Keep on Truckin'

  Happy Friday!!!! Ahhhh how I love weekends. Altho, I have to work tomorrow, which  makes for a short weekend. BOOOOOO! I'm feeling strong going into the weekend. We had an AWESOME wod today. And I ate an even awesomer, yes I just said awesomer, dinner!
  My words of wisdom are limited today. Basically, because I just ate soooooooo much food now I'm a bit slug like. BUT, I will give you a little tid-bit. The paleo challenge will be over ONE WEEK from Monday! How are we feeling? I, for one, have had several "eff paleo AND c.popp" moments this week. hahahaha However, I love paleo and Collin both. I am just to the point that being told I can't have something makes me want it more! BUT, we got this peeps! Only one more week! We've come far to far to fail now. Sooooo keep on truckin'. With recipes like the one I'm about to share, it should be easy, because it was SO good! Oh, and I have a new protein shake recipe tonight too!

Chicken Jicama Slaw

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked chicken, diced
2 cups broccoli slaw (I used Trader Joe's brand)
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 cup diced jicama
1/2 cup paleo mayo
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy! 

Paleo Mayo-
1 egg
1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
pinch of sea salt
few shakes of cayenne pepper
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 cup olive oil

Protein Shake-
1 1/2 cups strawberries
1 cup almond milk
1 cucumber
1 tbsp honey
1 scoop vanilla protein
Ice

  Alright, now that I've shared all these amazing goodies, go make em! You won't regret it, trust me! On to the weekend and healthy living!!!

Confidence, Belief, Hard Work

  In the words of my dear friend Maranda, Happy Hippity Hop Hump Day! hahaha oh yes. Half way thru the week. Do I hear a hallelujah? Amen! Okay, so the sun is shining... ish, it's half way thru the week, I get to workout today, Maranda is coming over for dinner, and I'm cooking something delish! WOOOOOO for happy days!
  Enough rambling. Good Lord. You guys should really stop me. Somehow. Thru the intraweb. WEBBYMAIL. Omg. I'm out of control today. I have GOT to get to my point. Okay. So confidence, belief, and hard work. Formula for success? I think yes. Have the confidence to change your life. Believe in yourself and your ability to change. And work your ass off to make it happen. These are not hard things. Everyone can do it, and you WILL do it. You're here aren't you? You already have the confidence. Now, just believe in yourself and make it happen. I think too often people don't believe in themselves and what they are truely capable of. You all just wait till I post pictures. Once I do, I don't want to hear any exuses of why you think you can't do this. I don't really have tolerance for excuses, because I've been there, and they are allllll LAME. So, let's do it biznitches!
  As you all know, I spend my days dreaming of food. Today is no exception. That being said, I have today's recipe ready for you! Today I trolled ThePaleoMom.com. Another goodie. And this is what I found!

Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients (meatballs):

1 lb lean ground beef (grass-fed is preferred for this recipe)

1 medium yellow onion, very finely diced

1 Tbsp tallow or coconut oil

2 eggs

1/8 tsp salt, to taste

¼ tsp pepper

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp allspice

 

 Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add oil and onion and sauté until completely cooked, approximately 10 minutes.

     Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

     Mix all ingredients in a bowl (I find it easiest to use my hands).  Form 1 ½” meatballs by hand and place on prepared baking sheet (you should get approximately 16 meatballs).

    Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Ingredients (gravy):

1 cup low-sodium beef or chicken broth (homemade is great if you have it)

½ Tbsp grass-fed butter or tallow

1 Tbsp arrowroot powder

     Place broth and butter in the skillet that the onions were cooked in.  Stir in the arrowroot powder.  Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. 

   Stir frequently until thick, approximately 3-4 minutes.

Toss meatballs in gravy (including any juices from the baking sheet) and enjoy!

 

 

Now, I may by late on the reaction of posting pictures tonight because Maranda is coming over. And we are ridiculous. Soooooo, I'll probably be occupado all night in random laughing and conversation. But, we shall see. Make it a good hump day peeps!

Ugly Little Gremlin

  Happy windy Tuesday everyone! Due to the fact that I live in Nebraska, we are never ever short on wind. Today is a perfect example of such things. Good hair? Forget about it. Which, is especially tough for me since I can call myself a licensed cosmetologist. Altho, with hairdays like today, I probably wouldn't admit it to ANYONE.
  On to my point. Lately, I've become somewhat of a gremlin. Not cute and fuzzy and cuddly like Gizmo, because he's a mogwai. A gremlin. As in the ugly nasty little shits that you stupidly fed after midnight. What could possibly turn such a sunshiney person into such a thing you may ask? Lack of exercise. Lack of CrossFit. Blah. I couldn't go Sunday because they are closed (unheard of I KNOW!) and then Monday I couldn't go because my fabulous husband was working (which I love him for because it's a hard job that keeps him away from us yet he still does it to give us a good life). And today, he is working yet again, so my workout time is again being threatened! Being a gremlin is no good. The only solution I can come up with is to become a hippie and live in a van (or bus) down by the river so that I can just not work and spend all my time at CrossFit. I have friends willing to join in on the fun. Don't be jealous. We may let you join. IF you bring the proper amount of neon paint and rope lights.
  ANYWHO, what turns you into a gremlin? I'm currently working on another solution for myself. It involves drinking tequila. Ohhhh yes. First item on the list when this challenge is over. But until then, how about focusing on all the good? Like cooking a yummy good for you dinner! Once again, I got this from paleomg.com. I should really re-name my blog ieffinglovepaleomg.blogspot.com. Just sayin....


Paleo Sweet Lemon Pepper Chicken

Ingredients

• 1lb chicken tenders/breasts/thighs
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 apple, thinly sliced
• 2 lemons, halved
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2-3 tablespoons fat, I used olive oil

Instructions

1. Thinly slice your onions and apples and throw them into a fat greased skillet under medium-high heat.
2. Let the apples and onions cook down for a bit until they begin to become translucent. When they do, add 1/2 lemon (juice), 1 tbsp honey, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and 1/4 tsp white pepper, garlic and onion powder and mix thoroughly to help combine and let caramelize.
3. While the onions and apples cook away, pull out another large skillet, add some fat and heat up under medium-high heat. While the skillet heats up, salt and pepper your chicken and add them directly to the pan.
4. While the chicken begins to cook, add the rest of your ingredients including the spices, honey, and lemon on top of the chicken.
5. When the sides begin to turn white, flip the chicken over and add any extra honey and/or lemon on top, to taste.
6. Once the chicken has cooked through, layer some caramelized apples and onions on a plate, and top them off with some chicken. Garnish with a lemon.

  As you may have guessed, my stomach is now aching for dinner. Later, I will do the unthinkable, I'll post pictures. Contain your shock. Hopefully, it'll be after a nice CrossFit SNATCH workout. Until then peeps! Alright, I'm back. and I need to tell you all 2 things. First off, I snatch balanced 65 lbs today HOLLA! (Call me a wimp and I'll kick ur ass. We all start somewhere.) and second, this meal was sooooooooooo efffffffing gooooooooood! If you don't try it, your a bigger fool than the people who feed mogwai's after midnight. OH, and good news, I'm no longer a little gremlin. I'm happily a mogwai right now. YAY FOR CROSSFIT!

Work Thru the Funk

  Good Monday Morning bloggers! I hope you all had an amazing weekend. Mine was filled with food, friends, and fun. My three favorite f words. =) I'm so sorry that I didn't post a recipe on Friday. I was in a funk. Which, as you may guess, is where I get today's topic from!
  Everyone has off days. We are human for petesake! It's our right. I'm a happy person, but sometimes, I'm angry. Not very often mind you, but sometimes I am dammit! It would be so easy for us to justify skipping the gym because we are in a funk, but let me tell you something, sweating yourself out of the funk is the best solution possible! Going to the gym always makes me feel better anyway, but when I can work out my frustrations too, I'm like a whole new woman! Friday's workout kicked my ass. It was a toughie. HOWEVER, it also kicked my funk. Soooo it was a win-win! And so friends, I encourage you to just walk thru the door when you're having one of those days and do your damn workout. You'll feel soooo much better and be so glad you did!
  On to the daily recipe! Everyone loves tacos, right? We are in America. If you don't like tacos, get out! HA, I kid. You can stay, but you're on my list now. EVERYONE likes tacos... =) Enough rambling... and so I give you Paleo Tacos (courtesy of thepaleomom.com... another killer blog of course!)! Yesssssssssssss enjoy.

Paleo Tacos

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (I use grass-fed)

½ large yellow onion, finely chopped

2 crushed garlic cloves

1 Tbsp cooking fat (I use tallow but Refined Coconut Oil would work too, omit if you are using fairly fatty ground meat)

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 tsp Paprika

1½ tsp Ground Cumin Seed

1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper(optional)

¼ tsp Dried Oregano

½ tsp Salt(to taste)

½ tsp ground Pepper

    Heat cooking fat in a skillet over medium-high heat (cast iron works well here).  Add ground meat, garlic and onion.  Cook, stirring frequently to break up the meat, until fully cooked, about 7-8 minutes.

    Add spices to beef.  If you meat is really dry, you might want to add 1-2 Tbsp of water.  Stir to fully incorporate.

    Turn temperature down to medium and cook another 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it smells so delicious you just can’t wait another second!
    Serve on lettuce leaves with your favorite paleo-friendly taco toppings.  Enjoy!

      So, as per usual, I am now dreaming about food. Thanks a lot! I do this all for you people. Okay, well maybe not. But it sounded good anyway! More pics later! Make it a damn good paleo Monday people. We are OVER HALF WAY THERE! WOOOOOOO!!!!

You Are Worth More Than You Realize

  Okay, so. Today I have to have an enormous moment of joy sharing. I feel like I need to tell you all how happy I am, so bare with me. =) I'm so completely overjoyed and overwhelmed by all the support and feedback I've gotten from this blog. I truly feel like I am somewhat helping and inspiring people and I am actually shocked by how many readers I have. You all make my days happier. I'm absolutely lovin' life and you have all helped make that happen! God is good, and He has truly blessed me. I already had the foundation of a happy life; a wonderful, supportive husband, a crazy, fantastic kiddo, and the best friends and family someone could ask for... who knew that simply living a healthy life and sharing my journey would add so much! Moving to Lincoln has also given me a whole new group of friends that I absolutely love and adore, and I wouldn't have found them if I wasn't living a healthy life. You never know what opportunities are waiting for you behind a door you have yet to open. So, go, pursue all opportunities presented to you, you may just like what you find on the other side.
  Alright, so you may have learned that I don't do mushy for too long. On to the good stuff! Today I will be giving you a recipe that I will not be actually cooking tonight. I'll try it in the future and add a picture of it then. Tonight, my family is getting leftovers from last night (which is certainly nothing to complain about because it was paleomazing) because I am going to open gym and making up Murph because I missed it on Tuesday. FMCFL. My new acronym. F*ck My CrossFit Life. That's what I shall say on days such as today when the WOD is sure to kill me.
  My awesome cousin Kaylea sent me this recipe today, and it sounds amazing. I encourage you to try it and let me know all the goodness I'm missing out on!

Chicken with creamy sun-dried tomato sauce recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 whole chicken breasts, bone-less;
• 1 ½ cups Coconut Milk
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs;
• ½ cup homemade chicken stock;
• 10-12 sun-dried tomatoes, purred in a blender or food processor;
• ½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F.
2. Season the chicken breasts all over with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Optionally, also season them with a good quality steak seasoning. Look in your local health food store for a brand that is gluten-free and doesn’t contain any vegetable seed oil.
3. Place them in a baking dish, place a sprig of fresh thyme on top of each and place in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until the juices run clear.
4. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over a medium-low heat, bring the cream or coconut milk and the two remaining thyme sprigs to a light boil.
5. Once boiling, lower heat and let simmer. Allow the cream or coconut milk to reduce by approximately 1/3 of its volume. This should take close to 10 minutes.
6. Remove the cream or coconut milk from the heat and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Do not  remove from skillet.
7. Remove the thyme sprigs and return to heat. Add the chicken stock and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes.
8. Add the purred sun-dried tomatoes, season with salt and pepper to taste and the fresh thyme leaves.
9. Pour on top of the cooked chicken breasts and enjoy!

  I'm sure this will be amazing and I'm a little sad I have to wait days to try it, BUT Murph awaits me, and my body needs it. 10 days strong into the challenge peeps, that's practically half way there! Remember, you are worth more than you realize, so... realize it! Happy Thursday!

Start Your Day Off Right

  Today, my super fantastic husband was nice enough to say that he would get the kiddo ready and off to daycare if I wanted to go to the 6am WOD. I feel like a rockstar. I LOVE starting the day with a workout. I love working out after work too, but doing it in the morning is just different. Workouts make me happy. Soooo it's only natural that working out first thing would make for a happy day! Now, don't get me wrong, getting up at 5am totally suuuuuuucks, BUT it's definitely worth it. I encourage everyone to bite the bullet one day and just do it. Get up early and get your workout in before you start your day. I can almost guarantee you'll like it... and have a better day. Go ahead, try it. I dare you!
  So, how is everyone feeling about the paleo challenge? I feel like I've successfully made it over the hump of wanting to cheat, and I hope you all have too. This morning at the group wod, Jeremy had an interesting point. When you cook a "paleo" meal, don't tell people who aren't "paleo friendly" that the meal is paleo. People who don't know how fantastic paleo is, or don't understand our way of living, tend to have a negative attitude toward it and convince themselves they dislike it before they even try it. So, instead of saying you want to cook paleo for them, just tell them you want to cook dinner for them instead! Sneaky we are, they'll never know that the delicious meal they are eating is healthy too! Yesssssssssss. And so, since I'm on the subject of yummy paleo nom nom goodness, I suppose I'll share my dinner plan. You should all call the chica from paleomg.com and thank her for being so effing amazing. You guessed it, this recipe came from her!

Southwest Turkey Sliders over Spicy Avocado Slaw

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• For the burgers
• 1lb ground turkey
• 1/4 red onion, minced
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 poblano pepper, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon fat (I used bacon fat)
• For the slaw
• 1 small head of cabbage or bag of cabbage, chopped
• 2 avocados
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

First make your burgers

1. Add all your ingredients for your burgers in a large bowl.
2. Shape small burger patties.
3. Heat up a large skillet under medium heat with a bit of fat in it (I used bacon fat) and add your sliders. Flip after about 3-5 minutes or when you see the sides of your sliders begin to turn a white color (meaning they are cooking through).

Now make your slaw

1. Pull out your handy dandy food processor, add all your ingredients for the slaw other than the cabbage and pulse until smooth.
2. Pour your avocado “mayo” on the cabbage and mix. Top off with a bit of salt and pepper.
3. Place your cabbage on a plate and top off with your sliders!
4. Consume!

  Alright fellow Paleo lovers, if you like spicy, this is the dish for u! I love slaw, so this was an instant fav. But seriously, I have to stop myself from eating every last bit I make. SOOOOO GOOD! I beg you, try this goodie! 
  Ohhhhh yes. Do you all see what CrossFit and Paleo has done to me? I spend my days dreaming about the amazing dinner that I get to consume. Is that healthy? Eh, I don't care if it isn't... because the food IS healthy. And so, I'll daydream about it all day if I want, so THERE! =) More later! Make today better than yesterday peeps! Love ya!

Negativity = No Bueno

  Good morning peeps! It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining, birds are probably singing... altho I'm in a building and can't hear them... but I'm sure they are... somewhere. Anyway....... living a healthy, active life makes me a happy person. I'm sure that most people who live the same can agree. Positivity just oozes thru me on the days I get in a good workout and eat right.
  One thing I don't have time for is negativity. Negative people bring me down and eff with my mojo. We are trying to accomplish something here. Healthy, happy life. A good support system is the best way to be successful. That is one main reason I suggested having an account-abili-buddy. Having someone who understands your passions, goals, and successes is so extremely important. I, for one, know that the way I make it thru many workouts is having my fellow CrossFitters encouraging me to keep going. Imagine if they were all telling me I couldn't do it and that it was dumb and I should quit. Would I finish? Hell no. Positivity. I love it. I ooze it. Yes, my word of the day is ooze. And ya know what? I like it. Ooze. At some point, we all need to understand and see how negativity has this power to bring us down and get rid of it. So, friends, I encourage you all to do a little cleansing. We are already cleansing our bodies of toxins with this Paleo Challenge, so now, let's cleanse our lives of negativity. Go out and find positivity and suck it all in, surround yourself in it. Smile a little more today, make someone else smile, laugh a little louder. LOVE LIFE, I know I do. =)
  On to the recipe! Today's workout is k.i.l.l.e.r. I'm terrified. BUT, I'll feel like a rockstar afterwards! Go to crossfitlincoln.com to check it out. Ohhhh lawd. Anyway, recipe. Tonight's recipe had Maranda and I drooling at the thought of it... And soon, you will too. It comes courtesy of civilizedcavemancooking.com This is a new website that Maranda introduced me to. Another u'd be wise to check out! Here ya go!

Fire Roasted Bacon Meatloaf
Prep Time:  15 Minutes
Cook Time:  1 Hour

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb Grass Fed Ground Beef
• 1 Lb Bacon, minced
• 14 Ounce Can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• 1 Red Onion, minced
• 1 Bell Pepper, minced
• 3 Cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Cup Almond flour
• 2 Tbsp Oregano
• 1/2 Tbsp Sea Salt
• Pepper to taste

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees Farenheit
2. If you have a meat grinder, use it to grind your bacon and beef together, if not mince your bacon as fine as possible and combine in a mixing bowl with your beef
3. Add all remaining ingredients to the bowl, and using your hands mix well to ensure an even distribution of ingredients
4. You can now form it into a loaf and put it in a pyrex dish, put it in a loaf pan, or form into meatballs and put in the pan
5. Bake for an hour or until the meat is cooked through, internal temperature needs to be at least 165 Degrees F because of the bacon
6. Remove from oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving
7. Serve drizzled with some Beasty BBQ Sauce
8. Enjoy

 Of course I'll return later to post pics and share my amazing food experience. It's the best part of my day! Nom nom nom. Looooove me some foodage. =) Have a good paleo day peeps!!!
  Alright, So I completely suck at photographing food. BUT, I promise, despite the awful looking picture, this was by far one of the best paleo meals yet! Go.Cook.It.Now! Sooooo good! Until tomorrow peeps!