Archive for August 6, 2012

Go Upside Down

Posted: August 6, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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Gymnastics isn’t something that the average gym goer incorporates into their training but it definitely should be. Gymnastic movements will help you build balance, coordination, and crazy core strength. When I first started CrossFit, I was afraid of Olympic lifting and didn’t have much respect for gymnastics. It didn’t take long after I scored my first oly lift and then was able to do a handstand to fall in love with these sports. Now these two elements are what I look forward to in a workout. My lack of respect for gymnastics was just ignorance. I had seen it on TV and the professionals made it look SO easy. I mean these guys pull themselves up on rings with such ease and do an Iron Cross as if it was as easy as standing up. My first time trying to pull myself up on rings was enough to give me a lifetime worth of respect for that sport. Some of the strongest and fittest people I have met have a background in gymnastics. Leaves me wishing I had taken on gymnastics when I was little instead of thinking I had a career as a Pro Wrestler. Oh well.

The Workout – Today’s workout was a couplet consisting of Olympic lifting and gymnastics.

5 Rounds
10 Handstand Push Ups
10 Power Cleans 155#
 

This was my first workout being upside down during Ramadan. It didn’t help with the dizziness I feel during workouts these days but I’m not sure how much of  it was from not eating vs a surgery I had a few months back. Every since then, I seem to get a head rush a lot faster. I spoke with a fellow CrossFitter who recently had a surgery in the same area and he is experiencing something similar. I’ll have to consult with Dr. Google on this.

I was able to do the handstand push ups unbroken first couple of rounds and then broke them into 5s after that. The weight on the Power Cleans didn’t feel too bad. I was able to string them together as I normally do with that amount of weight.

Food

Sahoor –  I had a scrambled eggs made in olive oil (2 eggs 3 whites).  I added some green peppers, chili sauce, onions and tomatoes to it. I had one Paleo muffin left over from last week so I had that as well. I drank 1.5 liters of water. Looking back I should have had some meat in the morning to have some more energy for the workout.

Iftar – Today was a fish night and I made Peppered Lemon Tilapia. Fish has all of the nutrients an athlete needs plus more. It’s a great source of protein, it has the all of the healthy fats you need, vitamin D, calcium, etc. Who needs pasteurized milk when you have good fish?? This does require a little more time than the other dishes so plan ahead. It’s completely worth it. Also, tonight I made enough for two meals so I could have this for Sahoor as well. This recipe is for 2 servings:

      • 4 Tbs of coconut oil
      • 1 lemon
      • 4 fillets of tilapia (or catfish, salmon, etc)
      • 1 tsp of chaat masala
      • 1 tsp of crushed pepper
      • 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
      • sea salt and ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F while you prepare the fish. In an OVEN PROOF skillet (not repeating yesterday’s fiasco), heat up the coconut oil and lemon juice. Season the fish with sea salt and pepper and place into the skillet. Coat both sides and lay them side by side. Mix the chaat masala, crushed peppers, and garlic powder up and sprinkle on to the top side of the fillets. Place the fish into oven and bake it for about 30 minutes. You’ll see the pan starting to blacken but that’s ok. The liquid from the oil and lemon will keep the fish nice and moist.

I pulled out two of the fillets for dinner and added some salad to the plate. Maybe I just got lucky but the fish melted in my mouth every time I took a bite and the lemon juice that was sponged up inside would gush out. It was purely amazing and it will be making a repeat appearance. Oh since I made extra, I guess it will be making an appearance in the morning, YES! For dessert, I had a bowl of watermelon after taraweeh prayer. Perfect end to a good day for me.

Careful, It Might Be Hot

Posted: August 6, 2012 in Challenge, Food
Tags: , , , ,
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Hmm, I wonder if there is a direct correlation between lagged physiological response and hunger. I suffered my first burn in a long time while cooking and it’s sort of a funny story. Not only did I do it once, but twice the same way! This is after making the mistake of putting a pan with a wooden handle in the oven. I mean who does that??

I know I’ve been posting a day late recently but I will try to get back to posting sooner. Also I promised a change up in Sahoor items and I will try to do that this week. Omlette and scrambled eggs are just so easy to make! So for Sahoor I had the typical 2 egg/3 egg white omlette with a ground chicken pattie. I drank the typical 1.5 liters of water as well.

The Workout – This is a quick body weight workout that can be done literally anywhere. Just warm up your core and stretch your legs with squats and lunges.

10 rounds for time
10 hand-release push-ups
10 v-ups
10 squats
 

For Iftar, along with burning myself, I made Turmeric Chicken. Turmeric is a plant that is usually grown to powder form and used in curry based dishes. It’s used heavily in South Asian and Thai dishes. Recent research is proving some major health benefits in this plant including treating Alzheimer’s. Here is how the dish was made:

    • 1/2 lb of chicken breast, diced – seasoned with sea salt and chili powder
    • 1/2 an onion, sliced
    • 1 clove of garlic, diced
    • 1.5 tablespoon of turmeric
    • 1/2 lemon’
    • handful of cherry tomatoes
    • 1/2 tsp of sea salt
    • extra virgin olive oil
    • chopped of parsley

Coat a skillet (ahem, not a pan with a wooden handle) with olive oil and heat it up with medium heat. Once it’s warm, add in the onions and saute them for a minute or two. Add in the seasoned chicken to the skillet and let it cook for about 7-8 minutes. Add in the turmeric powder, garlic, and lemon. Stir it around and let it cook for another 10 minutes or so until it starts browning to your desire. In the mean time, set your oven to high broil. Coat your cherry tomatoes with salt and olive oil. When the chicken is done, add in the tomatoes and place the skillet in the oven. Listen for the tomatoes to start popping. Once they have popped, pull it out (with an oven mitt!) and add in the parsley. Done:

I burnt my onions a bit so that taste lingered. Other than that it smelled great and the turmeric was a great touch. Add some more greens to it and you have a meal!

So how did I burn myself? Well, my first mistake was using a pan instead of a skillet. Rookie mistake. Then, when I went to pull the pan out of the oven, my sister (assisting me) tells me it might be hot. It just didnt register in time. I found myself holding the burning hot handle thinking, hmm something isn’t right. Doh! So I came to my senses and used an oven mitt to pull it out of the oven and on to the counter. A few minutes later I went to transfer the chicken to a plate and I grabbed it again! Seriously?! I blame the hunger.

Lessons learned, pans do not go in the oven and things from the oven might be hot. Be careful kids..