Burner Workouts for Bangin Beach Bod for Week of May 1st

So for a little something extra here are 3 Burner workouts to add in on top of CrossFitting this week!


Burner 1

100 Burpee Broad Jumps for time

**at the top of every min must do 5 situps AFAP


Burner 2 
Run/ Row/ or Bike

4 min all out effort
3 mins Rest

2 min all out effort
30 sec Rest

1 min all out effort
3 min Rest

2 min all out effort
30 sec  Rest

4 min all out effort

DONE!!!!



Burner 3

EMOM for 12 mins
30 Double Unders or 30 Tuck jumps

**Every Min on the Min for 12 min complete 30 DU's  ADV challenge yourself with 50

HAVE FUN!!!

Here It goes my Kick off to Bangin Beach Bod contest

So just like all of my clients, I will be doing the Bangin Bikini Contest as well.  I have posted my starting pictures over the last few days.  I feel it is slightly more humiliating for me that hundreds of people have to see my blog not just 1 person such as myself that sees all of yours.  I have decided to do the Challenge because it helps everyone see that like most people, there are things I want to change about my body too.  I eat a very well controlled Paleo Zone diet.  It is very easy for me to eat this way because I have a few food allergies, and a ultra sensitive tummy.  I have a few goals over the course of the next few months  that I am trying to achieve.

1.) To get as lean as I possibly can. 

2.) is to pull out a few favorite foods that may be causing some stomach issues, and 

3.) is to gain better performance for CrossFit Regionals next month.

I have devised a plan that will help me achieve all of these goals without sacrificing my social life or my sanity.  I do like to go out occasionally and have a great cheat meal like sushi or chips and guacamole and Mexican Restaurant, or a drink here and there.  I am allowing myself one cheat meal a week.  If I do have a week and i have to take two cheats in one week knowing myself I will just tweak my workouts a bit to adjust.  My goal is to try and cheat with sugar as little as possible because it tears my stomach apart and makes me feel lie absolute crap!!!  I will be eliminating a few things from my diet such as bananas, and a majority of nuts :(.  Those of you that read my blog throughout the Paleo Challenge know that banana and almond butter is a staple in my daily diet.  We shall see how that goes! 

I wish you all the best during this Challenge!  I will be posting Recipes, extra burner wods, and my usual rants and raves.  Please feel free to email me or ask questions at the gym! 

Paleo Carnitas

This is my Recipe of the week.  I am making these tomorrow of course with a few Amanda tweaks as usual because I hate following recipes.  I got the recipe from http://www.paleoforfoodies.com/2010/11/carnitas-mexican-pulled-pork.html.  Let's see how it turns out!!

Carnitas: Mexican Pulled Pork

The great thing about this recipe is that it uses the Crockpot to soften the tougher, inexpensive pork butt (aka pork shoulder--"butt" is the upper portion of the shoulder) so all you have to do is drop it in the pot with some seasonings, set the timer on low for 9 hours and walk away! To make the meat even moister, take the leftover sauce from the crockpot (after 9hrs) and cook it down in a sauce pan until thickened, then toss with the meat and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 6-8lb pork butt (shoulder)

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp ground black pepper (more if you like pepper)

1 tbsp dried oregano

2-3 tsp dried cinnamon

1-2 tsp cayenne pepper (if you like spicy, add more)

8 garlic cloves, minced

4 dried chipotle peppers (chipotle peppers are more spicy than hot but if you really are sensitive to spice...just put 1 or 2)

1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup orange juice



Trim as much fat from the pork as possible. I find that kitchen shears work best when trimming the fat (and sometimes skin) from the pork--just cut it like you would a piece of paper! Place pork in Crockpot and then cover with wet and dry ingredients. Place cover on your pot, set the timer, and come back in 9hrs!

When you take your pork out of the pot, debone it and then place the rest of the meat in a large bowl. Shred with two forks. Meanwhile, place all the liquid from the pan into a large saucepan and simmer down over med high heat until thickened (15-20mins).

Seperated meat and juice

Simmering the sauce

"Pulling" the pork

Carnitas Salad

Carnitas with Roasted Vegetables and Fried Plantains

Once a Villain, Coconut Oil Charms the Health Food World

By MELISSA CLARK
Read the whole article
A FEW years ago I noticed something odd at the health food store. There, rubbing elbows with the extra-virgin olive oil and cold-pressed canola oil was virtually the last fat I expected to see in such esteemed company: coconut oil.
The last time I checked, coconut oil was supposed to be the devil himself in liquid form, with more poisonous artery-clogging, cholesterol-raising, heart-attack-causing saturated fat than butter, lard or beef tallow.
Its bad reputation caused a panic at the concession stands back in 1994, when the Center for Science in the Public Interest put out a study claiming that a large movie-theater popcorn, hold the butter, delivered as much saturated fat as six Big Macs. “Theater popcorn ought to be the Snow White of snack foods, but it’s been turned into Godzilla by being popped in highly saturated coconut oil,” Michael Jacobson, the executive director of the center, a consumer group that focuses on food and nutrition, said at the time.
So given all this greasy baggage, what was coconut oil doing in a health food store? In fact, it has recently become the darling of the natural-foods world. Annual sales growth at Whole Foods “has been in the high double digits for the last five years,” said Errol Schweizer, the chain’s global senior grocery coordinator.
Two groups have helped give coconut oil its sparkly new makeover. One is made up of scientists, many of whom are backtracking on the worst accusations against coconut oil. And the other is the growing number of vegans, who rely on it as a sweet vegetable fat that is solid at room temperature and can create flaky pie crusts, crumbly scones and fluffy cupcake icings, all without butter.
My curiosity stirred, I brought some home and experimented. I quickly learned that virgin coconut oil has a haunting, nutty, vanilla flavor. It’s even milder and richer tasting than butter, sweeter and lighter textured than lard, and without any of the bitterness you sometimes get in olive oil. Read more...

Paleo Meatballs

  I bought some Spicy Marinara sauce from Henry's that is Organic, Gluten free, and all natural paleo ingredients.  I bought it wanting to put it spaghetti squash.  So I decided why not make spaghetti squash and meatballs.  I have been searching for a good recipe all week and I noticed that I had none of the ingredients that I needed.  So I decided to make up my own version.  I was worried that they would turn out too plain but they had a lot of flavor.

Ingredients
1 package of extra lean ground turkey
4 large leaves of fresh basil
2 garlic gloves chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions (packaged Trader Joes)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
small amount of sea salt to taste
2 tbs olive oil

In a large bowl combine ground turkey and use hands to combine all ingredients together.  Roll into meat balls.  I made mine about medium size and put in a oven safe dish with olive oil on bottom.  Cooked in oven at 400 degrees for about 20-25 mins.  Time will be determined by size of meat ball. 
when fully cooked place in the sauce and cook on low heat for another 10 mins.  Great served over spaghetti squash or alone. 

Coconut Curry Chicken

So as always I will find a recipe and then modify it to my liking or whatever is in my kitchen.  This is one of the recipes I decided to make for the week.  I made enough that I cooked in two different ways.  Bear with me a lot of times if it is something I make it I do not make exact measurements.  I will try and be as accurate as possible.

Ingredients
Chicken 4-6 pieces
1 can Coconut milk
1 large tbs Curry Powder
1 teaspoon Ginger Powder
1 teaspoon Garam Marsala spice
1 teaspoon Cayenne Red Pepper
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup chopped onions (from Trader Joe's no tears)
1 large tablespoon crushed ginger
3/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tbs coconut oil

Directions
Marinate the chicken over night in coconut milk and all spices and onions in a zip lock bag.  Mix the coconut flour and unsweetened shredded coconut in a bowl.  Bread the outside of the chicken with the coconut mixture.  At this point you can place in a frying pan with coconut oil and cook or you can place in oven at 400 degrees for about 20-22 minutes until fully cooked.  I have had both ways and both are really good.  I have been putting on top of salads and with veggies all week!  I will be working on a Paleo cashew coconut sauce much like a peanut sauce to to go with this.  Stay tuned!  Enjoy

Orange Honey Marinated Pork Chop from the Cavegirl Dish

 This is what I am making tonight!  Looks really good so I thought I would share.
 http://www.thecavegirldish.com/2011/01/pork-its-whats-for-dinner.html

Orange Honey Marinated Pork Chop with Apple Chutney


Marinated pork:
Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 orange
1 tbsp raw organic honey
1 tbsp tamari sauce (not strict paleo, but small amount)
1 tsp crushed garlic
4 oz pork chop
1 tbsp coconut oil

Mix all ingredients, except coconut oil, in a non-reactive bowl. (Glass or ceramic) Pour into ziplock bag with pork chop, let out all the air and secure shut. Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes.


Apple Chutney
1 small apple (I used a baby jazz apple - it's firm and stands up to cooking)
1 tbsp raw organic honey
Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 orange
1/4 onion
1 tsp pumpkin spice

Dice the small apple into small squares. Squeeze the orange juice into a sauce pan, and toss in apple, honey, pumpkin spice and onion. Keep the 1/4 onion whole - you'll be removing it when the chutney is done.

Bring it all to a boil, and stirring frequently, simmer until the apple is tender and the juice has reduced to a sauce. Do not let it reduce completely. About 10-15 minutes. Take the onion out of and throw away. Let the chutney sit to cool until the pork chop is done.

Preheat the oven to 400º. Heat an oven-safe fry pan over medium high heat for a few minutes with coconut oil, until the oil has almost reached its smoking point. Bring heat down to medium. Place marinated pork chop on the pan, in the oil and let cook for 3 min or until it has formed a nicely browned crust. Flip, and cook for another minute. Take the pan and put it in the preheated oven and let it roast until it's firm, or reached an internal temperature of 160º F. (5-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of your cut.) Safely remove the pan out of the oven and let sit for 5 minutes for the juices to redistribute. If you do not have an oven-safe pan, use a glass baking dish, let it preheat with the oven, and transfer the chop to the dish when ready.