Week 2: Paleo Diet meal plan

Week 2 kicks off with some of the best Paleo recipes out there. Week 1 was the hardest bit, now focus on introducing new Paleo foods to your diet.

Day 1 (workout day)

Meal 1: Leek & smoked trout scrambled eggs Sauté one cup of sliced leek in some coconut oil or ghee. When softened, add flakes of a medium fillet of smoked trout and two eggs. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook until the eggs are just cooked. Top with fresh chives.

Meal 2: Three small grilled chipolatas with broccoli and cucumber salad with tahini dressing. To make a salad, combine 1 cup of steamed broccoli with 1 cup of sliced cucumber, ½ cup of chopped green onions, some sesame seeds and a dressing made 1 tbsp natural unsweetened yogurt (omit if dairy sensitive), 1 tsp tahini paste, 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, ½ lemon juice, ½ tsp chopped garlic and a pinch of sea salt and pepper.

Day 2

Meal 1: Homemade grain free granola with coconut yogurt + grilled chicken. Serving size per person: ½ cup of homemade granola with ½ cup of yogurt or coconut milk. Plus ½ cup of chopped grilled chicken.

Meal 2: Leftover Shepherd’s pie and baby spinach

Meal 3: Chicken cacciatore with garlic & bacon Brussels sprouts

To make chicken cacciatore, follow one of the common recipes and adjust ratios to make 2-3 pieces of chicken per person per serve allowing for leftovers. To make the side dish, cook 3-4 cups of Brussels sprouts, sliced in half, in boiling water for 5-6 minutes. Pan fry ½ cup of chopped free-range bacon in some ghee, add some chopped garlic and combined with cooked sprouts. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Day 3 (workout day)

Meal 1: Two salami & halloumi egg muffins with ¼ sliced avocado and ½ cup of cherry tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice.

Meal 2: Leftover chicken cacciatore and Brussels sprouts or mixed green salad

Meal 3: Coconut & lemongrass pumpkin soup + salmon steak with steamed bok choy (PW) – link to recipe for the soup

Marinate 200g salmon steak with a mix of Tamari sauce or gluten free soy sauce and a little sesame oil. Pan fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. Sauté a little chopped garlic in olive oil and drizzle over steamed bok choy.

Chilli chocolate mousse for dessert! (optional if time allows, otherwise move to Day 5 or Day 7 after dinner treat)

Day 4

Meal 1:  Homemade grain free granola with coconut yogurt + turkey slices

Meal 2: Sashimi & avocado salad, wakami seaweed salad or Grilled chicken & avocado salad + one banana

Meal 3: Grilled steak with roasted vegetables and chimichurri

Source:

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/nutrition/healthy+recipes/week+2+paleo+diet+meal+plan,26396

26 Favorite Cheap-and-Easy Meals

If you ask a roomful of people what their biggest budget busters are, many of them will say their food spending is an issue. In fact, many Americans literally eat through their income, knowingly spending more than they should on dining out.

Fortunately, there are a ton of tasty, cheap meals you can make at home with very few ingredients and not much time.

A while back, I asked The Simple Dollar’s Facebook fans what their favorite dirt-cheap meal was. Here are some of the best recipes people shared, along with a few more ideas to help you and your family eat well for next to nothing. Swapping a lunch or dinner out with one of these cheap meals just once or twice per week is an easy way to lower your food expenses

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26 Favorite Dirt-Cheap Meals

1. Sticky rice, vegetables, and soy sauce

This meal, shared by Leslie, is pretty simple and similar to something I used to cook up during my college years with an unhealthy amount of soy sauce. Using the ingredients below, you can whip up a delicious dish in minutes.

All you have to do is steam some rice, dump a can of vegetables (or a bag of frozen veggies) in a microwave-safe bowl and heat them up, then mix the vegetables and rice together with just the right amount of soy sauce. These three ingredients may not make a flashy meal, but the concoction is fairly healthy, cheap, and easy. (Next time you order take-out, save any extra soy sauce packets to make this dish even cheaper.)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of uncooked rice: $1
• Canned or frozen vegetables: $1.19
• Soy sauce: $1.99

Total: $4.17 (makes six servings)
Price per serving: 70 cents

2. Black beans and rice

Black beans and rice, suggested by Angela and others, is one of those cheap, easy meals almost everyone loves. This recipe from AllRecipes.com only requires a handful of inexpensive ingredients, yet is full of flavor.

Start by heating your oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 4 minutes, then add the rice and saute for another 2 minutes. Next, add in the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes. The spices and black beans should be added right before you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. of olive oil: 25 cents
• 1 large onion, chopped: 99 cents
• 2 cloves garlic, minced: 50 cents
• 3/4 cup uncooked rice: 50 cents
• 1-1/2 cups vegetable broth: 50 cents
• 1 tsp. ground cumin and 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper: 25 cents
• 3-1/2 cups canned black beans, drained: $1.98

Total: $4.79 (makes 6 servings)
Cost per serving: 80 cents

3. Egg and black bean burritos

If you’re looking for a cheap, nutritious breakfast you can eat on the go, look no further than this recipe for egg and black bean burritos.

The idea is simple: Start by heating some tortillas on the griddle. While they heat, scramble a dozen eggs and heat a can of black beans on the stovetop.

Once your eggs are scrambled, assemble your breakfast burritos and add any extras you might want. Toppings like shredded cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce all work rather well. (You can also make these in bulk and freeze them so they’re ready to heat up on a hectic weekday morning.)Ingredients:

• Can of black beans: 99 cents
• 8 pack of tortillas: $1.88
• Carton of eggs: $1.99

Total: $4.86 plus toppings (makes eight servings)
Price per serving: 61 cents

Source:http://www.thesimpledollar.com/20-favorite-dirt-cheap-meals/

The Paleo Diet Beginner’s Guide

Is eating like a caveman for you? Here’s the rationale behind the Paleo plan—and the seven basic rules you need to get started. 

Paleo. The caveman diet. Primal eating. From athletic trainers to holistic health professionals to diet book authors, it seems like everyone has something to say about why we should (or shouldn’t) take a lesson from ancient hunter-gatherers and get back to our dietary roots—which, Paleo enthusiasts will tell you, is the way humans were really designed to eat. And for every nutritionist or worst-diets list that slams the plan, there’s a research scientist, endurance athlete or weight loss winner who swears by it. What’s behind the hype?

The Paleo craze has its roots in a 1985 study by S. Boyd Eaton, MD, entitled “Paleolithic Nutrition,” published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and was further popularized by evolutionary medicine expert Loren Cordain, PhD, whose book The Paleo Diet, first published in 2002, is considered the seminal guide on the subject. Since then, guides to eating Paleo have proliferated, and while they may differ slightly from one another, they’re all based around a few common principles.

To give you a bit of an introduction to this prehistorically-minded nutrition plan, we broke the diet down into seven preliminary rules. Read on to learn the basics—and see if eating like a caveman could be right for you.

Source:

http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-eat/the-paleo-diet-beginner%E2%80%99s-guide

Fitness program: 5 steps to get started

Starting a fitness program may be one of the best things you can do for your health. Physical activity can reduce your risk of chronic disease, improve your balance and coordination, help you lose weight — even improve your sleep habits and self-esteem. And there's more good news. You can do it in just five steps.

1. Assess your fitness level

You probably have some idea of how fit you are. But assessing and recording baseline fitness scores can give you benchmarks against which to measure your progress. To assess your aerobic and muscular fitness, flexibility and body composition, consider recording:

• Your pulse rate before and after you walk 1 mile (1.6 kilometers)
• How long it takes to walk 1 mile (1.6 kilometers)
• How many pushups you can do at a time
• How far you can reach forward while seated on the floor with your legs in front of you
• Your waist circumference as measured around your bare abdomen just above your hipbone
• Your body mass index

2. Design your fitness program

It's easy to say that you'll exercise every day. But you'll need a plan. As you design your fitness program, keep these points in mind:

• Consider your fitness goals. Are you starting a fitness program to help lose weight? Or do you have another motivation, such as preparing for a marathon? Having clear goals can help you gauge your progress.
• Create a balanced routine. Most adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity — or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity — a week. Adults also need two or more days of strength training a week.
• Go at your own pace. If you're just beginning to exercise, start cautiously and progress slowly. If you have an injury or a medical condition, consult your doctor or a physical therapist for help designing a fitness program that gradually improves your range of motion, strength and endurance.
• Build activity into your daily routine. Finding time to exercise can be a challenge. To make it easier, schedule time to exercise as you would any other appointment. Plan to watch your favorite show while walking on the treadmill, or read while riding a stationary bike.
• Plan to include different activities. Different activities (cross-training) can keep exercise boredom at bay. Cross-training also reduces your chances of injuring or overusing one specific muscle or joint. Plan to alternate among activities that emphasize different parts of your body, such as walking, swimming and strength training.
• Allow time for recovery. Many people start exercising with frenzied zeal — working out too long or too intensely — and give up when their muscles and joints become sore or injured. Plan time between sessions for your body to rest and recover.
• Put it on paper. A written plan may encourage you to stay on track.

Source:http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/fitness/art-20048269