Day 16: My amazing discovery

So I usually stick with the same meal each night for dinner, so that I can stay disciplined with my nutrition.  I have noticed most of you all do the same.  It's just easier.  The catch, however, is that it becomes boring and monotonous and potential for temptation to want to deviate from the "plan."  Well, I found myself in the same frame of mind on Sunday when I was prepping for the week.  Lee and I normally eat meatloaf or meatza at night for dinner.  Historically I have made a big side of mashed cauliflower to go with the meatloaf...but I just wasn't feeling it.  So, I learned from my boss a new way to prepare cauliflower.  Roasted Cauliflower Chips!  Why haven't I heard of this???????  So I followed her instructions and started preparing the cauliflower on Sunday.  You basically buy a head of cauliflower and then break it up in big florets.  From there you slice long ways, to make thin/flat pieces.  After that you toss the "chips" in olive oil, a little sea salt and cumin.
So last night, I thought I would go ahead and roast them.  I put them in the oven on a baking sheet for 10-15 min...at 400 degrees....keeping an eye and making sure they were brown and then flipped them and browned the other side.  When they were done, I immediately popped one in my mouth and thought I was going to die!  It reminded me of french fries.  Freaking AMAZING. 

Here is another version to the "Roasted Cauliflower Chip."

COCOA-TOASTED CAULIFLOWER.....from http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/

"It’s not at all like eating chocolate, but Cocoa-Toasted Cauliflower is savory, roasted goodness.
We’re deep into cauliflower season in the northern hemisphere (I got a volleyball-sized cauliflower in my Farmhouse Delivery last week), and it’s cold outside – even here in Austin – so now is a great time to crank up the oven. The cocoa in the recipe enhances the natural nuttiness of the cauliflower, the paprika adds depth and a nice spicy bite… and all of the work is done in the oven. You know how much I love that!
If you’re concerned about cocoa compliance, don’t be. The Whole9 gives it a thumbs-up, even during a Whole30. So go ahead, it’s OK to go cuckoo for cocoa. (sorry.)"

Cocoa-Toasted Cauliflower

Ingredients:
1 head of fresh cauliflower
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
salt to taste
garlic powder to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking pan or sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Break cauliflower into florets and place in bowl. Toss with melted coconut oil until well-coated, about 2 minutes. For serious. The more you toss, the better the fat is distributed.
3. Mix paprika and cocoa in a small bowl, then sprinkle over cauliflower and toss until evenly coated.
4. Sprinkle the cauliflower with salt and garlic powder; I like a lot – you might not.
5. Bake until tender and started to get nice brown spots, about 25-30 minutes. Bonus points if you stir the cauliflower halfway through the baking time.

This will be my next adventure.  So change it up from time to time and learn how delicious REAL food can be.  Who needs french fries, candy or a pastry anyway????????

 

 

Coach Dee

DAY 15: HALF WAY! "The Cruel Calling of Coffee"

We are half way there guys and you all are doing a fantastic job, keep asking questions and learning new ways to eat delicious clean food.  Share your recipes here on the blog.  On June 30th we will revisit the baseline testing and then celebrate with a Paleo Potluck!!!!  I would love full participation on this!  So please come and celebrate the wrap up the challenge and bring in your favorite dish to share!

So below is an interesting article I read about coffee.  I myself was educated on caffeine last year and how beneficial it could be to my health, clarity, energy and digestion if I removed it from by day to day nutrition.  It was hard the first two weeks, for sure....but now I am more awake in the mornings and throughout the day and I sleep better at night.  It has been 7 months so far!

Article from  www.paleoplan.com

....Anywhere from 80-90% of the U.S. population drinks caffeine in some form every single day.  More than 50% of people in this country drink more than 3 or 4 cups of coffee every day.
To me, this is ridiculous.  I’m sorry, but why are we so hard on alcoholics and smokers for being addicts, but it’s perfectly okay to drink a big gulp of coffee that contains a colossal 640 mg of caffeine every day? I know: it’s so delicious and it’s a morning ritual.  Nothing tastes quite like it, and that aroma! How would you ever wake up in the morning without coffee?! Oh, and it might be the only way you can do your business in the bathroom every morning. These are the rationalizations people have for their full-fledged addiction.
Do you know what statistic goes right along with the 80% of people in this country who drink caffeine every day? Over 60% of Americans are overweight. Yep, I said it: caffeine is contributing to making us fat.
Why do I believe this? Well, first off, I see it in my practice.  People take out their daily 6 cups of coffee and they start to feel more awake.  They start having fewer headaches and their digestion improves.  They start losing weight.
But the proof is in the science: caffeine is a stimulant and it messes with your hormones and blood sugar levels.  When you drink caffeine (often, the reason you drink caffeine), you get a burst of energy, and that’s because it stimulates your adrenals to kick out cortisol, which stimulates a blood sugar increase.  It tells your liver and muscles to send out sugar into your blood to keep you awake.  Drinking caffeine also stimulates a release of adrenaline, or epinephrine, which tells your heart rate to increase, and all your other fight or flight responses to turn on.
If you were to be attacked in a dimly lit back alley, you’d have the same involuntary reactions as you do when you drink caffeine – maybe just at a more intense level.  Your heart rate would increase and glucose would be sent into your blood stream so as to give you the energy you need to run away or fight.  Your lungs would start working super well so that you could sprint away if necessary (which is why epinephrine has been used as an asthma treatment), your senses and reflexes would be heightened and you’d basically feel like you had super powers.
Sounds AWESOME, right? Why would I ever suggest you NOT give your body this amazing sensation 4 or more times per day? It’s funny because heroin addicts probably feel pretty good when they inject heroin in their veins, too. But I digress.
Let me make it clear before I go any further that I do believe that some people are way more capable of handling caffeine than others. Some people can drink caffeine here and there (or even a cup every day) without any ill effects.  But most people will never give themselves the opportunity to find out what kind of an effect it really has on them because they’ll never go without it for more than a day or so (because after a day or so, the heinous detox symptoms arise: headaches, nausea, moods swings, fatigue – caffeine is starting to sound more and more like a real drug…).
The more often you drink caffeine, usually the less it peps you up.  Most people need to detox in order to really see how it’s affecting them.  If you think you’re one of those people who’s not affected by caffeine, I double – no triple – dog dare you to stop drinking it for a few weeks and then have a cup of coffee. Then decide how much it affects you.
Back to the science.  Where were we?  Oh yes, super powers.  Basically, every time you drink caffeine, you’re simulating a horrendously stressful event in your body.  Every time you go to Starbucks or crack open a can of Coke, you put your body through what it thinks is a mini Viet Cong ambush, a three car pile up, or a fight with a lion.  I’m not exaggerating. That’s why you feel awake after drinking it.  Any one of those events would knock you straight out of a dead sleep with eyes wide, senses reeling, superhuman strength intact.
Those things are fine when they happen every once in a while – that’s what the fight or flight system is in place for: to keep you alive when occasional stressful things happen. But when you start overtaxing the system, things start to go awry.
Cortisol, like I said, is one of the hormones that’s secreted by your adrenals when you drink caffeine.  In normal amounts, cortisol is perfectly fine for you – it’s good for you.  When it’s constantly being released in your body by caffeine consumption, though, it can:

• create belly fat
• promote infertility
• counteract insulin, thereby contributing to insulin resistance/diabetes
• decrease immune function
• impair learning and memory
• increase blood pressure
• decrease bone formation
• decrease calcium absorption in intestines
• decrease serotonin (happy-making neurotransmitter) in brain

If this is the case, what do you do instead of drinking caffeine?
EAT FOOD.  Most of the time when people start regulating their blood sugar by eating protein, unrefined carbs and good fat at every meal and snack (and eat regularly – like every 2 or 3 hours), they find they don’t need the coffee anymore.  They’re awake when they wake up in the morning – not in some low blood sugar stupor.
The blood sugar spike that the cortisol creates plummets into a blood sugar crash just as quickly, which is why you get the munchies an hour or so after that cup of coffee.  And which is why everyone gets tired at around 2-5pm. It’s a blood sugar roller coaster and there’s going to be a giant dip in the ride every afternoon when you start out on a swooping high from your 4 cups of coffee every morning.
In summation, eat your breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner, and even add a snack in there somewhere else if you need to.  Don’t eat (or drink) refined sugars, stay away from grains, and eat plenty of protein and fat. In other words, eat Paleo.  Step away from the coffee (or Coke or whatever) slowly if you need to, and you may just find that you can wake up, fall asleep, do your business in the bathroom, and have enough energy without the aid of your favorite drug.

Coach D

DAY 14 Fish Oil

Fish oil in my opinion is the secret to long term health care.  It's the magic pill, really.  Fish oil contains two vital Omega 3 fats:  DHA and EPA.  EPA is vital to life, it's a potent anti-inflammatory, and even blocks "angiogenesis." (prevents the growth of new blood vessels: a mechanism necessary to spread cancer.)  This Omega 3 battles all the silent inflammation going on in our bodies potentially causing all sorts of diseases, sickness and depression.  DHA however, is an Omega 3 that is essential to fetal brain development and normal cognitive funtions throughout life.  A balanced intake of both EPA and DHA will effectively reduce the inflammation caused by the unhealthy Omega 6's like grains, sunflower oil, peanut oil, etc. In the end, we can reduce the probability of cancer, autoimmunity, insulin resistances, neurodegeneration and infertility by making fish oil apart of our daily regime.
Taking fish oil is very subjective however.  It depends on you and what your goals are.  Some individuals definitely suffer from great amounts of silent inflammation and may have to start taking an aggressive amount immediately.  But the general rule of thumb is .25-.5g of fish oil per every 10 lbs of BW.

There are both liquid and gel tablets out there.  A few brands that I recommend are "Carlsons," "Nordic Natural" and  "Barleans."

Here's a pretty fascinating story that the "Silent Inflammation" author, Barry Sears helped make happen.

BRAIN FOOD KEY TO MINERS' AMAZING RECOVERY

CBN.com – The recent return home of the only survivor of the Sago mine disaster, Randall McCloy, is being touted as a medical miracle.  However the primary reason for this miracle is the use of high-dose fish oil* by his neurosurgeon, Dr. Julian Bailes.  Soon upon admitting Randall McCloy, who was suffering from heart, kidney, liver, and brain failure, Dr. Bailes contacted Dr. Barry Sears, president of Zone Labs Inc.  Dr. Bailes had been following Dr. Sears’ work for several years.  Dr. Sears immediately sent out a large supply of OmegaRx, an ultra-refined EPA/DHA concentrate manufactured by Zone Labs Inc.  The rest is history as Randall returned home in less than four months after the mining disaster.
The question remains: How does OmegaRx work? Dr. Sears points out that both EPA and DHA are required to rescue the brain (not to mention the other extensive organ damage that Randall had) from lack of oxygen.  EPA is necessary to reduce the inflammation that comes from oxygen deprivation, whereas DHA is required to provide the building blocks to support new neural growth.  Either one by itself would have been insufficient.  Furthermore, one needs high concentrations of both in such trauma situations. 
The amount of OmegaRx that Randall was receiving (and continues to take) contained 15 grams per day of EPA and DHA.  Although a seemingly extraordinarily high dose, Randall’s blood levels of these fatty acids were constantly monitored to maintain them within a therapeutic zone that Dr. Sears has found to maximize the reduction of systemic inflammation without compromising the body’s ability to fight infection. 
The implications of Randall McCloy’s remarkable recovery have widespread medical importance, not only for brain trauma patients, but also for any patient with neurological disorders.  Harvard Medical School has shown that high-dose fish oil has significant benefits in treating bipolar depression, and Dr. Sears has completed a recent study showing that the same levels of fish oil used by Dr. Bailes in treating Randall McCloy also significantly improve children with ADHD.  Maybe this is why your grandmother called fish oil “brain food”.  I guess you could call OmegaRx “super brain food”.
Part One: The Sago Mine Survivor Miracle 


So at the end of the day.....TAKE YOUR FISH OIL!

Coach D

DAY 12 & 13 FOOD & PERFOMANCE Q & A

For those that participated in this weekend's "Crossfit 4 Hope" workout....how did you feel?  Did you feel tired and run down, or did you feel better fueled and more energetic throughout this workout?

I am curious to learn how everyone felt about their performance on Saturday or in general about the latest workouts....

DAY 11: Journals are due! Animal Protein (Part #2)

From "The Eat Real Food Blog...." Why Choose Grass-Fed, Pastured, Free-Range or Wild-Caught Sources of Protein
on the Paleo diet? Just like humans were not meant to eat grains,
most animals also do better without grains.
Grain-, soy- and by-product foodstuff-fed cows, pigs, poultry and farmed fish are often sick. Antibiotics and hormones are often used to try to control diseases and accelerate their growth. They spend their life in unethical conditions, in cages, on concrete, without ever seeing grass or the sun,  treated cruelly and left in their own excrements. Is that the kind of animals you want to get your meat from? And eat?
Animal protein is an important nutritional component of the Paleo diet. Choosing grass-fed, pastured and free-range meat, fowl and their eggs can make you feel good, knowing that the animal it comes from had a happy and natural life. In addition to being better for the environment and more sustainable (3), it also is a healthier choice.
The Paleo diet is not only better for your own health,
but it is also better for the health of the planet.
Here are at least 7 nutritional reasons 
(without even counting the ethical and environmental reasons)
to choose the best quality meat and eggs you can get your hands on:
1. More omega-3 fats and less omega-6 fats!
Some fats (i.e. omega-3 fats) are beneficial, while others (i.e. omega-6 fats) should be minimized. In short, most people are getting too little omega-3, which are mostly anti-inflammatory, and too much omega-6, which are mostly pro-inflammatory. Such an unfavorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is said to contribute to many chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease, some cancers and arthritis to only name a few. An omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 2:1 or 1:1, which is closer to what our ancestor hunter-gatherers used to eat, is considered ideal for optimal health.
Choosing meat from pastured animals can help you improve the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of your Paleo diet. Read more about the importance of the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio on the Paleo diet.



Meat: pastured animals contains 2 to 4 times more omega-3 fats. If the animal is fed grains at some point in its life, especially toward the end, its omega-3 fats get lost. Pastured beef, bison and elk have an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of less than 2:1, while their grain-fed CAFO-raised counterpart have a ratio of over 6:1. Switching to meat from pastured animals can help you balance your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. (4)
Eggs: Eggs from free-range hens have anywhere from twice to 10 times the omega-3 fat content, depending on the season and type of pasture they forage on, which give them a better omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 4:1 to 5:1 (compared to the 12:1 ratio of cage-eggs). (1, 5)2. More vitamin E!

Vitamin E is an important fat-soluble vitamin and antioxidant that is lacking in most people’s diet. Vitamin E has anti-aging properties and can help reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancers.Meat: Meat from pastured animals contains 4 times more vitamin E compared to grain-fed animals and about twice the vitamin E compared to cows fed a grain-based diet supplemented with large amounts of vitamin E.  (1)Eggs: Eggs from free-range hens have double the vitamin E. (5)3. More CLAs!

CLA refers to conjugated linoleic acid is only produced by ruminants during their digestion process. This fat has known anti-cancer properties.
Meat from pastured animals contains 3 to 5 times more CLAs.
4. More nutrition
(beta-carotene, B-vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin A, minerals)
Animal food, such as the meat, seafood and eggs that occupy an important part of the Paleo diet, have the highest nutrient density compared to most other food groups, which means that they contain the most nutrients per calorie. (6) And meat from pastured animals as well as eggs from pastured hens have an even higher nutrient density!Meat: An excellent source of iron and zinc and higher in B-vitamins, beta-carotene, magnesium, potassium and selenium. Grass-fed lamb also has twice as much lutein, an eye-protective antioxidant, compared to its grain-fed counterpart. (1)Eggs: Eggs from free-range hens have more vitamin A, vitamin D and some B-vitamins, especially folate, the natural form of folic acid, and vitamin B12. (1, 5) These eggs also contain more lutein and zeaxanthin, two important nutrients that can help your eyes stay healthy. (1)5. Decreased contamination risk 

Almost every year, recalls of large quantities of contaminated meat are made. Meat from animals raised in CAFOs is more likely to be contaminated.
Pastured-raise animals are healthier and less likely to be infected and contaminated with dangerous bacteria that can make you seriously sick, such as Staph (Staphylococcus aureus) and E. Coli. (1)
Knowing the farmer where your food come from and the conditions under which the animals you eat are raised is another way to lower your risk of being ill and suffering the potentially life-threatening consequences associated with some of these infections.
6. Antibiotic-free!
Antibiotics are routinely given to animals raised in CAFOs to try to prevent diseases. This practice is now contributing to the increased antibiotic resistance of the various bugs. If we are infected with one of these super-bug, it will be more difficult to treat it quickly and effectively. (1)
Pastured-raised animals are antibiotic-free!
7. Hormone-free!
Many animals raised in CAFOs are given hormones to promote accelerated growth, which increased productivity and revenues. However, some of these hormones are left in the meat and eating hormone-containing meat could disrupt your hormonal balance. Infertility and PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) are two conditions that can be worsened by the consumption of exogenous (not produced by the body) hormones.
Pastured-raised animals do not receive hormones! They grow at a slower rate and will help you maintain your own normal hormonal balance. Adopting the Paleo diet can help you manage your PCOS symptoms and improve your fertility.

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DAY 10: Animal Protein (Part #1)

Animal protein is the main type
of protein recommended on the Paleo diet.
What do beef, bison, pork, wild boar, offal, game meat, fish, seafood, poultry and eggs have in common? They all contain the delicious AND superior animal protein your body needs.
It is when our ancestors started including more animal foods in their diet that our brain started to develop in size and complexity. (1) We wouldn’t be who we are if we hadn’t started including more meat in our diet. By eating less plant foods, our gut decreased in size, allowing in return more energy for the development of our brain.
This evolution would probably not have been possible on a vegetarian diet, let alone a vegan diet.
Proteins from animal food are high-quality complete proteins and contain all the essential amino acids your body requires.
Vegetable proteins, from legumes, soy and grains, are incomplete and lack some essential amino acids.
Amino acids from protein are the building blocks necessary to build muscles, synthesize the DNA and cells of every cell in your body, nourish the cell lining of your intestines and are involved in making enzymes, hormones, proteins fighting for your immune system and proteins that transport vitamins, minerals, cholesterol, fat and other important nutrients inside your body. (1)
If some amino acids are not present in the right proportions, these functions cannot be accomplished.

Best Animal Protein Choices on the Paleo diet
Grass-fed, grass-finished, pastured, free-range… the terminology can be complicated and the different labeling regulations can make it difficult, but your best bet is to find a local farmer and/or ask your butcher where you can source high-quality meat and eggs.

7 reasons to choose pastured, grass-fed and free-range meat.  (Tomorrow's Blog)

Stay away from CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations) where animals are confined in cages under unethical conditions and force-fed atrocious quantities of grains, soy and “by-product feedtuff” to make them grow and fatten up as quickly as possible so they can be butchered and sold. High productivity + low cost = more profit. Unfortunately, profit is the only driving force behind CAFOs and no considerations are given to the animals and the environment. This is why many people go vegetarian. But fortunately, CAFOs are not the only option!
You can select meat from animals that were treated humanely and ate what they were supposed to eat. Go to the farmer market or find a farm in your area. The closer you are to where your food come from, the healthier it will be. Not only for you but for the planet as well!
Remember that every time you encourage a local farmer and/or buy grass-fed, pastured meat and eggs, you are voting with your money!
Hopefully, the more demand there is for high-quality and sustainable foods, as advocated by the Paleo diet, the more widely available and affordable they will become.
Best Animal Proteins on the Paleo diet

Category		Examples	Best option*
Animals that eat grass – Herbivores and Ruminants		beef, bison or buffalo, Highland cattle, deer or venison, moose, elk or wapiti, lamb, sheep, goat, kangaroos…	Pastured, 100% grass-fed or grass-finished (ideally from a local farm; they should never be fed grains, not even during the last few months of their life)
Animals that swim	Fish	Sardines, salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sole, flounder, catfish…	Wild-caught and eco-sustainable (not farmed!.. farmed fish and seafood are given soy, corn, hormones and antibiotics; check with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch* for an up-to-date sustainable seafood guide**)
	Seafood	shrimp, scallops, oysters, crab, lobster…
	Other	Crocodile, alligator, frog, snake…
Animals that eat anything -Omnivores	Without wings	Pork, wild boar, bear	Pastured (ideally from a local farm)
	With wings - Poultry	Chicken, turkey, wild turkey, duck, quail, emu, ostrich…	Pastured, free-range poultry (chicken, turkey and other animals in these category are not vegetarians! They live healthier and are healthier for you if they have access to worms and bugs too.)
Eggs		Chicken eggs, duck eggs, quail eggs, goose eggs, emu eggs, ostrich eggs…	Eggs from pastured, free-range hens (again, these animals are not vegetarians and should be able to complete their diet by foraging for live worms and bugs)

*Organic may be better than conventional alternatives, but your meat is still likely to come from grain-fed animals; **Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch; National Sustainable Seafood Guide. Monterey Bay Aquarium. January 2012. (accessed January 2012

DAY 9- Good vs Not So Good

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This list from is contains a pretty good outlook what eating clean should look like.  Now obviously our nutrition should be similar to the "Eat" section....but I believe there can be some leniency with how our foods can be cooked and some of the protein powder options.  But overall this should give you an idea of what the best fruits and carbs are and what are the not so great one.

Everyone seems to be doing pretty good so far, from what I can tell.  The first two weeks are the toughest mentally and physically.  Don't be discouraged if you feel that you are not PRing immediately or losing all the weight right off the bat.  It takes time and hopefully this challenge will get you in the habit of eating better long term!

Coach Dee