Tips to help stay on the wagon during the holidays

12/2/14
So my water challenge is officially over and so is the box's Paleo Challenge. This was actually a fun challenge and I did pretty well on in until the last couple days where I cheated a bit too much. However, I still feel awesome and we are going to continue eating pretty strict until Texas on the 19th. We've limited ourselves to drinking only 2 nights a week, and I think that's mainly so we don't blow through the $300 of good whiskey we just restocked our bar with. Yummm, Whiskey. 

So anyways. I don't notice a big physical change from the water intake but I do feel better in the morning. I'm not sure if it's because we aren't drinking every night, or what. So here I am on day 1. And now on day 33ish. I lost track. 

Day 1

Day 33 ish

So now that the Challenge is over and the holiday's are near I want to continue eating well but have no self control around sweets. I'm sure most people are in the same boat as me so I wrote up some tips to help our clients continue eating healthy. I posted them on the Mercer Island CrossFit blog but thought I'd share them too. 

1.) Just because you have junk for one meal doesn't mean you have to throw the entire day away. When you run a red light do you continue doing that for the rest of the day? Probably not. Accept your cheat food and move on to healthier options. It's much easier to stay on the wagon that way.

2.) Plan your cheat meals. When you are in charge of the food, eat healthy and make a plan for a cheat meal. It could be a party over the weekend, a lunch with clients, or a special occasion to celebrate. If you eat healthy at home, it's not as frustrating when you are out and can't find anything healthy. The sporadic cheat meals also give you something to look forward to and you get to appreciate them more.

3.) Don't go back to stocking your pantry and fridge with junk. If it's there, you will eat it, if it's not you won't. Simple as pie...Woops, I mean apples and almond butter.

4.) Don't stop exercising. When we stop eating clean and healthy we feel heavy, groggy, and lethargic and thus don't want to get up and start moving around. It's much easier to stop the healthy cycle than it is to start again. So keep exercising and moving, whatever you do. Exercising makes you want to take care of your body and put healthier things in it.

5.) Don't forget to sleep and hydrate! If you start sleeping worse, it could be because of your diet, and water intake. The minimum water intake is 3/4 body weight in oz. every day, more for active adults (about 2-3 liters). The average adult needs 7-8 hrs of sleep a night which isn't only for our minds to rest but for our bodies to recover from the stress they endure during workouts. 

6.) Plan ahead. If you are going to a holiday party, take something you know you will eat, that way if there is no other good options you can at least eat what you brought. When drinking alcohol alternate water and cocktails, stay hydrated and you won't feel quite as bad the next morning, especially if a lot of sugar was consumed the night before.

Remember, if you hate starting over, stop quitting.

Mirror Hat Rack

Tuesday 11/18/14

I am so sick of my husbands hats being strewn around the house in places they don't belong- like the kitchen table or the kitchen counter, where I make yummy food, ick! So.... I found these awesome old mirrors on Craigslist and bought them for like $30 each.

Then I painted them..

I found these foam balls at Michael's and wrapped them with twine by following THIS tutorial. The only difference is that I hot glued the balls to the mirror because the Command holders didn't hold them up at all under the weight of the hats and the balls kept falling off.

This is the finished product. We had too many hats to fit them all on, but we made do. They add a nice touch to our bare walls. 

Still doesn't keep his hats off the shoe rack and kitchen counter though!

Cookie Dough & Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

Sunday 11/16/14

Ever have those days where you need to be in your happy place so you can forget about all the sad/stressful/annoying things that happened this week? Me too. Well, that place is my kitchen when I bake.

My grandpa died this week. He was sick and in Hospice, and this is what happens to grandparents right? Well fine. I accept that, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. So to help distract myself, take care of other people, and create something, I started baking. I needed to try out a couple new recipes and practice some frosting techniques.

I did two recipes I found on Pinterest. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes I got from HERE.

Before going in the oven

The cake part turned out perfectly, it was not too sweet and was perfectly moist. I did have to bake it for about 25 minutes instead of the  recommended 16 minutes.

Cooling

The frosting was way too sweet but I haven't figured out how to make it not so sweet but maintain the great texture. First time using the large round tip and it didn't turn out exactly like I wanted but better than the last time I practiced.

The middle

The finished project

The next recipe I tried worked out perfectly. I was left with a ton of extra batter so I just threw in 2 Tbsp of Cinnamon and mixed well to combine and baked for 17 minutes at 350 degrees. The original recipe was from this website. I also love the cream cheese frosting from that sight. I tried a different frosting tip and tried doing a ribbon of sorts and did the flat "leaf" tip and turned the cupcake to get the layered look. I know this is probably super simple stuff but I am so incredibly happy with how the decorations and the pictures turned out. 

Since we are currently doing a detox I didn't eat them but I did freeze a couple for us so we can eat them when the challenge is over. I can't wait, 13 days to go!

The New Normal- I accept my image

Thursday 10/30/14

I just read THIS article from The Whole 9 Life and it is offically bookmarked, saved to favorites, pinned, shared on FB, tweeted and shared on the MICF blog for all our clients to read. Needless to say, I love it!  I needed to read this right now. I needed to be reminded that it's not about the way I look, it's not about what I weigh or the extra fluff I have. It's about what my strong, capable body can do. I admit that my issues have more to do with all the junk I have been putting in my body and I need to dial that in so that's on me. But I need a constant reminder of the changing ideal image of this country today. When I was a teenager thin was in,  I mean sickly Kate Moss skinny and I am just not build that way. So having curvy athletic builds be accepted now is amazing to me. I have summit-ed two 10,000+ ft mountains with these meaty little legs of mine, I've skied and snowboarded and hiked and walked all over this great pacific northwest and I can do pull ups! I have no fear of not being able to survive a zombie Apocalypse or not being able to chase my future children around because God has given me this very amazing and healthy body to do all these things with.

At the end of the post they list things you can do to stay positive when looking in the mirror- Focus on Health, Question the "Ideal", and Practice Positive Talk which I found to be one of the most inspiring parts of the post. I have to remind myself that I was given this body to use for a temporary time while on this earth. God trusts me to take care of his temple and to love it and adore it the way he does.

Do yourself a favor and read the article.

At the Summit of Mt. Baker, WA

Water Challenge

I hate water, not what it does for my body but the taste of it. Or the lack of taste. When I was in college I had to have surgery and take these huge horse pills for them which required a lot of water intake. Needless to say I got sick on it and I think this might be the reason I don't like it. Similar to people who get food poisoning and can't eat that food anymore.

Enough of those gross visuals.

After reading numerous articles on the benefits of water and ALL it does for you including THIS great one from Complete Health and Happiness, it came down to a challenge from my husband. He knows the best way to get me to do something is to present me with a challenge.

Anyhoo, my husband challenged me to drink the equivalent of 3 Nalgene water bottles a day(96oz) to see if it helped with my CrossFit performance, sleep, weight loss and skin. I took him up on it but wanted a measurable thing so I'm taking a photo of myself everyday for the challenge and we'll see how my skin changes from there. I even talked a fellow CrossFit friend into doing it with me.

After 2 days I already feel better in the morning when I wake. I'm not as groggy and I just did a workout where I did really well after some time off. So far I like the way I feel, still not keen on the flavor but I'll suck it up.

Day 1

Grandma's Apple Pie (Fay Pie)

I finally found a Paleo Pie Crust I LOVE. I practiced with my aunt this summer and posted the blackberry pie HERE. 

So, at the request of my friend Jess, I decided to try an apple pie. 

I mixed two recipes just to see how it would turn out. I used the pie crust from HERE and the filling from HERE. Made a few adjustments and kept an eye on it while it was baking so I didn't burn it. 

Soooo.... Here ya go!

• For the Crust:
• 2 cups coconut flour
• 2 cups arrowroot flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 c cold water
• Dash of Vanilla

For the Filling:

4-6 Apples, cored, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices

1 Tbs. lemon juice 

1 Tbs. arrowroot powder

2-3 Tablespoons of honey or pure maple syrup

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. To make the crust, combine the coconut flour, arrowroot flour, and sea salt in a large bowl. Cut in the coconut oil with a pastry cutter or stand mixer until you have pea-sized granules. 
2. Add vanilla and the cold water, little by little, and mix until the dough is just moist enough to all stick together (it will still be pretty crumbly, not like regular dough).
3. Place half the dough in a 9-inch deep pie dish, and spread evenly across the bottoms and sides using your fingers. 
4. Place the other half of the dough on a piece of wax paper and cover with another piece and roll with pin to flatten but not too thin. 
5. n a medium mixing bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, arrowroot powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and honey.
6. Dump apple mixture into crust and spread evenly. Then take the flattened crust and flip on top of apple mixture. Mine fell apart but was easy to squish back together and cover the entire top of the pie and press into the sides. I cut 4 slits in the top to allow room to expand if needed. 
7. Bake at 375 for about 40min. After 30min check frequently to make sure it's not burning. 

Turned out like this:

Obviously it was eaten faster than I could grab a photo of the finished project. Enjoy!

Oh, and I served it with some Coconut cream on top:

1 can of coconut cream (not milk, just the top of it)

1 Tbsp Vanilla

Nutmeg and Cinnamon to taste

Blend together and chill until desired consistency is achieved (close to whip cream). 

When Family comes, we cook

In the past month we've had loads of family come through to visit. Corey's parents, my aunt and uncle, my mom, brother, sister in law and their two kids. Everyone always wants to come in July/August because it's miserably hot and humid everywhere else except Seattle. It's absolutely gorgeous in Seattle from July-Oct. 

So anyways, when my family comes, we cook. We are southerners and all our parties and entertainment revolve around food and being in the kitchen. I learned some of my favorite recipes and cooking lessons from my mom and grandmothers. 

So  my aunt and uncle were first to come visits. During their visit we went to Mercer Island CrossFit and I coached while they worked out. Let's be real though, my aunt killed it and my unlce walked around and tried to talk to people during the WOD. He'll get there some day. After we walked down the street and picked bowls full of fresh blackberrys. 

The plan was to make a blackberry pie and I wanted to find a perfect paleo pie crust so we tried our hand at homemade crusts and ended with THIS one from Mickey Trescott off her blog Autoimmune Paleo, which is PERFECT!!!

SUMMER BLACKBERRY PIE

PREP TIME

30 mins

COOK TIME

1 hour

TOTAL TIME

1 hour 30 mins

Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS

• For the Crust:
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup arrowroot flour
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¾ cup coconut oil
• ½ c cold water
• For the Filling:
• 6 cups fresh blackberries, rinsed and drained
• ½ lemon, juiced
• ¼ cup honey

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. To make the crust, combine the coconut flour, arrowroot flour, and sea salt in a large bowl. Cut in the coconut oil with a pastry cutter or stand mixer (this tutorial
2. might be helpful) until you have pea-sized granules. Add the cold water, little by little, and mix until the dough is just moist enough to all stick together (it will still be pretty crumbly, not like regular dough).
3. Place in a 9-inch deep pie dish, and spread evenly across the bottoms and sides using your fingers. Prick some holes around the bottom with a fork, and bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
4. While the crust is baking, place 3 cups of the blackberries and the lemon juice in a small saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a boil, and then turn to low and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until the mixture has reduced and thickened. Take off the heat, stir in the honey and add the remaining blackberries. Pour into the baked pie crust, spreading it evenly into the corners.
5. Turn up the heat to 350, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

Note: we actually 1 1/2 the crust recipie with the intention of making strips on top of the pie. It didn't work so we just crumbled t he remaining crust on top to bake. 

The finished product