Monthly Archives: September 2012

eggplant “lasagna”

i’ve been super excited to try this out. i found numerous recipes online but in the end i just made it own.

ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground meat — you can choose whatever animal you want. i used ground beef for this one.
  • olive oil
  • 1 large eggplant
  • onion
  • garlic
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 small can of tomato paste
  • salt
  • pepper
  • whatever spices you want to use to spice up your meat sauce

directions:

  1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  2. cut the eggplant in very thin and long pieces
  3. grease a baking pan and lay out eggplant slices so they are not overlapping
  4. put in the oven for 20 mins
  5. while that’s baking, heat up some olive oil in a pan
  6. add onions and garlic. at this point, it will smell delicious!
  7. add the ground meat and cook through
  8. add seasoning, diced tomatoes and tomato paste
  9. mix and simmer until it’s at the desired consistency
  10. when eggplant is done, layer the bottom of a casserole dish/pyrex baking dish with the eggplant slices
  11. layer on the meat sauce then more eggplant then more meat sauce. repeat process until you’re out of stuff
  12. put it back into the oven for another 30 mins
  13. devour it! soooo yummy!

The picture below probably won’t look as appetizing as it is.  we don’t have sharp knives so i’m embarrassed to show you our eggplant slices! haha

lunch is served

i felt like i was on Chopped/Iron Chef this morning in the kitchen since i had very little time to make breakfast AND lunch.  Tom calls me “Mini Moto” sometimes. haha  anyway,  i didn’t plan my lunch very well for today but i know i didn’t want to buy anything so i used what i had to make this delicious creation:

lunch

this has two hamburger patties with overeasy eggs on top…on the side i have roasted brussel sprouts! YUM! hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as i did. oh and in case you were wondering what i cooked for breakfast, i made the usual — baked bacon and eggs.

pumpkin granola

it’s pumpkin season!!! so i like granola and i like pumpkins so when i saw this on PaleOMG and i HAD to try it. of course i made some tweaks to it. hopefully y’all will enjoy it as much as we did! it’s a perfect snack OR you can add coconut or almond milk to eat it like cereal. OM NOM! ….you also get the added bonus of filling your home with a holiday pumpkin scent…until the smelly puppy starts farting. :/

ingredients:

  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1/2 cup flax seed
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 8-10 dried dates, pits removed, then chopped
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/3 cup agave nectar (i’ve read in some places this isn’t paleo but i still think it is. you can use maple syrup or honey instead if you don’t believe in agave.)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • pinch of salt

directions:

  1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. in a large mixing bowl, mix the wet ingredients (pumpkin puree, coconut oil, agave nectar, and vanilla extract) and all spices.
  3. add the nuts, seeds, and dates.
  4. place parchment paper on a large baking sheet and pour your granola mixture on top. make sure to spread out the mixture evenly so everything will cook evenly.
  5. place in oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, moving the granola around half way through to be sure it doesn’t burn.
  6. add the dried cranberries and mix.
  7. LET COOL so it will harden up — i HATE waiting so this was the hardest part!
  8. eat all by itself or top it off with coconut milk, almond milk, or even dairy milk (if you do that).
  9. enjoy the crap out of this pumpkin goodness.

breaking the mental barrier by josh bridges

we often say that we are our worst critic and because of that, we inadvertently discourage ourselves from being great. we let our minds take control of what our body can handle. josh bridges took the 2nd place spot during the 2011 CrossFit games with his persistence to greatness by breaking through all mental barriers — which he outlines in this article. read and learn so you too can be great!

breaking the mental barrier by josh bridges

“your body can handle more than your mind thinks it can. don’t let that little boss in your head beat you; go out there and show it that you are the boss!”

-josh bridges, 2011 CrossFit Games, 2nd place

my life in a nutshell

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this progression depicts my life story. i was larger than what was healthy — although i wasn’t obese. i led a carefree lifestyle where i didn’t care about what i consumed. i had a very sedentary lifestyle where the only physical activity i participated in was dancing at the clubs while drinking tons of alcohol.

THEN i discovered personal training at 24 hour fitness. it was then that i discovered caloric intake and output. i became obsessed with the numbers that it controlled my life. this obsession resulted in a 30 pound weight loss and 15% body fat loss. i looked great and i was encouraged to enter a figure competition, where i dedicated myself to training and dieting to look good on stage. after that experience, i realized that i didn’t want to be on a “diet” forever and that i wanted to maintain a lean lifestyle on and off-season. bodybuilders and figure competitors are amazing athletes; however, that lifestyle is just not for me. i wanted a lifestyle where i felt good about myself and i looked healthy everyday.

FINALLY i discovered CrossFit and paleo eating. i embodied this healthy lifestyle where i’m not consistently counting calories or weighing food. i can eat as much paleo foods that i want and i don’t feel guilty “cheating”. if i do “cheat” i won’t quickly gain fat back. when i’m working out, i’m not concentrating on working on isolated muscle groups over and over again. instead i’m practicing functional movements with weights or not. my training is constantly varied so my body is guessing every time i step into the gym. also i no longer spend three hours in the gym where most of the time is spent recovering between reps. instead i’m in and out of the gym working every minute. i love this lifestyle and i’m constantly challenged to do better everyday. most importantly i like to freak people out with how much weight i can move!

it’s easy to forget where you started and how far you’ve come along. every time i look at old pictures, i’m reminded how strong i am inside and out. that motivates me to be a better person inside the gym and out in the world…so..that’s my life in a nutshell…

bacon burger

after the WOD tonight, we couldn’t figure out what we wanted to eat but on the way home, i knew what i wanted to experiment with the stuff we had in our refrigerator.  i was inspired by the bacon burgers from bristol farms so i decided to make my version of it.

ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 4 pieces of bacon
  • garlic powder
  • salt
  • pepper
  • cheese (only if it’s part of your diet)

directions:

  1. cook the bacon until it starts to crinkle up
  2. dice bacon
  3. in a bowl, mix the ground beef, diced bacon, garlic powder, salt, pepper and some bacon fat.
  4. cut cheese in small cubes
  5. make beef patty balls with cheese in the middle then flatten into patties
  6. grill on your grill — we use a Foreman
  7. eat!

 

baby broccoli

when i was prepping for my figure competition, my coach put me on a broccoli and chicken diet. it was awful and because of that, i’m sick of broccoli! ….until we discovered baby broccoli aka broccolini.  it’s a good side dish for ANYTHING!

ingredients:

  • broccolini
  • coconut oil
  • garlic powder
  • salt
  • pepper

directions:

  1. grease a pan with coconut oil — heat oil on high
  2. cut the broccolini in thirds
  3. once the pan is hot, add broccolini
  4. add garlic powder, salt and pepper
  5. keep mixing until you see the broccolini is getting soft.
  6. take out of pan and enjoy

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