Chocolate tahini "truffle" balls

Tis the time of year when we all want to snack on treats and indulge.  For me it's all about not going too overboard with it all.  To keep motivated I've been following Dr. Perlmutter on Facebook who keeps reminding his audience how awful sugar and carbs are for you.  There's no way to avoid it at this time of year, so here's a little treat you can make in about 10 minutes that was surprisingly tasty and satisfying.  The original recipe was given to me by sister in law, who believe it or not is crazier than I am when it comes to eating right, and I've modified it just a bit.

Are they really truffles? Well, no... They are sort of a cross between truffles and marzipan balls.

Tahini dough balls:

• 1 tablespoon protein powder, nut powder of choice or coconut flour.  I used Sun Warrior vanilla protein powder.
• 2 tablespoons coconut butter (Artisana is the best, but Maranatha coconut mana is also quite good)
• 1 tablespoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5-6 drops liquid stevia (to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure chocolate extract (original recipe did not call for this)

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl
2. Add water if needed (I didn't need to)
3. Stir.
4. Batter will be thick.
5. Scoop and roll.
6. Roll in unsweetened coconut flakes, raw cacao powder or whatever...
7. Store in the fridge

Paleo Stuffed Peppers

Maybe it's because it's fall, and a good time of year for spending time in the kitchen, or maybe because my new kitchen is amazing, or perhaps it's motivating by my friend Gayle who's been paleo and eating home cooked meals for the past six week and having amazing results, but whatever it is, I am so excited to share this recipe with you.  

Ingredients

• 1 medium Yellow Onion copped
• 3-5 cloves Garlic, smashed in a pillon
• Olive oil
• 1 lb Ground Turkey 
• 2-3 links of sweet italian sausage, without the casing
• 1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
• 1/3-1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 tsp Dried Parsley
• ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
• ½ tsp Sea Salt or to taste Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste
• 1 (14.5 oz) can Organic Muir Glen Diced Tomatoes - fire roasted
• 3 TBS Sofrito
• 4 large Bell Peppers, tops cut off and seeded

Brown the sausage in a skillet,  add onion and sofrito and cook until translucent.   

In pillon, smash 4-5 pieces of garlic with a little dried oregano and some olive oil.   

Add turkey to skillet and cook until no longer pink. 

Add all other ingredients.  

Stuff peppers tightly with mixture in the skillet.

Place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Serve hot.  Enjoy.

CrossFit 914, CrossFit Toronto and CrossFit LA

At the end of April I announced that I would leave my old position under the Omnicom Group of Companies and take on a new role with MDC Partners.  One of the luxuries this change afforded me was some time between jobs to explore a new fitness challenge that I've was dying to try out.  Ever since I had kids, the only way to fit in a good workout was in my home gym - my favorite room in my house!  I did P90X several times, Insanity, Insanity Asylum, TurboFire, Jillian Michaels, Biggest Loser, Spinervals, etc.  You name it, if it was a good hard sweat at home, I was into it.    My good friend Sage in Colorado kept telling me about CrossFit, and I wanted to try it out.

In come CrossFit 914 in Elmsford, NY.  I had no idea what I was really getting into, but in order to try it I had to buy 4 personal sessions of "elements" classes.  These are the classes that teach you the basics to make sure you don't really hurt yourself.  In one session I was hooked.  Coach extraordinaire Phil Itwaru met me at 5:30 in the morning to show me the basics, and introduce me to the MetCon concept - short metabolic conditioning workouts that build strength, endurance and metabolism.  I was hooked on the first class and after 4 there was definitely no turning back.

CrossFit has exposed me to all sorts of things I never even heard of before:

• AMRAP:  As Many Repetitions (or Rounds) As Possible – typically in a specified timeframe
• WOD:  Workout of the Day
• Box:  A CrossFit gym
• Box Jump:  An exercise where you jump onto and down from a 20 or 24" box
• Burpee: ouch
• Clean & Jerk:  I still have no idea
• Double Unders:  Two turns of the jump rope per jump. Another ouch, not to mention the pain of the jumprope literally whipping your skin when you miss.
• HSPU – Hand Stand Push-Up
• Kipping:  I still can't do this
• Muscle Ups: Muscle Up – A combination of a pull-up and a ring dip.  No I cannot do this.

And so much more...

These workouts I have to admit are amazing, and unlike anything I've ever done before.  Every day is a total body workout, and every single workout I've done in the past three months have been different.

So I found myself back to same question as yesterday, how do I keep it all going when I am traveling on business?  CrossFit 914 is my home "box", but I want to keep it up all week long when I am not in Westchester County.  

Last week I took a leap of faith and took advantage of the CrossFit cult that apparently is all over the country.  I called CrossFit Toronto and went to visit them. Twice.  Once again I encountered things I had never done before: Belgian split leg squats, split leg jerks, and snatches.  WTF?  Suffice it to say, I managed to get two amazing workouts and by the third day I was so sore I could hardly walk.  To me this is great!  CrossFit Toronto and coach John Vivian were amazing, welcoming and warm, and really patient with a person who isn't and won't be going there regularly.  John took the time to show me the new moves, correct me frequently, and cheer me on.  Thank you John!!  In addition to the general hospitality, the box itself was amazing - HUGE, had a store front where I bought a new jumprope, and had about 30 people working out at 5:30 in the morning. 

This week I was in LA, and decided to try out  CrossFit LA, and yet again I found a completely different experience again.  This time at 6am, there were two coaches welcoming me.  When I looked at the WOD (Workout of the Day) online it simply said:

4x4 100m Franklin Hill Sprints on :90. 
- 3 mins between sets. 

How bad could it be?  100m isn't far, and only 4?  Well as soon as I walked into the box I realized this gym was very serious.  They were all about competition - against each other, yourself, and the clock.  Go go go.... the people there, who really were lovely, were even competing about who had more gray hairs and who's skin was whiter.  Really?!  I could show you gray hairs people!!!  After our normal warmup we hit the road - up hill to the base of Franklin Hill.  It was steep.  Not only was it steep, but what I hadn't realized was that we had to do the 4x4 100m Franklin Hill Sprints 4 times.  Now I am not really into the competitive thing as it relates to CrossFit, and I've always been more of an endurance athlete than a sprinter.  So up the hill the first time I went.  Not bad.  I was last, but that's ok.  Up the hill the second time... still last, but I did it.  Up the hill the 3rd time - not last anymore.  A younger guy was hurting...  Now I feel better, but it's hard.  Up the hill the 4th time.  Still not last, and now I know I can make 4 in a row.  3 more sets to go.  In the end I did it, and I got to hear how "old" the person who I thought was the oldest person there was by turning 44, and got some praise at how I looked 10 years younger than I really am! Go me (other than the fact that I was the oldest one there).  Seriously though, I was proud of myself.  I finished all four sets.  It was hard, I felt nauseas on some, but I did it and some of the young people who were showing off in the beginning, couldn't do all 16 sprints.  

It took courage for me to start CrossFit, and even more to try out the two new CrossFit gyms.  I've learned it doesn't matter where you come from, how young you are, how strong you are, what your goals are compared to others.  All that matters is how you feel for yourself, what keeps you going, and how you move yourself towards your personal goals. If you've got a goal of your own, something you think might be out of reach, reconsider it.  All it takes is one step forward, one phone call,  one little question of "maybe?" in the back of your head.  Who knows what might happen if you take the risk. After all, it worked for me.

Business travel, CrossFit and keeping it all going

Two months ago I started a new job with a company where travel is significantly higher than I've done in the recent past.  Being a full time working mother of two wonderful boys, crazy about fitness, and loving what I do, I find myself asking how the heck do I keep it all going?  Obviously not by maintaining this blog - that's where I've been and why I've been missing.  Until now.  A colleague suggested I blog about all the CrossFit Boxes I go to, and that got me thinking about business travel, eating healthy and all sorts of things to share.

Those who do business travel, or any kind of travel for that matter,  know how hard it is to keep healthy when on the road. Eating out can be such a pleasure, especially for the working mom because someone else preps the food, chops the veggies, cooks the meals, worries about everyone having different things, etc.   The average business traveler gains weight, and for the weight obsessed, this is a real challenge.  I've actually gotten my normal diet so clean that I don't even like to eat out anymore because I end up feeling stuffed and bloated after each meal.

So what's a business traveler to do?  Here's what I do:

1. I plan to workout as many of the days as physically possible.  When you are eating more calories, you have to burn more calories.  Since I've been doing CrossFit, I do the research ahead of time and find a Box that I can go to while I am in whatever city.  This is new for me, and will be my next blog post - maybe later today, or tomorrow.

2. I buy snacks and bring them with me.  I eat a mostly paleo, sugar free diet.  In my bag I am the most amazing beef jerky I've ever found (Beretta family farm - organic, no soy, no sugar), protein powder and a shaker bottle, individual nut portions, low carb bars, etc.

3. Breakfast is always an egg white omelete, low on grease, with some avocado slices, no cheese (I'm allergic and it's a lot of calories).

4. Dinner is almost always either a salad without dressing, olive oil, lemon and salt on the side, and a protein (grilled shrimp, chicken, whatever).  If it's not the salad, it could be a fish in a light sauce, and veggies.  No starches - that means no rice, bread, pasta, desert.  None.  If I feel like having an appetizer, I make sure it's something light and low carb - tuna carpaccio, shrimp cocktail, you get the idea.

I know most of you are probably saying, "yeah right, that's not going to happen".  My reason for sharing this is to say it can be done, and it can be managed, and you can be in control.  I know, because I do it.  And this style of eating becomes addictive.  You might just find you want to eat this way every time you eat out.  I know I do.

Dr. Oz 3 Day Detox Review & Final Results

The results are in.  From a weight perspective, 4.5 pounds lost in total, which is damn impressive considering how long I've been working out, eating right, and trying to lose those "last 5 pounds".  In addition, I'm now four days coffee free.  I am drinking green tea, so I can't say I'm caffeine free, but that was not my goal.  I've had 3 good nights of sleep, and overall feel significantly less bloated, in total control, and have good strong positive energy.  Cutting out the high glycemic fruit was important for me personally, but if sugars in general don't bother people, it's fine.  I'm going to continue the concept with the shakes for breakfast, lunch and snack through the weekend to see how I feel, but I am going to have a normal and light dinner every night.  All in all I have to say I am impressed and give Dr. Oz a two thumbs up.

What I liked:

• This cleanse was SUPER easy for me because I already do green smoothies every day, so I was familiar with them (and their taste!).
• I loved that what to shop and drink was all defined  for me.  It took out all the guess work of what I would eat each day.
• The drinks were REALLY good. I've read a lot of people don't like the lunch.  I liked them all!
• The green tea made the cleanse a lot more enjoyable because I had ZERO caffeine withdraw.
• Everything you need for this cleanse you can find at the grocery store and everything is recognizable.  No crazy ingredients or stops at expensive healthfood stores! 
• I lost almost 5 pounds and a lot of bloat (it's almost a big bag of sugar I am no longer carrying).
• 3 days was the perfect amount of time. I was feeling like quitting mid-day but by the third day with added protein powder instead of high glycemic fruit I was able to keep it up.
• I felt "great" every morning.  I did try to take it easy with activities since I wasn't getting a ton of protein.
• I was able to make the shakes ahead of time and put them in a large shaker cup or camelbak cup and have them later.  And they were still good.

What I didn't like:

• There wasn't enough protein for me.  For someone who has blood sugar and insulin resistance issues, I had to reduce the high glycemic fruit more and more each day.  By the third day, I had it figured out and actually felt great. not hungry at all.
• Because of the high gylcemic fruit (pineapple, mango, banana), by mid-day each day I was starving and craving protein.   I had to change it up and have a different dinner, but kept it vegan and almost raw.  
• I was dying to each something solid.  Others I know who did this chopped up all the ingredients and ate it as a salad - that's an option.

 Detox breakfast drink

• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp flax seeds - powder
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 banana (note: by day 2 I left this out and added a scoop of raw vegan protein powder)
• ¼ cup spinach
• 1 Tbsp. almond butter
• 2 tsp. lemon juice

Lunch drink recipe

• 4 celery stalks - clean
• 1 cucumber – unless organic, peel the skin and remove the seeds to reduce bitterness
• 1 cup kale leaves
• ½ green apple
• ½ lime – squeeze the juice only
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
• ½ cup almond milk
• 1 cup pineapple (note: by day 3 I left this out and added a scoop of raw vegan protein powder)

Dinner detox drink

• ½ cup mango (note: by day 2 I left this out and added a scoop of raw vegan protein powder)
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 ½ cup coconut water
• 1 cup kale
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• ¼ avocado
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 Tbsp flax seed powder

Why Detox?

The purpose of a body cleanse is to put your body into a state of rest of digesting whole foods, proteins and other things that you usually indulge in. It's supposed to kickstart your metabolism to help you start a diet, and to eliminate unnatural sugars from your body.  A suggestion when drinking these drinks is to sort of chew your drink to generate saliva in your mouth to help in the digestion. This detox will clean out your system but in a natural way.

The program also includes taking an Epsom/Lavendar detox Bath each night using Epsom salt and lavender oil. I just couldn't fit it in, even though it would have been lovely.

One of the side effects that I noticed after three days is that I am sleeping better and have more energy, and a better attention span.  I also feel like I'm addicted to the think shakes and substance of all the veggies.  I definitely want to keep up 1-3 shakes a day.  Prior to this I didnt' put as much in my shakes, and now I realize how many nutrients I can actually get.

Sugar Free for 60 days vs. Dr. Oz's 3 day detox

Most people know I am recovering sugarholic, who is proud to say I am sugar free for 62 days!  When I looked at my calendar this morning and realized I'm past the two month challenge without sugar, I was so happy.  Then I began to think about which was harder - following the Dr. Oz 3 day detox which I am now on day 3, or cutting out the sugar for 2 months.  I have to admit, it's the Dr. Oz 3 day is so much harder.  I've managed to survive it, but not following it completely as written.  My body craves and needed protein. Each of the first two days I did well until lunch, ate the lunch drink, but then by 2-3pm was absolutely starving. I'd drink the mid-afternoon drink but my energy level dropped and my need for something solid was overwhelming.  So for dinner, instead of the shakes I'd have one and a half of my homemade paleo protein bars.  That seemed to do the trick, and stayed within the vegan/raw restrictions of the Oz challenge. 

Today I replaced all the higher glycemic fruit (pineapple and mango) with the Sun Warrior Protein Blend (vanilla).  What a difference!  I am so much more energy today than I have had for the past two days.  For those of you who want to do this detox who know that sugar doesn't agree with you, leave out the high glycemic fruits.

I can't believe that giving up sugar is easier than following any 3 day diet, but for me it was and continues to be.  I'll be sticking with my no-sugar plan for the foreseeable future.  Dr. Oz and I will be breaking up after today.

Day 1 Results - Dr. Oz Three Day Detox - 3 pounds gone!

I'm not exactly sure what I'm detoxing from, since I eat pretty clean to begin with, but I love switching up my diet every once in a while.  Why not give a Dr. Oz recommendation a try. We all love Dr. Oz, right?   I got the plan and recipes here: Dr. Oz Show.   For those who know me, I don't normally eat a lot of fruit, and this is A LOT OF FRUIT.  My normal diet is high protein, some low glycemic fruit, and lots of veggies.  Yesterday I started following his plan which is no coffee, four shakes, and that's it for three days.   My day 1 results and opinions follow:

Breakfast: Pretty good, gave me lots of energy, a little sour but I did add my 2 tablespoons of apple cidar vinegar (and a little stevia) that I have every day.  Started to feel hungry around 10am, but I usually have a snack around this time.  I had a cup of herbal tea and that held me over until noon.

Lunch: Loved it. Very green.

Mid-Afternoon snack.  I was starting to drag and have very little energy.  I was dying for a protein, but Dr. Oz's snack is to pick whichever shake you wanted.  I had the dinner shake as a snack.  It was quite good, very spicy with the cayenne pepper, but that made it interesting.

The biggest problem I had was that after this mid-afternoon snack I was done with shakes.  To begin with, I was freezing all day from all the frozen fruit.  I had no energy, a little bit of brain fog, and I was just downright dragging.  So for dinner I decided I had to have some protein.  I kept it vegan, and went with my homemade protein paleo bar.  That did the trick and help me over for the night.

Because I am scale addict, I did get on the scale this morning and much to my surprise I was down three pounds from yesterday morning!  That was a pleasant surprise because even though I was eating most fruit and some veggies, it was a LOT of fruit (in case you didn't figure it out, this is a lot of fruit - lol), and what felt like a lot of food. Some people will say it's all water, perhaps, but remember I do eat clean all the time and my weight has pretty much been holding for months, if not a year.  For me to drop three pounds in a day is pretty significant, and certainly motivating to do this for another two days.  My goal weight is really just three pounds away.  Will Dr. Oz help me get there?  We'll see.

Paleo Protein Energy Bar

I've been looking for a decent recipe for a homemade protein bar forever, and I finally found one here that I was able to modify to my own low sugar taste: Paleo Bar

I was very surprised at how amazing these tasted, and when they were warm, they were like I was eating a sweet treat that was so good for me.  Here's how I made them:

Ingredients:

- 1 Cup Mixed Nuts + Seeds (I used 1/2 c. pumpkin seeds, 1/4 c. raw sunflower seeds, 1/8 c. raw walnuts, 1/4 c. of Bob's brown sesame seeds)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup almond meal (I pulsed approximately 1/4 cup of almonds until it creates a coarse flour)
- 1 1/2 - 2tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup Sun Warrior Vanilla Protein Blend powder
- 3 egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup dried goji berries
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut to sprinkle on top

Directions:

 

1. On a cookie sheet, toast nuts+seeds and shredded coconut until golden brown. In order for them to cook evenly, you need to mix them up a few times during the cooking time, and watch them closely so they don't burn.   I had the oven at 350 for this, but a little warmer would have made the process go faster. 
2. Once toasted, pour mixture into a food processor and pulse until nuts+seeds are chopped and the mixture becomes coarsely ground (sort of the consistency of bread crumbs)In a mixing bowl, melt coconut oil and almond butter (about 30 seconds). Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.
3. Add vanilla extract and sea salt. Mix thoroughly.
4. Fold in nut mixture, almond meal and protein powder until mixed thoroughly.
5. Add egg whites and mix thoroughly.
6. Fold in goji berries.
7. Press mixture into an 8 by 8 loaf pan.
8. Cook in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for 15 minutes.  Note: Some of the oil will come to the top while cooking, don't worry about this.
9. Remove from oven, sprinkle the other ¼ cup of shredded coconut on top and place under broiler until top begins to brown.  This will happen quickly so watch it closely.
10. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Cut into 9 pieces/bars.  If you cut it into fewer,  each will have less calories than listed.
11. Enjoy or stack on wax paper/parchment and store in an airtight container.  These can be stored out of the fridge for a few days, in the fridge for longer, or even frozen.  I had one I froze as a mid-morning snack and I microwaved it and had it warm.  YUM. 

Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

This had to be one of the easiest and most satisfying meals I've had in a while.  My husband said the same thing,  which was a big win.   I got the recipe from Paleo Shmaleo, my friend Brook's new blog documenting her paleo jouney (go Brook!!).  I wasn't as righteous as Brook by using all grass fed and organic products, but I normally am.  I do have to say however, that I LOVE LOVE LOVE RAO'S marinara sauce, so that's what I used.  Nothing in a jar tastes as good as it does, and the label shows only simple ingredients: tomatoes, olive oil, onion, salt, garlic, basil, black pepper and oregano.  I did pick up a jar of Trader Joe's Organic Marinara yesterday while shopping, but the list of ingredients just turned me off.

 

 Ingredients:

2 Spaghetti Squash

1 lb. grass fed ground beef

2 Tbsp coconut or olive oil

1 large onion (purple or yellow - you choose)

3 Tbsp minced garlic

1 jar organic marinara sauce

Italian spices, fresh or dried

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Use a fork and poke some holes in the spaghetti squash

Bake squash for an hour

Brown the ground beef, drain, and put off to the side

Saute the onions about 5 min

Add the garlic, another 2 min

Add marinara

Add ground beef

Add spices

Cut the squash in half, remove centers with seeds

Use a fork to pull the sides towards the middle.  You should see how it starts to turn into the shape of spaghetti noodles.

Plate the "pasta" and spoon the marinara sauce over top

Enjoy!

Coming next, pork chops and roasted chicken.  Stay tuned.

Chiappetta Olive Oil

Way back in the day, when I worked for Avon Products, I worked with a really great guy named Frank Chiappetta. Neither of our careers lasted forever at Avon, but to this day I do miss those days and the people, and love to keep in touch through Facebook, LinkedIn or our annual get togethers.

Little did I know that the Chiappetta family had a life long history of producing fine and delicious extra virgin olive oil since the early 1900s.   I was so surprised to learn that Frank had shifted gears from technology trainer extraordinaire bringing his family business to the states.

Frank sent me a bottle of his oil to test out, and it was indeed quite good.  I used it for cooking, but this did the oil a grave injustice.  It's much finer than that, intended for dished where the taste of the oil can really stand out.  So I immediately switched my use to drizzle on salads, roasted vegetables, tomatoes with mozarella and basil, and even on some Lebanese caviar which a dear friend brought as an appetizer to my home one day. 

The verdict? It's delicious!  So congratulations to my old friend Frank on a great product!!  If anyone else is interested in it, you can do so here: http://www.chiappettaoliveoil.com/index.php

Les Mills Combat

Today starts the day of a new workout program for me.  It's called Les Mills Combat, and as advertised it's supposed to help me "workout like a warrior, and carve a lean, chiseled body in 60 days".  Of course it's not just the workout, but following a diet plan that goes with it.

My diet plan is already no sugar and nothing that acts like sugar in my body, which means no flour, rice, pasta, bread or any medium to high glycemic foods.  I'm stick packing a few of the pounds I put on throughout the holidays and my most recent vacation, so I'm going to also cut back on overall carbs and keep my net carb count under 75 net grams.  Net Carbs = Total Carbs - Fiber, so I'll be tracking both.  I use myfitnesspal.com to track my meals and if you're interested in seeing what I eat and how I do this, you can find me there as lbcruzin.  

Below is my first month's schedule, and I started this morning with Combat 30.  I'm not a very coordinated person, so I think it will take some getting used to get my feet and body coordinated with the kicks and punches, but on day 1 I burned around 350 calories in 30 minutes.

If anyone is interested in doing this type of workout, send me an email and I'll help you get hooked up.

Camille's Thumb Print Jelly Cookies

This recipe is one I've had since grammar school.  I went to private school, Fieldston, in the Bronx, and I have wonderful memories of the Home-ec classes thought by Camille.   I've been storing a yellowing piece of notebook paper, with my 4th grade hand writing, and smudging ink for ever, and even though I cannot eat these cookies anymore, because of the sugar, but they are by far a recipe worth sharing.

Ingredients: 

1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flower
1/2 cup corn starch
Jelly, Jam or Nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix butter and sugar.
Add egg and extract.
Sift flour and corn starch together and mix in to form dough.

Form dough with hands into small balls.  Place balls onto a greased or silicon/parchment lined cookie sheet.  Press into center of each ball to make an indentation/hole for the jelly.

Fill the center with one of your favorite flavors of jam or nuts.  My favorite is raspberry.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until slightly brown.