Thursday, October 27, 2011

Quick and Easy Breakfast

I will always tell people who are changing their nutrition profiles to start with one meal a day if they are hesitant or not completely committed.  Start with breakfast and pay attention to how you feel after.  This is usually enough to get people to make more permanent changes.

As fun as cooking healthy can be, we don't always have more than a few minutes.  Meet chicken sausage.  This brand is at CostCo, very affordable.. and minimal ingredients with minimal processing.  Heat this up with or without a few eggs, add some avocado and you have a good start to face the day!



Staple breakfast that takes less than 5 minutes!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Bacon & Spinach Medley

Bacon is a staple at my house, it just makes everything taste better!  I came up with this a few weeks ago as I was trying to get rid of a few things in my fridge. Bacon grease makes a great substitute for cooking with olive or coconut oil. I'm sure this could be altered a few different ways with different veggies.

Bacon & Spinach Medley

8 slices bacon
1 cup sliced mushrooms
4 cups raw spinach
1-2 eggs

Cook bacon in pan and remove.  Use bacon grease to cook mushrooms until they have absorbed most of the grease and are soft to the touch.  Add raw spinach and cook until wilted.  You can use kitchen shears to cut bacon into smaller pieces and then add back to mixture.  I chose to cook a couple of over-medium eggs and serve it on top of this spinach medley... delish!



Sunday, October 23, 2011

"Walk the Walk"

So I have made the commitment to "walk the walk".  My pregnancy excuses are over and I am now back to disciplined eating for a few reasons:  1. I know that my body feels better when I am eating clean.  2.  I want to set a good example for athletes at Atlas as well as my family and 3. I am anxious to get back to both pre-baby performance and body composition... nutrition will be the MOST important way to get there.

We have had almost 10 challenges at Atlas since we have started and I will say with confidence that when the emphasis is on the "quality" of food vs. the "quantity" of food... the results are significantly better!  What does this mean?  Well... everyone that has sat through one of my nutrition lectures knows that I like to teach balance FIRST in terms of nutritional guidance, ie... "Zone" eating.  However, I think after you have a basic knowledge of how much food your body needs to be properly fueled, the emphasis should be placed back on what you are shoveling in your mouth, and that emphasis should be grass-fed meats, wild-caught seafood, lots of veggies and some good-quality fats.  Wheat in any form does not have a place on an athletes table, period.

With that being said - and my challenge to myself of taking on the "I Am CrossFit" challenge with my team, I picked up two good Paleo recipe books last week.  "Everyday Paleo" by Sarah Fragoso and Sisson's "Quick and Easy Paleo Meals" I have since made literally a recipe from them everyday, if not two!  I will share them with you guys, as well as reviews.

First on my list is the Pecan Crusted Chicken from Everyday Paleo.


Pecan Crusted Chicken
4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup organic spicy brown mustard
2 tbsp raw organic honey
1 cup pecans
sea salt
Pre-heat oven to 350. In a medium sized mixing bowl blend together the mustard and honey.  Toss the pecans in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped.  Pour the chopped pecans either on a plate or in a pie pan if you have one.  Using a paper towel, remove any excess moisture from the outside of your chicken breasts.  Taking one chicken breast at a time, first place the chicken into the mustard/honey mixture and coat on both sides.  Transfer chicken to the chopped pecans and again cover both sides.  Place coated chicken into a greased glass baking dish (I used a little olive oil spray to cover the bottom of the dish) and sprinkle each chicken breast with just a little sea salt.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear.


Verdict:  It was a little messy, but seriously the best chicken I've had maybe ever.  Seriously, it is that good... or maybe it is because I couldn't stand the thought of chicken when I was pregnant, but it is definitely worth the prep time!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Salmon Croquettes

This recipe is courtesy of Kevin Slaughter, aka... The original.





1 can of 14.5oz Salmon (remove bones)
1 egg
Diced onion 
Diced green pepper
Diced red pepper
Mix together and form patties

"Breading"
Blanched almond flour
Shredded coconut
2/1 almond flour to coconut (just did by feel)
Mix together and coat each patty

Pan fry for about 3-4 minutes each side.

I doubled the recipe (big family)

Delicious!