Thursday, 27 February 2014

The Night Before the Open...

...and I'm peeing my pants in excitement/fear.

But right before that, the Paleo Challenge finished up at Crossfit Vortex and yours truly was the winner.  I was incredibly shocked by that news but I could not be any prouder of myself.  I had an incredible 117% improvement in my conditioning and also excellent improvement in my body measurements and strength. I've also decided that I am going to subscribe to my own version of the paleo diet. By this I mean inside my own home I am going to prepare paleo meals the majority of the time, which basically means that I will not be "strict" all the time. By this I basically mean I will enjoy sushi at a restaurant, or popcorn at the movie theatres. I don't intend on making this a ritual by any means but I think everything in moderation is fine. I do feel better internally too, and for someone such as myself plagued with discomfort quite often - it's a nice change.

Things have been quiet recently here because I've transitioned to a new job and I am in absolute love.  I'm so pumped about my new job and everyday is exciting and I hope I'll never lose this feeling. I suppose you could say I'm honeymooning right now, but something tells me that this really won't fad much. I'm also going to Boston! I'm going with some of the people I work with for the day to visit another school. Way. too. awesome.

And now the Crossfit Open. I'm excited, I'm scared, nervous, anxious, can't wait, post the WOD already...you name it. The best part is that I'm going to be doing the WODs with some of the most supportive people I know and I can't wait for them to push me to kill every movement.  I've got an entire community rooting for me, and I am there for them too. I'm excited because this is my first time out and I look forward to seeing what I can do today, and what I can do in 2015. Setting up some benchmarks so I can track my progress and growth. I'm excited to test my limits and set up some new goals for the rest of the year.  This isn't about what place I come in for my age group, or in my region.  This is about being proud of whatever my score is and not comparing myself to others in my box or anyone else. (This is always hard to do, but I really mean it). As most things in our world, we constantly compare ourselves to others, the way they look, their physique, their athletic ability, their intelligence, and the list continues.

Yoga teaches us to really zone into our practice and that what you do in your practice is your own. You own it. Own your performance. So I'm going to zone into my Open WODs, I'm going to be competing with me and the clock.  This is my time to concentrate on myself, think about myself, time to be selfish and not care about whatever else is doing. It's all my time. It's gonna get fun in here.

Sweet Potato Burgers


Recipe after the jump!

Sunday, 23 February 2014

Shakshuka

This is a Middle Eastern favourite of mine! It's such an easy recipe to put together in a short period of time, for breakfast, lunch or dinner! It's simply poached eggs in tomato sauce. At the simplest, as long as you have some canned tomatoes (or the real thing) and eggs - you are basically good to go.




Recipe after the jump!


Tuesday, 11 February 2014

Slow Cooker Pulled Paleo Chicken

I need to admit, I'm having a love affair with my slow cooker. How have I gone these many years of life and cooking without one? It is definitely one of the most handy tools to have in the kitchen. One of my favourite things about it is that you can easily cook large quantities and then freeze whatever you don't eat.


Look at that mountain of goodness. Let's just get to the recipe right now cause I'm hungry. After the jump!

Sunday, 9 February 2014

Tuesday, 4 February 2014

Kristi's Asparagus Vinaigrette

This recipe is so adaptable and versatile that you can basically do anything with it! Not to mention delicious.  Not only can Kristi lift, the girl can cook. And take good photos. This is how we do:

Kristi's dish is originally a vegetarian dish, but you can add some protein if you want! That's what I chose to do so I could turn in more into an entree than just a side. I've really enjoyed this recipe quite a bit and have made it already twice, it has already been requested for me to make at Shabbat dinner (Friday night dinner) with my family.  Both times I've made it, I've made it differently!

Recipe after the jump!

Sunday, 2 February 2014

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

It has come. The time has come where I have FINALLY made a muffin that is gluten-free and doesn't taste terrible. I have had a really tough time baking gluten free, almost all of my attempts went straight into the garbage and I turned to wine to drown my tears in.

Now this recipe is NOT strict paleo, being that my husband is allergic to tree nuts it was impossible to make this strict paleo. But you can easily make this strict paleo by following PaleOMG's exact recipe (see link below).


Recipe after the jump!