12 minutes

Today's workout was a simple 12 minute series of exercises.  "Coach" modified it for me since the only equipment I have is 2 10 lb dumbbells.  Believe me, that's plenty of weight right now.

I repeated these exercises until my 12 minute timer went off.

5 thruster (Completed 8 rounds)
7 Box jumps (I jump up on the coffee table, 16 inches high-completed 8 rounds.  Supposedly a woman's box should be 18 inches.)
10 dead lifts (completed 7 rounds)

I have a feeling the quad's are going to be in some serious pain tomorrow!  After my last workout, it hurt my ab's to stir the cookie dough :-)

Tabata

Ta....what?!  Yah, that's what I said yesterday. My Hubby Coach explained what it was, so I decided I would do a Tabata workout today!  Even downloaded another wonderful Tabata app to help me keep my time.  If you don't know, a Tabata is a 4 minute workout.  20 seconds of work, 10 second rest, repeat 8 times.  I did 3 exercises today, for a total workout of 12 minutes!  Hey, I can't complain if I can get a good workout in in 12 minutes!

If you are joining me, your goal today is to beat me!!  Seriously, let me know if you are exercising and what you did!  It's part of the fun.  I'm sure it won't be hard for many of you to beat me!!

Squats- 61
Push ups-50 (I only did about 14 normal, and then did modified on my knees.  "Coach" told me it's better to keep going with modified rather than doing zero normal)
Ab mat sit ups- 38  (pictured above.  You put your feet together and then do sit ups and touch your fingers to your toes.  The ab mat helps open up your abs).  If you don't have an ab mat-just do normal sit ups.

Ice Cream by Chef Elliot

Elliot has been coming up with her own recipe ideas lately.  We went out to dinner the other night and I let them get some ice cream for dessert.  On the way home she said "wouldn't it be cool if there was Paleo ice cream?!"  I said "yes" and left it at that.  Today she was telling me her idea for ice cream, so we made it for dessert.  I was SO impressed!  It was delicious!!  Even if you don't eat like us, you should make this with your kids (or some variation of it).  She chose all of the ingredients on her own!  Even when it came to the chocolate, she chose 90% dark over the others in the cabinet.

Ingredients:
3 bananas
10 strawberries
handful blueberies
1 oz dark chocolate

Puree bananas in food processor then put in a container.  Puree strawberries and add to bananas.  Throw in blueberries (optional-I thought they would be odd, but it was actually really good.  They would also be good pureed like the other fruits).

Freeze for about 2.5 hours.  Melt dark chocolate and drizzle over ice cream.  It becomes like Magic Shell! Amazing!  Eat as soon as possible after taking out of freezer.

Talapia

I'm on a huge fish kick lately!  What has gotten into me?!?!  I bought this nifty little grill thing today at Costco.  You just put it right on the stove, it heats up, and acts like a grill.  

I took the Tilapia filets, sprayed with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper then wrapped in foil.  Cooked for 8 minutes on each side.

After cooking I topped them with more lemon, and some fresh snipped parsley (the one herb plant I've kept alive).

Intervals Day 2

I know so little about exercise, that I mistakenly referred to yesterday's workout as intervals, while in fact it was circuit.  TODAY was my interval day.  To help out, I downloaded a nifty little interval timer on my iPhone that alerted me every time my 30 seconds/2 minutes were up.  That was about the best part of the whole exercise.

Do you remember when you were a kid and there was nothing you wanted to do besides ride your bike?  For hours and hours you could ride that bike!  Somehow, as you get older, it seems way less fun.  Maybe it's just me-but it is some serious work now!  I'm guessing the hills, beach cruiser, freezing rain, and random patches of ice don't help the situation (See, I'm making excuses again-shut up and exercise, Erin!)

Regardless of the above factors I set out for a 5 minute warm up, and then 30 minutes of intervals.  Getting stuck going up hill on a 30 second rest was a bummer.  (then again, going down hill on my 2 minutes of hard workout was a bonus!)  I ended up stopping 2 minutes early, after I walked up a hill.  I was pretty sure if I kept riding I would not be getting back home on my own!

WOOT!  One more day of exercise accomplished.  I can't tell you how many times on my ride I said to myself "I can't do this!"  or "I'm going to go ahead and go home now."  But, it feels good that I didn't give in to my self doubt and just finished what I set out to do.

Puerto Rican Beef

 This meal was so yummy!  To top it off, it was also simple to make.  Granted, I cheated a little.   I used frozen chopped green, red, & yellow peppers and a bag of pre-chopped fresh kale.  I also doubled the recipe.  Looking forward to having the leftovers in an egg scramble in a day or so!  YUMM!

The recipe is from EveryDay Paleo 
Ingredients:

1 lb grass fed ground beef

1 bunch kale chopped

1 white onion sliced

1/2 of a green, red, and yellow bell pepper sliced

1/2 cup pimento stuffed green olives

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander (I did not have this)

1/2 tbsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp dried oregano

Pinch of saffron threads (optional)

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

3 sweet potatoes

1 ripe avocado

In a large skillet brown the ground beef.  Add the bell peppers, onions, and olive oil and saute until the onions and peppers are tender.  Add all of the spices and mix well.  Add the kale and green olives, continue cooking stirring often until the kale is tender (about 4-5 minutes.  Serve over mashed sweet potatoes with a side of sliced avocado.  To quickly prepare the sweet potatoes, peel and quarter the potatoes and cook in a pressure cooker for 12 -14 minutes. Or, boil 20-25 minutes.  

I thought serving it on top of sweet potatoes sounded REALLY odd, but figured if it made the cookbook that way I should at least try it.  It really was delicious!  Highly recommend this!

Working Out!

I'm still on track with this working out business!  Now, I want to know who's going to join me?  Seriously!  I know there are lots of you reading this that are just like me and have every excuse in the book.  Here are some of mine:

1.  Don't have a gym membership
2.  When I consider getting above, I realize there's no way I will leave my almost 8 month old, once preemie, in childcare.
3.  No time
4. Too tired
5.  It's TOO cold!
6.  Too many kids
7.  No equipment
8.  Too much to get done around house

..... lalala, you get the point.  There's always going to be a reason.  Even though my driveway and the roads were solid ice out today and only good for sledding on (see picture), I still got my run in.  I ran in place in my living room, then jogged around the house, did some more running in place and punches and kicks.  The joy of being in your home is that no one cares what you look like!  I'm starting slow, so join in with me!  It only takes a few minutes and you WILL feel it the next day!

This is what today looked like (very similar to my 1st day, but less time between intervals.  Decreased from a 1 minute rest to 40 seconds)  Once I'm down to 30 seconds I will add another full round.

1.  Run for 4 minutes without stopping (okay, jog or act weird too)
2.  rest 40 seconds
3.  10 jumping squats
4.  rest 40 seconds
5.  10 pushups (harder than day 1 b/c those muscles are still sore!)
6.  rest 40 seconds
7.  10 dumbbells raises
8.  rest 40 seconds
9.  Jog in place for 4 minutes (well, I had to wipe a butt while running in place for this round!  But I wasn't going to let anything stop me from finishing!)

In less than 15 minutes you can get in a good workout!  I know this is super basic, but we've all got to start somewhere!  I can't wait to see what a few months brings!  (besides a pull up bar, some rings, jumping box, etc ;-)

Banana Pancakes

I have desperately been searching for a breakfast dish that's not all eggs or tons of almond flour.  I think I've finally got it.  Many hanks to my Aunt for passing along this recipe!  I think it's originally from Mark Sisson's blog.

1.5 bananas mashed
1 egg
1 heaping tablespoon of almond butter
some cinnamon

Mix together and cook over med-high heat.  They even bubble up like "normal" pancakes when it's time to flip them.  Delicious and sweet.  I think they'd be great with blueberries, nuts, etc.

BLT egg burrito

A friend inspired me to finally make this.  The recipe for the egg is found in the Make It Paleo cookbook.  

Scramble 2-3 eggs, oil a pan, cook on medium-low for 6+ minutes without disturbing.  (Well, that is what the recipe says.  Mine took longer and I eventually just flipped it to get it cooked to my satisfaction.)

Once egg is done, layer with guacamole, bacon, lettuce, and tomato!  YUMM!!

Nap Time & Intervals

During nap time I have 2 priorities:
1.  Bible study
2.  Exercise (as of yesterday)

With my study complete, my first day doing an "Interval" workout began.  The goal was 30 minutes of movement.  I think it's the first time I ever broke out in a sweat in 30 degree weather!  My ears are burning from the cold.  The workout I devised looked like this:

Warm up walk 5 minutes.
1.  Brisk walk 2 minutes
2.  normal pace 30 seconds
3.  jog 2 minutes
4.  normal pace 30 seconds
5.  Brisk walk 2 minutes
6.  normal pace 30 seconds
7.  Run stepping stones/hill to basement 2 minutes
8.  normal pace 30 seconds

Repeat all steps until 30 minutes is up.  Surprisingly, it went really quickly!  That says a lot since I just walk up and down the drive way and in a circle in the culdusac.  (Hey, can't go far since 4 kids are inside!)

Tomorrow is a "rest" day and I'm a little excited.  Mostly excited since we are busy tomorrow and there will be no nap time....so it was perfect timing :-)

Now Mama's gotta stop blogging and go start a FIRE!

Crock Pot Chicken

 I've never put a whole chicken in the crock pot...and now I don't know why.  This was SO good!  I think it beats any Rotisserie chicken I've ever had and it was SOOOOO simple!  Recipe from Everyday Paleo.

1.  Slice an onion and place in bottom of crock pot
2.  mix up these spices in a small bowl: 1 tsp sea salt (optional), 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp poultry seasoning, & 1 tsp garlic powder
3.  Rub the seasoning onto a chicken with your hands.  I also added a lemon, cut in half, to the inside of the chicken
4. Cook on low 5-6 hours.
5.  Serve with the onions and juice


Doesn't my asparagus look nice?  Yup, it's a bag of Trader Joe's frozen grilled asparagus and it was really yummy!  I just put in a pan, and heated with a little EVOO, salt, and pepper.  


*I think my favorite part of this meal was Elliot going to get Levi seconds on his sweet potato. She did everything for him.  Then, she said "hey Levi, want my potato skin?" and he ate it like a kid would eat a candy bar.  Later, Ezra got mad and chucked a piece of Asparagus.  Levi swiftly climbed out of his seat, onto the table and devoured the asparagus.  As I was beginning to clean up after dinner, I look over and Levi is eating scraps of sweet potato off the floor!!  Who needs a dog?  This kid is crazy!

Coconut Flour Waffles:

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

We really like these!  The are a close 2nd to our Pumpkin Pancakes.

• Thanks Make It Paleo

Crispy Pork

BEST pork chops I've EVER had!!!  Seriously!!  Thanks Rachel Ray.

1.  Season pork with salt and pepper
2.  dip in egg
3.  dip in almond flour
4.  let sit about 10 minutes.
5.  cook in a small amount of preheated olive oil over medium heat.  cook 3-4 minutes on one side, flip for another 3-4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let pork it in pan for another 3 minutes.

The Spinach Salad had a fresh tangerine dressing.  Yummy!    You need: 2 tsp zest, 1/4 C tangerine juice, 2 Tbsp EVOO, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper.  Whisk all ingredients together.

Place sliced red onion in small bowl and marinade in 1 Tbsp of dressing.  When ready to serve meal, toss spinach with onions and remaining dressing.

Meatloaf

This meatloaf recipe was from Everyday Paleo  It was decent, but I much prefer my Turkey Loaf.    So, this is more like a review of the Everyday Paleo recipe: too Italian tasting.  My grass-fed ground beef was DELCIOUS, but the seasoning could be better. Don't get me wrong, it was good and I ate the leftovers, I just wouldn't make it exactly the same again.  Nix the Italian seasonings, half the amount of almond flour (or none for that matter), add more veggies.... then I think you'd have something tasty!

Pizza

Sometimes pizza just sounds good!  Are you with me?!  The last pizza I made was extremely time consuming, so I was looking for a quicker alternative.  Although this almond flour crust does not have all the nutrients of the eggplant one, it was SO simple and quick!  We even splurged and had a small amount of grass-fed cheddar cheese on our pizza AND some pepperoni's (with nitrates ;-)  It appeared kinda small, but it actually fed and satisfied the kids and I.  I couldn't believe it!

Crust:

2 cups almond meal

2 eggs

3 tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp garlic powder

1 ½ tbsp fresh rosemary chopped (instead of this I added 1 TBSP of Italian seasoning.  I'm not a huge fan of lots of rosemary)

*For an even healthier pizza idea, check the source at Everday Paleo.

Exercise

Everyone's gotta start somewhere, at sometime, right?!  Well....today was the day I decided to put down the book I was reading about exercise and start implementing!  This even required going out in the 30 whatever degree weather-but I DID IT!

The workout was simple, yet I felt it! (in fact, my fingers are still numb from the frigid air! haha)

1.  walk up and down the long driveway 1x, run 2x's, walk 1x.  (This took 3.5 minutes.  Couldn't go far from home since it was nap time and E had a friend over)
2.  go inside, rest 1 minute
3.  10 squats
4.   rest 1 minute
5.  10 push ups (9 &10 were a struggle)
6.   rest 1 minute
7.  10 dumbbell presses
8.   rest 1 minute
9.  back outside, repeat step 1.  burrrr.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

One of my FAVORITE treats before eating Paleo was this amazing Banana Chocolate Chip Cinnamon/Sugar cake.  I never ate any other cake, but this was the "don't touch or I'll hurt you" cake.  Sometimes, I made it my mission to finish an entire bundt pan cake by myself!  It took a few days, but I could do it!

Today, I found a VERY good substitute for it and the most amazing part is that it has NO added sweetener.  I thought "there is no way this can be good" but decided to try it. I initially only made a few muffins as I was prepared to add some honey.  It really did not need it!

I'm sticking with the Baby Cakes maker for our muffins.  The kids love them and it's amazing portion control.  If they get one muffin for a treat, they are completely satisfied.  Yah, I might eat 4, but that's probably 1 normal sized muffin (and normally I would eat 4 normal sized muffins!  haha)

Here's the recipe from THIS blog:

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups almond meal

2 ripe bananas

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp cinnamon

4 Tbsp butter (or coconut oil)

3 eggs

splash of vanilla extract

1 cup 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips (ideally darker if you have it)

1 cup walnuts, chopped (I omitted these)

In a large bowl mash the bananas with a fork, and add the eggs, softened butter and vanilla. You could use coconut oil for this recipe too. Whisk the wet mix to get rid of big chunks  Combine the almond meal, sea salt, baking soda and cinnamon in a smaller bowl and add the dry ingredients to the wet little by little.  Chop the walnuts and add them to the batter.  Add the chocolate chips. Bake at 350 For 15 minutes.

*The only thing missing from my old cake was the crunch of sugar.  Maybe if I rolled it in some dirt?  ;-)

My Day

I figured my day today was worthy of a break from food-talk!  You see, today my children thought I really wanted to spend time doing laundry.  I get breakfast all prepared (eggs, bacon, bananas w/ almond butter, blueberries, etc). As he gets ready to climb up into his chair, Ezra pukes ALL over it.  He acted totally normal and INSISTED on eating!  So.... I pushed the chair to the side (yah, gross, but I was hungry too!) and let him eat.  Levi ends up with a time out and proceeds to pee all over the foyer.  So frustrating.  Then, the next 3 hours pass uneventfully so I decided to proceed to our playdate.  (sometimes my kids randomly puke, what can I say?)

After about an hour of playing Ezra started acting really sleepy so I decided it was time to go.  We get in the car and my buzzer dings for like the 100th time saying my tires are low.  Yes, it happens when it's super cold out, but I decided I was sick of hearing it and was going to get air in them NOW.

I find a super cool air machine that was free.  It was all automatic.  You set it to the air pressure you want and it does it.  First 2 tires work perfectly!  I hear yelling, open the car door, and Ezra is in the process of vomiting ALL over himself.  It's EVERYWHERE!  I have no idea what to do.  Drive off with the car way out of balance?  I give the kid a blanket to cover the puke, and run out to quickly finish the last 2 tires.  BAD, BAD, BAD idea!!!!  This time the nifty computerized machine backfires!  Instead of inflating my tire, it COMPLETELY deflated it!!!  NOW, I have a flat tire!  (and a kid covered in puke, and a baby crying, and 2 other kids that are hungry).  A nice guy pulls up behind me and tries to help (well, he helps after I beg and start tearing up!).  It won't fill with air.  (Apparently this has happened to him before...yet he came back because it was free.  hmm.  Not worth it to me!)  He suggested I go to the tire shop located right behind the gas station.  Once I explained the situation with my kids, he drove over there and asked someone to come with a portable machine to help.

After I give Elliot gum to feed her, hold the baby, check on vomit-covered Ezra, and get a movie going for Levi, the nice tire store man shows up.  Fills it up enough for me to drive to tire store where he can get the air fixed in all of the tires.  My once free fill up has now cost me $12 in a tip to this guy.  (It's all the cash I had).

Lessons learned so far today: 1. NEVER go to a playdate after your kid has puked-you just never know!!  2.  Just because it's free, doesn't mean it's good.  3.  Computerized isn't always good either!

Now, I'm almost out of gas, so I stop at Costco for a fill-up.  Baby is now asleep and everyone content.  I think I was just delaying getting home because I really had NO idea how to tackle puke boy in the back seat.  Where do I even start!?

I got everyone unloaded, then headed to the back of the van.  Dry heave, plug nose, lets go!  I wrap my hand in a plastic bag and get to work.  I tried undressing him before getting him out of the seat.  Chunks everywhere.  Bath time for Ezra!!!!!  Stuck everyone in front of t.v and went back out to clean van.  I'm sure my neighbors thought i was nuts banging a carseat on the ground.  I really didn't want to touch that mess!!    Upstairs to the laundry room!  ICK!  Baby screaming (still in carseat in living room).

Finally get lunch for kids around 1:15.  Gave Ez some applesauce.... then he gave it back to us a few minutes later :-(  I decide to make him a bed on the living room floor.  He beefs it again.  Do you know how difficult it is to be holding a baby breastfeeding while also holding a trash can for a kid to puke in?!?!  All the while wondering how I can sanitize myself before touching baby again!   Not easy!

Levi comes out and says he has to pee.  Perfect!  He goes, then I realize his pants are wet and send him upstairs to change.  He comes down with shorts on, along with his wet underwear.  Redo.  I venture into the playroom where I see a print of a butt and legs.  Yes, he peed on the couch before telling me he had to pee.  More laundry.

Ezra crashes on the floor for a bit and I can whip up some Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins that I've been dying to try!!!  SOOOO GOOD!  Ez wakes up from his nap and wants to hang out.  Cool, he seems much better.  We go out to living room where I see a big wet spot on the "bed" I made him.  Yup!  He peed all over floor during nap.  More laundry!

Just went in to wipe a butt (that actually did make it to the toilet) to realize the other brother has peed all over the floor!  What's wrong with these kids today?  Off to steam mop!

So.....that's my day today!  That's the day in the life of a Mommy :-)  Don't for one second think it's an easy job OR that in any way it isn't worth it!  Love these kids-even the messes.  Seriously, how could you not love this  ----->   (HAHA)

One more little bit of advice: If you ever need to rent out your house, you should be MUCH more concerned about a family with small children than a family with small dogs!

Crispy Pork

This seriously turned out looking just like the magazine picture.  I couldn't have been more pleased!  I varied from the Rachel Ray recipe a bit, since I did not use the parmesan cheese as part of the "breading."

For the pork: just get some 1/2 inch thick chops, salt & pepper them, dip in a raw scrambled egg, coat with almond flour.  (or you can grind your own almonds.  approximately 1/2 C per every 4 chops)

Heat some EVOO in a pan over med-high heat.  Cook chops 3-4 minutes, flip and cook 3-4 more minutes.  Remove from heat, let sit in pan for 3 minutes.

The Salad:
1 tangerine (1/4 C juiced, 2 tsp zest)
2 tbsp EVOO
1/2 tsp salt & pepper

whisk the above together.  Thinly slice a red onion and place in small bowl with 1 tbsp of dressing.  When ready to serve, toss Baby Spinach with remaining dressing and add the onions.

*ANYONE have any tips on "zesting?"  I pretty much have NO luck doing what I do.  Do I need a special tool?

Easy Burger Lunch

I get really tired of rolled up lunch meat and need some variation.  Today was Burger Friday.  Okay, I just made that up, but it was so good!  Just grab a pound of hamburger, make into 4 patties, and cook it in a pan.  I threw in a bunch of mushrooms too.  Served it with grapes, carrots, and a spinach & tomato salad.  A great break from the usual!

Lime-in-the-Coconut Drumsticks

We tried this out the other night.  It was definitely tasty and W really liked it.  I have SERIOUS issues with drumsticks.  It's just a really weird piece of meat (in my opinion).  I would definitely use the marinate again, but maybe on a different cut of chicken.  If you like drumsticks, this one's for you:

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp chopped ginger
1 C chopped scallions (white and green parts)
1 C cilantro
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/3 C honey
1 C coconut milk
1/3 C lime juice, plus 1 tsp grated zest
10 skin on drumsticks

Directions:
Combine all ingredients (except chicken) in blender, puree.  Cut 2 slits in each drumstick, marinade in coconut mixture at least 1 hour.  Transfer chicken to rack placed on foil-lined baking sheet; season.  Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, flip and bake until cooked through, 10 minutes.  (Mine definitely took longer than this.  I'd say cook 30 minutes, flip for 20 more)
   (*I think this recipe is from the Rachel Ray Mag, but I ripped it out and can't remember.  So, my apologies if I don't have the proper reference)


For sides I sliced sweet potatoes very thin, seasoned with some EVOO, salt & pepper.  Baked at 450 until crisp.  Dipped in guacamole and salsa.

We also had broccoli.  It was random, but the kids really like it.