100 Days of Real Food Challenge Week 7: Real food journey inspires new recipes

Homemade trail mix, including local raisins, raw almonds and gluten-free chocolate chips.

I can't believe we are winding down Week 7. I haven't had quite as much time for blogging as I would have hoped but our family has stayed pretty consistent with our commitment to the 100 Days of Real Food Challenge. The biggest personal challenge was to move my kids away from eating packaged snacks (even organic ones) throughout the day and to make more snacks from scratch or just incorporating raw veggies and fruits into their routine.

I'll admit there have been times where I've felt like cursing this challenge. It's so much easier to grab a box of crackers, a bar or Annie's Gummy Bunnies to-go. This type of real food snacking requires planning ahead, lots of chopping and a mama sticking to her guns even when she feels tired. I do believe my girls our in major growth spurts right now, which means they are hungry every hour; I need to be prepared!

Slowly but surely my kids are getting retrained to eat real foods as their mainstays. Some of our fave new snacks include homemade trail mix, carrots/zucchini sticks with homemade ranch, popcorn and hard-boiled eggs.

Community brunch, including fruit kebobs, buckwheat waffles with berry sauce and walnuts, pumpkin baked oatmeal, raisins and homemade mocha-honey coffee drinks.

Now that I have a first grader who needs to be at school by 8:05 a.m., I don't have time for my casual get-up-and-make-what-you're-in-the-mood-for breakfasts. I have to prep breakfasts the night before and even on the weekends to keep up with the new routine. This means boiling eggs, mixing muffin batter and freezing chopped fruit for the morning smoothies.

When we can afford the time, we love big brunches on the weekends. We've enjoyed some fun community meals, pooling ideas and resources like this brunch pictured above. A few families got together and we created these Buckwheat Waffles and brought the rest of the meal potluck-style. It's surprising what we can come up with when we have friends on the journey with us!

Our own version of a real food lunch includes a gluten-free almond waffle sandwich with peanut butter and a fruit salad made of seasonal fruits like grapes and pluots.

This is my first year packing a lunch for one of my kiddos. My Meilani brings her lunch to school every day. I've tried to enlist her help with the choosing and the prep so she feels excited about what she pulls out of her box. She has a "kid-safe" knife from Chefs Academy that she uses to help chop her own fruit for salad. We also stole an idea from the 100 Days of Real Food blog and now make waffle or pancake sandwiches. Meilani is a big fan! Since our family has shown a sensitivity to wheat, this is a great way to create a "gluten-free" sandwich for my girl.

The whole family can get in on assembling tacos using in-season veggies as the main and little meat for garnish. These Butternut Squash & Chipotle Chicken Tacos were a keeper.

Our dinners have also turned to focus on more veggies in season. Fall is just around the corner and we recently created these Butternut Squash & Chicken Tacos. We sauteed the chicken and chopped butternut squash in coconut oil with a little chipotle powder. Then we cut up butter lettuce and added our new favorite Cilantro-Lime Dressing. The kids had fun building their own tacos on Trader Joe's corn tortillas.

Over the weekend our friends made us Kale & Bean Tacos - a new vegetarian, protein-packed version of tacos that we all enjoyed. Last night my hubby made tacos while I was out for a long run. We called them "Everything Tacos" and used all the veggies we had in the fridge, including avocados (ok, technically a fruit), sauteed eggplant, onions and yellow heirloom tomatoes. One boneless chicken breast for all of our tacos when it wasn't the main focus. Those were some yummy, colorful tacos too!

Looking for some ideas on meal plans? Here are some of our October Meal Plans with links to our fave recipes to spark some inspiration. Bon appetit!

 October 1-7 Health-full Menu Plan

October 8-14 Health-full Menu Plan

100 Days of Real Food Challenge: Biting into Week 2

We are starting Week 2 of the 100 Days of Real Food Challenge with a group of more than 100 friends across the U.S who are trying out more healthy eats. Over the next 13 weeks, I hope to share our journey and post a bunch of new recipes that include real food.

My personal goal is to try to experiment with less wheat and utilize more natural sweeteners. I want to make more snacks and serve up more whole fruits and veggies for my kids rather than relying on store-bought bars (even organic ones!) and fruit snacks (Sorry, Annie.)

This week I made a few discoveries. When we are trying to eat more real foods, I need to think ahead, plan out my meals (and even snacks) and prep/cook ahead of time. My biggest lesson this week is that I need to go back to my "batch cooking" like making sauces that can be frozen and big batches of granola for breakfasts. I also need to prep cook when I am not tired and not in a rush. Otherwise, it's easy to get crabby and frustrated.

I've also been working on portioning our meat so it can be used for two meals. For example, this past weekend we grilled grass-fed burgers and I reserved some meat for taco salad today.

I love to share ideas with friends. Our friends, the Benedicts, had stuffed sweet potatoes on their meal plan and I stole the idea on Friday night when I realized I didn't have enough time for my planned pizza meal and dough rising and all that.

In the spirit of sharing ideas, this week's meal plans are linked here.

This week inspired some new recipes at our house as well. After a juicing session last Sunday, I used the carrot pulp for these Carrot-Oat-Raisin Muffins. I also encouraged my sometimes-picky 3-year-old to eat red peppers this week by mixing up a batch of homemade ranch dressing to dip the peppers in.

My biggest challenge was to think outside the box on desserts. I am a chocoholic so I tend toward chocolate when I need a sweet fix. I discovered that the first ingredient on my semi-sweet chocolate chips was sugar. I don't think chocolate is bad; in fact, studies show dark chocolate is full of antioxidants but I decided to take a break from chocolate desserts this week to push myself to more creativity with real foods.

My hubby is a personal trainer/coach and one of his clients gifted us with some figs from their farm. I've never tried cooking with figs before. I surveyed our refrigerator and found some mascarpone cheese. (That's a mild Italian cream cheese.) I mixed in a teaspoon of honey and some whipping cream and made a mascarpone cream. We cut the figs in half, added a dollop of cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Voila - yummy real food dessert!

Did you eat any real foods this week? Make any great discoveries on the journey to eat more healthy? Please leave us a comment!

Always ready for a challenge: 100 Days of Real Food

We are embarking on a new food journey.

For the next 100 days we will be joining a community of 100-some friends across the nation who are committed to making changes in the way they eat to embrace more real foods.

Blogger Lisa Leake of 100 Days of Real Food inspired this community challenge. Our friend Forest dreamed up the idea of uniting on a Facebook group and sharing our journey together. We've been sending out messages to friends for the last week to encourage them to be a part of the conversation and accountability.

Although our family pretty much eats according to the 100 Days "rules" already, we were excited to jump in, tweak some things (We are definitely not perfect!) and encourage others. This is also a great excuse to get back to my food blogging and cooking up some new recipes too.

We hosted a potluck at our house on Sunday for the 100 Days of Real Food friends. We had a yummy spread of summer-inspired food, including grilled corn with cilantro-butter, grilled garlic chicken, pita and hummus, tabbouleh salad.

 We served up a salad topped with sweet potatoes sauteed in coconut oil, honey walnuts and feta cheese. (It's one of our faves for parties.)

 

Our friend brought this "Sweet Potato Pie" topped with fresh pineapple wedges to go with our Flourless Chocolate Truffle Torte (recipe coming soon) to serve for dessert. The group shared different reasons why they were taking on the challenge and ways we could support each other. We perused cookbooks, web sites and swapped ideas for meal plans.

The group also inspired me to actually type out my meal plans this week. (I normally write out my plans in an old-fashioned calendar and do lots of erasing and scratching out through the week.) Hope this will be helpful to some of you as you plan as well. I know I love gleaning ideas from others and customizing them for our family.

Meal Plans - August 20-26, 2012

The good news: we all survived Day 1. The biggest challenge for me is to get the fruits & veggies & healthy snacks prepared before the kids and I need them. When it comes to dealing with a ravenous 6-year-old and a whiny 3-year-old and a mama who just worked out, I know I have to be able to "grab and go." This means doing some cooking the night before or prep work cutting up fruits and veggies in the morning.

My "yay moment" was when Meilani came home from her first day of first grade and asked for "the same lunch tomorrow" because she loved what we packed today! Big thanks to Heather Fenton for the tabbouleh, which I mixed with tuna then packed a container of carrots, broccoli and hummus and a separate bag of grapes and honey walnuts. Of course, mama forgot to pack a spoon and my girl was too shy to ask for one on her first day so she ate all this with her hands. Messy tuna salad. Sigh.

We are very interested to hear your tricks and tips for adding healthy foods to your kids lunches. Leave a comment.

New Year's Pantry Challenge: A Conclusion or a New Beginning?

I survived. Actually, I knew I would survive because I've done this before. It's kind of like attempting a 10k or a half marathon when I know I've completed them before. I continue to run those races because I know it's good for my body. I love the challenge and the discipline of training for a race. I treasure the comradery of running with friends or my husband. I feel inspired with a goal in mind. There was no doubt I would survive the pantry challenge this time around but I wanted to press myself toward thankfulness. I wanted to reject the temptation to get lazy about food, to complain about living off less. My spirit needed to be buoyed up by the bounty of community and creativity.

These few weeks have bonded me together with old friends and new friends. I'm blessed by so many who have shared meals with us. We have pooled our resources and learned from each other. I'm thankful for our Life Group that shares a meal every other week. Right now I'm taking the fococcia bread out of the oven and putting in the Butternut Squash Lasagna to serve to them tonight. I'm celebrating this bit of abundance. I'm grateful for times of sharing in community.

I've thought a lot about this guy Leo from our church who just moved into his first apartment after being homeless for 3 years. He's a veteran who has been on the streets. Our abundance, a meager bag of leftovers, graced his cupboards this week. My dad delivered it to Leo after our Pantry Party early in this challenge. I felt blessed that we could share with someone else in need. I like the idea of donating money or goods to a food pantry our soup kitchen but it doesn't get personal until you get involved with a real person. Really, couldn't we all do a little more? Some of our friends are raising money to feed babies in Ethiopia through Samaritan's Purse. That cause is personal to them since their son is adopted from Ethiopia. I know I need to get brave and actually invite Leo to dinner. What would happen if he joined hands around the table with my kids, my husband, my parents? What about you? Maybe you need to get brave and search out a cause, offer a meal to a friend who needs a break, serve up soup to a neighbor you've never met.

This week I've also been reminded why I love cooking. There's a quiet, creative space in cooking for me. As a busy mama of two and auntie for one or two more children who are frequently at my side, I seldom find solitude at my house. I choose quieting tasks like knitting or cooking to find space to breathe. I know that cooking brings me closer to praying. I was reading Ann Voskamp's "A Holy Experience" blog today and she pressed that part of my soul that needed reminding that "Housework is really being about the work of God — praying, serving, praising. And in these domestic chapels, God, The Very Person of Peace, offers Himself to the congregants." When I'm methodically peeling and chopping a butternut squash or adding spices to a sauce or kneading dough and watching it rise and bubble, I ponder the day. I pour out my failures, my worries, my struggles. A little elbow grease, a little flour on the hands, helps me wade through the dirtiness of a day to the other side where God whispers peace that passes understanding to my soul.

I have to admit I was giddy this weekend, knowing that I had a trip to the farmer's market and grocery store ahead of me. I started making my list in my head and scratching meal plans on paper. I believe there is a kind of worship in feeding my family healthy and delicious foods. Don't hear what I'm not saying. I didn't say I worship food. I worship God by honoring this temple he gave me. I fill up the temple with whole, healing foods.

When we got to the farmer's market in Ontario near my brother's house, my girls and I gravitated toward the berries. These morsels were pricey in the dead of winter but spending money on berries is worth it to me. I'd rather spend my weight in organic berries than fork out cash on medicine. We build berries into our budget especially during these winter cold and flu months. We lovingly call berries the superheroes of the food world. They are ripe with antioxidants for fighting off the bad guys. There's nothing that pleases a foodie mama's soul more than to see my two little girls with berry-stained lips and fingers.

I feel grateful that I have the choice to fill up my pantry. These next few weeks I still have a limited budget but I know I am choosing to line the cupboards and refrigerator shelves with good food. I am thankful for my husband's hours coaching at the gym this month. I am thankful for this season of waiting as our family prepares to move to Haiti and reach out to many there who are hungry.

I want this New Year's Pantry Challenge to truly be a new beginning as we learn more about what it means to live simply, to eat whole foods and to share our abundance. When I'm tempted to whine, I will whisper prayers on behalf of the hungry here in Fresno and in Haiti and around the world.

"For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." - Psalm 107:9

What did you learn these last two weeks?

Farmer and the Dale: Supporting a Local CSA

It's Thursday and that means we just received a special delivery to our front porch. We recently joined a CSA called Farmer and the Dale and they deliver fresh produce to our door every other Thursday. Yes, you read that correctly. They *deliver* a box of fresh fruits and vegetables to us. No need to pile my kiddos in the car. No need to have the proper change. With just a few clicks of the mouse I can place my order, pay through Paypal, and my bank account or credit card are charged. They even deliver in these snazzy recyclable bags or crates.

Isn't this stuff gorgeous? The cost is $30 per box. We signed up to get it every other week so we're talking $15 a week right now. Totally affordable, especially for organic eats.

You might be wondering what a CSA is or how to find one in your area if you don't live in the Central Valley. A CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. These have become popular in the last 20 years as a way for people to buy local, save money and support smaller farmers.  A farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public, which in most cases means a regular box of produce. Another popular CSA in California's Central Valley is T.D. Willey Farms in Madera. We've tried them too. They have great products but we are choosing Farmer and the Dale because they allow us to choose what comes in our box. This allows us to cook and eat the items we desire. Here are some listings of CSAs across the country.

Ericlee's fave: apples. He eats an apple a day so we selected two orders of these. The only problem is my girlies are fighting over these sweet apples now. We'll be lucky if there are any left for Daddy.

Even though it's not tomato season we just decided to try some out. These are grown in a greenhouse. They don't compare to summer tomatoes but they're nice to add to sandwiches. If you order from Farmer and the Dale, please tell them we sent you so we can get our "referral bonus." But don't just trust us, try out a box yourself and make a decision. They have amazing customer service!

A Crossfit Journey: Coach/athlete goes for the goal

By Ericlee Gilmore

On January 1, 2010, I started a journey. My goal was to train for 12 Weeks to prepare myself for The Crossfit Games in San Jose. But I wanted to do more than just train. I wanted to record my progress, my diet, my thoughts on taking on this physical challenge. Below are some journal notes about this process now that I have reached the halfway point.

Sat, Jan 2

I weighed myself first thing in the morning on my bodyfat scale and I have 18.9% Body Fat and weigh 178lbs. My goal is to lose 5% BF and still be about 175 pounds.

I am excited and pumped for this cool opportunity to push my body to the outer limits and be able to compete. All my life I have loved fitness or the idea of being in great shape in all aspects. I played three sports in high school, learned how to do 10 events in College, and even after college I trained in a way that worked my entire body – cardio, upper and lower strength, and core. When I found out about Crossfit in February of 2009 and read the philosophy behind it all, I was impressed to say the least. After teaching Crossfit philosophy to my Analysis of Fitness College class, I respect the program even more.

So what is Crossfit? It is a strength and conditioning system or program that uses varied and random functional movements executed at high intensity. There is a part of me that says I can be in the top 20 and qualify to the Regional competition. Yet the more Workout Of Days (WOD) I do, the more weaknesses I see that shows me that I will not even be close to the top 20.

My plan is to workout with Andrew 3x a week. I will then do another workout at home either by myself or with my wife. The last workout will be some kind of running intervals with Steve or by myself.



Sun, Jan 3

Since Nutrition is at the bottom of the pyramid for an ideal athlete, I am going to watch what I eat more closely and improve my teeter totter – glucose and insulin balance.

Breakfast – whole wheat blueberry pancakes with almond butter and real maple syrup; raw milk and fruit and greens smoothie

Lunch – Leftover salmon with rice pilaf and salad

Dinner – Ground Turkey whole wheat pitas with feta cheese and lots of greens from out garden



Mon, Jan 4

I saw this WOD last month and wanted to try it at home since I do not need any equipment. 400m lunges for time and count steps. So I did it around my block. I estimate it to be about 450m long give or take some. Not very hard but I did rest about half a dozen times. My time was 12:31 and I had 415 steps. So my goal next time would be under 12min and under 410 steps.



Tues, Jan 5

First day back since the break to the Combat Fitness, Crossfit Affilate in Fresno, where I work and train. My training partner was still out of town so I decided to do a girl benchmark workout called Angie – 100 pullups, 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 airsquats. I was already hurting from lunges the day before. But my goal was the same. I wanted to beat 30 minutes. Pullups are my weakness so that took the longest. I must admit I have improved greatly since staring Crossfit. Just over 13 minutes. Then came pushups where were harder than I thought. I guess you can say my arms were tired. That took about 7 minutes. Then the situps and squats were the easiest. My final time was 29:35. I made my goal. As I look online I notice to be better than average I must complete it in under 20 minutes. So maybe 10min for pullups, 5min for pushups, 3min for situps, and 2 min for squats. We will see.



Wed, Jan 6

I had a horrible night last night. I was so sore. I had to take Tylenol in the middle of the night to relieve the pain. Every time I moved my muscles hurt. Where? My legs some but the majority of the pain is in the upper body. My biceps and back are killing me. I cannot extend my arms all the way out. So I look a little deformed. I cannot reach up for anything because of my back muscles. It was so hard to put my shirt on this morning. I had trouble reaching the top shelf of the cubbard. To say the least, I only did a very easy run with my wife this morning. That loosened up my legs a little bit but my upper body is still very bad.



Thurs, Jan 7

I have recovered a little but I am still in much pain in my arms and back. I had trouble carrying my 11mon old daughter. I decided just to warmup only. Andrew, my training partner and coach, motivated me to do at least that much. After the warmup, my muscles did feel better and I could stretch them a little farther. The problem is now I have a two day set back. I have a rest day tomorrow and then we will see how I feel on Saturday. I will do some kind of WOD in the neighborhood of our friends house in the Bay area. Once again these are the times I wish I could call up Barry Sears and ask him this question, “How does a 35 year old recover quickly from an intense workout?”



Sat, Jan 9

Slept in because I felt a headache coming on. So no workout today. I am actally feeling better today. I have spring in my step again and my arms can extend straight. Look forward to Mondays workout. I am reminded again of fish oil and how it can help recovery. I need that more than ever after what happened this week. Maybe I can by the expensive fish oil for the last 6 weeks of training.



Mon, Jan 11

Week 2. Short but good. Sprinted about 100yds and then rested 30 seconds and then sprinted back. Performed 12 reps of shoulder press with resistant band. I did five reps of that or 10 sprints. I should of done 10 reps but that was good. I have a long way to go. Maybe two weeks from now I wil do that. I am also fasting today for spiritual and physical reasons. I need Jesus more than ever as I start my second semester of teaching at a University and as I get more serious about training. Fasting is always a sacrifice which reminds me of the sacrifice that Jesus had when he died on the cross. To train for these sectional games is also a sacrifice. I know that my GI tract needed a rest. Look forward to this week of training.

Fri, Jan 15

Just like that, we are almost done with week 2. Since school started this week I was a little busy preparing to teach my classes. I wanted to write down the workouts I did this week. Today I am resting and I am very glad. On Tuesday we did some technique and skill of the snatch. Then we worked on power 3x5. We finished with the WOD of Row 500 and 30 Wall balls for 20 minutes. My goal was 5 and that is what I did. I have about 30 seconds left to get 10 more wall balls and I did it with three seconds to spare. The more I do these workouts, the more I realize how similar they are to a interval. Work hard, rest, work hard, rest. The problem is that you are doing something else and not really resting. I am resting from rowing but I have to rest while performing 30 wall balls. I am resting from the wall balls while I have to row 500 meters. I need to have a shift in my thinking. I need to go hard because I know I will be able to rest during the next exercise.

On Wed, I ran with my friend about 4 miles. It was a good day to get the lactic acid out of my legs. Next time we are going to do more intervals to get my mind and body use to that mentality. On Thursday we flipped the day. After warming up we did the WOD which was Elizabeth and not Fran because my body is still not ready for pullups. 45 cleans at 135# is a lot of work. But little by little, I got the job done. The ring dips is something I must improve on. I could not do more than 4 in a row. My partner was already done with Fran (6 min) but I was not even half way. I finally finished in 14:35. After a 10 minute recovery we did 4 sets of handstand holds from 30 second to 60 seconds and finished with 3x5 of front push press. My last set was 132lbs. So what is my goal for the Olympic lifts. Snatch – 150, Cleans – 175, Deads – 300, Push Press – 150.



Mon, Jan 18

It is crazy how fast the days go by and I have not written anything. Saturday was a great day because my family came to the Crossfit gym. It was already closed so it was just my training partner and another friend. My 3 year old daughter was so excited to see the place. She was very disappointed when Velocity closed back in November so she was looking forward to coming to the new gym. The WOD was called Bionic. It was 7 rounds of seven of the following exercises – Thursters 95, Pullups (chest to bar), ring dips, and burpees. Since I was still weak from my 100 pullups last week I had to do jumping pullups instead. I did double the amount and still the whole WOD took 21 minutes. The best thing about the whole day was that I was able to take my wife through a WOD. I gave her 5 rounds of Row 250 and 10 wall ball with 10lbs ball. She was very tired but really liked it. My daughter loved the rowing machine as well as the rings. My youngest daughter (1 year) love to crawl around and watch us workout. It was a great day.

Today I met up with Andrew to do the Lumberjack 20 but it started to rain and so we had to go inside and change it up. So we decided to do three different excises but go full tilt on each one with 3-5 minute rest between the exercises. The first was Thrusters. We did 21 at 99lbs to practice Fran. It took us 50 seconds. After the rest we did 1000 row. I was shooting for under 4 minutes and I made 3:39. Finally we did 100 double unders. This was my weakest one. My partner did it in 2:10 and it took me 4:28. I am finding so many weaknesses. I wanted to know my Deadlift max so we found that out too. 264. That is horrible. We finished with some grip strength exercises and practiced handstand pushups. Someday I will be able to go all the way down.

Only 10 weeks left.



Thurs, Jan 21

On Tuesday, we tested my max for the power clean. I am so rusty on all my Olympic lifts. Practice is the only way to get better. I also realized that I need more protein since I have kicked up my workouts to four sometimes five a week. So I did 75k or 165lbs. I also did max rep for the snatch too – 55k (121lbs). After being discouraged about that we did the WOD. We added walking lunges with plate (25k) over head to Annie - 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 of Lunges, Double-unders, and situps. So it took me 21:11 and for Andrew 17+. So far I have only beaten him on two WODs. Hopefully today will be three. Too bad he is not competing because I know he would do very well. I did not run on Wed due to physical fatigue and spiritual issues.



Fri, Jan 22

So I finally have my max for everything except back squat. Bench – 165; Front Squat - 209; Snatch - 121; Cleans – 165; Deadlift – 264; Push Press ?. So now I have something to improve on. Here are my new goals. Bench – 187 (85k); Front Squat – 264 (120k); Snatch – 143; Cleans – 187; Deadlift – 308; Push Press – 198

Once again we confirmed that the WOD must always be last. After warmup we have to do technique, stength/power, and finally the WOD. We did 135 Clean and Jerk 10x and 30 GHM situps 3 rounds – 13:18. I was aiming for 12 minutes. I know I lost focus the last set. We then lifted Front Squat and bench 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 going up in weight each time. Finally we learned the first progression of Muscle Ups and that was easier than I thought. So how many excises do I need to be proficient?

DoubleUnders Ring Dips Clean Thrusters OH Squats Knees to Elbow

Wall Ball Pullups Snatch Box Jumps HS Pushup Feet to Bar

Rowing Muscleups Dead Sumo HP Rope Climb 400 run

GHM Situp pushups Press Burpees 1 arm Snatch 5k run

GHM Extension Situps Bench Single leg squats Kettlebell swings Uphill run with weight



Mon, Jan 25

Saturday was a great workout by myself. I had lots of things on my mind because it was a very difficult week emotionally but I pushed through. I took a barbell with weight to the track to do the workout. 10 rounds for time of Overhead Squat 110lbs x 10 and 400m run. I wanted to average 3 min for each round and keep the 400 under 2 minutes. Here are the splits: 38, 1:46/ 48, 1:58/ 49, 2:04/ 48, 2:06/

54, 2:13/ 57, 2:16/ 59, 2:28/ 47, 2:14/ 45, 2:19/ 43, 1:53 = 29:26

At halfway, my time was 14:06 but I knew the second half would be tough. I am glad I did this workout because of the length of it. I feel I have this sticking problem around 15-20. I need to train longer than that so my endurance can improve. After drinking some water my last three rounds were much easier. This morning I ran with another friend and we did 4x800 total miles was 4. Our splits were 2:58, 3:18, 3:18, 3:06 all around 3 minute rest which was not exact. I think I am going to meet with him every Monday leading up to the qualifier. That will greatly increase my cardiovascular confidence.



Fri, Jan 29

I cannot believe that the week went by and I did not write anything. I apologize. Here is the routine of our workouts. We have a rountine now since we are finishing on month. We warm-up for 30min using a variety of drills that we mix and match. Then we move on to skill which most of the time is gymnastic in nature. Next is the strength component. Sometimes this is a skill too because I am learning how to be more efficient in lifting a bar. The strength is anywhere from 75% to 100% of our max. We finally end the day with a WOD that kicks our buddy. Total time is 2 hours. On Tuesday our skill was handstand holds with no wall, muscleups with the help of my legs and then jumping pullups from a 4 inch platform which I was able to achieve two of them. For Strength we did 3x3 of deadlifts 100, 110, 120k. The WOD was from the internet site. Thrusters x7 at 135 and row 500 – 5 rounds 19:59. I only lost to Andrew by 30 seconds. Sweet.

On Wednesday I debated if I should run or not. I was so tired from going to bed late and waking up early. My goal of 7 hours of sleep each night is not working. So I convinced myself to do something fast. I ran three laps around my block but got faster each time. I rested about 70 seconds each time – 1:55, 1:45, 1:41. I now have a standard and I know what to shoot for.

Thursday was a great day because we decided to practice a lot of the skill gymnastic exercises during the warmup. We did handwalks for 20 yards. I am actually getting better. We also did some kipping pullups and some chest to bar pullups which I had to jump from a platform. If we have to do chest to bar for the competition, I am toast. Today we did two strength routines. First we did a power clean complex 3x3 of 60k, 65k, 70k. This complex is five different progressions to make one rep. It also helped with form and grip strength. This was tough. I think I slightly hurt my knee because of my bad form. The second strength routine was deadlifts. 5 x DL every minute for 10 minutes. The load was 80% which was 100k. It was easier than I thought. Finally we did the WOD which Andrew made up to work on some weaknesses – 5x ring dips, 5x pullups, and 30x Double Unders. How many rounds in 20 minutes. I could only manage 9 rounds and Andrew lost count but he did at least 15. I was smooth on the pullups but the ring dips were difficult. I could only do two at a time. But the hardest was the DU. It was definitely a metabolic conditioning exercise. I am proud to say that I had 30 seconds to do 30 DU so I could complete 9 rounds and I did it.



Mon, Feb 1

I am done with four weeks. I feel great and excited about the next 8 weeks. I just purchased some fish oil pills to help with the recovery and stamina. It is not the top of the line but I know it will help a little bit. The workout on Saturday ripped up my hands but at least I was able to do it. The wod was Joshie but I did not do the “L” pullups but just kipping pullups. 21 right arm snatch 40lbs, 21 pullups, 21 left arm snatch, 21 pullups – 3 rounds. So really I did 126 pullups. My time was 21:49. I will not be able to do pullups for about a week because of my blisters. Since I was not competing against Andrew, I think I was resting too much. Today I did not meet with Steve to run so instead I did my traditional 3.3 loop and ran 23:57. My goal is still under 22. I have done that but it was not early in the morning. Just found out that there are 300+ athletes signed up for the NorCal sectionals. I do not know how many are men but that is not as big as what I thought it would be considering all the Crossfit gyms in the bay area.



Wed, Feb 3

Can I just say that I really appreciate Andrew, my workout partner/coach, who designs the workouts each day. That really takes the stress off of me to figure out what to do for each day. Yesterday I have three breakthroughs. I first did a muscleup from the ground rather than a raised platform. Eventually I will have to do it where my feet are not touching the group. Next I did my first Handstand pushup where my head touched the pad. The secret is in the wider hand placement. The last breakthrough was with the deadlift. After doing Jerk 5x3 starting at 60k and working my way up to 80k we moved to squats. This was the first time that my max was about the same as Andrew. Next we did a super set of handstand pushups and squats - 2x5, 2x4, 1x3. I started at 70k and worked up to 110k. My max for jerk is 176 and for squats it is 242. I needed help from Andrew on my last set of squats. The WOD was 5xDL and 10xburpees for 5 rounds. The weight of the DL was 275. My max is only 265. I did a practice one. I did the first round but no more. I have to take off 10k to finish the rest of the rounds. It was extremely hard. My back is feeling it today. My time was only 8:33. I am making progress. I am excited. On Wednesday I did the 2k row to see my time. 7:42! It is all about feeling the pain and having correct form. I know and I must get under 7 minutes. That is 1:45 every 500m. That is fast. But maybe not in relation to others. We will see.



Fri, Feb 5

Thursday was a bad day. All the lack of sleep caught up to me and I was hurting. I had one of my migrain headaches and my muscles were just physically tired. So after the warmup which was done barefoot to work on some strength in the lower leg and foot we decided to cut out some of the workout. By the way, my handwalks have dramatically improved. It only took me ten tries to go the distance. Next time I am going for five. We did OH squats and bench and took out thrusters. On the OH squats I did 3x5 of 40k, 50k, 60k. I think I could of done more. On the Bench we did 5, 5, 4, 4, 3 of 110, 132, 154, 154, 176 but Andrew helped me on it. I was so tired after that, I wanted to call it quits but Andrew convinced me to do a short WOD because I cannot be training for the games and not do a WOD. So instead of the long one he had planned we did Karen again which was 150 Wall Ball Shots. We wanted to rest our hands so they could heal completely from the blisters. We destroyed it with a time of 6:47. Last time I did 8:35. Big improvement. I need to start doing all the benchmark workouts again so I can see the improvements. The day started bad but ended on a high note. God is good. I look forward to the rest day today.



Tues, Feb 9

On Saturday I had to be in the class that my partner was teaching. So I missed out on the strength work and some skill work. The WOD was 10min of Handstand pushups, 5min of squats, 2min of pullups, 1min of pushups. My totals were 63, 206, 22, and 29 = 320. I actually did better than Andrew. The intensity was not there but it was still a good workout. On Monday I actually did two workouts. I ran 3x400 and got faster each time. My rest was about 70-90sec. I ran 1:44, 1:42, 1:38. My goal next time is to keep all of them under 1:40. After jogging a lap I did the 400m lunge. I beat my time by 20s – 12:10 and I took only 402 steps compared to 415. I look forward to the workout today because we will have to go long.

There are 14 specific workouts that I want to do or redo to get a better time before the sectionals. Cindy, Diane, Fran, Grace, Helen, Jackie, Linda, Kelly, Mary, DT, Filthy, FGB, Max pushups, and Max pullups.



Thurs, Feb 11

I did the Crossfit challenge workout on Tuesday. It was killer again. Row in calories, Burpees, Sumo High pull (88lbs), Kettlebell Swing (24k), Wall Ball Shot (20lbs), and Thrusters (88lbs). The reps were 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6. Back in October it took me 44min and this time it took 38:20. I am making improvement. I had to do it by myself because Andrew’s back was shot. Before the WOD I did 4x3 of snatch 50k, 55k, 60k. Next was the complex of power cleans to Front squats to Jerk 3x3 of 60k, 70k, 75k. I really liked that. Finally I ended it with Bench – 5,4,3,3 of 60k, 70k, 75k for the rest. This is still a weakness.

On Wednesday I went on a run with the team I am coaching. Easy mile there and easy mile back. Today we started to work on all the workouts I still want to improve or do. Today was Cindy. After working on Dip Snatch Balance, Snatch Balance, and Hang Squat Cleans (60k, 70k, 80k), I finished with hang clean pulls. My goal was 20 for Cindy (5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats). How many rounds in 20 minutes? My previous best was 16 but that was at home on a difficult pullup bar because my knees are bent. Today I almost had 19. I was 12 squats short. Andrew did 21 rounds. Pushups definitely slowed me down. I can see now why having a big max for the bench will help with pushups. My chest was so fatigued that I could not go any faster. One down 13 more to go.



Half way on my Journey. Six weeks to go.



Tues, Feb 16

On Saturday I trained in the afternoon so I could sleep in and it was superb. I performed Jackie and the time I was going for was 8:00 or at least 8:05 which was Jon’s time. In my mind I thought I could be around 8 minutes. After doing my 10 minute workout of 5 x Dead Lift at 242lbs every minute and then moved on to back squats. I ran out of time so I just did 3x5 of 220. I had to hurry because one of my clients was coming in. 1000m row, 50 thrusters 45lbs and 30 pullups. I was at 6 minutes when I started the pullups. My final time was 8:02. I was excited because I beat Jon’s time but still realizing that pullups will always be a weakness. On Monday Andrew and I went to the track for Helen - 400, 21 x KBS 24k, 12 pullups – three rounds. After a good warmup, we proceded in the fog. I thought I was going to do better. The 400 really hurt me. I knew 8-9minutes was out when the first round took 3 minutes. My final time was 10:23 which was about 40sec slower than Andrew’s time. I wonder if I hold back when Andrew is there. I sure hope not. There is a part of me that wants to do that again two weeks from now so I can beat 9 minutes. We will see.



Wed, Feb17

Another great day. I am retesting all max in all the lifts to see the progress. I improved by 11lbs in the snatch – 132 and I improved by 12lbs in the bench – 176.

We then did the Chipper WOD from the 2009 games. We did not perform the Muscleups correctly but we still accomplished the WOD. The winning time that day at the games was 19:46. I did it in 32:06. Even with the modified muscleups that took me 6-7 minutes. Andrew beat my by 5 minutes. I need to learn to rest less and push more. Here is the WOD. 30x 155 squat cleans; 30x Toes to Bar; 30x Box jumps; 15x Muscleups; 30x 40 dumbell Push Press; 30x Double Unders; 15x 135 Thrusters; 30x Pullups; 30x Burpees; 300ft walking lunges with 45lb plate held over head. I am learning with these longer workouts how to press harder. I am making progress. One area that I did not make progress in is my weight. I weight on Sunday because it was the half way point and I had gained 4-5 pounds and 1 percent in body fat. I was very confused. So I think I will go back to what I was doing which is no food after dinner or no food after 8 p.m.

Saturday Pantry Challenge: Grand Finale Harvest Pumpkin Chili

What's for Breakfast:
Pumpkin Pancakes

Snacks:
Pretzels
Almonds
Dried Fruit
Zookies

What's for Lunch:
Leftover Italian Wedding Soup
Spiced Egg Salad Sandwiches
Organic Applesauce

What's for Dinner:
Harvest Pumpkin Chili (Recipe below)
Whole Wheat Toast
Toasted pumpkin seeds

Today was Day 6, our grand finale to this crazy Great Pantry Challenge. We are pretty excited to have made it through this week. The goal was to save money and reflect on what it is like to use what we have (not what we buy or import) like so many others in the world are forced to do on a regular basis. The result was eating pretty creatively and learning some great lessons in the process.

Lessons we Learned this Week:
1. Monday: Cooking extra servings or batches makes an easy meal for another night.
2. Tuesday: The key to good eats is living in community.
3. Wednesday: Be creative with what you have.
4. Thursday: You save more if you stay out of the store.
5. Friday:  Fresh fruits and veggies are a must.
6. Saturday: The more you save, the more you have to give away.

The best part of this challenge was doing it with friends. I know several friends including Brandy, AnnMarie, Jen, Katie, Sandra and Susan were joining us. I gained a lot from walking the journey with them, reading their blogs and hearing their comments and encouragement along the way.

Our family has decided to start a new challenge as a result of what we've learned this week. Our friends inspired us to do this one. We plan to eat rice and beans every Monday night from now until Christmas. In a small way, this will force us to eat simply like many of our friends in Haiti and across the globe. Sure, we will save money in the process. Beyond that, we also hope this meal will serve as a time for meditation and prayer for those who have less than we do.

Today is Halloween, which we don't really celebrate, but we do feel the effects of lots of candy and treats being around. We struck a deal with our daughter Meilani that if she trades in all the candy people give her(the yucky stuff full of high fructose corn syrup and harmful dyes) than she can pick out a toy or other treat. Last year she picked a coloring book and trip to Jamba Juice. When I asked Meilani today what she wanted, she asked if I could buy her this T-shirt. Our friends are adopting two kids from Ethiopia and the proceeds go to the Phillips family adoption and an orphanage in Ethiopia. I did not prompt her to ask for this. She saw me admiring the T-shirts online the other day and remembered. Sure, $15 is a little more than I planned to spend on this trade but how could I pass up such a cause - especially when we just saved a load of money on our Pantry Challenge.

I challenge you to think about ways you and your family can share your abundance with others. Maybe it's inviting a neighbor to a meal. Maybe it's sponsoring a child in an orphanage. Maybe it's having your kids pick out a Christmas gift from the World Vision catalog or Compassion International that they can give to someone across the globe this year. Maybe it's packing sack lunches for the homeless and dropping them off throughout the season when you run into someone hungry on the street. These are just a few ideas of things our family has done in the past. We would love to hear your ideas for other ways to share.

Sometimes this little voice inside me asks, why did I just work so hard to save money on something like a Pantry Challenge when I'm going to give it all away. Seems a little backwards. In reality, it's forwards. Some call it a "Pay It Forward" principle. Others call it "The Treasure Principle." In our family, we have learned that the more generous we are with the food and resources we have, the more blessing we experience in our own home. Pass it on.

Today's meals included Pumpkin Pancakes, a regular on our meal list at this time of year. My hubby loves big breakfasts and we can always use an excuse to throw pumpkin and cinnamon in something. (Ericlee tells me that speaks love to him.) Lunch was a smorgasboard of leftovers - egg salad and Italian Wedding Soup from earlier in the week. Then we assembled our Grand Finale Dinner: Harvest Pumpkin Chili. I keep hearing people talk about "pumpkin chili." I've never had it before. I read a bunch of recipes and took a look at what was left in the pantry. Voila! This new recipe was created. We made it mostly vegetarian because of our lack of meat by the end of the week but next time I might saute up some ground turkey or beef to add to the pot.

A Note from our Nutrition Guy (aka my hubby Ericlee):
Pretty colors on your plate are not only a feast for your eyes but also for your heart.  The pigments that give fruits and vegetables their bright hues are called carotenoids.  The most carotenoid rich foods are the yellow, orange, and red vegetables like pumkins.  These carotenoids are similar to an antioxidant.  They neutralize free radicals (oxygen molecules that cause havoc in the cells) by offering up their own electrons. Thus it helps to prevent your cells from being damaged.  If you want to stay away from cancer, then enjoy this Fall season by eating pumkins in all varieties.  There is actually a higher concentration of carotenoids in canned pumkins than in a raw whole pumkin. 



Harvest Pumpkin Chili

*As is, this is a vegetarian chili because that's what we had in the pantry. I would add 1 lb. grass-fed ground beef or ground turkey for a meat-eater's version.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups butternut squash, 1/2-inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-oz. can organic tomato sauce
1 6-oz. can organic tomato paste
2 cups pumpkin puree (We halved and cooked a small sugar pumpkin for one hour at 250 degrees & then scooped out the flesh for our puree. You could use canned puree as well.)
2 cups organic chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chives, dried or freshly chopped
2 cups black beans (canned or soaked & cooked until tender)
2 cups frozen or fresh corn
*Garnish: Fry up 3 slices turkey bacon and crumble on top or finely chop a small bunch of green onions and put on top chili with sour cream.

1. Heat butter or olive oil a large stock pot. Add chopped onion, carrots, green pepper and garlic and sweat until soft.
2. Add chili powder, chipotle, cinnamon, salt and chives. Stir in and let simmer 15 minutes so flavors meld.
3. Stir in cooked beans and corn. Cook additional 10 minutes.
4. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped cooked turkey bacon or green onions.

Friday Pantry Challenge: Egg Salad Three Different Ways

What's for Breakfast:
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Trader O's
Banana
Juice

What's for Lunch:
Egg salad sandwiches
Grapes
Dried fruit

What's for Dinner:
Black Olive, Green Pepper & Basil Pizza
Baked Sweet Potato Fries & Spiced Aioli Sauce
Zookies



Admittedly, Day 5 has been the hardest because we were used to the challenge but the refrigerator was looking more and more depressing. My eldest daughter also came down with a runny nose. Usually I would work to cure that with a tall smoothie and a bowl of berries or other antioxidants. My choices were slim since we have no more fruit and no freezer stash either. I poured a cup of raw milk, found an Airborne tablet in the cabinet and added that to a glass of water and hoped for the best. In many ways, we could probably go a few more weeks on this challenge but in the fresh fruit department we would be compromising our health if I don't head to the farmer's market this weekend! Lesson learned.
I was still determined to be creative and have a good attitude today about eating what we have. After all, people in the Developing World have maybe one or two - if any - choices a day. My whining would be embarassing.

My creativity today included my own "Pumpkin Oatmeal" by adding 1 tablespoon pumpkin puree along with 1 tablespoon organic raisins to a bowl of oatmeal. I sprinkled the top with cinnamon and the result was a yummy different flavor. (If you want to sweeten it, try a drizzle of a natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup and throw in some nuts for good omega-3s.) My hubby is the type who could eat the same granola for breakfast and the identical sandwich for lunch day after day. Not me. I need variety and so does my daughter.

This afternoon I realized that are usual stash of fruit, veggies and whole grain bars that we use for snacks was seriously depleted so Meilani and I used the last zucchini to make Zookies. This is a recipe we got from a friend and it incorporates healthy plus yummy (chocolate!) all into one great little cookie. Our friend's daughter calls them "Vegetable Cookies" because you can see the shredded zucchini inside but that didn't deter us. They taste like a chocolate-chip macaroon with the extra zest of zucchini flavor.

For lunch, I decided to be creative with Egg Salad. Now I know most people hear "egg salad" and think boring, blah and maybe even barf. But when I'm looking at a nearly-empy refrigerator with more than a dozen eggs left I'm thinking Egg Salad = Extra Special. My first version of Egg Salad earlier this week was a twist on my Curried Chicken Salad, a regular on our lunch menu. My classic version of Egg Salad is an Italian Egg Salad. Must be my roots but I tend to gravitate toward oregano, basil and bay leaves when it comes to the spice department. Our Classic Egg Salad includes those things. The new "snazzy" egg salad we made today used the rest of yesterday's "spiced aioli sauce" from our Baked Sweet Potato Fries. The result was a new salad with incredible nuances of flavor. Meilani and I gobbled ours down. (Recipes below.)

Our dinner tonight was a mainstay for Friday nights - pizza! There's something about Friday that just makes me crave pizza. It's also a great chance to use some of the extras from the week for creative ingredients. Since we've been doing The Great Pantry Challenge this week there wasn't much left in our produce drawers in the fridge. We did find green peppers and basil. We also opened our last can of sliced black olives to top off our Veggie Pizza. And, thank you, God, we had just enough cheese. Tomorrow is our grand finale day - we will see what it holds.

A Note from our Nutrition Guy (aka my Hubby)

A lot of people have misconceptions about the healthiness of eggs. Several years back Americans got all up in arms about eggs causing high cholesterol. The truth of it is that God created eggs as a perfect protein. Usually people who have cholesterol issues do not have it because of their consumption of eggs. Not only have studies shown that eggs do not significantly affect cholesterol levels, but the latest research suggests that eating whole eggs (both whites and yolks) may actually result in improvement in a person's blood lipids (cholesterol) profile.
When we buy eggs, we want the freshest eggs possible. The A Choice would be to buy from a local farm. In Fresno, we get our eggs from Simonian Farms in the Valley. There's also a new egg vendor at the Vineyard Farmer's Market on Shaw & Blackstone. These are fresh eggs laid by cage-free chickens who have been fed organic food. The B Choice would be to buy cage-free organic eggs from a grocery store like Trader Joe's or Costco. The difference is these eggs are from a bigger operation where the stress on the chickens could be more. Stressed out chickens do not lay healthy eggs.


Curried Egg Salad

6  hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon curry powder (I use the Frontier Indian Curry powder from Whole Foods, which is a salt-free, all-natural blend)
1 small zucchini, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
3 tablespoons dried cranberries or raisins
1/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 cup mayonnaise

1. Boil eggs. Meanwhile, chop zucchini and combine with salt, pepper, curry, parsley, cranberries and pecans.
2. Chop eggs.
3. Blend eggs with mayonnaise and add spice-vegetable mixture. Serve on your favorite bread.



Italian Egg Salad

6 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil (dried or fresh)
1 teaspoon chopped bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh parsley

1. Boil eggs. Meanwhile, chop celery and combine with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, bay leaf and parsley.

2. Chop eggs.
3. Blend eggs with mayonnaise and add spice-celery mixture. Serve on your favorite bread.

 
Spiced Egg Salad

6 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon cilantro or fresh basil, finely chopped
1 cup mayonnaise

1. Boil eggs. Meanwhile, chop celery and combine with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander and cilantro.

2. Chop eggs.
3. Blend eggs with mayonnaise and add spice mixture. Serve on your favorite bread.

Wednesday Pantry Challenge: Dessert = Chocolate-Pumpkin Ravioli

What's for Breakfast:
Cranberry-walnut toast with Butter (Dorina)
Trader O's (Meilani)
Ellie Krieger's Maple Granola (Ericlee)
Banana (Ericlee)
Hibiscus-Cranberry Juice (from Trader Joe's)

What's for Lunch:
Curried Egg Salad sandwiches
Leftover Fall Flavors Vegetarian Lasagna (dinner last night)
Grapes

What's for Dinner:
Taco Bar with tortillas, ground beef, cabbage, cheese, salsa, tomatoes, sour cream, avocadoes & rice (by Troy & Allison Vasquez)
Green Salad with Almonds and Avocadoes & Ranch Dressing (by Stacie & Forest Benedict)
Dessert: Chocolate-Pumpkin Ravioli (recipe below)

Day Three of The Great Pantry Challenge solidifies more of my theory from yesterday: Living out of our pantry has been no real sacrifice because we live in community. Tonight we enjoyed a fabulous dinner with our Small Group friends. We get together with three other couples and their kids every other week for a shared meal and a chance to support each other in this season of life. We each bring an assigned part of the meal - Salad, Side Dish, Entree or Dessert. We rotate houses so the family hosting doesn't feel the burden of the Entree (and the dishes) too often. For the last five years we have celebrated community through food, conversation around the table, prayer and encouraging our kids to play together.

Tonight it was our turn to bring the dessert. Since it's fall, I had to bust out my favorite fall flavors - pumpkin & chocolate. (Yes, that's what was in the pantry!) At first, I thought about some kind of chocolate tart but I didn't really have time to mix up a crust, chill it and roll it out. After scrounging through the refrigerator and cupboards, I also found some wonton wrappers from the cooking contest I entered at The Big Fresno Fair two weeks ago. I thought about a dessert I saw an Italian chef once make - Chocolate Ravioli. What about Chocolate-Pumpkin Ravioli? That's a Harvest party in your mouth as far as I'm concerned. (Find recipe below.)  The warm chocolate melded with the spiced pumpkin inside a crispy wonton is so flavorful we all wished there were more.

My favorite part of this challenge is that it forces me to be creative with what I have. Who says we can't eat healthy and delicious food? Who says eating out of the pantry has to be boring? Not me. That's why I tackled dessert tonight with the enthusiasm of a die-hard football fan at a home game. This is how new recipes are created. I encourage you to try something new this week. Grab a few ingredients you always have on hand and see what happens when you marry them together. It might just be a family hit!

A Note from our Nutrition Guy (aka my hubby Ericlee):
Chocolate is not only a yummy treat, it also happens to be a great choice for dessert if you do it right. Some chocolate choices are high in sugar, high fructose corn syrup and other harmful chemicals for your body. Chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa is better for you. Choose chocolates that are labeled "semi-sweet" or "dark chocolate" and avoid milk chocolate or chocolate with other additives.

You've probably heard that chocolate is full of antioxidants. What are antioxidants? They are compounds that protect our cells from damage. Call them the policemen of your body. Policemen keep our city safe and fight off the offenders. Antioxidants do the same. They keep our body healthy and fight off cancer cells.

With Halloween right around the corner, you might choose a chocolate bar over a piece of hard candy filled with poisonous dyes. Trader Joe's as well as other stores are selling small-sized chocolate bars (with no additives) just for the occasion. That is, if you're looking for an alternative to the mainstream Halloween treats. We trade our daughter for non-food items or Jamba Juice cards.



Chocolate-Pumpkin Ravioli

Ingredients:
1 cup organic pumpkin puree (canned or from a baked sugar pumpkin)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate bar, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon cream cheese or mascarpone cheese, softened
1 egg
30 wonton wrappers
olive oil spray or 2 tablespoons olive oil (& pastry brush)
3 tablespoons organic butter

Garnish:
mini chocolate chips
mint leaf
whipped cream

1. Mix together filling ingredients: pumpkin, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, chocolate and cream cheese in a small bowl.
2. Cover two cookie sheets with parchment or waxed paper.
3. Beat egg in small bowl and set at work station with pastry brush.
4. Brush the edges of a wonton wrapper with egg. Add teaspoon of filling to corner of wonton wrapper. Fold wrapper at a diagonal, forming a triangle shape. Press edges together . Lay out on cookie sheet. Continue filling wontons, (I like to do two at a time) until they are all filled.
5. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray wontons with olive oil spray or brush with olive oil. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
6. Remove from oven and serve 3-4 at a time on a dessert plate. For garnish, sprinkle with mini chocolate chips, a mint leaf or add a spoonful of whipping cream.

*This is a dessert you will want to do the final steps right before serving so the chocolate is warm and melty.

8 Baby Steps to a Healthful New Year

Tonight I was invited to speak at our church to a group called MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) about "Healthy Living & Menu Planning." I was trying to think about a simple tangible way to express some of the steps our family has taken over the last two years on this "healthy living journey."

My friend Brandy suggested I make a list of baby steps for moms to start taking with their families. It's not that we're leaving you dads out, but mamas do have a lot of influence on food choices. I fully recognize that each family is unique and we all have history and habits to overcome. For some, they may tackle one baby step for the whole year of 2009. Others make work at it gradually through the days and months. I'm big on baby steps. I don't believe in "cold turkey" new year's resolutions that often expire even before we change the calendar to February.

The following are 8 Baby Steps, which are actually adult-sized steps in a lot of ways, to a healthier, happier you. I don't advocate diets. My dream is to inspire people to enjoy delicious, healthful, diverse food created by God.

Here's what I shared tonight:

1. Read labels.
The first step to improving your health is paying attention to what you're eating. Check out the ingredients list on food already in your pantry, refrigerator or next time you go to the grocery store. Ingredients are listed in order from highest quantity to lowest quantity. We avoid foods that have lots of chemicals and dyes or unfamiliar ingredients. If it says, high fructose corn syrup or has sugar as the first ingredient, we put it back on the grocery shelf and walk away slowly.

2. Cut fast food.
Most of us know fast food is the pits but we don't take the steps to get rid of the convenience of taking the kids through drivethru on a rushed night. Watch some of the recent documentaries like "Super Size Me" or "Fast Food Nation" and you'll discover plenty of reasons to rid your diet of these highly-processed, empty calorie, heart attacks on a plate. But what can you do on a practical level? Plan ahead. We make a list of our menus on Saturdays, shop for the food on Saturday and Monday, and then have a plan for the week so we don't need those "emergency trips." If you have to make an emergency trip through the drivethru, try a healthier option like Quizno's, In 'n' Out or Chik-Fil-A. These places aren't perfect but they have some good choices.

3. Avoid processed foods.
Pre-packaged, boxed and frozen foods that have a long shelf life are generally processed foods we try to stay away from. These foods have many added preservatives and chemicals that are not good for our bodies. Not to mention that the processing of these foods removes the protective and healing factors found in foods created by God. One baby step may be cleaning out your pantry. Another step if you just have to have that boxed Mac 'n' Cheese or that frozen orange chicken is to try Annie's Organic Mac 'n' Cheese or Trader Joe's frozen orange chicken. Read the labels - less chemicals like MSG, for sure. And a good rule of thumb is "homemade is always better." When you make it at home, you can save money and incorporate more whole foods that rich in nutrients.

4. Avoid white sugar.
This is a big one especially after all the holiday cookies, candies, cakes, etc. But there is a healthier way. It's all about baby steps. If you want to cut white sugar (and a few pounds!) from your diet, start slowly. Trade homemade for store bought. Then look at your cookies, cakes and pie recipes and try cutting the sugar content in half. Train your body slowly. The next step might be looking for sweetener substitutes. For example, honey is a God-created food with hundreds of health benefits. There's also real maple syrup, brown rice syrup and even organic raw sugar, which is still sugar but at least it goes through less processing and chemicals compared to that evil white stuff. Avoid artificial sweeteners at all costs. Aspartame, which is in Nutrasweet, and other fake sugars are neurotoxins and seriously mess with your system. These are worse than white sugar. Time to put down that diet soda.

5. Avoid white flour.
This isn't about losing weight at all but if that's what you're after, chucking the white flour is the way to weigh down. The first step in avoiding white flour is to look for 100% whole wheat options. For example, trade your white Wonder bread for whole wheat varieties available at Costco or Trader Joe's. (Be sure to still check the label for sugar content and strange ingredients.) You can also substitute and use whole wheat pastas and brown rice to get more of those whole grains in your diet. When baking you might try half white-half wheat for starters or try whole wheat pastry flour, my personal fave for desserts. We buy King Arthur brand or Bob's Red Mill, which are both unbleached, unbromated flours - in other words, chemical free! A final step may be experimenting with new protein and nutrient-packed flours like spelt, amaranth and others.

6. Incorporate more fruits & vegetables.
The average kid eats one fruit or vegetable per day - at best. My husband was a Physical Education teacher and he found this to be true. Many moms have heard of the 5-a-day plan but it's much harder to get kids to comply. Our bodies need more like 9-10 fruits and vegetables a day. For our family, the first step was having fun and exploring the diversity of fruits and veggies God's created. We try to eat a variety of colors. The next step is to look for locally-grown produce, which tends to be riper and have less pesticides because it has less distance to travel. We take a weekly trip to the farmer's market and local fruit stands to fill our fridge with cheap, luscious produce. The final step, of course, is going organic. We buy organic foods like berries, lettuces, peaches, etc. that don't have a protective skin. We also try at least one to two vegetarian meals a week to help compensate.

7. Incorporate more omega-3s.
The ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s (bad cholesterol) in the American diet is 1:20 even though it should be closer to 1:4 for good health. Our diets are heavy on the omega-6s. We made the step to start incorporating more omega-3-rich foods into our menus. These include walnuts, flaxseed, dark leafy greens, soy, salmon, trout, halibut and eggs. Flaxseed, for example, is very cheap to buy in bulk (try Winco!). I grind it in my coffee grinder and throw tablespoons-full into our smoothies, homemade breads, soups, stews and sauces. It doesn't have a taste and it's wonderful brain food! We also eat fish at least once a week now and I've discovered a host of yummy fish recipes. I grew up thinking I hated fish - my taste buds have definitely changed.

8. Incorporate more quality meats in your menus.
One of the biggest steps for us (since I grew up in a carnivorous family) has been eating less meat and buying more quality. Our first step was cutting the amount of meat we eat in half and getting used to other sources of protein like beans and whole grains. The next step was looking for grass-fed, organic and cage-free options. Since we cut our meat intake in half, we used the same amount of money and applied it to buying these quality meats. One day we hope to buy a whole or half organic cow so we can save by buying in bulk. The final step is cutting "unclean meats" from your diet entirely. For us, that meant saying bye-bye to pork and bottom feeders like shrimp, clams, crabs and lobster.

Again, these are baby steps. Be nice to yourself. Take a few seriously and tackle them together with family members. Make a game plan. Try to think of ways to make eating healthy foods fun. My friend Michelle said she hosted an apple taste-testing night with her family. She bought 10 kinds of apples, sliced them up and let the kids debate. You could do this with veggies, fruits and more. My friend Cindy strategically keeps sliced veggies like "trees" (broccoli) and carrot sticks out on her kitchen counter all the time so her kids get the idea that these are snacks that are always available.

I'd love your feedback. Are you taking baby steps in 2009 with your family? What steps have you already taken? Success stories and hard journey stories are welcome. Questions that provoke research are also welcome. That's how I learn. Thanks for joining us on the journey as "honor God with our bodies" (1 Cor. 6:19) in this new year.

Dorina's 5 Penny-Saving Shopping & Cooking Tips

Looking to save a few dollars? Wondering how to make fancy meals on a fixed budget? Feeling overwhelmed about what to make on the weeknights? I hear what you’re saying! I often hear my friends say, “How do you make all these great meals without grocery shopping every day?” Bottom line is: I don't grocery shop every day & I plan ahead.

1. Make a shopping plan:
-I make a list of menus for the new week on Saturdays. Then I write out my shopping lists and head for the store. (Check out the Menu Planner at www.health-full.blogspot.com for daily and monthly ideas for meals. I always love to share recipes if you don’t find them on my blog.)
-I go to Trader Joe’s and my local farmer’s market (Shaw & Blackstone) once a week for my regular groceries. I buy weekly staples (I’ve compared prices) and local specials (always a cheaper option). I try to go for ingredients that are in season.
-I frequent Costco once a month for bulk items like organic meats, shredded cheese, Organic tomato sauce and paste, honey, oatmeal and some spices.
-I go to Winco once a month for healthy bulk supplies like nuts, seeds, dried fruit, honey, fresh peanut butter and spices.

2. Cut down your meat. Buy more quality:
-Consider doing one to two meals a week with a vegetarian flair. Don’t worry. You don’t have to make it a meal of brussel sprouts. Make it something fun like Veggie Pizza, a Homemade Soup with farmer’s market finds or Pancake Night.
-I know what you’re thinking. “Dorina, I’m not into that vegetarian stuff.” I grew up a staunch carnivore so I feel your pain. Our decided to take it gradual. We kept our meat budget the same but substituted for about half the amount in organic and grass-fed meats. There’s something to be said for the hormone-free beef and free-range chicken. Let’s pump our kids with good stuff, not the hormones, chemicals and preservatives that will be harmful to them down the road.
-Then my husband suggested (yes, he did!) we go for one vegetarian meal a week. Because we changed slowly over a longer period of time, it didn’t feel like a fad diet that gets old. It became a habit!

3. Buy local & bulk when you can:
-We live in the Central Valley of California, which happens to be full of the nation’s finest foods. (No bias, really. Our produce and goods are shipped all over the world.) There’s no reason to spend your loot buying expensive foods shipped in from other parts of the country. Check out your local farmer’s markets and fruit stands for deals.
-I love the Orange Store on Shaw and Maroa. (Feel free to find your own local farm stand.) They have fresh fruits and veggies every day of the week at reasonable prices. I often go for the “sale boxes” of peaches or plums or apples. These are sometimes the smaller or ripest specimens so they need to sell fast. Use them right away or cut them up and freeze them for smoothies and desserts.
-Buying in bulk is also a great way to save. I take advantage of the bulk foods bins at places like Winco, Whole Foods and Pacific Grains & Foods on Shaw. Plan a once a month stop at these bulk bonanzas, store your goods in bags or jars in the freezer and save a ton of moolah! You might even consider buying a whole cow (no joke!) and freezing the meat if you have the space.
-Be open to experimentation. I love to go the Shaw & Blackstone Vineyard Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings and talk to the vendors. They have great ideas for recipes. And there are always some dishes like quiches, soups or stews that can be improvised with whatever ingredients are on sale and in season. This style of cooking is creative, flavorful and cheaper!

4. Plan leftovers:
-I make at least one meal a week that can go a long way (as in into the freezer for later in the month or into a casserole dish for alter in the week.) For example, I do big versions of Tomato-Meat Sauce, Pesto Sauce, Enchiladas, Chili, Pecan-Crusted chicken that can double for Chicken Parmesan or a Chicken salad on another night.
-Use your weekend time for cooking these big meals. Weeknights can be stressful. Maximize time on a day when you might be home cleaning or gardening or resting anyway and let that pot of tomato sauce or stew sit on the burner.

5. Put your kids/family to work:
-Most people are afraid to let their kids hang out in the kitchen when they are cooking because they don’t want them to a) get hurt b) make a mess. I say teach your little ones to cook with you – even doing simple jobs – to make your cooking more fun and less of a chore.
-My 2-year-old daughter and I make the family granola recipe every Sunday or Monday. She loves pouring all the oats, nuts, seeds and such into the bowl and mixing them with her hands. The textures are fun for her.
-Yes, we have an occasional “ingredients food fight” in our kitchen but I always choose to cook with her the day BEFORE I do my mopping.
-Build these habits now with your kids and in the future they could be making YOUR dinner.

Healthy Thanksgiving: It's All About Baby Steps

Are you ready for the feast? Some of you have been putting together your menu for weeks. Others will probably shop in the next few days for the same ingredients for the same dishes you make every year. After all, Thanksgiving is about tradition. Right?

We're right there with you. But we also believe in baby steps toward making holiday traditional meals into healthy fare. Each year we've tinkered with a few recipes and tried new variations to start our own healthy Thanksgiving traditions without going "cold turkey" on the family.

The first year after we consciously started our healthy eating journey we started by looking at our menu and eliminating the "worst" recipes. In our family, that meant ditching the sweet potatoes with a pound of brown sugar and marshmallows on top. We also traded pecan pie, which is basically a corn syrup soup (ugh!) for apple pie using local apples. We also tried out some new recipes like homemade cranberry sauce rather than that canned stuff.

Last Thanksgiving we incorporated more healthy recipes. Mom Lazo tried out whole wheat crescent rolls made from scratch rather than the ones out of the little Pillsbury tube. We also urged Mom to make her pie crusts out of whole wheat pastry flour and real butter (ditching the white flour and margarine/shortening). Ericlee also requested this stuffing that incorporated wild rice (which is known for its high-protein content - double that of brown rice) and goat cheese instead of the usual cubed white bread-based stuffing. (We saw Bobby Flay mix this new version up on a Thanksgiving cooking show.) The stuffing was a wild hit!

For us, these changes in the menu while maintaining the "integrity" of a traditional Thanksgiving are baby steps. We didn't spring Tofurky on the crew. We thought of ways we could make old favorites with organic and local ingredients. We decided to reduce the amount of butter and salt in recipes and use natural sweeteners like honey. This year we're adding a homemade Green Bean Casserole (instead of that canned soup kind) and adding our new fave, Banana-Pumpkin Muffins (a greater starter or dessert that uses no sugar at all!)

There's no convincing Ericlee's mom at this point that we don't need two turkeys. Maybe next year? In the meantime, we're dreaming up healthy leftovers with that excess of bird!

This year's menu:

Gorgonzola & Pear Pizza
Whole Wheat Crescent Rolls
Banana-Pumpkin Muffins
Dorina's Butternut Squash Soup

Homemade Green Bean Casserole
Classic Roasted Turkey with Herbed Stuffing
Paul's Teriyaki-injected Turkey
Wild Rice & Goat Cheese Stuffing
Mashed Pecan-crusted Sweet Potatoes
Pomegranate-pear Cranberry Sauce

Pumpkin Tiramisu
Oatmeal-Nut Crunch Apple Pie
Blueberry pie with Oatmeal crunch with Honey Whipped Cream
Organic Italian Pizzelle Cookies

We're interested in a word from you. What healthy additions or subtractions do you have for your menu this year? What questions do you have about how to make a healthier Thanksgiving meal?

Field Trip: Whole Foods brings Local and Organic options to our doorstep

We joined a Mothering & Play Group with some local moms (lots of our friends). On Fridays, we take the kiddos on field trips. Last Friday we went on an educational tour of Whole Foods Market, a national all-natural food chain. We have one a mile from our house and we wanted to explore what they had in the way of affordable healthy foods. The kids couldn't wait to get inside!

Admittedly, the coolest thing about our tour was the SAMPLES we were served in every department of the store. We started off with fresh, locally-grown, organic raspberries. Meilani was a big fan! The produce at Whole Foods is a mix of locally-grown conventional stuff and all-organic. They are very intentional about where they buy produce from and presenting the best quality to customers for maximum taste. This section in particular is pristine and inviting with all the colors of the fruits and vegetables.

One cool fact we found out is the bananas at Whole Foods are from Earth University in Costa Rica. I was really excited about this because I visited Earth University during my semester in Costa Rica in college. It's a cutting-edge place where they are reaching out doing community development and growing and selling fruit. They reach out to women particularly and help them build small businesses through a microloan program subsidized by their organic banana production. Pretty cool!

Next stop: the seafood department. Our guide let the kids touch a real crab and we oohed and ahhed over the prepared salmon cakes and homemade clam chowder. Then on to the Meat department to hear about all the range-free and hormone free beef, lamb, pork and poultry. The guy did joke about the prices telling us that some people call Whole Foods the "whole paycheck" store. That might not be entirely true if you know where the bargains are but you will pay a pretty penny for this high-quality meat.

After sampling soy milk, cheese and artisan olives, we ventured into the "prepared foods" section of Whole Foods. This is a healthy food mecca for people who don't like to cook. They have everything from freshly-prepared sushi to deli sandwiches. They served up slices of pizza made in their special brick oven for our tour group of little ones. Bon appetit!

We also went to the bakery with all its impressive fancy cakes and cream puffs. We sampled organic cookies. We also learned about Whole Foods open package policy. Because they have so many unique and special products, shoppers can ask any clerk to open a package and give them a taste. Unbelievable! We ended up in the cosmetic department (my fave) with all their paraben-free lotions and make-up. I scored some sparkly eye shadow and nail polish. We also went home with free samples of Barney Butter (almond butter) and organic soaps. Whole Foods wholly spoiled us!

Journey note:
We go to Whole Foods now about twice a month for specialty produce items, inexpensive staples (especially their coupon deals or 365 brand) and baking supplies (all kinds of natural sweeteners and whole grain flours). We love the prepared food section but we only can afford it if we have a special gift certificate. Looking for a great lunch date? Check out Whole Foods cafe area. They serve up awesome homemade soups and breads daily.