Let me begin by saying how proud I am of all of you who guys.  I know there had to be obstacles along the way, challenges you didn’t foresee, yet you charged on to get the results you wanted!  As the great Jerry Garcia once said, “What a long, strange trip it’s been.”  My ultimate goal is you saw this 6 week ‘challenge’ as a glimpse into what things could be for you when you decide to do this as a lifestyle.  There is a ton of variety out there so you shouldn’t get bored with eating the same thing over and over.

Do you need to be 100% paleo all the time; no.  You’ll drive yourself nuts and almost feel like an outcast when you go out for happy hour with your friends.  If you know you’re going to have a night out on the town, I hope you now have the tools and resources to zone your diet in for before and after so you don’t feel so guilty about it.  Yes, depending on how ‘strict’ you have been with your diet and what you choose to splurge on may have some negative reactions, but that should only reinforce that you only need to splurge every once in a great while.

Well enough on that, let’s get into the numbers of things!  As a whole, the group lost an average of 2 1/2″ off their waistline and took :54 seconds off their baseline time!  Let that sink in for a moment.  That is just over a 7% loss just on the waistline of this group, or losing about 1% of your waist and getting 9 seconds faster on your baseline every week!  We trainers have noticed not only an increase in energy levels, but we’ve also been able to push you guys a little harder with respect to workout volume.

The winning team/individuals are as follows:

Individual Woman: Cassi Sehr

Individual Man: Scott Jones

Team: Blake and Debbie Curd

Days until the Open

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS:

- The Paleo challenge wrapped up this Friday and the results have been nothing short of amazing!

- Week 3 of the bodyweight challenge starts starts next week; this may have to get tweeked depending on the Open workout.

- Open begins next Wednesday!!

- 81 people qualified for the drawing for a pair of Nanos; winner TBA next week!

FAVORITE WORKOUTS:

3x:

A1) 10 Tempo Ring pulls

A2) 10 No $ (w/ partner)

B) 5x:

Row 250m

6 UB Hang Clean (AHAP)

12 Burpees

-rest 1:1-

On the minute, 10 minutes:

5 Box Jumps (24/20)

2 Snatch (AHAP, full squat)

Smokey Roast

Coffee Spice Rub

2 tablespoons coffee grounds

½ teaspoon ground chipotle

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

½ tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

Mix all spice rub ingredients together and set aside.

Roast

½ tablespoon coconut oil (I tried out a new brand of coconut oil called Kelapo and it’s very tasty, mild, and down right delicious!)

2.5 lb beef chuck roast

1 red onion, halved and sliced

¾ cup water

Heat your coconut oil in a skillet over medium to medium high heat, make sure your pan is nice and hot!  Take the spice rub mixture and rub the entire amount into and all over the roast – really rub it in, do not just brush it on!.  Using tongs, place the roast into the hot skillet and sear for 3-4 minutes on each side.  If your pan is not hot enough you will lose your spices, but if it’s too hot, you will burn your roast.  You want it to make a nice crust on both sides of the meat.  Place your sliced onions in the bottom of a slow cooker. Once the roast has been seared, put the roast in the slow cooker on top of the onions. Add the water, cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.  Serves 6.

Paleo Apple Muffins

2 1/4 cups almond meal

4 omega 3 enriched eggs

1 organic apple finely chopped

1 very ripe banana

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup water

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 heaping tbsp cinnamon

Pre heat oven to 350.  As pictured, have a two year old attack and kill an apple while you peel the banana and using a fork, mash the bananna in the bottom of a large mixing bowl.  Using a hand held chopper if you have one, finely chop the freshly killed apple, and add to the bowl.  Add all other ingredients and mix by hand.  The batter will not be super thick, but more like a cake batter.  Using a bit more coconut oil, grease a muffin tin.  Fill the tins about 3/4 of the way full.  Bake for 15-17 minutes.  You will know they are done when you can insert a toothpick into the middle of a muffin and it comes out clean.  Serve hot out of the oven with some ghee melted on top, accompanied by eggs over-easy, and hot black coffee. If you eat them all at once, don’t blame me…  Makes approximately 16 muffins.

Caldo De Pollo

4-6 cups shredded chicken

10 cups water

5 carrots, diced

1 red onion, diced

1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes

1 cup Salsa Verde (I like the Trader Joe’s brand)

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Add all ingredients, mix well and simmer for 30-45 minutes.  Taste and add more seasoning if desired.  If you like it spicier kick up the cayenne pepper and cumin!!  Top with diced avocado and cilantro!

Ginger Beef with Mango Salsa

2 beef inside skirt steaks (2 lbs of steak)

Lettuce leaves

Marinade

¼ cup coconut aminos or wheat free tamari

1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Big pinch of cayenne pepper

Black pepper to taste

Mango Salsa

1 cup green mango, finely diced

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 avocado, finely diced

1/3 cup cilantro leaves, finely diced

½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk all marinade ingredients together.  Cut each steak into three even pieces and toss in the marinade until all steaks are well coated.  Let the steaks sit in the marinade at room temperature for 20 minutes and then grill for 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove the steak from the grill and let it rest for 10 minutes or while you prepare the mango salsa.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, gently toss together all the mango salsa ingredients and set aside.   Thinly slice the grilled steak into strips.

To serve, place a few lettuce leaves on each plate, top with a serving of steak strips and finish with a large scoop of the mango salsa.

Serves 5-6.

Breakfast Paleo Pizza

Crust:

8 eggs scrambled

2 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves minced

1 tbsp dried basil

Pinch of sea salt

Black pepper to taste

Toppings:

1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Organic Marinara sauce (or gluten free marinara sauce of your choice)

1 lb ground mild italian pork sausage

1-2 sweet bell peppers diced

2 roma tomatoes sliced

1 cup sliced black olives

3 green onions sliced

In a medium sized skillet, brown the sausage and set aside.  In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add the minced garlic.  Saute for 2 minutes.  While the garlic is cooking, add the basil, sea salt, and pepper to the scrambled eggs and mix well.  Pour the egg mixture over the garlic in the skillet and turn the heat down to medium.  Cover and let cook for about 3 minutes, or until the bottom of the eggs are set and firm.  Do not stir or disturb the eggs while cooking.  Remove the lid and transfer the skillet to the oven and broil for another 3 minutes or until the top of the frittata is also firm.  Remove from the oven and add evenly spread the 1/2 cup of marinara sauce.  Add the cooked sausage and the rest of the toppings.  Place the pizza back in the oven and under the broiler for another 5 minutes.  Slice and serve immediately with avocado slices as a garnish!

Everyday Paleo Pancit

1.5 lbs chicken breasts, cut into small bite size pieces

1 lb pork loin, cut into small bit size pieces

½ lb shrimp, tails removed and de-veined

2 tablespoons coconut oil

8 green onions, diced

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

4 carrots, grated

6-8 cups shredded green cabbage

¼ cup coconut aminos or Tamari wheat free soy sauce

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons fish sauce

Black pepper to taste

Lemon wedges

In a large wok or skillet heat the coconut oil over medium to medium high heat.  When the wok or pan is nice and hot, add the chicken, pork, green onions and garlic and saute for about 6-7 minutes or until the meat is done all the way through but still tender. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.  Add the cabbage and carrots to the wok or pan and cook until the cabbage is tender, about 4 minutes.  Add the shrimp to the cabbage and saute together until the shrimps turn pink. Add the chicken and pork back to the veggies and pour in the coconut aminos or soy sauce, chicken broth, and fish sauce. Season with lots of black pepper.  Stir well and cook for another minute or two.  Serve in bowls with a lemon wedge.

Closing in on the Finish

Just 18 days to go.  Time is winding down.  Awesome results will be achieved in this short period of time.  I am excited as the Paleo Challenge has been a major kick-start for myself; precisely what I needed to re-instill better nutrition back into my lifestyle.  My personal prize: better workouts, better health, and even a more fit body – I call it a win already, yet I can’t wait for the next 18 days and beyond.

I see substantial change in the faces, smiles and bodies of many.  Unbelievable how much success is being seen.  It is awesome!  As the time nears, it is good to get a push to the finish.  In addition to all the nutritional gains and body changes, a few of you will also win some cool goodies.  In the end will have 1 male, 1 female, and 1 team winner awarded some gifts.  As motivation to the end, here are the actual prizes:

1st Place Male and Female — each person will receive

• 1-Month Free Unlimited CrossFit Classes
• 1 Pair Reebok Nano 2.0 shoes
• 1 Progenex ProPack
• 1 Bottle PurePharma Fish Oil

1st Place Team — each teammate will receive

• 1 Month Unlimited CrossFit
• 1 Free CFSF T-Shirt

On to the finish…stay healthy!

–Greg

Seafood “Enchiladas”

1 medium onion, minced

2 tablespoons coconut oil or grass fed butter or ghee

2 cups tomato puree (make your own using 4 large tomatoes pureed in a food processor)

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 pound seafood of choice such as wild caught cod, shrimp, or crab (or other protein like shredded chicken or ground beef)

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Saute the onions in the coconut oil or butter until limp.

3. Add the tomato puree, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt.  Mix well and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.

4. Pour the sauce into a food processor and process until smooth.

5. Cover the bottom of a glass baking dish with the seafood.  Pour the enchilada sauce over the seafood, cover tightly with aluminum foil and back for 10-12 minutes or until the seafood is cooked.

6. Serve with sliced avocados, lime wedges, and cilantro.