10 Things I Learned at the Open

I'm a little behind again....will get back to regular posts soon and a recap of the Festivus Games from this past weekend. Enjoy this list until tomorrow's post which will be about a video Nic & Adrienne made a few weeks ago.

10 Things I Learned at the Open

Paleo Recipe of the Day - Taco Pie + Brussel Sprouts

A random post about brussel sprouts.... I went to Acme after CrossFit last night to pick up some groceries and found a steal in the produce department. They were selling a 2lb bag of Green Giant brussel sprouts for $1.99 - originally $5.99!! I thought they might be expiring soon because of how big a discount they were, but most of them looked fresh so I picked up three bags.

For those of you who have not tried brussel sprouts before, this is the time to finally get over your bs fears. I will admit, I never had brussel sprouts before I started Paleo. Now, they are one of my favorite side dishes and meals (brussel sprouts + bacon = perfect combination!)

Most of the time I follow the instructions on the bag - add olive oil, s&p and roast in the oven. They come out with a great char and taste SO good. Go to your local Acme and pick some up for a really good deal. The sale ends today!

Have any of you tried freezing fresh brussel sprouts? With three bags in my fridge and just me eating them, i'm thinking I will have to put a bag or two in the freezer. Want to make sure it's a good idea first.

Now onto TACO PIE! I started craving it earlier this week...have not made it in a few months. It's like a deconstructed taco, paleo style. Perfect for a family meal or just a meal for two. I made this for just my mom and I and had leftovers for the the next 2-3 days.

I did modify one part of this recipe, and it was kind of a big one. As you see, one of the filling ingredients calls for 1/2 homemade BBQ sauce. After I clicked on it, two of the long lists of ingredients for the BBQ sauce called for homemade ketchup and homemade mustard. Ain't nobody got time for that! I used Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce instead. A big paleo no-no, but I used it anyway and let me tell you....Sweet Baby Ray's is good stuff.

Taco Pie Recipe

Serves 4

Pie Crust Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour;
• 1/4 cup butter, or clarified butter, melted;
• 1 tsp salt;

Pie Filling Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef;
• 1 tbsp Paleo cooking fat;
• 1/2 onion, chopped;
• 1/2 cup homemade barbecue sauce;
• 1 cup lettuce, chopped;
• 1 red belle pepper, sliced;
• 1 avocado, chopped;
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste;

Pie Crust Preparation

1. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, butter and salt. Blend until a doughy texture takes shape.
2. Transfer the dough into a 9 inch pie dish and press it out evenly into the dish so that the complete surface is covered.

Pie Filling Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. In a large skillet over a medium-high heat, melt the cooking fat and sauté the onions in the cooking fat until they become slightly translucent.
3. Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook until the beef has cooked through.
4. Mix the barbecue sauce in with the beef and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 2 more minutes and then remove from the heat.
5. Pour the beef into the pie crust and place in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes.
6. Prior to serving, cover the surface of the pie with chopped lettuce, red bell pepper and avocado.

Paleo Recipe of the Day - Apple Pie Caveman Bars

If you are on the Paleo Diet, i'm sure you have had Lara Bars. For those of you who don't know what they are, Lara Bars are pretty much the only bars "approved" for Paleo. Gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free. Most bars have only three to eight ingredients and taste great. My favorites are Apple Pie pictured below (dates, almonds, unsweetened apples, walnuts, raisins and cinnamon) and Banana Bread (almonds, dates and unsweetened bananas).

You can get them at any grocery store....Whole Foods, Wegman's and Acme. Haven't tried ShopRite. Whole Foods has the best selection and cost $1.39 each. Acme usually has just a few kinds, but they have had 10 for $10 sales recently.

For those of you who have more time on your hands, you can make your own Apple Pie Caveman Bars at home! I came across this recipe which looks very simple. If any of you make them, let me know how they turn out!

Apple Pie Caveman Bars

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups dates, pitted
• 1/2 cup raw macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup dried apples
• 1/4 cup raw almonds
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Place your dates, macadamia nuts, apples, and almonds in a food processor or really strong blender.
2. Pulse until your dates, macadamia nuts, and almonds are in small chunks and transfer to a mixing bowl
3. Add in all remaining ingredients. Using your hands mix well to ensure an even coating of everything
4. Once mixed, using parchment paper, flatten out your mixture to the size of bars your want or you can use individual ziploc bags and form them inside the bag
5. Place in refrigerator and let cool, then enjoy
6. If these don’t taste like apple pie to you, then play with the spices, you can add some nutmeg or cloves and mix the flavors around. The possibilities are endless but make sure you come back and let me know what you used :)

PaleoKits by Steve's PaleoGoods

I apologize for taking a week+ off. Time to get back to business...

Some of you have heard of PaleoKits by Steve's PaleoGoods. For those who have not, you'll want to continue reading. It's a company started by Steve Liberati who also founded Crossfit Tribe in Pennsauken, NJ. He sells a wide assortment of products from grainless cereal and grainless granola bars, to grass-fed beef jerky and dressings and marinades all made in his warehouse.

I heard about his company about a year ago, but never looked into it. Last week I went to CrossFit Tribe (don't worry, all my love is for Renaissance!) and picked up a few items while I was there. Apple Pie Grainless Cereal, grass-fed beef jerky, combination of beef jerky, pecans, almonds and dried apples and two grainless granola bars - original and dark chocolate espresso! The cereal tastes great and would be a perfect snack as well. It's a nice change from my usual bacon & eggs breakfast. I'm not a huge beef jerky fan, but the grass-fed beef jerky tasted great, and i'm usually not the biggest fan of beef jerky. The regular beef jerky combo also tasted good, especially with the nuts and fruit. I have yet to try the granola bars.

There are a few reasons you should buy some of these products besides how good they taste! It's a great way for those of you who aren't on the Paleo diet to gradually start it. They are a perfect snack packed with protein that we all need. Another reason to buy these products? 15% of the proceeds go to his foundation, Steve's Club - a "non-profit that brings fitness, nutrition guidance and mentorship to at-risk youth." Most of the kids getting help from this non-profit are kids from Camden.

There are three ways to purchase items from Steve's PaleoGoods. You can easily buy directly from the website.. I have not looked to see how much shipping is. If it's too much, I can take orders from people since the warehouse is close to my house. His products are sold at Whole Foods. They are a tad more expensive there.

Check it out! Help a great cause while enjoying delicious Paleo food!

-Julie

Listen to your body

One of the most important things I’ve learned in my 13 months of crossfitting is to listen to my body. I went on a stretch where I did 30 consecutive scheduled wods. I was feeling weak and my performance was declining. In my 30^th WOD, I went to deadlift a weight that I have done a 100 times before and it wouldn’t move. I had over trained. Bill told me to take a week off. After the time off, I came back stronger.

Fast-forward a few months to the “Filthy 50”.   50 box jumps and 50 double unders left my Achilles tendon sore. With my Achilles sore I went for a 400m warm up run. I made it halfway across the street and had to turn around walked back. I  did the rest of the warm up and started  the WOD. A few minutes of clean and jerks I was in terrible pain and had to stop. Next morning, I couldn’t put weight on my foot. I was couch bound for two days. I could not effectively train for a good two weeks.  Had I taken a few days off I wouldn’t have lost that time.

Next is nutrition. I had started a low carb/Atkins type of diet, it was fine for about a month. I then hit a wall. I started to lose ground on my strength, the majority of my numbers were going down, I had no energy and was tired all the time. I felt just felt terrible. After adding smart carbs back into my diet I can say I feel great and my performance in the gym has improved.

So what I am getting at is that your body will speak to you. It may be that you are tired or hurting. You need to listen. We all work hard and demand a lot out of ourselves. There is a time when to go hard and a time to back off. If you listen, your body will tell when to back off. If things are not progressing the way you want i the gym, working around an injury, a week of rest or an adjustment to your diet may be what’s needed.

-Tom

Paleo Recipe of the Day - Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have to say, I was a little hesitant making these, but they are some of the best chocolate chip cookies i've had! I brought them to the Hope for Kenya fundraiser so a number of you were able to try them and some have asked for the recipe, so here it is! They are quite sticky when you transfer them from the bowl to the baking sheet because of the honey, and I would recommend using a tad less than 1/2 cup. The second time around I used the exact amount compared to the first time when I used a little less, and I thought they came out better the first time. I've bought the Enjoy Life CC at Whole Foods and Wegmann's. Thanks to Paleo Plan for the recipe - a website I've used quite frequently! If any of you would like to feature recipe(s) you've used in the past, please email me and let me know -> jshannon37@gmail.com

Have a great weekend and enjoy St. Patty's Day!!

Ingredients

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs, honey, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer, or wire whisk.
5. Pour wet ingredients slowly into dry ingredients and beat with mixer or fork until combined.
6. Add the melted coconut oil and continue to blend until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Drop Tablespoon size balls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes.

Sh*t Crossfit Girls Say

This video is something I have been meaning to post in the Facebook group. My boyfriend's roommate came across it about two months ago and it's hilarious. A Crossfit box in California put it together and it's basically making fun of girls at Crossfit - how they go about the WOD and outside of Crossfit with Paleo and the shit they say (hence the title!) ...I've probably watched it at least 10 times and laugh just as hard each time. Girls, as you're watching the video, I know you will think to yourselves, "oh my gosh, i've said that!" or "ugh, that's sooo true." Ok, now I sound like a valley girl. NOT cool, Julie. Guys, you will enjoy it just as much, maybe even more...and it might give you another reason to make fun of us. I will say though, the Lululemon quotes don't relate to Renaissance very much - thank goodness.

The part that relates to me the most is at 4:10. I won't give it away, but let me thank Yit, Lauren, Bill and everyone else who's helped me with those darn clips! I just gave it away, oops. I pictured myself at 1:56, too. The bands during pull-ups when they keep slipping off your feet!

Anyway, i'll stop rambling on, but check it out. It is kind of long at 5 minutes, but watch the whole thing. You will thank me later.

Sh*t Crossfit Girls Say

"Why is she with him? He doesn't even Crossfit!"

"Is this a legume? What's a legume??"

- Julie