The CrossFit Open is a 5-week competition starting in February of each year. Anyone in the world can compete to see where they stand in their fitness level with people of the same gender and same age group. It is very simple you sign up on games.crossfit.com and pay $20. On Thursdays at 8 pm, CrossFit Head Quarters announces what the workout is for each week and you have from Friday-Monday to perform the workout. You can do it as many times as you want. You must have a judge to validate your form and count reps. By Monday evening, you put your score in, the owner of the Box you performed the workout at has to validate it online. By Wednesday of that week, you can see how you did in the workout compared to others your age (same sex). After the 5 weeks, Mark ended up #83 in the world for ages 50-54. This was out of 5500 men. The top 200 men or woman in each age group for Masters goes on to the Masters Qualifier. Men and Woman under age 40 go to regionals. Mark had to do 4 more brutal workouts a few weeks after The Open. He did so well he ended up #51 in the world. The top 20 of each age group are invited to go to the CrossFit Games in California in July...hopefully Mark will go next year. My goal for 2017 is to make it to the Masters Qualifier. I know I can do it! Our good friend Kevin Unger made it in the top 10 and is going to the Games!! This has been years of hard work for Kevin. They both are amazing athletes!

I Coach at CrossFit Magnitude and CrossFit TakeOff so we did some of the workouts on Friday nights at CrossFit Magnitude and some on Sundays at CrossFit TakeOff. Chloe made this awesome video of Friday nights. As much as I hate to workout at night I had such a blast with these amazing people. The camaraderie, the support, the energy and being surrounded by like-minded people was incredible. Don't ever be afraid to test your fitness. If you work hard enough you will get better each year. I know I have!

A video made by Chloe.

The bacon is on the bottom, I swear it is!

HI! Happy Monday! How are you feeling after the weekend? To be honest, I felt pretty good when I woke up this morning(at 3:15 a.m...yup) even though I had drinks with my husband yesterday. Both our kids had to work at the same exact time. That NEVER happens so we took advantage of it. Anyway, It is 11:00 a.m and I have already Coached the 5:15 am CrossFit class, trained my client, took the 7:30 a.m CrossFit class and ran 3 miles. The CrossFit class was close grip bench press and one-arm kettlebell row for strength. i got up to 95# with the close-grip bench press for 8-10 reps. The conditioning was an EMOM 12..minute 1: 3 rope climbs, minute 2: 12 push ups, minute 3: 12 knees to elbows. It was harder than it looked. Now I am feeling cleansed from the weekend.  

Do you have health and fitness goals that you want to achieve this week? Or work related goals? Family? Whatever it maybe set your goals today and stick with them.  Get your exercise in every day, plan your meals, start cooking. Why not? If you don't do it for yourself no one is going to do it for you. Is there anything keeping you from feeling fabulous each day? If there is then it is time to make a change, don't allow anyone in your daily life that sabotages your goals, makes you feel bad about yourself or someone that does not support your lifestyle. It's that simple. 

Over the weekend, I went to a restaurant that specializes in burgers. After looking over the menu I was inspired by the selection of burgers they had to offer. It gave me some ideas. At the restaurant, I got a "naked burger." Naked burger is without the bun. My burger had blue cheese stuffed in it and a salad on the side. Yum. It was so insanely good that I decided to create my own version that is super healthy and delicious! If you enjoy "less stuff" on your burger than omit or add anything you want.  Trying to lose weight? Make a 4 ounce burger instead of 5-6 ounces and make the bun a little smaller. Easy breezy! Enjoy this recipe. Conor, Chloe, Mark and my sister Trish LOVED it! So did I.

INGREDIENTS:

BURGER:

2 lbs of grass-fed beef
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup shredded American cheese or cheddar cheese (optional)
1 fried egg
1/4 cup guacamole
sliced tomato
1 large yellow onion sliced thin
3-4 slices nitrate-free applewood smoked bacon
salt and pepper to taste

Grain-Free Bun:

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 organic egg
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1 tablespoon blanched almond flour
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons organic honey
1/2 teaspoon chia seeds

A tiny bit burnt but still tastes delicious without all the grains and gluten!

GRAIN-FREE BUN STEPS:

1) Combine all ingredients in bowl.

2) Divide batter into 1/4 cup servings and place on a piece of parchment paper. This recipe makes 2-3, grain-free burger buns (shown in picture above).

3) cook for ten-12 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees F.

BURGER STEPS:

1) In medium bowl combine grass-fed beef, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well.

2) Assemble patties, If adding cheese press your thumb in center of burger and stuff with cheese, cover thumbprint and cheese with meat. Work it together so you cannot see the cheese. Store in fridge until you are ready to cook them.

3) to caramelize onions....slice a large yellow onion thin, Place in pan with grass-fed butter, sprinkle with salt and a teaspoon of sugar. Cook on medium low for about 30 minutes. Turn them over every 5 minutes.

3) pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

4) while burgers are cooking in oven, cook bacon on pan. 

5) A few minutes before burgers are finished cooking fry the egg. I like my egg cooked over easy so the yolk drips over the burger..yum!

ASSEMBLING THE BURGER:

in this order...

Bun on the bottom then mayo on bun, sliced bacon, guacamole, tomato, burger, fried egg, caramelized onions. Wallah!! 

I used crunchy almond butter because that is all I had in my cabinet. That is why it looks chunky(: Either chunky or smooth is fine.

Do you LOVE peanut butter? I sure do BUT eating Paleo 80% of the time I don't like to eat it too often. In the paleo world peanuts are a no-no because they are considered a legume. Legumes are high glycemic, low in nutritional value, contain phytates, lectins, can stall weight loss and can cause digestive problems in some people. This recipe is a simple paleo version of an Asian-Style spicy peanut chicken dish without eating peanuts BUT tastes just like a peanut sauce.  In place of traditional soy sauce I use coconut aminos which tastes exactly like soy sauce and almond butter instead of peanut butter. Coconut aminos are savory, salty and a delicious flavor enhancer for a variety of dishes, coconut aminos are made from raw coconut tree sap and sea salt, then naturally aged. It is also a fermented product. Coconut Aminos are low on the glycemic index scale, they contain 17 different amino acids, it is used as a substitute for both soy sauce, tamari and worcestershire sauce. Coconut aminos can enhance the flavor of many dishes. It is a soy-free product. The amino acids can rebuild and repair muscle tissue, build your immune system as well as increase energy. Give this sauce a try and let me know how you like it!

              Coconut Aminos

You can use any of these hot pepper sauces.

INGREDIENTS:

 2 pounds of antibiotic free chicken breasts or thighs (we love the thighs)

 2 tablespoons raw, creamy, salt-free almond butter or raw, creamy, salt-free crunchy almond butter

1/4 cup hot pepper sauce

4 tablespoons coconut aminos

2 teaspoons cold pressed olive oil

Instructions

1. Turn your grill on to pre-heat or turn your oven on to 350 degrees F to pre-heat.
2. Meanwhile, soften almond butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally.
3. When soft, stir in hot pepper sauce, coconut aminos, olive oil, and a dash of sea salt (if desired). If sauce gets too thick, add a bit of hot water. Turn the heat down to low.
4. Cook chicken in the oven for approximately 20-25 minutes, or on the grill for 10-12 min per side. 
5. consistently stir peanut sauce that is in the pan on low heat.
6. Once the chicken is finished cooking spread the peanut sauce all over chicken or put the peanut sauce on the side for dipping.
7. Serve with a salad of choice, sweet potato fries or a vegetable.

*** I like to put a dash of blue cheese dressing on the side and I dip the chicken that is coated with the peanut sauce in the blue cheese. Yum!