I actually started writing a post on my way home to Seattle for Christmas but never hit publish! Since we aren’t too far into the new year I still wanted to share.. I’m just amazed at what a difference a year can make!

Written December 22nd, 2011:

What a year. I’m heading to Seattle for the first time since I moved to Austin 1.25 years ago. I’ve gone longer without seeing my parents and visiting my home town, but what blows me away is simply HOW MUCH has changed since I was last here.

I am simply overwhelmed with gratitude and amazement for what this year has brought. Was it all rainbows and butterflies.. of course not. But as usual, things happen for a reason, and I am thankful for everything that has happened over the last 365 days.

Professionally

A year ago I was unemployed. I made job searching 60 hour a week “job” in and of itself and I had recently found out that I didn’t get a position that I thought was a done deal. I just spent the weekend in Baltimore with great friends, and returned back to Austin, to spend Christmas alone and crying. Yeah I know.. no good.

The first week of 2011 I was offered a position and started two days later. I am so ridiculously thankful to have a full-time job doing something I truly enjoy. I love the industry I work in and truly enjoy my positon in that field. I genuinely get wrapped up in the details of getting an icon perfectly aligned on one of our sites (hell, I didn’t know a damn thing about html or css a year ago), and spending hours running metrics reports and analyses (yeah.. I’m a dork :p).

Yoga

I’m mentioned here and there that yoga has changed my life in a way I never could have imagine. This year is what made me realize that. I knew there was something special in the practice.. something that I desperately needed in my life. I think during my first year in Austin I tried 75% of the studios in the city. What can I say, I’m picky. There’s nothing wrong with any of them, but I think it’s important (or it is to me) to find a ‘yoga home’ of sorts.  I found that in February. I started going at least 5 days a week, and I started noticing the practice carrying over to my everyday, off-the-mat, life. I went on a yoga retreat in May. It didn’t end up being what I expected. There were lots of tears.. and mind you I’m not big on crying in front of 25 people I just met, but it was also exactly what I needed and made me realize the things in my life that it was time to let go of. I came back to Austin and for the first time it really felt like home.

Friends

Man, it’s not like it use to be. College, grad school.. you’re basically dropped into a community of friends. Moving to a new city where you know next to no one is not as easy. I’ve always been the type to have a handful of really close friends and not necessarily the social butterfly.

A year ago I basically knew one person in Austin (& that was going to crap), but in the last year a few people in particular have played  a ridiculously huge part in making this year what it’s been.. and probably saving me a shit ton of money on therapy

Moving On

You know the saying ‘fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me’? Well what if it becomes ‘fool me 100 times?’ .. yeah maybe don’t answer that. hehe .. Maybe it’s a breaking point. Maybe it’s just growing up enough to be ready to learn certain lessons. Whatever it is.. 2011 was that time for me. I came out the other side better than I ever could have imagine. So much so in fact that I am thankful for what happened. It’s kind of fun being able to thank someone for being a jackass and screwing you over… though I hope to not make a hobby of that or anything.

Fitness

Read the last post for this one.. But the short version.. fitness is a big part of my life, yoga means everything to me.. they can work together. I’m so excited to compete again in 2012!

End of previously written post.

So that was 2011.. on to 2012! 

I have a few things on my agenda this year.. but the biggest related to this blog.. yup I’m planning to compete. I’ll be 14 weeks out this weekend. I know this time will be completely different, and I have absolutely no idea how it will turn out. But I’m ok with that. I’m hoping to be able to do fitness &/or figure/bikini but it depends on whether my routine is ready or not. The April show is here in Austin about 10 minutes from my house, so I figure I might as well take advantage! There’s another in Galveston in May where I definitely want to do Fitness.

So far everything is going great! Since I got back from Seattle I’ve been eating completely clean and workouts have been awesome. I’m finally (finally!) starting to see my cardio improve a bit along with strength gains.

The only down side at the moment is that I somehow managed to hurt my back. Fortunately it’s something that actually feels better when I workout.. though yoga has been troublesome, which is really frustrating. At the moment I have stylish black tape across my back and exercises to do, so hopefully it’ll get better quickly!

Wow long post.. back to what’s going on now topic soon!

I started yoga after I competed back in November 2009. Competing was a wonderful experience, but there was also a lot I did wrong. After the shows I was definitely burned out and looking for something new. Whatever higher power you believe in must have been watching out because I stumbled into yoga, the type just right for me at just the right time. Two years later and I seriously can not imagine where I would be without it! Maybe that sounds melodramatic to some, but I know many of you know exactly what I mean. I can say without a doubt that it has made me a better person. It has made me more compassionate, caring, better able to deal with stress, self-confident, empowered, I could go on and on. Really amazing stuff.

So how can yoga, a practice that is both physical and spiritual, and all about non-judgement and not competing be anything like a sport where you push yourself completely to the limit, then get up on stage 95% naked, covered in spray tan, in clear hooker heals and get judge strictly on your appearance? Easy.. they both challenge me and make me a stronger person physically and mentally.. and I love them both. It hasn’t always been that way.. let me explain..

I ran across this quote in Meditations from the Mat and it completely hit home. What I’d been feeling lately, a connection and easy synch between fitness and yoga, was put into words..

Doing your best is taking the action because you love it, not because you’re expecting a reward. Most people do exactly the opposite; They only take action when they expect a reward, and don’t enjoy the action. That is why they don’t do their best. …

Our experience of life is like that of a trapeze artist–but instead of rings, we swing from one intense attachment to the next. We begin asana practice with an eye to the results. [When you start seeing results], a whole new world is presented to us. Why not hope for more of the same? Because it is in this hoping that we lose sight of the true beauty we have discovered.

We are finding that the only result worth achieving is being here now. All other positive outcomes are by-products of our present-moment awareness. To be attached to the results, be they a tighter bum or a better triangle pose, is to place the cart before the horse and to miss the point. Eventually we will find this striving unrewarding… The alternative–doing your best as an expression of your love for life.

For quite a while I thought that if I wanted to lift weights and compete that I’d be a “bad yogi.” And not going to lie, I got plenty of not-so-positive feedback (some in friendly conversation, some not as sought) from a couple yoga teachers. Yoga had won me over 100% and as I’ve discussed, I’m never one to only “test the waters.” I throw myself in!  So you can image, hearing negative feedback about fitness from people who I really looked up to created more than a little internal conflict.

What’s ironic is that I’ve probably experience more competitive people in the yoga studio than I ever have at the gym.

But let me back up. What I now see as fantastic similarities and connections between fitness and yoga has definitely not always been. Really it’s yoga that has changed how I approach fitness.

It’s Not a Lie.. It Really is the Journey

In 2009 when I was getting ready to compete, it was ALL about the end goal. I was training solely to get on that stage and check an item off my bucket list. When you focus your energy that hard on something, and have complete tunnel vision (like I tend to when I set my eyes on a goal), a lot of things tend to get sacrificed. With sacrifice, sometimes comes a bit of resentment. It didn’t seem like it at the time.. by hindsight ya know.. And when you realize what you sacrificed in order to reach that goal, then the end result becomes even more important. You (ok me) think, “If I gave up this and that and this and that.. then I better win, or none of those sacrifice would have been worth it”.. in the immortal social media words of 2011.. #fail! When it’s all about the end goal, the purpose starts to get lost. I even remember someone asking me why I decided to compete.. and I was at a loss for an answer. How can you put so many hours into something, spend a lot of time being hungry, a lot of money, loose and semblence of a social life and not be sure why? I know, I know..

So it took a couple years of being confused about the whole thing.. and a lot of down dogs..

The actually competition is such a small part of what fitness is all about for me.

Now.. I love yoga more than ever.. I love weight training more than ever.. I love being part of a team of amazing and inspiring women, and I look forward to competing again (FAP Lonestar), and may again (TX Shredder) and perhaps again (FAP Universe)..

The difference? The REALLY BIG DIFFERENCE.. it’s no longer about the stage. Getting on stage is just an added bonus during the process. It’s a fun weekend in Galveston and/or Miami. It’s not the goal, not at all. The goal is to remember each day I step on my yoga mat, each time I go to workout, and when I’m panting for breath during a functional workout (I must look hilarious and a complete wreck to anyone watching), that I get to. That I get to do that. That I’m healthy enough, that I have the time and money to get to workout, to play with new inversion, travel hours just to cheer for friends competing, and go to ridiculously amazing yoga events, and share it all with even more amazing people.

I feel so fortunate to have now found yoga teachers who are supportive of me in every way. And I think that’s helped me realize that these two “hobbies” of mine aren’t so mutually exclusive. At the same time I’ve met some of the most selfless, caring, loving and giving people I’ve ever known through fitness competitions. I don’t do yoga to be better at fitness or to be more flexible, and I certainly don’t lift in order to be able to hold a handstand longer.. I do both, because I love both.. that’s all that really matters.

*Added after Publishing Friday night:

It’s funny, today (Saturday) during yoga, the teacher said something along the lines of “isn’t it a miracle how people come into our lives just when we need them. They may not stay long but it’s a miracle that it happens.”

I laughed to myself and thought about what I had written and published in this post. I was feeling a little uncomfortable that what I had written may have come off not as positive as I meant it to. I am very grateful for each an every yoga teacher (and fitness trainer for that matter) that I’ve had, because I know that’s exactly what I needed at that time. I’m probably at such a great place with yoga & lifting because I took that break, and being exposed to different perspectives, whether I agree or not is something I value very much as well. Hope that makes sense.. Promise a not-so-serious, mostly likely recipe-post next 

Because why wouldn’t you do handstands in the middle of a hotel lobby, on a beach in Costa Rica, while wearing a halter top, after a couple margaritas.. ?! Yes yes, and after not putting enough sunscreen on that day…

Healthy Living & Fitness

Fit Approach: Lots of great stuff here! There are a few different others you write about all things related to health: recipes, fitness, yoga, getting motivated, you name it!

She Rocks Fitness: Another fitness and yoga loving lady.. naturally I’m going to adore her

Our Lady of Second Helpings: I’ve known this woman since I was 2 years old! Sure it’s cool to see someone get on a fitness stage year in and year out, but Rose’s story is what really inspires me (check it out). She did a completely changed her lifestyle when it comes to fitness & nutrition, and now preaches (pun intended :p) about the benefits in her always witty and entertaining blog.

Gilly Anne Smith: One of my coaches when I was doing CrossFit. She doesn’t blog a lot but when she does it’s always so beautiful.

Recipes

Finding Vegan: A warehouse of vegan recipes submitted by other bloggers, so many great ideas that could convince any hater that eating vegan is far from boring.

Dessert Stalker: I’m pretty sure this is the opposite of the site above.. aka Paleo. But the Paleo folks have some amazing dessert ideas, so you’ll find all sorts of Almond and Coconut Flour-using sweet tasting recipes here.

Two Peas and Their Pod: You know those sites where you realize you’re bookmarking every single recipe and they must be reading your mind with what sounds absolutely fantastic? .. yeah that’s this duo

I’ve been wonderful, crazy busy, but good.

Work has been the busiest since I started, I’ve been working long hours and a lot of weekends, but it made me realize more than ever how important getting in my regular workouts and sticking with my meal plan is. There are NO EXCUSES! I’ve noticed this before, but I know that getting in really strong workouts and getting to yoga is what allows me to be my most productive and creative at work. Not only that, it helps me to sleep better instead of tossing & turning all night while stressing about everything that needs to get done.

Reminding myself of this is what got me off my butt on the couch and to the gym a couple times this week.. well that and the motivation of CSF girls.. especially my workout buddy and roommate!

I’m getting it all in! This last week I felt like I really started getting into the swing of regular weights and cardio, while also getting in the yoga I need (yes I said need ). I got in all 5 weight training days, 5 cardio sessions (2 hour Spin classes, 1 Treadmill HIIT and 2 ADD cardio), and 4 yoga classes! Simply feeling great I’ve been getting it in with a schedule like this:

Monday: AM Spin and Upper Body, maybe PM Yoga

Tuesday: Lower Body and SS Cardio (AM or PM depends), PM Yoga

Wednesday: AM Spin and Upper Body

Thursday: Yoga or Rest

Friday: Lower, SS Cardio

Saturday: Upper Body, HIIT Cardio, Yoga

Sunday: Yoga or Rest

Can’t say I have too much new to report. Thank goodness for epic prep days, because having a bunch of frozen meals from previous prep weekends is what saved me the last couple weeks. I haven’t had time to spend choosing fun new recipes and all day cooking, but I made enough this, this and this weekend, that I had freezer leftovers.

This weekend I went the speedy prep route by mixing up batches of:

• Protein Pancakes
• Spinach Bars
• Mexi-cauli Salad (I need to post this recipe this week because I’m a little obsessed!)
• Chicken Breast
• Lean Ground Turkey
• Roasted Butternut & Kabocha Squash

Back in August, Sleep Number Beds contacted me asking if I’d like to try and review their bed. Before giving the obvious answer.. I have to tell you..

Last year when I moved to Texas.. yup September 2010, my beautiful (& expensive) pillow top mattress did not arrive safely. The pillow-portion got smooched from being on its side for too long, and no matter how hard I tried, I was stuck with a big lump down the middle of the bed. Well being that it was a queen size bed and I’m a single, not particularly large, person who sleeps within arms-reach of the alarm clock, the bed bump wasn’t really an issue, but also not cool.

So anyways, naturally, I said “absolutely!” to Sleep Number’s kind offer.

I had the bed delivered to my new house, and it took 2 nights before I completely fell in love with it! I seriously have never slept so well.. every night. It couldn’t have come at a better time, because as I’m getting back into consistent weight and cardio workouts, I’m sore all the time, and we all know how important good sleep is to reaching your fitness goals!

So when Sleep Number asked if I would like to host a Sleep Chat, it was another easy ‘yes.’ I don’t review a lot of products, because I always feel bad if I don’t like what they sent me for free, and don’t want to write anything bad. But in this case I’m more than happy to speak for them, recommend their beds and chat about how important good sleep is in order to get the very most out of your workouts and be your healthiest!

So if you’re free Tuesday night (and want to win a free bed!), please join me, @SleepNumberSara and @SleepGeekPete for a Twitter & Facebook chat about the Health Triangle: Fitness, Nutrition and of course Sleep!

Sleep Number Chat:

Tuesday, October 11th at 7-8pm (CST)

You can join the chat by:

1) Going to the Sleep Number Facebook page and clicking on the “Sleep Better Chat” link in the upper left corner. Log-in with a username and include #sleepnumber in all your comments.

-OR-

2) On Twitter, by following @SleepNumberSara, @SleepGeekPete and Me (@NourishedFit). Remember to include the #sleepnumber hashtag in all your tweets. This will allow us to see your feedback during the discussion.

Hope to “see” you there! 

And another thing.. HUGE CONGRATS to Naomi who looked absolutely amazing and completed rocked her Bikini competition this weekend and came home with hardware to prove it! This girl inspires me everyday.. and I am so excited to meet her in-person.. I’m thinking much sooner than later 

At the risk of jinxing it.. but hoping that by throwing that out there I negate the jinx.. I’ve been getting back into lifting on a regular basis, and loving it! In fact I re-signed up with Cathy Savage Fitness. I’m super excited that a friend is doing it with me, so we’ve been working out together and encouraging one another. What a difference it makes! Even when I was training for my last show, and technically on a team, I never really worked out with anyone. But the combination with working out with a friend and being a part of CSF, it already feels like a different, really positive, experience.

Which begs the competition question.. And the answer is, I’m not sure yet.. just taking it one day.. week.. month at a time and will see what I feel like when I get closer to that point.

So for right now you’ll find me limping around and struggling to lift my arms.. oh but it’s such a good sore! 

But yoga is still priority. My goal is to get in at least 3 classes a week. I know if I can keep that up I won’t feel like I’m “sacrificing” yoga for lifting, and it will be so beneficial to weight-training.

Speaking of yoga, I’m going to be doing a little Artistic Yoga demo with the amazing ladies of Balance Yoga at the Austin Yoga Festival. Check out there website, and if you’re if you’re around central Austin you should definitely come!

Nutrition-wise everything is going great. I’m getting use to being more specific with my meal planning again (in line with the CSF plan), but I wasn’t too far off, so really it’s just being sure to eat enough!

I’ve said it once, twice, a hundred times.. eating healthy is seriously all about being prepared! During the week I’m a usually really busy and have no interest spending time figuring out what to eat, then having to make it. So I do all the work on Sundays. I usually will make 2-3 full dishes, cook up proteins, and have additional veggies prepped ready to mix it. On this week’s prep menu I have:

• Un-Potato Salad with Chicken Sausage
• Greek Quinoa Salad
• Roasted Garlic Cassoulet
• Harvest Muffins

Chop up Cauliflower to whatever size you like. Toss into a microwave bowl and add a splash of water. Microwave for 7 minutes. Now chop Onion and sauté in a large skillet for a few minutes. Add Vinegar, Salt and 1/2 c of Water and cook for a few more minutes until water cooks off. Mix together Cauliflower and Onion mixture.

Cooke Quinoa stovetop until most of the water is gone. Add Salt and Spinach, and continue cooking until Spinach is soft and water is gone. Remove from heat. In a separate pan saute Onion to desired texture (you could leave the Onion raw too). Mix Onion in with Onion mixture. Let this cool. Once cool, stir in Tomatoes. Add protein (I thinking shrimp might be great) for a complete meal.

1 medium Carrot, finely grated

1 medium Zucchini, finely grated

1 medium Apple, coarsely grated

2 tbsp Oil (I used Hemp Seed Oil, but whatever you like to bake with would work)

1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/3 c Egg Whites

Optional: Chopped Nuts, Craisins or Raisins

Combine dry ingredients. Combine Carrot, Zucchini and Apple in a separate bowl, then mix in with dry ingredients. Mix Oil, Milk and Egg Whites in a separate bowl, then mix that in with the rest of your ingredients. Pour into Pam-sprayed muffin tins and bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

Stats:

Wow long post! Yawn.. aiming for an Arm workout and Cardio in the AM.. but first, an Arctic Zero Shake. Have a great night!

I mentioned on my Facebook page the other day, but I was just a complete failure at balancing work and workouts this week.

My intentions were so good! Last weekend I planned out all my yoga classes & workouts and scheduled them into my calendar. Monday started great (see below) but then it was downhill from there. A few things came up at work and instead of making it out the door to catch my beloved Vinyasa classes, I was working until bedtime.

I don’t dislike missing planned yoga & workouts because I think I’m instantly going to balloon up, but because it’s what’s keeps me sane and happy. But sometimes it just is what it is, life gets in the way, and ya gotta adjust right?! So on 12+ hour workdays, I just put extra emphasis on eating right. Having a bunch of sugar or caffeine is only going to make  me/you eventually crash, feel worse, and eat more junk. Instead I try to stick with tea, and maybe have an extra Green Smoothie!

So the gym.. the actual cardio equipment, barbells and dumbbells, fitness studios and spin class, type of gym. I hadn’t been in AGES! Since around Memorial Day I’ve pretty much just been doing bootcamps and CrossFit for weight training and cardio. The five months before that I was doing a cardio class here and there but not lifting at all, and just doing a lot of Yoga.

CrossFit made me realize/remember how much I really do enjoy weight training and lifting heavy. So Monday I headed to the gym. It felt good. Even though I haven’t been in ages, the gym is certainly a comfort zone for me. The workout wasn’t anything crazy, but out of practice = me hobbling around for the four days after! My workout went a little something like this:

Barbell Back Squats w/ Double-Unders

15 Squats @ 50 lbs + bar ~ 83 (Warm-Up)

12 Squats @ 103 lbs

15 Double-Unders

10 Squats @ 103 lbs

20 Double-Unders

10 Squats @ 103 lbs

15 Double-Unders

8 Squats @ 123 lbs

6 Squats @ 143 lbs

I moved between sets quickly. Double-unders really wind me, so I like the mix between cardio and power. This would be the “CrossFit influence”

Walking Dumbbell Lunges and Kickbacks (superset)

15 Lunges each Leg walking, holding 20 lb dumbbells in each hand

20 weighted Kickbacks

(x3)

Leg Presses and Hamstring Curls (superset)

Leg Presses – 150 lbs / 15 reps, 190/12, 210/10

Hamstring Curls – 35/15

Walking out the gym I was already hurting

And that was it until today (big BOO). I am SO back & forth with morning workouts. Once I get into a routine with it, I absolutely love it. But when I get out of habit, it’s quite the battle to get back there. But I know it’s the only way to guarantee I get my workouts in, so we’ll try again next week!

Spot on this week! My extra effort at variety with meal planning last weekend really paid off!

And must share today’s healthy baking success! These were inspired by this recipe, but my adjustments ended up resulting in a very thin batter, so instead of making cookies I spooned it into giant muffin tins. If Scones + Muffins = Scuffins, then I guess these are just Cuffins or Mookies.. kinda a muffin, but also like a cookie. Actually I split the below recipe in half, so if you make the full recipe I have a feeling they’ll make perfect muffins.. check out that fluffy goodness..

Seriously though, these came out SOO good, a must try I promise!

Healthy Peanut Chocolate Chip Mookies

3/4 cup Spelt Flour

1/2 cup Peanut Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/4 cup calorie free Maple Syrup (I used Walden Farms)

Stevia to taste (I used 2 squirts of the liquid extract version)

1 tsp Vanilla Extra

Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life or Carob for a vegan version, or I use 3 chopped up squares of this fantastic no-sugar-added bar)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray. Mix all ingredients together and pour into muffin tins. Baking time will depend on what size of muffin tins you use and how much you fill them. For my mini/cookie version they were baked perfectly in 12 minutes. Enjoy!

Stats aren’t too bad (the full recipe makes ~12).\:

Orange Everywhere!

Oh this was a happy site to see on my latest trip to World Market to refill my Sugar-Free Torani Syrup stash (“don’t judge it’s my thing”.. hehe ya’ll know where that’s from right?!).

Pumpkin’s back! Ok it never really left. Did I ever confess my Pumpkin stockpile to ya’ll? After last years shortage, every time I was at the store I’d pick up a few cans. So fast-forward a year later and I still have 15 cans in the cupboard. That means nothing but good-baking things!

I’m moving! Though not to a whole new state this time around. But knowing me, that probably wouldn’t come of much a surprise to anyone.  I’m moving into a cute house in a different part of town. I’m super excited because I’m much more of a cute city neighborhood gal than a fancy corporate, anywhere USA apartment sort. What makes it even better is that the location is great and I can walk to all sorts of restaurants including an organic juice bar, all organic restaurant with lots of vegetarian & vegan options, a drool-worthy bakery, another cute cafe, and more!

Any other college football fans out there?! I love this time of year and a big part of that is college football! Go Bears!

(Pick from the season I was working as a trainer from the Cal Football team. The work sucked, but it was worth it to watch the games from the field).

Any fun long weekend plans?

Another crappy thing, on a far far far far (keep going) level, was this blog getting attacked last week! If you happen to swing by you probably noticed the big fat (sad) google warning. Really hard lesson learned.. keep everything.. every plugin, platform, theme updated, always! Thank goodness I work with people who were able to help me get it fixed. Pheww! All set now though.. along with a new theme.

Mixing it up.. yet again  After two great months of CrossFit, I decided this week to put it on hold for a little bit. The reason is really two-fold, with a big emphasis on one of those folds.. $ and yoga. I love love love CrossFit style workouts, but it’s pretty pricey. It’s worth it for sure and wouldn’t be an issue if it was the only exercise-related activities I paid for, but with other gym members (gotta have access to Spin) and Yoga memberships, it’s just a lot. Especially since I recently found another Yoga studio I really like and monthly memberships are really the only option (it’s part of a big gym with full weight & cardio equipment and fitness classes).

But CrossFit also made me remember how much I really love lifting heavy! So I spent some time today planning out a workout schedule to fit it yoga, cardio and weight training. I’m aiming for 5 days of Yoga, 4 Cardio sessions and 3 weight training sessions.

I’m also having fun putting together new weight training routines for myself incorporating what I’ve learned in CrossFit. I’ll keep you updated!

I’ve been playing around in the kitchen lately. Over the last couple months I’ve been ~95% vegetarian. I don’t eat out a lot and tend to not include meat in the meals I make for myself. I joke I’m an ‘At Home Vegetarian’ because usually the only time I eat meat is at restaurants. Not sure how I feel about it. There is a lot I love about maintaining a mostly plant-based, whole-food diet, but I know my body does best with a diet that has a high protein-carb ratio diet and that’s not as easy to do completely vegetarian. I bought chicken today for the first time in… I have no memory of the last time I bought chicken. So we’ll see.. no labels, just aiming for clean and sticking with what my body craves. Speaking of cravings.. a new veggie recipe I’m loving!..

I’ve never liked Cauliflower. When I was a kid the only way my mom could get me to eat it was to camouflage it with a bucket of Cheddar Cheese. Perhaps that memory is what inspired this recipe combination. Well with one big difference, I love this!

Cheesy Cauliflower & Kale Salad (Vegan)

Salad (inspired by a recipe from the Low Carb Barbecue Cookbook)

1/2 Cauliflower, chopped

1/2 Onion, chopped

2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp Salt

1 cup Water

bundle of Kale

Cheesy Sauce

I used Angela’s amazing recipe, except I only used 2 tbsp of Earth Balance, and it turned out fantastic!

Microwave cauliflower for 7 minutes.

Chop Onion and sauté in a large skillet for a few minutes. Add Vinegar, Salt and 1/2 c of Water and cook for a few more minutes. Rip Kale, add to skillet, along with the rest of the water. Continue cooking until Kale is at desired tenderness.

Meanwhile make Angela’s Cheesy Sauce.

Once Onion & Kale mixture is finished, mix it in with the Cauliflower, then pour Cheesy mixture over it (I used about 1/2 of the Sauce). Mix together. Enjoy!

What’s new with you? Any new workouts that have inspired you to mix up your routine? Any new recipes that made you rethink a food you maybe didn’t like previously?

Lets hear it.. and of course link to the recipe if you have it 

Paleo

So to summarize (hopefully at some point I’ll get it together to write a more complete post on the topic), I really like the overall premise of Paleo (also called Caveman diet), which is basically to eat as close to our ancestors as possible. That means nothing processed of course, but also no gluten, beans, legumes or most diary (I’ve notice some Paleo folks do eat raw milk).  The diet, or really lifestyle, is all about whole foods, meat, fish, vegetables, nuts and seeds. I’ve found quite a bit of variation in “versions” of Paleo with some people also including items that other people ban.

Photo Credit: Paleo Training

I think eating as close to nature as possible is absolutely fantastic, and of course would never argue with eliminating anything processed. I think this lifestyle is probably really great for a lot of people, and I’m sure people transitioning for the Standard American (crap) Diet (SAD) to Paleo see a lot of changes right away.

I decided I couldn’t  really judge it until I tried it, and I’ve eaten very similar to Paleo-style in the past, so might as well. Um yeah.. that last about 6 days. I already eat very “clean” and pretty low-starchy-carb. But apparently my 1/4 c serving of raw Oats in the morning and an additional 1/4 c of Oats or Lavish Wrap in the late afternoon is the difference between me being happy & tummy satisfied, and feeling like I want to binge on cold Tilapia (yeah I know, weird right?!) and eat a pound of raw nuts or a jar of Almond Butter (ok fine.. I could eat a jar of Almond Butter any time :p). Maybe it’s completely psychological, or being scarred from Fitness competition carb-cycling, I don’t know.. but either way it just wasn’t for me right now.

So instead I’m just listening to what my body’s craving, which goes right in line with the type of exercise I do that day. On CrossFit days where I’m doing workouts with weightlifting and HIIT-style cardio I tend to want more protein and meat. So I starting adding a bit more meat into my diet in the form of Turkey and Pork Tenderloin (made an awesome homemade BBQ sauce and made Pulled Pork for the first time!). On Yoga days, I seem to just naturally want lots of vegetables and lighter protein (usually Tempeh or Tofu).

So enough of that.. onto the fun part.. cooking & recipes!

Recently from the Kitchen.. 

Last weekend I made this BBQ sauce. It’s my first attempt at homemade BBQ and is more tomato based than I tend to prefer, but it grew on me and I’ll definitely make it again!

For a fundraiser Paleo Bake Sale at CrossFit Central I made:

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Date Walnut Bars

Walnut Joy Bars (I used the Date Walnut Bar recipe but subbed in Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips for the Dates and added Unsweetened Shredded Coconut)

Amazing, amazing.. I recommend them all! They even got a big thumbs-up from my co-workers 

Then for my own kitchen-creation I combined a few different recipe inspirations for these:

Pumpkin Coconut Protein Bars (low-carb, gluten-free)

 2 scoops (~1/2 cup) Protein Powder (I used a Vanilla Whey Isolate)

1/2 cup Coconut Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

3/4 tsp Pumpkin Spice

1 cup Pumpkin

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

3 Eggs Whites

Sweetener of Choice (I used Stevia Extract drops, Honey would be great too I’m sure)

Pre-heat oven to 35oF. Combine dry ingredients. Combine Pumpkin, Coconut Oil,  Egg Whites & Sweetener. Mix together dry ingredients and Pumpkin mixture. Pour into a sprayed/greased (I used Organic Coconut Oil Spray by Spectrum) and bake for ~35 minutes.

Note: When I first took these out of the oven at 35 minutes, I thought they might not be done on the instead, but after cooling they were just right, completely cooked through, but not dry at all. I think these were even better the next more cold. Yum!

Just Wow

Switching gears.. I’m still loving CrossFit! I’ll talk more about that in an upcoming post but you have to check out this video. The gym I go to, CrossFit Central, is home to some of the top women in the sport who are competing next weekend at the CrossFit Games. Amazing, inspirational, powerful.. just wow..

Games Bound from CrossFit Central – The Triune on Vimeo.

And I’m Curious.. 

What’s the last dietary/nutrition change you made that either completely failed or was a huge success? Do you notice your cravings change depending on workouts?

New Crush

Well aside from the blog title giving it away, if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know my latest Fitness adventure is CrossFit! I’ve been meaning to try it for a while, but with my varying levels of “being in shape” over the last 10 months, I was basically being a big wuss about it. Well, I finally decided to suck it up and signed up.

The week before last I did Elements, which is a required introductory week where you learn technique for all the basic lifts you’ll be doing (mostly Olympic lifts). I was impressed. They really break down the technique in a way that would make anyone comfortable, and more detailed than I’ve ever been taught before

Then this last week was my first “regular week” (I’m signed up for MWF classes). Since it was the first week of the month, the first two classes this week we did Benchmarks, where you work towards a one rep max. It’s funny, with all the lifting I did for Fitness competitions, I never did maxes. And many people.. actually no, just many guys, would ask me “what’s the most you can bench?” .. haha.. I have no freakin idea! But now I do know how much I can Shoulder (Front) Press, Squat and Deadlift. Friday was my first WOD, which are CrossFit’s daily workouts (hello handstand push-ups, haven’t seen you in 9 years!).

So far.. I’m loving it. CrossFit is this fantastic mix of weight lifting (but none of the lame lifts I use to hate) and gymnastics conditioning (which I haven’t done in ~9 years, but am familiar with). There is also cardio mixed in, in the form of running, rows, and increased heart rate with Tibata-style and quick reps.

Strong is the New Skinny .. CrossFit Ladies

So originally I didn’t want to do the Women Only class, because from certain past experiences, I’ve found it can be a bit too much estrogen.. if ya know what I mean. I don’t dig the fakeness, competition for the wrong things, drama, etc. But it ended up that the women-only class was the only one that was open for the number of days and times I wanted. Well I’m so glad it worked out that way! I think I’m going to love training with these girls who are so strong, not scared of lifting heavy and giving it there all. Same with the Coaches. In the past I’ve only had male trainers (for basically the same reasons as above). Well that is certainly NOT the case here. The coaches are awesome, motivating, and all the women are completely bad ass!

(Image Source: CrossFit Central)

The Competitive Side..

So right now I’m signed up for 3 days a week at bright & early 5:30am. It would be 100% like me to stop doing Yoga, switch to a 100% Paleo diet (more on that soon), go to CrossFit 5+ days a week, and burn myself out. The first step to recovery is being able to admit your issues right?

My love for Yoga has been pretty well document here over the last few months. But just like I talked about balance in the last post, part of the balance for me is in the type of exercise I do (and nutrition seems to follow suit). As my father so sarcastically likes to say, a “delicate flower” I am not. As much as I love love love yoga, and it as been so beneficial in changing my attitude & outlook towards.. well pretty much everything, including exercise.. I’m coming to realize that I still need that competitive outlet.

With that, over the past month I’d been tossing around the idea of doing another Fitness competition, but just couldn’t set my mind to it. Then last weekend I went to watch the Adela Garcia Classic, an NPC Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure & Bikini competition here in town. I think I made it through about 1/2 of Figure before I left. The whole thing just didn’t feel right. It was awkward and I just didn’t want to be around it (all of it, the tans, horrible posing, douche-bag trainers making snide comments). Of course this is just one show in one federation, and I had a wonderful experience with my trainer & studio.. but just the actual show environment.. it just felt.. yucky (haha, best word I could think of).  So ruled that out.

Truth is, I’m very competitive, just a part of who I am, but for the most part I always look at it as competing with myself first and foremost. I want to be my absolute best. And if I’m giving my absolute all every single day, then I’ll get better and better, and maybe (hehe.. hopefully) that means that in an actual competition, I am better than the next person.. but if not.. as long as I know I put everything I can into it.. them I feel good about it!

I took this outlook into training for Fitness.. and it turned out pretty good.. but I was thinking about something the other day (and actually posted it to my FB Page).. isn’t it so much better when looking fit and healthy is the result of doing something you love NOT doing something just for the sake of looking a way you hope you’ll love (and might not actually be healthy)?

Of course I love working out.. but I don’t love doing the same thing each week, if not each day. And I straight up dislike anything that involves a treadmill. It was an ‘ends justify’ the means sort of thing. And it was worth it.. then.

I guess I just don’t want to care if I’m perfectly symmetrical, or if my “shoulders” are coming in, or really need to work more on getting that V-taper. I don’t care. I care about having fun and feeling good.

So at least at this moment balance for me means a few days of CrossFit, a few days of Yoga and maybe a Spin class or Pure Barre class tossed in too.

And What About Paleo?

So I knew the CrossFit folks were big proponents of Paleo.. but I wasn’t quite as prepared for the FULL nature of it, haha. In all fairness, I’m a tough audience when it comes to nutrition. There are a lot of things I fully admit to being clueless about. But nutrition is not one of them. No I’m not an RD, but instead I read and study pretty much every type of diet and lifestyle nutrition I can, then shape my opinions from there..

My thoughts on Paleo, and perhaps giving it a test run, on the next post!

*Home Page (Image Source: CrossFit Central)

Well the answer is crazy simple.. because it’s fun and it makes me feel good!

Really that’s it. Everything I do related to health and fitness goes back to those points. Of course somethings are more fun than others (i.e. eating a new fun healthy dessert versus 5:30am boot camps), but usually the things that aren’t quite as fun, are the things that make me feel that much better as a result.

A lot has happened since I fell of the ‘blogging on a regular basis’ wagon, but I think the biggest change has been my perspective and attitude towards what I do to be “healthy.”

Whether you just know me from the blog, or have put up with me for the last 26 years, you know that I’m not necessarily the best with that whole “balance” thing. I have a tendency to completely throw myself into my goals with blinders on to everything else, and make whatever sacrifices necessary (ironically health sometimes ends up being sacrificed). I don’t think this is necessarily a bad characteristic, it certainly has its time & place.. but that time & place isn’t ALL the time.

This is one of the biggest ways yoga has changed me. It’s taught me to, it must be said, “chill the f%*k out”!

Photo Credit to Pure Nourishment

Moderation.. working on that evil word

I know a lot of you are, but for those who are not as familiar with yoga, there are actually what they call, “Eight Limbs.” The Asana, or physical practice, which most people think of as “yoga,” is actually just one of those limbs. One of the other limbs is the ‘Yamas’ or Moral Restraints, of which there are five. One of the yamas is Brahmacarya, which elaborates on the importance and benefits of moderation.

Of course this isn’t just referring to moderation in eating, drinking, sex, etc, but moderation with your extreme thoughts, feelings and actions. For me this is a big one, because that “all or nothing” mentality can be a hard habit to break. Now, in discussing moderation, I don’t mean being numb, but instead minimizing actions & feelings that don’t serve to benefit you, so you can instead spend energy on what is beneficial.

How it Relates

This is a notorious dieting problem, but also based in physiology. Monday’s the gym is usually packed with people trying to burn off their weekend fun. Well if you did go that crazy, a little extra gym time is certainly warranted.. but the gym seems to be much less crowded come Thursday. Then the cycle repeats. And ever notice after you eat a lot of rich sweet food you tend to crave savory & salty (I seem to always want cheese.. pizza or quesadilla anyone?)? Well it’s because they’re at opposite ends of the extremes. When you go too far one way, you want to bounce back the other!

I have been queen of this! Planning everything perfect, and if a little piece falls out of place (I miss a workout, eat 2 cheats in a week instead of one), I freak out, go to the other extreme, burn out, more pieces fall, and I just bounce back & forth (you’re shocked I’m single right?! haha). But seriously, I know I’m not the only one. I read this quote recently and absolutely love it:

“When you are stuck in a hole, stop digging.”

I mean, that’s so obvious right? But it’s something I’ve seemed to miss time & again.

So What’s the Point?

So this post isn’t my answer on how to fix it, but instead my experience on how I’m getting better with it. Yes part of the answer is Yoga, but it’s also ‘not Yoga.’ As I’m learning more about yoga outside of the asanas, and apply what I learn on the mat, in the real world, the more I know that although Yoga is a big piece, if that’s all I do, and obsess about it, I’m just taking myself to another extreme.

I suppose this post was a really long way of describing the slogan up above in the new header.. “there are no rules to this thing.” Well that’s not true, there are two.. to do things that are fun and make me feel good! And the good thing is, that’s always going to be changing. A couple months ago doing nothing but yoga was what I needed, a couple years ago, prepping for a fitness competition was the perfect fit. There is no one right way to be fit & healthy, for me or anyone else, so there’s no need to stress about trying to find it!

There are 25 more letters!