MONITOR your health

Sorry I have been gone so long! Gesh, feels like forever. So, I have had a lot going on.  Let's discuss...

So, like three weeks ago I passed out twice in one morning before Crossfit.  I called the doctor because at the time I was on Chantix.  Did I ever mention that just 2 months ago I was a pack a day smoker?  Yeah, maybe I breezed over that lol.  Well, I quit.    He said to come in and when I did they did an EKG.  You know the one with all the electrodes.   So---yeah that didn't end well.  From there they said I had an irregular ticker (heart).  So, I went to the cardiologist.  Who also said something just ain't adding up.  And then he dropped this bomb----have you ever been treated for lyme's disease?  The who and the what?????????  I aint got no lyme's disease.  Oh, apparently I do.    Well, apparently I do and have had it for a long time (my mom may be laughing right now, because she knows I don't know how to spell apparently). 

So, did you know if you have Lyme's it can spread to your heart and cause Lyme's Disease Infection of the Heart? I shit you not, google it.  No wait, I'll do it for you--- how considerate of me.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11982302  See, I wasn't lying. It's called Lyme's Carditis.  Well, I have that.  Ought oh.  I now have to wear this god awful heart monitor for 3 straight weeks.

So it shows up on my doorstep one day in this huge box and all I'm thinking is---WHAT THE HAM SAMWICH IS THIS!!!!  Well, it's a heart monitor duh, shouldn't I have known that at the ripe age of 26.

It comes in this box with more doodads and doohickies than I've ever seen 

  Did I mention god awful--look---

Let's say in the next three weeks I am not going to run into prince charming who sweeps me up in his arms.  He will probably think I am dying and rush to get me a wheel chair.  Stupid prince charming.

I can hide that big thing in my shirt, if I wear a shirt the size of what my grandma calls her house coat.  It kind of just sticks out and looks hideous.

Are you wondering why I am telling you this?  My mom told me I should blog about this because it sucks.  Sucks is an understatement.  So I want to give you some advice.

1. Always get second opinions--don't settle for the answer you think is right because how could a doctor be wrong. ---ie I have been told for 10 years I've had Lupus and some other things, when really it was Lyme's disease.

2.  Take care of yourself.  Eat healthy, work out, and find friends who will listen to your shit.

3. Get blood work often and make sure you're all good.  

4.  If you also have Lyme's read this blog my friend Val recommended to me : )

http://samanthaslymelife.blogspot.com/Samantha's Lyme Life

She's truly an inspiration. 

Lyme's disease isn't all feeling tired and worn out and bulls eyes. It spread to your heart. Which causes blockages.  Which they think is my deal right now.  Oh and don't think I am going to stop crossfitting.  I have this big old transmitter--ie see below!!!

I plan to tell one of my fellow crossfitters--Bob--it's a two way radio.  I'll have him talk into during the WOD and tell him only I can hear what he is saying.  I'll keep you updated on how long that lasts before he finds out my tom foolery.


So--keep following.  Unexpentantly, you just joined on to another journey with me.

Oh--gluten free pizzas and tofu noodles coming soon.  This week I am using Squash as my cooking inspiration!!!

Asian Slaw-----you'll eat it on everything

Seriously, you are going to eat this stuff like crack.  The recipe makes a lot--but it can go on everything. I use it as a side dish, on wraps, as a salad, etc.  Keep this one because we will be remixing it next week.  I recommend having it with a broiled cod with lemon and butter.  It's like fish tacos, without the carbohydrates of the tortilla wrap.

I am on a hunt for gluten free wraps because I plan to make chicken and Asian slaw wraps all this week for lunch.  Stop judging me--I can't make more than two lunches a week,  my schedule doesn't allow for it.  By my schedule I mean I recently started watching Hemlock Grove, a netflix series, and I've become mildly obsessed.  I have to get through season 1--which means a lot of remixing this recipe will be happening!

Anyway, let's get to down to brass tacks--I hate when bloggers ramble.

Last side note, my pictures will never look like they came from a photo shoot--because they came from my kitchen.  As I make, I take pictures. If your looking for fancy schmancy look elsewhere because like I said--I keeps it real!

What you'll need:

1. 3 Cloves Garlic
2. 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3. 1/4 cup sesame oil
4. 1/3 cup rice vinegar (I used Kikkoman plain)
5. 1/2 cup soy sauce
6. 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
7. 3 tablespoons honey
8. 1/4 cup water
9. 1 1/2 bag Cole Slaw mix (I used Dole)

Seriously, this is simple.  I know some of the ingredients are expensive but they will last a long while and are versitile.  The ginger, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and soy sauce can be used in a stir fry.  If you play your cards right, I'll make a tofu noodle stir fry with the cabbage slaw and chicken : )

Directions:

1. Mince garlic and ginger root.   This is the part that takes the longest because you want relatively small mincing action going on:

2. Take first 8 ingredients and put into a bowl--like so: 











Seriously, do you even need pictures?

3. Whisk--now this picture is just silly

4.  Pour over cabbage in another bowl...mix up with tongs.  This picture is by far the silliest of all

Okay, no more pictures.  Cover and let sit atleast one hour in refrigerator. I refridgerate overnight so the dressing melds well.  You can also use this dressing as a marniade for chicken or steak.  In a wrap add slivered almonds, crushed peanuts, or chow mien noodles to add a little crunch!

Will keep at least 5 days, so if you plan to eat it less than me make less.  I eat it about everyday, just in a different way each day.  Didn't I say the other day I loved cabbage?  Big dealio.

Cindy (ugh), Grace (silly girl), Annie, Diane, Fran (hate that name)...yada yada

So, most of us walk into the gym with the mindset of not finishing last.  Well, here's what I learned---you can't worry about when or if you finish.  You need to be better then the last time you did it.  You need to continue to be better than YOU, not the guy next to you. Although we all know how frustrating is to be one round behind.  Let the frustration push you to do better than you.   I am no crossfit expert, and I don't pretend to be.  I wanted to impart of my wisdom for beginners to think about. 

Also, why are the workouts named after girls you might be asking.  There are so many theories I've heard but I am thinking because women are vicious. I don't know any of these women, but I wouldn't cross them.    See website here: http://crossfit208nampa.wordpress.com/the-girls/ 


Things to think about:

1. Improve your speed or fluidity (quit taking breaks!)

     If the workout is addressing AMRAP then you might want to look at improving your speed or fluidity while moving through reps of different exercises.  IE-- Cindy.

Cindy
5 Pull Ups
10 Push Ups
15 Squats

AMRAP in 20 minutes

When your done the workout, don't look around at what everyone else did.  Take a second and analyze what you could have done DIFFERENTLY.  Did you take too many breaks? (I am no stranger to this),  Did you have trouble remembering your count? Were you looking around to see where everyone else was?  Could you have completed one of the exercises faster?     For instance, for me I am faster at squats then both push ups and unassisted pull ups. Knowing that, I should be focusing on improving my time for the other two sets or on how I broke my sets up.

Sometimes when we get tired we stop doing all 5 unassisted pulls ups together in one set and we break them up into sets of 2 and 3 or 2,2, and 1 for when you are really out of steam.  This time after the WOD might be a good time to assess how many reps you can stand to do together and for how long.  If you ran out of steam and could no longer do sets of 5 pulls ups in round 5 make a mental note of that.  See if that improves next time.  Or, work to improve it--HELLLLLOOO OPENNNN GYM.

What I am trying to instill is do not look at your time as a whole, look at each individual part to assess what you did really great and what you can do differently.  I stress the importance of the congratulating yourself on doing something really great---after all you are doing more than some of people who have massive hangovers at 7:30am and are thinking about McDonalds.

2.  Worry about improving your OWN weight

If the workout has a Rx or Goal weight then you should be thinking about the last time you did it and what weight you did at that time.  Don't look at the person next to you and see what weight they are doing.  That is the fastest way to hurt yourself.

It's important to know your limits and know you won't RX the first time you do something.  IE--Fran

Fran
21-15-9
95 lb Thrusters
Pull Ups

I know everyone is guilty of this--you get through 21 and then you slow down, take more time in between, and treat it like it's all down hill from here. Honestly, for me, the more tired I get by the end of the workout 95lbs starts feeling like 200 when I go to thrust it.  Take that into account and keep a steady pace.

Like I said, don't look at the person next to you and try to compare to their weight.  Take sometime before the workout and see what you can do comfortably WITHOUT hurting yourself.  Use that weight and remember it for next time.  If your establishment is anything like Solstice you might not see that workout again for months, so it's good to have a journal to have it written down in.   So, when you do see that workout again look at what you did before and see if you can improve upon that weight.

Let's say there is a 20 minute time cap on this at your gym.  You pick a good weight that you know you can do, but you know you can't finish in 20 minutes. OH WELL. Don't knock your weight down just to finish and look good.  Do what you can do and don't worry about that time.  If you don't finish, you don't finish.  I've found it's more important to do all you can, leave it all out on the mat, then to sissy around and finish first or on time.  Yeah I said it, sissy around.


3.  Congratulate yourself, frequently
     If your not acknowledging your accomplishments, who is? Certainly not your mom.  She probably has no idea what crossfit is.  Matter of fact, my mom has no idea what I am talking about in this blog.  She does however read it.  She said to work on my grammar---ie your and you're.   She does like my recipes, because when I lived home I cooked for her. God knows what she's eating now.
      If your waiting for someone else to see how well you are doing you will be waiting a long time.  Get a good book.  It'll be like waiting to get blood work done on Saturday morning--which I've learned is the WORST time to make an appointment for blood work. 
      This might be where keeping a journal comes in handy.  My friend Kate once said to me okay let's sit down with a Marble Notebook.  My response was--okay first let's get a marble notebook.  Who has one of them who isn't in third grade?  Not me.  However, I do keep track of my accomplishments.  Ie---2 months ago I could not do an unassisted pull up  Now, I am trying to do 40 in 4 minutes.  Where did I come up with that number your probably saying to yourself.  I have no idea, it just came to me and it sounded good.

My point is--BE BETTER THAN YOU.  Don't try to be better than anyone else.  Trying to be Foucher or Spealer will only get you so far.  You should be the next big name, don't try to be someone else's. 

 

Inside Out Cabbage Rolls

So...I love cabbage!!!! I don't know why, and I hope you don't judge me for it. If you do judge me for it, that's okay...I'll love it anyway.  So, this is super easy and it makes a lot.  If you haven't noticed I like having left overs because I am far too busy to make a different lunch for work everyday. In the words of that woman from tv---aint nobody got time for dat!

And..by the way...ITS AMAZING

What you'll need..

Ingredients:

1. One Head Cabbage
2. One Small Onion
3. 2 Garlic Cloves
4. One Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5.  1/2-2 pounds 80% lean ground beef
6. Large Diced Tomato (or two small cans)
7. Tomato Sauce (any brand, this is just what I bought because it was resealable)

The directions are so simple.  Have you noticed I like things you can make in one pot and move on from?  Maybe you make it, let it cook, and clean your house while your waiting. I am not saying I do that, but hey you have the time : ).   Maybe I should start...

Anyway..let's get down to business.

1. Heat olive oil on medium heat in nonstick cooking pot...has to be pretty large to fit all the ingredients. I used what I'd call my Sunday sauce pot.
2.  Dice onions and garlic. saute in oil 1-2 minutes or until they turn translucent--like this
   

 

3.  Once translucent throw ground beef on top and break up with spoon or spatula. It will look like this: 

4. Cook 5-6 minutes on high-medium heat until the meat turns brown.  Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

5.  Once the meat is no longer pink mix in the diced tomato and at least 1/2 of the sauce.

It kind of looks like chilly, but it's not.
6. While the sauce is cooking, 3-4 minutes, dice the cabbage, removing the core. Cut into 4-5 big chunks, don't worry about the size. It will fall apart anyway as it cooks. Like this:

7. Throw in the sauce, stir, and cover.

 Try to mix in as best as you can. As it cooks it will wilt and mix in anyway.
Let cook on medium heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours and then!!!!
 BAM

 

Seriously, make this one. I'm not kidding. Go to the store. Get moving. GOOOOO

Your refrigerator----Why it's killing your diet and your wallet

           Okay so your New Year's Eve Resolution was to get in shape.  You get a gym membership, maybe a Crossfit gym membership (Crossfit 40 http://crossfit40nj.com/index.asp?pageid=106 or Crossfit Solstice www.crossfitsolstice.com : )  And, you head the grocery store. You walk into the veggie aisle and something takes over--probably because it's always freezing in that section---and you buy 38 different kinds of vegetables, some you've never eaten (like fresh lima beans?) and 42 fruits,  some tropical or indigenous  to places like Cuba (like the apple-pear hybrid).
            So, you get home and load it all into the fridge.  Alas, you have no plan.  By Friday of the following week your fridge stinks and your cleaning it out resentful of those evil vegetables and fruits which have ruined your otherwise relaxing Sunday.    Your so overwhelmed with this disaster you end up going to the diner up the street and eating 3,000 Calorie Chicken Nachos (anyone who knows me knows this probably happened to me, because I love the diner's chicken nachos...the diner is gross too..but I don't care, I love them).

Here are some ways to avoid this...

1. HAVE A PLAN
       I cannot stress the importance of having a plan for the week and your meals. It's time consuming but it's so worth it!  If you go buying everything willy-nilly your A. wasting money B. Taking up valuable space in the super market for those of us who know what we want.
       Plan your meals for the week on what I call a neutral day.  To me neutral means a day where you already have a meal planned for that day, so nothing on your list is something you need immediately.   I plan my meals from Sunday-Sunday--with the exception of the weekend cheat meal (or 2 cheat meals).   But I factor in that cheat, maybe for a night I know I won't need dinner because I am going out to dinner.   Not that I cheat when I am going out to dinner, but I always factor it in because I like wine, and beer, and...the list goes on.
       Look up recipes---like on my blog (shameless plug for my blog), and write down the ingredients you will need for that week ONLY.  This will keep you from over spending, over shopping, and stinky rotten food in your refrigerator.

2. CLEAN YOUR REFRIGERATOR OUT ONCE A WEEK
        Clean your fridge out once a week--and I am not saying throw away your leftovers from Christmas in July. I am saying get on your hand and knees and clean it with bleach.  Take everything out one shelf at a time and scrub.  Why do you suggest this crazy lady? is probably what you are saying to yourself (which makes you crazy if you are saying it outloud--to yourself).  One, it's nicer to look at--don't be the friend with the dirty fridge.  Two,  if you look in a clean fridge you can see EVERY single thing in it.  Including your leftover's from Olive Garden which you should have never eaten in the first place and need to throw away IMMEDIATELY.  Three, this will keep your weekly meals organized and keep you from misplacing ingredients for each meal.
       Lastly for me, sometimes I open my fridge just because it's clean.  I like the way it smells--which makes me more likely to cook.  If your fridge is a natural disaster zone I think your more likely to order out because nothing in it looks appetizing.   This might sound insane, but try it.

3.  STOP SAVING LEFT OVERS YOU KNOW YOU WON'T EAT
           Remember I said I'd talk about leftovers in a later blog. YAYYY IT'S TIME.    I admit it, I used to be a leftover hoarder.  Hi, my name is Elyse and I hoard leftovers.  

           See my problem was I'd think I'd eat it the next day for let's say lunch and lunch the next day would come and I'd be like ew no I'm done with that.  The problem always was it was just "okay" when I made it the first time so my mind tells me the second time won't fix anything.   So...we end up ordering something and wasting money and food.  In my case I'll have leftover chicken, won't like the way it smells (maybe I have ADD and a touch of OCD--no judgie), and I'll throw it away.
           My suggestion is to find friends who like to eat---I have about 6 and 4 of them are crossfitters.  I give my friends my leftovers I kind of liked.  Everyone is different so just because you weren't crazy about it doesn't mean someone else isn't.  At Crossfit Solstice there is always food in the fridge.  All of us girls make things and bring them for other girls or for the boys who can't or won't cook.  
           So, my suggestion to you is to come up with a network and share.  Let's say you make my Mexican Chicken and find it's not to your tastes--which makes you insane, but that's not my problemo----find friends who MIGHT like it and DON'T SAVE LEFTOVERS YOU WON'T EAT.  Give it to them and maybe they tweak it a little and BAM you love their version.  Just because you don't like mine doesn't mean you won't like someone else's cookin'.
           Your probably thinking why does it matter? Okay, here is my theory so bare (bear or bare?) with me.  If you keep 3 containers of leftovers of something you weren't crazy about your mind will believe in a couple weeks hey that wasn't so bad---I'll make it again. and BAM the cycle of spending money and wasting food begins again.  Also, if you order out you are more likely to order crap because "it has lettuce on the sandwich, it's healthy".

Mexican Chicken--BREAKFAST REMIX!

I told you I could make another meal out of that Mexican chicken! Remember the one I told you about yesterday? Well, I made that Tuesday.  If you are making it like me with three chicken breasts and it's just you eating you will have a gallon zip lock halfway full of leftovers.  I couldn't eat another lettuce wrap. Not that I didn't love them, but I have A.D.D maybe and I get bored easily.  Plus I have a thing about leftovers--we will discuss that in a later blog.

Maybe you're saying to yourself...CHICKEN FOR BREAKFAST?  Yeah, deal with it I'm doing it and it was awesome! And so filling.  All good Crossfitters know they need PROTEIN and this girl will take it anyway she can get it. 

So here is what you will need:
Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 small white onion
2. 6-8 Asparagus Stalks (or any veggie, but I had asparagus)
3. 1 tsp olive oil
4. Salt, pepper, chilli seasoning (if you like spice)
5. left over Mexican Chicken (or really any shredded chicken would work?)
6. 2 eggs

It would look like this:

So, the directions are so simple.  It's almost silly for me to number them out.  But, alas for my fans I will.  Aren't I so thoughtful?

Directions:
1. Clean Asparagus and find the natural breaking part of the stem and snap the bottom off. Discard the bottom--unless you like chewing on something as hard as rocks.  I'm not judging if you do.  Dice onion into small julienne style.
2.  Heat a frying pan with 1 tsp oil.  Throw in 1/2 diced onion and asparagus.  Season with salt, pepper, and chilli spice. I used chilli spice because I wanted a little kick.  I'm a rebel without a cause.
It should look like this--unless you're not following directions!

3. If the pan gets dry add a little water, cover to steam. Remove cover to reduce.
 I made this the night before and refrigerated. I'll explain why later.
4.  Throw in however much leftover chicken you have, or can stand if you are on your third day of chicken like me.
5. Finally, crack two eggs over top.  It will look kind of weird--like this....

You can certainly crack them in a separate pan and cook, but I'm lazy, and it was 7:42am--I leave my house for work at 8:15am so I have no time to wash extra dishes!  You can even use a scrambled eggs and make like an omelet--but I HATE omelets--actually I dislike scrambled any kind of eggs.
6. Cover pan with a lid and let cook 3-6 minutes until they look poached. Like this kind of:

PUT IT ON A PLATE AND EAT IT..AND GET TO WORK.

I actually ate this and was not hungry until 11:30, where usually I need my morning snack around 9:00am.  Use any chicken or vegetable, my point is EAT PROTEIN. 

Clean Eating Mexican Chicken Lettuce Wraps

So...clean eating can suck.  I plan to make it so much better with realistic and delicious recipes.  They will also be designed to give you leftovers. All busy crossfitters know that time to make meals is limited--so leftovers are key! As long as you eat them.  I have a terrible habit of finding things weeks later.  Leftovers are something we will discuss in a later blog...I have a whole theory.

So, let’s talk about the crock pot.  I love the crock pot.  You can throw stuff in it the night before, plug it in, in the morning and BAMMMMM dinner when you get home from work.  Chicken in the crockpot is always awesome because it absolutely falls apart. People are like "This is amazing" and you are all like "I didn't have to do nothing!"  Well, if you talk like me that's how you would talk anyways.

So for this recipe you will need:

1. 3 Chicken Breasts (I buy the Tyson 3 pack, kind of expensive but like I said the chicken can be repeated and reused several times).
2. 1 Guacamole Packet (Mild or Spicy)
3. 1 Taco Packet (Mild or Spicy based on your preference)
4. One head Bib Lettuce
5. One tomato
6. One small yellow onion
7. One head cilantro
8. 1/2 cup cold water
9. Avocado (optional)

Directions:

1. Place the 3 chicken breasts in the bottom of the crockpot.
2. Take 1/2 cup of water and mix in Guacamole packet and taco packet (It will be all chunky, that's okay it melts and dissolves once in the crockpot).
3. Pour mixture overtop of the chicken.
4. Let chicken cook on low for 6-8 hours. (I put in at 7am and it's done at 4:30pm when I get home)
5. Remove lid and turn crock pot off.  Use tongs to shred the chicken and mix in with the juices created by the taco and guacamole packet. It should look like this when it's done!!

6.  Let the chicken cool to room temperature.
7. While the chicken is cooling cut the tomato and onion julienne so it would fit nicely in a lettuce wrap.
Add cilantro to the mix and it will look like this:

8. Remove as many pieces of lettuce as you would like to make wraps. Wash and dry them thoroughly.
9. If you plan to add avocado you can make guacamole with a separate packet or you can dice the avocado.
10.  Lastly, add as much chicken as you would like to the wrap.  Add tomatoes, onions, and cilantro (and avocado) on top.    When eating wrap them up snuggly so you can take a bite.

They come out phenomenal!!

However, don't make for a first date.  They are so super messy.  Don't even make for a second date. Seriously, it's not flattering.

The chicken is very versatile so you can use it the next day in the same way or in a different way.  I didn't use the avocado for the first dinner, but plan to use it for the second time I eat it.  I also like the idea of mixing the chicken with tofu noodles, peppers, and onions like a Mexican stir fry.