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Happy Wednesday! Back with more Kitchen Adventures and another featured friend! This week’s recipe truly was an adventure for me. I have never made a blended soup and there is one special ingredient I’ve never worked with before so I’m excited to share this recipe with you!

BUT FIRST! Let me introduce this week’s feature. Many of you already know him, or at least know the extensions of him, Hannan and little Ziva! You may not know, however, that Patrick is QUITE the craftsman! He owns his own carpentry business, Edelcor, down in Buda, but does work all around the Austin area!

Basically, if you can dream it up, Patrick can get it done. We’ve seen him build everything from wooden toys to a full on house and it’s all done with such care and precision, you won’t be disappointed. If you need an example of some of his work, just look around the gym. Patrick custom built the pegboard you see on the back wall and not only made a plyo box for us, but has actually made several for other members’ home gyms. That doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what he can do though. Check out the Portfolio on his website to see some more of his work, but don’t let those categories stop you from dreaming up whatever you want made! He’s up to the task!

Ok, now that you’re dreaming up the new dining table Patrick is going to make for you, let’s talk about the recipe you can make to eat on it 😉

I am always trying to find new ways to boost my veggie intake and to keep things interesting, I try to find ways to use vegetables I’ve never cooked with before. In this case, it’s fennel bulb! Now, I’m no stranger to fennel as a spice, but I’ve never actually picked up a fresh fennel bulb in the store until this recipe. Fresh fennel smells amazing and has a nice sweet tasting crunch. I was excited to work it in with this soup and I have to say, it gave it great flavor!

Although this whole year has been “sick season” I usually start around this time amping up the cold/flu fighting foods. This is an immune boosting powerhouse of a soup and it’s tasty to boot! I served it with some simple baked chicken breast and roasted asparagus and mushrooms, but it would be great on it’s own. Give it a go!

SOUPer Greens Soup – *Tools – you will need an immersion blender or be ready to transfer to a blender and back to the pot

INGREDIENTS
2 TBSP Avocado oil
1 medium yellow onion – diced
1 large parsnip – roughly chopped
5-6 garlic cloves minced
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley – chopped – stems and all
1 zucchini – sliced thin – keep the skin on
1 fennel bulb – roughly chopped (Just the white part, the tops won’t be used for this recipe)
3 celery stalks – chopped
1 small head broccoli – chopped into small florets
1 bay leaf
8 cups vegetable stock
1 can chickpeas, drained
10 oz baby spinach leaves
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt & cracked black pepper

Optional for topping, but HIGHLY recommended:
Dollop of plain Greek Yogurt
Drizzles of Truffle Oil – adds a whole new dimension of flavor

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat avocado oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, parsnips, garlic, parsley, zucchini, fennel, celery, and bay leaf. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they veggies have softened.

Add the broth, broccoli, and chickpeas and bring the pot to a boil. Cook for 4-5 minutes and then lower the heat to a simmer. Remove the bay leaf, add the spinach and season lightly with salt and pepper. Using an immersion blender if you have one (highly recommended), carefully blend the soup until smooth.  If you’re using a blender, carefully transfer the soup to a blender and pulse until smooth, transfer back to the pot.

Once smooth, stir in the lemon juice and taste. Adjust with salt and pepper if needed. Dish it out, drop a dollop of Greek yogurt in the middle, and drizzle a bit of truffle oil. Enjoy!

Heyoooo! Y’all! I cannot tell you how excited I am that it is starting to feel like fall. Don’t get me wrong, I am a full on summer supporter, but I love fall for so many reasons…. one of which is that it’s SOUP WEATHER. I for one, will actually make and eat soup year round, but obviously it’s more comforting and satisfying when the weather calls for it. So… as soon as there was a hint of fall in the air, I made a giant pot of soup. I was craving something that was still bright and fresh, but warm and comforting as well so that’s where this Lemon Orzo Chicken soup came into play.

Before we get to the recipe though… I’m excited to introduce you to this week’s feature – David Barrientos! Many of you (if you’re a CFA member) have likely met him, but may not know that he owns and operates Buda Bike Company! David’s been a member with us a for a few months now, but he’s no stranger to the bicycle game. I know MANY of you at CFA are cyclists whether it be a casual ride, a road race, or hitting the trails so if you’re in need of any maintenance or maybe even a new set up, check out David’s shop! When it comes to bikes, they pretty much do it all. He’s also just a pretty great guys to know, so you might just make a new friend in the process! 🙂

Ok, without further ado, here’s your next Kitchen Adventures recipe!

LEMON ORZO CHICKEN SOUP

If you are not using a rotisserie chicken, you’ll need to cook and shred your chicken. Use whatever method you prefer, but I recommend seasoning lightly with salt, pepper, garlic and lemon juice. This will be added later so you can actually cook it while your soup is working.

Heat your pot and about a TBSP of oil over medium high heat. Saute the celery, onions, and carrots for about 5 minutes or until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so, being careful not to burn it.

Enjoy, friends!

Happy Wednesday, friends! Another week, another recipe, and even more exciting, another feature! I have been thinking about past performances lately and REALLY missing my dance community. This year has definitely put a damper on that part of my life and as memories pop up on Facebook and Instagram of past shows, it’s really given me the bug.

Anyway, I’m really excited to introduce you to my sweet friend Sarah. I met her through the dance community here in Austin, but she is a powerhouse woman of many talents. One of her many talents is photography and let me tell you… she’s brilliant. She’s shot several shows I’ve been a part of and I have even done some individual work with her. She produces some beautiful, etherial images and just has a stunning aesthetic. Take a look at some of her work and if you’re looking for some new pieces for your wall, she has prints for sale! You may even recognize a familiar face in a few of these shots 😉

Today’s recipe – Tropical Chicken Bowls

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken & veggies

For the sauce

1 can organic coconut milk – full fat
1 cup salsa verde – mild/medium your choice
1 large mango – pitted, peeled, and rough chopped
1 jalapeno – seeded & deveined
3 TBSP coconut sugar
2 TBSP lime juice
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder – more to taste
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
Dash of Sriracha to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

In a blender or food processor, add all of the sauce ingredients and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust to your liking. Set this aside to add to the chicken soon. 

In a large skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Once the skillet is hot add your chicken and begin to brown. Before the chicken is cooked through, add the bell peppers and cook until they begin to soften. 

Stir in the sauce and add the spinach to the skillet and cook until the chicken is cooked through and spinach is wilted. Serve with rice.

Hey Crew,

How’s everyone doing? Life’s been a bit wacko lately and I seem to be falling into an “every other week” cycle with my Kitchen Adventures posts, but honestly.. I’m ok with that right now. That’s what I can make happen and that’s a lot like meal prep. Sometimes you just keep it super simple and make what you can happen!

The recipe I’m sharing below is one of those…. Before I get into that, I want to introduce this week’s spotlight.

Robby Sansom and Force of Nature! If you keep up with me at all, I’ve actually mentioned FON in past posts, but Robby and FON are totally worth a full spotlight. Force of Nature has become my go to source for clean meats. Not only does Force of Nature provide incredible, clean products that taste amazing, what they do is actually good for the environment! I know, you’re thinking “but what about all the big plants, blah blah blah…” The farms where the meat is sourced are all operating on the foundations of regenerative agriculture.

With many of the “meatless meat” options shouting about the lower carbon effects their processes produce, they can’t be matched by the CARBON NEGATIVE process of regenerative agriculture. Yes, you read that right. The way that these animals are raised is good for the earth, the soil, the animals, and your bodies. I’m not the person to explain it all in depth to you, but Robby and his team are doing amazing things here.

For those of you who may not know, Robby is the husband of our own community member, Kristy Marsillo. He’s also just an excellent human being and someone we are honored to have in our lives. We were so excited to be involved in this venture and we were one of the first gyms to begin carrying the products. If you haven’t been in the front office for a while, go check it out. There’s a cooler with all the info and you can buy directly from us. Spend some time on the website too. There is a ton of excellent information about the process, products, etc and so many good articles on the blog.

Ok, on to the recipe. Like I mentioned, I needed a “make it happen” recipe for breakfast this week. I know, I’ve been on a kick with the breakfast recipes lately. I’ll do something else soon, but I figured this was a perfect one to share with the Force of Nature spotlight since I used one of their products!

That said, I bring you… Something that I promise tastes better than it looks in this picture haha!

Southwest Breakfast Bowls

INGREDIENTS

1 package FON Wild Boar (honestly, any of the products would work in this)
1 can organic black beans – drained and rinsed
1 can organic fire roasted tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn – thawed
2-3 cloves garlic – minced
1 small onion – sliced
2 bell peppers – any color – sliced
1 large bunch of kale – stems removed and torn into pieces
1 package taco seasoning if you’re being lazy – HERE is a good recipe for your own if you want to make it
8-10 eggs – scrambled (+milk if you prefer for fluffier eggs)
Salt & pepper
Oil for cooking – I used avocado oil
*Optional – 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

To top –
Avocado and hot sauce of your choice – I like the yellowbird serrano for this!

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the meat and season lightly with salt and pepper. Remove and set aside. If there is not at least a TBSP of grease left from the meat, add a dash of oil. Add the onions and peppers and saute until they begin to soften. Add the garlic, taco seasoning, & kale and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the beans, corn, and tomatoes and cook until heated throughout and kale reaches desired consistency.

In a separate skillet, cook your scrambled eggs to desired consistency. If using, add cheese and season with S&P to taste. Add the eggs and meat back into the skillet with the veggies and mix well. To serve, top with fresh avocado and hot sauce!

What’s up, guys!? Hope everyone is having an excellent week so far! Tim was out of town last weekend and I did a MASSIVE meal prep day on Sunday. I cooked for hours, but it was nice to get so much done and not have to think about what we’re eating for a while. The recipe I’m sharing today is a take on a zucchini lasagna that turned out pretty great, but first, I want to tell you about this week’s feature!

Chris Bergen, if you haven’t met him, is a member here at CFA and he’s just an excellent human being. He’s super kind, works his tail off, and just has a certain drive in him that makes YOU want to work harder too. Over the last year, Chris has been working on writing a book. It’s inspired by his amazing little pup, Superstar Wonder Dog, but tackles all kinds of life stuff. It’s out on apple books and kindle (Check it out HERE)

He’s actually doing a sneak peak in a live reading on FB tonight if you want to give him some love and hear a bit of the book! He’s going live on his FB page at 7pm (central). I’m super excited for Chris and can’t wait to check out the book.

“Being a superstar isn’t always about getting the most points in a game or throwing the longest pass. It’s not always about running the fastest or jumping the highest. It’s not about being the most popular. Sometimes, it’s about learning what is on the inside and being the superstar you’ve always wanted to be.”

INGREDIENTS

Hi friends! So, I was not originally going to post this as a recipe because it’s not really a “recipe,” but more of a random thought I had at the grocery store and it turned out really well. After telling a few people about it, they’ve convinced me that I need to spread the good news 😉 Anyway, let’s get to this week’s spotlight and then you can scroll down and check out what you’re having for breakfast this week!

Just a little context, this year has been such a mess and small businesses, artists, musicians, etc… really took a hit. I figured that if I’m posting weekly anyway, maybe I could try and help out, even just a little bit, by sharing the things my friends are doing in the world! Maybe it will be a good resource for you if you’re looking for a particular service and maybe it will help them in a time when business is slower! Anyway, I also just like to celebrate my friends because I know some pretty amazing people putting good things out into the world….

That said, this week’s spotlight goes to Remington Pet Ranch! Linzi Newth has been a long time member and friend at the gym. We’ve watched her grow and do some really incredible things over the years. She also runs a non-profit called GingerCare that matches elderly people with pets that need homes. There’s a lot more to that, but you can check out more info on that HERE.

Today, I’m specifically talking about Remington. Linzi has been a veterinarian for years and she and her awesome fiance’, Meg (who is also killin’ it in the gym) run this amazing place. Remington is a 35 acre ranch where your pets very well might have a better vacay than you do while you’re gone! It’s beautiful out there! They offer pet boarding, as well as special medical boarding for pets with extra needs. They have doggy day care (and a hilarious insta account to watch your pups play all day), and are also offering pet grooming now.

Not only is this an amazing place to take your pets, but Linzi and Meg (and the whole team) are just truly amazing people. We feel very lucky to have them in our lives and our community so if you want to take your pets to someone you can trust, this is the place. Check them out & give their socials a like or follow!

Alright, on to the “recipe.” The reason I don’t take credit for this as a recipe is because all I did was combine two things, but apparently there is a little finessing to do so here we go!

First, you could really do this with any pancake mix, but I LOVE Kodiak Cakes mix. It is a little cleaner than your typical pancake mix, but has the added bonus of 14g protein per serving and you can boost that up by using milk and eggs (if you do dairy)! There are several flavors available, but my favorite is the cinnamon oat, which is what I used for this breakfast prep.

BACON PANCAKE MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

Bacon (About 1/2 pound for 12 muffins)

Kodiak cakes (+ 1 egg and milk if you want to boost the protein)

**If using muffin papers, make sure you get the parchment paper ones or at the very least, spray what you’re using with baking spray. My first batch, I used regular cupcake liners and they stuck SO BAD

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 and line or grease your muffin tin.

For the Kodiak Cakes, I doubled the normal amount for pancakes on the side of the box and it got me 12 muffins in a normal sized muffin pan + a little bit extra. So 2 cups mix, 1.5 cups milk, 1 egg… 

Chop the bacon into small pieces and pan fry until just under what you normally like it. Drain the grease and let it cool enough to touch. Once you can handle it, use about half of it and put in each cup, but save some to put on TOP of each muffin. Pour your pancake mix to about 3/4 full in each cup and top each muffin with bacon.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until golden and a tooth pick comes out clean. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup!

I stored these in a gallon size ziploc and just pop a couple in the microwave for about :45 seconds when I’m ready to eat them.

We are very excited to introduce you to a good, long time friend of mine, Eric Jones! I met Eric back when I first started CrossFit in2011. Actually, Eric is the one who taught me how to do kettlebell swings (among other things I’m sure)! We later coached together for a while, but between his military career and my…. well…. life… we’ve come and gone in each others lives over the years. We have always stayed in touch and kept up online, but any chance we got to connect, we basically annoyed everyone else by talking about the fitness industry. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, Eric is making his transition out of the Air Force through a really cool program called SkillBridge. Basically, as a part of his transition out of the military, he’ll be doing an internship/residency with us as he transitions back into civilian life. We are really excited to have him come hang out with us for a couple of months and to be a stepping stone for him with this program.

Some of you may have already met him at some point. He’s popped in a few times over the years, but in an effort to give you guys a chance to get to know him a bit before he gets here, I asked him to write a bio.

Eric Jones || Trainer

About Eric:  Eric is returning to fitness full time after a twelve year career in the Air Force. Prior to his time on active duty he was afull time personal trainer for the Sports and Rec department of The Ohio State University and fitness coach for CrossFit Columbus. That affiliate would be one of the first 100 in the world and would later be known by the more well known name Rogue Fitness. Eric would go on to compete for the Rogue team in the 2008 CrossFit Games in Aromas, California.  He then left Ohio to fly the C-130J Hercules aircraft in Arkansas and three deployments to Afghanistan. Since then, he’s been living in Texas teaching undergraduate and instructor candidates in the T-1A Jayhawk and T-6A/B Texan II trainers. All this time Eric has kept his fitness instructor proficiency by training with the nearest functional fitness gym to include acting as head coach for CrossFit Del Rio. Eric will be separating from active duty in November and will be training at CFA under a transitional internship program known as Skillbridge.  

BS in Exercise Science – The Ohio State University
CrossFit Level 2
USAW Level 1 Sports Performance 

Seminars:

CrossFit Barbell
CrossFit Endurance
American Kettlebell Club Coach

A message from Eric:  I played many sports through my youth and high school and somehow always knew I had a different approach to practice.  I was better at the training than the actual sport! That and an interest in training for “military” fitness without having to run led me to CrossFit in the early days of 2006. I’ve seen many fitness trends come and go in that time but I’ve also seen how the basics don’t change. They have yet to fail me even as I have gotten older. I am really looking forward to helping clients of all kinds meet their goals and exceed their expectations.     

Lift hard, eat well, and have fun!  

-EJ

Hello Friends!

I hope everyone is well. Anymore, when folks ask me how things are going I feel like the most honest response I can give is “Eh, it’s just another day in 2020!” Something new pops up for us just about every day and I’m definitely still struggling to find balance in meal prepping, but we are healthy, we are fed, and I’m grateful for that.

This week for my spotlight, I want to share an AMAZING woman with you! Kay has been in our lives for many years now through the gym. She is an incredible DJ (check her out HERE)! She has DJ’d several events over the years for us and we are just humbled to have her in our community. Her talent is just one of her awesome qualities. This woman is a force with a heart of gold! If you ever get the chance to talk with her, you’ll see exactly what I mean. Go check out her insta and some of the other cool things she does (Groove Theory, Remedy Brunch, and most recently Feel Good Fridays, etc…) Give her a follow & fill your cup with some of the goodness that is DJ Kay Cali!

Ok, so next to her, this breakfast recipe is going to seem so boring lol! But, I promise you, it’s super tasty and so insanely easy. I went way overboard and this made like 8 meal prep containers worth so if you’re the only one eating it, you may want to half the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

2lb Brussels Sprouts – cut into halves or quarters
2 10 oz bags diced butternut squash (or 1 large squash if you’re cutting it yourself)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
8 oz mushrooms of your choice – sliced
2 bell peppers (any color) – sliced into strips
1 red onion – rough chopped
Minced garlic – I used the “cheater garlic” (pre-minced in a jar) and ended up with about 2 tbsp between both pans
1 lb bacon – cut into 1-2 inch pieces
8-12 eggs – up to you and how much you make!
Oil – I used avocado oil
Salt & pepper to taste
****EVERYTHING BAGEL SEASONING – do not skip this. THIS is the one I found at HEB.

INSTRUCTIONS

Ok, you ready for how easy this is? Preheat the oven to 425. Line a sheet pan (or two) with foil. Evenly spread all your veggies (with the exception of the garlic) across both pans. Drizzle with oil and mix lightly. Roast for 10-12 minutes.

Remove from the oven, stir gently, and add the bacon and garlic. Roast another 10 minutes (or until bacon is cooked).

Carefully (don’t burn yourself!) hollow out a few spots for your eggs. You’ll crack the eggs directly on top of the veggies. Be careful not to break the yolk, but it’s find if that happens. Sprinkle the bagel seasoning and some salt & pepper over everything. Return to the oven for another 5-7 minutes (or until eggs are done to your liking)

Ta-Da! That’s it! Let it cool and divide it into your containers (or chow down). We topped this (like we do basically everything) with Cholula and Avocado. SO. GOOD. Enjoy guys!