Day 27!

Edible Veggie Tops

Every week I get a box of vegetables from Farm Fresh to You and recently the box has had a lot beets and carrots.  I love the vegetable part but a trip to Marks Daily Apple reminded me that I could be eating the tops of the vegetables as well.  Who knew? The following is an excerpt from Mark's Daily Apple on edible vegetable tops.  Click here for the full article.  Enjoy! 

It can be easy to forget that the green tops of many vegetables are not only edible, but truly delicious. Beets, carrots, radishes and turnips often show up in supermarkets with no greens attached at all, and that’s a shame. When cooked and served with their greens, these veggies become side dishes with an amazing array of earthy, sweet, pleasantly bitter and peppery flavors.

Beet greens are probably the most familiar within this bunch. Turnip greens are a little more delicate but have a similar flavor. Radish greens are milder than the radish itself but still a bit peppery. Carrot tops are slightly pungent and herbal. All of these greens can be cooked in a variety of ways: sautéed or stir-fried with oil or animal fat (bacon is always delicious with greens), thrown into soups, chopped up raw and served in salads or thrown into smoothies.

The easy recipes below are eye-opening examples of how delicious veggie greens really are. After a few bites you’ll never have the urge to chop off the tops and throw them out again. You’ll also feel cheated when you can’t find the vegetables with their greens attached at the grocery store.

Next time you’re at the farmers market (where all vegetables keep their green tops) talk to vendors about their favorite edible veggie tops and how they like to prepare them. A whole new world of dark leafy greens will open up.

Recipe Tip: The stems of greens are optional eating; they’re often too chewy and tough to be enjoyable. Either pull the leaves from the stems or just cut off the bottom portion of the stem where no leaves are attached. Try to buy organic and make sure to wash all vegetable greens really well. It usually takes a few rinses in cold water to remove all the dirt and grit.

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/edible-veggie-tops/#ixzz2JaKNh2gk

Day 26!

Body Fat Testing: 

We will be partnering with Fitness Wave for body fat testing once again.  The dates will be March 6th (San Jose gym), 7th (Santa Clara) and 8th (Mountain View).  Mark your calendars!

Don't forget to log your points.  There are still over 20 of you in the race.  Don't let up now!

Day 25!

Almost there!!! 

• Benchmark WOD:

The benchmark WOD will take place this Saturday at all 4 boxes.  Please make sure you can attend.  If not, please make arrangements with a coach to get it done.  

• Finalist Selection:

Once we complete the challenge we will be asking you to total your points and submit your measurements, pictures and benchmark WOD scores.  Another email will follow next Monday with more details.  After we receive all your submissions we will select finalists.  Finalists will be asked to submit a short essay that will be included in the final judging.  Exciting!! 

• Fuel Challenge Wrap-up: 

The Fuel Challenge Wrap up will take place February 16th at Noon at the MV location.  We will announce the winners, raffle off some prizes and celerbrate your hard work.  We hope you can attend! 

Don't forget to log your points! 

Day 24!

The Primal Connection

While I was away temporarily stuck in North Dakota this weekend I had some time to read and read and read some more.  The good news is that I finally made it home (yay!) and that I had a chance to read a great book while I was "trapped".   Read on for details on Mark Sisson's newest book The Primal Connection.  Enjoy! 

"Three years in the making, this new book explores the assorted genetic disconnects inherent in hectic modern life and how to correct them. As friends and colleagues within the ancestral community have so generously described, The Primal Connection offers a fresh perspective and an extension of the evolutionary health theme outside the basics of diet and exercise for the first time."

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/introducing-the-primal-connection-2/#ixzz2JL7cG4f4

Day 23!

Grass Fed Beef!

Hey guys, many of you have mentioned being interested in ordering a large portion of cow from a local farm.  Laura has found a great local farm (Yolo Land and Cattle) that is willing to deliver our order to the gym if we would like to order from them.  Take a look at their site here and let us know a) if you would be interested in ordering b) how much you would like to order (or your price range).  Email dana@norcalcrossfit.com if you are interested.  Looking forward to hearing from you!

PS don't forget to send your food logs in and log your points daily.  Remember, in order to be eligible to win you must meet all the requirements you agreed to at the beginning of the challenge (i.e. logging points, food logs etc).  Keep up the great work!

Day 22!

Taking Stock:

Keep up the great work.  Take a quick moment and take stock of how you feel right now. How are things compared to 23 days ago? Why did you choose to do this challenge in the first place? Have you met your goal?  What would you like to keep when this challenge is over? Celebrate your victories, recalibrate and keep on keepin' on :)

Day 21!

Happy Friday! Here's another recipe for you to try out.  This one was a HUGE success at our house.  Let us know what you think.  Enjoy!

Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Cooking Steps


1. Pre heat oven to 400. Cut squash in half length wise and scoop out the seeds. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and sage to taste.


2. Use 1 Tbsp. of coconut oil. Brush or spoon coconut oil into each half of squash. Roast for 60 minutes.


3. While squash is roasting, melt remaining 2 Tbsp. coconut oil in a pan over medium heat and brown the sausage. Remove sausage from pan and let cool in a mixing bowl. Leave the fat in the pan.


4. Finely dice the onion, celery and garlic and saute over medium heat for a few minutes– until they are softened. Add some salt and pepper. Then add the chopped apples and saute for a couple more minutes.


5. Remove from heat and add to the mixing bowl with the sausage. Allow to cool.


6. When sausage and vegetable mixture are cool enough to handle, add egg and almond or flax meal. Chop rosemary finely and add as well. Mix with your hands (I’m sure I don’t need to tell you to wash them first, right?) until well combined.


7. After an hour, remove squash from the oven. Divide the stuffing among the 4 halves– the stuffing should be mounded– and bake for another 20 minutes.


8. To avoid scorching the roof of your mouth… like I did… you should be patient and let it cool for a bit before you stuff it into your mouth eat it! 

Enjoy.

Recipe found here.  Thanks Fast Paleo!

Day 20!

Choice & Consequence: 

Eating healthy can be a hassle.  Working out can be a hard to fit into your schedule.  So what? You only have one body and you will reap what you sow.  There is a consequence for every action you take (or don't take).  Life is ALWAYS better after a workout and you never regret eating a clean, healthy meal.  Remember that.  Commit those feelings to memory and the next time you are tempted to skip a workout or eat something you know you shouldn't, think back to how awesome you feel after you make a good choice.  You will be glad you did. 

Day 19!

Recipes:

Curry Chicken

Ingredients

Sauce and Chicken:

• 1 lb of boneless/skinless organic chicken breast
• 1 can unsweetened Coconut Milk
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped or crushed ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Fresh cilantro and red onions for garnish
• Cucumber

Curry Rice:

• 1 med head cauliflower – 20 oz
• 1/2 teaspoon ground curry
• 1 green onion – finely chopped
• dash of cayenne pepper, sea salt, ground black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. The original recipe calls for marinating the chicken overnight, but I do it a bit differently. Start by heating up some medium-diced chicken on the stove.
2. As it cooks, prep the sauce.  Just put the coconut milk in a large sauce pan, and start adding the spices, lemon juice, and ginger. There’s a lot of random spices, and it’ll look and smell funky, but don’t worry, it’s amazing. Keep that heating up while you move on to the cauliflower.
3. The fastest and easiest way to do the cauliflower is to chop them to small florets, then microwave them for a few minutes until they get soft. This is critical. Then, toss them in a food processor and just dice the hell out of ‘em.
4. Somewhere in the middle of step 3, take the somewhat cooked chicken, place it in a glass 8×8″ baking pan (pyrex style), and pour the sauce over it. Then toss it in the oven at 450 for about 20 minutes. This lets the sauce really cook into the meat and thicken up just a touch.
5. Now that the cauliflower is good and chopped, toss it into a hot pan with a bit of olive oil and just stir fry it like you would have rice.
6. When it’s all done, take a scoop of ‘rice,’ pour on some chicken and curry sauce, and garnish with red onion, cilantro, and cucumber. As Steve says, the cucumber will help you while eating this nice and spicy dish, so don’t leave it out.
7. Again, put half in the tupperware right away to keep yourself going back for seconds.

ENJOY!!!

Butternut squash soup recipe

INGREDIENTS:

•    1 or 2 butternut squashes (1 is good for about 3 good portions);

•    1 or 2 cans of coconut milk, depending on the number of squashes you prepare. 

•    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

•    Any fresh out dried herb you’ve got laying around;

PREP:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2. Cut your squash lengthwise and remove the seeds. You can get rid of the seeds or keep them and roast them for a snack latter.

3. Place the halves, cut side down, on a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 45 minutes. It might take longer, but I suggest you check on them after 45 minutes. Verify that the flesh is fork tender and it’s ready.

4. Now either wait for the squash to cool down a bit so it’s easier to handle or put on some gloves. Scoop out the cooked flesh in a sauce pan and add about 3/4 of a can of coconut milk per squash.

5. Start mashing the squash with a potato masher on a low heat. Note that you can also place the flesh and coconut milk in a blender and blend the mixture. I prefer the version in the pan, less work than washing a blender.

6. Once everything is mashed up, adjust the consistency by adding some coconut milk if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you want to go fancy, grate a bit of fresh nutmeg . You can also add some grated fresh ginger or garlic for a nice spin on the taste.

7.   Serve and enjoy! Garnish with fresh herbs on top if you have any. For added style, you can drizzle additional coconut milk in a spiral on the served bowls to create a white swirl.

Day 18!

The Science of Nutrition

CrossFitters are a smart bunch that ask questions and really seek to understand. This is most evident in the gym as athletes ask how they can deadlift more, run faster, or get a better Fran time. But what about nutrition? Most athletes follow the paleo diet and understand the basic prescription. Other options are the primal approach or zone/paleo.  In order to understand how to best optimize your nutrition we will start at the beginning and consider the basic chemistry of the food we are using to fuel our bodies.  

Macronutrients 

What are macronutrients? According to wikipedia a macronutrient is "the class of chemical compounds humans consume in the largest quantities and which provide bulk energy are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats". For our purposes we are going to limit our consideration to carbohydrates, proteins and fats. We will leave our discussion of micronutrients to a different day.

Carbohydrates are compounds made up of types of sugars. Carbohydrates are classified by their number of sugar units: monosaccharides (such as glucose and fructose), disaccharides (such as sucrose and lactose), oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides (such as starch, glycogen, and cellulose).

Proteins are organic compounds that consist of the amino acids joined by peptide bonds. The body cannot manufacture some of the amino acids (termed essential amino acids); the diet must supply these. In nutrition, proteins are broken down through digestion by proteases back into free amino acid.

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.

Fats consist of a glycerin molecule with three fatty acids attached. Fatty acids are unbranched hydrocarbon chains, connected by single bonds alone (saturated fatty acids) or by both double and single bonds (unsaturated fatty acids). Fats are needed to keep cell membranes functioning properly, to insulate body organs against shock, to keep body temperature stable, and to maintain healthy skin and hair. The body does not manufacture certain fatty acids (termed essential fatty acids) and the diet must supply these.

Day 17!

Movies That Make You Smarter & Healthier

Documentaries are a quick, entertaining and educational way to learn more.  Below you will find the trailers for a few movies that will get you thinking.  You can find most of these at your local library or on iTunes.  Have a movie you think is applicable? Post to comments.  

• Food Inc. 

Our biological impulses are being marketed to on a daily basis.  "Food" companies are tapping into your psyche and using those hardwired urges to impact your choices.  Does this mean you are powerless to their persuasion? Absolutely not.  It is important to pay attention and take responsibility for your choices.  

• King Corn

King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. In King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America's most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat-and how we farm.

• Hungry for Change

From the creators of the groundbreaking documentary FOOD MATTERS comes another hard-hitting film certain to rock your world.  HUNGRY FOR CHANGE exposes shocking secrets the diet, weightloss and food industry don't want you to know about. Deceptive strategies designed to keep you craving more and more. 

Day 16!

Keep on truckin!

We are well over the halfway mark and on our way! Keep up the great work!  

Please make sure you send your food logs to your coaches asap.  It takes a few days to go through all of them, but we will be sure to get you some feedback on how you are doing.  Partners, how are your buddies doing? Have you checked in with them recently? We are in this together. High five, fist bump and log those points!

Day 15!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Hey all, I have heard some really awesome reports from a lot of you.  A few of you have also had some pretty insightful questions and concerns.  Could you do us (your fellow NorCal CrossFitters) a favor?  Can you take a few moments and email a few sentences to dana@norcalcrossfit.com and tell us about the following:

• a) a few awesome (GOOD) things you have experienced since starting the challenge 
• b) a few not so awesome (BAD) things you have experienced since starting the challenge 
• c) your best or UGLIEST food concoction to date (random I know, but this could be fun)

We will share these in a future post that should be informative, motivating and probably even a little funny.  Stand by (oh and don't forget to post your points and food logs).  

Keep up the great work! 

Day 14!

High five!!! You made it through your first work week!! How are you feeling? What went well? What could have gone better? What can you do to prepare for the following week?

Meal Planning

We have all heard the famous saying "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail".  As we head into the weekend, take a moment and consider investing some time now that will provide you with many opportunities to nourish and fuel your bodies in the following week.  In other words, do the work now so you can have an easier week to come.  A weeks worth of food planning can be as easy baking some protein and cutting up some vegetables.  For those of you that want to get a bit more creative you will find some fun recipes below.  ENJOY!

• Breakfast:
• Egg casserole: Saute some bacon and vegetables, layer the bacon combo on the bottom of a casserole dish.  Mix up some eggs and some 21 salute seasoning from Trader Joes.  Pour the egg over the bacon and vegetables.  Bake at 375 for 30 min.  
• Baked eggs in bacon Rings: Find the recipe here
• Green smoothie: Find the recipe here
• Lunch: 
• Baked chicken thighs/breasts with a vegetable of your choice
• Spinach salad with lots of chopped vegetables from your weekend trip to the famers market
• Chicken, yam and chard soup: Find the recipe here

• Dinner: 
• Stuffed zucchini: Find the tasty recipe here
• Ginger beef with mango salsa: Find the recipe here
• Buffalo chicken and sweet potato meatza: Find the recipe here

Here are a few other websites with awesome recipes.  Check 'em out and let us know what you think.  Have a favorite recipe blog that is not posted here? Post your favorites to comments.  3, 2, 1 EAT!!

• http://www.paleoplan.com/recipes/
• http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-diet-recipes/
• http://paleorecipes.com/
• http://paleomg.com/
• http://nomnompaleo.com/recipeindex

Day 13!

Good Fat/Bad Fat: Quality Control

So if you are paleo you can eat whatever fat you want and not worry about the quality right? 

WRONG.  

When I first started eating paleo I didn't pay attention to the quality of the foods I was eating.  If it didn't include wheat or gluten I figured I was in the clear.  I was very far from the truth.  We need to be concerned not only with the types of food we are eating but the quality of the food as well.  (Quick shout out to the Lazy Caveman for spending an afternoon with me discussing this topic).  

Lets start our discussion with a look at fat.  Balanced Bites is a great resource with a multitude of information.  The following is an excerpt from their blog discussing safe cooking fats and oils.  Enjoy! 

What are the best fats or oils to use for cooking?

First and foremost let me remind you that there are a few different reasons why you will want to avoidcertain fats and oils for cooking, mainly seed oils.

1. Saturated fats are more STABLE than unsaturated fats. Quite literally, the chemical structure of saturated fats will not be easily damaged by things that will easily damage unsaturated fats, namely heat, light and air. Ever wonder why your high-quality olive oils are sold in a dark green glass or other opaque container? It’s to keep light from damaging the oil. Ever wonder why coconut oil doesn’t go “off” or smell rancid from sitting out on the counter without a lid on it but a vegetable oil like corn or soybean oil will? Air oxidizes those oils and makes them rancid. That is, damaged beyond the point that they are already just from the point of bottling. What separates the saturated fats from the unsaturated fats is the presence of a hydrogen bond at every instance of a carbon in the chemical structure of the fat. When there is a double bond in the chain of carbons, it creates a more unstable structure, which you can see when a fat is liquid at room temperature: the group of unstable fats together form a liquid versus the group of stable fats together which form a solid or semi-solid.

2. Seed oils are extremely high in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) at varying ratios, all of which are prone to oxidation, PUFAs most significantly. You wouldn’t cook with fish oil, would you? Why would you want to cook with other oils that are very high in PUFAs? Even beyond PUFAs, MUFAs are pretty easy to damage as well (olive oil is very high in MUFAs). Re-read this post for more on why canola and other seed oils all made by expeller and chemical extraction methods are already rancid once they’re bottled as well as this post on how they’re made.

3. BEWARE: Many refined seed oils are marketed as having a high smoke point, therefore making them “ideal” choices for cooking. That’s not really the whole story. A higher smoke point is valid only if the fat or oil is fairly stable to begin with, and it may be useful in determining between two fats which is more ideal to use. That said, simply using the smoke point as a reason why you choose a cooking oil is an ineffective tool and will leave you with an already rancid oil on your hands (most likely, due to how it was initially processed – see links above and the video below on how canola oil is made below) and one that you’ll possibly damage further with the high heat of your skillet.

So, which fats ARE safe and recommended for cooking?

Here is a handy chart for you of common cooking fats & oils ranking them in order of best to worst for cooking (see below). Note that this is not a complete list of every possible fat or oil that exists. Nor is it my comprehensive list ofFats/Oils: Which to Eat & Which to Ditch that you can download here. I will likely update the Ranking of Common Cooking Fats chart as I come across more information or have more resources at my fingertips since some of my usual resources are currently out of reach. What you can do is use the chart as a tool and see where the fat or oil you find may fall within the chart based on it’s fatty acid composition as well as it’s smoke point using resources like the books “Know Your Fats” and “Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill” as well as websites like  http://wikipedia.com/ or others listing fatty acid composition of cooking fats/oils as a resource.

It’s safe to assume, however, that most naturally occurring saturated fats are safe to cook with, while most unsaturated fats (called oils because they are liquid at ambient room temperature) are unsafe to cook with and are most ideal for cold uses if appropriate for consumption at all. Remember that man made trans-fats are never healthy to eat: Crisco, Earth Balance, Smart Balance, Benecol, Margarine, Country Crock, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and the new one claiming to be a coconut product but it actually contains soybean oil… yeah, those are all a “never.”

Before you post a comment asking about this oil or that oil… USE THE RANKING SYSTEM here to figure out where it would fall. Those with the highest percentage of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and with the highest smoke point rank at the top while those with the highest percentage of PUFAs and lowest smoke point at the bottom. Then, make the call for yourself whether you want to 1- cook with it, 2- use it cold- or 3- avoid it entirely.