Saturday, May 29, 2010

Paleo Recipes: Paleo Pizza






Ok so even being the caveman that I am I still crave pizza from time to time. Most paleo people out there would say that Paleo Pizza would be an impossible feat seeing as one of the main parts of a delicious pizza is the doughy crust. Which is filled with grains, gluten, and probably rat feces if you get your pizza at a really gross pizza place. However a man named Scott Hagnas has come up with a way to create a crust that is delicious and Paleo, and he published it in an issue of the Performance Menu. This recipe was passed on to me and I liked it enough to pass it on to you Pizza Lovers who want to go Paleo.

Ingredients:
  • 3 tsp Olive Oil, Divided
  • 1 cup ground Almonds (I prefer walnuts, your choice)
  • 3 tbsp Almond Butter
  • 1/3 cup Egg Whites (about 2 large eggs worth)
  • 1 chopped Red Pepper
  • 1/2 cup halved Grape Tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup diced Chicken
  • 1/2 cup Marinara Sauce (make your own or you can find some at your local grocer)
  • Oregano and Fennel Seed to taste. (I use about 1/2 tsp of both)
Mix ground nuts, almond butter, and egg whites in a small bowl. Grease a pizza baking sheet or similar with 2 tsp of olive oil, then spread the "dough" mixture over it, making a 1/4" thick crust. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. In a skillet, add the remaining olive oil and the diced chicken cook until almost fully cooked, add in the garlic and veggies. Saute lightly, making sure not to let them get too soft. Cover the dough with the marinara sauce, then add the meat and veggies, excluding the tomatoes. Add the oregano and fennel seed, then bake for 30mins. Remove from oven, add the halved tomatoes, and serve!! Use a large spatula to carefully remove the slices from the pan, as the nutty "dough" won't be as crisp as traditional grain dough. Makes 4 servings.

The original recipe called for sausage and onions, but that's the glory of this recipe you can add to or remove any of the toppings mentioned above. I personally think this pizza is a single person serving size, but I also eat A LOT! Also for those of you out there who go with the Paleo plus dairy you can add some cheese to this pizza and its delicious, and for those of you who want cheese on it but aren't in the paleo plus dairy click go grab a block of Kerrygold Swiss Cheese from your local grocer and slap that on their. It's legit grass-fed dairy and Ok by me!

For those of you out there who want to zone this pizza here you go.
For entire pizza:
5bl Protein
2bl Carbs
40bl fat (if you use almonds for ground nuts slightly higher if you use walnuts)
Adding cheese will change the blocking on this pizza as well.

Enjoy!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Intro to Diet and Exercise Part 1: The Paleo Lifestyle


Ok this post is going to be a two part post, but lets start this blog off at the beginning and discuss what paleo is/isn't and the best ways to jump into this lifestyle. The second part of this post will cover how the Ape and myself feel is the best way for people to start a fitness program for themselves, as well as explain how trainers should program for their clients. The main reason we chose to start this two part series with the nutrition aspect is: 1) Nutrition, in our minds, is the biggest part of anyone's fitness/strength/body composition goals. 2) Nutrition is the most difficult aspect of fitness for people to understand and commit to. This is apparent when one looks at the way most people were taught to eat... it is hideously wrong and back assward.
Eating Paleo isn't as hard as people think. The basic premise, for those who have never even heard of the word paleolithic, is to stick to the foods that our ancestors ate, and that our bodies are genetically set up to use as fuel. This just means sticking to leaner cuts of meat, eating your vegetables(yes your parents were right on this one), eating some nuts (walnuts and macadamia nuts) and seeds, cooking with healthy oils (Olive Oil) , and adding some none tropical fruit in as a desert. It also means that you need to stay away from grains, legumes(beans), and dairy (for most people). I always get asked, "What does that leave for me to eat?". The answer: a whole freaking hell of a lot! The number of meals you can prepare without the common neolithic foods is almost limitless.
With that being said the Paleo way of life is different for everyone. This is no cookie cutter, one size fits all type of thing, and it MUST be played with to see which foods work for you. For example, a soccer mom, who's trying to lose weight is going to have different nutritional needs from that of a high school kid trying to get bigger to play offensive line next year. However it is my opinion that both should stick to the same paleolithic foods to optimize their chances of obtaining what they both want to achieve.
Now that we've kinda got into what being paleo means, lets take a look at how we would suggest to begin. This can get tricky and I've seen two ways be the most successful with people, and those are the two I'm going to throw out there for you to try.
1) Jump Right in 100%- Swimming Pool Style
This is my favorite way for people to try eating paleo, and I think for most people it's the best way to do it. This means cutting out all grains, legumes, and dairies immediately for at least 4 weeks. When I say to cut out these foods I mean DON'T FREAKING TOUCH THESE FOODS PERIOD! I always suggest for people to track how they feel they look, how they sleep, their mood, and their performance without these foods compared to these same metrics with these foods. The next part to the success of "going Paleo" is just eating till your satisfied and don't worry about the amount. Quality is more important than quantity. I do like weighing and measuring meals for some people, however, if a person is just starting out it would be more beneficial to concentrate on the quality of your lean meats, veggies, and some healthy fats till your satisfied. This will put you right around where you need to be with your caloric intake. As one of the biggest names in the Paleo community likes to say, "people just need to learn the difference between a mouth and a vacuum" (Robb Wolf, RobbWolf.com.) How much is enough though? I suggest for people start with trying to get about 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight daily, while meeting the rest of your caloric needs with mostly veggies and healthy fats. As I mentioned above you are going to have to play with the amounts and varieties of the foods that YOU will be successful with, but those foods will not be in the categories of grain and legumes. Very few people will have equal success if they add in foods from the dairy category.
2). Easing into it- Getting in the pool step by step
This can be successful for some, and can be a great choice for people who have families who are not as receptive to this style of eating as you would like them to be. One of the best ways to ease into this way of eating is to do it meal by meal. Start out with just making sure that every breakfast you eat for a week is 100% paleo. For those with children or significant others who are stubborn, feeding them bacon and eggs for breakfast is a great breakfast to help change the minds of most people unwilling to try Paleo. The next week of the switch, since you already have a weeks worth of breakfast recipes ready to go, move on to lunch, and make your breakfast and lunch 100% Paleo. A good one to please most stubborn people is a big spinach salad with walnuts, strips chicken breast/salmon/steak, and some vinegar and oil dressing. After you've taken a week to perfect how to make your breakfast and lunch Paleo, you guessed it, try adding dinner to the Paleo menu. What person can say no to a delicious fillet of grilled salmon or a grilled steak with grilled aparagus(or the vegetable of your liking) and some strawberries for desert.
The other way to ease into going Paleo is to try and replace some of your grains, legumes, and dairies with veggies, fruits, and nuts. Slowly increase the amount of paleolithic foods in your meals while you decrease the amount of neolithic (processed) foods at each meal. This isn't the most optimal way of doing the Paleo lifestyle, but can be effective if you are really struggling with getting yourself or others to switch their foods over to a higher quality.
Like I said, jumping straight into this lifestyle is what I have seen produce the most success. These last two should be tried if you are really struggling with switching to Paleo.
The final aspect of this post about getting yourself or others to go Paleo is to find ways to make it easier on them or you. The first lesson is: LEARN TO COOK!!! It's not that hard. We will be posting recipes shortly with directions on how to prepare them. TRY THESE RECIPES! Some of them will get thrown in the trash, others will become instant favorites.
Which brings me to the next step of making it easier on yourself. This one is slightly contradictory. Stay strict to the paleo lifestyle for at least a month without adding in cheat meals or falling off the wagon. This is contradictory because its really hard to do at first, however if you do it, this will make it MUCH easier in the long run for a couple reasons. 1) It gets the drugs (the bad foods) out of your system, and will get you used to eating good foods. This will calm your cravings for the bad stuff. 2) This gives you a whole months worth of trial and error recipes to use and play with. Trust me, knowing a bunch of recipes you are good at making and that you enjoy eating is invaluable.
Lastly, and this ones another big one, DON'T KEEP BAD FOODS IN YOUR HOUSE! If there's ice cream in the freezer someones going to eat it and it's probably going to be you. Most people don't have the will power to be faced with foods they love but shouldn't eat on a daily basis. So don't buy them. You have the power to keep the temptation away. Exercise that power!
The final thing I will put on this post, because I know most people are now sleeping and/or have switched back to facebook and are now looking at pictures of last weeks Will Ferrel Movie themed pub crawl, but I cannot stress enough how important it is for anyone thinking about going paleo to read articles and studies for themselves. The more educated you are on the subject, the easier it will be for you. Google search the shit out of this subject, ask us questions, ask people who disagree with us questions, and make sure you read all sides of the argument for and against the Paleolithic diet.
Here are some links that you can go to to get some reading on the Paleo Diet:
Robbwolf.com
ThePaleoDiet.com
Please post ANY question or comments to the comments and I will respond/answer them as soon as I can.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Decription and Fundraiser

Hello Blog readers, and welcome our blog!
We will be writing about pretty much everything to do with health, fitness, training, and last, but probably most important, nutrition. We will be coming at these topics from every angle possible such as the scientific basis for certain method and theories, practical application of these method and theories, and some of the cognitive aspects as well.
We will also post a new Paleo friendly recipe, for those people who are trying to eat more like our ancestral genes tell us to, at least once a week. This format will make it easier for us to answer question that we hear repeatedly, and it gives me the excuses to go geek out on some of this stuff.

This first post though I would like to, as the title implies, bring your attention to a fundraiser I am supporting. This fundraiser is to help a man named Owen Satterley make it to the 2010 Crossfit Games Northeast Regional in Albany, NY. Owen is a fellow Crossfitter, a friend, and a good guy who had to resign his spot at the European Regional when his pregnant wife got into a head on car accident. Both the mother and the baby are doing OK. Crossfit HQ was gracious enough to allow Owen to compete in the Northeast Regional if he could get there. The cost of medical bills, plane tickets, room accommodations, etc. can quickly add up to a terrifying amount. So I decided I wanted to help him out.
Here's what we are doing. For every $.05 donated I will complete 1lb from ground to overhead. So if $405 were to be donated I would have to do 8100lbs from ground to overhead, so 60 reps of 135lbs. To learn how to donate and more about this fundraiser please visit this link.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=mynotes#!/note.php?note_id=121068677911452