Last Season's Clothes

I'm a graduate student and a stay-at-home mom.  Neither of these life stations give me the luxury of a new wardrobe every season.  So last year's clothes better freaking fit.  I was nervous this year as I brought out my fall and winter clothes.  Since May I have gained about 15 pounds.  I  made a lot of shifts since May:  eating meat, really going heavy on the weights, and training really hard. 

At first, the weight gain was a bit of a struggle for me.  I was really upset by it and felt enormously insecure.  I'm not sure when things started to shift for me, but wham, all of a sudden I realized that the gain wasn't hurting me.  In fact, I made a lot of strength gains from it and my cardio didn't suffer too much either.  I found it to be a little unreal.  I also started craving healthier foods, having more energy, and having fewer snack attacks. I have been eating like a horse, don't get me wrong, but eating healthfully. 

I kept asking the people in my life- "Do I look huge????"  I mean, I've freaking gained 15 pounds!  I must look like a beast compared to what I looked like before.  I kept being annoyed at the lack of negative feedback- "Yeah, your shoulders look bigger; Your arms aren't as freaking gross and veiny, Your thighs are more muscular, Your boobs look bigger, etc." 

Now, the people in my life are very kind.  I attributed it to that.  They didn't want to hurt my feelings and my husband wants to get laid.  But last season's clothes cannot lie and I've been shocked to find that most of them fit.  Yeah, a few of my pants were a little tight in the thighs and God forbid I had to upgrade my 4's to 6's, but other than that, I did not have to go buy a whole new wardrobe.

I never thought that old saying "muscle weighs more than fat" applied to me.  Not sure why, but I guess getting wrapped up in all of that girl bullshit for years and years and years had taken its toll on my intelligence.   After spending two years with some of the most body positive male and female athletes EVER, I think I am finally starting to get my brains back.

Lesson learned.  When you lift heavy weights, you are going to gain muscle.  Muscle weighs more than fat, but is smaller than fat.  Putting on 10 pounds of muscle and 5 pounds of fat is going to look WAY different than 15 pounds of nachos.  It might also make you a better athlete, produce a beautiful baby, or fill out those nasty, veiny arms your sister was so grossed out about ;0)  Weight isn't always the enemy, sometimes, it can be a very good friend. 
xoxo
J

I'm so sick of salads!

One of the best ways to get your beautiful body detoxified and feeling amazing is to eat lots of leafy greens.  These babies are not always at the top of our favorites list, but they should be.  Greens are nutritious, muscle building power houses.  As it gets cold on out here on the East Coast, many of us are not nearly as motivated to eat salads like we were during the warm summer months.  Here are a couple of quick ways to help you get motivated to get more greens:

- Add them to your protein shakes/fruit smoothies- Blend them into your protein shakes before you hit the gym then put it in your shaker bottle.

- After you take your eggs out of the pan in the morning, quickly sautee some greens and then throw them on top of your eggs.  My favorite thing to do is put a little hot sauce on top.  Yum

- If you are warming up soup, throw in some greens- easy.

- Use greens as a side dish at dinner- maybe with chopped onion and garlic


Here is my favorite green filled breakfast recipe:

1 banana
3 handfuls of baby spinach
1 Scoop of vanilla egg white protein powder (or whatever you have)
1 tsp raw cacao
10 oz water

Blend it up into a delicious, protein packed, green smoothie
Mine has less than 300 calories and 25 g of protein- Not a bad way to start the day ;0)

xoxo
J

Boobs or Abs?

Why can't I have both!!!???!!!

The body fat percentage game is so unfair to us ladies.  The second those abs start popping through and looking all washboard, then the boobs start to go.  And go.  And go some more.  It is by far, the rudest thing I have ever experienced. This got me thinking about the fine balance we female athletes are forced to contend with:  our physical appearance and our physical accomplishments.

Fortunately for us, we are tough and we do not have to get boxed into one definition of sexy.  I am so thankful that when I go into the gym I have an instant network of bad ass women who are confident, strong, beautiful, and feminine- whether they are rockin' D cups or mosquito bites, 6 packs or baby bumps.  These women are my constant reminder that strong and fit is sexy.  There is no one definition of sexy and just as our physical strengths are all different, so are the things that make us light up the room with serious sex appeal.  

To all of my Crossfit ladies, I love you and thank you for being a constant source of support, inspiration, and eye candy. 

xoxo
J

Bad to the Bone Broth

So after talking with some friends, reading some blogs, and consulting various sources, I decided to start adding bone broth into my diet. Bone broth not only provides the body with some awesomely awesome minerals, but it also helps aid in the healing of the digestive system.  This is the main reason I wanted to learn more about it.  A couple of friends of mine who have gluten sensitivities and other food allergies similar to my own started making it, using it, and experiencing the benefits. 

It is fairly easy to make, too.  After looking at a gagillion recipes, this is what I did:

Got out my trusty 1970's crock pot
Put a whole, organic chicken in it- giblets, too
Put in two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (this helps draw the minerals out of the bones)
Added some salt and chopped onions
Filled the crock pot with water
Turned it on high for the first four hours and then switched it to low

After 8 hours or so, I took the chicken meat out and set it aside.  I let the bones keep going in the crock pot for another 16 hours.  Then I cooled the broth, strained out the bones with a slotted spoon, and stored the broth in mason jars in the fridge.  It will last in the fridge for about 7 days.  You can also freeze it.  If it is in your budget, it is best to use organic meat/bones for your broth. 

You can drink the broth like a warm tea or drink.  I also added some of the chicken back into it when I reheated it along with some veggies for a quick chicken noodle soup.  It is so yummy on a cold morning!

It is really easy and so nourishing!  Just another delicious way to add variety to your Paleo eating regime.  There are about 6 million ways to make different bone broths, too!  You can use fish, beef bones, whatever. 

xoxo
J

Sweet Potato Cassarole

There is something about the cool weather that totally has me in the mood to cook.  Today I found the most bomb ass dinner recipe of all time on Paleo Pot's website.  I just had to share it with you guys!  It is a crock pot recipe, which makes it even more awesome for me since I want to get in a strength wod tonight while the girls are doing Crossfit Kids.  When the three of us get home, we are ravenous beasts, so tonight's hearty recipe will totally tame our monstrous appetites and will be ready to go when we walk in the door. 

The recipe came from
http://paleopot.com/2012/02/hungry-man-sweet-potato-casserole/

Here are the tweaks I made:

Ingredients:

• 1 pounds of lean ground beef 
• 6 strips of bacon
• 4 eggs
• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 large vidalia (or any) onion
• Spices- cinnamon and salt
• 1 skillet or pan
• Coconut oil or ghee to grease your slow cooker

1. This recipe recommends you microwave your potatoes before you peel them. I don't do microwaves.  Preheat oven to 350 and soften your sweet potatoes in the oven- the microwave is a piece of shit that zaps the nutrients out of your food.  If you don't have to, don't use it.
2. Peel and slice your sweet potatoes into 1/8″ slices
3. Dice your bacon finely and brown it in a pan into crisp pieces
4. Remove your bacon from the pan and set it aside for later
5. Dice your onions into large chunks and add to your pan along with your ground beef. Make sure you use a deep skillet or pan big enough to brown 2 pounds of beef and 2 onions.
6. Season your beef
7. Make sure your beef is fully browned and onions are translucent.
8. Beat your 4 eggs in a bowl, blender, or food processor.
9. Grease your slow cooker with some coconut oil.
10. Line the bottom of your slow cooker with slices of sweet potato. Just enough so that you cover the bottom.
11. Spoon in a layer of your seasoned beef onto the sweet potatoes.
12. Sprinkle some of your crisped bacon pieces on top of the beef.
13. Repeat.
14. Once you have finished layering, pour your egg mixture over the top.
15. Cook on high for two hours and low for 4.

A huge thanks to Paleopot.com for this deliciousness.  Check out this site!  It's great!  I am pretty sure this website/recipes will become another one of my favorites.  Hope you guys try this out and ALWAYS cite your sources ;0)  Taking credit where credit is NOT due is a pet peeve of mine- even if it is just on a blog. 

xoxo
J

Product Review: AMRAP Nutrition Refuel Bars

Today a bunch of Crossfit Inspire and Proven members met up at the Reebok store to do a WOD.  Needless to say, they are going to do some serious mopping tonight.  Everyone left some sweat on the floor!  Not only was this a fun event, but it was productive.  Everyone got some new, sweet workout gear in addition to kicking some ass.  My whole family got new sneakers!  It was a really fun event and a big thanks to Darin for putting it together.

When I got home from all of my shopping and woding, I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me!  Ron Slavick and the super sexy people at AMRAP Nutrition sent me four boxes of their new bars in exchange for a little writing I did for them.  Let me just tell you, they are delicious.  And huge.  I guess I am used to Larabars because these babies looked ENORMOUS when I pulled them out of the box.  I made Nate taste test them with me and we both thought they were delicious.  Lara bars are wonderful but they do not always keep me full.  These bars have 14 grams of egg white protein and are HEAVY- in a good way!  They are completely Paleo and use raw honey as a sweetener.     These are great meal replacement bars.  I'm pretty sure they would be able to keep me full for at least 3 or 4 hours.  I cannot wait to take them to school on the nights I have class for 6 hours straight or for times like today, when I am out and about and do not want to play food roulette at a restaurant and wonder about hidden sugars and gluten. 

You can get them at www.amrapnutrition.com.  The price breakdown is about 3 bucks a bar.  Given the size, quality ingredients, and the fact that it could replace an entire meal, I think it's a pretty good deal. 
xoxo
J
p.s. Do you love how I'm finally adding pictures?  I will stop being such a dinosaur now ;0)

Wing Salad

It's football season and sometimes we all want some wings.  Well, at least I do!  As you know, wings are a personal favorite of mine.  They are just so damn delicious.  However, they do not always agree with my belly.  Fried food usually hates me in ways I never thought possible.  BUT...I continue to indulge because I am a glutton for punishment and for wings ;0)

As most of you have noticed or will notice, the cleaner  you eat, the more sensitive or intolerant you will become to certain foods.  It's a normal, beautiful process but sometimes you just want to eat some goddamn delicious snack attack food without feeling like someone punched you in the stomach and then hooked you up with fiery diarrhea. 

Here's the best of both worlds bitches!!!!! 

Wing Salad

As much romaine lettuce as you like
Baked chicken or shrimp or no meat at all
Frank's Red Hot as much as you like (I usually toss in a couple of tablespoons)
Bleu Cheese, if you tolerate it (1/4 cup)
an avocado
If you really like celery, you could chop some of that up and add it too.
Toss and devour

Really delicious, gives me my wings fix, and does not make my belly hurt. Hope it saves one or two of you from a fried food ouchie belly as well ;0)


xoxo
J