Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

Sleep Adjustment

Posted: July 25, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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I knew this would happen sooner or later but looks like lack of sleep is catching up to me. It doesn’t help that I skipped on sleeping well the week leading up to Ramadan. I don’t sleep very much as it is but the timing of Sahoor has really thrown me off. I also am not a napper. It comes down to self discipline though and it can be done. I just need to be in bed by a predetermined time instead of challenging my brother to a FIFA tournament or deciding I can make progress on a work project at midnight. Time to refocus and plan better!

With that said, Sahoor this morning was a challenge to get up for. I cracked open 2 eggs and then added about 3 egg whites to a pan. I added some diced onions, tomatoes, and chili powder and mixed it all up. When it was nearly done, I diced up some precooked chicken patties and added it to the pan. I washed it down with a glass of cranberry juice, a few glasses of water, and a protein shake. I performed my morning prayers and went straight back to sleep until I couldn’t hit snooze any longer (stupid app that makes you do math problems to shut off your alarm).

It was a quick breakfast but I think it will do. I am excited about the workout that my gym has posted for today. My only concern is the amount of water I drank. I don’t think it was enough so I will have to see how I feel and make adjustments to the workout as necessary.

Home Turf

Posted: July 24, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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I want to start by saying that I appreciate all of the positive feedback I’m getting. Every remark is making me stronger in this venture and is really motivating, so thank you! If you want to receive updates when I post entries, add your email address in the box to the left

So just like that, the quick trip is over and I deem it pretty successful from the challenge point of view. I was able to eat pretty Paleo and use what was available in the hotel gym to perform a CrossFit workout. I made it home right before the last CrossFit class of the day at my gym so I was able to join in on the fun. Today’s workout was:

“Cindy”
AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 20 mins 10 mins
5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 squats

I modified this classic CrossFit workout to be 10 mins instead of 20. I managed to complete 9 rounds. I felt a little dizzy after round 7, probably because of all of the walking in the heat today and lack of sleep, so I decided to end at 10 mins. I might have been able to go for more after a minute or two of rest but I decided not to push it yet. I can feel my body adjusting to working out without food and water so I’m hoping I can start tackling more difficult workouts soon.

For Iftar, I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare so I whipped up some quick Coconut Chicken. It took almost no time to prepare so it’s great for a busy day. As usual, to open my fast I had 3 dates. Here is how the coconut chicken was made:

  • 1/2 lb chicken breast
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/8 tsp of sea salt
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbs coconut oil

Almond flour is a real treat for Paleo eaters, it almost feels like cheating. It’s a gluten-free substitute for flour and tastes great. I’ll attempt some Paleo muffins this weekend using almond flour. Healthy muffins, sounds like an oxymoron but we’ll see how it turns out.

Anyways, to make this you place the shredded coconut, almond flour, and sea salt into a bowl and mix it up. Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat it. Dip the chicken into the egg bowl and then coat it with the coconut/almond flour mixture. Heat up a pan and put the coconut oil in it. Place the chicken on the pan and fry it until it’s cooked. Simple and done! Here is how it turned out:

It had a great sweet taste that you don’t expect when you think chicken. It confused the taste buds for a minute. I added some salad to it and chugged on a lot of water, including a Vita Coco Water to restore my electrolytes. It was a lot of food so I didn’t finish it. I did get hungry later on so I’m eating the rest of it now. So much for leftovers.

So I know this has been a lot of chicken dinners but I promise to switch it up with some beef coming soon. Stay tuned!

Road Sahoor Success

Posted: July 24, 2012 in Food
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Sahoor on the road was what I was really worried about. I’ve had issues with this before so I wanted to make sure I was prepared this time. Luckily I was shown a great place by a friend in the area and it had everything I needed. I had a found an alternate place, a 24/7 deli with a decent salad bar, around the corner from my hotel just in case I woke up too late or the other spot was closed. Luckily choice number 1, a 24/7 French restaurant, was open for business when I got there at 4 am. Here is what I got (yay Sahoor pic):

Ahem, err..notice something wrong? It’s like Two Face from Batman, a good side and an evil side. Let’s start with the good. That is a 3 egg omlette with spinach and smoked salmon. Not sure what type of oil it was cooked in but it was delicous. I also had numerous glasses of water. Pretty sure the waiter thought I had issues drinking 9 glasses of water at 4 in the morning.

So the evil side. As you can see it came with fries. Fight the temptation and don’t touch them! Ask for a substitute when you can, a lot of places can be accomodating. If they aren’t, well then pack it up and give it to a homeless person on the street. Once it’s out of the picture, replace it with something like this:

That my friends was off the dessert menu and it was the largest plate of fruit I have ever seen. I ate about half of it and packed up the rest for Iftar tonight. This should be enough to hold me up through the day.

I hope to be home by Iftar time tonight so I should be able to pull a Paleo meal together in my kitchen. Oh and I just saw the workout at my gym, it’s “Cindy”. This will be interesting…

Ramadan on the Road

Posted: July 23, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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Today was the first day I had to eat out this Ramadan. The plan was to carefully research and find a Paleo friendly place. However, life happened and there was limited time to find the perfect place. My fate was left in the hands of Yelp and it landed me in a Irish pub with more baseball memorabilia then the MLB Hall of Fame. It was too late to turn back so I had to make do with what was available. Turned out to be ok. I was able to watch the Nationals game (Go NATS!) while I scoured the menu for something somewhat Paleo friendly. For those of you who have eaten at Irish pubs, you know that finding something healthy is nearly impossible. When you are faced with a situation like that, you have two viable options. Almost every restaurant will have some sort of salad selection. Pick one that is heavy on the greens and contains some sort of protein in it (avoid 6 lbs of ranch dressing). After all of the walking today, I was spent and a salad just wasn’t going to cut it for me. So the next option is to head on over to the gluten-free portion of the menu. Gluten is a type of protein that is added into grains and wheat to add texture, flavor, and thickness. It’s also difficult for the body to process, so for a healthy diet it’s something that should be avoided. Most restaurants will have gluten-free options these days so be sure to ask for it.

I ended up getting a shrimp dish that was served with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, a healthy serving of broccoli served on top of linguine. It had some oregano and other spices in it and it looked like it was made with olive oil. I later had some mixed fruit to satisfy the sweet tooth.
No pictures of food tonight, the food came out right as Iftar hit and I wasted no time attacking it.

The Workout

You and I both know, traveling is one of the best excuses to skip a workout. Not for a dedicated CrossFitter though! As a CrossFitter, when you travel to a different city, there is almost always a CrossFit gym that you can drop in at. They will almost always take you in as if you are a regular and it’s fun to see how other gyms operate. However, a couple of things hindered that option for me today. One is that my schedule simply didn’t match up with the workout sessions of the local gym. Second, as a drop in, I’m not so sure how a coach would feel with me making up my own WOD as a guest if they had an intense met-con programmed. So this leaves me with two options. I could either do another body weight workout in my room, or… the dreaded hotel gym..

Ignore the grandma on the elliptical and avoid eye contact with the guy doing 600 bicep curls and you will be just fine:

“Hotel Woes Chipper” for time
15 dumb bell thrusters 70#
10 push ups
15 dumb bell push presses
10 squats
15 med ball thrusters
10 sit ups
15 dumb bell cleans

With this day in the books, time for the hard part. Waking up for Sahoor and finding a place to eat at 4 am…

Tale of a Traveling Fast-er

Posted: July 23, 2012 in Food
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Today I have to make a short business trip to NYC. When a Muslim is traveling, especially through different time zones, they are not required to fast that day. You would skip that day and then make it up after the end of Ramadan. Now this rule was established when long distance traveling was done via a camel in the blistering sun, where it took all day to go 30 miles. I, however, am sitting in an air conditioned Amtrak Acela train and will be in NYC in about 2 hours. I think I’ll be ok. The challenge is going to be finding Paleo friendly food, especially for Sahoor tomorrow morning. The other challenge will be to find a suitable place to workout. I’ll rely on my friends in the city and trusty www.yelp.com for assistance on that.

I knew I would have to walk extra today so I adjusted my Sahoor meal accordingly:

  • 2 eggs plus 4 egg whites, scrambled with tomatoes and onions. Added some hot sauce and chili powder on it for flavor
  • Whey protein shake
  • A glass of cranberry juice
  • Cup of Teavana White Tea with half a spoon of Rock Sugar
  • 64 ounces of water

(I’ll upload pictures of Sahoor meals when I am little more used to being up that early and am not eating with one eye closed)

I ran out of gaucamole last night or I would have added that to my meal as well. I didn’t make any more since I knew I would be traveling and I didn’t want it to go bad. As you can see my tolerance for liquids has increased in the morning. I will continue to increase that if my body allows it.

Tonight’s goal will be to avoid all of that delicous NY pizza and other great (not so great for you) food the city has to offer. If  this wasn’t only day 4, I would make today a cheat day.I’ll explain more what that means after we have some solid Paleo days under our belt.

First Weekend Complete

Posted: July 22, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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The first weekend of Ramadan is over and am I the only one confused where the time went? I figured I would be at home on a rare unscheduled weekend and that I would be counting down the minutes. SubhanAllah, time passed and here we are at Iftar. Food time. Alright so some of you saw a teaser earlier on my Facebook page about what was for dinner:

The result, Chicken Fajita with Guacamole. The end result, or I guess the beginning before I devoured it:

This is a pretty straightforward dish to make. The guac was from the night before and made a nice addition. Here is how it was done:

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb of chicken breast cut in to small pieces
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt (optional)
  • 1 Tbs of coconut oil
  • 1/2 onion sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper sliced
  • 1/2 of a lemon
  • 1/2 of a lime
  1. Combine the cumin, oregano, chili powder, and sea salt into a bowl.
  2. Mix the chicken pieces into the bowl and mix it around to make sure all of the chicken is coated.
  3. Heat up a pan and when it’s hot, put in the coconut oil
  4. Put the onions in the pan and let it saute for 3-4 minutes
  5. Add the chicken in and stir everything up. Let the chicken cook for about 10-15 minutes while stirring.
  6. Right before the chicken is done, add the lemon, lime, and red bell pepper to the mixture. Stir it up for a few minutes
  7. Serve with a mixture of vegetables and guacamole.

I usually use extra virgin olive oil but decided to switch things up today and use coconut oil. Coconut oil is known for its many benefits regarding digestion, weight loss, skin care, and immune system. Also the salt is optional here. If you do want salt, try to use sea salt. This is a lot of food so plan to store some or share with someone else. In 20 minutes, you have another Paleo friendly dish.

The Workout

Today’s workout is a body weight workout. These type of workouts are great if you are on the go or don’t have access to equipment. You don’t need a lot of room either so if you are going out and aren’t going to have time, a public bathroom should be more than enough space to get this done haha.

10 rounds for time

10 push ups

10 squats

10 sit ups

Not a lot of technical movements going on here so just make sure you warm up your major muscle groups and get your heart rate elevated before starting. If the push ups become too much or you can’t do push ups, drop to your knees and do them that way. If you still feel this will be too much, you can reduce the workout from 10 rounds to 6. Remember the goal of these works are high intensity, so push your self to do as much of this as you can unbroken (without taking rest).

That’s a wrap for day 3. I’ll be on the road for the next couple of days for work so I’ll be tackling the challenge of eating out as well as working out on the road. Stay tuned!

Making Leftovers Work

Posted: July 22, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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Last night’s Iftar consisted of the spinach and egg chicken that I made along with home-made guacamole. I made extra of both items in hopes to try to the ol’ leftover trick. It worked out well. I took the remaining spinach and egg chicken and added some more egg and veggies to it. Here is what I had for Sahoor:

  • Leftover spinach and egg chicken
  • 1 egg and 3 egg whites scrambled
  • Added some more tomato and onion to the mix
  • Piece of toast
  • A few spoonfuls of the homemade guacamole
  • 60 ounces of water

As you can see I drank a lot more water than I have in the past days. I also had some watermelon and coconut water before I went to sleep last night to ensure that I’m well hydrated today for my workout.

The guacamole I’m finding is a great add-on to any meal not to mention you can just eat it with a spoon when you want a snack. I’ll be making more of it in the coming days. It’s pretty straight forward to make too. Here is how I made it last night:

  • 2 avocados, peeled
  • 4 Tbsp of lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp of lime (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp of cumin
  • 1/4 tsp of chili powder
  • 1 clove of garlic (or less)
  • 1/4 tsp of sea salt
  • 1 diced tomato
  • 1/2 red onion
  • handful of cilantro to garnish, finely chopped (how-to)

Take all items, put them in a bowl, and mash it up with a fork. Be careful with the amount of garlic you use, its smell and taste takes over quick.

There will be a workout tonight, most likely a bodyweight workout. Should be intense nonetheless.

Preparedness

Posted: July 21, 2012 in Food
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Maybe it was the excitement about Ramadan starting, maybe I was excited about getting this blog started, or maybe I was just too used to easily pouring a bowl of cereal for breakfast these days but I seemed to overlook a small detail. Having the necessary food items available! So this morning I was mentally prepared to eat a large omelette. I had my meat ready, I had onions and tomatoes chopped up ready to go, I open the fridge….and well, no eggs!! DOH! So the lesson for today, be prepared. Plan your meals ahead of time so you aren’t trying to figure this out while under the pressure of a clock. Figure out what you want to eat and then CONFIRM YOU HAVE WHAT YOU NEED. Luckily I have plenty of good food prepared ahead of time that I was able to pull out and warm up.

This is what I ended up pulling together this morning since I was sort of missing a major ingredient for my omelette:

  • 3 grilled chicken patties
  • Lettuce and Tomatoes
  • Piece of toast
  • 32 ounces of water

These chicken patties contain ground chicken mixed with onions, tomatoes, green peppers, eggs, lemon juice, and other veggies. They were prepared and grilled prior to Ramadan and then frozen. They make for a great quick meal or snack.  It isn’t easy eating that much meat in the morning so allow your self some time if you go that route. I hydrated a bit last night and continued to do so this morning although I’m realizing it’s not enough. As an athlete you should be drinking at least a gallon of water a day. Given that I’m not eating or drinking throughout the day and then working out, I may need to increase that.

Oh and to make sure I’m prepared, I made a trip to my favorite grocery store, Wegmans, and picked up some stuff I will use for tonight’s Iftar and snack attacks.

As you will notice, I shouldn’t be running out of eggs anytime soon….

Ramadan Mubarak

Posted: July 20, 2012 in Food
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Ramadan Mubarak! So it’s begun…

I ended up staying up late to get some stuff done last night so my plan on sleeping as much I can when I can is already out the window. Oh well.

I woke up around 3.50am for Sahoor. I didn’t feel like getting too fancy or strict this morning so here is what I had:

  • 3 eggs scrambled with pepper sprinkled on it
  • grilled chicken pattie
  • a small tomato
  • 2 pieces of toast
  • about 32 ounces of water

I threw the bread in for some extra carbs to make sure I would be ok the first day. I wanted to drink more water but time was limited and I could only take in so much. I think tonight I will start hydrating heavily after Iftaar.

I plan on working out tonight. My gym’s scheduled workout involves running a mile plus other things so I will probably skip on that. What will I do? Not sure yet. I will talk to my coach about some ideas when I get to the gym.

I’m getting past the lunch time jitters now. Should be downhill from here right??

Oh and for those who attend Taraweeh prayers, a friendly reminder of.. don’t be that guy:


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