Week 1, Day 1

So Strong is the New Skinny put up a challenge for its followers to start blogs, and go Paleo, and keep track of their transformations. . .publicly. And since I love looking for things to do that are not real work, it sounded perfect for me.

Essentially, I have had a lifelong battle with weight. At 5'8ish, I have been down to 135 (which is sickly looking on me) and up to 198. For the past few years, my weight has slowly slowly been going down, and I moved from Pennsylvania to Colorado in May 2009 with a weight of 155. In June I started doing CrossFit 3-4 times a week, and following the Zone diet. By August, I was a lean, mean 145-pound WODing machine.

In December 2009, I had back surgery, and didn't work out at all until March 2010. In March I was about 150-155ish. Then in October 2010, I got pregnant and went from 158 up to 163. Ever since then, I've been bouncing between 158-163, and I am determined to get to 145-150. Not because of the number actually, but because that is my lean fighting weight, where I get the numbers I want on WODs, and feel healthiest.

My boyfriend is also doing this Paleo challenge with me, so I anticipate him leaning out much faster, and me feeling crappy about that. Pre-emptive ugh ;-)

I will write more about the emotional aspect of this all later, but for now, here is what I have going on today food-wise:

* handful of almonds at about 630 am, another handful at about 930 am
* coffee with coconut milk
* turkey meatloaf and strawberries for lunch
* chicken with pumpkin sauce and cauliflower for dinner

RECIPES:

TURKEY MEATLOAF
mix 1 lb ground turkey (or beef or buffalo), 1 egg, 1/2 red pepper, 1/2 yellow onion, salt, pepper, cumin to taste
bake at 350 for 45-60 mins (takes longer in Colorado due to the higher altitude)

CHICKEN WITH PUMPKIN SAUCE:
*2 tbsp olive oil
*3 shallots, finely chopped
*4 cloves garlic, minced
*2 cups chicken stock
*1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree (buy organic if you can and DO NOT buy pumpkin pie puree)
*1/2 cup coconut cream (or just coconut milk if you can't find it, just make sure to simmer longer--don't worry, it doesn't make the dish coconut-y, I promise.)
*Few dashes hot sauce (optional/to taste)
*3 pinches cinnamon
*2 pinches nutmeg
*sea salt and black pepper (to taste)
*7 to 8 leaves fresh sage, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish (*tip: keep fresh herbs in your freezer in a zip lock bag for months)
*1.5 c. cauliflower, cooked
* 2 chicken breasts, baked


In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil. Add shallots and garlic to the pan and saute for roughly 3 minutes. While the onions and garlic are cooking, heat 1tbsp oil in a smaller frying pan. Once hot, add the sausage/meat and cook thoroughly. Set aside.

Stir in chicken stock to the pan with the shallots and garlic and then add in the pumpkin puree. Stir in the coconut cream and then season with hot sauce, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for around 10-12 minutes more until thickened.

Serve over chicken and cauliflower