Fitness Friday: The Paleo Plate

If you know me in real life, or if you have been reading this blog for any amout of time, you have seen or heard the word Paleo pop up here and there. I have written this post in my head time and time again but have never actually taken the time to turn my thoughts into words, and those words into a blog post. Fitness Friday (hosted by my dear friend Jen from A Daily Dose of Davis) seems like as good of a time as any to dive right in and get to business.

Let me first start out by saying that I am not a professional. While I do not have a background in nutrition, health or fitness, I am very passionate about all three. I will also add that I strongly dislike the word "diet". If you are dieting, it's more than likely that you are making drastic changes to the way that you eat, in hopes of losing a large amount of weight in a short period of time. Compare this to making healthy lifestyle changes, slowly incorporating new and smarter ways of eating and fueling your body. These are the changes that made that tend to stick. So, instead of diet, I prefer to call it a lifestyle. Makes a lot of sense, right?

A little over two years ago, shortly after Mark and I got married, we started going to a CrossFit gym in Bloomington, Illinois, where we were living. This is where we were introduced to Paleo. I will admit, at first I was skeptical, and did a whole lot of judging. When lost those 45 pounds in college, I really cut back on starchy carbs and sugar so I didn't need to be convinced of that, but this whole fueling your body like a caveman would was something foreign and frankly scary to me. I heard a lot of the Crossfitters complaining about how boring eating Paleo was and how nothing they made tasted good. Boiled chicken and steamed broccoli every day? This is when I frowned. I am Italian. And as for me and my family? We are food people. Food is meant to be enjoyed, savored and enjoyed around a giant table with hours of conversation. However, being open minded and already in favor of a lot of the Paleo minded thinking, I decided it didn't sound so bad. 

The basic idea behind The Paleo Diet is to stick to eating anything that our Paleolithic ancestors would have had access to many moons ago. If they could kill it with a bow and arrow, fish it out of the sea, or pick it off of a bush, shrub, or tree, they ate it! Meat, fish, plants and nuts. This is the backbone of the Paleo Diet. I will not get into all of the scientific research and background because frankly, I'm not qualified. At the end of this post, I will add a list of recommended reading from my well- read other half, Mark, who has read several books on Paleo. There are also a few blogs that are my go-to for all things Paleo that I will add to the list as well. 

At first glance, the Paleo Diet may look like a complicated list of food rules, but the important thing to remember is you can only do what works best for you and for your family. Many of the Paleo blogs and books talk about an 80-85% rule. This means keeping 85% of your daily intake Paleo while leaving about 15% for a little wiggle room- this is what we try to stick to. For example, strict Paleo Dieters do not eat dairy or legumes. 

My thoughts on dairy...
I happen to love Greek yogurt for breakfast a few mornings a week and we also enjoy goat cheese and fresh mozzarella for salads. And Laughing Cow cheese wedges! I try to stick to one serving of dairy a day. A quick note about dairy- be careful of anything that is labeled as fat-free. Most of the time "fat-free" equals added sugar. Read your labels! I rarely, if ever, buy fat free dairy. While my family and I were in Italy in 2007, there were no fat-free foods in sight. That's good enough incentive for me!

and Legumes... 
are another item that are seen as kind of a no-no in Paleo eating. This is largely due to the fact that our bodies don't digest beans and peanuts easily. I don't think that hummus as a snack or black beans on fish taco lettuce wraps are the worst thing you can cheat with. I prefer almond butter to peanut butter but there is nothing like peanut butter on a banana!

The thing to remember is that this is not for everyone. I will always encourage everyone to eat whole foods and cut out processed junk, fake foods and artificial sweeteners from their life, but as far as going totally Paleo, it's not for everyone- even we make some exceptions around here! (ahem, dark chocolate, red wine, pumpkin beer) Remember the 85% rule. 

Instead of getting scientific and wordy, I thought it would be fun (and helpful) to highlight my Paleo Plate- what a day eating Paleo might look like. Mark can attest to everyone reading that we eat some very delicious meals. Sticking to healthy foods doesn't have to be boring. I'm fortunate in that I grew up in a house where good, healthy food was enjoyed around the dinner table every night, so I was exposed to fresh cooking from a young age. To some, it may seem impossible to cut our breads, pastas and grains, but I am here to tell you that it's not hard to eat like this! 

Since adopting a lot of the Paleo ways a few years ago, I can tell a huge difference in my energy level and I just feel better about what I'm putting into my body. The biggest difference I noticed was how clear my skin became! I have battled with my skin since I was a young teenager and for the first time in my life, I felt like my skin was truly healthy from the inside out, and it had nothing to do with what I was washing my face with at night! In fact, I stopped using medicated face washes and went back to a mild foaming cleanser. I also never feel like I am depriving myself of delicious food. We enjoy homemade pizza nights and build in "cheat meals" that we appreciate so much more now. Moderation, moderation, moderation!

All in all, incorporating Paleo eating into our everyday lives has been a rewarding challenge. I love coming up with new and healthy recipes so that we can still enjoy the same flavors but using cleaned up, healthier versions of what our tastebuds love! Soon, I'm hoping to archive all of my Paleo friendly recipes in one place

If you have any questions, please send them my way. I'm happy to share what I know and if I don't know, hopefully I can point you in the right direction of the appropriate resource. If you are thinking about incorporating Paleo eating into your life, here are some resources to get you started with a good knowledge base.

Mark's Paleo Must Reads:

The Primal Blueprint

The Paleo Solution

Why We Get Fat and What to do About it

Paleo Blogs:

Mark's Daily Apple

Everyday Paleo

PaleOMG

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

Bottoms Up: My Favorite Fall Brew

Every year, when Fall rolls around, I set out to try every single pumpkin ale available. I love to sip the rich flavors of autumnal spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg hugging the main flavor among them all- pumpkin. Harris Teeter, Total Wine and Whole Foods seem to have a great variety but what I really love is pumpkin ale fresh from the tap. Cottonwood Pumpkin to be exact. 

I have sipped on many a pumpkin ales, but none seem to compare to my beloved Cottonwood. The flavors are warm and comforting, but not too sweet or overbearing. I may love Cottonwood Pumpkin so much because it was my official tailgate beer of the fall, and that goes back to Boone life, which goes back to all things wonderful. Call me crazy, but I swear there's something special in that mountain air. Any AppState grad will express the same sentiments. 

Three cheers for Pumpkin beer! And an extra cheer to Cottonwood since it's a semi-local product and brewed right up 77-North in Winston-Salem. 

Also? This may be the year I add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and make a Pumpkin Ale float. 

I purchased a 6-pack of Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale at Harris Teeter for $8.99 

You Can Never Have Too Many Pumpkins

Fall is slowly making its way into our home and I'm enjoying adding festive touches here and there. One of my favorite fall decorations is my Williams Sonoma inspired pumpkin + moss wreath that I made last year when Crystal came to visit! I finally hung my wreath yesterday and it looks just as good as it did last season. I posted a photo on Twitter and Instagram yesterday and I received some requests to post the tutorial. Well, you're in luck!   I posted the pumpkin + moss wreath tutorial in September of last year. You can find it HERE. 

I purchased these mini pumpkins on wire sticks last year at Hobby Lobby for around $0.75 cents a piece. I have not been to Hobby Lobby to check out the Fall inventory, but if they no longer have the same pumpkins this year, I'm sure you can find something similar. 

Rosemary + Basil Mashed Cauliflower

When the crisp, fall-like feeling enters the air, I feel like the whole world presses the reset button. I always say that Spring is my favorite season, but when Fall rolls around, I seem to change my mind. Fall is definitely my favorite. This is the time of year that my body also seems to crave warm and cozy comfort foods. Why is it that our bodies tend to work this way!?

Ever since Mark and I started to make the Paleo Diet a blueprint of how we eat, I have discovered a new love of taking favorite comfort foods and trying to make them healthier (and Paleo friendly!) The first time I made mashed cauliflower, I boiled the cauliflower and mashed it with a potato masher. YUCK! It just wasn't the best and the consistency was off. But, after I made Paleo Farmer's Pie, I discovered that sticking the cauliflower in my food processor resulted in a much creamier and richer texture. I made this rosemary and basil mashed cauliflower last week to enjoy with our chicken picatta. This is a great substitute for mashed potatoes! I still love a giant pile of mashed potatoes with gravy on Thanksgiving, but for weeknight cooking, I think I'll stick with the cauliflower. With a drizzle of good olive oil and a handful of fresh herbs, you may not even be able to tell the difference!

Rosemary + Basil Mashed Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, washed and cut
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
Drizzle of good olive oil
Salt + pepper to season
Fresh shaved parmesan (optional)

Place washed and cut cauliflower in a medium-large heavy bottom pan. Fill with water until the the water just covers the tops of the cauliflower. Boil/steam cauliflower on medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, until it can be easily pierced with a fork. 

Drain cauliflower in a colander and let cool for 5-10 minutes. In a food processor, add cauliflower and drizzle with good olive oil. Pulse until the cauliflower is the right consistency for you. 

Place mashed cauliflower in a bowl and season with herbs, salt, pepper and if desired, garnish with a small sprinkle of freshly shaved parmesan.

Project Pinterest: Gallery Walls, An Autumn Centerpiece + Repurposed Candle Jars

It's no secret that I love Pinterest, I mean how can you not? It's one thing to Pin and pin and pin but when you actually "do"? Well, that's something to be proud of. 

AP started Project Pinterest last week and I can't jump aboard fast enough. 1 pin each week is a mighty fine intervention for all of this digital boarding, wouldn't you agree? Last week, thanks to some Pinterest finds, I found the very best method to perfectly place the frames on a gallery wall, I made a quick and festive centerpiece for our dining room table and I cleaned the wax out of my very favorite Anthropologie candle so that I could repurpose the jar. I would call last week a Pinterest inspired success!

Project #1- How to Perfectly Place a Gallery Wall

I actually learned this neat method from Amy and was later reminded of it from Emily. When hanging anything on the wall, I measure and re-measure and then, when it looks just about right, I re-measure again. I don't think you can ever be too meticulous when it comes these home details. I knew that I wanted a gallery wall down the hallway to our bedrooms in our house and I had a very clear vision. I started out by laying out all of the frames on the floor in varying compositions, trying to place them just right. Once I knew exactly which frames I was using, I grabbed some wrapping paper that I picked up at the dollar section in Target. (I didn't have brown craft paper) I traced each frame, cut out the squares/rectangles, and then with painters tape, arranged my gallery along the wall. The beauty of this method is that I could re-arrange the frame templates to my heart's content. Once I was happy with the arrangement, I simply hammered a nail in the center of each template, removed the paper, and everything was ready to be hung. From now on, I'll never hang anything on the wall without this method!

Project #2- Autumn Centerpiece

Fall is finally here! This weekend, I slowly started bringing out the Autumn decor, and I started by putting together this quick and simply centerpiece. Using my trifle dish as the base with an orange cinnamon candle in the center, I filled it with layers of dried split green peas, white beans, popcorn and red kidney beans. I think this same idea would look great on a mantle or coffee table with filled hurricanes and orange candles.

Project #3- How to Clean out Candle Jars

There is a clever pin floating around with instructions on how to clean the wax out of your candle jars once the candle is done burning. I've been holding onto my favorite Anthropologie candle for quite awhile now because I was convinced that I would find a way to repurpose it. Thanks to this pin, I learned how to clean out the leftover wax and my pretty green jar is now the perfect vase for a bathroom countertop. By sticking the glass jar in the freezer, the wax left at the bottom of the jar is easily cracked and removed with a dull knife. I stuck my jar in the dishwasher and it came out shiny and clean. I picked up a fresh cut purple tipped hydrangea just for this vase and it's a breath a fresh air every time I see it. I really believe there aren't many things better than fresh flowers in the home!

This week, I'm buying mums and pumpkins! I can't wait to make the entryway of our home ready for Fall!

Dear littlest sister, We're so glad you were born

It's a certain little lovie's 20th birthday today! This calls for a sister celebration. IN BOONE!!!

 Get ready, little one. We're coming to get you.

Happy Birthday, Natalie!!!

Fitness Friday: Smart Shopping, Meal Planning + Healthy Lunches

Happy Friday everyone! My friend Jen started a new Friday linkup and ever since we've all been kicking major butt in the LGN department, I thought it would be fun to join this week and  share some health and fitness fun. 

When it comes to staying healthy and taking care of your body, I firmly believe that this starts in the kitchen. Plenty of sleep and daily exercise are huge factors as well, but in order to make sure those things fall into place, you have to make sure you're fueling your body appropriately and with intention.  I could run and run and keep on running, but if I countered all of my hard work with donuts for breakfast every morning and a giant bowl of ice cream for dessert every night, all my hard work would go nowhere. I wish I could say that I workout so that I can eat whatever I want, but that is not the case. It's just not how my body works and I've come to accept it. It took me awhile to adopt this mentality but once I got into a solid routine and saw the positive effects that eating well had on my body as well as my workout performance and even sleeping, these healthy habits became second nature. Now, before I share some of my favorite lunches, I need to give you some background.

When I moved into my apartment my junior year in college, I was able to really take control of what I was eating because I was grocery shopping and cooking for myself. I was no longer confined to college campus food and I was excited to hone my cooking skills. This is when I discovered that if I planned my meals in advance, and made sure my refrigerator was stocked with good for me foods, I was less likely to head to the bar for beer and wings and more likely to stir fry up some chicken and vegetables at home. If I had a long day on campus ahead of me, I almost always packed a lunch to go. Knowing I had spent good money on groceries for the week was also a clear incentive to let nothing go to waste. 

Fast forward to my Charlotte apartment when I was working a corporate job, my roommate Ashley and I would sit down every Sunday, plan our dinners for the week and go to the market to pick up everything that we needed. I credit this wonderful living situation for really making me fall in love with meal planning. We actually enjoyed it and we always looked forward to our meals together. Ashley and I were both big on bringing our lunches to work. We stocked up on salad ingredients, hummus, veggies and yogurt. Some weeks, we would even buy a rotisserie chicken to shred up and use for the week. We also planned our meals accordingly so that we had yummy leftovers to use as lunch options as well. When you work in an office environment, it's especially hard to turn down lunches out and treats from the gift baskets that clients send in. I wish I would have added up all of the lunches out that I turned down in my my time there, I bet I saved a TON of money. Working in an office like mine was a HUGE test in self control and looking back, I am honestly proud of how well I did. 

Now that I work from home most days, I don't really operate any differently. When I do my grocery shopping for the week, I make sure to pick up things that will be good options for lunch, also knowing that I will have some leftovers from dinners throughout the week. I'm a big fan of re-purposing dinner leftovers for lunch. If we are grilling chicken for dinner, I try to plan that for the beginning of the week. We'll make four times what we need and that way we have chicken to throw on salads for lunch. I do the same thing with flank steak, pork tenderloin, shrimp and salmon. Leftover roasted veggies are also great the next day! I enjoy all of these cold straight from the fridge and on salads is the perfect way to eat the leftovers. 

Here are some of my favorite go-to lunches:

Big Salads

I'm a big salad eater. Trader Joe's is my favorite place to grab fresh arugula or mini lettuce mixes- I always have some on hand. Sometimes, I skip the lettuce all together and just go leafless. On my salads, I like some form of protein and just add in vegetables and sometimes fruits if I want something sweet. Avocado is one of my favorite salad toppings! Sometimes I'll add crumbled goat cheese and a handful of nuts. Walnuts are my favorite right now. I just top my salad with a small drizzle of good olive oil, some balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. 

Mediterranean Tuna Salad on Cucumbers

This tuna is so yummy and quick to whip up. I take a can of tuna in water, throw in some chopped red onions, tomatoes and kalamata olives. I mix in some balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and oregano, and eat it on top of cucumber slices. 

Turkey, Avocado + Tomato Lettuce Wraps

We love lettuce wraps around here. I almost always have a head of iceberg lettuce in my refrigerator solely for making lettuce wraps. I have my turkey cut fresh in the deli and just build a normal sandwich using lettuce instead of bread! I like to pile my lettuce wraps with turkey, tomato, avocado and dijon mustard.

All of these lunches are incredibly healthy and take less than 10 minutes to prepare. The extra time it takes to plan is worth the extra inches off of your waistline. 

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!!

Lemon Basil Cookies

Last night I enjoyed a lovely evening with some of my best friends. Sometimes, there is nothing better than a girls night to renew and refresh your spirit! I have missed these girls so much and nights like these are one of the many reasons why my heart is so happy to be back in The Queen City. 

A girls dinner always calls for dessert and I was happy to whip something up to enjoy after our wine, appetizers and Meredith's incredible Autumn chopped salad! I knew that I wanted to make something light and refreshing so I started with a little lemon. I made a homemade lemon sorbetto but wanted something else to go with it. I spotted a fresh bunch of basil that had been sitting in my fridge neglected for a few days and then a lightbulb went off. I grabbed some more lemons, browsed a few recipes and my lemon basil cookies were born! They are soft and slightly chewy with bright citrus notes and hint of basil. The flavors are light and yield a creation barely sweet enough to even be considered a cookie. A perfect pairing to the lemon sorbetto and a sweet ending to a wonderful night, if I do say so myself.

Lemon Basil Cookies

2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
4 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
1 1/4powdered sugar, plus more for rolling cookies prior to baking
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1.5 lemons, juiced)
Zest of one lemon
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, very finely chopped
3 egg whites

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together butter and powdered sugar until mixture is creamy. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and basil. Mix until just incorporated.

While mixing on medium speed, slowly add flour and baking soda mixture to the mixing bowl. The cookie dough will be crumbly- that's okay!

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until light and fluffy. Gently fold egg whites into cookie dough, this will moisten the dough. Form the dough into a ball and refrigerate for an hour or stick in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Using a regular sized spoon, scoop out dough and roll into a ball. Roll each ball in powdered sugar and flatten with your hands. 

Place cookies on a greased baking sheet or parchment paper. Bake 11-13 minutes. Serve with an additional dusting of powdered sugar and lemon zest if desired.

Healthy Sip: Zico Coconut Water

Coconut water has been floating around the health & fitness community for awhile and I have to admit, when I first tried it a few years ago, it was not love at first sip. I thought that the aftertaste was funny, the cloudy color creeped me out and I just didn't enjoy drinking it.

Danica recently shared her love for Zico coconut water with me and it didn't take her long to convince me to believe in second chances. I picked up the chocolate flavored Zico at Trader Joe's and I have been highly impressed!

Coconut water is best known to be a natural source of hydration, providing especially good benefits after a hard workout. It contains electrolytes to help you recover and is also packed with potassium. This would be a great option for pre-workout energy kick as well. Per my California sister's recommendation, I like to drink my Zico as a mid afternoon snack with a scoop of vanilla protein powder over ice. It's delicious and adding protein makes it filling, too. This morning after my workout, I mixed up 1/2 cup chocolate Zico with 1 heaping scoop of protein powder and a cup of unsweetened coconut almond milk. It was the perfect post workout fuel and it was nice to not have to pull out the blender. 

Check out the Zico website for benefits, products and recipes! (I just spotted a few Zico cocktails I'm dying to try, too!)

Back in Business + A House Update!

It's back to business around here and it feels so good. We spend all of July and most of August in transition mode as we waited to close on and move into our house. Thanks to a dear family friend, we had a comfy place to stay and call home for a few weeks- and the next door neighbors were the best! (thanks for all the fun dinners, Mom & Dad!) We couldn't have asked for anything more but by the time our closing date rolled around, we were more than ready to move into our house! And we moved in just in time to celebrate our second wedding anniversary last Tuesday. I still cannot believe that it has been two beautiful years filled with so much love!

Our kitchen has been unpacked since almost the moment we moved into our house and we are finally back to our "normal routine".  Meal planning, anyone!? (one of my favorite weekly activities) I'm looking forward to trying new recipes, enjoying old favorites, and hosting family and friends for dinner parties in our new home!

Now, for a quick house update- it's finally starting to feel like HOME. The boxes have been unpacked, closets have been organized, furniture has been placed and there is still room to spare! Thankfully, all of our Christmas decorations also have ample storage and are safe and sound in their place. 

We are in love with our house! It is the perfect home for us and our neighborhood is just wonderful- everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. We are also in a fantastic location that allows us to take advantage of some of the most wonderful parts of The Queen City. 
I really believe that we ended up in the perfect place. 

While our house was pretty much move-in ready, there are a few things we have on our "home makeover" list that will really put our touch on it. Since those things also cost money, we have been focusing on quicker fixes for now to make it feel like ours. In just a few weeks time, most of the house has been painted which makes such a HUGE difference. I'm now a firm believer in the power of paint! When we moved in, our house was filled with nice pastel shades that looked better in an Easter basket than on our walls! Mark and I painted our bedroom before we moved in and this weekend we had a painter here who did our foyer, kitchen, dining room and main living spaces. I have been obsessing over paint since before we bought our house and I really don't know what I would have done without blogs and Pinterest! It's so nice to have resources for this. For my walls, I really wanted warm, neutral colors that are light and breezy, but also calming. I also knew that I wanted everything to flow nicely with not too much variation in color from one room to the next. All of our paints came from Benjamin Moore and I'm in LOVE with the colors. The guys at our local Benjamin Moore paint store were a huge help as well as friends who recommended specific colors (thanks, Kelli! Vapor Trails is my favorite!) 

We painted our family room, kitchen & foyer in Vapor Trails. Our dining room is painted Revere Pewter and with the white molding detail in this room, the color looks amazing! Our formal living room which really won't even be a formal living room when we get done with it, is also painted this color. We painted Mark's office Spanish Olive- I think it's a handsome and manly greenish grey. I knew for months that our room would be painted dreamy Gray Wisp- also known as Restoration Hardware Blue. I love this color in our room with our dark chocolate furniture and white bedding. We still have a few rooms to tackle on our own! Chelsea Gray is going in our hall bathroom. With the creamy white vanity I think this will be a fun place to incorporate this rich color. 

Above is the kitchen looking into the Dining Room. I still can't believe what a difference a fresh coat of paint makes! It feels like a new house. My friend Amanda said it's like watching the house you bought transform into the house that you love- it's SO TRUE. 

It's going to be one project at a time around here, but the beauty of it is that we are in no rush and we can really take our time to do what we want! Next on the list is creating a gallery wall for a hallway and finding a comfortable wicker sectional so that we can enjoy our screened in porch. In between recipes and tasty bites, I hope to have more projects and pictures to post soon. I'm so looking forward to making our space home sweet home!

Steamed Mini Artichokes with Lemon + Garlic and Butter Dijon Aioli

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE being able to shop at a Trader Joe's again!? I deeply miss my grocery store in Illinois (go figure!), but I do believe that being 10 minutes from Trader Joe's and less than 5 minutes from a brand new Whole Foods just may make up for it. 

Steamed artichokes are probably one of my FAVORITE foods ever. Whip up a quick aioli and I'm happy having that as my meal. I like to savor every little leaf and as much as I love getting to the heart of the artichoke, I'm a little sad when the experience is over.

I picked up some mini artichokes last week from TJs and thought they would be a nice side item to enjoy with grilled steaks.I didn't even know tiny artichokes existed! These minis weren't too filling and adding lemon and garlic to the water added bright, happy flavors. 

Steamed Mini Artichokes with Lemon + Garlic

2 artichokes, washed and trimmed
1 lemon, quartered
Whole garlic cloves (about 4-5)

Wash the artichokes and cut the stem off of the bottom and about 1 inch on the top leaves. In a medium, heavy bottom sauce pan, place the artichokes upside down and cover with water. Add lemon wedges and garlic. Cover and place on medium-high heat for about 30 minutes, until you can pierce the top of the artichoke with a fork and it's soft to the touch.

Cool and enjoy. 

Butter Dijon Aioli

4 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. Pour Olive Organic Butter Olive Oil (or good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Quick splash of champagne vinegar
salt + pepper to taste

Blend in a mini food processor until everything is incorporated. Adjust taste as desired.

Two.

My whole heart for my whole life. 

My heart is so full and I could not ask for anything more.

Happy anniversary to the man of my dreams!