Posts Tagged ‘Food’

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.

Day 2 in the Books

Posted: July 21, 2012 in Challenge, Ramadan
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So no workout today. Every fourth day is generally my rest day. I was hoping I could get in a workout today and take tomorrow off. However, seeing as how the gym is closed on Saturday evenings, I would have had to do my CrossFit workout at home which isn’t much fun or motivating. Also, I don’t think I ate enough this morning at Sahoor. Although I was much more rested than I have been in days, I felt weaker than yesterday. No worries, I’ll make adjustments for tomorrow’s Sahoor and go at it tomorrow.

Iftaar was at 8.30 today (that reminds me, I really need to create that glossary). I started preparing some Paleo dishes an hour or so earlier. This meal was again heavy on poultry and veggies. I made some gaucamole from scratch to keep around for snack attacks.

 

Here you have some of the premarinated chicken that I keep in the freezer. I sautéed it in extra virgin olive oil with a handful of spinach. I added an egg and some chili powder to it. I mixed it all up as it sautéed on the stove. When there was about 10 minutes left before Iftar, I cut up some tomatoes and put them on top with the stove turned to the lowest setting and let it sit. Once it was time for Iftar, I opened my fast with a date. This is how Muslims traditionally open their fast and is usually the first thing I’ll have. I added some rice (not so Paleo I know), lettuce, and the gauc I made to my plate for a satisfying dinner. For dessert, I had a nice amount of watermelon mmmm. This is how it turned out:

In reference to my earlier post about preparedness, I made enough of this to eat tomorrow as well for Sahoor. I’ll probably add some scrambled eggs to it and some meat. There is also plenty of gauc left over for midnight snacks. Gauc is a great source for healthy fats and a great Paleo snack. I’ll try to post some of these recipes on my page at some point.

Ready for day 3!

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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