Transformation Challenge: Week Two

So far, we are having alot of fun with this challenge and have managed to stay motivated and on track!  Last week, I was in the gym six days and it felt great!  Part of the workout on Thursday was a two mile run.  I managed to run the entire two miles without walking and in just under twenty minutes.  Those of you who know me well, know that I hate running and have always considered myself "bad" at it, so you know this is a big deal!  I will admit that both Hank's and my energy levels have been down, especially around the 3:00 pm slump.  I was happy to learn that this is a natural part of modifying your diet like this and am looking forward to the increase in energy that is supposed to happen around day 14.

This process really is so much fun!  We are enjoying shopping the farmers' market, planning meals and cooking together.  By the way, if you don't take advantage of the local farmers' market (we go to Pepper Place) you should.  There are so many great deals on fresh, local, delicious fruits and veggies.  You can get a week's worth of squash for $3, zucchini for $3, okra for $3, and more than on week's worth of sweet potatoes for $5...much better than paying by the pound at your grocery store!

Okay, so on to week two's meals...I am not going to post weekly on breakfast, lunch and snacks, because we will likely just rotate through our favorites and our leftovers to cover those meals.  If you want to see what we enjoy for these go here.  As I come across new favorites, though, I will post the recipes here.

MENU.

Dinner.

Bacon wrapped chicken skewers / fried okra / roasted carrots

Pork tenderloin / sweet potato rounds / Brussels sprouts with bacon

Almond crusted tilapia fish sticks / sweet potato fries / broccoli

Layered “spaghetti” with sausage / marinara / mushrooms / squash / zucchini

Chicken piccata / wilted spinach with bacon / sautéed squash & zucchini

Additions to last week. (Click for recipe.)

Egg muffins

Apple crisps

Fried okra.

2 cups sliced okra

1 egg

2 tbsp water

1 cup almond flour

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2-1 cup olive oil or grapeseed oil

Place okra in a large ziplock bag.  Mix egg and water together and pour over okra.  Shake to coat.  Mix together almond flour, salt, and pepper and pour into bag.  Shake to coat.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add okra and fry until it reaches your desired brownness.

Almond crusted tilapia fish sticks.

1 lb tilapia fillets

2 eggs, whisked

1 cup almond flour

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

Rinse fillets in cold water and cut into strips.  Mix flour with salt and pepper.  Dredge fish in egg wash and then flour mixture.  Combine oils in a large pan and heat on medium-high heat.  Place fish in the pan and cook for a few minutes on each side until well browned.  Add oils 2 tbsp at a time if you need additional oil for multiple batches.

Chicken piccata.

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lbs)

1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

5 tbsp grapeseed oil

5 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup brined capers

Cut chicken in half horizontally and butterfly them open and pound to flatten to 1/4 inch thick.  Mix flour, salt and seasoning together.  Rinse chicken in water and dredge in flour mixture until well coated.  Heat olive oil and 2 tbsp grapeseed oil in a large pan on medium high heat.  Add chicken and brown well on each side...about 3 minutes per side.  Transfer chicken to a plate.  Add lemon juice, chicken stock and capers to the pan scrapping the bottom to incorporate the browned bits into the sauce. Cook to reduce sauce by half and then add the remaining 3 tbsp of grapeseed oil.  Serve chicken with sauce.

Emalyn: Five Months in our Arms

Oh, Emalyn!  Where do I start?  Her personality just continues to come through.  She is the funniest, sweetest and most helpful two year old I know.  She loves to run and get anything you ask her to find.  She is also very resourceful...for example, if she can't reach something, she goes to get a stool.  She is also very polite.  She is constantly combining her request with "please"..."help please", "shoes please", "more please" and she loves to say "thank you".

Her language skills have grown rapidly over the last month.  She is using so many words, I can't even list them to count them.  She is starting to combine words to make phrases, too.  In addition to putting words together with "please", she is learning that putting two words together helps her to communicate what she wants us to know...most recently she came running in the kitchen and announced, "Adair hit".  Big sister better look out!  Adair's ability to hide behind Emalyn's lack of ability to tell on her is quickly coming to an end.

Poor Emalyn is also a bit accident prone.  I don't mean that she is clumsy, but things just seem to happen to her.  Most recently, Hank went to pick her up with one arm and in protest she leaned backwards and fell right out of his arms so quickly that he couldn't catch her.  Poor thing landed right on her face and the result was a huge goose egg-turned-bruise on the center of her forehead, a split open cleft surgery scar and two black eyes.  Thankfully, there shouldn't be any lasting damage and she was herself again within the hour, but it was very scary for all of us.  On top of her broken arm, constant climbing, slipping and falling, and this, I want to create a padded bubble for her to exist in.  So far, we have been lucky, but I fear the day she sustains a more severe injury.

Notice Emalyn's bumps and bruises

She is waking up in the mornings now and playing happily in her bed for a few minutes and then will start to call out "up".  This is a big step for her attachment.  She trusts that we are nearby and that we will come when she calls us.  She no longer wakes up with a panicked cry. 

She is also willingly going to the nursery at church and happily playing with her friends until we come back to get her.  She is usually so happy to see us return that she bursts into tears, but thankfully she fully trusts that we will come back.

We have been trying to teach Emalyn how to drink from a straw since her cleft surgery and much to our dismay, it wasn't working.  One day I missed her and when I went to look for her, I heard her messing with something in the laundry room.  When she came out, she had helped herself to a juice box.  She opened the package, removed the juice box, pulled off the straw, opened the straw, and put it in the box all by herself AND she was drinking from the straw.

She also loves to mimic us.  During quick trips to the grocery store lately, I have been taking Emalyn and
Myla Grant in the stroller and shopping with a basket on my arm.  One day, I noticed Emalyn "shopping" the same way with her babies.

Emalyn is always entertaining us.  She loves to chase the rainbows from the kitchen prism and cannot figure out why they appear on her hand when she goes to grab them.  She also is enjoying dressing herself...not only in her clothes, but in doll clothes as well.

Perhaps my favorite new thing Emalyn is doing is telling us that she loves us.  Of course, any parent's heart would be warmed by those sweet words, but this is a huge milestone for our little monkey.  She probably hadn't heard those words prior to entering our arms and now she understands what they mean and is proudly and meaningfully uttering them on a daily basis to her mommy, daddy and two sisters...not to mention hearing them over and over and over every day. Months ago, I started telling her I love her by pointing to my eye, then placing my hand over my heart and then pointing to her while saying "I...love...you!".  She still loves to mimic that every night at bedtime, but now she lovingly responds with "luv you" anytime we hug and kiss her and tell her you love her.

It's really hard for me to believe that my next post devoted to Emalyn will be SIX months in our arms!  Time is really flying by.  I must find a way to slow it down!

Myla Grant is Three Months Old

Our sweet baby girl is three months old already!  She has really plumped up over the last month.  She is vocalizing so much now and smiles anytime she sees a familiar face.  She has the sweetest disposition and her temperament really reminds me alot of Adair when she was a baby.  As a newborn, she favored her oldest sister, but now she is starting to look pretty different.  They have similar body shapes, noses and mouths, but their eyes are quiet different.

Over the last month, Myla Grant has become very vocal, making sweet gurgling and cooing sounds.  She has also started batting at objects and trying to grasp things for short periods of time.

We are still struggling to get her acid reflux under control.  She was on Zantac for a little more than a month, but it seemed to quit working, so her pediatrician switched her to Prilosec this week.  She is such a happy baby, but gets very uncomfortable during some feedings.  We really hope this medicine will do the trick and give her some relief.

Myla Grant brings us so much joy.  We are so thankful for the gift of her life and even for the seemingly crazy timing of her birth.  Our three girls are amazing and we hope they will always be the best of friends!

Transformation Challenge: Week One

The Transformation Challenge kicked off today, so here's a peak into what we're eating this week and a few recipes, too. 

MENU.

Breakfast.

Egg & bacon muffins

Scrambled eggs with red bell pepper, spinach, basil, carrots, etc.

Banana walnut muffins

Lunch.

Bunless burgers / avocado / fried eggs

Rotisserie chicken / guacamole / spinach salad

Chicken salad / fruit

Dinner.

Bacon wrapped chicken skewers / squash / zucchini / asparagus

Salmon / sweet potato hash / grilled eggplant & tomatoes

Orange chicken / broccoli / cauliflower / bell peppers / pineapple

Kielbasa sausage / cabbage / fried okra

Pork tenderloin / squash / zucchini / carrots

Snacks.

Almond milk yogurt

Nut mix

Apples with almond butter

Muffins

Fudge babies (mini Lara bars)

RECIPES.

Egg & bacon muffins.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wrap a piece of bacon around each muffin tin.  Whip eggs, salt and any other ingredients you like together and pour into each tin.  Fill about 3/4 full.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.  (Yield: one muffin per egg)

Banana walnut muffins.

2 cups almond four

1/3 cup coconut flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup toasted walnuts (place raw walnuts in oven on 350 for 15 minutes)

2 ripe bananas

1 tbsp vanilla

3 eggs

3 tbsp coconut oil

3 tbsp almond butter

2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce (I used one whole apple and processed in my Vitamix.)

Combine dry ingredients and mix together. In separate bowl, combine wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Combine dry and wet ingredients until well blended then evenly distribute batter amongst muffin pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Grilled Eggplant and Tomatoes.

1 large eggplant
3 large tomatoes, to match the diameter of the eggplant
0.4 lbs Bulgarian feta, crumbled (to make this recipe Paleo, we are omitting the feta.)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
juice of half lemon
2 garlic cloves
½ extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut of the eggplant crosswise into ½” thick rounds. Lightly season them with salt and leave them for 30 minutes on a side to let water to come out of the eggplant.  Once ready drizzle some olive oil on top of each slice and grill them on a lightly oiled grill rack for 2 -3 minutes each side.  Blend the basil leaves with 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt in an immersion blender until smooth.  Cut the tomatoes crosswise to 1/4” thick rounds.  Lightly oil the baking pan. Arrange 4 eggplant rounds side by side. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of the basil-garlic mixture on top of each one, then generously sprinkle feta crumbs. Top each with tomato rings. Add another layer of eggplant, basil spread, feta and tomato rounds and top with the rest of the crumbled feta.  Preheat the oven to 400F.  Drizzle some olive oil on top of each stack and bake for 15 minutes.

Orange chicken.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (cut into bite size pieces)

3 tbsp coconut oil

juice of 2 oranges

zest from 1 orange

1 tsp ginger

3 tbsp coconut aminos

1 tsp chili garlic sauce or sriracha

3 green onions, chopped

In a medium size sauce pot, add the orange juice, zest, ginger, coconut aminos and chili garlic sauce or sriracha. Set over medium heat and let simmer to reduce and thicken while the chicken cooks.

In a saute pan, heat coconut oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped chicken and cook until a nice brown crust has developed on the chicken pieces, about 6 minutes.

Add the chicken to the sauce pot and stir to coat with the orange sauce.

Serve topped with sliced green onions.

Transformation Challenge

Over a year ago, Hank and I joined Iron Tribe Fitness (ITF).  We both quickly became addicted to the workouts, community and results.  Iron Tribe is not just another crossfit gym, which is one of the things we love most about it.  It is truly a community of athletes.  Everyone routes for each other, encourages one another and celebrates successes together.  Each workout is scalable, so it is achievable for the "not an athlete at all" athlete...like yours truly...and challenging for the lifelong athlete. 

ITF teaches and encourages the Paleo diet as a healthy lifestyle.  Prior to my pregnancy with Myla Grant, we ate about 75% Paleo.  Starting Monday, we will embark on a 40 day transformation challenge with our fellow athletes.  The challenge is to eat strict Paleo, workout regularly and "transform" into a better version of yourself.  In addition to weight loss and feeling better, people eating a Paleo diet have seen improvement or "cure" of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, asthma, allergies, skin conditions, PCOS, infertility, migraines, depression, bipolar disorder, heartburn, GERD, joint pain, ADD, thyroid dysfunction, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, leaky gut syndrome, Crohn’s, IBS, Celiac, diverticulitis, and ulcerative colitis. 

One thing I hope to accomplish over the next six weeks is to teach by body (and my brain) that food is for nourishment, and while it feels good to indulge sometimes, eating should not always be emotional.  I hope to gain a better awareness of the foods that we eat and how they help/hurt our bodies, energy level, strength, and body weight.

If you are interested in learning more about ITF or the Paleo diet, check out the following resources or feel free to ask.

http://www.irontribefitness.com/
http://www.irontribe101.com/
http://whole9life.com/start/
http://www.robbwolf.com/

The Paleo Solution, Robb Wolf

I share all of this because I believe in it.  I hope that at the end of this challenge you will see living proof of the benefits of a Paleo diet and crossfit in a happier, healthier, more fit Powers family.  Blogging through the next 40 days is a means of holding myself accountable to my goals and perhaps help someone else in the process.  If you dine with me or see me around between July 16 and August 24, I hope you will hold me accountable, too. 

Here are my goals for the next six weeks:

1)  Workout five days each week
2)  Eat a strict Paleo diet and don't skip meals for convenience
3)  Loose eleven+ pounds
4)  Blog weekly with progress, menus and recipes
5)  Teach our girls (especially Adair) more about healthy eating and the difference between snacks and treats

I hope that by gaining more knowledge about the food that we eat and eating a whole foods diet, our girls will grow up making good food choices and a healthy lifestyle will become second nature to them.  We want to set the example of a healthy, active lifestyle that they can follow.  This journey is as much about them as it is about us.  As in everything, we want to do what is best for our children and I strongly believe that growing up in a family where Mommy and Daddy are active, the refrigerator is stocked with healthy foods and dinner doesn't always come from a box or a restaurant can set the tone for lifelong success.  Hank and I are setting out to retrain our bodies and our minds so that our girls won't have to retrain theirs someday.

The 4th of July, the ER, and the Lake

Let's just say that this Independence Day didn't turn out exactly as I had planned...far from it, actually.  We were supposed to leave Wednesday morning to join our sweet friends, the Hawleys, for a long holiday weekend at Lake Martin.  Adair was so excited and it was contagious.  We were all looking forward to getting away with our only concern being how Emalyn would sleep away from home.  However, Wednesday morning about 5 am I started having sharp pains in my side.  They got stronger and more painful and the pain never let up...it was constant.  Standing, sitting, laying down, nothing helped the pain, so my parents rushed over to keep the girls and we rushed to the emergency room...fully expecting the diagnosis I was given...kidney stones.  Needless to say, I spent the morning on an IV in the ER and the rest of the day "high" on pain killers.  The girls spent the day with my parents and came home too tired to even watch the fireworks.  Hopefully, next year will be more traditional and absent of the drama.

Fortunately, I felt much, much better on Thursday, so we took off to the lake and joined our friends just a day late.  I hung out with Myla Grant at the house most of the weekend and took it pretty easy, but the girls had a blast swimming in the lake, jumping off the dock, riding the boat, swimming at the pool, and playing with their friends.  Emalyn didn't miss a beat.  She went down just as easily as she does at home, slept great and was totally herself.  We are so proud of her and all of her progress over these last months.  We had worried and wondered how she would do away from home, and I am so glad we have that experience...and a good one...behind us.

Emalyn's swimming trick

Floating on her back then...

rolling over...

to her tummy...

so proud!

Adair loved jumping off of the dock...

making big splashes...

then swimming to the stairs.

Such a good little swimmer!

This was our second annual 4th of July lake trip with the Hawleys and the Campbells.  Last year there were three kiddos on our lake trip, Adair, Webb and Marlen...this year there were six.  What a difference a year makes!  The Campbells welcomed sweet baby Andrew in January, followed by Emalyn's arrival in February and Myla Grant's in April.  We are so thankful to have such sweet relationships with these friends and to be making such wonderful memories with our families.