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Favorite Recipe Blogs

Since beginning Paelo, I have struggled with finding good recipe blogs. When you are searching for recipes on blogs, often you have to sift through a bunch of opinions and verbage just to get to the ingredients and directions. This drives me crazy. How can you follow a recipe when all the way through it you have to listen to the bloggers rantings? Furthermore, because Paleo is a relatively new on the scene, some folks are trying to substitute Paelo friendly ingredients for traditional ones. Working with coconut flour, almond flour, or coconut milk has very different results than your traditional flour and oil recipes. So, sometimes, those recipes just taste like dirt if they are not tried and tested.

Besides CrossFit West Houston, here are a few of my favorite recipe sites. Try some of them this week see how you like them.

I. Everyday Paleo – Sarah Frogoso has done an excellent job in making Paleo part of an everyday lifestyle. She has recipes that work in with an active lifestyle and one that is friendly to kids.

II. Paleo Betty- Nicole Tanzillo is a CrossFit gal, but believes that eating healthy foods, doesn’t mean you give up flavor. This morning I just had her Sweet Potato Pancakes. Oh my, were they good AND easy. Instead of doing the apples, I reduced down some fresh strawberries and blueberries and they were YUMMY. I gave them to a non-paleo friend to try and she was raving about them.

III. Elana’s Pantry – Now, Elana Amersterdam is not technically Paleo. She was diagnosed with Celiac’s disease and was forced into a gluten-free diet. Out of that experience and her love of cooking and baking, she has developed a gluten-free repertoire. However, she has taken a liking to the Paleo diet and has included some Paleo friendly recipes on her website.So be careful as you are sifting through her site. Her pumpkin pie muffins are to die for!

IV. Primal Women in the Kitchen – this is a local CrossFit Gym in my area that I just discovered. Their nutrition website has some great recipes with wonderful flavor mixtures.

Do you have any favorites? If so, please comment and share — I think we all look for inspiration in cooking!

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New Year’s Paleo Brunch

We at Crossfit West Houston hope you had a wonderful holiday this past weekend. As 2012 (did I just say that?) approaches, we look forward to a new year. I LOVE the promise and hope that a new year brings. It is a fresh start, a new beginning. So even if you blew it over the holidays, and ate those 7 dozen cookies that grandma baked or ate that dairy & processed laden smorgasboard of temptations… don’t fret. It is a NEW day, AND a NEW year. Let’s start fresh!

So, as I thought about this post I was inspired by the fact that breakfast is an important start to the day. So, to start the new year off right, start Januray 01, 2012 off with a nice New Year’s Day brunch. All recipes below serves 8-12 people.

Grapefruit & Orange slices with Mint
3 Oranges
3 Grapfruit
3 Sprigs of Fresh Mint

With a knife slice off rind of both grapefruit and oranges. Slice the fruit. Place fruit slices nicely in a bowl. Snip 1-2 sprigs of fresh mint over the fruit slices. Garnish with one sprig of mint

Southwest Egg Bake Recipe
4 large Egg, whole, raw, fresh
6 large Egg White
1 1/2 cups homemade Salsa
1 cup Onions
1/2 cup Green Bell Pepper (sweet)
1/2 cup Red Bell Peppers
4 oz Raw Milk 4oz
2 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tbsp Chili Powder Generic
1 1/2 tsp Salt, Tsp.
1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped
5 oz ground sausage (remember to buy grass fed)

Prepare a small casserole(8×10)by spraying the bottom with coconut spray (or grease with coconut oil). Beat the eggs and milk together along with 1/4 cup of the fresh cilantro and 1/2 tsp. of salt,a pinch of cumin and chili powder; set aside.

In a large skillet sauté onion and peppers with coconut oil. Add ground sausage, 1 tsp. salt, cumin and chili powder and cook until meat cooked through. Add the salsa and cook into the meat, then spread this mixture into the prepared dish. Pour the meat mixture and pour the egg mixture on top.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour OR until done. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the fresh cilantro on top. Cut into 12 squares and serve each square with 1 TBS. fresh salsa and fresh chopped cilantro.

Blueberry Coconut Muffins
¼ cup sifted Organic Coconut Flour
3 tablespoons Organic Virgin Coconut Oil melted
3 eggs
3 tablespoons raw honey
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla
⅛ teaspoon almond extract
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup fresh blueberries

Blend together eggs, butter, honey, salt and vanilla. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and thoroughly mix into batter until there are no lumps. Fold blueberries into batter. Blueberries should be dry. If rinsed, dry them off before adding to batter. Pour batter into greased muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees F for 16-18 minutes. Makes 6 muffins. Double recipe to make 12.

Crossfit West Houston wishes you a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year! May 2012 may be your best and strongest year yet!

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Garlic Rosemary Venison Tenderloin

My husband is a hunter. He has put food on our table again this year! Last week I fixed a YUMMY venison tenderloin. For the Paleo diet, the “hunted”, natural meat is the best, right? You can’t get any better than this, your own personal hunter bringing it right to your table. If you have access to fresh venison, here is a delicous recipe just in time for Christmas dinner.

Garlic Rosemary Venison Tenderloin

1 lb Venison Tenderloin
4 TBSP chopped garlic
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Fresh Sprigs of Rosemary
Horseradish for garnish

Place the Venison Tenderloin in Tin Foil and place in a shallow baking pan. Split the top of the roash and stuff 2 TBSP garlic in it. Drizzle Olive Oil on roast (about 2 TBSP). Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Place the Sprigs of Rosemary on Top. Take the remaining garlic and rub on the sides. Pull up foil along sides and top, DO NOT SEAL THE FOIL. Place on center rack of oven and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes for rare, and 30-35 minutes for medium. When done, let rest for 5 minutes and slice. To serve place a generous dollop of horseradish on the plate, and serve sliced tenderloin on top. Place a fresh sprig of rosemary beside it.

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Party Thyme & Hazelnut Crusted Grapes

Wow your party guests with this gourmet dish!

1 1/2 cups of white grape juice (use the juicer to make your own juice)
2 lb seedless white grapes, peeled
2 oz roasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
4 sprigs of thyme (preferably lemon thyme), leave finely chopped
Festive Party skewers

Reserve about 20 grapes peeled for the dish. Juice the rest to yield 1 1/2 cups of juice. In a medium skillet over medium heat, bring juice to a rapid simmer. Cook until thick and syrupy and reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Skewer grapes with toothpicks or party skewers. Dip each into grape syrup, then roll in hazelnuts. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with thyme.

An adapted recipe from Country Living September 2011 issue.

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‘Tis the Season to be Paleo

Yes, the Holiday Party season has begun. With all the lights, festivities, enticing foods, and that rum-laced eggnog that only come once a year, you might be tempted to throw those dietary resolves to the wind for a few weeks. Besides, you gotta have SOMETHING for those New Year’s Resolutions, right? WRONG! You CAN be different this year and avoid the unwanted creep. I know, I know, it is easier said than done, but here are some helpful tips to get you through the holiday season and still maintain your Paleo resolve.

Begin a food log. Logging what you eat every day, all week helps you to get into the mindset of healthy eating. It also helps you to be aware of what is coming next to help you plan for those parties. And it makes you accountable. If you have to log it the next day, you might not eat it in the first place.

Continue exercising through the holiday season. I know, with all the hustle and bustle of shopping, parties, wrapping, family events, it is easy to forgo the exercise. Don’t! An added benefit of exercise in the holiday season is that it makes you more responsive to when you are REALLY hungry. It helps you manage your eating. Further, exercise relieves anxiety, so when you arrive at those parties you can do so relaxed and in control, which makes you less susceptible to emotional eating.

Have a plan of attack. For many of the events you go to you, know somewhat of what is going to be there. Decide ahead of time what you will eat, how much you will eat, drink and whether or not you will indulge in dessert or something special. Also, plan what you eat during the day of your event(s). Don’t overindulge at lunch if you know you are going to the office party that night.

Reframe how you view the holiday get togethers. Instead of looking at it as a whole month of parties to get through, take each day as they come. Try to focus on normal schedules and eating the rest of the days. Also, look at these events to be centered around focusing on relationships and seeing people you know, rather than centered around food. Food is secondary. Meet new people, rekindle and strengthen friendships and family bonds.

Manage Stress. Let’s face it. Parties, schedules, and family can bring on stress. Take some time before you hit the party scene or go to grandma’s to identify any triggers for stress. Knowing your triggers before going into the moment will reduce your desire to emotionally eat everything in sight. Have a plan for how you will graciously deal with each trigger.

Fill up before you go to the party. Eat healthy items, such as protein and veggies about an hour before the event. Also, drink at least 8 oz or more of water. Noshing on healthy options helps to stave off hunger and will keep you fuller longer. All this helps to not get caught up in the “eat, drink, and be merry” spirit where you consume too much of everything before you know it. Try this combo: a hardboiled egg, a handful of carrots and an 8 oz. glass of water.

Limit alcohol consumption. Drinking too much can lower your inhibitions and cause you to over indulge. Try drinking two glasses of water or club soda for every drink of alcohol. It will help you be less likely to throw your Paleo diet to the wind and will probably save you from seeing embarrassing photos posted on social media sites the next day.

Contribute a healthy dish and find healthy eats on the table. Ask your host if you can bring something. At least that way, you know there is one thing you can put on your plate. Then choose a YUMMY Paleo recipe. Most likely you can probably find some Paleo friendly items to eat along the way. Be on the lookout for some of these items: protein (shrimp, beef, chicken, scallops), veggie trays or crudités, and fruit. Fill up on those items. Skip the breads, dips, and cheeses.

WOW your friends with a great outfit and your fit self! Wear clothes that are flattering and show off how hard you have been working this year to stay in shape. Looking great and wearing form fitting, flattering clothes will motivate you when you are tempted to indulge. Hearing how great you look, and answering the questions of how you got to this point, will also inspire you to stay clear of that eggnog.

Now, are you feeling prepared? Let the festivities begin. In the coming days prior to Christmas, we will be posting holiday recipes for you to enjoy taking to parties or serving your family and friends. Just because you are eating healthy, doesn’t mean you forgo great tasting food and elegant dishes!

Until next time, may your festivities be merry and bright!

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Overstuffed from Thanksgiving?

We at CFWH hope that you had a wonderful holiday. Feeling stuffed from so much good food? Here’s a quick, light healthy drink that will fill you up, but keeps it light.

1 cucumber (unpeeled), cut into spears
3 stalks celery, cut into 2 inch lengths
3 leaves of kale, cut into 2 inch wide strips
1 apple (unpeeled), cored and cut into chuncks
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley
1/2 lemon, peel removed with a knife

Feed the cucumber, celery, kale, apple, parsley, and lemon into a juicer. Discard solids.

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Being Above the Line

So there is a blog from www.beastmodaldomains.com floating around social media. In it the blogger profiles certain CrossFit gym stereotypes. Every gym has them for sure, however this particular blogger colorfully describes them in manner that is let’s just say …interesting. The blog detailed certain specific behaviors that are counter-productive to achieving positive results. While I don’t disagree that there are these types of folks in CrossFit, I just think it can be discussed differently. To me all the examples can be summed up in a simple way, being above the line or below the line. This is a concept that I have learned from my business coach.

Being Above The Line….. OAR

Ownership is the first key to being above the line. As CrossFit coaches we are guides, teachers, motivators, (amateur) psychologists, friends, etc. The one thing we can’t do for you is perform the workout or eat properly for you. These things are on you. We will give you tools, provide resources and be a resource, but YOU have to put in the work and make the right choices. Take ownership of your lifestyle!

Accountability is the second key. At CFWH, we are your accountability partners, helping you be your best. We hold you accountable to the integrity and honesty of performing the workouts to the standards. But you have to hold yourself responsible. Be accountable to you. We can be your sounding board for nutrition advice, but we can’t be there when you are out with friends trying to decide if it is a good idea to have the double chocolate brownie cake dripping with ice cream.

Responsibility is the third key. As coaches we will help guide you through this journey safely, while trying to push you when you need pushed, pull you back when you need to pull back, but ultimately moving forward. For the most part we have a great understanding of each of your capabilities, but it is really impossible for us to know each of your maxes on every lift, your last Fran time, etc. Be responsible by tracking your numbers, listen when we say drop weight, and do homework mobility drills that will help you move better and prevent injury. It’s very important to follow the coach’s instruction, guidance and counsel. We see things you don’t feel, and we know the training response we want out of each and every workout.

Being above the line is like being in a canoe, digging deep and paddling hard. Staying above the line means you will improve weaknesses, make proper choices in your training and with your nutrition. Take ownership. Be accountable. Be responsible.

Being Below The Line…..BED

Blame is the first example of being below the line. We all know people like this. They are the first to point the finger at someone or something else, blaming being late on traffic for example. While this is Houston and that is a real possibility sometimes, being habitually late is not traffic, but time mismanagement. The heights we can grow to are limitless. Stop blaming and start growing! If you are habitually late, leave earlier, find a different route, listen to traffic reports….be better

Excuse is the second behavior. Again, we all know people like this. There is an excuse for everything. This is the “dog ate my homework,” “my alarm didn’t go off” person. There are all kinds of reasons why eating well can’t fit into life. The list can be endless. Listen to the things you say to yourself and others. Are they excuses? Live life with no excuses, then you will have no regrets.

Denial is the third behavior. From time to time, we all can fool ourselves into thinking that events are out of our control. There certainly are some things that are out of our control, weather for instance. However, most things we can control and should control. Introspection is difficult and admitting that we might be a bit flawed is a blow to the ego. However, being able to call BS on ourselves is a powerful tool. Much of the time it is our ego that gets in the way.

When we live below the line it is like being in bed. We are immobile looking for things to change or happen for us, rather than taking action and controlling our own destiny by taking ownership, being accountable and responsible. How can we be above the line in CrossFit?

• Follow your Coach’s, guidance, counsel and direct instruction
• Track your workouts AND nutrition
• Be on time
• Focus on the movements and performance, not time
• Be respectful to yourself, others and equipment
• Push yourself, but know your limits
• Mobilize daily to avoid injury
• Educate yourself on movements, recovery, nutrition and sleep
• Be serious, but don’t take this and yourself too seriously…laugh from time to time
• Ask for help
• Help others
• Be awesome

Live above the line and opportunities appear! Your growth is CrossFit and in life will change significantly if you can analyze (and be honest with yourself) about where you are.

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Tuesday 10/5/10 CrossFit West Houston

WOD

Push Press

3-3-3-3-3

Met Con

Row 500 m

Run 800m

50 Push Ups

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Monday 10/4/10 CrossFit West Houston

WOD

AMRAP in 3 minutes

Air Squat

Rest 2 minutes

AMRAP in 12 minutes

15 Double Unders

10 Renegade Rows

5 Pull Ups

Rest 5 minutes

AMRAP in 3 minutes

TGU

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Saturday 7/10/10 CrossFit West Houston

WOD

100 m BW Walking Lunge

30 Pull Ups

30 Push Ups

30 Sit Ups

30 Squats

100m BW Walking Lunges

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