What are your 2013 GOALS?

  Helllooooooo my pretty little bliggity bloggers! I hope you are all having an amazing Sunday. Mine has been filled with this wonderful little thing called family time. *sigh* It is quite fantastic. Starting the day with the whole family at church is always a good way to guarantee that your day will be amazing. =)
  Today, I urge you to think about your goals for this year. Lets just throw out the word resolution. Ew. Bleh. An almost sure-fire way to make sure something doesn't get accomplished is to call it a New Year's Resolution. Soooo.... we are going to have 2013 GOALS. I hope that everyone has at least one goal this year of being healthy. I don't really care about being "skinny". Please, for the love of Pete, don't tell me that you have "being skinny" on your list of to-do's this year. Skinny is a ridiculous word, and to be completely honest, it irritates the crap out of me when people say they wanna be skinny. Now, don't get me wrong, I used to be one of those people. BUT, being healthy and fit is SO much more important. Getting littler in size is a added plus of being fit and healthy. So, let us write down a list of goals. Start small, short term, and then go up to long term. Little milestones are a good way to keep on track. Make sure you accomplish your goals one by one. You can do it!
  On to the yummy goodness of the day. I found this recipe in my Eat Like a Dinosaur cookbook. Yet another thing you'd be wise to buy. Now, as I told you in my last blog post, I have an over abundance of ham in my freezer, so today's recipe, once again, is a hammy one. =) The original recipe calls for bacon. Mmmmmm bacon. Make it either way, they're both DELISH!

Sweet Quiche

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb nitrate-free bacon, diced (I used about a pound of ham)
• 2 apples, peeled and diced (I used green, use whichever color you prefer)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 cups spinach
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions:

1. Saute' chopped bacon over medium-high heat until fat begins to render, about 3 minutes.
2. Turn heat to medium and add apples and cumin to bacon.
3. Cook and stir occasionally until apples soften, about 5 minutes.
4. Add spinach and keep tossing until it begins to wilt, about 2 minutes - remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
5. In a bowl, combine eggs, coconut milk, salt, and pepper - whisk until bubbly.
6. Lay vegetable mixture into greased pie pan.
7. Pour egg mixture over vegetables.
8. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then turn oven down to 300 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.
9. DEVOUR. =)

    For some reason, my computer isn't allowing me to upload the pic. Hopefully I'll get it fixed soon! I promise, I wouldn't lead you astray when it comes to food. Try it, you'll like it. =) Cale even ate the spinach in it, which is unusual for a 3 year old... at least my 3 year old.
  Now, go... my little ones. Write down your goals... and start achieving them! Until next time peeps.

HAPPY 2013!!!!

  Holy super-busy-and-freakishly-fast-end-of-2012 Batman! I just logged on here and realized it has been MONTHS since I posted last. MONTHS. Ridic. and completely unacceptable. So. Here we are. 2013. Twenty thirteen. Suck on THAT Mayans... I mean really.
  I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season. I did. It was filled with family, fun, laughs, busy time, and an over abundance of completely un-paleo and un-healthy food. Andddd I ate a lot of it. Bleh. We were set to host Christmas for the first time ever at Casa de Stanford. However, that terrible crap sickness that has been going around stuck my Grandparents and put a damper on the hoard of people that were supposta come. Guest list went from 12 to 6 in the blink of an eye. *blink* Yep. That fast. But, of course, the guest list was slimmed only after I had purchased enough food to feed a small army. So, there I was, with a 15 lb ham and 5 adults and 1 three year old to eat it. Needless to say, we've been eating a lot of ham-based meals since. BUT, the good news for you is, that it has forced me to get creative. Alas, bringing you my first recipe of 2013. =) I literally made this crap up. andddd much to my surprise, it was freaking AMAZEBALLS! I urge you to try it. Stan even went for seconds... so it couldn't have been all that bad. Enjoy my little bliggity bloggers! ENJOY!

Ingredients:
1 lb-ish Ham (sliced and diced, ready to cook)
1 regular sized sweet potato (or large if you prefer more in the mix)
1/2 yellow onion (sliced and diced)
1 tablespoon coconut oil (or whatever fat you prefer)
1/3 cup canned coconut milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
6 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
*Preheat your oven to 375*
1. Heat up your coconut oil (or desired fat) in a large skillet.
2. Add diced ham and onion and some salt and pepper.
3. While your ham and onion mixure is cooking, whip out your food processor and shred your sweet potato.
4. Let the sweet potato hang out in the food processor until you need it. Next, whisk together your coconut milk, onion and garlic powder and salt and pepper.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk your eggs.
6. Add milk and spice mixture to eggs, whisk together.
7. Once your onions are translucent, add the shredded sweet potato to the ham mixture. 
8. Thoroughly mix your ham and sweet potatoes, then dump them into a 8x8 baking dish.
9. Dump the egg mixture over the top of the ham and potatoes. 
10. Bake for 25 minutes or until eggs are cooked all the way thru.
11. BAM! Eat it. =) 

  Making up a recipe is new to me... so I hope this makes sense. LoL And, once again, I apologize for the picture. Food photographer, I am not. BUT, I promise it is yummy! 

  My 2013 pledge to all of you is to blog more regularly. =) Happy eating peeps!

CrossFit - Beauty in Strength

Strong is Sexy

  Good evening! It has been, oh ya know, FOREVER since I've blogged. I must apologize. BUT, tonight I have some goodies for you that I hope made it worth the wait. First item up, a video I want you all to watch. Please take a few moments to watch it. These woman are strong and sexy. I would MUCH rather look like them than any model on a runway. I am so thankful that my eyes have been opened to being strong and in shape. I couldn't even tell you the last time I got on a scale. That number no longer matters to me. I used to weigh myself 3 times a day. I was way too worried about the number below me. Ladies, it does NOT dictate who we are. How do you feel about yourself? I don't know about ya'll, but getting a pr on deads or squats or doing a "real" pushup or learning to do a unassisted pullup feels WAY better than seeing a littler number on the scale. My fat is being replaced with muscle. As a result, I get stronger and sexier. It isn't about being skinny, it's about being healthy! Please enjoy the video!
  Second, I recently started doing hair again. Doing hair makes me happy. I absolutely love giving people the change they are looking for. Happier job makes for a happier Jen... happier Jen wants to learn new tricks. So, this is me pretending to be strong and having fun doing it. =) PS. if you need a hair change, let me know. I'm ur chick. Just sayin...

  Thirdly, RECIPE! It is my absolute favorite time of year. YAY FOR FALL! I love everything about fall. Crisp weather, pretty leaves, pumpkins, every place on the planet busts out their pumpkin delights, anddddd FOOD! (now would also be a good time to go back in my recipes and find the pumpkin protein shake recipe. I had one today. amazing. the end.) So, I figure fall wouldn't be fall without chili. But wait, paleo doesn't allow beans, damn. But wait again, I'm resourceful. Imma make this ish paleo. And I did. Andddd it was amazeballs. SO, enjoy, friends, enjoy.

Paleo Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (I used Elk, it was awesome)
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cummin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 2 oz. tomato paste
• 14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Brown your ground beef with the onions mixed in.
2. Once your beef is fully cooked, add all the spices and mix thoroughly.
3. After it's evenly mixed, add your paste, tomatoes, and water.
4. Let simmer for 45 minutes - 1 hour. 
5. Enjoy!

  Easy peasy lemon squeezy. And super amazing too. AND super paleo! Now, we all know that crackers or cinnamon rolls would stinking ROCK with this recipe, but alas, they are not paleo. I should really figure out some way to make paleo cinnamon rolls. Oh yes, yup. Happening. Right now. That shall be my next recipe. Until then peeps!

Getting Back on Track

  Good Monday evening lovies! Alright, soooooo, confession time. I have been bad. Very very bad. There is not a word bad enough for the epic failure I have been at eating good lately. I went back to Plainville for the weekend. Anddddd, I ate. and ate. and ate. All unhealthy. Complete with lots of grease, fried foods, and ranch dressing. OH and margaritas. Getting the picture? Bad bad bad. AND, I haven't worked out in 5 days all due to my trip to Kansas. I could have done some simple self workouts, but where is the fun in that? Destroy my body I did. Okay, SO, today I go to CrossFit and just about die. Almost threw up. Everywhere. Couldn't breath... ugly mess I was. Bleh. Sooooo very bad news.
  SO, in everything there is a lesson. My lesson has been learned. Eating unhealthy and not exercising for almost a week is a recipe for disaster and near death. SO, today, I get back on track! I made a delicious paleo dinner that I will soon share, and I'm really excited about continuing it. My body is not cut out for all the crap I put in it the last 5 days. Let's be honest, no ones body is cut out for it. That's why we feel icky and slug like when we eat it! C. Popp once told me that I should look at life as one giant paleo challenge. Obviously, sometimes, we have to eat things that aren't paleo, because they are yummy! But, striving to stay about 80% paleo is a generally good idea. My biggest non-paleo yummy is hummus. I effing love hummus. By most standards, hummus is healthy, it's just not paleo. SO, if you have some healthy yummies that aren't necessarily paleo, enjoy them in moderation. Just don't go crazy like I did last weekend. There was nothing healthy about anything I ate. Bleh. Makes me wanna vomit just thinking about it! SO ANYWAY, eat healthy and exercise, keeps death away. =) OHMYGOSH! I ALMOST FORGOT!!! I GOT NEW SHOOOEEEESSSSS! YESSSSSSS!!! I'm absolutely positive that having bright pink shoes to workout in is going to make me stronger and faster. And don't you try and tell me otherwise. I live in a very nice little bubble of delusion. Thankyouverymuch.

  Enough rambling. ON TO THE RECIPE! Tonight, I found yet another goodie from paleomg.com. However, tonight I modified it a bit to work with what I happened to have in my kitchen because I need to go grocery shopping. Bad. The original recipe was for "Lion's Head Meatballs" if you would like to look it up on her website. Here is my version...

Lamb Meatballs

 

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 1lb ground lamb
• 1/4 cup almond flour/meal
• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions

1. Add your lamb, almond flour, extra virgin olive oil, ginger, red pepper, and salt and pepper to a bowl and mix together.
2. Make you meatballs sized to your preference.
3. Heat up a large skillet over medium heat, add your coconut oil then add your meatballs.
4. Cook for around 5-6 minutes then flip to cook on all sides.
5. When your meatballs are almost cooked through, around 3 minutes, add your coconut milk, coconut aminos on top of the meatballs
6. Turn the meatballs to coat with all the flavorings!
7. Cook for about 2-3 more minutes.

  I served mine with steamed broccoli. It was, as per usual, amazing. I've never had lamb before. It smells terrible but tastes amazeballs. So, I'm sure the original version of this recipe was delish too, but my version was also delish. Try either. Try both. I care not. Just make sure you are eating healthy. I would hate for you to learn the lesson of shitty eating the way I did. The hard way. Ick. Have a good healthy week peeps! Love n stuff.

Beast Mode: On

  Happy Monday Lovie's! I've been a particular brand of spaz today. Not quite sure what my deal is, butttttttttt I like it. =) Soooooo, lucky you, you get to deal with it! Warning: I will prooooobably ramble today.... So, anywho, HELLOOOOO!!!! Today, I was actually excited about the WOD. Sure sign I've completely lost my mind. In any case, Ashley, Maranda, and I talk a lot about turning our inner beast mode on. It's something I need to work on. They are both beasts and total badasses. One day when I grow up, I'll be like them. =) Soooooo something everyone should do. If you walk into a workout, or anything for that matter, thinking you're going to suck, you probably will. So, I've decided to flip on my beast mode switch every time I walk into CrossFit and get the ish done. Completely rock it out. That is my plan as of now... we'll see how that works. OH, and I'm also going to be super excited about all the wods and STAY POSITIVE! So, this is me after today's wod. POSITIVE! hehehehe... like I said, particular brand of spaz...

  On to the good stuff, tonight's recipe! I used to hate mushrooms. Like bad. BUT, now I love them, and THESE WERE AMAZEBALLS! Courtesy of my Everyday Paleo cookbook! Sooooo, enjoy!

Giant Stuffed Portobellos

Prep Time: 25-30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 5-6

• 4-6 BIG Portobello Mushrooms
• 1.5 lbs grass fed ground beef
• 1 lb spicy Italian pork sausage – casing removed
• 3 celery stalks diced
•  ½ green bell pepper diced
• 1 red onion diced
• Diced mushroom stems
• 1 tsp paprika
• a few shakes to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp tarragon
• 6 crushed garlic cloves
• Pinch of sea salt
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 omega 3 enriched egg
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup coconut flour (or I’m sure almond meal would work just fine too!)

1. Preheat oven to 400. 
2. Use a moist paper towel to gently clean the mushrooms, if you run mushrooms under the tap to clean them, they get a little soggy… 
3. Remove the stems and set them aside and carefully scoop out the feathery insides of the mushrooms with a spoon. 
4. Rub the outsides of the mushrooms with olive oil and place cap down in a large glass baking dish.  
5. Dice the bell peppers, onions, celery stalks, and mushroom stems.   
6. In a large soup pot brown the sausage and ground beef, add the bell peppers, onions, celery, and mushrooms and cook until the veggies are tender. 
7. Move the meat/veggie  mixture to a food processor and add all the spices, the egg, olive oil and the coconut flour.  Process until the mixture is finely chopped but NOT mushy, it should be chopped fine but still chunky.  Scoop mixture into the mushroom caps – make them really full.  
8. Spoon any remaining mixture around the mushrooms and cook your stuffed mushrooms in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

  As I said, they were amazing. They will surely energize you and bring out your inner beast mode. So, GO, turn it on my children. Love ya peeps!!!

 

You Hold The Key To Your Own Happiness

  Ohhhhh HELLO!!!! My little neglected blog-o-sphere. I'm SO SORRY I've been gone for so long! The good news is, it's because I'm out enjoying my life. The bad news is, I have robbed you of some great recipes!!! Alright, sooooo I usually start off my blog with motivational mushy goodness that my brain produces from time to time. WELL, I have this friend. Her name is Ashley. And she is a beast. I love her to pieces and the other day she posted a new note to her Facebook. Simply put, it rocked my socks. It is too awesome to not share. SOOOO, with her permission, I share it with all of you... enjoy!
 

I’ve always struggled with my lack of self-confidence and still have my moments.  I’ve never felt “skinny” enough or pretty enough, which I feel is mostly due to the stereotypes that we face in the media today.  I am what you would call a yo-yo dieter, I’ve tried everything from cutting out carbohydrates, eating only 1200 calories a day, zumba, running, elliptical, stairmaster, lifting weights…I even tried Weight Watchers and through all of that I still didn’t feel that I was “skinny” enough, that the number on the scale was LOW enough or that I was a small enough size.

At one point I was at my lowest weight, I was working out 6 days a week.  Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday you could find me at the gym anywhere from 2-3 hours doing weights and a hour of cardio, the other 3 days of the week I was there doing an hour of cardio.  Something with my current job I couldn’t maintain.  I ended up getting a really sick, and couldn’t find the motivation to keep it up after I got better.  Though I hadn’t reached my goal and I still had more I NEEDED to lose I just quit.  Slowly my diet became terrible again and I gained back 20 of the 50 pounds I had lost.

November 2011 I found the courage to start Crossfit, thanks to my little brother.  I was absolutely TERRIFIED!  In fact it took me about 3 weeks to finally get up the nerve to email them to start my one-on-one sessions.  I was petrified to start the group workouts.  But right away I was in love! Something about the WODs (workout of the day), the team environment, feeling accomplished even if I finished last, everything just made me want to keep coming back.

February of this year I ended up having to have an emergency gall bladder surgery.  After I was out of the hospital and getting back into my routine I was miserable that I couldn’t go workout.  I missed the workouts and the people I worked out with.  It was the longest two months.  Every week I would go in just to say hi and see everyone.  Finally I got back in March, and I felt like I was starting all over.  I had to use the green band for pull-ups again and I wasn’t running as fast, I wasn’t lifting enough.  Then one day a couch told me, you had surgery, you have to remember that even the small successes count…they matter.

This year was the second year I watched the Crossfit Games.  While I was watching it all I could think was I wanted to be there…I want to compete.  With a team or as an individual I want to make it to the Crossfit Games.  I found that I would spend more time working on my double-unders, push myself a little harder to PR, do whatever I had to do an unassisted pull-up.

I am no longer worried about how skinny I need to be, that the number on the scale is to high or that I am not the RIGHT size (our fashion industry considers a size 6 plus sized).  Strong truly is the new Sexy for me.  I find that every day I would rather become stronger then skinner.  Crossfit doesn’t make women bulky…I know I am not going to look like a female body builder at the end of the day.  I am going to look lean and muscular.  I look up to the women who compete in the Crossfit games.  They are extremely beautiful!

I am truly blessed to have amazing coaches at Crossfit Lincoln.  I attribute the fact that I can now string together 11 double-unders, is a direct result of their coaching and pointers.  I can now do 2 pull-ups unassisted in a row.  I find I PR almost every time we have a strength day.  To me I find it less stressful and I am SO much happier being healthy and strong.  Crossfit has truly opened my eyes and the door to a world I would have never encountered….Strength is true beauty.

  As I said, she is AMAZING! She is like me, we share our stories to inspire and motivate. Everyone has a unique story and journey. Go out there and make your own too! Noww.... recipe time. This one... was... amazing. Simply put. YUM. Of course, PALEOMG.COM =)

Pork Avocado Cream Enchiladas

Prep time: 8 hours

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 8 hours 20 mins

Serves: 3

 

Ingredients

• For the tortillas
• 6 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons coconut flour
• 6 tablespoons canned coconut milk
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

For the filling

• 1.5lbs pork rump roast
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1.5 cup vegetable broth

For the avocado cream sauce

• 2 avocados, pitted and insides removed (don’t put the skin in the food processor. duh)
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, stems removed
• 3 tablespoons canned coconut milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper, to taste
• juice of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 lime

Instructions

1. Ok so you got to start a day ahead of time with this meal. Slow cook that pork butt. Place onions in your crockpot, then rump roast on top, and then all the rest of the ingredients for the filling in your crockpot. Turn crockpot on low and cook for 6-8 hours.
2. Once your pork is doing cooking, use two fork to shred it to pieces. Mmmmmm shredded meat.
3. Now time to make your tortillas. Whisk all your tortilla ingredients together until all the lumps are gone.
4. Place a large skillet over medium heat and grease with a bit of oil. Pour a 4 inch in diameter circle in the center of your pan and tilt the pan around to spread the batter into a large circle.
5. Let the tortilla cook for a minute or so, until the tortilla bubbles and the edges begin to turn up. BEING VERY CAREFUL, circle your spatula under the tortilla pulling up all the edges before you flip it.
6. Cook on other side for another minute.
7. Place on plate to let cool. Repeat with leftover batter. You should get 5-6 tortillas from your batter.
8. While your tortillas are cooling, place all the ingredients for your avocado cream sauce into a food processor and puree until completely smooth. This may take a couple minutes.
9. Now turn on your broiler to high.
10. Grab an 8×8 glass baking dish, lay out a tortilla, place a little bit of your shredded pork along with a little avocado cream sauce (be sure to save some to put on top of the tortillas later) then curl the sides of the tortilla around to make a mini burrito. Repeat with all of your tortillas so they are lined up side by side in your glass baking dish.
11. Put your baking dish under your broiler and cook for about 6-8 minutes or until your tortillas become crispy.
12. Then remove baking dish from the oven and turn broiler to low. Cover the enchiladas with the rest of your avocado cream sauce then place back in the oven for 5-7 minutes.
13. Top with cilantro.
14. Serve those little enchiladas on up!

  I used chicken instead of pork because I was in a chicken mood. Stan topped his with salsa and said it was amazeballs. I, did not. I eat salsa every morning for breakfast with my eggs, so sometimes I like a break from salsa. Anyway, top it how you like, it's sure to be awesome!
  I promise to try and keep up on this more. I  miss you guys, did you miss me?! =) Have a good week peeps!