Deceptively Difficult

Paleo "Taco"

I feel kind of ridiculous titling my post "Deceptively Difficult" because most of our WODs tend to be that way, but the WOD today was unexpectedly BRUTAL. I really thought that thrusters with a 45# bar wouldn't be that bad. Wrong. Really glad that I did this one as my Double under performance in the Snatch/DU WOD a few weeks ago was awful. I am feeling much, much better about today's effort. Thank you to Adam for sharing your rope!

Back Squat: 88-103-114(7). Lost my balance on the 7th and fell. I'm pretty sure I could have done more, just not sure what happened.

Metcon: AMRAP in 15 minutes of 30 double unders and 10 thrusters (45# bar). 7 rounds plus 20 double unders.

Deadhang PUs: 2-3-2 Very difficult post-WOD, but they are getting a little better.

Nutrition:

Breakfast: banana, coffee with coconut milk, hand full of walnuts

Lunch: Sauteed shrimp over spinach with avocado. 3 pieces of deli meat turkey and 3 tomato slices leftover from my boss' meeting.

Snack: 1 piece of paleo pineapple upside down cake

Post-WOD snack: 1 coconut creme larabar (my new favorite!)

Dinner: Paleo tacos (shown above). We used radicchio as the tortilla. Filling was a mix of pork and broiled sirloin, tomatoes, onions and avocado. Delicious!

More slacking on keeping this blog updated. This is doubly not good because aside from everyone thinking that I've completely fallen off the paleo wagon (not true for the most part), I'm also not capturing my training milestones. Quick summation of this weeks WODS:

Tuesday - Max snatch was 75#. Wanted to continue working heavier, but was told to move on to C&J. Thanks to Rudy for the tip on widening my grip. Much, much better! C&J max was 95#. Tried 105# and failed twice on the jerk. Will revisit this because I think I'm close....
Then, 30 snatches at 55# - 3:59

Thursday - Press, 3-3-3. Amateur hour as far as figuring out my weights in advance, then couldn't find the calculator at the box so I estimated a little (will give myself a break since it was 6am). 45-55-65(4)
Then, 4 rounds of 500m row and 10 burpees: 12:21. Super frustrating because the rower died on me right before I got on, then it wasn't set up in the correct units. I feel like I lost at least 30 seconds straightening that mess out. Plus, I was rowing the entire time, so probably rowed an extra 100m. Again, it was 6am, I had no idea what I was doing. Totally my fault though (read: stop listening to Zack when he tells me the rower is "all set").

Nutrition today (so far):
Breakfast, 1 banana, coffee with coconut milk
Lunch: 1 piece of paleo mushroom quiche, 1 avocado, 1 minneola (tangerine/grapefruit hybrid)
Dinner: Restaurant week menu at Naha tonight. I surveyed and think I can keep it pretty paleo, aside form dessert of course. Can't wait!

Breakfast: 1 banana, coffee with coconut milk

Lunch: leftover corned beef and cabbage, 1 piece of paleo pineapple upside down cake

Snack: 2 pieces of deli meat

Dinner: Broiled striped bass with tumeric roasted cauliflower. 1 piece of dark chocolate.

Lunch

Dinner

After a restaurant marathon this weekend, Zack and I managed to eat all three meals at home today.

Breakfast: 1/2 cup pineapple, coffee with coconut milk.

Lunch: 1 piece of mushroom and shallot quiche (shown above).

Snack: 2 pieces of deli meat ham, 1 piece of paleo pineapple cake.

Dinner: Corned beef and cabbage (shown above). 1 glass of red wine.

Zack's in Cincinnati with my camera, so no pictures today. I will say that I tried Erin O's spicy shrimp and it was delicious! Thanks for another winner Erin!!!

Breakfast: 1/4 cup walnuts with a sliced banana in light coconut milk. Coffee with coconut milk.
Snack: 1 "Coconut Creme" Larabar
Lunch: Salad from Corner Bakery: mixed greens with chicken, bacon, tomato, avocado and green onions. Served with house vinaigrette.
Dinner: Erin O's spicy shrimp. Substituted watercress for the spinach. Two pieces of dark chocolate.

Dinner Tonight

Press: 46-54-61(7)
Metcon: 5 rounds of 15 Push Press(45#) and 15 20" box jump - 6:05

Nutrition:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup walnuts with a sliced banana in coconut milk. Coffee with coconut milk.
Lunch: leftover paleo lasagna and 1 grilled chicken wing
Snack: 1 small piece of paleo blueberry bread
Post WOD snack: 1 banana, hand full of pitted prunes
Dinner: Soup (shown above) made with chicken broth, chicken, bratwurst, spinach, onion and bell pepper.

Valentine's Day

I've been slacking lately in terms of blogging. I figure that I'll start this week off right by posting our Valentine's Day dinner. Not entirely paleo, but also not too bad. Everything is shown above, details below.

1st Course: Sliced radishes with herbed butter and sea salt. Escarole topped with sauteed shrimp and poached octopus (also sauteed in lemon and olive oil to finish).

2nd Course: Grilled ribeye with roasted brussel sprouts and parsnip/celery root puree.

3rd Course: Dark chocolate fondue (made with 70% cacao chocolate, grass fed whipping cream and unsalted butter). Bananas, strawberries and pear as dippers. YUM!

Dinner Tonight

Nutrition Today:

Breakfast: 1/4 cup walnuts and a sliced banana in coconut milk. Coffee with coconut milk.

Lunch: leftover spaghetti squash with ground turkey and marinara. 7 strawberries.

Snack: deli meat ham and low sodium deli meat turkey

Dinner: (shown above) grass fed beef strip steak, cauliflower, sauteed mushrooms

Snack: 1 slice of semi-paleo blueberry bread

Fran

My first time doing Fran completely Rx'd, and it was ROUGH. Finished in 8:57. Worked on Muscle-ups before Fran and also a little on butterfly pull-ups.

Nutrition: 1/4cup walnuts with a sliced banana in coconut milk. Coffee with coconut milk.

Lunch: 2 chicken breasts over fresh spinach with tomatos, cucumber and vinegar.

Snack: 1 "Cinnamon Roll" Larabar

Snack: 2 pieces of deli meat ham, 1 piece of low sodium deli meat turkey

Dinner: Spaghetti squash with leftover red cabbage slaw. Ground turkey and marinara sauce (shown above).

Breakthrough!

Salmon and Slaw

So I had a minor breakthrough related to the dress that I wore on Saturday night (shown above). I literally could not squeeze myself into it 6 weeks ago. I tried it on two weeks ago and it fit perfectly. I wore it Saturday night and it was slightly loose! Also saw a bunch of people that I haven't seen in a while and got a chance to really talk up CrossFit. I ran into a girl that is a personal trainer and SHE was asking ME what I do to stay in shape. Good feeling. :)

Nutrition Today:

Breakfast: 1/4cup walnuts and a sliced banana in coconut milk. Coffee with coconut milk.

Snack: 1 Larabar

Lunch: 2 chicken breasts over fresh spinach with cucumber, tomato and vinegar. 1/2 cup of mixed fresh fruit

Snack: 2 pieces of deli meat ham, 1 hand full of dark chocolate chips

Dinner: 1 salmon fillet and red cabbage slaw (shown above)

Frustration

The WOD was mentally tough today. Could NOT figure out double-unders (couldn't get a rhythm going, frustrated with the rope, shoe came untied twice, but no excuses!) and ended up with a big fat DNF. Not happy.

The back squats were better: 5x3x1+. 98-110-123 (8). These felt really great. My max is 145 and I did 8 reps at 123 so I'm looking forward to seeing what my new max is when we do CFT next month.

Nutrition:
Breakfast: 1 sliced banana and 1/4cup walnuts in coconut milk. 1 cup coffee with coconut milk.
Lunch: 1 grass fed ground beef burger over spinach, with 1/2 avocado. 1 chocolate banana nut muffin.
Snack: 1 "Cherry Pie" Larabar
Dinner: 1 salmon fillet with brussel sprouts (cooked with bacon). Another chocolate banana nut muffin.

This weekend will be a challenge for me. Zack and I are going to a fundraiser tomorrow night, and I'm guessing that the dinner will involve potatoes and bread. I promise to exercise my willpower muscle there. Sunday could be a different story. My parents are doing a huge Superbowl spread with very few paleo options. I promised my Mom that I would eat something (she's still very concerned about us, ha!). I'm going to pencil in a cheat meal, but I'll try to keep it reasonable.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Freddy's Revenge!

Loved the WOD tonight. Felt pretty strong and fast...must be my new lululemon pants! Will probably wear them at least twice a week now.

Power Cleans: 5x3x1 - 74-84-94(3)

Metcon: Freddy's Revenge - 5 rounds of 5 shoulder to overhead and 10 burpees. Worked with 85#. 7:42

Nutrition:

Breakfast: 1/4cup walnuts and a sliced banana in coconut milk. Coffee with coconut milk.

Lunch: leftover spaghetti squash with ground turkey and marinara. 1/2 avocado.

Pre-WOD snack: 1 "Apple Pie" Larabar

Post-WOD snack: 1 flax seed pizza cracker (thanks Karen!) 1 hand full of dark chocolate chips.

Dinner: Skate wing and brussel sprouts (shown above). Didn't know what to think about the fish, but it was outstanding! A very buttery flavor. Zack called it a "poor man's lobster". Yum. 1 chocolate banana nut muffin.

Nutrition:

Breakfast: 1/4cup walnuts with a sliced banana in coconut milk. Coffee with coconut milk.

Lunch: leftover leg of lamb roast over spinach.

Snack: 1 "Key Lime Pie" Larabar

Dinner: Erin O's spaghetti squash with ground turkey and marinara. 1/2 avocado.

Also made the delicious dark chocolate banana nut muffins shown above. Have not tried them yet as I'm waiting for Zack to get home, and I'm working out my willpower muscle. :)

*Editor's Note:

The chocolate banana nut muffins were a little too "banana-y". I did not re-create Alison and Randy's recipe. Damn. Back to the drawing board.

Turbot with Kale Chips

Paleo Blueberry Bread

Press: Can't remember my weights, except for my last one which was at 64# (5). This felt better than my previous press attempts. I believe I only got 2 reps on my last set, last time.

Metcon: 21-15-9 of 24" box jumps, 35# KBs and 65# SDHPs. 7:19

Big thank you to Bryce for working with me after the Metcon on my sumos. Form was terrible, but I'm feeling better now. Need to keep my chest up at the bottom in order to maximize the power from my legs and hips.

Nutrition:

Breakfast: sliced banana and walnuts in coconut milk, coffee with coconut milk.

Lunch: leftover leg of lamb roast over spinach. 1 piece of blueberry bread (shown above, recipe is below).

Snack: 1 "Cherry Pie" Larabar

Post-Wod Snack: 1/2 banana, handful of non-sweetened coconut flakes

Dinner: Turbot seasoned with Ol' Bay, Kale chips (thank you Erin O'!), steamed broccoli. Glass of red wine. 1/2 piece of blueberry bread. Yum.

Blueberry Bread Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp coconut oil

4 Tbsp coconut milk

1/2 cup coconut flour

2 Tbsp raw honey (yes, this is the only pseudo-paleo part)

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 tsp baking powder (ok, Zack says this isn't really paleo either)

1/2 tsp salt

2 whole mashed bananas

1 carton of blueberries

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Mix together coconut flour, salt, baking powder, coconut milk, vanilla extract, bananas and eggs

Melt coconut oil and raw honey in microwave, then slowly add to mix

Stir in blueberries

Pour into loaf pan (or shallow baking dish) and bake for 45 minutes

Remove from oven, let cool and enjoy!