Color Run 2013 San Francisco....

Our Team, "Team Scorgasm" competed in our first Color Run at the beginning of March. Jeff, Gia, Corinne and myself made up the team of 4 and we had a BLAST!!! We all stayed in SF the night before and sort of went off our diets (whoops) and stayed up WAY TOO LATE the night before a race. After eating a great dinner, drinking some adult beverages and getting kicked out of the hotel hot tub for indecent exposure..(uh oh) we wound down and got some rest. Did I mention this race was all about bonding as clients/ coach and NOT about winning!?  So, that accomplished we woke to head to the venue by 10:00 Saturday morning. We got blasted with color at every mile and after inhaling powders ( this time every color but white) our crisp white clothes quickly became stained with vibrant color... hence, "the color run".

Definitely look into this race! It sells out quickly.....a sea of people attend and everybody is in great spirits and enjoying themselves. Being a crowded race means NO WAY will you get a quick time....but you will walk away feeling like you are closer to your friends and team mates.....which is the reason I'm in this business!!! to build community through exercise :)

Thanks Team Scorgasm (named by Jeff) for giving me a much needed fun weekend .....

GET COLORED!!!

Super Bowl TREATS!!!

edibleharmony.com

Paleo Chili Cups

Category: Appetizer, Side Dish Tags: bean-less chili, paleo chili, super bowl appetizer 1 Comment

With the Super Bowl around the corner these Paleo Chili Cup recipe come at a great time, a hearty hors-d’oeuvre without the mess of a bowl of chili, and with a far better presentation.

There are so many misconceptions about the Paleo or Primal lifestyle, one of them being that we eat primarily meat. I have to say that since going primal, my intake of meat has not increased, but my vegetable consumption more than doubled. A couple of years ago, I would have made this with a can of gas-inducing, tummy-bloating beans and wheat flour, which I have now replaced with fresh  vegetables and a much more nutritious plantain cup.

When choosing the plantains make sure their peel is green, as when they start to get yellow they become sweet and soft. You can also serve the chili in raw bell pepper “cups” instead.

Ingredients for the chili:

2 tbsp of lard, coconut oil, or tallow
2 medium onions, chopped
3 slices of bacon, chopped (optional)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound of ground meat, I used organic ground chicken
1 teaspoon ground coriander2-3 teaspoons ground cumin1 tsp of smoked paprika3 cups of crushed tomatoes or plain roasted tomatoes, if using my homemade recipe, avoid the spices3 cups of chopped vegetables. (I used carrots and celery)1 tbsp of lime juice2-3 tsp of chili powder1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded, finely chopped (optional)Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cilantro and green onions to garnish

Ingredients for the Cups:

6 green plantains
4-5 eggs6-8 tbsp of lard, coconut oil of preferred cooking fat1 tsp of cumin1 tsp of garlic powderSalt to taste 

Preparation:

•  In a medium saucepan sauté the onions, bacon and garlic in the cooking fat, until the onions become transparent. (If using bacon you may need less oil).
• Add the meat and cook until it is medium-well done, breaking up the big chunks of meat.
• Add the tomato, vegetables, lemon, jalapeño, and spices and continue to cook over medium/low heat until the vegetables are tender.

For the cups:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
•  Peel and slice the plantains, the easiest way to peel a plantain is to cut off the ends off, cut the plantain in half, cut a slit lengthwise on the peel and separate the peel from the plantain.
• Place the plantain slices in a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until the plantains are soft.
• Allow the plantains to cool.
• Place all ingredients in a food processor and run until a dough is formed.
• Line the inside of a greased muffin tin with a 1/3-inch layer of this dough.
• Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the plantain cup is set and crispy.
•   Fill the cups with chili and garnish with green onions and cilantro.
• Serve immediately.

For other Super Bowl recipe ideas try my bacon wrapped dates or my bacon wrapped scallops

Day 1 Conquered!!!

Hey Whole 30 team......hopefully you had a great eating day like I did and you are feeling excited about creating healthy choices and being in control of the food choices you make. I know some of you have bought the book, It Starts With Food, and have either read it cover to cover.....or are making yourself familiar with the rules for the next 30 days. Last weeks blog entry I directed you to the books website so you could poke around and download the cheat sheets, and short cuts for you to have on hand.

I have heard from some of you that there is some confusion as far as TIMES to eat. Please make it easy on yourself and not worry about sticking to times.  Eat a post workout "meal" 75 minutes to an hour before training (this doesnt count as a meal....) eat a post workout meal within an hour of your training. Have breakfast, lunch and dinner. Try to stop eating a few hours before going to sleep for the night. Stay away from snacking if possible. Every meal you should eat enough that you are satisfied, but not full. Each meal should consist of lean meats, green vegetables, and healthy fats. Use sweet potatoes sparingly.....I recommend using them in your POST workout meal, as they help replace glycogen stores efficiently.

Stay away from sugar, dairy and gluten. Drink coffee black with cinnamon.....

YOU CAN DO THIS PEOPLE! I believe in you! I also understand that change is hard and starting something new takes at least ten days for it to become a HABIT! sooo.... trust in the process, okay?

I also have been asked quite a lot about what to have on hand in the pantry. Here are some products I highly suggest you purchase from Whole Foods and keep them on hand for the next 30 days. 

gluten free Siracha, coconut vinegar for making salad dressings and such, almond oil for salad dressing and grilled meats, and coconut aminos...treat like soy sauce. 

I made kale salad and made my own salad dressing out of these:

a little coconut vinegar, almond oil, crushed garlic, himalyan salt and papper to taste. Mix well then drizzle over the salad. YUMMY!

My dinner:

I sprayed the grill with coconut oil spray then added chicken that was marinated in coconut aminos and spices, boneless ribs marinated in garlic and aminos with ginger and spices. Grilled til nice and brown and cooked through.

I then baked a couple sweet potatoes (always make MORE THAN YOU NEED so you have left overs). I sliced the cooked sweet potatoes length wise and put a patt of coconut butter on top. I sliced up a few pieces of applewood organic no nitrate bacon and cooked til crispy - topped the potatoes with a little of those. Then I sliced up some colored peppers, onions and cooked through adding cilantro to taste. add the meat to the pl;ate and viola! DINNER IS SERVED!!!

What did you have to eat today? 

Post how Day 1 went for you to the comment section, or email me at sharibaby2@netzero.com and Ill post for all to read. 

REMEMBER..... I BELIEVE IN YOU! 

It Starts With Food - The Whole 30 Challenge

www.whole9life.com/itstartswithfood/

check the website out IMMEDIATELY. there are links to short cuts, grocery shopping guides, etc. I tried linking it here, but it wouldn't allow me to. Sorry. You can order the book here and print out lists and guides directly from the website I listed above.


okay lovers its almost that time.....February 1 is fast approaching. Time to read the basics of The Whole 30 Challenge, go to the grocery store - stock the kitchen with "good" foods, and throw out all the "bad" foods. Hopefully most of you have purchased Dallas & Melissa Hartwigs' book "It Starts With Food", read it (or at least most of it) and you are inspired to dedicate 30 days to pressing the restart button on your health. Main Rules: No processed foods. PERIOD. If it comes in a wrapper...don't eat it!! No dairy! milk, cheese, yogurt, half & half, etc. NO ALCOHOL!! No exceptions!! No starchy carbs (bread, pasta, baked goods, rice, etc) No grains (quinoa, rice, bulgar, etc) No Legumes (beans, cashews) EAT THESE>>>>>> Meat (organic grass fed when possible) vegetables galore!! fats (avocado, almonds, olive oil, coconut oil) nuts, seeds (sunflower, almonds, macademia nuts, etc) dont overcomplicate things!! ANIMAL PROTEIN+LOTS OF VEGETABLES+HIGH QUALITY FAT+ SEASONINGS = approved meal :) If you are a person who needs recipes, I recommend purchasing the book. Pages 260 on outlines the basics of how to prepare foods. Amazon.com is a great place to order and it comes to your door quickly. I will do my best to post pictures of what meals I come up with, you all can post here as well, or email me at sharibaby2@netzero.com and I will post what you send me. Pictures (step by step) ingredients and instructions please. Remember...THIS IS NOT HARD!! As Melissa says...."drinking your coffee black is. not. hard! beating cancer is. HARD. kicking heroin IS HARD!" Making healthy choices to better your whole LIFE is. not. hard! I will not baby you during these 30 days. You either make a decision for your OWN LIFE that will improve everything in your life.....or you don't. I will support you, cheer you on and experience these 30 days WITH you. but ultimately YOU are the one responsible for what you put in your mouth, right? You have a few days left to gather your information, buy your book, clean the kitchen of all the crap...go out and get drunk one last time, eat a whole pie I don't care....just be ready when Feb 1st rolls around to dedicate 30 days to the process and see what person is waiting for you after 30 days :) I KNOW you will LOVE the person waiting on the other side.... Here We GOOOOOO

The Whole 30 Challenge

Happy Almost NEW YEAR to you all! 2012 was a challenging year for some, myself included, and I can whole heartedly say I am excited to start 2013 off with a BANG! I am always talking to all my clients, friends and family about eating healthy and what that means. Most of you listen, some of you block me out and others ignore me completely. Either way I still am very passionate about food and it being the most powerful thing we consume. Megan brought it to my attention that she is starting the Whole 30 program at the first of the year. This is a program I have read about a year ago, and was lucky enough to meet the creator, Melissa and her husband Dallas at a CrossFit function. We share a similar story in that we BOTH used to be addicts turned health nuts. Her book, It Starts With Food, is on the New York Times best seller list and is chalk full of food facts that will change your life. Anyway, Megan told me she was going to start this program and I thought...HEY! I'll do it WITH you so your not alone in this. That quickly morphed into....Ill bring this to ALL my clients and see who wants to start the new year with a food cleanse. So far we have Megan, myself, Corinne, Cari who are in! check out www.whole9life.com order It Starts With Food book from Amazon.... I will be talking with each of you as I see you for training about this to see who is in. I will post on here from time to time regarding the Whole 30 as well. say GOOD BYE to the shitty sugar foods....and HELLO to feeling better, looking better and performing better!!!

A couple Weeks ago we all came together within the amazing community that is CrossFit, in support for Kelvin Nivens. He is one of the original CrossFitters and simply one of the kindest humans I have the pleasure of knowing. Kelvin recently was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer and is fighting with all he has to get well. The local gyms came together at Central for a fund raiser in support of Kelvin, all proceeds went directly to HIM for hospital bills, treatment costs, etc. When I mentioned the fund raiser to all of you I was so impressed with how you all were so eager to help - even without never meeting Kelvin. Your willingness to support was very touching and made me VERY PROUD of all of you. I was the ONLY coach who had so many clients come to enjoy the day and gave of your money and time for somebody you didnt even know. I have said this many times but I am saying it again......I have the BEST clients and athletes EVER! So, thank you thank you THANK YOU for your support. Kelvin appreciates it immensely!!!

Its been a while since I updated our blog. I apologize for that guys! However.....you ALL have been killing it in CrossFit! Hitting HUGE Prs, and changing the way you eat. Its been a great month.