Feast Weekend

I had Friday off from work and I desired to make some new things. I went to the store and equipped myself with tools of the trade.

First thing I did was toast some almonds. They are good on just about anything and I can’t seem to get enough. Then I put in 5 large sweet potatoes to bake. While everything was baking, I cut up veggies for salads and started on making stuffed mini peppers.

Now, I didn’t have a recipe for this pepper idea but I knew what I wanted. I wanted pork (preferably bacon – which I couldn’t find without sugar, so ground pork was what I got) with egg, liver, and spices.

Ingredients:

1 lbs ground pork

8 chicken livers

2 eggs

Salt

Pepper

Thyme

Garlic

1 cup onion

I put all the ingredients in the food processor and mixed well. I prepped all the mini red peppers by washing and coring. Then I piped the meat mixture into the peppers and baked at 400 for 30-45 min. 

 

Then I made the Bacon Diaries mustard salad dressing in the food processor. Click here for recipe. 

The next day my dad put the pork shoulders in the smoker to do their thing for the next 24 hours. 

My Dad - Rich, doing what he loves most... SMOKIN'

I had sweet potato cakes for breakfast.

Ingrediencts:

1 cup cooked mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup cooked ground pork (w/onion)

2 eggs

In a hot skillet with bacon fat I add dollops of the mixture. Cooked on each side till browned. 

I had a grilled tuna stake and grilled carrots. 

 Then my dad did a smoked turkey... oh sooooo good!!

Cabbage salad with mustard dressing, stuffed peppers and sweet potatoes.

Broccoli salad - with homemade cesar dressing (minus the worcestershire sause because
SURPRISE it has sugar in it), and raisins (which I am learning have too much sugar and shouldn't be consumed :-( .

Publicity

David Braun from Strength and Onoir posted a very genuine blog about and to us @ Click Here.

Since he posted about us and give us some attention through his blog, I wanted to return the act of kindness.

David's journey started with weight loss and is proving to be more about health and fitness then a small body. He will tell you a smaller body is just a result of the health he is achieving through the “original diet” and hitting the gym relentlessly and repeatedly. His story is filled with passion for people, commitment to the routine, and strength of mind to his transformation process.

David is also part of our Whole30 @ CrossFit Woodstock and is a force to be reckoned with. He has already lost 50lbs in 6 months and his motivation hasn’t waivered.

I encourage you to check him out, drop him a line and cheer him on with us.

David is also in the video above from KATU. He is the "blogger" they talk about and also the one who said "well it's the original diet." Way to go, David! Keep it going! We believe in you!

As David says. “That’s all, folks! Enjoy the day and remember, ‘Change Is Inevitable!’”

You can view his full auto biography of his journey @ click here.

Whole30 YUMMY!

Friends from CrossFit/Whole30 Challenge want some recipe LOVE! Here ya go:

Breakfast Casserole

LOADS of Veggies (your choice - these are my fave)
2 cups baby spinach
2 cups artichoke hearts
2 cups zucchini
2 cups mushrooms - quartered
1 cup roasted red peppers (pureed - with salt, pepper, and Adobo)
Sea Salt
Pepper
1 tbsp Adobo Sauce (What is adobo? Click here. Where do I get it? Any store in latino section. What does it look like? Click here.)
8 slices of BACON w/1 onion cooked
16 eggs


Preheat oven 350
In a 9x13 pan coat with oil. 
Spinach on the bottom with artichokes on top of spinach.
In a large bowl mix zucchini, mushrooms, cooked bacon & onions, and red sauce till mixed well so veggies are coated. 
Dump over artichokes and spinach. 
Flatten out as much as you can. 
Pour eggs into cracks. 
Bake till golden brown and not jiggly. (approx. 30-50 min - each oven is different - check at 30 min).


Bacon Diaries: Salad Dressing

1 tsp Dijon Mustard (make sure it's whole30 OK)
1 tsp vinegar (I use champagne vinegar, but you could also use lemon juice or something else)
1 egg yolk (RAW BABY!)
Olive oil

Whisk the crap out of that and see how it tastes. Sometimes I add in anchovy paste or some crushed up berries for more sweetness. If you're not down with the raw egg just leave it out!

Dump out that old dressing or sause that has words you can't pronounce in it and use it for your new dressing! Re-use, Re-new, Re-cycle.

Go give a look see at Bacon Diaries while you are here. Thanks, Kylie!

Cabbage Salad

2 cups angle hair shredded cabbage
2 carrots chopped
1 cucumber chopped
1 cup snow peas cut up
cup of baby spinach
1/2 cup chopped and cooked BACON and onions (or chicken)
Toasted almonds (put sliced raw almonds on cookie sheet and bake about 9 min till golden brown... they burn quick... watch them)

Put all in a large bowl and mix with Bacon Diaries Salad Dressing.

YUMM YUMM!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Lots of brussel Sprouts (halved)
Diced onions
Olive Oil
Garlic
Sea Salt
Pepper (or cheyenne pepper for a bigger kick)

Put all items to large bowl (with a lid is preferred but not needed), Shake or toss till coated well. Put brussel sprouts flat side down on cookie sheet and BROIL for 15-25 min till you get the color you like. I love then with a little char on them.

Roasting a turkey this weekend and my dad is doing a couple slow SMOKED pulled pork shoulders for us (no sugar rub of course). Ill have to bring some samples to the gym (if people want to try it Tuesday 5pm CF).

The Great Divide…PRIDE

“Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.”

Thomas Mertin

I must say that getting back into Martial Arts/ Functional Fitness is proving to be very humbling. Why you may ask? Well, due to the enormous amounts of inflated perceptions of my ability. Growing up and being the eldest I have always pushed myself to be the best and I excelled when it came to pushing through pain to reach my goals especially when it came to wrestling or physical activity. My high school wrestling coach went to the Olympics while he was coaching us which gave me an Olympic style work ethic.

The gym I use to “roll” at had a quote:

“It’s not how hard you act…it’s how hard you train.”

I am now seeing that my pride in years past because of work as a bouncer and being able to handle myself when it came to fighting, pride has crept in. It has been hard at times to reconcile that I am not the best and I obviously know now I never was, yet I do desire to be one of the top 5% that has put in the time and effort to be the elite.

Where do I go from here? How do I keep myself from repeating my mistakes? There is only one option from this perspective…get back to the basics and train like HELL!

CS LEWIS said, "A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”

If there is one thing I know, pride robs you from learning. Training will make me look at my skill level and give me the ability to look up, furthermore; to see that I am not on top of the mountain, to simply enjoy my own progress, and not worry if I am not the best. Here's to being humble and giving myself time to grow into who I want to become!

Sweet Spud Love

Sweet potatoes are GOOD!! 

THANKS Winslow! 

  Lunch today was a feast! 

 Brussel sprouts and salad (recipes on previous blog) 

Goerge Chicken (sea salt on the goerge foremen grill) 

SWEET POTATO - baked & skin off! 

 WOD {Workout of the day} 

Warmup 

Alternating Plank Extensions x 20 (each side)

Diagonal crunch x 20 (each side)

Twisting lunge x 20 ( each side) 

10 min power snatch/ squat snatch practice (work to your ability level, focus on form and control)

Workout 

AMRAP 20 MINUTES - 8 rounds

5 KB clean (each side) - 20lbs

15 pushups - Top stair

5 L-sit pull-ups - Using rings jumping pulling knees up.

  Cooldown 

1 min partner assisted superman 

1 min swimmers stretch 

1 min forward bend 

1 min reclining cobbler w/strap

Feeling really tired these last two days. Not sure if its from detoxing or what. I have been getting between 8-9 hours of sleep. I had black tea today with no sweetener which sucked and still didn't wake up much. I hope there is a logical answer for this... Any ideas???

Ups & Downs

CrossFit Woodstock - Balance Work... FUN!

Dinner after a good workout never tasted better!

Brussel sprouts: halved, toasted in olive oil, garlic, onions, sea salt, and pepper - broiled. 

Cabbage Salad: cabbage, snow peas, carrots, cucumbers, spinach, toasted almonds, and BACON!

Dressing (thanks to Kylie @ Bacon Diaries): 1 tsp Dijon Mustard (Whole30 approved!), 1 tsp vinegar, 1 egg yolk (RAW BABY!) and Olive oil. 

Off to bed for us - more rest the better!!

"Your goals minus your doubt, 

equals your reality." 

- Ralph Marston

PS - Dear Winslow - Sweet potatoes are just out 

of the oven and cooling. Plan to have 

some tomorrow for lunch. 

Salad, Salad, SALAD!

Cabbage, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, snow peas, and toasted almonds.
DRESSING: vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and coconut water.

Day 1 – Went GREAT! Food was good, I wasn’t hungry BUT… I sure was cranky.

Detoxing my body is proving to be annoying. In addition to a headache from cutting coffee (caffeine), my lymph nodes are swollen from the effects of my body trying to rid itself of all the junk I put in it the day before this challenge.

Clean Tribe

Breakfast #1 on Whole30 - Eggs, zucchini, spinach, tomatoes, onions, and BACON. 

Cleaned out the fridge - no sauces, dressings, nothing artificial, just good clean food. 

Same with the cabinets.

Made Breakfasts for Jake and I to take to work.
Eggs, zucchini, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, onions, spinach, and BACON.
YUMMY! I love BACON!

First I have to say I am shocked this "turkey"
has more then just turkey in it!
Oy... label reading is eye opening. 

Let's Get Crackin'

Today is day one of the Whole30 challenge.

This morning we are going through our cupboards and tossing anything that doesn't "fit" into this selection of food.  Since so many of the "non-acceptable" items live in our home we plan to give our cupboards a facelift. This is really going to feel up so much space in our already crowded cupboard space. Love it!

This afternoon we have a BBQ with the other participants to talk about rules of the challenge and how to WIN the money. Each person is bringing a Whole30/Paleo food dish to share with 20 recipes to share with the other players.

Each person is giving $10 plus our gym manager Winslow is putting $100 of his own money in the pot to sweeten the win. This could mean a $250 prize (or more).

As Jake and I are extremely competitive we are going to hit the crossfit gym hard. Going no less then 3 times a week - hopin for five and on a good week 6 days.

I (Beth) is also committing to the new Whole30: Kill Your TV which means: "No watching, listening or “casually observing” television shows, movies, documentaries, music videos, music channels, exercise clips or YouTube videos on any form of “screen”… including your computer, iPhone or a portable DVD player. Resist the urge to replace one screen with another. If you find yourself surfing the internet every night for hours because you can’t watch TV, check yourself. The idea is to unplug - not switch plugs."
Let the LIFE CHANGING fun begin.

In Anticipation of Ultimate Fitness

Bruised Not Broken

Wow...am I black and blue... I went my first Muay Thai boxing class last night and boy is my ego beat up. I have been involved off and on with martial arts since I was a kid and I like to think that I can handle myself when it is necessary. I have been a bouncer for many years and have been in many hands on confrontations and have never had a problem with keeping myself safe. Yet trying to learn a new martial art when my brain is programed to block, kick, and punch in a different martial art style is proving to be very difficult as you can see. I must say I like the pain cause I know it is teaching me and the bruises are reminding me to stay focused and train harder. I wish I had all the time and money I need to train 24/7 so I could progress a lot faster. Once again martial arts is opening up my eyes to see that I not only need physical work but also need to be humble and patient.

PS doing Crossfit right before probably wasn't a good idea either.

Heres to learning slowly!

Replicated Pioneer Launch

Just last week we embarked on a new facet of our weight loss and health. We needed a change to our current weight gain rut.

We canceled our gym memberships, Beth cancelled weight watchers and we chose to change the game.

We joined Alive MMA which also houses Alive Boxing and CrossFit Woodstock. Since the recommended diet is Paleo we are planning to change everything about the way we eat.

This blog is just that.... Our journey.

Little back history: When Jake and I started dating we loved eachother through food. Everything we did and said was mostly about food. Jake was 440lbs and I was a stocky 286lbs. Once we got married we knew the way we lived needed to change. Jake started low carb and lost 140lbs the first year. I didn't quite get on the weight loss wagon till later that year but once I started weight watchers I lost 78lbs in 7 months.

It was hit and miss, on and off again, losing and gaining for the last 2+ years. This rut is deep and wide but we are putting on our cleats and starting this treck as if it were day one.

Jake @ 325lbs on 5/10/11
Beth @ 250lbs on 5/10/11

We attended 3 crossfit classes last week, backpacking over the weekend and this week plan to hit at least 5 crossfit classes.

Welcome to our journey. Lets do this together. Join us. Laugh with us (or at us). Read all about us as we push through our strongest addition.

Pictures to come!
~ Beth