First Week in Idaho!

Hey Everyone! Sorry it has been so long since my last blog post. I have been busy packing, moving and unpacking! I am finally all settled in, in Boise, ID. This is going to take a little time to get use to, but for the most part I am excited to see old friends and I can't wait for school to start up at the end of August.

Before I left, I made a new recipe for a BANANA CHIA OMELET with chocolate protein frosting! It was delicious and I have made many since. I highly recommend trying it for a post workout meal or any breakfast!

Banana Chia Omelet

1 serving

3 egg whites

1 small ripe banana

1 tbsp unsweetened coconut milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon chia seeds

Toppings:

1/4 cup chopped strawberries

1 tsp cacao nibs

chocolate protein frosting*

Raw coconut threads

1. Mix/mash egg whites, banana & coconut milk with fork completely until smooth then add cinnamon & chia seeds to combine.

2. Heat 1 TBSP coconut oil in pan

3. Add egg mixture, put lid on, cook on medium-low heat until bottom is lightly brown ~ 3-4 minutes, then flip, using a plate to assist if needed, add more coconut oil, and cook on other side for about 2 minutes.

4. Add strawberries on inside of omelet, fold over omelet, and top with more strawberries, chocolate protein frosting, raw cacao nibs, & unsweetened coconut threads (or any other desired toppings!)

*Chocolate Protein Frosting

 1 scoop chocolate

About 1 tbsp coconut milk

1 teaspoon raw cacao nibs (optional)

1. Add coconut milk slowly, continuously mixing with a fork until smooth. Don't add too much liquid or it will be watery.

One last recipe I made at home was a sweet potato hash. This recipe can be served with breakfast, lunch or dinner! It can be made a main dish by adding a green vegetable and a protein source like ground turkey or chicken.

Sweet Potato Hash

Serves 3

1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into ½ inch squares

½ white or yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tbsp. coconut oil

Fresh ground pepper, optional, to taste

1. In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp. of coconut oil over medium to medium-high heat.

2. Once oil is hot, add sweet potatoes, and cook, stirring occasionally for approximately 7 minutes. If the sweet potatoes do not get lightly browned and start creating a nice crust, turn up heat slightly.

3. After the sweet potatoes are lightly browned, add remaining 1 tbsp. of coconut oil, onions and garlic to pan. Making sure heat is at medium, let potato-onion mixture cook for approximately another 5-7 minutes.

4. When potatoes are browned and fork tender and onions are cooked/translucent, then you know the hash is done!

On my drive up to Boise, I stopped in Davis to pick up my friend and have a rest day. I ended up going to a friends house and got a half dozen FRESH chicken eggs! It was awesome! 

While in Davis, I made a stop at a local fresh fruit and vegetable stand and made a rustic salad! Here is the recipe:

Raw Farm Stand Salad

Makes about 3-4 side salad servings

1 yellow bell pepper

1 large tomato

1 large cucumber

1 large carrot

2-3 Tbsp. hemp hearts

2-3 Tbsp. shaved almonds

3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1. Roughly chop all vegetables, so the salad has a “rustic” feel to it.

2. Combine all ingredients and serve!

My dad's house has a large backyard, pool, and garden so my dog is happy and has a lot of space to run around and play.

I have taken 3 Zumba classes and I have got to say, I am HOOKED! It is a great way to get in good cardio and the time goes by fast. I also like it because when I lift weights sometimes I get very tight and lose some flexibility, I have a feeling Zumba will help me with this. Tomorrow night I am trying a strength yoga class; I have never taken a group yoga class before so this will be a great experience! I am still lifting hard and doing cardio, whether it be running, walking, biking or hiking. I got a new watch that is a heart rate monitor and timer that I can't wait to use to track my workouts.

As far as eating goes, I had a few ups and downs over the past week due to moving and not having access to a kitchen. Not that I am all settled, I am getting back into cooking clean, paleo dishes.

Something that  has been very beneficial is my step mom has fresh tomatoes, thyme and rosemary in our backyard and my close friend has zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, artichokes and cabbage in her garden! So I am definitely going to have access to fresh vegetables which I am excited about. I am hoping to plant some of my own like strawberries, lemon basil, oregano, peppers, stevia and hopefully more! It is just so dry here in Idaho so I will have to make sure to keep up on watering so they do not dry out.

One of my first breakfasts I ate, after I was all settled in, was 2 egg omelet, with zucchini, tomatoes and thyme all from my friends gardens! Plus I made a refreshing drink of 100% coconut water + 1 peeled and chopped kiwi.

Today I started my day right with a cup of coffee, my powdered greens + Nature's Fuel multi vitamin + 1 cup OJ and a fresh fruit bowl (blueberries, grapes, and banana)! Waking up early and eating breakfast in the back yard is very relaxing and a great way to wake up.

I made it to the gym near my house and signed up for a 12 day pass, until the school gym opens up! It was great to feel the burn after a great legs day. My Post AM leg workout meal consisted of a 2 egg white omelet, with chopped zucchini, white onion and kale; cooked in coconut oil and topped with red pepper flakes! 

At Costco yesterday I picked up these great chicken sausages; they are a red pepper-spinach flavor and are pork free, gluten free, no msg and no added nitrates, also no artificial ingredients and minimally processed.I really enjoyed them and will definitely be having these for breakfast more often! Since it was from Costco I got 3lbs worth! I put 1 lb in the fridge and froze the rest for later use.

After a 30 minute arm circuit plus 1 hour of Zumba, I made a post workout late lunch! Baked Tilapia seasoned with red pepper flakes, garlic, onion powder, and fresh ground black pepper; cucumber slices, garden cherry tomatoes and grapes! The Tilapia I baked in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

3 New Breakfast Options!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I was able to make it to the farmers market to get some fresh produce! My friend actually got more then me :) (most of this is his); I got fresh nectarines, and large zucchini! He got duck eggs, pomegranate juice, avocado, fresh herbs, maple almonds and purple carrots! Remember the farmers market is the best way to get the freshest produce and know you are supporting local farmers!

I am still going strong on my 30 days, 100 miles challenge. Today is day 10 and I have about 35 miles completed! Also my goal of the week is to drink a gallon of water a day! I bought a gallon jug this morning for 99 cents and plan on refilling it each day! I already finished my gallon for today :)

After my long run today I received my first Paleo Pax in the mail! I was so excited. There were a bunch of different snacks that are 100% paleo and are grain-free, gluten-free, no preservatives, no refined sugar or salt and are high in nutritional value! I just learned today that many of the Lara bars are within paleo guidelines so I am definitely going to get some of those for snacks on my next store run!

I came up with a couple new clean eating breakfast options.

The first is a veggie omelet. I actually got asked to submit this recipe to Tasty 25 Magazine, so I submitted it online and I hope it gets put in the magazine! I was so excited and honored that I was asked!

A-WHOLE-LOTTA VEGGIE OMELET

W/ Fruit Salad

(1 serving)

By Hailey Pharmer

Ingredients:

Omelet::

2 egg whites

1 whole egg

2 TBSP coconut oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 TBSP white onion, chopped

1 cup kale, roughly chopped (about 3 kale leaves)

¼ cup red bell pepper, roughly chopped (about ½ red bell pepper)

¼ cup red roma tomato, roughly chopped (about ½ tomato)

¼ cup green onion, roughly chopped

Black pepper, to taste

Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

Avocado Salsa:

½ avocado

¼ cup red roma tomato, chopped (about ½ tomato)

2 TBSP purple onion, finely chopped

1 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Fruit Salad:

3-4 strawberries, chopped

½ kiwi, peeled and chopped

4 raspberries

½ small mango, peeled and chopped

1 TBSP unsweetened coconut threads

Preparation:

1.      Beat egg whites and whole egg in a small bowl.

2.      Quick sauté the vegetables in 1 TBSP of thecoconut oil over medium heat (about 2-3 minutes)-- just until soft and brightlycolored, set aside.

3.      Heat the other 1 TBSP of unrefined coconut oilin a small frying pan over medium heat, pour eggs into the pan, add blackpepper,  and cover. Cook until lightlybrowned on bottom and flip. Add ½ of the vegetables mixture to one half ofomelet, then fold other half of omelet over top. Let sit for 30 seconds or sowith heat off. Add the other half of veggies on top of omelet.

4.      To prepare the avocado salsa, in a small bowl, mixred tomato, purple onion, cilantro and lemon juice. With a large spoon, neatlyspoon avocado out of the skin. Spoon tomato mixture onto the avocado, servenext to the omelet and sprinkle with red pepper flakes

5.      Serve omelet and avocado with fruit salad, andenjoy!

My next new recipe is for a Protein Breakfast Shake!

Avocado-Nectarine Shake:

1/2 avocado, cubed and put in the freezer for 20 minutes prior

1 nectarine

1 cup kale

1 cup almond milk

1 scoop vanilla protein 

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

                             

                             

                             

I made this next recipe this morning for breakfast and it was delicious!

                           

Chocolate Chia Almond Protein Pancakes

4 egg whites

1 tbsp water

1/2 scoop chocolate protein

1/4 cup almond meal

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tablespoon unsweetened natural cocoa

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl until smooth, the slowly add wet ingredients and mix with the dry. Use a fork to combine ingredients so there are no clumps. The batter will seem watery, but once it goes on a hot pan it will hold up nicely.

After combined, add 1/4 of batter to a medium-medium high heat pan that has 1 tbsp coconut oil.

Continue this process until batter is gone (I was able to make 4 pancakes)

Top pancakes with organic agave nectar, berries, chia seeds and unsweetened coconut threads!

Delicious, filling and fill with antioxidants!

Some other clean paleo eats I enjoyed this weekend:


Chicken Kebabs with veggies (yellow zucchini, bell pepper, onion) and seasoned with organic agave nectar, garlic, and red cayenne pepper!

2 Egg Fritata with tomato, zucchini, onion, garlic & rosemary with a side of grilled asparagus, 1/2 avocado, all topped with red pepper flakes! And a fresh fruit salad with cantelope, strawberries, and banana.

My coworker brought a large basket of cherries to work on Sunday! I was in heaven, and I am so excited these are coming into season! Cherries are a great low-calorie fruit and their dark red-purple skin is a great source of antioxidants. Cherries are known to have anti-inflammatory properties and are high in vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber and iron! So eat up and snack on these throughout the day!

Roasted vegetables (1 small red potato, 5 baby carrots, 8 cubes zucchini and 1/2 white onion roasted in 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary, 1 tsp dried marjoram, 1 garlic clove chopped and ground lemon pepper) on top of a bed of fresh arugula!

New Challenge & Meal Plan

My good friend from college is doing a challenge she did at school and it has inspired me to do it as well! I think creating a monthly challenge for yourself is a good way to set goals. The challenge is 30 days, 100 miles. The first night (Saturday) I was able to complete 4 miles on my treadmill and yesterday (Sunday) I was able to complete 4 as well. I downloaded a new app on my iPhone called Map My Run that has been helpful in calculating distances, time and calories burned while running outside, but I hear the Nike running app is better so I will try that one next! On Saturday my post workout protein shake was 1 scoop chocolate protein + 8oz of water and I made sure to take some Fish oil Omega-3 capsules.

Meal Plan for Sunday June 17

Meal 1:

2 whole duck eggs + 1 cup veggies (zucchini, tomato, kale, rosemary) + ½ avocado + 3 grilled asparagus spears

½ cup fruit (strawberries, kiwi)

Snack: 

Fruit & Veggie Smoothie: 1 cup frozen blueberries + 1.5 cup spinach + 1 scoop vanilla protein powder + 2 tbsp whole flax seeds + 1 cup coconut milk + 1 cup water

Meal 2:

Romaine salad with grilled turkey breast, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, 1 TBSP seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almond slivers), 1/2 lemon juiced

Snack: 

Pineapple, Cantelope, Watermelon fruit salad and Bing cherries

Meal 3:

Pan seared Tilapia (in coconut oil, seasoned with lemon pepper, fresh oregano, and garlic powder) + 1 cup steamed broccoli & asparagus + 1 cup spicy coconut carrot mash

To steam broccoli and asparagus:

Put 1 cup (or desired amount) into a steamer, add a small amount of water on the bottom of the pot. On high heat, covered for 6-8 minutes until bright colored and fork tender. Turn off heat and add 1 chopped garlic glove and 1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary, put the lid back on for 1-2 minutes with no heat; then serve immediately, or store in airtight container and reheat later.

Spicy Coconut Carrot Mash:

2 large carrots, cut into pieces

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 TBSP unrefined coconut oil

1 tsp red cayenne pepper

Put carrot in a medium pot, cover with water, put lid on and bring water to a boil, remove lid and let boil for 25-30 minutes. (watch to make sure the water does not over flow) Drain water completely, add coconut milk and mash carrots. Once carrots are mashed to desired consistency, add oil and pepper and mix completely. Serve immediately, or store in airtight container and reheat later.

Final Meal 3 Product: