This came together in a hurry last week when I needed to come up with a portable lunch for a ski trip. This would be a great way to use up leftover roast chicken, or you could even use canned chicken if that’s what you have on hand.
Sundried tomato and olive chicken salad
1/2 a roasted chicken, diced or shredded (3 cups chicken meat)
1/2 to 3/4 cup julienned sundried tomatoes, oil packed (drain most of the oil off)
1 handful fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic, or more to taste
1/4 red onion, finely diced
Make your mayo using the recipe linked above or another trusted paleo mayo recipe. Once you’ve finished adding all the oil the recipe calls for and your mayo is thick and emulsified, add the sundried tomatoes, basil, garlic, and half the black olives to your processor. Process until the chunky ingredients are well incorporated or longer if you want it really smooth. Taste the mayo and adjust seasonings as necessary. The olives are pretty salty so you likely won’t need to add additional salt. You may consider adding more garlic, black pepper or an italian herb blend.
In a large bowl, combine the mayo with the diced chicken, red onion, and remaining olives. Serve over salad greens or eat as is.
First off, we’ve started up Yoga again on Saturday at 10 am, effective immediately. You can stay after the regular WOD and participate, or just show up for yoga. If you’re one of those tight crossfiters (you know who you are), you really need to make this a priority! The yoga class has been in and out of the schedule, we are happy to provide it for the group, but want to see it utilized. In fact, there are a handful of you out there who we would rather see SKIP the Saturday wod and show up to yoga! In other words, quit driving with your E-brake on!
Starting the week of Feb. 13th, we’ll be adding a few classes:
We’ll have a 4:30 pm CrossFit on Monday and Wednesday and Friday??only.
After School Athletes class will move to 3:45 on M, W, F. This class is geared towards teens involved in sports who need a strength and conditioning program in their offseason, as well as kids looking to get fit and have fun. For more info on this class see Derek or Jon.
We’ll be starting a Saturday morning specialty class at 8:00. The class will focus on different things each session and range from Olympic Weightlifting, Rowing, Gymnastics, Dynamic Effort Strength, etc. Spots will be limited, and you’ll be required to sign up at the gym.
Other schedule changes starting the week of Feb. 13th:
Friday 6:30pm class will be cut from the schedule- There will still be two evening classes (4:30 and 5:30), just no 6:30pm.
If you aren’t part of our_Paleo Challenge Facebook Group, you may have missed these cool videos Ivory posted. Interesting that the reporter had to stuff her face with whole foods in an effort to keep her current weight, yet in 10 days lowered her cholesterol, dropped her blood pressure, and reversed her insulin resistance (she wasn’t aware she was pre type II diabetic).
Speaking of cholesterol, be sure to make it in for the next wellness seminar with Dr. Brittany Burns, as that will be one of the subjects covered! Date and time TBA!
Taking paleo food with you on the road is not as tough as it might seem, but finding paleo snacks while you’re out can be a little more challenging depending on where you’re headed. As with most things, a little planning goes a long way.
If you’re going to be away from home for most of the day, make arrangements to keep your perishable snacks and leftovers cold. A cooler with ice or an insulated pack are good options if a fridge is not available. REI has a great one.
A lot of paleo snacks are really energy dense and it can be really easy to eat more than you need. Nuts, dried fruits, and paleo granola can be dangerous territory for people with body composition goals. Eat and enjoy, but be conscious of how often you rely on these snacks instead of a regular meal. Also, don’t limit yourself to traditional snack foods. Any leftover that you enjoy eating cold or at room temperature can be packed along and enjoyed away from home.
The easy stuff. Pack separately or toss together a bunch of the dry stuff for a quick homemade trail mix:
-nuts (except peanuts)
-nut butter. It can be kind of a mess to carry a jar with you, but Justin’s makes nut butter in packets. They have some really tempting varieties, though a lot contain added sugar. The classic almond is legit, though. Artisana also makes nut butter in travel packs.
-unsweetened coconut flakes
-dried fruit. Look for unsweetened. Super 1 has unsweetened dried cherries and figs in the bulk section. Dehydrated apples and apricots are pretty easy to locate as well.
-coconut butter. Available in packs from Artisana. You can also buy a jar, warm it up, and pour it into mini muffin liners for portable coconut butter cups.
-Larabars. It’s essentially a paleo candy bar, but they’ve saved me many times when I was out of the house and unprepared.
Canned/packaged:
-canned meats. Tuna in a can or pouch (look for water packed or olive oil packed if you can find it), chicken or salmon in a can or pouch. Throw any canned meat on top of salad greens, purchased or otherwise, with a squeeze of lemon or some chopped avocado.
-sardines. I’ll admit, I have had a can of these in my pantry for a few months and haven’t been brave enough to try them. However, if you are looking for superfood in a can, sardines are it. Each can of sardines contains 2g of omega 3. The bone-in ones are high in calcium, and the boneless/skinless aren’t too shabby either. Again, look for olive oil packed (Crown Prince is a good brand for this. I’ve heard Bela Olhao is another good brand and they come in a variety of flavors…. look for the small white cans with fish printed on the sides. Both are available locally). How do you eat them? Try straight from the can or dump the can, oil and all, on top of a salad and give it a squeeze of lemon. Capers would also be a nice addition.
-smoked oysters in olive oil. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, oysters are a superfood. Look for Crown Prince brand, also available locally.
-Tanka Bars. A little on the spendy side, but they’re a tasty and portable protein source. One of the varieties contains wild rice but the other varieties are paleo friendly. At Pilgrims in the nutrition bar section.
-Jerky. Oh boy… please don’t buy Oberto. There are several brands of paleo friendly jerky available on the internet or you can try your hand at making your own. If you have a dehydrator, I’ve successfully used this recipe before, but it does call for worcestershire sauce. If you don’t have a dehydrator you can make jerky in your oven. Vicki also submitted an oven jerky recipe to the CFCDA cookbook (page 209), and it looks delicious!
Ok to keep outside the fridge for a bit:
-most fresh fruits and vegetables will stay fresh out of the fridge for a little while as long as they aren’t stored in extreme heat. Avocados are a great fat source, are very satisfying and easily round out a meal on the go.
-fully cooked meat. It may freak some people out, but most meats will be ok to eat out of the fridge for a couple hours. Keep them cold as long as you can beforehand and use your common sense. If you’re going to be in a hot environment for very long, look for another option. Longer than two hours might be pushing it.
-hardboiled eggs. In an uncracked shell, they will be fine at room temperature for several hours. Once cracked, try to eat within 3 or 4 hours.
My go-to lunch away from home is mayo-based chicken salad, berries or apples, and trail mix. Post your favorites to comments!
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