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!

Boredom: What a dangerous thing

  Good Tuesday evening bloggies! As I sit down to write tonight's blog, I am so excited! I love new challenges and I also love new life lessons. Today, those things go hand in hand for me. I've been in a funk for a few days. Lots of different random things going on in the mind-o-Jen. I've learned a lot about myself and I've learned a lot about how I want to be.




 I feel like I haven't blogged in forever, so bare with me, this is going to be a long one. It is also going to be the last one for a few days, but we'll get to that in a minute. First, I love my friends. They are forever teaching me life lessons and forever helping me find things about myself that I didn't know were there. Maranda and I have had quite a few lengthy conversations this week. In those times, we found that self doubt is a nasty little thing, so is being a big bottle of suck. No one is going to improve us, we have to improve ourselves. Waking up and making the decision to renew ourselves and make today and all the days following better than they have been is all our decision. There is nothing stopping us, so we might as well do it now! Being a strong person and overcoming obstacles of our past is no easy feat, but we can do it. There is no better feeling than waking up with a renewed sense of being and knowing that life is just waiting for you and it's going to be great. So, I encourage you all to just sit down and think about where you want to be in life, and make it happen!

  Secondly, as this blog is titled, boredom is such a dangerous thing. I never really thought about it until Jeremy said it to me tonight. Being bored gets us all in trouble in some way. Whether it leads to overeating, not exercising, or being lazy, it doesn't matter what it is, they are all bad things! Don't let yourselves get bored. There are about a million and one different things that we can do in life rather than be bored. Tonight, Cale and I went for a looooooong ass walk in the heat and wind. Did it suck? Sure, at times it did. But ya know what? I did some really good thinking in that time, it got us out of the house, and it gave me some needed exercise. Then, when we got home, we went straight out back and hopped in the pool, which was also fun as hell and cooled us off! So, I challenge you to not allow yourselves to get "bored". Keep busy. Find a new hobby, go for a walk, go for a swim, something, anything!

  Thirdly, I want to talk about distractions. Phil posted something interesting on his facebook the other day. He posted a challenge to stay off of facebook for 48 hours. If you felt the urge to log on, read your bible, pray, anything to get closer to Him and further from facebook. I was inspired. I not only accept the challenge, I am going to add to it. I am going to stay off of the internet and not watch cable for 3 days. Starting tomorrow, the only time I am going to use the internet is to do my homework and sign up for my CrossFit classes, and I am not going to watch tv at all. It's funny that such a thing sounds "hard." I am 28 years old. I grew up without internet and limited cable. There is absolutely no reason I shouldn't be able to do it! I challenge and encourage you all to join me. If you feel yourself getting "bored", write in a journal, read a book, read The Bible, pray, go for a walk, spend time with your family, spend time with friends, set some goals for yourself. I think this is going to be a great thing and I'm so excited about it!!!
  As I said, this is a long blog with lots of words, SO, if you've all stuck with it and read this far, I thank you. I hope that some of you really enjoy this post and choose to join me. I truly believe this will be good for our souls, our faith, and our being. This last week of the paleo challenge is going to be a great one, I can feel it! Talk to ya Saturday! 3,2,1, GO!

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!