Mom always said...

EAT YOUR GREENS!  Vegetables was one of the hot topics discussed at the Paleo Challenge Meeting last night.  Most of us just don't get enough of this nutrient dense food group into our diet.  Challenge yourself this week by trying a new vegetable or preparation.  There are many ways to add them to your daily regiment.  Here are just a few to try:

RAW
Preparation:  Clean and enjoy
Benefits:  FAST and The best way to get 100% of the nutrients.
Ideas:  When you get home from the grocery store, portion out your servings so that you can eat them on the run.  Grape tomatoes, Mushrooms, Cucumbers, Bell Peppers, Broccoli, Cauliflower are all great for this purpose.

STEAM
Preparation:  You will need a large pot and a steamer basket or colander that will fit inside. Fill the pot with enough water so that is just barely reaches the bottom of the colander or steamer basket. Once the water comes to a boil, add vegetables and place a loose fitting lid on top to cover.  Remove once veggies are cooked
Benefits:  Semi-Quick and still retains a lot of the nutrients.
Ideas:  Drizzle olive oil on top of steamed vegetables and add spices and fresh herbs.  Add dill to asparagus, curry to cauliflower,  garlic to broccoli, etc. 

STIR FRY
Preparation:  Pre-heat the wok on medium-high to high heat for at least a minute before adding oil. Add the oil drizzling it so that it coats both the sides and the bottom of the wok. The oil heats faster this way.  Season the oil by cooking a few pieces of garlic and ginger. Stir-fry vegetables according to density, with the densest vegetables being stir-fried first and for the longest time. Denser vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and eggplant require more cooking time than green leafy vegetables such as bok choy.
Benefits:  Semi-Quick and still retains a lot of the nutrients.
Ideas:  Stir Fry more than you need for dinner and add them to your eggs at breakfast.

ROASTED
Preparation:  Turn oven on to 400 degrees.  Coat Vegetables in olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.  Lay Vegetables in single layer of cookie shoot.  Put in oven until done. 
Benefits:  Very Tasty.  Great way to introduce new veggies to the kids.
Ideas:  Add your roasted vegetables to a Salad with Salmon and you have a delicious Paleo Meal.

Recipe for Steamed Spinach
In large pan or dutch oven cook 5 slices bacon.   Remove bacon from pan and add 1 cup onion and 1 clove garlic.  Cook over medium heat for 5 - 10 minutes.  Add Spinach (I use the large bag from Costco and yes I cook the whole thing) in batches.  As the Spinach cooks down continue to add until all Spinach is in the pan.  Continue to cook until the water from the Spinach evaporates.  Add a little bit of chicken stock to reach desired consistency and heat through.  Serve garnished with the chopped bacon.

Enjoy your cruciferous friends!
-Moe

Seasonal Eating

One of the great things about living in the Great Pacific Northwest is the abundance of local farm produce in the Fall.  This weekend we stopped by Fall City Farms and picked up some Anaheim Peppers, Bell Peppers, and Squash.  On the web there was a great recipe for a variation of Ratatouille and the family enjoyed it, so I'm sharing it with you.

1 cup onion, chopped
1 Acorn Squash, peeled and cubed
2 Anaheim Peppers, chopped
2 Zucchinis, chopped
2 Orange or Red Bell Peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
fresh squeezed oj as needed
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large sauce pan or dutch oven.  Cook onion and Acorn Squash over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes.  Turn heat down to medium.  Add Peppers (Anaheim and Bells) and cook for 5 minutes.  Add Zucchini and cook for 5 minutes.  Add all spices and garlic and cook for 3 minutes.  Add fresh squeezed oj to moisten veggies and scrape all the good bits off the bottom.  Simmer until veggies get to your desired state of done, approximately 5 minutes.  

Serve up with chicken breast and have yourself a Paleo meal!

Welcome to the Gravity Janes Nutrition Blog

This is the welcome installment of the GJ Nutrition Blog. Our plan is to use this space for education, encouragement, and other bits of wisdom around the subject of performance eating.

Our primary contributors are Moe and Steph - members of the GJ coaching staff who are dedicated to helping our clients become the best they can be. They will passing on their own knowledge and experiences, and bringing you the words of others who have enlightening things to say on the subject.

You are invited to participate by using the Comments section below each post to add to the discussion and relay your own experiences. This is the real heart of the blog.

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We're glad you're here and reading this; you are members of a truly limited segment of society that has chosen to do the very best for your health and performance.

- Dave Young