Sunday November 5, 2017

HAPPY SUNDAY!

What a weekend...yesterday Chloe, Ryan and I competed in a CrossFit competition at CrossFit East Providence. It was a blast. The person in charge of the competition added a few things to each workout  so our strategy went out the window. As Ben Bergeron says, you must be able to "adapt" to these situation and we did. The best part of the day was being partners with my daughter. I never imagined Chloe would love CrossFit the way I do. It is so cool and so much fun.  Chloe is an amazing CrossFit athlete, a photographer, artist, videographer and the best daughter a Mother could ask for. Today I am running the South Shore 1/2 marathon in Norwell. It is a great morning. To be honest I am looking forward to this afternoon when I can relax. Lol 

I created this recipe for the competition. I can't eat a lot during these events so I needed something with carbs, protein and fat. The fat content keeps you satisfied for a longer period of time. The last thing I wanted was a stomach ache from eating too much in between workouts so these worked perfectly. They are filled with fiber, antioxidiants, vitamins and minerals. Walnuts are an excellent source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 essential fatty acids, in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Walnuts are also rich in antioxidants, including being a very good source of manganese and copper. Pecans contain more than 19 vitamins and minerals – including vitamin A, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, several B vitamins and zinc. One ounce of pecans provides 10 percent of the recommended Daily Value for fiber. Chia seeds are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. They are loaded with fiber, protein, Omega-3 fatty acids and various micronutrients.

Give my Paleo Pumpkin Protein Granola Bar Bites a try. You will LOVE every bite!!

Ingredients

Serves 16(cut into bite size pieces 1.5"X1.5")

• 1 cup pecans
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup raw cashew butter or raw almond butter
• 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
• 1/3 cup natural maple syrup
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
• 2 tablespoons ground chia seeds
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper so it is easy to remove.
2. Place pecans and walnuts in a food processor and chop into small pieces.
3. In a large bowl, use a spatula to mix together the chopped pecans and walnuts, shredded coconut, cashew butter or almond butter, vanilla protein powder, natural maple syrup, pumpkin, flaxseed meal, chia seeds, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and egg. Once combined, fold in 1/4 cup enjoy life chocolate chips.
4. Press batter into baking dish and spread evenly throughout. Place in oven to bake for 20-25 minutes, until the middle is cooked through and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes before removing from pan.
5. Melt the remaining mini chocolate chips in a microwave or double boiler then use a spoon to scoop out the chocolate and then spread the chocolate on top of the bars. Slice into 8 bars. Store in refrigerator. You can also freeze these bars so you are not tempted to eat them right away(:

MACRONUTRIENTS: 241 Calories/ 12 Grams of Carbs/ 20 Grams of Fat/ 6 Grams of Protein

Step #4!

Step #5!

Good Morning! We are right in the middle of Fall and nothing tastes better on a fall day than crispy, healthy, baked apples. Simply Dee-lish! I thoroughly enjoy a little something sweet in the afternoon so this will be my afternoon snack. I already have it logged in My Fitness Pal so I don't go over my carbs for the day. Macro counting is the best!

Have a wonderful day...workout hard, eat clean and hug your kids, family, friends, anyone that you love!

Macros for this recipe:

Calories: 291
Carbs: 32 grams
Fat: 17 grams
Protein: 3 grams

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 8

4 Honey Crisp Apples
1 Cup of Oats
1/2 Cup of Coconut Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/2 cup of Kerry Gold Unsalted Grass Fed Butter (melted)
1/2 cup of slivered almonds or Macadamia nuts ( nuts of choice...optional)
1 teaspoon of Vanilla

STEPS:

• 1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking pan with some butter or spray with non-stick spray and set aside. 
  
  2) Slice your apples lengthwise, core them and place them cut side up in your prepared baking pan.
  
  3) In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the topping, spoon the crumble mixture evenly on top of each cut apple. 
  
  4) Cover the pan with some aluminum foil, bake them for about 20 minutes covered, then remove the foil and continue baking for an additional 20 minutes or until the top is deeply golden brown.
  
  5) Serve with paleo whipped cream

STEP #2

STEP #3

STEP #3 CONTINUED

Good Morning!

If you know me you know that I get up at the A%*# crack of dawn. I am such a morning person. I cannot imagine sleeping til 9:00. I go to bed when it is still light out. Lol. I absolutely LOVE counting my macros. It keeps me in control and helps me stay accountable for what I eat. It is eye opening to see how many calories, fat, and carbs are in certain foods. I think (actually I know I was) blocking out the globs of almond butter that I was putting on my rice cake. I was denying it. I would say, I workout so much I can get away with it...NOT! My stomach could not digest it, I felt weighed down, my stomach always had little pains in it. It was "talking" to me. Nuts are sooo hard to digest! I read that sun butter is easier for your stomach to breakdown so now I eat sun butter instead of almond butter and I always measure it..1 tablespoon that is it. If you are interested in learning how to count your macros please email me and I can get you started!

I am super excited for my workout today. I am going to do a short run and then meet my friend Kevin Unger at CrossFit. Kevin is going to help me with Muscle Ups. Kevin is a 3x CrossFit Games Qualifier and he went to the Games in 2016. Kevin came in 5th for ages 50-54.

I will let you know about my workout and the MUS practice. Stay tuned...

These are the Macros I try to hit every day based on my activity level, Body fat, getting stronger, staying lean...

CALORIES: 1598

CARBOHYDRATES: 160 grams

FAT: 50 grams

PROTEIN: 127 grams

WHAT I ATE IN A DAY....

4 egg whites and 1 medium banana. 2 cups of decaf coffee, sugar free vanilla creamer(not shown)

MACROS: 212 cal /33 g Carbs/ 2 g fat/ 23 g protein

MID-MORNING SNACK: 2 HARD BOILED EGG WHITES( XTRA LG EGGS), 1 PEACH.

MACROS: 93 CALORIES/14 G CARBS/ 0 FAT/ 23 G PROTEIN

LUNCH: 3 OUNCES OF A GRILLED CHICKEN THIGH NO SKIN, SMALL SALAD, 2 CLEMENTINES, 1 TSP OLIVE OIL,2 TBSP BALSAMIC VINEGAR.

MACROS: 305 CAL/25 G CARBS/ 14 G FAT/ 23 G PROTEIN.

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK: CHOCOLATE PROTEIN SHAKE.

! CUP OF COFFEE, LOTS OF ICE, 1 STEVIA AND 1 SCOOP ASCENT CHOCOLATE WHEY PROTEIN POWDER.

MACROS: 120 CAL/ 3 G CARBS/ 1 G FAT/ 25 G PROTEIN.

I ATE THIS WITH THE PROTEIN SHAKE.

2 LUNDBERG BROWN RICE CAKES, 2 TBSP POLANER ALL FRUIT RASPBERRY JELLY, 1 TBSP SUNFLOWER SEED BUTTER.

MACROS: 290 CAL/ 50 G CARBS/ 9 G FAT/ 6 G PROTEIN.

DINNER: 1 SERVING LOADED BROILED SALMON WEDGE SALAD 

MACROS: 423 CAL/ 19 G CARBS/ 28 G FAT/ 25 G PROTEIN. This has a lot of fat b/c of the nitrate free bacon and Salmon. I did go over my fat for the day by 4 g. If you are going to have Salmon or bacon definitely put it in My Fitness Pal earlier in the day so you don't eat other foods that have a lot of fat.

TOTAL MACROS FOR THE DAY:

1443 CAL/ 144 G CARBS/ 54 G FAT/ 117 G PROTEIN

MY GOAL FOR THE DAY IS:

1598 CAL/ 160 G CARBS/ 50 G FAT/ 125-127 G PROTEIN.

NOT PERFECT BUT CLOSE!