Hazmat

Well, I owe y'all some motivation and some recipes. Grease Monkey has had pneumonia for the last 3 weeks and its been the worst it's been the last 3 days. We're working through it and I'll be back ASAP. 

Motivation Monday

Well, Grease Monkey has bestowed upon me whatever 'crud' he's been sick with the last couple weeks. Maybe I can be a big whiney baby, now that it's my turn.  ;-)

So, while I'm taking a break on working out today, which is driving me nuts, I'm staying super on top of my eating....besides the real sugar (no corn syrup) Coke I had earlier. I'm Mitzi's offspring for sure...we crave Coke when we're sick. Here's your Motivation for this Monday. :)

Tasty Tuesday on a Wednesday

Ok. You're going to love these. That's all there is to it....trust me. You have no choice.

I present ACTUALLY delicious PALEO cookiiiiiiiiiieeeesssss!

OM NOM NOM!

Ok, so the first time I used SunButter I was so pleasantly surprised. I had never used any other kind of 'nut butter' besides peanut butter. (This is not a nut butter. This is, in fact, a seed butter.) ((Grease monkey is allergic to peanuts and almonds.))  I made cookies. I gave some to my neighbor, some to my husband in his lunch, then some to my mother-in-law. Then, I went and ran errands and got a call from my mother in law to find out why her cookies were green.

Hold the phone....DID YOU SAY GREEN?!

Oh no! I've poisoned everyone! A few calls later and a few frantic minutes on the internet later I found that it's perfectly normal to have things turn green with SunButter when using Baking Soda.

  <-- not today's cookies

The chlorogenic acid (chlorophyll) in sunflower seeds react with the baking soda/powder when baked causing the green color when the product cools down. ----www.sunbutter.com

Whew! But, it seriously had me going for a while. 

We're not doing that today, though. Just wanted to share it because it was funny....to me. 

Today, we're making Paleo SunButter cookies!

^ These are today's cookies!  So Moist and Crumbly!

Ingredients:
1 cup SunButter
2 2/3 cup coconut flour
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup coconut sugar
1 cup coconut milk (or almond milk)

-Cream SunButter and sugar together.
-Beat in egg. Add milk.
-Stir in vanilla
-Combine flour and salt in separate bowl and stir into mixture.
-Cover and chill for an hour (chill the dough...not you...well, you can chill too but you've probably got stuff to do)
- Preheat oven to 400°F
-Form dough into balls and place on ungreased chilled cookie sheet (press with fork if desired) and bake 8-10 minutes, when edges are golden brown.
-Take cookie sheets out and let them cool on a wire rack.
-Enjoy!

How easy are those? And they won't turn green!

Motivation Monday on a Tuesday!

Sorry, y'all! I've been running behind.

And with running behind I've been working my behind off, too!

**Translation: Tabatas are 8 rounds of 20 seconds max effort followed by 10 seconds of rest. These were all kettlebell movements. Your score (on top) is the lowest number of reps you get in a round, so it pushes you to do more!**

For the first time yesterday I Rx'd a workout at Crossfit. Meaning I used the prescribed weight. I also did 5 back squats at 105 lbs. Which is crazy because before my one rep max was 95 lb and I was too scared to go any higher.

Been a little off my game lately. But what better way to get back on it than signing up for a Crossfit Competition??? That's right. Me, Lindsay. I signed up for a Crossfit Competition!!! It's called No Baby, Leave the Socks On.

Your one requirement is to wear weighlifting socks and booty shorts are optional! 

Hahahaha!

So, I'll stick with finding tall socks and rock my usual workout wear! I'm in the scaled division which means I can't do unassisted pullups, big box jumps or lots of weight yet. But, I'll get there. Not sure if I'll ever be comfortable enough to wear the booty shorts, though! 

Ok, let's keep the motivation part of this light and airy shall we?

I used to eat at McDonald's every single day, multiple times a day and now their food makes me so sick. Physically, I get so sick. I can't stand it anymore.

This is one of the biggest reasons I love Crossfit. The loudest cheers are for those who finish last.

One of our crossfit coaches has 4 babies and she looks A-mazing! No excuses.

Come back tomorrow for Tasty Tuesday on a Wednesday! ;)

How did I get here?

Today I went through one of the towns I grew up in. Yes, there were several. Ten to be exact. But lived in more rent houses/apartments than that. And that was just until I graduated high school. No, we weren't military.

As I drove through this small east Texas town that I hadn't seen since I was 8 years old, I surprised myself by recognizing things. A mural in town, a payless that had been visited on Halloween to find witch shoes because I was finally going to beat the kid that kept coming to the costume contest in overalls and a jack-o-lantern on his head every year. (He maintained his winning streak.) I passed the Donut Palace that we went to ALL. THE. TIME. Then I saw Herschels. Herschels is like a Dairy Queen, but more country. Is that possible? I remember they had steak finger baskets and ice cream and a juke box that I would play Tim McGraw's "Don't Take The Girl" and John Michael Montgomery's "Be My Baby Tonight". Oh, and Mazzio's pizza...they had the best game room and was also where I stopped to tie my shoes by myself for the first time. I called my dad and told him I'd be going through that town and into the next town over and asked him if he remembered going to Ken's pizza and a cafe called Jams when we lived there. I drove past the country store that he would send me into to get us a bottle of YooHoo, a bottle of Dr. Pepper and 2 cans of snuff. Yes, they sold it to me, because they could see my dad in the truck outside. (The gas station in my grandmother's home town, however, would not sell me lottery tickets, she had to come in and get them herself.) I drove past the church where I attended Pre-K and during VBS a couple of years later got saved. They served us Eggo waffles with grape jelly on them in Pre-K.

As I was sipping my sweet tea from Chicken Express (I didn't have many options and chose my favorite in all the world...get over it) I realized I only was recognizing food places. Then I thought of the next town we moved to and the Italian food place we went to all the time over the course of the year that we lived there. Then, we moved to a small central Texas town. We lived there for three years and I remember riding my bike to the library, and eating at the auction barn...yes..the auction barn...it was like a truck stop. And a pizza place there that had THE thinnest crust. This town is also known for their kolaches. Usually I didn't get kolaches, but we ate at the gas station ALL the time. Our town couldn't support a grocery store. So we would go into the next big town over and go to the movies, Texas Roadhouse, Olive Garden, a diner that had something to do with Elvis, or had a picture of him, or something, Fazoli's, etc. The next town we lived in was back in east Texas and we ate out with my dad's co workers every day that summer at one of TWO restaurants. It alternated between one Mexican food place and Pizza Hut buffet. We moved again...found new restaurants...I moved to California with my mom and found In 'N Out Burger and an Italian place called Strings (don't get me started on that place I just know that I'm lactose intolerant now, and I blame their Fettucini Alfredo!)

My point is, my memories are mostly tied to food....and music. Though, the latter isn't dangerous.

 Did I recognize this house?

No.

I called my dad again and asked him how to get there. Got lost on the way. Then recognized a spot on the black top road where I had a HUGE bike wreck. (Not really, I recognized the neighbor's rusty basketball goal and our septic tank.) This is the house where I learned to ride my bike. Learned to ride horses. Was the first one on the bus and the last one off because we lived so far out in the country. We had 3 horses (Red, Katy, and Cody), 2 dogs (Bonnie and Amigo) and a cat that I can't remember the name of for the life of me. 

So, here I am. Totally addicted to junk food and soda. It's my drug of choice. Happy? I eat. Celebrating? I eat. Bored? I eat. Then, something happens like when I lost my mother 2 years ago and I moved away from all family and friends and was alone (besides Grease Monkey) with no job, no friends, no family near. I ate. A lot. And gained. A lot. I lie about how much I eat, where I've eaten, what I've eaten. Even to myself. 

I learned bad habits all my life from my parents' bad habits. But, I am not a child anymore. I have to be responsible for my actions now. I have to make better choices. I have to re-program myself to do better. To want better for myself and my future.

To Be Continued...

Tasty Tuesday-Sofrito Burgers

When I was little I was at my grandmother's house taking a bath. In her TEENY TINY bathroom there was a bathtub, toilet, free standing sink and a small cabinet. Across from the toilet was a lit Dearborn Stove.

I was about 3-4 years old. My dad gave me a bath and he put the lid down on the toilet and sat down to help me dry off and get dressed. I went to put my foot into my Barbie panties and accidentally put my foot through those bars on the front and burned my little foot. I blame this incident for my fear of fire.

Fast forward 20 years. When I got married to Isaac I realized how much I really liked grilled food. But, he worked so late that by the time he got home and started the grill and then cooked the meat it was late, so I had to overcome my fear of fire and learn to grill. Since I figured out how to grill without killing myself I've been the only one grilling. Makes me feel like: 

So, now I'm forced to come up with interesting twists on regular grill favorites like chicken and burgers. 

So, today, I present Paleo Sofrito Burgers

Sofrito is found in Spanish, Portuguese, Latin American, Caribbean, Cuban, 

Dominican, Greek, Colombian, and Mediterranean cuisine. 

Sofrito

-1/2 bunch cilantro

-4 large green onions, roots removed

-4 garlic cloves

-2 oz. red bell pepper (for color)

1/4 cup parsley

1/4 cup E.V.O.O.

Pulse in blender until smooth. This can be frozen in baggies. This will make more than you need.

Burgers

1 lb grass fed beef (or 90% lean if you don't have grass fed)

4 tsp. bacon grease

4 T. sofrito

1 ripe avocado

Juice of 1/4 lime

Lettuce to use instead of buns

Prepare the charcoal and fire in your grill. Prepare your sofrito.

Take bacon grease and work into beef with a fork or your hands. Form into four 4 oz. patties. When fire is hot cook burgers to your liking. When done place two 1/8 avocado slices on each patty and top with 1 T sofrito. Then, squeeze the lime juice on and enjoy. Use lettuce as a bun for a low/no carb option. 

Makes 4 servings.

I want to stuff chicken with this! It's so good...I would dip chips in it! :)

Enjoy!

Motivation Monday

So, even since I've started this blog a few weeks ago I have done some amazing things I never thought I'd be able to do. I am able to deadlift 225 lbs. I did a front roll. I did my first box jump. I'm now using a 35 lb kettlebell in my workouts. It's amazing the changes that are happening. I'm consistently going 4 times a week and loving it. 

I'll see you tomorrow for Tasty Tuesday! I'm pretty excited about it! It's definitely a go to summer recipe!

Crossfit Vocabulary

I keep getting asked: What does WOD mean?

Well, I got some pretty hilarious suggestions of what it means. (Thanks, Stacy!)

So, I'll go over some crossfit vocabulary to make sure you know what I'm talking about if you don't crossfit. (If you don't, you should) :)

***Keep in mind these are MY versions of the definitions. I'm trying to come as close to what Crossfit actually defines them as, but I make mistakes and am in no way a Crossfit expert or anything like that. This is just so when I post on my blog you are more familiar with what I'm talking about. If you want to see what these look like in action go to the Crossfit YouTube page. ***

WOD: Workout Of the Day

AMRAP: As Many Rounds (or Reps) As Possible

RFT: Rounds For Time

When I go in the first thing I do is go look at the white board to see what the WOD is and decide whether I want to back out slowly or not. :) WOD's are typically either AMRAP or RFT. AMRAP is usually my favorite because my brain can wrap around "AMRAP for 12 minutes" where I try to do everything on the board as many times as I can in 12 minutes. RFT is not my favorite because it could take me half an hour (or more).

Double Unders: Jumping rope and doing one jump while the rope makes 2 revolutions

Single Skips: Jumping rope and jumping once and the rope making one revolution

Wall Balls: Taking a medicine ball and squatting down with it then standing up and throwing it up at a line on the wall and catching it and squatting back down for the next rep

Box Jumps: Starting on the ground and jumping up on a box of a specified size like 20" or 24"

American Kettle Bell Swing: Swinging the kettle bell up to where the kettlebell is above your head, your arms are in line with your body

Russian Kettle Bell Swing: Swinging the kettle bell to right above eye level

Kettlebells

Then there are the lifts:

Backsquat: Squatting with a loaded barbell on your shoulders.
Barbell Snatch: Barbell is pulled from the floor to overhead and caught in a squat position.
Clean and Jerk (C&J): Cleaning the bar from the floor to the front rack position (bar resting on collar bone with triceps parallel to the floor) then driving the bar over head with arms locked out above you.
Front Squat (FS): Holding the bar in front rack position and squat.
Hang Clean: Starting with the bar just above your knees and cleaning it up to your shoulders and catching it in a squat position and standing back up.
Hang Power Clean: Starting with the bar just above your knees and jumping to clean the bar up into a front rack position.
Hang Power Snatch:Starting with the bar just above your knees and jumping while driving the bar overhead to be caught in a locked out overhead position.
Hang Snatch: Starting with your barbell in a "high hang" position which is in your hip creases, jump and drive the bar overhead while going into a squat position. Catch the bar with your arms locked out and stand up.
Overhead Squat (OHS): Holding bar overhead with arms locked out and squat.
Power Clean: Cleaning the bar from the ground to your shoulders, starting in a squat and jumping to clean the bar to your shoulders.
Power Snatch: Starting with the bar on the floor and in a squat jumping and bringing the bar overhead.
Push Jerk: Starting with the bar on your shoulders in front of you and dipping down by bending your knees and driving the bar up above head with arms locked out and landing with your knees bent and standing up.
Push Press: Starting with the bar on your shoulders in front of you and dipping down by bending your knees and pressing it over head with arms locked out.
Shoulder Press: Starting with the bar on your shoulders in front of you and pressing it above your head
Thruster: Connecting a front squat to a push press. Starting with your bar in front rack position and squatting down past parallel and standing up and pushing the bar up overhead with arms locked out.

Here are some of them coached by Mike Burgener and the last one is Jason Khalipa.

Clean and Jerk

Hang Clean

Hang Power Clean

Hang Power Snatch

Hang Snatch

Power Clean

Power Snatch

Push Jerk

Thruster

Tasty Tuesday: 4th of July Edition

You know, for someone born and raised in Texas, I sure complain about the heat a lot. A year and a half ago we moved from Dallas to just north of Houston. The humidity here is REEEEEEEEEEEdiculous. You just feel like you're melting.

Which, is why I present to you a deliciously healthy, refreshing treat for 4th of July.

Paleo (which means it's grain free, dairy free, gluten free, vegan) Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes! YAY!

So, I kind of had trouble with this because of a brain fart, but I'll tell you what to do so it's 

A-MAZING. 

***Cupcakes***

1 cup vegan milk (I used coconut, you can use almond, or soy)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 and 1/4 cups coconut flour (or almond flour)

1.5 Tbsp arrowroot powder (that's 1 tablespoon PLUS 1 and a half teaspoons because 3 t= 1 T)

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened (vegan butter) or 1/3 cup canola oil

3/4 cup sugar (I used blonde coconut sugar...it is SOO good because believe me I was skeptical)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

(Recipe says it makes 10 cupcakes, I made 18)

Now, let me stop here and say this: The cupcake batter (if you use the substitutes I used) is not like the normal cupcake batter. There are no eggs in this recipe so it's not runny. This isn't a 'pretty cupcake' like all the other cupcakes I've made. When I finished mixing the flour and milk into the creamed sugar I thought I was going to get THE driest cupcakes ever. Just the opposite. These melt in your mouth. They're so good. They're light and flavorful, but the flavor isn't too much.

***Whipped Cream***

1 (13.5 ounce) can of full-fat unsweetened coconut milk (usually found in the Asian foods section in the grocery store, believe me I went to my usual store twice, then to another before I figured it out.)

2 teaspoons powdered sugar (I put coconut sugar in my blender and powdered it and this makes the whipped cream tan...perfectly normal just not what you're used to)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup strawberries diced and hulled

1. Put the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for a few hours, overnight is best. 

2. Preheat oven to 350º F and grease or put paper liners in a cupcake pan.

3. In a measuring cup, combine milk with the vinegar and let sit for at least 5 minutes to allow it to curdle. 

4. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, arrowroot powder, baking soda and baking powder.

5. Take a separate large bowl and cream together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer for approximately one minute. Add the vanilla extract and beat until it's combined thoroughly.

6.Then, alternate adding small amounts of the milk and flour while stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula in between mixing. Be careful not to over-mix the batter.

7. Once all the ingredients are combine completely, fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full. 

8. Bake for 20-22 minutes and let cool.

9. To make the whipped cream topping, take the can of coconut milk from the fridge and turn the can upside down.

10. After opening with a can opener, drain any liquid that was on top. You should still have a bit of cream on the bottom. Put this cream into a large mixing bowl and beat with mixer on high until whipped cream texture has formed.

11. Add powdered sugar along with vanilla extract and beat well.

12. Top cupcakes with whipped cream, top with diced strawberries.

Now, I'll tell you how I messed up. I couldn't find the canned milk until today. It didn't sit long enough and I misread my amount of sugar (re-read the sugar from the cupcakes). Otherwise I'd show you my beautifully topped cupcakes. I'll go get another can of milk, save a cupcake, redo and add a picture later. Until then, here's just the cake:

Kind of has a streusel look? But, it's SOOO good. Doesn't taste like coconut at all (which is good because I hate coconut...I'm weird, I know.) 

Stay tuned...more pictures to come for these with proper paleo whip on top. 

Also, stay tuned for me delving into finding the reasons why I'm overweight.

 Who knows, maybe it will be cathartic. Maybe I'll have a breakthrough. 

See you then. Same bat channel.

Motivation Monday!!!

I woke up at 4 a.m. and got ready to work out and was at Crossfit by 5 a.m. Don't worry, I'm scheduled for an MRI later to find out what's wrong with me! HA!

Our friend finished a month of the Cornerstone class, which is the beginners Crossfit, and started "Big Boy Crossfit" today. That's what I call it anyway. So, to support him on his first day, we both got up and went with him.

I'm not sure my coach was ready for the 5 a.m. me. You know how I've said that I make the Jack Nicholson eyebrows in the morning to keep my eyes open? No, when I wake up at 4 I'm delirious and goofy and HI-LARIOUS...to myself only.

Hmm...where were we? So, last week I set the goal to go without soda. I'd love to tell you I made it the whole week, but that night I sat down and drank blood orange italian soda, thinking it didn't count. Grease Monkey said otherwise. :( So, then it was another couple of days and I had another one, then we went out and I had another, and a couple at the pool yesterday....so, I didn't meet my goal, but I'm setting it again this week. I'm going to say I'll try to have no more than 2 sodas this week, if I have any at all.

A Crossfit gym is called a box. 

 I'm sure this is how my coach felt at 5 a.m....or really any time I'm there. 

 I love everything about her!!

 ONE....TAHOOO....BLERPFF

 I concur.