Sweet Potato Casserole... guilt free : )

Sorry, no marshmallows in this one, but its so good you won't miss them.  Its like grownup sweet potato casserole.

5 large sweet potatoes or yams
2 apples peeled and cut into large chunks
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
4 tbs of organic grass fed butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup chopped pecans

Peel and cut yams into approx 1" chunks, boil until fork tender. Strain and place in a large bowl. While still hot, add apples, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter and maple syrup. Mix well. Spread mixture in an 11x7 glass baking dish. Sprinkle with pecans and bake uncovered at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

I generally cannot tolerate dairy, but a small amount of butter in a large dish like this does not seem to bother me. I have tried to sub grape seed oil, which is not bad, but not quite as good as the butter in this one.

Merry Christmas!

Thinking about 2012...

San Diego Zoo

Holiday prep is pretty much done for me... just a few things to tie up last minute, so I've begun to think about my goals for 2012. I  don't like to call  them "resolutions," because no one actually sticks to their new year's resolutions. Goals are something that you should have all the time, and the new year is a good time to evaluate where you are vs. where you want to be and make a plan to get there!  Write them down somewhere that you see often and track your progress.

My 2012 goals are:

 *  to learn yoga and be more diligent about stretching.  I  want to be flexible and balanced so that some of the movements in my workouts are easier and injury is less likely.
 *  to be present.  I have been working on this and want to get better at it. How often is your  head  full of an nonstop narrative- recounting past  events, imagining future events, etc. I have almost finished reading Ekhart Tolle's book,  "A New Earth," which makes you very aware of when you are living in the past or the future rather than enjoying and absorbing the moment you are currently in.
 *  to be able to do 5 pullups.  Confession... last year, one of my goals was to be able to do 10 pull ups.  I can currently do one very ugly pullup with a big kip.  I have lowered my standards. I will be thrilled with 5 pullups unbroken one year from now.  I blame it on my long ape arms : ) Too far to pull!  But seriously, I need to  really work on upper-body pulling strength.
 * to not sweat the small stuff!

We're having our clients write out their goals  for the new year also,  and I can't wait to watch them all  exceed them.  It is so  fun to watch everyone grow in strength, health and confidence.  Need help reaching your fitness, nutrition or health goals? Get ahold of  us!  For those who live a little further away (or  for everyone in 'cuse that thinks that driving this far is crazy) we  have an email nutrition package that  you should check out!  We also offer remote email  programming for  everyone who goes to the gym but doesn't know what to do when they get there.

I wish everyone a low stress, happy and healthy holiday season! I'll post a good Christmas recipe soon!

Roasted Beets and Carrots

So, my first Thanksgiving dinner was a success! Except for the biscuits... they tasted ok, but looked awful so I hid them in the back of the fridge and pretended like I never made them : )  The stuffing was my favorite, but if I made that on a regular basis I'd end up eating about a loaf of brown rice bread a day. That recipe will have to be filed for special occasions. 

My second favorite was Roasted Beets and Carrots....  Don't stop reading yet beet-haters!  Josh (a former beet-hater) actually said, "I can't even taste the beets, they taste just like the carrots!" Beets are so healthy and a great winter-time veggie.  So give this recipe a try!

Roasted Beets and Carrots

  1 1/2 lb carrots sliced
  1 1/2 lb beets diced
  1/2 bulb garlic crushed
  1/4 cup grapeseed oil (or any other oil rated for high heat)
  5 tbs balsamic vinegar 
  fresh thyme and rosemary ( dried will do in a pinch)
  salt and pepper to taste

Steam beets and carrots separately until tender (you can do them all together if you don't mind your carrots turning purple).  Mix all ingredients together and roast @ 425 F for 30 min or until starting to brown. Stir once or twice while roasting.  I used a big cast iron pan, but a pyrex or cookie sheet should work, just make sure the beets and carrots are spread fairly thin. 

Simple, healthy, and delicious!

My workout today:

A. Deadlift 6 reps/4 reps/2 reps with 2 min break between.
      I lifted 125/140/150 lbs!! 150 x 2 is by far a record for me!

B. Pushup 4-8 x 3, 2 min rest b/w sets.
      This sounds pathetic, but it really is an accomplishment for me. For the life of me, I have not been able to do a pushup! I have been practicing incline pushups for a long time, and recently gave the real thing a try and got 4. So now, Josh is able to program pushups in small doses in my workouts. I was able to do 6 reps, then 4 and 4 today.

C. Power clean touch and go 6 reps 65lbs
    Airdyne 10 sec fast
     repeat x 4 with 3 min breaks

 

Today's workout...

the before picture of our turkey : )

Got 17 unbroken double unders with a single between each today! that's a record for me! (jumprope)

8 unbroken dead lifts 115#
15 sec air dyne sprint
     repeat x2 with 3 min rest

10 thrusters 45#
Row 10 cals
     repeat x 2 with 3 min rest

Powell raise at a 6 sec negative

I haven't done a heavy breather in forever because I've been working on strength and unilateral stuff to work on hip imbalances, so I was gassed!  Very happy with my dead lifts though!

Spent the rest of the day in the kitchen prepping for thanksgiving. I'm working 12 hrs tomorrow so I wanted to get as much as possible done before Thursday. Also, we got our turkey today from Harold Schrock at Berry Hill Farms!! Our first non-commercial turkey... can't wait to try it!

A Garage Gym Thanksgiving!

I am so excited to cook for Thanksgiving dinner at my house for the first time!  Here's a look at the menu...

Turkey (of course)
Mashed sweet potato and apple
Stuffing made with brown rice bread
Cranberry sauce (not from a can, sweetened with apple juice, orange juice and a little honey)
almond flour biscuits
spring mix salad
Pumpkin pie with a ground hazelnut-pecan crust (never tried it before... we'll see how it goes!)
Apple-Blackberry crisp
something with carrots and beets... haven't decided yet. The in-laws won't be thrilled with beets, but I'll guilt them in to  trying them!

It'll certainly be cozy at my little kitchen table with 8 of us,  but I'm so thankful to have such a beautiful family to share the holidays with. We are  truly blessed. I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving!

Reasons why I don't program my own workouts...

Felt a little sluggish/lazy going into today's workout... I usually do the day after I work, but getting in the gym helps. When I go into a workout with a negative attitude, I perform horribly, so I make a conscious effort to change that before I start... attitude is a choice!

So... once I got my act together, my workout felt pretty good!  Single leg squats are one of my nemeses, which is why I don't write my own workouts!  If I programmed for myself, it probably would have looked something like this...
  
   jump rope for a bit (stopping at this first sign of a cramp),
   lots of sit ups (my favorite because they are one of my strengths),
   deadlift a few times (who doesn't like to pick up heavy stuff?)

I wouldn't have broken a sweat, stepped out of my comfort zone at all or done anything I don't like doing.  Coincidentally, I don't like to do anything I'm not good at.  This is why you see people doing bicep curls in the mirror, or hanging out on the elliptical forever at the gym.  It's not challenging, and you feel like you have accomplished something. BUT you have no direction and are not stepping out of your comfort zone. One of Josh's favorite quotes is "get comfortable with uncomfortable." While I don't beleive that uncomfortable will ever be comfortable for me, I know that it does get easier. Some of those weaknesses become strengths, and then you like them too!  The key is having structure and guidance. Luckily, I'm married to my strength coach  : )

So this is the workout I actually did today:

  A1 Split squat with 12# dumbells at a 4 sec negative 6 reps, rest 30 sec
  A2 Chin up negatives at a 4 second negative, 2 sec rest at bottom (jumping up) 10 reps, rest 1 min
repeat 3 times

   B1 Back extension 4 sec negative 14 reps, rest 30 sec
   B2 Powell raise with 10#, 5 sec negative 6 reps, rest 1 min
repeat 3 times

I warmed up with some double under jump rope practice and cooled down with some stretching. Felt good, but definitely need to work on scapular strength so I can hopefully improve my pullups! (can get 2 kipping, none from a dead hang)

Healthy desserts do exist... and they actually taste good!

I have always had a sweet tooth, so whenever I am looking for a new recipe, I tend to gravitate toward the desserts!  Josh's favorite, and definitely one of my top 5, is Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffins.  The recipe is courtesy of Elana's Pantry. These have a low glycemic index and are very filling.  I've got 4 cans of pumpkin in the cupboard, so that means lots more pumpkin muffins this year!

I use a lot of almond flour in my baking. It's not cheap if you're comparing it to white flour, but I buy 5lb bags at a time and they last a few months. Its outrageous if you try to buy it locally, but Honeyville Grain sells it for the best price. Just make sure you buy "blanched" almond flour. Unblanched has the skins on it and has a different texture.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Muffins
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
½ cup agave nectar
2 large eggs
1 cup canned organic pumpkin puree

* In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves
* Blend oil, agave, eggs and pumpkin until smooth
* Stir wet ingredients into dry.
* Place paper liners in muffin pan.
* Scoop batter into paper liners
* Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes
* Cool for 2-3 hours
* Serve

Makes 8 muffins... depending on how much batter you eat : )