Author: Victoria Elizabeth

Victoria Elizabeth http://www.victoriaelizabethann.com Bubbly and enthusiastic, I am a lover of all things pink. My writing style is as eclectic as my personal library, so you'll see everything from dark poetry to light-hearted short stories posted in my portfolio.

Paleo Sangria!

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OK, this is a quick and easy recipe for a refreshing, summer beverage for those of you on the Paleo diet but still craving a little alcoholic sustenance!

Paleo Sangria!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups organic red wine (personally, I love Malbec, as it’s not sweet, but not overly dry)
  • 2 cups sparkling water
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • 1/2 orange, juiced and zested
  • 1/2 cup blueberries, frozen
  • 1/2 cup sliced strawberries, frozen
  • 1.5 oz 100% agave tequila
  • 2 sprigs of mint (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

In two large (16 oz) mason jars, divide your wine evenly. Add your lime juice, orange juice (hold zest until the end), and berries. Stir well, and then split the tequila between both (it gives it an extra punch)! Add the sparkling water (don’t stir – it’ll go flat!) and then top with the mint sprigs and orange zest. Enjoy!

I ate the mint sprig before the picture. I can't help it: mint is my FAVORITE!

I ate the mint sprig before the picture. I can’t help it: mint is my FAVORITE!

It’s not too sweet, but perfectly refreshing with the fruit and fresh juice! I make this year round, but it’s perfect for the summer, since the added sparkling water prevents it from overly dehydrating you in the heat. You can substitute white wine if you’re not a red fan, but you’ll get more benefits from the antioxidants in red. Plus, it’s prettier! 🙂

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Paleo Stuffed Peppers!

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OK… everyone has been raging about stuffed peppers in my office this week. For three days in a row, it’s all anyone can talk about.

“Ohhhh, my wife made these ground andouille sausage and quinoa stuffed peppers last night and they were amazing!”

“I saw a recipe on Pinterest for these brown rice and ground pork cheesy stuffed peppers I can’t wait to try!”

“Have I said stuffed peppers yet today? Stuffed peppers! Stuffed peppers! STUFFFFFFED PEPPPPPERS!!”

OK. I get it, Paleo gods, I get it. I need to make some Paleo-friendly stuffed peppers.

However, I work full-time and hate the thought of coming home at 6pm to clean, prep, and bake stuffed peppers for an hour …because, damn it, I’m starving when I get home from work. I want to CHOW DOWN!

So… it’s crockpot time. Time for the magic.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound lean ground turkey
  • 2 bunches of pearl onions
  • 8 large bell peppers
  • 1 cup raw button mushrooms
  • 2 cups of Trader Joe’s organic marinara
  • 1 cup red wine (of your choice)
  • 6 tbsp ground garlic
  • 6 tbsp ground chili powder
  • 4 tbsp dried onion flakes (if you haven’t noticed, I add these to everything I cook)
  • Non-stick Coconut Oil spray (I prefer Trader Joe’s)

Directions:

In your crockpot, spray a thin layer of coconut oil to prevent searing/sticking. Clean your bell peppers, chopping the tops off and removing the seeds/insides. Place the bell peppers into the crockpot.

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Now, in a large pan (I used a wok), spray your coconut spray (to prevent sticking) and put it on medium-high heat. Gentle saute your mushrooms (I chopped mine small), pearl onions, pepper caps (why waste them? dice ’em and add it in!) until they were nice and soft. Once tender, I added the raw ground turkey and seasoning.

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After the turkey was cooked through, I added 1 cup of the marinara, mixing well.

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While that cooked down, I mixed the remaining cup of marinara and the wine and poured it IN BETWEEN the peppers in the crockpot. The hope is that the fluid would help to poach the bell peppers, making them soft and sweet.

Once the meat mixture cooked down, I used a big spoon and (quite clumsily) stuffed the peppers in the crockpot.

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Don’t those look AMAZING? Who needs grains? Not this girl!

Since the meat is cooked and I won’t be home until after 8pm tonight, I set the crockpot to LOW and to cook for three hours, then reset to “warm” so it would still be steamy warm when I get home.

Now, since my husband isn’t devout Paleo, I sprinkled a little low fat mozzarella and Parmesan on four of these to make them extra tasty for him, and I plan to enjoy mine with some freshly mashed avocado.

Needless to say, I can’t wait for my work day to end so I can go inhale these!

Bon appetit, my friends, and I’ll let you know how they turned out tomorrow!

~ Tori

Delicious Paleo Chicken Crockpot Recipe

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In a hurry to get to the gym last night, I tossed a bunch of random ingredients into the crockpot and prayed for a miracle. My husband had class (we’re both in grad school), and I wanted something filling, healthy, and effortless, but really didn’t have time to prep anything, so I gathered the following ingredients and crossed my fingers:

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs trimmed, boneless chicken breasts
  • 1 jar (16 oz) Newman’s Own Organic Garlic Salsa
  • 1 jar (16 oz) water (use the salsa jar!)
  • 1 bunch (approx 1 oz) of fresh basil
  • 8 tbsp chili powder
  • 6 tbsp dried onion flakes
  • 4 stalks of chives, chopped
  • 1 bag mixed chopped peppers (Publix and Trader Joe’s both have great mixed bags)
  • 1 bag (12 oz) frozen broccoli florets
  • 1 bag raw carrot slices

I literally tossed all of these ingredients into my crockpot (which I sprayed with Coconut Oil non-stick spray from Trader Joe’s first) and stirred well to cover, set the heat to HIGH, and then took off.

I was at the gym a little more than 2.5 hours, stopped at Target on the way home, and eventually returned to the house three hours later to find the house smelled like MEXICAN HEAVEN!

Seriously, it smelled SO good. I was so excited by how it smelled, I didn’t even take a picture. I stirred the contents (holy cow, it looked good) and the chicken completely fell apart. It looked like pulled chicken, only spicy and fragrant like a good set of fajitas.

With perfect timing, my husband arrived from school right as I steamed a spaghetti squash (in the microwave, it takes roughly 7 minutes to steam a halved squash with salt and pepper) and diced up a fresh, ripe avocado.

I served the pulled Mexican chicken over the spaghetti squash (right out of the squash-skin, since it makes an organic, biodegradable bowl!) and topped it off with the avocado and a little more salsa.

Since my husband doesn’t follow a paleo diet, he also added some low-fat sour cream (which some Paleo dieters agree dairy is fine in moderation) and his favorite hot sauce, and we both inhaled our dishes like the ravenous cavemen (and cavewomen!) we are.

The prep time on this dish was honestly less than 5-8 minutes, and you could easily swap out pork, steak, or fish instead of the chicken with equally delicious results. The crockpot is always my go-to on busy days, so if you don’t have one at home …what are you waiting for?!

On that note… I can’t wait for my leftovers today for lunch. Bon appetit, my friends!!

~ Tori

A Weekend of Feasting!

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This past weekend, my husband and I traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina to celebrate a friend’s wedding.

As you can probably imagine, a wedding is not the place to stick with a strict diet, so when we arrived on Friday morning, I told my husband I would enjoy the food and not worry about calories. And so we did.

I didn’t take pictures of everything (we ate a TON), but I tried to grab shots of some of the healthier choices I made throughout the trip. I’m pretty sure I ate my body weight in cake (both at the Rehearsal Dinner — ice cream cake! — and the wedding), but I’m not stressing it. I can get back on track this week and work it off.

Plus, we spent Saturday morning hiking (for almost three hours), which was both strenuous and ridiculously beautiful. So that had to burn off some of it, right? 🙂

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Countdown?

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Uh oh. It’s that time of year again. I’m just six weeks away from my birthday, and the nudging voice inside my mind has begun its annual bleating.

This is the time of year I normally commit to a rigorous exercise regime, an über strict diet, and a nearly fanatic pursuit of the “ideal body” to flaunt on my birthday.

I’ll be turning 31 this year. Yikes. The years have flown by, haven’t they?

Last year, I was at the lowest weight of my [adult] life on my birthday: 123.8.

This year, I’m sitting around 132-134 (I haven’t weight myself in over a month, so I’m not sure) and I feel good. Yes, I’d like to get rid of the pooch of my waist and the chub on my thighs, but I feel strong, well-rested, and self-secure.

Since quitting my second job in mid-April, I’ve spent the last two months focusing on repairing my health from the ill effects of sleep deprivation, and I’ve finally reached a point where I feel my body has gained balance. I feel like I’m repaired, though not fully 100% just yet. The scars are healing nicely, though.

Even though the alarms in the back of my mind are sounding, I’m choosing to ignore them this year. If I weigh 120 or 140 on my birthday will not matter: what matters is spending the day with the people I love, and celebrating a life being lived to the fullest.

On that note… bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Best Paleo Shake, EVER!

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In an effort to eat clean (i.e. as much natural and fresh fruit/veggies as I can) as well as stick to a mostly Paleo lifestyle, I’ve been making myself a fresh Paleo protein shake for breakfast every morning.

I’ve become such an ADDICT to this particular flavor concoction, I just had to share it with my fellow yo-yo dieters. 🙂

Tori’s Fruity Paleo Protein Shake:

  • 1 scoop Paleo Protein Powder (pictured below). I prefer using a MIX of both the Vanilla Almond and Triple Chocolate flavors, but you can do a solid scoop of either flavor if you don’t have both options!
  • 2 cups raw spinach. (I promise, you won’t taste it once blended!)
  • 1.5 cups of mixed frozen fruit. (I use a blend of mango, strawberries, pineapple, and peaches, but you can use a berry blend or bananas, too!)
  • 2 cups unsweetened cashew milk.
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional, but it’s great for digestion).
  • 1 tbsp bee pollen granules (great for boosting immunity and energy).
  • 1 cup of ice (to make it both large and extra thick).

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I start by putting the spinach into the blender first. This ensures it’s chopped VERY well, and guarantees there’s no green chunks floating in my smoothie.

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Next, I layer on the fresh fruit. Again, I use a pre-mixed bag of peaches, mango, pineapple, and strawberries, but you can use any mixed blend you prefer. I really like blueberries and strawberries when I use just the Triple Chocolate protein powder.

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I add a full scoop of protein powder on top (I blend my Triple Chocolate and Vanilla Almond), then add a tablespoon of chia seeds and a tablespoon of bee pollen granules. We happen to have a farmer’s market that sells local bee pollen granules (best for combating allergies!), but you can find it at Whole Foods or any health food shop if there isn’t a convenience farmer’s market nearby.

On top of the powders, I add roughly 1 cup of ice (make sure you still have about 2 inches from the top of your blender to ensure proper mixing), and then I pour 1.5-2 cups of unsweetened cashew milk on top. I like Silk’s unsweetened cashew milk, as it’s just 25 calories per cup and has added calcium.

Blend until well mixed, which is about 2 minutes for my crochety old blender.

It tastes so good, I often just toss a straw right into the blender and drink it straight:

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Nom, nom, Paleo goodness!

And, yes, I do drink the entire thing… over 36 ounces and roughly 350 calories! I stay full for HOURS thanks to this baby!

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Injured Wrists?

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I’ve been overdoing it at the gym lately. Well, not at the gym, per se, but actually on the stairmaster.

I’m obsessed with the machine, as it provides such an intense workout (I’m pouring sweat after just 15 mins) and it allows me to Netflix binge without guilt.

The downside to all of this intense cardio, though, is not the toll on my body …but rather the damage to my wrists.

To prevent myself from hunching over, I invert my wrists while I walk on the machine …basically turning them semi-backwards… and what was originally just uncomfortable is now a pretty severe pain.

My wrists are perpetually swollen, and I have a dull-ache that persists 24/7 from both wrists. I’m hoping I haven’t caused any permanent damage, and that a good icing tonight will undue any harm I’ve caused from repeated use.

The bad part? The aching wrists aren’t stopping me from going on the machine again and, inevitably, inverting my wrists as I find my groove on the machine. Can anyone recommend a wrist brace or, better yet, a position I can hold that won’t cause so much pain and spraining to my wrists?

As always, bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

“Savages, Savages, barely even human!”

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I did it! I finally did it!

I managed to convince my husband to run in the Fall Savage Race with me in Florida! Wahoo!

I’ve done it two out of the last three years (missed 2013 due to work commitments) and it has been one of my favorite events: a true test of strength, perseverance, and willingness to get filthy.

In 2012, I ran it just to say I did it:

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I don’t remember what my final time was, but considering it was 25 insane obstacles and over 6.5 miles (and I wasn’t in peak shape), my guess is that I was over two hours.

When I did it again in 2014, I had dropped about 15 lbs and trained significantly more. As a result, I did the race in about 1 hour, 38 minutes – and completed all but two of the grueling obstacles!

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This year my weight is a bit up (about 8 lbs more than last year’s weight), but I’ve also been doing significantly more strength training and I’m finally working to shed the “sugar weight” I gained from my 9+ months of working two jobs and not sleeping. I didn’t gain it overnight, so I can’t expect to lose it overnight. I’m hoping to be back around 125-127 by the time October rolls around and it’s time to compete.

Fortunately, regardless of my weight, this time I’ll have MY HUBBY to support me on the course! I’m so excited and we’ve committed to train together, so we’re going to finish and finish strong. Will this be the year I beat 1:30? We shall see!

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Moving on UP!

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I’ve been absolutely in love with the stairmaster lately, watching 90-120 minute movies on it 5-7x per week.

I know it’s terrible to do the same cardio machine every day, but I love how intense the workout is (I’m literally drenched in sweat and have to towel off multiple times during the session), but also how strong and sore my legs feel after.

I feel like I’m getting an intense lower body (and back, and core) workout from balancing on the machine, and I alternate between single steps, lunge steps, swing steps, and others to keep the exercise diverse and challenging.

As a result of all of my stepping, my UP band reports that I’ve set a new personal record for steps taken in a single week:

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You saw that right: I walked over 83 miles in a single week!

YOWZA!!

That’s a little over THREE FULL MARATHONS worth of steps taken in just seven days. WHOA!

I’m going to try to take it a bit lighter this week, though, as I recognize that 83+ miles is a bit obsessive, especially for someone who is NOT training to be a pro-athlete. Still, though… I can’t help but be proud.

On that note …I think I’ve earned a snack. Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Paleo …maybe?

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A former classmate of mine (and a good friend) recently posted on Facebook that she has been sticking to the Paleo diet (which I introduced her to) religiously for two weeks and dropped 16 lbs.

SIXTEEN POUNDS!

Mind you, she was not large to begin with, and I honestly thought she looked fantastic, but I could relate to her desire to lose weight and tone up.

She took my advice and tried Paleo, committing to it 100% (I typically cheat with trace amounts of soy/peanuts and lots of cheese/dairy) and had tremendous results.

In just two weeks of eating clean, she shed 16 lbs and has more energy, clearer skin, and is overjoyed with her success.

Looking back, when I first learned about Paleo in August 2013, I went all-in for 90 days and dropped almost 22 lbs. I didn’t count a single calorie, and ate as much as I wanted. I used Paleo alternatives for bread, candies, etc and never once felt deprived. It took a lot of planning, but for 90 days I completely lost my taste for grains (I honestly can’t tell you the last time I had real bread or pasta) and learned to really enjoy cashew and almond milk.

To be honest, I’m not sure why I went back to non-Paleo foods. I know the holidays were a temptation, but I could have prepared Paleo alternatives to everything I craved. I think I just got tired of the pre-planning required, and eventually let all of my good habits fall to the side.

I have no idea why I did that.

Sticking with a Paleo diet honestly didn’t require much more energy than any other lifestyle. I had to plan meals, yes, but shouldn’t we do that anyhow to avoid living on vending machine junk throughout the work day? Yes, I had to seek out specialty foods, but haven’t I driven 30 miles out of my way to get a gourmet treat now and then? Yes, Paleo foods were a bit more expensive, but won’t I spend more in the long run treating diabetes, hypertension, and other health issues from lack of a nutritious diet in the future?

Seeing my friend’s success and how energized it has made her as urged me to recommit to the Paleo lifestyle, and invest more energy and time into nurturing my body and my spirit.

Recognizing that I’m human, I’m aiming for a 90-95% commitment to Paleo: it’s nearly impossible to avoid ALL soy/dairy influences, but I’m going to go out of my way to purchase Paleo wraps and do some baking this weekend of my favorite Paleo desserts, muffins, and breads.

I do have a bit of an obsession with Rockstars (or “death juice,” as I call them), so I know I can’t make myself give them up entirely. I’ve weaned myself down to 1-2 per week, and I’ll set a cap of 1/week moving forward.

I already have a fridge full or almond milk, cashew milk, lean meats, and veggies, so this transition shouldn’t be too difficult… really, I just need to control myself around candy (there are so many fun Paleo alternatives!) and CHEESE (seriously, why isn’t there a Paleo brie yet??)!

Wish me luck, dear friends! On that note …bon appetit!

~ Tori