True story.

28 January. To most of you, it’s probably just another day. But it’s a date I’ll never forget.

7 years ago today, I was facing one of my greatest challenges. 7 years ago today, I was lying on an operating table while surgeons removed my large bowel. Crohn’s Disease hadn’t succeeded in taking my life, but it had succeeded in taking my colon.

In September 2003, just before my 23rd birthday, I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease - an autoimmune disease that affects your digestive system. They don’t know what causes it, or how to cure it. However, the chronic nature of the condition wasn’t made all that clear to me, and I went away thinking that, just like most other illnesses, if I took my medications it would eventually go away.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite to plan! After about 3 months of very little change in my symptoms, I suddenly got really sick. I could barely eat, I was in the bathroom more often than I was out of it, I was losing a lot of blood, and I was in a lot of pain. At its worst, I was actually crawling between my bed and the bathroom. Unsurprisingly, I ended up in hospital, but because the disease had been so mild when I was diagnosed 3 months earlier, it took the medical team about 5 days to realise how bad things were.

On December 31st 2003, because I wasn’t responding to treatment, they performed a sigmoidoscopy. My Mum had stopped in to say goodbye before heading away for New Year (that sounds callous, but none of us realised just how sick I was), and will never forget the specialist telling her that if that was her daughter, she wouldn’t be going anywhere. She didn’t. From the scope, it was apparent that my bowel was very close to perforating, and the doctors had to start considering major emergency surgery to remove my large bowel. This surgery would mean that I would end up with an ileostomy, which is where they bring the end of the small bowel out onto the surface of the abdomen and stitch it in place. Happy New Year.

Only the problem with doing emergency surgery at that time was that I was really too sick for my body to be able to cope. Wait, or operate? Either option was going to be risky, so it was a fairly tense time while the doctors tried to decide what course of action would give me the best chance of coming through this.

Thankfully, after a few days, the medications had enough of an effect that they were able to hold off on the surgery, allowing them to try all the other treatment options available. Although in the end none of them were effective and I did need the surgery, at least my body had a chance to build up a bit of strength, I had a chance to come to terms emotionally with what was going on, and I knew that every other option had been explored.

28 January. Surgery was rough (pain control was a massive problem) and the recovery was long and hard. When I came out of hospital, I struggled just to walk up my parents’ driveway. I was just starting to make progress when I had another disease flare and needed more major surgery in July of the same year – this time, making my ileostomy permanent. But I resolved that I wasn’t going to let the Crohn’s or the ileostomy stop me doing anything…and it hasn’t [well, it has stopped me doing one thing, but this probably isn’t the appropriate forum for a discussion on toilet habits!]. In fact, I probably do more now than I did before my surgery, including the very things I was told I shouldn’t do with an ileostomy (namely, contact sports and heavy lifting)! My experience has motivated me to make the most of my opportunities, to challenge myself, to push myself beyond my comfort zone.

But it hasn’t always been easy. Pushing yourself, trying new things, embracing what life has to offer is sometimes difficult when you just want to curl up in bed and sleep for a week. It was a constant battle. For 7 years, fatigue has been my nemesis…until now. Having changed my diet to primal eating when I started CrossFit in October, I have experienced a huge change in my energy levels. Sure, I get physically tired when I’ve trained hard, but it’s so totally different to the fatigue that I fought before.

Not only that, I actually love my CrossFit/primal eating body! It’s not perfect – far from it. It’s not as strong or as toned as it could be. But it’s stronger, faster, and fitter than ever before.

This was me not long after I came out of hospital from my first surgery, my face still puffy from the huge doses of steroids I was on, my limbs in serious need of some toning…






This was me when I started CrossFit in October last year…





This was me two months into CrossFit and primal eating…



For the first time in about 12 years, I can honestly say that I love my body.



28 January 2004. 7 years. I never thought I would, or could, have the life I do now. I have worked, I have studied, I have travelled. I have played music, I have played sports. I have amazing friends and family, I have a partner who I adore.

7 years. I have laughed, I have loved, I have lived. My illness has made me the person I am, and if I had to go through it all again to be where I am today, I would. In a heartbeat.

7 years. Time flies when you’re having fun.

True story.

It’s not freak food

Since going primal, I’ve become fairly used to hearing phrases like…

“I have no idea what to cook for you now”

or…

“I don’t think [insert name here] would like it if I started serving him/her primal meals”

and most commonly…

“But what do you eat?!”

Well guess what people, you’ll never believe it…it’s kinda crazy, I know…but we eat food! Real food!! It’s nothing special, nothing particularly weird, just real food that doesn’t happen to include grains or sugars. It may be labelled ‘primal’, ‘paleo’, or even ‘caveman’…but it’s not freak food!

I was having a conversation with a friend last week who was concerned about how her partner might respond if she served up a primal meal. So I told her not to tell him it was primal. After all, it’s just normal food. If you don’t make a big deal of the fact that there are no grains or sugars, most people probably won’t even notice! In fact, a lot of you probably eat grain-free meals quite regularly…you just don’t call them primal.

Even eating out is pretty easy once you get your head around it. Sure, you may need to ask them to hold the bread or the potatoes, but countless people have dietary requirements that mean modifications of some dishes. Isn’t that kind of service what we’re paying for when we eat out?!

I do have to admit though, one thing that I find requires a little more ‘thinking outside the square’ is nibbles (or appetisers). First thing we usually think of is cheese and crackers…or bread and dips…or if you’re really fancy, blini (little pikelet things) with elaborate toppings…primal fail! But don’t despair, there are actually plenty of other options if you just get a little creative. We went to a friend’s place for dinner last night, and of course, I was asked to take snacks! So I did guacamole with vegetable sticks, and a sweet/spicy Cajun nut mix…

Cajun Nut Mix

Cajun spice (from Annabel Langbein)

5 tbsp paprika

5 tbsp ground cumin

3 tbsp garlic powder

1 ½ tbsp each of chilli powder, brown sugar, salt (obviously I left out the sugar)

2 ½ tsp chopped dry rosemary

Place all ingredients into a bowl/pot/jar and combine.

Nuts

6 cups raw nuts/seeds (I used cashews, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds)

7 tbsp cajun spice mix (this makes it quite spicy – use less if you prefer it mild)

½ C olive oil

¼ C pure maple syrup

Combine nuts/seeds, cajun spice, oil and maple syrup.

Spread mix out on baking trays. I lined them with baking paper first to reduce the clean-up!

Roast at 200 degrees celcius until dry (approx 20 mins), stirring occasionally. If you are using fan bake, they probably won’t need as long.

Be careful – because of the maple syrup and the oil, these go from being underdone to overdone in a very short space of time! I learnt the hard way…any chance blackened cajun nut mix might catch on?!

Guacamole

2 avocados

1/2 red chilli (chilli flakes or powder also work)

juice of 2 limes

1 small red onion

1 tomato

lots of fresh coriander

salt & pepper

Mash or blend avocados, chilli and lime juice. Because it was there, I used the Magic Bullet (seriously, could they not have put a bit more thought into the name? I thought the thing was a vibrator the first time I heard someone talking about it!), but mashing works just as well.

Blend or finely chop onion, tomato and coriander. Again, I used the Bullet, but if you like your guacamole chunky, stick with a knife.

Combine avocado mix and the tomato mix, and season to taste.

And a huge thank you to D for an amazing dinner last night, and for accommodating our dietary choices so well. Homemade gluten-free hoisin sauce - that's really going the extra mile!

A taste of summer

Icecreams by the beach, sipping a glass of chilled white wine on the deck, fresh bread dipped in olive oil…I have to admit to a twinge of jealousy when I see people enjoying these aspects of the alfresco Kiwi summer; a twinge of jealousy that their lifestyle choices allow them to enjoy these tastes of summer more frequently than my choices do.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking for sympathy – I know that it’s my choice. And I wouldn’t change my choices – I feel better than I have in years, and that’s definitely worth a few ‘sacrifices’. But just occasionally, I feel a bit like I’m missing out.

So today, I came up with another way of experiencing summer. It may not be alcoholic, or full of refined sugars, but in my book, this salad definitely qualifies as a ‘taste of summer’…

Summer Stonefruit Chicken Salad

Ingredients

4 white peaches

2 white nectarines

1 red onion, chopped

¼ cup fresh mint, chopped finely

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Rocket (or other lettuce-type leaves)

Cucumber (‘ribboned’ using a peeler)

2/3 of an orange kumara

330g chicken breasts, halved horizontally and cut into small pieces

Extra mint (torn up) for garnish

(12 blocks protein, 12 blocks carbs, 36 blocks fat – this did each of us 1 lunch and 1 dinner)

Slice stonefruit and place in a bowl with red onion, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mint, salt and pepper. Combine and leave to marinate for at least half an hour…preferably longer.

Using a peeler, make ‘ribbons’ out of the kumara. Mix with a bit of olive oil and salt. Spread out on a baking tray and bake at 200 degrees for approximately 5 minutes (or until starting to get crispy).

Remove tray from oven and unstick ribbons from tray by scraping with a spatula (they will stick to each other – this is ok…it looks cool!).

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and fry in a non-stick pan until browned.

On each plate, place some rocket and some cucumber ribbons, then the appropriate quantity of cooked chicken. Spoon over the allocated amount of the fruit mix, top with a handful of kumara ribbons, and garnish with fresh mint.

The salad got rave reviews from Bear…and just quietly, I’m kinda proud of this one too!

In the Zone

People are reading my blog and seeing the food I eat at uni, and they're starting to ask me about primal eating and Zone. Awesome! I love talking about this stuff!! Mostly because it's made such a difference to my life, but also because I find it really interesting. But it's not always easy to explain over a Funky Green Smoothie in the staffroom, so for those who want to know more, here's a great link to a free article from Crossfit Journal...
http://journal.crossfit.com/2004/05/zone-meal-plans-crossfit-journ.tpl

I've also noticed that, upon hearing about primal eating, most people's first questions are a) how do you feel full without starchy carbs?; and b) what do you eat for breakfast?

When it comes to feeling full, my own personal experience is that, as long as I include enough 'good' fat and plenty of veges in my meal, feeling satisfied is almost guaranteed. What I don't get, is the heavy, 'I've eaten too much and I feel gross' feeling that I used to get with starchy carbs. But really, who enjoys feeling like that on a regular basis?

For a good, simple guide to primal eating, check out this post from Mark's Daily Apple...

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-to-the-primal-eating-plan/

As for the second concern, there are plenty of options! We love bacon, eggs, avocado, spinach & tomato; smoothies (I've posted one recipe, happy to post more if people want?); paleo pancakes (also posted already). Others go for fruit, nuts & yoghurt...or even a steak! As an example of a primal, zone friendly breakfast, here's a recipe for one of our real favourites - N-oatmeal (or 'faux porridge', for the Brits out there). This recipe was posted on Mark's Daily Apple, and then Jojo Ninja played with it to make it meet her Zone requirements. It's amazing!

N-oatmeal

1/3 mashed banana (I use 1/2 if it's a small banana)

3.5 tbsp LSA (Linseed, Sunflower, & Almond mix)

1/2 tbsp almond butter

5 tbsp coconut cream

1 egg

1/2 tbsp PURE maple syrup (I leave this out & add extra fresh fruit - blueberries are good - before serving instead)

(1 block protein, 2 blocks carbs - if you use the maple syrup or add extra fruit, 5 blocks fat)

Whisk together eggs and coconut cream VERY well. Give your mashed banana and almond butter a really good mix and add it to the egg mix, then stir in LSA. Warm in a saucepan on a super low heat. Stir frequently, and don’t let it heat up too quickly or the egg will scramble, and that’s not good!

Yesterday, I added some cinnamon and some mixed spice to it whilst heating.Then, before serving, added chopped up white peach & some cooked bacon (for another block of protein). BOOM! If you can't get your head around that combo, think the sweet/spicy/savoury flavour mix that you got back in the days you used to order french toast with bacon & fresh fruit for brunch... ;-)

This also reheats really well in the microwave - just add a bit of water & stir frequently.

'Failure'

The other day, I wrote about pride and celebrating our successes, but what do we do when we 'fail'*...fail to meet others' expections or to meet our own?

This is something I really struggle with. I hate looking bad (read: not doing something perfectly) in front of others, and I hate it even more when I don't meet the pretty huge expectations I place on myself. In these situations, I have a tendency to try and hide it...pretend it never happened. How many of you respond the same way? How many of you avoid talking or thinking about perceived 'failures', and shut down the conversation when others bring them up? It's hard to admit to being less than perfect!

I was inspired and humbled by Bear's response to Saturday's baseline Grace workout. He was disappointed. His time was slower than his personal best (PB), and the workout didn't feel good. But instead of refusing to discuss it, he posted his time on Facebook and talked about his performance with other CrossFitters.

And why not? We can't be at peak performance every single minute of every single day. It's normal to have off days. It's normal to have strengths and weaknesses. Admitting to these is just admitting to being human.

I can, and will, learn from Bear's approach.


So in the spirit of learning...in the spirit of personal development...I am admitting to 'failing' in the kitchen last night.

We came in late from CrossFit, we had our post-workout smoothie, and I was contemplating throwing together a lamb stirfry for dinner. But I was tired. Scratch that...I was exhausted...we both were...and cooking just seemed too hard. So we ended up having what will henceforth be referred to as a 'block mash-up'. Instead of creating a delicious culinary masterpiece, I made up our blocks using tuna, yoghurt, prunes, and almonds (not all mixed together, I hasten to add!). Domestic goddess fail!

Oh well, at least lunch was pretty tasty...

Tongan Tuna Cakes
(because we're house-sitting for our friends, The Tongans, and so it was in their kitchen that these were created)

Ingredients
3 kumara, boiled to soft
1 egg
50g almond meal
196g tinned tuna in springwater (drained)
2 spring onions
2 tsp paprika
salt
pepper

Mash kumara, combine with egg and almond meal.
Stir in drained tuna, spring onions, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste.
Shape into patties (I made 8 patties, which were supposed to be approximately 1 block each...but I think we went a bit crazy on the kumara!).

Cook in butter, using a frypan or electric frypan, for approximately 5 minutes each side.
Serve with sweet chilli sauce (Bear's paleo sweet chilli recipe to be posted soon!)

*Note: 'fail' and 'failure' are used only in the context of failing to meet expectations (own or others')

What she said

Life's been a little crazy these last few days, and I haven't really had time to cook, let alone write a blog post! So here's a lazy link to an awesome post by my friend Jojo, just to tide you over, and I will try to return to regular programming ASAP...

Learning to fly my freak flag

Feel the fear…and do it anyway

Challenge – it’s what gets me up in the morning, it’s what enables the successes that give rise to the pride I talked about yesterday, it’s what pushes me to push myself. I thrive on challenge, and so challenging myself comes naturally to me. But that doesn’t stop it being scary. I can’t count how many times I’ve stood at the top of a snowboarding run; or waited in the water, attached to my wakeboard and gripping the ski rope; and wondered what the hell I was thinking when I took up those hobbies. But I’d feel the fear and do it anyway…some would say it’s because I’m a little crazy, but I prefer to think that the fact that it scared me made it that much more satisfying when I did it. By nature, challenges often are scary. They push us beyond our boundaries, beyond our comfort zone.

I can’t count the number of people I know who embody that idea, but a few particular individuals come to mind in relation to CrossFit. Our friends and family see the impact that CrossFit has had on our lives – after all, it’d be hard to miss it. And even if they had managed to remain completely blind to the changes in us, they’d be hard pushed to get us to shut up about it…we’ll talk the ears off anyone who expresses even a slight interest in what it is that we do! So naturally, it’s sparked some interest amongst our loved ones…but also some fear. So many people have said to me ‘oh, I wouldn’t be fit enough for CrossFit’, or ‘it sounds great, but I’d be scared that I’d end up looking stupid’. Well, some brave people we know are pushing their boundaries, leaving their comfort zones, and giving it a shot. To Tash, to my Mum, and to Bear’s sisters – we’re so proud of you for feeling the fear, and doing it anyway.

Now, I reckon it’d be wrong of me to talk others into challenging themselves without taking on some scary challenges myself, so I’ve been doing just that. CrossFit New Zealand (who will be referred to as CFNZ from now on) is running a 'Grace' challenge. 'Grace' is one of the CrossFit benchmark workouts, involving 30 x power clean and jerks at 60kg (for men) or 40kg (for women), as fast as possible. My clean and jerks suck. Like, seriously. It would be so much easier for me not to sign up for this challenge. So I did. Baseline is Saturday…and I’m scared.

Blogging also scares me. This wasn’t the first time someone had tried to persuade me to start a blog, but I didn’t think my experimenting in the kitchen was worthy of a blog, or that anyone else would want to read anything I had to say. But thanks to Bear’s encouragement, I did it anyway, and I’m loving it.

And as much as I love my kitchen time, I also love it when someone else cooks for me…but that challenges me too. You may have noticed already that I’m a textbook Type A – I like to be in control. Letting go in the kitchen is not easy for me. But I did, and I was rewarded with an amazing meal for it (guest post coming soon to a computer near you). Thanks Bear – I think I might just challenge myself more often!

Another challenge that I’m undertaking is to get better at post-workout nutrition. I often don’t eat for an hour or so after a CrossFit workout, which is not ideal. Bear’s great at post-workout nutrition, so I’m trying to learn from him. Last night we realised that we didn’t have anything to make our morning post-workout smoothie with, so we ventured to the supermarket at 10pm. I was planning on an avocado, apple & spinach smoothie, which I love (despite my original scepticism about avocado in smoothies). However, fate was against us – we couldn’t get any ripe avocados. So we ‘freestyled’ and settled for coconut milk as our fat content. I threw it all in the blender, added some spices for extra flavour, flicked the switch, and watched it all turn green. Taking the lid off the blender, I admit I was a bit worried – it smelt a little funky – but I got my brave on and tried it anyway. Delicious!

It would have been even better if we’d actually remembered to take it to the workout with us this morning! Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, right?!?

Funky Green Smoothie

4 eggs

4 cups of spinach

1 and ½ granny smith apples

400ml coconut milk

Nutmeg

Cinnamon

(4 blocks carbs, 4 blocks protein, 16 blocks fat)

1.     Throw everything into a blender (you might have to add half the spinach to begin with, then the other half once it’s blended down a bit)

2.     Blend on high

3.     Chill

4.     Remember to take it with you to your workout

Pride - vice or virtue?

I felt proud of myself yesterday. Really proud. And I'm not going to feel bad about admitting it.

So often, we're told not to boast, not to 'talk ourselves up', that we should downplay our achievements. But why should we? What's wrong with having a little pride in ourselves? I'm not talking arrogance or out-of-control egos here, I'm just talking about being able to congratulate ourselves on our successes and share our excitement with those around us. The ability to do this enhances your confidence and motivates you to strive harder towards your goals. At least, it does for me.

Why was I feeling proud? Well it was nothing earth-shattering, nothing Nobel prize-worthy...just three small successes, but I feel good about them nonetheless.

Achievement #1
Yesterday's workout at CrossFit New Zealand involved unbroken reps, which provide an interesting mental and physical challenge.

5 sets:
15 unbroken pull ups
20 unbroken wall balls
25 unbroken Double unders
- restart the exercise from zero if you stop to rest or miss a rep.

This was a tough workout, and I had to modify. Modification #1 was reps - 10, 15, 20 instead of 15, 20, 25. I was hoping to be able to achieve this on the pull ups and wall balls, but I wasn't holding high hopes for the double unders, given that my previous PB had been 17. Modification #2 was to do broken sets.

Now, I didn't manage to do all the pull ups unbroken - after set 1, I was too broken for that! But I did get all the wall balls unbroken, which was pretty cool. Even better though, and what I'm really proud of...I got one unbroken set of double unders! That's right...I managed 20 unbroken double unders...and it was on the fourth set too, so I was doing them fatigued. Given that prior to Boxing Day, I couldn't even get two unbroken double unders, I am feeling pretty damn stoked.

Achievement #2
I got my first pull-up blister! I've had peeling skin & callouses on my hands from pull-ups before, but this was my first real, live blister. While I know that might not be much of a source of pride for many people, for me, it was an indication that I'd pushed myself...hard. High five (just be careful of popping that puppy!)

[Ok, so I know it's small and you can't really see it, but there really is a blister right below my index finger!]

Achievement #3
I actually remembered to measure the ingredients that went into last night's dinner! I almost forgot...I'd even picked up a regular old spoon to start throwing stuff into the pan...but then I remembered you guys and the measuring spoon. So here it is, the accurate (mostly) recipe for Almond Satay Chicken Stirfry.

Almond Satay Chicken Stirfry

Ingredients
2 onions
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp red chilli
300g chicken
4 cups bean sprouts (I know these aren't technically paleo, but they were delivered in the vege box for the week, so we used them)
~ 2 cups broccoli
1 red capsicum
1 cup carrots
2 tbsp almond butter
110ml coconut cream

Fresh coriander to taste (I used lots because I like it!)

[note: these quantities gave us approximately 11 blocks carbs, 11 blocks protein, and 23 blocks fat - 3 x 2-block meals + 1 x 5-block meal. If you're not doing Zone, just chuck in whatever quantities of meat & veges you want]

1. Fry (I used a wok) onions, garlic, and chilli in a bit of olive oil. I didn't have fresh chillis or garlic, so I had to use pre-prepared stuff, but fresh would be better.
2. Add chicken and cook until white
3. Add all of the vegetables except the bean sprouts and cook until soft (or as cooked as you like them). I added a bit of water into the pan here too, to help soften them a bit.
4. Add the bean sprouts and stir through.
5. Add in the almond butter & coconut cream. Mix well and heat until simmering.
6. Stir in the coriander, serve & enjoy. If you're as lucky as me, that will be with good company, before a lovely evening at the tennis - thanks Tanya!

How to kill your boyfriend in two easy steps...

What sort of a ninja would I be if I didn't have at least one post about killing? So here's my first 'death' post...

You've all heard of 'Death by 10 metres', right? [If you haven't, quickly check out this link, and then you will have] Well, last night, Bear experienced 'Death by Lettuce'. Step 1: try to make up 5 blocks of carbs using mostly lettuce, some tomato, & a carrot. Step 2: eat it, for time.

Seriously, it was a lot of salad. What looked like a pretty reasonable amount for a 2 block meal (mine), suddenly became a Hero Workout as a 5 block meal. True story.

Honestly, I thought we'd be up half the night. 'Can we go to bed now?', 'No, I'm still eating salad'...'How about now?', 'Nope, still going...'. Thankfully, we weren't. Like the trooper that he is, Bear ploughed through it and called time at 19 minutes and 56 seconds...just squeezing in before the 20 minute time cap. Shot baby - you're a star.

Ok, seriously now...we are trying to keep meals reasonably simple this week while we get our heads around Zone, which meant naked burgers and salad for dinner last night. I wasn't going to post the recipe, because it's not really a recipe and it's not anything mindblowing, but then I figured it might be a quick, simple option for some of you when you're short on time or inspiration [it was also Measuring Fail II, in that I reverted to my old self & completely forgot to measure anything…sorry! I’ll try harder next time]. So here it is...

Quick & easy naked burgers

700g beef mince

1 egg (to bind)

Ground cumin

Ground coriander

Dried thyme

Dried oregano

Dried parsley

Hot sauce (I used Kaitaia Fire, but Tabasco or similar would also be good)

[Basically, the ingredients were dictated by what I found in Bear’s cupboard. You could use different herbs & spices, although I do recommend you keep the cumin (if you like cumin)…it gives it a nice flavour]

Mix the egg and herbs/spices into the mince with a fork (or your hands, if you like getting dirty).

Divide the mixture into 14 even portions  and form each one into a burger pattie (each pattie is approximately 1 block protein).

Cook in a frypan or on a barbecue - you shouldn't need to add additional fat. Time depends on how well done you like them and the thickness of the patties, but you're probably looking at around 4 or 5 minutes on each side.

Serve with salad...or maybe something else, if you're not game to attempt 'Death by Lettuce'. And babe, we'll find a better way of making up your carb blocks tonight, I promise!

Measuring Fail (or 'Paleo Pancakes')

If you read my last (first? last?...that's kind of confusing...) post, you'll know that I mostly have a 'freestyle' approach to cooking. On Friday morning, I made some super yummy almond meal pancakes, sort of based on several different recipes found on the internet, but mostly just a case of chucking some stuff in until the mixture seemed like the right consistency. Which worked fine. Until Bear posted about the pancakes on facebook, and people started asking for the recipe. So I decided to repeat the process on Saturday morning, this time taking note of how much of everything I used.

Of course, it all went wrong. My ever-helpful boyfriend commented that it was actually a good thing that it went wrong because it gave me something to blog about. I was not impressed. I’d rather have nothing to write about and have it go right.

Never mind...with a bit of adapting, they turned out good enough...and perhaps I'll refine the recipe next time & re-post for those who are interested.

Almond Meal Pancakes

Ingredients

1 banana, mashed

1 egg

½ tbsp almond butter

½ C almond meal (I think...I used too much, so they were a bit crumbly...1/2 a cup is a bit less than I used when it went wrong!)

Combine mashed banana, egg & almond butter in a bowl.

Add almond meal & stir well.

Fry spoonfuls of the mixture over low to medium heat in butter or coconut oil (or your preferred fat for cooking).

Helpful hints

Keep the pancakes on the smaller side, or they’re a real b&#ch to turn.

[Acutally, this one's not so helpful...]This mix doesn't tend to give you those handy little bubbles that tell you when it's time to flip the pancakes, so you have to guesstimate a bit. You want the edges to start browning before you flip them, which probably took about 2-3 minutes. I also found they needed longer on first side than the second. 

Serve with bacon, fruit, yoghurt...

...a sexy man…

...whatever takes your fancy!

And you are...??

So I guess I should start with a bit of an introduction. After all, it's not everyday you meet a kitchen ninja...we're a pretty rare breed.

I'm Lana. I'm a 31 year-old female, living in New Zealand, and currently trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Boring, boring, boring. Here's the good stuff...

I like to workout. And by workout, I mean really workout. I do this thing called CrossFit...you may have heard of it...

What is CrossFit?

I only started CrossFit in October 2010, but although I'm still pretty new to it, I'm well and truly addicted. As well as CrossFit, I like to kick and punch things...or people...I don't discriminate. Although I do try to channel those aggressive tendencies for sole use in taekwon-do...or when something goes wrong in the kitchen.

I also love food. A lot. You know those people who say they forgot to eat? Yeah...I'll never be one of them. I mean seriously, you forgot to eat? Did your brain block out the smells of other people's lunches wafting down the corridor, or the sounds of your stomach growling louder than a bear suffering from honey withdrawal? WHO FORGETS TO EAT??

Ok sorry, rant over. Now the thing with loving food but also loving training, is that you need to figure it out so that your nutrition supports (or even better, optimises) your training. Which is where paleo/primal eating comes in...

A little bit of an intro to the caveman diet

This kind of eating is new(ish) to me. 'New' in that I've only been following it closely for a few months, but 'ish' in that I've been mostly wheat free for over a year (food intolerance) and didn't have a huge amount of other grains or sugars in my diet before CrossFit. But it's still new. And it's still fun. And it's made a huge difference to my body composition, to my energy levels, and to my training. So I'm going with it. Luckily, I also like to experiment in the kitchen, which is why I've been encouraged (persuaded/coerced/whatever you want to call it) to start this blog.

Anyway,  speaking of bears (we were, remember?)...I have this amazing boyfriend (yes I know, the connection is seeming tenuous at best right now), who we will refer to as Bear because he's big, he's hairy, he sleeps a lot and he eats a lot (seeing the connection now?!). He also has a fiendish sweet tooth, so yesterday we embarked on a fortnight of sugar-free eating. That is, no refined sugars, and fruit limited to post work-out nutrition. As of today, we're also going 'Zone' to see if it provides us with additional training benefits.

I'm excited about this! I usually 'freestyle' in the kitchen, adding stuff until it tastes good. Measuring is new for me...I've always kind of felt that it interferes with my creative processes! But freestyling doesn't help you guys much, it won't help us with our 'zoning', and it annoys the hell out of my mum when she asks for the recipe for something! So I'm going to give it a shot.

Bear (excuse the pun) with me as I experiment with primal, with zone, with blogging, and with measuring…