Paleo Chicken Salad

I have been quite the Suzie homemaker lately. Yesterday I even bought a food processor! I broke it in with a DELICIOUS chicken salad. It was time tedious but so worth it!

Simmer chicken breasts in chicken stock and bay leaves

Roast peppers and asparagus

Homemade dressing with fresh herbs and dijon mustard

Finely chop almonds, asparagus, peppers, onions, and garlic

Shred cooled chicken breast

Mix chicken w/ ingredients to the left.

Add dressing and serve!

Today I'm going to make bacon omelet bites and another hummus recipe! Stay tuned!!

Long weekends make for great meals.

This weekend has been a great one for many reasons. After a long week of work I was able to spend it with the boy and to top it off the RAVENS are SUPERBOWL BOUND! I was even able to stick to my paleo diet with hardly any trouble.

Saturday I had my normal egg with bacon late in the morning. I spent the rest of the day planning what football snacks we would make for Sunday. When you have restrictions, it takes lot of planning ahead because most of the time you do not have all the necessary ingredients. I knew I wanted to make hummus of some sort but I wasn't sure what else. It then dawned on me that I had came across a paleo deviled eggs recipe the other day at work.

Saturday night we made kabobs which are definitely on my list of top 10 favorite dinners. We used shrimp, squash, eggplant, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms.

I had 3 kabobs to myself and a salad. Needless to say I was stuffed to the brim.

Home made Tahiti!

Unfortunately we couldn't find any Tahiti ( I left mine in DC ugh!) so we had to make it from scratch. All you need are sesame seeds and a food processor and wallah!



We made eggplant hummus and cauliflower hummus. Here's how it went:

• 2 medium eggplants, steamed
• 1/4 cup of Tahiti
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoons of turmeric
• Sea salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil

Put all the yummy ingredients into the food processor and pulse on high until you get the consistency that you like. I enjoy my hummus thick so I didn't pulse mine very long.

Before processing

For the second batch we used:

• 4 cups of steamed cauliflower
• 1/4 cup of Tahiti
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• dash of paprika

This hummus kind of tasted like mashed potatoes a little bit. It was also very lemon-y. With our hummus we cut up red peppers, celery,  and baby carrots.

 

Once the hummus was made, we moved on to the deviled eggs. Instead of mayo and mustard we used an avocado. The avocado was not as ripe as it should have been so it was a lot harder to mix. To soften up the mix I added some white vinegar. All in all they came out pretty well. I added pieces of bacon to add a little something extra.

I also was supposed to add lemon juice but added lime instead. I think I was thinking more of guacamole rather than deviled eggs. WHOOPS!

All in all everything was yummy! I will definitely try these recipes again and try and make them better!

Now back to relaxing. I have tomorrow off too! hehehe

By special request: Cutting weight and sculpting muscle.

I'm always looking for inspiration so when people come with topics to blog about I'm more than excited. My dear friend Kevin expressed that he was interested in learning how to cut weight and sculpt muscle. Well Kevin this is for you.

I know that whatever you're doing in the gym is working so I'm not going to give you too much advice on sculpting. I feel as though the main thing you need to focus on is clean eating.

Clean eating is when you consume food in it's most natural state. It's not a diet so don't turn your nose up just yet!

Things to avoid/eliminate:

• White Flour
• Sugar
• Bread
• Pasta
• Anything with a long label with items you can't pronounce (this usually means its man made/not clean)
• Dairy

Things to implement:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Lean Meats
• Seafood
• Nuts & Seeds

Grilled chicken breast, sauteed spinach, and sweet potato w/ cinnamon
 

Have all the vegetables you would like but limit your fruit intake because of the sugar they poses. When cooking your lean meats NO BUTTER! Use extra virgin olive oil instead. Here what I had for dinner tonight: 

The chicken breast was from the Paleo livingsocial deal I bought so it was already cooked, just needed to be boiled. I sauteed the spinach in EVOO and I put the sweet potato in the microwave for 20 minutes. By the time the potato was finished so was everything else.

By eliminating all the unnecessary calories and processed foods you will be able to cut weight easier than going on a diet.

OH by the way... the brownies were amazing!!! I'm definitely going to make them again! 

The healthiest most expensive brownies.

Monday is the birthday of a lady I work with and since we don't have work Monday and she won't be there Friday we are celebrating tomorrow. We work in a gym so we shouldn't really bring in things that are delicious I MEAN unhealthy. I was going back and forth between two recipes. One was for Coconut-Almond- Banana Muffin's my friend Lindsay shared with me and the other was brownies. I decided that I would go with the brownies. The recipe I found was online and seemed pretty simple to make. Here's the recipe:

• 1 Egg (caged-free and organic is recommended)
• 1/2 cup of coconut oil (solid)
• 1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 cup of almond meal
• 1/2 coconut milk
• 2 tbs honey

After work I headed to Yes! Organic Market. It's right down the street from my house and I've always wanted to check it out. I figured that they would have everything I need and to no surprise they did! I have been craving hummus but haven't had the ingredients to make it so while I was there I picked up some Tahini and plan on making some this weekend...anyway.... Once home I preheated the oven and made a quick dinner (Beef patty w/ half and avocado and broccoli). In between bites I started making my brownies. 

Normal recipes list the ingredients in the order you need them so I cracked an egg and measured out the coconut oil. I have never used coconut oil before so I wasn't 100 percent what to expect. When I opened the jar it was completely SOLID! I grabbed a spoon and packed 1/2 cup. I then read the directions (which I should have done before) and realized this was for oiling the baking tin.... I put it aside. Once I measured out all the correct ingredients I mixed them all together. The directions specifies to stir until there are no lumps and the mixture is smooth and thick. I was expecting this to take some muscle but honestly it took less than a minute! 

I melted the coconut oil in the microwave and when it came out there was sooooo much oil! I put it in the baking tin and ended up dumping out the majority of it down the drain. Once the tin was oiled, I poured the batter and realized this was not nearly enough! I'm not sure what the dimensions are of my tin but I've made brownies before and definitely had enough. I decided to make another batch but then realized I'm going to have to not only double it but triple it. After I went through the whole process again, it came out great. I put the brownies in the oven for 20 minutes and when they came out there was still a little oil on top. I'm really excited to taste them but will have to wait until tomorrow.

The total of all the ingredients PLUS the lovely DC bag tax totaled up to $30.31. I will be able to use the ingredients again and hey if the brownies are a hit I'll make some more!!

Day 9.

So far this week I've gotten great workouts in and have been making yummy food. Today I actually gave the treadmill a try and jogged a mile without stopping. I kept myself distracted by watching Hoda and Kathy. It was easy to keep running while listening to Kim K talk about her divorce.

 The past few days I've been forcing myself to eat eggs instead of just fruit for breakfast. It's been going pretty well but still don't really enjoy them. One day I made an omelet with spinach and cut up a few strawberries. Today I had an egg topped with ham because I had no bacon. Not really sure if thats 100% paleo but it was only one sliver.

Dinners are easy because I just pair a lean meat with some sort of veggie. I'm still not getting enough vegetables in my diet though. I was in the mood for stir fry so I used shrimp with frozen stir fry veggies. It wasn't all that hard not to drown everything in sauce and was still pretty yummy.  I always cut my servings in half and save some for lunch. Tonight I had a bacon wrapped filet and brussel sprouts. I was too hungry to snap a picture though. hahaha

I'm trying to really work hard this week because I'm going to have a long weekend and plan on working out but we all know how that goes....

21 more days..... I'm determined to make it till the end!

Day of rest.

Today I am feeling tired. Yesterday I got a lot accomplished so I don't feel bad for laying in bed. I woke up cleaned my room, had breakfast, went for a jog, read over my study materials, and went out to watch the Ravens game with some friends. For breakfast I had an egg and piece of bacon. That held me over while I was cleaning my room and jogged. My roommate and I had planned on going to the gym so while I was waiting for her to wake up I decided to go for a run. I have not ran since July. I really want to become a runner but I have the hardest time staying motivated while I'm doing it. I feel as though I need a running partner. I remember in high school when my cousin and I would run around the neighborhood by our high school. She would pretty much be running backwards and I would be trying to keep up. I never stopped though. My run was short but it's a start. I still have 4 1/2 months before the color run so I have time to train. After my jog, I was hungry again so I made a beef patty that I cut in half and half an avocado. We never made it to the gym so I'm glad I went for that jog. Once I showered I headed to Virginia to watch the game. By the time we got to the bar I was starving again so I ordered a salad. I ate the whole thing. It came with Blackened Shrimp (hope that's paleo enough), onions, tomatoes, and mixed greens. I told them to hold the blue cheese and dressing. It was a little dry but since the shrimp was so delicious I did not mind. The things I'm eating are tasty so it makes it easier to be on this diet. I do wish at times I could have whatever I want but then I think how bad I want to get leaner and that thought vanishes.

Tomorrow I will go into work early and get a workout in. For those of you joining me on this journey remember it's ok to have days where you feel like doing nothing. It's healthy to let your mind and body rest.

I'm going to post a workout later on today so remember to check back in!

Stop making excuses.

As many of you know I'm a huge fan of Chris Brown which makes me not a huge fan of Rihanna. Secretly I guess I wish I was her for obvious reasons. Where I'm going with this is I follow Rihanna on Instagram. Most of the things she posts really annoy me but she posted something yesterday that really stood out to me. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Rihanna you were right THIS time, You can have results or excuses NOT BOTH! So today instead of making the excuse I do everyday, " I work out in the classes I teach" I'm going into work early to get a workout in. I will then take yoga and after words I will teach my Sculpting class.
If I'm going to see the results I want I'm going to have to work harder for them. Eating clean isn't going to be enough for me.

I came across another thing that spoke to me, this time on Pinterest. It was one of those #0782 reasons to work out. This one said         " Stop pinning workouts and start doing them". I use most of the workouts I find on Pinterest either for my blog or for my classes. I do know many people who blow up my news feed with great workouts that I know for a fact they don't do them. I won't call you out today but use this as the push you need to get off the computer and in the gym! I'm tired of the excuses and I know you are to.

xoxo,
Fitbottom

Short and Sweet.

I'm going to be short and sweet because I have to be up early but today was great. I had an amazing workout which I will post tomorrow. Unfortunately I'm still having headaches from my lack of sugar. Right around 3:00 I start to get a headache that will last for hours. Today wasn't as bad but I hope I don't have one tomorrow. When I got off work I stopped by the grocery store to buy more fruit.

I was able to get :
4 bannanas
4 kiwi
2 alvocados
2 pears
2 oranges
package of strawberries
package of blue berries
and almond milk all for under $30. You may think this is expensive but this will last me for about a week.

I have to get to sleep but if you're challenging yourself with something this week I hope you find my blog helpful.

Nighty Night,
Britt

Day 2: Sugar withdrawl

The second consecutive day of any change is difficult.

As I've mentioned before, I eat pretty healthy. What many of you don't know is that I am a sugar-holic. I know better. Diabetes runs in my family so if I'm not careful I will have the disease as well. Because I am very active I don't have to worry as much about it but I eat way too many sweets. My sugar of choice is anything peanut butter or any type of cookie. If it's a peanut butter cookie... GAME OVER!

Today I experienced a headache for most of the afternoon. This is probably because besides the fruit I'm consuming, I'm not eating any sugar. My body does not like this. It will get use to it though!

I woke up and had a smoothie with blueberries, strawberries, almond milk and a raw egg. The almond milk hid the flavor of the egg which I loved because I don't really enjoy eggs. Let alone raw ones.

On the way to work I munched on some almonds which I'm also growing to enjoy. This held me over until 2:15ish when I had lunch.

For lunch I had leftover salmon and brussel sprouts. I wasn't starving like I expected to be probably because I didn't work out today.

I got home around 8:40 still wasn't hungry but forced myself to eat something. Last week I purchased a Paleo Living Social deal that came with a bunch of different meats, veggies, and nuts. I decided to fix a chicken breast. My boss gave me a bag of kale that I made for a side. Since I wasn't all that hungry I just cut everything in half and will have it for lunch or dinner tomorrow.

My advice to anyone whose planning on making changes to their diet whether it be paleo or not, be prepared to feel bad before you feel better. My headache has since disappeared and I'm feeling just fine. We will see what day 3 has in store!

xoxo,
Britt

32.26.27.38.

Howdy dahhhhhlins.

Today marked day 1 of my 30 day Paleo challenge. I took full advantage of eating what ever I wanted over the weekend. My last meal was a root beer float. I really wanted more ice cream but exercised self control by telling my waiter not to bring me more no matter what. Thanks Marcus for listening!

I started off the day with a banana while I was getting ready for work and then had some grapes on the way. I don't eat much to begin with so this was enough for me. When I start training I will however eat more. While at work I went to the cafeteria for lunch. I fixed myself a salad with mushrooms, carrots, hard boiled egg, a few string beans, and apples. I am not a fan of not being able to put any dressing on my salads but I'll get over it. I can use oil and vinegar but I'm not about that so I choose to go without.

Dinner is my favorite meal of the day. I always cook something super yummy and tonight was no exception. I baked a piece of salmon and had delicious brussel sprouts on the side. I will admit that I am the kind of person that needs something sweet immediately post dinner so this will be a challenge for me. However, I decided that I better give smoothies a chance. For dessert I made a strawberry, blueberry, almond milk smoothie. I had trouble using my roommates magic bullet and had to call for help. Now that I know how to use it, I'll definitely be using this for breakfast smoothies.

As promised here are my measurements:
121.5 lbs.
Anthropometric (cm):
Bicep R/L 10, 9 3/4
Bi Flex R/L 10 3/4, 10 3/4
Chest 32 3/4
Waist 26 1/2
Abdomen 27 1/2
Hips 38 3/4
Thigh R/L 19 1/2, 19 1/4
Calf R/L 13 3/4, 13 3/4

Body Composition (skin folds):
Abdomen 13
Suprailiac 15
Tricep 13
Thigh 26
% body fat 19.6
Body Fat Weight 23.8 (how much of my weight that is fat)
Lean Body Mass 97.7 (how much of my weight that is muscle/organs/etc.)

Over all I am happy with these numbers. My main goal of going Paleo is to gain strength and lower my body fat percentage. This is just the beginning. Stay tuned... the fun has just begun!

xoxo,
bharris

My next adventure.

Happy new year guys and gals!

I can't believe it has been since Halloween since I last blogged. Boy does time fly. Well lets cut to the chase.... I'm going PALEO finally. That's right, I fully intend on eating like a caveWOman at least for the next 30 days. You're probably wondering what I mean by going paleo. Paleo is a type of diet where you eat like we use to back in the day. What do I mean by back in the day? I'm not talking 1988, I'm talking back when you only ate what you could hunt or gather. That means no dairy, grains, legumes, starches, alcohol, and of coarse no processed food or sugar.

You're now wondering what is it that I can eat. Well that's easy! I can have fruits, vegetables, lean meats, seafood, nuts & seeds, and healthy fats. It's going to be a rough 30 days so I'll need all the support I can get. My best friend Lindsay is also doing the 30-day challenge so I'll be sure to share both of our success stories.

Monday will mark the start of the challenge for me. I will be getting my measurements done at work so I'll be able to have a before and after. I'll try to remember to take pictures so you follow me as I go. 

I know you all have been missing the workouts I would post so here's one you can do before Monday!
Warm up with 50 Jumping Jacks
Once warmed up....
40 squats *perform with hands on your head
30 second plank
20 lunges (each leg)
10 mountain climbers (each leg)
5 push ups
Don't forget to stretch after.

Yours in health,
fitbottmed bharris