Chocolate “Coconana” Espresso Muffins (high protein)

I made these little babies yesterday morning and they turned out pretty dang good! I way over-cooked mine, but I am confident they would be awesome if they were not forgotten about in the oven. This recipe is loose since I kinda wung it 😉 Give it a shot and switch things up, but this is probably a good base to start with for a yummy protein muffin!

I did the math and they came out to around 100 calories each — 10g carbs, 8 grams protein… Something around that (it appears to have disappeared from my MyFitnessPal Recipes).

Ingredients: 

• 2 eggs
• 2 scoops chocolate whey
• 1 tbsp ground espresso
• 1/2 cup ground oats
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp truvia (or whatever sweetener you want, you could use sugar/honey/agave nectar/maple syrup or an maybe even an extra banana)

Method: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl until it evenly mixed… but with some clumps of banana and coconut here and there. Line 12 muffin tins. Pour the batter into the tins, and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes (I don’t have a good time to recommend here, as I said, I forgot about mine and overcooked them…. Do the toothpick test). Remove from muffin tray and let cool. Serve with a spread of coconut oil or greek yogurt on top.

Colorful Cucumber Salad & Time for Myself

So, after my rant yesterday I put some thought into what was really irking me about my diet lately. I’m pretty sure the quality of food I’ve been eating is fine with me, the issue is that I am BORED. I have put a lot of effort into cakes and desserts, but I haven’t been thinking creatively about my regular meals, making me feel like I am eating poorly. I’m not for the most part. BUT, I am putting my effort into the wrong spots.

Today’s small step in the right direction – Colorful Cucumber Salad

I have been letting my job/cozy lifestyle determine a lot of my food choices lately. For example: I am consumed with conversation with co-workers during the day, so I just sit at my desk and drink a protein shake rather than taking a break and making lunch (which I really enjoy) -or- I am tired after work, so I just eat some leftover rice and chicken for dinner rather than cooking something I am proud to have put together. Most of the foods I am eating lately aren’t bad, but I am so uninspired with them… and honestly, totally bored. I was feeling upset yesterday because I felt like my diet has been crappy. The truth is, it’s not “crappy” or “unhealthy” it is just lazy and boring.

All that said, I really enjoy cooking and I really enjoy feeling like I am filling my body with quality foods. So I want to tackle this issue. This time, however, I am not making crazy rules for myself and I am not “starting a new diet”. Fuck that noise. I know myself well enough at this point to know that setting a hundred “DO NOT BREAK” rules for the next 30 days will blow up in my face once I hit a rough patch. Instead, I am going to push for 2 small (do-able) changes: 

1.) Go grocery shopping if you are frustrated with what’s available in the refrigerator – this is a big one for me. Most of my crappy food choices come when I am looking in the fridge and there isn’t anything to cook. Rather than go grocery shoping, I will often just microwave some leftover baked-ziti or sourdough bread that Jeff made earlier in the week. The grocery store is literally 3 minutes away I seriously need to get in the habit of going when I need to. I can not be lazy about this anymore.

2.) Post at least 1 recipe on the blog every week – This may sound weird, but one way I have been able to stay on track in the past is by being creative with my recipes and sharing them with others. I am an artsy person at heart — I draw, I paint, I like to think creatively. Concocting delicious foods and taking pretty pictures of them makes me happy. I think working toward this goal will help me stay entertained with eating well, and encourage me to look beyond my lazy tenancies.

My intention here is to do something that I KNOW I can do, specifically, something that I will enjoy (and will tangentially help me make better choices regularly). I need to make more time for myself so that I can re-discover my interest in cooking healthy foods. I think making a specific effort to get to the grocery store regularly, and post some interesting recipes on my blog will do just that.

In honor of this, a recipe: 

Colorful Cucumber Salad

I hit up the grocery store today, stuck to my Paleo Powerlifters Grocery List, and came home inspired to make something yummy for lunch!

Ingredients:
1 large cucumber, halved (lengthwise) then sliced.
1/4 cup purple cabbage sliced thin
1 tbsp red pepper, chopped
1 tbsp green pepper, chopped
1 tbsp green onion, chopped
1 tbsp cilantro
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
dash of salt & pepper

Method:
Prepare your veggies and throw them all in a large bowl. Toss together with ACV, Salt, and pepper. Serve as a colorful side dish and a healthy dose of fresh veggies! Super crunchy, fresh, and tasty. I had this with ginger and sesame pork chops today! YUM!

Pretty in Purple Slaw

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a large head of purple cabbage
• 1/4 onion
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 green onion
• 2 large carrots
• 2 tbsp mayo
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tsp stevia (or whatever sweetener you like)
• 1/2 a lemon, juice

Method:
Put the veggies in the food processor. Dump it all in a large bowl, add condiments. Mix. Serve. Makes about 8 servings. So easy, so good 🙂

____

Food/Lifting Log Dec 21

Breakfast:
2 eggs,
1 slice home made whole wheat sourdough
1 cup of coffee with splash of cream

Lunch:
Leftovers – pasta with veggies and chicken.
The bowl of purple coleslaw above

Pre-Lifting:
Oatmeal raisin scone

3’s Deadlifts & Back work

Deadlift:

Didn’t wear my belt today… just felt like training without it for some extra work on keeping my back and belly tight without it.

Warm Up: (Double overhand)
70k x 5
80k x 5

Work:
90k x 3 (Double overhand)
100k x 3 (switch grip)
110k x 3 (switch grip)

AMRAP @ 90k
15 reps. (Might have gotten 1 or 2 more but my phone fell out of my pocket and was dangling by my eat buds…)

Snatch Grip Deadlifts
3x AMRAP @ 60k off of 6″ blocks >2min rest between sets:
8 reps
10 reps
12 reps

Clearly, I need to work on my form. It’s silly I get more as I get more fatigued…

Pendlay Rows
3x AMRAP @ 40k >2min rest between sets:
15 reps
15 reps
15 reps

So hard to keep these from going wild.

Conditioning:
30 minutes hiking with Jeff and Roki. Also doing 15 minute row later tonight.

Post-Lifting:
2 scoops whey.

Dinner:
1 bowl pulled pork
1 baked potato
1 bowl purple slaw

Still Alive

WOAH! WHERE HAVE I BEEN? Three days without posting! tisk tisk

As an apology here is a quick recipe for an AMAAAAAZZZZINNGGGG nectarine compote I made the other day. MMmmmmmmMmm 🙂 PUT THIS ON YOUR PROTEIN PANCAKES!

Ingredients:

• 3 nectarines
• 1 tsp of truvia sweetener (or whatever kind of sweetener you want)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Method: Boil down until mushy. Put on everything you want to be delicious.
Anyway, I’m here, I’m alive and I’m well (well not really, I’ve actually been sick … meh). Food log and diet had been really good, until I got my period and decided I should eat all the ice cream in the grocery store. So… for the first time since I started my 10 week challenge… no gold star on my calendar. I mean… I didn’t go too crazy so there is a possibility that I stayed below my calories, but I kinda doubt it since I wasn’t counting. Whatever. Back on the boat. 2 “bad” days out of 30 isn’t bad!

In other dietary discipline news. I have been sober for over 90 days. Nearly 100 WOAHHHH WHAT THE FUCK?! Never thought this would happen. Very proud of myself.

In training news, my back off week was good, but my lower back is still KILLING ME. I’m taking this as a sign from God that I shouldn’t be training on a linear progression and I’m going back on the CUBE Method which was working for me before. I realize my programming ADD is out of control right now, but oh well. I’ve gotta do what I’ve gotta do to figure out what works and what doesn’t. My back seemed to bother me on the CUBE and I was making progress, so I’m going to go back to that. I just can’t deal with feeling like I’m going to get injured every time I get under the bar. ::sigh::

Hurt back aside though, my training was fun yesterday. I just fucked around and  finished off my back off week with some push presses (which I PR’d at 100#s) My arms are still stupidly weak, but it’s nice to know I can get 100#s over my head officially. Back to never doing that ever 😉

 

 

Pico De Gallo Recipe

I usually make this pico de gallo every few days, store in the fridge and add to EVERYTHING I eat. Egg tacos, chicken, beef, fish, rice, quinoa, salads seriously… EVERYTHING. I love it and it’s a major staple in my house. Now that I’m watching calories, I love it even more because it’s a giant flavor boost to simple dishes, is low in calories and high in vitamins. Lots of bang for your buck! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp diced red bell peppers
• 1 tbsp diced green bell peppers
• 1 tbsp diced garlic
• 2 tbsp chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• squish of lime

Method
Chop it up & Mix it up man! Easy as pie.

Week 1 Day 1 – 10 week cut

Training Log

Running – 1 mile:
Today is Day 1 of my fat cut. I’m excited! So excited in fact that I went out on a run this morning with my dog… Just for fun! WOAH! (if you don’t know, I typically loath running and will find any excuse NOT to do it… so this kinda a big deal). I tracked the run when I got back and it was exactly 1 mile – which is kinda exciting. I might do this run as a regular thing and see how I can progress on it over the next 10 weeks.

1 mile run review: Not that hard. Didn’t take that long. Dog loved it. Will run again 😉

Then…
3/4 mile Ruck – 6 bricks in my backpack. Harder than expected! Gonna be a little sore in the traps from this I think. Might need to get a better backpack so I can support the weight on my hips rather than my back.

Food Log 7/21/13

Total Calories – 1700 calories
Total Protein – 190g

Gold Star

Breakfast: 
2 egg tacos – 375 Calories

• 2 eggs
  
• 2 egg whites
• 2 corn tortillas
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp pico de gallo (see recipe above)

Turns out the corn tortillas I bought at the grocery store have 50 more calories per serving than the ones I usually get. So, this was a little higher in calories than expected. I made it up in my other meals.

Snack: 
1 apricot – 25 calories

Lunch:

Chicken, Quinoa Salad & Cottage Cheese – 500 calories

• 150g chicken breast (boiled in adobo spices)
• 150g quinoa salad
  • 100g cooked quinoa
  • 25g chick peas
  • 25g veggies – cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes
  • salt & pepper
• 100g Cottage cheese
• 1 tbsp pico de gallo

Snack:
6oz Greek Yogurt & 1/2 cup Blueberries – 150 Calories

Dinner:
Same as lunch: Chicken, Quinoa Salad & Cottage Cheese – 500 calories

Snack:
6oz Greek Yogurt & 1/2 cup Blueberries – 150 Calories

Fruity Chocolate Protein Muffins

I’ve definitely been on a “baking with protein powder” kick lately. It’s really all I want to do anymore. Today I made some protein muffins and threw in all the random fruit laying around my apartment and they were AMAZING. Moist and gooey with drippy blueberry goodness.

Makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients:

• 2 scoops chocolate whey protein powder
• 2 tbsp coconut flour
• 1 tbsp almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 packets stevia sweetener 
• 1 tbsp coco powder
• 2 eggs
• 3 egg whites
• 1 apple (grated with a cheese grater) 
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup raspberries
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp olive oil

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until smooth. Pour batter into greased or lined cupcake pan.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the muffins have risen and a toothpick comes out clean.

Macros:

Entire Recipe:

682 Calories

• 23.4g of Fat (35%)
• 77.6g of Protein (45%)
• 43.8g of Carbs (25%)

Individual Muffin:

56 Calories

• 2g Fat
• 6.5g Protein
• 3.6g Carbs

Double Chocolate Banana Nut Muffins

There’s something really fucking awesome about Sunday afternoons in the Fall. Isn’t there? You’re chillin’ at home, all the chores were finished in the morning, all the social niceties of Friday and Saturday night are in the past, you’re done your heavy lifting for the week… it’s just you, your family, some well deserved recovery time and …  a whoooole lot of football!

::sigh:: It’s Magical.

Anyway… today, to take advantage of this magical fall afternoon feeling, I decided to make some muffins! I was craving chocolate AND banana nut muffins, so I decided to merge the two into one amazing paleo masterpiece! Initially, I was worried that my health bent decision to add protein powder to the batter would ruin the deliciousness, but man was I wrong! It couldn’t have gone over better – So much rich chocolatey goodness! In general, I’m often a little nervous about Paleo baked goods (I’ve made a few that have ended up dry and disgusting) but these muffins were absolutely fantastic — moist, rich, nutty, and just… really fucking good. Plus, now that I’m not trying to lose weight the nuts and carbs aren’t as scary as they used to be 😉

These muffins make a fantastic snack or on-the-go breakfast option.

This recipe makes 12 muffins – Each has about 225 calories, 9g of protein, 15g of carbs & 15g of fat.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 3 eggs
• 5 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
• 3 tbsp maple syrup

• 2 tbsp coconut flour
• 2 scoops whey protein powder (I used Double Rich Chocolate)
• 1 cup ground almonds
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 4oz chopped dark chocolate (I used 85%, but in hindsight it was perhaps too bitter — 65% might have helped bring out the subtle sweetness of the muffins better)

Method

Preheat the oven to 325F. This batter seems to be very heat sensitive — the butter and chocolate will burn before the almond flour cooks all the way through if the oven is too hot, so I recommend keeping it a bit cooler than your usual muffins.

Melt the butter and chop/grind all your ingredients.

Mix all the wet ingredients together. Then add all the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Once mixed, add the walnuts and chocolate chunks.

Pour the batter into a well greased muffin tin and place it in the oven. Cook for 25-30 minutes. When the muffins are finished they will be browned on the sides and top and a toothpick will pull out clean (be sure to test!).

Italian Tuna Salad

Ingredients

• 2 cans tuna
• 1/2 jar marinated artichoke hearts (with liquid)
• 1 tbsp chopped rosemary
• 1 tbsp chopped thyme
• salt & pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp chopped celery
• 2 tbsp chopped onions
• 2 tbsp capers

Method

Mix & Serve

Pate with Pickles & Pears

Yes, beef liver pate’ is an acquired taste and not everyone likes it, but I do! So if you do, or if you just feel like trying it here’s how I make mine 🙂

Ingredients:

• 1lb beef liver
• 1/2 stick of butter or bacon fat
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• Fresh rosemary.
• Salt & pepper to taste.

Method:
Saute all the ingredients until the liver is cooked through. Throw it in a food processor and blend until smooth. If it’s too thick, add more fat.

Serve with sliced apples, pears, and baby gherkins!

Kale Chips

OK so… I’ll go ahead and admit that sometimes I am a giant snobby bitch when it comes to food. I really don’t like “diety” foods and I get somewhat annoyed with “healthy” recreations of unhealthy foods. For this reason, I was really reluctant to get into Kale Chips despite their growing popularity. A few months ago, however, I bought some  at the grocery store (thinking maybe I was wrong)… I could not have been more disappointed. TOTALLY GROSS! They were covered in fake vegan cheese and WAY to much salt. Hard as a rock and just terrible UGH!! I thought I had confirmed my hatred for kale chips and solidified my argument against healthy junk food.

But then, over Christmas, my sister-in-law made a batch fresh and insisted that I try one. It was absolutely amazing! Not attempting to be a cheese curl, not trying to imitate a potato chip, just amazing amazing crispy baked kale! SO SO GOOD! This is the recipe that she made and I have made them probably 3 times already since then. Overall I couldn’t be happier with this super simple recipe — so happy in fact that I added a Snack category to the blog… who knows maybe more paleo snack recipes will start surprising me!

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• dash of fresh ground salt

Method

Wash and dry the Kale. DRY IT WELL!!!! Beat it against a cloth towel if needed… get the water off of the kale before you put it in the oven. That is important, so do it (otherwise your house will smoke up and the kale will just steam). Cut the leafy bits from the stems and cut them into bite size portions. Throw them in a bowl and toss with olive oil. Arrange them on a cookie sheets, sprinkle with salt and throw them in the oven for about 10 minutes or until browned and crispy. Let cool for a couple minutes before serving. I serve them in a big bowl fresh out of the oven for guests, and they are gone in a matter of minutes.