Pursuit of Paleo - Day #1

Today, two parts of my life changed

1. I completed my Bachelors degree from UW-Madison and have officially moved back home to Illinois. YAY! I could not be more thrilled to continue my education on Digital Marketing & Analytics and see what life has in store next :)

2. My partner and I have decided to take on the challenge of embracing the "caveman's diet" aka. make our greatest attempt to live a paleo lifestyle.

We set the date of May 17th to begin our lifestyle change for a few reasons. If your going to change one thing, might as well change two? Haha jk. But in actuality, being home has much less distractions, temptations, and "but I only have one week left" excuses, than being away at college. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE college, but it is not exactly the easiest place to say no to margaritas and burrito bowls. NOT TO MENTION, WISCONSIN is not the easiest place to say no to CHEESE! 

This also gave us time to perform some research on the Vegan/Vegetarian/Keto/IIFYM vs Paleo, the history and purpose of a paleo lifestyle, and the logistics of what to do and what NOT to do. We also had the pleasure of witnessing incredible transformations and listening to stories about friend's triumphs, tips and tricks. With this knowledge under our belt, we have gained an immense amount of motivation and determination. We don't expect to know every single rule and create a flawless lifestyle. Mess-ups and cheat meals are bound to happen, we are humans, but we are eager to give it our best shot! 

TODAYS MEALS:

Breakfast: eggs, spinach, broccoli // cantaloupe, pineapple, grapes // sausage patty

Lunch: turkey // broccoli, cauliflower, carrots // pineapple, cantaloupe, melon - Tea

Snacks: Brazil nuts & sunflower seeds & pecans

Dinner: (PICTURED) 
Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
 lettuce, dried cranberries, pecans, and chicken with Balsamic Vinegar

DONT FORFEIT YOUR DIET @ BWW

HEADING TO BUFFALO 

WILD WINGS TO CATCH A GAME?

⠀-- DONT FORFEIT YOUR DIET! --

⛔️LETS TALK SAUCE⛔️

These condiments range from 30 to 320 calories, so pick precisely!! 

If you MUST have a sauce, stick to SWEET BBQ, MEDIUM, HOT BBQ, MILD, or SPICY GARLIC

 ✳️my suggestion> Try out the DRY RUBs they are all 5 calories or less,

 fat free, under 2g carbs AND DELICIOUS.

FLAVORS: Salt & Vinegar, Chipotle BBQ, Buffalo, Desert Heat, Lemon Pepper

⛔️LETS TALK FOOD⛔️

2 Grilled Chicken Buffalitos with Salt & Vinegar Dry Rub AND a side salad🍃

🚫(No Dressing / Cheese / Sour Cream)

✳️my suggestion> Bring your own dressing!!

( I brought my own little cup of Walden Farms dressing )

----MACROS ---

317Cals, 48g Carbs, 6g Fat, & 26g Protein

OTHER GREAT GO-TO's

Naked Tenders (6)

CALS: 260

 PROTEIN: 10G

 FAT: 12G 

CARBS: 34G

GardenBurger

CALS: 250

PROTEIN 40g

FAT 5g

CARBS 63g

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

CALS: 451

PROTEIN: 51g

FAT: 7g

CARBS: 50g

Veggie Boat

CALS: 90

PROTEIN: 1g

FAT: 0g

CARBS: 22g

According to: http://www.justdietnow.com/restaurants/buffalo-wild-wings.html

http://www.nutrition-charts.com/buffalo-wild-wings-nutrition-information/ 

Healthy Out-Of-Home

DONT POUT BECAUSE 

YOU CANT EAT OUT

…where there's a will, there's a WAY

I'm going to show you

three occasions where I ate

out on NON-CHEAT days 

and how I ended the day hitting

EVERY macro.

Location

--> Crossroads Bar and Grill in Chicago, IL

FIRSTLY: I checked out the menu before 

we got there to make sure I had some type of guidance

and visual of what the options were.

and didn't open the menu and choose whatever I 

thought sounded the yummiest.

SANDWICHES, SIDES, 

EXTRAS, and CHEESE 

(to choose from)

MY MEAL:

-Grilled Chicken Breast BLACKENED with 

SWISS CHEESE and STEAMED BROCCOLI

TIPS: 

- Avoid any extra sauces

(cajun, bbq, buffalo sauces)

- Be smart with your sides

-Can't fathom getting rid of the

big, thick, burger bun? Eat Half!

AND; I still had Macros left over

for ice cream at the United Center :)

Location

---> Kohan Sushi in Chicago IL

FIRSTLY;

Again, I researched the menu options

before I arrived. I knew i wanted to have the best

of both worlds SUSHI ROLL and CHICKEN VEGETABLES

SO, I made sure to find a place that had both

sushi options and entree options

MY MEAL:

California Roll -> You got your vegetables (cucumber),

your healthy fats (avocado), your carbs (Rice), and your

protein (Crab)

Chicken Teriyaki Entree -> You got your vegetables (carrot,

zucchini, green bean, peppers), your carbs (rice), and

your protein (chicken)

TIPS:

- Avoid Sauce: A lot of rolls include "spicy

mayo" and other variations of mayo/ranch, STAY AWAY. 

AND, boy was I glad I got that teriyaki on the side because

it had the consistency of jello, YUCK STAY AWAY.

Chinese Sauces are FULL of sodium, sugar, and bad things :)

- Say BYE to FRIED: Steer clear of rolls that mention "deep

fried" for obvious reasons! This menu particularly had

many deep fried roll options. no.

- Portion Control: The rice shown in this picture is

half as much as they gave me. Since I have a boyfriend

who likes to get his GAINS, I gave him the other half

so my portion would be about 1/2c. 

ALSO, my eyes are ALWAYS bigger than

my stomach which is my problem when going

out for sushi. I see many many rolls that

i would really love. Not going to lie, there were tons

of rolls I wanted to order along side that California roll,

however after finishing this meal i was SO EXTREMELY full

and thankful I didn't have another roll to take down.

Location

Eggcited Pancake House in Naperville, IL

BREAKFAST, most IMPORTANT MEAL
of THE DAY!

FIRSTLY;
Again, I researched the menu beforehand,
I usually ALWAYS do this when I know
ill be heading out for a meal. 
I knew I wanted something with lots of protein that would
fill me up for the day!

Build your own options are GREAT this way

you can cater your meal to your goals.

MY MEAL:

Egg whites

Mozzarella Cheese

(hard for a Sconnie to skip the cheese)

Spinach

WITH

English Muffin

Fruit

TIPS:

- Side Savvy Substitutions- If you know what type of side

you want, SAY IT. English muffin was not listed as

an option to substitute the toast/pancakes with! 

Explore various side substitutions, here I substituted the 

hash browns for fruit

-Eggcellent- Most restaurants usually ALWAYS offer

egg whites as an egg substation. UTILIZE THIS. Egg whites are

full of PROTEIN, PROTEIN, and PROTEIN. Nothing else.

Very very very little fat and 0 carbs. Awesome go to and will

keep you full!

Dining Out doesn't have to be

a cheat meal!! 

YOU CAN DO IT!

 Be smart, use your sources,

 and

 don't lose your will power

Sage Garlic Baked Chicken

So i acquired some Fresh Sage leaves, roasted garlic, and a tub of feta cheese crumbs. So of course I had to think of a way to use all three at once, cause obviously I had a taste for all of them!

Soo…. I had two options stuffed chicken or baked chicken. And might I add, I am not

disappointed with my choice whatsoever, and you won't be either!

This is quite possibly the most delicious chicken I have created so far : )

I am PROUD, to say the least. 

Ingredients

Chicken

Fresh Sage leaves

Roasted Garlic Cloves

Olive Oil

Feta Cheese

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 350

2. In a mini food processor, process sage leaves, garlic cloves and olive oil

3. Pound chicken flat with a meat mallet

4. Top chicken with the sage and garlic mixture

5. Sprinkle feta cheese atop 

6. Bake for 30 minutes 

I cooked some asparagus and grilled cauliflower to

have a long side! 

ALSO:

TIP OF THE WEEK

If you have fresh dill, once it goes bad its sort of gross looking BUT...

DONT FRET & DONT THROW IT AWAY

throw that stuff in a dehydrator until its hardened, chop it up

and store it/use it just like any other dried seasoning : )

Breaded Chicken

Alright.. everyone gets cravings for bad fried greasy food

.. am i right? Thought so.

Well, this unbearable craving of greasy fried goodness occurred to me the other night..

AND THEN

 the easiest, lightest, bestest breading was born.

I don't recall ever seeing this done before, but it very well may have been.

Until I see someone else with this idea, I am taking all the credit

for how extremely BRILLLLLLIANT it is :)

INGREDIENTS

1 Rice Cake

Seasoning of your choose

( I used Mrs. Dash Garlic )

Chicken

Egg Whites

Breading Directions:

Place Rice Cake and Seasoning in food processor

Process until finely chopped and mixed!

Directions

1. Dip chicken into egg white

2. Cover with breading

3. Place on skillet with Coconut Oil

4. I placed mine a top some Carba-Nada Egg Fettuccine Noodles

I'm telling you guys, this breading is no joke.

 It's super light, low calorie, and will leave you feeling guilt-free! 

( 1 rice cake is only 35 calories )

( PS. watch the chicken, it tends to burn quickly…clearly :], oops. )

You won't regret it, you're welcome :)

Mexican Spring Roll

 Had a taste for something with salsa and beans…. 

anddd the Mexican Spring Roll was created!

Whatcha need, what whatchaaa need!?

Ingredients:

1.5oz Chicken

1/8c Salsa

1/8c Black beans

1/8c Plain Yogurt (used as sour cream replacement)

1/2 Avocado

1 Spring Roll Wrapper

How to get shredded chicken: 

1. Boil 1 chicken breast

2. Once cooked all the way through, transfer to cutting board

3. Use a fork to shred chicken 

Directions

So there's not much to it.

1. Get the ingredients you'd like to place in your spring roll

2. Drench the spring roll wrapper in water, then transfer wrapper to rolling surface

3. Place ingredients on paper, and roll er' up! 

Disfrutar! 

(aka. Enjoy!)