Oh, Paleo!

When we started Crossfit almost 4 weeks ago (yup, I said FOUR), we knew that in addition to working our butts off, we were going to seriously have to change our eating patterns. Both Chad and I hate to make decisions, are pretty much lazy when it comes to food, and are HUGE fans of starches dipped in hot oil - or french fries to the layman. Actually, we're fans of starches in any shape or form - bread, cereal, oatmeal...if it's a processed grain or has copious amounts of sugar, consider us ready to eat!

Our instructor told us that the Crossfit stance on nutrition was the Zone diet, made famous by Jen Aniston and her incredibly buff arms. The Zone diet is semi-complex, based on portion size, and pretty much irritating until you get it down pat. The instructor also told us about a group challenge that was underway - the Paleo challenge. Meaning Paleolithic. Or the "caveman diet." After Chad and I laughed about it, we both started doing a little research on it and even bought a book about it. And to tell you the truth, it's pretty interesting.

Unlike the Zone, where portions are key, the Paleo diet is all about the quality of the foods you eat - namely no grains, no sugars, etc. It's all based on what Paleolithic man ate - namely lean meats, fish, wild game, eggs, fruits, and vegetables. Which is great because both Chad and I are avid carnivores and both love fruits and vegetables.

Last week, we ate Paleo Monday thru Friday. I did drink lattes everyday (non-fat milk, no sugar syrup) which is a no-no, but for goodness sakes, what's a Starbucks fiend to do??? Memorial Day weekend, we cheated. Badly. Both of us.

And I paid for it yesterday during my workout - and I'm sure Chad will when he has his WOD today.

BUT we are back on Paleo. Last night we had spaghetti Paleo style - the noodles being from a spaghetti squash heated in the microwave and the sauce being made with lean ground beef, drained, fresh bell pepper & onion, and organic sauce with ZERO sugar. It's delicious, even though both Chad and I miss "real" spaghetti noodles.

Tonight is Paleo meatloaf. I don't want to put the recipe on here, in case it's horrible, but it does use some new ingredients that I've never tried before - namely almond flour, which is almonds chopped into powder form instead of using white or wheat flour. We'll be having meatloaf with asparagus sauteed in EVOO.

Stay tuned.