You know you're addicted when...

...you're excited for the next day's WOD to be posted, even though you can't do it because you'll be working. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that counts as addiction. Back when I went to an unnamed Globo gym, I NEVER got excited about going. It was always this feeling of dread; a chore I was procrastinating to complete. To be honest, I don't even consider CF a gym; it's a lifestyle for me, and something I am completely hooked on. Even on a (usually forced) rest day, I have these feelings of withdrawal and emptiness. I get a bit envious seeing everyone else's posts in our facebook group talking about how much fun they had during the WOD, or even if they hated it and talked about how much it killed them. Gahhhhhhh! I want to go!! Once you take your first drink of the CF Kool-Aid, you're hooked!  The only thing that saved me today was running into a fellow CF'er while grocery shopping after work. She admitted to me that she was checking out our cart to inspect what goods we were going to consume. Was it paleo?! Luckily we had a cart full of (mostly) healthy options. Phewf! We then later ran into each other in the carb aisle, which only brought on carb jokes and how we were there because of some other healthy reasons: her daughter, and our....dogs! Yeah. The dogs wanted it.

Tonight I'm making one of my favorite dishes. It's quick, requires very little cooking (only the quinoa), and makes for great leftovers for many days to come. The other good thing is that you eat it cold, so no re-heating is required in the nutrient-killing microwave! This is also a great dish to keep in a cooler on long car rides, so you don't feel tempted to stop at a restaurant you will regret afterward!

I call this...

Qurazy Quinoa Salad

Ingredients: 

- 2 cups quinoa

- 4 cups water

- 1 red bell pepper (diced)

- 3 green onions (bottom portion) or 1/4 white onion (chopped)

- 1 mango (shredded or diced)

- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (shredded)

- 1/2 of a chopped avocado (optional - we are experimenting with this for the first time tonight)

- 1/4 cup sliced almonds or walnut pieces (I prefer walnuts in this recipe)

- juice from 1 lime (or lemon)

 - 1 pinch salt (optional)

- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

- 3-5 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I use closer to 5)

- pinch of black pepper to taste

-1/2 cup shelled edamame (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cook quinoa how you normally would and then cool in the fridge for 30 minutes (or until cool)
2. Stir in the ingredients and let cool again for a bit
3. Serve cold and enjoy!!

Paleo dessert attempt #1

After such a success with the Copycat Whenever Bars, I felt inspired to try and make my next recipe a bit more Paleo friendly. I don't own any Paleo books, so I had to look up a few questionable ingredients. It felt weird to type that having just been at the box; that's like a church-goer saying they don't own a bible! OK, so I'm exaggerating. Our box is extremely non-judgmental about non-paleolithics out there. One of the many reasons I love everyone there so much!

I found mixed responses when searching if tapioca flour and pure maple syrup are Paleo. It sounds to me like it all depends on how strict you are (correct me if I'm wrong!).

I'm going to call these...

Maple Walnut Balls!

Ingredients:

- 3 C almond meal/flour (I prefer meal)
- 1/2 C tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I use a bit more cinnamon and nutmeg)
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 C Coconut oil (or a bit more)
- 2-3 tbsp agave nectar or honey
- A hint of pure maple syrup (I probably added a wee bit more than a cave woman would have...but I also would have had more cave woman friends because of it!)
- 1 Tbsp. gluten free vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup raw organic walnut pieces
- 1/2 cup raw unsweetened organic coconut flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place walnuts and coconut flakes on a cookie sheet and toast for 3 minutes. Set aside.
3. Put coconut oil in a heat safe bowl and place on stove to melt while nuts and coconut are toasting.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the coconut oil and maple sugar until combined.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, agave, and vanilla.
6. Add the egg mixture to the maple/coconut oil mixture, and beat to thoroughly combine.
7. In another separate bowl, combine the almond meal, tapioca flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda, and salt.
8. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and mix until well combined.
9. Add the walnut and coconut flakes and fold in until well combined.
10. On a greased cookie sheet (or parchment paper lined), form batter into balls about 2" wide (smaller or bigger, depending on your self-control on what a real 'serving size' should be!)
11. Place about 2" apart.
12. Bake about 9 minutes, or until lightly browned (see photo below).
13. Find a nice spot on the couch, cuddle up with your puppies, and enjoy!

*I found these to be a bit dry, so I am going to continue experimenting and will keep you posted. Feel free to send suggestions!

"Copycat Whenever Bars"

Ever since going gluten-free a few months ago, I have begun a new obsession with two things: almond butter on rice cakes and "Pamela's Whenever Bars". Both are extremely awesome, but one is significantly tougher on the wallet than the other. I have yet to find the bars for less than 5$ a box, with each box only containing 6 very small (what I would call senior citizen-sized!) bars. But OHHH are they ever good! I'm especially fond of the Oatmeal Raisin Walnut flavor. Last week (and 4 years later than when we should have first realized this), my partner and I decided that we have been spending way too much on groceries. Aside from our CSA, we buy almost everything from Trader Joe's or Market of Choice. It is crazy to think of how much we spend. Anyway, long story short, we have decided to make a much more conscious effort to be smarter shoppers. Right away I knew this would mean no more Whenever Bars. This made me sad. Thankfully, I found an AMAZING recipe after doing a quick google search, and will forever be thankful to the author of this blog.

I made a few changes to the recipe (as this was the lemon blueberry version), and instead used:
- almond meal instead of almond flour (this was purely based on what I had available)
- a bit more cinnamon and nutmeg
- no lemon juice
- Earth Balance 'butter' (and yes, it does work!)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (they tasted sweet enough to me)
- walnut pieces instead of almonds (figured there were enough almonds in the almond meal)
- I did not add raisins to try and make it like the type I buy, because I am trying to limit my sugar intake. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that adding raisins to this recipe would dramatically add to the already present awesomeness.

I made these last night for the first time. Dave (my partner) and I were very excited to find out how they would turn out. I think we both checked in on them a couple times each (during the short 12-15 mins baking time). When I first put the globs of goo onto the cookie sheet, I was a bit worried at how they appeared. It was a bit hard to keep them in any specific shape, and I definitely made them bigger than I should have. There were certainly no senior citizen portion sizes going on in our kitchen!

The recipe says 9-12 minutes, but after 12 minutes, they looked like they needed a bit longer. In total I'm guessing I had them in for about 15-16 minutes. They were getting a nice brown color, but were still pseudo-mushy when I took them out. As soon as they cooled (and by cooled, I mean a safe enough temperature that we could each inhale our first bite without getting severely burned), we both entered food heaven. They turned out much better than I expected them to.

Today I am going to try making them with coconut flakes, vegan chocolate chips, and walnuts. I'll keep you guys posted on how they turn out :)

What DO you eat?

This is usually one of the first questions I get when people learn about my dietary lifestyle. I work with a lot of people who grew up on meat and potatoes, have little experience with ethnic foods, and are often sitting around our lunch room table with processed foods from the cafeteria. I find it ironic that they think I'm the weird one for eating the foods that I do, when they're the ones putting harmful chemicals and low-nutrient foods into their bodies on a very regular basis. My coworkers and CrossFit family are two very different groups of people. While my coworkers' food often makes me cringe when I see them shoveling it into their mouths, I have much more respect for my paleo pals. We actually eat a lot more similarly than they might think. We both avoid processed foods, dairy, and gluten. We both think of food as fuel for our body, and therefore choose nutritionally dense foods whenever possible. Now to be clear, my diet is far from perfect. I have cheat meals. I bring microwavable meals to work on occasion. That being said, I try to eat clean at least 85% of the time. Could I improve? Most definitely. But I feel healthy, I'm performing and recovering well as a CrossFitter, and my blood work and yearly physicals are in excellent condition.

A typical food day for me: (not including my Vega protein shakes after a WOD)

0730: Breakfast #1 (yes, I eat more than one!):
- Black coffee on days off work, loose-leaf Yerba Mate tea on work days
- 2 rice cakes with a very thin layer of raw and unsalted almond butter (this stuff is addicting...I think I need some right now!)

0930: Breakfast #2
- organic carrot with the peel on (1 large or 2 smaller)
- 2 hard boiled eggs
- coconut milk yogurt or homemade gluten/dairy-free breakfast bars (I'll include a recipe later).

1130: Lunch
- leftovers from the night before (we often make lots for dinner so we have enough for both of our lunches)
- piece of fruit (usually a banana)
- more Yerba Mate tea    

1500: Afternoon break
- usually a pear or small mixed greens salad

1730: Dinner
- Usually quinoa or rice/rice noodle-based
- Large serving of green vegetables
- tofu
- Most of our entrees start with a stiryfry-type sauteing of onions, garlic, red peppers

1900: Snack time!
*Note: I do not think late night snacking is smart/beneficial to your health. BUT, I find that if I don't eat again after dinner, that I wake up with a very hungry stomach. I could make lots of improvements on this portion of the day, but at this time, I am letting myself indulge :)
- Air pop popcorn
- Red wine