Archive for August, 2012

Going Out Strong

Posted: August 17, 2012 in Food, Ramadan
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If you’re wondering, those Haribo gummy bears are still in a staring contest with me. What are you supposed to do with a 5 lb bag of those?? Anyhow, I can’t believe this was the second to last day of Ramadan 2012. While I was cooking dinner tonight, I realized how normal it felt to be eating a Paleo meal instead of it feeling like it was something I had to go out of my way to do. As strong as this month began, I want to make sure I end it just as strong, if not stronger so I can carry this beyond this month. I’m hoping we all set our short-term Ramadan goals for this month but how many of those have you decided to carry on for longer? I’m sure we all bettered our selves in one way or another this month. Did we find a way to maintain that or will we let it slide? The khutba (sermon) at today’s Friday prayer talked about this and it really stuck in my head. What’s the point of all the improvements we made this month if we plan to let them go next week and not worry about them for another 11 months. This progress is hard-earned, let’s hold on to it and build on it!

Sahoor

Sick of omelette and scrambled eggs? Let’s try some Paleo French Toast. This recipe is to make a whole loaf of French Toast:

    • 1 loaf of grain free bread, slices
    • 3 eggs
    • 1/2 cup of coconut milk
    • 2 tsp of cinnamon
    • 1 tsp of nutmeg
    • coconut oil
    • banana, sliced

Whisk the milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and eggs in a wide bowl. Heat up a pan with coconut oil. Dip a bread slice into the mixture and then lay it on the pan. Pan fry each side until starts browning. Repeat for each slice. Once you are done, put the banana slices on the pan and cook for a minute or so on each side. Add them to your french toast. I would say they taste just as good, if not better, as regular toast!

Iftar

For Iftar I decided to make an Italian dish. I was craving something saucy so I made Chicken Cacciatore. Cacciatore is Italian for “hunter”. It usually refers to a meal prepared “hunter-style” with tomatoes, onions, herbs, and bell pepper. Cacciatore is usually made with chicken or rabbit. I made it with chicken (surprise, surprise). This is enough to make 2 servings (or 1.5 if you eat like me):

    • 1 lb of chicken thigh, diced
    • 1 tsp of chili powder
    • 1/2 tsp of sea salt
    • 1 medium-sized yellow onion, sliced
    • 1/2 of olives, diced
    • 1 clove of garlic, minced
    • 1 large tomato, chopped
    • 4 oz of pure tomatoe puree
    • 1/2 tsp of dried oregano
    • 1/2 bell pepper cut into 1″ pieces
    • 2 Tbs coconut oil

Heat up a large skillet with coconut oil. Season the chicken with sea salt and chili powder and add it to the skillet. Cook it for about 10-15 minutes until the chicken browns. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set it aside. Add the onions and olives to the skillet and saute until the onions start to turn brown. Add in the tomato, tomato puree, peppers, garlic, oregano, and chicken to skillet. Mix it all up and stir for a minute or so. Cover the skillet up and let it simmer on low heat until the chicken is tender.

This was as good as I had thought it would be. It satisfied the Italian, saucy, chicken craving that I had. If you want, you can add mushrooms to it as well for some added texture, just don’t add any bread!

The 24 hour countdown has begun! One more day, one more day! See you all tomorrow!

Oops..

Posted: August 16, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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I’m an avid Amazon shopper and have subscriptions set up to many things like coconut water, home supplies, etc. I forgot that I also had a subscription to this treat until it showed up at my door:

Yeah oops! Haribo Gummy Bears are halal gummy bears and they are addicting. I apparently have a subscription set to send me a 5 POUND bag every 6 months. Yeah, 5 pounds! I didn’t realize you could buy sugar in that kind of quantity. The sad thing is, the last time I ordered these was when I had my surgery and in the week I was in bed recovering, I finished almost the whole bag! I need to get these out of sight ASAP.

Sahoor

For Sahoor, I kept it simple and made 2 sunny side up eggs with another 2 egg whites in olive oil. I mashed up some sweet potatoes and had that as well. I always knew egg yolks aren’t the best for you, but I recently read an article on just how bad they can be for you. I have to do some more research on that and see if I need to cut down on those a bit.

Iftar

I was busy volunteering tonight so I didn’t have much time to prepare Iftar. I was able to pull out the chicken chapli kabobs I had frozen and turn them into a bun-less burger. I added lots of lettuce and tomatoes and called it a meal. I also had some cantaloupe.

Workout

I borrowed this workout from a reader’s blog. There are some great workouts on that blog that you can do anywhere with minimal equipment. You can do this one anywhere as long as you have a pull up bar:

10 Handstand push-ups
20 Dead hang pull-ups
30 Burpees
40 Sit-ups
50 Squats
60 Push-ups
 
 

I don’t have a lot to say in this post because I’ve been spending a little more time concentrating on Ramadan. I hope everyone is going strong these last couple of days and is able to finish strong. It’s almost over!

Pardon the Egg Roll and Snacking

Posted: August 15, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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So last night was another situation where I had Iftar at a friend’s house. I talked about this a few posts ago about creating a game plan when you are on foreign turf. I stuck with the same principles last night and I was able to get a great Paleo meal in. Much thanks to my friend and his family for great food!

Workout

This workout was 2 short workouts put together. There was a little bit of a break in between them to recover but there is only so much recovery when you haven’t eaten or drank all day. I got through it though and even ran!

3 Rounds
15 Hang Power Cleans 135lbs
15 Burpees
–10 Minute rest–
5 Rounds
35 Double Unders
Run 200 M

My stamina is building up and my body is adjusting to this so I will be curious to see how my body performs when it’s fully hydrated next week. If I’m starting to perform decent now, I should be a killer next week right??

Iftar

There you see some meat, some greens, a broiled tomato, and a unique lemon with spinach dish that I have to find the recipe for. I made sure to empty a jug of water.

Last night was also Laylatul Qadr, or night of power. It’s the 27th night of Ramadan and is a very special occasion. During the nights of Ramadan, there is a special prayer called Taraweeh every night. During these prayers, the Quran is recited in it’s entirety over the span of 27 days. Last night was when the last bit was read. The turn out was phenomenal. There had to have been over 2,000 people in the mosque. This was the case at mosques around the world. After that is done, people spend most of the night praying, reading the Quran, and worshiping in other ways. It’s said that worshiping in this night contains more reward than 1000 months. I’m all about good deals and that sounds like a good one to me. So I spent the night back and forth from the mosque. Now, dinner was around 8 pm, I didn’t sleep till 6 am. I had to have gotten hungry, so how did I snack?

I tried to stay healthy while snacking most of the night. I did indulge on a few Doritos (booo yeah I know), but I contained it. I had some mashed sweet potatoes left over from the other night so I ate that. I ate some watermelon to satisfy the sweet tooth, the almond butter came in handy as well. What was missing was guac… I need to fix that. Anyhow, I also snacked on gluten free hummus and drank lot’s of water.

Sahoor

This took me right into Sahoor and I made Chicken Stir Fry with eggs:

    • 3 eggs
    • 1 Tbs of water
    • 1/8 tsp of sea salt
    • 1/4 tsp of chili powder
    • 1/4 onion, chopped
    • 1 small tomato, chopped
    • 2 Tbs of coconut oil
    • 2 Scallions, cut in to 1 inch pieces
    • 1 bell pepper, chopped
    • 1 clove of garlic, minced
    • 2 chapli kabobs, diced or 1/2 lb of cooked chicken breast, diced

Beat the eggs in a bowl with the water, salt, chili powder, tomato, and onion. Heat up a pan and add the coconut oil. Add in the scallion, bell pepper, and garlic and saute for a few minutes until they are tender. Add in the egg mixture along with the chicken and start mixing it around. Keep mixing and scrambling until it’s done.

Serve it on a plate with some slivered almonds. A sliced avocado would go great with it too. I had some sweet potato remaining so I ate that with it. I drank 1.5 liters of water and was full.

This is it, less thanb 3 days left! Stay focused and let’s get through it.

Going Egg-less

Posted: August 14, 2012 in Food
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I realized I forgot to post last night about what I had for Iftar so I will roll it up into this post. I made some chicken scallions and rosemary with a side of mashed sweet potatoes. I made enough for 1.5 servings so I could have some in the morning too.

    • 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into pieces
    • 1 lb chicken thigh, diced
    • sea salt and chili powder, to taste
    • 2 Tbs of coconut oil
    • 2 scallions, sliced in to thick rings
    • 2 Tbs of rosemary, chopped

Wash the sweet potatoes and place them in a large pot full of water. Bring the pot to a boil and add 1 tsp of sea salt. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup of water from the pot and drain the rest. Pour the water you saved back into the pot and mash up the sweet potato.

Season the chicken with the salt and chili powder. Heat up a skillet with 2 Tbs of coconut oil. Once the skillet is hot, add in the scallions and rosemary. Saute it for a minute or so and then add in the chicken. Mix and flip until the chicken is brown. Cover it and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

I served the chicken with the mashed sweet potato. It was an exceptional combo. I wasnt as hungry as I thought I was so I ended up saving a decent amount for later and Sahoor.

For Sahoor, as promised, I really changed things up. I decided to go egg-less. I have had eggs almost every single day this past month but it was time to break the habit. I had some of the leftover chicken from the night before that I heated up. I also made a little treat with a banana and almond butter.

    • 1 banana
    • 2 Tbs of almond butter
    • 2 Tbs of coconut milk

Cut the banana into small slices. Add in the almond butter and coconut milk. Simple as that.I love fruit with almond butter so this was great for me. The almond butter helps process sugar a lot better from fruits so it won’t keep you up and your body won’t store it. Also, the protein and fats you get from it are great. The coconut milk just made it easier to eat by softening things up. The small taste of coconut gave it the perfect carribean taste I needed in the morning.

Very simple Sahoor. I’ll try to do something different tomorrow too!

Paleo Potatoes

Posted: August 13, 2012 in Food
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Sweet potatoes are known as the “Safe Starch” in the Paleo community and are great for providing energy throughout the day. They add that unique sweetness to a meal and can help curb a lot of junk food cravings you might be having. They also contain tons of vitamins such as B6, vitamin D, Iron, and potassium. You can make tons of snacks with sweet potatoes and they don’t take long to prep. Just don’t confuse them for yams. This morning I made some scrambled eggs with sweet potatoes shredding:

    • 1/2 a sweet potato, shredded
    • 1 tsp of cinnamon
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 egg whites
    • 1/4 onion
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • coconut oil

Skin the sweet potato and then shred it into strips. You can also use a food processor to do this. Add coconut oil to a medium-heat skillet. Once it’s hot, add in the sweet potato and sprinkle the cinnamon after about a minute. Saute them until they are tender to your liking. Put them to the side. Add the onions to your skillet and saute until they become soft. Add in the eggs and egg white. Mix around until egg is scrambled. Add in the salt. Continue to mix around until the egg is done.

I put the eggs over the sweet potatoes and then added a bit of hot sauce to it for flavor. I love sweet potatoes and I loved them even more with eggs. This was very quick to make. The longest part of all of this is to skin and shred the sweet potato. If you like eating it with the skin, you can just drop the potato into a blender and then it’s even faster.

Additionally I had 1.5 liters of water and a protein shake. This should get me through the day and workout!

International Meals

Posted: August 12, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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For Sahoor I went international and made a Mexican dish. For Iftar I decided to continue on the international road and traveled to Zanzibar to make something from there. This dish is usually made with chicken thighs or drumsticks. If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m not a fan of bone-in chicken. I will go out of my way if I have to get boneless chicken. Call me lazy but I like to just eat my food with a fork and not have to worry about picking meat off a bone. Although, that probably is more Cave Man style. Oh well. Tonight’s dish was Zanzibar Chicken:

    • 3/4 lb chicken thigh (boneless chunks for me)
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 tsp chili powder
    • 2 Tbsp of olive oil
    • 1/4 onion, chopped
    • 1 garlic clove, minced
    • 1/2 cup of 100% orange juice
    • 2 Tbs raisins
    • 1/4 cup of slivered almonds

Season the chicken with the salt and chili powder. Heat up a pan with the olive oil and add in the chicken. Cook the chicken until it’s brown. Take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside for now. Add the onions to the pan and saute them until they become soft (2-3 minutes). Add in the garlic and mix it up. Drop the chicken back into the pan and mix it around. Now add the orange juice and raisins. Mix everything up for a few minutes. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and let it simmer until the chicken is tender. Sprinkle the almonds on top and serve.

I’ve never had raisins and orange juice with chicken before so this was unique. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t hesitate while taking that first bite, but it was realllly good. Perfect balance of sweet vs spicy. I treated it like pho while eating it, fork for the meat and spoon for the “curry”. Even though the quantity of raisins is so low, they do their job of changing the flavor of the orange juice so it doesn’t taste purely like orange juice. This didn’t take very long to make either, just 15 minutes or so. I will make this again for sure if I am short on time.

Workout

Gym’s closed? No problem. Body weight workout time!

10 rounds for time
10 walking lunges
10 push-ups

Return on Investment

Posted: August 12, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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Before I get into today’s topic, I want to share something that I’ve been laughing to myself about all day. In my last post I talked about not giving in to peer pressure or those food temptations you would regret later. I think I could have used this yesterday at the froyo place:

Lol anyhow, return on investment, ROI. I could go on for pages about the ROI you can get from this month so I will just target what this blog is intended for. I’ve talked to a few people about their eating habits during Ramadan and I hear one answer pretty often. “Oh it’s Ramadan, so it’s my month off from watching my diet.” Sigh. I think we need to alter our thinking when it comes to this. If Ramadan was only one day like Eid or Thanksgiving, then sure, by all means do what you want. However, we are talking about 30 days of when we should be striving for perfection in all aspects of life. By cultural habit, these 30 days consist of some of the worst food your body will ever consume throughout the year and since our brains tell us we are starving, we indulge in gluttony. Why do everything else good this month but neglect our body? Ramadan is usually a month for change in a lot of our daily habits. We strive to be nicer, more charitable, more pious. Why not add “Healthy Lifestyle” to the list of habits you want to make a positive change on during this month. By binding yourself to those intentions for these 30 days, you could come out a changed person with a whole new lifestyle. Investing in yourself for these 30 days could return a lifetime of benefits like decreased medical bills and disease prevention.

I noticed my ROI decrease in recent days when I stopped putting in much effort for Sahoor. I was stuck in a cycle of waking up late and just throwing together an omelette. I got bored with this and started eating less, resulting in decreased energy throughout the day. I’ve decided that for the rest of Ramadan, I will be waking up much earlier to ensure I make something enticing for Sahoor. This will involve doing some preparations the night before too so I’m excited to wake up and get ready for Sahoor.

Sahoor – This morning I made a mexican breakfast dish, Huevos Rancheros. It’s essentially an egg omelette with salsa.

    • 1 tomato, chopped
    • 1 jalepeno pepper, chopped
    • 1 garlic clove, minced
    • 1/4 small onion, chopped
    • sea salt
    • 2 eggs and 3 egg whites
    • 2 Tbs of olive oil

Puree the tomato, jalepeno, garlic, and onions in a blender. Put 1 Tbs of oil on a hot pan and then add the salsa to it. Cook it until it starts getting thick. Move it to the side but keep it warm. Make the omelette to your desire. Add the salsa to the omelette and you have your self Huevos Rancheros.

Look, it’s a happy meal. Hahha…ha…ha. Anyways, it was a good breakfast. I had a couple of spoon fulls of almond butter as well. I drank 1.5 liters of water.

So I’ve told you what changes I will be making. Are there some that you are looking to make too?

Be the Example

Posted: August 11, 2012 in Food
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Eating properly when you are with out your peers is a lot harder than when you are cooking in your own kitchen. For one it’s all too easy to order something that you will regret later. You also have the peer pressure, the jokes, and the tedious task of finding something that would fit your lifestyle. This is especially hard when you are first starting out a Paleo lifestyle or any healthy diet for that matter. However after a few weeks, that diet becomes your lifestyle and all those former “tasty” treats aren’t as appealing to you. That might also be because you know how your stomach reacts to those things now when you go overboard on a cheat meal. Put those temptations to the side, lead by example and who knows what minds you will change. If a group of friends constantly sees you subbing the rice for vegetables, at some point they might consider changing their habits for the better as well. Be the example.

If you know you will be going out and you know what restaurant you will be eating out, do your homework. Most places will provide a menu online. Look through it before you head out and see what you would like. That way when it’s time to order, you aren’t put into a bind and make the wrong decision under pressure. Check out what sides the meal may come with and what your alternatives could be. Go in with a game plan and backup game plan. If the menu isn’t available online, don’t be shy about asking the staff for nutritional facts or how things are made. Most places will be more than happy to provide you with that and if they don’t, well then place might just not fit your lifestyle. Also don’t hesitate to ask for substitutes. Chances are the greens you ask for are a lot easier for them to provide than the cheese or rice. Do your homework, have a game plan, and stick to it at all costs. You never know whose life you could change at any given moment.

Sahoor – Today was going to be a workout rest day for me so I didn’t eat as well as I should have. I had 2 scrambled eggs with onions, tomatoes, and peppers. I added some sea salt and ground pepper to it as well. I also had a chicken chapli kabob (the ones from yesterday). I downed a liter of water and called it a morning.

Iftar – I went out to dinner with friends and took my game plan with me. I searched for the restaurant’s menu online, found what would be Paleo friendly, looked up was in it and some nutritional facts. I ended up ordering Tokyo style Ahi Tuna with mixed vegetables and steamed broccoli. Usually this dish comes with vegetables and rice. I had my game plan with me though so I knew I would substitute out the rice for something else. I chose to go with broccoli. It also came with soy sauce (probably sodium loaded so I avoided it), wasabi, and ginger.

I did falter slightly with the desert afterwords and had some frozen yogurt. I stuck with the non fat yogurt but it’s still processed junk. My friends decided to call me out on it so I posed for a picture eating it to remind myself to stick to the game plan next time!

Overall, do your homework, have a game plan, avoid peer pressure, and hold your self accountable. (phew, doesn’t that line just blow you away??) haha anyways, until next time!

Power of a Good Breakfast

Posted: August 10, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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Hey, did you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Snore. Duh, we’ve all been hearing this since we were little. Oh but do we really spend the time and effort every morning to eat a nutritional breakfast? By that I don’t mean pouring a bowl of sugar packed cereal or grabbing some toaster pastries as you are leaving the house. I mean actually budget time in the mornings to prepare a breakfast that contains protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. What you have for breakfast will affect the rest of your day every single time. Not only will it decide if you will have a sluggish or energetic day, it can greatly affect your workout. Today I was able to have a great meal for Sahoor and it resonated throughout my day, all the way to my CrossFit workout in the evening.

Sahoor

For starters, I had scrambled eggs, 2 eggs/2 egg whites (I ran out), mixed with onions and peppers. Going back to being prepared, I made guacamole the night before because I knew I wouldn’t have the energy nor time to make it in the morning. I added a generous amount to my plate. I even scooped some up with my fork and ate it afterwards by itself. I followed this with a protein shake and 1.5+ liters of water. I felt great already and knew it would be a good day!

The Workout

Today’s workout consisted of a strength portion followed by a met-con.

Every Minute on the Minute for 7 Minutes
1 Clean and Jerk – 185 lb
 
3 Rounds for Time
7 Front Squats – 185 lb
21 Kettle Bell Swings – 53 lb
Run 200 meters

The only thing I modified was the run. The rest of the athletes ran 400 meters. Other than that, I was able to do all of the Clean and Jerks at that weight with no issue. The 7th one was challenging to maintain form but it didn’t feel heavy! For the met-con, in order to do your Front Squats, you have to Clean the bar to your shoulders and then squat. So the key is to do them unbroken. As soon as you drop that bar, you have to spend a decent amount of energy to pick that 185 lbs up to your shoulders. I was pretty good at doing those unbroken until the very last Front Squat in the very last round! Picking that bar up took some time since your quads are getting destroyed by the KB swings as well as the run. Nonetheless, I was excited that I was able to finish it in a good time, WITHOUT feeling dizzy!! I honestly feel that my nutrient filled breakfast attributed to my successful workout.

Iftar

For tonight’s Iftar, I decided to make another bunless burger. This time around I used Chicken Chapli Kabobs.

    • ground chicken meat
    • onions
    • green peppers
    • tomatoes
    • chili powder
    • eggs
    • olive oil

Add the onions, peppers, tomatoes, and chili powder to a food processor. Blend it up and then add the mixture along with the eggs and oil to the ground chicken. Use your hands to mix it up real well. Grab a meatball sized amount of meat into your hands and then form it into a circular pattie. Slap it onto a grill and let it cook. I usually use a George Foreman grill and make a large batch at one time. I then freeze them for future use. They are great to pull out for a quick meal when you don’t have time to cook.

I added a layer of lettuce to my plate, added on 4 or 5 chicken patties, topped with some sliced onions, cucumbers, organic Dijon mustard and the remaining guac. You can really add whatever you would normally enjoy on a burger (as long as it’s not processed and loaded with junk!) I had a protein shake and some fish oil as well. Great way to end the day.

To recap, breakfast = very important. Breakfast….=….very important. Note what you eat in the mornings and you will find a direct correlation to the function of your day. Make that meal count!

The Home Stretch

Posted: August 9, 2012 in Ramadan
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Here we are in the home stretch of Ramadan 2012! The last 10 days of Ramadan is a special time for Muslims all around the world. It’s said these last 10 nights are Nights of Power. In one of the Nights of Power hides a moment where whatever you pray for will come true. No one knows what night this is or what time it will be at but it’s said to be on an odd number night. Muslims will stay up and pray, read the Quran, and go to Mosques to worship.

It’s truly a blessed 10 days and it’s one of the few times of the year where I feel at peace. I’m able to shut out the world and concentrate on purifying myself. It’s also a time for slackers like me who may not have taken as much advantage as I should have in the past 20 days to make myself  a better person. If I’ve wronged anyone, I ask for your forgiveness. If you want me to pray for you, please ask. To my Muslim brothers and sisters, let’s make the absolute best that we can of these last 10 days!

Meals

For Sahoor I had scrambled eggs again. I also had a beef pattie that I warmed up. I drank 1.5 liters of water. I made guac today though! Can’t wait for Sahoor tomorrow.

Iftar was a cheat meal with the family today. Again, it’s my dirty little secret so I won’t share what it was. However, I will say that it is one of my favorite foods and rhymes with leaning tower of…pisa.

Workout

Pray! Do extra tahujjad in these last 10 days! Make sure you are donating to the less fortunate and volunteering your services to those who can use it. See you all tomorrow

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