So, it turns out I don’t suck as bad as I thought I did… Well, not yet that is.
Two weeks into The Open and I am still in the 91st percentile of those that signed up for The Open, in the world. I truly thought that I would have fallen more into the 60th percentile range and might very well be there by the end of this… All I can think is there must be a lot of people that signed up that don’t have a few skills that I do. I know that numbers for Open participants are lower this year, so that helps me out. I must admit that I am pretty proud of myself. I am nervous for what is to come though. I am waiting for HQ to do a “mic-drop” and really test some of those skills that I am not so great at or completely lack. (Update: they mic-dropped handstand walking on me, which this girl definitely doesn’t know how to do. We will see how Monday goes! I am pretty excited about this one!)
Doing “well” just makes me want to do better; to keep my percentages up on the last 3 workouts. I can’t learn new skills now, but I can still just keep going as quickly as I can, with the skill set that I do have. It is highly unlikely that I will magically learn how to handstand walk (without my coach holding my feet, thanks Jonathan) in the next few weeks. I love that The Open can give you that kick in the butt to keep you pushing towards your goals.
I will admit. It is a kick that I have needed.
Lately, I have lost a bit of my “fire” in workouts. Ever since my hips have been giving me trouble again, I have had to scale a lot of workouts. For me, this really dampened my fire and made me feel like I was just spinning my wheels.
I have an extra vertebrae that pinches my sciatic nerve just right. It is so much better than it used to be. Before I had Anderson, I could barely stand to sit for extended periods, running was horrible, riding a bike was the worst, and the list goes on. I walked in workouts often. My squat was a joke. After I had Anderson, the pain subsided. It was amazing. Fast forward to Scarlett, I had some crazy nerve “damage”. I don’t really know how to explain it. My arms went numb when I held things too long and when I would lay down. The painful kind of numb. I couldn’t hold anything over my head with my arms angled out. I could hold objects directly above my head, for a short period of time though. Crazy, I know. Thank the Lord that pain went away as soon as I had her. It was the worst thing I had ever experienced.
Now the hip pain is coming back. I am not sure why it has reared it’s ugly head again, but it really put me in a funk. I felt like I was finally on the up-swing and making some actual gains with my squat… Now my squat has gone down, when I was just squatting my PR for two reps easily. Doing 85% of my max feels like 1,000 pounds. I am no closer to a muscle-up, than I was 4 years ago. I am a little bit closer to handstand walking, but not there yet. Injuries/set-backs suck and they can take the wind out of your sail. (Okay, enough whining.)
I truly thought that The Open would just rip a giant hole through my sail and leave me feeling worse. As of today, it has done the total opposite. Now, if I drop to 60% by the end of this, I can’t say that I am going to have the same grateful feelings, but today I am grateful that I signed up. I needed that extra push to not feel sorry for myself and just do me. Waking up so early, day-in and day-out is tiring enough, add to that little to no improvement…it is hard to keep pushing myself. Everyone needs some incentive to keep doing their best. Everyone wants a little pat on the back or words of encouragement. These first two weeks have been my pat on the back.
Next time you are flying past someone in a workout or even if they beat you in a workout, tell them they are doing a great job. Everyone struggles at some point, even if their struggle might not seem like struggling to you. I like to say, it is all relative. What is easy for one person, might be difficult for the next and vice versa. Be the one that encourages people to keep coming back!
New Food Review
- One Sheet Pan Herb Crusted Salmon with Garlicky Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes Delicious. Like always I made changes to this recipe. The biggest change would probably be that I used chicken instead of salmon. 1- chicken is cheaper & 2- I had a full meal worth of extra chicken, why go buy more meat? I did not have all of the herbs on hand, so I used what I had at home. I love rosemary and my mother-in-law has a ton of it, so I used a lot of it on the chicken. The macros on this dish were easy to calculate. I kept everything separate so I could weigh it all out without making a recipe on my app. For 1/2 cup of jasmine rice, 6 ounces of chicken, 3 ounces of green beans, and 20 tomatoes: 295 calories, 38.7 grams of protein, 32.8 grams of carbohydrates, and 2.7 grams of fat.
- Oven Fried Korean Popcorn Chicken I must admit that I was very nervous to make this from a nutritional stand point. No the chicken isn’t fried, but man the amount of carbohydrates just really made me nervous. While I was making it, I decided to use almond flour instead of whole wheat or all-purpose flour. I did this because almond flour has less carbohydrates, but more fat. I didn’t have anything with a lot of fat, but really needed to dial back the carbohydrates to make this work for me. I really worked for this dish. It was a labor of love. Josh and Scarlett immediately started eating the chicken once it came out of the oven. Josh said he would just eat the chicken. Then he dipped it in the sauce. Looooooved it! From a macro stand point, I can say that I will not cook this again, not with the corn flakes at least. I don’t really care if my chicken is breaded or not. So, as far as taste goes, I would totally make this again. As far as macros are concerned, I won’t make this again.
M E N U
Steak Kabobs + Jasmine Rice
Grilled Pork Chops + Citrus Beet Salad
Grilled Pork Chops + Spicy Root Vegetable Bowl
Slow Cooker Chipotle Orange Street Tacos
Sheet Pan Zucchini Chicken Meatballs + Coconut Curry Sauce + Jasmine Rice
Steak Kabobs + Jasmine Rice
We will more than likely do our own spices and do different vegetables (depending on what is on sale), but I linked a recipe for you. I know some people feel like they have to have recipe to guide them in the kitchen and that is okay. The weather is going to be great this weekend, so we will be able to grill some of our meat for meal prep.
I like the marinade they are using with the meat. I don’t typical marinate my meat for kabobs though. Kabobs are typically a weekend meal for us when we can really sit outside and enjoy hanging out. Since we have more than one thing we want to grill for this week, we can do it all Sunday evening after I meal prep the other dishes.
To count macros for this meal, I will make a recipe for the sauce, vegetables, meat, and fruit and make equal servings. I will have to weigh out all the food so that each serving has the same amount. This will make my servings more accurate than scooping out portion sizes. I like for my macros on meals to be as accurate as possible.
*Changes I make to fit my macros.
Ingredients:
about 8 metal skewers (or wooden skewers, soaked in water for 10 minutes)
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
*Omit Oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons honey
*1 ounce
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
about 1.5 pounds boneless top sirloin steak center cut, diced into bite-sized pieces
*Sirloin
1 red bell pepper, diced into bite-sized pieces
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, diced into bite-sized pieces
1 red onion, diced into bite-sized pieces
1 large zucchini, diced into bite-sized pieces
about 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, diced into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper, for seasoning to taste, if desired
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, cilantro, or basil for garnishing; optional
Grilled Pork Chops + Citrus Beet Salad
We are going to throw some bone-in pork chops on the grill while we grill the kabobs to have for the week. Sorry for having the same meat two nights in a row, but easy is what works best right now! Nothing fancy, just a good seasoning and this amazing beet salad.
If you aren’t a fan of beets, I am sorry… (1. how could you not love beets 2. you probably haven’t tried them), TRY THEM! I would opt for the golden beets if you have never had them before. I boil my beets just because it is the easiest. Trust me, I have left my beets in the pot so long before that the water has all evaporated. The beets survived though. Just keep adding some water if they are not soft enough to stick a metal skewer through. Once the beets have cooked all the way through, let them cool and rub the skin off under running water.
This dressing is the main attraction, so don’t go buy any store bought mess!
*Changes I make to fit my macros.
Ingredients:
Vinaigrette
1/4 Cup Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
*Omit Oil
2 Tablespoons Honey
*1 ounce of honey
1/2 teaspoon Stone Ground Mustard
*2-4 Tablespoons
Pinch Salt/Pepper
Salad
Fresh Baby Romaine or a Peppery Greens Salad Blend
Micro Greens
4-5 Cooked Beets - cut into chunks
Goat Cheese Crumbles
*28 grams per salad
1 Orange - segmented
*1/2 cup per salad
Grilled Pork Chops + Spicy Root Vegetable Bowl
This bowl is new, so look out for the review next week! You need a spiralizer for this one.
I know, two beet recipes in one week. Beets are good, I swear! One of my friends threatened to feed her husband beets for supper, ha. I wouldn’t mind that one bit. Josh was very hesitant to try beets. He said they tasted like dirt for the longest time, but now he loves them. It is all in the dressing you use. Promise.
While I love beets, I have never had them spiralized, so I am super excited to try this dish! There is no oil, so I don’t have much I would like to change for this meal. I might add some lemon juice (and leave out the miso) to the dressing because tahini and lemon juice go well together.
*Changes I make to fit my macros.
Ingredients:
1 Red Beet peeled and spiralized
*2 Beets
2 Large Carrots peeled and spiralized
*4 Carrots
1 Daikon Radish peeled and spiralized
The Dressing
1/4 Cup Tahini
2 Tbs Miso
*Lemon Juice
4 Tbs Water
1 1/2 Tbs Sriracha
Juice from 1 Lime or more, to taste
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper
Slow Cooker Chipotle Orange Street Tacos
It must be the warm weather today, because I feel like I have picked some fun summer recipes for this week! It makes me really excited to meal prep and taste everything as it cooks.
I have never made this recipe, but I have made several taco recipes that are similar. Watch for the review next week!
I swear, I did not mean to pick a (another) Half Baked Harvest recipe, it just happened. I was on a different blog and they had this recipe linked, along with several other tacos. I just so happened to pick this one and wouldn’t you know, it is one of Half Baked Harvest’s concoctions. She is a food genius I tell you.
One word of advice is to take it easy on the chipotle adobo pepper. The first time I use these peppers I liked to have killed Josh. They are so spicy, especially when you leave the seeds in. It was even the same kind of salsa with pineapple and all…so this time I will either be leaving them out or do very few of them.
*Changes I make to fit my macros.
Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs or pork shoulder
1 yellow onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2-4 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
*very few or none
1/2 cup Florida's Natural® Brand Orange Juice
*1/4 fresh orange juice
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
corn or flour tortillas, queso fresco, and mashed avocado, for serving
*low carb/high fiber tortilla
SPICY PINEAPPLE SLAW
2 cups shredded purple cabbage
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
*Save some pineapple from the kabobs
1 jalapeño, chopped, and seeded, if desired
*Omit if using chipotle adobo peppers
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
juice of 1 lime
kosher salt
Sheet Pan Zucchini Chicken Meatballs + Coconut Curry Sauce + Jasmine Rice
Now, don’t flip when you see the ingredients list. I swear, that can turn me away from a recipe in a heartbeat. I won’t even bother reading the list if it looks like too many ingredients. I will just keep scrolling on to find something else (easier & less expensive). The list really contains more spices than anything, that you more than likely have at home already.
I am not sure what I am thinking having 3 new recipes this week, but I am up for the challenge!
*Changes I make to fit my macros.
Ingredients:
For the peppers:
1 red bell pepper, cut into medium chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into medium chunks
1 orange bell pepper, cut into medium chunks
*2 Green bell peppers, ! red bell pepper (because I am cheap)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Freshly ground salt and pepper
For the meatballs:
1 pound 94% lean ground chicken or turkey
*Ground Venison
1 cup shredded zucchini that's been squeezed of excess moisture with towel
1/4 cup panko or regular breadcrumbs* (see notes section for GF option)
1 egg
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce:
1/3 cup light coconut milk
2 tablespoons tahini
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon pure maple syrup or honey, to sweeten
*Honey
1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
1/2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
To garnish:
Cilantro and diced green onion
E N J O Y !
