Paleo, Grain-Free & Gluten-Free No-Bake Walnut Cookies

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paleonobakecookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 2 tbsp raw honey
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

1. Add walnuts to food processor and blend until finely ground. Add in the remaining ingredients and blend until a dough forms, about a minute.

2.Turn out the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Using your hands, roll pieces of the dough into small balls, about 1 inch around, and space out on parchment paper. After all of the balls are formed, press down on each ball to form a flat cookie. Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Paleo Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

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beefandbroccolistirfry

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lbs. sirloin, thinly sliced
  • 4 tbsp coconut aminos, divided
  • 4 tbsp red wine vinegar, divided
  • 3 tbsp chicken broth
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp arrowroot flour
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tbsp ginger, minced
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
  • 4 carrots, diagonally sliced
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, divided

Instructions

1. Place the sirloin in a small bowl with one tablespoon each of red wine vinegar and coconut aminos and toss to coat. Let marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together 3 tablespoons each red wine vinegar, coconut aminos, and chicken broth. Stir in the garlic, ginger, arrowroot, honey, and sesame oil. Prepare a separate small bowl with 1 tablespoon of water and set it next to the stove along with the garlic sauce.

3. Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the steak in the skillet in a single layer. The meat should sizzle; otherwise the pan is not hot enough. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side to brown, and then transfer to a bowl.

4. Add the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil to the skillet. Stir in the broccoli and carrots, cooking for 2 minutes. Add the water to the skillet and cover with a lid. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, then remove the lid and cook until all of the water has evaporated.

5. Add the garlic mixture to the vegetables and stir to coat. Add the beef back into the pan and toss until the sauce thickens and everything is well coated. Serve immediately.

 

Eggplant and Zucchini Lasagna

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zucchinilasagnarecipe

For the meat sauce

  • 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
  • 1/2 cup tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 sprigs thyme
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

For the lasagna

  • 1 eggplant, sliced lengthwise thinly
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 yellow squash, sliced thinly
  • 1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
  • 8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • 2 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise into ribbons

For the topping

  • 1/2 head cauliflower
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. To make the meat sauce, place the onion and garlic in a food processor and pulse to finely chop. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 12-15 minutes until beginning to brown, stirring frequently.

2. Add the beef to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes until browned. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the red wine to the pan and cook for 5 more minutes.

3. Add the tomato sauce, bay leaf, and thyme to the pan. Bring to a simmer, and then add 1/2 cup water. Cook at a low simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary. Adjust seasonings to taste. Discard the bay leaf and thyme.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and set aside for 15 minutes to drain. Rinse and pat dry. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the eggplant for 2-3 minutes per side until golden.

5. Layer the lasagna in a baking dish. Start by layering the yellow squash as the base. Add one third of the meat sauce on top of that, then lay the eggplant slices, fresh basil, and mushrooms. Next add the rest of the meat sauce, then the spinach, zucchini, and finally drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

6.While the lasagna is baking, place the cauliflower in a blender and process until it reaches a rice-like consistency. Add to a skillet and sauté with the olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper over medium heat. Cook for 6-8 minutes until soft, adding a tablespoon of water if necessary. After the lasagna has cooked for 20 minutes, sprinkle with the cauliflower and return to the oven for the remaining cooking time. Serve hot.

 

Have a bigger breakfast!

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We’ve all heard this, but do we know why?

Your digestive system is most active in the morning, so this is the best time to take in a good bulk of your food to get your metabolism going for the rest of the day. You should look at breakfast like an energy slingshot into the rest of your day, setting you up for success on your next meals.

…

Cortisol is also naturally higher in the mornings (well its supposed to be anyway), which controls hunger and the desire for food. Going a long time before eating can elevate these levels to harmful amounts, leading to muscle wastage for energy and an increased likelihood of eating the wrong thing at lunch.

Get formatted for a big healthy breakfast as soon as you rise, and the rest of the day will come naturally.

‪#‎undergrounddailytip‬ ‪#‎nutrition‬ ‪#‎healthybreakfast

Is Sleep Murdering Your Gains

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A study has shown that getting consistently less than 7 hours sleep per hour can be associated with diabetes, cardiovascular issues, depression, memory issues and can inhibit the good done by exercise*. (*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2727237/)

A big issue with sleep deprivation is light. That could be light from a mobile or pad device, a tv, or an unnatural light shining into your room while sleeping. Basically, and light toiuching your skin in the late evening and especially while asleep supresses the release of melatonin which is important for your sleep/wake cycle.

Supressing melatonin has been linked to a lot of negatives, even cancer!

So what can we do? Try to keep things dim at night, maybe refrain from using your mobile phone in bed (or if you do reduce the brightness all the way), and try to sleep in a pitch black room. Your sleep will be more effective, and it will help you raise better and keep your metabolism humming!

Happy sleeping!

#undergrounddailytip

#sleep #sleeptips #undergroundinstrcution

Eat Tastier with Paleo Sauces

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A lot of people try to follow a really clean diet, giving it 100%, but the problem I encounter a lot is “taste”. Its hard to tell people what to go for, even soy sauce has negatives. So in the interest of staying sane and being able to enjoy your healthy diet, apply the sauce! I mean that’s really what you’re tasting. Any sauce can make a chicken or fish meal taste great.

When it comes to sauces, aim for paleo. below is an example of what came up when I Googles paleo sauces… here’s 50!

The good thing about Paleo sauces is that they will not contain the MSG’s, trans fats, modified starches, sugars or preservatives you are trying to avoid with “packaged” sauces. So its win, win. Enjoy your tasty new fat burning diet!

http://stupideasypaleo.com/2013/11/03/ultimate-paleo-sauce-boss-round-50-paleo-sauces/

 

#undergrounddailytip

#paleo #paleomeals #undergroundnutrition #nutrition #diet #weightloss #fatburning #metabolic #healthyrecipes #fitnessrecipes #fitfood

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When I tell people what I do (Personal Training..) they always assume my job is to stop people from over-eating as I run them into the ground…

But its actually the exact opposite.

(First I’d like to point out this ISN’T directed at one person – I say this because more than half of my clients will think I’m referencing them!)

Most of my training clients come to me because they are stuck, not because they are lazy, they are motivated by their own drive for being better.Most have been already dieting and will pretty much stick to whatever I say.

The biggest hurdle I face with peoples nutrition is in breaking through that corporately profitable mentality that eating less and working out more is the solution. That wrongful idea keeps people buying bogus products, spending on fads (not one works long term!.. not one!) and yoyo-ing in weight.

A strong metabolism needs energy… clean, varied, natural energy, and lots of it. If you want to burn body fat, EAT LOTS of the right thing. If you want to build lean muscle… EAT EVEN MORE of the right thing. Its that simple.

I tell my people what type of things to eat:

Lots of fish, lots of meat, lots of varied veggies and fruits, healthy fats.

… and they do eat it because I tell them to. But they over-look something. LOTS OF!!!!! And they are also training way too much, out-putting way too many calories for what they’re taking in.

When I do a diet log I usually calculate people are taking in around 800-1200 calories of these good foods, because they still resort to smaller “dieting” portions. You are not “dieting”, you are eating like an absolute animal. You’re metabolism is super-charged. You should be getting hungry if you haven’t eaten in 3-4 hours like an V* engine guzzling diesel. You shouldn’t be “stuffed” after a chicken breast, that’s a sign you’re metabolisms locked down.

The surprising thing is that when I raise people intakes of proteins or healthy fats (good for building calories) eventually they start to get hungrier, and ALAS, the results start to show. But how in Gods name did they lose weight after eating much more?

Because they’ve activated their metabolism! They are now free to ride the powerful train more muscle, a leaner tighter stomach, and a more improved sate of physical well-being!

A Personal Trainers Fat Burning Diet.

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A great example for Personal Trainings Clients to see how we do it.

Not by any means perfect, but the strategy for fat lean and lean muscle support are there. I kept to my goal of 1% a week this week (haven eaten the following). This is a busy weeks eating, with realistic strategies and issues to overcome.

Pink indicates a training day and green a non training day (or low intensity cardio). The blue numbers are there to reference what Ive done at certain points.

 – Overview

You can see I have gone for high protein and high fiber in my main meals, and tried to keep my snacks to the same or containing more fats to supplement in energy. My carbs have been controlled (for the most part) to daytime amd in and around training. You can see much less carb intake on non training days as my energy requirements are not as great. You can also notice more fat intake where I’ve dropped carbs.

Now I’ll go through the blue numbered points and offer am explaination (and in some places excuses!)

1.

I was up early so its a rush meal. Cream in my coffee slows down the caffeine effect providing a more consistent energy to wake me up naturally, and cortisol is higher in the morning and fast acting caffeine can raise your cortisol levels higher (you want to lower your cortisol as the day begins). The protein shake is not ideal because whey protein is fast acting, but I was in a rush (so this protein source is better than nothing). The handful of blueberries atleast would slow down the release of the whey.

2.

I dont have a pre-training snack when I eat a meal up to 2 hours before hand. When I dont eat within maybe 3 hours before hand I’ll have a protein shake. This didnt happen this week so its not in the example.

3.

Where you see facebook look back through the timeline to the date mentioned to see the post with the recipe.

4.

When not hungry before bed… dont eat and get into bed! This is a good opportunity for fat burning through the night. Just be sure to eat as soon as you rise as you’ll likely get hungry quicker.

5.

Had a handful of blueberries (which is still a sugar) on my non training day as I felt tired from not eating close to bed the night before. This feeling was low blood sugar so I used the berries to raise it back up.

6.

Had a protein shake after I trained (with a vitamin C tab as an anti-inflammatory). Good for instant recovery, and a good idea if you won’t be eating until over an hour after training.

7.

Was calling out somewhere and got out of work real late. Had to go for something on the run and went for a burrito. I had just trained so I was in a position where carbs could be utilised. I ordered a burrito with extra beef, mininal sauce and no rice or cheese. So considering I trained this wasn’t too bad at all. Carbs in the wrap and protein in the beef. Good for building muscle.

8.

As I was out I couldnt cook before heading to an early meeting, so I did the best I could on the move and picked up a packet of ham and an apple. Low GI fruit and poor quality protein is all I had access to. It would keep me full and wouldn’t take me out of my fat burning cycle too much.

9.

Again, out all day so had an emergency protein shake. It will at the very least keep your body from going into starvation mode and becoming catabolic (burning muscle for energy).

10.

Had 2 peanut butter cookies which are a great low GI high fat treat. They are however high calorie so watch your quantities! 2-3 max.

11.

Went for lunch after training. Its a good opportunity to be a little more open with food as sugars are more utilised after training, being coverted to glycogen to replacement whats been exhausted from your muscle (as in point 7). So I got the protein in the chicken, and kept the sugars to low GI with sweet potato.

12.

My cheat meal, do not judge me! Haha. I could easily get through a kilo of jellies, bit I kept it in moderation. I like simple sugars in my cheat meals. TERRIBLE for burning fat, but good for refilling any lost muscle glycogen (point 7 and 11). I can atleast come out confident that my strength will be peaked in my next workout.

Didnt fill out Sunday but it was a very typical non training day regiment. Made a veg smoothie which I had throughout the day to keep my stomack from grumbling! And obviously high protein and moderate healthy fats.

Any questions on anything in this post just throw them my way! Hope this gives you some guidance. Its not necessarily easy for anyone, so if you have any obstacles I’ve probably been through it myself.

– Patrick

#journeyunderground

#1percentaweek

“What I ate” for Personal Training Clients

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What I ate the last week…

It can be a big help to my Personal Training clients to have an idea of how I eat while trying to burn maximal fat.

– Non Training Days

 

Breakfast was usually 2 full poached eggs with spinach, and a third a cup of natural granola with same amount of natural Greek style yoghurt and some blueberries. When I could I’d add some meat (lean bacon/ham/chicken) or smoked salmon into a 4 egg white/ 2 yolk omelette. Animal protein is great in the morning, but its tough to take in alone. If I got really bored of eggs, I’d have some left overs from last nights meat and veg dinner.

 

For Lunch I’d stick to oily fish like salmon or mackerel, had with a big bowl of a mixed salad I’d get in Lidl. Ideally this would be raw organic and prepared by myself but I’d seldom have the time. I’d add more fibre by drinking part of the veggie smoothie I’d make the night before (in post below). The fish and massive intake of fibre would keep me full and energetic through the afternoon. If I couldn’t take in oily fish I would have a fat source with my chicken (1/3 avocado, spoon of peanut butter etc).

 

I would snack intermittently on mixed nuts, not paying very close attention to how many. Of course I am taking in vast amounts of other nutrients in my set meals so I wouldn’t be that hungry. If you make the mistake of not eating enough protein and fibre you could end up eating too many nuts. I might also snack on cottage cheese with avocado, or an apple and some peanut butter (but keep the apple early in the day – sugar). I might snack twice in the day.

 

For dinner I would stick to some general variation of meat/fish and veg. Fairly simple. Big portions of veg, especially broccoli and other cruciferous greens (spinach, cabbage). It would usually be a stir fry with a small amount of sauce, trying to stick to either marinated meats, soy sauce, or cream based sauces. Nothing too sweet!

 

That would be my last meal before bed, having eaten 3 hours before putting the head down. I drank lots of filtered water through the day, maybe 4 litres altogether with more on training days.

 

– Training Days

 

Training day nutrition strategies stayed the same except the timing of carbohydrates became important. I wanted to be fuelled effectively during the Underground workouts, as I am also trying to improve fitness and physical performance over the next few weeks. My protein levels are always high anyway, and my diet is actually built around recovery, so the main thing I need to watch is energy.

 

Sugars are your fast energy. Its not a good idea to have low blood sugar while training, and you need good glycogen stores (form of sugar stored in your muscle) to perform strong exercises.

 

All I did was eat an apple and an orange before training. The apple gave me a balanced release of energy, and the orange gave me natural vitamin C (which is good to have in your system even before training). I made sure I had eaten a good meal 2 hours before, or had snacked decently (with this fruit) an hour before. If I got in a good meal 2 hours before I would just add the orange, and this would be enough to get me through the workout.

 

After my workout I would snack on some blueberries, and take a Vit C tab (1000mgs). I might have a whey protein shake too if it was going to be more than an hour before my dinner.

 

– Conclusion

 

I would be very consistent with my meals, basing the diet around getting in enough protein and fibre that I would never be hungry. Its hard to over-eat these thing so just pile them in. Your body becomes more metabolic when you eat large quantities.

 

Any questions guys just let me know!

 

#journeyunderground

 

#1percentaweek

It Begins

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It Begins!…

 

I’ll be performing a 6 week training and nutrition plan thats just as much for you as for me. Well not a plan really, Im just going to make it up as I go along. So I’ll give you details on everything I do and why, and my trai…ning regime as it unfolds. Im about 13% bodyfat at the moment, and the aim is 7-8% in 6 weeks. I’ll show you how I controlled my inflammation to maximise fat burning and muscle building potential, the foods I ate and some of the key strategies that helped along the way.

This is me at my most fudge. Since November, 13 hours days and lots of time on the laptop have resulted in a high jellies diet. I train 2-3 Underground workouts a week when I can fit it in, which keeps me at roughly 12-13% bodyfat. My metabolism is strong so I do maintain shape, but my diet has been seriously lacking recently (partially because I know I’ll be doing this plan). The workouts can do little more than maintain yiur body shape, nutrition changes it. Its reassuring to know that you’ll maintain good shape even with a bad diet when you get into it. My sugar intake has been purposely high, which is why i attached the pic of my handles (your primary sugar storage site) Like most people work in a series of waves. But Im not unfit or consider myself unhealthy.This is purely aesthetics thing to let you know how a PT might do it themselves and their level of commitment (be it good or bad)

People ask me all the time what do I do when its time to trim, so now I’ll show them exactly.
Tomorrow I’ll bring you through a basic days nutrition and supplementation.
Any questions just throw them at me.

 #jounerunderground  #1percentaweek