How to fool a family

My family does NOT eat the way I do. So this year, I am fooling them. My grandparents refer to the computer as "the solitaire player" so I am not worried about them reading this. A staple during the holidays is buttery mashed potatoes. Jessica gave me a great paleo recipe for mashed potatoes and I am HOOKED!

step 1. steam 2 heads of cauliflower
step 2. put in blender
step 3. add 1/2 can of coconut milk
step 4. blend
step 5. eat all of it.

HAHAHA evil laugh. They are going to eat a vegetable and not even know it. This is sooooo good. My husband asked me how much butter I used, so I know it tasted awesome.

Secondly, a great paleo dish i tried today that I am also bringing is


Gluten Free Apple Crisp- A.K.A. Apple Pie

2 cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup grapeseed oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 medium apples, peeled, sliced, then chopped in half width-wise


In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg
In a smaller bowl, combine oil, agave and vanilla
Stir wet ingredients into dry
Place apples in a 2-3 quart glass baking dish (a pyrex bowl or an 8x8 square)
Sprinkle topping over the apples
Cover and bake at 350° for 50 minutes on low rack
When apples are soft and their juices bubble, remove cover and bake 10 more minutes to brown crisp
Serve warm


Lastly, I made this dish today. It is a desert, but still paleo.

Gluten Free Squash with Cherries

1 large butternut squash, peeled, cut into one inch cubes
½ cup dried cherries
3 vanilla beans
3 cinnamon sticks
10 slivers lemon peel
1 cup apple juice
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

Toss ingredients together in an 9 x 13 pyrex baking dish
Bake covered at 350° for one hour
Remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes to brown
Serve

Goals

So last night was the first time I had been to a goal setting meeting. I am pretty scattered when it comes to my goals...i just have so many things I want to accomplish in the gym. But I have never really sat down and put the gym aside, and set personal goals. Last night was a real eye opener as to goals I never knew that I had.

We set 3 month goals for personal, career, and health to be completed by February 18th. 3 months is hard for me to keep up with, so my version is 1 month goals. I am pretty ADHD with goals, maybe this will help. SO, one month goals here we go!!

5 head to floor hand stand push ups ( i have 3 )
10 chest to bar pull ups in a row ( i have 4 )
back squat 210 ( I'm at 200)

These are just a few....the rest you can't see! I am putting these up here for me, to keep me accountable. I easily make goals and forget about them and now its coming back to haunt me. These have to be done before Christmas!

Try small one month goals, they seem to work better for me!

who needs the 20's

I turned 29 today. In a lot of ways it's mentally tougher than 30. Maybe cause it has a 9 attached to it, and it resembles the end of a small era in life. In high school "the twenties" were like this magical thing that when you get to it, unicorns fly out of the sky and liquor falls from the clouds. I had this picture of what life would be like, how smart I would be, how tall ( never happened) I would get. I remember wondering how cool it would be to live in my own apartment that I designed and furnished. The twenties seemed like I would be partying every night and living this insane lifestyle.

Things were not what I planned for my twenties. I learned I don't mix with liquor, just wine. Unicorns, like honest politicians, don't exist, living alone is not all that I thought it would be. Nothing I have planned for my 20's has happened. That is not a negative statement. My life has taken turns I never thought it would, and if not I wouldn't be writing this blog today. Here are some reasons why:

1. married my high school sweetheart/best friend

2. traveled to more countries than most people have states

3. I have more cultural awareness than anyone I know

4. have become very patient and open minded...

5. getting to know my father-the highlight of my life so far

6. working with amazing men in Iraq

7. written reports that went directly to the Sec. of State

8. a mom to two beautiful money pits i call dogs

I do have one more year of my 20's left, but I don't care. Bring it on 30's! How can it get any better? I am aging with knowledge, fitness, and great family. ...still no unicorns though..

Fran-o-mania

Its the end of the five week fran challenge. I hope everyone kicks butt tomorrow. For your enjoyment, please watch this video. Its a one armed Fran. Crazy!!! Just think, tomorrow you get to use both arms!

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_OneArmFran.mov

Nutrition Meeting

There is a level one nutrition meeting tomorrow at the gym. 1215 and 1900 are the times. If you have not been to one, you should definitely try to make it to this one before the holidays start . If you cant make it to either of the times, email me with any questions you have...and no....stuffing is not paleo!

Power Breakfast

People- I have committed even more to paleo this month. I will be a year older this month, and wanted to start out eating even cleaner. Is it possible you ask? oh yes...it is.

Breakfast since I was in 7th grade has been oatmeal and two pieces of peanut butter toast- then off to run...a lot. This has been the same for 15 years, not exaggerating folks...every flippin day. I was what you would call, on the "Runners World" diet girl. There is much more to this story, I will not bore you.

Thanks to the I AM CROSSFIT challenge starting January first of 2009 ( and ZACH) I realized that this wonderful breakfast was my insulin problem. Change happened slowely..one slice of bread instead of two was the first change. Second change, two boiled eggs instead of bread...that dropped fat off me immediately. Last change, ditched the oatmeal three weeks ago. I usually whined to Jessica for about a week, and then the craving was gone. I am sure she was happy about that!

SO, In my new stricter year I have found a new breakfast...probably not pre-workout yet, but an early morning one. Jessica put up on her blog about smoked salmon for breakfast. I cringed, but tried it. YUCK. I just cannot eat it alone, she is more woman than I. So, wrap it in basil leaves, and it cuts the fishy smell and taste right out of it. Add strawberries and almonds, and its a perfect paleo/zone meal. LOVE it. Its a new challenge, and there is nothing else I like better than to beat a challenge.

Affiliate Games Video..Finally!

Hello all! This is a great video on the affiliate teams first WOD of the 2009 CrossFit Games. Enjoy!

Games - 1st affiliate WOD from CrossFit Central on Vimeo.