Posts Tagged ‘Workout’

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??

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.

Hey Want a Date?

Posted: August 1, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
3

I realized I have left out one of the most important things I eat for Iftar. Well maybe not important but traditional? I open every fast with a date or two… or three. They are delicious, naturally grown in Saudi, and despite being a little on the higher end of sugar content, carry tons of great vitamins. They are a great source of fiber, vitamin A, and magnesium. Some studies have linked them to health benefits for your brain and heart while reducing risk of stroke and high blood pressure. If you haven’t had some before, I encourage you to try them. Like I said though, they are high in sugar so just don’t go overboard (even though it’s natural).

For some comic relief, a video I ran across a couple of weeks ago by some goofy kids in NYC:

For Sahoor

I had chicken leftovers from the night before that I had intentionally made extra of. I keep forgetting how much of a challenge eating chicken is in the morning. It tastes good but requires effort for me. Any how I finished that up and then had a protein shake.

Workout of the Day

3 rounds
15 Ring dips*
Kettlebell swings 53lb – As many reps as possible without stopping
Rest 2 minutes
15 Sumo-deadlift high pulls with KB – 53lb*
Wall balls 20lb – As many reps as possible without stopping
Rest 2 minutes

Your score is the lowest amount of reps you were able to complete for each movement
*this must be done unbroken. If you stop/pause, you must start your reps from 0

2013-08-01

I think I might be done with metabolic conditioning workouts for the remainder of Ramadan. I don’t remember feeling like this last year but I definetly require a lot more rest after finishing the workout. I don’t think I’m going any harder than I was last year. Maybe the workouts are more challenging? Maybe I’m just that out of shape? I enjoy the workouts very much but I hate that feeling afterwards of not wanting to move. I think I will stick to strength training for the remainder and maybe throw in some short met-cons.

For Iftar

Thai spiced chicken

  • 1/2 lb of boneless chicken
  • sea salt
  • chili powder
  • about two fist-fulls of lettuce
  • 1 scallion
  • 2 tsp of thai curry paste, Mae Ploy brand
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 cup of broccoli, cut into pieces
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 Tbsp of coconut oil
  1. Heat up a skillet and add in coconut oil.
  2. Marinate the chicken with the desired amount of salt and chili powder.
  3. Place the chicken into the pan and let it brown. When it starts to brown, flip it.
  4. Cook both sides of the chicken on high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add in the curry paste and mix it around a little bit.
  6. Cut up the lettuce, carrot, broccoli, scallion and add it to the skillet. Squeeze the lime onto it as well.
  7. Stir everything up and then lower the heat to low-medium. Continue to stir until the vegetables are soft and the curry paste has mixed in with everything.

20130731_204631

I honestly was a little unsure how this would turn out, especially since I’ve never used curry paste without using coconut milk. It took a lot of mixing and some lemon juice but it spread out real well across all of the ingredients. I love Thai food so anything with that type of kick to it I will enjoy. Needless to say I finished it pretty quick. Feel free to add as much green to it; it will fill you up better and of course the nutrients don’t hurt.

With that said, less than a week left! Wow..

Breaking Away

Posted: July 31, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
0

This post is for July 29th. Yeah I’ve gotten busy/lazy, take your pick. Actually I just blame my sister for dragging me out to Richmond to help her move into her new place after Sahoor. Luckily the weather was nice that early but by the time we finished, the sun was out full blast and it fatigued us all. Note to self, research why being in the sun brings induces narcolepsy.

I finally did it! I broke away from the egg trap. I woke up with just enough time to cook up some Paleo Pancakes (minus the syrup this time), and felt great about life. I then learned that evening that Paleo Pancakes are probably not something I should eat on a day I plan on working out. I’m not sure what it was but even warming up for the workout, my stomach didn’t feel right. Once I had finished the metabolic conditioning workout, I just laid on the floor. Of course I did run outside in the heat but I do think it also had something to do with the almond flour. Another note to self, check its expiration…

For Sahoor

I made Paleo Pancakes and they tasted just as good as last time. One addition I made this time was that I added a smashed up ripe banana to the mix. Changes the taste up a bit so the taste of almonds isn’t over abundant. That taste to me does get annoying after a while. I didn’t have time to make the syrup so instead I drizzled some raw honey on it. Like I said, it tasted great and I used the same recipe but I definitely felt different throughout the day. I’ll experiment some more with this another day.

Workout of the Day

Run 1/4 mile
15 Dead lifts at 275lb
20 hand release push ups
Run 1/4 mile
30 Dead lifts at 225lb
20 hand release pushups
Run 1/4 mile
45 Dead lifts at 135lb
20 hand release pushups

072913 070

This is a chipper style workout which means you have a task list that you accomplish in order one time through to complete the workout. As you can see I had to modify it a bit so I could do it without destroying myself. I was already pretty dehydrated from moving my sister’s stuff to the point where I had been craving slurpees (gasp, I know). I didn’t want to push it by running and dead lifting (which can make you dizzy pretty fast on a normal day).

For Iftar

Since I switched things up for Sahoor in the morning, I decided to shake things up for Iftar and step away from the chicken for a little bit. I ended up making some Chili Lime Salmon. It’s extremely easy to make and doesn’t take a lot of effort. It’s great for those days you are drained from helping your sister move and craving slurpees. There are a couple of ways to make it but I chose the quick and dirty way which was to fry it up in a skillet. If you have time and are sick of coconut oil, you can bake it as well.

  • about 1/2 lb of salmon (or tilapia)
  • 1 Tbsp of coconut oil
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp of chaat masala (optional)
  • 2 limes
  1. Heat up a skillet and add in coconut oil.
  2. Place the fish into a bowl and cover the filets with salt and chili powder.
  3. Squeeze both limes into the bowl. Make sure all of the filets are in the lime.
  4. Let it sit for about 5 minutes so the fish can soak up the lime and spices.
  5. Place the filets in the skillet and leave them for a few minutes, moving them around occasionally. Make sure you add all of the lime juice in the bowl as well.
  6. Flip them over and cook for another few minutes.
  7. Once it starts to brown, flip one more time, lower the heat and let it simmer with a top over the pan.
  8. It’s done when it flakes easily as you poke it with a fork.

20130729_204304

I served it with some green and red bell peppers to make it look pretty. I also had some more functional additions like the lettuce. I think it took me about 15-20 minutes to make this after I had worked out. Oh as you can see, I had a Kill Cliff with it. It’s a recovery/energy drink. I love that stuff and the ingredients are legit. I needed one after how I was feeling post workout.

So today I got away from eggs and chicken as well as got a workout in. That sounds like a successful day for me. I pick on my sister in this post but she has been my assistant chef on many of these meals so I actually owed her! I’ll count that as part of my workout and reminder that I still need to hydrate better.

Hydration + Electrolytes

Posted: July 23, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
16

A couple of days ago I talked about hydration and it’s importance, especially if you are working out in this heat. Today I wanted to touch a little bit on electrolytes. For those that are drinking high volumes of water and/or involved in lots of physical activity, replenishing your electrolyte levels are a must. They’re essentially minerals in your blood and other body fluids that carry an electric charge and affect things like the amount of water in your body, the acidity of your blood, your muscle functions, etc. You lose them when you sweat or in some cases are flushed out if you over-hydrate. Good news is that it’s not hard to replenish them. My favorite fruit, watermelon is extremely rich in electrolytes. I usually have a bowl every other night or so. While there are plenty of sources for replenishing electrolytes, like sports drinks, additives, etc, stick with natural sources like fruit, leafy greens, coconut water, and sodium. I say stay away from sports drinks because their sugar content negates a lot of their benefits.

For Sahoor

Today I fried 2 eggs in extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled a bit of a sea salt and chili powder on them and ate them with a fork. I also had a protein shake mixed with water. I don’t often drink shakes post/pre workout because I don’t find them to be that effective. However, I will sometimes drink one as a meal supplement or addition when I remember I still own some. It has plenty of protein and fills you up so it’s not a bad thing to have in the morning. Is it 100% paleo compliant…eehhh.

Workout of the Day

Since I had hydrated a lot in the morning, I decided to do a met con today. To step up the challenge, the whole met con took place outdoors. It sounded like a great idea since it was super hot inside the gym. Funny how the sun works, it wasn’t much better outside once I started the workout with the sun beating down on me. Oh well, I survived and it was a fun one:

4 rounds for time
Run 400 meters
15 Wall ball shots to a 10′ target with 20lb ball
15 Toes to Bar

20130722_192638

The first round went smooth but after I had run about 1/2 a mile, I started to feel the fatigue and hunger kick in. After that I ended up taking a break in between the runs and breaking up the toes to bar reps. I stuck with it though and got it done, slowly. It was a great workout that involved cardio, squats, coordination, and gymnastics.

For Iftar

I tapped into my chicken and beef patties that I have pre made and frozen for busy days and made a bunless burger. The patties consists of ground meat (chicken or beef), grounded with tomatoes, chaat masala, paprika, chili powder, salt, egg, and lemon juice. I grill them and then freeze them for days if I want a quick dinner. They last for a while so you can make a lot ahead of time. Of course they don’t taste as good as when they are fresh off the grill but they get the job done.

I ripped off a bunch of a lettuce and then laid down 2 chicken patties and 2 beef patties. I cut a little bit of tomato and cucumbers to dress it. I used some Tessemae’s ranch salad dressing to give it a nice zing. If you haven’t tried Tessemae’s dressing, I highly recommend you check it out. They have a whole lineup of healthy Paleo dressings that taste great.

20130722_205544

Later in the evening I filled up on some electrolytes through the means of watermelon and called it a night.

Also, I didn’t realize it until someone asked but we are half way done with Ramadan already! It’s become pretty routine now but it was a nice surprise to realize how far along we are already!

Hydration FTW

Posted: July 19, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

The heat wave in DC continues but it’s ok, I was able to make it to the gym on time today after work and the heat wasn’t going to stop me. Today’s workout was mostly strength related so I didn’t expect there to be a lot of sweating (or at least as much as one would during a met con). I guess I underestimated the heat, even for 6.30pm because the pool of sweat I saw people swimming in as I walked into the gym disproved my assumptions real fast. This brings up a point I’ve mentioned in several entries now: hydration. I feel myself getting back on track with hydration and that I believe is the key to me being able to have enough energy when it’s time to workout. On days like today, had I not hydrated the night before and at Sahoor, there is no way I could have performed the workout successfully.

Now when I say hydrate, that also doesn’t mean you should be forcing a gallon of water into your body in the last 5 minutes of Sahoor. As good as water is for you, it can be damaging if it isn’t consumed properly. My 19 year old self can tell you a story about when he accepted a challenge to drink a liter of water in a minute. Clearly I wasn’t bright when I was 19 and it led to a painful rest of the day. Anyhow, the point is, know your body and use common sense. If you aren’t used to drinking a lot of water, start increasing your intake slowly. Your body will reject any sudden increase in water intake and pass it right through.

Here is a great calculator to determine how much water you need a day: http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm

The results will seem like a lot, but keep in mind that the food you eat contains water as well so that goes towards your final count. Enough about water for now. Tomorrow I will get into the importance of electrolytes, especially during days like today and yesterday.

For Sahoor

I had been hydrating the night before so I continued that this morning. I had a tall glass of water before I started eating my typical 2 egg/ 4 egg white omelette. Then as I ate, I consumed another glass or two. Then when I finished I had more water. I didn’t keep a count but it was probably close to 40-50oz over the course of 45 minutes. My body is used to doing that so I had no problem with it.

Workout of the Day

Today’s workout was all about Power Cleans. Normally one would squat when doing a clean so you can get further underneath the bar which means you have to pull the bar up less. However, with the power clean, you are working on building a strong pull which will inevitably help you get stronger for squat cleans.

Warmup: Run 400 meters, inch worms, 2 rounds – 10 pull ups, 15 kettle bell swings, side straddles, 2 rounds – 10 squats, 10 ring rows, pvc pipe pass throughs

Spend 20 minutes to find a 1 rep max Power Clean.
-then-
at 90% of your one rep max weight – every minute on the minute do 1 power clean.

The workout felt great. I clearly didn’t have 100% percent of my strength as you can see in the video.  My legs did not land properly on some of the reps but it wasn’t terrible either. I was able to max at 225# and failed at 235#. It wasn’t a PR (personal record) but it will do. I attribute the success to being properly hydrated otherwise there is no way I could have maintained composure while lifting that bar.

For Iftar

For Iftar I made chili chicken. It’s another quick recipe that you can put together but it does require some prep ahead of time.

  • 1 lb of chicken breast, diced
  • 1/4 tsp of cumin
  • 1/2 tsp of chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp of chaat masala
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
  • 3 scallions, diced
  • coconut oil
  • small amount of cilantro to garnish
  1. Marinate the chicken with the cumin, chili powder, chaat masala, and salt. You can either put it in a bowl and do it or you can put the ingredients into a plastic bag and shake it up.
  2. Set the chicken mixture aside, or put it in the fridge for about an hour.
  3. Heat up a pan and put in the coconut oil
  4. Add in the chicken and let it cook. Stir often.
  5. Once the chicken starts browning, add in the scallions and peppers
  6. Add in lime juice and cilantro and stir some more.
  7. Place a top on the pan and let the chicken simmer for a few minutes before you eat it

20130719_205935

You can serve this with guacamole and it would taste amazing. That was my plan until I went for the avocados and saw that they were spoiled. Fail. Lesson learned, Wegman’s avocados don’t last 10 days. Oh well it’s on my shopping list for this weekend. Speaking of which, it’s the weekend! If you have any recipes or dishes you want me to try out, please let me know!

Counting More Sheeps

Posted: July 13, 2013 in Challenge
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

It’s the weekend! That means one thing. SLEEP IN! Well that’s usually the plan but my insomniac self who is now used to just basically napping in between Iftar and Sahoor only managed to sleep for an extra hour or two. Still worth it. My plan is to take advantage of that tomorrow as well before the work grind starts again. Not a lot to talk about today but I do have a real treat for Iftar. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

For Sahoor

Speaking of sleep, I slept too much and barely woke up with enough time to make something quick and eat it this morning. Luckily, like I had said in my last post, I had omelette stuff cut up already so I just had my standard 2 egg yoke/4egg white dish. I really didn’t drink a lot of water but I had been hydrating the night before. Oh and yeah that caused me an extra bathroom trip. Anyways, that’s all I had plus an apple.

For Iftar

This dish is called Meatza…pizza but just meat. It’s a combo of ground beef and chicken with various spices. My apologies go out to the vegan community for this recipe. The directions below make about 1.5-2 servings.

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 lb ground chicken
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 small tomato
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 3 -4 stems of parsley
  • 1/2 tsp ground cilantro
  • 1 sweet potato, skinned and diced
  • 3/4 tsp oregano
  • 2 tbsp of hot sauce (If you aren’t great with spices I would lower this mount)
  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a food processor, drop in the onion, tomato, salt, chili powder, green pepper, cumin, parsley, and cilantro. Put aside 1/4 of the mixture for the chicken. The rest will be used for the beef.
  3. Place the beef into a bowl and mix in the processed items. Then move it to a baking dish and place into the oven. Let it cook for about 10 minutes.
  4. While that bakes, heat up a pan and add in the coconut oil. Add in the sweet potato and then place a cover over it to steam. Cook it for about 5 minutes or until it is soft.
  5. When the sweet potato begins to soften, add in the chicken and remaining mixture and stir. Add in the hot sauce as well. Cover it until it’s cooked.
  6. Once the beef is done, add the chicken/sweet potato mixture to the baking dish.
  7. Bake it for a few more minutes and you are done. I dressed it with a banana pepper but that’s optional.

2013-07-13

WOD

AMRAP 12 minutes
50 Double Unders
10 Burpess
20 Squats

Stay tuned… Next Sahoor will be Paleo Pancakes with syrup! Iftar will be something fun as well. Also, I’m going to attempt some Paleo desserts. I’m excited, you should be too.

Know Thy Limits

Posted: July 11, 2013 in Challenge, Food
Tags: , , , ,
0

A jam packed day 3 is in the books and it was full of stupid decisions by this guy. Well really just one big stupid decision and it came when I went to the gym. More on that in a bit. Hunger wise I found my self holding up real well today so my body is starting to get used to it. I was working from home today so I was able sleep an extra hour or 3 which helped. I felt a little hungry in the morning and felt a bit dehydrated during the workout. Based on past experience, the first part will go away on its own but the second part will require some effort from me. I need to start hydrating better! It’s not easy chugging water in the morning after you’ve just eaten so I have to find a better way. Coach Dan B. once told me to start hydrating the night before. I’ll have to stop being lazy and try that advice out. We’ll see how many times I wake up in the middle of the night…

For Sahoor

I had a bit smaller omelette this morning, 2 egg yokes and 3 egg whites. This freed up room for some mashed up sweet potatoes I had left over from the other night. Sweet potatoes is another thing I found that keeps me full for longer and gives me good energy. I also had an apple, fuji of course, and drank about 64 oz of water. The water intake is going to have to increase if I want to WOD in this heat. Other than that, this meal held me up very well throughout the day so you will see this pop up again.
Again, I promise I have some fun recipes outside off just eggs coming up. These first few days of Ramadan have just been hectic with all of the adjustments.

For Iftar

I’ve made chicken dishes for the past few days so it was time to switch it up. Today I made a Greek-ish fish meal.

2 filets of tilapia
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed pepper flakes
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup of olives, halved
1/4 green pepper, sliced
2 shallots, diced
extra virgin olive oil
*Disclaimer* – I like my food spicy so adjust the peppers to your taste

Mix the chili powder, black pepper, crushed pepper, lemon juice, and salt into a bowl. Coat the fish with this mixture. In the mean time, warm up a pan and add olive oil to it. Once the  oil is warm, make sure the stove is on medium heat and place the marinated fish on the pan. Fish cooks fairly fast so keep an eye on it. I cooked it for about 12 minutes.

While that cooks, heat up another pan and add about a Tbsp of olive oil to it. Once the oil is warm, add the olives, green peppers, and shallots to the pan. Saute this for a few minutes constantly mixing it. Once they appear done, turn the stove to the lowest setting and finish cooking the fish.
Once the fish is done, place it on a plate, add the olive mixture on top and you have yourself a great finding nemo meal. If you like a tangier taste, squeeze some lemon juice on the fish.

20130711_205801

WOD

Ladder with a Partner – Reps are done between two people.
10 Burpees
20 Toes to Bar (on a pull up bar)
30 lunges
40 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls with a Kettle Bell
50 Squats
40 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls with a Kettle Bell
30 lunges
20 Toes to Bar (on a pull up bar)
10 Burpees
-Then-
Partner Core Work – switch off with partner as often as you want. Not for time.
Partner hold plank – other partner does 20 Toes to Bar
Partner hangs from a bar – other partner does 30 Pull Ups
Partner holds handstand – other partner does 15 hand stand pushups
Partner holds squat – other partner does 50 hollow rocks

This is where I got a little senseless. I had wanted to start out slow and just do strength training today. However when I got to the gym, I saw it was a fun little partner metcon. Next thing you know I’m warming up to do it. I survived the WOD pretty well but then there were extra core workouts we were to do. Half way into the core work, the dizziness from dehydration hit me hard. I had to stop for a little while before I got back into it. Of course that was the big mistake. I should have quit when I had the chance. I finished the hollow rocks but life was not fun for the next 15 minutes or so. Luckily I didn’t get sick or pass out but I don’t think I was far off. I guess it’s part of the adjustment so this shouldn’t scare anyone off from working out. Just know your limits and know at what point you have to stop. This isn’t your everyday working out. It takes a whole different level of thought and today, I left all that at home. Oh well lesson learned. 

On to tomorrow!

First WOD, sort of

Posted: July 10, 2013 in Challenge, Food
Tags: , , ,
2

Day 2 in the books and it’s getting easier already! I was actually able to catch up on some sleep last night which made for a better day. I had planned on going to the gym today to work on Olympic lifts but I left work later than I anticipated. I did however do a mini home WOD before opening my fast.

For Sahoor

I had a similar sahoor meal as yesterday, 2 egg yolk/4 egg omelette with onions and tomatoes chopped up into it. I had half an avocado with it as well. I also had an apple today (Fuji apple, my favorite). This was a great addition but contains a lot of sugar so I had a spoon of peanut butter with it. The protein in it helps break down some of the sugar from the apple and also gives me some extra calories to get through the day with. I wasn’t able to drink as much water as I wanted but my tolerance for drinking a lot of water at that hour is increasing. It did the job; I barely felt hungry throughout the day…well, until I started staring at the clock with 10 minutes to go.

For Iftar

Here is another simple recipe that I cooked up that takes very little time and effort  and tastes great.  Here is what I had today:

12oz of Chicken breast, diced
1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp of crushed pepper flakes
Handful of chopped spinach
1/2 tomato
1/4 onion
1/4 tsp sea salt
Baby carrots sliced in half

Heat up coconut oil in a pan and then add the chicken to it. Add in the sea salt and chili pepper. Mix the chicken up and let it saute. When the chicken is nearly done, add in the crushed pepper, spinach, tomatoes, onion, and carrots. Continue to mix it up until the carrots start to get soft. Then, put a top on the pan and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

20130710_192437

It turned out well. I think if I had added broccoli it would have tasted even better. Be careful with the chili powder, it gets spicy fast. If you like chutney, you can add that to your plate and it will compliment it well. Later in the evening I had some watermelon for dessert.

WOD

Like I had mentioned, I wasn’t able to make it to the gym today but I did do a short home WOD. The home WODs I’ll post will be workouts you can do on the go and won’t require any equipment. I utilize these when I travel or when I’m short on time.

6 Rounds For Time

10 Pushups 10 Air Squats 10 Sit Ups

Also, I know these posts have been real late both nights. I promise these posts and recipes will get more exciting in a few days once I figure out my schedule. I’m trying to figure out a way to balance my schedule so I can cook for Iftar, workout, eat, go to Taraweeh prayer at the mosque and then sleep at a reasonable time. As the days get shorter the schedule should ease up a bit since I won’t be rushing off to Taraweeh right after Iftar.

See you guys tomorrow!

Older Entries