Monthly Archives: August 2010

GRATITUDE!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Crossfit Workouts, recipes and tagged with , , , , , ,

I have SO much to be thankful for today that I found myself sounding a little like “Jessica’s Affirmation”. If you don’t know what that is, I would be more than happy to show you :)

“I like my haircuts! I like my pajamas! I like my whole HOUSE!!”…haha, you get the point :)

Today, I am OVERFLOWING with warm fuzzies and gratitude. Sometimes I think, “Who AM I? Is this really me?? Am I REALLY this happy ALLLL the time?!” Well my friends, I’m not happy ALL the time (that’s not super realistic), but I’ve been THIS happy for over a year now, and I don’t see that going anywhere. It’s just a huge change from the me before that sometimes I literally want to check myself to make sure this is real, haha.

Last night I did NOT want to go to Crossfit, but I knew that I had to get into that gym. Thursday workout at the park was cancelled, or pushed back later than I could actually manage, haha, so I decided to go to the gym. The workout of COURSE had to be INSANE!

EVA

5 rounds:

800m (1/2 mile) run

30 kettlebell swings (I used 35#, but the prescribed for women was 53# I think? haha…funny)

30 pullups (I DID use the red band for the first 3 rounds, then switched to ring rows because I ripped, regardless of the fact that I taped up…but it did rip a LOTTTT less!)

So, my dear friend Alexis and I decided to stick it out together! The first 800m run we chatted away (or as JP said, we were “chatty Cathy’s” :-p). The first round was easy enough…until the pull-ups. It was my first time taping up, and it was awkward getting used to my (PRACTICALLY) WRIST BRACES! There was a whole lot of tape going on there, haha. The second run I ran alone, boo. On round 2 we got aligned again and worked together till the end. TEAM AJ!!! After finishing round 4, time was up, but Alexis asked if I wanted to run the last run. Without thought I said yes. Now, there has been a lot of growth that even I have noticed in terms of running for me. That was one of them. I used to kick and scream if I saw 400m up on the board…but last night I ran 2.5 miles at Crossfit, and then proceeded to not WALK home like I was intending…but run the 1/2 mile instead. 3 miles at Crossfit last night, on top of 120 kb swings, and 120 pullups (we did not finish the kb swings or pullups for round 5 in the allotted time).  Another weird growth (not like a tumor kind of growth, haha) I’ve had was in regards to this weekend. I’ve been talking about running a 5k for a little while now, but I’m TERRIFIED for some reason. It’s obviously all mental, haha. However, this weekend Nick and a handful of my friends from Crossfit are running a 100 mile relay race in Vermont (which I am BEYOND excited about!!). Well, Nick hurt his ankle and will not be able to run unfortunately, but he was stressed about finding someone to run for him…so I did what any good girlfriend would do (:-p) I offered to run it. WHAT?!?!? Kathryn said it best, “I love it. You jump right in and say ‘I’ll do it’ for a 15 mile run, but you’re intimidated by a 5k. You’re an enigma” Yes, yes I am. Even I haven’t figured me out yet, so I would say, no point in trying to figure me out, just enjoy the ride (and often, the entertainment :-p).

So anyway, back to the workout last night. It was brutal, but we got it done, and it felt GOOD after :-D  I am sooo thankful for you Alexis :) You got me through that for sure! :)

This morning I made a TASTY breakfast (remember the new routine I talked about yesterday?? Yes! We did it again!!!). I attempted to make a frittata without really haven’t any clue what the heck a frittata was…but it turned out GREAT!!

Ingredients:

olive oil

eggs

onions

wax beans (the yellow string beans)

spinach

jalapeno chicken sausage from TJ’s

So first I poured some olive oil in a cast iron skillet and got that warming up while I chopped up my onions. Browned the onions. Then I cut up the wax beans into bite sizes and threw those in. Then came the sausage, throw those in. Then the spinach. I tore up the spinach some so it was in smaller pieces. While those were cooking down I whisked up 5 eggs for Nick and I (him 3, me 2), then poured that over all the deliciousness in the pan, and made sure that everything was evenly dispersed. Then I just let it cook. After the egg started to “set”, I popped the skillet under the broiler until it was cooked through (but if you have more time you could just bake it on 375 till it’s cooked through too!). Oh my goodness…I will admit fully…I actually don’t SUCK AT COOKING! It was delicious!! :-D  Yay for cooking! Yay for Friday! Yay for Vermont! Yay for today being the one year since Nick and I went on our first DATE! Yay for amazing friends!! YAY’s ALLLL AROUND!!!

See what I mean? Bursting with love and gratitude today :-D Love life! and LOVE YOU!

Love,

me :)

First Morning Light

Posted by beautifullystrong in Uncategorized and tagged with , ,

Morning light: the best light there is

Life is so much easier, and sweeter, when you give yourself a little time.

Last night I attended Doctor Stephen Franson’s ”Spark Your Life” workshop. I learned about prioritizing my life, finding my purpose and setting goals. While I have yet to sit down and really dig into the “homework”, on the drive home Nick and I started talking about immediate changes we could make that would make our days a little easier.

As it is now, our mornings look a little like this: Nick gets up at around 5:15-5:30am, starts breakfast, makes coffee, reads a little bit, then comes and wakes me up. We eat breakfast, and have just enough time to talk while we eat, get a kiss in and he’s out the door. This rushing wasn’t ideal for what Nick wanted in his morning…So, after the workshop last night, I started thinking about our mornings. I LOVE the way I feel when I get up early, eat slowly, drink coffee while I chat with my mom, get the dishes done, and get to walk leisurely to the train. So, I suggested I wake up at 5 with him, he reads and drinks his coffee, I cook (I’ve really been LOVING cooking lately!! soooo decompressing!!), when breakfast is ready we eat, and sit and chat for a bit before having to go on with our day.

Let me tell you…this made a difference, HUGE difference!!! This morning had less stress, and with less stress there are more smiles…and with more smiles comes more hugs and kisses….who WOULDN’T want to start their day that way?! You start the day off at peace, relaxed, and completely content!

So, try this with me guys…as Doc said last night, it takes 21 days to form a habit. Maybe we can chip away at changing our habits for the better, one habit at a time together! Maybe we can start by waking up earlier for the next 21 days…trust me…if feels amazing when you feel like you have a life outside of getting ready for work, going to work, working, coming home from work, exercising, cooking, eating, bed….

The best is when you get to work and feel like you’ve already really LIVED today :) Let someone wonder why you’re so dang smiley at 9am :) It’s fun :)  

Have a great night :-D  xoxo

Running and Recipes: Part 2!

Posted by beautifullystrong in recipes and tagged with , , ,

Good morning :) So far my day has been amazing, and it’s not even 10am yet!! I was up at 5:30am, ready, and out the door at 6:30 to meet up with my friend Sarah for breakfast this morning at the glorious Omelette Palace/Heaven/Haven/Emporium/Headquarters…insert random work here, I have probably called it that at one point…

I have a LOT to fill you in on, so I’m going to do this in as much of an organized fashion as I can…bullet style!

~Saturday I put together a recipe from Mark Sisson’s “Primal Cookbook” for a cookoff with Franson Family Chiropractic. The cookoff was split up into catagories like salads, entrees and desserts. I made a salad that included the following:

Brocolli Bacon Salad

~bacon

~blueberries

~broccoli

~raisins

~crushed pecans

~ homemade dressing (eggs, olive oil, coconut oil, honey, fresh squeezed lemon and limes). According to the recipe, it’s “homemade mayo”, but since we did not have the ingredients that the book called for, we made up our own :) )

If that sounds a little odd, I can totally understand why…but it was delicious…and it won!!! The cookoff was judged on taste and nutrition. Bacon?? How is bacon healthy?? Well folks, bacon is TOTALLY paleo friendly, ESPECIALLY uncured, nitrate free bacon! I whisked the eggs (1), olive oil (1/4 cup), coconut oil (1/4 cup), squeezed lemon and lime (1/2 or each or one whole), once all these ingredients are whisked well together, pour in honey (3 tablespoons) and whisk in well! Ta-da! Go by taste though, because this was more of a “winging it” situation for me.

Then toss together raw broccoli (buy just the broccoli crowns, less is wasted), blueberries (or strawberries, raisins, apples or grapes!), chopped pecans (or almonds, or walnuts!) and BACON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy :)

~Mondays are becoming my new favorite ME time nights. The last two Mondays I have gone home, started dinner, and went out for a run. While cooking I love playing music and just decompressing. To top that off, on my run, I like to NOT listen to music now. I actually like to connect with my own breath and listen to my body. I feel like I clear my thoughts this way much better than running with music…duh. hehe.

So last night, I was riding on the train, and found a recipe for chili. I had never made chili before!!! Project! So once I got home, I took out everything I would need, turned on my Ipod, started chopping, sautéing and stirring…then once everything was in the pot, I tied on my shoes and hit the pavement for 3 miles!! 3 MILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, I know to some of you, 3 miles is your warmup…HOWEVER, just a couple weeks ago I had never run two miles consequetively…and I ran 3 last night, pretty easily! I noticed while running last night that after a minute my breathing was regulated, and it wasn’t physically hard anymore…it was alllll mental. I felt like I was running forever, and for me that was the hardest part. How long did it take me?! 30 minutes from door step to door step :-D I’ll TAKE IT!!!!!

Now for the chili. It was tasty!! Quite spicy, and quite delicious! I would definitely say it was a success for my first ever chili!! :-D The recipe I have makes 4 meals (each serving 4 people), so its HUGE….you can scale back as you wish :)

Beef and Bean Chili

1/4 cup olive oil

3 large red onions, chopped

4 green bell peppers, chopped

8 cloves garlic, chopped

3 lbs ground beef (preferably grass-fed -thats my 2 cents)

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

4 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes

4 15-ounce cans kidney beans (rinsed)

4 ounces semisweet chocolate (chopped) (I had no idea either!!!!)

Kosher salt and pepper (or just regular salt and pepper would be fine I’m assuming…. :-p)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Chop the veggies (onions, garlic and peppers) and saute them first in olive oil until they’re tender (they think it’ll take about 12-15 minutes)

Then, cook up the beef right in the pot with the veggies. Cook until no longer pink, and at that point put in the tomato paste, chili powder and cumin, cook and stir for a good 2 minutes :)

Put the tomatoes, beans and chocolate in now. Add 1-2 cups of water (to your liking of consistency), salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer until its slightly thickened (stir from time to time), for about 25-30 minutes. Pour in red wine vinegar, stir, and simmer off the alcohol (or at least that’s what I did…).

Cube up some avocado and red onions to sprinkle on top :-D  now…EAT IT!!! :-D

Have a great rest of your Tuesday guys :-D Do you have a go-to recipe????

Love,

Jen

The World Is A Playground!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Crossfit Workouts and tagged with , , , ,

Thursday nights…sigh. QUICKLY becoming one of my favorite nights of the week. It’s really the perfect mix of components; it’s almost Friday, our CSA comes in, and I get to head to the beach after work to meet up with some of my favorite ladies in the world to workout together next to the Atlantic OCEAN! What could be better??  

Not us- pictures of us will be coming soon :)

 

This was our third week of meeting up together to workout on the beach, and after two weeks of squandering for ideas on what to do for a WOD, we decided to plan ahead this week; Amanda took initiative this week…and she wasn’t messing around. When I pulled up on my Schwinn next to Amanda’s car, she was more than excited for our friend Lauren to arrive so she could spill the workout.  

“Okay guys, the workout is…4 rounds of 25 pushups, 25 boxjumps, 25 overhead lunges with THIS paint can (she really had a paint can), and a 400m run”  

“Really?…” She wasn’t taking it easy on us…at all. Just to do the math FOR you, that’s 100 of each exercise, and a mile run. Yeah…  

When it was about time to start the workout, we switched the boxjumps to squats so we could keep the workout in one area. Before starting the workout, we pumped up the jam (yes…yes I just said that. I may have to apologize in advance because I worked out this morning AND once again, had iced coffee) and just started a dance party on the lawn at Dane Street Beach. We may have been getting some looks, but honestly, when “Cal-i-for-nia Girls” by Katy Perry is blasting, you just can’t NOT dance! So judge away…we’re just here to dance.  

The workout was hard. Period. But awesome. Nice work AMANDA!!!! Next week though, watch out…I’m planning the workout, and you set the bar high my love :-p :) I love you guys, and I LOVE Thursdays :)   

Speaking of things I love…I LOVE Fridays TOO!! This was my third or fourth week of going to the 6am class to workout. I love it. I was struggling this morning though. The alarm went off at 5am, and after snuggling and talking about our weird dreams for a while, I still wanted to go back to sleep. I knew, however, that I had told Kathryn that I was definitely going, and I would have felt bad if she showed up and I didn’t (which she didn’t :-p). So 6am I pulled into the driveway of NSCF…and quickly wanted to turn back around.  

On the board was something that looked a WHOLE LOT like Fight Gone Bad…except…Fight Gone Worse…  

3 Rounds
 - 20 Wall Ball (20#/14#)
 - 20 Push Press (75#/55#)
 - 20 Box Jumps
 - 20 SDHP (75#/55#)
 - 20 Calorie Row
1 Minute rest between rounds  

Modify reps as needed depending on your Fight Gone Bad goal. Ex goal is 300 do 20 reps of each/goal is 250 do 17 of each.  

20 Minute time limit including rest.  

So, since I broke 200 doing Fight Gone Bad recently, I thought shooting for 300 was a litttttle excessive…so I modified down to 17 a round. I used the 12 # ball for wallballs, but modified the push press and Sumo Deadlift High Pulls to 45#. 55# felt like 300# at 6am…  

In the 20 minutes time limit I got through 2 full rounds, and the wall balls, push presses and box jumps of the third…which means that I finished 221 reps in 20 minutes (including the 1 minute breaks). I’ll take that! :-D   

Tonight is Danny’s last class :( :( :( :( He’s moving on to teach in Rowley to little kids…which is AWESOME for you Danny! But you will DEFINITELY be missed :) You were the first person I met at Crossfit, and you were my first coach, and still really, THE coach to me :) Looking forward to tonight and its good times… :) We’ll MISS YOU DANNY!!!! :-D   

Happy Friday everyone! Have a freakin’ AWESOME weekend! I will be attending Ohana Day tomorrow at Lynch Park for Franson Family Chiropractic :-D  Can’t WAIT!!! Making this sweet summery salad…if its good I’ll post the recipe  :)   

Love,  

Jen

As Promised…

Posted by beautifullystrong in Crossfit Workouts, recipes and tagged with , , , , ,

…the recipe for the muffins…and more!

Pumpkin Nut Muffins (from The Primal Blueprint Cookbook by Mark Sisson)

We made some modifications, I will include the modifications we made (we also doubled the batch)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted 1 cup coconut flour, sifted

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice mixture instead of individual spices

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cooked pureed pumpkin 1 baked/cooked sweet potato peeled

6 eggs, beaten

4 tablespoons coconut oil (or unsalted butter), gently melted 8 tablespoons coconut oil, gently melted

1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey 2/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

3/4 cup semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips 1-1.5 cups dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400F.

I think I’ll take Mark’s advice on this one next time…he said to grease muffin pan(s) very well or use aluminum disposable muffin liners because the muffins stick to the paper ones too much. This is a true statement…very very true. It was, however, all we had in our house at the time, so paper it was.

The, sift the coconut flour, baking powder/soda (I know these are different things, but we didn’t have soda in our house, so we used baking powder, and the muffins turned out amazing, so I’m just going to go with what we had), salt, and spices into small bowl. Stir to blend well and then set this bowl aside.

Place pumpkin puree (or mashed sweet potato) in a medium mixing bowl. One by one, crack the eggs into the bowl, mixing everything well between each egg cracking (I used an electric mixer). Add melted coconut oil or butter, maple syrup if you use it, and the vanilla extract all together, and mix really well.

Add flour mixture to egg mixture and blend well with a whisk until most of the floury lumps have disappeared (and I actually did mix with a whisk at this point), DO NOT stir more than necessary to blend. Gently fold in nuts, if using them.

Spoon this deliciousness into the muffin tin liners to about 2/3rds full. Back for 18-20 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top, and toothpick (or japanese chopstick as we used) inserted into center of muffin is clean when taken out :)

Tack them out and cool them on a wire rack (or on top of your stove…). Serve it like you like it, hot or cold, and remember this most importantly…ENJOY EVERY BITE ! :-D Giggling after each bite out of amazement…optional.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So last night was “Murph” at Crossfit. I did not, however, make it to Murph. Why!?!!? Well, I changed up after work, walked to the train, and I was “in the zone”, mentally prepping for the workout, when out of no where I am AMBUSHED by a tall, dark, GORGEOUS man in green. I was SOOOO surprised and SOOOO confused when I focused in and realized Nick was IN BOSTON! He had gotten out of work early, and surprised me for dinner. I could tell he was nervous a little…he told me that he was panicking that I had somehow snuck by him and that he had missed his chance. Nervously, he asked me if I would like to skip Murph to have dinner with him. DUH! Murph WHO!? :)

Then as we are walking toward the bathrooms so I can change back OUT of my workout gear, he hands me a note. The note told me that tonight’s date/dinner was to celebrate the changes, successes and accomplishments that I have…well, accomplished, in the last year. He’s awesome isn’t he? :)

Luckily, it was RESTAURANT week! So, I finally got to eat a Ruth’s Chris, which is in my BUILDING! After 2.5 years, I have yet to taste their delicious fare. Well, last night I enjoyed every single bite of that filet (even though they seemed to PRIDE themselves on trapping the “corn-fed flavor” in the meat…huh?), garlic mashed potatoes and um…butter; lots and lots of butter. Yikes! It was delicious though, and the time spent with Nick was just so special to me.

After dinner, we walked over to the Boston Common and layed on the grass looking up at the sky. We may or may not have dosed off for a few :-p Then Nick told me that there was a letter that was sent to the practice for ME! It was addressed to Franson Family Chiropractic, in care of Nick, but with an attention to me….from New York! Nick said he was so dang curious to open it up, and that he couldn’t WAIT for me to open it. I was wracking my BRAIN to try to think of who I would know from New York besides my dear friend, Brett. Then Nick told me that he could see through the paper a little, and saw “GRATEFUL” in big letters faintly. When he said this, I instantly got butterflies. Could this be about my blog?

As soon as we pulled into our driveway, we both hurried up the stairs, excited to open the letter. It was a card. I opened it and instantly felt a little emotional without reading a single word. In the tiniest writing, both sides of the cards insides were covered in green ink. Nick couldn’t handle it anymore, and wanted me to read it to him too, so I decided to read it outloud to him and myself. As Nick layed on the floor of our office, and I sat on our chiropractic bench, I read the letter outloud. This incredible lady started reading my blog back from the beginning and has made some PHENOMINAL changes in her life (started eating Paleo and started Crossfit in April in NYC!!!!) and wanted to thank me for writing my blog. I don’t want to put too many details in here, since it was a personal card from her…but it was so special to me. I had to stop reading more than a handful of times to regain my voice, and to wipe away some tears. Knowing that people are not just actually reading this, but making changes in their own life…wow…that impacted me in such a deeply meaningful way. Then I went straight to the computer to show Nick who she is on facebook, and sure enough, her freakin’ profile picture of her DEADLIFTING some SERIOUS weight!!! You GOOOOO girl!!! You have not just made some changes, from what I can tell, you’ve made some PHENOMINAL, LIFE CHANGING, INSPIRING changes!!! I can’t WAIT to be able to do what you’re doing in that picture! :)

I love all of you (sorry, I’m a wee bit emotional today…and I had the hardest time falling asleep because I kept thinking about that letter) for the support, the kind words, and the changes you may have started/gone through. You all are so amazing, and I’m LUCKY to have YOU in my life!

Have an amazing day! What are YOU grateful for today?

Love,

Jen

Running and Recipes!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Crossfit Workouts, recipes and tagged with , , , , ,

Oh man, I don’t even know where to begin. I have a lot to tell you guys! :)

First of all, I went running last night. On my own. No one making me do it. I know…you’re shocked! AND, I ran the most unbroken distance I’ve ever run. This is not a lot, so don’t laugh…but for ME, it is! I have run 5 miles before, but I did it in intervals, so this is my first ever unbroken distance…2.5 miles!! The best part??? I felt fast!!! I mean, I used to feel like I was running in cement the whole dang mile I ran (that was the most I ever had to run at one time), but last night I felt amazing!! I was pacing about 8 minute miles :-D

I have been working out a LOT lately! I went from working out 3-4 (4 being more rare than 3) times a week, to now doing about 5 times a week (may hit 6 this week if I make it to the Saturday workout!). I feel like my need for exercising as many days as possible is growing every single day. Without it I feel lost, irritable, and sluggish. Like last night, I wasn’t feeling that well, and I literally felt wiped OUT! I decided when I got home, however, that instead of laying on the couch and crashing out (which may have made me feel more rested, but I know me, and it would have made me feel gross) I would make a dinner (eggplant lasagna) and go for a run. Dang, am I ever glad I did!? I felt so much better last night after my run, I was LITERALLY saying out loud..to myself, hahaha, ‘THAT WAS AWESOME!’ When Nick got home at 8, he saw the kitchen all cleaned up, a DELICIOUS looking (HEALTHY, PALEO) dinner in the oven warming, and a note from me saying I had gone for a run, but I was already back and showered. With a grin from ear to ear he walked up to me, hugged me and said, “Who ARE you?…seriously, who ARE you?!” Let’s just say that when we started dating I was not a cook, and I would not have gone out for a run just because :) I love seeing personal growth :) I also love when people I love see that personal growth and I get more kisses because of it :) hehe :-p

Okay, recipe time :) Get excited! Nick and I have been making some tasty, delicious, healthy meals/treats this past week, and I’m dying to share them with you :)

First up, apple, buttery, deliciousness.

The other night after dinner, I felt like something sweet.

Buttery Hot Apples

You need:

Apples

coconut butter

raisins

cinnamon

coconut milk

So all I did was slice up the apples while melting some coconut BUTTER on the stove. I put all the apple slices, along with some raisins in a glass pie dish, sprinkled cinnamon over the apples and raisins, and then poured the melted coconut butter over the mixture…mixing it all together. Bake at 350 till apples are soft. Once done, dish into bowls and drizzle just a little bit of coconut milk over your portion….DELICIOUS!

Pumpkin, Walnut, Chocolate Chip Muffins

I will have to wait till I get home to give you the exact recipe for this one. Nick pulled it out of “Primal Blueprint Cookbook”. After our first bite, we looked at each other and just started giggling…it was THAT good! I’m still in shock on how something with zerrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooo grains in it can taste JUST like a muffin!! The ingredients are pumpkin puree (but we used a sweet potato instead), coconut flour, walnuts, dark chocolate chips, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, baking soda and coconut oil. I may have left something out in there, which is why I want to get the exact recipe for you tonight :) Sooooo freakin’ delicious!!!

Eggplant Lasagna

You need:

2 eggplants

3 eggs

almond flour

coconut oil

Heat a skillet or griddle, melt coconut oil on it. Slice eggplant into thin disks. Coat both sides with beaten egg mixture. Place one side at a time in almond flour (I had it on a plate), coating both sides, and then place on heated griddle/skillet. Brown on both sides. Put aside.

Grass-fed beef

Green peppers

Onions

Can of peeled plum tomatoes

Can of marinara

Brown beef, and then add in peppers, onions and sauce. I just made a regular spaghetti sauce of sorts here.

Once this is done, start laying bottom of a glass pan (the big oblong ones) with eggplant; then a layer of sauce; a layer of eggplant, and another layer of sauce. I grated a little bit of fresh, raw cheese on top. CHEESE? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? Yes, I used a little bit of cheese, RAW cheese (so it’s a little better :-p). Pop it in the oven to just melt the cheese on top. Ta-da!!!

Also, my friend Bethany told Nick she made this and used a layer of spinach. That sounds brilliant, and we’ll probably add that next time! :-D

So yummy :) Can’t wait to eat left-overs tonight :) Can’t wait to see what we’ll make next! :-D  mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

And now that I’m STARVING….let’s talk about tonight’s workout :-p

Murph… yes, Murph. Do you remember my post about Murph? (mental refresher) For some reason, we’re doing it on a Tuesday night, in the middle of the week. I dont’ really understand. As far as I knew, Murph was reserved for once a year, on Memorial Day. I guess they wanted to shake things up today. So, on my lunch break I need to head to City Sports to buy some tape…I’m not going to do 100 pullups tonight without it.

Workout “Murph”

1 mile run

100 pullups

200 pushups

300 squats

1 mile run

Woooooot! Should be a good time :-p I’ll let you know how it went tomorrow :)

With love,

Jen

Goals, Goals…They’re Good For Your Soul… :)

Posted by beautifullystrong in Crossfit Workouts and tagged with , , ,

Jen: “Kathryn, I’m thinking I want to run a 5k, but I need some help. I don’t really LIKE running, nor do I naturally excel at it.”

Kathryn: “I don’t see a problem. You will train, and you will like it”

I just LOVE Kathryn’s no bullcrap approach with me when it comes to training..heck, when it comes to life :) So, since this whole blog is about ACCOUNTABILITY for me (but has turned into a passion, love and outlet), I want to share with you my goal.

I, Jennifer Nadeau, want to run the 5k at Cider Hill Farms this fall, October 24th. This will be my first 5k, but not my last, and I WILL finish :)

Last night I had my second Thursday of working out on the beach with ma ladies :) I LOVE IT!! What a therapeutic way to wrap up the week, get some girl talk in and move our bodies! We did a pretty heavy work load last night; descending ladders of [set 1] double unders and lunges and [set 2] of box jumps and pushups. Descending ladder being 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 of each. After the workouts we sat right there on the grass and had a good heart to heart for an hour :) Perfect :)

For the second week in a row I attended the 6am Friday class at North Shore Crossfit! :-D What an amazing way to start the day, seriously. I leave there at 7am, feeling like I’ve already accomplished something. This morning I had run a mile and a half and had done 48 pullups before 7! (And Danny told me I was looking slender these days…how could anyone NOT love that?! :) )

The workout:

Nicole
As Many Rounds in 20 minutes
- 400M Run
- Max Pull-ups
Score is total Pull-ups

After hearing all the heavy hitter scores this morning (90-105) I didn’t feel AS good about my 48 (plus 6 rounds of running = 1.5 miles)…but I ripped my hands again, and decided to consistently do about 10 a round.  I only did 8 the last round because I had already ripped on the previous round. C’est la vie! I guess its time to start shaving the calluses and taking lessons on wrapping :-p

After going to tomorrows 9am class at northshore, I will have done 5 intense workouts this week. First time ever! WOOOT! Bring it on world, BRING. IT. ON.

Happy Friday :-D I hope you have a rockin’ weekend :) Do something playful :)

My good friend Lauren and I cheering Nick and fellow Crossfitters on at the race last October!

Cider Hill farm in the fall :) *sigh*

Nick finishing strong last year at the October 5k!

Reminiscing

Posted by beautifullystrong in Uncategorized

So today I was going through my old facebook messages and attempting to de-clutter my inbox. In the process, I stumbled upon an email that changed things up a little in my life :-p

Even though this was no my “usual style”, it was the best decision I ever made :-p

Jennifer Nadeau 11 August 2009 at 13:44
hi :)
 
Nicholas Araza 15 August 2009 at 09:56
Hey Jennifer, heard the news last week ;-(. You seem like a pretty cool person, hope Monday wasn’t the last time I see you.
-N

ps you look fantastic as a brunette, not that I looked or anything ;-p

 
 
Jennifer Nadeau 15 August 2009 at 10:59
Well what are you going to do to make sure that doesn’t happen? ;)
 
 
Nicholas Araza 16 August 2009 at 23:57
hmmm, let’s see, i could hope for some serendipitous event that will somehow bring us to the same location at the same time in the near future or I could ask for your number, and then make my own fate by asking you out… I wonder what i’ll do??
 
 
 
 
What do YOUUUU think he did? :) :)

I QUIT!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Crossfit Workouts, recipes and tagged with , , , , , ,

I had an interesting “first” last night at the gym.

The first time I quit.

While there are plenty of workouts that I have not been able to finish due to time limits, this was the first workout I pulled myself out. Why?? Why now? I could say, “Well, I’m a pansy” “I wasn’t feeling it tonight” “It was hard”. Those excuses wouldn’t typically fly for me. There are nights I don’t “feel it” and go and do it anyway…and they’re ALL hard…and well, I wouldn’t say anyone who does Crossfit is quite a…pansy. So, the reason then?

I ripped my hands open. Good enough of a reason? Not sure…but sometimes, as people have told me, you have to play smart. You either finish the other 21 pull-ups with ripped hands, make the rip worse and take the chance of not being able to train for a week, or you pull yourself out before it’s too late.

Here’s the workout:

5 rounds

7 Muscle-Ups (and for those of us who do not HAVE muscle ups quite yet, 3 pullups, 3 dips for every ONE muscle up = 21 of each)

21 Burpees (have to jump and touch something 1 foot beyond our standing reach)

So, I took the steps I thought I should take to avoid rips (isn’t it funny, by the way, how I had WAITED for months and months to rip, and now I can’t seem to STOP ripping!! I mean, I got it the first time, that it’s not something you really WANT to do…); I chalked up (put my hands in a bucket of chalk to neutralize sweat on my hands, so that it won’t pull or slip) each round, and the pull-ups HAD to be broken up (3 pull-ups, 3 dips, 3 pull-ups, 3 dips, etc)…usually that helps! Anyway, the point of this is…after round 4 was completed (with one round to go) I had a bad rip on both hands, and was in serious pain throughout the 21 burpees of that round, and I was just DONE. I just walked away.

Now this is not saying that I didnt’ get a good workout…I mean…I still did 84 pull-ups (ON THE RED BAND!!!!! I have done the red band ONCE before, and it was like 30 pull-ups…this was 84!!!!), 84 dips, and 84 burpees…nothing to scoff at.

Then why the serious bummerness afterward? I literally felt TERRIBLE about it. Well, I think it was because it was the first time in close to a YEAR (I started October 5, 2009) that I quit on a workout. Literally, the whole walk home, I felt bummed. I was beating myself up HARD about it. I felt like I had jipped myself a little.

When Nick got home last night, I was talking to him about it…being SERIOUS (:-p) and here he is smirking. I asked him why he was smirking!

“You should hear yourself…using terms like “chalking up”, “84 pull-ups on the red band”, “take one burpee at a time” and “ripped my hands”…do you think 2 years ago you EVER would have thought you’d be saying these things? Its cool!”

Then I thought about it…yeah…2 years ago I didn’t do ANYTHING physically active…and now I’m complaining that I didn’t get to do all 105 pull-ups, or 105 burpees..that I ONLY got to do 84. If I look at it that way, that I didnt’ want to go last night, and I did…that a year ago I could barely do a pull-up on the GREEN band (that dang green band :-p)…that makes it a LOT easier to cut myself some slack. :) . So I quit one workout…we all have days…and I would much rather keep working out this week instead of nursing a gouged palm. :)

As for some recipes!!! I made a DELICIOUS tilapia dinner last night!!!! I dont’ even LIKE fish and I LOVED this!! It is SOOOOOOO easy! :)

1 lb-1.5 lbs tilapia

1/2 cup almond flour/meal

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

2 juiced lemons

THATS IT!

So, you mix together the onion powder, almond flour and garlic powder in a bowl. Juice the two lemons in a juicer. Then dip the tilapia one by one in the lemon juice to coat it, and then press it into the dry mixture on both sides. Have olive oil heating in a pan on medium heat while you’re doing this..and then plop the fish in the pan. Pan fry for 4-5 minutes on each side. Done!!!

Guys it’s so easy that I could just write that by memory :) Best recipe ever!

With it I just made a vegetable medley: butternut squash, onions, red potatoes, green peppers all cooked in coconut oil. DELICIOUS! :-D  

Have a FABULOUS day!!

Maine Weekends

Posted by beautifullystrong in Uncategorized and tagged with , , ,

This past weekend Nicholas and I ventured north to the great Maine woods. My family has a cabin on Long Lake (which is in the town of Madawaska) at the very tippy top of Maine. 

If it appears that Madawaska is actually in Canada...it is because it's DANG close! :)

 

The goal was to have a weekend of rest and relaxation, see my family, and enjoy nature. How did we do? We passed with flying colors! :-D  

We left here at 1pm on Friday, and arrived in Caribou, Maine at 10 something. We made a pit stop in Portland, Maine’s Whole Foods for groceries for the cabin, and dining on their yummy salad bar/buffet. Once we got to Caribou, it was straight to bed so we could wake up early the next morning. 6am rise and 7am we hit the road, going through town so we could OF COURSE get coffee. Nick rode up with my dad, and I rode with my mom so we could have a little mom and daughter time :)  

After the oppressive heat/humidity we have been having here in the Boston area, the 65ish degree weather was actually reallllllly nice. Jeans and long sleeve shirts in the shade, tank tops and no shirts (for Nicholas :-p) in the sun. Once my parents headed back, after a very thorough run-thru of anything we may EVER need to know about the camp, we were alone. It was soooo peaceful. Saturday consisted of laying around on the beach, laying in the hammock, making delicious HEALTHY food, watching movies and heading to the Northern Maine Fairgrounds to watch my dad and uncles rock out! :-D  

yup! Thats my dad on lead vocals :)

 

After hitting up the beer garden (for my first time EVER) with Nick and my brother (I was beyond amazed!!!!! Beers there were $2 a piece!!!! WOAH!!!), we headed back home with mom. After being warned countless times by my dad to watch for moose on the drive back to the camp (I know dad, you saw 14 moose one time just heading home from the camp :) ), we popped in some Dane Cook to keep us awake and alive! :)   We got back to the camp around 10 something, and headed down to the dock in the dark. After living in Massachusetts for far too long (:-p) you forget what the stars REALLY look like. Laying on our backs we stared up at the sky for probably 1/2 hour. The stars were so bright and clear that you could easily see the milky way. It was gorgeous :)  

Sunday started perfectly, continued to be perfect, and ended perfectly. After making a DELICIOUS and HEALTHY breakfast again (chicken sausage, brussels, and an assortment of other veggies all tossed together in a bowl) with a hot pot of black coffee (I have OFFICIALLY kicked that dairy habit!), we sat down by the lake in the morning sun, eating, drinking and having a great talk. 

view from our spot

 

After the whole pot of coffee, we grabbed the canoe, and headed out on a 4 mile canoe excursion. It was our first time canoeing together, and after a little bit of initial communication…we were golden! Great team :) Once we got back, half of my family had arrived, with more to follow. I felt sooooo special. About 20-25 of some of my favorite people in the whole world came up to the camp on Sunday to see Nick and I, and spend some quality family time together :)  

Nick, my dad, and my cousins Taylor and Jason

 

My cousin Jamie and I :) :) <3

 

Me, my brother and all my cousins :-D

 

Gram Nadeau and Gram St.Peter :)

 

I love my Ashley :)

 

About 3/4 of the whole gang! :)

 

Me and my babe :)

 

Nicholas and my goob brother :-p can you TELL we're related?? :-p

 

 After everyone headed out around 7pm, again, Nick and I were alone. I cooked up some brussels while Nick started a fire in the fire pit. With wine and food in hand, we pulled the swing right up to the fire pit and settled in :) After food, chatting, and  just one glass of wine, both of us fell asleep :-p 

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed Monday. Maybe it was due to the fact that I wasn’t ready to come back, or due to the fact that I hadn’t exercised a TON that weekend…either way…I was grumpy :-p Nick wanted to run a few miles, and was encouraging me to do the same (he knows me too well :-p) but I wasn’t having it. I drove him out 3 miles, and drove the car back, changed into running clothes and took off running anyway. I ended up running 2 miles unbroken, which I’m PUMPED about! I know it doesn’t seem like a lot…but I think thats’ the most I’ve ever run unbroken before! I have run 5 miles before, but I did it in intervals…broken up. So that was DEFINITELY an accomplishment for me, and I was in a better mood after (it didnt’ COMPLETELY go away, I still had to come back to work the next day, but it was a LOT better :-p). 

So I had an incredible weekend, and I’m ready to get back on the Crossfit train this week! I will be attending tonight’s workout (5 rounds of 7 muscle-ups and 21 burpees) and I can’t WAIT! 

Also!!! Last night Nick adjusted me, and took a new posture picture, and re-weighed me (to test if I carry my weight evenly from side to side. Our body leans AWAY from nerve irritation in the spine…so the first day I ever met Nicholas, he put me on those scales at the Salem Culture Festival, and I was carrying 25 lbs more on my left side than my right! This means that I had nerve irritation in my spine, on the right, so my body was leaning on the left to take pressure off of that irritation in my spine. WOWZA!!! Talk about a lot of irritation!!!). Last night when he weighed me, I was carrying 4 (!!!!!!!!) lbs more on my left side than my right!! From 25 pounds to 4!!!!! Chiropractic is freakin’ AMAZING!!!!!! How cool is that?! :) You could tell too from the pictures that my shoulders were EXPONENTIALLY more even in height than they were when I started a year ago. I am soooooooo excited!!! :)  

Well I think that is enough blabbering on for one day :) I hope you have a FANTASTIC Wednesday! :-D  

xoxo, 

Jen