7-Day Paleo Challenge – Day 6

The weekend is here, which means longer sleep-ins and slower breakfasts. Treat yourself a lovely big breakfast of eggs, bacon, mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes. If you’re going out this weekend, ordering and amending the breakfast items is one of the easiest ways to eat out.

I know we still have one more day to go but if you wish to continue with paleo next week, today might be a good idea to start planning your meals, shopping and meal prep. You can reuse this week’s templates and continue on your own.

Otherwise, I mentioned that I also have a free 4-Week & 8-Week program available with full meal plans, shopping lists and lots of nutritional know-how reading. You can check these out on my website BUT, and this might sound weird, don’t buy them just yet! There is an awesome deal coming up on Sep 5th, so if you wanted to get the 4-Week plan, wait until then (*wink wink*).

Back to 7-Day Challenge Home.

Check out your notes and links for Day 7 here.

Here is your 10-point checklist for Saturday:

Stick to paleo guidelines – 4 (this one is compulsory)
8 glasses of water – 1
No alcohol – 1
Include mushrooms in one of your meals – 1
Include white vegetable in one of your meals – 1
Include orange vegetable in one of your meals  – 1
30-minute workout of choice – 1
Meditate for 10 minutes – 1
Check in on Facebook or Instagram – 1
Cup of bone broth – 1

Perfect dinner meals for today:

Garlic & thyme mushrooms with eggs of choice
Cauliflower pumpkin dal
Chicken & pumpkin curry with cauliflower rice
Parsnip cauliflower mash (make with ghee instead of butter)
Cauliflower & sweet potato mash with cinnamon

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Mushrooms

Mushrooms are awesome! They are tasty and full of vitamins (especially D) and even have some protein, making them a great plant-based meal ingredient. You can choose any type of fresh or dried mushroom for today’s meal. Grill it, roast it, add it soups or stews – whatever you like.

Try these mushroom recipes

Chilli & garlic mushrooms
Garlic & thyme mushrooms
Stuffed mushrooms
Paleo mushroom soup

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White vegetables

I had to include some white veggies in here because even though they are not as colourful, they are full of fibre and nutrients, especially vitamin C. We’re talking cauliflower, fennel, white onions, celeriac, parsnips, swedes, turnips (white radish) and even white potatoes. Yes, although debated, white potatoes are widely accepted in the paleo diet these days.

If you plan on including white potatoes today, make sure to either boil them or roast/bake them and peel before using. Peel is where some of the problematic anti-nutrients are present. No fried chips or crisps, please!

Try these sides:

Paleo celeriac carbonara bake
Cauliflower & sweet potato mash
Cauliflower hash browns
Cauliflower & raisin salad
Cauliflower rice
Pimped-up celeriac slaw
Cold potato salad
Roasted parsnip chips

For orange/yellow vegetables and fruit choose one or more of the following: sweet potato, pumpkin/winter squash, carrots, yellow and orange peppers, yellow beets. Orange fruit like apricot, peaches, rockmelon (cantaloupe), mangos, oranges and papaya are also great.

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Bone Broth

Bone broth is a great source of minerals and amino acids that help to heal your gut, boost nutrition, and keep your skin, hair and nails in top-notch condition. Ditch expensive anti-ageing creams and have a cup of bone broth instead.

You can make your own bone broth using this recipe or purchase pre-made bone broth from your butcher, a health food store and even online here. Here are some delicious ways to consume bone broth.

In the U.S, try Kettle & Fire – they use organic ingredients and grass-fed beef, and their bone broth has a fantastic flavour. They’re also non-frozen and shelf stable, so you can store a few cartons in your pantry. You can buy their bone broth online AND if you use the promo code EATDRINKPALEO15, you’ll get 15% off your first order.

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30-Minute Workouts

Depending on your fitness level, you can choose any kind of activity for this challenge: walking, running, cycling, swimming, yoga, hiking, boxing, pilates, rock climbing, dancing, gardening and so on.

The key is to keep moving a little bit every day, especially if you have a desk-bound job. When you think about evolution and our ancestors, the most striking difference is how little we move in comparison. Adding this challenge was important for me because I believe that movement is essential to well being and longevity.

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Meditation

Another difference between our current society and our ancestors is the amount of stress we get subjected to on daily basis. While some acute stress is healthy and necessary in our life, it is the chronic stress (both mental and physical) that can cause some serious damage to our health.

There are many ways to manage stress from simple breathing techniques and avoiding the triggers in the first place, down to art therapy and daily mediation. You have to do what works for you but introducing a small meditation session into your daily routine can make a big difference in how you cope with stress. Give it a go, if you haven’t tried it before. I recommend an app called Headspace that provides a few free guided meditation sessions.

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I’d love to know how you’re feeling by now. Share your progress with us in our Facebook group or on Instagram, if you like. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.