Cobbler and Gratitude...

...or 'When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Gingered Peach Raspberry Cobbler'. Yeah, that was the working title. But it was too unyieldy.

So today started off so nice. A calm, peaceful Sunday morning...A rest day for me - my first this week - so much needed. But you guys know me. A rest day simply means I didn't bust my hump at the gym or at Crossfit. Not that I actually rested. What a thought. I honestly don't know if I know how to do that! I'll even clean if I'm sick...but I digress...

Let's see..Reilly had a hike with his Cub Scout troup. We went to church and then hit up Winco, Costco, and Henry's to stock the pantry and fridges for the week. Started working on the food prep for the week...everything was going good. Then Rei volunteers to go get the mail from yesterday, which is still sitting around the corner in the mailbox. And in the mail is a damn overdue notice for my water bill. This brings up all kinds of angst that I had actually managed to put on the back burner for a day or two. And the him, who is supposed to pay those bills, even though he's not in the home any longer, is not answering his phone. So I remain stressed. and pissed.

Then, I get in the car to take Katy to youth group and as I pull out of my driveway, it sounds like legions of demons straight from the depths of hell are screaming for mercy underneath my car. Even I know that means I should stop. And my neighbor, Gary, who is very automotively inclined and just happened to be outside, informed me that "blahblahblah metal blah blah on my rotor blah blah brake failure".

hmph.

Ok then. Do I need a tow truck?

No, he says...I can probably get about 30 miles out of it before they go completely.

well, ok then! Thanks!

and with that, me and my daughter and my caterwauling car return to my driveway.

So now I have 30 miles minus 100 feet of driving left on my brakes. I'm pretty sure that'll get me to the dealership.

So, it could be much worse...but for some reason, it was all I could handle today. I sent Katy inside and proceeded to lay my head on my steering wheel and bawl my eyes out. Either one of these things I could have handled...both together were my undoing. I apparently do have limits. Unfortunately, crying in your driveway is not a good way to avoid discovery. Just in case you are in need of a good solitary cry, you might want to keep this in mind. I would recommend driving somewhere where no one can see you and then parking and crying. I recommend doing that in a working car.

So me and the kids head inside and have a good talk. Then I need to finish the food prep and feed these kidlings. But first I need to re-group. So I grab a glass of merlot and head upstair and give myself a five minute time-in in my bedroom. where my laptop and that happy little world known as Facebook lives.

Now, I know a lot of people don't get Facebook...but let me tell you what a mental lifesaver it can be. Here I am, dressed in my 'hanging out at home, so no one is going to see me' clothes. Hair thrown on top of my head because I can't chop with my hair down (that's a true statement...I make exceptions when I have company and have actually put some effort into my appearance...but for the rest of the time, hair on top of my head means I'm in business! But again with the digressions...). Eyes red and puffy from crying. Nose red and swollen from blowing - which you all know goes hand in hand with a good gut-cleansing cry! And I still have children that need to be fed and chores that need to be finished. I don't have time to call my girlfriends one by one and coordinate a meeting place and time and see who can possibly come and get me and take me away and get me drunk and return me safely home again. (though my across the street neighbor and new friend, Leticia, has graciously offered good wine and hugs at her house next time the need arises. Leticia...read the above description of what I looked like. Consider yourself forwarned!)

Yet with one merlot-inspired post, my girlfriends rally around me. Old friends and new. Friends across the street and friends in Pennslyvania. Friends I've known forever and friends I've never actually met in person. Posts on my wall. Emails. IMs. Words of wisdom...cyber hugs...offers to send out a hit team.

Girlpower strength and love being served up cyber-cafe style. What's not to get about that?

So, soul soothed, I open my bedroom door and rejoin my life. I made the kids carne asada nachos. I thought about what I wanted for dinner. Call it the merlot talking, but what I wanted was NOT dinner and was NOT paleo. And I said 'to hell with it'! And proceeded to throw caution to the wind, and peaches in the pyrex, with reckless abandon. That was probably the merlot too!

Jen's 'If-this-(and half a bottle of Merlot)-don't-make-me-feel-better-nothing-will' Gingered Peach Raspberry Cobbler

6 perfectly ripe peaches. You know the kind...the ones that drip down your forearm when you bite into 'em. The kind that smell like summer. The kind that, with the right person, makes you lose the afternoon after a well-meaning lick of that drop of peach juice running down the other's chin ignites a fire! Yeah..those are the ones! Now... leave the skin on, and cut 'em into wedges. Grab a pint of raspberries and about an inch square knob of fresh ginger root, grated. Mix fruit and ginger in a pyrex with about 1/4 cup of sugar. Cover with about 2 cups of organic peach cranberry granola. Evenly sprinkle about 1/2 cup of brown sugar on top of the granola, then liberally and lovingly dot with beautiful chunks of butter. Bake at 350 degrees until all bubbly and gooey looking underneath and all nice and toasty looking on top.

Mmmmmmmmmm! It was TO.DIE.FOR! I will admit it's the first non-paleo baked treat I've had in almost two months, but I don't think my tastebuds were that hard up. It tasted amazing! The fresh ginger had a lot to do with it! Perfect complement to the fruit! and normally I would make my own streusel topping with oats and walnuts and other good things. But for some reason I thought of the granola and I really liked the way it turned out! And I would have pictures for you - it was like eating a sunset, what with the peach and the reds of the raspberries...but alas, my camera broke the other day.

So here it is, almost midnight. Way past my bedtime. But I couldn't sleep tonight, even after a shower. But now that I've purged today and transfered it here to my blog, I think I can. I'm going to bed thinking not about what what wrong today, but what went right...

I'm grateful for my beautiful, strong, amazingly resourceful children who are handling this situation with more grace and aplomb than I sometimes feel I am.

I'm grateful that every time I go to church, something speaks directly to me and what I'm dealing with in my life at the time. Sometimes it's an entire service, sometimes a song, sometimes a snippet of prayer. But there's always something.

I'm grateful for the perfect watermelon and pineapple that I cut up for the kids today. The pineapple had that wonderful cinnamon undertone that is so elusive. It was delicious!

I am grateful that the asparagus at Costco today was tiny, tender little baby asparagus. And I'm grateful I decided to treat myself and buy the smoked salmon there too. The salmon, wrapped around the asparagus, made the perfect before bed snack just now.

I'm grateful that I have such an amazingly diverse group of friend - near and far - that have my back when I need them too.

I'm grateful for my health and my strength and my spirit and my fortitude.

I'm grateful that it's now time for me to go to bed.

Night all!

9-18-09 Log

Slept so well last night! about 7.5 hours...and I didn't wake up once!

CF was good today! After toasting my lower body over the last three days, I did offer up a prayer to the Crossfit deities as I drove to the gym this morning, asking for a good upper body workout that I could actually do. And apparently, I've been a good (enough) girl that my prayers were answered! The CF WoD was 5x3 of push presses, which I couldn't do since I'm still, still, STILL dealing with tendonitis in my right shoulder (but which I am, as I type, icing like that good girl we already ascertained I am!) - but the Kettlebell workout was exactly what I wanted! 20 rounds of (5 each side single arm swings, 5 each side cleans, and 5 each side presses). Because of my shoulder, I held the bell with both hands to do the presses and really concentrated on keeping my shoulders back and using my lats to pull down (thanks, Louie!). Just what the doctor ordered! Took me about 33 minutes and made me sweat. Those presses were the hardest thing at the end, even with two hands! Used the 16 kg 'bell for the whole thing.

Ended up at Kohl's after CF to buy another pair of my new shorts...when two people compliment you, and the dang things were on clearance for $4.20, you'd have to be a moron not to go buy another pair! : -) So I went there with innocent thoughts of actually paying cash and leaving the credit card securely holstered. Alas, I wandered into the junior's section. Stacy and Clinton would be SO very ashamed of me! They constantly belabour the fact that 40 year old women are never to shop in the junior's department. Never, ever, ever under any circumstances. Well, I'm going to assume they mean 40 year old women who aren't in shape and don't have discerning taste! That caveat works for me! ha! And I honestly needed stuff...none of my jeans from last winter fit anymore, and I really didn't want to be caught in one of our ruthless Southern California cold snaps with nothing but CF duds and frayed cut offs and tank tops! And I no longer have to worry. My new best friends are the Levi Tilted Low cut straight leg jeans...black and dark rinse...in size 7. Oh my goodness? Can I say that again? *ahem* Size 7! Damn, that feels good! And my daughter is going to be so proud of me because, after a year of her harping on me, I actually now own a pair of skinny jeans! Beautiful darkones with a deep green rinse that I adore! IAbsolutely love them! And a black mid-thigh mini with the most awesome big belt. And a red plaid not-quite-mid-thigh pleated mini. Which I oh-so-seriously need to finally get those 20-eyelet Doc Martens to go with! And a sage green silk baby doll with cap sleeves and sort of Mandarin-inspired embroidery. And three! yes, three! of the 'they-must-have-used-my-body-as-the-model-when-they-made-it' butter soft shirts. One blue and green plaid, one red and white, the other the perfect slate grey. they fit perfectly! Nips in at the waist...fits the old boobs...doesn't pull across the butt. And I know I'm going to be fighting Kaity for those shirts every week! I can't remember the last time I had this much fun shopping!

Now, down to business:

7:45 1 egg scrambled with mushrooms, zuchinni, 1/2 diced jalapeno and a crapload! of garlic.

8:30 - 9:30 The totally awesome, I could do it all, kettlebell workout!

10:00 Cashew Larabar

1:45 Last of the ground turkey cooked with onions, jalapenos,and green peppers...threw it on top of a big salad of greens, artisian lettuces, cucumber, radishes, zuchinni, avocado, and grilled corn. Dressed with lemon juice, paprika, cayenne, cumin, fenugreek, tumeric, and crushed red pepper.

4:30 small handful of walnuts

Obviously, not done for the day yet...but it's time to shower and get ready for the first high school football game of the season. My daughter is in marching badnd and it's their first show! and my boys are so excited to be going to a football game! More later!

9-17-09 Log

So...I wasn't planning on weighing myself today. Am back on track and want to stick to once a week weigh ins. But had a doctors appt today and they threw me on the scale. I was all mentally prepared for the difference that being fully clothes and hydrated mid-day - as opposed to butt naked first thing in the morning - would have on my weight. So was oh-so-excited to see a nice strong 148 pop up on that scale. Booyah! First time in recorded-in-hospital-record history that I'm officially NOT overweight. Yeah me! So then WHY oh WHY, when I go to Kohl's afterwards to buy some new exercise pants, do I still insist on bringing larges into the dressing room with me. I never want to mentally fuck myself by trying on something to small to begin with and feeling bad. Old habits die hard, I guess. So I will bring in 4 different sizes and start working my way down from the top. It really makes shopping take to long. I ended up with some perfect Fila pants in XS!!!!! XS!!!!!! on the bottom! with this ass! Ha! Maybe from now on I can start with the mediums or, dare I say it, the smalls?

Less than 6 hours of sleep last night because I was worrying someone was trying to break in. So not off to a good start. Then with the turmoil of this morning, I didn't have time to pack something to eat post-wod, and didn't have time to stop and get anything on the way to the Drs...so very large, very bad, big empty void in my eating. won't happen again!

8:00 1 hard boiled egg, 1 apple, 2 Tbs of almond butter and cinnamon

9:45 12 minute WOD. I'm going to pretend today was a rest day.

2:00 Ground turkey with big salad (greens, cucumbers, radish, zuchinni, tomatoes, peppers). Sunflower and pumpkin seeds for fat. Lemon juice and spices.

4:00 1 nectarine

7:30 4 oz chicken breast, 1/2 yellow squash, 12 almonds.

10:30 couldn't sleep because I was hungry. Ate about 2-3 oz flank steak and an apple with almond butter and cinnamon

9-16-09 Log

Sooo...as many of you know, this last month has been pretty darn stressful for me! Can you say 'understatement'?! And when I was finally brave enough to weigh myself monday, for the first time since this all started...I was up to 151 from 147.5. And it wasn't from eating to much...just the opposite...I had no appetite and would forget meals and I wasn't sleeping. A sure-fire recipe for disaster! So Monday I re-dedicated myself and hit the ground running. almost 8 hours of sleep the last two nights...and nary a skipped meal! and today...149. Yes! So I know you guys don't always believe me when I say to eat more or get more sleep, but the proof is right here! : -) Have a great day guys!

7.75 hours sleep.

7:45 2 hb eggs, 6 strawberries, 12 almonds

8:15 teach xbiking

9:15 coconut water and 1 larabar (yeah...I said screw it to the whole 'I'll only eat half' idea! ha!)

9:16 teach xbiking

11:00 Nice bowl of paleo chili (ground turkey and tons of veggies)...no oil or avocado since it's post wod!

12:30 3 stalks asparagus and a small handful of walnuts

3:00 3 oz chicken breast, a small bag of tomatoes and baby peppers

7:00 4 oz grilled tilapia with a huge salad (greens, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, zuchinni), sunflower and pumpkin seeds for fat. lemon juice and spices.

8:00 WANTEDNEEDEDABSOLUTELYHADTOHAVE something sweet. Into the blender: 1/2 banana, some lite coconut milk, some walnuts, shredded coconut, and ice cubes. Whirled it all up. Threw about 1 oz raisins in their to because for some odd reason, that sounded too good!

9-15-09 Log

only 6.75 hours of sleep. But it's hard to get to bed any earlier than 11:30 on the night I teach until 7:30...too much energy!

7:45 1 egg scrambled with ground turkey, jalapenos, green peppers, zuchinni, tomatos, garlic and tons of greens. EVOO on top. Need to buy more avocados!

9:00 - 10:00 Kettlebells (swings, squats, deadlifts (48kg)

10:45 3 oz beef jerky, 1 apple

2:00 ground turkey with tons of veggies (leftover from last night), 4 stalks asparagus

3:45 lemon larabar

6:00 strawberries

8:30 carne asada, 4 stalks asparagus, small handful of almonds and walnuts

9-14-09 Log

First off...an apology to anyone who might have noticed I haven't been around much lately. My husband and I just separated, and me and the three kidlings have been adjusting these last couple weeks. But I'm quickly putting up the last four days food logs, though there are no pretty pictures. And I'm now back in the game! So thanks for sticking around!

9-14-09 7.75 hrs sleep~

8:00 1 egg with mushroom, pepper, tomato, cilantro, garlic, mixed leafy greens. 8 strawberries and 2 Tbs sun butter.

8:30 Kettlebells: 5 min TGUs with 12 kg. then 30 sec. swings, 30 sec. overhead press and hold, 30 sec planks...repeat for 20 minutes.

9:15 "annie" Time: 16:42 rx.

11:30 Lunch at Soup Plantation. Huge salad full of good things (beets and banana squash were my treats!)...2 oz of chicken and sunflower seeds for fat.

3:00 8 strawberries.

5:45 4 oz shrimp, 4 stalks asparagus, a couple cherry tomatoes

6:30 - 7:30 Taught Xbiking.

7:45 Larabar

9:30 ground turkey with a gazillion veggies.

bed at 11:30. Hard to go to bed earlier after teaching so late!

9-6-09 log

bed at midnight, didn't set alarm...still woke up at 6:30...ugh! managed to doze for another hour, but still not 8 hr. Apparently I need to just assume that my body wakes a 6:30 and always make it to bed by 10:30.

9:00 2 eggs, sauted mushrooms, red onions, garlic, tomatoes, and greens. 1/4 cup guacamole.

12:00 pint of raspberries on the way home from Costco. Too delicious looking to wait.

1:00 Turkey patty, 1/2 cup guacamole, veggies (zuchinni, radishes, celery, cucumber).

5:00 larabar and 6 almonds

7:30 Rubio's (Grande Salad with mahi...no beans, cheese, or rice. Extra guac and cabbage.)

10:00 1 hard boiled egg

Daily Logs

Good Sunday Morning, All!

Made the kid's french toast for breakfast, then enjoyed my usual eggs and veggies. Now it's off to Costco to finish up the shopping for the week.

First, though, I wanted to post my last few food logs up here for you guys. I've gotten a bunch of questions in the last few days about why I wasn't updating my paleo journal on facebook anymore. I had stopped because I wasn't really counting the days anymore. I rocked my first thirty days, survived my first cheat meal, and it's really just how I eat now. But old habits die hard...and especially since my physical activity is so decreased these last two weeks, I did still want to keep track of my food intake. I just moved it on over to my blog, because it was an easier process to update and edit. But I hadn't realized that so many of you read my food journal and used it for 'inspiration and ideas' (one of my readers words, not mine...and thank you!!), so I wasn't publishing them.

So...here you guys go! The last three days of food logs and notes. And I'll keep posting them daily as long as you guys want them! : -)

9-5-09

8 hours sleep! whoo-hoo!

9:00 1 h.b egg, 10 almonds, 1 apple

9:15 - 10:15 Taught Pedal/Pump...the pump part was in classic FGB style. They loved me! they hated me! haha!

11:00 About 1.5 cups of that yummy paleo chili from the other night. Sans avocado, since post - workout.

2:30 Turkey patty, 1/4 cucumber, 1 stalk celery, red, yellow,and orange pepper slices (about 1/2 of a pepper total), a couple slices of jicama. Small handful of almonds and walnuts.

5:00 Larabar

7:30 Flank steak. Guacamole with squash, zuchinni, cucumbers, jicama, pepper slices, radishes and celery.

9:30 apple with almond butter and cinnamon.

9-4-09

7.25 hours sleep (11 - 6:15) for no good reason. Reading blogs last night. : -(

B - 8:00 am: 1 egg, 1.5 cups portabello mushrooms with garlic and 1/2 bunch of cilantro. 1 cup mixed cantaloupe/blueberries/raspberries with slivered almonds mixed in.

9:00 Ran 5K.

10:00 1 hard boiled egg, 1/2 cup blueberries and raspberries.

1:00 Made lunch for my friends... salad (napa cabbage, red bib lettuce, arugula, dandelion greens, ruby red chard, kale, cilantro, red cabbage; yellow, red, and orange peppers, red radishes, yellow squash, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, red onions, avocado, kalmata olives, shrimp) Dressing was fresh lemon juice, EVOO, tumeric, fenugreek, ground coriander, s&P, paprika (which I also cooked the shrimp in). Dessert was strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

4:00 small handful of walnuts, 1 oz raisins

7:45 4 oz Cooked dinner for a friend: ahi tuna, grilled asparagus, zuchinni,and yellow squash; grilled mushrooms and onions with parsley. Dessert: coconut banana 'ice cream' (whirl in food processor: frozen ripe bananas, coconut milk or water and cinnamon. when smooth, add walnuts and unsweetened coconut and pulse to roughly chop. Freeze. Then Eat.)

9-3-09

8 hours sleep! Finally!

B - 7:45 am: 1 yummy runny egg with sauted mushrooms (2 cups) and 3 little tomatoes. 1/2 peach with about 1/8 cup each blueberries and raspberries. 12 g. sliced almonds.

KB's (new TGU, new Swing. 10 rounds of 10 swings, 10 planks (15 min). then GHD WOD...13:10...3:23 off my last time!)

L - 11:00: Cinnamon Roll Larabar, 1 banana, 1 h.b. egg, 1 coconut water.

S1 - 1:30: 6 almonds and 3 walnuts. 5 stalks asparagus..

s2 - 2:30: - 6 stalks of asparagus

s3 - 3:30: 1 oz chicken breast.

D - 6:30: "chili"...7 small tomatoes, 1/2 yellow squash, 1/2 red onion, 2 cups mushrooms, 1/2 ear corn (treat!), 1/2 bunch of cilantro, large handful of brocolli slaw, 4 oz sirlion, all the appropriate chili spices...topped with 1/2 diced avocado. this made 2 servings. Ate half tonight...will eat the other half later. Dessert: 1/2 cup of rasp and blueberries with slivered almonds.

9:00 Larabar

Paleo Prep

******************So I know I've talked a lot about prepping being one of the cornerstones for making this whole Paleo thing work! But I realized today that it might be helpful to some if I went into a little more detail. So...

Went to Henry's today and did a quick run through to pick up some essentials. I buy tons of stuff at Costco also, so this isn't all my veggies for the week, but about half. It took about an hour to prep it all once I got home. My BIGGEST tip to you would be to try and do your grocery runs when you have an hour or so after to spend chopping. I love to cook. I love to chop. It means nothing to me to spend 20 minutes making lunch. But I've learned the hard way that when I'm tired - walking to the outside fridge to get that entire head of cauliflower...knowing I'm going to have to get the plastic off and cut the damn thing. Ugh - too much! I'll grab whatever happens to be in the fridge and fast (usually raw asparagus or cherry tomatoes)...yeah, still Paleo...still veggies...still healthy. But we're also going for variety here for numerous reasons. And honestly, woman can not live on asparagus alone. It would make eating boring...and that's sacrilegious! And I know that if I shove everything in my fridge when I get home from the store, it's chances of staying right in there, wholly intact, increases tenfold! I will even leave the stuff on the counter for an hour or two until I can get to it, before putting it away unprepped! So, if at all possible, prep immediately upon unpacking!

******************Now first thing I do is make my greens for the week. Those are the numero uno veggie of any good Paleo diet. I try to eat them with every meal - and it's really not hard, so I guess it's really not 'trying'. : -) I saute them with a bunch of other veggies with my eggs in the morning. It's the basis for my lunch salad. At dinner, it usually is sauted with onions to make a nice cushy bed for whatever animal fell to my spear that day or gets thrown willy-nilly into the chili pot. So lots and lots of greens!

******************Today I bought red chard, dandelion greens, kale, collard greens, and napa cabbage. Got home, chopped them all up, and mixed them all together with a head of cilantro just for good measure. Now I know that it looks like a huge pile...but ...it condenses nicely when packaged up; if you're eating as much of it as you should, it won't be around that long; it takes about ten minutes to do and is cheaper than buying those pre-packaged bags that were cut days ago; and - most importantly - you control what goes in them. You'd be hard pressed to find a salad mix as nutriently dense as this one is! And leave those beautiful stalks and stems on when you chop them. You won't notice them in your salad, or if you do, it'll be like celery! And another helpful hint...any veggie that's a 'heavy breather' needs to have a paper towel thrown in the bag with it to absorb the excess moisture, which will keep it fresher, longer. I'm actually a huge fan of Tupperware's FridgeSmart storage system - NOTHING seems to go bad in those things! But right now I'm prepping so much - that even with two fridges, I wouldn't have room for that many containers. The bags make it easy to stack and fits lot in a small space.

******************After the greens, I prepped the rest of the stuff I'd bought. That included celery, radishes, peppers, red cabbage, red onions, 4 heads of cauliflower, a second head of napa cabbage all by itself, Italian parsley, portabello mushrooms, and jicama. It really is amazing how much more likely I am to grab that celery or a radish if they've already been topped and tailed and put in a bag! Just this hour of prep will save me numerous hours over the coming week! But bear in mind that some veggies don't respond well to pre-prepping. Tomatoes, zuchinni, squash, cucumbers...all lose a little something when left to sit. And if everything else is prepped, it's not that bad to just chop one of two things!

Hope that's a bit more helpful that just telling you to prep! Now, go eat those greens!

Shoulder-less WoDs

******************I love me some split jerks! They are probably my most favorite Oly lift! But I haven't been able to do any for a couple weeks. I'm still battling this darn bum shoulder. I've managed some deadlifts here or there...maybe some front squats. But everything else seems to involve my shoulder. Even pull-ups and push ups are jacking me up right now. *Sigh!* What's a Kool-aid chugging Crossfit chick to do? Going to the chiropractor and trying really hard to be good. And I bought the Hopper Deck today and just went through it and pulled out all WODS that either involve no shoulder, or are very easily subbable.

1) 4 rounds for time: 400 m Run, 50 squats

2) "Michael"...3 rounds for time: 800 m run, 50 back extensions, 50 sit ups

3) 5 rounds for time: 30 GHD sit -ups, 25 back extensions

4) For time: 400 m Walking Lunge

5) For time: 5K run

6) For time: 2K row

7) "Annie" 50-40-30-20-10 reps for time: double unders and situps

8) "Kelly" 5 rounds for time of: 400 m run, 30 wall balls (I'm gonna sub heavy kb squats), 30 box jumps

9) 5 rounds for time: 500 m row, 400 m row

10) Tabata Bottom to Bottom: 8 rounds of 20 sec effort, 10 sec rest of squats only. Rest is in the BOTTOM of the squat position. Note: Don't let the hamstrings go during "rest".

11) 4 round: 400 mtr run. Time each individually. Rest 3 min between rounds.

12) For time: 50 Wall Ball (sub heavy KB Squats), 40 Double Unders, 30 KB swings, 20 Steps Lunging Waiter's Walk (or just walking lunges if shoulder hurts overhead), 10 box jumps.

13) "Nancy" 5 rounds for time: 400 m run, 15 OH squats (once again...I'll be subbing those heavy KB squats. I'm so gonna rock those Lucy shorts when they get here!)

14) "Jason" For time: 100 squats, 5 m/u, 75 squats, 10 m/u, 50 squats, 15 m/u, 25 squats, 20 m/u. (this one has potential because of all those damn squats...will need to sub something for the m/u...can't even do the normal p/u and ring dip sub. Maybe 10, 20, 30, 40 ghd's? Will have to think on that some more.)

15) "Helen" 3 rounds for time: 400 m run, 21 kb swings (1.5 pood), 12 pull ups. Will save this one towards the end, and do the p/u with a bigger band than normal, or do it sooner with a sub for the pull ups...

16)10 -20- 30 reps for time of: Slam Ball, Walking Lunge Steps, OH Squat (Heavy KB Squats for me!)

17) 2 min double unders/ 2 min sit ups...90 sec d/u/ 90 sec sit ups...1 min....30 sec...

18) For time: 150 KB swings (obviously the swings depends on how your shoulder is tweaked. They're no problem for me, thank goodness).

OK...see...almost 4 weeks of WoDs that don't involve my shoulder! That's what I'm talking about! Doesn't seem so dire now!

If You Can't Take the Heat...

...then get out of the kitchen! As fast as you can!

Lordy...it's been topping 110 degrees here for the last couple days! Blistering! And, on pain of being stoned by all my friends back east, I am going to bravely complain that it's been damn humid too! Ha! Yeah, yeah...I know...nothing compared to you guys. But that's why I CHOOSE to live in Southern California - Hate! Hate! Hate! the humidity!

But enough whining...once again, I am sporting the supremely happy tummy. I'm glad my tummy is happy tonight. After 400 meters of walking lunges yesterday and then teaching two back to back Xbiking classes this morning, just about every part of my body below said tummy is filing a formal complaint. So I was put on notice that I better step up my game and put some prime paleo grub into the engine or all hell would break lose. But I didn't wanna cook. And I definitely didn't want to even crack that back door and venture out to grill. Hell NO! So I threw stuff in a bowl and took a bite. And it was so good, that I knew I had to write down the exact combo and share with you guys. Now, keep in mind that I did not INTEND to post my dinner today, so it's not the most photogenic dish in the world. But, man oh man, it was some TASTY grub! And that's really all that matters! It's the food equivalent of personality over looks!

****************** Real fast first, I have to introduce you to another one of my favorite new finds this summer. It's those adorable little on the vine tomatoes in the bowl - and they are featured prominently in the following recipe. They've started carrying them at Costco and I am head-over-heels in love with them. Perfect blend of sweetness and acidity. Firm, not mealy at all. And they have the staying power of John Holmes! I'm serious! Those things will stay fresh, on my counter for almost two weeks (which only happens when I make Costco runs too close together and forget that I already had some). Plus, they're so damn cute! And quartering them is all you need to do for just about anything you use them in! So less prep also! And no, that picture isn't from tonight. That was a couple weeks ago. Caught Ian having thirds of the cucumber salad that night. I love my kids!

And without further ado....

Jen's 'Too Damn Hot' Salad

First off, I took a beautiful hunk of mahi mahi (the fish of the week here! I bought a bag of individually wrapped steaks at Costco and they are divine!) and patted freshly minced garlic, sea salt, crushed red pepper, and coarsely ground black pepper on one side. I heated up the skillet, threw in a little dab of coconut oil and seared that puppy good. Before I flipped the fillet, I put some all natural seasoning salt I had gotten as a gift from a Pampered Chef friend. Once it was flipped, I squeezed 1/2 a lemon over it and left it to get nice and brown on the second side. Then I turned down the heat and finished cooking it through.

While that was going on, I threw all this yummy veggie goodness in a bowl: about 5 of those beautiful tomatoes, quartered; 1/4 of a red bell pepper and some red onions, both thinly sliced; about 1/2 cucumber, chopped up nicely...let's see..some shredded napa cabbage, a crapload of cilantro (the only measurement of cilantro used in my kitchen), and 1/2 of a small avocado, diced.

In a separate bowl I mixed the juice of 1 lemon, more minced garlic, a dollop of dijon, and about 1/4 tsp each of chile powder (the Indian kind), tumeric, fenugreek, and cumin. Mixed well, poured over the veggies and mixed well. Threw the mahi on top and we were good to go!


There you have it. Less than ten minutes from conception to chewing! And I can't think of anything better than fresh veggies and lean meats and fishes when it's this hot outside, can you! All natural refreshment! And now that I've gotten it posted - I'm off to enjoy some raspberries for dessert. Enjoy you guys!

Spiced Bindi

So...I was playing at the Asian Market the other day. Poking...prodding...smelling...mentally saying all the words in my head - undoubtedly very wrong! - and accosting the elderly women shopping with questions galore. All in all, a fun time was had by all! You wouldn't believe the plethora of new and exciting foods to try! More greens than you can shake a stick at and about six different types of eggplant alone! Total food porn! I have pictures too - but that will be another post!

******************One of the things I was attracted to this time was the okra. Had never really seen it fresh before. Bought some frozen once, to use in gumbo, I believe...and was not terribly impressed. Soggy and slimy are really the only things I remember. But fresh okra is very cute. Little and bullet shaped (if you have really pointy bullets!) and covered with little peach fuzz (okra fuzz, actually) - far enough removed from that sodden lump of veggie in a bag that I'd had before. So into my cart it went.


******************But what to do with it? Didn't want to immediately go to that old okra standby...the afore-mentioned gumbo. What's the point in experimenting if you play it safe? Half-ass! Not in my kitchen!~ So I figured I'd have to wait a couple days until I had time to find a recipe to use as a jumping off point. But then, lo and behold, Gavan Murphy, The Healthy (and Sexy!) Irishman (check out his blog at http://thehealthyirishman.com/), comes to my aid with a recipe for Spiced Bindi (Indian for okra)delivered into my inbox that very same day! Serendipity or Big Brother? hmmmmmm....we'll never know. But since I'm not one to look a gift Irishman in the mouth (especially a cute one!) - and because the recipe includes HOARDS of marvelous spices - I printed it out immediately! And since I had absolutely everything to make the recipe (oh the joys of a stocked kitchen!), it's been made and eaten tonight and I'm sharing with you now. And share I must, because it was TASTY! And ever-so-NOT-slimy! My boys tried it and liked it also. So that's three votes of approval! I had it with some quick napa cabbage slaw I threw together and a beautiful hunk of mahi mahi. My tummy is happy!

******************So here's the recipe. If you try it, let me know how you like it! And if you have a favorite okra recipe, share please!

Spiced Bindi

Serves 2.

2 cups fresh Okra - trimmed and sliced
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp garam masala
2 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup low-sodium veg or chicken broth
S&P

Preheat large saute pan on medium heat for 1 minute. Add olive oil and saute onions for 30 seconds, stirring...do NOT brown. Add garlic and ginger adn saute for another 30 seconds, then add cumin seeds for an additional 30 seconds. Add in okra and broth and saute for a minute, stirring. Begin adding in the spices: turmeric, coriander and garam masala. Stir to combine all ingredients together. Heat 1 minute. Serve.

******************Jen's Notes: Let's see...I had coriander seeds also...so I threw about 1/2 tsp in when I threw the cumin seeds in - and still used the ground coriander at the end. Didn't use stock, since I had none made. Subbed water instead and it worked just fine. I love the smell of fresh ginger all the time! But the smell that arose from the pan when I added the seeds to the onions, garlic, and ginger was just about 2 steps shy of an orgasm! Delectable, people! Trust me on this one! They should make a room deodorizer fragrance that smells just like it! I'd like it! So would Earz - he's getting tired of eating the 'Fresh Linen' ones!