We are going to try and inspire you to set a nutritional goal this month and put it on the board at the gym.
Here is a recipe that you should try this week. It’s really quick and easy and even my picky eater liked it. I got this recipe off the whole9life.com website, made it for the family and it was a hit! We really enjoyed the cumin and cinnamon flavors in the beef.
Mexi-Salad with fresh Guacamole
Taco salad:
2 lbs. organic, grass-fed ground beef (fresh, or frozen and thawed)
1 can (16 oz.) of organic diced tomatoes (read ingredients!), or dice your own
2 limes, squeezed for juice (squeeze them like you’re deadlifting!)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
fresh cilantro (chopped), to taste
Instructions:
Prepare the guacamole ahead of time, and chill while you make the salad. Mash the avocado in a glass or ceramic bowl* to desired consistency. Pour the lime juice over the avocado right away to prevent browning. Use a wooden spoon* to mix in all other ingredients.
*The lime juice in this recipe is reactive with metal, so avoid metal mixing bowls and spoons.
Start to brown the ground beef. Add tomatoes and spices and simmer until it’s no longer pink. Drop a pile of chopped romaine on a plate, top with ground beef, sprinkle with diced pepper and cover with fresh salsa. Spoon a hearty helping of guacamole on the side.
We’d also like this topped with black olives, onion or chives, or any other fresh vegetables you can think of. You can also boost your leafy green consumption by using baby spinach as your salad base… but there’s something about the warm ground beef on top of the crispness of romaine that we really like. (A blend of both lettuce and spinach might be just the thing.)
We don’t count calories or blocks, so we’re not sure what this would work out to from a macronutrient perspective… but if you Zone, you can easily figure that out for yourself. Add or subtract fat in the form of more or less guacamole, and if you need more carbs, consider adding pineapple or making a mango salsa instead of the traditional tomato-based version. Olé!
Tie a five-pound plate to hang an honest 18″ above your tiptoe reach and complete 5 rounds for time of:
50 Jump and touch
40 Squats
30 Sit-ups
20-Push-ups
10 Pull-ups
Many thanks to the folks who came out to the pool party yesterday. Thanks for making something for everyone else to try and thanks for being there.
Getting Started
As we start out a focus on Nutrition I think it is important to see what CrossFit has to say about nutrition. First notice that we are talking about nutrition and not “A Diet.” “A Diet” is something that people do on and off to lose weight. Nutrition (often called your diet, and not “A Diet”), is what you consume in order to make your body function. Simply, Nutrition is the FUEL that makes your engine run, as well as the materials required to build and maintain the body’s structures in the most optimum way possible.
Here is the CrossFit prescription for what to eat (From CrossFit.com).
“What Should I Eat?
In plain language, base your diet on garden vegetables, especially greens, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. That’s about as simple as we can get. Many have observed that keeping your grocery cart to the perimeter of the grocery store while avoiding the aisles is a great way to protect your health. Food is perishable. The stuff with long shelf life is all suspect. If you follow these simple guidelines you will benefit from nearly all that can be achieved through nutrition.” (www.crossfit.com)
Here are two good articles from the CrossFit Journal that I highly recommend to get you started on the path toward optimal health and performance.
