Spring Challenge

Yesterday marked the last day of our Spring Challenge. Every Fall and Spring, our box holds a 3 month-long competition to see which member has had the most overall improvement. Everyone who wants to be a part of the Challenge puts 10 bucks into the pot, and we start the Challenge by completing a series of WODs that we'll each do again after 3 months. Along with our WOD improvement, the coaches look at things like body fat percentage, weight gain/loss, PRs, and attendance. It was my first time being able to participate since joining CF, and I quite enjoyed it! We have a lot of very dedicated and competitive members, which made it that much more motivating to try and do our best.

Coincidentally, I decided to cut gluten from my diet the day before the Challenge started. This couldn't have been better timing, as I immediately noticed huge improvements in my overall health and athletic performance. Within a week, my long run performance improved by 25 seconds/mile, and I never got that feeling of fatigue and nutrient depletion that I would normally get. I have low blood pressure, and would often get light headed when getting up quickly from a seated/lying position, or if I was doing lots of things like burpees or GHD extensions. I actually had to stop mid-WOD during the CrossFit Open competition at our box, because I felt like I was going to faint during the 7 minute burpees. This was not something I wanted to happen again, but I just attributed it to my low blood pressure and lack of proper hydration. Ever since cutting out gluten, I have had no problems with orthostatic blood pressure, and feel like I have significantly improved my digestion and absorption of nutrients. I had myself tested for Celiac (even though I was quite sure I didn't have it), and it turns out I just have a gluten sensitivity (which is extremely common, but a lot of people never figure it out!).

On that note, I knew that my shopping habits would really need to change if I was going to keep up this new gluten-free lifestyle. I mentioned in an earlier post that I discovered "Whenever Bars". The Copycat Whenever Bars turned out amazing, but I wanted to try and make a paleo-friendly version so that I could share it with my fellow CrossFitters. I made some last night, and I think they turned out fairly well. I definitely need to play around a bit with the ingredients, but I'll share my first draft for now :)

Paleo Whenever Bars

Ingredients:

- 3 cups almond meal
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tbsp Chia seeds
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (more or less, depending on your sweetness preferences!)
- 1 tbsp gluten-free vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put coconut oil in a heat safe bowl and place on middle of stove to melt while walnuts and coconut flakes are toasting.
3. Place walnuts and coconut flakes on a cookie sheet and toast for 3 minutes until starting to brown. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the coconut oil and maple sugar until combined.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and vanilla.
6. Add the egg mixture to the maple/coconut oil mixture, and beat to thoroughly combine.
7. In another separate bowl (I know, so many bowls to clean, but it’s worth it!), combine the almond meal, coconut & tapioca flour, Chia seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda, and salt.
8. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and mix until well combined.
9. Add the blueberries, walnut, and coconut flakes and fold in until well combined.
10. On a greased cookie sheet (or parchment paper lined), form batter into small rectangles (about 2" by 3-4").
11. Place 2″ apart.
12. Bake about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned (see photo below).