and the winner is..........

Best meal brought to the BBQ:    Cindy and Gary Benedict   PLEASE send recipes.
Most weight lost:     Janice Harter 10 lbs and she CERTAINLY looks it!
Best Dressed:  Torp in her dress with matching jewelry (what do you wear to a "real" party??)
Most improved "Helen":  Kate!! She rocked the retest AND did green pulls. Go Kate!!
Most "Paleo Perfect": Highest average score:  Julie LoRusso and holy cow does she look great!
Best dessert:  I can't choose between Pam's cookies and Rachel's raspberry bars.  I will need a second sample of each on Thursday to decide.  Thank You.

Most weight GAINED:  You guessed it, the Paleo Prince PIMP
Most beer drunk:   You guessed it, the Paleo Prince PIMP
Worst average score:    You guessed it, the Paleo Prince PIMP
Most entertaining, best sport, wildly funny, all round great guy:  You guessed it, the Paleo Prince PIMP

and the WINNER of the 1st annual (OH NO!) Paleo Challenge is...........

                             JOANN ANDRYSHAK

Joann embodied the spirit of this competition.  It was NOT about losing weight and beating everyone (except +Chet we wanted to beat him) but about understanding that what we eat is just as important as our training.  Committing to our nutrition is extremely hard and time consuming.  Jojo did this with reckless abandon trying new recipes (some that should NEVER be made again) and learned how to use her stove.  She baked everything she ate, she lost weight, over 4 inches and ran a 5K PR in her first ever triathlon.  WOW!!

Congrats on all you accomplished.  Thank you for being such a great role model. You also win 3 FREE months to the PG.  Speaking of the PG, the walls are painted and it looks great!

Enjoy Labor Day.  Most of us are running the Labor Day 5K in Warwick.  Join us!

PG reopens Thursday September 5th.

WE DID IT...... OH YES WE DID

30 days is over. We celebrated with our Paleo Pot Luck BBQ.  The pictures will tell it better than me so here you go.

         Here's Janice and Rachel

Our little Kate making everyone a bracelet.

Mmmmmm Gary made awesome flank steak and spinach rolls!!

    

    Torps chicken wrapped in bacon.

         Rachels amazing radpberry bars.

Here's a recipe for the WORST biscuits 

                          EVER!!!

   This you will have to figure out yourself.

   Our live and hilarious entertainment.

Last but not least.............hold on.........

  The Paleo Prince PIMP and his ladies!!!

So Far So Good!

We've had 3 ladies retest, weigh in and get their measurements.  They did NOT disappoint! I will post all results this weekend after everyone completes "Helen".

Paleo Pot Luck BBQ is tomorrow at 6:00.  Just a reminder:

1.  BEER IS NOT PALEO!!

2.  Do NOT bring tuna in the can (or biscuits)

3.  What happens at the Purple Garage...stays at the Purple Garage!

Those of you doing the challenge at home PLEASE post your results.  

PS Gary I just read on the Practical Paleo website that Oreo Cookies broken into pieces and used in a cake are really OK since they are not in there "real" form so if you happen to make one of those cakes (you know by accident)  and bring it I won't be upset.  You do know you're my favorite right?

PPS Julie and Chelsea we will miss you!  

You just can't make this stuff up...

My husband and I went to home depot late last night. Normally, I would be sleeping or at least on my way to bed at 8:30pm. This is common knowledge.

On our return home this is what we found:

Apparently I was NOT supposed to see this or was I ??? Caught red handed!!

 

Only 3 days left

Wow I can't believe 30 days is almost over! I can't talk for all of you but I can list 10 things I learned about myself from this challenge. Please please please share some of yours with us too!

10 things I learned going paleo:

10.  My oven is electric.

9. I like sweet potato fries.Who knew??

8. Paleo biscuits are awful! (Sorry jojo)

7. You  do NOT eat cheesecloth.

6. It's not about the # on the scale. (Said the ONLY person who weighs exACTly the same!!!!!!!!!)

5. I LOVE dessert! Real good old fashioned chocolate dipped in anything, hot, cold, 3 days old, ANY kind of dessert. I LOVE dessert.

4. Your poop is different. Ask Torp she can fill you in.

3. I am funny!! Ever since I started writing this blog all I hear is, "when did you get so funny?" and, "i didn't know you could write?" and my favorite "you're a gym teacher I didn't know you had other skills!" 

2. Pizza is the greatest food EVER!

and the #1 thing I learned the last 30 days........... 

Having +Chet, our paleo prince, tuna man himself, in this challenge to bust on and rip apart day after day has been one of the most fun things I have had the pleasure doing. Thank you +Chet for limping into the PG every (i should write most) mornings, belting out that country music as you whine and complain about the "heavy" weights (he's used to the Lucielle Roberts training at planet fitness) and every 3rd day falling off the paleo wagon (but swearing beer IS paleo) for you provided me 30 days of laughter and ammunition for this blog. It has been exciting to say the least. There are still 2 days and I absolutely certain he will not disappoint me between now and Friday.

Please share what you have learned!!

Honey Badger Don't Care!!

So quite a few of you have been asking me what HB stands for. Happy Birthday? No! Happy Barbara? Seriously?? No!

Long story shory my husband, Joey, and I were driving home from s lacrosse tourney and I told Joey he plays so fast, he reminds me of a cheetah. Of course my husband disagrees and says, "if Joey were an animal he'd be a panther. I then answered,"if you were an animal you'd be a mule (but I was thinking jackass) because you're so stubborn. He responded, "I am more like my astronomical sign of ram".  A stubborn, always right ram...yes. We of course then sat in silence for a good 5 mins. Complete silence.

All of a sudden Joey yells from the back seat, "I got it!" Mom if you were an animal you would be a honey badger!! A what? I had never heard of such a thing. My husband laughed so hard we almost ran off the road. He said (and I quote), "its the meanest, nastiest, ugliest animal EVER!! Here let me show you this video. It is exACTly like you mom!!

http://search.yahoo.com/mobile/s?rewrite=72&.tsrc=apple&first=1&p=honey+badger+video&pintl=en&pcarrier=Verizon&pmcc=310&pmnc=038&fr=onesearch

I didn't know if I should cry or be proud!

                 Oh yeah........

The honey badger don't care!!

The spackle is on!

The PG is really starting to look good! Joe got the room down, the tanks out and covered all the open areas with sheet rock. The first coat of spackle is on the walls. Tomorrow we will do second goat of spackle and start filling the cracks in the floor. Hopefully, paint will go on this Thursday and floor will be done by Saturday. We need 2 full days to let floor dry so Monday Labor Day PG is closed. Grand reopening will be Thursday Sept 5th. Keep your fingers crossed!

On another note...

Sign up to bring something to our Paleo Pot Luck dinner on Friday. I Will have sign ups in the PG or respond to this post. Thanks.

I do want to give all you ladies a heads up. Our one and only Paleo Prince will be performing Fri night for us. Since we know he does not spend much time in the kitchen he's been hard at work compiling songs for our party. He has shared a few with me and I have to tell you they are hysTERical and you do NOT want to miss this act!

Here's the playlist so far:

Paleo Paleo

It's 5am

She Stopped Blogging Me Today

Wod of My Life

She's Watching Over Me and I Want to Cry

I want to cry just reading the list!

2 new triathletes today!

Congrats to Jojo and Janice! They both became official triathletes AND they did it in style both taking 3rd in their age groups. Whoop whoop!!

Here they are:

With their medals. I mean cool trophies!

Jojo's hubby also deserves s shout out for completing his first tri too. Aren't they so cute!!

Big big big shout out to Sandra for facing her fears and conquering the swim at the Monroe Tri.  It showed courage and a lot of guts to get in that water. We are so proud of you!!

I also saw Rachel today and she looks fantastic!! Only 6 more days until we crown our first Paleo Winner. Who will bring home the coveted carob coated, coconut filled, almond buttered, bacon flavored 1st place trophy???

Stay tuned!!

Only 7 days left

So how are you doing? I mean REALLY doing?  Based on seeing most of you I have to say I am impressed so far! Other than all the cooking it seems like most of you are embracing the lifestyle. I have to say that for me the key is the mindset. Many times I believe I should eat when really I am not hungry but bored or trained to think I should eat because it's lunchtime. Lately I have been only eating when I am really hungry. Not only do you feel better but I think you will see that you will eat less.

I will also tell you that making breakfast, lunch and dinner for all these kids is s full time job! They are like eating and pooping machines.  Fortunately, they are just awesome kids!!

Stay focused 7 more days!!

Here's this week's update:

JoJo - Lost 2.5 lbs
Jules - Lost 1 lb (down to under 23% body fat...awesome!!)
Janice - Lost 4.5 lbs WOW!!!

Anybody else??
Please share your results with us.

When life knocks you down...DO A BURPEE!!!

Today I may have gotten one of the most meaningful gifts EVER!! Check it out!!

Chelsea, you know the young girl that beat +Chet by 1 second in the Helen wod, is leaving for college Sat morning. She made me the above collage and it is seriously one of the most thoughtful gifts. We are going to really miss Chelsea! Not only for her gorgeous squats and totally get after it attitude but because we really like her putting the paleo prince in his place!

Good luck at college Chelsea.  The PGs loss is Kutztown University's gain. You're an outstanding young lady. Keep us updated on your progress and come visit!! 

Now who is going to step up and take Chelsea's place at the top of the leaderboard?? 

And more importantly....

When life knocks you down...

DO A BURPEE!!

Love This!!

Fallin' off the wagon!

One of our paleo participants had a very rough time yesterday.  It's ok, it happens to the best of us. We only have 10 days left so buckle down and commit for 10 days!

Just a few things about  the contest:

1.  Will will retest Helen on Thursday 8/29

2.  Last weigh in will be 8/30 before BBQ

3.  Journal with all food entries will be collected on Friday before BBQ.

4.  Winner will be announced on Sat 8/31

Paleo Pot Luck 

Friday 8/30

6:00pm at PG

Please sign up to bring a dish or drinks.

Here's a little preview of the entertainment. Trust me you do NOT want to miss this act!!

Whooooa!! I forgot how hard having children is.

This will be a very short post. I am watching my sisters 3 kids. 11, 9 and 4. I promise I will NOT hurt them, I promise I will NOT make them do burpees or run, I promise I will NOT force feed them vegetables.

So far these are 5 things that are EASIER than playing ALL day with kids:

1. Completing an Ironman

2. Cooking a paleo meal for 25 people

3. Residing your entire house

4. 5000 burpees

5. Walking barefoot over an entire room full of legos

I hope I make it to Thursday!!

This is Kate. Don't let the smile fool you, she's tough as nails!!

The PG is getting a facelift!!

Joe and I are in the process of upgrading the PG!  Be ready to work out outside. We took down the water room, we're repainting the walls and floors and hopefully getting more pull up bars.  Should be done before Labor Day. Yeah!!

On another note....Gary looks awesome. I saw him yesterday and he's loving this caveman diet. 

It looks like our Paleo Pot Luck BBQ will have more entertainment than food!  I heard there may even be dancing??? Hmmmm as long as it's not Zumba I am in.  I could not watch that again.

It was a great day for the garage girls!

Run 4 Downtown was awesome!! I am pretty sure Jen, Janice and Joann said they ran a full minute faster this year than last year!!  (Don't quote me because sometimes I get a little PR happy and get things wrong) I do know for sure our very own "paleo princess" took 1st Overall Master!!   Yeah Barb!! 

Jean won her age group and Sue Kane (remember Sue) took 4th walker. Great job!!

Seriously Karen, I believe it's your duty to make sure your husband is never allowed out of the house again in this hat!! This is a true fashion DON'T!! (And he looks a little queer (am i allowed to say that??)

Now, let's talk about something very serious.  There are many reasons why runners don't do Zumba. I am going to give you two.

Here's 1:

And here's #2:

Does anybody else notice everyone is going the other way??? Girls Puhleeeze stick to running!

+chet, X paleo prince after yesterdays debacle, i just want you to know if you ever decide to run a 5k i found the perfect shirt for you to wear! Here it is:

It can be a very slippery slope. Be careful!!

+Chet went out to eat with my husband and Joey to celebrate his son's last weekend before going off to school.

The "Prince" told me not to worry... He had everything under control!  What he didn't know was HB (that's me the honey badger) had spies. 

It started out ok...

Ooops I see bread not too bad but certainly NOT under control...

               Pale -e- uh oh"

Uh oh the flood gate has been opened a little....

Woooh nelly that's A LOT of food...and seriously NOT very paleo friendly!! 

Wow....rock bottom!!

If that's under control i would hate to see what happens when you're out of control!!
                               S C A R E Y!! 

Big shout out to: 

Gary Benedict. He lost 13 lbs already. Now, Gary you know how much I love you but really 13 lbs. Isn't that a little obnoxious!! You're not starving yourself now are you?? Just kidding. We are sooo proud of you!!

Just random stuff

Big happenings at the PG today!!

Lori got engaged!!!  CONGRATULATIONS!!

Our fiery little red head (rachel) officially got hired at Monroe Woodbury. Go Crusaders!!

Here's Kate "getting after it" today during the wod. That's how you "feel the steel" ladies!!

Torp just can't seem to get away from me!! She's in Vale and every time she turns around she sees this:

Check out Chelsea's score from the wod today!!

In case you need help reading it (because you can't find your glasses)
It says Chelsea - +Chet's score +1

And finally what you have all been waiting for, da da da daaaaah the results of weigh in 2:

Jojo - down 1 lb ( looks awesome!)

Rachel- down 2.8!!!!

Jules- wt the same bodyfat down!

Maryellen- down 3 lbs

Torp- away

+Chet- down 2#

Just amazing!! Keep it up!!

Half way into or half way done. Depends on how you look at it!

Today marks day 15 of our 30 day challenge.  How's it going?  Are you 15 days into the challenge or does it feel like, "thank goodness only 15 days left"?  It's kind of like when people ask if you look at a glass of water do you immediately think, "that glass is half full" or do you immediately think, "that glass is half empty".  One has a positive spin and the other is more negative.  I guess what I am trying to say is, are you embracing the paleo lifestyle or are you done with it in 15 days?  Are you going to try to incorporate this way of eating into your daily life?  I know it seems kind of restrictive BUT seriously don't you wake up and feel better?  I mean really feeeel better?  No bloat, a little lighter, more refreshed?  Think about how you really feel the next 15 days.

For those of you that have "slipped" a little don't fret.  You have 15 days left to get right back at it! +Chet told me this morning my best quote was, "you are always just 1 meal away from being paleo". 

Today is our second weigh in.  I will post the results later.  It would be REALLY nice if some of you would post how you're doing and maybe give some feedback on what has been working for you!! I know posting a comment has been a bigger challenge for some of you then actually doing this whole paleo thing so, I won't hold my breath!  Even +Chet figured out how to respond.  He may have lost half a night's sleep but at least he can send a response after I beat him down.  Come on ladies get one of your kids, grandkids, neighbor's kid or your dog to help you set up a google account for God's sake!  

How to make Paleo Lemonade

"When life gives you lemons........make Lemonade"

Now, let's make PALEO Lemonade.

Ingredients:
1.  Plan a camping trip with your family. Great hiking and fishing!)
2.  Check weather.com to see if you need to bring rain gear (NOPE! it says sunny)
3.  Pack up car with essentials. (tent, easy up, steak, eggs, bacon, grill)
4.  Go! Go! Go!

Directions:
1.  Set up camp by the beautiful daylight.  Go for a quick hike (to prepare for tomorrow), dig up some worms and find a great place to fish.  Fish for 1 hour (catch 3 fish!!! Barb 3, Joe 0)
2.  Enjoy a beautiful fire with steak, baked potato (I know), salad.
3.  Sit by fire with family and enjoy the night.
4.  Sleep like a baby!

Part 2:

1.  Wake up to a chilly and overcast day.
2.  Make the coffee wrong.  Get pissed off.  Eat a great breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon.
3.  Get ready to go for run.
4.  Start to feel rain drops.  Quickly move everything under the easy up (that of course have screen sides).  Frantically, get all food, cooking stuff, clothes, shoes, chairs etc under easy up.
5.  Sit side by side in a 3' area of the easy up for 3 hours while rain deluges down on the tent and easy up while getting cold and wet.  (Of course you brought no rain gear, you checked the weather!)
6.  Have your son finally wake up and join you in the 3 x 3' area under the easy up that's starting to pool water every where.  Sit for another hour watching the rain come down like cats and dogs.
7.  Send telepathic messages to your husband begging for him to ask, "do you want me to drive you home?"  Y E S!!! Y E S!!! Y E S!!!

Jump in car as fast as possible leaving everything there and come home!!

PALEO Lemonade.  DONE

So the next time life gives you lemons......you may want to make PALEO Lemonade!!

BIG SHOUT OUT  TO:

Rachel - She will be pursuing excellence with me at Monroe Woodbury Schools.  She got hired today!

Are you 1% better today?

Ben Bergeron owner and head coach of Crossfit New England talks all the time about increasing performance. I read a while back about what he had his athletes do. It had always stuck with me and I think about it daily. I am going to paraphrase what I took from him.

When you go to train you don't ALWAYS have to PR or train to exhaustion. You need to think about becoming 1% better than you were from yesterday. It could be in technique, amount of weight you used, learned or performed a new skill better, it could be that today was a rest day and you rested! You could have ate clean all day, helped a neighbor shovel their walk. It could be as simple as having positive self talk when your wod got hard. 

If you improve 1% every day for 100 days, guess what??? You just improved 100%!!

Try it. It really does work!!

50 Fit and Fabulous!!

Another one of the PG girls joined the 50 fit and fabulous club today!!! Welcome Jennifer.  Cindy, Torp, Jean, you have made it OK to join this club because of your strength and beauty as you age. Other than the "grandma arm", hang shoulder, elbow tendonitis, knee pain, and loss of eye sight you all make aging look graceful and dignified.

Jojo and Tom put on a spectacular road race yesterday!  We had 2 new ladies inform me they have been following paleo with us. Welcome MaryEllen and Jill. Let us know how you're doing!

Big shout out to Janice she lost 4lbs last week!!

Cindy did AWESOME at Nationals!

Cooking is getting OLD fast.

H E L P!!! I liked cooking for the first week I just didn't realize it goes away and you have to do it again and again and again....holy cow it never ends!  I get so mad when Joey asks for seconds because I think to myself, "OMG please don't eat that I was going to eat it for lunch...now I will have to cook   AGAIN!!".  Seriously, when will cutting vegetables become "relaxing" and when will I smile cooking a wonderful meal for my loving family, and when is it going to get easy???? I nearly cut my hand off every time I cut a carrot.  Who knew chopping vegetables required such good hand eye coordination. Is anyone else feeling like this?

Let's switch gears and talk about the shopping.  I have been to Shoprite, Price Chopper, 2 different farners markets, Quickcheck, Amazon.com, Stop and Shop and I STILL don't have every ingredient I need!!  WTF is the difference between coconut butter and coconut oil? or almond flour and almond meal? I can't wait to figure out how to go to one store and get everything I need.  Any ideas?

Go Cindy! Go Cindy GOOOOOOO CINDY!!!

One of our Garage Girls will be competing in the USA Triathlon National Championships tomorrow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Cindy Benedict will be swimming, biking, and running with the top athletes from all over the United States.  We know how hard you have worked the past 6 months now go out there and kick some grandma butt!!

You can watch all the action here: 

usatriathlon.org/agnc13olycoverage

This Sunday is the Florida Fun Fest 5k/10K at Glenmere Park in Florida, NY.  Jojo is the race director so come on out and support a great race.  Starts at 8:30am.  

Paleo Pot Luck BBQ will be on Friday August 30th.  Save the date!! More details to come!!

Weigh in + smoothies = AWESOME!!

So this is what i saw when I walked into the PG this morning:

It's a little hard to see but the sign says:

      +Chet
      Paleo Treats

I guess two days without a mention doesn't sit well with our "prince".  So I guess his tuna and caveman meat is getting old and he wants US to share our hard earned goods. In honor of +Chet we had SMOOTHIE DAY! Jules came over and made us some deeelicious paleo smoothies. They were awesome.  

Don't worry +Chet we left you one in the box made special for you. Strawberry,banana, tuna fish smoothie!!

Now onto the more important business...the weigh in.

EVERY SINGLE LADY lost weight!!

Torp     1.2 lbs

Jojo      3.0 lbs

Rachel  4.0 lbs

Julie      4.4 lbs

While it's really NOT about weight lost but more for health and performance, it is still exciting to see the hard work pay off on the scale and more importantly to feel great!  

I will weigh the "Prince" tomorrow am and report back how he's doing. 

SHOUT OUTS TO:

Rachel - Good Luck on the interview tomorrow!

Welcome Janice!! She is doing the challenge at home with us.

Jen Lang- We love you and miss you!!

Regine - Feel better!!

Not Cheats .... Choices

The honeymoon is over.  NOW the work begins.  The first 6 days were pretty easy to get through everyone was pumped up all excited trying new recipes, shopping was fun but now it's old!  You're going to have to really focus and stay strong mentally.  We're not limiting our calories only our food choices.  There are plenty of things to eat, they just might not be the ones you want to eat!  Don't give in.

Some of you already read this but I am posting it here for all to see.  If you happen to eat something non paleo it is NOT the end of the world, you're not out of the challenge, and you're always just 1 meal away from being right back on it.  Remember:

It's never a cheat.  It's always a choice.  Calling it a cheat makes it sound like a game.  It's not.  It's a commitment.  Calling it a cheat makes it sound like an easy way out to have it all.  You're actually missing out on the satisfaction of seeing this through.  Calling it a cheat makes it sound like you're fooling someone.  You're not.  You're only fooling yourself.  Call it what it is - a choice.  And when you choose, be ready to accept whatever consequences there may be.

MAKE GOOD CHOICES!! 

 (Honey Badger is watching you!!)

6 Days Into Paleo and it has CHANGED MY LIFE ALREADY!

Now I know what you're thinking.  I am feeling better, have more energy, sleeping like a baby yada, yada, yada. Naw, it's nothing like that at all.  I had my first ever, Barb you should probably be sitting for this announcement, my first ever....wait for it... this is Haaauuuge....CLEANING HIGH!! Yup I really did.  You know that feeling when you're running and you feel light on your feet, your breathing is controlled but labored, you're eating up the road and just feel like you're flying and could just go on forever.....YES....that.....feeling!!  

I blame it on Paleo.  It started in the kitchen.  Throwing out all the "white", the chips, the sugar, milk, cheese, candy etc.  I cleaned the fridge, organized the closets, swept the floor and it kept getting more intense.  It moved to the bedroom where I was moving furniture (not just vacuuming around it, wiping down walls (never done this in my life) wiped off the window sills (holy s*#t that was disgusting) cleaned out drawers , closets, washed the windows (another first) and UNDER THE BED!! I was moving like a gazelle, rag in one hand, vacuum in the other .  My pulse was racing, my HR was in the aerobic zone and I was firing on all cylinders.  It was UHMAAAAZING!  It was like PRing at the Orange Classic in front of all your peers.  You've got to try this!!

Now, when the heck am I going to have more energy, lose some weight, sleep like a baby yada, yada, yada, like what's supposed to happen on this life changing experience??

Just when I thought I had nothing to blog about

I spent 5 mins with +Chet "The Paleo Prince" this morning and I have enough content to fill the next 24 days of this blog!! The hardest thing will be to choose where to start....oh I got it!!

This is absolutely true. +Chet "the Paleo Prince" texted me LAST FRIDAY at 9:30 in the morning and asked me how to comment on the blog. I explained what he needed to do. He sent me 3 texts on Saturday again. I explained what he needed to do. He again asked me this morning and I explained what to do.  Am I missing something? Does anyone see ANY comments from the Prince? Is he kidding me? I understand the over 50 population can't see or type or sometimes get out of their own way but come on!!! Jules how do you put up with all of us?? I am by NO means computer savvy but seriously make a freakin google account give yourself a screen name (The Prince, there you have it) and send a god dam comment!! We are killin you here and you have nothing, nada, zilch, to say for yourself!!

This should NOT be so easy!  

For those of you following at home here's todays wod. Get some weights, google thrusters if your not sure what to do, put a cone, a shoe, or a chalk line 100 yatds away and get some work done!!

Blueberries, zucchini, and quiche Oh My.

I got to paleo cook with Torp yesterday! She may be just a "participant" in crossfit and triathlons BUT she is an all in, elite level, get after it, athlete in the kitchen!

She's pre heating ovens (she has 2!), greasing pans, chopping, dicing, peeling and squeezing like she's at the Olympic trials! It was like running the perfect race smooth and relaxed with great form!

We only get to see Torp in the PG, today I got to see the other side. I was impressed and more importantly, i got to sample all the food! Mmmmm it was delicious. The blueberry crumble was my favorite!

Big shout out to KOC, Karen O'Connell, she is doing our challenge at home. Let us know how you're doing.

Blueberry Crumble

Zucchini and Carrot Quiche

and it doesn't suck!

Jules and Chet are having a picture war trying to see who's dinner looks better.  Frankly, I don't give a crap what it looks like it just better taste good!  Don't tell me you just made cauliflower mashed potatoes and "they taste just like regular mashed potatoes".  REALLY?? I'm not buying that.  Or my favorite, "it takes just like chicken".  Oh ok.  So this is the last picture Jules sent:

Here is the message that she sent with the picture:

Sauteed (in coconut spread) venison, onions, mushrooms over the cauliflower rice and it doesn't suck!!

That's the spirit Jules.  I guess there is only so many ways you can make tuna.

The difference between men and women.

Women and men really are different and I don't just mean in an anatomical way but in the way they see things. It's really very interesting and frankly a little disturbing. Let me give you an example...

The ladies in our paleo challenge worked for two weeks collecting recipes, searching the internet websites for snacks, entrees, salad dressings etc. They shopped at specialty stores, ordered ingredients online, even figured out where the start button on the stove was. They tried dishes to see what their families liked. They compared meals talked to others that have done paleo before. They bought cookbooks and spices they never heard of and swapped ideas. It was a long arduous process to be ready for August 1st. 

This is the text I get from the Paleo Prince yesterday:

29 more days.

"29 cans of tuna on the wall, 29 cans to go, if one of those cans should happen to fall the Paleo Prince will be no more"

With this picture

He plans on eating THE EXACT SAME thing everyday! He bought exactly 30 cans of tuna. He made 30 little ziplock bags of his nuts/seeds combo. He has his 2 eggs and whatever caveman meat he wants for breakfast and dinner is meat and veggies. DONE.

And that my friends is the difference between men and women!

Pull up your big girl panties! (or your depends +Chet)

Apparently eating 3 full meals, 3 snacks, and sampling Jojos baked goods is just not enough to prevent "starvation" or "glucose withdrawal".  Are you kidding?  Around 8:00 last night the texts started with I'm starving! I'm drowning! I'm hungry!  GO TO BED!! Don't let your mind tell your stomach it needs to eat.  Enough said.

All of our measurements are done.  Overall, some great performances on "Helen".  Fortunately, Chelsea, Torp's niece, didn't take a leisurely stroll to her last set of KB swings, and ended up taking first in the WOD time by 1 second over you guessed it, the Paleo Prince.  Thank you Chelsea that would have been a hard one to listen to for 29 more days.  BTW the minute my husband walked in the door instead of, "hi dad how was your day?" he was greeted with, "Dad, Chet lost to a girl by 1 second!"  That was music to my ears!

We've had 2 people join our little group!  Cindy (training for US triathlon Nationals) stopped by the PG yesterday and said her husband Gary is joining the challenge.  Welcome Gary!!  Gary is known as the guy who made me an Oreo Cookie Cake for my birthday that made me cry.  Competition is over....Gary WINS!  Sorry but none of you can ever match that performance, but keep trying.

My sister Nora is also joining us from afar.  She, like Jules, had trouble believing I could somehow put something like this together.  Well HA to both of you.  I actually, all by myself again, got the blogger app and I can even do it from my phone.  HA again!  Anyway, welcome Nora!!  Get your Helen time today or tomorrow and send it to me.

One last thing....I need to mention another very special girl.  As you know we have our Pathetic (oops)
Paleo Prince but now I need to introduce our Paleo Princess!!  Barb Ferrante.  Barb has been doing paleo since January 1st.  She's lost weight, gained more energy, and is the inspiration behind this challenge.  I thought, "If Barb can do it, we can all do it".  She's more than willing to share recipes, give you ideas, and help in any way.  Please feel free to contact her!  (except of course +Chet)

Controversy already...seriously???

Soooo 6:00 pm rolls around and who shows up to do Helen of course its +Chet!! My husband gave me a fake time  this morning of 13:04. Here we have proof of his REAL Helen. Its not pretty so if there are any young children in our audience you may want to cover their eyes!

"Helen is in the books!"

This is our youngest athlete Kate doing her best Vanna pose with all of our Helen times.

Can you believe I did this? All by myself??

For those of you that know me you know this is WAY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE!!  But...this is NOT about me, it's about the girls (+Chet) becoming accountable.  What the heck does that mean?? You see we started our 30 Paleo Challenge today and there are 4 ladies (+Chet) that are participating.  This is the first time we are doing this so to help give them a little push I will be chronicling their progress and offering them some inspiration to move forward.  Let me introduce them to you.  
Oh yeah, please feel free to comment and offer words of encouragement and support.  Easy recipes are always great too!

RACHEL 
She's our fiery little redhead! She will take on this challenge with a vengeance and god only knows what she'll do if you get in her way!  I expect her to not only succeed but exceed all expectations.

JULES
Right now Jules is still trying to recover from the fact that I could actually get this far in a blog.....but she's also the front runner in this Paleo Challenge. She has done this before and knows what to expect.  It will be fun to watch her through the next 30 days.  I warned you all!

JOJO
Hmmmmm this one scares me a little.  I think we may have unleashed the beast of Jojo!!  She actually took off of work to cook, prepare and shop for the next 30 days.  I'm a little scared!  Look out girls (+Chet) here comes Jojo!!

TORP
AKA Deb, the den mother, our resident medical expert, grandma, and participant.  She's got her paleo scones, paleo crackers, paleo irish soda bread, paleo muffins so she is READY!!  Come on Torp you can win this...I can feeeeel it.

+CHET
Now I know what you're thinking...what's a dude doing at The Purple Garage?  Well, he's not just any dude he's deemed himself, "The Paleo Prince".  He thinks he's going to walk away with this competition!!  He's told me outright, "I WILL WIN!" The only response I have is, keep your words soft and sweet just in case you have to eat them!!

Today at 4:00 we will be doing our pre-test wod (workout of the day).  We will be using a favorite of mine called "Helen".  Helen consists of 3 RFT (rounds for time) of the following:
                                      400 run
                                      21 KB swings
                                      12 Pulls
This will be our benchmark wod.  We will retest in 30 days to see the progress made.  +Chet has already done his benchmark wod.  See he trains at 6:00 in the morning with my husband.  He did 13:04.  Let's just see how the "Paleo Prince" improves.

So what's next?  Stop laughing Jules because I am going to try to take some pictures with my Iphone, download them (Jules just fell off her chair) and post them (hopefully before the challenge is over).  IF any of the ladies give me permission (+Chet doesn't count) I will post their pretest times, weights, etc so you all can follow along.  Feel free to join us!!

OK Jules get off the floor.  I'm signing off for today.  I am going to try to post each and every day.  I will leave you with a quote from Wayne Gretsky:

"YOU WILL ALWAYS MISS 100% OF THE SHOTS YOU DON'T TAKE"