Early Week Update

So it has been such a great start to my week. I have walked, fairly early, the past two mornings. Yesterday I walked 4 miles and today I walked 4.35 miles. Then today I played Zumba. It feels so great.

I have now worked out every day for over a week. This is the first time that has ever happened, and I don't plan to change it.

Primal has made such a huge impact on my life, in so many different areas. I really used to struggle with my asthma. Doing things as simple as going up the stairs, sometimes even just going to bed would trigger horrible wheezing or a full blown attack. Well I don't have seem to have these problems anymore.

If you haven't heard, there is a horrible wildfire here near Fort Collins, it has wreaked havoc on the slim amount of oxygen we get up here and so I anticipated having major breathing problems during my walks. So I was more than pleasantly surprised when I had no breathing problems. None, zip, zero.

Today is a fasting day, so naturally it was a good day to look at recipes, and go do some grocery shopping, and whatnot. I apparently have some masochistic tendencies. Not really though. It actually was not too bad today, the key is to stay hydrated and to stay busy. It is much harder if you just sit there thinking about food.

Anyways, I think that is it for now. I will leave you with a video of my precious nephew.

My New Nephew

So at 7:53 pm last night my sweet little nephew Todd was born. He weighs 7lb 11oz and is 20.5 inches long.  

Aww so precious!






Isn't he just adorable?

It was a really long labor almost 32 hours I think But mom and baby are healthy.

He looks so warm and snuggly

Daddy and Baby. 

Why won't you leave me alone and let me sleep?

So precious. I love him.

What else is new, so far I have lost 3.9 pounds this week.  I found myself unable to sleep yesterday so I was up by 1am. I went for a nice walk of just over 3 miles at 5am and saw the sunrise. Beautiful really. 

I love Colorado!

Only need to lose .6 pounds today and that shouldn't be too hard since I'm fasting.  Woohoo!

Primal Philly Cheesesteak

This has been a great week. My nephew is going to be born either tonight or early tomorrow. I'm so excited for this. I have a nephew and niece that I gained when I married my husband but this is my first from my side of the family.
And I've been so active this week. Where as I was previously maybe doing 4 or so miles a week walking This week I have gone over 10. YAY! And I've been playing Zumba like nobody's business. I might actually have to take a small break this weekend to let my hips re-cooperate.

So I have been planning on posting this one for a little while now. This is a favorite in my house, Noah loves it and has no problem with having it multiple days in a row. It's easy to make, and it is really fast. I don't think it typically takes more than 25 or so minutes. I've dubbed it Phili Cheesesteak, it is breadfree but if you have a primal bread you wanna stick it on that is fine. And if you aren't following a Primal/Paleo lifestyle you are welcome to put it on whatever you like.

Primal Philly Cheesesteak

Ingredients:
1lb thin steak
2 large yellow onions
2 small-medium vidalia onions
Emeril's Original Essence (click here for recipe)
4 Bell Peppers of any color, I prefer a variety
2 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Thinly Sliced Provolone Cheese (I have also tried pepperjack and that was also yummy)

Feeds about 4.

Slice your bell peppers (after removing tops and seeds) into long medium-thin slices. Also slice onions similarly.  Heat Olive Oil in a large skillet over medium heat then add onions and peppers.

Season liberally with the Emeril's. FYI, this stuff is awesome and I use it in so many dishes.
While the onions and peppers are cooking (make sure to keep an eye on them and stir occasionally) cut up the meat into strips that are thin and medium length. Season the meat with the Emeril's.  

After the onions start to become slightly translucent (not all the way cooked) Add the sliced steak and stir it in well. Continue to cook until meat is cooked through. Turn off heat.
You will accumulate a good amount of liquid in the pan. Go ahead and strain that now. I find that there is too much food in the pan for it all to fit in a strainer so I put the strainer over a bowl so that any fallen food can be easily retrieved and doesn't have to be cleaned off. After you have strained the food return it to the pan.

Top with a single layer of the thinly sliced Provalone cheese. (I typically need about 7 slices) Give the cheese a few moments to melt.

Enjoy!

Primal Stuffed Peppers

Today has been a great day. I managed to walk over 2.5 miles this morning and had a killer Zumba session this afternoon. I <3 Zumba. It is awesome. If you haven't tried it, you really should.
I also made these Stuffed Peppers. Just my own little recipe but I will share.

Just a note, I used all organic ingredients.

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef (also good with ground turkey or chicken)

6 Bell Peppers of any color variety

1 small bag of baby carrots chopped

2 bunches of celery chopped

6 cloves of garlic minced

1 large yellow onion chopped

2 medium vidalia onions chopped

2 14.5 oz cans of diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes

1 15 oz can of tomato sauce

1 6oz can of tomato paste

1 tsp Herbes De Provence

salt and pepper to taste

1TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil

shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for 60 seconds making sure to not burn the garlic. Add the chopped onions (both the yellow and vidalia) and the ground beef. Cook until the beef is cooked through, breaking the hamburger into small pieces. Once the hamburger is cooked through add the chopped celery and chopped carrots, continue to cook for about 3 minutes. Then add the cans of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir it well. Season with the herbes de provence, salt, and pepper. Heat mixture until bubbling, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the mixture is cooking, cut the tops off of the bell peppers and clean the insides out making sure to remove all of the seeds. I recommend turning the peppers upside down for a few minutes to drain any water from the inside. 

In a 9x12 baking dish, place the peppers with the top (open side) up. Fill peppers with the tomato/meat/veggie mixture. You should have a good amount left. Spread that remainder in the pan itself around the peppers. Top with shredded cheddar cheese if you like. 

Bake for 50 minutes.

National Trails Day - Summer Goals

   So Saturday was National Trails Day. I decided that I wanted to volunteer. My husband also decided to get in on the action. We did trail work up at Bobcat Ridge which is just west of Fort Collins. It's quite lovely, and it certainly gives one a good workout. Depending on which way you are going, the trail is either mostly uphill, or mostly downhill. 

   My group was in charge of filling in the first section of the trail. As it saw the most action, it also had the most erosion, and because of that there were dips and crevasses that were not exactly ideal. So we would shovel soil into wheel barrels, (Which, by the way, we had to haul up hill to the trail to begin with) Then that barrel would be wheeled a ways uphill, and dumped out. Others would then rake the soil to cover the dips and crevasses. Then someone with a little watering tool would dampen the soil, and then another individual would use a tamper to flatten and even it out. One wheel barrel full of soil allowed perhaps a 3-4 foot stretch of trail if that.  

    It was really a lot of work, and was quite exhausting. It was hot and stayed very sunny until the point when we finished. Then we got some lovely clouds with rain and thunderstorms. All that being said, it was so rewarding. On a physical level: my body got such a great workout! But also it was great to give back to the community, to the land. It's nice to be a part of keeping Colorado beautiful, and helping to make lasting nature trails that are safer for many more to enjoy. I know I will be volunteering again next year and I look forward to it!

   On the weight loss front, I have set myself a goal for the summer. It is not an easy goal, and it is something that I will have to work hard towards. But aren't goals you have to work for much more rewarding than the ones that are so easy to achieve?

   My big goal is to lose 75 pounds by the end of September. That equates to about 4.5 pounds per week. That is no small feat, and I know that. To help me achieve my goal I am fasting every other day this summer. On those days I will only drink water. This is perfectly healthy, so no one needs to worry there. On the days that I am not fasting I need to make sure I am eating purely primal, and I need to keep my carbs very low. I need to make sure that I am eating high in protein and healthy fats. 

  I am aiming to drink at least 100 oz of water a day. I have these 32oz glass mason jars. I am to drink about 3 1/2-4 a day. I have also been drinking a bit of tea lately, chai. It's my weakness. I don't think that it is bad to have on occasion (if made at home) I make up the tea and simply add homemade coconut creamer (made from coconut milk, a dash of stevia and a little bit of vanilla extract) and raw honey. That being said, there are still carbs and calories from that that can be spared so I am going to limit myself to one cup of tea week. As I have had one yesterday and today I am definitely done for this week. (I made the rule after today's tea so I didn't actually break my rule) I also need to avoid fruits. They are healthy yes, but fruits are high in carbs and if wanting to lose weight it is best to limit those as possible. Maybe once a month a piece of fruit would be reasonable. Then once I reach my ideal healthy weight I can start incorporating a bit more carbs to allow myself to maintain that weight.  

  And of course I realize that diet is only half the battle. I need to make sure that I stay moving. So to help myself with this my husband and I will be walking 2.5 miles a day together in the evenings or in the mornings. Each day. I also need to keep up with my kinect playing. That has been great! And I need to start some strength training exercises. Every day counts and I have to remember that when I'd rather just do nothing during the day.

 

  I can hit my goal. It's not going to be easy. It's not going to be the most relaxing summer. But it will be worth it.

I'm planning on taking pictures each week. Of both myself and my husband. they will show the progress we are making...I don't know yet if I will post them each week or at the end, but regardless they will get posted.

It's Friday

It's Friday. And even though I work from home that tends to be an exciting thing. (I am looking for an additional job though, to give me a bit of extra income to put into my business) Tomorrow I am doing a volunteer Trail Cleanup project with REI. That will be good, and I'm looking forward to it. It will be nice to get some good outdoor time, my husband is also helping so that will be nice also. Beyond that, it will be fantastic to do something that benefits nature and the community. I like the idea of helping to keep Colorado beautiful.

This has been a good week so far, we started the alternate day fasting. It has gone pretty well for the most part. My husband ended up needing lunch one of the days because he wasn't doing so well and was really shaky. And I had the genius idea of doing grocery shopping on a fasting day yesterday and so I ended up having a small primal snack. All in all though  I have lost just over 3 pounds so far this week since Monday. I look forward to seeing what these three more days bring. The husband has lost two pounds thus far. He is much smaller than me anyways, he wants to lose about 30-35 more pounds

I have no doubt he will reach his goal by the end of summer. I'm proud of him. So proud of him. He has been really supportive of me in this lifestyle change and has made the change willingly. He has been willing to adapt to foods he otherwise didn't care for. Overall he is just a pretty awesome husband. 

I have been playing Kinect a lot more lately. Which I find to be quite wonderful. It pleases me immensely. On adventures, before, I couldn't do much without getting winded. And one go at the obstacle course and I was out for the count. But the other day I think I did the obstacle courses about 5 or 6 times, in addition to the other time I played. 

I'm wanting to get a bike. *sigh* I have one picked out that I want. He loves biking and I want to enjoy it too. I used to as a kid, but then went a really long time without a bike after my younger brother destroyed mine.

It's REI's brand Novara. It has fantastic reviews and is $449. We were so close to getting it this week but weren't quite able to. :-( Which honestly bummed me out quite a bit because I had my hopes up really high.

Anywho, I think that is it for now. I'll be posting a recipe tomorrow for the one primal dinner that I have created on my own. :-)