Posts Tagged ‘abs’

Rounding 3rd Base

Posted: August 7, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
1

Just in case there are questions, the title is a baseball reference, meaning almost back to home plate for Ramadan. That’s the closest I will get to talking about baseball for the next couple of weeks until the Nationals start winning again. Anyways..the new moon that started Ramadan has officially been sighted (although scientific calculations told us well ahead of time), so that means Ramadan draws to an end. The best part is that Saudia Arabia has announced Eid for the 8th as well so most of the Muslims in the world will be having one big celebration!

This post is for the final 2 days of Ramadan! Not a lot of exciting stuff going food wise except that the universe did win as I slumped back into eating eggs for Sahoor. Aside from that, the last couple of days of Ramadan have been a time crunch as usual, hence the delayed postings.

For Sahoor

Like I said, universe won, got sucked into eating eggs again, except on the 6th where I was able to sneak in some sweet potatoes. I made a hashed sweet potato dish.

It was 1 sweet potato that I skinned and shredded using a grate. Just FYI, grating takes some effort and energy! I for some reason was up all night and had not slept at all. So since I didn’t wake up from REM sleep, I had the energy to do it. I then added the shreddings to a pan with coconut oil and heated it up. I added a pinch of salt and pepper to it and then when the sweet potato was nearly done, I made two holes and cracked two eggs into them. I let it cook for another minute and then placed the plate in the oven for about 5 minutes until the eggs were done. I added some cholula hot sauce on top and ate it.

20130806_042102

For the last Sahoor, I had only napped an hour or two in the past 24 hours so I was barely awake for it. I made a simple omelette, ate it, prayed, and went to sleep. I barely remember it haha. I was a little sad that I couldn’t make anything spectacular for the final day but oh well. I did sleep till noon so I didn’t have to worry about passing a long day with little food.

For Iftar

My sister, who I call my assistant chef, whipped this up while I got my first 2 hours of sleep after about 36 hours of being awake (stupid insomnia.) This was a recipe that I worked on last year for chicken fajitas and guacamole.

20130806_204220

For the final day of Ramadan, I was spending it with the family and as my sister and I went back and forth on what to make, we joked about pizza. That joke pulled some traction and we decided you know what, after we break our fast, Ramadan is technically over. So we did it; we ate pizza. Yeah I said it and now you know what my final cheat meal was. You should feel special. I also later had a slurpee and barely felt any guilt. Hey it’s been a long month, don’t judge me!

Workouts

I did a little bit of squat work on the final day of Ramadan but nothing crazy. I also did days 6 and 7 on the ad challenge calendar.

So this is it for the food/workout posts. InshAllah (God Willing), I will post a final piece tomorrow with some thoughts, reflections, and thanks. Enjoy the day, eat the traditional food with your family, but remember the day after life goes back to normal and that minute on the lips means a lifetime on the hips bahaha.

Eid Mubarak to you all!

Stir and Fry

Posted: August 7, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
Tags: , , , , , ,
1

Yeah I know I said this post was coming right away but I forgot some of the recipe and took some time to remember exactly how I made the Iftar meal. Oh and then in the middle of it all I got distracted by the delivery of my new office furniture and started putting that together. ADD at its best.

If there is a recipe of mine you decide to try, I would say this is the one to do! It’s a little complicated and time consuming but it’s worth it. Enjoy!

For Sahoor

I hate myself for it but I went back to eggs. I’m out of egg whites so I fried up 2 eggs sunny side up in olive oil. I ate them with a fork. I had a protein shake and some pure orange juice. I had a few glasses of water after that.

For Iftar

For Iftar I made an Asian Stir Fry dish centered around zucchini. It takes some time to prepare and requires some room but it’s worth it. The recipe below is for 2-3 servings. Here is how it’s done:

  • 1 lb of bonless skinned chicken, diced
  • 1 large zucchini, sliced
  • 1 cup of broccoli
  • 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 tsp of curry paste, Mae Ploy brand
  • 1/2 tsp of sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp of chaat masala
  • 1/2 of a lemon juiced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 3 scallions, diced
  • coconut oil
  1. Heat up 2 large skillets with 2 tsp of coconut oil in each. Add the chicken to one and zucchini to the other.
  2. Add in the salt, chaat masala, lemon juice and curry paste to the chicken. Mix it all up until the curry paste spreads to all of the chicken pieces.
  3. Continue to stir the zucchini as well and flip so it doesn’t burn.
  4. Once the zucchini is done, remove it from the skillet and set aside.
  5. Add the broccoli and mushrooms to the skillet and stir around.
  6. Once they are tender, add the zucchini, broccoli, and mushrooms to the chicken mix.
  7. Add in the scallions and red pepper.
  8. Stir it all up and then lower the heat. Let it simmer with a top over it until the chicken is done.

1146917_10153098733420263_1468806481_o

20130805_204107

If you want, you can make some “fried rice” like I did a couple of weeks ago with cauliflower to eat with this. Otherwise, grab a fork and dig in!

Workout of the Day

Day 5 of the ab challenge. Yeah lazy day.

2 days left in the month of Ramadan, have you accomplished all of your goals that you set out to do??

Night of Power: 2013 Edition

Posted: August 4, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
Tags: , , , , ,
1

Yesterday was the night before the 27th of Ramadan. Without getting into too much religious detail this day is known as Laylat al-Qadr, or Night of Power. This night can fall on any of the odd days in the last 10 days of Ramadan, but it is commonly believed that it falls on the eve of the 27th. It’s believed that this was the night that the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) while was he was meditating in a cave. It’s mentioned in the Quran that this night is better than a night of a thousand months, meaning praying this one night is worth more than praying on any other night for a thousand months. While we have now spent this month fasting, giving to charity, praying, and purifying ourselves, Muslims tend to go the extra mile on this night.

The mosque was packed more than the other nights because not only was it a Saturday, potentially Laylat al-Qadr, and free food had been served, it was also the day the recitation of the Quran was completed during Taraweeh prayer. During Ramadan, Muslims gather each night and are led in prayer as the Imam recites the chapters of the Quran cover to cover over the course of 27ish days. On this day after the Imam finishes the recitation, there is an extra prayer which ends up going on for about 30 minutes (we timed it) while you are standing. Thank you CrossFit and mobility for somewhat keeping my back and legs intact for this. After all this, people usually hang out at the mosque until Sahoor. There are more prayers throughout the night but it’s generally a joyous occasion.

There is something about that night. You don’t feel tired, annoyed, or grumpy because of the lack of sleep. You tend to take in every minute and hope the clock slows down because even with all of the praying and asking for forgiveness, you have this feeling that you are having fun. Maybe it’s just me but I had a great time and inshAllah I will get to do it again next year.

For Sahoor

I had some extra chicken left over from the night before that I ate. Why do I keep forgetting that it isn’t easy to eat chicken in the morning? Anyways, I had a serving of fruit that consisted of watermelon and an apple. I finished it up with a protein shake.

WOD

I didn’t do a CrossFit workout but I did do the next day on the Ab Challenge calendar.

For Iftar

This is going to sound nuts or like a cheat meal but I had butter chicken (that’s not really made out of butter.) It’s a recipe my chef mentor, aka mom, came up with. It essentially avoids using butter yet still achieves the creamy look and taste. I think it’s some of the best butter chicken I’ve had even when comparing to some big time restaurants. I’ve made this dish before but on this night I can’t take any credit:

20130803_204010

Just about every ingredient in it is Paleo friendly with the exception of a little bit of dairy. Oh what’s the recipe? Yeah.. about that. Sorry this one I can’t give away. Truth is I don’t even know it completely. I’ve made it a couple of times before but there are always a couple of steps that mom has taken care of. I’ll find it one day, and I may just share it with you all.

I did want to touch on another thing. As great and happy of a night this is for the majority of the Muslims around the world, the only bit of anger I do carry on this night is what I hear about it on the news. I’m referring to the idiots who have hijacked this religion of peace and demonized it for their perverted agendas. The thought of them using the Night of Power to possibly carry out acts of evil on innocent people is sickening and even during prayer where one should disconnect from the outside world, I can’t help but hold anger towards them. May Allah bring sense into these peoples’ heads and bring peace into everyone’s hearts.

The Healthy Potatoes

Posted: August 2, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
Tags: , , , , , ,
5

Another little side dish I can’t say no to is sweet potatoes. I love everything about them from their taste to how easy they are to prepare. Like almond flour, they are used as substitutes for a number of Paleo friendly dishes. They contain many of the vitamins and nutrients that we need on a daily basis including ones that keep us energetic. Best part about preparing them is that you don’t have to do much, you can bake, fry, steam, or roast them with minimal additional ingredients. Next time you are out and you really have to have fries, make them sweet potato fries.

For Sahoor

Since I’m on an egg hiatus, I’m moving on to one of my favorites (after avocados) meal additions. For Sahoor I turned to sweet potatoes. I took two sweet potatoes, skinned them, cut them into pieces and place them in boiling water. I put a lid over the pot and let it broil until the the potato pieces got soft. I then drained the water and mashed them up. I squeezed half a lemon into it and added about 1/2 tsp of chaat masala. It was more than enough to fill me up.

20130801_042416

Workout of the Day

I decided to take on this stupid ab challenge I saw on Facebook. It’s basically a series of ab exercises that increase in length and difficulty over the course of 30 days. Here is day 1:

  • 15 situps
  • 5 crunches
  • 10 second plank
For Iftar

This was a cheat meal. Honestly I ran out of time to make anything. It’s funny how I’m off from work yet a million things have found their way into my schedule. Well I guess a certain large purchase is keeping me busy. Anyways. The cheat meal as usual is my secret. This should be the last one until Eid, inshAllah.

Speaking of Eid, it’s just around the corner! Less than a week! Do you have your fancy clothes ready? Not sure if I’m going to wear something traditional or a suit this year. Whatever is clean I guess.