My First Figure Competition

The moment I had been waiting so long for has now come and gone and what an experience it was! So many things go into training for a figure competition that you just many not think about from the way you eat to the way you train from week to week. I was eating a very limited Paleo diet that consisted of egg whites, tilapia, ground turkey, green veggies (spinach, kale and chard) some sweet potatoes and sunflower seed butter. Not a whole lot of recipes coming from that combo, just throw in a pan, cook, and eat.

I did mostly Crossfit style workouts consisting of heavy lifting and cardio. The heavy lifting trickled down to more light weight and high reps toward the last couple weeks, just enough to get a pump.

My life consisted of work, eat, workout, eat, and sleep for a couple months and it payed off because I placed third in class for my first ever competition! Not too shabby. I have decided to do another one in June because I'm not stopping until I place 1st overall, I'm stubborn like that :)

Here are some pictures from the show:

On stage doing one of my poses

Holding my 3rd place trophy

In the line up (I'm on the very right)

Me and the Ninja

Since most of my recipes are so simple I haven't taken the time to post any but along the way I discovered that a certain blend of spices really tickles my taste buds more than others so I thought I would share. I use this combination on my meats and in my egg whites to give them an extra kick. Everything I do is to taste so I don't have any exact measurements.

I take a pinch each of smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt and sprinkle it on my food while it is cooking. Today I had sliced turkey tenderloin and Power to the Greens from Trader Joe's all sauteed in a pan with my seasonings and it was awesome! Take a look!

Curried Cod

I know the posts about my upcoming figure competition are kind of taking over but I'm SOOO excited!! In 8 1/2 weeks I will be standing on a stage being judged on not only my figure but also my charisma and dedication to this sport. That's right I said it, sport... I will be a figure athlete!

I have been very strict with what I'm eating and sticking mostly to grilled chicken, fish, and eggs for my protein and kale or spinach as a veggie. I will throw in a protein shake with berries after I workout for some carbs but that is about the extent of it. With all the diet changes I have lost 7 pounds in two weeks (at least that's what it was the last time I weighed myself). I started at approximately 21% body fat and I'm now down to about 17%. Every week I get even more strict and it has been paying off! My coach said that I'm really tightening up which is exactly what I want so I'm on track for my May 5th date!

I was really wanting to make Red Curry from Everyday Paleo but unfortunately I didn't have the ingredients on hand so I improvised and wow, I don't know why I haven't thought of this before! It's awesome! The fish really soaks in the flavors of the curry and they make a great combination. Plus I've stayed true to form and created it with as few ingredients as possible. I made this for myself so it serves one but that is easily changed, just multiply by the number of people you have :)

Ingredients:

• 6-8 oz Wild Cod fillet
• 2 tablespoons coconut cream (from the top of the can)
• 1/2 teaspoon Massaman Thai Curry paste
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 cup chopped veggies (I used frozen fire roasted onions and peppers)

Directions:

1. If you are using fresh veggies, chop them then saute in a separate pan and set aside.
2. Heat your frying pan to high heat then put your coconut cream in and heat until it is bubbly, stirring frequently.
3. Mix in the curry and stir until bubbly and fragrant. Add the fish sauce and give a good stir.
4. Place the fish fillet in the sauce along with the veggies, cover and cook for about 5 minutes until the fish is done. 
5. Voila!

She Hulk Omelet

I have had so many life changes this month and I'm so excited about them. I have been working two jobs for over a year now and it has taken it's toll on me. My full time job as a personal banker just wasn't making me happy anymore so I decided to pursue a passion of mine and make my part time job full time. I will be working as a trainer in an awesome gym working with awesome people and I couldn't be more thrilled!! That also means I have more time to write and create recipes!!!!!!!!!!!!

I met with my posing coach and started learning all the poses required for the figure competition I'm going to do in May. I learned a lot about myself in that session, mostly that I have a few things to work on. Luckily, with my career change I will have more time to train. This is my first figure competition and I want to go in strong! This means my diet is going to change to strict Paleo, no cheat days. I'm talking Whole30 strict! Except this is going to last for 11 weeks. Anyone else want to take this challenge with me? Anyone??

I'll be posting progress pics as I go to show everyone just how much diet plays a part in how you look.

So... This recipe is delicious, easy, and completely clean. So make it, try it, and love it!

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 2 cups mixed greens (spinach, chard, kale)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

Directions:

1. Heat pan over medium heat and melt the coconut oil.
2. Saute the greens until tender.
3. Whisk the eggs, egg whites, and Dijon mustard together then pour over the greens.
4. Cook for 5 minutes or until the eggs are done.
5. Flip one side over the other to form an omelet and serve.

 

Nutrition Info:

Calories 207

Fat - 9.94 g

Net carbs - 5.27 g

Protein - 19.58 g

Scrambled Cheesecake

What the heck is that you ask? Well, it's my way of having dessert for breakfast and not feeling guilty about it. As you know, I've been experimenting with ways to eat eggs and not get bored with it so here is a sweeter side of eggs.

Pretty soon I won't be able to have cream cheese so I might as well enjoy it while I can, right?! It isn't extremely conducive to fat loss and I have two more weeks of bulking before I start cutting back and losing fat.

What does that mean for you? It means that the recipes will start getting much healthier and less complicated... Maybe a little more boring but in my experience, the boring ones will get the fat off of you faster.

I am getting excited about meeting with the figure coach and I'm hoping she tells me I can compete in the figure class but I will still be willing to do the bikini class if I didn't gain enough muscle the past few months. I will just need to strive for a little softer look than I was invisioning. There is always a next time :)

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Stevia to taste (I used about half a dropper full of the liquid Now brand)
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil for frying

Directions:

1. Melt coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the cinnamon and stevia then pour into the heated pan.
3. Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and stir in with the cooking eggs and stir until scrambled and the eggs are cooked through.
4. Serve!

Nutrition Information:
Calories- 265
Fat- 19.41 g
Net carbs- 1.66 g
Protein- 19.87 g

Eggs Italiano

Growing up I always felt sick after eating eggs but I never made the connection that I was allergic to them until a couple of years ago. I would feel very spacey and not myself for several hours to the point I just didn't want to eat them. I discovered that egg whites didn't make me feel that way which to me was weird. After I started eating Paleo, I discovered that chickens are often fed meal that contains soy. After a little experimentation, I found that eating local soy free eggs don't make me feel bad so eggs are now a large part of my diet.

With that being said, I have been eating eggs a lot lately and frankly I'm getting a little sick of them. I only like them when they are runny and for some reason I have been over cooking them. Not wanting them to go to waste I still gobble them down but I'm not terribly happy about it.

Eggs with spinach have been my easy healthy go-to breakfast for the past week but today I decided I wanted something different. Add some spaghetti sauce and badda bing, you have Italian eggs. I know it sounds way too simple but it's nice to change it up sometimes.

Ingredients:

• Eggs (as many as you need to eat, I ate 3)
• 2/3 cup Spaghetti sauce (I used Trader Joe's because it is soy free)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil for frying

Directions:

1. Heat frying pan over medium and melt coconut oil.
2. Pour spaghetti sauce in the pan along with the spices and mix together until slightly bubbly.
3. Crack your eggs into the sauce keeping them intact.
4. Cover and cook until the whites are done and the yolks are still a little runny.

Super Woman Pancakes

Ahhh pancakes, usually your stomach and thighs worst enemy. But alas I have found a way to make them healthy and taste good too! I know I don't usually post recipes with dairy but I have found that cream cheese doesn't make me feel bad, so I'm going to go with it.

This is a very hearty recipe and fills you up fast, especially when you eat it with bacon, mmmm bacon. This is the closest I have come to mocking the taste and texture of wheat pancakes.

Makes 2 servings (Or you can be a piggy and eat the whole thing like I did, don't judge!)

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 scoop Pro Whey protein powder, vanilla (32g)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• dash of salt
• Coconut oil for cooking

Directions:

1. Melt about a teaspoon coconut oil in a pan over medium heat.
2. Combine all ingredients (except coconut oil) in a blender and blend until smooth. (I know most people say to combine wet then dry then put them together, but I haven't noticed it makes a difference in a blender and I like to make things easy)
3. Pour half of the mixture into pan, cover with lid, and cook until little bubbles appear in the batter, then flip and cook another minute. 
4. Repeat step 3 for the remainder.
5. Top with some grass-fed butter and eat up!

Choco-nana Ice Cream

Some interesting things have been happening lately and one of them is I contacted a competition coach close to my house and I'm meeting with her in a little over a week. I'm so excited that I am starting to get everything in order. It is all starting to feel very real to me now. I will be more and more exciting the closer the date comes. Right now I'm 15 weeks out so I still have a few more weeks to work hard and gain as much as possible in a short amount of time. I'm going to go back to Paleo eating and get my carbs from sweet potatoes. This is what I should have done to begin with but you live and you learn. Next time I'm going to be a sweet potato eating machine! I'm seeing spaghetti with sweet potato noodles!!!

Anyways, I do have a recipe for you today. I had some bananas that were starting to get overly ripe so I stuck them in the freezer to make ice cream with them. Delicious! It comes out just like soft serve! There is no added sugar so the riper your bananas are, the sweeter your ice cream will be.

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 frozen bananas
• 1 tablespoon coconut cream (the top portion of the canned coconut milk)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Peel and roughly chop your bananas and place in the freezer for a few hours until frozen or overnight. I had mine in the freezer almost 10 hours while I was at work and they were perfect.
2. Place all of the ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. The times for this will vary depending on your blender but mine took about 30 seconds. 
3. Any uneaten ice cream can be stored in the freezer but it will become hard so let it thaw in the refrigerator an hour or so before eating.