This time next week

Wore my HKC shirt when teaching Spin this past Friday

This time next week I'll be on Day 3 of RKC!
It's been a long road to get here. Lots of hours logged training. Worth every minute. I totally changed my diet last January to support my training from veg/vegan to Paleo/Primal and boy am I glad I did. I've lost about 5lbs of fat of my body, am experiencing less inflammation in my back (I have arthritis in the joints of my lumbar spine), and overall, just feel better w.great energy.

A couple weeks back I did practice testing with Artemis from Iron Body Studios and did well - did my flex arm hang, 15 (s)....did my RKC 6 moves.....passed the RKC snatch test, 100 snatches in 5 min w.my testing weight, 12kg (25lbs), in 4:05.
So, I know I can do it.
Will I be able to do it under pressure, in front of my peers, mentors and teachers? I certainly hope so.

TGU, 12kg, at Skill of Strength 09/21/12

This past Friday I went up to meet w.my coach/trainer for the past 8 months or so, Mike Perry from Skill of Strength.  It was a good check in meeting and I'm glad we got to meet before I go on Thursday (I live 40 min from Mike and we've met about every 3 weeks or sometimes every 4, as I trained this past year). On our first meeting, I couldn't even snatch the bell! I've come a long way since then! Now, I'm snatching the 16kg.

It's been a life saving experience, setting this goal for myself. I happened to have the hardest and most challenging year of my life this year and training with RKC as my goal definitely was my savior. Training became something bigger than it was, giving me a life to have where things were (mostly) positive every time I practiced. I welcomed the community experience of having the support of fellow HKCs and RKCs; mostly everyone who I've encountered on this quest has been great and for that I am thankful. The community props me up when I'm down and makes it possible for me to believe in myself at a time when I feel totally lost, and for this I am thankful.
So bring it on and let's get this done!!!

RKC Update and Amazeballs Lamb Curry w.Summer Squash "Noodles"

It's just shy of 3 weeks from RKC!!!!!!!!! Mildly freaking out. Mildly.
My training has been consistent and I feel like I've done all that I can. I know that over the course of the three 8-9 hour long days of training at the RKC, I will learn tweeks to my form and technique and I'll only get better. I'm looking forward to the camaraderie of my team and fellow RKC candidates. As I've blogged before, I've never undertaken anything this big in my life and I'm hoping that I will be successful. The support that I've gotten from RKCs and HKCs, both in person and virtually has been amazing; from tidbits about training to advice about what to do in my classes, everyone has been extremely welcoming. Through and through I have learned that the RKC is a family that I want to be a part of.

I've been eating a pretty clean diet - high in protein, healthy fat, veggies and fruit....oh, and dark chocolate, 85% to be exact....I've been able to keep my weight where I want it, though if I dropped another pound by the 27th, I'd be happy w.that as well. An example of a meal that I might eat is this amazing lamb curry I made, served over "noodles" made from summer squash.
The ground lamb, squash and peppers came from Stillman's Farm. The tomatoes and eggplant came from my garden.
I sauteed onion and garlic, with some mild hot peppers in some coconut oil until soft. I then added thyme, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika and a small bit of turmeric. Here you can be as liberal as you want w.the spices - I used a little less cumin (2 tsp), more coriander (1 TBS) since that's what I like. I also didn't go nuts w.paprika (1/2 tsp) in case my daughter liked it and didn't want it too spicy. The turmeric can easily overpower so it's best to use a small amount, like 1/4-1/2 tsp. After the spices become fragrant, I added in lamb to brown. I added salt and pepper to season all along the way!!

To the browned meat I added a small chopped eggplant, a medium sized chopped sweet potato and a few diced tomatoes. I also added about 1/2 cup of coconut water. I usually would have used stock, but was out. The coconut water worked fine.
After cooking for about 10-15 min at a generous simmer, I wanted to fortify the dish a bit more. So I added in some coconut creme concentrate, which is basically whole coconut, pureed up into a creamy consistency - it's about 70% coconut oil so it's solid at temps lower than 75 degrees, and more creamy at higher temps.
The coconut put this dish over the top and made it creamy, thick and hearty. Alternatively you could use coconut milk instead of the coconut water and concentrate and get the same effect.
To finish the dish, I added fresh lime juice and fresh basil (also from my garden).
I served the curry over noodles made from summer squash. I made the noodles with my Paderno spiralizer, a tool that rotates the veggie or fruit over a series of blades to cut them into a spiral shape, which you can cut into noodles. I sauteed the noodles with some onion (from my garden) and added a small bit of water to steam them.
I loved every bite of this dish. It was hearty and flavorful, yet didn't feel heavy. The spices complemented the lamb, the tomatoes gave the acidity and the sweetness of the sweet potato rounded out the dish.
My only complaint is that I didn't make enough!!! I wish I had more leftovers!! :)
If you don't like lamb, try this dish w.a different ground meat - pork, beef, turkey, chicken would all work great.
And def try the noodles. You can also use a food peeler to make noodles - just shave off thin slices of the squash an cut into thin strips :)
Enjoy!!

I got some press :) Read about my Pantry Raids :)

Please read this great article on Thyme To Cook! The article indicates that I'm a "former" Spinning instructor, but I do still teach, 2x a week :)
Enjoy!

Click here to read: Pantry Raids!