A new look and our visit to CrossFit Canmore

So I have decided to change my blog around a little bit as we have decided it is too expensive to upkeep the paleo way of eating considering I am only earning $25 a week.. That doesn't get me very far with grass-fed organic meats.
We are trying to have as many paleo meals as posible but are having some rice and pasta dishes as it is more friendly on the budget. We aren't buying grass-fed meats either =( But are trying to buy the leanest possible meats we can find for a reasonable price.

This decision was made a bit over a week ago. It is amazing the changes I am noticing already. My skin is disgusting again, it is taking me forever to get to sleep again and I am not jumping out of bed in the morning anymore... just hitting the snooze button a lot. I also notice how much grains I used to eat before paleo and it grosses me out! Its made me very sad to have to go back from such a healthy way of life. But it is only temporary until we get home and start earning a better income. Anything is better than $25!!!

So my meals are consisting of mainly sandwiches for lunch, scrambled eggs for breakfast or a homemade fruit/egg/kale smoothie, and dinner has been an assortment of dishes from spaghetti bolognese, tomato and onion tuna pasta, chicken & veggies and salad..

I have been a bit slack with my posts for the past couple weeks trying to figure out what I am going to do with it so I have missed updating you on a few workouts I have done (not many which is also depressing me.. I miss my CrossFit Darwin gym! Can you tell I am a little home sick?)

Mon 17.01.11
Pano Gym

-Warm Up-
Max Double Unders in 2mins
79 reps! New PR yay!

-Strength-
Push Press 5,5,5,5,5 Load 25,29,34,40,45(fail)

-WOD-
"Elizabeth"
scaled to 15-9-6
Time: 16:20

I was pretty disappointed with my time for Elizabeth. I was just getting over a tummy bug and thought I was good until I started and felt like throwing up. So I scaled the reps to compensate. Still took me forever..

Wed 19.01.11
Pano Gym

-WOD -
"1/2 Nutts"
Pull Ups sub Jumping Pull Ups
Wall Balls sub Thruster @ 9kg
Deadlift @70kg sub 60kg
Time: 14:16

The pull up station at the Pano gym is free standing so it falls over if you attempt to do kipping pull ups so jumping pull ups it was! I felt pretty pumped after this WOD so will probably do it RX'd next time (when I have all the right equipment) It will be my first RX'd hero WOD if I do!

Wed 26.01.11

CrossFit Canmore

-Warm Up-
DROM back stretch
Shoulder disl w/PVC
Worm Crawl
Samson Stretch

-WOD-
3rds for time of:
10x DL @ 80kg (55kg)
50x Double Unders
Time: 4:50

-Stength-
Back Squat 5,5,5+ Load 35,40,45(30)

Aaron and I went on a road trip to Banff and we found a CrossFit affiliate in a nearby town (Canmore about 20mins drive) It was great getting to a CrossFit gym and having everything there. Aaron didn't want to leave. Greg (owner) was great and really welcoming. We will definitely be heading back there again. We picked up a CrossFit Canmore shirt and WOD book each so that's pretty exciting. Can't wait to head into America and visit all the other CrossFit affiliates!

Tummy Tantrums & Roasted Veggie Lasagna

My cookie consumption plus a few extra naughties wound me up in bed for the past few days with vomiting and other unwelcomed movements..

I managed to whip up a Roasted Vegetable Lasagna though! I got this of Jen's Gone Paleo. I probably won't make it again as it took forever to prep and cook! And I would prefer a meaty lasagna.. still a delicious dish just a pain in the butt if you dont have a tray big enough to roast everything in and a casserolle dish big enough to make your lasagna!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise

• 1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise
• 1 red capsicum, quartered and seeded
• 12 asparagus spears
• 10 thyme sprigs
• 1 tblsp rosemary
• 2 tblsp Olive Oil
• Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

SAUCE

• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 1 tblsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tblsp oregano
• Pinch of red pepper flakes (I used a tsp Cayenne Pepper - will probably use less next time)
• 14oz can of whole tomatoes

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 204C/400F
• Slice vegetables
• Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme sprigs
• Roast zucchini, eggplant and capsicum for 20-25mins, until soft and slightly caramelised
• Remove zucchini and eggplant and set aside (I recommend putting a baking sheet under your veggies as mine stuck to the tray...)
• Add asparagus to pan and continue to roast with capsicum for 10mins
• While the veggies are roasting make the sauce
• Cook onions and garlic, in oil, over medium-high heat for 5mins
• Add red pepper flakes and oregano
• Stir to coat and saute for another 2-3mins
• Add tomato paste and stir to coat
• Add canned tomatoes and stir well
• Simmer on low for 15-20mins
• Once your vegetables are roasted and your sauce is ready, begin the layering process
• In a 9"x7" baking dish, add a thin layer of sauce and 3/4 roasted zucchini

• Add 3/4 eggplant
• Spread half of remaining sauce, the remaining zucchini and eggplant, all asparagus (I cut mine into bite-sized pieces) and capsicum (thinly sliced after roasting)

• Finish layering with remaining sauce and sprinkle with fresh basil (optional)
• Cover baking dish with lid or aluminium foil
• Bake at 375F/190C for 30mins
• Uncover and cook for another 30mins
• Let lasagna rest for 15mins before cutting

We made a few dishes with this lasagna and I was glad it lasted a few days. Aaron ate it for tea with a mate and they added some chicken. We also ate it for breakfast with some eggs. And I ate it the following night with some leftover spaghetti squash (YUM!)

I haven't done any WODs for a week (I feel so slack!) but want to give my body a chance to recover. I am feeling pretty good today. Food is staying in, no stomach cramps and the bloating has gone yay! Plan on going to the gym with Aaron this afternoon to do a CrossFit Darwin WOD. Dont know what one yet but most definitely one with the oly bar :)
We had pizza two nights ago though and left overs with some eggplant parmigiana last night and I had more bloating and a massive headache that kept waking me up. I have also been having trouble sleeping the past few nights which I am wondering if its due to my poor eating or illness.. probably both.. AND to add to that I got two big ass blind pimples yesterday which I havent had since I started paleo. Grains and dairy and sugar are the devil!

So for all of you who are tempted to reach for that cookie, pizza slice, protein bar!... its not worth whats around the corner! Trust me!

Eat Healthy, Feel Healthy, Live Healthy =)

Me + Whole30 = FAIL!

Today would have been Day 8 of my Whole30 Challenge but I would like to share with you my disappointment in myself as I made the ‘choice’ to have a cookie yesterday..
I was SO ashamed of myself as I only lasted 7 days and could not even go 30 days without resisting my insane sugar addiction (I used to have 3 bars per day) I regretted it instantly but still, fatty boomba me still ate the rest. I felt nauseous afterwards and had some serious bloating which I am guessing was my gut reacting to the nasties.. (flour?) I was miserable for the rest of the day and evening and had no motivation to cook. Luckily I had cooked bolognese yesterday so I just had to whip up some spaghetti squash and all was done.

Today is my Day 1 and I will use my Day 7 emotions and physical feelings, after I consumed the cookie, to remind me and encourage me to stay on the Whole30 banwagon.
My learning experience from this is I have to better prepare easy-to-eat Whole30 approved snacks for work as I do not get much of a chance to sit and eat a meal being a waitress. And to avoid the easy snack options such as cookies… I will be taking nuts, fruits, boiled eggs and veggies with me from now on, instead of just two pieces of fruit and some nuts.

To start the day fresh I had a nice big omelette which I probably should have put in the oven and made a zucchini fritta it was so huge and thick. But still delicious in the fry pan. It had three eggs, half a grated zucchini, 2 sliced mushrooms, 1/4 sliced capsicum, a handful of chopped kale leaves, 1/4 avocado and salt and pepper to taste. Told you it was jam packed! I only managed to squeeze in half for breakfast and had the rest for lunch.

I have Roasted Vegetable Lasagna in the oven for dinner tonight which I will have before work with some chicken. So I will post the recipe for that in the next few days!

PS I haven't done a WOD for the past couple days as my calves are still massively tight from the OPT Flight Simulator WOD!

Eat Healthy, Feel Healthy, Live Healthy! AKA NO COOKIES AMY!!!!!

Successfully sticking to the Whole30 at work and an amazing new dish I made!

I made it! Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday at work and not one cookie!! It was so hard as all the girls I was working with were eating them and they were just lying under my nose so I was constantly looking at them and CRAVING them! But I didn't have any. Major pat on the back for me yippee!
I didn't end up having the salmon for tea though. I had haddock without the mash potato and breadcrumbs on top. The chef asked 'Then what do you want with it?' as I had pretty much removed everything it came with, so I just asked for double serving of veggies which was delicious. My stomach was a but upset about an hour after though and I asked the chef what he cooked the fish in... butter.. not Whole30 but what can you do.. I will ask next time or just wait till I get home to eat..

So last night I made Sausage and Vegetable stuffed Acorn Squash (which is a winter pumpkin you Aussie folk) It was sooooo delicious. An explosion of flavours in your mouth. Roasting it in cinnamon made it smell like donuts so it was weird when you put it in your mouth and got so much more!! I got this recipe of Jens Gone Paleo. We had plenty of 'stuffing' left over so that is now in the freezer. I am definitely buying some more acorn squash when I next do groceries as this dish has made it to my top 5 favourites!

INGREDIENTS

Squash:

• 1 Acorn Squash, halved and seeded
• 1 tblsp Oil
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon (optional but so worth it)

Stuffing:

• 1 tblsp Oil
• 300g mince (I used a combination of beef mince and Italian turkey sausage)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup finely chopped vegetables (I used zucchini and cauliflower in our new blender - which is cheap and crap!)
• 1/4 cup fresh herbs (I used parseley and thyme), finely chopped
• Sea Salt and Ground Pepper, to taste
• 1 Egg, lightly beaten
• 4 bacon slices, diced

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 200C/400F
• Transfer squash to a baking pan, coat with oil and season with salt and cinnamon
• Bake for 30-45mins, or until soft (I cooked it for 40mins)

• While squash is roasting heat a pan over medium high heat
• Add oil and meat and cook until browned
• Add onion, garlic and vegetables
• Cook until veggies are soft, about 5-7mins
• Season with Salt & Pepper
• Add fresh herbs and stir to combine
• Fill squash halves with mixture , top with bacon slices and return to oven for 40-45mins or until bacon is browned and mixture is cooked through
• Garnish with fresh herbs and serve

Enjoy!

Tonight we had my favourite Prawn, Sausage and Zucchini Casserole  and there was left overs! So I know what I am having for breakfast :)

I did a WOD yesterday with Aaron - OPT Flight Simulator. Heard of it? My calves havent and they are screaming in pain today! It is a double under workout and I am clearly out of practice.

- WOD -
5x unbroken Double Unders
10x DU
15x DU
20x DU
25x DU
30x DU
35x DU
40x DU
45x DU (I couldnt get 45 in a row so I started adding up my DU from this point on instead of starting again)
50x DU
45x DU
40x DU
35x DU
30x DU
25x DU
20x DU
15x DU
10x DU
5x DU
Time: 14:12

Eat Healthy, Feel Healthy, Live Healthy!

The challenging Spinach Steak and the Bananas that send you Nutty!

Day 3 of the Whole30 Challenge and all is going well. No grains - easy, no dairy - easy, no legumes - easy, no sugar - not as easy but I have kept to Whole30 100%. I have been craving sugar and last night for dessert I made up a yummy Whole30 approved recipe, however I am going to try and avoid making this meal often as the purpose of Whole30 is to train your brain to not crave sugar. So when it has a 'sugar tantrum' dont give it what it wants. But other than that this dessert is mouth watering and the sweetness in the banana is SO good when I am after that little treat!



My Birchwood dinner

 Aaron and I got stuck in town two nights ago and we had to find a place to eat which I wasn't happy about as I would prefer to cook at home and know what is going into my meal. But we ended up eating at Birchwood and it was AMAZING! I had fish sprinkled with pumpkin seeds and with a side of butternut pumpkin puree and broccolini. It was so tasty that I took a photo to share with you all :) You will notice the nasty white potatoes on the side, which didnt get eaten yay!

I have had the last four days off work so I am a little nervous to head in tonight - my first shift while doing the Whole30. My weakness lies at work.... cookies. I am not going to have any! It will be a big test for my will power which has never been strong against anything sugar. So I will let you know of my success tomorrow (positive thoughts)

As I will be working 6-10 I am going to have dinner at work. I am going to have the salmon (again) and ask that the rosti (white potato patty type thing) be replaced with more roasted veggies. Easy :)

So, last night's dinner. It was ok. Not as I had hoped. I cooked the steak for a little too long so it was a tad dry and more on the medium well side. I couldn't find flank steak and ended up using sirloin steak which was really hard to wrap around spinach (it kept falling out the sides) Next time I will cook for a less time and will maybe bash the steak so it flattens out and gets a bit bigger.

- Steak with Spinach -

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg flank steak (I used only three pieces of sirloin steak)
• 200g Spinach
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped (reserve fat)
• 1 tsp Olive oil
• Ground Pepper
• Garlic Powder (I didnt have any so I used Parsley)
• Sea Salt
• 3 pieces baking string (I used toothpicks)

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 176C/375F
• Cook bacon slices in a pan. When done, remove and set aside to cool
• Set pan aside, reserving bacon fat
• Follow instructions on packet to thaw & steam frozen spinach
• Set aside
• In a separate pan, saute shallots and garlic in olive oil
• Add spinach
• Chop bacon and add to mix
• Mix ingredients well and set aside
• Rub salt, pepper and garlic powder on steaks
• Spread spinach mixture over steak
• Roll steak lengthwise and secure with string (or toothpick if you dont have any string!)

• Heat bacon fat back up in pan over medium-high heat
• Brown steak on all sides
• Put browned steak in baking dish and bake for 35-45mins
• When ready cut steak roll into little pin wheels (mine didnt workout that well)

- Nutty Bananas -

INGREDIENTS
(serves 1-2)

• 1 Banana
• 2 tsp preferred nut butter (I used Hazelnut but will be using almond in the future when it is back in store)
• 2 tblsp Nuts (I used pecans and walnuts)

METHOD

• Cut banana in half, then chop both halves in half lengthways
• Smear nut butter over each slice
• Sprinkle with nuts

Delicious!

Eat Healthy, Feel Healthy, Live Healthy!

Whole30 Challenge and my shopping list

Aaron keeps pestering me about what my New Years resolutions are and I have decided that my persistent visits to the cookie jar needs to stop. Hence why I am starting the Whole30 Challenge today! I have read a lot about this challenge since I started on the Paleo road and was intrigued by it. The aim is to cleanse your body of the dirty foods we eat these days such as sugar, grains, legumes and dairy. So NO cookies, NO peanut butter, NO ice cream and definitely NO chocolate. As good as I have been making my Paleo meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I waste my hard work by snacking on a cookie... or two.. or sometimes three... I decided this Challenge will be a great way for me to say no to these nasty treats and to stick to my goal of being grain and sugar free! There are hundreds of other people doing the Whole30 Challenge so I am constantly motivated by their comments on meals they have been eating or troubles and cravings they have been having. A common one was headaches which I noticed I had chronically when I started Paleo. I thought it may have been the change in the weather but there you go.  They are gone now though thank goodness! Lasted about one week!

I am going grocery shopping so I am all set for healthy Whole30 eating. My list is quite massive but I plan on making the below meals which will last me hopefully over a week but I have to feed Aaron as well who is a bottomless pit so see how we go..

Chicken with Squash & Salsa
Chicken, Shrimp & Sausage Jambalaya
Flank Steak with Spinach
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Sausage & Vegetable stuffed Squash
Salmon Chowder
Stuffed Capsicum
Prawn, Sausage & Zucchini Casserole

These will be for dinner and hopefully left over for lunch. Aaron is starting to ease off the cereal in the morning so I am now buying more eggs (a 60 pack which lasts us the fortnight and a bit longer) I like to boil some up as a snack for when hunger strikes! 

I will be posting the recipes for the above meals and how they went in the coming weeks as I have not tried most of them. They look amazing though!

My Paleo Diet book arrived today! Can't wait to get stuck into that tonight! Will let you know if I learn anything knew!

I dragged myself to the gym yesterday to do the CrossFit Darwin WOD.

I found my 3RM for Front Squats which was challenging as everything is in pounds and the power rack was being used so Aaron had to clean the bar off the floor for me then I grabbed it off him. Unco! I ended up getting 55kg as when I tried 60kg I couldn't make it up on my second rep. Bit disappointed with that considering my 1RM is 65kg.

The CFD WOD was pretty hard as I haven't used the Oly bar for over one month. We were doing Hang Power Cleans which aren't my specialty. I really want to work on my Olympic lifts as I haven't really done them before and they are definitely a weak spot. There you go Aaron, another New Years Resolution :)
Along with the HPC we were doing burpees which tire me out SO quickly! But I made it through with an ok time. I was aiming for below 4mins but that is something I can work on.

- Warm Up -
Burgener Warm Up
5x Front Squat @30kg
5x Front Squat @40kg

- Strength -
Find 3RM Front Squat:
3x 50kg
3x 55kg
1x 60kg
3RM: 55kg

- WOD -
 4rds for time of:
7x Hang Power Clean @30kg
10x Burpees
Time: 4:20

Eat Healthy, Feel Healthy, Live Healthy!

Christmas Naughtiness..

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Was anyone else naughty over Christmas with all the tempting turkey stuffing, cheesecakes, pastries and much much more?! I was =(

I made my first turkey though and it was amazing! I made it gluten free as one of the girls that was going to our Christmas dinner was Coeliac. It turned out great! I was most impressed with myself =D
We had lots on the menu from zucchini frittas with dahl (delicious), beef wellington, brownies and icecream (I may have got sucked into these...) and lots of salad and veggies. It was amazing! A great way to enjoy Christmas with a bunch of girls, on a mountain, in Canada! It wasnt feeling very Christmasy until we had our dinner. Too much work and no play..

I have been working split shifts this week and haven't had the chance to really cook anything =( Aaron has been Master Chef the past few days and made amazing stuffed capsicum and burgers with the left overs which I have been eating for breakfast with egg, avocado and tomato. So good!!!! I have been eating my dinners at work as I dont knock off until around 10 or 11pm. I usually opt for the wild salmon as it is the most paleo item on the menu. I had lamb shanks last night and the pork tenderloin the night before. And I have been pretty good taking my banana, apple and two mandarins to work to snack on during the day. However, the deli next door make these AMAZING cookies which I really should stop eating....

I am feeling pretty crap after this past week of non-paleo foods and am really noticing the difference as I have been suffering severe bloating and my pimples are back =( So I have to work on my snacks during the day as they tend to wander to the cookies or a muesli bar. I am always good with my breakfast as I have all my paleo foods at home but its when I am at work constantly rushing around serving and never sitting down that I go for the easy snack option of a cookie which I can pick at... Not good enough.. I have bought the mandarins now which I peel before work and leave on the counter at the back so I can pick at one of those every now and then which seems to be working.  My lunches have been ok if I come home during my split shift and get something to eat. The dinners are hard as I dont know what exact ingredients are in the dish or what is used to prepare them i.e. oil, butter, etc. and a lot of the meals have mashed potato or are covered in bread crumbs or have a creamy sauce or gravy over it... There is no fridge for me to put a packed dinner in so its my only choice if I want to eat dinner before midnight..
I haven't done many workouts over the past two weeks. Three actually and I am starting to see the consequences! Tighter jeans =(

This work out we did outside and it was -18C! I am not a big fan of working out in the cold as it stuffs up your lungs and you have a numb cough for days afterwards. I used a wooden block to do my clusters which Aaron found in the woods. It was pretty awkward but still did the job.

29 Dec 2010
-WOD-
AMRAP in 20min of:
200m Run, uphill
10x Cluster with 15kg wood block
Score- 6rds + 100m of run

I got both these workouts off Crossfit Darwin site. My gym which I miss SO much!

26 Dec 2010
-WOD-
Tabata: 8rds of 20sec work + 10sec rest
Push Ups - 10
Sit Ups - 10
Ring Dips (assisted) - 7
Burpees - 6
Total - 33

This next workout is from the Crossfit Tallahassee Offsite WOD page. It is like the song '12 Days of Christmas'. Goes like this; 1 rep jumping jack; 2 reps box jumps, 1 rep jumping jack; 3 reps pop-ups, 2 box jumps, 1 jumping jack; 4 diamond push-ups, 3 pop-ups, 2 box jumps, 1 jumping jack.
Go to the next number, perform that number of reps of that item then count your way back down to the first item (jumping jacks).  Continue this pattern until you get to number 12, then count all the down to 1 for the last time. Very exhausting..

25 Dec 2010
12 Days of Christmas
1 Jumping Jack
2 Box Jumps (I used an arm chair of a couch)
3 Pop-ups (this is a burpee without the push-up, squat, plank, return, then jump up w/clap)
4 Diamond Push-ups
5 Split-Jumps
6 Sit-ups
7 Mountain Climbers
8 Airsquats
9 Push-ups
10 V-sit-ups
11 Burpees
12 Tuck Jumps
Time: 14:23