A WHOLE lot of New

 

Rice University Trail

Well a key theme of my summer has been trying out new things in this new city.  Although it began with new shopping, new restaurants, and new roads (I've faced the fact that I will never figure these out), my summer quickly turned to a new lifestyle.  I wanted to do something completely different this summer, and lets just say I took this to the extreme.  What I stumbled upon was a new workout style, and completely altered eating habits.


Crossfit:
I began the infamous Crossfit about 3 weeks ago, and I am already hooked.  I go twice a week every week, and on my off days I just run in beautiful parks (like the trail around Rice University pictured above) around Houston.  Crossfit has been way more amazing than I could have ever expected.  Although it is quite pricy (not sure I will be able to afford it when I am back in college), at least you are motivated to go each week so you will get your money's worth.  The place I go to is called P3crossfit. It is a hidden little garage of a place, but I absolutely love walking in there. I feel more powerful than I ever have before (not to mention I am working out next to guys twice my size).  I have also met some really awesome people, and I have only been there 3 weeks! Every day I leave anticipating my next workout, it is truly addicting.

To go along with my new workout...

The Whole 30 Challenge:  Going Primal
Me and my roommate Holly have decided to challenge ourselves this last month together.  She had heard about how great the whole 30 challenge was, she brought the idea to me, and together we committed.  We are only on day 4 of our challenge, but there is no desire to break in sight.  We are sticking to this, with the motivation and support of each other.   So you may be wondering what exactly this WHOLE thing is... well it is somewhat what it sounds like.  For 30 days we can only eat Whole foods, nothing processed, and everything completely all natural.  The basics of it is the Paleo diet, in which we return to the Paleolithic period of our cavemen ancestors.  Just like our cavemen friends, we are loading up on meat, veggies, fruits, nuts, and lots of healthy fats like avocados (lots and lots of guacamole). Although our hunting and gathering goes about as far as the neighborhood grocery store, we have been working like cavewomen, and rediscovering our cooking nature (not to be stereotypical, but yes we were meant for the kitchen).  Cooking isn't as easy as it may seem ( nothing gets microwaved).  We also can't have any dairy, no grains, ABSOLUTELY NO SUGAR or sweeteners of any kind (my weakness), and a lot of oils, sauces, random things you forget about, are out of the question too.  We are rediscovering all natural spices and ingredients that flavor up our Primal meals.

Here is some of the food we have been cooking up:

Turkey Stuffed Peppers w/ Homemade Guacamole & Salsa. Paired with steamed okra and carrots.

Breakfast: Spinach & Egg Scramble w/ fresh Avocados and Tomato.

8-hour slow cooked Turkey Chili w/ Avocado. Paired w/ a  fresh dinner salad.

Some great sites for Recipes Include www.foodee.com , www.wholeliving.com and www.everydaypaleo.com


*I must note that the credit for both of these new adventures goes completely to my roommate Holly.  Her ideas, genius, and motivation have been a blessing:)