Due to this extenuating circumstance, I stayed up late, slept in til 9am, went to DD to get my coffee (hot this time–that really screwed them up since I’m typically and iced black coffee kinda girl), came home made a beautiful breakfast of 2 eggs over-easy, 5 pieces of bacon and about a cup of sauteed kale. Then I pondered making something in the kitchen since it was already messy. I had a giant can of leftover pumpkin from my pumpkin frittata that I made last week and decided to try making some cashew nut butter (inspired by this recipe at Paleomg.com). SUCCESS PEOPLE, SUCCESS!

So here’s the recipe because you should eat this at least once in your life.

2 cups cashews (it’s cool if they’re lightly salted–just don’t use that crap coated in sugar)

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 plus 1 giant tbsp coconut oil melted

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp (or however much you like) cinnamon or cimmanim (however you prefer to say it)

Procedure: Put the cashews in food processor and PROCESS those beautiful little babies until very teeny tiny. Then put in pumpkin puree and coconut oil PROCESS again until it looks beautiful and smooth like Buttah! Then put in your honey and cinnamon and PROCESS it again. Then you are done and you may eat it.

In the future I’ll probably add more spices and such to make it really fancy, but I think you get the idea. You can pretty much make it your own and put it on all kinds of stuff– like paleo toast that I found at another awesome blog called www.healthylivinghowto.com or even put it on some fried plantain chips as a beautiful little dessert. Seriously, plantain chips are like a whole food group to me and probably one of my favorite foods.

Enjoy!

I’ll have you know that prior to printing out a little marathon training guide via www.marathonrookie.com this girl ran about 2 or 3 miles max at one time. I am an avid gym-goer, so I lift weights, sprint and stair climb to my heart’s desire as well, but I was not a marathon-er. However, my previous gym obsession made the transition to marathon training quite painless. I invested $90 smackeroos in some new kicks (a.k.a. sneakers for you country-folk) and got to work. More about these sweet little babies in a minute. I also downloaded a Nike app to track this new adventure and did some research on how to avoid wicked shin-splints. No news there…good shoes and ice are pretty much your only saving grace when those bad boys (shin-splints) come to town. I also bought some sweet new sunglasses so I’m not running around town in my over-sized shades, all Nicole Richie-like, trying to mesh fashion and fitness in all the wrong ways.

Back to the new kicks–these bad mofos are Nike Free-Run 2.0 and they kick butt…mine are grey and salmon, but you get the idea from this photo. The sole is all bendy-like and the inside fits like a glove. They are a great transition shoe for barefoot running–which I learned can really help shin-splints. I have no scientific explanation to back this claim up, but I have some pretty healthy shins at the moment and I just kicked out about 20+ miles in the last week or so.  Any who–I really NEVER thought in my wildest dreams that I would care to run a marathon or even a half but here I am…doin’ it and doin’ it and doin’ it well. (Sorry, bad song reference–but seriously, who doesn’t love the LL Cool J?) If ya’ll ever wanna go for a run–CALL ME, I’m IN!

I guess I’ll start up this writing thing again…

TTFN Kids!

Saturday rolled around and I made a great breakfast and then went to hang out with my family for my little cousins 5th birthday. She’s adorable, full of cute things to say and so incredibly pure and honest. Is it bad that I look up to her? It was a great day!

Sunday became my ‘ketchup’ day as they used to call it in elementary school and I’m happy to say I made a few Paleo recipes including curried meatballs from www.everydaypaleo.com to help kick of the week the right way. I find the most helpful way to stay on track is to prepare a couple of meals that I can grab to keep me on track.

As I continue on the Paleo journey I’m definitely challenged but my body always reminds me how important it is to keep a healthy lifestyle. Keeping the diet 100% of the time is not possible, but it’s definitely do-able 90% of the time and that’s what I’m shooting for at the moment. I’m 8 months in and feeling good about the decision to make this change. In fact, I think it might be time for a physical because I would really like to see all the numbers and how it’s impacting my health. I’ll keep you all updated.

Happy New Week!

Sometimes we start new things with big dreams. At least for me…I start EVERYTHING with BIG dreams. I usually get so excited that I want it to be PERFECT. Somewhere in the process of it becoming perfect, I get sidetracked by life. I forget I have a full-time job, a dog, responsibilities and friends and family that would like to see me.

Here is what I have learned to do…

Take all the new and great and wonderful things that you want to learn and PRIORITIZE. For me, my priorities go something like this:

1) Health & Fitness: This means eating right and exercising regularly. No excuses. No allowing myself to fail. By staying healthy and active I will be happier in my career and relationships. Putting myself first isn’t a fault, it’s a necessity. It’s something that I have been blessed to be able to do. Trust me. I am more thankful for the ability to do this everyday. I AM BLESSED. (I repeat this to myself often).

2) Career: If you are not healthy and happy then you can not be the best you want to be at work. Career pays the bills and allows me to spend time with…Friends and Family. Once again…I am BLESSED.

3) Friends and Family: These people inspire me and keep me in check. Family keeps you grounded. Friends keep you REAL. Added bonus: my friends keep me REAL-LY FUN! Once again, so BLESSED.

There is so much more to life. Sure, I could have kids, a husband, a big ole house, but for me I’m learning that all of that doesn’t matter. I have what I have. I have made this life my own and I am proud of what I have accomplished. Be proud of what you have accomplished too. Be in the moment and embrace it.

If you need to find motivation today, tomorrow or anytime just think about your priorities. Are you paying yourself first? Are you counting your blessings and making the most of your time here on earth? If not, remain positive and reach out and pick one thing to improve.

Life is beautiful when you take a step back and look at the big picture.

About a month ago I decided to start this blog. I was living primally and loving it. I was dating someone who was inspiring me to write, think and keep focused on my goals. Then one day, I wasn’t dating that person anymore. But that’s not all that happened. At about the same time, I started really struggling with my career. As many of you know, I’m a speech therapist. I lost my drive for it. I found myself not thinking outside of the box and just plain bored with the day-to-day aspects of my job. I also lost my motivation for writing and reading and just kind of holed myself up in my apartment and did my own thing for a couple of weeks. (mostly watched tv and cooked) It’s like one day I woke up and decided to be depressed…so wierd because that’s so NOT me! But in true Bree-fashion, I continued to eat healthy and exercise. I also decided to focus on my work more and on ‘relationshits’ less.  

And here I am…I finally snapped the HELL out of it and decided to make some changes. I joined this amazing gym in North Scottsdale called AmenZone. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this place. I think it single-handedly snapped me out of my FUNK. It promotes positive self-talk, fitness and mental toughness. It was just what I needed when I felt like everything else was complete crap.

Every night at AmenZone the trainers leave us with a ‘message’ before we go. Their message is often something inspirational and thought-provoking and is often just what I need after an hour of death-defying cardio and exercise. It brings your spirit up and makes you want to come back the next night to hear the new message. I am hoping to add this to my blog and inspire others to think positively.

Last night the gist of the message was not to give up. The trainer spoke about pushing through when you think you can’t. He related it to our workout by talking about the 2-minute intervals that we complete. Each exercise we do we do for two minutes and by the end of 2-minutes you either want to give up or throw up and die. But somehow we make it. We become tough when we think we have NOTHING left.  If we reach deep down inside we can muster up the strength to push through the last ten seconds of pain and come out breathing on the other side. Amazing. Our minds are so much more tough than we think and with some encouragement anything is possible.

So I want to extend this message to my friends and family. This life is tough. It can leave you feeling breathless and completely exhausted but it’s worth it. Prove to yourself how strong you are and dig deep. Find that mental strength and PUSH through when you think you have nothing left. Reach out to those that love you when you don’t have the strength and borrow some of theirs but don’t quit just because it FEELS easier.

Pictures to come!

Make sure you carve out some time to play over the long weekend and send me your pictures at sassyprimal@gmail.com so that I can create a way awesome post about play!

Here’s what I’ve gleaned/learned/understood from reading so far:

Tim has a few rules. Five to be exact. They include:

Rule 1. Avoid white carbohydrates (we do this in Paleo/Primal for the most part–some folks will eat the occasional white potato to refuel glycogen after workouts. No biggie. I agree here.)

Rule 2: Eat the same meals over and over again. It’s cool with me because we tend to be creatures of habit. He claims that most successful dieters eat the same few meals over and over again. But these are ‘dieters’. Primal/Paleo is a WAY OF LIFE–not a weight loss plan. We are eating Primal/Paleo to improve health, ok?

Rule 3: Don’t drink your calories. This would be cool with me if the whole idea of Primal/Paleo living were to limit caloric intake/lose weight. It’s not. It’s not a diet to lose weight. It’s not a low-carb diet. It’s a diet to clean out the crap from your body and make all of your organs work correctly. It’s a diet to teach us how to EAT REAL FOOD! One of Tim’s major points here is that aspartame can stimulate weight gain–we don’t want weight gain in most instances. He also alleges that red wine won’t really have an impact on weight loss when consumed in smaller quantities. He just keeps talking about weight loss. That’s really all I see instead of promoting improving health. Ugh.

Rule 4: Don’t eat fruit. Again he advocates for no fruit in an effort to lower sugar intake, thus reducing the consumption of fructose (the natural sugar in fruit) that leads to weight gain. I know in Primal/Paleo eating we absolutely advocate for eating fruit. We don’t condemn potentially nutrient/vitamin-rich foods; however, when experimenting with weight loss I am here to tell you that it is often advised to limit the fruit. It keeps your daily carbohydrate intake lower which can lead to limited fat storage. I don’t completely disagree with this rule, but for life it’s not gonna work. We need fruit here and there.

Rule 5: Take one day off per week. HOLY GUACAMOLE! Tim is advocating for a complete BINGE on this day. He even uses the word ‘binge’. Yikes! He stated that he always eats ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, drinks beers and pretty much makes himself sick on this day. Umm…isn’t that ’sickness’ the point of going Paleo/Primal for so many people? I know it was for me! No more EMERGENCY trips to the restroom or days where I felt like I might die. Don’t we want to rid our bodies of the very things that cause us gastrointestinal distress, sickness and fatigue? I’m confused. If this diet is a cousin/brother/sister or even close fricking relative of Primal/Paleo living then WTF? Why would we do this? Oy vey. <Facepalm>

Not to mention what this one lovely little day does to our poor bodies. Your pancreas, on a cheat day, would be shoveling out loads of insulin to regulate the toxic glucose in your bloodstream. After this insulin rush your brain becomes low on fuel and you send your body into stress-mode, secreting cortisol which breaks down muscle tissue. Eeek! Additionally, sugar takes it’s turn at attacking your immune system through the excess cortisol secretion.

So, in conclusion–if you will…if you want to lose a few pounds, stress your body out and potentially get sick. I think this diet is great! I only kid. Primal/Paleo is kinda for the ‘cool kids’ and not all kids are cool (Remember middle school?) But you won’t catch me completely advocating for it.

I do, however, think this guy might be some kind of GOD for writing a freaking 400 page book the size of Harry Potter 6 AND 7. He’s got knowledge and wit, humor and even credibility–but given the ‘rules’ I cannot commit or even compare it to Primal/Paleo.

If this diet is something that you can do and adhere to for life then I say “Go for it!” I would really consider Rule #5 and maybe revise it a little–have some dark chocolate, some yummy melon or a sweet potato or two. These don’t completely destroy your body and can actually lead to some additional weight loss–or so I’ve learned.

I also want to caution that I only read excerpts of the book and I am by no means an expert on the 4HB diet. I got to these rules and I just couldn’t keep my sassy mouth shut–so there ya have it! MY OPINION–however much it matters….

As you know by now…I am borderline obsessed with nutrition, health and fitness. I also love children, specifically the ones that can’t say certain sound such as /r/ and /s/ and those with Autism and Down Syndrome. This is why I’m a speech pathologist by day and complete Primal NUT, by eve–UNTIL NOW!

I have one of those wonderful kind of jobs where I get to make my own schedule. I know. Sad, huh? I would cry if it wasn’t so damn awesome! It’s a wonderful job. I change my schedule whenever I please and I am ‘pretty much’ the boss. I recently decided that in order to delve more seriously into the world of Primal living, blog with a brain and ‘do what I love the most,’ (chatting about Primal living) I needed to have some more time to do just that. So this sassy chica is going to be working 4 days per week as a speech pathologist and then 1 day per week–completely devoted to sharing, discussing, writing and reading about the Primal Lifestyle.

That’s right people. I’m making my own way! I’m going to be doing what I am so passionate about for 1 day per week and I can’t wait! You will not be let down. I assure you my posts are going to get more scientific, more specific and all around more informative because that is my goal!

What goals have you guys set for yourselves? And how are you going to make those happen? Reply or don’t reply, but at least take a second to think about that fact that you can make this life your own and you can change ANYTHING at ANY age, given ANY circumstances if you just put out the positive vibes and get to work or what I call “Make it Happen”.

And always remember, “Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.” –by someone really, really wise… 

Cheers to doing what you love! –Bree

I feel like a day or so of ‘falling off the wagon’ is going to happen. I can’t beat myself up for it and I can’t make any excuses because I made every decision consciously. But here’s the thing, I just hopped back on the wagon yesterday. I feel great today and I’m confident I won’t be letting that happen again for awhile.

On another note, I know it is hard to stay the course, but everytime I stray I just say this to myself, “Is this helping me reach my goal?” This self-talk gets me through the cravings (usually) or helps me to make a better decision. Who knows? Maybe it can help you too!

I am also thinking of starting a WHOLE 30 where I eat super duper clean with zero alcohol (a challenge in my social circle) for 30 days. Many Primal/Paleo people do this to jumpstart their bodies or to clean up their eating. I hope to document my daily efforts on this blog and hopefully I can be an inspiration for people who are struggling to make healthy choices every day. I haven’t set a date, but it’s going to be in the near future. I’ll keep you updated. Primal has already changed my life so this will be a personal challenge!

Cheers to a beautiful week!–Bree

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