A Week of Celebration!

What a week we had at FOCF!!! So many things to celebrate—the start of the Paleo Challenge, huge improvements in Baseline times, and a memorable plunge into chilly waters to support the Special Olympics of Washington!

 

The Paleo Challenge

Those participating in the Paleo Challenge shared their successes and challenges of the first week  during class. You’ve got the first week in the books (remember to submit your food journal by 1/25 to be eligible for the weekly prize drawing!)…keep that routine going strong, you can do it! Looking for some ideas to cook up? Be sure to check out Paleo Diet Lifestyles and the Paleo Plan for recipe ideas. Even better, find something you thing others would like? Post it to the blog for us to try! Looking for a tasty dinner idea? Try this stuffed pork tenderloin, yum, yum!!

 

 

 

Stuffed pork tenderloin recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 2lbs pork tenderloin;
• 1 egg;
• ½ medium onion, chopped;
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped;
• 2 large artichoke hearts, chopped;
• ½ tsp fresh sage, finely chopped;
• 1/8 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped;
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg;
• 2 cloves garlic, minced;
• A few tbsp coconut oil;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

 

Preparation

1. In a medium skillet over a medium-high heat, saute the onion, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, sage, thyme, nutmeg and garlic in a few tablespoons of paleo cooking fat. You can also add the olive oil that the sun-dried tomatoes come in if your are using jarred sun-dried tomatoes. This oil, provided it’s only olive oil and not another vegetable seed oil, is healthy and full of delicious spices and flavor. Saute everything for about 3 to 4 minutes, just until the onions become slightly translucent and the tomatoes and artichokes begin to become tender. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside for later use.
2. Place the pork tenderloin in a 9×13 baking dish, rub some cooking fat all over and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. In order to stuff the loin, create a seam in the meat by cutting it down the center lengthwise, essentially, you want to be able to unfold the meat. Set the meat aside until the stuffing has been prepared.
3. Preheat your oven to 450F.
4. Turn your attention back to the stuffing. Once the ingredients from the skillet have completely cooled, whisk in an egg. The egg is essential to the stuffing, as this is what replaces the usual “breadcrumbs” and works to hold everything together. However, to make this work best, the sun-dried tomato/artichoke mixture must be cool, otherwise it will cook the egg before it is even stuffed in the meat and the egg will no longer act as a glue, since it cannot be cooked twice.
5. Take the stuffing and begin spreading it across the seam of the meat. Avoid filling the meat too much, as you will not be able to fold the pork closed. Use some toothpicks to ensure the tenderloin does not pop open while cooking.
6. Cook, uncovered, at 450 F for 30 minutes. Once the first 30 minutes have passed, reduce the heat to 300 F and cook for another 20 minutes. When the time is up, turn off the oven, but allow the meat to remain in it for at least 15 minutes. This cooking method is perfect for keeping the meat from overcooking and becoming dry.

 

 

The Baseline

How do we measure progress and success? People measure success in different ways and on different levels. At FOCF, one of the methods used is the Baseline. If you did an Introductory Session, you performed a Baseline test. This was used to gain a quick ‘snapshot’ of your current fitness level. For many of you, it was a ‘life experience’ unlike any other, but yet you stuck with it! And, as a measure of progress, we pull out that Baseline every once in awhile to track your progress! What amazing gains we saw this past week. It is truly rewarding to see all your hard work pay off. Big kudos to Cris Ortiz who saw the biggest improvement in her time out of all the athletes, way to go! Now some of you may be discouraged if you didn’t see the gains you wanted…but keep in mind, did you use the same color band as last time, did you do push ups on your knees instead of toes? If you changed any element of the Baseline, then you have changed its fidelity. Not that it is a bad thing you changed something, because we love it when you get to move to a band that is less resistive, but it is something to keep in mind when retesting. Let’s hear about your gains…post your new times to the blog, let’s celebrate YOU!

 

The Polar Plunge

The 2012 Kennewick Polar Plunge is in the books. With over $125,000 dollars raised this year benefiting the Special Olympics of Washington, a whopping record of 684 people took part! Our bold, strong, female, team of 3 from FallOut CrossFit proudly took the plunge into the 37 degree temperature of the Columbia River!!! Thanks to those that donated to the cause!