Minding Your Mitochondria!!! YES!

Watch this.... now.

Paleo Cook-Off!

Steven and I decided to have a little friendly competition regarding our dinner last night. We were competing for Paleo Chef World Champion of the Roberts Household! The result? Two kinds of shrimp in completely different marinades, a salad, and some paleo "bread". The best part? Even if I lost, I still won (For the record, it was a tie!)!

Paleo Cranberry Orange Scones

Instead of passing out candy at the box for Halloween, I decided to pass out scones instead (I get my WOD on at the crack o' dawn - either 5am or 6am!). These scones are amazing and another creation from Elana's Pantry. This one came out of her "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook" (which I highly recommend!). I didn't have all the ingredients so I had to modify but I'll give you her original recipe and the modified version that I made.

3 cups almond flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
3 tablespoons agave nectar (I always sub with honey instead)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (I did not have.)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (I did not have.)
1 tablespoon orange zest (I did not have.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a blender (I love my Vitamix!) combine grapeseed oil, honey, eggs, apricots, orange juice, and orange zest. Process on high until smooth (about 1 minute). Stir in the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Drop batter on cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until brown.

I did not have apricots or orange juice when I made these but I did have dried cranberries and an orange fruit spread. Usually I wouldn't buy or use a "fruit spread" but it was one of the many food items that I inherited when my bestest-Paleo-girlfriend moved halfway across the country (I got all the contents of her fridge! Score!). I had never seen this fruit spread before but upon investigation, it is Paleo! No sugar or crap ingredients were in it! Here's the proof! (Side note... I'm assuming Emily got this at Central Market but I haven't checked the store shelves yet to see if it is actually there.)

Instead of using the 1/4 cup of orange juice, I used 1/4 cup of the orange fruit spread and dried cranberries to replace the apricots. I did not put the cranberries in the blender with the wet ingredients. Once I mixed the wet ingredients with the dry, I then folded in the cranberries which left them whole in the batter.

When I baked the first batch, they turned brown relative quickly so I pulled them out of the oven a little early. I should have let them cook longer. They were cooked throughout but they were a little soft in the middle. The second batch I left in the oven longer and even though they were brown, they were GOOD. I recommend cooking them slightly longer than you think they need. Also, they are excellent reheated in the toaster oven! They're so good, even my 6 year old ate them up!

Happy Halloween!

Been too busy... work, family, kids, CrossFit... you name it and I've been consumed. I've also been down and out this week with some minor back issues. This may be the kick in the pants that I needed to get my desk raised up so that I will have a standing workstation. We'll see. Gotta get the back healed up first.

Happy Halloween! This morning at Kitsap CrossFit, there was an appearance from Captain Paleo and Paleo Girl who reminded everyone to stay strong through Halloween! I also delivered some paleo scones which were delish! I will be posting the recipe for the scones soon.... gotta get caught up on stuff and get the kids through Halloween first! I hope you all have a fun and safe night trick-o-treating (for Paleo goodness of course!). Stay away from the candy tonight!

Sugar, Insulin Resistance, and Fat Loss

I love this article by Jason Sieb on Sugar, Insulin Resistance, and Fat Loss.

Paleo Challenge

Kitsap CrossFit has launched another Paleo Challenge. This one started on Monday (10/10/11) and will go for 45 days (Yes, folks, through Halloween!), ending right before Thanksgiving. Since I'm already Paleo and have been for some time, people might not understand why I'm back in for another challenge? Because there is always room for improvement!

My goals for this challenge are to 1) cut out alcohol. 2) cut out paleo sweets and 3) increase my veggies while decreasing my fruit.

Before Paleo, I rarely, if ever, drank any alcohol. I mean none. Not a single drop. It was something that just never appealed to me. I never wanted to be drunk (I mean really, who wants to potentially lose control of their surroundings, their body, their decision making?), alcohol is expensive, and I didn't think that it tasted all that great... but when I first went paleo, I really wanted something with "taste" to drink with my dinner. I had coffee in the morning, water was fine through the day, and then I discovered that wine really tastes good with my dinner meal! So just about every night, I'd have a glass of wine with dinner. It tastes so good with a big old steak! So much so that this became habit and, well, it shouldn't be a nightly ritual.

Not every night but a lot of the time, my husband and I will partake in a post dinner paleo dessert. While paleo desserts are much better for you than the SAD (Standard American Diet) desserts, they still pack a punch with sweeteners and calories. Folks, no matter how you package it, a dessert is still a dessert. I was indulging in them a little too frequently.

I eat a lot of veggies every day but not nearly enough. I'm not sure why? Probably because fruit is just easier and tastes better (SWEET!). This is an area that I just need to work on. I think we all need to work on eating our veggies. I also find that when I'm at home (which is a lot because I work from home), I tend to "snack" through lunch (piece of fruit, slices of ham, nuts). I guess it is because I'm just here by myself and don't take the time to fix a proper lunch for just me. I'm focusing on eating a full plate of food for lunch during these next 45 days.

Over the next 45 days, I'd love to drop at least 5 lbs, feel great, and improve on WODs. Five pounds is a lot! Maybe if I lost it, my pull-ups and hand stand push-ups will improve?

My lunch yesterday!

Special Occasion? Bacon Bouquet!

I've had a request to share how I make a bacon bouquet. Yes, nothing says, "You're special.",  "I love you.", or "Thanks!" like a dozen bacon flowers.

The hardest part of this is modifying a pan that will cook the bacon flowers. I had my hubby take an old muffin tin and drill holes in each cup in the tin. He used a large drill bit (I have no idea what size... it was big.) to get the job done. The holes are key as they allow the grease from the bacon to drip out of the bottom of the muffin tin so that the bacon can cook. Take a slice of bacon, roll it up, hold it together with a toothpick, and place it in the tin. Once you have a dozen raw bacon slices prepared, place the muffin on a rack which fits inside a baking sheet. The rack will allow the grease to drip out of the muffin tin and into the baking sheet which catches all the grease. Place the bacon in the oven on 350 and cook until done (~30 min? I can't remember how long it takes.). I also recommend flipping the bacon half way through so that both ends are evenly cooked. USE CAUTION when taking the bacon out of the oven. If you're not careful, the grease will spill and burn you.... or make a mess. Neither is fun.

Once the bacon has cooled, take a long wooden skewer and secure each bacon flower onto the skewer (the skewers are the stems!). Place them all together, wrap in parchment paper, and tie the paper together with a ribbon. Bam! There's your bacon bouquet!

Pan I use with drilled out holes...

I first made one of these for Dan's 39th birthday. It was a hit! Here's a happy Dan!

Paleo Junk Food

I've been thinking about a conversation that happened on Twitter this week for a few days now. It went like this:


Stacy and Matthew (Stacy and Matthew (@PaleoParents)
10/3/11 3:51 PM
It's unfortunate #Paleo(ish) brownies are assumed to make us want SAD Enough already w/ food guilt! #realworld #paleokids #SWYPO @whole9life

Whole9 (@whole9life) 10/3/11 6:34 PM @PaleoParents A big part of the #Whole30 is eliminating cravings. How can you do that while eating brownies? We want folks to succeed. {m}

Stacy and Matthew (@PaleoParents) 10/3/11 7:04 PM @whole9life I think working within the #whole30 framework it makes sense. Your lit spoke to that. This post tastes more of an overall tone.

Whole9 (@whole9life) 10/3/11 7:09 PM @PaleoParents Yeah, it's overall. A "Paleo" dessert is still a dessert.

Stacy and Matthew (@PaleoParents)
10/3/11 7:23 PM
@whole9life Stating grainfree lowsugar "special treats" lead to #SWYPO is an assumption. They helped our family succeed. Worth a thought...

I think the whole thing (no pun intended) started with this post from Whole9. In a nutshell (pun intended!), it cautions against the Paleo-lithification of desserts and junk food while reminding us that a paleo-dessert is still a dessert. In my opinion, they assume that if we keep the Paleo version of our old eating habits, at some point, we will just revert back to our old eating habits (in a non-Paleo form). I disagree with them here and really believe that if I wasn't able to eat some Paleo junk food when I first went Paleo that there's NO WAY I would have stuck with it. Also, as a mother, I realize that kids are going to have some junk food. Whether it is in our house, at a friend's house, at a birthday party, or at school, they are going to leave the Paleo friendly walls of our home and they will consume junk food because it tastes good to them. I'd much rather send them into the world with a limited amount of Paleo junk food rather than to have them eat a friend's lunch that is full of sugar, gluten, grains, and all around nasty stuff. I'm assuming this is the position of PaleoParents as well. I do appreciate Whole9's reminder though. While Paleo junk food is better than the normal junk food floating around 99% of the lunch boxes in America, it is still not nutritious. If your goal is to lean out, maximize benefits found in nutrients from food, and perform well, you just need to stay away from all junk food - Paleo junk food too! All Paleo junk  food has a sweetener, usually honey or maple syrup, which causes an undesirable insulin response in your body. They are usually full of fat too (almond flour, coconut flour, etc). While fat isn't a bad thing, too much of it isn't good. In this case, it could be what is causing you to miss your weight loss goals, your performance goals, or your health goals. Bottom line, eat Paleo goodies if that's what you need to do to keep you Paleo but limit them. If your goal is to lean out and perform well, give them up completely. Junk food is still junk food no matter how it is packaged.

Bread for Eric

I have a friend, Eric, who is in the Air Force and flies all over the world every month. He's gone (flying) more than he's here which makes eating  clean a huge challenge. Most of his time is spent in the plane (he flies the big one... not sure what it is called but it is so big that he once sent me a photo of a helicopter INSIDE his plane. He was transporting it from one continent to another which is the sort of thing he does almost every day.). We were chatting about strategies for helping him eat clean while working and one of the biggest (easiest) things he likes to eat are sandwiches. Of course this made me cringe and got me in the kitchen ASAP to see what I could come up with before he flies out on Tuesday.

I used a recipe from Elana Amsterdam's, "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook". Here is her recipe for sandwich bread:

3/4 cup creamy almond butter
4 large eggs
1/4 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground flax meal

Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan with grapeseed oil and almond flour. In large bowl, mix almond butter and eggs until smooth. In medium bowl, combine almond flour, arrowroot, salt, baking soda, and flax meal. Blend dry ingredients together with the wet ingredients and pour into pan. Bake for 40 min, let cool for 1 hour before removing from dish.

This recipe was easy to follow without a lot of extra or unusual ingredients. I actually already had everything I needed in my kitchen. I had flax seeds which I put in my Vitamix Blender to convert them into flax meal... it worked great! Of course, the dish I used was slightly too big so my bread came out a little on the short side but it tastes pretty good! The texture is like bread and there is no smell of almond butter (I was worried about that). Hopefully this will help Eric stay on track while serving our country! The below photo is Eric hitting the Hero WOD, Schmalls, on Memorial Day 2011... of course, he did it in proper attire.

I'll be sure to post later and let you know what Eric thought of the bread.  :)

Stay Paleo, yo.
C-

Cupcakes for Brooke

Brooke... Brooke... Brooke.. She was craving peanut butter pie. Not a homemade recipe from a cherished family member but store bought, nasty, sugar packed, coma inducing peanut butter pie. Before she indulged, she posted on FaceBook to ask her friends if she should have it or not. As you can imagine, I jumped on it and told her "No". Brooke is in the box every day working hard and the last thing she needs is to feel awful and derail her training with nasty pie. In a last minute effort to steer her towards the good light of Paleo, I told her that if she stayed away from the pie, I'd make her a kick ass Paleo treat and that she wouldn't regret giving up the pie. I went right for the big guns... chocolate.

This is an Elana's Pantry recipe for her chocolate cake. I did substitute honey for the agave. Since I was taking it to the box, I decided to make cupcakes instead... just easier that way. And guess what? 100% Paleo, yo!

Fight Gone Bad Went So Good!

Wow, is there anything better than FGB? Not the WOD but the event. It is truly an amazing time which brings athletes of all levels, skills, and abilities into the same arena to do the same WOD. Nobody cares if you're doing it prescribed, they only care that you show up and do the work. It takes a special group of people to give it their all for 17 minutes (that's a long time, folks!) to raise money and support families of complete strangers.

This year's event was awesome. Partly due to all of the other boxes which showed up to participate right along with us and partly due to an unexpected visitor, Lauriel Luther. For those of you who don't know Lauriel, you can follow her story here. Lauriel lives in Arizona but her parents live near us on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Whenever she comes home, she always comes to visit us too and get her WOD on with her extended CrossFit family at Kistap CrossFit. Years ago when I met Lauriel for the first time, she was a Paleo inspiration to me. She was strict Paleo - all the time. At that point in my life, I was about a month into my Paleo journey and she was an inspiration  to keep my diet clean. She was lean, she was strong, and I wanted to be just like her.

Lauriel's first visit home since having surgery was the same weekend as FGB6. I saw her in the box on Thursday and asked if she was going to do FGB. She looked at me like I was crazy and said that she hadn't even thought about it. After about a minute of thinking, she replied, "Yes. I think I can do that." Did I mention that she's an inspiration?!?!? The plan was that she would use a light weight (PVC pipe if she had to) and she would do step-ups instead of box jumps. If the first round felt good, she'd rest for the second round, and then jump back in for the third round. When the time came, in true Lauriel fashion, she did the entire WOD (all three rounds!) with a 33# barbell and box jumps!

I've never been so proud, so humbled, and so honored in my entire life. Here is this woman who just underwent brain surgery, is currently receiving chemo and radiation, and she just completed FGB6?!?! I have been praying for Lauriel for months and it was an amazing privilege to see how God answers prayers. Truly a miracle took place right in front of my eyes at FGB6... then again, it was Lauriel and she was my inspiration for years by being strong. Today it wasn't just physically strong but also mentally and spiritually strong. My strong friend not only participated, she crushed it.

Our box ended up raising over $8,000 that day for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, CrossFit Kids, and Camp Patriot. It was an amazing day full of inspiration, strength (all forms), and love.  

What did you learn from the 2011 CF Games?

I’m not a competitive person. Sometimes I am jokingly competitive and I have even told someone I’m going head-to-head with during a WOD to “Bring it!” (Cade!). While it is fun for me to competitively joke around sometimes, competition is something I usually shy away from. I’ve been a competitive athlete before and during that time in my life, it wasn’t fun. Eventually I became burnt out and I gave up my sport because I didn’t enjoy it or the environment that came along with it.

When the 2011 CrossFit Games rolled around, I was nervous. I didn’t want to compete. I could care less about how I ranked against everyone else in the world and I didn’t want my new sport of CF (that I love!) to turn into something that might not be fun for me anymore. As the registration deadline grew closer, I knew I had to make a decision. If I did it, there would be no turning back for me… when I commit to something, I finish it. For me, the deciding factor was trying to get a Kitsap CrossFit team into regionals. I truly believed that we had a shot at regionals and if I could contribute to getting a KCF team there, it would be worth it.

As the weeks went by, some WODs were good, some were bad, and some were just down right ugly. When WOD 11.3 showed up, I was scared. The WOD consisted of a 5 min AMRAP of 110# clean and jerks for the women. Prior to this, my 1RM C&J was 113# - that’s it! I thought I’d be lucky to get one round completed and doubted that I’d get any more. When the time came to do it, I actually surprised myself by completing a few rounds at this weight and I learned a few things about myself along the way... 1) I would have never taken on this weight if I hadn’t been “forced” into doing it (this is true for multiple Games WODs), 2) I’ll push myself a lot harder when I’m doing something for others than I ever would if I were just doing it for just myself, and 3) I think my 1RM clean and jerk is now more than 113#! I never knew these things about myself until I decided step out of my comfort zone and give the Games a try.

As you all know, our team never made it to regionals but I’m still happy and proud of our results. I learned a lot about myself and I saw numerous people from KCF do extraordinary things because they were forced to try it. Lots of people not only PR’d as a result of a Games WOD but they did it multiple times over!

If you PR’d as a result of a Games WOD, please post your PR below. If you learned anything (good or bad) as a result of the Games, please share your experiences below. It doesn’t matter if you were officially registered as a team member or not, we ALL pushed ourselves, and each other, through these WODs every Wednesday for six (well, actually seven) weeks. Let’s recognize all the milestones we accomplished along the way, no matter how big or small.

Why is CrossFit Better?

A few weeks ago Erin Okonek, Coach for CF oly lifting courses and general all around bad-ass, posted the following on her FaceBook page:

 

“Hey Crossfitters!!! I am about to write an article regarding the reasons that Crossfit is better than other workouts! I have my opinions, but am curious as to everyone else's. Any feedback?”

This was my response to her post:

“I've been thinking about this a bit lately. For me, it isn't about competing, "chasing a rabbit", becoming an athlete, or a firebreather. CF makes me a better mom, employee, wife, and overall a better person. I'm more focused, stronger (mentally and physically), dedicated, and ready to embrace everything that life throws at me because I know I can make it through. Don't get me wrong, I love lifting heavy shit, love to PR, love being faster, and definitely love looking better but it is all a means to make me a better, more confident, well rounded individual. I'll do things now that I wouldn't have dreamed of doing with my kids before I found CF... AND... it takes less time to do CF than it does to do any other "workout" program. To me, that means less time in the gym and more time living my life the way I wan to live it. Good luck with the article and let us know how it turns out!”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that a lot of my obsession with CrossFit has to do with the relationships that I’ve formed as a result of CrossFit. There’s something amazing about the journey taken together by CrossFitters... We sweat, we share pain, we sometimes bleed, we cry, and occasionally we even carry each other. I’m not saying that we literally pick each other up and carry ourselves around (although in some WODs, we do!) but we “carry” each other. We all have our weaknesses, we all have our insecurities, we all have that “thing” that we’re self concious about. In some weird way, all those “things” have the ability to disappear when we walk into the box if we let them. If you’re ready to embrace your weakness, expose it, and let others “carry” you, your insecurities and weaknesses will disappear. We’re all here to better ourselves in every way, the amazing thing is that we often better each other without even realizing it. While the concept of CrossFit and individual WODs can be done solo in a globo-gym, what sets us apart is the miracle that takes place everytime we hear “3-2-1 Go!”. We work hard for ourselves and often we work harder for those around us. This community has the potential to conquer amazing things when we’re together and improve lives in ways that stretch far beyond imrpoved physical fitness. We actively decide to show up every day to work hard for ourselves AND each other… it is something that simply doesn’t happen in any other workout program.

Below is a photo of Erin doing what she does best (lifting heavy stuff!) after an Oly Seminar at Kitsap CrossFit.