The Race to Dog Mountain

That's right fellow Oregonians I'm blogging about the W word... Washington! OK not exactly about Washington but about a trail on that side of the Colombia.
On a day I was feeling particularly motivated I took on this monster of a trail. Dog Mountain, about an hour east of Portland in the beautiful Colombia River Gorge which is a mecca of amazing hiking.

Side note you have to cross this banging bridge "The Bridge of the Gods"

Yea, the view was so gorgeous I nearly drove off it...

Back to the hike!
It was a pretty grueling hike straight uphill I was huffing and puffing from the start. But I just kept thinking of the reward at the end.

After about 2 hours:

Hey there's Oregon in the other side!

At this point I thought about how cool it would be to zip-line down to the water... or just roll down.

Another hour later I reached my final view point!

Ahhhhhh so worth the 3 hours of pain, sweat, dirt, and most importantly fresh air!!!

Oh yea I saw this along the way too

Wooo I did it. It took around 4 hours to complete the 7 miles but man I felt good afterwards!

That was my latest adventure, here's an update on the hunt for the perfect Paleo taco meat:

So I came home from work a few nights ago and my mom had done it, she had created some pretty delicious taco meat Mmmmmmmm. So good I ate until it hurt, I mean I couldn't walk it hurt so good. So you're thinking all's good then right?! Problem solved, mission accomplished. Nope. She couldn't remember what she put in it, a little of this, a little of that. So the mission is still on, the mystery unsolved! Game on taco meat, game on.

To be continued...

The Burger

So before I was gluten-free I did not eat hamburgers. I literally had 1 hamburger in the first 18 years of my life. But I had to eat something and there they were all lettuce wrapped and calling to me. Once I had one, the flood gates where opened and boy did I make up for lost time! I sometimes had 3 hamburgers a week... Protein... Anyway here's what I've learned about the gluten-free hamburger:

You can get lettuce wrapped hamburgers at Carl's Jr., In N Out, and 5 Guys

(they're not necessarily paleo though because of the oils they're cooked in)

Now that it's summer, I say grill up those suckers yourself! The weather here in Portland has been absolutely perfect the last few days! 80s and 90s yes PLEASE! 

Here's a look at one of my favorite foods:

Mmmmm meat, lettuce, PICKLES, tomatoes, onion, and fry sauce. (fry sauce not paleo)

Paleo has definitely brought out my inner carnivore. Red meat is so good! Come on, real food is better than gross ice cream.

Until next time

Experimentations and Some Shut Eye

So lately I've been experimenting with taco meat, I'm trying to find/create the perfect one for my liking, not too dry, not too juicy, not too bland, or too spicy. It hasn't happened yet but when I find it I will post it!

Now that this short post is done, it's time for my Sunday nap! Let's look at some of the greatest nappers out there for some inspiration shall we:

And lets not forget this:

Until next time!

Recipes! Paleo Chicken Strips

After an exhausting day I looked at the chicken I had laid out to thaw and was faced with the decision of what to do with it... Chicken Strips!!! (I'm really excited about these I do all my best cooking late at night)

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breast

2-3eggs

1 Cup Almond meal flour

1Tbls Flaxseed meal

1Tsp Paprika

1Tsp Onion flakes

1/2Tsp Garlic powder

1/2Tsp Parsley

1/2Tsp Salt

1/2Tsp White pepper

Olive or coconut oil 

Directions

1. Set oven to 425 degrees

2. Cut chicken breast into strips

3. Whisk eggs in a bowl

4. Mix Almond flour, flax, paprika, onion flakes, garlic powder, parsley, salt, and white pepper together with a fork. And lay out in parchment paper.

5. Generously grease 2 pans with oil.

6. Blot chicken with a paper towel and dip in the egg. Then lay it in the breading mixture and flip it over so its covered all over.

7. Bake chicken for 9 minutes then flip over and bake for 8 more minutes.

Tuh duh! Way easy, WAY YUMMY!

Warning: it may be hard to stop eating these delicious chicken strips.

Side note:

I love Penzey Spices and recommend you see if there's a shop near you. They have everything you've never heard of as well as yummy must haves. They're real quality. Also I've lately been obsessed with White Pepper. I have never really been a black pepper person so since discovering white pepper I use it all the time. I used it on stake, omelets, in soup... Endless possibilities. 

The Weakness In Me... CRAVINGS!

Just so those of you reading this that are trying to be Paleo don't think that I'm perfect and get annoyed with me I feel I need to share that I do have non-Paleo moments. I love focusing on the positives about living this way but right now I'm talking about the negatives, CRAVINGS! Let me just say, lately I've been craving pizza. Now, I have been gluten-free for over a year so cravings like that are easier to manage. (I have had pizza once in the last year!) Anyway, being Paleo is a whole other story. For example if I'm being totally honest, I just grabbed a handful of my moms potato chips and inhaled them... Not proud of that but it happened. So maybe if I write out all the foods I miss it will be therapeutic? Anyway I feel ya'lls pain so here it goes:

Foods Anna Misses the Most:
Cheese
Cheesy Pizza
Cheese Quesadilla's
Macaroni and Cheese
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (yes there is a pattern here)
Sour Cream
BBQ Potato Chips
Strawberry Milk
Donuts
Peanut Butter Cookies
French Fries
Sour Patch Kids
Mint Truffles
Oreos
Costco Chocolate Muffins
Corn on the Cob
Chicken Nuggets
RANCH DRESSING!!!
Soft Served Ice Cream
Movie Theater Extra Buttery Popcorn
Baja Mt. Dew
Taco Soft Tacos
Apple Pie
Olive Garden Breadsticks
Great Harvest Rolls
Cinnamon Rolls

I think everyone's cravings are so unique, what are your cravings? These are what I think about when I have a weak moment, I try very hard not to indulge and am successful for the most part but every once in a while... I think it's best to just avoid your weaknesses, like alcoholics shouldn't hang out at a bar and all that... Remember these foods damage your body! Stay strong! It's worth it!
 


The Benefits I've noticed the most in my life:
Balanced Energy
Anti-Inflammation
Improved Sleep

What has Paleo changed for you?

Outdoors

So if I haven't made it clear I'm on a journey to improve my health and heal my body and as I make more positive changes I'm able to do more and more things so this weekend I went on a 2 hour bike ride around the city and yesterday I went on an easy but amazing hike near Mt. Hood.

The hike started off a little rocky, my roommate and I originally planned on going on a different hike but I realized I missed the turn about 20 miles after I missed it... so we regrouped and found a different hike closer to where we were. Mirror Lake! It's a little workout going uphill for 30 minutes and then you reach an amazing view!

That's me!

We leisurely walked around the lake enjoying our time up there with the crisp, clean, mountain air! 

It doesn't take a huge long hike to feel great and enjoy nature. Baby steps people. Get out there even if it only lasts an hour!

Leftover omelet: spaghetti

Every morning one of the first things I do when I wake is make myself an omelet. I use one whole egg and 3-4 egg whites. Mmmmm protein! Because it's morning and I don't want to put a lot of work into it I normally just stuff the thing with leftovers so here's this mornings creation:

Spaghetti Meat Omelet