Birthday Weekend!

This past Memorial Day weekend was the weekend of my 23rd birthday!

I did have a couple cheats this weekend. One of which included a mini red velvet cake and Piper Heidsieck champagne! The cake was suprisingly good, considering it was from Ralph's grocery store.

On Saturday morning, I did go to the farmer's market again! I needed to get a few items before my 2 week Alaska vacation! I was able to get more oranges for juicing, apple pomegranate juice, strawberries, blood oranges, raw nuts, trail mix, almond meal, duck eggs, cucumbers, red swiss chard, carrots, green onions, duck eggs, and broccoli!

For a breakfast shake after the farmer's market, I included purple carrots, frozen berries, red swiss chard and coconut water! The red swiss chard adds a lot more flavor to smoothies compared to spinach and kale. Kale barely adds any flavor (in my opinion) and is perfect if you're trying to incorporate greens into your smoothies or diet.

Everyday over the 3 day weekend I had scrambled eggs, avocado and turkey bacon! I got the uncured, no preservatives, no nitrates or nitrites added turkey bacon from trader Joes! It was the closest bacon to Paleo I could find and I enjoyed it! Each slice was only 30 calories, low in fat and had a good amount of protein.

I love adding freshly chopped green onions, green peppers, white onions, tomatoes and avocado slices on top of my eggs. It is a good way to add freshness to a simple egg scramble without adding a lot of calories.

Included in breakfast along side the bacon and eggs, I made some delicious fruit plates! I love having a fruit plate at breakfast to munch on.

Also this weekend, my puppy Jack got a hair cut! They cut a lot of hair off, but it was much needed with summer coming up.Also, since he is staying with one of my friends while I go to Alaska I thought it would be nice if I got him groomed and bathed.

I was able to find Paleo beef hot dogs! These are uncured, no preservatives, no nitrates, no nitrites, with very little ingredients including beef, garlic, spices, and sea salt. They were very good, but did not taste like the typical hot dog that I grew up with, but I am happy that I found an alternative that will work with the Paleo diet.

Hope you had a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Now, I am off to Alaska for 2 weeks on a cruise! 

I will continue to blog and upload a lot of pictures! It should be beautiful during this time of year. Last year I went late in the season (early September) and this year we are going early in the season! I am hoping to see a lot of bears and eat some very good food.

Food Revolution Day

Yesterday, May 19th was the first ever Food Revolution Day! This day is about standing up for real food, and empowering people to think more about how food affects their body. I watched a documentary called Food Fight the other day and it was a very inspiring documentary about the evolution of processed foods into our society and the benefits of eating clean, going to farmers markets, and the quality of these fresher foods.

                               

In light of the documentary and Food Revolution day, I went to the farmer's market on Saturday morning. Some may be intimidated by the farmer's market, but it is a great place to try new items and get the freshest produce. meat and nuts possible.

The quality of berries at the farmer's market always suprises me. Even just sampling 1 berry, I could tell it was packed with nutrients and flavors as apposed to being mostly water; they literally melt in your mouth.

I find that herbs and greens are a lot cheaper at the farmer's market then at the super market. I was able to purchase bundles of thyme, rosemary, chives and mint, each for $1. I also got a big bundle of kale for $2.

The Farmer's Market ended being a huge success. My two favorite items that I purchased were purple carrots and duck eggs. I have never had either so I was excited to try something new! We also got apple pomegranate juice, oranges, maple & orange zest almonds, raw trail mix, cashews, and sunflower seeds! I want to save up and be able to purchase the fresh meat and fish they have! It is expensive, but I believe that the quality of meat is going to be worth the extra dollars.

The purple carrots tasted pretty much the same as regular orange carrots, but the color was gorgeous! I have not tried the duck eggs yet, but I may make hard boiled eggs this morning for breakfast so I may!

Next on the agenda for the day was the WOOF Xtravaganza. This was also the first year for this event, and it was at a local park where dogs could come and there would be raffles, booths, food, and much more! 

I would like to think Jack enjoyed it! It was a beautiful day, so it's always good to try to get out of the house and enjoy the sun a little.

One of the snacks I brought to the WOOF X event were the purple carrots, and I let Jack try one! I think he liked it ;)

Once we got back home, it was lunch time! I made myself a HUGE PALEO salad. It included, spinach and arugula, purple carrots, cucumbers, avocado, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, green bell pepper, tomato, green onions, and ground chicken! It was delicious :)

Over the past few days, I have also put together an arm and leg workout! They were both difficult but worth it after I completed them!

Legs:

Arms & Abs:

Paleo Started Off Strong

Starting paleo diet! I am hoping I can last for at least 2 weeks, I am now 3 days in and going strong!

First thing I did was went to the Farmer's market and got some fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs, and nuts! I got all this plus 3 small bags of nuts for $30; that's pretty good!

After the farmer's market trip, I made a successful arm and ab workout!

After my workout, I made a fresh smoothie! Just add water and ice

At the farmer's market, I got 8lbs of oranges for $2.50! I wanted to make some fresh squeezed orange juice. From the 8lbs of oranges I was able to get 75oz of fresh OJ! 

It only lasted me 3 days because it was so delicious! 

At the farm'ers market I bought golden beets. I have never tried golden beats before, and honestly, I don't eat beets very often! I know they are good for me, so I thought I would give them a try in a salad!

Before making the salad, I cut the both ends off of the beets, wrapped them individually in tin foil, put them on a baking sheet and roasted them in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. I let them cool completely, then peeled off the skin and thinly sliced the beet.

For the salad, I used roasted golden beet slices, arugula, white onion slices, orange slices (peeled), walnuts, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper, and sea salt!

I was very impressed with the salad! I ended up making the same salad 4 times it was so delicious :)

Also with my lunch, I made a fresh fruit salad with sliced apple, strawberries and kiwi; with fresh squeezed lemon juice and some fresh mint!

I can't wait for the farmer's market this week! It is so fun to explore all the different produce and for relatively low prices! Perfect for my paleo plan.

Mother's Market Success!

I have been going to mother's market for early morning breakfasts lately, I'm obsessed! They are a little expensive, but I don't buy produce there, and the quality of their packaged food or ready to eat food is really good!

While I was exploring, I came across some vegan pre-workout and post workout supplements.

In the past, I have not been a fan of pre-workout supplements because they make me crash hard after working out. I bought 1 of the sample packets of this pre-workout energizer to see if this would work for me! I will let you know.

Also, I found a powdered greens supplement I used to take. I really like adding powdered greens to shakes or even just stirring in a spoon full with orange juice. This brand also had a powdered super food berries which would probably taste better! I feel many people don't get the amount of greens they need in one day, including myself some days, so drinking a powdered greens drink can benefit anyone a lot in that way.

While waiting for my fresh juice at the juice bar, I browsed the ready-food deli section and found this POWER pancake! I had seen this before, along with the date flavored (Yum i love dates!), but had never tried it. After looking at the 9g of protein and 10g of fiber and craving something sweet for breakfast I thought I might as well try it! 

I was trying to think of a good combination with this power pancake. I walked past the dairy, and eggs, and thought "Oh yes! Greek yogurt!"When I walked over to the greek yogurt section in mother's market, it was Chobani overload!!

The middle row of the yogurt case, is ALL CHOBANI! I love it! Chobani is a sponsor for the USA Olympic team too!

They even had my favorite flavor; raspberry! I can't recall ever having seen a raspberry flavored non-fat Chobani Greek yogurt; but I can't say I was complaining!

Once I had picked up the Greek yogurt, an epiphany came into my head.... BREAKFAST PIZZA! I ran over to the deli and got a bowl of fresh fruit. 

After paying, I sat outside at one of the nice tables outside of Mother's Market. It was time to get to work on this breakfast creation. 

With a spoon in hand... I made this breakfast pizza to perfect.

And there we have it! Breakfast Pizza, protein style ;) 

I had also picked up a fresh juice from the juice bar; cucumber, pineapple, and kale! It was so good, and a lot better the the juice I had the previous day which was apple, beat, celery, parsley and wheat grass (I could barely drink it! haha).

For a workout, since I had done a hard legs day, I came up with an ARMS and ABS workout.

My friends and I were headed to the Olympic qualifier for Men's Volleyball in Long Beach today! The games were Puerto Rico vs. Canada and USA vs. Cuba.

Before we left, I had to make sure to fuel up so I wouldn't make too many bad choices while I was there.

For myself, I made a salad with mixed baby greens, cucumber, carrots, green onions, turkey, raw sunflower seeds, and raw pumpkin seeds; with a side of eggplant hummus and bell pepper slices, cucumbers, and carrots! Quite a delicious lunch if you ask me! And a paleo lunch at that!

Not sure if I have mentioned, but tomorrow, May 12, I will begin the paleo diet. I am hoping to be able to do it for 2 weeks and after that period see how I feel. I have no doubt it will be hard, but I am excited to be able to eat a lot of meat, eggs, and veggies! I will definitely be posting any recipes, or how I feel throughout the next two weeks.

I also made for my friend, an ezekial tortilla "sandwich". It is easy! Take an ezekial tortilla, if needed add a sauce you like (I prefer the Basil-Kale Pesto recipe I made), turkey slices, mixed baby greens, cucumbers, and tomatoes; roll it up and there you have it! 

The games were very fun that evening, Canada beat Puerto Rico in the first match and USA beat Cuba in the second.