Competition and Weekend Recap + Coconut Flour Pancakes! December 11, 2012

Sorry that this post is so late; my usual afternoon blogging time got cut short due to finishing up some odds and ends around the house and Keenan waking up early. Lately, if Keenan isn’t in bed for his nap by 1:30 (at the latest), he has trouble going to sleep, taking between 30-40 minutes to finally fall asleep. In addition, if he falls asleep later (like he did today), he tends to get up at his usual time between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m., no matter how much or little sleep he got. I can’t figure it out!

Anyhow, look where Peanut was this morning! Keenan wasn’t so happy that she was playing with his tractor and car!

Enjoying a ride on Keenan’s tractor, much to his dislike!

This weekend, she was also found hanging onto one of the Wise Men in our nativity scene. Keenan was glad to see her out of his toys!

Having fun with the Wise Men!

Well, onto my competition…I had a lot of fun and I’m so glad that I did it. I am much relieved, but also proud that I was able to do it and in the Rx (advanced) division. It was tough and after the first WOD of heavy deadlifts, my back tightened up (due to losing my form, something I must work on in order to stay injury-free), so I had to really push myself the rest of the day. I made it through all three of the WODs and accomplished my goal of not coming in last! I placed 20th out of 24 girls in my division, not excellent or great, but not bad for my first time, especially in the Rx division. I learned a lot and saw so many strong women pushing themselves to be the best that they can be. It inspired me to push myself even further, to work harder, be stronger, be faster and never stop trying to be the best that I can be. Some think I am crazy for doing two competitions in a row, but I am really looking forward to participating in this coming Saturday’s team competition (hopefully, I’m fully recovered and not as sore by then!) and pushing myself even harder than I did last weekend. After the holidays, I look forward to signing up for another competition or two, participating in the CrossFit Open and most importantly, working on my weaknesses to become a better CrossFitter overall.

Oh, how I dislike thrusters!

Toes-to-bar!

After the competition, we didn’t do anything exciting, except make a slow drive home in hopes Keenan would take his nap, but of course, he didn’t! Since he stayed awake, we made a stop at Costco since we were out of so many things. That night after we put Keenan to bed, we enjoyed our wonderful truffle brie cheese with some wine, followed by a yummy one-pot meal of sauteed brussel sprouts with bacon, onions and roasted pine nuts, thanks to my husband! It was delish and perfectly satisfying after competing!

So good!

Yesterday, I was exhausted, not to mention sore, so we enjoyed a relaxing day at home, starting with Coconut Flour Pancakes (recipe below)! We looked up a few different recipes and then came up with our own, which was really good, though a tad dry. I’m not sure if it is just the  texture of the coconut flour, or if we need to experiment with adding more liquid (though the recipe has A LOT of liquid!).

Perfect Sunday breakfast!

Later that day, I made a huge batch of pasta sauce that my husband canned (he stayed up until 3:30 am!) for Christmas gifts and to keep us stocked all year long. He is making homemade pasta later this week to go with our sauce. In addition, I also made some candied walnuts, which will be for gifts, too!

Lots and lots of sauce!

Lots and lots of jars of pasta sauce!

Last night, we made some hot chocolate and took a nice walk around our neighborhood looking at Christmas lights. Keenan was mesmerized with all of the lights and LOVED his hot chocolate! He pretty much sucked down his drink before we left the house!  He’s definitely like his father, when it comes to chocolate. After he was done, he kept asking for more! It was fun to see Keenan’s reaction to all of the lights and sounds (some of the homes had Christmas music playing with their displays); his eyes were so big, taking everything in! After we were done and walking home, he kept saying, “more lights please!” It was so cute! We are going to drive to the Fab 40’s later this week to walk through that neighborhood, since they are known for their incredible light displays. I can’t wait for Keenan to see them! The holidays are truly a magical time, especially seeing it through your child’s eyes.

Today was another lazy day at home. Keenan and I enjoyed some piano time playing Christmas songs, and doing some arts and crafts, making Santa and Frosty using cotton balls. He colored Frosty’s hat and “helped” to glue the cotton balls on by getting glue everywhere and cotton stuck to all of his fingers! He kept wanting me to wipe his hands clean only to get them dirty with glue and cotton balls again!

A fun (but messy) project!

Coconut Flour Pancakes: (makes about 10 large pancakes)

Ingredients:

– 1 cup coconut flour

– 8 eggs

– 1 1/2 cups (+ possibly 1/2 cup, more) milk or liquid of your choice

– 1 tsp vanilla

– 2 tbsp melted coconut oil

– 1/4 tsp cinnamon

– 2 tbsp raw honey

– 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

– 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients, except for baking soda, together in a medium size bowl. Mix wet ingredients, except for vinegar, and add to dry ingredients. Let sit for a few minutes.

2. After batter has hydrated, add just enough extra liquid to make a batter that’s too thick to spread by itself. Add in baking soda and vinegar and mix just until incorporated.

3. Using an ice cream scoop, plop batter onto a greased or oiled skillet, spread out batter, and cook for a few minutes per side (until browned on both sides of pancake).

4. Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

*Notes: For the milk, we used some leftover coconut milk, and regular milk. My husband said that he made the batter too thin, and a thicker batter will flip much easier, and not break so easily. He added 2 extra ounces of liquid.

Well, it is late and time for a hot shower (since I’m still in my sweaty workout clothes from CrossFit tonight) and bed. Have a good night!

Questions: What kinds of holiday activities have you done or have planned? What was the highlight of your weekend? How do you like your hot chocolate? I love adding a little Frangelico or Amarula to mine, along with a couple of marshmallows!

REMINDER: There is still time to win a box of the BEST popcorn EVER!! Angie’s Popcorn giveaway ends tomorrow, December 11th at 8 p.m. PST!! Click here to enter!

Friday Favorites December 8, 2012

TGIF! Look where “Peanut” was this morning…sitting on top of our Advent Calendar! Keenan was very happy that she was not playing with his toys and back by the couch!

Enjoying the view from the Advent Calendar!

Anyhow, I’m glad it is Friday, but anxious about tomorrow: my first real CrossFit competition! I didn’t sleep well last night in anticipation for it and I know tonight isn’t going to be any different. I am going to go there tomorrow and do my best, give it 100% and have fun (at least try to!) At the end of the day, I know I will be glad that I competed, but I will also be VERY relieved! My husband and I are planning a special “at home date night” tomorrow night with a truffle brie cheese that we picked up at Costco, as a little reward for competing; I can’t wait!

On Sunday, I’m looking forward to a nice relaxing family day of finishing up our homemade Christmas gifts, baking and looking at Christmas lights in the Fab 40’s neighborhood of Sacramento (such a great place to look at lights!). I can’t wait to see Keenan’s reaction to all of the lights!

Since it is Friday, it is time for “Friday Favorites!” I love Fridays, because it is nice to look back on the week and think about all of the great things that happened and great things we ate! Don’t get me wrong, I love that Fridays also equal the end of a long week and the start of the weekend, too!

Favorite Moments:

• Singing with Keenan in the car to the song, “Someone I Used to Know” at the top of our lungs! He loves that song so much that we have to play it at least twice when we are driving (if he had his way all the time, we would ONLY listen to that song!).

• Baking Paleo Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies with Keenan. As I was adding the chocolate chips, he was taking them out and shoveling them into his mouth!
  

  My little “Baking Assistant!”

• Watching Keenan find “Peanut” every morning and trying not to laugh when he gets so irritated that she is playing with his toys.

• Playing with the box of baby wipes!
  

  Having fun with his empty box of wipes!

• Dancing with my husband and Keenan to Christmas songs and playing “Ring Around the Roses!”

Favorite Eats:

• No Oat Oatmeal with spinach and topped with Coconut Whipped Cream
  
  

  So good!

Serious about his No Oat Oats and Coconut Whipped Cream!

• Paleo Pancakes topped with Coconut Whipped Cream
  

  Such a yummy breakfast!

• Cauliflower Rice (Mediterranean Style)
  

  Such a hearty one-pot meal!

• Turkey Wraps
  

  Still one of my favorite things to have for lunch!

• Slow-Cooker Eggplant Caponata with Chicken
  

  Delicious one-pot meal!

Keenan is waking up, so it is time to head outside for a walk while Keenan rides his trike and then some piano time playing Christmas songs! Have a great evening and weekend!

Questions: What were your favorite moments and/or eats from this week? Do you ever get so nervous for an event/race that you wonder why you signed up in the first place? How do you calm your nervous energy and tell yourself you will be fine prior to an event and/or race? I am a competitive person and have always loved competition, but every time before an event, I get SO nervous! Even though I know things will be okay in the end, I can’t stop feeling anxious.

REMINDER: There is still time to win a box of the BEST popcorn EVER!! Angie’s Popcorn giveaway ends next Tuesday, December 11th at 8 p.m. PST!! Click here to enter!

Weekend Recap + Two New Recipes! November 19, 2012

Happy Holiday week! I hope you had a restful weekend! We had good weekend, but definitely a busy one (not enough rest!).

After coaching the weekend CrossFit class on Saturday (which went great!), we ran a few errands before heading home for Keenan’s nap.

Being silly in the shopping cart at REI!

That night, my husband and I had our date night: dinner at a fairly new restaurant in downtown Sacramento called, Trios and then we saw the show, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.” It is a musical about dating, falling in love, marriage and having kids, as well as how men and women interact with each other. It was so funny and so relevant to my husband and me! I highly recommend seeing it!

On Sunday, we ran more errands, such as going to Costco (such a bad idea the weekend before Thanksgiving!) and even visited our local animal shelter. We are thinking of adopting a dog. My husband and I grew-up with dogs and since we got married seven years ago, we have wanted to get one, but never had the space. We still don’t have the most ideal space (our back yard is tiny!), but Keenan loves dogs (especially my parents’ dogs), so we are thinking of taking the plunge and getting one. We are looking for a small/medium size dog that is low-key, cat-friendly, loves to go on walks or jogs, but is okay with a smaller space.  There are a couple of dogs that we are considering, in fact, we will be meeting one tomorrow! So, we’ll see… My husband and I still have a lot to discuss, especially since we love to travel and get away on the weekends. Having a dog will definitely change our lifestyle.

Before I forget, on Friday night, we had our “at home date night,” and made a yummy roasted cauliflower arugula salad that I want to share. We had a great evening (probably one of our best dates!) catching-up and just talking about life and our future. We talked so much, that we only watched one of our shows, “Parenthood,” that had us both in tears! It is getting SO good!

Anyhow, here is the recipe:

Such a satisfying salad and perfect with a glass of red wine!

Roasted Cauliflower Arugula Salad (serves 2):

Ingredients:

-1 large head (or 2 small heads) of cauliflower (chopped)

– 1 bag of arugula

– 4-5 slices of thick cut bacon (diced and cooked)

– 4 tbsp roasted pine nuts

– 1/4 cup of Gruyere cheese (shredded + extra for a garnish on top)

– 3 tbsp olive oil

– 1 tbsp champagne vinegar

– 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

– 1/2 tsp brown mustard

– 1/2 tsp honey

– pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Place chopped cauliflower on a baking sheet and drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil on top, as well as a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Combine, so all of the cauliflower is thoroughly coated. Roast for 20-30 minutes at 425 degrees (until golden brown).

2. Add arugula to a large bowl, along with pine nuts, cheese and bacon.

3. Mix the rest of the olive oil, vinegars, mustard, honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

4. Add cauliflower to salad and pour dressing on top.

5. Toss and divide amongst two plates. Shave a couple of pieces of cheese and place on top of each salad for a garnish. Enjoy!

*Notes: We added some chopped roasted walnuts for extra protein. You can also add some roasted or grilled chicken.

Last night, after Keenan went to bed, I baked an apple for dessert that my husband and I shared. It was my first time baking one and it was delicious! It is such an easy and healthy dessert for a cold fall or winter night! Here is the recipe:

So good, especially with vanilla ice cream!

Baked Apple: (serves 2)

Ingredients:

– 1 large apple (any kind is fine)

– 1 tsp brown sugar

– 1/8 cup of cranberries

– 1/8 cup chopped walnuts

– 1/2 tsp butter

– 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 35o degrees.

2. Wash and core apple (making a deep hole in the center of the apple without cutting it all the way through).

3. Mix sugar, cranberries, walnuts and cinnamon together in a small bowl.

4. Add sugar mixture to the center of the apple. Top with butter and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until apple is soft and butter is browned.

5. Cut apple in half, divide amongst two dishes and top with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Before baking the apple.

Since we had such a busy weekend, Keenan and I had a lazy morning making pumpkin muffins (a new recipe coming soon!), watching “Sesame Street,” playing in his sandbox and cuddling with Slinky. It was the perfect morning!

Don’t you just love the PJ’s with his”Elmo” shoes?!

Hello!

Well, it is time to get ready for CrossFit. Today’s WOD is a partner one, so it should be fun! On the menu for tonight is one of our favorites: roasted broccoli with cherry tomatoes and a red onion, along with grilled country style boneless pork ribs!

Questions: Are you ready for Thanksgiving? What is your Thanksgiving menu? We are having turkey (of course), pumpkin sage risotto, my mom’s famous broccoli casserole, homemade cranberry sauce, artichoke torta (family tradition!), a green salad and my mom’s homemade beer bread. As Keenan said, “we will be eating a lot of yummy food!”

The Fresh Market Roseville Sneak Peek Tweet Up! October 24, 2012

Tonight (or last night, as I write this) I attended The Fresh Market Sneak Peek Tweet Up for their new Roseville store. I was so excited to be invited, because it was my first blogging/media event! It was a great evening, learning more about the store, meeting other local bloggers (which I got to see Giselle again!) and vendors, as well as sampling some delicious goodies! The Fresh Market is an East Coast gourmet grocery store chain and the Roseville location is their first store on the West Coast. The store is located at 2030 Douglas Blvd. in the Rocky Ridge Town Center. It officially opens Oct. 24th at 9 a.m.

The Fresh Market originated in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1982. The store was founded with one objective: to bring family, friends, neighbors high quality products in a friendly and inviting environment with the highest level of customer service. Since they opened, they now have more than 125 stores in 24 states mainly in the Southwest, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast regions.

The moment you walk into the store, your eyes are mesmerized by the beautiful array of flowers in the floral department, followed by a pristine rainbow color assortment of produce. The store reminds me of a smaller and more personable version of the Nugget Market and Whole Foods. Everyone was so friendly and willing to answer any questions that we had.

I just love all of the colors!

Such a perfect display!

Our tour started out in the produce section where most of the fruits and veggies are locally sourced within a 100 mile radius of the store,  following their awesome “100 miles or less” program. They have signs with the location, mileage and name of the farm (they had organic Fuji apples from my hometown!). When you look up above, they have signs that direct you to the specific region in California the produce is from. They also have produce from around the country and world, for those items that are not in season, but their main goal is to offer as many local fruits and veggies as possible. They offer organic and conventional produce. One thing that I noticed was the size of their organic produce; it was pretty much the same size as their regular ones. Most other stores’ organic produce is much smaller than their regular fruit and veggies.

From my hometown!

More signs, as part of their local 100 program!

Next, we headed to the cheese section and sampled a 24 month aged Parmesan cheese imported from Italy, which brought me back to memories living in Italy! They freshly grate and cut all of the Parmesan cheese in their store. They also feature 200 different cheeses to choose from and if you aren’t sure about something, they are more than welcome to let you sample before purchasing. You can select a cheese and have them cut it to amount you want. During the holidays, they are also going to offer baked brie!

YUM!

After we learned about the cheeses they feature, we headed over to the candy section. As we approached the candy, I must say it was the largest bulk candy selection I have ever seen! They have every color and type of candy you could imagine, even ones that looked like legos! They also have chocolate covered walnuts, pecans and almonds, as well as chocolate peanut butter caramels! 🙂

I just love the colorful display!

Aren’t the jars cute?

My weakness!

Their bulk foods section was a decent size, not as big as others, but very unique in that they offer veggie chips, such as okra and green beans (something I haven’t seen before). They also offer three types of “make your own” nut butters from regular peanut, honey roasted peanut and almond. All you need to do is get a cup, press the button to grind the nuts and you have fresh nut butter of your choice!

Good variety in their bulk foods section!

Honey roasted peanut butter, YUM!

Next up was their deli counter and hot foods bar. They feature fresh Indian food daily from a local restaurant, as well as Chinese food and some seasonal dishes. They allowed us to help ourselves and take home a plate of Indian food. I was quite impressed; the ikka masala was excellent! In addition to the hot foods, they also have a salad bar, featuring four types of lettuce and all kinds of fixings. In their deli, they offer twelve different salads, packaged salads to-go, fresh whole rotisserie chickens and chicken breasts.

Fresh and delicious!

Next to the deli counter was their large meat and seafood counter. They feature fresh (never frozen) and cut-to-order meat and seafood. Their seafood is locally sourced from San Francisco and most of their beef comes from the Mid-West (where most grocery stores buy their meat). They have a natural section of beef, but it is still corn-feed. They currently don’t offer any grass-fed beef, but are thinking about adding it in the future.

Speaking of beef, we watched one of their chef’s prepare a steak in a nonstick pan with some wine and blue cheese. Sine I’m not a blue cheese fan, I was a little unsure of how it was going to taste, but it was excellent! The steak was perfectly tender, rich in flavor and had a hint of sweetness from the cheese. I am definitely going to keep this in mind for when we have steak!

After sampling the steak, we headed over to the bakery. My mouth was salivating just looking at all of the delectable desserts! They offer cupcakes, whoopie pies (even pumpkin ones!), pastries, custom cakes, as well as fresh baked bread daily, including small quick breads, such as zucchini, pumpkin and banana nut (two loaves for $5.00!).

So decadent!

Pumpkin whoopie pies, YUM!!

Lots of different freshly baked quick breads to choose from!

As we made our way to the dairy section, I noticed it was a little smaller than other stores, but it was packed with several different brands. They offer organic and dairy alternatives (soy, almond, coconut and goat milk) for all of their milk and yogurt products.

Lots of different flavors and types of yogurt!

Last, but certainly not least, we made our way to the wine and beer department. Though their section is slightly smaller than other stores, they have a great variety of international and local wines, as well as a lot of craft beers. The best part about their beer selection is that you can mix and match, creating your own six-pack for $8.99! Most other stores don’t allow you to create your own six-pack, so I was excited to see The Fresh Market offering it! I can’t wait to bring my husband so we can create our own six-pack, since we always love to try different beers! Also, they have someone staffed in the wine and beer department daily to help provide suggestions or answer any questions that you may have.

Wine and more wine!

Mix and match!

In addition to taking a tour, we got to meet some local vendors and sample some of their products that are featured in the store.  We first tried some of the best toffee I have ever eaten from Toffee Boutique, which is located in the Sacramento area. Lisa, the owner, was very friendly and offered us some generously sized samples. I look forward to having my husband try some of her toffee!

Another local vendor that was present tonight was Snow’s Citrus Court. They are a family owned business that operates a citrus grove in Newcastle. They have a variety of products from mandarin orange syrup, marinade, salad dressing, oil, sauce, fruit spread and chocolate sauce. We got to taste their fruit spread, which was excellent on top of brie, and some of their chocolate sauce. I’m not a huge fan of orange paired with chocolate, so I didn’t care for their sauce.

The fruit spread with brie was a perfect combo!

The last vendor we got to meet was The Chef in Black, that makes salad dressing, marinades and dips. Dorene Humason, the owner, was featured on NBC’s “Shark Tank,” which helped kick-start her business. We were able to sample some of their salad dressing, which was good! Unfortunately, they ran out of their dip, so I couldn’t try it. 😦

A great salad dressing (or could be used as a marinade)!

Some other cool things about The Fresh Market is that they offer free cooking classes once a month, as well as a monthly publication called, “Inspirations,” that contains recipes, meal ideas, tips and tricks. They also have over 1,000 in-house products, including pumpkin cider (which was SOOO tasty!) and pumpkin spice almonds! In addition, they offer gift baskets for that special occasion where you need to bring a gift to an event or holiday gathering.

Pumpkin cider, yes please!

Soooo good!

Beautiful gift baskets!

All, in all, The Fresh Market is a fantastic store, featuring local produce and products, having superb customer service, and best of all, being competitive in its’ prices (lower than other local gourmet grocery stores!). I highly recommend checking out the store if you live in the Sacramento area. Since the grand opening is tomorrow (well, today, as I write this), they will have tastings throughout their store all week. I can’t wait to go back and shop there!

Since I had so much to say about The Fresh Market, I’ll post about our awesome roasted beet salad we had for dinner last night (well, on Monday night, since it is so late) later, as well as my PR (personal best) on power cleans! It is WAY past my bed time, so good night! As you can see, I still need to work on my sleep…

Questions: What are some of your favorite grocery stores? When you grocery shop, do you stick to your list, or do you tend to venture off and buy new items? I love the Nugget, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and now, The Fresh Market. With our budget, I stick to my list, but when I shop in a specialty grocery store, I tend to venture off of my list to try new things!

What I ate Wednesday October 4, 2012

Happy Hump Day! Since it is Wednesday, I am linking up with Jenn today, for WIAW!

Before I talk about today’s eats, I want to share my recipe for last night’s dinner experiment. It turned out REALLY good and was SO easy to make! I’ll definitely be doing it again!

I know, not the best (or most appetizing) picture, since I took this with my phone, but my little dinner experiment was delish!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Kale: (serves 3)

Ingredients:

– 2 bunches of Kale (chopped)

– 1 yellow onion (chopped)

– 2 fresh tomatoes (chopped)

-1 small can of chopped tomatoes

– 3 frozen skinless boneless chicken thighs

– 1/4 cup pasta sauce

1/4 cup water or chicken broth

– 1 clove garlic (minced)

– 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

– 1 Tbsp garlic no-salt seasoning

– pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Place frozen chicken at the bottom of your slow cooker.

2. Pour can of tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, pasta sauce, onion, garlic and seasonings on top of the chicken.

3. Top with chopped kale.

4. Pour water or chicken broth on top and cook on high for 4-6 hours.

5. When ready, divide kale amongst three plates and place one piece chicken with tomatoes and onion on top each bed of kale. Enjoy!

For today’s eat, we started off with our “usual” breakfast of Fage Greek yogurt topped with chia seeds, flaxseeds, strawberries and Kashi cereal. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture. I also had my morning latte made with our french press! After breakfast, we headed to Keenan’s swim class at the Y.  On the way home, we stopped at Sacramento Beekeeping and Honey store to buy some local honey, since we ran out of our Costa Rica honey. The store is awesome! They have two big vats of honey and you can either bring your own container to fill or purchase one of their containers. You pay by the weight of the honey. Since I didn’t do my homework ahead of time, I purchased one of their containers, but I will be sure to bring my own next time! The honey is local wildflower from California’s Central Valley (Sacramento to Lodi). It is really good! I’m excited to use it on pancakes, maybe even mixed into my yogurt and for baking!

Such good local honey!

Once we got home, we had lunch. Since Keenan didn’t finish all of his yogurt this morning, he ate the rest of it for lunch, followed by his favorite: a peanut butter and honey sandwich (made with our new honey!). He loved it (of course!). He kept saying, “Eating new honey!”

Keenan’s lunch (or part of it!).

For my lunch, I made myself a half sandwich of turkey, tomatoes, spinach and leftover grilled zucchini spread with Costco’s yogurt jalapeno dip, SO good! I also had some carrots, the rest of the tomato and zucchini on the side. This was probably the best sandwich I have ever made! The grilled zucchini made it so flavorful! A little while later, I also made myself an iced coffee using my husband’s awesome coffee concentrate.

My delicious lunch!

An hour before heading to CrossFit, I had half of a banana with a tablespoon of peanut butter for a snack. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of it!

Today’s workout was a good one. The skill was max rope climbs in a minute for 3 rounds and I was able to do 3 climbs in a minute for each round! The WOD was a 12 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of 150 double unders, 90 abmat situps and 30 handstand pushups. The prescribed/elite standard for the handstand pushups was having a deficit of two 25 pound plates, which I was able to to do! It was the first time I did them with a deficit, so I was pumped! Since I could only do 1 handstand pushup at a time, it slowed me down a bit, so I was only able to do a total of 258 reps (barely completing 1 round!). Anyhow, it was a great workout! I love doing handstand pushups, so it was a fun one for me!

Once we got home from CrossFit, I fixed dinner for Keenan and me, since my husband was out of town for work. Keenan had some leftover chicken from last night’s dinner experiment, along with some cooked carrots and avocado with a glass of milk. After dinner, I also made him a small vanilla ice cream cone as a treat, since he finished all of his dinner by himself (no feeding by me!).

Enjoying his dinner and glass of milk in his “big boy” fish cup!

Enjoying his ice cream cone!

For my dinner, I made myself a “mega” salad topped with tomato, artichoke hearts, pepperoncinis, carrots, avocado, roasted walnuts and chicken. It hit the spot! Even though I don’t like it when my husband has to travel for work, I love that I get to make big salads for dinner! I love salad so much that I could probably eat it for lunch and dinner everyday! 🙂

My “mega” salad!

Oh, before I forget, here is the video of my round-off back handspring at our gymnastics class last weekend! I can’t wait to go back and add a back tuck!

Also, I want to tell you about my Reebok Nanos 2.0. I have worn them for two days now and I absolutely love them! They are SO comfortable and soft on your feet, but still have a firm platform and minimal drop for lifting. I don’t think I can go back to wearing my New Balance Minimus.

Well, it is getting late, so I’m off to bed. Speaking of sleep, I certainly need more of it! It is a continuous goal of mine…more to come on this tomorrow! Good night!

Question: What did you eat today? What are your favorite slow cooker recipes? Since Fall is here (though, it sure doesn’t feel like it!), I love to use my slow cooker making chili, stews, soups, pot roasts, etc, but I would love to try some new recipes.