Tuesday, September 13, 2011

30 Day Chalenge - Day 2

30 day challenge - Day 2:
I woke up this morning thinking... I have so much to do today! WHEN can I exercise?? GREAT question!! So... in the spirit of true Primal exercising... I did my "moderate level" activity by HOUSECLEANING. Not a novel idea for me as I grew up with a mother who always did just that. She'd garden in a 1/2 squat posture, then go deep to pick up something or pull a weed then burst upwards and she would have done a beautiful and powerful leg exercise! She also showed me how to lunge while doing the vacuuming, how to 'wax on/wax off' while washing floors... always doing everything with her hands and a washcloth. So... emulate her, I did. Holding my transverse abdominus (lower part of the tummy) and pelvic floor muscles (hey, I had 2 babies... all women need to tighten those!!) tight the entire time for some ab work and making sure to lunge fully while vacumming, but remembering to keep my back straight. God, I hate housecleaning, great exercise though it may be... please let me fire the maid (me) and hire a real one?? Oh yeah, I don't have a paying job... crud.

What did I eat?
Breakfast was an easy breakfast of 2 eggs 'over easy' and 2 sausage patties, then an apple I ate while looking at my morning emails and Facebook messages (yep, crackbook... my addiction). I chase my breakfast down with coffee and half & half with a touch of vanilla extract for my sweet-tooth. YUM. Calories? Don't care... Paleo? Yep. Don't worry all you types who think I need fiber... I got it in my apple. :)

Lunch... I experimented with Paleo banana bread... a recipe I found on : http://www.primal-palate.com/2010/12/banana-bread.html . Since I didn't have maple syrup (used honey instead) it may have come out different tasting than it should have, but it was GOOD!! I had two pieces and wasn't hungry for lunch!! So, lunch was me running out of the house to see a patient... since I wasn't hungry, I grabbed some left over steak bits from dinner and my water bottle. Probably only about 2 ounces of steak, but I really wasn't hungry anyways and one of the Primal rules is "if you're not hungry, don't eat". But, BOY was I thirsty!! Drank my entire water bottle before therapy... The afternoon had me see two kiddos (thanks for the water at the 2nd one's house!!) and then home to make dinner.

Dinner was an attempt at remaking my chicken enchiladas Paleo-style. Just for me. I had 4 flour tortillas left over, so used those for my hubby and son. I followed my 'normal recipe' and made Paleo-style 'tortillas' compliments of a part of a beef taco recipe found on MDA: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-tex-mex-tortillas-and-taco-seasoning/ . The flour substitute in that recipe was coconut flour, and since I now have some, that's what I used. Surprise! No coconutty flavor... at least not enough to make me puke (I HATE coconut flavor, smell, texture!! ugh). My poor hubby thought his tasted 'funny'... I assured him the Paleo portion was only on my side, but did confess I made the gravy differently and used cornstarch (not truly legal, but at least no gluten) instead of flour to make it. I'll put my recipe on the bottom of this blog if you're interested. My portion, those coconut tortillas and all, truly was passable. I will, however, experiment with almond flour to see if that makes a better tortilla before making this again. :) My FAVORITE portion of dinner was the cabbage salad I made. I really am enjoying experimenting with cabbage and other veggies for interesting side dishes. This one was SIMPLE!!

Macadamia Nut Cabbage Salad:
1/4 head of cabbage - sliced thinly
2 green onions - cutting all the way into the green
6 stalks/leafs of bok choy - cut like celery up into the greens
2 tablespoons of roasted sesame seeds
sprinkling of nori flakes (seaweed)
dressing:
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (is EVOO trademarked by Rachel Ray??)
1 tsp cider vinegar
3 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp ancho chile pepper
pinch sea salt
1/8 tsp powdered ginger
Lastly: finely chopped macadamia nuts

I have already figured my lunch for tomorrow will be the leftover cabbage salad with the left over chicken and onions from the enchiladas!! Speaking of... here's that 'original' recipe that was adapted from one that my Mother-in-law showed me years ago. Oh, I know, I know... true enchiladas are made with corn tortillas instead of flour... get over it.

Chicken Enchiladas:
3 chicken breasts, boiled or roasted until white all the way through, then shredded by hand or finely chopped with chopper (I use my trusty Pampered Chef chopper I got YEARS ago)
1 white onion, sliced in half then thin slices
1 packet Mexican shredded cheese (or Monterey Jack cheese/pepper jack shredded)
1 packet 8 inch flour tortillas
1-2 chicken gravy packets made as per directions
Set oven to 350 deg Farenheit and spray an 8 inch cassarole dish with cooking spray.
Assemble the tortillas by putting about a hand-ful of the shredded chicken on it in a line, covering with cheese and onions, then rolling and setting into the pan. Place them in side-by-side and you should be able to fit all 8. Pour cooked gravy over top of the rolled tortillas, sprinkle cheese on top and cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Now, to make 'my' side... the Paleo side, just remember I want to experiment more using almond meal instead of coconut flour... here goes:

Paleo Tortillas (adapted from MDA posting)
Mix together:
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water
2 eggs
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 tsp lime juice
Sift together then add to liquid mixture:
2 tablespoons coconut flour (yeah, that's not a typo... only 2 tablespoons)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder

Once all ingredients are mixed together, pour into a non-stick pan with either coconut oil or EVOO in it and already at medium heat. I made a circle in the center, then picked up the pan to swirl it farther out so it wasn't so thick. Waited until it was no longer liquidy on the top and flipped it. Cooked for a few more mins then slid out of the pan onto papertowel... and the first one broke in half. At this point, I realized I would not be able to roll these tortillas. So, cooked 3 more the exact same way then ended up layering them into 'my side' of the enchilada dish, alternating them with the chicken and onions (no cheese for me) and pouring on the gravy... oh... the gravy. I made it myself instead of the pre-packaged stuff I usually use!!

Gravy:
1/3 cup chicken stock
pinch salt
1/8 white pepper
1 tablespoon organic butter
1 tsp corn starch dissolved in about 2 tablespoons chicken stock
Cook the stock, salt, pepper and butter over med-high heat and once it's boiling well, add the corn starch/stock mixture and stir until thickened. There's your gravy!!

WOW... I've got to start taking pictures of the food I'm cooking. I did remember to take photos of the banana bread from earlier in the day, but I'm not posting about that right now. :) It IS good, just not sweet like 'typical' banana bread. I also cheated and put dark chocolate chips into the batter and some left over chopped macadamia nuts... oh, OK, here's a picture:








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