this and that

Zach and I were giving the opportunity to go to the New Orleans Saints preseason game Friday night. We were so excited that everything worked out this time and were actually able to go. 

Us cheesing before we pulled out of our driveway.

 We left our house at 1245pm Friday afternoon. We thought this was plenty of time to get us to our hotel, eat supper and then head to the Superdome.... WRONG!!! 

Weather and traffic was awful! We got to our hotel, which was a 5 minute walk to the Superdome, at 6pm. Thanks to me, early bird to everything, didn't think we had enough time to sit in a restaurant and enjoy a nice meal. I insisted that we should walk on over and just pick something up at the dome. Zach and I scouted out the food and decided to get bun-less hotdogs and some almonds and call it a night. 

Our cozy room. 

I bothered a nice person to take our pic. I was so excited!!!

 WHO DAT!?!

GEAUX SAINTS!!!

 Sad to say the Saints lost... by 3!!! points but I still enjoyed it!!!

We didn't really have any plans for Saturday. We got up early, workout in the hotel gym, ate breakfast and then checked out of our hotel.

We saw a gluten-free/dairy-free bakery called The PeaceBaker on Friday as we were stuck in traffic. I was so excited!!! Zach and I have been gluten-free since January/February. While we have figured out ways to enjoy delicious treats on rare occasions, it was nice to enjoy somethings that we haven't had in a very long time!

We didn't get a lot!!

 So yes, Zach and I let ourselves enjoy all of this. We didn't eat it all at one time. It was over the 4 hour drive home and then finished it when we got home. :) Here is what's in this little box:

Cinnamon Roll

Mini Donuts 

Mini Wedding Cupcake

2 Regular Size Cupakes 

(1 S'mores & 1 Chocolate Chip Cookie)

Banana Chocolate Chip bread

(This is in the freezer... we were in sugar coma by this point!)

I highly recommend this place if you are in the New Orleans area!!! 

I don't regret eating this one bit because I have been reading this book called It Starts with Food. For anyone who knows me knows that I am not and I repeat am NOT a reader. So wish I was! Anyways... Zach read this book and he kept telling me things that he was reading and it got me really interested. I gave it a try and next thing I know I. Read. A. Book. Can you believe it? Well neither can I! Anyways, in this book you learn about how different foods and how they affected your body. I have been gluten-free, mostly dairy-free (dark chocolate liked to slip in occasionally), and mostly processed food free for a while but still enjoyed learning what legumes, dairy and other items can do to you. In this book they give you a challenge... Whole30.

Whole30 is a 30 day challenge were you give up sugar, dairy, gluten, processed foods, artificial sweetners, legumes, and grains. (This is why I splurged on all the goodies Saturday... Sunday started my challenge!) You don't weigh any food out, you eat at a table with no electronics occupying you, and must try to spend at least 15 minutes eating. While I pretty much eat this way anyways, I still thought I would give this a try. I am real bad about using stevia, allowing dairy to slip in and I never eat at the table at our house. I am on day 3 and so far so good. Here are a few pics over the last couple of days...

Breakfast:

Eggs, porkloin, kale, peppers and mushrooms and kraut. 

 Lunch:

Chicken spinach salad, peppers, cucumbers, boiled eggs and avocado. 

 Supper:

Bell pepper chicken sandwich with spinach and avocado, broccoli, cucumber, and blueberries. 

Check the book and try the challenge! 

Sorry for the long post... a lot to talk about :)

b.s. and kraut

Over the last couple of months.... well the last year.... I have really opened up to trying a variety of fruits and vegetables. 

I have been trying things over and over. I know our taste buds changes over the years and it is important to keep trying those vegetables again and again. 

A few things that I have grown to love are asparagus, tomatoes and brussel sprouts. I have tried b.s. once before and they were boiled to almost mush. A few months later and here I am loving them! 

With most vegetables, its all about how you cook them. I have learned that most of the time less is better. 

I have been trying lots of the recipes out in the Practical Paleo cookbook. (By the way, you can order the book here.) One of the recipes was b.s.. Since I had tried several other recipes out and they were all delicious, I thought it was time to give them another shot. 

Well, well, well... they were delicious!

All I did was slice the b.s. and an onion, put them on a cookie sheet, sprinkled them with a little salt and pepper. 

 Put in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes and...

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy! 

Give it a try!

I, also, eat a lot of saurekraut. Why... read here. I usually just eat it on the side with any dish or put into my salads. In the same book, that I have been talking about over the last couple of blogs, is a recipe for homemade kraut. Of course, Zach and I had to try it out. It is the fermenting stage right now and will be for the next 1.5 weeks. I can't wait to try it out. We made two different kinds... regular and a spicy pepper/garlic kraut. 

I put the lids on but as soon as I took the photo, I was quickly told that you have to leave the lids off for it to ferment. I looked at Zach like he was crazy!! He was right though. It has to stay uncovered for 2 weeks. A little gross? Maybe! But it is how its done. Will keep you informed of how it tastes!

There are a few dessert recipes that I can't wait to try. Like.. coconut cookies, bacon brownies, and chocolate bark.

This book is filled with so many awesome recipes and most of the recipes only need a few ingredients. Super easy and delicious!

Practical Paleo

Last week, I posted a blog on zucchini pancakes. I got this delicious recipe from the book Practical Paleo. This past Sunday I tried two other recipes. Of course the were just as good as the other ones. 

"Swirly Crustless Quiche"

 Mine... not so swirly but extra delicious! I paired it with some venison sausage and peppers, sauerkraut, and fresh tomatoes.

Second recipe:

"Pumpkin Pancakes"

To finish off my protein for my meal and I scrambled a few egg whites with some more venison sausage. I put a little coconut oil on my pancakes. So tasty!!!

Zach finally finished reading the Practical Paleo. He wrote an awesome review over at his blog TheStrongerLife but I am just going to steal what he wrote and copy and paste it here so you can read it...

"I got an advance copy of Practical Paleo to review for my blog and spread the word about Diane's upcoming 50lb Paleo Encyclopedia (maybe not quite THAT heavy). It's a huge book and I knew it would take awhile for me to get through it. Instead of a  traditional book review I want to do more of an outline or list of what stood out to me in the book. This should give you a good idea of what you get when you buy Practical Paleo.

Pre-order HERE!

1. From the very beginning the cover catches your eye and lets you know what is awaiting you inside. There are tear out guides (mine came with a magnet to stick them to my fridge), over 120 recipes, and 11 different 30-day meal plans!

2. Diane's intro is touching and relatable. She discusses her own struggle with decreasing health and increasing weight which is all too common today. She also talks about helping her 90 year old grandmother realize that she was intolerant to gluten after suffering from this allergy for decades. I'm sure that most of us in the fitness/health industry have older relatives that we wish we could help with similar issues.

3. Diane outlines a list of Paleo basics which are easy to understand and implement. She basically tells you what to add and what to subtract for optimal health.

4. "Everything we've been taught about good nutrition is wrong." The section on nutritional myths will rock most people's perceptions of what a healthy diet is and is not.

5. According to the Framingham Study, "the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person's serum cholesterol. We found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, and ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most active."- source: "Cholesterol and Mortality: 30 Years of Follow-up From the Framingham Study." Journal of the AMA April 1987. Vol 257, No 16

6. The Guide to Paleo Foods and Stocking the Paleo Pantry makes it easy for Paleo newbies to know what to eat. It is also good for long time Paleo eaters to branch out and try new things. I know we all tend to get stuck in a rut of eating the same 10-20 foods each week.

7. The Food Quality Guide helps clear up label confusion and distinguish between government sanctioned labels and marketing ploys.

8. The Guide to Fats and Oils and The Guide to Cooking Fats insure that the Paleo eater enjoys a wide variety of healthy fats instead of just feasting on bacon all the time (mmmm, not that there's anything wrong with that....). The Cooking Fat Guide also specifies correct usage of each oil, breaks down the fatty acid profiles, and gives smoke points.

9. There is a Budget Priority section that can help save the Paleo eater $$$, specifies what foods should be purchased as organic and which ones don't matter, tells how to save money by shopping farmer's markets, and refers the reader to her less expensive recipes.

10. Paleo in Public helps diners stay gluten-free in a flour saturated world, make healthy choices, how to interact with wait staff without being a pain, and how to stay paleo with different ethnic cuisines.

11. Paleo on the Go leaves no excuses to eat garbage when traveling by car or plane.

12. Diane gives you more than you ever wanted to know regarding your digestive system, what can go wrong, and how to fix it.

13. An entire section on leaky gut, what foods can cause it, and how to heal your leaky gut if you have one.

14. The blood sugar regulation section talks about good carbs, bad carbs, and if you're carb loading for your desk job!

15. The Guides to Dense Sources of Paleo Carbs can help all the Paleo athletes get enough fuel for their workouts without resorting to sugar or grains.

16. The Guide to Sweeteners lets you know which sweets are good for treats, and which to avoid at all times.

17. The FAQ section discusses counting calories, staying gluten-free, nightshades, FODMAPs, protein powder, weight loss, weight gain, and much more!

18. There are 11 different meal plans that each have 3 meals per day for 30 days mapped out. Each plan also tells you what to add, what to avoid, and may give certain super-foods depending on your goals.

19. The recipe section has basics like how to chop an onion, how to chop anything, spice blends, bone broth, baked bacon!, clarifying butter, and homemade sauerkraut.

20. There are over 120 recipes but the stand-outs for me are grain-free porridge 2 ways, fiery jalapeno buffalo burgers, crispy curried sweet potato coins, creamy cauliflower hummus, baconnaise, nutty bacon bark, and flour-less mocha-bacon brownies!

In conclusion, pre-order Practical Paleo. Do it now!!!!

My wife cooked and posted a couple of recipes on her blog as well: http://memrierounsaville.blogspot.com/2012/07/zucchini-pancakes.html

Posted Yesterday by zachrounsaville"

If this doesn't make you want to buy the book then I don't know what does!!!

Next, we are going to try homemade sauerkraut and brussel sprouts. I have never been a fan of brussel sprouts but hopefully this recipe in the book will change my mind. I will definitely keep you posted. Zach, also, asked the butcher yesterday at Kroger for some bones so we could make bone broth... but there were no extra bones laying around. BOO! Maybe next time! 

This book is just loaded with great information! Order it!