Thursday, January 26, 2012

Tough Mudder! - March 31st

So, I signed up for this little event called the Tough Mudder.  Maybe you've heard of it?  Ten mile course, 20+ obstacles and mud.  And, as a few friends were quick to remind me (while telling me I was effing nuts for signing up for it)... fire and electric shocks!  What else could you ask for in an endurance event?  Sure, some 5ks offer hot chocolate at the end of the race ("Because I earned/burned enough calories to deserve something sweet..."), but the Tough Mudder serves up beer to its participants ("Because I just ran through fire and live wires, damnit!").

While I have been training at CrossFit White Rock for ten months now, the prospect of a ten mile course started to get in my head.  We never run more than a 5k, and even then, we only do it once every few months.  Our WODs contain a lot of 400m, 800m and 1 mile run segments.  But, I started wondering if I needed to supplement my training with long runs each week.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Egg Muffins: Variations on a Theme


I am one who will eat the same thing for lunch, Monday through Friday.  I look at breakfast the same way.  Every morning, I eat two or three eggs.  If my palette was the only one in the house to please, I’d probably eat Bacon Wrapped Eggs every morning.  But now and then, my wife or I will want a slight change in the menu. Not a sharp turn off the Primal path toward standard American breakfasts of cereal/oatmeal/donuts/bagels/toaster pastries/waffles/etc… just a different spin on eggs.  While I make Egg Muffins about every other week or so, I don’t always use the exact recipe I posted earlier.
Listed below are a few different ways to change up your Egg Muffins, using the same recipe format. 

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Easy to Pack Snacks

CrossFit White Rock has started another Whole30 challenge.  While I am not participating in this one, there seem to be dozens of folks who are… many for the first time.  And with their first plunge into a paleo lifestyle, they have a lot of questions.  What to eat at meal times seems easy enough, but what about all the time in between?  “What am I supposed to snack on?”  I prep and pack my breakfast, lunch and snacks for the week on Sunday.  While I make sure I have two snacks each day, I don’t always eat them both.  Listed below are some of the many things that appear in my lunch bag.

Before the First Change...

I was dramatically overweight, had no energy to do anything but watch whatever the DVR had recorded for me when I got home, and "didn’t have time" to make the right decisions with food.  Eating was a matter of convenience.  So more beginning of year reflection lead me to think back on 2011.  One year ago, an average day of eating looked something like...

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Spicy Coconut Shrimp

I almost hesitate to use the words "coconut shrimp" to describe this dish. Together, the words conjure up memories that are deep fried, battered, greasy, and over-cooked. As this dish is NOT deep fried and NOT battered, it is far what you are probably imagining. However, I found it to be satisfying in many other ways... spicy, slightly sweet and plenty of lean protein.

Please note: I don't list any measurements for the cayenne... and never list them for salt and pepper. I lump these things under the heading of "use to taste." This is cooking (art), not baking (science). And besides... someone in the Pacific Northwest may have an entirely different idea of what spicy is compared to someone who grew up stirring a pot of Texas Red.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

My First Change: Packing Lunch

I’m sitting up… past my bedtime… refreshing the CFWR schedule website for the 37th time to see if tomorrow’s WOD has been posted yet.  Alas, it has not.  I’m not sure why I’m so curious about the workout’s makeup.  There is nothing they could post that would inspire me to stay home and skip it.  I’ll be there at 8 a.m., even though the coach who planned the WOD described it (with his trademark wry smile) as “…going to be tough.  Yeah, it’s gonna suck for you guys.”  Um, when I asked about Saturday’s workout, I was looking for specifics… not smirking and vagueness.  Checking for the 38th time (still nothing), I vow not to check again tonight… to let it be a “pleasant” surprise tomorrow morning.  I know that early tomorrow morning I will be presented with the challenge to overcome.  A 5k? Murph? Filthy Fifty?  Or perhaps a uniquely designed Chipper?  Our coaches can be so creative.
As I (pointlessly) refresh for the 39th time, I begin to wonder, “What has come over me?  When did I become consumed by this way of life?”  This has prompted a bit of even deeper reflection…which has me thinking back on my life a year ago today.


Sunday, January 1, 2012

Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs

December can be a handful.  With friends, family and work events to balance, loved ones to shop for, and workout regimens to maintain on top of everything we normally do... something has to give.  In my case, I spent less time in front of my computer.  In itself, not a bad thing.  But then, it has been a few weeks since I have posted any new recipes.

January can be a handful, as well.  The first of the year is chosen by many as a starting point for an attempt at a new way of life.  Many try to wedge new habits into their schedule in the name of better health.  Gym memberships spike.  Neighborhood sidewalks are crowded with joggers.  I'm sure there is an increase in sales of fitness apparel and candy "protein" bars.  I'll break down the popular protein/recovery/energy bar market in a later post.  But today, I'm offering a whole food alternative that will help replenish your depleted glycogen and give you some needed protein and fat after running or working out.