God's Greatest Creations

  Happy Sunday evening bliggity bloggers! I hope you all had an amazing day and weekend. I certainly did! I had a good workout to start the day yesterday, got to enjoy the farmers market with Jerm, got my brows did, which was much needed, then spent the afternoon soaking up some vitamin c with my kiddo. Got to spend the evening with the hubby, which is always nice. THEN, today, I got to spend the entire day chillin' with my husband and kiddo. Nothing better in life. Oh, and below, this is my son. The 2 1/2 year old future CrossFit badass. Yup.

  I also must say, that I love my friends and I love the gym. Remember that one time when I talked about having an account-a-bili-buddy?! Well, CFL has given me a ton of them. I was full on ready to not workout yesterday. Then Maranda called me while en route to the gym. And while I was on the phone with her, Ashley texted me. Both of them convinced I was going to the gym. Little did they know, I was not. However, could I tell them that? Hell no. So I pulled my ass outta bed and went to the gym, and I'm so glad I did, because I felt TONS better.
  Okay, enough rambling. On to the thought of the day, then on to the recipes! Today's nugget of knowledge is this. WE are God's greatest creations. He worked really hard on us, and chose to give US life. We are imperfect beings and will never be worthy of the blessing He gives us, but shouldn't we try every day to somehow thank Him for giving us life? Maranda sent me this quote once... "We can't live up to our potential when we believe our potential to be so little." Woah. I don't know about you all, but for me, that is so damn true! I have a lot of potential hidden in me just waiting to bust out, so damnit, I need to let it! I am working on it every day and I think you all should too. It turns out, I am realizing that I am worth so much more than I ever realized. I am finding that I am meant to do some great things in life, and I WILL do them! So I urge you all to do the same. Allow your potential to come out and play with the world, great things are sure to come of it!
  Alright, so, my great weekend also consisted of great food. I made some really yummy meals this weekend. BUT, rather than overload you with them in one blog, I will give them one at a time. First up, SHRIMP!

Shrimp Flying Saucers

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3-6 minutes
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound medium-sized shrimp, cooked and tails removed
• 2 cups red cabbage, diced
• 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
• 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon dried dill
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard 
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 2 large tomatoes - sliced into rounds 1/4 inch thick
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

1. If needed, remove shell, tail, and vein from shrimp. Cook in boiling water for 3-6 minutes. Shrimp will be done when they float to the top of the water and turn pink and white.
2. Drain the shrimp and let cool in the refrigerator.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cabbage, cucumbers, onion, and egg.
4. Cut the cooked and cooled shrimp into halves or thirds, depending on the size of your shrimp, and add to the bowl.
5. Add the dill, garlic, cayenne, mustard, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and mix well.
6. Serve huge scoops on top of the thick-sliced tomatoes. Top with a sprinkle of sliced almonds.
7. ENJOY!

  Alright peeps, I beg you to try this one. It was SO good. It's the kind of thing you eat straight out of the bowl as you walk by it in the kitchen. So very good. I can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I'm fairly positive we should all go out and make tomorrow our bitch. DOMINATE PEOPLE! Cause, ya know, we're badass-n-stuff. Until later peeps!

I am good, and I wear it well.

  I like the title of today's blog. I like it a lot. It is something that Maranda learned in these handy dandy little classes she had to take for work. We all need to tell ourselves this once and a while. One major thing that I struggle with is accepting a compliment, I don't know how to do it. I have had such overwhelming praise from the pictures that I posted, and it freaks me out. hahahaha! I just don't know how to act when people compliment how well I've done. Immediately I like to think that they are full of ish and that I haven't really done anything that great. But you know what? I have done something amazing, and I'm continuing to do it every day. We all are! We are all good, and we SHOULD wear it well. Eating right and working out takes a lot of self discipline and it's hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it and we wouldn't live in an obese nation.
  I think too often we believe that acknowledging our accomplishments and being proud makes us seem boastful. We need to re-train our brains. There is a difference between being proud of ourselves and bragging. My brain needs some serious re-training, that is for certain. I urge you all to try accepting a compliment gracefully the next time someone gives it to you. Truly accept what they are saying to you and own it. If you didn't deserve it, they probably wouldn't be saying it!
  Now that the motivation speech is over, let's get on to the fun stuff, shall we? Phil competed in The 2012 CrossFit Games this weekend. We are all so very proud of him! They call it the competition to be the fittest man/woman on earth. Well, I don't know about ya'll, but that's some serious shit! Even making it there is HUGE! Phil is a beast and I wish I could have been there to cheer him on. Next year friends, next year. I believe Penny said that he did 11 wods over 4 days. Uhm yeah. AND they were killer wods. When I grow up, I wanna be the chick version of Phil. hehe =) Oh, and below, just Phil on the big screen at the games. No biggie.

  Now, onto foooood! You guys are going to be so happy with me tonight. Not only do I have an amazing dinner recipe, but I have DESSERT too! Now that the challenge is over, I get to share yummy paleo treat recipes too! For those of us that love sweets, but still wanna be paleo friendly! First up, dinner. Swiped this one out of my super sweet new cookbook. Everyday Paleo. Go buy it. NOW =)

Hasta La Vista Pasta Lasagna

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 red onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound mild Italian sausage
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, juices drained
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 5-6 zucchinis, thinly sliced long way with a mandolin slicer 
• 1 cup sliced black olives

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. In a large soup pot, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the ground beef and sausage and brown.
4. Season the meat mixture with all the dry ingredients, add the drained diced tomatoes and tomato paste and mix well.
5. In a 9x11 glass baking dish, place a layer of sliced zucchini, making sure to overlap the long slices. Ladle on a thick layer of meat mixture, and top with the sliced black olives.
6. Top meat and olive layer with another layer of sliced zucchini and top with a final layer of remaining meat mixture. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Let the lasagna sit for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
7. ENJOY!

Andddd the dessert I promised. From paleomg.com. The woman... is GENIUS. Make these. Tonight. Now. Yesterday.

Chocolate Coffee Caramel Bars

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• For the crust
• 12 dried figs (or dates, if you prefer), stems removed
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup Unsweetended Shredded Coconut
• 2 tablespoons Raw Honey
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• For the caramel
• 12-14 medjool dates, pitted and soaked in water for an hour
• 5-6 tablespoons canned coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• For the topping
• 1 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips or dark chocolate, melted
• 1/4 cup canned coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons ground coffee
• coarse sea salt, to top

Instructions

1. First make your crust. Add all of your crust ingredients into a food processor and mix until well combined. Add the crust mixture to a bread pan and push down until the mixture is flat. Like a crust. Duh.
2. Now add your dates and pulse until dates have broken down (less than a minute) then add your coconut milk tablespoon by tablespoon to the dates while the food processor is still running. Then add your water as well.
3. And add your vanilla extract and pinch of salt.
4. Process until you get a caramel. BOOM. May take 3-5 minutes, tops.
5. Pour caramel over your crust and spread evenly.
6. Now you will want to melt your chocolate. You could do this in a double boiler or just the microwave. I chose the latter.
7. Melt chocolate and coconut milk together in the microwave. Heating for 30 seconds then mixing well and reheating when necessary.
8. Once your chocolate is completely melted, add your ground coffee and mix well.
9. Pour melted chocolate over your caramel and spread evenly.
10. Add coarse sea salt on top of the chocolate.
11. Put in freezer to let chocolate harden. Around 10+ minutes.
12. Eat!!

   Now, fill your belly and go accept those compliments! Until next time peeps!!!

Picture Time! WOOOOOO!

  Alright peeps. The day has come. I am about to show you all pictures of me in my bra. EEEKKKK! The ONLY reason that I am going to show these is because I will never go back to looking like the first pictures. AND, I am only going to continue to improve and get more beast mode-ish. So, soon, today's pics will be left in the dust as well.
  There is one thing I have learned in the last year, and that is that hard work and dedication pay off. Stay focused. A healthy lifestyle is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time, and patience is a HUGE part of it. Let us all remember, it didn't take a day or a week to put on, so it certainly isn't going to go away that fast. I'm living proof. Take these pictures as motivation, and make your OWN success story to blog about! Happy Tuesday lovers! Enjoy...

Before weight loss. April 2011...

After losing 65 lbs, but before CrossFit and Paleo...

  

Andddd today. It has been 2 months since I started working out at CrossFit and eating Paleo. Ignore the sweaty bra. This was directly after today's wod. I can't wait to see my progress in 2 more months!!!

Alright friends, there ya have it. Progress! It's possible. I don't want to hear ANY excuses. You can ALL change your life. Make the commitment and STICK TO IT!!! Until later! =)

I'm baaaaaaaack!

  Oh hellloooooooo blog-o-sphere! I've missed you all so. Not sure if you've missed me, buuuuuut I'm sure you did. HA! Alright, so. It's been about 863 years since I've posted and I'm sorry for that. However, I am happy to report that it is because I've been out in the world kicking ass and taking names and living just a generally damn good life! =)
  Yesterday, CFO and CFL had a nice little friendly competition as a fund raiser for our athletes going to The CrossFit Games this weekend. GOOOOOOO PHIL! Anyway, we had an awesome day. Nothing like 3 kickass workouts and tons of crossfitters sweating on eachother to brighten a Sunday right up! Anywayyyyy, did our team win? No. But we had tons of fun competing. We wore some sweet ass socks, and I am damn proud of us. And, I can honestly say I pushed myself as hard as I could go and I'm proud. I'm also proud of the progress I am making at the gym. It also helps having these cool people to share it all with! I LOVE BEING MOTIVATED!

 

  Speaking of motivation, how did you all do with the paleo challenge? I don't mean to sound like a big deal or anything, but ya know, I won. Yes. That's correct. You may all refer to me as "winner" from here on out... I'm kidding. For real. But I did really win! I about fell over. Totally shocked. I am pretty confident in saying we all won. Sticking with something is haaaarrrrdddd. I didn't go without cheating. Which totally irritates me, but I'm human. Sooooo leave me alone (I'm lookin at YOU C.Popp) ;-)
  I have learned so many new things about myself since I last posted. Tuning out of the intraweb webbymail and tv was such a great idea. I use internet, of course. But I seriously don't even watch tv anymore. Complete waste of my time that thing is. I can't wait to share all of my good thoughts on life and random azz shiz with u guys! But, for today I will keep it short. Now that I've been doing CrossFit for 2 whole months, it's time for some PICTURES! Yes, that is correct. This very week you will get to see my "before losing weight", my "before CrossFit and Paleo", and my "after 2 months of CrossFit and Paleo" pics. Eeeek. I can't believe I'm going to share them. But I will in the name of science, AND motivating all of u to get off the couch and DO something about your weight complaints!
  Okay, so for now, I leave you with a new recipe I tried out of Everyday Paleo, ya know. One of my sweet ass prizes for winning the challenge! Enjoy! I certainly did. =)

Rockin' Moroccan Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons coconut oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 cups broccoli, chopped
• 2 cups carrots, diced
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried ground ginger
• small pinch of cayenne pepper
• black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced
• 1/4 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/4 cup chicken broth 

1. Cover the bottom of a large skillet with coconut oil. Saute the chicken until no longer pink in the middle (about 7 minutes).
2. Add the veggies in with the chicken and stir-fry for another 5 minutes or until the broccoli and carrots start to become tender.
3. Add the cinnamon, ginger, cumin, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Once the chicken and veggies are covered with the spices, add the sliced olives, raisins, and the chicken broth to create a sauce. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Cook another 5-7 minutes stirring often. Serve immediately. 

  Hope you enjoy it peeps! Be back soon! (with pictures! wooooooooooo)  Here's a bonus pic for today... I feel like it's a bit B.A. just because of the bloody knee... Just sayin... 

   The greatest thing about working out is when your body suddenly does something it couldn't do a week ago. Keep going!