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!!!