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Saturday, February 4, 2012

Avocado Egg - featured

I can't wait to try this, it's either going to be amazing or terrible :)
But Eggs cooked into an avocado sounds like a great protein rich/good fats rich breakfast. I imagine it paired with grapefruit and little sprinkles of bacon on top. Maybe some carmelized onions, or fresh salsa, hmmmm I will definately have some fun with this.
  • preheat oven to 425, have cast iron pan in there
  • Slice avocado in half, take out pit
  • take pan out, put avocado half on, crack egg om
  • put whatever you want on top
  • place in oven and cook till your eggs desire

Friday, February 3, 2012

Chocolate Mousse - featured

I have had such a sweet tooth lately, I'm trying this out to see if it helps.....a little healthier endulgence.


  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 T cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • sweetener to taste (I used a little stevia, but any dry sweetener will do.)
Open the coconut milk, and leave the can (or transfer to a bowl) uncovered in the fridge overnight. (Don’t shake the can before opening.) It should get very, very thick. (If it doesn’t, you’ve gotten a bad can that won’t work for the recipe. I highly recommend Thai Kitchen, or especially Thai Kitchen Organic.) Once thick, transfer to a bowl (you can opt to leave out the watery bit at the bottom of the can, if you want it even thicker) and whip in your cocoa, vanilla, and sweetener with a fork, or even beaters if you want to be fancy. (For the photos on this page, I didn’t use beaters. But I did pipe the mousse out using an icing tip.) Stored uncovered in the fridge, the mixture gets even thicker

Use as a mousse, or as frosting for your favorite cupcakes :) I think it would be delicious on our muffins without the berries or cinnamon. (maybe adda little extra vanilla)

This idea comes from the funnest blog, Chocolate - Covered Katie. It's all about healthy desserts. I will feature her again, I'm sure!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Soda - Bad....Water - Good

Just in case you needed a little shove in the right direction...

3 Reasons to give up Soda

This makes me sad because as I speak, several people I love are gulping down their caffinated poison of choice ... I've definately been there

I just wish it wasn't so destructive and addictive....

Simple Paleo Snacks

This might be one of those posts that keep changing as I get more and more ideas....but hey it's a great start.

So here is a list of waaay simple and easy paleo snacks to grab for a quick boost of energy.
  1. Hard Boiled Eggs
  2. Leftovers
  3. Handful of Nuts
  4. Cut veggies - Peppers/ Jicama /Cucumbers etc.
  5. Fruit
  6. Celery or piece of fruit with nut butter
  7. Trail Mix (nuts, seeds, dried fruit, dark chocolate chips, coconut flakes etc.)
  8. Beef Jerky or Game Jerky
  9. Fruit Salad
  10. Smoked Salmon
  11. Lettuce Tuna Wrap
  12. Olives
  13. Pickles
  14. Piece of Dark Chocolate
  15. Smoothies
  16. Coconut Flour Muffins
  17. Omelet
  18. Kale Chips or Sweet Potato Chips
  19. Dehydrated Fruits and Veggies
  20. Apple sauce (only apples)

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

FEBRUARY - SLEEP

In February our new goal for the month is all about Sleep.

Goal: Set a schedule for your sleep. According to your schedule set a time to go to bed and wake up. Set it and stick with it.
Example: Ideally you want to be going to bed before 11 (between 10 and 11 would be the goal) then you would set a goal to be up before 7 (between 6 and 7). You can set exact times and set an alarm clock or give yourself a range - either way, you will always feel better, more rested and productive if your body is on a schedule. If you have a varying schedule, still try to still set a routine - for instance on work days I go to bed at this time and wake at this time. On days off my schedule is this.

Why should it matter when I go to bed, or if it is scheduled versus just trying to sleep as long as possible?

There are countless studies that show a scheduled person on a routine (even a shift schedule) gets better quality sleep when they have trained their body to be on a sleep schedule. Any parent on the planet will tell you a newborn NEEDS their sleep schedules in order to be well behaved. Well as we grow, we often give up our schedules to the demands of our lives, but even an adult performs best when sleeping on a schedule.

When we get adequate sleep it not only improves your mood, but  it also improves your muscle recovery from your workouts. You minimizes water retention while balancing hormones (ghrelin and leptin). These 2 little hormones are the key to controlling your hunger and sticking to your food related health goals! Not to mention the alert focused feeling you need to keep on track to be your best self every day. Hmm, starting to see why everything goes to crap when I don't sleep.

"When dieters in this study got a full night's sleep, they lost the same amount of weight as when they slept less. When dieters got adequate sleep, however, more than half of the weight they lost was fat. When they cut back on their sleep, only one-fourth of their weight loss came from fat." according to Science Daily.  "For the first time, we have evidence that the amount of sleep makes a big difference on the results of dietary interventions. One should not ignore the way they sleep when going on a diet. Obtaining adequate sleep may enhance the beneficial effects of a diet. Not getting enough sleep could defeat the desired effects." This article quoted several studies and is an interesting quick read, I reccomend it.

The Harvard Women’s Health Watch suggests six reasons to get enough sleep:
  1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
  2. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
  3. Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
  4. Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
  5. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
  6. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.
There are countless studies out there you can easily with a quick Google search but the best way for you to see the dramatic effects a sleep schedule will have on your life, is to try it! Just give it 30 days and check back with us to tell us your results. I know that as I have stuck with the 10:30pm to 6:30 am schedule I get so much more done, I recover from the previous day and wake ready for the new day; with rare exception like illness. (But now that I have brought that up, there is additional info out there to suggest sleep deprivation is responsible for most illness an depression in this generation.)

Try it - trust me, you'll get more done the next day on a full tank of gas than if you stay up late tonight to get an extra hour or two to work on a project.

http://thyroid.about.com/od/loseweightsuccessfully/a/sleepdiet.htm