spirals

I got this new tool from a Groupon and at first when I got it it looked sketchy, it had no instructions, the box only had asian writing no english or french I was really not impressed but It looked so cool on the groupon pic !!!

So anyway I decided to give it a shot and seriously I have to say I prefer it over my julienne peeler I raved about in another post. Check out the finished product ...what I love is that you use up the whole zucchini, you are not discarding the core like with the Julienne peeler, the texture is great and for some reason it even feels less watery. My trick is I just sauté them warm but I leave them raw they have a bit of a bite and they are like al dente noodles. I added garlic and coconut oil and it added loads of flavor to them ... who needs noodles!

I then serve my marinara chicken (chicken I just cooked in my pressure cooker with that marinara sauce I talked about in the other post and and some spices of choice) right on top YUM !

I heard that Ma Cuisine on the byward market in Ottawa has a spiral mandoline, not sure how much it is ... but probably less sketch then this tool I got off groupon for 12$!

secrets... short cuts

Thought I would share a sauce I use a lot for short cuts ... it's all natural, no sugar and it's delicious and the best is they sell em by the 2 pack at Costco here in Ottawa. I make chicken with it, chili, "not pasta"sauce. So there you have it folks one of my secrets :P

Life is always hectic and i hear day in and day out how people say they can't follow Paleo coz of whatever excuse you want to insert here ... but really if you really really want to feel better you will have no excuse to find the way to make it happen. Over the year i've found countless ways to make things easier. I boil a dozen eggs when I have a few minutes, I cook up a bunch of chicken in the pressure cooker or on the george foreman grill in lots of different spices just to make things interesting and have it on hand anytime I need to eat. I buy a big bag of peppers and chop them up in 10 minutes ... it only takes 10 minutes to prep things one item at a time ... I also hear a lot well I am always out ... So am I but buy a big lunch bag and ice pack and use it ... you should see what my movie snacks look like, yup chicken and veggies ... and really if they bug me for bringing it in i'll just tell them that if they can offer that to me on the menu then i'll gladly buy it for quadruple the price. Hasn't happened though. I don't think i'm better then anyone but everybody thinks I have all the time in the world ... I have 2 daughters 3, 6 and an 9 year old step son ... I work a 7.5 hour a day job, I workout in my free time and then the time that is left I prep and cook food. I make it happen. because I want to make it happen.

Things that are found on my grocery list every week.

from Costco

• French green beans, these come pre cut and all you have to do is steam em I even eat them raw
• A slab of 30 eggs. A lot of them get boiled for a quick protein fix, the rest are used for whatever. 
• Cherry tomatoes
• English cucumber (pack of 3) 
• Pack of 6 bell peppers (red, orange, yellow) Which I slice when I have free time and store in a big ziplock for raw snack or stir fries 
• Big box of frozen chicken 4kg  (I know it's not organic but I can't afford the organic so it's where I compromise for now till I find a good connection) 
• egg whites ( for shakes, and for morning omelettes) 
• Superantioxident frozen fruit mix ( this is delicious, cherry's blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, pomegranate.)
• mix greens
• sliced mushrooms
• baby spinach
• apples
• mixed nuts (not every week but every 3 weeks maybe) 

These are pretty much our staples for the week. and they help make meals easier to prep. 

Then we get other stuff at the grocery store to compliment, and my freezer is jammed packed with grass fed beef we bought from a local farm. but I'm off beef due to my strict meal plan. I crave it sooooo much ... 

so there you have it ... 

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1 year anniversary !

Just a little update ... It was my 1 year Paleo anniversary. Yup been following this lifestyle for 1 year now, 3 months alcohol and dairy free. Things are going great wanted to share a progress photo you can see some muscles coming out and i'm pretty proud of that ... it's been a long and hard working year but when i see these pics it motivates me to keep on going. 

I got me some supps to help the process, Magnum Greens (this stuff I can already feel working it's magic), Glutamine, and BCAAs ... also taking multis, vitamin c, fish oil and EGG protein. 

Received my competition shoes, I have a posing seminar coming up, this should be interesting! haha meaning that I might fall flat on my face! 

week 1

Week 1 of my new meal plan is going ok ... having a hard time eating the same thing everyday ... and the most painful thing of all there is no BACON on this plan OMG .... NO BACON. Life is sad ...

no but in all seriousness I am dedicated to this and Sara knows what she is doing .. I need to melt fat and whatever I was doing wasn't working anymore so I will listen and try anything. And hopefully see results again. Plateaus suck! The workouts are really good I really feel on track and it's a nice change and structure ...

So I have to remind people that Paleo is what you make of it ... It doesn't have to be a weight loss diet but for the goal i have I needed to kick stuff up a notch so I am on a strict 1400-1450 calories a day no red meat, high protein meal plan these days to help shed some fat i've been doomed to hold on too ...

I should be on that show "last 10 lbs" except for me  it would be last 20 lbs ! burn baby burn !

Before I started my meal plan I made this chilli, It was delicious ... and btw I still cook Paleo friendly stuff with red meat for the man ... I won't be posting what I eat just yet as i'm paying someone to organize this for me and really think about it .. if I post what she has me eating then I might as well send you all a bill for a cut in my coaching fees !

I found this super greens organic mix at Costco, it's baby kale, baby swiss chard and baby spinach. I've been putting that in everything and this chili is no exception ! It adds to the nutrients and it is delicious.

Grass fed organic beef chili

• 4 lbs of grass fed ground beef
• 1 jar (1.18 littre) of the white linen marinara sauce (It's all natural and I get it at costco, comes in a pack of 2 jars, no sugar or crap added :) ) 
• 1 large onion chopped up 
• Spices of your choice I use Epicure ( Louisianna hot and spicy dip mix, marinara mix, garlic powder)
• 2 cups or more of the super organic greens from costco (baby kale, baby swiss chard and baby spinach)
• 2 cups or more of pre-sliced mushrooms 

I use my pressure cooker and can have this chilli ready in 45 minutes and it tastes like i've done it in my slow cooker simmering all day. Feel free to use any cooking method but insure your beef is cooked ... 

I put all the ingredients but the greens and mushrooms as they would get to mushy ... I add them at the end and just let my pressure cooker with the lid off and let the veggies cook abit and serve with some crispy exotic veggie chips ! 

Wow another year gone .... zoooom

I'll be 34 years old tomorrow, and in the best shape since I can't even remember but still not where I want to be but i'll take it! 35 is my goal year ... and i'm well on my way to be in the best shape of my life by 35.

A few years back I was miserable and really didn't know what to do with myself. I had 2 beautiful little girls and should have been ecstatic but I was at an all time low and just thought I was doomed and felt sorry for myself. Had millions of excuses and just didn't feel good emotionally, didn't even have the energy to do my motherly duties but had to so did what I had to do ... just didn't feel like that was enough for my girls. I think the changes I made throughout these couple of years have all helped me become the person I am today. Things I am still struggling with is moods (hormones), tiredness and my immune system but I won't give up. I've been on Paleo for almost 1 year. I'm at the gym hitting all time records for myself in the weight lifting department and have joined muay thai and love kicking and punching other men, ugh I mean into thai pads. It releases all the stress I seem to hold on too all the time, helping with my mood swings that I seem to have adopted over the past couple of years (probably from holding all my emotions in and taking on so much stress in the past) It had to come out sometime, sorry Joe that it's on you :P

So my amazing man got me a nice spinner bike as an early birthday gift to stick to my goals.

He also got me these great runners for xmas and I finally get to try them out ... I was debating when to retire my Asics nimbus but now I use both ! :) Love both by the way. 

And if I needed more reasons to brag about my awesome supportive man, He got me a gluten free sugar free cake from Thimble cakes ! :) 

Life is well on track and I don't think I could have a better support system... thanks to all that understand the time, energy and dedication my goals are taking and will be taking and thanks for pushing me and encouraging me along the way ... from my man Joe, family, friends, co-workers,  I appreciate all the support you have and are giving me a long the way. My motivation and drive is in most part from all of you that surround me ! :) This year is going to have ups and downs, I've hired Sara Fennell to coach me a long the way, I'm excited to push harder then I have before .. and i'm confident that this is all gonna be great! 

Almond butter thai coconut shrimp on zuchinni noodles

I received a lot of requests for this recipe ! so here goes ...

Almond butter thai coconut shrimp on zuchinni noodles 

• 16 Raw shrimps ( I used fresh ones) 
• 1 tbsp coconut oil 
• 1/4 cup Almond butter
• 1/2 can of coconut milk (I try and look for the one that has just coconut and water in the list of ingredients) and I stay away from lite 
• Fresh Cilantro to taste
• 1 tbsp Epicure Thai spices ( I would probably have used red curry paste if you don't have Epicure spices ) 
• 1 tsp of thai green chilli pepper finely chopped 
• lime juice
•  6 small Zucchinis

Heat your coconut oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the green chili to the skillet and let cook a bit then add the peeled and cleaned shrimps, let sear on both sides and then add the coconut milk (I tried to use the creamier part of the milk) and almond butter let shrimp simmer for 2 minutes, add lime juice and let shrimp cook thru the total cooking time for the shrimp depending ont he size should be between 3 to 5 minutes ... don't over cook!!! add chopped cilantro. 

For the Zucchini noodles: 

Julienne all 6 zucchinis with a julienne peeler and steam them for 2 minutes in the microwave. You still want them to have a bite .. not mushy so it's better to undercook. 

Serve the shrimp over the noodles and enjoy ! 

schedule

A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of meeting up with Sara Fennell http://efitonlinecoaching.com/ for a consultation of prepping for a figure competition. She measured my bodyfat, I as kinda impressed as I thought I had a higher percentage. It's still no where it needs to be but it's not as bad as I thought :). She gave me lots of great pointers and I am implementing some of her suggestions. My man got me a nice spinning bike for my birthday so I can do fasted cardio first thing in the AM that will be a huge help as i can concentrate on weight training on my lunch hour. I also found out I was probably trying to take in to many calories a day, so all these things are being adjusted and i'm already feeling good about it .. I can see a difference in my stomach already ... arg that annoying stomach fat ...

Really wish we could have made it to the Arnold Expo this year but we will plan for next year .. how amazing that would be ... I am planning on attending a few competitions in the near future just to get a feel for it. Things are starting to feel real. I am going to go try on some shoes tonite so i can order some and start practicing walking.

An idea of what i'm eating in a day lately :

Morning
Banana Protein pancakes (2)
coffee with splenda hazelnut flavoured syrup (I know I know artificial sweetner but I try to keep it to my morning coffee)

Morning snack
140G superantioxident frozen berry mix  (I like to have this still a bit frozen it's almost like gelato :)

During workout
9 g of Amino Energy grape

post workout
32 g of EGG protein shake chocolate

Lunch 6 oz of chicken (right now I made a pressure cooker full of the honey rosemary chicken)
1 cup of steamed brocoli

Afternoon snack
Green apple

Dinner
5 oz Tilapia Filet pan seared with lemon juice, dill, garlic and black pepper
Green beans


Trying to drink lots of water but really have to remember to do this .. it does not come naturally to me ....

Weekly workouts will be this :

Monday
11 am - weight training
6:30 pm - Muay thai (intense cardio)

Tuesday
5:30 am - HIIT ( High intensity interval training) spinning
11:00 am - weight training
5:30 pm - Muay thai (not this week)

Wednesday ( rest day if needed )
5:30 am - HIIT ( High intensity interval training) spinning
11:00 am - weight training

Thursday5:30 am - HIIT ( High intensity interval training) spinning
11:00 am - weight training
Friday
5:30 am - HIIT ( High intensity interval training) spinning
11:00 am - weight training

Saturday
Sunday
 the weekends will be a whatever time I feel like ... If I feel I need a rest day I will see how I feel on either day ... might do active rest day and just do cardio .... need to burn fat ... so i can uncover the beast muscles underneath !