Braised Cinnamon Cabbage

As promised here is the braised cabbage recipe. Next I'm working on a quick kimchi (not even sure if I'm going to be allowed to call it that since I'm planning on using green cabbage instead of napa pre-made can of chili-garlic sauce instead of making my own with fish sauce). I'm excited since this will be the first dish I will attempt to ferment, which is a great way to introduce probiotics into your diet. 

On the other hand, I'm also a little nervous that it might erupt into a massive bacterial colony that will take over my kitchen. But if something did go horribly wrong, its alright because I move out of this apartment in a few days. It'll be the next tenant's problem. GO KITCHEN SCIENCE!  

Ingredients

·      1 Green Cabbage

·      1 Carrot

·      1 Red Onion

·      2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

·      4 Tbsp of favorite fat

·      Tsp Cinnamon

·      Tsp Cumin

·      Dash of Salt

Directions

1.     Chop cabbage and onion into bite-sized pieces slice the carrot on the bias.

2.     Add all ingredients into a crock-pot on high for 4 hours or sauté vegetables in fat then add seasoning and vinegar.

3.     The longer you let it sit, the tastier it gets!

Wolverine Fit

Howdy,

It has been far too long since my last post, I'm not doing a great job at keeping up with this. Tonight I made some braised cabbage, which I may or may not post a recipe for. We'll see how much energy I have tomorrow.

How inspiring are the Olympics? I see what these incredible athletes do and it just makes me want to leap off of my couch and start training. GO AMERICA! Almost as fun to watch as the Crossfit Games.

Speaking of Crossfit, I am trying to start a new club at the University of Michigan. Yes, I know I'm also on the Triathlon team, but I can manage doing both. So I'm hoping that with a little luck I can get a good group of people together who are willing to show up every week to do a WOD. I've been digging through the CF archives about how to start a collegiate team/club, and it looks like it's pretty easy to become a nonprofit. We just need insurance, a website, and a level one certified trainer. Until then, we are not allowed to to use the name "Crossfit" in our title. So for now we are known as Wolverine Fit. Check out the Facebook group if you're interested at!

LET THE GAMES BEGIN! oh wait they already did.

MY BIKE

Let me introduce you to my new bike. She is a brand new 2011 Trek 1.2 with Shimano Sora and Tiagra components. I made the decision to go with a road instead of a Tri bike because I am still getting to know the sport and this is my first racing bike (I did my first Tri on a mountain bike, Not Fun). Unfortunately, that bike was stollen recently. UPGRADE. 

I signed up for my first Olympic distance triathlon, which will be on August 12. I'm pumped for the race, but it means that I'm going to have to cut back on the Olympic lifting training to get more endurance workouts in. Hopefully I'll still be able to meet my lifting goals by the end of the summer. I'm also going to be running in the Crim, a 10 mile road race in downtown Flint (aka F-Town), with my family later in August. 

She still needs a name and I'm open to any suggestions. 

MEETZA!

I have been craving pizza lately, so I made this. Everyday I have to walk by a delivery pizza joint on the way home from work, the gym, etc. There are way too many pizza places in Ann Arbor.

 You can't see it (because of a gratuitously heavy helping of sauce), but the crust has been replaced by a layer of baked meat. Personally, I think it's a huge upgrade from your everyday delivery pizza. Some people might look at it and see a meatloaf covered in fancy toppings, but it's just more fun to say MEETZA! 

Ingredients:

·      Ground meat (chicken, turkey, pork, beef, lamb, or any mix thereof)

·      Eggs

·      Basil

·      Red Sauce (I used a homemade Bolognese)

·      Mozzarella Cheese

·      Parmesan Cheese  

·      Toppings (Peppers, onion, olives, artichokes, pineapple, and more meat all work well)

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 350F

2.   Mix meats with eggs and basil and shape into crust, bake for about 10 minutes

3.   Liberally apply sauce, cheese and toppings.

4.   Bake for another 10-15 minutes  

5.   Devour

Flourless Banana Bread Muffins

I have been lazy lately, but I think this post will make up for it. I went home for my little brother's birthday this weekend and had a great time with the family. There is always a surplus of bananas at our house and they are usually all devoured within a few days. Every once in a while, we must subconsciously get sick of them an stop eating them, which results in an over ripened pile of brown bananan mush. That means only one thing... it's time to rekindle our love of bananas by making banana bread. There is no beautiful picture of this recipe because they were eaten before I could even pull my camera out.

For the people who want to go full paleo, skip the oats and double the amount of almonds + substitute your favorite fat for the peanut butter (ex. butter or almond butter)

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup almond flour (almonds in the blender)
1/2 cup oatmeal flour (oatmeal in the blender)
2 eggs
Tablespoon vanilla
4 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
Cinnamon
Cake spice
Dark chocolate chips.
Dash of salt
Tsp Baking soda and powder

Directions:

1.    Blend almonds and oatmeal together in a blender

2.    Combine the rest of the dry ingredients with the oat and almond mixture

3.    In a separate bowl combine all the wet ingredients

4.    Fold the two mixtures together until just combined.

5.     Bake for 15-20minutes at 350F

Shredded Beef Ragout over Roasted Broccoflower

Roasted Broccoflower

 

Ingredients:

·      1 Head of Broccoflower

·      Olive Oil

·      Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1.     Lightly coat broccoflower with olive oil

2.     Salt and pepper to taste

3.     Roast at 400F for about 25 minutes

Shredded Beef Ragout

Ingredients:

·      1 Carrot

·      ½ Onion

·      Garlic

·      Canned Tomatoes

·      Olive Oil

·      Slow Cooked Beef or Slow cooked beef leftovers

·      1 tbsp A1 Steak Sauce or Worcestershire  

·      Red wine

·      Oregano

·      Salt

·      Pepper

·      Bay leaf

Directions:

1.     Coarsely grate carrot, chop onion and sauté both in olive oil

2.     Add minced garlic after onions turn translucent

3.     Deglaze with red wine and cook off the alcohol

4.     Add tomatoes, shredded beef, steak sauce, and seasoning.

5.     Simmer until content. 

Pumpkin Waffles

Ingredients

·      ½ Cup pumpkin puree

·      1 egg

·      1 Scoop of vanilla protein powder

·      ½ Cup Almonds or Pancake mix

·      Pinch of Salt

·      Pinch of Baking powder

·      Pumpkin Pie Spice (or cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger)

·      2 tbsp Milk

Directions

1.     If using almonds, use a food processor or blender to chop almonds to a powder. This will be your flour substitute.

2.     Mix dry ingredients (minus baking powder if using pancake mix) before adding to pumpkin puree

3.     Mix pumpkin, milk, and egg together, then add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.  Don’t overdo it! It will result in a heavier waffle that will stick to the iron, especially if you’re using pancake mix.

4.     Grease up your waffle iron and pour in the batter. This is a very wet batter so make sure the iron is really hot.

Oh yeah, mine have dark chocolate chips. 

Lifting for Triathletes: Power Cleans

Swim. Bike. Run. We do a lot of this, and maybe it's time to throw in something new and exciting. No, I'm not talking about your core workout or high rep sets. I am talking about CLEANS. Yeah, they are pretty intense and take some time to learn but there are a ton of benefits.

• Core Stability
• Neuromuscular Coordination 
• Stimulate Release of Growth Hormone for Recovery 
• Build Powerful and Explosive Movements
• Increase Functional Strength
• and they can get you JACKED!

There are lots of different types of cleans including the power clean, hang clean, and squat clean. They each offer something a little different and emphasize different parts of the movement. My favorite would be the squat clean since it has the largest range of movement. Remember cleans are all about getting the form correct and being able to perform them safely. Cleans are a great off season workout that can help any serious athlete to make gains in their respective sport once mastered.  

Remember that proper form is CRITICAL

Next installment, THE DEADLIFT.

Chili Lime Fish en papillote

 Ingredients

·      Whitefish (cod, tilapia, pollock)

·      Lime

·      Red Onion

·      Salt and Pepper

·      Cilantro

·      Olive Oil/Favorite fat

·      Chili Powder (or Chili Lime rub)

Directions

1.     Lightly coat the fish with fat and season the fish with salt, pepper, and chili powder or chili lime rub.

2.     Slice the limes into slices, dice the red onion, and chop the cilantro

3.     Place the fish, limes, cilantro, onion, and other vegetables if desired in the center of a large piece of aluminum foil and fold to tightly wrap.

4.     Grill for 15 minutes flipping occasionally or bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Pictured with guacamole, salsa, and grilled sweet potatoes.