Paleo Fried Bananas

I recently visited the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. While I was there, I tried to eat only authentic foods because, well, when in Rome...

One of my favorite dishes was the fried banana. It was so simple but it was something that I had never even considered before. So of course, I had to put a Paleo spin on it when I made it myself.

Paleo Fried Bananas

Ingredients

• Bananas, slightly green (as many as you feel like eating. 1 per person)
• Cinnamon
• Honey
• Coconut oil
• Ghee, optional

Steps

1. Add 2 tbsp coconut oil and 1 tbsp ghee (or 3 tbsp coconut oil) to a pan on medium heat, or 1/4 inch of oil in your pan. (I used a small pan)
2. While the oil heats, peel your bananas.
3. Slice bananas into coins, about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick.
4. Gently place them in the oil. The slices can touch.
5. Let them 'fry' for 3-4 min. per side. If you try to turn them and they are sticking, they aren't ready.
6. Gently remove them from the pan and place them on a plate lined with a paper towel.
7. They will be a little soft but as they cool and dry, the banana slices will crisp up.
8. Sprinkle the slices with cinnamon and drizzle with honey. Serve as dessert or skip the cinnamon and honey and serve them alongside your meal.

So simple. I made them on a whim and my boyfriend LOVED them. It's not a typical american dish but it's not so 'weird' that people won't be willing to try it... and love it!

Try it out and let me know what you think!

#100happyandhealthydays Challenge

Can you live a happy and healthy lifestyle for 100 consecutive days? We live in a crazy busy world and sometimes it's hard to do something just for YOU everyday. But taking care of your personal well-being is just as important as that 2 o'clock meeting or responding to your 50 new emails. Join in on my 100 day challenge of creating a happier and healthier you. Find out how it works below...

I decided to start this challenge for myself and thought that it would be fun to share with my followers, too! Here's how it works:

• Choose a healthy goal, or several, to accomplish by the end of the 100 days. It could be something like not biting your nails, or losing 10 lbs. But make it manageable.
• Post to your social networks (Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram) everyday using #100happyandhealthydays.
• Start your 100 days with a post about the goal(s) that you plan on accomplishing.
• At the end of the 100 days, share your progress with the social-sphere!

 What do I post?

• Whatever you want! This is for yourself and to motivate others. Examples of things to post would be- a new recipe, enjoying the sunshine, walking your dog, a day in the gym, etc.

Why?

• Like I mentioned, I really just wanted to do this for myself because I have a goal of getting abs by the end of the summer and plan on finishing out the summer season much differently than it started. (Aka: less booze and more sunshine!) Do you have a goal? It doesn't have to be fitness-related. It could just be that you want to eat more veggies or cut back on your alcohol intake. This challenge is just a fun way to share your progress and stay focused. You know you'll be sharing your life on Instagram anyway ;)

F or motivation along the way, follow my Facebook Page at Facebook.com/TheCaveGirlChronicles  or find me on Instagram @xojessicajo for my personal journey.

Let's get started on creating happier and healthier versions of our already fabulous selves! 

Pre-workout vs. Post-workout Supplements

During my time at the gym, I've noticed that there are three types of people- the pre-workout muscle heads, the post-workout junkies and the extreme athletes, or extreme athlete wannabes, that dabble in both. What's better, you ask? That depends on what type of results you're looking for.

If you follow the advise of Hulk Hogan, all you need for fitness success are prayers, weights and vitamins (source). Optimizing your nutrition aids in muscle performance and recovery and also helps you to maintain and build muscle mass. And since it's extremely hard to eat all of the nutrition that you need per day, adding supplements can help you reach your goals faster! Achieving your desired workout goal and moving closer towards your dream physique is not all about what you do at the gym.  An equally important component of your workout is the nutrition, which includes choosing the right pre-workout and post-workout supplements.

For the basic breakdown, pre-workout is best if you need an extra boost in your energy to maxamize your workouts and if you're looking to create lean muscle mass, while post-workout is all about recovery and healing your muscles after an intense workout so you can get back in the gym tomorrow. Pre-work supplements typically contain amino acids, carbs and stimulants, like caffeine. While post-workout supplements contain protein (usually whey) and creatine.

Usually, people prefer one type of supplement over the other. They either need that extra energy for their workout and take pre-workout or they need some extra help with recovery and take a post-workout supplement. I, personally, like to use both. Some days I use them both in the same day, whereas other days I only prefer to use one or the other. There is nothing wrong with using both supplements to achieve your gains.

Which do you use?

Other Source:
Infinite Labs

The Zone Diet: A Brief Overview

Let me start by saying that I THINK I may have heard of this a year or so ago. But I have recently started talking about it with some chicks at my box before I decided to look into it more. Like the Paleo lifestyle, it advocates "real food" - lean protein, veggies, fruits and nuts. But unlike the Paleo Diet, it has a better definition of how much of everything you should be eating.

While I've had great results over the past year or so with the Paleo Diet, I feel like I need a little more guidance. The Zone Diet has a set way of breaking down exactly how much of what types of food you should be eating.- 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. If you take nothing else away from this way of eating, take that piece of information. While being on the Paleo Diet, my carbs were not at 40% of my daily intake. And by carbs, it means mostly fruits and veggies. Trying to add in more carbs while still keeping my calories up has been the hardest part for me over the past week.

The Zone Diet breaks each of your meals down by "blocks." For example, the average male will eat 4 blocks at breakfast, lunch and dinner and 2 blocks for their two snacks each day. A 4 block breakfast would look like this-

• 4 blocks protein
• 2 large eggs
• 4 eggs whites
• 4 blocks carbs
• 2/3 cup oatmeal
• 1 orange
• 4 blocks fat
• 2 tbsp. avocado
• about 6 almonds

While doing research, I came across these great sites that helped me break down what the Zone Diet was and how I wanted to implement it into my life.

• http://www.webmd.com/diet/zone-what-it-is
• This shows a basic overview of what the Zone Diet consists of.
• http://crossfitimpulse.com/the-zone-diet-explained-edited
• Check out this site for how to pair the Zone Diet with the Paleo Diet and CrossFit.
• http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/cfjissue21_May04.pdf
• Here, you can find great meal plans and a breakdown of what types of food are equal to how many blocks.

Right now I am still eating 80% Paleo, but I am also trying to implement the Zone Diet's basics of adding in more carbs. I am not really 'counting calories' but I do like to monitor mine every now and then to see exactly how many calories I'm taking in on an average day and making sure that they're close to where I need to be (1,800 cal/day). 

Do you think the Zone Diet could work for you? Or have you tried it and had good results? Share your insight!

A New Challenge for this New Year.

This week I started another Paleo Challenge at my box. Tons of people keep telling me, "But you don't need to lose weight." Do you have to have a goal of weight loss to want to challenge yourself? This challenge is only for 30 days and requires strict eating with 4 days at the gym per week. Being that I've only been getting in the gym 3 days a week, on a good week, lately I thought that this would be a good way to kick my diet and fitness goals back in to gear. I am on day 4 and am doing good... so far.

Speaking of challenges - A friend from my box mentioned competing in this Tri Fitness competition this June in Florida and wants me to do it, too. I love a challenge, but I'm trying to do as much research as I can to determine if this is something that I can do. It has three parts: a figure competition (yes, you read correctly), an obstacle course and a fitness competition. You can also opt to do a fitness routine, but I think I'll leave my dance skills at home that day. It sounds crazy and like NOTHING that I have ever done. I'm not 100% locked in but I have been doing my research and will be meeting with a coach this week to hash out all of my questions and concerns. YIKES!

For this challenge, my family is attempting to participate by eating Paleo 80/20 for the first time in their lives. So far my baby sister, who is in 7th grade and has a horrid diet, just has a hard time packing her lunch with things that she likes and aren't too difficult to prepare. She asked me on day 1, "Is Ramen Paleo." No, baby girl. My mom is doing well and just came home yesterday talking about how starving she was. She's a teacher and doesn't have the time to eat or drink much throughout the day, so getting in enough calories is going to be tough for her. As for my dad, he may or may not actually be eating Paleo (lol).

My first benchmark WOD was (while having a sinus infection):

• 5 Rounds of 10 burpess and 10 75# Cleans
• 8:58
• Rest 10 Min.
• Then, Run 1.5 mi. for time
• 10:20

Those are by far not great times, but I'm not too upset with them either. I felt like crap, had tissues next to my chalk bucket, and my lungs were on fire for the run. But I finished under the time caps and can obviously do nothing but better the next time around!

This week, our favorite household recipe was: Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Chicken Breasts, sliced into strips
• 4 Bell Peppers, cut into long strips
• 2 Onions, chopped OR cut into larger strips
• Romaine Lettuce (for lettuce wraps)
• Hot Salsa/Pico de Gallo from Harris Teeter (made fresh)
• Coconut Oil
• The juice of 1 lime
• Garlic
• Cilantro and guacamole, if you're feeling saucy 

Instructions:

Heat up a skillet with a tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Start by slicing the chicken into long, thin strips. Also cut, or dice depending on your preference, the onions. Once the oil is heated, add in a tablespoon of minced garlic (about 2 cloves) and the diced onions. Once the onions soften up and start to turn translucent, after about 5 minutes, add in the chicken strips and squeeze the juice from one lime over it.

As the chicken is cooking, cut the bell peppers into long strips. I like all of my ingredients to be cut similarly, in long strips like they do at the Mexican restaurants! 

Once the chicken is about halfway complete, after about 15 min., add in the bell peppers. Continue to saute the chicken, onion and peppers until the chicken is done and the peppers have softened up, but still have a slight crunch. 

This can be served in a heap on your plate and topped with some fresh salsa, wrapped in lettuce wraps or on top of a salad. I like to make extras, too, so I can have some the next day for lunch! If you need some more fats, also top it with some guacamole! 

Week 6: The End is Near

I am a little behind in my recording of the LuRong Challenge. I ended up getting the office crud the beginning of the week and wasn't able to catch a break! Also, last weekend (pre sickness) I was able to do my gym's Barbells for Boobs Partner WOD (Helen meets Grace). It was a lot of fun and also my first time participating in the cause. I will definitely be there next year!

Back to the LuRong Challenge, I only have one week and two days left!!! I have decided that after the challenge is over, I will continue the strict Paleo principles for a while longer, with cheat meals once or twice a week. The only things that I really miss are beer, chicken wings and quinoa. If I can limit those things to only once or twice a week, I think I'll be doing good. I really thought that I would miss dairy more. But that ended up not even being a big deal, other than having to ask for it to be withheld every time that I ate out. Cheese comes on everything... or so it seems.

Last week my box completed the 7th WOD for the LuRong Living Paleo Challenge and I tried out some more new recipes.

LuRong Challenge WOD #7
Uphill Finisher - 20 min. time cap
Level II- #65 front squat and push press, 2 #35 kettle bells

3, 5, 7, 9, 11 burpess, front squat, push press with 100m farmer carry in between each round + 13 burpee pull-up finisher

• Completed in 19:35
• This was a really grueling workout, to say the least. I thought that the farmers carries wouldn't be bad, but my shoulders were shot by the time I got to those. Then having to do the 13 burpee pull-ups afterwards... Crazy I tell ya! #digdeep

Favorite Recipe of the Week:  Jalapeño & Mushroom Bison Burgers with a Sweet Potato and Broccolini. 

Ingredients:

• Coconut oil
• 1 jalapeno, chopped. Leave the seeds in if you like a little heat.
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1 lb. ground bison
• 2 sweet potatoes
• Cinnamon
• 1 bunch broccolini
• Lawry's Black Pepper Season Salt (or other seasoning of your choice for burgers)
• 2 cloves of garlic

Instructions:

First, add coconut oil to a hot skillet on medium heat. Add the meat, jalepeno, mushrooms and garlic to a large bowl and combine the ingredients with your hands. Form the patties (should create 4), using your thumb to indent a small spot in the center of each patty- I learned this from a cooking show, it's supposed to help them to cook more evenly. Then season the burgers on both sides with the seasoning of your choice and add them to the pan, turning when needed. 

For the broccolini and sweet potatoes, I use steamer bags that can be popped in the microwave. The only place that I have been able to purchase these bags in my area is at Harris Teeter. I steam the broccolini and sweet potatoes separately, timing it out so that they are completed with about 5 minutes left on the burgers.

Lastly, plate the burgers (I like to add avocado to the top of mine!), cut your sweet potatoes down the middle and add half of the broccolini to each plate. I like to add coconut oil and cinnamon to my potato, and leave the broccolini plain. To each their own :)

I loved the simplicity of this meal and that it only took me about 25 minutes from start to finish and I only had to wash the frying pan. Also, in a perfect world this would have been great for leftovers. However, with my boyfriend there were none lol. I think that next time I will get 2 lbs. of meat so that I can enjoy these for lunch again the next day, at least!

I hope everyone had a fangtabulous Halloween and that you're weekend is great, too!

The Top 10 Tips for Weight Loss

Losing weight in a healthy way is a common topic among men and women, alike. What should you eat? Do you need to exercise? These are common questions in regards to weight loss. The thing that many people tend to forget is that being 'healthy' is not just something that you should do for four weeks.  Actually being in good health is something that needs to be taken on as your way of life.

In order to be successful with weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight, you should try to follow these ten "rules."

1. It's a lifestyle, not a diet.
• If you think of eating healthy foods as something short-term, then you are ultimately setting yourself up for failure. This is not just a short-term fix, it needs to be a way of life.
2. Organization is key.
• Like most things in life, organization and structure are the keys to success. Having a schedule and a structure for your life will give you a schedule and structure for your eating.
3. Limit your portions.
• Check out the serving sizes on the foods that you are eating. You may be surprised to discover that you are actually eating several portions when you thought you were just eating one. Portion control is necessary for loosing weight.
4. You don't have to clean your plate.
• Don't be a compulsive eater. Just stop eating when you're full- it's that easy.
5. Don't deprive yourself.
• If you're hungry, eat. If you feel like you've already had a lot of calories, try filling yourself up with veggies. They are low calorie and nutrient dense. Snacking throughout the day on things like trail mix and veggies and drinking plenty of water will help your metabolism in check but also keep you feeling satisfied and suppress your need to binge.
6. Eat slowly.
• Eating more slowly will allow you to appreciate the food more and actually feel full sooner.
7. Enjoy your food.
• Just because you're eating healthy doesn't mean that you can't enjoy your food. Think about the foods that you love and then try to incorporate them into your healthy lifestyle. Love buffalo wings? Try baking or grilling them at home instead of buying the fried and greasy ones out somewhere.
8. Move your body!
• Exercise and diet go hand-in-hand. You can lose weight with just a strict diet, but you'll feel great if you're working out, too!
9. Rest and recover.
• Have a regular sleeping pattern and get your required 6-9 hours of sleep per night. This will help regulate your metabolism! Also, listen to your body. If you've worked out two days in a row and feel like you've been hit by a mac truck, then day three should be your rest day.
10. Love yourself.
• Figure out what inspires you to be the best version of yourself and do it- 110%! Love yourself enough to take care of yourself, inside and out.

I hope these tips helped! Do you have anything that you would add or take away from this list?

The Top 10 Smart Phone Apps for CrossFit

I use an app to log every workout that I do- time, weight and repetitions. The app automatically stores everything by date, so the next time I'm at the gym and am curious what exactly I did for a 5x5 back squat, I just pull up "back squats" and I am able to see the date, time and what I squatted. It's an easy way to stay organized and informed and you'll always know if you hit a new PR or if you should strive for those extra 5-10 lbs. I have also recently come across several apps that are similar to the WOD app that I use and some that offer different things, too.

So, that being said, here is a list of popular apps that you can download to your smart phone to help you stay on track and continue to progress the way that you're supposed to. From logging your workouts to finding a local box to try out while you're out of town, smart phone apps are here to help!

1. .       WOD (iPhone) - $.99
   ·         This is the app that I currently use
   ·         You can log your workouts and PRs, see a WOD of the day and several WODs are listed (The Girls, Hero’s, etc.).
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
   2.       Beyond the Whiteboard (iPhone & Android) - FREE
   ·         You can log and track your results and progress, follow various gym’s WODs, add your box, view instructional videos, etc.
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
   3.       myWOD (iPhone & Android) - $1.99
   ·         Extremely simple app to use. Log your WODs, PRs and Max Reps. You can also connect it to your social media channels to brag to all of your followers about your newest achievements.
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
   4.       XFit PR (iPhone & Android) - $3.99
   ·         Allows you to add your own WODs, log WODs that you have completed and watch demos. There is also a built in calculator/converter and a WOD library.
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
   5.       WODzilla (iPhone) - $1.99
   ·         Use this app to track fitness goals, WOD performance and your progress. Follow other gym’s WODs by tracking their websites with the RSS feed option.
   

   
   

   
   
   
   
   6.       WODBox Pro (iPhone & Android) - $3.99
   ·         The best feature of this app is that you can plug in what equipment you have on hand and it will generate a list of WODs. There is also a countdown timer, tabata timer and a stopwatch.
   

   

   
   
   
   
   7.       GWOD Spot (iPhone) - $4.99
   ·         Great for learning bodyweight and gymnastics movements. This app will teach you new skills and teach you how to build strength and increase flexibility via streamable video breakdowns.
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
   8.       Workout Hero (iPhone & Android) - $2.99
   ·         This app has workout and food alarms, over 200 how-to videos and 700 preloaded workouts. Workout Hero also has 10,000 Paleo recipes.
   
   

   
   
   
   
   
   9.       iWOD Pro (iPhone) - $1.99
   ·         This app has over 1,000 WODs and 200 How-to videos and allows you to upload and save your own recipes. Also includes a stopwatch, countdown timer, tabata timer and lap timer.
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
   10.   Box Finder (iPhone) - FREE
   ·         This is great to use while you are traveling and still want to get in a WOD. CF Finder will help you locate the closest box to where you currently are.
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   These apps will assist you with reaching your fitness goals and tracking your progress. Do you use a CrossFit or fitness app? If so, which one(s)?