About this blog

In other words, the Zone + Crossfit = Optimal Heath!
This blog focuses on nutrition, using the Zone Diet as the basis. However, I often eat Paleo foods in Zone proportions.
I love to investigate anything having to do with food- what we eat and why. And what happens within our bodies, our organs, our brain, when we do? My precious mother struggled with eating disorders. I want to avoid this delimma based on research, common sense, and the natural consequences on my body. The Zone shows me where the balance lies between eating too much and eating too little.
My husband runs a Crossfit gym. Exercise and choosing the right foods have become a mission for ourselves and our children. We don't want to be nerds about it, we just want to be healthy.
I have been asked by several friends what I feed our family, especially our kids. My husband and I follow the Crossfit prescription to nutrition (meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar). If you know me, you know that the sugar part of this equation will be a life long struggle given my love for chocolate! Evan adheres to the stricter version known as the Paleo-Zone diet (and I do on my good days!) which requires the same foods in a ratio of 40% protein, 30% carb, and 30% fat. Children require 50% carbs, 30% fat, and 20% protein. If you're wondering how to figure this out, I do it on a per meal basis and I have a "block" chart from the Zone website.
It seems like a headache at first, but if you're interested, just know that it is not that bad once you practice it for a couple of weeks. All you need is a $10 scale and some determination. It really is quite simple and makes my life easier at the grocery store and when cooking dinner. Most of all, I feel great when I eat well- mentally and physically, and we all know that the physical can affect the mental and visa versa!
Evan and I are hunter/gatherer wanna-be's! This blog will track my journey of health as it should be, and the honest reality of living in a sugar fried culture. When it comes down to it, I get excited to talk about nutrition, but I am definitely not perfect at it! If you have the desire to eat well, but it is often a challenge to overcome the temptations along the way, then you are in the right company!
I hope you leave this blog feeling enlightened and encouraged as you go throughout your day!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Zone Tray



This is Zone Tray Experiment A. I filled it with veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds, and dip. Myself, my 3 kids, and my 65 year old mentally disabled aunt, sat at the table and ate until it was all gone! I did forget the protein because I had a lot of "help" and just pulled out food and filled the tray and when each section was full, I stopped. I was so pleased that we ate it all! And we ate around the table together! It was fun for my 7,5, and 2 year old. Of course, they were not satisfied without an insulin rush (although we might have avoided this if there had been a protein source), so I ended up giving them "desert" of a mini bagel with butter and jelly toasted (Jack snuck these into the basket at the grocery store. Once again, I am using it instead of throwing it away! However, I must say, that I am ok with the kids eating bread since their carb load for each meal should be 50% [according to Sugar Busters Book]). So, this wasn't perfect, but it was a good way to introduce good food and make it fun. Specifically, we ate snow peas, baby carrots, apples, cherry tomatoes, bing cherries, sunflower seeds and pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds- green in color). Then I had ranch, blue cheese, and honey mustard (honey mustard didn't really go with any of it- I don't know what I was thinking). The kids drank milk. I myself had to get some protein and made ground beefalo wraps for Evan and I! The Zone tray served as a sort of appetizer this first time around....
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