Day 2- Busy but I'm learning to plan ahead

Day 2: Clean Living Challenge
Today has been extremely busy and productive. I started my class on cardio fitness & training. It seems fitting to start class during this challenge.  Hopefully this class/degree will help me continue to educate myself and live a healthier life.
I also got back into the pool after a lot of months off.  It felt great to glide through the water and it helped loosen up my back which has been bothering me as of late. Rehabbing is definitely going to be a priority during this challenge.
I also prepared a favorite dish of mine with a few tweaks to provide yummy snacks throughout the week.

Clean Living Swedish Meatballs (or as the Swedish Chef would say, "bjork, bjork, bjork, bjork!)

• 1lb ground elk
• 1lb ground beef
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 medium yellow or white onion (grated, not diced)
• 1 tsp butter or ghee
• 1 tbsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cardamon
• 1 tbsp nutmeg
• 1 tbsp allspice

Heat butter in medium sauce pan. Add grated onion  (use either food processor or cheese grater) and pinch of salt to butter. Cook approx 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently. You don't want to caramelize the onion, just cook it through.

Add onion to meat, spices, almond flour, and egg yolks. Mix thoroughly (by hand is most fun and therapeutic.)  Measure approx 1/4 cup of meat mixture or less and place on lined baking sheet. (This is messy so tinfoil is your friend.) Bake at 400 for 20-30.

Yields approx 26 meatballs.
Per meatball: 89 calories, 5g fat, 1g carbs, 9g protein

I used 1lb of ground elk (thanks Dad for actually killing one this year) and 1lb free range ground beef (again, thanks Dad for the hookup.)  You can use whatever type of ground meat you have around. I get a lot of my meat from a rancher down in McNeal area (think Douglas). He delivers up here if you don't happen to have a family connection. The ranch is called Sky Island Brand / 47 Ranch.  You can contact them at: crossu@vtc.net or 520 642-9368.

They also have a facebook page: Sky Island Brand Facebook

Start of Clean Living Challenge 2012 at CFSW!

Today starts the four week "Clean Living Challenge" presented by Ken at Crossfit Southwest. We had an informative meeting tonight, and I was inspired and awed by the amount of people that showed up to participate. Granted this is day 1 of 28 but the enthusiasm was high!


 
Here are the basics:
1) Eat real food (lean meat, veggies, fruit, & nuts/seeds)
2) Avoid crap food that makes us unhealthy (grains, dairy, sugar, processed food, alcohol, & legumes)
3) Recover (heal wounds...make imbalances balanced, etc...)
4) Set goals and create action plans on how to achieve them both for the challenge and the long haul
5) Exercise & be fit
 
I actually started the process this morning by purging the house of "unfit" food. Luckily for me, the house is not filled with cookies and cakes but it was hard to get rid of the oatmeal, honey, and the booze!

Bailey's & Goose, I'll miss you most of all!

After I was done with purge, I rewarded myself with some delicious egg muffins. The recipe is super simple, and they store fairly well if you make a bunch in advance.

Ingredients:

• 5 slices nitrate free/organic bacon (diced and cooked ahead of time)
• 10 eggs (beaten)
• 1 cup already cooked spinach (you can use frozen)
• 3 green onion stalks (diced) 

Method:
Mix all ingredients together.  Either line muffin tins with paper or grease heavily (I'm so investing in silicon baking cups soon!) and evenly distribute mixture.  Bake at 350 for approx 20-25 minutes, depending on oven. Enjoy!

Nutrition: (Per muffin)

• 72 cals
• 4g fat
• 1.25g carbs
• 6.25g protein

After the meeting, I had a meal fit for a primal queen-- free range top sirloin and organic greens. Yum! Guess I should start tackling the "initial assessment" and figure out what exactly I want out of this challenge...

Finishing what I started...

As the hours tick down until the new year, it's about time that I finish my 30 Before 30 bucket list. 

The Final 10:

21. Take dance lessons

22. Pick up a random person's tab (it's happened to me and made me smile the rest of the day)

23. Do enough legit strict pull-ups so I can start kipping again at Crossfit Southwest

24. Make my own stepping stones

25. Visit Kartchner Caverns 

26. Go to Ireland

27. Scuba dive (what's the point of having a cert if I never use it!)

28. Perfect my Mandeltårta (naturally gluten-free Swedish almond cake)

29. Throw a theme party

30. Treat my parents to dinner

It's time to get ready for the big night. Hope everyone has a great New Year's!

Another 10 to the List

It has been a busy week, but I finally found some time to work on my 30 Before 30 list. So here are 11-20.

THE MIDDLE:

11. Finish a 5K under 24 minutes

12. Take a short immersion class in Spanish (or at least another Spanish class)

13. Be nicer to Thomas (you know you're my favorite German!)

14. Hike Camelback wearing a weighted vest

15. Rent a ridiculously over-the-top and expensive car just for the weekend 

16. Pay off one of my credit cards or student loans

17. Do a muscle-up

18. Take an art class 

19. Trace back my dad's side of the family

20. Grow my own vegetables

Ok...that's it for now.  I've got to get up early for the 6th Annual Ghosts and Goblins 5K tomorrow morning and I still need to figure out what costume, if any, I'm going to wear. There is still time to sign up tomorrow morning if anyone wants to join me. 0700 at 56th Street and Indian School.  Maybe I'll see you there.  

Wish me luck!!

30 before 30

With my HLP's birthday tomorrow, I've been thinking a lot about my own age.  At 27, there is a lot in my life that I have accomplished and experienced, but that bucket list just seems to keep getting longer.  In honor of his 27th birthday and thanks to Bird at livingwithhealthyhunger.com, I have decided to come up with my own 30 before 30 Bucket List.

Since this is kind of a random thought late at night, I'll start with the first 10 and come up with the rest over the next week or so.  These are things I want to make, accomplish, or experience sometime before I hit that next big milestone.  I have two and a half years until I'm 30 so bear with me ;p

The 1st 10: 

1. Finish an Olympic or Half-Iron Man Triathlon
2. Take the dogs and my HLP camping at Carlsbad in a vintage trailer--hint hint Dad!
3. Become a paramedic
4. Break the World Police & Fire Games Women's Open Hammer Record. Ireland 2013 is my last chance before I move into the Senior division
5. Put a glass mosaic back splash up in my kitchen without hiring anyone (unless a certain former lion tamer wants to lend a hand...in which case, I pay in wine)
6. Watch the Denver Broncos play at home
7. Go back to Italy
8. Backpack the Grand Canyon. Mom, I would love to do this with you since we couldn't at 13
9. Finish my associates in Nutrition and Personal Training
10. Take a wine class

Wow! This is quite a list already.  I better get to sleep so I have the energy to accomplish all this stuff...and finish the list!

So happy birthday Jesse! Lub you.

Love for los perros

I just wanted to pass on this event flyer. Mayday Pit Bull Rescue is having their annual carnival to educate people on pit bulls and celebrate the breed.  It is National Pit Bull Month after all!

Hope to see you guys there! You can't say no to this face!

Fall goes Primal?

October has to be one of my favorite months of the year. I love decorating for Halloween even though the candy is lurking around every aisle at the store tempting me. Damn you fun size Snickers! The weather has finally dropped below 100 but not so cold that I'm bundled up like an Eskimo (anything below 55 requires gloves, multiple layers, and a scarf...I'm an AZ native after all.) Finally, pumpkins are everywhere and make amazing additions to any meal.


Today I tried to "primalize" two pumpkin recipes...pumpkin spice cake and pumpkin pancakes. Both turned out pretty good except the pumpkin cake never really cooked all the way through in the very middle.  If you're interested, here are the recipes:

PROTEIN PUMPKIN PANCAKES

Ingredients

• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
• 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• coconut oil or butter for frying

Directions

1. Mix ingredients and cook on griddle like you would any other kind of pancake

PUMPKIN SPICE CAKE

Ingredients:

Maybe I took the diet too far...I'm all skin & bones!
(yes...I'm a Halloween nerd!)

• 1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour, sifted
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tsp sea salt 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and blend with a mixer until evenly combined.
5. Lightly grease 13x9" pan with oil and pour batter into pan
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes, check with a toothpick.