Category Archives: recipes

“Fall” in love with food

Posted by beautifullystrong in Eat Well, recipes and tagged with , ,

Taken by Wayne Nadeau

Autumn is almost upon us, and it is my ABSOLUTE favorite season, hands DOWN! I grew up in a little town in northern Maine, and our claim to fame was that in the 60′s we were the number one exporter of potatoes in the country (world? I’m not sure on that one…)…yes, even ahead of Idaho. In high school, we would start school in august, but then have, pretty much, the entire month of October off for “harvest.” Back in the day it was absolutely imperative to close down the high school to get as many students as possible to help pick potatoes and work the harvester. Now a days, the harvesters do all the work, but we still reap the benefits of the three weeks off in October (look at me acting like that actually still benefits me, pff!). I remember this time of year in Maine still as clear as day. It was the first time of year, after the hot sun of summer (yes, it gets hot in northern Maine in the summer), that you get to slip on your favorite sweater, turn on the heat (anyone else love the sound of the furnace turning on in the wee hours of the morning?? AHHH, I miss that!), light a fire, and drink a hot cup of cozy. I remember getting out of my car after school, in the early evening, and smelling the INTOXICATING (to me, yes, intoxicating) smell of EARTH. Fall. Harvest. Autumn…whatever you want to call it…it rocks my damn socks off. It is the one and only reason I am sad to live in Santa Barbara; there really is no such things as seasons here (according to people who know what seasons look like…people who live here long enough disagree with me). This fall, however, I am going to live like I am in New England…I am going to ROCK this fall :)

This morning I got up and wanted a hot, autumny cereal-like meal, and perfectly enough, I bought a new cookbook the other day that had the just ticket!

I got the recipe out of Practical Paleo…hot damn I love this book! My friend Jess left it in our office the other day, and immediately I purchased my own!

Now, before I write out this recipe, I am going to say that I changed it a bit due to the availability of items in my house. I am ALSO going to preface this recipe with the fact that my rendition may NOT be 100% paleo, as a matter of fact, I’m sure of it. I will in closing say this…if the worst thing you eat all day is chia seeds and peanut butter…you go girl.

The original recipe:

“Grain-free Porridge”

Coco-nutty

2 tablespoons almond butter

1/2 cup shredded coconut

6 tablespoons warm water or coconut milk (full fat, people!)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon raw honey or maple syrup (this is optional)

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Transfer to a sauce pan, and heat over a low flame until it reaches your desired temperature.

*Yields one large portion

 

Sounds delicious right? Okay…here’s what I did…

 

Jen’s “in a grocery crisis pinch” Version :)

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1/2 cup chia seeds

6 tablespoons of full fat coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon raw honey

Mix it up, heat it up…DIZ-ONE! I then sliced some banana’s on top, and seriously rolled my eyes into the back of my head with every bite. Yes…it was that good.

*Yields one large portion, FOR WHO!?    I doubled mine to accommodate both Nick and I. The portions were very, very small, but it IS pretty calorically dense…so…I think you’re good!

 

That’s it folks :) Try that one out, and eat it with your pumpkin coffee that someone who loves you from the east coast sends you in the mail :) PS: I am on tea now…however, with the bag of pumpkin coffee in transit to the west coast right now, I could NOT POSSIBLY be so RUDE as to NOT drink it…obviously :-p :)

 

Love you guys :)

Jen

Plan Your Weekly Meals!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Eat Well, recipes and tagged with , , , ,

sys·tem/ˈsistəm/

Noun:     1) A set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole, in particular.

2) A set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network.

 

If I never have to hear the word system again, in the entirety of my life, I would be MORE than grateful.

Since starting a business in July of 2011 (our 1 year anniversary is July 5th!!), I have heard the word ‘system’ more times than any one person ever cares to hear it. “We need a system for this”, “we need a system for that”. It has all grown a wee out of control, to the point where it is now seeping into our sacred HOME time…eek. Let me say, however, that I understand the need of…that s word…in order to make a business run smoothly, efficiently and effectively. I get it, I GET it! But when *ahem s word* means spending more and more hours at work, planning and developing…and you already feel like you live at your office…well, that word does not fill me with feelings of cozy, warm fuzzies.

Now, much like I have learned to turn off my EEK factor with the word “moist”, and yes, I can even say it now…I am learning how to handle the word…ss…syss…sysTEMS! :) Which leads me to my point today :) …

This weekend Nick and I went out to breakfast with some of our buddies, post-workout. Of the many topics that were covered (dumpster diving, the fall of the economy and some other super intelligent thing I’m sure :-p), one of the things I took away from it was Jess had to go home to “plan her week”. When Nick and I got in the car, we mentioned that that is a great idea, why haven’t we ever done that, yada yada. Lately I have been struggling BIG time with wanting to go home and cook, and if it were up to me I would eat out every single meal of the day! When you go to work at 7am, and don’t get home till 8pm…AND as a paleo person, you can’t just pop something into a microwave…who the hell wants to COOK?! But…then I mentioned that Danielle had made a printable worksheet on her blog that would organize our week by meal, and maybe that could help us.

So we sat in the parking lot of Whole Foods, dreaming about what we would eat for the week…and something that I thought would be annoying and tedious, turned out to be FUN, empowering and saved us MONEY!

We organized it like this:

 

Sunday: Fajitas (lettuce wrapped :-p). We made DOUBLE of this, because Mondays are our LONGGGGGGGGGG days, and having to cook at the end of it just makes me grumpy! Also on Sunday, I chopped a bunch of lettuce that I had in my CSA box, and a bunch of kale and put that in a bag; then chopped a bunch of vegetables, hardboiled some eggs, and Nick cooked up some sausage…all so that we could just grab and go for salads at lunchtime throughout the week.

Monday: LEFT OVERS!!! Let me tell you, after a long day yesterday, and not the EASIEST day…coming home to dinner already being done was heavenly. The best part of our day was last night!! :)

Tuesday: Chicken marsala with swiss chard :) Date NIGHT!!! :)

Wednesday: Pot roast with Dey Dey’s Best Beef and carrots, celery, potatoes and onions. The beauty of this is that we have Wednesday morning off, we pop everything into the slow cooker, and come home Wednesday night to dinner!

Thursday: LEFT OVERS!!! Thursday is our other 12 hour day, so left over are ESSENTIAL!

Friday: My favorite Mark Sisson dish: Kielbasa and raisins over cabbage. Sounds not the best, but trust me…it’s delicious and takes 5 minutes to prep. You can make a double batch and it’ll last you a few days…if Nick does not live with you :-p Okay, who am I kidding, I eat as much as he does… :-p

Saturday: LEFT OVERS!!!!

 

Nick and I were psyched on this, and since we had a plan for what we needed, we saved some money in the grocery store because we weren’t needlessly wandering around picking up everything we THOUGHT we may need…which usually ends up in us wasting it.

 

If you want to try your own sheet, here it is! (don’t be fooled by the simplicity…the very action of WRITING IT DOWN is the key ;) )

Danielle’s Printable Meal Planner

So far this SYSTEM is working for us by saving us money, and getting us EXCITED about what we’re going to eat at home, so I am much less likely to want to go out to eat…

I hope it works for you too! :)

Much love,

Jen

 

Yay, I was nominated!!… →

…for VERSATILE BLOGGER by the one, the only, the LOVELY…SheShredss!

Thank you lovely :)

To continue this fun little game and properly follow the rules, I need to, and will GLADLY answer 7 random facts about myself:

1) I can make three loops in my tongue!

2) I have my motorcycle license, and used to own a Kawasaki Ninja 250 with a hot pink helmet ;) Anything with a small engine pretty much, I can tear it up on. I prefer four wheelers and snowmobiles though. I’m from Northern Maine…I’m a country girl :-p

3) I love brushing my teeth in the shower…there is nothing better than an icy cool mouth in a hot steamy shower :)

4) I love reading marriage books…specifically Christian marriage books…couldn’t tell ya…

5) I, at one point, had FIRE ENGINE RED hair and BRIGHT GREEN contacts…it was in college, during my “punk phase”.

6) I have never been to Europe…in today’s world, this is an odd fact.

7) Je parle en peu francaise :-p

So now I get to nominate 15 versatile bloggers of my own!!

The lucky bloggers are…in no particular order…

KelsalynnFitLog

Sozo Life

Tales of me and the husband

Two red birthstones

Create something out of nothing

150 years young

Jessica Stephen

nomnom paleo

paleomg

everyday paleo

Bonfire Health

The Blog of Santa Barbara Family Chiropractic

Mark’s Daily Apple

The Clothes Make the Girl

Sweet Cheeks

Thank you to all these blogs for constantly providing knowledge, tips to make my (and everyone else’s) life easier, joy and entertainment, beauty, words of wisdom, recipes, and words of comfort and understanding. You all inspire every day :)

Have a wonderful day!! xoxo

Jen

Natural Remedy for Seasonal Allergies

Posted by beautifullystrong in Eat Well, recipes and tagged with , , , , , ,

I didn’t get to workout yesterday, even though I should have, because I needed to make a trip to the eye doctor… For the last year, on and off, I’ll have these flare ups in my left eye in which if a contact even THINKS of touching it, it will cease up and close up shop for a few days. Fun. Last Friday, during a meeting with the team, my eye was so pissed off by the sun that it just REFUSED to open, and I had an awesome little battle sesh with it that lasted far too long, and all too distracting; so, yesterday I was able to get in, and that is what I did. I thought I had it all figured out: a good 7 years back, I woke up on my 22nd birthday to a cat standing over me and then *swat*, a nail to the pupil. Not kidding, that was how I started my 22nd birthday. I will not bore you of the details of that day, but a little highlight will be that I spent my 22nd birthday with an eye patch and those big honking granny sunglasses that are often accompanied by track suits and ball caps. To top off this day, I found out that I had “cat scratch fever”…that actually exists? So I thought that it was a reoccurring flare up from that incident all this time. I was wrong. The Doctor went LOOKING for the scratch and did not find it, and all too comfortably handed me a prescription for Claritin D, and a couple other things I don’t know what they are. “Allergies, it’s definitely just allergies!” Allergies? I have not EVER had allergies in all my life, and NOW…NOWWW I get allergies? I would be lying if I didn’t say that since moving to California I have:

- Had a consistently drippy nose

-Lots and lots of headaches, and I prided myself on not getting headaches before this.

-An OBSESSION, seriously obsession, with the little bags that have puffed up underneath my eyes, which showed up almost INSTANTLY after we moved here.

-Multiple eye flare ups…

I had a lot of confused thoughts on my way to the car. I’m doing everything I can…why the allergies? Nick was very comforting in that he explained to me that I just moved across the entire continent, not just the country, the CONTINENT. The vegetation that I have grown up with my entire life is nothing like that of the vegetation here, and there are flowering plants year ROUND here. He also explained things in the terms of a race car (hehe, my baby and his analogies…)…if you took our Honda Element and put it in the racing world, would you agree that it wouldn’t function as well as the cars that are MADE to race? I would, yes. Would you agree, however, that you could do as much to that car as possible to ensure that it does the best in that environment? You could soup it up, make sure it gets regular tune ups and repairs, etc etc, but it still wouldn’t function as well as the RACE cars… (I hope I did that justice Nick :-p). The point is, we are not living in a congruent world. We can eat a diet that is as healthy as possible, we can exercise, we can think pure positive thoughts, and get adjusted on the regular, but sometimes, your car’s engine is still going to run in the red a little bit. :-p.

I am not well versed in analogies :-p

So, when you are eating a clean diet, exercising on the regular, getting adjusted, and thinking positive thoughts, what do you do when ALLERGIES still rear their ugly head?

According to Nick and fitsugar (and many other resources while we’re splitting hairs…), supposedly we should eat HONEY!… say WHAT?

Honey bees (the female worker bees) travel from flower to flower, drinking nectar, and storing it in sacs in their little bee bodies. Then they buzz back to their hive and use their “honey stomachs” to regurgitate and ingest the nectar a number of times until it is partially digested. They then store the nectar in the honeycombs, fanning it with their wings to evaporate the water, and turning it into the thick sweet honey we know and love.

The reason it may help with seasonal allergies, is because honey contains a bit of pollen from the plants. So if you eat the sweet treat that is made by bees in your area, the honey will often act as an immune booster, reducing your allergy symptoms to the local flowering plants. It’s a good idea to take 2-3 spoonfuls each day for several months prior to pollen season.

Fit’s Tips: Eating local honey works for some people, and may not for others. It’s a folk remedy, with no scientific research to back it up, but if you suffer from seasonal allergies, it’s worth a try. If it doesn’t help with your sniffles and sneezing, well at least you’re getting vitamins B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and minerals like calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. Honey also contains antioxidants and vitamin C. All that and it tastes good too!

Oh boo, poor me, needs to eat some tasty honey… :-p Looks like I’ll be giving this a shot! :)

What are some additional things you have done to ease up the seasonal allergies?

Paleo Baked Goodies :)

Posted by beautifullystrong in Eat Well, recipes and tagged with , , ,

One of my wonderful co-workers brought it to my attention that he could not find my Paleo Scone recipe on my blog…

…probably because I have not posted that recipe.

Whyyyy have I not posted that recipe???? It is only the tastiest thing I make..ever!!!

So, without further ado…here it is :) Paleo Scones :)

This was my one and only go at making the recipe with blueberries in it...which is why those "raisins" look so enormous.. :)

Paleo Scones 

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (I use the flour at Trader Joe’s)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup grape seed oil

1/4 cup real maple syrup

2 large eggs

1 dash of real vanilla

1 cup raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Coat 2 large baking sheets with real (pastured) butter.

2. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, salt and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the grape seed oil, maple syrup, vanilla and eggs.

3. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined, then fold in the raisins. Drop the batter, in heaping tablespoon sized scoops, about 2 inches apart, on to the prepared baking sheets.

4. Bake for 12-17 minutes, until golden brown or a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Let the scones cool for 30 minutes (if you can wait that long…I can’t), then serve :)

That’s it…easiest recipe on the planet. My recipe was modified from THIS RECIPE…gotta be street legal, just sayin’ :)

Have a great weekend everyone :) xoxo

Jen

I Think It’s Time You Knew…

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

…that your pal, Jen, here can make one meannnnnn salad!

I’ve been holding out on you guys…and I apologize! I AM, however, going to make it up to you RIGHT NOW by letting you in on how it is that I create these culinary masterpieces!

It’s simple, any good recipe needs a little structure, so…

…the breakdown.

Pick one or more (if noted) of the following categories:

LEAF:

Kale (alarm alarm!!! this is my most favorite leaf on the planet! There are so many positive benefits from kale, and other dark leafy greens…like calcium retention! Milk is NOT doing our body good guys…), spinach, chard, lettuce (all kinds), arugula, beet greens, the tops of Brussel stalks (so tasty!!), Bok choy, cabbage (why not?)

VEGETABLE (pick as many as you want!):

cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, snap peas, string beans, peas, onions, broccoli, celery, fiddleheads, peppers, celery, cauliflower, aspargus, shallots, GO CRAZY!! add some sweet potato chunks if you want!

FRUIT:

I usually only pick one fruit (I know a few of those “vegetables” are technically fruits (tomatoes, peppers…which I find kind of weird, and still consider them vegetables :-p)

strawberries, blueberries, black raspberries, raspberries, grapes (red or green!), apple chunks, pomegranate seeds, clementine, or anything else you’d like to try..honestly…GO CRAZY!

FAT:

I LOVE adding HEALTHY fat to my salad, and I usually do so in more way than one! Pick TWO of the following if you will :)

nuts! (almonds, pecans, walnuts, macadamian nuts, brazilian nuts, hazelnuts, etc etc. I have read that the two top winners for nuts are macadamian nuts and hazelnuts…they have the highest amount of monounsaturated fats of any nuts!! which is GREAT guys…go for these if you can!), avocado, coconut chips (which might be weird unless it was a fruit salad…if thats the case, then YES YES YES!!), olives

MEAT:

Make sure no matter what you’re putting on your salad for meat (protein), that it’s healthy! Typically I put the following on my salads: Trader Joes all natural chicken sausage, tuna fish, hard-boiled eggs (or even fried!), chicken, grass-fed beef or steak, nitrate free bacon :)

DRESSING:

I always, always do three trips around the bowl of extra virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinaigrette. If this isn’t something you’re into, but trust me its delicious, check out Brianna’s dressings..CRACK…CRACK I SAY!!!

So, today I made a salad that consisted of: kale, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, cooked onions, avocado, tuna fish with dijon mustard (in lieu of the mayo, ick), macadamian nuts, red grapes and dressing…results???…

PS: Think salads are only for dinner and lunch? No way…check out this good looking BREAKFAST SALAD!!!

You Can HAVE Your Muffins AND Eat Them TOO!

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

Wherever you are on your health journey, whether it be 100% western diet on one extreme, or 100% Paleo diet on the other (Paleo Diet: great explanatory video here!) everyone loves a little comfort food from time to time. Honestly, tell me what is better than a warm muffin right out of the oven, slathered in warm, melted butter… Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. If you’re on the end of the spectrum that is closer to 100% Paleo, however, those grain-laden fluffy little bundles of love are NOT in the cards for you…until NOW! (and if you’re on the other end of the spectrum, switching out these muffins for the extra-large Dunkin’ Donut varieties will probably add 5-10 years to your life).

 

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I got THIS RECIPE off of EverydayPaleo.com. She has so many delicious looking recipes on that site, it is DEFINITELY worth checking out. I tweaked the recipe just a little however. I added just a little bit of almond milk, probably 1/4 cup, to make the consistency a little thinner. She said bake them for 15-17 minutes, but it took mine 27. I’m not sure if that is because of my old-school-ass oven or what…but you can start with 15 (test with a fork) and go from there like I did :)

Healthy eating does NOT have to mean deprivation…or boring, tasteless foods…

Top that tasty muffin with a slice of raw (pasture raised) butter, and as Sarah said on EverydayPaleo, and pair with a cup of black coffee and some eggs (pasture raised), and you have one tasty breakfast (perfect for someone specials 30th birthday breakfast if you want to get specific :) )!

Have an incredible FRIDAY!!!! and Happy Birthday NICK!!!!

Love,

Jen

Short Skirts, Tall Boots And Wool :) …Ahhhh Fall :)

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

Before I launch off on a marathon of chatter to catch you up on my life, I just want to stop and say thank you for FALL!!!! Cool, crisp mornings that make it nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get out from underneath your snuggly blankets. Soft wool sweaters and tall brown leather boots. Pink cheeks and little traces of your breath in the morning. Hot coffee to warm cold hands. Little kids wearing backpacks with pride. Leaves turning shades or red, yellow and orange. Apple picking and hot apple cider (and once a year, that piping hot cider donut…mmmmmmmmm!). Yep! Fall is amazing…period! I welcome you with open arms :-D !!

Well, it’s official…I have signed up for my first 5k ever!! October 24th, 2010 at 11am, I will be running the Cider Mash 5k at Cider Hill Farms in Andover, MA. The website says it’s the most challenging 5k around…so OBVIOUSLY that’s the one I chose to run :-0, I mean, I hated running before, so why NOTTTT pick the hardest 5k around to kick off my road race experience. HA! Last night I officially ran the most UNBROKEN miles I ever have…3.85!!! Honestly, I am SOOOOO excited because I felt GOOD!!! I felt like I could easily carry a conversation, I felt like I was breathing normally…the only thing that stopped me was my feet. Chucks are not good for running…in case you didn’t know. Maybe its time for some Inov-8′s??

This past Monday was Nick and I’s one year anniversary :) I feel like the luckiest person on the planet to have been able to say I’m his girlfriend for the last year. It’s been the best year of my life to date! :) SO, on Sunday we went up to Cider Hill farms to apple pick, have some hot apple cider, and even, yes even, a cider donut!! I hadn’t had a donut since the PREVIOUS year when I ate a cider donut at Cider Hill. After apple picking we went to Flatbread pizza in Andover. Now, we hardly EVER eat pizza. The last time we ate pizza before this time was literally in March..and we were in NYC, and we were walking by the pizza shop that is supposedly in SpiderMan…so we had to stop. Before that, November. So, pizza twice in the course of almost a year…I would say we’re doing okay. Anyway…it’s kind of a funny story. I’m sure our waitress thought Nick and I were the biggest weirdos ALIVE! Flatbread is this GREAT restaurant, super great atmosphere (wood burning oven, wooden beams, etc), and all natural, organic, local ingredients. SOOOO, for pizza, it’s the healthiest we’ll probably find, and we were okay with eating QUALITY pizza, not just for the sake of eating pizza. Well, there were two size options, small or large. We agreed to order salads first (fresh fiber first!) and then split a small pizza…but then we SAW the small pizza. It was the size of a dinner plate. That was not going to fly… However, instead of trying to decide this ahead of time, we did this as the waitress was standing there. We couldn’t decide on a small or large…we explained that we knew we could EAT the large (its super thin crust and not nearly as large as a large sounds…), but that we were reserved about doing that because we ‘NEVER EAT PIZZA..like ever…”. She was probably like, seriously?? Long story short… we got the large, and ate the whole thing..hahaha. It was delicious, amazingly great quality ingredients, and we enjoyed every bite :) So to me, that’s a win!

Apple picking Fall 2009

 

Apple Picking Fall 2010

Best. Day. Ever.

I’m really excited for next month…not only am I running a 5k, and it’s Halloween month (when I live near Salem MA!!), we’re going to an awesome seminar, and a Celtics game… BUT my family is coming, and NICK’S family is coming, and they’re going to be here the same time!!!!! So much to look forward to!

 

On a Crossfit related note:

I haven’t been going to Crossfit as much in the last few weeks because I’ve been substituting them with runs. I’m trying to get my body used to running 3+ miles (doesn’t sound like a lot, but two months ago, tops, I wasn’t running more than 1 mile at a time…). The last time I was in the gym was Saturday morning. The workout was pretty freakin AWESOME.

1 mile time trial (7:49, my fastest mile yet!)

 max pullups in 2 minutes (31)

max pushups in 2 minutes (31)

max situps in 2 minutes (63)

max squats in 2 minutes (65)

So, obviously this was a workout in itself…but THEN our coach, Raf, wanted to do a challenge. He told us to get into groups of 4 (Nick and I paired up with Kathryn and Evan), and grab a 35# kettlebell for women and 52# kb for men. We all ended up using the 35# since we had just finished a workout that used a fair amount of arms. The challenge? 1000 kettlebell swings for time (amongst your team). It took us 1/2 hour………. and I DESTROYED my hand. I never ever take off my ring on my right hand, and after the workout, not only did I have the entire outside of my pinky finger raw and bloody, but my where my ring hits my palm was destroyed, and there was actual flesh embedded in my ring (sorry for the gore…:-p). It. Was. Nuts. So, I haven’t been in the gym since then because it STILL hurts to take a shower (raw skin), and I look like I have a disease…my hand is literally falling apart. Tonight’s workout has weighted pullups in it, and there are ring dips…ugh…fun times. Help me gain some of the motivation I need to get there tonight…please? :)

 

On a FOOOOOOD related note:

Want a quick, INSANELY DELICIOUS breakfast option?? This morning we had the tastiest, completely balanced breakfast EVER!!

First, hard boil some eggs. I recently found the most PERFECT hard-boiled egg consistancy…here’s my tip: Boil the water FIRST. Then gently place the egg in the water for 8 minutes on the dot…pull it out. Perfect.

While boiling eggs, cook some bacon. We had baked ours the night before, so we just needed to heat it up. Crispy is better for this.

Chop the hard-boiled egg up in a bowl, crumble the bacon, chop up some tomato, red onion and avocado. Mix it all together, and savor every single salty, creamy bite :-D YUM!!! Pictures to come later :)

Bon appetite! :-D

Love,

Jen

 

 

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 :)

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