Whole30 Day 10 Interesting Information

As I do more research regarding nutrition and exercise, I find myself watching more and more documentaries.

One of the first ones that I watched several years ago was Food Inc. a great look into industrial farming particularly poultry and livestock. This documentary actually made me not want to eat chicken for a long time; however, it had some great insight into the difference of commercial and free-range. I learned that industrial farming and ranching is also controlled not by the farmer himself but by larger corporations that actively attempt to drive small businesses and farmers out of business or to control them, while overlooking important aspects like safety and sanitation. It is one of the best ones I’ve seen.

Happy is one that Coach recommended about the same time and looks into what makes people happy. Looking at people’s daily lives, occupation and their stories. Happiness is viewed as something to be measured and how different people achieve it. When you exercise, endorphins are released within the brain and nervous system that activate the body’s opiate receptors and thus making you happy! Afterwards, I definitely took a step back in my life and looked at the things that made me happy and that I valued. I realized that no matter how frustrating my life may seem, there are people who do not have as much as I do and are satisfied and happy with their lives.

Recently, I watched Hungry for Change which looks into certain individuals lifestyles and how changing their diets and focusing on what they were putting into their mouths improved their lives and aliments they were suffering. The most important thing that I took away from this documentary, is instead of saying “I can’t have this” we should work to say “I don’t want this” in regards to consumption. Something I need to keep in mind while I try to put my snacking beast to rest!

Supersize Me will also be one that stuck in my head and eat significantly less fast food. A few others on my list to watch and finish watching are:

Food Matters: looks at how food can help or hurt us with interviews from nutritionists, naturopaths, doctors and journalists.

Forks Over Knives: investigates the claim that most diseases can be controlled or fixed by reevaluating the animal-based and processed food menus that plague our daily lives.

There are so many great documentaries not regarding food and just as educational. Totally off topic, I am in the middle of Virunga a documentary following the lives of the park rangers that reside in the Congo to protect the world’s mountain gorillas.

Tip for the Day: I am always looking for information to share with people who are interested in the same topics. If you have fun facts about food, travel or useless information, I’d like to hear it! Great conversation starters and these documentaries are always something to talk about!

Whole30 Day 9 Exercise

Most New Year's Resolution are centered around eating better or getting fit and those are great! For me they go hand in hand. Each time I have attempted Whole30 I have paired it with a 30-Day Workout Challenge like abs, squat or upper body workouts. As mentioned in previous posts, 2 weeks starts a habit and after the month is over it's just a part of my daily routine. I believe that you see the best results when pairing healthy eating with building muscle and burning fat also known as exercise and thus accomplishing both of those resolutions!

Three years ago, I gifted myself a personal trainer who helped me reach my fitness goals and served as my nutritionist as well. My trainer is part of a local gym club that allows me to use all of their wonderful facilities including a pool, sauna, weights, yoga room, spin room and many others. Since then, my trainer has opened his own gym but I have stayed at the club so that I can utilize the pool and other amenities that his does not offer. I love the gym and the motivation that comes from working out with others but last year I decided that I am looking for a little change.

At the end of last year, my amazing cousin decided to become a BeachBody coach. For those of you that have not heard of BeachBody they do workout videos and classes like Turbo Jam (what I started with), Hip Hops Abs, etc. If you are interested in checking them, click on the link above for some more information.

When we were in college, she got me hooked on these workouts and you could really see the results. So when she told me that she was becoming a coach I signed up immediately! One of my favorite workout trainers, Chalene Johnson, was coming out with a new workout called PiYo and my new coach started a challenge group. These challenge groups are awesome and allow its members to ask questions, post their goals and motivate each other. Coach also posts every day and is the biggest motivator for the group. She will call you, to make sure you are sticking to your workout schedule or give you that little push to get you going.

She and I found a workout that was best for me and it happened to be PiYo- low impact work outs to help increase flexibility, tone my muscles and combine the moves from pilates and yoga. When the DVDs came in the mail it was clear that this was definitely something I could keep up with despite my business schedule and previous knee injuries. PiYo came with all the tools to measure results and a schedule to post on your wall to help keep you on track. The first time I did PiYo I ordered Shakeology that helps cut down on cravings and can be used as a meal replacement or a post workout snack. Since Shakeology is not Whole30 approved I am trying to limit my usage for this round of PiYo.

When I started this round of Whole30 I also started PiYo again and have more energy, I can see my holiday hips fading and I honestly feel incredibly accomplished. Working out has me wanting to keep up with my healthy eating so that my results do regress. I feel as though this round is showing the most progress and cannot wait to see the end results.

Tip of the Day: There's never any harm in asking for help whether it is looking to a nutritionist or a trainer. In fact they are your biggest fans! If you're interested in looking for a trainer check out your local gym, those people love what they do and want to help and if you want to go the BeachBody route for a coach check out Coach Kelsey!

Whole30 Day 8 Self Control

Every evening at my job there are plates of left over desserts and last night they had a plate full of chocolate mousse cake and a variety of cookies. I may be gluten free but when a delicious dessert comes around I just want a taste! My weakness happens to be this cake, the chocolate mint cookies and on occasion there are the rainbow or mint rice krispie treats. BUT- I DIDN'T EAT ONE!! So, I am pretty proud of my increased self restraint :)

Tip for the Day: Instead of a dessert for a snack, kiwi's are a great, sweet fruit that can be just like a dessert. Grilled pineapple is a healthy snack as well just in moderation due to all of the sugar.

Whole30 Day 7 Heart Update!

This is usually when I stop posting about Whole30 because I slip up and feel guilty. But this time I'm staying strong!

Beef heart has been broken down and half was chopped up into the following recipe:

1/2 beef heart, trimmed and diced
1/2 lb beef liver, minced
1/2 lb ground grass fed beef or pork
1/2 large onion small dice
1/2 jar tomato paste (mine was homemade from the garden but can works too)
1 sweet potato, peeled, medium dice
1 container tomatoes, diced (I get these from Trader Joe's)
1 jalapeno, seeds and all
3-4 minced garlic cloves
Spices: red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, chili powder all to your liking
Hess Additions: 1 can black beans (don't worry Whole30ers, you can eat around them), 3 tri-colored harvest carrots

Chili in general is a very hearty meal and this definitely was, pun and all ;) The other half of the heart has been set aside to be ground up for meatloaf and meat balls for zucchini noodles and we already have ideas for the next one. My grandparents purchase a quarter cow each year, and I am not going to lie, it is really tempting especially since heart can be included at a lower price sinceno one really wants these parts. Something to think about for next year!

Tip for the Day: Don't forget to balance your protein intake with plenty of veggies! You don't need tons of protein, the nutrients from produce are just as important and if prepared properly, more filling.

Whole30 Day 6 Offal Heart!

Offal not awful! A month ago, Hess and I double dated with some of our foodie friends to a local top restaurant in Portland. Our appetizer: sliced beef tongue salad with herbs and sweetbread croutons. It was the first time Hess really enjoyed organs and kept saying "we need to find out how to make these!" So this round of Whole30 we are trying to cook with more organ meat and utilize more parts of the animal for our meals.

What we have found out is that certain organ meats are difficult to find. It wasn't until a trip to Whole Foods that we were able to find beef liver by the pound. I love liver and have made my own pate, mixed it into chili and stew. I asked at every grocery store I went to, local markets and made calls to the butchers in town and the only thing I could not find was heart. We were finally able to find a large beef heart, grass fed status is unknown, for less than a dollar a pound in a small butcher outside of town.

So excited for the find! It was huge!

The first thing Hess wanted to do was make meatloaf and I wanted to make chili. Then we realized, we have no idea how to cook this thing! And of course, thank goodness for the internet.

After several searches I found Michael Ruhlman's blog with a handy how to and a delicious recipe for grilled heart on arugula. Ruhlman has a quick how to break down and trim the heart down and it really is just a beautiful piece of meat. The salad is next on the list.

While we search for more recipes, we have decided to divide the heart in half and start with a chili and will be grinding up the other half for meatloaf- it's a compromise. Obviously there are so many things you can do with organ meat, I hadn't even thought about a salad! I am literally just about to start breaking this down and can't be more excited- kid with a new toy. Recipes for how we prepare this beast will be posted later!

Tip for the Day: Try something new! You never know if you don't like it until you try it! Sweetbreads may be next on our dinner table...

Whole30 Day 5 MORE Recipes

It's been a busy couple of days but I have compiled a list of sources for meal planning for the week!

Paleo Grubs- a daily newsletter and recipes for your Q&As about everything paleo. My favorite, it comes with pictures.

My ever favorite and automatic go to Nom Nom Paleo put together by Michelle Tam. Pictures, daily posts, recipes (my favorite is the crispy chicken thighs), advice and endless amounts of information.

The Paleo Diet is a new site that I have started poking around, but my cluttered Facebook feed continues to slip recipes and snippets for me to see and it does seem very informative.

I have been able to look through several cook books and the one I was able to pull the most recipes out of was Paleo Comfort Foods. I use their paleo mayo and chimichurri quite often and they help curb those fried chicken cravings I often have!

Tip of the Day: Here's the Paleo Comfort Foods Chimichurri Recipe that we absolutely love!

1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley, trimmed
3-4 garlic cloves
2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp hot sauce

Place first five ingredients in food processor until everything is finely chopped. Remove and put into a mixing bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 1 week. If you refrigerate bring to room temperature before serving or it's clumpy.

Whole30 Day 4: The Elements- Earth

There are so many sources that say we should be eating everything organic and some even say especially when you eat paleo, vegan or any other diet. There are some foods that I do believe should be bought organically; however, I think the more important aspects are they local and are they a seasonal food item.

Buying local produce is almost always a sure way to get organic, clean vegetables. Whole30 defines clean foods as foods that are pesticide free and dirty foods as foods that are heavy with chemicals and pesticides. Local products also help out the small farmers and businesses rather than the big corporations by enriching the community rather than the corporate shareholders. The profits stay with the farmer and can be used to benefit and expand their business.

Seasonal bouquet and berries I picked up
at the PSU Farmers Market last year.

There are so many varieties of produce and each is successful depending on their location- the soil content, the amount of sunlight, altitude. So buying locally also ensures that you are buying products that take in the most benefits from its surroundings. Another aspect that ensures your produce has the most nutritional value is to buy them seasonally.

Seasonal produce means produce that grow in a specific season- such as root vegetables grow best in the fall and winter due to the soil and weather change. There are some vegetables such as onions, carrots and mushrooms that are able to be grown year around. Buying produce seasonally has several benefits. First off it's less expensive to purchase, there is minimal work and more is produced when the items are in season rather than being shipped to different areas.

Produce that has to be shipped some place else lose so much more. The nutrients begin to breakdown and so does the color, the freshness and crispness of the vegetables resulting in a wimpy, unattractive piece of food. In some areas produce is flash frozen to help keep in all the nutrients and can be just as healthy as getting them fresh (just check the packaging for any bad preservatives and additions) Instead of buying out of season, you could have a fresh vegetables that were grown just down the road and taste delicious.

I try and pick out something new each time I go to the market
 to cook with and there are always and abundance of new peppers.

So, yes, we should buy a lot of our produce organic but some vegetables do not necessarily need to be organic. For instance, sweet potatoes, eggplants, pineapples are all considered clean produce and do not have to have to be organic to provide the best nutrients and saves you a little moola. However, produce such as celery, collard greens, peppers and grapes should be bought organic as often as possible since they are considered dirty. To me organic is not as important as seasonal and local produce.

Tip of the Day: Farmers Markets are tons of fun, a lot of fresh produce, local farmers and butchers and really good food cooked right there for you. If you have a market near you, check it out- it's worth it! My parents just took us to the Sante Fe Farmer's Market and it was a blast and all indoors for the winter months. Another catch phrase to look out for specially for protein "All Natural" vs "Free-Range"- that's for another time.