Coach J's Diet and Nutrition Advice

• 3-4 cups brussels sprouts
• 2 cups red grapes
• 2 T fresh sage, chopped
• olive oil
• pepper
• sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut off brussels sprouts stems, remove any dirty/outer leaves then quarter. Toss all ingredients together. Cover sheet pan with foil. Roast for 20-25 minutes until tender and carmelized, stirring halfway through.

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Cooking Class February 12

“Get the Most Bang for your Nutrition Buck”

We will be cooking again at Fergusons Kitchen showroom, Sunday February 12 from 6-9pm.  This is the same class that was held last week so Lane, Rosie and Jason can give you the scoop on it!  The dishes we prepare will be devoid of grains, refined sugar,and processed ingredients, and they will be loaded wtih protein, vitamins, minerals and healthy fat.  Cost for the class is $65 but Firebreathers only pay $55.  To register or get more information contact me at lisalineberg@gmail.com.

Eleven Strong Champions - Team A(wesome)

In case you missed the Firebreather Fitness event on Saturday, Jan. 7th, the winner of the Eleven Strong Team Challenge was Cutter Team A. The team was comprised of four dedicated individuals who demonstrated teamwork, focus and commitment over the course of the 11-week Fall challenge.

• Lane Legg – team leader
• Annamarie French
• Scott French
• Rosie Smith

Along with some pretty substantial braggin’ rights, Team A (known amongst themselves as “Team Awesome”) received a trophy and prize package valued at $160/person. Included in the prize package:

• Progenex gift certificate
• One-year subscription to the Crossfit Journal
• Paleo/primal cooking class
• FF T-shirt
• Nutrition plate
• Other fun stuff

Firebreathers James Atkins and Penny Sisk were mentioned for their outstanding individual progress. Both have achieved amazing physical transformations over the past four months.

What did they do to deserve victory? Over the course of the 11-week challenge, together they grocery-shopped, dined, saw a movie (and ate healthy snacks) and participated in team WODs and throwdowns.

Here’s their wining team “resume,” as prepared by team leader Lane Legg:

We will be announcing the winners (winning team) of the 11-week challenge on Saturday, January 7th, at the Firebreather T-shirt Exchange Party. Be there to claim your team prize, or to congratulate the winners. See you there!

Until then, feel free to post your meals to “Comments” below. Or, let us know: what’s your biggest nutrition challenge or question as you enter 2012?

In case you missed it, there was an interesting item on the CrossFit main site addressing sleep and caffeine. Several CrossFit athletes were sharing thoughts and experiences about sleep and how it affects their performance, mood, recovery and general well-being. They also discussed caffeine consumption in the same regard. Here’s the link to the video clip. (Credit Again Faster Equipment for this content.)

If you want more information about sleep and athletic performance, we’ve got y0u covered.  (Sleep… covers… get it?)

June 26, 2010 sleep article

 ~~~~~~~~~~ 2011 FF Fall Challenge: Eleven Strong – Final Instructions ~~~~~~~~~~~

As a reminder, the Challenge ended on Friday, Dec. 2. Yes, you can take a (short) break from food journaling. All Challenge contestants still have a few final duties: reporting of your individual information to your team leader. Please be aware that your team leader has to meet a deadline of Sunday, Dec. 11 for submission of your team’s performance resume. If you haven’t already done so, please send the following to your team leader on or before Friday, Dec. 9.

Feeling overwhelmed by the upcoming holidays?   Come to the Healthy Holiday Cooking and Beyond class to help ease some of the stress.   We will cook some amazing foods together and then taste their deliciousness. You will also go home with leftovers, some amazing spice rub, a book full of recipes, and a wealth of nutrition knowledge – gifts to last you much longer than the holidays!

Coach Lis will deliver solutions to all of your holiday dilemas:

• Brunch for visiting relatives
• Christmas Party Foods
• Baked goods to give away to friends and family

Of course everything will be grain/gluten free but full of taste. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fall Challenge Final Instructions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You’ve been working hard, eating right … so how do you handle Thanksgiving? Here are five quick tips to help you  navigate successfully through Turkey Day:

1- Get 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise early in the day to rev up your metabolism. With a “higher revving engine,” you will burn more calories throughout the day.

2- Eat your favorite dish first. Get that craving satisfied before you fill up on other foods. (Hint: you may need eat dessert first.)

3- Skip the rolls. Is enriched, bleached, white flour really worth it?

4- Go easy on the carbs. Opt for more protein and fats. Carbs leave you feeling bloated, gassy and lethargic–due to the insulin response (to the blood sugar spike) and grain toxins (i.e., lectin and phytates).

5- Today is not about the food. Focus, instead, on the blessings, such as family, friends, fitness and the Firebreather tribe!

~~~~~~~~ 2011 Fall Challenge – Benchmark Week ~~~~~~~~

The Fall Challenge ends on Friday, December 2. Beginning next week, we will repeat the benchmark WODs that we did to kick-off the Challenge. I’m looking forward to see how we’ve all progressed. Check back here and on the main FF site for details.

Cutter Team C, pictured above L to R: Malena Scalise, Penny Sisk, Barry Meickles, James Atkins.

As the 2011 Fall Challenge: Eleven Strong! marches down the home stretch, participants have completed a variety of team challenges. Each challenge was designed with a two-fold objective: to learn about good nutrition in realistic settings; and to get to know one another better.

One of the more unique of these is “Healthy Movie Night.” Teams were challenged to attend a movie and eat healthy snacks. The challenge was equally about avoiding the unhealthy temptations. (For me, it’s hard to think about going to see a movie and not munching on a bag of salty, crisp popcorn.) Like so much of nutritional good health, much of it comes down to habits–good and bad.

Following is a compilation of the feedback from several teams, reporting on lessons learned and offering tips for others:

1. Don’t go hungry to the movie theater. You’re more likely to make bad choices out of desperation.
2. When choosing a beverage, avoid the soda. Stick to water (bottled or tap).
3. Curb your carbs. Most theaters offer a package of nuts (almonds). Even if the item is a pack of candied almonds, these are a better nutrition choice than a candy bar or popcorn.
4. If you choose to splurge, try to exercise some moderation. For example, if you opt for the popcorn, forego the candy. Don’t indulge in both.
5. Following right along the logic from #4 above – control your portion size. If you really have to have the soda, choose the small instead of the large.
6. Try to take some healthy snacks into the theater with you. Be careful and be aware of local rules, of course. We don’t want to have to bail any Firebreathers out of jail. (Suggestions for pocket-sized healthy snacks:  a Paleo nut mix of almonds, walnuts and pecans; a few squares of dark chocolate; or maybe even a protein-rich meal replacement bar.)

Let’s face it: popcorn, soda and candy will never be Paleo… much less good for you. However, when all else fails and you cannot stay on the “straight and narrow,” it may be best to go all out and make it a “legit” cheat meal. Then, once you’ve splurged and enjoyed your freedom in food, get back on your nutrition plan.

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T-Shirts Have Arrived!

The Challenge T-shirts have arrived, and they look great! A huge shout-out and thanks to Firebreather Jay Foster for designing these stylish black t-shirts. See your team leader to get your shirt. 

(Note to Team Leaders:  please see Coach Cameron right away to get your team’s T-shirts.)

Here’s another in our series of good-advice gems from author Michael Pollan:

Innovation is always interesting, but when it comes to food, it pays to approach new creations with caution. If diets are the products of an evolutionary process in which groups of people adapt to the plants, animals, and fungi a particular place has to offer, then a novel food or culinary innovation resembles a mutation: It might represent an evolutionary improvement, but chances are it doesn’t. Soy products offer a good case in point. People have been eating soy in the form of tofu, soy sauce, and tempeh for many generations, but today we’re eating novelties like “soy protein isolate,” “soy isoflavones,” and “textured vegetable protein” from soy and partially hydrogenated soy oils, and there are questions about the healthfulness of these new food products. As a senior FDA scientist has written, “Confidence that soy products are safe is clearly based more on belief than hard data.” [D.M. Sheehan, "Herbal Medicines, Phytoestrongens, and Toxicity: Risk: Benefit Considerations," Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 217 (1998); 379-85.] Until we have that data, you’re probably better off eating soy prepared in the traditional Asian manner than according to the novel recipes dreamed up by food scientists.

Source: Food Rules – an Eater’s Manual. Michael Pollan. Penguin Group Publishing, 2009.

We’ve touched on this topic previously, when we discussed “The Trouble with Bars.” I am also reminded of the story that Coach Lis shares frequently:  soy protein isolate was originally used as an adhesive. The process involves extreme heating which likely destroys any of the nutritional properties of the soy bean.

Pollan’s advice is to be taken broadly–not just with respect to soy products. Any time you read a food label and see tons of additives or preservatives, ask yourself these questions:  when they made this product, if  they had to add so many unnatural ingredients, what happened to the macro-nutrients that were lost? Is this really good for me?

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Cutter Team A (L to R): Annamarie French, Scott French, Lane Legg, Rosie Smith

Team Awesome had our grocery store outing this evening. We looked at various healthy foods and compared labels.

The outside edge of the store is the best part of the store for healthy choices.

Our biggest decision was whether to have our picture taken in front of the Krispy Kreme display or the beer cooler. We chose the beer.

~ report from Lane Legg – team leader of Cutter Team A

~Recipe submitted by Lane Legg

Now that Fall is officially here, it’s time to incorporate some cozy, cold-weather dishes into the mix. This recipe is an adapted version of one from our friend Sandy at Crossfit WV.

It’s a recipe that originally contained brown sugar. Sandy subbed maple syrup to make it a Paleo dish. The result is fantastic. It may end up on some Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner tables in place of sugar-laden sweet potatoes.

Caramelized Butternut Squash

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized butternut squash
• 3 T. pasture butter, melted *
• 3 T. pure maple syrup or honey *
• Sea salt
• Fresh cracked pepper

*Use a little more butter and syrup if you so desire.

Preparation

Peel squash with a vegetable peeler. (I highly recommend NOT trying to peel with a knife. I did the first time and it was tough and took forever. I got a good, sharp vegetable peeler, and now peeling the squash is a breeze.)

Cut in half and remove seeds and pulp. Cut into 1 inch cubed pieces and place on a cookie sheet.

Toss squash with melted butter, syrup, salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer onto a glass baking dish or cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 for 40-45 minutes or until tender and caramelized, turning occasionally to make sure everything browns evenly. Serve hot.