"Danny McBride is like bacon...he makes everything better."

Day one = success! A big part of my new nutrition plan is The Paleo Diet. For those of you who would like to know more...here is a link: http://thepaleodiet.com/ I had no trouble sticking to it today, mostly because I was prepared for it. Preparing food in advance will keep you from getting hungry. That is rule number one. Rule number two is do not run out of food. Seriously. Keep your fridge stocked.

The basic idea is meat + veggies. No dairy or legumes, and to jump start things take out fruit for two weeks.  The dude who developed the Paleo Diet focuses primarily on lean and game meats.  I love deer meat, but unless you hunt it can be hard to come by. In Missouri, it was illegal to sell it.  I'm not sure what the rules are on that out here, but I will definitely be looking into it.  I'd like to try elk meat as well. If you're hard core Paleo, bacon is not allowed. I am not hard core Paleo, so I'm having bacon.  It is part of the tasty dairy free mini quiches that I cooked in a big batch so I'd have breakfast ready to go every day this week! Winning!

My first recipe! I was trying to explain to someone at work that I don't really measure things (unless I'm baking), so I apologize in advance for the vagueness of it.

You will need: 1 dozen eggs (organic preferred), some cooked bacon (NITRATE FREE), coconut milk, veggies  (I used broccoli and spinach). That's pretty much it for food. You also need a muffin pan, paper muffin cups, and cooking spray (I used Spectrum Expeller Pressed Canola Oil Spray, not Pam). 

-Preheat oven to 350

-put paper muffin cups in muffin tin. Spray with cooking oil. If you forget to do this, things will not go    

 well when you try to eat your delicious creation.

-chop your veggies (next time I need more veggies, and I think I will add red pepper)

-cook your bacon, crumble it up

-beat eggs, add some Coconut Milk...a big splash. Or whatever.

 I beat my eggs in a giant pouring measuring cup so transferring the mixture to the muffin pan would be

 easy-ish.

-I sauteed my veggies for just a few minutes to soften them up a little. I don't think you have to do this, 

 but I felt like it.

-fill muffin cups half way with egg mixture, sprinkle in veggies and bacon, put more egg mixture on top of that, sprinkle more good stuff on top of that. Fill till just even with top of muffin cup.

-season as desired.

-bake at 350 for 20 mins or so. 

If you have a question about this recipe, let me know!

Now on to the yoga part of my day.  First of all, I shouldn't say "the yoga part." Because, really, you should incorporate yoga into your entire day. Pranayama Breathing Exercises can be done anywhere! At anytime! One of my favorites is Dirgha Pranayma. Basically, I feel like this is how we should be breathing all the time. In summary, it is a three-part breathing technique which begins in your abdomen with the diaphragm and travels all the way up through your rib cage to your collar bone. To learn more about this breathing technique, click here: http://www.yogabound.com/yoga/pra_dirgha_pranayama.htm

I did spend about 1 hour 20 mins on the mat as well. I didn't do anything strenuous because I'm pretty crampy today (you wanted to know, right?). I began in seated meditation, and decided to work from the head down. Loosening up the neck and shoulders, through the middle and sides, lots of twisting, through the hips and out the legs. I wrapped it up with some supported bridge, rolled over into happy baby and was ready for Savasana. This was the first time I didn't get all weepy doing yoga at home on my own. It's been very emotional for me because I miss my yoga home in Missouri badly, but I focused today on the positive energy that was created there in order to keep it HERE. In my mind. I focused on how wonderful it felt to make these connections with my body...rest the palms of my hands on the soles of feet, twist my body, stretch muscles that haven't budged in eons. And while I'm doing all of this, I WAS BREATHING. It was amazing. Relaxing. 

A major benefit to having a home practice is you can really just hang out in a pose for as long as you want, do whatever you feel as it comes up, and Savasana with a purring cat is extra awesome. You also get to make your own playlists! Some of my favorite yoga music comes from an album called 108 Sacred Names of Mother Divine. You can purchase this here: http://www.amazon.com/108-Sacred-Names-Mother-Divine/dp/B00191KPIG

Part of my 21 day challenge also includes getting my butt into bed at a decent time, so that's all for now! Let me know if you have any questions.