I’m not one for complex recipes or spending a lot of time in the kitchen. When short on time (and energy), I keep it simple. I don’t even know if this can be considered a recipe but you asked for recipes and sometimes simple is the way to go! It’s pretty much how I roll!
I had a package of chicken thighs in the freezer. I forgot to thaw them. About an hour before I was ready to start dinner I remembered them and set them on the counter.
An hour later they were still about 80% frozen. No big deal! Popped them out of the plastic and threw them in a loaf pan (still frozen). I set the oven to 425 degrees and drizzled the frozen thighs with extra virgin olive oil and then sprinkled them with salt and pepper. I didn’t wait for the oven to pre-heat, just threw them in.
While the chicken cooked, I chopped up a head of raw cauliflower. I threw the cauli on a baking sheet and treated it the same way as the chicken: drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. Then I tossed the cookie sheet in the oven with the chicken.
The cauliflower cooked about 40 minutes. The chicken cooked about 50 minutes. Ish. Meanwhile, I kept working. No babysitting required. (No time for that.)
When the timer rang, I transferred the cauliflower to a bowl and blended it with an immersion blender because I was more in the mood for mashed cauli than roasted florets. Most of the olive oil was still on the cookie sheet so I topped the cauli with a tablespoon of butter because I like butter.
Fat loss friendly doesn’t have to be boring and it doesn’t have to take a ton of prep time.
In today’s episode we’re tackling how to eat healthy on a budget. Eating for fat loss or “going paleo/primal” does not have to be more expensive than the Standard American Diet. Can it be? Sure. But you can have a huge grocery budget on the Standard American Diet or you can have a small one. Similiarly, you can have a huge grocery budget on a Primal diet or you can have a small one. There are ways. You get what you look for. You can absolutely eat healthy on a budget. In this episode, we’ll show you how.
The 80/20 rule states that 80% or more of our results come from 20% or less of our efforts or actions. So basically, there are a small number of factors that are responsible for the majority of our results.
Focus on big rocks (what drive results) vs. small rocks (little factors that do not move the needle)
Last month I shared with you my goals for the rest of 2015. They are ambitious. I am on the grind. I’m hustling to drop some body fat and get strongerrrrr.
When I’m pursuing a particular goal, I try to simplify as much of my life as possible. That doesn’t mean I don’t get sh*t done – I sure do. But I simplify my approach and my perspective. I narrow down my focus to the most important things I need to to do to move towards my goal and I get those things done FIRST.
Here’s what that looks like for me: To reach my fat loss goals I know I need to focus on only two things.
4 hard, intense workouts each week (next week I’ll share the details of my workouts)
Whole foods emphasizing fat, protein and fiber
I execute both of these without excuse. No, really. That’s the key: no excuses.
Obviously I run a growing business so that’s not all I can do in a given day. I work. A lot. Each morning I wake up and identify the single most important thing I need to do for Primal Potential. I do that first. I do that between waking and working out.
My willpower and focus is at its peak in the morning. I take advantage of that zone. I get my most important work done. I get my workout in. I plan my meals for the day. That’s it. Those are my top priorities so I make sure they’re taken care of first and foremost.
I get a lot of questions about about what I eat and I’ve done a few “What I Ate Wednesday” posts but today I thought I’d share some more specifics. Keep in mind that this is what works for me. This is based on my activity level, my hormones, foods I love and my time (or lack thereof) to prepare meals. It doesn’t mean it’s a meal plan for you but it might give you some ideas or a starting point.
Breakfast: I’m not much of a breakfast person. I wakeup early and those morning hours are my most productive of the day so I tend to hop right into the grind with my coffee. If I’m hungry, I’ll eat, but I’m usually not hungry in the morning. I’ll do some black coffee and then, on workout days, I’ll do some bulletproof coffee before my workout. Like I said though – if I want food I’ll eat food. I’d typically opt for:
Lunch: Lunch and dinner are two big meals for me. I’m usually pretty hungry by lunch time, especially on my workout days. I don’t really snack much (just my personal preference and what works for me) so I want to make sure lunch and dinner really fill me up. I focus on foods I love but I don’t like having to cook in the middle of the day. Oftentime I’ll have leftovers from the night before. Otherwise, I’ll do something really simple that doesn’t require much prep.
Canned salmon with fresh veggies (tomato, cucumber)
Jimmy John’s Unwich (lettuce wrapped sandwich with turkey/bacon/avocado)
Large salad (4ish cups) with tons of veggies and salmon or chicken
Chipotle salad bowl (no rice or beans) with fajita veggies, chicken or steak, pico and guac
Dinner: I don’t follow very many recipes. For me, they take a bit more time than I prefer and they require obscure ingredients that I might not readily keep on hand (and are therefore often expensive). I tend to pick one of my favorite proteins and eat it along side one of my favorite veggies. My favorite proteins are salmon, steak, bison and chicken thighs. My fave veggies are brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower.
Chicken thighs in the crockpot with either veggies/chicken stock OR coconut milk/curry
Salmon cakes and brussels sprouts
Burgers (without the bun) topped with a fried egg and a side of veggies
If I’m eating out the same rules apply: meat + non-starchy veggie. Some of my faves include:
Burgers without the bun, especially with bacon or avocado (or both!)
Steaks with a salad or side of veggies (often both!)
Salmon and broccoli
A big, beautiful salad with steak or chicken
Like I mentioned, I’m not much of a snacker. I prefer to have a big meal that satisfies me for hours. Throughout my 140 lb weight loss I’ve really found that I need to de-emphasize the focus on food during the day and not snacking really helps with that. With that said, if I’m hungry I’ll have a snack. Typically that would be a handful of almonds or a piece of cheese.
Are these details helpful? If you want more details, make sure to get on my free VIP email list. Do you have questions or are things unclear? Let me know and maybe I’ll do a Q&A post! Next week I’m planning to share my fitness and workout details. Are you guys cool with that plan? Lemme know!
In today’s episode we’re talking about one of the major keys to lasting success in any arena, especially fat loss: accountability. We talk about what it looks like when you don’t have accountability, the wrong ways to go about it and how I can help you stay accountable. Plus, it’s the one year anniversary of Primal Potential! Holy Toledo! My heartfelt thanks for your support and your love.
Just because it is derived from a whole food does not mean it is good for fat loss. Heck, just because something is a whole food doesn’t mean it is good for fat loss! I’ll be super straight forward about this: dried fruit is not a fat loss food. In fact, in many cases it contains more sugar than a candy bar and it does not and will not trigger our satiety signals. (PS: If you want more info, tips, recipes & workouts, make sure you get on the free VIP e-newsletter list!)
Total grams of sugar per 100 grams of the following foods
Dried fruit often contains added sugar and preservatives
1/2 cup of fresh cranberries contains 2g of sugar. 1/2 cup of dried cranberries contains 37g sugar.
The type of sugar most common in dried fruit is fructose. Fructose is the single most lipogenic carbohydrate (most likely to be converted to and stored as fat) and it also does not trigger our satiety signals (feelings of fullness)
The concentrated delivery of fiber and sugar (with the water removed) can cause GI distress in many people.
