Bacon Jalapeno Bread

This is awesome to serve with soup on a cold day... chicken "noodle", chili-- whatever you want. I ate it with my Zuppa Toscana.

Recipe: http://vahuntergatherers.com/2013/05/01/bacon-jalapeno-bread-gluten-free/

Ingredients
4 oz bacon (approximately 4 thick slices)
3 large jalapeños
6 large eggs
1/2 C ghee, melted
1/4 C water
1/2 C coconut flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried chives (optional)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp ghee to grease your baking pan

Directions

1. Bake the bacon and sliced jalapenos (I removed the seeds to make it less spicy)... bake for about 10 minutes, then flip and bake for an additional 5-10... depending on the thickness of the slices

2. Put the bacon/ jalapenos in a food processor-- chop it up in tiny pieces  (I suppose a blender would work too?)

3. Mix together wet ingredients

4. Add in the dry ingredients

5.  Mix in the bacon, etc.

6. Put all of this in a greased glass pan, or the bread pan of your choice

7. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes

8. Let cool for 5 minutes or so... then it'll slice easier. Enjoy!

Cold weather Paleo food

Here's my meal plan for the week. I had a request to post everything at once... so here's what I'm planning on... I'll update here as things get made. There will be pictures, of course!

Thoughts on the menu this week:

• It's going to like... VICIOUSLY cold this week.. so I wanted hot foods (hence the soup, spaghetti squash casserole, crockpot chicken...). When the "high" is projected to be sub-zero... I'm not putting anything cold in the tank.
• Also- a special message to Kent State... please close. my parking spot is a mile away from my office... frostbite of the face isn't cute, or useful in any way.
• I need to have breakfasts made this week because Kent never closes (and the hospital definitely never closes...) so I'll need to get up extra early and there will be no time for cooking eggs in the AM. 
• The crockpot chicken is TBA. I got a whole chicken for 99c/ # at Earth Fare... it seemed like a reasonable deal. Now I just gotta figure out what to do with this bad mamba jamba.
• I have a confession to make.... I purchased really delicious short ribs last week... then got too busy to make them... and had to throw them out because they were green and slimy... I want to lose 5#... but not like that... ugghhh

Dinner/ lunches
1. Buffalo chicken
2. Taco beef (salad)
3. Parsnip & Kale Zuppa Toscana Soup
4. Pizza Spaghetti Pie (again)--and really, it's a casserole, not a "pie"
5. Crockpot chicken...TBD... something easy, and with lemons.

Breakfast
1. Sweet potato hash
2. Deep dish breakfast pizza

Snacks
1. Cauliflower popcorn
2. Zucchini boats


Recipes--

Entrees
1. Buffalo Chicken

This one was super easy.... inspired by practical paleo.

I took about 2# of chicken thighs and sliced them. Put them in a frying pan with some coconut oil (2TBSP) + 1 tsp each of cayenne pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder + salt/ pepper to taste. If I were to do this again... I'd just cook the chicken in a bunch of frank's hot sauce. Now there's chicken ready to go in lettuce wraps (with diced avocado and cubed cucumber)

2. Taco beef for salads
http://everydaypaleo.com/cooking-demo-paleo-tacos-with-purple-cabbage-slaw/

1# ground beef
1 TBSP each: garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup green salsa

Brown the meat-- add the spices and salsa... enjoy. If you're going to put this in the fridge to eat later- DRAIN THE FAT. Otherwise you're gonna have a hard time getting it out of the container you put it in...

3. Parsnip & Kale Zuppa Toscana Soup

I ganked this from here: http://www.insonnetskitchen.com/seasonal-comfort-food-cookbook/

1 TBSP Coconut Oil
1# sausage
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 parsnips, thinly sliced (yields ~3 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp EACH dried basil and oregano
5 cups veggie or chicken stock
1/2 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
1 bunch of kale (torn into bite-sized pieces)
salt/ pepper (easy on the salt, especially if your stock has a lot of salt)

• Put the oil in the pan brown the sausage,add onions and cook for ~ 5mins until the onions are softened
• Add parsnips, garlic, red pepper flakes and basil + oregano and bring to a BOIL
• Simmer down now, for 20 minutes, or until the parsnips are soft
• Add kale and coconut milk... let that simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until the kale is tender
• Salt and pepper to taste
• eat!

Breakfasts...

1. Sweet tater hash

This is pretty basic... no frills here.

1# breakfast sausage
1 sweet tater- run through the food processor and shred (or shred it regular style)
1/2 onion-- diced up small
2 garlic cloves, minced/ pressed
salt/ pepper
Eggs

• Cook your breakfast sausage in a big frying pan... breaking it up so there are little chunks.
• Once it's fully cooked, remove meat- put in dish...leave the fat in the pan
• Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook about 5 mins (until onions get tender)-- you may need to add some oil if you're sausage was lean
• add your shredded sweet potato
• Cook the potato (don't stir too much- that'll make mashed potatoes!)-- just turn the potatoes now and then until they are fully cooked
• Add the sausage back in...
• voila!!  hash complete.
• I like to serve a couple scoops of hash with 2-3 poached eggs (MMMM)

2. Nick Massie's Deep Dish Breakfast Pizza

From CrossFit.com 

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_2014_01_Kitchen_Pizza.pdf

ingredients (16 Zone blocks)

• 1 lb. hot Italian sausage (6 protein blocks)

• 1 large onion, diced (2 carbohydrate blocks)

• 3 poblano peppers, diced (2 carbohydrate blocks)

• 3 yams, roasted and roughly chopped (9 carbohydrate blocks)

• 3 c. mushrooms, sliced (1 carbohydrate block)

• 2 c. black olives, sliced (16 fat blocks)

• 3 large Roma tomatoes, diced (2 carbohydrate blocks)

• 10 whole eggs or 20 egg whites (10 protein blocks)

• Kosher salt, to taste

• Olive oil, as needed

directions

1. Heat a 14-in. cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Add Italian sausage in small chunks and cook until done, then remove from pan. (Use a little olive oil if necessary, but rendered fat should be a sufficient cooking agent.)

3. Add onions, a touch of olive oil, the poblano peppers and some salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add yams and mushrooms and salt lightly again. Cover pan with a lid or a piece of aluminum foil and cook 5 minutes longer.

5. While veggies are cooking, crack eggs into a bowl and whisk until uniform.

6. Remove lid from pan, add sausage, olives and tomatoes. Stir well, add eggs and cover again.

7. Cook until eggs are set, then remove lid/foil and broil the top side in the oven in order to dry it out and brown it slightly.

8. When finished, place a piece of parchment paper over the top, place an inverted sheet pan on top of that, and invert the skillet and pan together. Place on a counter and remove the skillet from the top.

9. Slice and eat immediately, or allow to cool completely, then slice, portion, wrap and freeze/refrigerate. Meals like this will take you from feeling sickly to moving large loads long distances quickly

I don't have a large cast iron skillet... so I'm going to use a 5qt french oven.

Snacks and sides and such...
1. Cauliflower Popcorn
http://paleofood.com/recipes/veggies-roastedcauliflower.htm

2. Zucchini Boats
http://www.insonnetskitchen.com/zucchini-pizza-boats/?inf_contact_key=a2e22dd040aedf9344e9ef50cbe79708343d5332d79a5976748e27402a6f6c2d

3. Bacon Jalpeno bread
http://vahuntergatherers.com/2013/05/01/bacon-jalapeno-bread-gluten-free/

Three meals for week 3

I realized I never posted what we were going to eat... so in retrospect...

This week we ate:

Dinner/ Lunches:
1. PaleOMG Pizza Spaghetti Pie

2. Chinese 5-star Turkey Lettuce Cups (from Practical Paleo book)

3. Fish Tacos 

This was enough food for Monday-Thursday.... but we both went out for dinner on Wednesday, and we're going out tomorrow too... so, this was a pretty light week on cooking. I had a short rib recipe ready to go..but it's gonna have to wait til next week.

I mean... the fish tacos were my favorite tasting dish, but the pizza spaghetti pie was AWESOME and easy (minus the stabbing). I highly recommend making that one-- I feel like kids would even eat that stuff... it's just spot on.

1. PaleOMG Pizza Spaghetti Pie (recipe on link)

2. Chinese 5-star Turkey Lettuce Cups (from Practical Paleo book) (Meh....)

...but we decided THIS recipe is better...

3. Fish Tacos

GET IN MA BELLY, FISH TACOS!!!!

Turkey lettuce cups. Fail.

This is another meal I made on Sunday that we just ate tonight. They came from the pratical paleo book-- here's the recipe. Chris really didn't like them... When the first thing your spouse says is "what IS that?"... it's generally not because they think it's delicious.

Honestly. I didn't think they were that good either... if you're looking for a good meat + salad, THIS is much better. I skip the purple cabbage situation... it's not that good. Honestly, just serve the meat on top of salad with some smoky almonds... and you're good to go. If you want to be the "hostess with the mostess", then you can chop up cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, avocado... and throw all of that on top. I suspect some roasted sweet potatoes would also be every bit of EPIC.

I literally use this meat recipe for everything... stuffed peppers, chili... you name it... this is what I use.

Taco Meat

1 lb grass fed ground beef

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp chili powder

1/4 cup green salsa (I use trader joe's salsa verde)

Brown meat, add seasoning and salsa, stir and eat on a lettuce.

This is super easy-- awesome for a weeknight meal when you just need something quick...and it's easy to prepare ahead of time. You've got to eat it hot though-- otherwise the fat from the meat solidifies and it's not appetizing. 

Pizza Spaghetti Pie

I made this Pizza Spaghetti Pie from PaleOMG earlier this week, but we just ate it last night. It is so good! My friend (also named Lauren!) also made this and gave it her stamp of approval. It also reheats nicely (even in a microwave)- so this recipe is getting an A (I should give it an A- because the squash tried to kill me, but I won't hold prejudice!). 

Here it is:

It's pretty easy.... basically cook the squash, then dump everything you want in a baking dish and bake for an hour at 350.

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash, baked or microwaved-- then scoop all the "noodles" out
• to bake: CAREFULLY slice it vertically then put two sides noodle side down and bake at 400 for 30ish minutes- or until the noodles can be scooped out (skin will be pliable to the touch)
• to microwave: stick squash in microwave for 10 minutes, then let it cool down a bit before hacking it open with a knife (don't try to cut through the stem)... be careful!!
• 1 pound ground meat (I used sausage, but you could use turkey, beef, whatever)
• 1 cup pizza sauce 
• 1 tbsp oregano, dried
• 1 tbsp basil, dried
• salt/ pepper to taste
• 1/2 yellow onion- chopped finely
• 3 eggs (to bind it all together)
• pizza toppings of your choice 
• I added about 1 cup of mushrooms, leftover pepperoni, and Parmesan cheese (primal pie)

Combine the above in a greased baking dish. Bake for 1 hr at 350-- let it sit for a few minutes before serving. 

Insert food in face, preferably the mouth. Up to you though.

Do you ever find yourself talking in a meeting/ class/ social setting and, as you're talking, you are thinking "wtf am I saying... I'm totally bs-ing right now... I wonder if anyone notices.... what if I said meow in the middle of a sentence...say it... say it, meow.... SAY IT!!!!!"? That happened to me today in my behavioral theories class. Clearly I need to get more interested in behavioral theories- otherwise it may be a long semester.... Meow. There. I said it. 

Paleo Fish Tacos

Friends. I give you, Paleo Fish Tacos!!!! Really, it's a few recipes pulled together- but it turned out great. I'm totally biased, but these are better than any non-beer battered fish taco I've ever had. Period! In the future, I may try to dress up the soft taco shell a bit (add some pizzazz...), but they were fine just the way they were.

I used Mahi Mahi- I'm sure other white fishes would've been okay, but this is my favorite.

This is a good meal to cook and eat all in the same night. Fish does not reheat well. This is also something to cook when you have a little time... overall it took about 30 minutes to cook all of this. This may not be the thing to whip up when you get home at 9pm and you're starving... and you consider eating the entire block of cheese just because it's the first thing within reach on the fridge (this has never happened to me......... maybe).

I served this with some root vegetable chips, but plantain chips would've been epic with this. Epic, I tell you.


Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos- serves 2



For the soft tacos:
recipe: http://stupideasypaleo.com/2013/08/23/simple-paleo-tortillas/

• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon melted ghee
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
• 1 teaspoon coconut flower
• pinch of salt

For the fish:

Mahi-mahi fish (I had a little over a pound)

Marinade:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 1-1/2 teaspoon of Adobo seasoning (I use Penzy's)-- Jerk seasoning, or a similar one would work
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (omit if you don't like spicy food)
• 1 lime (juice), or 2 tablespoons of lime juice
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped 
• kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Taco fixins (here's what I used... but use whatever you like!):

• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 green onions, sliced
• little bunch of cilantro, chopped
• Napa cabbage, chopped
• Avocado
• Roasted sweet taters
• Sauce to drizzle (I used Creamy Chipotle Pepper Dip)... but any dressing will do. (these are really good: http://www.tessemaes.com/)
• Crumbled goat cheese (optional for the primal eaters)

Instructions

1. Make the marinade-- combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir, add the fish-- set aside for 15-20 minutes while you make the soft tacos
2. To make the soft tacos: 
1. Combine wet ingredients (2 eggs + 1 tsp melted ghee + 1 TBSP water), wisk
2. Add in dry ingredients (1/8 tsp baking soda, 1/4 cup arrowroot powder, 1 tsp coconut flour, pinch salt), wisk until smooth
3. Get an 8" frying pan nice and hot-- spray with olive oil (or your oil of choice)
4. Pour 1/4-1/3 mixture in pan (it cooks fast-- so you have to swirl it around fast)
5. Cook on both sides of the taco (just like making crepes)
6. Spray the pan between each use, lightly
3. For the fishies
1. Melt 2 TBSP coconut oil in large frying pan
2. Put the fish/ marinade in there
3. Cook the fish
4. Prep the taco fixings
5. Assemble those tacos!! (or let the diner's do it themselves...)
1. Put the fish on the taco, then put your fixings on there.... drizzle with sauce when complete
6. Enjoy!

Making the fish....

Some assembly required

1 down!

Voila! Fish tacos, Paleo (or primal) style

Bacon bundles

This weekend I went back to chopping and slicing... luckily no additional injuries to report. I had the stitches out today, and much to my disappointment, it still is pretty open. I thought everything would be good to go and sealed up... not so much. Sigh. I will be keeping Band Aid in business.

This recipe is a mash-up of 3 different people's ideas: I went to a PartyLite party 2 weekends ago and my friend Rosa served bacon wrapped sweet potatoes. They were downright DELICIOUS. I ate an embarrassing amount of them. Then-- my friend Jenni made something very similar for dinner with chicken. To top it off, Monica told me about an awesome chicken marinade she serves with bacon and avo... that her kids actually like (!).

...and then Bacon Bundles were born.

Bacon Bundles:

1 large sweet potato, sliced into thin wedges (about 1/2" thick)
1 package bacon, (nitrate free, not thick sliced)
1 package chicken breast tenders
1 avocado, sliced (for garnish)

Marinade (or sub Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing):
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed in garlic press
1 tsp dijon mustard
dash of salt/ pepper

Potato dressing:
Olive oil
Rosemary
Kosher Salt

Preheat oven to 400F.

1. Prepare the marinade by combining all ingredients. Throw the chicken tenders in there. Marinate while you prepare the rest of the stuff-- or prepare before and let it soak.
2. Slice up your sweet tater into even wedges (about a half inch)
3. Put your tater slices in a bowl and drizzle olive oil on top-- then sprinkle rosemary and kosher salt to taste (you want to get the entire slice wet with the oil-- and there should be rosemary/ salt on every slice).
4. Get your bacon out...
5. Take a potato wedge, put a chicken tender on there... then wrap it up with a bacon slice... repeat. If you have more potato wedges than chicken-- no worries... just made bacon wrapped potato wedges!
6. Put on a rack with tray underneath (pictured above)
7. Bake for 15 minutes, turn, bake for another 15 minutes... make sure the potato wedges are fully cooked before removing.
8. Serve with sliced avocado.

I love the flavor these make. The sour balsamic mixing with the sweet potato and savory bacon... the soft potato + crunchy bacon...hot chicken + cold avocado... whoa!! I'm so confused but I'm okay with it!

Getting ready

Finished product- feeding time!

It's the weekend!

Well it's Friday afternoon, so I'll get to the point!

A brilliant co-worker of mine shared this recipe with me:
http://dessertswithbenefits.com/peanut-butter-protein-balls/

Peanut Butter Protein Balls (you can use almond butter- Paleo police!!)

Ingredients
32g (1 scoop) Vanilla Protein Powder (vegans, use soy protein)
42g (2 tbs) Honey or Agave
32g (2 tbs) Natural Peanut Butter (no sugar/salt/oil added)

Instructions
Put the protein powder in a bowl, then the honey and stir
Pour in the peanut butter (creamy PB is easier than chunky)
Stir until everything is incorporated (it takes a while, but if you need more honey or something, add it now)
Add any toppings you want
Roll into balls with your hands, and refrigerate to harden (if you are not eating it immediately)


I made an almond butter version- and it was pretty good. However, I also made a cookie butter (thank you Trader Joe's for this... it's peanut butter with crushed up ginger cookies inside) version with chocolate protein powder rolled in sliced almonds... and it was SUPER tasty. Definitely not paleo... I honestly think peanut butter tastes better than almond butter in this recipe- but it's up you and your dietary preferences.

The possibilities are kinda endless though. Protein powder + almond butter + honey + dried fruit (a PB&J sandwich!), mix it with instant coffee for a mocha, mix it with chocolate hazelnut butter... the choice is yours. Honestly, they're kinda nice for an afternoon pick-me-up... and they don't need to be refrigerated- bonus!

Chicken Bacon and Kale... and Smolov (Jr!)

Shalom.

Tonight we are feasting on Chicken, Bacon, and Kale (since we went out last night). Consequently-- we didn't do too badly eating out. We ordered smothered chicken-- which was 2 chicken breasts with cheese and veggies served on lettuce. It was tasty (but it could have used bacon, like most things).

Tonight's variation of CBS is.... Kale instead of spinach, and a jar of roasted red peppers instead of sun-dried tomatoes. I noticed we had about 4 jars of roasted red peppers in the pantry and decided it was time to start making a dent in the collection.

Honestly, I like the original recipe posted here better... but... gotta try new things.

Next week I'm going to try to get away from all the bacon-cooking. I feel like bacon-cooking is just too easy sometimes. Of course it's going to taste delicious- it contains bacon!! Now, cooking without bacon, or bacon fat, that can be a challenge to develop good-tasting paleo food. But I do love a challenge...muuahahaha....

We'll let you know what the game plan is for the week's worth of cooking is this weekend.... Fri or Sat.. Having only 1 fully-functioning hand doesn't stop a cave lady!! And certainly not a classy cave lady.

It should also be noted that the Coconut soup I posted earlier officially freezes, thaws, and reheats properly. Hurrah!

In other news--- I've been seeing a lot of this lately. Squats squats squats.

Given my temporary HANDicap (lol... I know), back squats are part of the daily fitness regime. I started the Smolov Jr squatting program in an effort to reintroduce myself into the world of squats. I've been doing an Olympic Lifting cycle for the past few weeks, but with a bum hand/ wrist... snatches and clean + jerks are not happening. I tell you what... nothing makes you strong like squats. That's a fact! We are big squatters (????) at our house. I kid you not... there is a weight room in our "family room" off the kitchen. This was a critical element we were looking at when purchasing a house-- a (heated) room for working out. Maybe that means Chris and I are obsessed (he has earned the name Chris Squatford, afterall), or maybe it means that I get my squats in while I'm making dinner... 

But I digress...

Smolov Jr is 3 week squatting program (also used for bench presses) based on the original Smolov (Russian weightlifter) program. Here's a link (this page also links to a calculator if you're looking to give it a try). http://joshmahony.com/weights/smolov_jr.php

Happy eating, happy squatting. Rinse. Repeat.  :-)

Chicken, Bacon, Spinach

There are a handful of standby paleo dishes I have where I usually have the ingredients on hand, and can make pretty quickly... Stuffed Peppers, Stir Fry,... and Chicken, Bacon, Spinach (we never really came up with a cool name... other than DELICIOUS).


Chicken, Bacon, & Spinach

5 slices bacon
1.5# chicken breast or breast tenderloin, cubed
5-6 handfuls of fresh spinach (could also use kale)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes

Directions:
1. Cook the bacon in a big frying pan (has got to be able to fit everything)
2. Once bacon is cooked, remove bacon and crunch up in bits-- put it on a plate and save it for later
3. Cook your cubed chicken in the bacon fat
4. Once you chicken is cooked all the way through, add sun-dried tomatoes and spinach and bacon

You're done! Eat up. Makes delicious leftovers as well. I sometimes like to put smoky almonds on top as a garnish, or avocado if you're feeling frisky.

If you're feeling like you want to eat it with a starch, it's always delicious w/ mashed sweet taters. These are the greatest invention... mashed sweet taters from Trader Joe's. They're frozen mashed sweet potatoes, but they're frozen in these little discs that you pull out individually to use (so you can make as much or as little as you want).

http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_id=1346

Eating when you're injured

You know how it goes... you're going about your life, doing your "thang", getting your workouts in, making progress towards your fitness goals- and BAM- something comes up that prevents you from working out as much, or in the way that you want to. This can be an injury, an unusually hectic work schedule, or just other commitments that get in the way of your workouts.

Pic source: hummingbirdcreativedesign.com

One thing I'm always cautious about when I'm injured is how much (and what) I'm eating. For the past 2-3 weeks I've been doing 1-2 workouts every day... in fact, most days have been 2 (between CrossFit, hot yoga, running, and rowing), but that is reduced for the time-being. 

When you're not working out as much anymore, it's time to really dial in your eating. When you're doing two-a-days everyday, you can eat more food than when you're not working out with such intensity. However, when you're working out less, or working out at a lesser intensity, you're not expending as many calories, and you're probably not building muscle like you were before.

My general approach is to consume less carbohydrates than before. Since I generally eat pretty paleo most of my carb consumption comes from fruit, root vegetables, and paleo treats. After the initial post-hand slicing, "I'm-sad-and-upset-so-I'm-eating-this" meal... I'm cleaning things up, and just trying to drink more fluids and take in less food overall. I'm also trying to be diligent about eating plenty of vegetables and getting my omega 3's in. I don't have a specific scholarly article backing this-- but I suspect my body needs all the vitamins/ minerals it can get from healthy foods as it's trying to repair the hole in my hand. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I should just jam some french fries down my bandage and feed the wound directly. Probably not.

I'm not into supplements. Fish oil is about the only supplement I take in addition to post-workout protein (when I remember, and when I'm not going to be eating a meal immediately after). (I also take a probiotic--not sure if that counts-- but that's made a big difference for me...we'll talk about those later.) I've taken a whole lot of vitamins, supplements, shakes, pills, etc. over time. I've never noticed any significant positive change from taking a supplement other than post-workout protein. I get my nutrients from food. I get adequate sleep. I manage stress. I drink plenty of water.  That's way better than anything made in a lab that comes in a bottle. You can't "out-supplement" a crappy lifestyle. If you're not sleeping, if you're stressed, if you're eating unhealthy food-- your body will retaliate in one way or another. 

I'm not an exercise physiologist. I'm not a doctor. But I do know when I don't workout and I keep eating like I'm working out, I gain weight. I've run a few marathons, and you get in the habit of eating a lot of food when you're running 40 miles a week. However, when the marathon is over-- you have to make a conscious effort to eat less food in the following weeks when you're recovering and running less. The same is true for CrossFit or any other fitness regime.

When you're injured your job #1 is getting healthy. Don't do stuff to make your injury worse. I see it all the time when I'm at the gym-- people pushing THROUGH injuries rather than working WITH them. All for what? Unless you're training for the games or regionals (maybe), I don't see any  reason to push your injuries and potentially make them worse, or make it take longer to heal. I'm not saying "don't workout until you feel 100%", but I am saying don't workout if it's causing you pain (some discomfort- okay, pain-not okay). I can tell you the last thing I want to do right now is rip out a stitch because I needed to do some pull-ups so I wouldn't "lose capacity". Guess what... 1 extra rep, a few pull-ups...whatever, won't create a lot more strength or endurance. Yeah, maybe it gives you a mental boost-- but don't forget the mental frustration 

that comes when you when you re-injure an old injury, or rip out a stitch, or create a new injury. Be patient. This too shall pass.

So for anyone else out there that's feeling frustrated because something is keeping them out of the gym... have faith that you'll get back in there, and that you'll be well-rested and ready to move forward when you do. Give your body the time it needs to heal-- this is the only body you're going to get- treat it right.

Monday dinner

Last night was the first night of making meals on the fly. I have class until 8:15, so I get home around 9. Luckily Chris got home before me and started making our dinner... even more lucky- I had baked 2 sweet potatoes before the whole ER-visit thing on Sunday.

We made Turkey and Spinach Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. According to Chris they were not too hard to make, and they were pretty tasty! They're a nice blend of slightly spicy meat and slightly sweet potato-- for as simple as this was to make, it was surprisingly good-tasting! Bonus.

Recipe:
http://paleomg.com/clean-it-up-mondays-turkey-and-spinach-stuffed-sweet-potatoes/


The other dish I made on Sunday was Pumpkin Pie Chia Seed Pudding. Earth Fare had Chia Seeds on sale, and I saw this recipe as an opportunity to use up 1 of the 3 cans of pumpkin that I have leftover from the holidays.

Recipe:
http://www.slenderkitchen.com/pumpkin-pie-chia-seed-pudding/

When I made this I quadrupled the recipe (to use the entire can of pumpkin) and omitted the maple syrup (I used a packet of stevia instead).

Chia seeds are a great food because they contain a lot of Omega-3 fatty acids that help cells grow. I'm all about supporting growth right now! Bring it, chia seeds.

Smoothie Review & Paleo Crunch

I love a good smoothie... I also have a strange disposition where, if I eat too much Vitamin C, I get ulcers in my mouth/ throat... so I'm always on the lookout for smoothies that don't include much citrus.

Here's one for you: http://paleomg.com/blueberry-chai-granola-smoothies/



This was pretty tasty... and, of course, easy since you just throw everything in the blender... Crushing the chia seeds was mildly inconvenient, but I just did a bunch so I can make this again really easily. I omitted the honey to save on carbs... it still felt sweet enough, especially with the paleo crunch on top...

Which...speak of the devil... my FAVORITE paleo crunch recipe:
http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/grain-free-goodies/caveman-crunch/

I use maple syrup instead of honey... It's AWESOME.

Spaghetti Squash, ER visits, and unexpected resolution-breaking

Well, friends. Let me tell you a story. 

I've been searching for spaghetti squash for about 3 weeks now. It's never at Earth Fare, and it was never at Giant Eagle when I went there...so finally I got to Beuhler's in Wadsworth- and voila-- there they are. Bring yellow and beautiful. So I bought 3. 

I got those suckers home, and on Sunday I started prepping my food for the week. I had just come home from running (prior to hot yoga-- bam! active Sunday like whaaaat!!) and I said to myself, "Self, let's put this squash in the oven real quick so it can bake while I shower". I thought about microwaving it so it'd be easier to cook... but that would take 5 minutes! No way! So, I'm cutting the squash as I'm congratulating myself on being so damn efficient.. and sha-ZAM! My hand slipped off the knife and I poked my hand from wrist to palm with the tip of my brand new knife. uugghhh.

At first I was like... no problem. It's merely a flesh wound... a band aid will suffice!

But then I took a second look, and I swear it happened in slow motion, the cut just peeled open way deeper than I expected and blood came gushing out.... ohhhhh no....

I squeezed the skin back together and started looking for Chris... who was in the basement... so I awkwardly yelled "uhhh... heeelp?" (I mean... is this the moment to play damsel in distress?)... but he didn't answer... so I stood at the top of the stairs and yelled "HELLOOOO?!?" (irritated damsel in distress)... still no answer... 

So now I'm just pissed. Here I am, probably going to die at any moment, and Chris's selective hearing is blocking me out in my MOMENT OF NEED!

I stepped down a few steps and yelled again, "CRAW. I need to go to the hospital... LIKE NOW."

Finally I heard him say "Whuuuut?!"... much like Scooby-Doo. I heard a bunch of things hit the ground and up the stairs he flew. 

"What do we do?" he asked.

"Hospital. We go to the hospital". He grabbed some towels and a bag of ice and off we went. Unfortunately all the cars were blocked by the truck... so we had to drive a big ass truck to the ER. Oh well. 

When these things happen, the things that roll through your mind (after "ouch" and "this sucks" are... kind of random. Examples below:

1. I realized I was wearing one of my favorite Lululemon running shirts. "They better not have to cut this thing off of me!! I'll fight it!!"
2. OMG HOW WILL I WORKOUT?! I am going to be so weak!!
3. What's the smell?... wait. I just went running and to hot yoga. I SMELL DISGUSTING. Now everyone will know my sweat doesn't smell like roses... OMG...
4. Does it count as blood doping if I have to get a transfusion? hmmm....

Luckily it was a short drive.

We arrived and didn't really know where to go... the signage wasn't exactly clear.. so we kept driving back further and further into the parking lot... and really, I have to say... they really ought to re-think the number of speed bumps on the way to the ER. I'm pretty sure my cut gushed everytime we hit a bump-- there were at least 4.

We finally arrived... the truck is kinda large... and hard to park, and poor Chris just pulled into the first spot he saw--which I guess was two spots because we parked diagonally across two spots. Oh well. I'm bleeding. Deal.

We got into the ER, and it was pretty empty. I was holding my hand is a striped dish towel and Chris had my enormous Kate Spade purse in tote. Note: Everyone looks good in a designer bag, fact. Someone came out immediately when they saw us... she gave me some bandages to stop the bleeding, then told us to wait in line. 

That was awkward...

I mean...  is that normal to be profusely bleeding from your hand and then, just... wait in line? I mean, I'm literally holding my flesh together... can't I just sit down while I do registration?! I've watched my fair share of surgeries and can deal with blood pretty well, but I gotta be honest, it's different when it's YOUR blood and YOUR flesh. 

Waiting....

Waiting....

Finally! Registration. Once I gave them every piece of data I have memorized and signed over my first born I was escorted back to a room... fancy. The registration guy was pretty much hilarious, so all is forgiven for the crappy intake process. Plus you get your own TV in your room! We don't have cable... so I was tempted to watch... but I don't know,  I was distracted.

Anyway, long story short. A nice doctor lady put 4 stitches in me, and then an awesome nurse got me all bandaged up (he also happens to live down the street- crazy!). 

We stopped and got some take-out burgers (no bun!) from the local fancy-burger place (The Rail). I may or may not have also consumed potato chips with beer cheese, bacon and chives. They may or may not have been delicious. Don't judge me.

I came home... and there it was... the spaghetti squash with the knife still stuck in it. 

Looks pretty murderous?! Doesn't it!!

No blood on the squash (and we took the knife out so as not to contaminate things)... so, this cave lady says I'm still going to eat it. Someone posted a thing on Facebook that said they weren't vegetarian because they loved animals.... they were vegetarian because they hated plants.... well guess what... I hate spaghetti squash and I'm gonna eat ALL OF THEM. grrr...

Anyway- now I've got a bandage the size of Texas (and probably a scar to match), and an embarrassing story. When people ask how it happened, everyone has said "I thought you hurt it at the gym". Fair enough.

I'm not sure how long these things take to heal. It's in an awkward place because I can't avoid using it (I'm left-handed...and it's my left-hand). Plus, it's in the crease of my wrist/ thumb. It's going to be awhile before I'm doing pull-ups, jerks, or muscle-ups again. It really stinks because I was going to work on Chest-to-Bar pull-ups this week!

Oh well. It's a great opportunity to take a break from my Olympic Lifting cycle and start a short squatting cycle. I can also work on pistols (one-legged squat), abs, GHD exercises... reverse hyper... maybe running, box jumps. Who knows. I just have to keep the wound clean and dry. The stitches come out next Monday.

All in all... this really isn't that bad. I don't even remember it hurting when it happened. It was just surprising. Yes, I won't be doing much at the gym with my hands for the next 2 weeks, but-- I didn't break a bone, I didn't slice a tendon, I didn't lose a limb... I just accidentally tried to make a filet out of my hand. 

SO. Needless to say, food is not prepared for this week. Resolution broken. Oh well.. I'll get through this week and start fresh next week.

This week I will be specializing in... FOODS YOU MAKE WITH ONE HAND!! Woohoo!!

<3 Thanks for all the extra love and support this week. 

Bacon Brussel Sprouts

Here's an easy weeknight side dish for you. Goes well with just about any meat. It can be a nice compliment to some simple grilled chicken.

Bacon Brussel Sprouts

2 pounds brussel sprouts (fresh), halved or cubed

5 slices bacon (I used thick sliced bacon)

2-3 TBSP Herbs de Provence

Prep the brussel sprouts (cube or halve them). 

Cook the bacon in a large frying pan...when it's all cooked take it out and put it on a plate to cool. When it cools break the bacon up in the chunks.

Cook the sprouts in the bcaon fat...yum.

When the sprouts are cooked (soft to the touch, but still firm), add the herbs and bacon, stir.  

Brussel sprouts are thought to prevent cancer-- so eat up and enjoy!

Week 1 FINAL GRADES

Overview Week 1:

FINAL GRADES. Each week I will evaluate the past week's dishes. Grades range from A to F. Dishes are graded based on:

1. Flavor- did it taste good?
2. Degree of difficulty-- did it require a lot of work/ dishes/ etc (easier is better)
3. Second use- Did it make useful leftovers?
4. Freezability/ reheating-- (if known)- being able to freeze and eat it later it is better, being able to heat it up and eat it again is required
5. Does it look appetizing? Nobody wants to eat ugly food.

Dinners/ Lunches:
Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles:
 Grade: B-
 Comments: Turkey meatballs were awesome, zucchini noodles were too watery to be delicious, or edible (frankly). There was just not a lot of taste going on there, unless you doused it in marinara. But don't get me wrong... those meatballs were on point.

Chicken Enchilada Stew:
  Grade: A
  Comments: Great, flavorful dish. Needs to be served with something else to be a full meal. Great on top of salad, great as a soup (if you added some more broth), great by itself with some sweet potato. I love a good tasting, flexible dish.
   *No one gets an A+ unless it is absolutely flawless. I teach college courses and there literally isn't an A+ I can even give... but I would dole it out here if I felt a dish was worthy of the A+... but it will literally have to blow my socks off.

Crockpot Ropa Vieja
  Grade: B
  Comments: This was just okay. The food was fairly flavorful, but it could have used a more rich flavor in there... I'm not sure, it just felt like it was missing something. I've never had the original before- so I can't speak to what it's supposed to taste like, but if I were to make this again, I would consider adding some liquid smoke (not sure if that's paleo... probably not), or perhaps some ghee or more garlic. Crockpot cooking isn't always gourmet and brimming with a full bouquet of flavors... but this felt a little too dominated by bell peppers and onions. I didn't make the rice that was originally associated with this recipe (it was a lot of work)-- that may have been a mistake. I'm just not a huge fan of cauliflower rice. Also, this tasted even more bland re-heated in the microwave.

CCL Thai Chicken Coconut Soup
  Grade: A
  Comments: This was my favorite meal this week. It was just different-- rich, creamy, savory, and filling. Awesome dish to take the edge off some really cold days this week. I will definitely make this again. I realize I'm totally biased because this is my recipe, lol. The only downside is you do need to eat something else with this to really have a meal (in my opinion). There are also some strange ingredients you may not have on hand (lemongrass, red curry paste).


Breakfasts:
Baked Egg in Pepper:
  Grade: F- (yes, that's BELOW the possibilities of the grading scale)
  Comments: Truly disgusting. Also took an incredible amount of work and dirtied a bunch of dishes-- I had to chop up a bunch of veggies, roast the peppers prior to baking, fill eggs with the funky green filing (that had to be cooked separately first...dirtying another frying pan!), drop in the eggs (which spilled everywhere), then had to bake them again (they took twice as long as the recipe said they would), and on top of that-- it tasted like I was eating a hot compost pile. F MINUS. In the words of my friend Michael, this was a Paleo Fail-eo.

Scrambled eggs w/ Rope Vieja, Bell Peppers, Sweet Taters:
  Grade: B+
     This was a good use of leftover beef-- still a bit bland. In hindsight, just adding some sriracha or hot sauce would've improved things a bit... but still-- a little too sweet for my savory-loving tongue!

Snacks:
Plantain chips:
  Grade: A-
  Comments: I love plantain chips-- so I thought these were great. I think they need to be sliced a little thinner in the food processor next time (2-3mm). I have concerns about how well these would hold up over the course of a few days. I've made kale chips in the past and they don't hold well at all-- I'm afraid these would be similar. But don't you know... we ate them all in one day pretty much. I had a few the next day (stored in a plastic ziploc bag--and they were fine). The jury is out on storage and how well they hold over time.

Roasted sweet taters:
  Grade: A
  Comments: Easy, delicious, versatile. I'll make a lot more of these. You can eat these at pretty much any meal. I need to be a little cautious though, sincethere's a lot of carbs here. I'm not looking to lose a lot of weight, but I also don't want to gain any, lol. Muscle ups are hard enough. I don't need to pull any more weight.

Spinach Bread:
  Grade: B
  Comments: Healthy.... Also tastes very healthy. Pairs well with breakfast/ lunch. It's got a pretty strong spinach taste-- I may try tweaking this recipe a bit so it doesn't taste so much like spinach concentrate.

Friday- we made it!

Week 1, Day 6

Happy Friday, friends!

Today is again, a day of leftovers. I threw the Rope Veija into an omlette with some diced bell pepper, put it in a dish and sprinkled some roasted sweet taters on top. Ta-da! Breakfast is served.

Lunch is a repeat of yesterday. Dinner is at a friend's house. We didn't get to the fish tacos this week-- I'll save them for next week or this weekend... that Ropa Veija made so many leftovers we didn't need to make an extra meal (bonus!).

I was talking to a friend of mine last night (Jen) and we have both cleaned up our diets since the new year. We agreed that you really do feel so much better when your diet is better. You feel more energetic, you sleep better, I feel like my workouts are better... overall we are just living better. I think the "garbage in- garbage out" adage really applies to diet. When you eat like crap, you feel like crap... and when you eat well, you feel well.

Week 1 "FINAL GRADES" will be released this morning... grading the deliciousness of each dish prepared. There will be no extra credit, no curve, and all grades are final.

I leave you with one of my favorite videos illustrating the awesomeness of Friday afternoon (compared to Monday morning). Have a great weekend!

Leftovers galore

Week 1, Day 5

We made it to Thursday-- so it's basically the weekend!!

Today was all about leftovers, which, I love. Technically I guess this week was all about leftovers since almost everything was made in advance. Good point, self.

I don't think I shared a picture of the egg baked in the pepper-- but here it is. No further comments....

Lunch was leftover soup, salad, and spinach bread. There was an epic fail at the microwave though... I heated up my tasty little bowl of soup, and put the lid back on it to go back upstairs to my office... I put it back in my lunch bag... and then the lid popped off and my soup spilled all over the inside of my lunch bag. UGH. For a minute I was like-- oh I can for sure re-use this lunch bag-- I'll just clean it out (it's a tiny lululemon bag). No. When you have to POUR the contents out of your lunch bag... and it comes out of there like Niagara Falls you just have to throw the bag away. Farwell lunch bag, you and I had a good run. It was very much like when you do a box jump, and miss, and scrape you leg all the way down the box and scrape off your skin, and at first you're like-- "I'm totally fine- I'll keep going" and then you take another jump and you're like "NOT FINE". 

Next week is looking like a good week. I've had so many awesome recipe/ idea suggestions from Facebook and from just talking with people. I'm going to make the plan for cooking tomorrow or Saturday-- so I'll let you know what storm I'll be cooking up on Sunday. 

nighty night- don't let the bed bugs bite! ...but if they do... bite back, they're paleo! ;-)

Paleo Thai Chicken Coconut Soup is awesome

Week 1, Day 4

First of all....

Now that that's over with....

Breakfast- still eating those peppers with a sad little egg in them. I can't believe a chicken had to die for these.

Lunch was way more interesting! The Thai Coconut Soup was super delicious. I'm at school today-- so I had to heat it up in the microwave-- and the coconut milk base didn't get weird or anything. I put a cup in the freezer to see if it would freeze/ thaw okay (since milk products sometimes get weird when frozen and thawed). I'll let you know how it goes...

Here's most of my lunch-- a big bowl of soup, spinach bread with some pepperoni and a spinach salad (not pictured). I'm hoping spinach is going to make me strong like popeye!! Spinach is such an incredible food. It can be prepared in so many ways-- in an omelette or quiche for breakfast, a salad for lunch, stir fry for dinner-- and it's like top shelf liquor in terms of healthfulness (that is a really bad simile). Spinach contains phyto-nutrients, antioxidants, and a whole alphabet of vitamins. However, spinach recently let me down when I realized it isn't quite the iron and calcium powerhouse that I thought it was-- while it does contain a significant amount of iron and calcium, it also contains oxalate which decreases calcium and iron absorption. BUMMER. Oh well- I still love you, spinach... but watch it.

Dinner tonight is a recipe from PaleOMG: Crockpot Ropa Vieja. 

http://paleomg.com/crockpot-ropa-vieja-cuban-style-rice/

I love Latin food. Really love it. I saw Ropa Vieja on the menu at my favorite restaurant (Paladar in Woodmere). However, I was totally beefed-out at the time (we had steak probably 3-4 days in a row), so I just wasn't feeling beef when I was there. I was pumped to find the paleo-ized version online!

This morning I pulled out my prepped ingredients and beef roast and threw them in the crockpot. Here's the before and after:

I'm not sure how many pounds this roast is-- it looked like 3-4. We bought a quarter grassfed cow last year, and this is one of the last roasts from ol' Bessie. I would highly recommend purchasing a portion of a cow if you're a beef-eater. It's much cheaper (I think we paid <$5 per pound for fresh, local grassfed beef, compared to $10 at the regular grocery), and it tastes great. The only challenge in finding somewhere to store a few hundred pounds of frozen cow. I have some different cuts of meat- but it's forcing me to learn and be creative--always a good thing.

This would be delicious with some plantain chips. Too bad we ate all of them on Sunday, LOL.

Next week I'm definitely going to have to be better about planning the meals. This week was a good start-- I did a lot of prep on Sunday, but I didn't really think about how MUCH we would eat at each meal--so I wasn't really prepared for the fact that we didn't have a lot of leftovers--thus I needed to make additional dishes. Next week, I'll be ready!

Week 1, Day 3

Today is a snow day for me. Woop woop!! I got to sleep in which was wonderful.

I started the day with another one of those baked eggs in the pepper. One problem with making all your food in advance for a week is that, if it sucks, you still have to eat it the next day (unless it's so bad you want to throw it away and make something new- but ain't nobody got time for that). 

Anyway- this time I covered that bastardized egg in hot sauce and it was better. Since the egg was baked on tin foil, it got an almost plastic-like in some parts... gross. To improve this, I would suggest throwing in some herbs for flavor, and using pancetta or bacon (a saltier, more flavorful meat). I would also make sure you don't overfill the peppers-- if the egg cooks on the foil it gets that plastic-like texture--which is just sick.

Hot sauce covers a multitude of cooking mistakes, disasters, and otherwise bad-tasting food.

I got to go the gym at 11 today which was great. We did a 1RM full clean and jerk. I hit 150, which is not a PR for me, but it's getting better. I think I could've done more, but I wanted to be a little cautious not to mess up all the progress I've made with my back/ hip. We re-did the CF open workout 13.4 afterwards. I did 69 reps today (87 last year). I'll deal with it though- this is what happens when you have priorities other than working out. Besides, I did that wod after some serious strength and skill work, so I was less than fresh. Excuses, excuses- but whatevs. C'est la vie. 

Since I have the day off I figured I'd make some soup. I love Thai food (which Chris hates)- so I'm going to make a paleo-ized version of Thai Coconut soup. I've checked out a few recipes, and I'm combining a few to make what I think will be the BEST- haha! I like my soups a little more full (less watery) than this soup is traditionally served. I'm using this as a lunch for the next two days-- so it's gotta fill a girl UP! Also... I'm sick of bell peppers right now, and I needed a meal that did not include bell peppers. lol.

CCL Paleo Thai Coconut Soup:

2 Chicken breast (about 1.25 #)

1 can coconut milk, full fat

4 cups chicken stock (I used a 32 oz box)

1 tsp lime juice

2 TBSP lemongrass puree (I bought this in the refridgerated section--it says the entire tube is 6 stalks of lemongrass.... if you're using real lemongrass I'd say to use 2 stalks)

A container of mushrooms, probably 2 cups sliced 

1 TBSP fish sauce

1 tsp red curry paste (if you don't have this, try 1 tsp sriracha)

1 inch piece of ginger, grated

2 large carrots, sliced thinly

3 garlic cloves, pressed in garlic press

Crockpot it. High for 4 hours or low for 8 hours... just make sure your chicken is cooked all the way through. Shred the chicken. Enjoy.

For dinner tonight we're having the rest of the chicken enchilada meat. 

Well- that's it for now. It's currently 3 degrees outside. The only time I felt truly warm today was when I went to hot yoga and the room was 90 degrees. Summer- I miss you.

I'll let you know how the soup turns out (pictures, of course). Next on the docket we have: 

Crockpot Ropa Vieja (Wed)

      Recipe: http://paleomg.com/crockpot-ropa-vieja-cuban-style-rice/

      I'm skipping the cauliflower rice.... serving with sweet taters instead... feeling lazy.

Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos (Thur)

      Recipe: (for the tortillas): http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/05/03/paleo-fish-tacos/
      the recipe for the fish is TBD... but I feel like Mahi-mahi has a great natural flavor- so it will be simple.