Posts Tagged ‘Recipe’

Week 1, Check!

Posted: July 26, 2012 in Challenge, Food
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6

And just like that, week 1 is in the books. I was able to eat Paleo all 7 days and worked out 5 of the days. I even tackled a couple of days of travel. I have received incredible support from you guys and that is honestly what is keeping me motivated, especially on a day like yesterday when I almost didn’t work out. So thank you all!

So I went to sleep early after yesterday’s day of fatigue. I woke up much more energized and was able to put together a great Sahoor meal. I needed it today too with my schedule at work. Today is a rest day from working out so I will be able to rejuvenate even more. I should have no excuses for Friday’s workout. Can’t wait!

Today’s food selections might have been the best Paleo meals I’ve made yet. They will for sure make an encore appearance at some point. For Sahoor I had Scrambled Eggs with Avocado and Salsa:

  • 1 egg, 3 egg whites
  • 1/2 a ripe avocado, sliced
  • 1/4 of a tomato, diced
  • 1/4 of an onion, sliced
  • 1 piece of toast
  • 4-5 Tbs of salsa

I placed the egg and egg whites in a hot pan with extra virgin olive oil and mixed in the tomato and onion. I stirred it up until the egg was cooked. I placed the mixture onto a plate, poured the salsa on top of it, and added the avacodo and toast to the meal. I had left over Chicken Apple from last night that I added to the mix. Here is how it turned out:

For Iftar, I decided to keep the chicken in the freezer for today and try some seafood out. I decided to make Almond Crusted Tilapia:

  • 2 strips of tilapia
  • 1/4 cup of almond flour
  • 1/4 tsp of ground cilantro
  • 1/4 tsp of ground cumin
  • 1 lemon
  • chili powder (that’s if you like it spicy)
  • sea salt
  • ground pepper
  • coconut oil
  • shredded almonds
  • some sprigs of cilantro

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the almond flour, ground cilantro, and cumin in a bowl and set it aside. Season the tilapia with lemon juice, sea salt, and ground pepper. Then, coat the tilapia with the mixture you made earlier and place it on a pan that is greased with a little bit of coconut oil. Bake it for about 12-15 minutes. When you serve it, sprinkle some shredded almonds on it and place the cilantro on top for presentation.

I made some more gaucamole tonight as well. I used the same recipe I used the other day but left out the garlic. Gaucamole is one of my favorite snacks so I made enough to snack on for a few days. Here is how it all turned out:

As usual I added some mixed salad to the plate along with the gaucamole. I opened my fast with a few dates and drank a liter of water with the meal. This is by far one of my favorite Paleo dishes now. I’ll have to figure out how to top this tomorrow!

Day 7, week 1, in the books. God willing I will stay focused, especially with all of your support and tackle these next 3 weeks! Goodnight!

Master the Fatigue

Posted: July 26, 2012 in Challenge, Food
Tags: , , , ,
0

Fatigue got the best of me last night so I didn’t post the workout or what I had for Iftar but I’m back with some extra energy!

With the lack of sleep catching up and another busy day at work, I was a little nervous about the workout at 7.30pm and preparing a Paleo dinner. I felt the fatigue but I pushed myself to go to the gym. The thought did cross my mind for a quick second about skipping the workout but I pushed that out of my head. I told myself that if I could get through this workout, I could sleep easy and then rest the next day. I made it home in time to change for the gym and start dinner preparations. However, since the days are getting shorter and Iftar was going to be at 8.27pm, I was in a bit of a schedule bind. Luckily my sister stepped in and finished making my dinner once I left for CrossFit. Thanks Sis!

This workout was taken from the masters competition from the CrossFit Games this year. Factor in my lack of sleep, food, and water to the mix and it made for a difficult workout. I took longer breaks in between reps than usual but even holding on to the pull up bar became a challenge. I didn’t have a solid game plan of how I was going to scale this down but half way through I knew I couldn’t finish the whole workout. My coach had me scale the reps in the second half.

For time:
10 Deadlifts (275 lb)
20 Pull Ups
30 Box Jumps (24″)
40 KB Swings (53 lb)
50 Double Unders
40 20 KB Swings (53 lb)
30 15 Box Jumps (24″
20 10 Pull Ups
10 5 Deadlifts (275 lb)

I didn’t feel any weaker which made me happy. I was able to deadlift that weight for that many reps without a problem. I felt the exhaustion though and that made me take longer breaks to feel less dizzy. I made a video of the workout so if you aren’t a CrossFitter you can see what the movements look like. It’s purpose is to show the flow of the workout so I edited out my breaks and complete reps.

For Iftar I made another chicken dish, Chicken Apple. Here is what it took:

  • 1/2 lb-ish of chicken breast, diced
  • 1/2 tsp of sea salt
  • 1/2 of ground pepper
  • 2 Tbs of coconut oil
  • 1/2 1 large apple
  • 1/2 Tbs of Chaat Masala

To make this, you season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Heat up a pan and add the coconut oil to it when it’s hot. Cook the chicken for about 10 minutes and then grate an apple into the pan. Stir it up until the chicken is done. Place it into a plate and sprinkle the chaat masala on top. I added some fruit salad to the plate as well as lettuce and cucumbers.

I made this with half an apple, but looking back, I should have used a full apple. It had a bit of sweetness to it but the full apple would have given it the altered taste I was looking for. The chaat masala dominated the sweetness of the apple so I mixed in the fruit salad as I ate it. I managed to drink over 1.5 liters of water too. I snacked on some small plums after dinner as well.

Since sleep was getting the best of me, I decided not to go to the mosque for Taraweeh prayer. Instead I did my prayers at home and called it a night. Day 5, done!

Making Leftovers Work

Posted: July 22, 2012 in Challenge, Food
Tags: , ,
2

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.

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