Paleo meatballs

Meatball Ingredients:

1 lb 93% lean ground beef

2 large organic eggs

2 large stalks celery, minced

3 green onions, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Ragu Ingredients:

1 jalapeno, diced and seeded

5 button mushrooms, sliced

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 -1/2 cup white wine

Directions ( I keep it simple):

• Mix all the meatball ingredients together in a bowl, form them into balls, then sear them on two ends.
• Add all the "Ragu" ingredients except for the white wine and cover the pan to let it cook a bit, after about 8 minutes, add the white wine and continue to simmer until sauce has thickened and meat has cooked through

SO Freaking good! I promise

Served with roasted sweet potatoes over a bed of raw spinach :)

Nike Women's Half Marathon Series and My Fitness Journey

My fitnessMY 

My fitness journey has being continuing even though I've been away. Lately I've been relying on Instagram to post about my fitness journey, but since I'm starting training this week for my first half marathon ever, I'm going to make an effort to return to the blog.

Though I relied solely on crossfit for the first three months of my fitness journey, work and life made it impractical to make it to sessions regularly. So, I made lemons out of lemonade -- I joined an awesome gym and I kick my own butt longer and harder than I ever have in the past.

Also, I'm turning ** this weekend! Gah, after 21 every birthday becomes incrementally more awkward. I start an analysis of my life: what i've accomplished vs. what I thought I would have accomplished by now, then I tell myself to stop.

Along with training for the half marathon, I'm planning on starting a new macro eating plan soon, along with a more structured strength training program.

Hopefully, you will have progress pics to look forward to, new recipes based on macros, and stories of struggles and triumphs.

Easter, WODS, Paleo results.....

Easter weekend: Other than having the pleasure of making these eggs, I admittedly had a few "cheats" here and there. But to me, this is a journey towards finding a healthy balance.  More specifically, I had lentils, goat cheese, a traditional Armenian pastry ( if you're going to cheat it better be homemade... or maybe a 5 star restaurant) and two homemade cookies.  

 

I did however create my own WOD while staying at the beautiful vineyards: 

4 rounds:

300 meter run

10 push ups

20 ab mat sit ups without a mat 

Some recent WODS and the results I'm getting:

 

 

 

1 month of Paleo ( with a few admitted cheats here and there) + Crossfit = 2% fat loss, muscle gained, and 7 inches lost.  Its a start, eh? I'm hoping to match these results or beat them this month.

Paleo fast food

 

Sauteed Beef Sausage, Wilted Kale, and Sunny-Side up eggs

I'm here to take away your excuses. 

Yes, you can do Paleo without a kitchen. Yes, you can eat Paleo even if you are eating out. The key is to resist ordering your old favorites. Are you feeding your stomach? your emotions? or your mind?

 

 

Spinach Salad with : Grille Chicken Breast, Sprouts, Avocado, Olives, Carrots, and Artichoke Hearts

... and Vegan bacon bits which I sort of ignored

 

 

Salad: Arugula, spinach, rainbow chard, kale, red and white cabbage, beets, dried cranberries, guacamole, and carne asada

 This was a creation from the Whole Foods Salad bar. Do you know how much it cost me??  A whole $6!!! Where else can you get a salad like this for only $6 ???

 

Banana protein pancakes (paleo)

 

This one is a work in progress. Though my dad loved them, I'm not quite ready to publish the recipe and rave about it. 

This particular batch was made with banana, vanilla protein powder, eggs and water. 

To be continued....

 

A twist on poached eggs

 

Quick. Simple. Fast.

That becomes the standard when you are cooking without a kitchen, on a portable gas burner, in your guest bathroom.  

I will appreciate having a kitchen SO MUCH once its all done. 

For this quick meal just add the following ingredients to the pan and bring to a simmer:

Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes, Fresh Garlic Greens ( you can usually find this at your farmers market), Anaheim chili, and South African Spice Blend ( found at Trader Joes).

 ** Note ** The South African Spice Blend contributes a smoky flavor, so if that's not your thing, omit it. 

Many of you will choose to add salt, but since I'm trying to keep sodium intake to a minimum for the sake of this Paleo Adventure, I kept it out of my dish.

Once the tomato mixture comes to a simmer, add your organic eggs, cover the pan and let them "poach" away. 

My phone died :(

I'll be back soon, as soon as I figure out my phone situation. Still eating paleo, still doing crossfit :)

Though I will probably stop with the daily menus because I'm sure that gets boring, especially since all my cooking will have to take place on a BBQ for the next two months because I will be kitchenless.

Adaptation.