A twist on Mexican

The other night I was craving mexican food, but mexican usually involves a lot of unhealthy crap! So I came up with this quick recipe to satisfy my mexican taste buds. It's simple and easy! I used my previous Easy Pulled Pork recipe and just added some mexican cauliflower fritters and BOOM...it was delecious!

Mexican Cauliflower Fritters

Ingrediants:
-2 cauliflower heads
-Small handful fresh parsley finely chopped
-1 small can mild chopped green chilies
-Ground black pepper
-2 tsp chili powder
-2 tsp garlic powder
-About 6 eggs

Directions:
-Fill large pot with water and put on stove to boil. If you have a steamer...use it!
-Wash and chop cauliflower in half or quarters, remove leaves and stems
-Chop parsley and get out garlic and spices
-Once water is boiling, add cauliflower and boil for 15 minutes until soft.
-Mash cauliflower with a large fork or potato masher.
-Add spices and mix well
-Place pan on stove on medium heat.
-Spray pan to keep fritters from sticking
-Fill measuring cup with 1/2 cup cauliflower mixture and mix in one egg
-Pour mixture into hot pan trying to mimic a pancake shape
-Let fritters cook for 3-4 minutes then flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

When fritters are done they should be formed and nicely fried to golden brown on each side. To spice up...add hot sauce too!

Place pork on top of cauliflower and eat up!!

Mmmm...Lasagna!

Alright...This is flippin' good! Real good. I just ate half the pan. Not joking! I got this recipe from my friend, Juli, with paleOMG. Every Sunday, I always like to make my food for the week. It's the only day of the week that I never plan anything. I use the day to catch up and get ready for the next week. It's all about being prepared. This week, I decided to mix things up a little and try this Chicken Butternut Lasagna. Holy cow this is good stuff! The only complaint I have about this recipe is that it doesn't make enough. Next time, I am doubling the recipe:)

Hope you enjoy this healthy comfort food as much as I did:)

Ingrediants:

•1 large butternut squash
•1 head garlic clove, roasted
•1/2 yellow onion, diced
•3 boneless chicken breasts, diced
•3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
•1/4 cup canned coconut milk
•1/4 cup tomato sauce
•1 teaspoon basil (fresh or dried)
•1 teaspoon parsley (fresh or dried)
•salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.Cut the end off the bulb of garlic to reveal the cloves inside. Wrap in aluminum foil and throw in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
3.While the garlic is roasting, you'll need to cut your butternut squash. You can do this a couple different ways but remember, you are trying to get the long squash into "lasagna type strips".
4.What I did: Cut the end off the squash, then use a sharp knife to take off the skin. Then cut the squash into 1/4s lengthwise. Remove seeds and strings. Then you can do 1 of 2 things: either use a knife to slice the butternut squash into strips or use a mandoline to slice the butternut squash into thinner strips.
5.Set aside and begin to make your chicken and sauce.
6.Add olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Add your diced onion to begin to cook. After about 3 minutes of coating your onions and bringing out their flavor, add your diced chicken along with a bit of salt. Let the chicken cook under low heat while you make your sauce.
7.Your head of garlic should be roasted by now, so pull it out of the oven and remove the roasted cloves and put directly into your food processor.
8.Add olive oil to your food processor along with the roasted garlic and turn your food processor on. Once the garlic cloves have become a paste, add your coconut milk and tomato sauce along with basil and parsley. Pulse until saucy. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.
9.When the chicken is ALMOST done cooking remove from heat.
10.Now for the lasagna stacking. Pull out a 8x8 or 9x9 glass baking dish, coat the bottom of the dish with a bit of sauce, then add a layer of butternut squash strips, a layer of chicken, and a layer of sauce. Repeat until you are all out of chicken and butternut squash. The last layer should be butternut squash and topped off with sauce.
11.Bake, uncovered, for around 40-45 minutes. The squash should be tender BUT do not cut into it until it has set for a while. I gave mine about 40 minutes. I covered with aluminum foil and let sit.

Enjoy!

Be Kind

Be kind. It’s so simple. Treat everyone with respect even if you feel they don’t deserve it. Smile at a stranger. Always say thank you. And don’t forget those kind little gestures to show someone you care.

Today at Starbucks I was $1.02 short on my coffee card. As I was scraping to come up with the change, an older gentleman behind me pulled out a five dollar bill and handed it to the cashier and said, “this one is on me.” I insisted that it wasn’t necessary and I had enough money to pay. However, he just smiled and said, “No worries. You can get the next one. Have a great day miss.”

I think I just stood there staring at him baffled by his kindness to a complete stranger. He doesn’t know who I am, where I come from, and little did he know that I was in the middle of the craziest time at work. That gesture alone made my day. It found my smile that was in hiding.

Be kind because everyone you meet is fighting a battle. You never know how the smallest gesture can change someone’s day.

Easy Pulled Pork

This recipe comes from my amazing gym, Crossfit Verve. I made this last Sunday afternoon and I was amazed at how easy this was...I mean it literally took me 5 minutes! Not to mention...it tastes unreal! I this on my eggs in the morning, made lettuce wraps with it for lunch, and for dinner I had it with roasted veggies. It's a cheap and easy meal that makes a lot. Enjoy!

Pulled Pork

Ingrediants:
3 lbs pork, brisket or roast
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
2.5 cups bell pepper, chopped
2 cans El Pato Mexican tomato sauce (7.75oz yellow can)
Half bottle Valentina picante sauce (12.5 oz bottle)
2 t cumin or 2 T curry*

Directions:
Add the pork, onion, peppers, sauces, and your choice of spice to a crock-pot. Set it on low for 6-12 hours, it's ready when you can easily shred the meat holding two forks. Set this up the night before, and let it slow cook all night. I do realize that Colorado has a great selection of mexican food. So I am not sure if this tomato sauce and picante sauce can be found in other states. My advice...experiment! If you only have a plain tomoato sauce, add some additional spices to flavor it up...such as chili powder, cayenne pepper etc.

* the cumin powder will increase the spiciness, while the curry powder will mellow it and sweeten the BBQ sauce--choose your poison wisely.

Be You

All the time, I catch people using the phrase "just believe in yourself!" It is such a simple, but hard phrase to truly follow. Since we are usually the hardest on ourselves, it is easy to doubt our abilities. We are all constantly pushed to be better and we are never satisfied with who we are. My amazing friend Tiffany defines success as doing your very best at that very moment. Meaning, we can't always be aiming for something higher. Each moment of each day is different and as long as we try our best in that moment...that is success.

Today I am going to focus on believing in myself. In order really do this, I have to let go of my baggage and just be me. Afterall, how can I believe in myself if I am working so hard to be someone else? To reach success, I have to believe and to believe I just have to be me.

Community

This past weekend, I was blessed to be around the most influential people in my life. I surrounded myself with tan, ripped, and spandex-wearing athletes from all around the world. I attended the 2011 Crossfit Games held in California!




If I had to chose one word to sum up my weekend….It would be EPIC! The crossfit games is comprised of the top 49 male and 49 female athletes from around the globe. They are put through 10 grueling work-outs to find the fittest man and woman on the planet. I was fortunate enough to have my very own coaches compete, Matt and Cherie Chan. In addition to cheering on the Chans all weekend, we had another Verve athlete, Jim, competing in the Masters competition. Crossfit Verve was represented to the upmost potential and I couldn’t have been prouder to be a part of it. Let me start by saying Cherie Chan is my idol. She is the true definition of a strong and beautiful woman. She put her heart out on the field and she had a smile on her face the whole time. Cherie finished 40th in the world! Jim was amazing! Every time I watch him compete, it gives me chills. He has a big heart and works so hard to make everyone proud. Jim at the age of 47 finished 7th in the world!! Last but not least….Chananimal (aka Matt Chan) was nothing less than spectacular to watch. He is extremely methodical and his capacity is amazing! Matt stayed very consistent throughout each work out and finished 1st in the strength portion. Overall, Matt finished 10th in the world!

I am always asked, why I love crossfit so much. It’s simple. I love it for the community. There is no other sport out there where you have the camaraderie that crossfit has. This past weekend, I watched competitors cheer each other on, help each other off of their feet, and stand by their side until they finished. Powerful stuff. There was one moment in particular that gave me goose bumps. During the final Team Event that would determine the Crossfit Games Champion something unbelievable took place. With only six teams in the final event, there were 6 stations that each member must compete. There was a 30 minute time cap to complete all the stations and winner took all. The stadium was completely filled! At the sound of “3, 2, 1…GO!”, the teams began. It was a race to the finish line and it was an EPIC battle for sure. When it was all said and done, I don’t remember the first place finisher. It was not something that stood out in my mind. What I do remember was all the other teams cheering on the team that got hung up at the first station. One team was not able to finish under the 30 minute cap because the first station took them about 20 minutes alone. Instead of walking off the field in defeat…the team kept going. Even though the clock had stopped, the judges had left, and the games crew started to pack away the stadium, the team kept going. Not to mention, all the other teams that had finished stayed and continued to cheer, count reps, and encourage the team to finish. It was amazing…not even one spectator left their seat. We all cheered just like we did for the other teams. We all stayed together until the end. This is community. No one left each other’s side until EVERYONE was done. It was an amazing moment that truly captured what crossfit is all about.

Throughout the whole weekend, I witnessed groups of crossfitters cheer on other gyms and individuals. I watched athletes complete their last rep and then immediately walked over to their competitor to cheer. They clapped. They yelled. They encouraged. No one was left out on the field alone. You see…today the world tells us winning is everything; the world says it is ok to celebrate and gloat in front of your competition; the world tells us to step on our competition and not to look back. The world is wrong and that’s why crossfit is going to change this world. Crossfit is passion, healthy competition and above all else Crossfit is community.


Above is Matt cheering on fellow competitor until he finishes!

As the sport continues to grow, so does our ability to share with the rest of the world what true competition should look like. So here is what I took away from this weekend. In essence, everyday is competition in one form or another. I am choosing to compete with a smile. I will encourage my competitors when I am done and I won’t let anyone stand on the field alone whether it is inside the gym or at home. I am going to compete everyday and help change this world one smile at a time.

Cherie Chan dominating the rope climbs!


Matt Chan during Ocean swim workout! He came in 1st for the swim:)