What was the Week 5 Workout?

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
65 pound Thruster, 3 reps
3 Chest to bar Pull-ups
65 pound Thruster, 6 reps
6 Chest to bar Pull-ups
65 pound Thruster, 9 reps
9 Chest to bar Pull-ups
65 pound Thruster, 12 reps
12 Chest to bar Pull-ups
65 pound Thruster, 15 reps
15 Chest to bar Pull-ups
65 pound Thruster, 18 reps
18 Chest to bar Pull-ups
65 pound Thruster, 21 reps
21 Chest to bar Pull-ups…
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 21, go on to 24. If you complete 24, go on to 27, etc.

How did I do?

I got a score of 51 meaning I completed the following in 7 minutes:

65 pound Thruster, 3 reps
3 Chest to bar Pull-ups
65 pound Thruster, 6 reps
6 Chest to bar Pull-ups
65 pound Thruster, 9 reps
9 Chest to bar Pull-ups
65 pound Thruster, 12 reps
3 Chest to bar Pull-ups

Team RowFit Chicago and my Individual Women scores:

Our team, RowFit Chicago, placed 54th in the North Central Region out of 130 teams. One of our coaches at Chitown Crossfit even scored high enough to make it to the regional games to represent us!!

I on the other hand got 657th place overall out of 899 women in the North Central Region Individual Women group. So I was in the bottom 27% …not terribly good, but not the worst either for a first attempt at the open!

Overall I am thrilled that I completed all 5 weeks of the Crossfit Games Open to help our team regardless of our scores! I had an absolute blast trying new things and pushing myself further. I now hope to compete in a few small local crossfit competitions by the end of this year!

Check out Workout 12.1 and Workout 12.2 if you missed them.

What was the Week 3 workout?

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 18 minutes of:

15 Box Jumps, using 20” box
75# Push Press, 12 reps
9 Toes-to-Bar

See the video here.

How did I do?

I got a score of 189. Meaning I completed 5 rounds plus an additional 9 box jumps in 18 minutes.

The hardest part about this workout for me was stringing the toes-to-bars together as I became more and more tired.

On to Week 4…

What was the Week 4 workout?

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:

150 Wall balls (tossing a 14# medicine ball up to a 9 foot target)
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle Ups

See the video here.

How did I do?

I got a score of 185. Meaning I completed 150 Wall Balls and 35 Double-unders. There was only 2 people on my entire games team who even made it to the muscle ups. Currently I cannot do a complete  muscle up, but I hope to be able to by the time next year’s games come around!

Stay tuned for this week’s  workout! Week 5 is the last and final week of the Crossfit Games Open so I’m sure it will be a memorable one!

So who is using pink slime in meat? Surprisingly, many fast food companies like McDonalds, Taco Bell and Burger King have abandoned the product. However, pink slime is still making an appearance in the nation’s school lunch program and some supermarkets. According to The Daily, approximately 7 million tons of ammonium-treated beef have been scheduled as part of the school lunch programs in US schools. Approximately 6.5% of ground been destined for schools will have ammonium-hydroxide added. The US Food and Drug Administration classifies ammonium hydroxide food additive as GRAS (generally recognized as safe). But this begs the question, if ammonium hydroxide is not good enough for fast food chains, how come the US government is allowing it in schools?

ABC News ‘Pink Slime’ Outrage: Beef Industry Responds

ABC News emailed the top 10 grocery chains in America and seven responded.

• Safeway said, “We rely on the federal government to help guide us on food safety issues. USDA has been clear in its judgment that Lean Finely Textured Ground Beef is a safe source of nutrition. However, we are reviewing the matter at this time.”
• Ahold (Stop & Shop/Giant) said, “Stores operated by the divisions of Ahold USA do carry ground beef made with Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings (BLBT), also called Finely Textured Beef (FTB). Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings (BLBT) is beef and is absolutely safe for consumption. To make the product, beef companies use beef trimmings, which are the small cuts of beef that remain when larger cuts are trimmed down. These trimmings are USDA-inspected, wholesome cuts of beef. This process has been an industry standard for almost 20 years. Alternatives to the conventional ground beef supply, in the form of Certified Angus Beef and Nature’s Promise ground beef products, are available to customers in stores across all of the divisions of Ahold USA. These products do not include the use of BLBT. Customers are being encouraged to ask any meat associate should they have any questions or would like to be directed to meat that does not include Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings. Our labeling is in compliance with USDA regulations. BLBT is USDA tested and approved ground beef and therefore does not require labeling.”
• Costco said they do not use pink slime. According to Craig Wilson, vice president of quality assurance for Costco, “anything that we sell at Costco we want to explain it’s origins, and I personally don’t know how to explain trim treated with ammonia in our ground beef.”
• Publix said, “We have never allowed the use of LFTB (pink slime) in our meat. It’s 100 percent ground beef with no LFTB.”
• H-E-B said, “All our ground beef sold at H-E-B is 100% pure with no additives.”
• Whole Foods Market said it does not use pink slime.
• Kroger said, “We do not use finely textured beef in our fresh ground beef. … We are routinely presented the finely textured beef as an option, but have always refused.”
• Fred Meyer, Walmart, and Supervalu did not respond or had no comment on the issue.

The problem for consumers is that you can’t know from the packaging whether or not a product contains pink slime because it does not, by law, have to appear on the label. And the USDA is giving no indication it will force meat packers to lift the veil of secrecy any time soon. Your best bet right now is to lean towards stamped USDA Organic beef as it is pure meat without the use of any fillers.

Currently there is a coupon for $2.00 OFF any Spectrum product in the Whole Foods Market Whole Deal.

Additionally, there is a coupon for $1.00 OFF any Spectrum product that can be found in the Vitamin Angels coupon book. Vitamin Angels coupon books are usually distributed to health food stores nation-wide and are available free to customers. Click here to find out where you can pick up a Vitamin Angels coupon book nearest you! There are a lot of really great high value coupons available in this book.

You can stack both of these coupons together because one is a store coupon (the $2.00 OFF at Whole Foods) and the other is a manufacturer’s coupon (the $1.00 OFF from Vitamin Angels). Therefore you are looking at getting $3.00 off any Spectrum oil product!

Pay attention to the Spectrum oil sales at your local Whole Foods. Currently the 24oz tub of Spectrum Organic Shortening (usually $6.99) is on sale for $2.99 making it FREE with these coupons! A 14oz jar of Spectrum Coconut Oil is also on sale for $7.99 making it only $4.99 with coupons!

Save on your Spectrum Cooking Oils this week!

Keep me informed! If you know of any health food coupons out there or great deals at your local supermarket email me at amari@eatchicchicago.com!

Check out Workout 12.1 if you missed it.

What was the Week 2 workout?

Snatches. And a lot of them. See a video on how to do a snatch here.

Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 10 minutes:

30 Snatch (45# for women)
30 Snatch (75# for women)
30 Snatch (100# for women)
Max Rep Snatch (120# for women)

This workout begins from the standing position. The athlete will complete all reps at the first weight before advancing to the next weight. Score is total reps completed in 10 minutes.

How did I do?

I got a score of 60. Meaning I did 30 45# snatches and 30 75# snatches in 10 minutes.

Unfortunately I ran out of time before I could load my bar up with 100# and attempt a snatch at that weight. I had low expectations for myself for this workout and am happy to say that I am rather proud of the score I got!

Will and I made another appearance on the Chi-town Crossfit website again this week too:

Check out my new kicks! I think I was in the middle of an air squat…not the most flattering…

Congrats to everyone who made it through Workout 12.2! Until next week…

Deal of the week:

Naked Juice Smoothies (15.2 oz.)

Usual Price – $3.39 each

Couponed Price – $1.64 each

There is currently a printable $1 off printable coupon available when you vote for Naked Juice on Facebook. Additionally, there is a $0.75 off printable coupon in the Whole Foods Market Whole Deal available both online and in-store. You can “stack” these coupons together at the supermarket because the first is a manufacturers coupon while the second is a store coupon. This is how super-coupons obtain most of their deals. This takes the price of Naked Juice Smoothies down to $1.64 each!

Currently at my Whole Foods Market, the Naked Fruit Juice and Oat Smoothies are on sale for $2.99, so with coupons included it takes these down to $1.24 each!

How to brine a chicken:

In a large stock pot or bucket (I use my 5 Quart Le Creuset Stockpot), add 1/2 cup salt to 1/2 quart hot water until dissolved. Fill your pot with an additional 1 1/2 quarts cold water. Add 1 Tablespoon of sugar and 1 Tablespoon of cider vinegar. Rinse your chicken inside and out, removing any innards or dangling bits of fat (typically whole chickens purchased at a supermarket will already have completed this step for you). Submerge the chicken into the pot neck first to allow the cavity to fill with water so it will sick to the base of the pot. Top the pot off with an additional 1 1/2 quarts of cold water and cover. Refrigerate overnight or longer. I like to brine my chickens at least 24 hours if not longer. When ready to cook, remove chicken from brine and pat dry.

Roasted Whole Chicken with Chili Maple Glaze:

Ingredients:

• One 3-lb whole frying chicken (I like using pasture raised organic)
• 3 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2-3 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425*F. Combine the chili powder and the salt and rub all side and interior of chicken until covered.Let chicken sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.
2. Place bird breast side up in a shallow roasting pan. Twist the wing tips so that they are secured on top of the breast – this may require some muscle power. This is sometimes called the “sunbathing” position as the chicken appears to be laying on it’s back, breast in the air, with arms on top and legs underneath. Tie the legs loosely together with kitchen twine.
3. Pour the water into the pan and put the chicken in the oven feet first.
4. Roast for 1 hour or until the bird’s internal temperature is 160-165*F. Yes, it’s important to own a meat thermometer!
5. Remove the chicken from the oven. Skin should be golden and crisp. Brush with maple syrup. Roast for another 5 minutes.
6. Spoon the remaining drippings over the chicken.
7. Let chicken cool for 15 minutes before carving and serving.

With local organic whole chickens on sale last week for $0.99/lb I bought 2 and froze one for another day. After seeing how delicious this was I wish I would have picked up a few more!

Don’t forget to save your chicken bones to make homemade broth! Tutorial on this later.

First things first. I am a ski school drop out. I got my lift ticket and my skis and was ready to hit ski school until I found out that ski school was an hour and a half long. I stayed for about 10 minutes before hitting the slopes to simply “learn by doing”. Luckily, it turns out that I am a total natural when it comes to skiing and walked away injury-free. I only fell about 4 times and had graduated from Bunny Slope to Blue Square runs by the end of the night!

After a few hours of skiing we moved on to snow tubing. Talk about reliving childhood!

We grabbed what appeared to be the fasted tubes and headed up the hill…

…via a moving walkway. What?! I would have been able to sled all day as a kid if we had these installed at my local park!

…I’m the blur on the left-hand side flying down the hill on my tube. It. was. awesome.

We ended the night with a cold local Sprechers beer and s’mores by the campfire to stay warm!

We stayed in Milwaukee for the night and hit up Stack’d Burger Bar for brunch the next morning where we could find some Paleo-friendly grass-fed beef and local produce before heading back to Chicago.

I’m officially hooked to winter sports! Unfortunately we only have a couple inches of snow on the ground here in Chicago. However, I can’t wait to someday put my ski skills to practice on a real mountain!

Tomorrow I’m headed to Naperville for the West Suburban Dietetics Association “Brushing up on Consumer Trends” seminar. Any fellow Chicagoans planning to be at this? Reach out to me!