Make it Paleo Cookbook Review

Just one of the many perks of being a fitness blogger is that I get to review new and exciting products. Recently I had the pleasure of receiving a new cookbook entitled Make it Paleo courtesy of the fine folks over at Primal Palate.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I first received this cookbook. After all, I have quite a few Paleo cookbooks in my library already and it seems like everyone and their daughter is putting together their own cookbooks  How could this one possibly compare to the others?

Overall I am very pleased with this book. One of the first things I noticed when I opened the package was the quality of the book. It felt very sturdy in my hands and I could tell that it was a book that was meant to last in the kitchen.  Each page was printed on glossy paper and it had a large "format" feel to it with each recipe taking up two pages; one for the recipe and one for a picture of what you were to make. For me personally, pictures are important. I want to see with great detail, what it is I am going to be preparing and how it is "suppose" to look.

The second thing I liked about Make it Paleo was the actual recipes. The recipes are simple and easy to make. For the most part, there are no "fancy" ingredients that I need to go out and purchase in order to make something. Most of the stuff I already have on hand. No arrow root or rice flour here!

The book is arranged very well with over 400 pages of categories like entrees, salads, appetizers, desserts, etc. There are also subcategories within some of the main categories for further breakdown and ease of use. With a book of this size, having such organization is a must.

Now lets talk about the recipes themselves. I have already made quite a few items from within the pages of Make it Paleo and so far I have not found one that has disappointed. One recipe in particular has become a household favorite. I won't say it by name but let's just say it includes pineapple, chicken, and skewers. :)

If you are looking for a solid and well planned Paleo cookbook, you definitely cannot go wrong with Make it Paleo. I highly recommend it.

Here is a pic of a dish that I have made recently.

[caption id="attachment_2838" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Chicken Pineapple Skewers with a side of carrots[/caption]

Whole30 Challenge Review

Yesterday marked the completion of the Whole30 challenge that I sponsored at my office. Overall I think it went very well and I consider it a mild success. I, personally, lost 5 lbs and I know of others that lost weight as well. I felt great, had lots of energy and overall maintained a very positive attitude.  On the downside, not many other people actually completed the challenge in the manner that I was hoping. I was hoping everyone would really commit 100% to the challenge and not break from the acceptable list of foods. But no one really did for the whole thing. I, myself, lost 3 points based on my eating habits. Those 3 points came from some BBQ sauce on some chicken I ate and some peas that were in some stir fry that I made. Oh well, I still consider the challenge a success and I look forward to sponsoring another one soon.

Here are some things I learned about myself during the last 30 days.

• Protein Shakes - I really enjoy protein shakes and not having the ability to have a quick shake to increase my protein intake drove me nuts. I miss the shakes so much that I went out and bought a new tub of protein powder last week in anticipation for this challenge being over.


• Coffee – I thought I really needed coffee but it turns out I really don’t. I tend to get so focused on needing coffee for energy that I always find myself pouring a cup. In the last 30 days I have not had any coffee and have felt great. For those mornings its cold and I wanted to drink something hot, I found some great naturally flavored non-caffeinated teas that I enjoyed.


• Soda - I broke the habit of needing diet soda. This was a bad one and I am really glad that I didn’t cave on it. Diet Mt. Dew was my favorite.


• Cheat Meals - I miss having the occasion cheat meal with my family. There were nights were I only ate meat as I didn’t want to deviate from the challenge. Normally I allow myself some deviations from the diet. I really like the 80/20 rule. It’s been my friend and helped me (and my family) keep sane.


• CrockPot - The CrockPot is the best cooking device. I have been able to put stuff in it before I leave for work and have it ready when I get back. Love that!


• Sugar – It’s really hard to find products that don’t have sugar in them. Really hard. Even some spices have sugar in them. That surprised me.


• Dairy – I think dairy was the thing that was keeping me from losing weight. I tended to put cheese on everything.

I have not decided if I will continue the challenge into February. I already had some banned foods last night but have been clean all of today. I think I probably will go as clean as I can and see what happens. I think in March I will sponsor another challenge for my entire company and see where that goes. Stay tuned for details!

**Update** - Found out that 2 of the people that I thought gave up on the challenge actually just stopped logging their daily points. In actuality, they actually completed the challenge and are still eating Paleo. In fact, he has lost 25lbs so far and his wife is down 15lbs. What a great testament to this challenge and how it can really help people to lose weight and feel better.

Living Cookbook 2011 Review

For the last several months I have been scouring the Internet in search of a good recipe database tool. I am happy to report that I have finally found one that I am very happy with. Although its not the online accessible, anywhere tool I was looking for, it does have almost every other option that I wanted including a great interface and ease of use. The app I chose is called Living Cookbook 2011 and here are the features that won me over.

Pro's

• Easy to use - I was able to get up and running very quickly with this app which makes it a huge plus. I also want my entire family to be able to use it so a steep learning curve would have been a big turn off for them.


• Easy to add ingredients and directions - LC2011 has a great feature that allows me to copy and paste an entire recipe into it and then tag the the specific parts that make up the recipe. Some of the other programs I looked into required me to enter each ingredient manually. I don't have time for that!


• Nutritional data - Since I am huge fan of nutritional facts, it's only natural that I choose an app that has the ability to pull the nutritional data from any recipe within its database.


• Shopping list functionality - What is a great recipe database app without the ability to create shopping lists from the recipes you choose to make? Fortunately for me, Living Cookbook has this feature.


• Calendar functionality - Planning a week's worth of meals can be tough. The application makes it easy with its built in calendar that is capable of separating meals out for each day. Plan a week and then export those meals to your shopping lists.


• Huge database of recipes - Living Cookbook comes with a huge assortment of recipes already in its database.  Huge plus!

Cons

• Cost - Currently I am using a version which has a limited 30 day trial attached to it. Once the trial is over, I will need to spring the $34 dollars to actually obtain a license key to use it. $34 is actually pretty reasonable compared to some of the other apps I have seen out there. I also like the fact that I was able to try before I buy. Some other apps don't have that option. I don't know about most people, but I always like to test out software before I purchase it.

RecipFox

One of the coolest things I have found to help me import recipes into Living Cookbook is a FireFox extension called Recipfox. It allows me to export recipes I find on the Internet directly into Living Cookbook. For sites that recipefox recognizes, it can import the entire recipe with one click. That tool alone has made Living Cookbook something I cannot do without. I am constantly finding great recipes online and it was always a burden to try and copy and paste those recipes to a word doc or Onenote app. This little FireFox extension makes all the unnecessary work...well unnecessary.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a recipe database that can do it all, is easy to use, provides great nutritional stats, and is a lot of fun to use,  then look no further than Living Cookbook 2011.

StrengthTime Gym Review

Last weekend, I was invited by owners Jason and Julie to try out their gym which is new to the Kansas City area. StrengthTime is located in Lenexa KS just off of K-7 and Woodland Road which is a nice 15 minute drive from my house. The day started out just like any other Saturday. I slept in and enjoyed my morning coffee but refrained from eating anything with substance. I practice the leangains approach to working out and almost always train in a fasted state. I had previously spoken to one of the owners regarding the gym and its ideal's so I knew that morning I was going to be getting an introduction to the concepts of the gym and then I would get a work out on their fitness machines.

Now fitness machines are not really my thing as they tend to be one size fits all and that size usually isn’t me. I tend to be able to lift close to the entire stack on most every machine I have ever tried and I figured these machines wouldn’t be much different. I was wrong. Upon first viewing, I could tell that the equipment StrengthTime uses isn't your typical run of the mill YMCA Precor machines but rather state of the art work out machines that can be moved and adjusted to fit any person perfectly; like a glove.

Any idea I had about stacking the weights and pumping out my 4 sets of 12,10,8, and 6 were quickly dissolved with the reintroduction of slow movement training by my trainer, Jacob. Being around fitness for years, I was familiar with the general concept and had even practiced it in its simplest form many years ago (slow movement on the last rep of each set) but I had never taken it to the extreme intensity that I was about to partake in.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of slow movement training, it is regarded as one of the most effective methods of resistance training to increase muscle mass and strength. In simplest terms, its essentially lifting and lowering a weight for x number of seconds in a slow controlled fashion with very minimal stopping. Obviously it's a bit more complicated than what I have explained here. I am definitely not an expert by any means. If you are interested in learning more, give one of the trainers at StrengthTime a call.

After Jacob’s introduction to the concepts of slow movement training, he took me into the weight room and over to my starting machine. A Leg Press of sorts. I was thinking at the time that I hoped he was prepared to be blown away by my awesomeness because my legs are massive and I can usually push some serious weight on this machine. I don't "recall" what weight he started at but I do remember it wasn’t anywhere near my personal best. I thought I would humor him and give it shot. What could it hurt? Well right out of the gate, I heaved the weight out in an explosive masculine manner. I may have even grunted. I could tell he was impressed. I mean he had to be impressed… right? Well, he may not have been but I surely was! “Ok” he said, "That was really good but now try it again but slower...slower....slower. Good, now bring the weight back at the same speed. OK, now without resting, do it again until I tell you to stop." Well after a few reps at that speed, he didn’t have to tell me to stop because I dropped the weights back into the starting position. I had finished that exercise and the smile on my face proved I was happy with my results. I don’t think he was as impressed with me as I was though. He said, "Next time, you push until you have nothing left in you, then you hold it, and then you release it." I knew he was right. I gave up on that last rep way to easily. I made a vow that I wouldn’t do that again...and I didn’t. He proceeded to take me through the rest of my workout routine that managed to hit every major part of my body. 30 minutes later and I was worn-out. I felt like I had just worked out harder than I had in a very long time.

After a few minutes of rest and gabbing I took off for my next appointment. But before I drove off, I sat in my car for a few minutes in such a state of pure exhilaration. I could not believe what had just happened. How could I feel like this in only 30 minutes and on machines!? It felt like I had used muscles that I didn’t even know I had!

So if you are like me and looking for a new challenge or someone just looking to get into shape and live a healthier lifestyle, give the trainers at StrengthTime a call. Trust me when I say you will be glad you did! (During their Grand Opening celebration, they are offering your first 3 workout sessions for FREE.) I would definitely take them up on that offer! You will not be disappointed.

(Disclaimer - I received no compensation for this review. I was just so impressed with the workout and staff that I wanted to spread the word.)

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StrengthTime

Hours
By appointment, not limited to the hours listed:
Mon - Thur: 5am - 7pm
Fri - Sat: 5am - 6pm
Address
10084 Woodland Rd.
Lenexa, KS
Phone
913-428-TIME (8463)
Emailinfo-lenexa@strengthtime.com

Website
http://strengthtime.com/locations/strengthtime-lenexa.php

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lenexa-KS/StrengthTime-of-Lenexa/146666232022637?ref=ts