bootcamp

I AM NOT A RUNNER

I am not a runner NOR do I aspire to be one. I don’t train to “RUN”. I don’t care to run. I don’t take casual runs around my neighborhood or local park to relax or blow off steam. Running is a big ol pain in the ass to me. You get the point, I HOPE!

So when I say I don’t like to run it doesn’t mean I don’t run when requested of me at either iChooseFit bootcamp or CrossFit Boom. I run. I just don’t like it. So Stephanie what are trying to get at? Why do you keep rambling?

Well 9 months ago I took my first ever conditioning type test and I was miserable and felt horrible and hated life. I was a chunk of a girl trying to get through one hell of a workout. Part of the test was a mile run. Yay fun! 1 whole mile and I thought I would die. UPHILL! Well part of the way uphill… it’s called Hamburger Hill and it’s a hill that I have not befriended. In order to make the “mile” we have to run up it twice… EVEN BETTER right? So I ran this MILE in 11:47 in March of this year. Not really horrible but not stellar by any means. This past July I took another conditioning test and low and behold I took off more than 2 minutes off my time. I ran the mile in 9:06! SAY WHAT? Amazeballs! Well, no test today but we timed our mile this morning and believe it or not even more time got shaved off. 8:36 MILE! Are you kidding me? I felt so good about that time you have no idea. 8:36! Yes me, the NON RUNNER who doesn’t train to run. That is the proof in the pudding (proper saying, not sure but it sounded good) that it just takes consistent physical training to get the job done. I know it’s not a 6 min mile or some magical “runner” number but that’s a number I’m damn proud of! Woohooo…. Thank you iChooseFit… Thank you CrossFit BOOM!!

So now I’ve got that out of the way I have more stuff to share! It’s a good day for blogging but maybe blogging overkill. So I’ll keep it short and just put pictures.

For dinner I had some chicken out to cook. Ernie was starving and really didn’t want to wait but I made him wait anyways. My dad took care of the kids dinner so I didn’t have to worry about them starving. Just Ernie but he lived and all was well. So I sauteed up the chicken with some coconut oil and yummo spices. While that was simmering away I made a mad dash to make FRIED RICE out of cauliflower. I kind of sort of followed this recipe from NON NOM PALEO but I didn’t have all the ingredients so I took what I did have and winged it. You can find the recipe at this link: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/3195098303/asian-cauliflower-fried-rice

"RICE", Onions and Carrots

Crispifying the Bacon 🙂

Chicken with Asian Cauliflower Fried Rice

 

Post dinner I decided to make a go for it with a new cookie recipe I found at elana’s pantry … http://www.elanaspantry.com/double-chocolate-mocha-cookies/

I used all the ingredients except for the coffee because I had none. After burning the bottoms of some of the cookies I was upset. But they still tasted ok for having some char on them. The next batch were burn free and delightful! Added bonus: kid approved! So overall another WIN!

Double Chocolate Cookies = GREAT SUCCESS!

 

Double Chocolate Mocha Cookies
2 ¼ cups blanched almond flour
¼ cup cacao powder
2 tablespoons organic decaf coffee, espresso grind
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ cup grapeseed oil
½ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup dark chocolate chips

  1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, cacao powder, ground coffee, baking soda and salt
  2. In a smaller bowl, stir together grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
  3. Stir wet ingredients into dry and then mix in chocolate drops (or chunks)
  4. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
  5. Bake at 350° for 7-8 minutes
  6. Cool and serve
Makes 24 cookies

Paleo Cake Ball FAIL and other fun stuff

Before I get to CAKE BALL FAIL… I’ll discuss my workout this morning… then I’ll move on to last nights cookin’!

It was a windchill of 21° this morning as I drove to bootcamp. Thank goodness we have an indoor option! Although we did have a run that included being in the FREEZING COLD – not fun. Come on now, we’re in TEXAS! I’m not made for the cold! As always boxing is my favorite part of the Tuesday workout. We’re always mixing it up and I feel like I’m getting quicker every week. AJ makes sure to keep me on my toes! In addition to boxing we did a 20 minute AMRAP if you will. There were 8 movments where we had to do 25-50 reps of something and then run with a 20 minute time limit. (pushups, bicep curls, alligator plank, burpees, jack knife dead lifts, star jumps, up/down plank, run) I got through 1 round and 4 movements into the second round! Woohoo. I felt good today. I suppose I got some good sleep 🙂

Now for last night…..So my Paleo Cake Balls were an epic FAIL, my kids including myself were sure we would never erase the taste from our mouths. When you get too much unsweetened chocolate in one large ball it’s pretty disgusting! Although they came out just as pretty looking as any NON PALEO cake balls I have ever made. There will be a round 2, I promise, I just have to find a “good” PALEO frosting to mix with my cake crumbles.

Cake Balls lookin pretty .... TASTE HORRIBLE!

So now that’s off my chest and I admitted my failure, lets move on to the goodness that did pan out last night. PALEO PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE which I took from PaleoOMG blog http://paleohmygoodness.blogspot.com/2011/10/paleo-pumpkin-cream-chicken-casserole.html

It turned out quite tasty and the family seemed to agree. I feel that I liked it best since I scarfed it down or maybe I was just that hungry.

Paleo Pumpkin Cream Chicken Casserole

Paleo Pumpkin Cream Chicken Casserole Served!

What you need:
1-1.5 lbs chicken breasts, chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 medium sized spaghetti squash cooked and shredded
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 can canned coconut milk
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste

What you do:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Time to roast our veggggggies! Chop your cauliflower and put it in a baking dish topped with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Then cut your spaghetti squash in half, use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and extra threads, place face down on a baking pan. Add the cauliflower and spaghetti squash to the oven, side by side if possible, to roast for around 25 minutes. (Depending how big your spaghetti squash is, the cauliflower made roast a little quicker, but mine cooked at the same time) You will know your spaghetti squash is cooked when you can poke the outside skin and it gives a bit.

While the squash and cauliflower are cooking, it’s time to cook up your chicken. Pull out either a LARGE saucepan or a large pot and put under medium-high heat.

Add olive oil to it along with your minced garlic. Once the garlic begins to smell, add your chopped onions and cook until translucent.

Add your chopped chicken to the cooking onions, cover and let steam for around 5 minutes.
Once the chicken is about 2/3 cooked through, add your can of pumpkin, half can of coconut milk, and spices directly to the pan. Mix thoroughly. Taste to see if you need any more spices or salt.

Once your squash and cauliflower is done cooking, and chicken saucey mixture is heated up, de-thread spaghetti squash with a fork, running the fork the opposite way of the threads.

Add your spaghetti squash threads, roasted cauliflower, and chicken saucey mixture to a 9×11 glass baking dish and add dish to the oven under the broiler. Cook for about 5 minutes, getting a little dark on the top.

Remove from oven and let sit for around 10 minutes to help the sauce thicken up. Then EAT! It’s good stuff and rather easy to make.

AFTER I had cleaned up dishes and had my cake ball disaster I decided I would get a jump start on tonight’s prepping and got zucchini all sliced up to cook as my “spaghetti”. It’s just prepped and in the fridge for now

But post prep I had some zucchini ideas, ran it past the kiddos and they were on board so we made tiny zucchini sandwiches! This was quickly packed away into containers for their lunches. They were very excited about them and tried out a couple. There’s one for the WIN column. I hope they enjoy them today at lunch. MY 8 year old says the kids at school think what he eats at lunch is GROSS! Then he procedes to tell me “they have no idea what GOOD food is… raspberries are awesome and my sandwiches are going to be good today! They all eat chips and crackers, and sugar stuff. That’s stuff isn’t good for you” He’s a good kid that Jakob. 🙂

So I’ll leave you with a pic of our little zucchini sandwiches. They have all natural, minimally processed, nitrate free ham, carrot slice and of course zucchini. Have a great Tuesday!

Zucchini Sandwiches for Kids Lunch