Meatloaf and a grunt.

For some reason I've been craving comfort food lately. Maybe it's the amount of stress I'm dealing with right now, or maybe it's because my body is craving warm days with gentle breezes and getting snow, wind gust that blow down fences (literally a few weeks ago our fence fell over during an especially blustery day) and below freezing temperatures instead. No matter what it is my beautiful family is reaping the benefits of some good o' comfort food. . . paleo style!

At the top of my yum list is paleo meatloaf. I got my super delicious recipe from Sarah Fragoso over at http://everydaypaleo.com/. I've been pairing it with super creamy mashed cauliflower and some tasty greens like kale chips or a salad.

A second favorite is Shepherd's pie. This recipe is endlessly adaptable, tonight we made it with green beans, carrots and broccoli. Mark Sisson over at http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ has a plethora of exceptionally tasty meals. This dish, also made with mashed cauliflower is a stand alone meal. There are so many veggies and so much meat a side dish just seems like overkill.

I know that the paleo diet means eating like our paleolithic ancestors and I'm guessing that neither meatloaf nor Shepherd's pie were common dinner items 50,000 years ago. But, since I do not have either the ability (in the form of hunting and endurance style running) nor the species (hello mammoths, tiny horses, endless fields of buffalo and all manner of other ancient and extinct animals our ancestors munched on) I make do with my local grocery store.

I use my technologically advanced shopping cart, re-usable grocery bags, debit card and car trunk as hunting and foraging tools instead of stone knives, spears and my body (to carry said mammoth). The reason for this is simple. I'm living in 2011. I can use these tools. I enjoy using these tools. And I refuse to believe that my lifestyle is "impossible" and "ridiculous" because it is based off what my greatX100 grandma ate and now that we live. . .well now, its not healthy anymore.

Following this lifestyle does not mean that I have to hunt for my food and grunt like an idiot (FYI doubters, paleolithic Indians had brains the same size as modern humans, but they were healthier, taller and more muscular. There's a nova all about it). It means that I eat healthy, whole foods that make me feel good. And I can do all of this while having tasty delicious meals that are better than those found in any restaurant.

And I never, ever say. . . boy your diet sounds terrible, bad for you and bad for the environment (ummm, still trying to figure out why paleo is bad for the environment) to people that eat SAD. They own their bodies, they can do with them what they will. If asked I will talk about my diet and how amazing it is. So if your reading this and you condescend all over my diet. . .just stop. It's not very nice! Stop being a hater, do some research not endorsed by the corn breeders of America and educate yourself. Then we can talk.

And a side of Saber-toothed tiger as well!

Soooo. . . .what exactly is paleo?
Paleo literally means:

Ancient; prehistoric; old
or
Early; primitive


When I say I'm on the paleo diet I often feel like that is a misleading statement. The word diet infers something short lived, a quick fix solution or as dictionary.com says;


A regulated selection of foods, as for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss.


But really a diet should simply mean the typical food a person eats. If you think about the paleo diet in these terms the paleo diet means the typical diet a person east that is ancient, prehistoric or old. Basically, the diet of our ancestors,the Paleolithic Indians. Paleolithic Indians didn't have any sort of agriculture to rely on. This means no bread, fried rice or pancakes. What food they did have they hunted for. . .or gathered. They ate plenty of meat, small berries, veggies and some seeds and nuts. They did not eat Twinkies or even whole wheat pasta.


I imagine you're picturing a girl in a pair of jeans chasing down a Holstein with a spear? Maybe a woman standing in the ocean wearing her two piece spearing a fish?
The truth is that for over fifty thousand years humans lived on meat, eggs, nuts, berries, veggies, fruits and seeds. These are what we, as humans, are naturally adapted to eat. When we deviate from what are supposed to eat we suffer; from auto immune diseases, tummy troubles and a whole cabinet full of other sicknesses, including cancer. So, what exactly can a paleo lifestyle person eat?

• Meat


• Vegetables


• Fruit


• Nuts


• Seeds

What can we not eat?

• Sugar (or sugar substitutes)


• Grains (yes all grains, including ancient ones)


• Legumes (including soybeans and peanuts)


• Dairy


• Processed foods are out (for the most part)

Now this is extremely abbreviated of course. The truth of the matter is that I'm no expert. In fact, don't quote me on any of this. For the whole ten yards there are several websites that have a much better grasp on the issue.

The best places for info are:

http://robbwolf.com/

http://thepaleodiet.com/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

All I know is that it's easy, healthy and something that is a way of life. We don't even think about how hard it is or the things we can't eat because we don't eat the Standard American Diet (SAD). Since starting the paleo lifestyle we have expanded what we do eat. Our fruit and veggies consumption and range is huge and includes tasty things like papaya, kale chips, coconut anything (we made homemade strawberry banana sugar free coconut ice cream for dessert tonight) and roasted butternut squash.

We do eat small amounts of dairy in the form of grass-fed butter, half and half (for my coffee), alcohol and dark chocolate! When we go out to dinner I eat cheese sometimes and as a rule of thumb we don't really eat potatoes (every few weeks). We aren't strict, but if I deviate far from the paleo path my body tells me how unhappy it is. I get stomach cramps and bloating. My son gets a raging headache and lethargy. My daughter gets massive mood swings and cramps. Sam feels terrible for up to a week with bloating and lethargy and we all get really, really grumpy.

Happy eating!!

I'll have another slice of mammoth please

There is a scenario that I often think about and it goes something like this:





Random person on sunny street corner-

"Holy Guacamole! Did you see that super trim and buff woman that just passed us?"

Random persons friend-

"Are you kidding! Who could miss that?"


Now I know that at this time in my life I do not elicit such praise from random (preferably good looking and well built men) people on the street. I look at my body as a work in progress. Sometimes my shape changes daily. I can feel new muscles and bones emerging from their hibernation under my *ahem* chub. My face looks different, I actually have knees instead of dimples and while my body is still in the overweight category I'm happy that I can see my changes, realize that they are taking place and relish in them.


This change is due mostly to my diet. So I have steadily been working out since summer 2010, and working out hard. Crossfit is no small potatoes folks. It is hard and challenging and amazing! My muscles got big and strong, my endurance skyrocketed and my body went from being mostly fat so quite a bit muscle. But, I didn't see the weight drop like I wanted to (think going from Rosie O'Donnell to Jennifer Lopez). So when my gym CFSF at http://crossfitsantafe.com/ started a two month paleo challenge at the beginning of December 2010, I joined in. . . right before the tasty delicious holiday season started.


I dragged my heels on this challenge. I said any diet like that couldn't be good for you. I rolled my eyes, I said no way and then. . .I gave into it and decided to start the day the challenge started. And to be perfectly honest, the first few weeks weren't pretty. I had no idea how to shop paleo at first so our grocery bill was through the roof expensive. I was dizzy, crabby and tired for two weeks while my body detoxified itself. I cried in my car at streetlights, yelled at my family, was constantly ravenous and my workouts really suffered.


The light at the end of the tunnel? After two weeks I felt better, much better. I had lost almost 10 pounds in two weeks and my workouts were getting faster, my weights higher. And my weight loss has continued at a slow and steady pace. No, I haven't been losing weight biggest loser style. And when I had to quit going to crossfit because, well, because I'm broke I decided that there was no way I'm going to quit paleo. It's a lifestyle for me now. I slipped into it like a great pair of jeans. Hard to break in, but once broken in they feel amazing, are super comfortable and make you look like a million bucks!


So I may not be that perfect body, but I have found what works. . .and works well without the ups and downs of dieting!


Curious about what Paleo is? Stay tuned my friends. . .I didn't want to bore you to death with my long windedness (hope that's a word).

So I know for sure that there at least four people that read this blog on a semi-regular basis. Well, three at least (thanks mom for signing up twice to boost my confidence). So for those of you who do read my blog, I'm going to start being a bit more interactive, you know asking questions, trying to illicit answers. . .that sort of thing. I'm doing this because, well, I care about what my loved ones and friends think. And don't want to be selfish all the time!

So the question is: What do you do to try to combat our sedentary lifestyle?

I do crossfit. That's it. My answer is small and doesn't seem like enough. I hike and backpack and snowboard, but not all the time.

My crossfit coach, who is the most amazing coach ever, brought it to my attention that ever since we started walking on two legs we have adapted. We are the most adaptive species on the planet. We live on every continent, have climbed the highest peaks and survived some terrible ordeals (slavery, bubonic plague, war, war and more war). We have shaped our surrounding to fit our needs, building housed and cities and huuuuge governments.

We are ambitious, creative, smart and determined. And now we are fat. We have walkers and canes and scooters that haul our fat asses around when we can't do it ourselves anymore. We take medicine after medicine to lengthen our lives instead of relying on our own massive strength, our huge ability and our stunning determination.

I am NOT going to be one of those people who is scooting around on a machine just because I'm too lazy to get off my ass!

So kudos to my mom, who still walks all day while shopping, dances at wedding while hurting and perseveres through a debilitating disease to be active and happy another day.

And kudos to Tait (my crossfit coach) who really cares and wants the best for every person who walks through his door.

And lastly my dad. The healthiest man I know, you are amazing! This picture makes me smile every time I see you. I'm so glad that you don't need that scooter to walk around.

advertising? hell no! I listen to. . .

Jillian Micheals tells us all (through her many books) to eat organic, eliminate toxins and to buy a HEPA filter. She also tells us that we should buy houseplants for our house as detoxifiers.

Yes, I realize that I may be buying into her multi million dollar scheme to make me spend oodles of money on things i can't really afford. So far, Ive started buying organic. . .all organic (oof, that's a hard hit to anybodies bank account), switched to all natural cleansers, don't buy bottled water ( we use a Brita filter, yummy and cheap) and the latest. . . you guessed it.

HOUSEPLANTS

For everyone who knows me, you know I am horrible at getting thing to grow, but there have been several studies that prove that children learn better with more green plants around. I have managed to keep an orchid alive (although it's not thriving. . .or blooming), so I've moved on to three more plants. They are cheaper than a HEPA filter, which I really want even though I just found out about them and what they do.

So I applaud you, Jillian Micheals, for making me want to spend money on things I never even realized I needed. You're about as effective as commercials.

I am such a sucker. God it's terrible.

and. . . not quite the fittest, but on my way!

So if this truly was a survival of the fittest scenario like our distant ancestors dealt with, like life with no Advil, doctors and Starbucks to get us through the day, I'm pretty sure I would have died by now. If not by some giant man eating saber toothed tiger or man eating giant pre-historic grizzly bear, than by some other mundane reason like not surviving the frigid winters or death by childbirth.

But if there is one thing that makes me more able to survive some sort of Apocalypse or world wide disaster that reverts mankind back to stone age technologies it is crossfit. For example,

the workout for the day was called Roy and consists of:

15 dead lifts (I did a measly 85 pounds, my friend did an awesome amazing 155 lbs)

20 box jumps (which I have a serious mental block about, I can't do them yet, so I did step ups)

25 pull ups

THREE TIMES!!!

and the warm up was. . . run a mile.

So, while I'm exhausted I'm coming much closer to being able to run from large, mean, man eating creatures or survive some an atomic explosion due to superior fitness level (ahem. . that really is a load of sh*t, I'm almost always the last one done, and the last one to finish my runs).

Now onto the cool stuff, here's some pictures from Yellowstone!!

Back again

Well, summer is almost over. I've just gotten back from my second vacation and I'm still tired. This time, there were fewer bugs (but then again that could be anywhere, Backcountry Yellowstone has almost all the mosquito's in the world hoarded there) and more. . . you guessed it . . . alcoholic beverages.

This was a trade off I'd go for any day. The weather was absolutely perfect up in Aspen and the scenery at the wedding was amazing. The bad news is that now that I'm back I've got to start my workout regime up again. that means a few days of intense torture before I can get my rhythm back. Pre trip I ran a 5k and last time I went to crossfit it was absolutely horrible. I was slow and weak and had forgotten everything I learned. Here's to a better week, with considerably less alcohol and no bug bites. Seriously the devil created mosquito's to torture nice people. I'm positive.

On a sad note, school is getting ready to start, my kids have gone through one more summer and I feel like time has been going so fast and so slow all at the same time. Fifth grade is around the corner and my children are becoming more independent and self assured everyday. This is both an amazing thing to watch and a melancholy thing to deal with. I've realized that having my children not need me as much is just as stressful and painful as having them need me too much. Oh well at least I have really stupid cat pictures like this one to fall back.

I'm back from vacation and. . .

I'm still having nightmares about all the mosquitoes. Seriously. There were so many of them the whole family was inhaling them. I have bruises from scratching bites on my legs.

Back country Yellowstone was not what I thought it was going to be like. First, I have read many other blogs that go into detail about the number of mosquitoes and how they have ruined rips. But we went prepared for this trip with 100% DEET, 40% DEET and 25% DEET as well as DEET free repellent. For those of you unwilling to count that up, that is 4 different types of bug repellent. Not only that but all four of us had long pants, long shirts and bandannas to cover up just in case the DEET failed.

Well, the DEET failed, the bugs can bite through clothing and they were so thick that they were in our breakfast food, in our mouths, up our noses and in our water. The worst thing was that because they were so thick we couldn't stop to take a break without getting eaten alive. . .literally. So, by the end of the day we were all exhausted, literally drop dead tired, bitten at least 100 times a day and unable to cook food because the bugs were swarming us.

The second not so amazing thing about the backpacking was that I wanted the family to experience real Yellowstone, away from the crowds, full of wildlife and tons of thermal features not commercialized. Well, we say no exciting wildlife on the back country trip, we were too tired to hike to the cool thermal features and the hiking was brutal. 34 miles in four days with 6,000 feet of total elevation gain and loss. Then once we emerged from the back country the mosquitoes abated, the animals came out ( we saw 5 really neat animals in the 20 minutes after we got back) and the weather was awesome. At least the trip was character building.

The good news is that I think I lost weight. The bad news is that my kids probably hate backpacking for life now and we are really broke!! Gotta love vacation.

This week has reminded me to never, ever become a shopaholic!!

So this week has been non stop shopping, and not the delightful, wonderful shopping that includes pretty dresses and great tops. This is the kind of shopping that all but the most stout shoppers hate.

I went shopping for my huge camping trip to Yellowstone National Park. This meant trips to the following stores:

REI

Target

Wal-mart (yuck! yuck! and double yuck!!)

Albertsons

Sunflower Market

Trader Joe's

Back to REI

Back to Target

Sunflower again

The worst part is watching the dollars drain from my account directly into the hands of huge corporate companies. The second worst part is having to pack, and pack very economically at that, all the stuff I just bought, as well as pack for my two mildly independent ten year olds.

You see, trusting ten year olds to pack well for a vacation is like trusting an alcoholic to not drink in a bar. They say that they have packed, but when their bags are checked they have taken every available mini teenage mutant ninja turtle and no clothes. Or seven shirts and no pants. So in conclusion, supervision is required at every step of packing.

The good news of the week? I made it to four crossfits and finished the week off with a 5k run, the very first one for me!!

CrossFit Burpee Demo

Heaven or the devil?

I'm sure that everyone has had days when their energy levels are so low it's hard to get motivated to take a shower much less be active in any way, shape or form. Before I started crosssfit I had more low energy days than highly active days.

But these days, my energy level has been given a boost by workouts like "Snake oil; the one time cure" and "Back in Black".

The workout yesterday was "Snake oil" and it definitely cured me of complaining about a measly ten burpees. The prescribed number of burpees was 150 (OMG!!!) and 150 toes to bar (Umm. . .ow). Feeling intensely intimidated I only did 100. The workout for me goes something like this

10 burpees

40 toes to bar (or for me; knees to. . as far as I can get them to go up)

1 rope climb

20 burpees

30 toes to bar

1 rope climb

30 burpees

20 toes to bar

1 rope climb

40 burpees

10 toes to bar

1 rope climb

Pass out on the floor with exhaustion while puddles of sweat form around inert body.

For those of you not in crossfit or basic training a burpee is a six step exercise that starts from a standing position, then a quickly as possible goes to the plank position then your whole torso touches the floor before jumping back to standing and clapping above your head, making sure your feet leave the ground when jumping up. Just trying to explain it is exhausting! I added a video above that explains it much better (by the way I don't look anything like that doing mine, I look more like. . well not like that).

The good news is, I have tons of energy these days!! So the burpees are from the devil, but the way they make me feel afterwards is amazing!!

No team player mentality here!!

So, if you read this blog you must have some sort of basic knowledge of who I am. I'm finicky and bitchy and I'm definitely not a team player. At school I thrive on projects that I can do by myself. At home, I love to spend time by myself (mostly being very, very lazy) and when working out I seem to get ultra competitive when partnered up with someone!

But today in Crossfit I had my first team workout. As a team we had to complete 500 sit ups, 400 front squats, 300 box jumps and run

200 meters to set the pace for the rest of the team. I absolutely loved the workout today because it everyone wanted to have the highest time, everyone was equally competitive and everyone was really encouraging!! Not only was it fun, but we had the second best time!!

Granted my whole body is sticky with sweat, I smell like a men's locker room and all I really want to do is eat everything in my refrigerator, but at least I'm working my booty off (both literally and figuratively)

Running (at least for me) works the way. . .

Garlic does for vampires. I hate it. Just thinking about it gives me a queasy stomach and weak knees.

You may ask, "Why in the world are you comparing running to garlic and yourself to vampires?"

Well reader, I'm comparing them because I ran today. Not gracefully or quickly, but I ran. In fact I ran a mile. I realize that loads of people run 26.2 miles all the time. And I'm aware that Forrest Gump ran across the country and then back again. But. . .I am not Forrest Gump (not that anyone actually is I guess), and I'm no marathon runner (unless it's a marathon of some TV series).

I almost didn't go to crossfit today because I knew there would be running. Spurts of running, outside, in the heat. I almost threw up. Literally. In fact as I was headed to the grocery store to buy myself a protein packed dinner I did vomit a little bit. It was gross.

But when I started this workout regime I couldn't even finish 200 meters and that was only three weeks ago! Talk about results (and extreme bouts of hunger)! I feel pretty good right now (although during the run I felt like the dog in this pic. . .a bit out of shape).

The crossfit revolution!!

So a few weeks ago I started doing crossfit. for those few of you who read this blog crossfit is taking something hard (working out), making it harder (pardon me but is 70 pull ups insane or what?) and timing you, making sure the one doing crossfit is always moving and doing something really, really hard. For example. . .the workout today was crazy single armed dumbbell lifts (21 of them) then 21 pull up, the those crazy one armed lifts with the other hand then 21 pull ups. THREE TIMES. I did it in 26 minutes and was soaked from head to foot by the end of it.

Why does one submit to the horrendous torture that crossfit is you might ask? Truthfully? Before I go to class I get so nervous that I have butterflies in my stomach and my bladder goes into overdrive, which crossfitters term the nervous bladder. But it is addictive. Crazy addictive. Having someone pushing you and telling you to make yourself work harder, be better is so addictive.

So until school starts the blog will be about my workouts, lame I know, but it fulfills my need to constantly be on the Internet, while feeling not horribly lazy.

I did it! Without breaking down. . . or reverting back to my early teenage years. I have now past from one decade to another, and well, it's not so bad. I tromped around the forest today through brambles and fallen logs and I'm not tired. I have all sorts of cash to spend at REI and Kohls. I'm thinking of seeing a movie tonight and well. . I guess I'm pretty smelly, I may take a shower. I have a limited number of wrinkles and all is well with the thirty year old Crissy. The hardest thing about today was coming home to find cat puke on the carpet, and a very contrite lab who got on the counter and ate all the whole wheat pitas. The coolest thing about today? I ate a bowl of whole grain, organic fruit bunny cereal and it tasted awesome. Well, that's probably not the absolute coolest, but it was pretty enjoyable. The absolute coolest thing is that I used to not dry my jeans in the dryer because they were too tight when they got out, and I recently dried a pair on accident, and they fit great!! Woo hoo!

So tomorrow is the big day. The scary, the hard, the worst Birthday ever. . Tomorrow I'll pass from youth to well frankly I don't really know what. I'll be 30. Am I ready? Hell no! Am I scared? Hell yes! I feel like I have to phase out of being immature to becoming a real adult. The great thing about it? As I sit here writing this my son says that tomorrow will be the best. And maybe, just maybe it won't be as bad as 29. Thirty is the new 20 I hear. But I only hear that from old people! But I am loved, surrounded by people who care and healthy. I'm active and conscientious about what i do to my body. I have a great booty, a great family and a good future. So here's hoping that 30 really is the new 20, that my thirties are awesome and that i can thrive in this new decade!

So I got into a fight today. . .with my invasive species teacher. Her final, an ambiguous and ridiculous take home test had some very conflicting questions. When I called to clear up the situation, making sure to cite several references and a teachers with the correct information she told me to stop arguing and that I had an inability to learn. What? I have almost straight A's and am constantly asking questions. I have had several teachers, including her tell me that I encourage the learning process and facilitate discussion within the classroom. Now, I can be wrong, and frequently am. I have no problems saying that I can be a know it all sometimes, but I also have no problem saying I messed up. She, on the other hand, consistently refuses to acknowledge that she makes mistakes, refuses to answer the phone at pertinent times and goes off on crazy, uninformative tangents during class that waste every ones time. Agggg!! She's the most frustrating teacher I've ever had! Rant over!

So I'm done. . . with the first of two weeks that have turned out be a ten on the stress meter scale. Four papers and three power point presentations later I'm exhausted but very well versed on the following issues:

1. Mercury as a Toxicant in New Mexico

2. Python Invasions in the Everglades

3. Range and Fire. History and use of fire in North and South America

4. The ethical Theory of Kant and how it applies to the movie Platoon

5. The Santa Fe Watershed Restoration project, including 51 vital points that need to be covered pre, implementation and post restoration.

Now all I have to do is take eight finals! No make that seven. I got a 30/30 on my integrated organic and biochemistry lab final!

Uhggg. That alligator is school and I'm the python. I feel like I'm being eaten alive!

Being the dork that I am, I've decide to base my entry today around a cat picture. I know, I know, they are over emailed not popular anymore, but I can't help myself with this one. Mostly because the picture acurately depicts how I feel right now. School lures you in with promises of higher pay, and hopefully an awesome job at the end of it, but all it feels like right now is a massive trap, luring one in with promises and torturous in the end with massive loads of work!! Two more weeks, two more weeks!!

So I watched the "biggest loser" today, and while I love watching that show, I always feel like a lazy ass (0r maybe a lazy tyranical cat, like in the picture). I mean those people work their butts off, and are super disappointed if they only lose 5 pounds. Man, five pounds a week for me is like. . .fist pumping, super amazing make me feel like a bad ass weight loss. So motivated by the biggest loser I turned my t.v. to the exercise channel and got to work with Jillian Micheal's and cardiokye. By the end of it I felt pretty good and Jillian Micheal's workouts are tough!! I'd hate to be put through that five or six hours a day!! The cardioky was pretty cool and the kids got really into it. I guess in the end it's just another way to put off the inevitable. . .horrid, blinding amounts of school work. I wish there was a t.v. show that helped me out with that!!