Nutrition

The Crossfitters Kitchen

From Jen L.


Apple Cinnamon Paleo Muffins

1 c almond flour
1 c unsweetened finely shredded coconut
2 eggs
1 large apple, cored, peeled, and diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp almond butter
1/4 c raw honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
a dash of nutmeg

Mix all ingredients and divide evenly into a muffin tin. Bake 15 minutes at 375F. Makes 1 dozen. The recipe can easily be halved, but fill the 6 unused muffin cups halfway with water so the pan heats evenly.

Some Bonus Variations

Blueberry Muffins:
substitute 1/2 to 1 cup of blueberries for the apples
you could omit the cinnamon or swap it out for another spice

Peach Muffins:
substitute a cup of chopped peaches for the apples
could be really good with local Colorado peaches in the summer!

Nut Muffins:
omit apples
increase olive oil to 3 Tbsp
add 1/2 c chopped walnuts or pecans
maybe add a little unsweetened applesauce too, if they are too dry

 

What is filling your tank?

 

2 eggs,1 protein serving of sausage. 2 cups of left over roasted veggies lightly coated in olive oil. It was delicious. 
 

What was for breakfast this morning? Did you skip it? How was your wod?
You must restructure the way you think about food. Biologically we eat to fuel our bodies. We don't need to eat for comfort, to ease boredom, to celebrate or because the television tells us too. We need to fuel our bodies so that we survive. We eat good foods so that we survive unmedicated for a long time. The good news is all this wonderful paleo food tastes really good! We get to completely enjoy our wise choices. We can still celebrate with food~just not cake and ice cream! 
Homework-Post your breakfast to comments
 
Paleo Tip-Know your protein requirements and make sure you are eating enough. You don't have to weigh and measure but do be sure that at each meal you are eating a serving of protein that is the size of your fist. For more information read this article on the Zone diet. It has great basic macronutrient information and protein requirements.

Paleo Recipe Link of the Day (submitted by Jimmy): Stewed Talapia Spend some time looking around the Whole 9 site while you are there.

Sharing Recipes-This one is from Joe

Hey Kim—

Since becoming “primal” I have had a pretty easy time dealing with the cravings (27 years of pasta is easier to ignore than I thought it would be!) but the one thing I can’t seem to shake is the desire for a good piece of pizza! So, when I find some free time I like to scour the various primal websites for new recipes to keep me living according to our true nature. I am a huge fan of Mark Sisson’s site and from there I found the personal blog of another primal (www.castlegrok.com) and for the most part his blog is... meh. However, he does have a few really tasty looking recipes on there, particularly one for meatza. Meatza, for those of us not in the know (I was one of them as well) is a pizza that uses a meat source for the crust—pretty crazy, I know! However, it sounded really good, so I went ahead and tried it and HOLY BURPEES was this sucker tasty! I’ve got some pics and the directions accompanying for anyone interested. Hope you enjoy!

Chicken Crust Pizza (aka Meatza)

Ingredients:

·       36 oz of raw chicken

·       3 eggs

·       1 Tbsp. of red palm oil (I didn’t have r.p.o. so I used Sesame oil and it was WONDERFUL-fabulous flavor/aroma)

·       2 Tbsp. of melted butter

·       Various spices for crust/sauce

·       1 small can (I think they’re 5-6oz) tomato paste/small bit of water to loosen paste

·       Cheese of choice (if you’re still eating dairy)

·       Butter for greasing cookie sheet

·       Cookie sheet for baking

Directions:                        

·       Take the raw chicken and slice into small pieces (about 1” square) and place in to blender or food processor to puree. This was much easier than I thought it’d be.

·       Place pureed chicken in mixing bowl. Add eggs, spices (I used 2Tsp garlic salt, 1Tbsp ground pepper, 1Tbsp dried parsley) and oil. I also added 2Tbsp of melted butter for a bit of added fat.

·       Prepare your cookie sheet by greasing generously with fat of choice (I used butter) this is very important if you want your slices to come off in one piece.

·       Place “dough” on sheet and spread out to desired width/thickness (I had a solid 12” by a good ½ inch thick crust)

An Email from Dave

Kim,

Here are the pictures of my delicious foods over the last few days.  The chicken was two separate batches, first time I had it on the salad, followed all the directions from here.  The cauliflower recipe is from last night, thats all that was left when I remembered that I wanted to take a picture of it.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 

S. D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Bag of Frozen Shrimp and A Light Lunch

For any busy person making lunch in the middle of the day can be an almost impossible task. This is one of my favorite "quickies". I don't really measure, I just put ingredients in a bowl until it looks right. For Zoners measure for desired blocks.

Shrimp Avocado Salad
Cooked Shrimp
1 Avocado
2-3 seeded Roma tomatoes
Fresh Cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lime
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

I use a bag of frozen cooked shrimp from just about any grocery store.  Thaw the shrimp and remove tails if needed. Chop the tomatoes and avocado. In a small bowl squeeze the halved lime and add equal amount of olive oil. Snip cilantro into dressing along with the salt and pepper. Pour over the salad and enjoy! You can place the salad over a bed of mixed greens if you  like. 
Make only as much as you will eat as this salad will not keep well. If you are preparing the recipe to take with you to work then squirt the chopped avocado with lime juice and store in a separate container. Place the shrimp and tomatoes in the same container but drain the excess tomato juice before mixing with the avocado and dressing.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti?

Any Paleo/Primal eater knows that pasta is a no-no. I have found that since giving it up I've really not missed it. On occasion though, I do crave spaghetti sauce! Spaghetti Squash is named so for a reason. After being cooked the meat of the vegetable is scraped out and it resembles strands of spaghetti. I can be a great alternative to noodles as a conduit for your favorite (paleo/primal) sauces. When buying look for squash that is heavy for it's size. Most grocery store spagehetti squashes are orange to pale yellow in color. The more orange the color the more sweet the squash.

My squash was slightly orange and had a mild sweet flavor. I paired it with a store bought spaghetti sauce. I felt that the squash was a bit too sweet but I still enjoyed it. The next morning I pulled out the left overs and had it with a strip of bacon. Now that was amazing! The pairing of the lightly sweet squash and the saltiness of the bacon worked beautifully. I added nothing else to it. I think that in the future if I want to use a red sauce (that usually tend to be a bit sweet because of the tomato base) I'll look around for a more pale squash.

Basic Spaghetti Recipe
Baked: Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Whole-Pierce the fruit several times with a long fork or skewer. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for one hour. Squash is done when an inserted fork meets little resistance. To reduce baking time, cut in half longwise, place cut side down and bake for approx. 30 mins.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10-20 mins. Cut in half long wise. Scoop out the seeds like a pumpkin. Using a fork scrape all the flesh away from the skin. Getting as close to the skin as possible.

I will be experimenting further in the near future. For now try this recipe

Spaghetti Squash and Bacon
One cooked and prepared spaghetti squash using above recipe.
A few strips of crispy bacon
2 Tablespoon olive oil
Sprinkle of parsley

In a skillet heat the olive oil, add the squash and bacon bits. Toss until heated through. Sprinkle with a bit of parsley.

Enjoy!

Zone, Recipes

It's all About Insulin

Our body's insulin response to the food we eat is what makes us fat. Or skinny.
Insulin is an important hormone that transports nutrients into cells for storage. It's job is to lower blood sugar by causing cells in the liver, muscles and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood. When insulin is present it stops the use of fat as energy. If the glucose levels are high and the muscle and liver tissues are full, insulin then stores the excess in fat cells. Thus the fat cell gets fatter.
There is a delicate balance between insulin and glucose in the body. The body should only produce as much insulin as it actually needs. Diets that are too high in carbohydrates require lots of insulin and cause peaks and valleys of its production. This in turn shuts down the use of fat cells for energy and inceases the storage in fat. It is optimal for weight loss and management as well general health to keep insulin levels at an even keel.

Consider this weak analogy.
When high glycemic foods are taken into the body, causing a spike in blood sugar, a lot of insulin is dumped in to deal it. The body sends an insulin "army" to deal with a "pepsi challenge". Insulin needs something to chew on, something worthy of its time. Since the quality of food isn't there with a sugary soda, insulin makes quick work of the glucose and then sits around wondering what to do. The brain respects insulin (and doesn't function well with low blood sugar) and calls out for a fast fix. Well...how about some chips? Thus the cycle begins until the stomach cries out "Please, no more!" and everybody feels sick.

Ok-so, given the fact that our societies diet of convenience is extraordinarily high in carbohydrates and processed food how do we keep our insulin in balance?

ENTER THE ZONE
The Zone Diet by Dr. Barry Sears measures the macronutrients of food in blocks . One block of protein is 7 g, carbohydrate 9g and fat 1.5g. A balanced meal in the Zone has equal blocks of each. The meals composition is 40% carb, 30% protein, 30% fat.
An individual's daily block requirements is dependent on their sex, body composition and activity level. The factors determine the protein required to maintaining and/or building muscle. The Basic Zone diet is built around the bodies need for protien. For an accurate calculation of Zone block requirements use this calculator (be aware that you are not as active as you think!) Otherwise you can trust that guidelines listed in the Crossfit Journal Issue # 21. The average female is at 11-12 blocks per day and the average male 17-18.
After obtaining all this wonderful info, you then go about planning your meals.
Please be aware, The Zone does not restrict many foods. If suggest which foods to enjoy and to avoid. You can even Zone with fast food. Please don't! In the first two weeks, weighing your food for an accurate measurement of blocks is important. You simply cannot start out "eyeballing it" Once you become more familiar with the portion sizes it becomes easier.
It is best to begin by reading "Enter The Zone" by Dr. Barry Sears. It has a tremendous amount of biologic information. It is REQUIRED to read CFJ #21. Another helpful, downloadable resource is the Zone Quick Start Guide.

Zone

Ritz Crackers Make My Gums Itch

Don't ask me why but they do. 

On August 8th I attended the Crossfit Nutrition Certification given by the most amazing Robb Wolf from Crossfit NorCal. Robb gave the nutrition talk at my Level 1 Certification and I was impressed with him then. He knows a lot about food and it's affects on the body and he is a really nice guy. It has taken me this long to pick my jaw up off the floor, collect my thoughts and share. 

The information presented at the cert was based on the Paleo diet, Zone diet and the evils of grains and gluten. I hope to share with you the information I learned and my own experiences. I am not perfect so I'll aslo share my setbacks.