Day 4 - 30 Day Paleo Challenge

Sorry for the late posting...Superman gave me grief because I didn't get this post up last night.  Don't worry, though, we haven't quit!

It is still early days and I'm trying to make this all work.  Day 4 proved to be our most challenging day so far. I am having trouble sleeping and 6.75 hours is just not enough (not to mention that it is costing me points!). 

Doesn't this look fabulous?

Lunch was a fabulous smoothie:  Spinach, coconut milk, 100% whey protein, strawberries, and frozen mixed berries.  Even the kids enjoyed it. 

There go the strawberries!

I really don't know why I'm not sleeping, but I'm not and it really showed at the gym.  I never got energized...I felt like my entire body was so heavy and, of course, it was a killer WOD.  I was surprised  how hard the whole thing felt...I never got in the zone where I got a rhythm and was just plugging away.  It has been a long time since I've contemplated accepting a DNF ("Did Not Finish"), but I felt terrible through the entire thing and was oh so tempted to throw in the towel.  I scaled the weight on the kettle bell swings (from 53 to 35) and had to back up a band (from red to blue) on my pull-ups...making that decision was really discouraging, but in the end, I was glad I did because I wouldn't have finished otherwise.  My results reflected my low energy, as I finished in 52:11 and, man, was I spent.  It was one of those days when I really feel like I didn't accomplish anything.  Still, I showed up and I didn't phone it in.  My all just wasn't much.

Need some water...it is too thick!

Valiant joined me at the gym and he pushed through, choosing not to scale and it nearly killed him.  I was so proud of him for plugging away at this workout.  Despite a not-so-great time, he can really be proud of himself for sticking to it and for keeping it at that level.  He was definitely my hero yesterday.

Now look at it churning!

Anyway, the workout had us at the gym an hour and 15 minutes later than I thought we'd be.  So much for my Dutch Oven Chicken...it was 5:30 when we got home and we were starved!  Combined with the serendipity of  hungry friends showing up at the gym to drop something off with me saw us headed to Carl's Jr. for dinner.  Buttercup and Valiant are really not happy with our challenge (Valiant more than Buttercup, but she's a close second in dissent!) and you would have thought I gave them each a $1000 when I said, "Fine.  We'll me The Friends for dinner."  Still, I tried hard to keep my goals in mind and just had two  hamburger patties and a Diet Coke.  (Yeah, look, I'm human and I'd been beaten to death by the workout!)  That meal cost me 2 points...grrr.

Terrific lunch for two!

Finished off the night with my homemade almond butter and a Granny Smith apple.  Perfect snack!

Day 4 is in the books! 

On to Day 5...

This is Primal - Kiwi-Banana-Strawberry-Spinach Smoothie

A few of you have asked me for smoothie recipes and I've been stumped.  I don't follow recipes for my smoothies.  I use a few fruits, some spinach (or other greens), some coconut milk or water, some protein powder, and ice.  It can't be simpler.  (Looks like a strawberry milkshake, doesn't it?)

Today's smoothie had the following:

1 Handful of Baby Spinach
1 Kiwi (not peeled--peel yours if you're using a regular blender)
6 Strawberries
1 Ripe Banana
A couple scoops of protein powder (I use Vanilla Muscle Milk from Costco)*
1/2 cup of coconut milk**
Ice cubes

I threw them all together in the Blendtec (thanks again, Superman, for letting me buy it!) and, ta da, a primal smoothie sweet enough for the kids, but full of natural goodness for me.

A few thoughts...I use fresh fruit when I have it, frozen fruit when I don't.  I mix fruits to get the flavor I like and to keep things from getting boring.  Sometimes I put in so much spinach that my smoothie turns greenish and looks more like pond scum than food.  Tastes great, though, so don't be afraid to try it yourself.

*I'm trying to make certain I get protein in ever meal, so for me, the protein powder is a must...if you're just trying to come up with healthier snacks, feels free to leave it out.

**Any liquid will do, but coconut milk helps you get plenty of the "good" fats that we all need.  It is all about the ratio of Omega-3s to Omega-6s, but don't expect me to explain the details to you.  Just know that you must have good fats to keep yourself healthy (and to keep your weight in line!)

Not-so-Green Smoothie

Have you ever heard of Green Smoothies?  I heard about them by reading The Lazy Organizer's blog.  She was really inspired by them and her success with incorporating them into her family's lifestyle.  They are so popular, there is even a blogger called Green Smoothie Girl who has written a book and has quite a following.  While I'm not going vegetarian anytime soon (I just haven't gotten there), I'm definitely learning to eat fewer and fewer processed foods and trying to get us all to eat more and more vegetables and fruits. 

My point is that I'm not particularly hard-core, but I'm always willing to learn new things.  Combine GreenSmoothieGirl with a few demonstrations of the Vitamix and the Blendtec at our local Costco and you have the inspiration for the increased usage my blender is getting quite the workout.  It sounds so weird, but I've stepped up from just fruits and started incorporating leaf spinach into my smoothies. 

They look really weird/gross, but the kids think they're fabulous.  Also, if I can't make things the kids and I will eat and enjoy, I certainly can't justify buying a better blender.

This smoothie?  1 1/2 cups of fresh baby spinach, one frozen banana, one cup of frozen strawberries, and three little apples from our tree, all combined with some ice and some water and blended with my cheap-o Oster blender from Walmart.

So, I'm here to tell you, you can't judge a smoothie by its color!  Be brave and try something crazy...it might turn out really well, just like my "not-so-green smoothie".