Always great to see them, but it means that I kinda put the training and eating part on hold for the weekend.

So Monday I was determined to get back on track in every way - never be determined to do anything that is pretty much the same as hybris and the world will punish you for it ;-). Messed up my alarm clock Monday and got up way too late for my morning workout, so just had to go straight to work. Was still dead tired when I got home so I figured I would take a nap before the evening workout, woke up 4 hour later just in time for my bedtime pretty much... So the only thing I trained yesterday was my ability to sleep, which I'm pretty sure won't be a requirement on race day...

As for the diet part it actually went ok, but not like I had planned. Had gotten my act together Sunday evening and made omelet muffins to last a few days and also lunch to last a few days.

So my lunch yesterday (and today) was no potato salad with chicken breast which was incredibly easy to make and really delicious. My mom brought fresh tomatoes and cucumber from her green house which was the icing on the cake.

Yesterday I had almond pancakes as a pre workout meal, which then ended up being my dinner since I slept through both the workout and my dinner. I had some sugar free syrup with them, which is definitely not paleo, but hey a girls gotta live a little. They were definitely very good, and I'm sure they would be great as fuel on the days where I have a very long workout and would normally eat oatmeal to make sure I get enough energy.