25 Burpees

Try them...I dare you.

I bet you've never heard of a burpee, unless you are familiar with CrossFit! 25 burpees for time was my workout for today. It took me 5 minutes, 33 seconds to complete them. Those that know what a burpee is must not laugh at my time! My husband does 100 burpees in 6 minutes, 30 seconds. It took me almost the same amount of time to do a quarter of what he can complete!

As much as they sucked, my total workout time today was 5 minutes, 33 seconds. That's it. Nothing else. That in itself is motivating enough to stick with CrossFit. Now, some of the other workouts take longer, but still, it's worth it. If we lived closer to the CrossFit gym, I'd definitely go to the classes. My husband has built a CrossFit gym in the garage here, so we have pretty much everything that we need. There are a few key things missing like kettle-bells, but he uses dumbbells in place of them.

For those who don't know what a burpee is you can search "burpee" and "crossfit" on youtube. There are several different versions. I'll video my husband demonstrating them and post it in a few days. It'll be the proper one according to the CrossFit competitions.

So, try it out. 100 burpees for time is a workout, but if you can't do 100, just shoot for 25. I bet you'll beat my pitiful time! I plan on doing the workout again in one month and seeing if I improved. I'll post an update when I do.


Recipe share:

Paleo/Zone chili
again, borrowed from http://cfscceat.blogspot.com/

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean ground meat - we used venison

2 T Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground pepper

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 green, red, orange, or yellow bell pepper

1/2 C red wine

15 oz. can dice tomatoes, no salt (we added another can)

8 oz. can tomato sauce, no salt

4 oz. can diced green chillies (we did not add this)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Water

Green onions

Italian parsley

Brown ground meat (we added a little salt and pepper to the cooking meat), drain, set aside. When finished, deglaze pan with some of the red wine. Saute the diced onion and garlic. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, diced chilies and chopped peppers. Add back the meat, and all other ingredients, and spices. Bring to a boil and then simmer until ready to serve. We simmered for about 3 hours. Add a little extra water if needed to get to desired consistency. Spoon into a bowl and top with some diced green onions and chopped flat-leaf italian parsley.

*** NOTE - we added 3 cans of beans (you can use any - black, white beans, kidney beans, chili beans (rinsed). We also added some leftover shredded carrots, black beans, chopped red onion...didn't want any of it to go to waste!

I don't have the proper zone blocks listed because frankly it overwhelms me, so if you go to the website we borrowed it from, it's broken down there.
We also improvised. Chili and soup in general is a great way to rid your fridge of any leftover vegetable that you may have stored. We always seem to have half of an onion or shredded carrots or some leftover celery that's just not being eaten. We've decided that we'll probably make soup every 7-10 days and even if we don't eat it that night, we'll freeze it to have on hand.

Portion Control...a learned habit

I struggle greatly with portion control. Seriously, the other night I ate two, count them, TWO dark chocolate candy bars. At least they were dark chocolate, right? Oh, and it was New Year's Eve...celebrating right? I deserve it, right? Ugh, although they taste SO good, it's so not worth it immediately after. Wes has a saying that I despise, but love at the same time. "Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels." Well, I'm not so sure I necessarily want to be skinny, but the saying still stings when I hear it or say it. Because it's true...although I think I want to change it to "Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels." When I was in shape, eating foods that weren't good for me wasn't satisfying...no matter how good they tasted. Because I was in the zone...I knew that immediately after I would totally regret it.

So, how do I get back to that point? I don't know really. As I mentioned before, I have several tubs of clothes packed away that I cannot fit into and I paid good money for those clothes! As my friend Anne said after having her son, "It's not an issue of vanity, but an issue of economics!" SO true. Since we're adapting our life to a less wasteful, more resourceful way, this is helping to motivate me to get into better shape so I don't have to buy another entire wardrobe at the size I am now. Which, by the way, is no fun. I hate even shopping for a shirt or pair of pants. And the bathing suit top I just had to buy the other day for our upcoming cruise...nauseating. Not just because I'm at the weight I am or the shape I'm in, but because I actually had to spend money on an article of clothing that is 3 sizes bigger than what I used to be. It was on clearance, but still $9.00 is too much money to pay for a swimsuit top when I have about 10-12 in a box packed away.

I've read somewhere that it takes anywhere from 11 days to a month to develop a habit. So that's my goal for the first two weeks of the year. To limit the portions I allow myself when eating meals or snacks. I know I can do it, I've done it before. I actually counted calories once. I tracked it with an online calorie counter so it made it look nice and pretty. I was aiming for 2000 calories a day because of still breastfeeding. It was so hard to do that first week, but guess what? I lost three pounds! THREE...in one week...eating 2000 calories! I was not only eating less calories obviously, but choosing better foods. Who says you have to only eat 1200 calories to lose weight? We need to focus more on WHAT those calories are.

Our society has continuously encouraged larger and larger portion sizes. We all know how fast food restaurants serve. But what about the nicer restaurants? Ever been to a steakhouse? Fine dining or Texas Roadhouse, it doesn't really matter because they often have 12-16 ounce steaks on their menu. What does the average person need with a steak that big? How does their body handle it? And that's probably not the only thing that person eats at that meal, I'm willing to bet. I'm sure there is a baked potato on the side, broccoli if we're lucky and I'm sure there's always the fried onion appetizer before.

My family has done pretty well in sharing meals when we go out. The other day, my husband, son, niece and I all shared one entree and one sushi roll and it was more than enough. We're also going to attempt to adopt the practice of as soon as our food is brought to the table, immediately box up everything over what we should eat in one sitting. Then we've also stretched our dollar that way because we then have at least one, possibly two, meals for the next day's lunch!

So, portion control is going to be my first focus as far as eating healthy goes. Yes, I'm still going to be choosing healthy, natural recipes and increasing our veggie servings, but I think portion control is a key factor is healthier eating. Basically we're going to use our hand as our guide.

Open hand with fingers spread - veggies
Palm of hand - protein
Quarter of palm - good fats


Note - we do not have grains/starches. The Paleo/Zone diet Wes likes to follow doesn't really focus on it. Although on the Zone diet, it does allow for grains, but the Paleo doesn't. Wes really likes the huge focus on the veggies. But, for breakfast we will do oatmeal. Never instant, always old-fashioned or steel-cut oats. We're still deciding on what we think is right for our diet. We are not telling anyone to eliminate anything from their diet, only to do your research and read as much as you can and decide for yourself!



Recipe share:
borrowed from http://cfscceat.blogspot.com/


Paleo Mediterranean Chicken

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (trimmed, cut in half and pounded)
almond meal - we used wheat bran (just don't use white flour!)
14 oz can quartered artichokes - drained if in oil
dried parsley
14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2.25 can sliced black olives
1 yellow onion
8 ounces of mushrooms
1 cup chicken broth (make your own one day!)
2 tsp olive oil
2-3 T fresh Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix about 1/2 C almond meal with 2 T dried parsley.
After pounding chicken breasts, sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with almond meal mixture
Heat olive oil in a skillet
Brown chicken breasts on both sides - about 3 minutes per side
Add to baking dish when finished
After all chicken breasts are browned, add chicken broth to skillet and deglaze pan
Add all other ingredients to pan and bring to a quick low boil, then pour over chicken
Sprinkle top with fresh Italian parsley and bake for about 30 minutes.

I'd give this 2-3 stars out of 5. I probably won't be making this again. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't my favorite either. The chicken will be fine leftover chopped in a salad or wrap though. I'd rather have the Mustard Agave Chicken again!

It shouldn't be this difficult...

to obtain good, clean, whole, raw milk.



I just got an email that our monthly (yes, monthly is all we can get) delivery of raw milk is not happening next week because we don't have enough orders. I'm not frustrated with the delivery driver because he's got to make a living too, but I am angry with the law that makes it illegal for dairy farmers to sell raw milk or for anyone to distribute raw milk in Georgia.

I just do not understand why in the world I, as an educated consumer, cannot purchase the kind of milk that I want. Does that mean I think that I should be able to go to any dairy and purchase raw milk...no. I want a certified raw milk farm. Most have higher standards than commercial dairies because pasteurized milk is heated to such high temperatures that the milk doesn't have to be handled as carefully as certified raw milk does. So I absolutely do not want to drive up to some commercial dairy and pick up a jug or two of their raw milk.

As long as the raw milk farms adhere to the standards placed upon them, why does it matter to anyone where I buy my milk. I seriously have to drive across the bridge to the next state over to pick up my milk. The driver can't even cross the border into Georgia or guess what? He could be arrested. And, that's not all. If I were to pick up a friend's milk on pick-up day and take it to them, I could get arrested for distribution. Really?

Here's a link to an interesting story about our tax dollars at work helping to keep raw milk "contraband" out of our homes. I'm just sick that we devote this many resources to preventing people who are just trying to be as healthy as they can for themselves, their family and their environment and world. http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/101709/new_505698081.shtml

I'd like to talk about why my husband and I decided to begin drinking raw milk. That's a much longer post for another day.
Here's a picture of when we visited the farm where my sister in law gets her raw milk. She's part of a cow share (wish we could find that around here).




Recipe bonus:
I've decided to add my recipes that we try out onto my blog as I can. I was going to try to have the recipes relate to my topics, but eh, I can do whatever I want because it's my blog, right? :)

This is a recipe I borrowed from a blog I'm following: http://cfscceat.blogspot.com/
We are following it because Wes wants to develop a Paleo/Zone diet (more on this later because honestly, I don't even know how to explain it myself yet) and this website has great recipes and pictures, which I love. I guess I'll have to get on the ball and take a few pictures to put with my meals, huh?


I was apprehensive about trying this out. Agave? A sweetener...on chicken? But then again, honey is often paired with chicken, so why not try? I'd say it landed somewhere between 4-5 stars, with 5 being the highest. What's great is that with the leftover chicken, my niece and I chopped it up the next day for lunch. I had a salad and she had a wrap. So tender and juicy leftover!

Mustard Agave Chicken with Veggies
Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (pounded and cut in half)
2 T olive oil
Garlic powder, black pepper, and sea salt
1/4 C chicken broth - best if you make your own
3 T agave nectar - we buy organic and keep it on hand to sweeten our coffee
1/4 C dijon mustard
2-4 cups broccoli crowns
1 small yellow onion - we cut into quarters

Sprinkle garlic powder, pepper and sea salt over chicken breasts and brown in olive oil, about 3 minutes on each side, then place in baking dish.
Deglaze pan with chicken broth.
Whisk together mustard and agave, and add pan juices!
Mix well and pour over chicken breasts.
Top chicken with broccoli and onions, cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

We had a salad on the side with homemade mustard lemon vinaigrette. YUM