A Thanksgiving dish to try...

This year, I helped make several side dishes for our family Thanksgiving dinner and decided I would throw in a "Paleo-esque" dish to see if any noticed.  After searching online, I stumbled upon The Primal Palate Thanksgiving recipes and decided to give the carrot souffle a try.  It looked pretty tasty, and I figured it would at least be an experience.  Let me preface this by saying that I happily cook with some milk and butter -- I do eat dairy, but I wanted to see what happened when I stepped outside my comfort zone and cooked with coconut.
I always hated coconut as a kid.  There was nothing creepier to me than a cake covered in that horrible shredded coconut, and eating an Almond Joy was out of the question.  So, I've been wary of coconut, although I'm learning as an adult that I think I have greater issues with the texture of shredded coconut rather than the taste of coconut itself.  So, I went to Whole Foods and joined the rest of the holiday crowds to buy coconut flour and oil, and made the dish (along with butternut squash, mashed sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce) for our celebratory meal.
The squash was technically paleo, but the sweet potatoes were made with organic milk and butter and the cranberry sauce with organic cane sugar.  And out of all the dishes that were eaten, guess which one was gobbled up?  The carrot souffle!  I revealed my paleo secrets to my family, and I'm quite proud of my sneaky dish.  It was delicious, and I highly recommend it for the holidays!

Some Articles to Check Out!

Just because you should...


Did you know that pizza is a vegetable?  I certainly didn't.  But it's considered a vegetable in our schools because of the minuscule tomato paste content, and Congress wants to keep it that way.  My question: how can we teach children to make smart food choices if we tell them such misguided information about the food they are served at school lunch?


A wheat-free diet is definitely getting more medical attention.  I'm excited to check out Wheat Belly and see what else William Davis says about the harmful effects of processed grains.  Big points go to the fact that he points out that the way wheat is now bred and grown is particularly harmful: "This isn’t your great grandmother’s wheat—or waistline—we’re talking about. Amounts of wheat’s destructive compounds have increased over the past 50 years as the grain has been hybridized and crossbred to be resistant to drought and fungi, produce higher yields per acre, result in better baking consistency, and cost less to produce. Not surprisingly, the increase in wheat in the American diet parallels obesity rates that have nearly tripled since 1960."


According to the USDA, sales of locally grown foods are up!  Local foods are healthier for our  bodies and for the environment since they leave a smaller carbon footprint -- a win/win situation.  And it's so nice to have a personal relationship with the person who sells you your vegetables.   Jump on the bandwagon and find a local farmers market or CSA here.


And finally, it's about time we bring back the local butcher and learn to savor truly excellent cuts of meat.


What have you checked out in the news lately?

Guest Post -- Journal Menu

Check out my guest post over at Journal Menu!

9NOV/11Off

Lindsey Galvao is a pregnant crossfitter who has agreed to share her experience with us. She is currently ~6 months pregnant and still going strong. Within the past year or so, there have become many more forums and websites dedicated to the pregnant crossfitter, even with that said, the information is somewhat scare, so feel free to ask Lindsey any questions that you may have (if you are or are thinking of being pregnant). She will be guest blogging once or twice a trimester and will answer all your questions in her posts! Pregnant crossfitters make crossfit babies 

It’s hard for me to believe that I’m almost in my third trimester! The last few weeks of the second trimester has treated me well overall. It’s been a blast feeling the baby move and I’m still able to be fairly active. While I’ve lost my diligent Primal eating habits (Cheerios and hot chocolate cravings have been hard to kick lately), I’ve still managed to make it to CrossFit. In the past four weeks, my body has changed from a miniscule bump that only I noticed to a bona fide pregnant belly that gets smiles from strangers on the street. With my growing belly, anything on my back is out of the question. Instead of sit-ups, I do knee raises, and I’ll usually find something else to sub in for hollow body holds, like planks. I’ve also had to be careful with my lower back. Even though I’ve made sure I have solid form, I’ve had to lighten up my deadlifts and take extra time with my kettlebell swings to make sure I don’t have any soreness (I made this mistake when I did low rep kettlebell swings with 1.5 pood at 24 weeks— while it felt fine at the time, my back killed for the next couple days). For this same reason, handstand push ups are now out of the question, so I’ve just done regular push ups as a modification. I’ve also switched from pull ups to inverted rows. During each WOD, I find a steady rhythm and periodically complete the “talking test,” where I make sure I can say a sentence without being winded. It’s worked well and I’ve kept my pacing in check. At the same time, I’m still able to do box jumps, I can whip out some double unders, and I have a pretty mean front and back squat. I also use the barbell, although I keep the weight light (usually 65 pounds or less, depending on the lift). I’ve managed some decent Rx WODs lately, which is a great confidence booster, and when I know I won’t be able to complete a WOD Rx, I find a reasonable substitution, which usually means lowering my weight. So far, my little girl is growing right on target and measuring perfectly for her gestational age. All signs point to a healthy baby, and I’m grateful. I also know that pregnancy would have been a lot harder if I hadn’t been in shape and didn’t keep up with exercise. I’m sure it’s partly luck, but I’m also convinced that the food and exercise choices I made before getting pregnant have had nothing but a positive affect on my pregnancy. We’ll see what new CrossFit adventures the third trimester brings!

Update: WODing

I've been so neglectful of the CrossFit aspect of this blog as I am trying to wrap my mind around the best baby gear and gearing up to tackle the next big steps of baby preparation (finding a doctor and daycare).
While my food consumption is completely haywire and I don't know how often I'll be at the box this week (I am currently battling some bizarre stomach bug/cold), I have had some great WODs in the past couple weeks that I'd love to share!


WOD: November 4
50,40,30,20,10 reps for time:
Kettlebell Swings
Double Unders
We did this WOD on June 22, when I was 8 weeks pregnant. Back then, I finished it in 16:56, Rx. This time, at 27 weeks, I finished it Rx in 18:48. I honestly didn't know if I'd be able to manage the double unders or if I would be able to finish this one, so completing it was such a huge accomplishment!


WOD: November 1
Bench press x 3
15,12,9,6,3 reps for time:
overhead walking lunges with 25 pound plate, reps are for each leg
Burpees

While I did my pregnant "burps" for this WOD (meaning that I land on my thighs, but keep my stomach elevated, almost like a cobra position in yoga), I finished this one in under 9 minutes. I modified the bench press to a regular press, and easily managed 70 pounds and decided to quit while I was ahead.

WOD: October 29
Front Squat x 2 for strength
40s on, 20s off x 4 Rounds for max reps:
Wall Ball with a 14 pound ball
Push-ups
Kettlebell Swings with 1 pood

If there's one thing I can do, it's squat. I have strong, strong legs. I did 145 x 2, the highest of any woman in my class that day, without much effort. I had to remind myself that it was probably a good idea to stop. While I've had to drop the weight on my squat quite a bit, I can still manage a pretty mean squat, which is awesome. I haven't had to modify my push ups yet, and my KBS are still pretty fabulous.  While I definitely didn't have the highest score of the day, finishing this one Rx was really uplifting.

My score for the WOD: 46 WB, 41 PUs, 68 KBS Rx for 155 total.


WOD: October 28
Skill: number of double unders in 2 minutes
3 Rounds for time:
500m row
12 Deadlifts @ bodyweight
21 box jumps @ 20 inches


I enjoy deadlifting, but I'm now nervous about my lower back, which can bother me at times. I was
going to do my pre-pregnancy weight for the WOD, but 130 lbs felt like I was pushing my luck. I
dropped it to a very managable 95, but I still did the box jumps Rx.  Rowing is my mortal enemy, so I just took it slow and steady.  

DU test: 51 in two minutes
WOD: finished in 15:31


Why am I sharing all of this? A few reasons.

First, I'm proud of the work that I'm still able to do at CrossFit, and I want to be able to share my success. Each week, I wonder if I've had my last Rx WOD, and then I surprise myself!  What I think has enabled me to still be successful at CF is my attitude.  I've slowly morphed from the 'I can't handle not having a PR and pushing myself to the brink!' to 'Let's just see what I can do today -- hopefully I'll be able to finish the WOD; I'll just do my best to get a decent workout.'  I think this change has made a huge difference in my WODing.  I pace myself carefully (which, I think, is the reason why I can still do box jumps).  I make sure I can talk while I WOD and I drink lots of water.  And I just see what happens.  And when in doubt, I back off.

At the same time, I've also developed a greater sense of pride and respect for what my body can do.  It's pretty awesome that I can safely and comfortably weight lift and compete metcons.  No, I'm not PRing, and that's okay.  I'm strong, I'm healthy, and this baby is strong and healthy, which is all I can ask for.  And I can still manage an Rx here and there!

I hope I can also be a model for the physical strength that women are more than capable of.  No, I'm not suggested that a newly pregnant woman run out and deadlift 200 pounds after never exercising, but I'm advocating that women of all ages start slowly exploring avenues like CrossFit (or strength training in general) to be as healthy as possible.

I'm also convinced that CF has enabled me to have a relatively easy pregnancy.  Yes, there's about 12 weeks left of it, but so far, I have no real complaints.  Getting in shape before getting pregnant has made a huge difference in my life.  It's given me a community; a place to go so I don't just end up sitting on the couch watching TV every night, and it's given me a huge amount of confidence.  So, here's to the end of my second trimester, and hopefully continued success with CrossFit!

After my WOD on November 4 at 27 weeks!

Pregnancy surprises

I think the biggest pregnancy symptom I've dealt with so far is immense fatigue.  Yeah, I guess the books mention it in passing, but when I think pregnancy, I think morning sickness, stretch marks, and skipping out on deli meat; fatigue that feels like I've been hit by a bus was never on my radar.  The books go something like this: in the first trimester, you're nauseous, probably vomiting, and only want to eat Saltines; in the second trimester, you get a surge of energy and feel like you're on top of the world, and the third trimester is Dante's seventh circle of Hell as you're just begging and praying for this kid to make his or her appearance in the world since he or she is pushing against your lungs and bladder, making it impossible to breathe and causing you to pee all the time.  While I can't speak to the third trimester yet, my pregnancy has been vastly different than what the books suggest I should feel.  I'm not complaining -- in many ways, I've been blessed to have a very easy pregnancy, and I feel very fortunate for that.  But, for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm finally understanding what fatigue is, and it's way worse than staying up all night in grad school trying to finish a paper.
The other day, one of my students turned to me and commented, "you look really tired."  Crap, I thought.  This really sweet, astute kid picked up on the fact that I feel ready to keel over at any moment.  If this is how I feel at 26 weeks, when I'm supposed to feel blissful and energetic in my second trimester, what will the next 14 weeks bring?  How will I continue to manage working full time/going to CrossFit/tutoring students after school/singing in two choirs while I'm not able to sleep well at night, despite how tired I am?  How can I manage to keep a house reasonably clean and make sure that I'm making somewhat healthy food choices on top of it?  I think it's starting to hit me big time that I can't do it all.  While I know my priorities will shift once my little one makes her appearance, I didn't expect how much life would change now.  My "I am woman, hear me roar" mentality is clashing with my desire to snuggle up on the couch with my cats and my blanket (right now, couch/kitties/blanket = 1; laundry and dishes = 0).
But, I'm slowly learning to be okay with it all.  I know that some days will be less tiring than others and ultimately, my most important responsibility is to listen to my body and take care of this little one and give her the best start possible.  And at the risk of being sappy, feeling her squirm and wiggle around puts a smile on my face like nothing else in this world.  Just like the surprise of fatigue, I figured that feeling her move would be cool, but I could have never been prepared for how amazing and awesome it is.  In the past few weeks, I've felt a new bond with my Lil' Puddin' (her nickname given by my eighth graders -- I absolutely adore it).  And this is perhaps the best surprise of all.
So, for now, vacuuming the house will wait another day (or two).  I'm going to stay snuggled up on the couch a little bit longer, sneaking in some small naps and breaking into ridiculously goofy smiles as she kicks and moves around.  I'm going to enjoy these moments of being at absolute peace, soak in my pregnancy, and take it all in stride as best as I can.

What has surprised you most about pregnancy or life lately?

Baby Gear

First things first, an updated picture from the box:

Thrusters at 24 weeks, during a WOD.  I adore the For Two Fitness shirt I'm wearing, courtesy of a friend!

With a few weeks left in the second trimester, baby registries and baby gear are my current focus (if nothing else, to stop me from thinking about the whole labor process).  With registering, I find myself completely overwhelmed by the different products that exist for babies, and I find myself hearing mixed messages.  Do you get the Bjorn or the Moby? Do you need the $300 video monitor?  Am I supposed to have baby gates ready to secure my stairs?  How many burp clothes and receiving blankets should I have on hand?  How do I know which swaddling blankets to try?  How many versions of the Jumperoo can possibly exist?   And what do I do about toys?  I already have nightmares of giant, Fischer-Price plastic toys taking over my house. (It's similar to the scene in Ghostbusters where the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man walks down the crowded street).  Am I supposed to have the swing that simulates the motion of a car, and do I need music/white noise playing in the nursery?  What baby books am I supposed to read to prepare for motherhood?  Do babies really need a lot of stuff?  As all these questions and more swirl through my brain, I try to keep in mind my desire to lead a minimalist life and to not get caught up in feeling like I need a bunch of unnecessary, miscellaneous stuff.  I like to keep things simple.  I want to be as natural as possible.  

So, what is the baby gear you thought you needed to have, and then realized you could definitely live without?  Any baby purchases that you're grateful that you made?

A new modification

About halfway into month five of pregnancy, I was so impressed with my ability to still do handstand push ups.  (Well, mostly.  I needed an ab mat or two under my head, but before pregnancy, I swear I was decently close to getting at least one HSPU Rx).  Kicking up to the wall and being upside down was such a great source of joy and a feeling of accomplishment.  There was a rush, a surge of excitement, a feeling of bliss in those few seconds.  I don't really understand why I have such a love for HSPUs, especially since I was the child who hated the monkey bars and could barely do a decent somersault or cartwheel.  While I've always been fascinated with gymnastics and used to obsessively watch competitions on TV as a child, I was terrified of gymnastics myself -- what if I fell and broke my arm or my neck?  Overly cautious, I was not an athletic risk taker by any stretch of the imagination.
So as an adult, falling in love with HSPUs was my redemptive moment -- my chance to reclaim was I was too scared to do as a kid.

Photo from Saint Clair Studio

Today's WOD was "Mary," an AMRAP 20 of 5 handstand push ups, 10 pistols (which are one legged squats) and 15 pull ups.  I needed a band for my pull ups and for support with the pistols-- I can do pistols on my left side, but not my right, and I've never figured out why-- and I put down an ab mat to help my range of motion for my HSPUs.  While practicing my HSPUs before the WOD, my back spasmed as I lowered myself down to the floor.  I shook it off, and figured it was bad form or an off moment.  But when the WOD came, I was barely able to make it through those first five HSPUs.  As I meandered over to the rig and stuck my foot in a band for pull ups, I called my coach over to let him know.  Was my form off?  What changed from the last time I was successful with my lovely, wonderful, HSPUs?

"You can't hollow your body anymore because of your belly.  I assume it's your lower back that's bothering you?"  I nodded.  So, we agreed I would do push ups instead.  Happily, I still have full range of motion for my push ups, and quickly got through the sets of five of "chest to deck" (which is more like "belly to deck") push ups.  But now, almost six months into pregnancy, HSPUs are off the table.

Good-bye, handstand push ups.  We had a great relationship while it lasted.  I'll be excited to see you again in a few months.  And at that point, hopefully I'll be rocking the kipping pull ups by then, too!