Lavender from Lou

Sista got me a gift from the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. Love that gal and the market too.

Sacrilege

Somehow it seems like sacrilege to drink icy, cucumber mint infused spa water in my new Sepultura mug… love this frosted mammoth of a mug tho.

Pojoaque Sun

♡Been loving using this huge bar of Pojoaque Sun soap. Gail bought it for me because she knows that Pojoaque is my hometown. Love this soap and Gail is always so thoughtful.♡

Coconut Dusted Chicken Fried Steak

Seriously though… the chicken fried steak I made this weekend was amazing. I experimented using organic buckwheat and coconut flour to dust the steaks and coconut oil to cook them. This tasty idea is a keeper.

Refill the Tank

I’ve been eating my daily vitamins and a dried fruit strip to kick start glycogen restoration immediately following my workout. These are all vegan and have no gelatin. I’m also drinking 1/2 cup of oatmeal in my post workout protein shake… packing more glycogen into my muscle cells.

I actually created this composite the day after I got my Halloween stilettos, but I must say… this set done at my old shop looks way better so I pasted a new photo over the old one. And yes… I’m able to deadlift like a mofo with these nails bitcheeez.

“Glycogen is a chain of glucose molecules that your muscles and liver use to store energy for immediate future use. Your body contains a glycogen reserves of between 450 and 550 grams. If you exercise intensely, you may require more than 500 grams of carbs to restore your body’s glycogen reserves. Glycogen is almost completely exhausted after intense exercise exceeding 60 minutes; a 90-minute run will deplete glycogen reserves. Where loss of muscle glycogen lowers the functionality of muscles, loss of liver glycogen leads to a lowering of blood sugar, lethargy and inhibition of thyroid hormone release, and thus reduced fat burning. It is critical to restore glycogen reserves in the 24 hours following exercise. The first two hours are especially important. Dr. John Berardi, a professional nutritionist, recommends consuming 50 to 60 grams of high glycemic index carbohydrates in the two hours following exercise.”

Homemade Meatball

Yummy…. best sandwich  I’ve made in a while. Nothing like organic cheats! I love Whole Foods. The meatballs were baked. They were made with 95% lean, fresh Romano cheese, two egg whites, garlic salt and garlic marinara sauce. I slapped the meatballs on some fresh white (oh no) bread with melted Munster cheese. I topped that with thinly sliced red onion and green bell pepper + avocado! Yeayyyy! Now that’s a chest day cheat people. 

Top 10 Superfoods to Build Muscle

Excellent workout today! After that I hit up this sesame orange chicken at Whole Foods. It was delish!

Read more about The Top 10 Superfoods to Build Muscle.

•••••| Y U M M Y |•••••

Coconut Flour Protein Cups

It’s back to career world tomorrow, but I’ve been hard at work over the last week in the gym. Today I prepared my breakfast for the rest of the week. I also shrugged the heaviest barbell (110 lbs) for 12! Reps baby!! Made each of these bad boys with a tablespoon of potatoes (next time I’ll use sweet potatoes), two egg whites and a thin, organic, coconut flour crust. I’ll eat three each morning through Friday. They came out delish! This is actually my own recipe because I just make shit up, but here are four good recipes from Bodybuilding.com.

Loco For Coco: 4 Healthy Coconut Recipes

Bleeding Heart Hibiscus Tea

♥Dried hibiscus flowers steeping♥

♥Finished hibiscus brew with honey and lemon juice.♥

One of the directors I work with recently brought me some fresh hibiscus flowers. He buys them all the time in Las Cruces, New Mexico and said he’d bring me some each time he goes there. The flowers are a great way to make a tea with many health benefits. He left them hanging on my door and they were a mysterious surprise, but I’m so glad he gave me a new introduction to these lovely flowers.

“The health benefits of hibiscus tea include relief from high blood pressure and high cholesterol, as well as digestive, immune system, and inflammatory problems. It helps to cure liver disease and reduces the risk of cancer. It can also speed up the metabolism and help in healthy, gradual weight loss. Hibiscus tea is rich in vitamin C, minerals and various antioxidants, while also helping in the treatment of hypertension and anxiety.” From: http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/beverage/hibiscus-tea.html

Japanese Delight

Loving Japanese eggplant is easy. I made this casserole with a lot of organic, 95% lean ground beef, Japanese eggplant slices, diced tomatoes, fat free ricotta and a little bit of shredded cheese. Eggplant is very low in calories and is a high source of dietary fiber + vitamin C, folate, potassium and other minerals. This nightshade plant is great for digestive support and is high in antioxidants. This was delish!

Oily Goodness

••Pre-blend pic of my concoction. This shake had almond milk, frozen blueberries, flaxseed oil, 40gz of protein, and ice. I need a new Bullet though!••

Twice a week, I’ve been putting two tablespoons of cold pressed flaxseed oil into my protein shakes. The Omega-3’s support heart health, as well as healthy skin, hair and nails. I don’t think it’s a supplement for daily consumption, but it’s good to take on deadlift day because it assists in the transmission of nerve impulses. That’s the main reason I’ve been using the oil on the day my CNS is severely tapped (especially since I moved dead day from the weekend to the work week to focus on bench and squat). The oil also helps recuperate my joints. Read more about flaxseed oil.

••Whole Foods makes good, cold pressed flaxseed oil that you need to keep refrigerated.••

Anti-pasta?

Yes… Because it isn’t really pasta!! I have to say that you will never even miss the flour noodles. This was made with 98% lean ground beef and zucchini noodles.

Kick Sum mAss: Lime is Fine

Yesterday, I moved up on deads. Yeah!!! Let’s see how I do on chest this week. Last week, my chest felt strong. For breakfast… Purple potatoes drizzled  with fresh squeezed lime juice then topped with a 5 egg white asparagus scramble.
Purple Potatoes Nutrition Facts on LIVESTRONG.com.

Kick Sum MAss Breakfast

•~• Killer breakfast before the gym today. It looked like this... Five scrambled egg whites nested in a halved avocado. All that goodness was sitting on a big slice of greenish/red Heirloom tomato, then topped with basil and a little shredded cheese. Yummy!!! •~•

Yummy Pho

For dinner I made my own version of Pho. It was so delish and healthy!! I used brown rice noodles, thin beef steaks and soy sauce. I topped the soup with fresh ginger, shallots, garlic, cilantro, jalapeño and lime. If you haven’t tried Pho, you should! It is spicy and so good!