Perfect Fall Feast + Crossfit WOD

Last night I cooked up some awesome ruby chicken, a favorite recipe my mom used to make when I was growing up. I modified it so it is gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. Goodness in a pan! I knew this winner had to be paired with some amazing veggies so I went with some roasted Brussels sprouts. I could eat these every day they are so scrumptious. I couldn't stop there, it wouldn't be a complete meal without a little pumpkin bread!

It was the perfect fuel meal to prepare for our CrossFit workout.  And let me tell you, this was a tough one. John is on the floor of our place "recovering" as I type. He is a beast! More pictures and WOD description after the recipes!

The trick to this recipe is bringing the sauce/glaze to a boil before it gets poured over the chicken. The cranberries, orange juice, onion, and cinnamon smell amazing together and its tempting to skip the chicken and eat it like a soup! This will instantly make your house smell like fall wintry warm goodness.The agave is optional if you are on the cleanse or the 24 Day Challenge, or if you ran out of agave (Costco has massive bottles of raw agave, no excuses!).

Breading and browning the chicken is easy when you use an almond flour/coconut flour base and brown it in coconut oil. It will start to smell nutty and fragrant. It reminds me of the batter i use to make baked "fish sticks" minus the step where you dip the fish in egg. The chicken needs to be lightly browned so a little almond/coconut flour goes a long way! This is some high-protein batter and with none of the gluten! I might try to cook chicken this way, I've only used the technique to brown it then bake it!

The smell when this stuff comes out of the oven is AMAZING. Waiting for it to cool is the hard part. MMmmm.

Margee's Ruby Chicken 

3lbs chicken (3 hand-sized breasts)
½  cup almond flour
½ cup coconut flour
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup orange juice
1 red onion, chopped
¼ cup agave
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
sea salt to taste
coconut oil for browning chicken

Combine cranberries, orange juice, chopped onion, cinnamon, and ginger in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Combine the almond flour and coconut flour in a bowl and set aside. Wash and cut up your chicken breast into roughly 3x3 inch pieces about ½ an inch thick. At this point go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Dip the chicken into the flour mixture, coating on both sides. Drop 1 teaspoon of coconut oil into a skillet and brown the chicken (about 1-2 minutes per side) on medium-high heat. You might have to do a few batches. Place the browned chicken in a 10x15 oblong glass pan and pour the cranberry mixture evenly over the chicken. Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees. Salt to taste and serve with roasted brussels sprouts

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts (1-2 lbs)
Coconut oil spray or olive oil
Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350. Cut the brussels sprouts length-wise. Line a baking pan with tin-foil and spray with coconut oil or spread olive oil over the bottom. Lay the brussels sprouts flat side down, round side up. Spray the tops with more coconut oil or brush with olive oil. Grind sea salt over the brussels sprouts. Put in the oven and roast for 30 minutes at 350. They will be "done" when you pull one up and it is browned on the bottom and when you pierce it it is tender. If they are not "done" place back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

Pumpkin Bread

1 cup almond meal/flour
¼ cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
¼ cup agave or honey
1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk dry ingredients (first 6) to break up any almond flour or coconut flour clumps. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add into the dry mixture. Add wet remaining ingredients; pumpkin, agave, melted coconut oil, and vanilla. Beat slowly until just combined. Don't over blend or the bread will turn out will be dense and flat. Grease a 8x9 inch square pan or a circular cake pan with coconut oil (or you can use cooking spray). Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes. 

CrossFit workout

 

WOD: “HELEN meets GRACE”

 

In Teams of 2, Complete For Time:

3 Rounds:

400m Run

21 Kettlebell Swings (53/35)

12 Pull-ups

Then Complete:30 Clean & Jerks (135/93) 

* One partner works at a time; split reps as you see fit

* Both partners must run 400m together

* One kettlebell and one bar per team, unless on a scaled or male/female team

 

How the coaches modified it for me:  

*Run at a pace you will be able to have a conversation with John

*No modification for Kettlebells (I did 35lbs)

*No kipping pull-ups, use band for assisted pull-ups

*For Clean and Jerks use 11lb bar with 8.5lb bumpers (28lbs total). Because of my belly I use a lot less weight because the movement is altered. When I don't pull up straight to a clean, the bar is further away from my body and puts more stress in my back. 

Watching John bust out some swings

Got the Clean and Jerks down!