Following your dreams

Dreams. I'm not talking the weird stories that run through our heads when we're asleep. I'm talking the plans, the hopes, the aspirations we have for our future; and for our now.

Dreams can be exciting and inspiring. But they can also be downright scary. Sometimes following our dreams means getting out of our comfort zone and taking a risk. Sometimes following our dreams means making decisions that others don't understand, and will possibly never understand.

I have dreams for my future; and right now, continuing with my PhD is standing in the way of those dreams. So I'm taking a break from it. It might be a permanent one. A lot of people don't understand this, and they're not shy in telling me so. But I know, in my heart of hearts, that this is what I need to do. It's scary, no doubt about it. But it's also really exciting. I can't wait to discover my future.

Dreams aren't much use if they forever remain dreams. What would have happened if Martin Luther King, Jr. had said "I have a dream...but I'm too scared to make it a reality"? Probably not much.

So live the life you were meant for. Make your dreams reality.


Speaking of dreams, I was dreaming of nachos the other week; so much so, that I just couldn't get the idea out of my head. But I had a dilemma: nachos, with their pile of crispy corn chip goodness, aren't exactly primal. So I followed my dreams and made them primal!

Primal chicken nachos

For the chicken

1 whole chicken (or you could use chicken breasts/thighs)
1 onion, chopped

400g chopped tinned tomatoes
1/4C tabasco sauce
4tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 red capsicum
Salt

Roast the chicken, then take all the meat off the carcass (which you can later boil up for chicken stock) and place in a saucepan with the remaining ingredients.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for ages (until the chicken is all stringy-like!).

Alternatively, you could probably just cut up uncooked chicken pieces, put all ingredients into the crock-pot/slow-cooker, and separate the chicken with fork once cooked.

For the chips

Kumara

Coconut oil

Salt

Slice kumara thinly using a mandolin.

Heat a few tablespoons of coconut oil in a wok or deep frying pan.

Drop a handful of kumara slices into the oil, making sure they are separated, and fry until golden.

Remove chips from the pan, place on a cooling rack covered with paper towel, and sprinkle with salt.

Guacamole

1 ripe avocado

Approx. 1/2 red onion, finely diced

1 or 2 tomatoes (depending on size), diced

Juice of 1 lemon

Fresh coriander, chopped

Salt

Pepper

Mash avocado well. Add all other ingredients and combine well.

Putting it all together

Place the kumara chips around the edge of a plate, then spoon some chicken mixture into the middle (try to avoid the chips as much as possible, or they'll go soggy). Top the chicken mixture with grated cheese.

Place each plate under the grill until cheese is melted.

Served topped with guacamole, sour cream, and a bit of fresh coriander.

Making the most of what you've got

We all have things that we’re not so good at. I’m sure we’ve all experienced those moments of dismay when we get a WoD that seems to intentionally target our ‘worst’ exercises, or when we have to do something at work that doesn’t come naturally to us (public speaking, anyone?!). We all know what it’s like to feel as if we’re not doing something as well as we’d like to.

There is no denying it - we all have our weaknesses.

But we also all have our strengths.

The beauty of CrossFit is that the nature of the sport allows everyone to utilise their strengths. It lets everyone make the most of what they’ve got. I’ve got a long way to go with most of the exercises we do in CrossFit, but I have a pretty good run. I now love it when we get WoDs with runs in them, because I know I can use them to make up time I might lose on exercises that I find harder. I’ve switched my mindset from seeing runs as a bit of a ‘rest’, because they’re not as hard, to viewing them as something I can utilise to improve my performance. It’s no different when we face challenges in life. It’s important to focus on our strengths and how we can best use them to overcome each hurdle.

The CrossFit Games are about to start. Have you entered yet? Sure, you might not think you can complete every workout as rx’d, and you might not be aiming for a place at regionals or worlds, but you just might find that one of the sectionals workouts happens to involve those very exercises you know you’re good at. Every single member of a team can contribute to the team’s overall scores. Every single member of the team can make the most of what they’ve got to help the team get to the next stage. So what are you waiting for? Sign up and make the most of what you’ve got!

http://games.crossfit.com/athletes/teams/crossfit-new-zealand

Speaking of making the most of what you’ve got, here are a few recipes I threw together at short notice, using bits and pieces that were in the fridge, or things that needed using up…


Olive, pickled onion, and feta mix

I was feeling kind of peckish prior to heading out on Saturday night, and I really wanted something salty. So I had a rummage around the pantry and the fridge, and came up with this.

Black olives
Chopped pickled onions
Goats feta
(Could also add sundried tomatoes)

If I was making this in advance, I would also have added some fresh rosemary, but that would need time for the flavour to permeate through the mix.

Put all ingredients in a bowl & demolish!

Broccoli, avocado & mint salad 

When we got home, we had to throw a quick (but ideally tasty) dinner together. Bear was in charge of the steak, I was in charge of the vegetables. Having not yet done the grocery shopping, I was a bit short of options…but we did have some broccoli, some avocado, and some pecans leftover from the crumble…perfect for a warm broccoli salad!

Broccoli
Avocado
Chopped fresh mint
Chopped pecans
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt & pepper, to taste

In a bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, fresh mint, pecans, and salt & pepper.

Steam broccoli & add to the bowl. Chop avocado, add, and stir.

Eggplant & kumara dip

This one came about because I had a couple of eggplant that needed using, and then we had a bit of leftover baked kumara that Bear had cooked for a brunch with friends who never showed! (Don’t feel bad though guys, it made a great starter for dinner with my family that evening!)…

2 eggplants, sliced and roasted
6 cloves garlic, roasted
Roasted kumara
2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
3 tbsp tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Touch of ground cayenne pepper

Roast eggplant, garlic, and kumara.

Combine all ingredients using a stick blender or food processor.

Serve with fresh vegetable sticks.

Happily ever after

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...well actually, not far away at all, but that sounds better...there was a young (let me indulge myself here) woman who totally sucked at power cleans. She knew she sucked at power cleans - they just felt so wrong, so awkward, so...sucky! And because she knew she sucked at power cleans, she worked hard on her technique, she rehearsed it over and over again in her mind, she thought about every single part of the movement...in fact, she over-thought every single part of the movement...and yet she still sucked. And it didn't matter how many people told her she could do them, that the bar was going well high enough, that she really was capable of lifting heavier...she still sucked.

But then, one day, this young woman realised that she was sick of sucking at power cleans. She decided she didn't want to suck at them anymore. Instead, she decided that she was actually awesome at power cleans. Not going to be awesome, you understand; actually was awesome.

And lo and behold, she was.

She went into a workout that day and nailed 45 x 35kg power cleans.

Then, less than a week later, she knocked 2 minutes off her previous 'Grace' (30 clean and jerks) time.

And now she knows she's awesome at power cleans. And so she lived happily ever after.


So it just goes to show how much of what we do, in workouts and in life, comes down to mindset. Often, the outcome is already determined by our approach. We can choose to suck, or we can choose to be awesome - it's up to us.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we can always choose what happens to us in life, but I do think we can choose how we respond. And we can always choose how we approach each day, each workout, each challenge.

We can choose to be processed-carbohydrate-laden, sugar-laden chocolate shell pudding (WTF?!?)...

...or we can choose to be primal-crumbly-goodness...

What will you choose today?


Apple, blueberry & dark chocolate crumble

2 cups almond meal
50g butter, softened & chopped

Ground mixed spice

Ground cinnamon
100g 85% dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup pecans, chopped (hazelnuts would also be tasty)


Apples
Blueberries (frozen or fresh)
Ground mixed spice, cloves, and cinnamon


For the topping
Place the almond meal, spices, and chopped butter in a mixing bowl.

Using your fingers, rub the butter into the almond meal, until it looks a little like biscuit crumbs.

Stir in chopped chocolate and pecans.

For the crumble
Stew apples with some ground mixed spice, cloves, and cinnamon.

 Here's a little something I prepared earlier...

Place apples and blueberries in a baking dish.

Spread the topping evenly over the fruit mixture.

Bake at 180 degrees, until topping is golden and fruit is heated through (approximately 20-30 minutes).

Leave to stand for at least 10-15 minutes before serving (preferably with lots of cream!), although I would recommend baking in advance and serving cool.

Tastes even better the next day, cold and swimming in cream, after smashing 30 clean and jerks! Just like my 'Grace' performance, it improved with time...

Excuses, excuses

I'm good at pushing myself, good at challenging myself, good at exercising self-control. But recently, I've discovered I'm also really good at excuses.

I've had a lot going on lately - I've been sick; I've been making some major life decisions; I've been stressed about money; I've been worrying about family, friends, and strangers down in Christchurch; and I haven't been getting enough sleep. That hasn't left me with a whole lot in reserve to fight those moments of dietary weakness. And so I haven't.

Instead, I've justified the choices I've made. I've told myself that it's ok because I normally eat so well, that it's ok because it's a special occasion, that it's ok because I'm celebrating, that it's ok because I'm tired, or stressed, or down...the list goes on. And so I've eaten a dessert here, some chocolate there; an icecream with a friend, a piece of birthday cake with Mum. And I've felt justified in doing so. For a few minutes.

But then I just become more tired, more sick, and in more of a low mood...and I feel like I've let myself down.

Of all the excuses I come up with, my favourite one seems to be "I deserve this". Deserve what? To be more sick and more tired than I already was? I might have convinced myself I was being kind to myself, but I wasn't. Not at all. So now I'm going to start.

It's time for the excuses to stop.

I've been meaning to put this recipe up for a while, but I've been too busy, too tired, too...you get the idea....

Roast Pumpkin and Bacon Soup

1 butternut pumpkin, chopped and roasted
1 whole garlic, roasted
2 onions, roasted
Olive oil
350g bacon
Butter (measure if Zoning)
3 carrots
2 red chilis, chopped
A few lumps of fresh ginger
Salt & pepper
Thai basil leaves

Roast the pumpkin, garlic, and onions in olive oil and a bit of salt.

Chop the bacon into small pieces. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then add the bacon, and the roasted onion and garlic (peeled).

Add chopped carrots, roast pumpkin, chilis and ginger. Top up with enough water to cook everything in (probably so the level's about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up all the vegetables, but you might need to add more as you go). Season with salt and pepper. Cook until all the vegetables are soft, then add some fresh thai basil (or you could probably use standard basil) and cook for a little longer.

Blend with a stick blender (you might need to add more water).

Serve with a spoonful of sour cream & some chopped fresh thai basil sprinkled on top.

According to Bear, this is the best thing I've ever cooked for him. Not bad for something that was thrown together to use up some pumpkin we had in the fridge!