Spicing it up!

It's getting spicy up in the Bush household.  I finally purchased a spice rack.  Something I've ALWAYS wanted.  I was being held back by fear of the unknown.  What's basil?  How do you use it? What's paprika?  There's so many unknowns.  Recently, I've been pinning a lot of recipes on Pinterest and they all look soooo good, but what do all the ingredients mean?  Now I have a spice rack to back up all my pins.  (BTW, you can follow me on pinterest here.)

Check out my new spice rack!  I got it at Bed Bath & Beyond. The great part was this company provides 5 years worth of spices if you run out.  And of course I used a $5 off coupon.  (Always go to Bed Bath & Beyond with a coupon.  They never expire.)

This week we tried a new recipe, Baked Garlic Cilantro Fries. (Click here for recipe; found it on Pinterest of course.)  See what I mean ... Garlic AND Cilantro.  I used our new spice rack.

The picture of our fries are a little different than the pinterest picture, but when ever does pinterest food turn out the way the picture looks?  To the right is hamburger meat.  I like to chop it up into really fine pieces and eat it plain or add it to pasta.  This was dinner one night, and really good!

Austin had a hamburger with the baked garlic cilantro fries.  We used the season salt, from our new spice rack, to season his burger.

Tonight, we had homemade chicken nuggets (recipe here) and mac & cheese.  The nuggets are great with panko whole wheat bread crumbs.  The mac & cheese tonight had a little bit too much of one particular ingredient ... cough cough ... and someone agreed with me ... cough cough ... so we didn't even eat the mac & cheese.  Just the nuggets.  They're a delicious source of protein and even good as left overs.

I threw my lower back out earlier this week, no particular instance, just old age. Just kidding.  I went to see Dr. Knight in Georgetown, TX.  He's great because it's only $20, you can drop in and visit almost anytime Monday - Friday and it helps. I'm going to go back again tomorrow to get one last fix, and then hit crossfit hard on Thursday.  Definitely not taking flexibility or health for granted.

How to Cook Bacon with No Mess

Bacon is delicious!  It smells good, it's a great source of protein, but it's always so messy!  Not anymore.  Cook it in the oven.  There's no mess and basically no prep.  Simple take a cookie sheet and line it with foil.  Spray a little bit of non-stick spray (Pam) and lay out the strips of bacon.  (see below.)

I cook them in the oven at 410 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.  Check on them to make sure you don't burn them and I personally like to rotate the pan about 1/2 way through.  When you're done just put them on a paper towel to absorb some of the grease.

And there you have it!  Deliciously crispy bacon strips with no mess.  After the grease/pan cools down you can throw away the foil and clean up is done.  It's fast and easy.  After a workout I'll put the bacon in the oven, hop in the shower, and when I'm done breakfast is ready.  Simple.

WOD

As I work on my food journey, I'm continuing my fitness journey.  I've joined Trauma Crossfit in Round Rock, TX about a month ago.  The first week I went I completed all of the exercises, but my recovery was awful.  I've never felt so sore in my life!  It's like the feeling you get when you get suck on the toilet because your quads and hamstrings are too sore to pull you up.  (Nice visual huh?)

It wasn't until one of the trainers, Nate, talked to me about scaling.  Pride and fear are two things that can get in your way and stop you from anything. But if you approach is smart and correctly, especially for your personal benefit and body type, you'll succeed.  So I started doing the exercises at the reps and weights that was appropriate for me.  It's not about "copping" out or "taking it easy".  You still do the hardest you can do.

Thursdays are the hardest days physically.  WOD in the CrossFit world stands for Workout Of the Day.   Today's WOD:

20 Deadlifts
400m run
20 Kettlebell Swings
400m run
20 Over head squats
400m run
20 Burpees
400m run
20 Chest to bar (pull ups)
400m run
20 Box Jumps
400m run
20 Kettlebell Squat Cleans
400m run

See a trend anyone?  I completed this WOD in 35:08.  I completed the deadlifts with 125 lbs. and the overhead squats with 55 lbs.  It was a good solid sweat with weights and cardio.  I would suggest everyone to just try CrossFit but definitely give it 2 weeks and make sure your trainers are doing what's right for your body.

After my workouts I enjoy chocolate milk.  My college soccer coach said it was the best thing to drink after a workout because it's the best mix of proteins and carbohydrates that your body needs to replace after a workout. (see article here)  My nutritional therapist says "it's just full of sugar."  I'm not willing to give up chocolate milk just yet.

This morning my partner in crime at work (Katie Jo) brought me a hot chocolate from Starbucks. A nice little surprise.

You're probably asking yourself "why would someone need a hot chocolate in Texas during the summer time?" To answer that, it's because our office is freezing!  

For lunch today I have packed Stonyfields Vanilla Yogurt and I mix in fresh strawberries and I crush up Nature Valley granola bars to add some crunches. 

I learned this from a Pre-packaged "to go snack" from Panera Bread when I was going to school in Indiana. 

My nutritionist is probably going to tell at me because its not "real" yogurt or granola. Baby steps. It's better than a PBJ right?

Lunch: 1/2 good 1/2 evil

I'm trying to make be transition from picky to "normal", from normal to Paleo. This is my best effort yet for a packed work lunch. Now all I have to do is eat it. 

We've got 1/2 a PBJ (of course), raw zucchini sliced into chips, string cheese, Indiana popcorn, strawberries & green seedless grapes. 

This is the most colorful lunch that I've ever packed. Wish me luck!

The Start of a Rocky Journey

My name is Rocky Bush, formerly Rocky Hearst.  I'm 26-years-old and I am a picky eater.  This is my journey.  All my friends and family have always known that, but now the world knows.  Here's a brief synopsis:


I had a PBJ sandwich almost every day of school since kindergarden through high school.  (Most of which my mom made for me, thanks Mom!)  Picky has always been part of my life when it comes to food.  As a kid I only ate PBJs, noodles and butter, chicken nuggets/tenders, french fries and strawberries.

Going away to college and playing Division 1 soccer put me in social situations that were extremely awkward.  Going to parties, team dinners or banquets are normally fun and exciting for a college-aged student.  For me, it was awkward and filled with anxiety.  What was I going to eat?  What if I was hungry?  How would I get food for the night without making it 'weird'?

Then I got married one year out of college.  They say that when you get married you gain 10+ lbs.  It's true.  For everyone except my husband.  He's 6'5" and 188 lbs.  He's a handsome stick!  I was working out all the time:  personal trainer, half and full marathons, crossfit ... and still couldn't lose the weight.  It's official, my eating habits have caught up to me.  It's not about my athletic ability or work ethic anymore.  It's strictly about diet.

I've been seeing a Nutritional Psychologist for about 3 months now and we've completely changed my way of thinking.  I would like to take you on this "Rocky" journey as I try new foods and change my mindset.  I've had  PBJs every day since pre-k and it's about time to change it.