From Shirley:

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted a recipe. That seems weird because I’m always thinking about food. Always. Here’s a great one from Paleo Newbie. The Avocado Cilantro Lime sauce really makes this recipe. Send me your favorite recipe along with a picture of all it’s deliciousness… paleo or not and I’ll make sure to share it with our MBS family.

Hey, don’t forget… you can still bring in non perishable food for our Food Drive until this Friday. Box is up on the front desk.

Courtesy of Paleo Newbie.

Ingredients

Taco Meat & Seasoning
1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef or turkey
1 small yellow onion, sliced
(1) 4 oz can of mild green chilies, diced (or fresh green chilies of your choice)
2 tbs tomato paste
Avocado Cilantro Lime Sauce
1 avocado, pitted
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 jalepeno, seeded
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp chipotle seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
Salt to taste
1/4 cup water to thin the sauce as needed
Salad Ingredients
2 to 3 heads of chopped romaine
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced
2 avocados, pitted and diced
Pre-made fresh salsa, add as desired
Yield
4 meal-sized taco salads
Instructions

Mix together the first 10 dry taco seasoning ingredients in a small bowl
In a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion with a tablespoon or two of coconut oil for about 3 minutes
Add the ground meat along with 3 tbs of the taco seasoning mix to the skillet. Brown for about 5 minutes or until meat is cooked through
Drain the green chilies can, and add the chillies to skillet along with the tomato paste and about 2 tbs of coconut oil. Allow to simmer about 3 minutes and then set skillet aside
Next make the avocado cilantro lime sauce. Simply put all ingredients into a bullet mixer or blender, and blend until smooth. Add some water to thin if needed, and place in refrigerator
Chop the romaine lettuce, bell peppers, grape tomatoes, avocados, and then toss. Divide the salad among 4 salad bowls or plates
Spoon the meat mixture over each salad, add some fresh salsa if desired, and finally a generous amount of the avocado cilantro lime sauce topping
Enjoy!

This warm weather has me recalling all my favorite summertime recipes. Here is one of my favorites. It’s simple, refreshing and thanks to the healthy fat from the avocado, very satisfying. You can tweak the quantity of the ingredients to suit your taste.

1 pre-made rotisserie chicken. Strip and dice the meat.
(Save the carcass and make delicious and healthy bone broth.)
2 medium avocados, chopped
1/2 red onion thin sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Juice from 2 lemons
Salt and pepper *I always use kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Salad greens

In a bowl blend together chicken, avocado, onion and juice from one lemon.
Top salad greens with chicken mixture and garnish with cilantro, lemon zest. Dress with juice from the remaining lemon. Top with salt and pepper.

From Shirley:

This is my go to recipe. I like to make it Sunday night and keep it in the fridge for those weeks I know I’m going to be uber busy and need something convenient and quick. I’ve eating it for lunch… and dinner because I’m a big fan of breakfast any time of day. Feel free to throw in all the leftover veggies you’ve got. (Gotta love sneaking in vegetables.) If you let it cook long enough for the eggs to be very firm, you can also eat it on the go while driving or typing or working out or trying to wrangle your 1 year old into clean clothes.

Recipe from PaleOMG

Ingredients
2 tablespoons fat of choice (coconut oil or butter or ghee, etc.), melted
1 large sweet potato or yam, diced
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1½ pound breakfast sausage
½ yellow onion, diced
2 cups chopped spinach
10 eggs, whisked
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9×12 baking dish.
Toss diced sweet potatoes in fat and sprinkle with salt
Place sweet potatoes on baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until soft.
While sweet potatoes are cooking, place a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add breakfast sausage and yellow onion. Cook until no pink remains in meat.
Place meat mixture in baking dish, add sweet potatoes and spinach then add eggs along with salt and garlic powder and mix until well combine.
Place in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until eggs are set in the middle.

Maple Bacon Paleo Protein Pancakes.

Make these for your family Christmas morning and you’ll be more popular than Santa.

From TheBox.com
Servings: 12 small pancakes, 8 large
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: Just a few minutes per pancake
Ingredients
1 cup almond flour
¼ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or unsweetened coconut milk)
½ cup applesauce
½ cup of your preferred protein powder (I suggest vanilla flavored.)
5 strips bacon, cooked, then crumbled
2 eggs
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon coconut butter
Oil (bacon grease or coconut oil) for griddle/frying pan
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, milk choice, applesauce, protein, bacon, eggs, syrup, almond extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, baking powder and coconut butter. Stir well.
2. Heat griddle or frying pan to medium heat (typically five to seven minutes). Place ½ a spoonful of bacon grease or coconut oil in the pan to avoid sticking.
3. Using a large spoon or ¼ cup measure, place batter on griddle or pan. (Be sure to keep them a few inches from one another.)
4. Watch for pancakes to bubble, then flip, cooking until lightly browned on both sides.
5. Serve with a little coconut butter or a light drizzle of maple syrup.
You can serve a bunch of these bad boys or freeze them for future use. They’re easy to grab when you’re on the go, and they don’t require any toppings to taste good.

Christmas and New Year’s Schedule
Wednesday, December 24th – no evening classes
Thursday, December 25th – Closed
Friday, December 26th – 9:00 and 10:15 am classes only
Saturday, December 27th – 9:00 and 10:15 am classes only
Wednesday, December 31st – 4:00 and 5:15 WOD classes only in the evening (Cardio Flex and 6:30 PM classes cancelled. We are having a New Years WOD Party starting at 8pm.
Thursday, January 1st – First WOD of 2015 at 12:00 PM only

Workout of the Day
WORKOUT
AMRAP 14:
3 Pushups
3 Ring rows
20 Double unders or 50 single unders
6 Pushups
6 Ring rows
20 Double unders
Continue with 9, 12, 15…

Extra Credit:
10 minutes of foam rolling or stretching.
Post your scores to the whiteboard.

Clean eating becoming more mainstream

Because of the undeniable results, diets like Paleo are becoming more mainstream. Companies are now labeling their products more clearly so we don’t have spend hours in the grocery store reading every last detail of the food labels. It’s still a very good idea to carefully pay attention to ingredients labeling, especially in conventional grocery stores, but that can turn a grocery shopping trip into a half day excursion. Whole Foods is making it a little easier for us to stay on the straight and narrow by dedicating entire sections to Paleo foods and even making some of their ready made deli items Paleo legal. These pictures were taken at the new Whole Foods at 120th & Bradburn.

Workout of the Day
AMRAP 10:
SealFit Sandbag Complex
6 Deadlifts 6 Hang Power Cleans 6 Front Squats 6 Push Press 6 Back Squats 6 Push-ups on sandbag

L3 - 90/75 lb.
L2 - 75/60 lb.
L1 - 60/45 lb.

CF1
SKILL - Rowing
WOD
Part 1 (use as warm up)
Row 3:00 easy @ 18 SPM
Row 2:00 mediium @ 20 SPM
Row 1:00 Hard @ 22+ SPM
Rest 3 minutes and repeat

Part 2 (WOD)
3 Rounds
Row 500
30 Weighted Box step ups, 20/16″ (25/15 lb.)
20 Plate GTO, 25/15 lb.

EXTRA CREDIT:
4×400 meters. Rest 2 min btw

Post your scores to the whiteboard.

Paleo Cookies. Mmmmm…. Cookies.

From Shirley:
I am a self proclaimed expert on sweets and believe me when I say I’ve tried a lot of paleo cookies; buying fancy $12 cookies because they’re dairy, wheat and sugar free, baking my own and tweaking recipes to paleo-ize them. I probably expect too much, but I’m always disappointed. I eventually threw in the towel on paleo sweets and decided to just take the hit and eat real sugar when the craving strikes.
When Anita asked me if I had tried the Paleo cookies she brought to the Holiday party I was like… ‘Awww, man… now I have to eat one because she’s my friend. But every paleo cookie I’ve ever eaten tastes like cardboard and I need a gallon of milk to choke that dry ass $hit down.’ Nope. These cookies are moist and tasty and I’m going to go out on a limb and say these are the best paleo cookies I’ve ever had. Trust me… I’m an expert.

Linzer Torte Thumbprint Cookies from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 cup raw honey
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp apple sauce
1 tsp baking soda
Dash himalyan sea salt
5-6 tbsp homemade or store-bought jam
(Store bought jam will likely contain sugar. For strict paleo, use pureed fruit with no sugar added)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients
3. In a separate bowl whisk together wet ingredients then combine both bowls
4. Roll dough into a ball and cover in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 20 minutes or longer
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or baking liner
6. Roll individual balls out and place on baking sheet
7. Push your thumb in, fill with a drop of jam, and repeat
8. Bake for 15 minutes until slightly golden

Workout of the Day
With a partner, AMRAP 18 min:
P1 - Squat clean and jerk (reps)
P2 - 60-yard Bear Crawl (pace)

L3 - 185/125 lb.
L2 - 155/105 lb.
L1 - 125/85 lb.

Score is total # of reps of CJ. We want the weight to be challenging so that you must do singles.

Extra Credit:
1-mile run, easy pace. Rest 3 minutes and repeat

Post your scores to the whiteboard.

Paleo Pumpkin Pie Recipe

The grocery stores in Florida have amaaaaazing ethic food sections. And during my recent trip there, I found this:

Now, to make a confession.. The can of coconut milk tells you to shake it up before opening, but I never do because I love the thick creamy part at the top of the can of coconut milk. I eat that s**t with a spoon! I know, it’s loaded with fat but it’s good fat, right? So finding this product made me giddy with excitement. Then, I found this recipe on PaleOMG. Made it. Ate almost all of it myself. Doing it again for Thanksgiving. It’s a little time consuming so I’ll make it the night before.

Ingredients
For the crust
1 cup almond butter
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
⅔ cup walnuts
1 heaping tablespoon Coconut Cream Concentrate or homemade coconut butter
1 heaping tablespoon raw honey
pinch of salt
For the filling
1.5 cups roasted, unsalted cashews
½ cup coconut oil
½ cup raw honey
2-3 tablespoon lemon juice
5-6 tablespoons canned coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the topping
½ cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt
Instructions
Let’s first make the crust!! Add walnuts to your food processor and blend until you get a meal, almost a walnut butter. Then add the rest of your crust ingredients and blend until well combined.
Add crust mixture to an 8×8 glass baking dish lined with saran wrap, press down until evenly distributed and smooth on the top.
Wipe out the inside of your food processor, no need to scrub, then add your cashews and blend until you begin to get a clumpy mess.
Then add your coconut oil, lemon juice, vanilla extract and honey and puree until well combined.
And lastly, add your coconut milk, 1 tablespoon at a time to break down the cashews completely. I used about 5 or 6 tablespoons for mine until the cashews became this soupy paste.
Pour your filling onto the crust and use a knife or spoon to spread mixture throughout the entire pan, covering the crust, then place in the freezer for about 1-2 hours or until completely hard.
When you cheesecake is almost hardened, add all topping ingredients to a food processor and mix until smooth and silky.
Smooth out on top of your cheesecake.
Place it freezer for about 30 minutes until everything has set.
Cut cheesecake into cheesecake slices like I did OR bars, any size you want. The saran wrap will help you pull them out without destroying their gorgeous looks. Just pull on the side of the saran wrap and it will pop right out.
Eat. Eat and remember how wonderful it is to be paleo.
PALEO IS AWESOME!

Workout of the Day
20 minutes: Bench press, 9×3 (3 sets narrow, 3 sets regular, then 3 sets wide) @ 60-70% of 1RM
Do 1 Muscle up every ___ as long as possible:
L3 - :15
L2 - :30*
L1 - :45*
*May be jumping, banded, or modified

EXTRA CREDIT:
Partner situp medball throws, 3×20

Post your scores to the whiteboard

Congrats you’ve made it 8 whole weeks in the lifestyle challenge! And now it’s over…..so now what?

By Meriah McLeish

Throughout the challenge there were a few common themes I heard (and experienced myself) that either helped or inhibited people during the challenge. So I created my top 5 themes and tips to help you with continue your success after the challenge!

5. If it makes you sick - don’t eat it.
We just spent the last 8 weeks cleaning up our diets and other bad habits and seeing how our bodies reacted. Why eat it if it makes you actually sick. Is it really worth it? And yes that may include avoiding challenge approved foods, such as night shades, eggs, dairy, or whatever made you feel ill.

4. Stop calling non challenge approved food ‘cheats.’
By definition cheating is act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination and comes with a bad connotation. So tell me, how does having a cocktail going to give you an unfair advantage in anything except maybe some dancing skills? Food is fuel. Some fuel is of better quality then others, and different fuels will have different purposes. Our bodies are one of the coolest and complicated machines there are! Put the proper fuel in it to make it run your best!

3. Don’t plan all your 20%s
The 80/20 rule is to eat clean 80% of the time and more relaxed the other 20%. By not planning your indulgences, it will help your keep your 80/20, when that friend comes to town, or when you find yourself busy and unprepared, or in a spot where there are few ‘challenge approved foods.’ You can now make the best choice for you in your situation with less guilt and stress, and not accidentally turning your 80/20 into 20/80.

2. Being and staying prepared.
As tedious as it can feel when we are busy, being prepared was large part of people’s success. Now that the challenge is over keep up the good habits and stay prepared will keep good fuel in your body and your results continued and sustained. This is one the best ways to prevent yourself from slipping right back into old habits. Take some time to invest in making good food, and do something good for yourself.

1.Being accountable.
How many times did you want to go off the challenge approved list, but didn’t want to let your teammates (or yourself) down? Often easier to give up on ourselves, but we will hold out out a longer if we feel other people are depending on us. Many successful teams combined these last two to help them be successful during the challenge with a food swap. To help you stay accountable and prepared we want to to help by offering a 6 week paleo food swap. Food swaps are a great way to keep you accountable and prepared for the week. Trading meals are also great way to try new recipes and keep some variety in your diet. We’ll have sign ups in the gym, then bring your paleo Friendly meal to the gym Saturday’s before 10am to swap. There will also be cards to fill out who it’s from, what’s in your dish and any special instructions. We’ll have the sign ups in the gym by the end of this week, and the swap will start on Saturday, Nov. 15.

We’ve just spent the last 8 weeks getting good habits in place, and just because the challenge is over doesn’t mean those good habits need to stop!

Workout of the Day
Take your pick and do a max effort on 1, or all of the following:
Kipping pull-ups - Max reps
Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups – Max reps in 90 seconds
Push-ups - Max unbroken reps
Handstand Push-ups – Max unbroken reps
Muscle-ups – Max unbroken reps
Pistols – Max reps in 45 seconds each leg
Double-unders – Max unbroken reps
Rope Climbs – Max reps in 90 seconds
Handstand Walk – Max distance without falling

EXTRA CREDIT/COOLDOWN
10 minutes of lower body mobility.

Post your scores to the whiteboard.

Tatum M.’s Winning Recipe

Tatum won the 8week challenge potluck recipe contest with this one. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients
¾lb Breakfast Sausage (I used the Boulder brand kind with no sugar or nitrates in it)
1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed
½ yellow onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Eggs (optional)

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Place acorn squash cut-side down onto a baking sheet.
3) Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the acorn squash is soft when you press on the skin.
4) Remove from oven and let cool.
5) While the acorn squash is cooking, add a tablespoon of some kind of fat to a large pan over medium heat (I like to used bacon fat or coconut oil) then add the garlic and onion.
6) Stir around to keep from burning.
7) Once the onions become translucent, add the breakfast sausage to the pan.
8) Once the breakfast sausage is almost all the way cooked through, turn the heat to low and add just the inside of the cooked acorn squash. (Do this by using a spoon to scoop out the insides, leaving just the skin of the acorn squash. Be careful not the tear the skin!).
9) Mix the acorn squash and the breakfast sausage together then scoop it back into the acorn squash skin.
10) Once both of the acorn squash halves are full, press the middle in with a spoon to make a little resting spot for an egg.
11) Crack an egg on top.
12) Place back in the oven to cook for 10-15 minutes or until egg-cooked preference.

If you don’t want to add an egg and wait for it to cook then it can either be left off or one can fry/cook it to your liking and top the finished squash off with it. I do recommend putting the squash back in the oven after the mixture is back in the skins - it helps the flavors to mingle/cook together and the top to get a bit browned. Enjoy!

Workout of the Day
Partner relay for 9 sets:
3 reps Bench press (3 sets narrow, 3 sets wide, 3 sets regular) @ 60-70%
2-3 reps Strict pullups or muscle ups (no failures)

P1 does bench, then P2 does bench. P1 does pullups, then P2 does pullups. Continue until 9 sets have been completed.
Death by..
On the first minute, do 10 calorie row. On the second minute do 2 Deadlifts (225/155 lb.). Add 2 deadlifts each rounds until failure.

EXTRA CREDIT
Standing strict press to a 5RM

Post your scores to the whiteboard.

Cooking With Bacon

By Sean Purio

Ingredients
1/2 lb Wellshire Paleo Friendly Bacon
1 Kale bunch
2 regular sized sweet potatoes

Directions
Cook the bacon on slightly above Medium. Halfway through the package of bacon, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Once all the bacon has been cooked, pour half of the remaining bacon fat onto a cookie sheet. Place pre-sliced sweet potato fries on the cookie sheet and mix around to ensure good grease coverage. Put cookie sheet in the oven for 30 minutes. Place Kale (with stems removed) in the remaining bacon grease. Ensure that the temperature is turned down to Low/Medium. Stir until desired consistency is achieved. If there is any remaining bacon grease, save it for later! Once the sweet potato fries are done, lightly salt and serve. There is a significant lag time between when the Kale is finished and when the sweet potato fries are done. But, my main goal is use the bacon grease as effectively as possible. Plus, the kids seem to eat more kale when I cook it this way.

Serves 2 adults and 2 kids.

Workout of the Day
For time:
Run 400
12 Squat cleans
30 Toes-to-Bar
9 Squat cleans
15 Burpees over bar (lateral)
6 Squat cleans
300′ Overhead Walking Lunges, 45 lbs/25 lbs (2x length of gym)
Run 400 meters, then
3 Muscle ups or 6 burpee pullups

L3 - 155/105 lb.
L2 - 135/95 lb.
L1 - 115/75 lb.

EXTRA CREDIT:
100 Abmat situps (legs butterflied)

Post your scores to the whiteboard.