I used Annie's Smoky Maple BBQ Sauce so this picture looks like the ribs are burnt but I can assure you it is the smoky flavor in the BBQ Sauce...delicious!

Happy Friday everyone! What an awesome week my clients have had. Everyone P.R ed their back squat yesterday, Erin got 130#, Carolyn 105#(she weighs 105#..Lol), Trish 115#, Holly got 105#, Andrea 95#, Pete 125#...Amazing!! All of their hard work and dedication is paying off. Way to go! I am so proud of all of them.

Let's talk about this recipe...If you follow my blog you know my son Conor LOVES to eat. He is 18, does CrossFit, works a full-time job (yeah for me), needless to say, he is very active so I thoroughly enjoy feeding him food he enjoys. This is one of his all-time favorite recipes. I used regular pork ribs BUT next time I make this recipe I am going to buy baby back ribs simply because the more I read about the difference between the two I realize the Baby Back are much more tender. Here is a great article on the difference between the two. One key step when making these ribs is to let them sit for a minimum of 2 hours with the spices on them completely covered up. You will be so happy you did. This allows the meat to marinate so the spices sink right into the meat. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
1 Slab of Baby Back Ribs or Pork Ribs
2 Tbsp of Coconut Sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp of Paprika
1 Tbsp of Chili Powder
1 Tbsp of Granulated Onion
1 Tbsp of Granulated Garlic
1 tsp of Dry Mustard
Salt and Lots of Black Pepper
2 cups of BBQ Sauce, store bought or homemade

STEPS:

1) In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, onion, garlic, paprika, chili, mustard, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the rub on both sides of the slab of ribs and pat it in as much as you can.

2) Wrap the ribs in a few layers of aluminum foil and let them sit in the fridge for 2-4 hours.

3) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees, take the ribs out of the fridge 15 minutes before placing them in the oven.

4) Place the wrapped slab of ribs on a baking sheet and bake them for about 2 hours.

5) Preheat your gas grill on medium-high heat.

6) Take the ribs out of the foil, brush some of the bbq sauce on both sides and grill them for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until they start to char. 

7) Serve them immediately with more sauce on the side.

Step #1. All of the spices mixed together.

Step #1 continued. Pork Ribs with the spices rubbed all over both sides.

Step #2. Wrap ribs in aluminum foil for 2-4 hours.

Protein Packed Grass Fed Beef, Pork and Bacon Burger

Happy Sunday! I love Sundays because I have the day off from work so I have time to create a new recipe, work on my blog, spend time with my family AND get a great workout in. On Sundays at CrossFit Magnitude, Chris offers a class called "StrongMan." Here is the definition of Strongman from the CrossFit Magnitude website..."Strongman is a class specifically geared towards the strongman style “odd” lifts.  If you think  lifting conventional barbells is fun, then you have to try our Strongman class featuring lifting implements such as – Atlas stones,  the yoke, the farmers walk, axle and log lifts, tire flipping, sled pushing and pulling, the keg lifts, etc"… Mark, Conor, Chloe and I are taking this class today. It will be a fun and challenging! To see some of the StrongMan lifts check out "my weekly workout" page.

Anyway, get to the grocery store, buy these ingredients and make these burgers. They are delightful. Each burger has at least 25 grams of excellent quality protein, good fat and with your salad on the side, fantastic, low-glycemic carbohydrates. Fire up your grill and get cookin'!

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb grass-fed ground beef
1 lb grass-fed ground pork
1 package of pancetta or 4-5 slices cooked nitrate free bacon chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

STEPS:

1. Chop bacon into small bite size pieces, cook it in the pan until it is crispy but not burnt. If you are using pancetta then cook the pancetta in the pan on medium heat until crispy. Turn it over frequently.

2. Combine the pork, beef, salt, pepper, olive oil in large bowl. Mix together well.

3. Take out 4-6 ounces of the pork/beef mixture and make a hole in the center. Add 1 tbsp of bacon. Carefully fold over meat until bacon is hidden in the center. If you are not strict paleo go ahead and add some cheese too. Check out the pictures below...

4. Cook on an outdoor grill 8-10 minutes per side or cook in your oven for 15-18 minutes on 375 degrees. Top with more bacon. Serve with sliced tomato and a small salad. 

cooked pancetta

Using your thumb like you were making a thumb print cookie(remember those?) make a small indent in the center of the burger and add your bacon. Super easy and simple!

This burger has pancetta and cheese in it. My kids LOVE cheese! I made 1/2 of the burgers with bacon and cheese and the other 1/2 without cheese.

I usually make a few 6-ounce burgers for Mark and Conor and a few 4-5 ounce burgers for Chloe and I. The burgers on the left don't have any cheese, the burgers on the right have cheese(as you can tell).

Absolute Fantastic Memorial Day today at CrossFit TakeOff. We did the hero WOD "Murph." In 2014 my time was 40:20, no vest, kipping pull-ups(no band) but I know my push-ups were weak. I am 99% sure my legs touched. In 2015 I did it in 40:10, no vest, kipping pull-ups (no band), awesome push-ups, my legs NEVER touched. I was happy and sore for a week! I have been working so hard on my strength. My name is on the board at TakeOff for 2 years in a row for the best female time for Murph. Today, May 30, 2016, I wore the 20# vest for the entire WOD for the very first time since I started CrossFit. I dreamt about it the night before because I knew I wanted the mental and physical challenge of wearing the vest. When I walked into TakeOff this morning one of the other female athletes did the class before me and she wore the 20# vest. This particular athlete(Sarah) is super strong and fast. She inspires me. I said to myself, "if she can do it I can." So I did. Keep in mind it was absolutely pouring rain, we all ran through huge puddles. If it was a sunny, cool day we definitely could have shaved 2-3 minutes off our times. My time was 49:21 RX and Sarah's time was 51:10 RX with the 20# vest. Nice Sarah!

I broke up the WOD like this...

1 mile run
25 rounds of:
4 pull-ups
8 push-ups
12 air squats
then..
1 mile run

The push-ups were the worst part. Next time I will break it up different so I perform fewer push-ups at once. Overall great day! I will be honest that I had to take a nap later in the day. Lol

C'mon get out there and challenge yourself! Believe you can do anything and you will!

Check out these photos. These are just regular people like you and I that love to challenge their bodies with mental toughness. I am proud to be around these like-minded people!

These are all the amazing athletes I workout with every day! That is Sarah to the far left in the orange shirt. She is fast and strong!

See the crazy rain!