Break-Fast

Imagine going through your day, maybe just sitting at your desk...for eight long hours...without eating. I would be Miserable. Starving. Grumpy. In dire need of a snack. Well, you do this EVERYDAY (give or take a couple hours) except its nighttime. What I'm getting at here is you guys have to break this overnight fast in the morning! I'm not necessarily saying to eat before you workout, except that I have been eating a little applesauce lately with protein powder and loving the results. You guys do need to eat in the morning, preferrably as close to the workout as possible (again, a whole other topic). This blog is about eating Paleo so I wanted to post some really simple breakfast options:

Smoothie
Time: 30 seconds in my Vita-Mix
Ingredients:
CARB 2-4 cups frozen fruit from costco, mix berries and strawberries
PROTEIN 2-4 TBS protein powder ( I use Hemp Protein from Trader Joes...its doesn't taste bad and no it doesn't make me high)
water
FAT I bring along almonds in a ziploc and munch on those throughout the day

Leftover Meat and Butternut Squash
Time: 2 seconds to grab the leftovers and about 30 mins for the butternut squash @350F
Ingredients:
CARB about 2 cups of butternut squash (if you follow zone portions 3/4 cup is one block)
PROTEIN a piece of meat the size of the palm of your hand (in thickness and diameter)
FAT later on I will eat an avocado or more nuts as I get hungry...

Egg Muffins
Courtesy of Performance Menu

Make these in muffin cups and they are easy to grab and go for breakfast—either hot or cold. This is the doubled version, which makes about 16 muffin cups.

· 1 whole package of ground turkey or turkey sausage, over 1 lb.
· 1 yellow, red or orange bell pepper, chopped
· 1 whole medium onion, chopped
· 1 package of sliced white mushrooms
· Salt and pepper
· 10 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup (or two 6-cup) muffin pan with paper baking cups. Using only one paper baking cup per muffin is best.

In a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, cook the turkey, pepper, onion and mushrooms for 5 minutes or until the turkey is no longer pink. Add salt and pepper (a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper is fine). Spoon this mixture into a larger bowl and cool slightly, about 5 to 10 minutes (if the turkey is not cooled it will cook the egg, which is bad). Stir in the eggs. Evenly divide the mixture among the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until the egg is set.

Remove from oven. Let the egg cups cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Remove the egg cups and place them in a Tupperware container and refrigerate. The egg cups will last for up to a week.

Reheating instruction: Leave the egg “muffin” in the paper cup. Heat in the microwave loosely wrapped in a paper towel for 25 to 30 seconds. Peel off the paper cup and enjoy! Two egg cups makes a great breakfast.

Pumpkin Paleo Pancakes
(2) 5 block meals (approx 35 gm P, 45 gm C, 45 gm F /person)

Courtesy of Steve "Paleo" who has the most delicious recipes EVER!!

2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves (my addition- remember, I love spice!)
1 tablespoon honey (Steve's recipe called for agave but I like honey better)

2 tablespoons chopped pecans - topping
2 tablespoon real maple syrup - topping

Coconut oil - for the pan

Mix everything up real good - sometimes that nut butter is clumpy - and make pancakes as usual (except you're gonna use the coconut oil in the pan) and add the pecans and maple syrup at the end. The recipe above makes 2 good size pancakes.

On the side you can up the protein and the carbs by:
12 extra egg whites to bring the protein up 35 gms/person
~ 4 oz of berries to bring the carbs up to ~45 gms/person