Pura Vida, the literal translation is "Pure Life". When I was in Costa Rica I was informed that this saying is one that the Ticos (people of Costa Rica) use and the use it for everything. Along the lines of Aloha, Mahalo, and Cool it is a saying that is used when something is good, life is good, food is good, or you are feeling good.
I like this saying for what it encompasses but I also love the literal translation or Pure Life. That is what I would like to strive for, a pure life full of goodness. Pure food, pure happiness, pure experiences. Costa Rica is a fabulous country and I loved every second I was there. I can see myself going back.
As for my follow through while I was on the cruise......I did ok until a couple days before the end. It was a dark and white chocolate mousse that was the beginning of the end for me. I love dark chocolate mousse. So when it w offered as a dessert, I caved. And once I caved it was real easy for me to justify, to myself, that another sugary dessert was ok. I did stay away from gluten, did use dairy in my coffee, and my enormous cheat was the sugar dairy combos. I did great for the majority of the time nd am proud of that. It gives me more to work with, see where I can improve. It wasn't too hard to stay paleo and if I could do it for the majoritymof the time, I could have done it for the entire time.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Follow through
Saturday I will be venturing into the world of vacation! I am excited but worried about not being able to find good Paleo meals. I will be taking a cruise through the Panama Canal and all of the food is provided. There should be plenty to pick and choose from so that I can stay on course.
Of course, cruises and vacation are times when I indulge in the alcohol a bit. Currently, there is a 30 day Paleo challenge I'm participating in and alcohol is verboten. That will be the bigger challeng for me. Who doesn't like to sit in the hot tub with a bucket of beer at their elbow? Who would turn down one of those fruity drinks that come with an umbrella while sitting on the deck watching world go by? It is highly probable that I will not be 100 percent compliant on my challenge and have some wine or tequila.
Without Internet access I will keep a log of my meals, and my cheats, to share with everyone. The gym is the first place I intend to visit. I have workouts planned and cruises always have plenty of exercise classes offered. Maybe this ship will have the rock climb wall, I would love to get through my heights/falling phobia. It does interfere on so many fun things!
Of course, cruises and vacation are times when I indulge in the alcohol a bit. Currently, there is a 30 day Paleo challenge I'm participating in and alcohol is verboten. That will be the bigger challeng for me. Who doesn't like to sit in the hot tub with a bucket of beer at their elbow? Who would turn down one of those fruity drinks that come with an umbrella while sitting on the deck watching world go by? It is highly probable that I will not be 100 percent compliant on my challenge and have some wine or tequila.
Without Internet access I will keep a log of my meals, and my cheats, to share with everyone. The gym is the first place I intend to visit. I have workouts planned and cruises always have plenty of exercise classes offered. Maybe this ship will have the rock climb wall, I would love to get through my heights/falling phobia. It does interfere on so many fun things!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Food brings people together
This community of people who live the paleo lifestyle have common denometers: fitness, diet, and a view of how the interact with each other. I have found so many people who have traveled this road longer and farther than I have who are willing to share their experiences and insight with me. It is a wonderful network. The sharing of ideas on meals and exercise is open for anyone. I have been inspired by their guidance and direction.
One thing that is true the world over is that people come together over food. Holiday meals, lunches with coworkers, or providing when a meal when someone is unable. The recipes shared throughout the paleo community are no different. I found recipes that I have shared with others, borrowed other peoples and have made my own little changes to them. Here is one for a soup that is perfect during cold miserable days.
Butternut Squash Apple Soup
1 Butternut Squash
1 Leek
3-4 cloves of garlic
Olive Oil
1 ½ quarts of water (more or less) or chicken stock
1 chicken bouillon cube (if not using stock)
2-3 cups of Sugar free Apple Sauce (homemade is best)
Salt & pepper to taste
Sage & Thyme or Cinnamon & Nutmeg to taste
This recipe was inspired by Mrs. Cara B. of Primrose and Paleo. I added the apple and loved the results, so did everyone I shared it with.
Roast the squash in the oven until soft, at 350 degrees for about 45-60 minutes. While that is in the oven; chop the leek and sauté it in the olive oil in a large soup pot. Once the leek is transparent, add garlic and sauté. Be careful the garlic doesn’t burn. After a couple minutes add the stock/water and bring to a simmer. When the squash is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool some. Slice it open to remove the seeds and skin. Cut the squash into chunks and add it to the soup pot, bring it to a boil.
When the squash is soft enough to mash with a spoon, turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to puree everything. If the soup is too thick add a little water to thin it out. I thought about using my blender at this point but it could not have taken all of the soup at once and it would have created more of a mess, the immersion blender works perfectly. If you don’t have one, a potato masher would work for the squash but the leeks and garlic would still be whole. That is not bad or wrong, it just gives the soup a different consistency. At this point add the apple sauce, adjust the amount to your liking. Add the salt and pepper to taste then chose either sage and thyme or cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. Either way, savory or sweet, it is good.
I used sage and thyme then topped it off with crispy bacon chunks. Very good! The next time, I am going to roast/bake the apples and add the chunked up bits with the squash instead of using apple sauce.
One thing that is true the world over is that people come together over food. Holiday meals, lunches with coworkers, or providing when a meal when someone is unable. The recipes shared throughout the paleo community are no different. I found recipes that I have shared with others, borrowed other peoples and have made my own little changes to them. Here is one for a soup that is perfect during cold miserable days.
Butternut Squash Apple Soup
1 Butternut Squash
1 Leek
3-4 cloves of garlic
Olive Oil
1 ½ quarts of water (more or less) or chicken stock
1 chicken bouillon cube (if not using stock)
2-3 cups of Sugar free Apple Sauce (homemade is best)
Salt & pepper to taste
Sage & Thyme or Cinnamon & Nutmeg to taste
This recipe was inspired by Mrs. Cara B. of Primrose and Paleo. I added the apple and loved the results, so did everyone I shared it with.
Roast the squash in the oven until soft, at 350 degrees for about 45-60 minutes. While that is in the oven; chop the leek and sauté it in the olive oil in a large soup pot. Once the leek is transparent, add garlic and sauté. Be careful the garlic doesn’t burn. After a couple minutes add the stock/water and bring to a simmer. When the squash is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool some. Slice it open to remove the seeds and skin. Cut the squash into chunks and add it to the soup pot, bring it to a boil.
When the squash is soft enough to mash with a spoon, turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to puree everything. If the soup is too thick add a little water to thin it out. I thought about using my blender at this point but it could not have taken all of the soup at once and it would have created more of a mess, the immersion blender works perfectly. If you don’t have one, a potato masher would work for the squash but the leeks and garlic would still be whole. That is not bad or wrong, it just gives the soup a different consistency. At this point add the apple sauce, adjust the amount to your liking. Add the salt and pepper to taste then chose either sage and thyme or cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. Either way, savory or sweet, it is good.
I used sage and thyme then topped it off with crispy bacon chunks. Very good! The next time, I am going to roast/bake the apples and add the chunked up bits with the squash instead of using apple sauce.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
In September 2010 I started my first class of Krav Maga. I decided to take the selfdefense class because I needed to prepare for the inevitable and knew that it would be better to start now. What I didn't realize was what else came with the Krav classes,FIT and nutrition. It is very similar to CrossFit training and improved my conditioning in a short period of time. Brandon is the FIT instructor and also coaches on nutrition,he is the main force behind Spokane Primal. Both he and Brayson, the Krav instructor, advocate a Paleo lifestyle and you can see the results in them.
The idea of changing my diet was not new to me. I had done it before, several times in fact, all in attempts to find health. As a teenager and young adult food was a problem. At 5'9" i weighed around 100-110 pounds. Too thin for my frame and height. Now, I'm not rambling about this to have anyone go "Oh poor Ginger, we feel so sorry for her." Nope, I don't want it or need it. I want to share that food has been one of the substances in my life that had a HUGE impact. The pendulum swung in the other direction and I became around 40 pounds over weight. When this happened, I tried many quickie diets to slim down and even did radical overhauls to my diet routine. Needless to say, the results were few, far between and I felt like crap.
After my first FIT class, Brandon talked about nutrition and the Primal/Paleo diet. It made perfect sense to me. I understand completely that diet is an everyday Concern, not just a few weeks at a time. Good health depends on maintaining a good diet. Getting rid of gluten is something I had done once before and the results startled me; I felt better then I had in years. So I was willing to chuck it again. Dairy was One of my staples where I was concerned about. Removing the majority of dairy was much easier than I thought. I may have coffee with some cream now and again but it is very infrequent.
After four months of regular and very enjoyable exercise plus a new diet lifestyle, I have dropped about 30 of those 40 pounds. And I feel great! I sleep better, I don't have heartburn anymore, my skin is beautiful. It is amazing what a change this has brought about. I am now doing a 30 day primal challenge and got the husband on board. Everything has been 100 percent from my end and it is wonderful.
The network of Primal/Paleo people is the most supportive group I have encountered. I truly feel that I have been wandering adrift and alone for so long and now have found my tribe, my network, a fantastic support.
Thank you all.
The idea of changing my diet was not new to me. I had done it before, several times in fact, all in attempts to find health. As a teenager and young adult food was a problem. At 5'9" i weighed around 100-110 pounds. Too thin for my frame and height. Now, I'm not rambling about this to have anyone go "Oh poor Ginger, we feel so sorry for her." Nope, I don't want it or need it. I want to share that food has been one of the substances in my life that had a HUGE impact. The pendulum swung in the other direction and I became around 40 pounds over weight. When this happened, I tried many quickie diets to slim down and even did radical overhauls to my diet routine. Needless to say, the results were few, far between and I felt like crap.
After my first FIT class, Brandon talked about nutrition and the Primal/Paleo diet. It made perfect sense to me. I understand completely that diet is an everyday Concern, not just a few weeks at a time. Good health depends on maintaining a good diet. Getting rid of gluten is something I had done once before and the results startled me; I felt better then I had in years. So I was willing to chuck it again. Dairy was One of my staples where I was concerned about. Removing the majority of dairy was much easier than I thought. I may have coffee with some cream now and again but it is very infrequent.
After four months of regular and very enjoyable exercise plus a new diet lifestyle, I have dropped about 30 of those 40 pounds. And I feel great! I sleep better, I don't have heartburn anymore, my skin is beautiful. It is amazing what a change this has brought about. I am now doing a 30 day primal challenge and got the husband on board. Everything has been 100 percent from my end and it is wonderful.
The network of Primal/Paleo people is the most supportive group I have encountered. I truly feel that I have been wandering adrift and alone for so long and now have found my tribe, my network, a fantastic support.
Thank you all.
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