1 Minute Flaxseed Muffin (Whole 30 Day 29)

WHOA. Today is my second to last day???? I honestly can't believe it. Remember how whiney and annoying I was around Day 13? I honestly didn't think I would last and here I am! I can say it has gotten easier. When approached with sweets, gluten, alcohol, etc. it really has become second nature to just say no without even thinking about it! Sure I still miss certain things and I will have them again someday but I think from now on before I eat I am going to ask myself, "Is this really worth it?" If it is then go for it! But if it isn't, just say no! OK well I will touch more on that tomorrow in my recap (crazy!).

Today for breakfast since I am still stove-less and couldn't make eggs I decided to try out a recipe I had seen on Preppy Paleo for a Paleo "muffin" that could be made in the microwave. Simple enough!

This is my version I made and I really liked the way it came out! It was a great texture and the flax kept me full for hours! Definitely will be trying this again and adding new flavors!

One Minute Flaxseed Muffins
adapted from Preppy Paleo 

3 tbsp. ground flax
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 tsp melted coconut oil
Add Ins of choice:
1/2 mashed banana, drop of vanilla extract, 1 tbsp. unsweetened coconut, 1 tbsp. Almond Butter.

Mix all together in a microwave safe mug and cook for about 60-90 seconds. Pop the muffin out and enjoy!

Meal 1:
Flaxseed muffin

Meal 2:
Turkey, fruit, kombucha, and trail mix.
I am kind of obsessed with this combination lately.

Meal 3:
Bacon, chicken sausage, a few handfuls of banana chips.

Wednesdays at my box always include lots of lifting and tonight wasn't any different!

WOD:
40 deadlifts
30 hang squat cleans
20 shoulder to overhead

It started easy with the deadlifts but DEFINITELY got harder about halfway through the cleans. My arms are going to be dead.

Well I am off to start packing because the day after tomorrow I leave for FLORIDA! Yes, I planned my Whole30 perfectly so that the day it ends I will be going on a 5 day vacation. I am so excited to catch up with friends and family, go to a football game and R-E-L-A-X before the next 3 months of craziness at work. I counted today that I am currently working on 15 events at once that will all occur in the next few months. Yikes.

Whole 30 Day 28

Another long and kitchen-less day. Super boring on the food front and after work all I wanted was a hot meal. Enter Chipotle. It will never compare to Moes but it tasted pretty darn amazing. Although it still annoys me that they charge almost $2 extra just for guacamole. I could get two entire avocados for that much!

Sorry no pictures today.


Meal 1:
Hard boiled egg, fruit, green smoothie, bacon (made in the microwave, sad but delicious)

Snack:
Trail mix (banana chips, raisins, almonds)

Meal 2:
Another amazing salad: spinach, chicken, tomatos, onions, red peppers, & lime juice

Snack:
Chocolate Coconut Larabar (not my recommended flavor, coconut cream is still my favorite)

Meal 3:
Chipotle! Burrito bowl with pork, extra veggies, lettuce, salsa, and GUAC! Noms.


My workout for the day was...Shopping. Which totally counts.

Paleo "Pie" (Whole 30 Day 27)

So last week my brother mentioned our sink being out of use for a few days due to some housework that was being done. OK. I can deal without a sink, a little awkward and annoying but do-able.

Then I walked home and found this...

Umm I'm sorry.. WHAT??!!! Our entire kitchen looks like it's in some creepy horror film (complete with some crazy fan making funny noises). This crazy contraption completely blocks all of our cabinets, sink, and stove. So needless to say this week food-wise has been a little crazy as I have very few options. 

Meal 1:

(before the kitchen desolation) 2 fried eggs, bacon and avocado

Snack:
2 plums, "trail mix" (banana chips, almonds and raisins)

Meal 2:
PHENOM Salad: spinach, tomato, red pepper, green onion, avocado, seasoned chicken with lime juice dressing, side of cherries.

Beautiful isn't it?

Meal 3:
Ants on a log, banana chips, and KIT berry bar

After this much nutritious and super grown up dinner I decided to throw together a little dessert idea I found on Carrots n Cakes. I know, dessert isn't allowed on Whole30, but this doesn't count in my books.

I present what I like to call PALEO PIE.

I don't know how appetizing that looks but let me tell you it is GOOD. If you are anything like me your favorite dessert is warm fruit cobbler topped with ice cold vanilla ice cream. Mmmmm. It just tastes like summer. 

Now I didn't have the ice cream (but believe me post Whole30 I will) but even without, this tasted like I was straight up eating cobbler! The best part is it's another super simple recipe!!

Paleo "Pie"

Handful/Cup/Entire bag of frozen or fresh fruit (I've found frozen works a little better)

1 spoonful/tablespoon/scoop of Almond Butter

Place both in microwavable bowl/mug , no need to mix, place in the microwave for 60-90 seconds and enjoy!! I don't know how but something magical happens in those 60 seconds. The fruit melts, the almond butter disappears, and the flavors all meld together for a seriously dangerous awesome paleo treat. 

Of course this could be manipulated with any kind of fruit or nut butter and probably produce an equally amazing outcome. My first time was with a raspberry, blueberry blackberry mix but since then I have also tried just strawberry's (PB&J anyone?) and had a friend who experimented with peaches! The possibilities are endless!

So before I dove straight first into my jar of Almond Butter I actually did work out today. Squats on squats on squats. 

If my kitchen hadn't been out of commission I may never have tried paleo pie. Positive side?

Pumpkin Walnut Muffins (Whole 30 Day 26)

Didn't end up playing Hooverball but I did go out to watch the fun! There were some fierce competitors! Last weekend on Whole30 and next week at this time I'll be getting crazy lounging in Florida!

Pre- Breakfast:
Black coffee and Chocolate Coconut KIT bar (so good!)

Meal 1:
Frittata, sausage, banana chips

Meal 2:
a little bit of Paleo chili that someone brought to Hooverball, coconut larabar, apple

Meal 3:
Green smoothie, Banana chips, ants on a log, plum
Loved this paleo twist of a childhood favorite; almond butter swapped out for peanut. Yum!

As my Paleo contribution today I whipped up a batch of Pumpkin Walnut Muffins from CarrotsNCakes. The only difference I made was adding half a bar of 100% Ghiradelli Baking Cocoa well because everyone loves Chocolate! Unfortunately I couldn't try one since they included honey, but I heard great reviews! I will definitely make them again!

Live Sore (Whole 30 Day 25)

So as I was finishing my deadlifts yesterday and making note of my weight I realized I hadn't deadlifted in THREE MONTHS. What?? Apparently Fridays are my most often skipped day (which is the only day we deadlift; every other week). Needless to say, getting out of bed this morning was a struggle. My box has a motto, "Live Sore", I happen to live this motto very often.

Thankfully the weather is finally cooperating with me and is semi-cool. Hoping at least for some sunshine tomorrow (but not too much!) because I am..wait for it... playing HOOVERBALL! My trainers decided 5 days a week WODs wasn't enough time spent with each other so they organized a tourney happening tomorrow (in addition to our gymnastics classes, "shred" club and barbell lifting club; we have many many activities). If you have no clue what Hooverball is (such as me until 1 week ago) you can find a quick explanation here. Still unsure if I am actually playing but I will be baking paleo goodies to bring! Planning for some Pumpkin Walnut Muffins!

Day 25 Recap

Meal 1:
Frittata, sausage, mango bliss smoothie

Snacks:
Fruit, hard boiled egg and key lime larabar

In between meal:
Rosemary chicken and watermelon

Meal 3:
Chipotle steak bowl {noms}

I also did a little grocery shopping today at my favorite store Sprouts; I love that they have all of the raw nuts available by weight so you can get as little or as much as you want! Cheaper too!

I'm excited to try these new KIT's bars. They seem to have similar ingredients to larabars and come in my favorite kind. COCONUT!

And on a completly non-Whole30 note I went ombre yesterday which for me is a BIG step. I'v been Ms. Blonde Highlights since I was about 14. Love the change though! 

Whole 30 Day 24

Meal 1:
Green smoothie
In the mix: coconut water, apple juice, mango, pineapple, banana, celery, spinach

Meal 2:
BEAT Salad plus green onions & red peppers!

Meal 3:
Strawberry Kombucha, coconut cream larabar, handful of raisins and almonds

Friday WOD

Plus lots and lots of deadlifts & good mornings. legs = done. 

Fight Gone Bad (Whole 30 Day 23)

Thursday was an absolute whirlwind which is why this post is coming on Friday! I sat at my desk for approximately 5 minutes at work in between packing thousands of folders, going to a lunch meeting and making site visits. I don't know how I've done it but I actually have managed to not eat out thus far in my Whole30 journey so I was more than a little worried when I knew I had to attend a lunch meeting at a fancy restaurant (no lunch boxes welcome). But I stayed strong! I looked at the menu ahead of time and decided on the Chicken Pesto Salad (no dressing, no cheese, LOTS of bacon) and when everyone else ordered dessert I got a black coffee which was actually quite amazing! If I could have their black coffe everyday I wouldn't have a problem missing my lattes!

Meal 1:
Frittata, sausage, Cherry Chocolate Bomb Smoothie (This was like dessert for breakfast!)

Meal 2:
Chicken pesto salad, black coffee

Meal 3:
Seasoned Chicken
I was given this seasoning awhile back and it would be super easy to recreate! A little spicy but I added some fresh lime juice for a perfect meal!

Even after an exhausting day at work I was itching to get in a workout and this definitely kicked my butt!! Fight Gone Bad is one of the first CrossFit workouts I had ever heard about but I had yet to complete it until today! My score: 194 reps. 

Have you ever experienced Fight Gone Bad??

Whole 30 Day 22

SUPER early morning today so I made my smoothie to go and packed everything else. Tried to cut back on fruit but it is so hard!! Only 8 days to go... I've been dreaming about this new Honey Almond Milk Latte I've been dying to try...

Breakfast:
Green Smoothie, frittata and sausage
I'm starting to get more adventurous with my smoothies... coconut next?!

Lunch:
Salmon spinach salad, cherries, hard boiled egg
More yummy Trader Joes salmon!

Snack:
Carrot Cake Larabar

Meal 3:
BEAT salad

Loved the WOD today! Finished along side my fellow CrossFit Barbies for 9 rounds!

Whole 30 Day 21

Meal 1:
Frittata, sausage and Mango Bliss smoothie

Snack:
Carrot Cake Larabar

Meal 2:
BEAT salad and peach

Meal 3:
Traders Joe Cajun salmon and kale salad

Snacks:
Banana, plum, dark chocolate

BEAT Salad (Whole 30 Day 20)

20 days down woohoo! Can't say I had the best day. I didn't sleep AT ALL last night then had a headache at work and ended up going home early. Boo. When do I get a vacation?

Meal 1:
Frittata and Mango Bliss smoothie

Snack:
Key Lime Larabar

Meal 2:
Bacon egg avocado and tomato salad
I got this simple idea from Mark's Daily Apple and love it! Super simple and super delicious.

BEAT Salad
1 hard boiled egg
1/2 fresh avocado
Fresh diced tomato
2 slices bacon
Diced onion (I added this, because I love onion)

Mash it all together and top with bacon! Yum!

Meal 3:
Summer Salad, dark chocolate, Coconut Chips (cravings much?)

Todays WOD was a dear friend we all know. FRAN.

21-15-9

Thrusters

Pullups

I modified with 53 pounds and banded pullups and finished at 7:38. 

Let's hope I get some sleep tonight. I have way too much work ahead of me to get sick. 

Mango Bliss Smoothie (Whole 30 Day 19)

Can you believe tomorrow marks the 2/3 mark of this journey? Somedays seem super slow but I really can't believe it is almost September! Can't see I am complaining though.

Meal 1:
Green Smoothie: coconut water, orange juice, strawberries, banana, spinach and ground flax

Meal 2:
2 slices frittata
(Made another one of these but this time added LOTS more veggies)

Snack:
Apple with cashew butter and dark chocolate

Meal 3:
Summer Salad; changed this one up a bit as well today by adding some unsweetened coconut flakes and lemon juice. Told you I could add coconut to anything!)

I really have been living off smoothies lately. This 90 degree weather has not let up and I am beginning to regret my decision to move somewhere that claims they "don't need air conditioning"

In the mean time I have these delicious concoctions to keep me cool!
This recipe was adapted from a smoothie joint my friend frequents and I decided to try and recreate it! It turned out very well and will definitely make this in the future!

Mango Bliss Green Smoothie
1/2 cup pure coconut water
1/2 cup pure apple juice
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
1 cup spinach
2-3 pieces of celery
A few ice cubes

Blend and enjoy! I recommend a wine glass because honestly everything just tastes better in them.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes (Whole 30 Day 18)

Event day #2 in a row! I am not built for 8 hours of outdoor labor. It has been ridiculously hot outside lately for summer ending! I know I should be used to 90+ degrees seeing as I lived in Florida 95% of my life but I have become spoiled and I miss my 60 degree San Diego weather! I have been surviving by making all the smoothies I can.

Meal 1:
Green Smoothie
5 frozen Strawberries
1/2 frozen Banana
1 T Flax
1-2 cups Spinach
1 T Almond butter
1 cup Coconut water
Ice

Scrambled eggs

Meal 2:
Pulled pork, 2 hot dogs, larabar

Meal 3:
I took the 3-Ingredient Pancake recipe and added a little Fall twist!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancake
1 egg
1 mashed banana
1 spoonful Almond Butter
1 spoonful 100% pure pumpkin
Dash of cinnamon
2 pieces 76% Cacoa Dark Chocolate

Mash this all together. Cook in a little coconut oil and serve with a little more AB and cinnamon! My pancake ended up more of a bowl of cooked batter but delicious all the same! Now if only the weather would start acting like Fall...

Whole30 Day 17

Today was a long event day. I won't get into the boring details but it started off with a great WOD! Have you ever done HSPU on a band?? Check it out here! I love that it actually emulates the movement so you get the feel for it. 

I started off with a few DU's but then had to switch to single's because my arms were so tired!

Pre-wod:
Apple

Meal 1:
Eggs, bacon, avocado and strawberries

Meal 2
Summer salad
Spinach smoothie
Fajita meat with guac

Meal 3:
Hawaiin pork
Dried mango

Summer Salad (Whole 30 day 16)

Grocery shopping days are always my favorite and I had some great finds today at Trader Joe's!

New Seasonings (the grinders are my fav. so cute!)

I tried this pre-Whole30 and was OBSESSED. It is 100% natural but I couldn't think of anything to eat it with besides gfree tortilla chips until I had a brilliant lightbulb moment. CHICKEN & SALAD! Luckily I already had chicken in the fridge waiting to be used and my new seasonings! So first I grilled my chicken sprinkled with a little sea salt & lemon pepper...

Burn baby burn. 

Tossed it all onto some spinach with a few toasted pine nuts and VOILA! It was SO GOOD! Such a great refreshing summer salad. Can't wait to make it again!!

If you are eating dairy I suggest the following recipe from Trader Joe's; This was how I first tasted the salsa and fell in love!

Papaya Mango Chicken Salad

Papaya Mango Salsa

Canned Chicken

Sour Cream (could substitute greek yogurt!)

Mix all together for a "chicken salad" to top on some crackers, pita or just to eat plain!

Day 16 Recap:

Meal 1:
Scrambled eggs and bacon


Meal 2:
Spaghetti squash and meatballs

Meal 3:
Spinach salad topped with toasted pine nuts, lemon pepper grilled chicken and papaya mango salsa

Snacks:
Apple with coconut cashew butter

Not eaten yet but I may be indulging a little tonight...

And YES this is Whole30 Approved! Must be 70% or more cacao and make sure you check it doesn't contain soy lecithin!

Whole 30 day 15

HALFWAY THERE! And boy did today present a challenge. First was a baby shower at work including cupcakes, fried cheesecake, eclairs, hummus, etc. etc. YUM. Everything looked so good. But I was a good girl and just had a plate of fruit. Second challenge was avoiding pizza and wine (ummm two of my favs) at a little get together. This time I brought my own fruit bowl and some carrot sticks with guacamole to munch on. Mission accomplished.

Meal 1:
Eggs, avocado and bacon

Snacks:
Fruit and larabar

Meal 2:
Spaghetti squash and meatballs

Meal 3:
Paleo pancake with strawberries

Snack:
Fruit, veggies and guac

Whole 30 Day 14

Meal 1:
Eggs, bacon, avocado

Meal 2:
Spaghetti squash and meatballs, apple

Meal 3:
Ultra green smoothie (I tried it today with coconut water; so good!), sweet potato muffin, kale chips

Sore LEGS from all those squats and lunges! Here's today...

Leg/Hip Mobility

7 Rounds:

5 Power Snatch - 115/75 (ADV 135/95)

7 Burpees over bar

9 Ring Dips (5 for female)

Rest 2 Min

Run 800M

Score is TOTAL TIME including Rest.

Finished in 20 minutes with modified weight and ring dips. So yeah.. that sucked. 

No cooking today so I kind of feel like a failure. I really wanted to make some fun dish to bring to my wine/dessert committee meeting tomorrow night but since practically EVERY paleo dessert includes honey that won't really work. Guess I'm going with the fruit platter. 

Creamy Coconut Cashew Butter (Whole 30 Day 13)

If you know me at all you know I will try to add coconut to practically everything. Coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut extract, coconut flakes, coconut milk... oh my! The possibilites are literally endless.

So I've had this bag of cashews for quite some time. I don't know why but I'm just not big on eating raw cashews by themselves. Since my almond butter is coming to an end I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and make my own cashew butter! With coconut of course.

I have made both almond and cashew butter before but if you are a beginner "nut butter maker" I advise starting with cashew. It is SO much easier.

Creamy Coconut Cashew Butter

1 cup raw cashews
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp coconut oil
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

*All measurings are estimates. Feel free to adjust depending on taste!

1. Throw your cashews into you VitaMix or food processor. Whir away!
    This step may take up to 10 minutes so be patient! First it will look like this...

Then like this...

By now it's looking pretty creamy but keep going! Feel free to go about your day as this is happening...

When it has acquired your desired creaminess add the oil, vanilla, and coconut and keep blending for about another minute. 

Spoon out. Lick the spoon (optional). Enjoy!

Great with fruit, paleo pancakes, or just by itself!

Day 13 Recap

Meal 1: 2 sweet potato muffins topped with ghee

Meal 2: apple with coconut cashew butter, mango kombucha

Meal 3: spaghetti squash and jalepeno garlic meatballs 

WOD

3 rounds:

1 minute front squats @ 53

1 minute pushups

1 minute jumping lunges

1 minute rest

Spaghetti Squash & Sweet Potato Muffins (Whole 30 Day 12)

No, I have not abandoned all my Whole30 and Paleo ways to dive into the sea of wheat...
As promised I will start to include more of my favorite recipes and tonight I have two! The greater part of my Sunday was spent grocery shopping, prepping food, cooking food, baking food... you get the point. I'm not complaining, a day in the kitchen is a day well spent.

First up was my phenomenal dinner. If you are someone who craves "comfort foods" from your past non-paleo days then spaghetti squash is where it's at! If I had known about this magical vegetable my entire life I could very well have never eaten pasta. It is the perfect vessel for all those delicious sauces, meats, and spices but none of the yucky wheat!

I snagged this recipe from my new favorite blog TGIPaleo and it was WELL worth the time it took. The spices and veggies mixed perfectly together to create an amazing combination, and don't be alarmed by the jalepenos if you aren't a spicy person, they only add a little kick! (I threw out most of the jalepeno seeds though so I could have made it even spicier)

The greatest part of all is all the leftovers! I am set for dinners this week.

Now as much as I love eggs (& bacon), some mornings just don't allow for a extra 15 minutes in the kitchen. I had been looking for awhile for something I could batch cook ahead of time similar to breakfast "grab-n-go pastries" but of course paleo approved and even harder Whole30 approved (practically everything has honey or agave in it! I'll save those for after August!)

So TGIPaleo came to my rescue again! These sweet potato muffins may seem a little random but they work out, I PROMISE! Also, paleo baking is not the same as normal baking, batter is so not better raw. blech.

INGREDIENTS
Recipe from TGIPaleo

1/2 c Coconut Flour
6 Eggs
2 t Vanilla
1 t Salt
1 t Baking Soda
2 t Cinnamon
1/2 c Ground Flax
2 Sweet Potatoes or Yams, baked and mashed (discard skins)
1 c Raisins or Chocolate Chips (optional)... I recommend raisins!!


INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk together all the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs and add dry mix by spoonfuls until well blended. Add the mashed sweet potatoes.

Spoon batter into lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy!

**Editors Note: Please make sure you refrigerate these muffins if keeping longer than a day!

Maybe I will hop out of bed a little faster knowing these are waiting for me? No, probably not. 

Day 12 Recap:

Meal 1:

Banana bread larabar

Meal 2:

Eggs, bacon, avocado and pineapple

Meal 3:

Spaghetti squash and garlic jalepeno meatballs

Snack:

A few almonds and raisins

Sweet Potato Muffin topped with ghee (I had to try it ok?)