Chicken Deliciouso

All is fine on the workout front. Since last time I have squat cleaned 205 and split jerked 215. I've also managed to get my snatch back up to 155. Everything is moving in the right direction and it feels good to be doing strength stuff again.

The real reason for this update, however, is Chicken Parmigiana.

I recently threw together a primal recipe that was a huge hit, so I'll do my best to outline it below...not sure on exact amounts of some stuff...


Ingredients

2-2.5lb chicken
1 Jar of Organic Marinara Sauce
1 Large White onion
2 Medium Red Peppers
1 Carton of Mushrooms
1 large tomato
garlic

*CHEESE - I used the 6 cheese blend by Sargento (Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan and Fontina, plus Romano and aged Asiago.

**For the super fancy, shred your own blend
**For the Paleo - possibly try using goat cheese


Chicken:
Bake or grill the chicken with whatever marinade, herbs, and/or spices you want. This is up to you. I used the Tomato Basil Chicken from the Meat House.

Veggies:
Chop all veggies thinly and have them on standby. Heat some olive oil in a pan with fresh chopped garlic. Add the onions first and cook for a few minutes, followed by the peppers and mushrooms. GO ahead an add in herbs (I just used "Italian Blend" from a spice rack) Add the chopped tomato last. This should all take about 10-15 min to saute.

In your pan:
No idea what size...just one that will fit what you've prepared...

Layer the veggies on the very bottom. You can also mix in a little sauce with them (and/or cheese!) if you'd like. Cut the chicken breasts in strips and try to completely cover the veggies for the next layer...sort of like a meat puzzle. Use the rest of the sauce (or 1-2 cups) on top of the chicken.

2 paths to choose:

If your veggies are still hot and chicken was just cooked, go ahead and add the cheese as the top layer and bake for 10 min...broil for 2-3.

If you do what I did and prep it for a later time, you'll want to bake it for 10-15min...add the layer of cheese...bake again for 10 min, then broil for 3min.

Dig in!

Good Eats

CF Games Open...first WOD is released Tuesday.  I might complete all of the WODs on Tuesday and then again Saturday.  Hopefully this will allow me to beat (or try to beat) my own time and go in with a strategy of some sort.

Today was a rest day for CFNE, but I decided to do the CrossFit mainpage WOD.


7 Rounds:
10 Wall Ball, 20lb
20 Pull-Ups

6min 20sec


Now, on to the food!  I've been wanting to make a Paleoish Chicken Lo Mein for a long time and today was finally the day.  I looked through a bunch of recipes and settled on a mixture of them all that I'm happy with.

Ingredients:
Spaghetti Squash (already cooked) - 4 cups

1-2lb of chicken
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chooped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup shitake mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup green onion, chopped Cabbage or bok choy, 2 cups shredded
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup gluten free Tamari (Soy Sauce) 
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 tbsp coconut flakes or honey (optional)
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp black pepper


Prep:
1) have spaghetti squash already cooked and ready to go
2) cut chicken into thin pieces (not cubes)
3) chop and mince all veggies accordingly

Heat olive oil in large skillet or wok on med-high heat.  Add onion, carrot, celery, mushroom, and garlic to pan and cook 1-2 min.  Add in chicken, paprika, black pepper, and cook until it begins to brown.  Add in soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, coconut flakes, and cabbage.  Continue to cook for another few minutes and then add the green onion.  With a few minutes left, reduce heat and add in the spaghetti squash.  Simmer over med/low heat until spaghetti squash is heated.  Serve and enjoy.  Makes 2-3 servings.

Delicious...faux mein

Homemade Chipotle...and a "Paleo" Disaster

Decided not to work out today and give my back another full day to rest...and I ended up falling asleep for like 2 hours.  Does over 1 hour even count as a "nap"?  Anyway, I'm alllll alone on a Friday night so I thought I would make something tasty for dinner.  For the record, Chipotle is cheaper but this was worth it (and there was more).

Guacamole
1 Haas avacado
1/2 a lime (the juice)
2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 jalapeno chopped (remove seeds)
salt to taste
dash of EVOO

Remove inside of avacado and put into mixing bowl.  Mash with a fork and mix in other ingredients.

Guacamole goes great on sweet potato chips.

Steak (seasoning)
1lb of steak
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp oregano
4 cloves garlic
1/2 red onion

Sprinkle the seasoning on both sides of the steak.  Heat a little bit of EVOO (do you like how technical I am) into a non-stick pan.  Cook red onions for 1 min. and then add the steaks.  Cook until done, only flipping once.  Remove steak and cut into bite size pieces.

Fajita Vegetables
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp oregano
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
3/4 red onion
2 bell peppers

Chop up onion and bell peppers into strips.  Heat a small amount of EVOO in a pan and toss in vegetables and seasonings.  Don't cook too long or use too much oil, as you want these veggies to still be crisp when they're done.

You can also make fresh salsa if you'd like.  I just bought some from Harris Teeter, as they have a pretty good one.

mmmm, best thing ever...

Dessert
If you'd like to completely ruin your strict paleo diet you should def. indulge in a glass of Pinot Noir and some Dark Chocolate (80%+).  Even though it is fine for paleo, it has no place in a strict 30 day challenge.  I messed up (unintentionally).  Shout out to Ashley and Jonathan Denton for calling me out!  Thanks guys!

Only cheaters...well, cheat!

Mobility and Potato Chips

Today was a boring off day, so go ahead and stop reading now (Paul).

I did a lot of mobility work to loosen up my entire body.  My hamstrings are MUCH better now and my hip has finally stopped hurting.  I did some work on my upper body as well because I've been having issues with my left shoulder again.

Tomorrow is the CF Total (squat, press, deadlift).  I'm still trying to figure out how to squeeze in front squat or if I should just skip maxing out on it as I've been pretty slack in training it for the past month (due to back issues).

Here's a fun quick recipe if you have a (paleo) hankering for chips...yes, I just said hankering.

1) Get a medium sized sweet potato and slice it as thinly as possible.  I just recently bought a $12 mandolin from Harris Teeter (not the instrument) and it worked great.
2) Toss the chips in olive oil and add whatever seasonings you like.
3) Place on baking sheet (use tin foil) and spread out as much as possible.  Try to avoid any overlapping.
4) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, before flipping and baking for another 10 minutes.
5) Remove from oven and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
6) Bring them to me (optional)

mmmm....bet ya can't eat just one!

*For anyone trying to lose weight, be careful with the amount you make and eat.  Track the calories and/or just have them on a workout day (as close to the workout as possible).

This week seems to be dragging on...it feels like it should be Friday.  Anyway, Happy Thursday everyone!

UltiCon WOD

Today is a much needed rest day from training.  I plan on relaxing for the majority of the day and taking in a movie (Tron 3D).  Happy Sunday everyone!



Ultimate Conditioning - Sunday 1/9/2011

"Rankel" modified
6 Deadlifts
7 Burpees
10 KB Swings
200m run

Deadlifts - Use a weight that you could only perform 7-8 times or about 50% of 1RM
Burpees - Chest and thighs touching floor, perpendicular to ground at top of jump, clap overhead
KB Swings - These should be hard. American Swings - KB Overhead at top position.



Spaghetti Squash "Pasta" w/ Meat Sauce 


Incredients:
1 Spaghetti Squash 
1lb Ground Beef
Pasta Sauce (Organic, no sugar added)
garlic, garlic powder, black pepper, sea salt (optional)

Directions:
Poke holes in squash and bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.  Cut it in half and scoop out seeds.  Using a fork, scrape the insides out into a bowl and shred (should look like angel hair pasta when finished).
Brown the ground beef in a pan (you can add veggies if you'd like as well).  Add sauce and simmer on low/moderate heat.
Put "noodles" down on plate and cover with meat sauce.

Enjoy!

CrossFit Raleigh

I decided to go to CrossFit Raleigh today with Mitch, since this is where he normally works out.  We decided to just do mobility stuff during the 9:30 WOD and work out at 10:30 with the Coaches and some surprise guests (the Dentons and some other rock-star CrossFitters).  The WOD ended up being Jack...a hero workout.

Jack (AMRAP 20)
10 Push Press, 115
10 KB Swings, 24kg
10 Box Jumps, 24"
9 rounds + 3 push press (might have been 10+3...but since I'm not sure, I'll go with lower)

Push Press was def. the limiting factor on this WOD.  The swings were effortless and I managed to do all of those unbroken.  Box Jumps are still a struggle since I'm so fat (there ya go Paul).  Overall, it was a good effort...def. should have pushed for at least one more round.  My shoulders were still a little tired from strict press, snatches, burpees, and wall ball yesterday...(excuses, excuses)

I give CrossFit Raleigh double thumbs up...and they have snazzy t-shirts.


Possibly another hero WOD later....we'll see.

UPDATE (3+ hours after Jack)

Hero WOD #2

Rankel (AMRAP 20)
6 Deadlifts, 225
7 Burpee Pull-Ups
10 KB Swings, 32kg
200m Run
6 Rounds + 6 DL + 4 Burpee Pull-Ups

Blueberry Pancakes:
1) Mix 2 ripe bananas, 1 egg, and 1-2 TBsp on almond butter in a bowl.
2) Add blueberries to the mixture.
3) Pour batter onto griddle/non-stick pan and cook (about 2 min. each side)

Note: Be careful when flipping them as they tend to be a little more delicate than regular pancakes.  If you want a nice "syrup", try blending 2 pineapple chuncks, a few strawberries, and some blueberries.

Paleo Blueberry Pancakes and Bacon...mmmmm