Breakfast Burrito

This is a fast breakfast that you can make on the weekend then have the leftovers during the week. It's low carb, full of protein and of course delicious. At first I thought it would be strange to mix a bratwurst with Mexican flavours like cilantro and tomato in a tortilla, but the bratwurst really just tastes like breakfast sausages in this meal. You can substitute an equal amount of breakfast sausage instead of the wurst in this meal.

Ingredients

Yields 4 servings

3 bratwurst sausages, casings removed
1 tbsp red onion, diced
1/2 cup mozzarella, grated
3-4 ancient grain tortillas
8 eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp chopped tomatoes
small bunch of cilantro, torn
lime slices
1 tsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Put some olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Fry the onion for a minute or so.
2. Remove the sausage from the casings, break up and fry with the onion.
3. As the sausage cooks, keep breaking it up until it is fully browned.
4. Whisk eggs and milk together.
5. Add the eggs to the pan and move around every couple of minutes in order to make a sausage scramble.
6. When the eggs are no longer runny, serve the sausage scramble in the tortillas, topped with the cheese, tomatoes, a bit of lime juice and cilantro.

Chicken Parmesan Pizza

For this recipe, actually use marinara sauce instead of pizza sauce - it really makes it taste like chicken Parmesan in pizza form! I made the dough more delicious by adding garlic and oregano to it. Enjoy this with a tossed green salad.

Ingredients

Yields 2 servings

1 batch pizza dough (I used the recipe on the back of the Fleischmanns Pizza Crust yeast bottle)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup marinara sauce
2 chicken breasts, diced
handful of grape tomatoes, sliced
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan, shredded
small bunch fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Make your pizza dough. Add to the dough 2 crushed garlic cloves and oregano while you are kneading it.
3. Dice chicken breasts. Heat up a medium sized frying pan on medium heat, drizzle with olive oil. Add chicken and 1 crushed garlic clove to the pan.
4. Season chicken with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and saute until cooked through and golden brown.
5. Set chicken aside while you prep your pizza toppings like sliced the tomatoes, chiffonade the basil, grate your cheese.
6. Roll out pizza dough and place it preferably on a pizza stone, or on a cookie sheet. Top with marinara sauce, chicken, both cheeses, and tomatoes.
7. Bake pizza for about 20 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese bubbly. Once you take the pizza out of the oven, top with basil. Wait about 3-5 minutes for the cheese to set before slicing. If you slice the pizza when the cheese is too hot, it will just slide off the pizza and make you sad.
8. Serve with beer - Moretti is a nice compliment!

Note - I have made the Fleishmanns Pizza Crust recipe with whole wheat flour before and it tasted good but did not rise very well. For this recipe I used white flour and it was perfect pizza crust.

12/20/2012 Training

Thursday - Snatch intense + Clean Battery + Back Squat moderate + Core

A. Power Snatch Cluster, 1.1 x 5 sets, 2 min - start @ 60lb

60/65/70/75/75# - last 75# rep uuuggglllyy

B. Power Clean, AMRAP @ 85lbs in 1 minute x 5 sets, 1 min rest

8/7/7/7/7 reps/min

C. Back Squat @ 20X1, 5 reps @ 120lbs x 5 sets, 2 min

complete

D. Weighted Side Bridges, 20 sec heavy x 5 sets per side, 20 sec b/t sides

10/15/20/25/30#

Christmas Baking!

We made the Bucholtz's Prize Winning Shortbread with icing and Butter Almond Squares whilst listening to Christmas classics music. Fun times!

Matt frosted the cookies as I'm sure you can guess by the amputees...

Butter Pecan Brussle Sprouts

 

I know brussle sprouts are one of those things that people either hate or love, and I happen to be in the big time love camp - especially when they are smothered with butter and pecans!

 

 

Ingredients

yields one hearty serving

 

2 big handfulls of brussle sprouts, trimmed

1/2 cup pecans, rough chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp of butter

salt and pepper to taste

 

Instructions

1. I'm sorry I have no idea how to quantify how many sprouts I used. 2 hearty handfulls sounds about right. Anyway. Just trim the knobby ends off the sprouts and discard any wilty leaves on the outside. Slice in half.

2. Steam the sprouts for 5 minutes.

3. Add olive oil to a medium sized frying pan on medium heat.

4. Add brussle sprouts, half the butter, the pecans, salt and pepper to pan. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Once the sprouts appear to be cooked through, and have a slightly caramel outside, they are done. Add the remaining butter and toss around in pan.

3. In

12/18/2012 Tranining

Tuesday - Horizontal Push/Pull + Row Sprints

A1. Heavy One Arm DB Rows @ 20X0, 6/arm x 5 sets, 1:30 min (0 rest b/t arms)

20/25/27.5/30/35

A2. CGBP @ 20X0, 3-5 reps x 5 sets, 1:30 min

5 reps 70#/5@75/4@80/4@80/4@80

B1. Ring Rows @ 20X0, 8-10 tough reps x 5 sets, 1:30 min

8/10/10/10/10

B2. Flat Bench DB Press @ 20X0, 6-9 reps x 5 sets, 1:30 min

9 reps 22.5#/9@25/9@27.5/7@30/7@30

C. Row Sprint 45 ALL OUT x 3 sets, 1:30 min b/t sets

182m/182/183

Zoodles & and Smoked Salmon

 

This recipe was a leftover recipe. The night before I marinated the salmon and Matt grilled it for me then the next day I made the “zoodles”. Zucchini noodles have many other names from the paleo community, along with many other methods for making this delightful substitute for noodles. Some methods include using a julienne peeler, or a mandolin, but I went the old school way and tried to slice them into noodles with a chefs knife.

 

To make this strict paleo, substitute the brown sugar in the marinate for maple syrup. I totally wish I did that, maple syrup on salmon as da bomb.

 

Ingredients

Yields 1 serving

 

1 salmon fillet (~150-200g)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp fresh cracked pepper

1 tsp sesame oil

1 big zucchini or 2 small

4 tbsp diced red onion

1 handful of grape tomatoes, sliced in half

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tbsp olive oil

3 or 4 leaves of fresh basil, ripped

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Instructions

 

1. Mix together the extra virgin olive oil, soy sauce, chili flakes, brown sugar, cracked pepper, sesame oil, 1 glove crushed garlic and 2 tbsp of red onion. Place mixture over salmon and marinate for about 2 hours or however long you have.

2. Preheat your BBQ on medium with mesquite wood chips inside.

3. Turn BBQ heat down to low. Grill the salmon for 5 minutes on one side and 3 minutes on the other.

4. Zoodle time! Slice the zucchini to resemble noodles.

5. Heat a medium sized frying pan on medium heat. Add olive oil to pan. Fry the remaining onion (2 tbsp) until soft.

6. Add the remaining garlic (2 cloves), sliced zucchini, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the pan and combine.

7. Put a lid on the pan and cook, stirring intermittently, until the zucchini is soft yet firm. You want it to have a bit of crunch.

8. Remove the zoodles from the pan and place into a serving bowl then top with fresh basil and smoked salmon. Enjoy!



12/17/2012 Training

Monday - Clean and Jerk intense + Snatch Battery + Front Squat moderate + Core

A. Squat Clean and Split Jerk, build to a tough single

100#

B. Power Snatch. OHS, 1.1 x 12 sets, 30 sec - start @ 65lb, try to get to 70lb by the end

8 reps at 65#, 4 at 70#

C. Front Squat @ 20X1, 4 reps @ 110lb x 5 sets, 2 min

complete

D. For time:

did the above at 5:30 a.m...ran out of time for the below

Toes to Bar - 21,15,9

DU's - 50,50,50

Fish Tacos

I'm on a big fish kick. I adore basa. So delish. Try these out! They are a healthier alternative to the traditionally deep fried fish tacos.

Ingredients

yields 1 portion

1 basa fillet

1 fresh Thai red chili, minced

1 tsp ground adobo chili

3 dried pequin peppers, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

2 corn and wheat mixture tortillas

1 lime wedge

Cilantro, for garnish

chopped red onion, for garnish

sliced lettuce, for garnish

guacamole



Instructions

1. Start marinating your basa with the following - olive oil, thai red chili, pequin peppers, salt and pepper.

2. Make your guacamole, slice lettuce, pick cilantro, slice lime wedges, dice red onion.

3. Pre-heat a frying pan on medium heat. Add the marinated basa to the pan - you do not need to add more olive oil. Cook the first side for about 5 minutes and the second side for about 3 minutes. Once cooked through, break up the fish into flaky bite sized bits.

4. With a dry frying pan on high heat, heat up each side of the tortillas - for about 30 seconds each.

5. Fill your tortillas with fish and desired toppings and eat!

12/14/2012

Friday -  Vertical Push/Pull + Bike Sprints

A1. Push Press @ 11X1, 2-3 reps x 5 sets, 1:30 min
3@75#/3@80/3@85/3@90/1@95 

A2. AMRAP C2B Chin-ups x 5 sets, 1:30 min
4 pronated / 5 supinated / 4/4/4

B1. HSPU to Adjusted Depth @ 20X0, 4-6 reps x 4 sets, 1:30 min
to skinny side of ab mat - 5/5/6/6/4

B2. Weighted Pronated Negative Chin-ups @ 3 sec lowering, 3-5 reps x 4 sets, 1:30 min - jump your chin over the bar to start
oops did supinated - 5@10#/5@12.5/5@ 15/5@17.5

C. Bike Sprint @ tough tension, 20 sec ALL OUT x 5 sets, 1 min b/t sets
ran out of time

12/13/2012 Training

Week 3

Thursday - Snatch intense + Clean Battery + Back Squat moderate + Core

A. Squat Snatch, build to a 1RM

80# PR! I told myself that I wouldn't go up in weight unless I full squat snatch it, so I think this helped acheive a higher load. Previous PR was 77 #. I think for the 80# lift I was at paralell so it might be considered power snatch, but still, it was a lot lower than I usually snatch. Oh happy day.

B. Power Clean Cluster, 1.1.1.1.1.1.1 x 3 sets, 5 min - start @ 85lbs

85/90/90 complete

C. Back Squat @ 20X1, 7 reps @ 110lbs x 5 sets, 2 min

only did 4 sets - was waiting for rack, made me late...

D. GH Sit-ups, 15 reps x 4 sets, 1 min

complete.

Indian Red Lentils with Wild Rice

 

This meal is like crack. When I was pre-making it the night before for my lunch, I ate the leftovers directly out of the hot pan because clearly I had no time for a bowl. I first discovered a version of this recipe from a lady I used to work with (thanks Tania!). I think this is a kind of a dahl....  Rice and lentils make a complete protein so that's good, right? If you want to make this strictly vegetarian, swap out the beef bullion for vegetable and add more salt.

 

 

Ingredients

For Rice:

1 cup wild rice and brown rice mixture (I use Lundberg Wild Blend)

*2 tsp chicken or vegetable bouillon

*2 cups water

pinch of salt

1 tsp butter

 

* you can substitute the water/bouillon combo for 2 cups of stock.

 

For Lentils:

1 cup red lentils, washed

~ 1 and 1/2 cups water

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tsp chili garlic paste

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp oil (grape seed or other)

1 tbsp whole cumin seeds

1/2 cube beef bouillon

1 lemon

small bunch of cilantro leaves, rough chopped

 

 

Instructions:

1. Boil the rice with the water, bouillon, salt and butter until all water soaked up.

2. Put the lentils in a pot, and cover them with an inch of water, add the turmeric to the water and stir.

3. Bring the lentils to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until all lentils have soaked up all the water.

4. In a dry frying pan on medium heat, add the cumin seeds and toss around for a minute.

5. Add the oil, chili garlic paste, crushed garlic and bouillon. Stir around and break up the bouillon until it dissolved into the oil. Fry until the garlic is fragrant.

6. Add the lentils to the frying pan and stir well.

7. Remove from heat to the bowl or serving bowl, squeeze half a lemon worth of juice over it, and garnish with cilantro leaves.

8. Eat with the rice! 

12/11/2012 Training

Tuesday - Horizontal Push/Pull + Row Sprints

A1. Ring Rows @ 30X3, 4-6 tough reps x 5 sets, 1:30 min - place feet on box/bench

Feet on small box. 6/6/6/5/5 that tempo was tough.

A2. Bench Press @ 20X0, 3-4 reps x 5 sets, 1:30 min

4@65#/4@75/3@80/3@80/@80 my 1RM as of Aug. was 80 so I am curious what it will be now!

B1. Seated Low Pulley Row to Sternum @ 30X0, 6-9 reps x 4 sets, 1:30 min

9@50#/9@50/9@65.5/7@75

B2. Bench Press, AMRAP @ 60lbs x 4 sets, 1:30 min

11/10/7/7

C. Row Sprint 30 ALL OUT x 5 sets, 1 min b/t sets

121m/121/123/121/122

 

 

Spaghetti Squash and Chicken Bake

Spaghetti squash is a staple in my kitchen and I can never get sick of it. The trick for me is to cook so that it easily threads but it is still crunchy. Mushy spaghetti squash is groady. This recipe is alllmooossttt paleo, if you skip the bread crumbs and cheese then it's paleo. But that crust is really what makes this dish a "bake".

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash
400 g ground lean chicken breast
1 497 g can of diced tomatoes
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp tsp olive oil
2 tbsp fine bread crumbs
2 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Cut your spaghetti squash in half. Scoop out seeds and guts.
3. Place squash halves, cut side facing up, in a large Pyrex with an inch of water in it.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes. Test the squash by poking the flesh with a fork and seeing if it will thread easily.
5. While your squash is baking, make the sauce. Cook the diced onion in olive oil until slightly soft. Add your ground chicken, salt, pepper and garlic. Cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, breaking it up the entire time until no longer pink and browned all around.
6. When your squash is done, take out of the oven to cool.
7. Add the can of tomatoes to the chicken along with the oregano, basil and parsley. Add more salt and pepper if you think necessary. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
8. While the chicken and tomato sauce is simmering, with a fork, pull out the spaghetti squash flesh. Discard the empty squash shells. You will understand why it's called spaghetti squash.
9. Grease a Pyrex with olive oil and place the threaded spaghetti squash into the Pyrex. Once your sauce is done, pour evenly over the squash. Top with the bread crumbs first, then the layer of Parmesan.
10. Bake for about 10 minutes until the top is crispy :).
11. EAT!

note: if you have fresh herbs on hand like oregano or basil, it would be a lovely alternative to the dried herb version.

Again, you can tell that I took this photo due to is poor, oh so poor, quality.

12/10/2012 Training

Monday - Clean and Jerk intense + Snatch Battery + Front Squat moderate + Core

A. Power Clean and Split Jerk Cluster, 1.1 x 4 sets, 2 min - start @ 85lbs

85/90/95/100 felt solid

B. Squat Snatch, 30 reps for time @ 60lbs

9:30 - this was hard. After about 8 reps I was doing power snatches. Did in sets of 2s and 3s. Just couldn't keep balanced at the bottom of a full squat snatch...perhaps I should have gone slower and just did the full squat snatch.

C. Front Squat @ 20X1, 5 reps @ 105lb x 5 sets, 1:30 min

complete. Also, quite challenging. Focused on breathing, that helped.

D. AMRAP:

2 min Knees to Elbows (make sure you hit the elbows)

26

2 min Unanchored Sit-ups

70

Winter World Health Club Games

I participated in the World Health Club Games this Saturday on the "Penthouse Bay Club" team. It was super fun! It was great to meet new people. There's so many crossfitters out there in the world!

There were 4 events plus a surprise gauntlet. The 3 events were amrap bench press at 60% body weight for girls and 100% bw for guys. The next event was you have 2 minutes to do IRM deadlift. Another event is the kettlebell clean cycle that I did last week. Then there was some sprinting thing. I didn't really pay attention to it because as a below-4-footer, I did not anticipate doing well at that event. Each team member must participate in an event individually then you participate in the gauntlet as a team.

I did the 60% bw amrap bench press in one minute at 65# and got 15 reps.

The Gauntlet:
The team must complete all 3 cycles of the gauntlet as fast as possible, and the first team to finish wins.

Cycle 1:

As a team you must complete 200 kettlebell swings (girls at 12kg and guys at 20kg). As one team member is doing the KB swings, another team member must either hold a 95# bar overhead (for guys) or hold a 95# bar at the top of a deadlift position (for girls). Then you cycle through all 4 team members, always in the same order.

The KB swings were an easy weight, but after the swings, it made your grip fatigued for the 95# bar hold which was harder than I was expecting. Some guys struggled with the overhead. The more experienced guys did a good job of keeping their shoulder blades together and the weight over their thoracic spine and didn't struggle with stability here.

Cycle 2:

As a team you have to row 2000 m and while one team member is rowing, the other must hold a 95# bar in the front rack position. Then the 2 waiting, will cycle through the same way.

Our strategy here was to keep the rows short, and basically do a full out sprint for as long as you can maintain that intensity. Our team each did 30 seconds or a 1:45 minute sprint since none of us had an issue with the 95# front rack hold. I noticed people on other teams would lean back to hold the bar and I think this would be more fatiguing than keeping a strong tall posture.

Cycle 3:

As a team you must complete 200 bar facing burpees. You must fully extend at the top and clap at the top.

Our team was very powerful at this event. Our theory was to do 10 or less each really fast since you have 3 people worth of rest time. We saw one of the best teams get really gassed after this event that used our same strategy so we were ready for it to suck. Each person had really fast transitions - at the top clapping, jumping over the bar, and doing a 180 to face the bar all at the same time.

The result:

In the end we lost the gauntlet by 13 seconds to the best team and I think our total time as 18 minutes something.

We placed 3rd out of about 10 World Health Club Teams. So YAY!

Headband Version 2

Darn. Now I have to go out and get more baby alpaca. Because damn, this is warm snugly and soft. And super cute.

This is the same idea as the horizontal herringbone headband that I posted the other day.

I used 100% chunky weight baby alpaca and I think it really showed off the stitch pattern.

I cast on 28 stitches and worked in horizontal herringbone pattern until the desired length. Then seamed the ends together.

Then I wrapped a really long tail around the seam in edge to create a bow effect. Then I tied in my ends.

Coconut Crusted Salmon Drizzled with Sesame Oil and Spicy Green Beans

Again, terrible picture! But you get my drift. It's salmon and green beans. Simple! Quick! Healthy!

 

 

Ingredients

150 g salmon fillet

2 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut

1 egg

salt and pepper

1 tsp sesame oil

handful of green beans, ends trimmed

1 tsp chili garlic sauce

1 tsp olive oil

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Whisk your egg. Dip salmon in egg.

3. Sprinkle both sides of salmon with shredded coconut, press the coconut down into the flesh.

4. Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Put into an oiled pan and bake for 15 minutes.

6. While this is baking, steam your trimmed green beans for 3 minutes.

7. Put the beans in a frying pan on medium heat. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and a touch of sesame oil.

8. Season with salt and pepper, add your chili garlic sauce, mix.

9. Saute for 3-5 minutes.

10. At the 15 minutes mark of cooking your salmon, turn the oven on broil for a minutes or so (watch it!) to make the top all crispy.

11. Enjoy!

 

12/06/2012 Training

Thursday - Snatch intense + Clean Battery + Back Squat moderate + Core

A. OHS, build to a 1RM

95#

B. Above Knee Hang Power Clean, 2 tough reps every 60 sec for 10 mintues

complete @ 85#

C. Back Squat @ 20X1, 8 reps @ 105lbs x 5 sets, 1:30 min

complete

D. GH Sit-ups, 15 reps x 4 sets, 1 min

did 3 sets...still sore from these last Thursday!

Horizontal Herringbone Stitch Easy Headband

Yay a knitting post!!! I have made lots of little stufflately but I keep forgetting to take pictures of it before I give it away forChristmas. I really love this headband I kind of (really) want to keep it…

I had some left over yarn from some thrummed mittens. It was malabrigio worsted, lime blue.

It’s super easy:

Just cast on 18 stitches. Or any multiple of 2.

Work in horizontal herringbone stitch until desired length.

Merino wool stretches a bit so I made my headband a bittight.

Block the headband before seaming.

Seam the ends together using invisible vertical seam stitch.

Then cut a super long tail and wrap it a million timesaround your seam edge.

Tie in your ends.

Give as a last minute Christmas present. Or keep it for yourlovely self.

Random side note:
I REALLY want to make these!
http://www.purlbee.com/little-cable-knee-highs/2012/11/20/whits-knits-little-cable-knee-highs-1.html#comments
I can't wait for my cable class in January. Then you cutsy little knee highs will be mine!

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Bacon, Brie and Rosemary plus 2 Sides

This is what I made for me and my BFF's Christmas dinner. I think the recipe still needs perfecting (more Brie in bigger chunks, better bacon wrapping skills etc...) so you will see this again. It was super delicious but I think presentation-wise it could be improved. This meal was fast to make but had a big payout in the gourmet scale.

Ingredients

yields 4 portions

for the Chicken Breasts with Bacon, Brie and Rosemary

4 chicken breasts, pounded and fillet
6-8 pieces of thick cut smoked bacon
28g fresh rosemary sprigs, leaves chopped
1 small wheel Brie cheese
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
olive oil for drizzling

for the Sauteed Kale

5 leaves of kale, chopped and stems removed
1 tbsp red onion, fine sliced
1 clove garlic, fine sliced
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
dash of red chili flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

for the Walnut Basil Kale Pesto and Linguine

35g fresh basil leaves
1 leaf of kale, chopped, stems removed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts
heaping 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, skin peeled
500 g linguine, cooked al dente

Instructions

Instructions for the Chicken Breasts with Bacon, Brie and Rosemary

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Gently pound chicken breasts with flat side of meat tenderiser, with plastic wrap on top of the chicken. This is just to ensure that each breast is a consistent thickness.
3. Fillet your chicken breasts.
4. Remove the rind from the Brie and scoop tbsp sizes of Brie out and place about 3 tbsp globs inside each fillet breast.
5. Sprinkle a bit of rosemary (reserve some) inside each breast. Evenly spread some minced garlic inside as well.
6. Fold the flap of the chicken over so the the Brie, rosemary and garlic are encased.
7. Drizzle chicken with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and more rosemary.
8. Wrap each breasts with 1-2 slices of bacon.
9. Place chicken breasts in a baking Pyrex that has been drizzled with olive oil.
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the bacon is crispy and the chicken is cooked through.

 Instructions for the Sauteed Kale

1. When you wash the kale don't dry it before you chop it. The water on the kale will help steam it.
2. Preheat a frying pan on medium heat.
3. Add all of the ingredients for the kale above to the frying pan.
4. Cover with a lid, and saute for about 10 - 15 minutes until kale is all wilted. It will need more time than you think.

 

Instructions for the Walnut Basil Kale Pesto and Linguine

1. Get out a food processor.
2. Put into the food processor the basil leaves, garlic, chopped kale leaf, garlic, walnuts, Parmesan, olive oil, salt and pepper and buzz until all smooth. If the mixture is too dry add more olive oil.
3. Cook the linguine as per package directions until al dente.
4.  Drain the pasta. Add the pasta to a frying pan on medium heat with the pesto and toss until well coated. Cook for about 3 - 5 minutes.
5. Serve with your Brie and Rosemary Chicken Breasts and Sauteed Kale!

Note: This pasta/pesto recipe makes a lot - so I just portioned out how much pasta I wanted that night and fried it up with the pesto, then kept the left over pesto and pasta for leftovers.

My Guacamole

 

This is one of many versions of my guacamole. I LOVE avocados so I extra love my guac. This version is a bit spicy. Just add less peppers/chilis to make it mild. 

 

 

Ingredients

makes enough for a party

5-6 ripe avocados, pitted and skin removed  (keep the pits)

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 red onion, minced

1 bunch of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

2 limes, juiced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 seranno peppers

1 hot red chili

 

Instructions

1. Halve the avocados, set the pits aside and scoop the flesh into a medium sized mixing bowl.

2. Add all of the ingredients above (just the juice of the lime!) and smash the mixture together with a potato masher or a fork until it is all smooth.

3. Add the pits back into the guacamole. This will keep it from browning. Thanks to my dear friend Lucia for teaching me that!

12/4/2012 Training

Tuesday - Horizontal Push/Pull + Row Sprints

A1. One Arm DB Rows @ 20X0, 4-6/arm x 5 sets, 1:30 min

6 reps 20#/ 6 reps 25/6 reps 27.5/6 reps 30/5 reps 35

A2. Bench Press @ 20X0, 4-6 reps x 5 sets, 1:30 min

6 reps 65#/6@70/4@75/4@75/4@75

B1. Ring Rows @ 20X0, 10-12 reps x 4 sets, 1:30 min

12/11/9/9

B2. Flat Bench DB Press @ 20X0, 8-10 reps x 4 sets, 1:30 min

10 reps 20/ 10@22.4/ 9@25 / 9@25

C. Row Sprint 1 minute ALL OUT x 3 sets, 3 min b/t sets

244m/238/241

Ring rows are difficult.

Schnitzel and Spaetzle!

This meal really brought us back to Germany, especially since we had it with weissbier. So simple, and yet so delicious!

Ingredients

yields 2 servings

For the Schnitzel
2 chicken breasts, pounded to 1" thickness
2 cups fine bread crumbs
2 eggs, whisked
1 tbsp milk or water
1 cup flour
~ 2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 lemon, wedged

Instructions

1. Pound your chicken breasts with a meat tenderizer (flat side) with plastic wrap covering the chicken to about 1" thickness, or even less if you can avoid tearing through the breast.
2. Set up your breading stations like so:

Put the bread crumbs and flour each into a wide bowl or pie plate. Whisk the eggs with the milk. Add the salt and pepper to the bread crumbs, stir well.

3. Put a frying plan on medium heat with a drizzel of olive oil or fat of choice. The more oil the better, but if you're watching your girlish figure, you can be conservative and it still becomes crispy.

4. Bread all your thin chicken filets by covering the chicken completely in flour, then dip both sides in egg, then put it in the bread crumbs, pressing down hard so that the bread crumbs stick evenly.

5. Fry each side for about 6-8 minutes. You can add more oil when you flip to each side if desired. I also cook the chocken in batches, so I keep the oven on a low temperature and pop the chicken in the oven once done frying, covered with tinfoil, so that they stay warm while I fry the next batch.

6. Serve with lemon wedges and squeeze lemon juice over the Schnitzel before eating.

Ingredients

Yields 2-4 servings

For the Spaetzle

3 strips of thick cut smoked bacon

1 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp olive oil

pot of water for boiling

Instructions

1. First I would reccomend getting a spaetzle maker or höbel. It will make your life easier and more delicious. We used to make this with just dropping the dough into boiling water, which is fine, but I always burned myself and it was more like dumplings than noodles.

2. Mix up the flour, milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

3. Boil a big pot of water.

4. The water is at a mad boil, pour half the batter mixture into the höbel, and slide back and forth until all the batter has sifted through. Repeat until there's no batter left.

5. The noodle are done when they float to the top. Once they are all floating, with a slotted spoon, scoop noodles out and put into a strainer with paper towel lined at the bottom.

6. Set noodles aside and slice your bacon into small slivers.

7. Fry your chopped bacon with olive oil in a frying pan that will fit all the spaetzle.

8. Once the bacon is halfway done cooking, add the spaetzle. Cook for about 7 minutes. Don't move it around too much - you want the noodles to get a bit crispy on the outside.

9. Eat with schnitzel!

 



12/3/2012 Training

Monday - Clean and Jerk intense + Snatch Battery + Front Squat moderate + Core

A. Squat Clean. Split Jerk, 1.2 x 4 sets, 3-4 min - 1 clean, 2 split jerks, start @ 75lb

75/80/85/90#

B. Above Knee Hang Power Snatch, 3 reps per minute for 10 minutes - start @ 55lb

55# for 3 min 60# for the rest

C. Front Squat @ 22X1, 5 moderate effort reps x 5 sets, 3 min - follow tempo

105/105/110/110/110

D. 30 Toes to Bar for time

2:11

I'm on a team for the World Health Club Games this Saturday so I also did the kettlebell long cycle which is:

Kettle Bell Long Cycle

• 5 Min clean and press
• Only 1 hand change permitted
• Rest only in rack position – not on shoulder or hanging between legs
• KB touching ground before 5 min will result in disqualification from the event
• Arm and legs must lockout at top every time.
• Kettle bell must return to rack position every time on the way down
• Push press and push jerk are permitted
• Total amount of proper repetitions wins event.
• Females must use 12kg, Males must use 20kg weight assignment may change pending FM feedback.

I got 34 reps. It was SO MUCH HARDER than I was expecting. My forearms have never been so pumped out. You should seriously try this. For a challenge ya know.

Dark Chocolate Candy Cane Brownies

 

I know I know, this is a terrible picture. That's because I took it, not Matt. I made these for my last day of pottery class potluck. They are pretty much amazing. I only used 1 chocolate bar for the middle, and I'm happy with that decision. Otherwise I think it would be too much chocolate for my liking. Too much chocolate!?! Is there such a thing!? I think so. 

http://punchfork.com/recipe/Dark-Chocolate-Candy-Cane-Brownies-My-Baking-Addiction

 

Chicken Noodle Soup, from scratch

It's really cold right now. Warm yourself up with a comforting bowl of a classic dish. Also, roasting a whole chicken and making soup with it makes like 4 meals for around $20 which is AWESOME!

Ingredients

1 Roast Chicken (approx. 2 lbs)
2 yellow onions, one sliced, one diced
5 ribs celery, sliced into half moons
5 carrots, sliced into medallions
4 bay leaves
~ 7 L water
6 cloves of garlic, 4 whole, 2 minced
2 tbsp Vegeta
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. You can either buy a roasted chicken from your grocery store which is wayyyyy easier, or you could break this recipe up into a 2 night meal plan like Matt and I did. We made this: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipe-print.php?url=super-tasty-spanish-roast-chicken
2. Once your chicken is roasted, take the the majority of the meat off the carcass. Reserve about 2 cups of chicken meat to put in your soup later. You can eat the rest or use it for something else.
3. Now we make the broth! Put the entire chicken carcase into a BIG pot. Cover the carcass with water. Place on the stove top on high.
4. Slice a big yellow onion and place in water, along with 4 whole cloves of garlic, peeled. Add your vegeta, 2 bay leaves, all salt and pepper.
5. Once the water is boiling, reduce to medium high heat to keep the broth at a good boil.
6. Boil for 2 hours, adding water as you go so that the carcass is always covered with water.
7. If you have time you can start on the next process of making the soup, or you can discard the chicken bones, put the broth into jars, store overnight, and make the soup the next day.
8. To remove the chicken bones, put a large pot or big bowl into the sink, put a collender over it, and strain the broth and bones into it. Pick through the reserved chicken bones and remove all the good meat you want to eat. Add this meat to the meat you have reserved prior to boiling the bones.
9. Chop your carrots and celery (even include the leafy bits) into bite sized pieces. Fine dice a big yellow onion. Mince 2 cloves of garlic.
10. Put a big pot on the stove top on medium. Oil with about a tbsp of olive oil. Add all your veggies: carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11. Add your broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Add 2 bay leaves. Reduce the medium low heat and add your reserved chicken meat.
12. If the soup looks too thick, add more water. Our broth was so rich that we added an additional 1L of water, and balanced it out with another tbsp of vegeta, salt and pepper.
13. Add any kind of mini noodle, or if you want to be super ambitious you can use homemade chopped spaghetti . Cook with the noodles for 3-5 minutes.
14. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve! It's best eaten with 3 cheese grilled cheese. Oh yeah.

12/01/2012 Training

Saturday - Jump Rope based MAP

10 sets @ high effort:

10 Push-ups

20 Walking Lunges

50 Double Unders

1 min b/t sets

1:15/1:18/1:20/1:23/1:15/1:18/1:22/1:22/1:17/1:19

I've been feeling all out of sorts this week, just totally exhausted. My DUs today were crappy and broken. I missed Friday's workout and feel super guilty. Next week will be better!

Pumpkin Apple Spice Pancakes (wheat free)

This isn't really inventive, I just took my favourite things to eat for breakfast and made them into a pancake. But its reallllyyy yum. And healthy, and most importantly: filling.

Ingredients

yields 6 small pancakes, or 2 servings

3/4 cup whole rolled oats
1 cup egg whites
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 apple, grated
1  tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
coconut oil or fat of choice

Instructions

1. Grate the apple - I did this by rotating the apple on a box grater until I reached core and continuing around the apple. Squeeze a bit of the juice out of the apple.
2. Heat your frying pan on medium.
3. Mix the grated apple and all the other ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
4. Add coconut oil or fat of choice to frying pan, spread around.
5. Drop the pancake mix into the grill and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown.
6. Eat with maple syrup! Do it.

11/29/2012 Training

Thursday - Snatch intense + Clean Battery + Back Squat moderate + Core

A. Muscle Snatch, build to a 1RM

60 65(f)

B. Power Clean @ 85lbs, AMRAP in 1 minute x 5 sets, 1 min rest

8/7/8/8/8

C. Back Squat @ 20X1, 10 reps @ 95lbs x 5 sets, 1:30 min

complete

D. GH Sit-ups, 15 reps x 4 sets, 1 min

did 3 rounds. GHD sit ups have effed me up before so want to take it easy since this is the first time in like 6 months I've done them.

11/28/2012 Training

Wednesday

5 rounds for time:

Row 500m

15 Burpees

18:20 tried to keep an even steady pace, rowed on average 2:15, damper on 4, burpees unbroken.

Greek Feast - Chicken Skewers and Tatziki

Matt and I made this together in about 40 minutes. If you marinate the chicken longer, it would be more delicious (if that's possible!) but we were hungry. Also, we forgot to get feta and used mozzarella instead which is why it's in the picture. It was still really good.

Greek Chicken Skewers

Yields 2-3 servings

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, cubed
6 wooden skewers, soaked
Handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped
Handful of fresh oregano leaves, chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2  vine ripened tomatoes, cubed
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
6 romaine lettuce heart leaves, fine sliced
6 Greek Pitas
tatziki (recipe follows)

Instructions

1. Cube your chicken breast and trim fat.
2. Put your chicken cubes into a container. Add the mint, oregano, red wine vinegar, evoo, sea salt black pepper and crushed garlic. Mix well. Put in fridge while you prepare the tatziki and toppings.
3. Chop tomatoes, crumble feta in bowl, wash and slice lettuce and get your pitas ready to heat.
4. Make your tatziki! See below.
5.  You can marinate your chicken much longer, but if you're super hungry you can start skewering now. Heat your BBQ.
6. Once the BBQ is heated, grill each side on medium approximately 5 minutes per side.

Tatziki

Ingredients

1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup cucumber, grated and squeezed of juice
1 tbsp dried dill weed
1 lemon, juiced
1-2 garlic gloves, crushed
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. If you want to make the tatziki really thick, start 2 hour ahead and put your Greek yogurt in a wire mesh strainer over a bowl, set in the fridge, and extra water will strain out of it, leaving you with all the good stuff. I didn't do this. So don't worry if you don't have time!
2. Okay. Put your yogurt into a bowl.
3. Grate the cucumber and squeeze out all the extra water.
4. Put grated cucumber, lemon juice, dill, crushed garlic, red wine vinegar and salt into the yogurt bowl and mix well,
5. Heat up your pitas in the oven on low for 6-7 minutes.
6. Now that you've prepped all your toppings and grilled the chicken, you are ready to assemble your yummy Greek pitas!

Satay Slow Cooker Chicken Breasts

I LOVE my crock pot. Especially since I started eating meat which coincided with my increased training. This is so easy! I love the creaminess of the coconut milk and almond butter that is complimented by the zest of the lime and kick of the del arbo chillies. I ate this with wild rice and steamed baby bok choi. To keep it paleo, skip the wild rice!

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
1 12oz can coconut milk
2 dried del orbo chillies, smashed
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 lime, juiced
2 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp Epicure Satay Seasoning
1 tsp garlic chili sauce
1/2 yellow onion, diced
sliced almonds, for garnish

Instructions

1. Put your crock pot on high.
2. Dice the onion, add it to the crock pot.
3. Grind your del orbo chillies in a pestle and mortar.
4. Add your chillies to the crock pot along with the coconut milk, lime leaves, lime juice, almond butter, satay seasoning and garlic chili sauce. Mix until well combined.
5. Place your chicken breasts into the sauce, put the lid on, and let cook om high for 3 hours. If you put the crock pot on low, cook for 6 hours.
6. At the 3 hour mark, shred the chicken with 2 forks. Let the sauce soak into the shredded chicken for a few minutes and then serve. Garnish with sliced almonds :).

Balsamic Roasted Salmon and Broccoli

This is one of my most favourite quick, healthy and delicious meals. I make it for lunch a lot and also when I'm on my own for dinner.

Ingredients

1 salmon filet (aprox. 250g)
2 handfulls of bite-size broccoli florrets
1/4 of a red onion, fine sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinagarette
1 tsp red chili flakes
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 F.
2. Break up your broccoli florrets into bite sized peices. Slice your onion. Place noth into a small casserole dish with a lid. I use my Epicure cheese baker and it works perfect.
3. Season your broccoli with half the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper to taste and all of the red chili flakes. Mix until well coated.
4. Place your salmon filet on top of the broccoli bed. Drizzel the salmon with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
5. Place the lid on or cover with tinfoil. Put in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. At the 10 minute mark, check the middle of your salmon to see if it's flaking, then you can judge how much longer it needs. The thickness of your filet will affect cook time.
6. This dish is done when the salmon is juicy and flaky and the broccoli slightly caramalized, tender and crisp at the same time.