Paleo-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Even though I don't really eat strict paleo (I love cheese and ketchup too much), I tried my hand at baking with paleo ingredients for the first time last Friday! I made some paleo-style chocolate chip cookies for a CrossFit friend's birthday, based on my friend Olivia's recipe - you can find the original recipe on her blog, Olivia's Palate. To make the cookies paleo style, I used almond meal, coconut oil and maple syrup instead of the flour, butter and sugar found in a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe. The cookies didn't quite have the chewy consistency of my favorite Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies, but overall they still tasted great!

My first batch of paleo chocolate chip cookies cooling off. 

**Note: if you don't know what the word "paleo" means, I highly recommend taking a glance at "The Beginner's Guide to the Paleo Diet" for a quick and easy breakdown. 

Here are the ingredients that you'll need:

• 3 cups of almond meal or almond flour (I used almond meal from Sprouts)
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil (I just bought the Trader Joe's brand)
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups or 12oz of chocolate chips (I used Trader Joe's organic semi sweet chocolate chips, which I considered to be paleo but some people may be stricter about this)

This recipe made about 3 dozen small cookies, about 2 inches in diameter.

Cookie ingredients. 

To make the cookies:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F before you start mixing anything. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. Note: I prefer to mix all the wet ingredients together, then add the dry ingredients. But the order of the ingredients really doesn't matter that much as long as you can get everything mixed together to form a cohesive cookie dough. 

3. Next, add in the salt and baking soda. 

4. Gradually mix in the almond flour until the mixture forms a batter. 

Almond meal has a different consistency than regular flour.

5. Measure out roughly 1/2 cup of the coconut oil. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, so it will need to be melted before you can add it to the batter. I simply melted my coconut oil by putting it in the microwave in a ceramic cup for about 1 minute, but I suppose you could also melt it on low heat in a saucepan on the stove. The coconut oil will turn clear when it is melted, and then you can measure out 1/2 cup of melted coconut oil and add to your cookie dough mixture. 

Solid coconut oil at room temperature looks suspiciously like lard, but it melts easily into a clear oil. 

6. Stir in the chocolate chips and mix the batter until it forms a sticky dough. 

This cookie dough turned out a lot stickier than I thought, perhaps next time I'll add a little more almond meal or less coconut oil. 

7. Spoon balls of cookie dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about an inch apart. I prefer smaller cookies, so I used about a tablespoon of dough for each cookie and flattened the dough a little bit into a circular shape. 

Don't forget to flatten the dough a little or the cookies will be too chunky. 

8. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 375 degrees, or until the cookies turn golden brown at the edges. Remove the cookies carefully from the cookie sheet (as they may crumble if they haven't baked long enough) and let them cool before serving. My cookies didn't expand as much as I expected, but they were still tasty! 

Fresh out of the oven! You can see the grainier texture of the almond meal. 

Passing the 90 Day Mark at CrossFit Pleasanton, Power Yoga and Open Workout 13.4

Last week, I successfully finished my first 90 days of CrossFit at CrossFit Pleasanton! Its been great - my strength and fitness has come a long way from where I was in December and I've made some awesome friends along the way. I still weigh exactly the same and look about the same, but I also haven't made that many changes to what I eat (meaning that I haven't switched to a Paleo diet). And I still haven't bought any Lulu workout clothes yet, but I did buy myself some Olympic lifting shoes!

with the 8:30 class last Wednesday!

However, I've gone from not being able to do any pull-ups in the On Ramp beginner class to completing 72 kipping pull-ups during a 12 minute workout! I've hit a couple new PRs (personal records) in Olympic lifts that I never did during college such as the snatch, overhead squat, and clean & jerk. I also ripped the skin of my hand open pretty badly during that workout with all the pull-ups, but luckily my friend Sally helped me clean it up with Neo-to-Go and a sweet Princess bandaid.

The disgusting skin tear in my hand and after Sally fixed it up!

Last week, we did the CrossFit Open workout 13.4, which was a couplet of two different movements: the clean and jerk and a gymnastics-like exercise called Toes-To-Bar. Here is the workout:

As many reps as possible in 7 minutes. 

The prescribed weight for women was 95 lbs, and I had never done the clean and jerk during a regular workout before. But what I found was that the weight was actually okay, even though it was heavier than I thought it would be for me. I got through the workout with 27 reps, which isn't a lot but I finished all 9 clean and jerks in the round with just seconds to go and the weight was a little of a challenge for me. Photo credits to CC.

Starting the clean from the floor. 

Push jerk to put the weight overhead. 

The kipping swing. 

Getting my toes up to the bar. 

The past two weeks, we've had active recovery on Wednesdays with a Power Yoga class! Our instructor is Mark Alexander and his classes are grounded in the styles of Ashtanga, Power and Vinyasa flow. We've been focusing on building strength and flexiblity through different poses and even working on our handstands! I've taken a number of different yoga classes before, including the Bikram hot yoga, and this has been different from any of the other classes so far. It has also been challenging for me to maintain my balance right after a regular CrossFit workout, but I love yoga!

Crescent pose. 

Christina in the half moon pose.

Paul and Megan doing the Twisting Crow balance (this is one that I just fell over in).

Megan and I trying to stabilize our handstands - the goal is to get our feet off the wall into a freestanding handstand. 

Christina doing a handstand for the very first time! 

I'm sad to say that this week will be my last week of attending the 8:30 class at CFP, but I'm really excited to be starting work at a new job next week! I'm going to have to commute to/from San Francisco every day, but that just means I'll have to hit up the early morning CrossFit classes... good thing I'm a morning person : )

DIY: How to Paint Your Reebok CrossFit Shoes

Since I've started CrossFit a few months ago, I've been dying to get some olympic lifting shoes. While they are expensive, they provide much needed stability while doing olympic lifts like the overhead squat or snatch. I researched the different brands online and read through many forums where people debated their classic Adidas powerlifting shoes vs. Nike Romaleos etc. What I learned was that there are advantages to having a stiff sole for powerlifting, and that Adidas shoes have been around the competitive weightlifting scene forever.

Nike Romaleos 2 (photo courtesy of strengthrx.com)

A competitive power lifter with Adidas shoes, in a deep squat stance (photo credit)

But in the end, the coaches at CrossFit Pleasanton (CFP) convinced me to just get the Reebok Oly Lifters because these shoes have the most flexibility in the soles and at the toe. A lot of CrossFit workouts aren't pure olympic lifting sessions - we do a lot of other movements mixed in, such as box jumps, pull-ups, burpees, jump roping, etc. I've never been a huge fan of Reebok, but I love my shoes so far... but felt they were a little boring.

Stock photo from Reebok.com

You can order custom Reebok shoes from Reebok's website, but they cost $180 plus tax and shipping. I bought my shoes for $135 from CFP. I did a little research on the internet, and learned that leather paint costs only about $4 per bottle so I figured I could just paint my shoes myself to brighten them up. I ordered a 4oz bottle of Angelus leather paint in Light Blue and Angelus Matte finisher from Dharma Trading's website and bought the rest of the supplies I needed at Walmart for $16. 4 ounces actually turned out to be way too much paint, I should have just bought the 1oz bottle and saved myself a few bucks.

*Note: some of the DIY websites that I read used other paints like nail polish or just regular acrylic paint, but I chose to buy the Angelus leather paint because the paint needs to be flexible with the shoe's movements. There would be no point in going through all the work to paint my shoes, only to have the paint flake or chip off while I'm working out.

These were the shoes that I designed on the Reebok website, to model what my shoes would look like when finished. 

My actual Reebok oly lifter shoes, after being painted... the color doesn't quite match but I'm still happy with how they turned out! 

You will need:

• Acetone for removing existing coatings (available at any hardware store or about $6 in the home improvement section of Walmart) - nail polish remover NOT recommended.
• Angelus Leather Paint (available at many online craft suppliers. I bought mine from Dharma Trading Company)
• Q-tips
• Old dish rag or old towel
• Painter's Masking Tape (Quality matters - I used 3M blue painter's tape)
• Paint brushes (Synthetic is fine, I recommend using an angled brush for increased accuracy)
• Your shoes
• (optional) Angelus Acrylic Finisher or Angelus Duller

Shoes and painting supplies. 

Step 1

Prep the leather by removing existing polish and coatings with acetone. You should remove the shoelaces from the shoes (if your shoes have shoelaces). If you don't prep your shoes thoroughly, the paint may not adhere to the leather very well and all your work will go to waste. Use the blue painter's tape to tape off any areas that you don't want to paint, and then rub the acetone over the shoe with a dish rag. You can use the q-tips for hard to reach areas, such as around shoelace loops.  Don't forget to wear rubber gloves to protect your hands while you do this. I would recommend doing this outside (or in a well-ventilated area) because acetone smells terrible. Also, be aware of where the acetone might drip - it will take the paint finish off from your floor if you're doing this inside the house.

I put the blue painter's tape over the Reebok logo and the tongue of the shoes before I prepped them . 

Step 2

Paint the leather portion of your shoe with your Angelus paints. Some websites recommended thinning down the paint, but I just used the paint straight from the bottle. I painted 2 coats on my shoes while using a hairdryer to help the paint dry in between coats (most of the websites recommended 2-3 coats). Some general painting tips: if you are painting multiple colors, start with the lightest color first. If you are painting a lighter color on a dark background, you'll probably need to "prime" the area first with white paint. Don't worry about dripping paint onto the sole, you can always fix it afterward by dabbing a bit of acetone on it with a q-tip. Remove the blue painter's tape while the paint is still wet, this will allow the paint to run a little at the edges into a smooth line.

After 1 coat of paint - you can see how the paint is still uneven and where the brush strokes are.  Remember that multiple thinner coats are better than a single thick coat!

Done with 2 coats!

The results after peeling off the blue painter's tape. 

Step 3

The last step is to seal the paint on your shoes with an Angelus Acrylic Finisher for a gloss or matte finish. All you have to do is dab the finisher onto your dry shoes with a clean dish towel. You can also buff your shoes with a soft cloth or pantyhose, if you want a glossier finish. According to Dharma Trading's website, Angelus paints naturally have a semi-gloss finish. I bought an Angelus Matte Finisher because I wanted to protect the painted leather from scuffing up in the gym. The finisher is supposed to provide a flexible, waterproof coat on top of the paint. Allow the shoes to dry completely for 24 hours before you wear them.

My finished DIY Reebok oly lifter shoes! 

You'd never know that I painted them if I didn't tell you :)

If you'd like to read more about how to paint leather shoes, here is the most useful instruction list that I read and the best YouTube video that I watched.  

CrossFit Open 2013: Week 1

I've been training at CrossFit Pleasanton for a 2 months and 2 weeks now, and I'm proud to say that I have now successfully completed my first Open workout (also known as 13.1)! After being convinced by many of my fellow CrossFitters to sign up for the CrossFit Open 2013, I sifted through a lot of different articles online and watched YouTube videos from last year's CrossFit Games competition. The articles are intimidating, and the the videos that I watched were even more intense. However, the tipping point that influenced my decision to sign up for the Open was that I figured that I had nothing to lose if I just gave it my best shot, since I've never competed in anything CrossFit-related before.

The first workout of the CrossFit Open 2013 - as many reps as possible of burpees and snatches in 17 minutes. 

I had forgotten what it was like to be competing... and the nervousness that leads up to game day. Once I read the workout, my heart immediately started racing because I knew that snatching 75lbs would be a challenge for me. We did last year's 12.2 "snatch ladder" workout at CFP few weeks ago, and I didn't get a single rep at 75lbs. But that workout had a time cap of 10 minutes, and I felt really crunched for time. The 13.1 workout had a much more generous time cap of 17 minutes, since they essentially combined the 7 minutes of burpees from workout 12.1 (the first Open workout of 2012) with the 10 minute "snatch ladder" of 12.2 (the second Open workout of 2012). Looking back, I think ending my first round with a few squat snatches really helped set up my body for the heavier weight - thanks to this video of 13.1 snatch tips with Coach Diane Fu from CrossFit San Francisco.

Getting that high pull. Photo by Everett Rosette. 

Success! Photo by Everett Rosette. 

I'm really proud to say that I completed 13.1 with 105 reps, meaning that I got 5 snatches at 75lbs for a PR (personal record)! Doing this workout in a heat of some of the top women from CFP was great, it pushed me to stay on track with the burpees and I loved that everyone was yelling for each other to get through the snatches. I think my "game face" in the photos says it all :D

10 Things I've Learned in My First 60 Days of CrossFit

For the past 60 days, I've been working out and trying to getting back into shape at CrossFit Pleasanton. Now that I've joined the ranks of ex-athletes who do CrossFit, I figured I would take the time to share some of my thoughts on what I like about CrossFit. All photos are from CrossFit Pleasanton (CFP), unless otherwise stated. 

1. CrossFit is addicting.

I first went to CrossFit Pleasanton was about a week after getting back into the country, and I started off by just going 3 times a week to their "On Ramp" introductory courses. I "graduated" 3 weeks later, after having learned the basic lifts and terminology, and my first workout was the "Filthy 50" on New Years Eve. After that, I started going just 3 days a week and doing the regular WODs. Those first few weeks were rough on my body, I was ridiculously sore after essentially taking 2.5 years off from lifting (I didn't have access to a weight room while living in Ukraine). then up to 4 days. Now I'm proud to say that I'm back to working out 6 days a week, with between 4-5 workouts at CrossFit and running for cardio on the other days. 

A group of CrossFitters on New Years. 

2. The world of CrossFit has its own lingo. 

CrossFit is used as both a noun and a verb. A gym is called a box, the daily workout is a "WOD" (workout of the day) and there are many other assorted abbreviations that I'm still learning. For example, RX = to do the weights as written in the workout (as opposed to modifying it to make it lighter), SDHP = sumo deadlift high pull, HSPU = handstand pushups, double unders = a double jump with a jump rope. 

I didn't even know what a kettlebell was until I started working out at CrossFit. 

3. CrossFit is an expensive hobby... 

One of the most common reactions that I get when I tell my friends that I've been doing CrossFit is "isn't that expensive?". Well, the answer is yes. I've spent over $500 in 2 months with paying for the gym membership, and buying gear like 2 pairs of shoes and a speed rope. And I still need to get olympic lifting shoes and a weightlifting belt, and maybe some wrist wraps. The costs add up while you're unemployed, but I think its a worthwhile investment in the long run. I would rather spend my money at a gym that actually pushes and challenges me, and I don't mind buying gear that will help me get better and stronger.

This RPM speed rope retails  for $45, but its apparently the best (read: fastest) for double unders. 

4. People don't judge you at CrossFit. 

One of my least favorite things about working out at gyms like LA Fitness is that guys always stare at you when you lift, especially if you're lifting the same amount of weight that they are or doing something that they've never seen before, like a one-arm dumbell snatch. CrossFitters don't frown at you for doing a lighter weight because lighter weight will get you more reps or faster rounds. They understand that everyone starts off at different fitness levels - they get that you're new, and try to give you tips on how to improve instead because they were once in your shoes. 

Coach and CFP owner Paul Southern deadlifting in an official CrossFit competition. 

On a side note: I'm thankful that I have had weightlifting coaches to teach me the proper technique for Olympic lifts. It makes a big difference and I know the good technique will serve me better in the long run than something like being able to crank out fast reps of power cleans in poor form. If you've never done any sort of Olympic lifting before, it will take you a while to learn the motions before you get it right. It took me probably about 6 months before I could get my elbows up (high enough to have my upper arms parallel to the floor) on a front squat, so don't be discouraged if you are having trouble with it - Olympic lifting isn't something that you should expect to learn in just a few weeks of On Ramp classes. 

5. Some things are just inevitable if you CrossFit.

Some things you just can't avoid: bruises from climbing the rope, banged up shins from deadlifts, calluses from pull-ups and gaining weight. I also banged up my collarbone from my first time doing thrusters (front squat plus an overhead push press), and had some nice bright bruises for about a week. The weight gain that I'm talking about is lean muscle mass, and its not necessarily a bad thing. I lost about 10lbs during my 2 years in Ukraine, from not eating enough protein and not working out. But I've gained it back within these two months, so I'm glad to say I'm back to the same weight I was in college. Ripping up your hands is also inevitable, people just take it in stride and compare how they "tore" up their palms after the workout. 

My friend Sally climbs the rope for the first time! 

This is what my leg looked like after climbing the rope for the first time. Well actually, I climbed it 5 times, 3 times, and then 1 time in a workout. 

6. Lululemon is the new Under Armor for fashion in fitness gear. 

I remember hearing about Lulu during my last year of college, but I brushed it off as just being a fad for designer work out gear. All the hardcore athletes that I knew preferred Under Armor to other fitness brands like Nike, Adidas and Reebok. Little did I know, that when I got back from spending over 2 years overseas, Lulu yoga pants had turned into the new Nike tempo shorts. Now everyone and their mother (and grandmother) wears Lulu. People also wear it on the streets in their daily lives with their UGG boots. Disclaimer: I'm not sure if this is just because I live in California or if this is a trend across the whole nation. 

Its also important to have awesome knee-high socks at CrossFit.  

7. Working out in a team environment is more fun than working out alone. 

One of my favorite parts about working out at CrossFit is the team environment. Although I work out around the same time every day, there are usually different people there. In my opinion, CrossFitters are competitive enough to push each other to work hard but not super-over-competitive to put people down which happens sometimes in competitive sports. It made me realize how much miss being on a team, working out with my teammates, cheering each other on and comparing our results to a record board. 

CrossFit Pleasanton has a recordboard too! I'll make it up there someday :) 

Everyone is just dead after a WOD sometimes. 

8. Weightlifting shoes are really worth it. 

I tried a pair when we did overhead squats for a 1 rep max, and I could totally feel the difference. They really stabilize your feet position, and now I see why the hardcore guys from my college swim team would rave about their weightlifting shoes. Since I don't have any good weightlifting shoe photos, here's a photo of one of the guys from CFP jumping 54.5" for a max box jump! I only jumped 34" that day haha. 

9. I can do pull-ups!

A few years ago, my max for strict pull-ups from a dead hang was like 5. This was while I was in college and worked out regularly, averaging 9 swim practices and 3 weightlifting sessions each week. When I started working out again after coming back from Ukraine, I couldn't even do a pull-up with a band in the On Ramp class. So I've been staying after the WOD every day for a few weeks to work on my pull-ups, and now I can do 9 kipping pull-ups on my own without a band! I haven't tried to max out strict pull-ups again yet, mostly because the kipping ones are easier so I don't want to go back to doing strict pull-ups. 

The kipping swing (photo credit to Coach Kaitlin).

Getting my chin above the bar! (Photo by Coach Kaitlin)

10. Swimmer shoulder problems will never go away. 

After enduring about 15 years of abuse in the pool, my shoulders still have problems. I used to swim distance, meaning that I ground my shoulders day in and day out by doing high volume anaerobic workouts in the pool. Swimmers were definitely known for wearing ice packs wrapped awkwardly around our shoulders in the athletic dining hall. Even now, I still have limited flexibility and a limited range of motion in overhead movements like snatching. I've gone back to doing shoulder rehab with rotator cuff strengthening exercises with a band, in the hopes that it will prevent my shoulders from the telltale pinching pain during workouts. 

One of my goals is to be able to do a 1-arm handstand someday like Coach Kat! I'm still working on just being able to do a regular handstand though. 

Looking forward, I've signed up to participate with CrossFit Pleasanton in the CrossFit Open 2013. I know that I'm not anywhere in shape to win anything and that I'll probably get beat by a lot of the moms who work out at CFP, but I'm still excited to work out with my gym and see where I'm at!  

Getting back into shape

Since I ended my collegiate swimming career in March, I've been slacking off in the fitness department. Over the summer, I lifted or swam like once or twice a week in Singapore. Their pool was gorgeous but nauseatingly hot, since it was outdoors and they did not have any sort of aerator system to cool it off. Plus it was long course (50 meters), and I hate long course with a passion.

 

 While I was in China, I swam a few times but never ventured into the weight room... mostly because I didn't want to get judged and stared at by creepy asian guys while they worked out. Note~ if you have never been to China, girls do not work out or play sports. In fact, they don't even like to ride bikes and prefer sitting on the back bumper thing and letting a guy ride the bike. So it was already interesting to them that my friend Christine and I were working out. Apparently biking to class and everywhere around town is enough of a workout for the local girls.

In order to use the lap swim lanes at Tsinghua University's pool, we had to pass the deep water swim test. The deep water swim test was swimming a 200. Communicating the information on my deep water swim test ID card was interesting, because I do not read Chinese and the lifeguard there did not speak English. I had a little difficulty figuring out what the little card meant by "faculty", since I wasn't familiar with that Chinese word. Luckily, a student who spoke some English came into the lifeguard office and translated "faculty" as what major we were studying at the University. Here is a picture of my ID card that says I passed the deep water swim test - the first line written in blue ink is my name in Chinese, and the second line in blue ink says Industrial and Systems Engineering, which was the whole "faculty" debacle.

So since coming home to California, I've been trying to get back into shape and work out more than I did over the summer. I've been to Crossfit Pleasanton a few Saturdays in a row for their "free drop-in session," and its not too bad. Actually, I've lost so much strength since I stopped lifting that I've been getting my butt kicked by 35-year-old moms that work out there... last Saturday's workout included 50 reps of a Thruster, which is a signature Crossfit lift that is essentially a dead lift to overhead push press. I was barely able to handle the 45 lb bar, and had to pause and take a break after every 10 reps and the mom working out next to me just cranked out almost all 50 in a row. And its been a while since I've done pullups, so I was struggling to learn how to do the "kipping" pullup and the mom next to me cranked out 30 pullups in a few minutes.  Overall, the Crossfit Pleasanton gym was pretty nice and the group workout of the day was great since it pushed me to work harder than the moms. I would definitely be a regular if it wasn't so expensive to work out there.

Image courtesy of CrossfitPleasanton.com

Being a student athlete in college really spoiled me, because now I tend to only do Olympic-style lifts at the rack and with the free weights. I went to lift today at another gym in the area called Gainspeed, which specializes in training high school athletes. The owner was really nice and let me work out for free, which was a sweet deal.

This is how I knew I was really out of shape - I'm terribly ashamed to say this but I was able to hang clean more weight than I could squat. I need a few more weeks to get back into reasonable lifting weights, but by then I will be leaving for Ukraine! Oh, the life of a swammer. I'm looking forward to finding a swimming pool and weight room to lift in when I get to Ukraine.