Gluten Free & Tree Nut Free Granola

Another Paleo Challenge begins and I bring you a totally not Paleo recipe. As some of you know, I actually won the last Paleo Challenge at CrossFit Vortex - largely to my surprise. I had good losses and gains physically, but where I really gained was in my physical conditioning. I performed the same WOD with a whopping 117% improvement. Yes, simply put I killed it. Yesterday marked the first day of No Pain Paleo and CrossFit Vortex's Paleo Challenge.

My husband and I live in a household of foods we do not and cannot eat. Which is as follows:
- pork (choice, religious reasons)
- seafood (choice, religious reasons)
- tree nuts (husband - allergy)
- gluten products (me - intolerant)

Also understanding that I have to be respectful of my husband's choice not to participate in the Paleo challenge, I also need to prepare foods that he can eat too. Everytime we go to the grocery store, my husband tries hard to find a granola or granola bar that doesn't have any tree nut (almond, cashew, pecan, walnut etc) in it. Simply put, it doesn't exist. See, my husband's allergy only began in his late teens - so up until that point he enjoyed anything and everything that had tree nuts in it. Until one day he had a reaction and that was it. So, he certainly misses granola and many treats that have tree nuts in it.

Therefore I bring you, Tree Nut Free Granola!

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Paleo Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Yup, you read the title.

Let's get to it kids.

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And...we're back with a Fruit Smoothie

Let's bring the blog back to life, more details later.

Kicking the revitalization of the blog off with a fun fruit smoothie!

Check out what it looks like after it was blended!

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Sweet Potato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Things have been very busy! Travelled to Boston this week to visit an Engineering school, it's the Jewish holiday Pesach (Passover) and I'm now finishing up my last and final coursework paper for my degree!

However, my blog needs some love. I look forward to giving it more attention soon. Today's blog post is a recipe I adapted from my good CrossFit friend B.J - she's got some KILLER posts going on recently, I'm looking to try out some more. This meal is one I made a week or so back, during the Passover holiday there are very specific rules about use of your yearly cutlery, electronic kitchen devices, plates and more. For the length of Passover holiday, we don't use any of our kitchen items that have come in contact with "chometz" and use separate dishes and kitchen items.

Therefore many of those posts you will see were made previously before the holiday - and I'm clearly using my usual plates. Being Paleo basically means nearly no transition in the foods that you would eat during Passover. During Passover you do not eat any items that "rise" or have leavening ingredients. Wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt are all out of the question. Being an Ashkenazi Jew, also rice, corn, peanuts, and beans are also forbidden at this time. Therefore, already used to a relatively Paleo diet, this isn't much of a change for me (more of a change for my husband!).

Recipe after the jump

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Paleo Double Chocolate Muffins

Things just got very real in my kitchen. After so many attempts at muffins, I've finally found my own recipe that works. But before that, let's do a little CrossFit Open WOD Recap. And if you really want, just scroll down to the recipe but come on now, supplementary reading can't hurt. ;)

I competed in my first CrossFit Open competition and it was one of the best experiences I've had so far. It begins to show you what you are very capable of when in competition mode. It's also shown me weaknesses, areas for improvement and also sometimes how lazy I can be during actual workouts. Let me explain through each WOD.

14.1:
AMRAP 10 minutes:
- 30 Double Unders
- 55 lb power snatches, 15 reps

Score: 143 (3 rounds + 8 DU)

What I learned: That in competition mode even if you don't intend to, somehow I turned out 30 dubs in a row without stopping. What I was nervous about was the 55 pound snatch, as I knew my max was 55 last time I tested. Clearly my max is no longer 55 pounds as I repeated the movement 45 times. After (although tired) I retested my Snatch max to 70 pounds. 

14.2:
Every 3 minutes for as long as possible complete:

2 rounds of:
10 Overhead Squats
10 Chest-to-bar pull-ups
(increases over time, but I didn't make it past this point)

Score: 10

What I learned: That I can snatch 65 pounds to get into an Overhead Squat, which was my first time doing that many reps with that weight. I knew that since I literally just achieved my first pull-up that the Chest-to-bar pull-up was not going to be obtainable. It didn't mean that I didn't try though. The workout was humbling as it became important to focus on small gains rather than the score.

14.3
AMRAP 8 minutes:

95lb deadlift, 10 reps
15 box jumps, 20"
135lb deadlifts, 15 reps
15 box jumps, 20"
155lb deadlifts, 20 reps
15 box jumps, 20"
185lb deadlifts, 25 reps
15 box jumps, 20"
205lb deadlifts, 30 reps
15 box jumps, 20"
225lb deadlifts, 35 reps
15 box jumps, 20"

Score: 66

What I learned: That my box jump techniques need work to maximize my time. That being said, I knew I couldn't take breaks in my box jumps because I needed all the time I could get for the deadlifts. Unfortunately I did not make it past the 155lb deadlift round - my intention was to get at least 10 in, and I got 11. I feel as if though if I was to re-do this WOD I could make it to 185. There's always a next time.

14.4
AMRAP 14 minutes:

60 calorie row
50 toes-to-bars
40 wall ball shots, 14lb to 9 foot target
30 cleans, 95 lb
20 muscle-ups

Score: 101

What I learned: That toe-to-bars can rip the shit out of your hands after 41 reps. Especially when you've never done more than 10 TTB in a WOD before.  Although that I destroyed my hands, achieving this was completely worth it and now my hands will be stronger than ever before. This was also my first experience on the rower,  which turned out ok! I truly have no excuse now not to always do TTB in future WODs.

14.5
For time:
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:
65 lb Thrusters
Bar Facing Burpees

Time: 33:22

What I learned: That I truly lack self confidence in myself. I think that's an overarching theme here, but I had serious concerns about doing 65 pound thrusters 84 times. Weight wise, I was able to handle it and I was very proud of that accomplishment. Also this is my realization of how my laziness in usual WODs bit me in the butt. For the burpee rep to count, we had to jump with two feet over the bar. No skipping, no frockling, no stepping over. Which is what I usually do when I get tired. If I consistently trained always ensuring I jumped over properly this wouldn't have been a big issue - it was a lesson to be learned. I would love to do this WOD again, I think I could shave 10 minutes off my time. 

Overall it was a great experience, I have a lot to work on and I look forward to next year.

On to why you came, Double Chocolate Muffins. OM NOM.

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