Nutrition part 2

Basic guiding Principles of CrossFit Tulare’s nutrition recommendations.

Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. –Gregg Glassman in fitness in 100 words or less

or put even simpler

Eat Real food, not too much, spread evenly throughout the day.

Neva as she drives under the bar during a power clean

Next up in our series on nutrition we talk about the first part of these guiding principles. Meat, Veggies, Nuts, Seeds and Fruits, or as I describe it real food. Last time I told you guys to get rid of all boxed or bagged food, and any fizzy/carbonated drinks. 
So then, what should you eat? Again to be blunt look up at the top; these are the things you can and should eat. Unfortunately in our society processed, fake, crap has been disguised as food for so long that it can be hard to grasp what I mean when I say REAL FOOD.

My number one rule when shopping.
In general if you stick to the outside of the grocery store you will eliminate the majority of processed crap they try to pass off as food.

The following are some more tips as well as a general outline of my shopping cart

1 Try to stick to two main sections of the store

    Meat isle and fresh veggies. 

     You will have to venture out of these sections for things like olive oil and eggs but that is about it.

2  Do not go shopping hungry. Seriously you will be more tempted by the candy and soda at the front or the           easy option in the center isle so eat before you go shopping

3 Find some recipies and create a list before you go. If you have a plan you are more likely to succeed

4 Do not go crazy your first time out. Keep the plan simple and stick to it. there will be time to experiment later.

So a shopping trip for me could look like this

Vegetable/ Fruit Section

                Avocado

                Bell pepper

                Cauliflower

                Onion

                Tomato

                Cabbage

                Mushroom

                Asparagus

                Okra

                Banana  ( have to be able to make those paleo muffins )

Meat

                Family pack of boneless skinless chicken breast

                2-3 lbs ground beef

                Family pack of pork chops

                A couple steaks

                Bacon or ground sausage

Other

                1 dozen ( or more eggs… usually more)

                Olive oil

                Almonds

I go shopping every week, but I do not always buy everything on this list. If my house had zero food in it, then the list up there is what I would buy, along with some herbs and spices. This is more than enough food for breakfast lunch and dinner for the week, with a number of different recipe options. The simplest of which is to put some oil in a pan start to brown some meat, add an assortment of vegetables and maybe a few spices, cook and eat. It really does not take anything more than that to make a really good, and healthy dinner.

With the grocery list above you could have an:

Omelet for breakfast with bacon or sausage

Chicken stir-fry for lunch

Steak, asparagus, and assorted vegies for dinner

 as well as a couple snacks throughout the day

And you will still have food left over at the end of the week. All easy, simple meals that do not take very long to cook, are easily packed for lunches, and eaten in a short amount of time if need be.

Does it require a change in your daily pattern? Yes. However sickness and disease is often the price we pay for convenient food items. If you start to eat real food, the changes in your performance in the gym will accelerate far beyond what it is now.

Simple step 2:

Eat a Breakfast ( that you cooked ) every day.

To help you on this I have provided a simple recipe that can be made 1 night and provide breakfast for the rest of the week. I got this recipe from one the paleo blogs I read ( sorry I do not remember which one) and I make it different each and every time trying out different spices, or meats. However below is a basic version that works very well.

Breakfast bites.

Ingredients:

10 eggs

Ground sausage or bacon (1 lb)

Spinach ( 1 cup chopped)

Italian seasoning

Equipment

Skillet

Non-stick Muffin pan

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

In a skillet begin frying meat, once half way done add spinach. Once 90% cooked turn off the flame and let cool. While it is cooling add eggs to mixing bowl as well as seasoning.  Beat until mixed nicely. Once meat is cool add it and the spinach to the eggs.  Add egg mixture to muffin pan filling about half way to the top. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes (check on them at 10) once they are done they can be wrapped and stored in the freezer.  Each morning just take 1 -2 out and pop it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and enjoy.

Makes ~ 12 bites ( depending on the size of your muffin pan)

Estimated nutritional value for eachbreakfast bite

Cal 161

Carbs <1g

Fat 13g

Protein 11g


next up in our nutrition series we talk about the " Not too much part of our recommendations."