Where did I go?/Paleo Sweet Bacon Chicken

Where have I been? Seems like I was doing well there for a few weeks. 

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WELL.....I got pregnant, for starters! 

Can you see that widdle face?  This was at 20 weeks. I'm 27 weeks now. But, what is it? 

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IT'S A GIRL!
(Thanks, Mia)

My due date is April 13th and we're expecting little Lily Mae. 

Don't worry I know that it's something like .000001% (ok maybe that's an exaggeration) of babies are born on their due date so, yeah...

I was wondering if I'd even have a bump, since I'm a big girl. But, I definitely do. LOL

So that's been part of it. I looked back and I've been gone since the end of July. Grease Monkey got pneumonia for a MONTH. Then I got sick, too. Did a hero/partner WOD back in August then tried a competition for Crossfit, but missed my chance that day and had a meltdown and didn't bother trying to get into the competition (hormonal maybe?)

Yes, I'm still crossfitting. I'm so glad I came back after I was over all my sickness. Yes, I'm scaling weight, reps, rounds, whatever I need to (like grabbing the rower handle THEN sitting down because then I can't reach, and having Grease Monkey tie my shoes) I'm also not lifting weight from the floor, I've got my own jerk blocks. Kind of. 

Don't be jealous! LOL I have to get hubs to set this up every time I lift. HAHA!

Keeping up a cooking/workout blog was hard with all the morning all day sickness I had for several weeks. I still haven't been able to eat chicken or salmon at home. It's not the raw meat aspect of it, or cooking it, it's the smell and taste. I have had chicken sandwiches and salmon in restaurants, but can't seem to stand it at home. Another part of not updating has been this TREMENDOUS case of baby brain I've had. WOW! I really always thought that was made up. Nope. It's for real! 

So, where does that put the blog? Well, my intentions for now are to start cooking things up and coming up with a post, then saving it and setting them to maybe auto publish after my little ladybug gets here. :) But, until then I'll try to make recipe posts once or twice a week. Ambitious, I know. 

So, today I'll make a peace offering. 

Paleo Sweet Bacon Wrapped Chicken

For the last couple of years I've been making chicken wrapped in bacon rolled in brown sugar. Saw it on (say it with me) PINTEREST. And the husband LOVES it and so do I. But, it's a little TOO sweet. 

So, let's make it Paleo

8 Boneless Organic chicken breast halves

8 bacon strips

4 Tbsp Organic Honey 

(thankfully Grease Monkey's parents keep bees and we get organic raw honey)

3 Tbsp Mustard

2 Jalapenos, optional

Instructions: 

Flatten chicken to 1/2 inch thickness

Slice jalapenos in quarters length wise and remove all seeds

Wrap 1 slice of jalapeno inside chicken breast

Preheat oven to 400

Mix honey and mustard together in a bowl

Spread Honey Mustard on chicken

Wrap each piece in bacon

Place in baking pan

Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes

**Got this recipe from Jackie Ladner, so Jackie if you see this, here's your credit, it's DELICIOUS!! Just can't remember WHERE I got this from so I can't link it**

Before

 After

Hope you enjoy this like I did, even though it's chicken made at home. 

Tast Tuesday-Paleo Pancakes

Hi again! It's that time of the week: Tasty Tuesday.

Today I'm going to share a breakfast recipe. I'm a breakfast NUT! I could eat breakfast foods 3 times a day/7 days a week/365 days a year and be ok with that! Even if I wake up at noon (which never happens) hubs wants a burger and I want eggs and bacon!

So, to force me to be experimental with breakfast and not just eat bacon and eggs this morning I made pancakes.

What's so special about pancakes? Well, my friend these pancakes are dairy free/ grain free/ gluten free and DELICIOUS! :)

Ingredients:
4 eggs at room temperature (I buy from a farm)
1 cup coconut milk (I use unsweetened)
2 tsp. vanilla (I used vanillin)
1 Tbsp. honey (My father in law happens to have bees so I get raw honey)
1/2 cup coconut flour (I don't have a side note for this) :)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
coconut oil for cooking

Beat eggs for 2 minutes. I set a timer because 2 minutes in my head turns into 15 seconds and "That's good enough."
Mix in milk, vanilla and honey.
Combine dry ingredients in a separate larger bowl.
Stir wet ingredients INTO dry ingredients.
Let sit for 5 minutes.

Abby took the sit for 5 literally.

I started at medium heat and made 3 dog pancakes (You know that first one or two or in this case 3 that are burnt on the outside and raw on the inside? I call those dog pancakes.)

I turned the heat down JUST a little bit and it was perfect. 

Use 1/4 cup of batter at a time. Makes about 10 pancakes. I would top with honey or even some kind of nut butter or seed butter. Sunflower butter is popular at my house because Grease Monkey can't have peanuts or almonds. Toss those banana slices on top of that!

Try 'em! Tell me what you think!

Tasty Tuesday-Savory Salmon

I woke up at 6 something this morning to drag myself to crossfit. I don't know what it is, but in the mornings my sleepy face looks like this without the smile:

My eyelids droop when I'm sleepy so my eyebrows think they have to over compensate to keep my eyes open. UGH! 

Today is TASTYYYY TUUUUESDAYYYY! A little excited...so, today I've got a SUPER easy salmon recipe with a total of 5 count 'em 5 ingredients.

You'll need:

Salmon fillets (I get them fresh from the seafood counter at H-E-B, so the skins are still on and that's fine!) 

1.5 Tablespoons mayo (I use the kind with Olive Oil, because Grease Monkey buys the mayonnaise because he's allergic to corn and that kind is what he picked that was corn free)

3 Tbsp fresh parsley

1 clove garlic minced

1 tablespoon lime juice.

Preheat your oven to 400 F

Get a pyrex dish and spray it with Pam. Place your fillets skin side down in the dish.

In a separate bowl mix all of the other ingredients like-a-dees:

Now, brush it onto your salmon like-a-dees: 

Pop in the oven for 14 minutes and it'll look like-a-dees: 

Alright, I know I lost some of you at Mayonnaise. I'm not the biggest mayo fan either, but it's basically a vehicle for the other flavors, you can't even taste it once it's all cooked. Now, Flip your fillets over and take a fork, knife, spatula, finger, whatever's handy and lift up a corner of the salmon skin. It should pull off easily. Much more easily than before you cook it. 

Now, you CAN eat the skin. Don't look at me like that. You can eat the skin! It's got a lot of important nutrients in the skin that are stored in a fatty layer between the skin and meat and when cooked the skin soaks up these great Omega 3's. I don't eat it, but knock yourself out. 

Now, I need to go find my ice pack. I apparently pulled a muscle in my groin-ish area. I don't even want to say that because it sounds weird. But, there. I said it. I pulled my groin. My crossfit trainer looked at me like I was crazy and asked how I did that. Psh! How did I do that?! Maybe I ran 984 miles on Friday and did my best version of pistol squats (holding the rails on either side of me and leaning back with one leg in the air haha), jumping pull ups, sand volleyball, snatches and squats today and because I'M OUTTA SHAPE! (So, if you're reading this, Mike, that's why).

Oh, and then they asked me if I could do tumbles today.

So, I did pushups, because, I mean....this body is built for comfort not speed. I'm pretty sure if I started to tumble my body would be like, "Hey, you need to not do this, let's break your neck and lay in bed for the next year." CRACK! 

Either way, this was the WOD:

50 Air Squats to med ball

30 Thrusters

25 Knee to Elbow

15 Tumbles

25 Knee to Elbow

30 Thrusters

50 Air Squats to med ball

Did it in 21:00.    

What kind of recipe would you like to see next Tasty Tuesday? Main dish? Chicken? Beef? Crockpot? Breakfast? You tell me.

Motivation Monday/My Favorite Things

I've gotten a pretty incredible response from my first blog post, so that motivates me to keep going. (Even though I've only done one, if I quit now what kind of blogger would I be?) Speaking of motivation I've got a couple things today.

First, I'll share with you one of my favorite things I use in the kitchen. Then, I'll leave you with some motivation. :)

Ok. So, for me, chicken is my go to protein for dinner. It's easy. I know how to cook it. I've gotten to a place where it's pretty fool proof for me. But...IT. IS. SO. BORING!!! Well, it can be for me!

Here's my favorite seasoning for chicken:

Ask Grease Monkey, he'll tell you this is a big deal for me to like anything Cajun. I will tell you myself, I don't like anything hotter than black pepper. Sonny's spices are A-MAZING. You can use as little or as much as you want by themselves or all together to make GREAT flavors EVERY time you cook chicken. We have Miraculous, Angel Dust, Gourmet Blackening, and Spicy Gourmet Herbs. (Found Here) They're all unique flavors that when mixed together or even done separately makes for chicken that will "Make you Hurt Yo-Self." We saw Sonny in Canton, TX at the First Monday there right after we got married in 2010. He was selling so much he could hardly keep up with the people asking. We bought 4 of his 5 flavors simply because I'm not a huge fan of lime, but if you are...DO IT!!! The best part about all of his seasonings: low to no salt! Seriously, you won't regret this! Every time we cook chicken for people we put Crazy Cajun on there and people can't believe how good it is. I pan sear it in butter (vegan butter for us, we're lactose intolerant at our house) and then I steam rice and pour the seasoning/rest of butter into the rice and mix it all in and it's GREAT!!! I can't rave enough about it! And it lasts for a long time, too. We've only had to order 2 times since we've been married, but I'm about to order again! You go order some, too!

SONNY'S CRAZY CAJUN SEASONINGS

What is your goal for this week? Mine is to start making it to Crossfit 4 times a week starting this week. I've lost 8 pounds in the last two weeks from monitoring my calories closely using the Lose It app on my iPhone and working out. I'm real goofy about it, too. I've got to work myself up to something in my head and plan for it. So, I already know I'm going to go Monday morning, Tuesday Morning, Wednesday Evening, Thursday off and go either morning or evening on Friday. So, again...what's your goal? You have to set goals that are small and attainable! So, to motivate me...oh, and you, too...I'm leaving you with some motivational pictures, quotes, sayings, whatever I found good this week to start off our Monday. So, happy Monday! 

Ok, Ryan. Just for you! :) 

 Seriously, this lady is 83 and Crossfits...what's your excuse?

 I put this picture on here because, really...who doesn't want to work out in their panties? I mean, I could never do it because I'd be worried about wedgies. But, you go for it! 

Have a great week. Stick to your goals. If you have a set back (like our Papa Murphy's pizza we had tonight for the first time OHMYGOODNESS why did we even open that Pandora's box of awesome?!!) just start again. It doesn't have to wait until next Monday or the next day. It starts with your next choice!