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You could say fitness or at least working out and “the gym” is in my blood. My grandfather owned and operated 6 or 7 Texas gyms throughout the 70’s and 80’s while competing in bodybuilding and powerlifting. At four years old, I remember my dad teaching me how to do pushups, sit-ups, and curls. But, I’d say my coaching journey began back in the summer of 2003.

I decided not to play football in the fall and had started taking drum lessons. That’s what I was going to do. I was going to become a badass drummer. My parents supported that fully but still wanted some way for me to be active. Not to say that drummers in bands aren’t active. You actually have to be in damn good shape to play the drums for a whole set.

My father read an article in our local newspaper about a girl who recently got runner-up in the school-age nationals for weightlifting. He saw this and immediately took me out to my coach’s house. A “fluffy,” as the ladies in my age group called me back then, kid showed up to the doorstep of my coach’s house on Wednesday, July 23rd of 2003. The rest is history. This was huge for me back then because both of my brothers were playing football that fall and at the time, were way better at it than me. I finally had something over them! I am an Olympic weightlifter and at the time, they were not.

Of course, after football season ended they hopped on the train as well and weightlifting became a family ordeal. We all got better and got to where we were lifting at the national level. After lifting at a few national championships, my coach encouraged us to get our USAW level 1 coaching certification. The course was right down the road from my neighborhood and I achieved my Level 1 certification at 13 years old. Little did I know, that certification would lead to some awesome opportunities in the future.

Eventually, seventh grade came around and the “want” to play football came back into my life. The “kind of still fluffy” kid was now making the A-team and confident about being a pretty decent o-lineman. I continued to played football each fall and competed in weightlifting the rest of the time. Eventually, I earned school-age nationals runner-up and 1st team all-district in football. It was no longer about comparing myself to my brothers at that point. Rather, “This is me and this is what I do!”

Through those years, I was very interested in how my coach did things. He was always assertive, knowledgeable, and passionate. He had a way of relating weightlifting to other sports and fitness in a way that would make anyone buy in. I did! I got to where I could observe certain movement patterns and give cues to help those movement patterns. I am not my coach, but you could tell I was learning from him. I started helping him coach in the garage and got to where I could help in meets by counting attempts and sometimes handling lifters on my own.

Because of my coach and having that USAW level 1 certification, I eventually got an opportunity for the paid head intern position at Texas State University. There, I gained experience in how all-around sport strength and conditioning ran while also being able to apply what had already been instilled in me through weightlifting. This led to me getting the job as the weightlifting coach at CrossFit Austin where I was given complete control over our weightlifting program here.

Out of that collaboration, Austin Weightlifting emerged and we now have a good youth and adult crew going in the weightlifting center. I also regularly coach our CrossFit group classes now. No matter what avenues I am coaching, I love seeing people succeed. That is why I coach. Knowing that I had a hand in someone getting better and working toward accomplishing their goals is one of the best feelings in the world.

The sum of my experiences have made me the coach I am today. That being said, I need and want to learn more! I take pride in how we can continue learn together and get better. This is a nonstop process and I am constantly reminding myself and my athletes of this. I am damn proud to be a coach and will continue to influence people in the best way that I can. If you want to hop on this journey with me, (CLICK HERE) to send us your information (put my name in the referral to work specifically with me) or email me at dylan@crossfitaustin.com and we will do our best to help you achieve your fitness goals.

-Coach Dylan

Ah, the time of year when we gain a massive collection of clothing items that people leave after a workout. It’s cool enough that you show up in a hoodie, but as soon as you start moving in the warm up you’ve got to start losing layers and by the end of the workout, you forgot you were ever cold to begin with so the hoodie (pants, shirt, etc…) remains tossed aside on the gym floor….

This weather has been wild though. One day it’s 85, the next it’s 50…. Whatever, I’m keeping my kitchen in cold weather mode. I’ve been making everything hearty and hot. I use sweet potatoes in a lot of recipes, but until it gets cool out I tend to forget about doing stuffed sweet potatoes. I’ve posted a stuffed sweet potato recipe before, but this one is a bit different and works some greens in there too.

Give it a go!

INGREDIENTS

4 Medium sized sweet potatoes
1.5 Lbs chicken breast
1 15 oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 medium onion – diced
3 large handfuls of kale – stems removed – torn or chopped
2 cloves garlic – minced
Coconut oil

Chipotle Sauce:
1/2 cup light oil – I used grapeseed (avocado would work too)
3 TBSP Lime juice
1-2 tsp adobo sauce (from canned chipotle peppers in adobo) – This depends on your spice preference. I actually chopped up and added an entire chipotle pepper in addition to this.
1 TBSP chile powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/3 tsp salt

Optional toppings to serve
Cilantro
Ranch dressing (see THIS post for a greek yogurt ranch recipe)
Avocado
Fresh jalapeno… etc…

INSTRUCTIONS

If you want to TRULY bake your potatoes, wash them well, poke holes with a fork to vent, coat in coconut oil and salt and bake at 425 for 50 – 60 minutes or until fork tender. You can also poke, wrap them in wax paper and microwave for 9-14 minutes (or until fork tender). Or insta pot… or whatever you prefer. I liked baking them for this recipe so the skins were dried and crispy.

While they are baking, the chicken also needs to be precooked. Instapot, bake (coat with olive oil, season with s&p, bake on separate sheet in oven with potatoes for appx 20 min). Cook in a skillet.. however you want to cook it, but then shred it.

Heat a skillet to medium heat and add a tablespoon of coconut oil. Once melted, cook the onion until it begins to soften and turn translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, continuously stirring, until fragrant. Add the kale, season with salt and pepper and saute until kale is slightly wilted and turning dark green. Once the kale is cooked to your preference, remove the skillet from the heat.

For the sauce – I like using mason jars for sauces and dressings so all I have to do is shake the ingredients together. If you don’t have one, whisk the spices together with the lime juice, and then add the oil and a small amount of adobo sauce. Combine well and then taste it to see if the “heat” is to your liking. If you like spicier, add more adobo! If doing this in a mason jar, put it all in there, put on the lid, and shake it up!

Once your chicken is done and shredded, add it, the black beans and the sauce to the skillet. Return the skillet to low heat. Combine it all well and make sure it’s heated throughout.

Once the potatoes are done, let them cool until you can handle them. Cut them open and mash up the middle. Top with your chicken mixture and garnish with whatever other toppings you like!

These are filling, delicious, and packed with good for you stuff. I did this as a meal prep recipe and they reheat really well too. Hope you guys enjoy!

I am usually pretty good about getting my veggies in, but I know plenty of folks who need a little more coaxing. Even if you do love vegetables, sometimes it’s nice to just have another option to get a little more in. What’s great about this recipe is not only do you get the extra veggies in, they actually replace some of the stuff that we should be eating less of.

I was craving spaghetti and meatballs so this week I decided to do a version with as many veggies as possible. I’ll share my red sauce recipe another time, but I made my red sauce, subbed spaghetti squash for the pasta, and then whipped up a big batch of these meatballs.

By subbing the riced cauliflower in place of bread crumbs, these turkey meatballs stay very moist and the cauliflower adds a little extra pop of flavor! The carrots also add a nice little speckle of color throughout.

These also freeze well so if you don’t think you’ll go through the whole batch, portion some out into airtight freezer bags and then you’ll have individual portions that you can grab and reheat whenever you like!

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs lean ground turkey
2 carrots grated VERY fine (or use a food processor to chop them up pretty fine)
1 – 1.5 cup(s) cauliflower – riced (use a food processor to chop finely)
2 eggs
2 TBSP Italian Seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt & pepper to your liking

DIRECTIONS 
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the spices and mix well. If you haven’t yet, peel and grate the carrots with a very fine grater and toss the cauliflower in food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

(Start with a cup of riced cauliflower – add more if needed) *

In a large bowl, combine the meat, carrots and cauliflower and mix lightly until combined. Try not to over mix because that tends to lead to tougher meatballs (same for meatloaf).

Add in the seasoning mixture and eggs and finish combining making gentle folds until everything is incorporated.

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray or coat lightly with olive oil. If you want to keep your sizing consistent you can use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to scoop out and form your meatballs. I usually end up with about 20 golf ball sized meat balls.

Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they start to turn golden brown. Then, serve them up however you like!

Happy Hump Day and Happy Fall!! (For today…) We still have some hot days in the forecast, but I’m loving this for now.

Due to our event schedule the last few weeks (months really…) I have gotten out of my usual routine of a big prep on Sundays, but I’m restructuring a bit and trying 2 smaller prep days. I spent about an hour and a half in the kitchen this afternoon and made a giant pot of UH-MAZING soup that will give us some meals over the next few days, but the one I’m sharing with you today is actually a breakfast prep.

I’m usually a savory breakfast kind of gal. Veggies, eggs & meats, hot sauce… but, it’s nice to mix it up sometimes! This recipe was so easy. I did it all in one skillet and it was done in about 20 minutes. The hardest part was prepping the sweet potato, but honestly I think you could accomplish a similar outcome if you chopped it up a bit and threw it in a food processor…. Anyhoo, I think this recipe is one I’ll likely play with some more, but here’s take 1!

Sweet Potato Apple Breakfast Skillet

INGREDIENTS
1 Large sweet potato – peeled and grated (I just used a cheese grater)
1 Large apple – peeled, cored, and grated (I used Gala, but pink lady, jazz.. anything on the sweeter side will work)
2-3 TBSP coconut oil
2 large eggs whisked
3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup raisins
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
Chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds to top!

INSTRUCTIONS

This recipe moves quickly so it’s ideal to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you start.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat on the stove and add 2 tbsp of coconut oil. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, any oven safe skillet will work. If you don’t have that, do the first part in the skillet and then transfer to a glass baking dish.

Once the skillet is warm, add the shredded sweet potatoes and cook for a few minutes, coating in coconut oil (add another tbsp if needed) until they begin to soften and brown.

Add the apples, salt, and spices next. Mix well and cook for a minute until they become fragrant.

Add the coconut milk, eggs, raisins, and oats and mix well. Spread the mixture evenly in the skillet (or baking dish), top with nuts, and transfer to the oven.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the eggs are set and the top is slightly browned. Ta-da!

We had a brief glimpse of cool(ish) weather and I went full Fall! We’ve got another day of heat and then this weekend is supposed to be in the 70s! What?! While I do love summer, by far my favorite time of year to cook is the Fall. I love the flavors, spices, and cozy recipes that come out this time of year. It’s also just much easier for me to come up with hot recipes than cold ones so… there’s that 🙂

Anyway, I did this one as simply as possible and while I did add stew beef, you could easily do it without and just make it a great vegetable stew!

On with the show!

Vegetable (Beef) Stew

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs stew beef cut into 1-2 inch chunks (optional – do this without for a vegetarian option!)
1/2 yellow onion – chopped
3 stalks of celery – sliced
1 Bell pepper – diced
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
3-4 cloves of garlic – minced
3 cups rainbow fingerling potatoes – cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 cups of mixed frozen veggies – I bought a bag with mixed corn, peas, carrots, green beans, and lima beans
4-5 cups beef broth (use veggie if making vegetarian)
1 TBSP Italian Seasoning – more to taste
1 Bay leaf
1/2 tsp Red Chili flake
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS
*If using beef, heat some oil in a large pot over medium high (preferably a deep cast iron pot/dutch oven). Season meat with salt and pepper. In batches, so you don’t crowd the pot, brown the meat for 2-3 minutes per side. Repeat until all the pieces are browned well and then set aside.

If not using meat, skip to this step – Add the bell pepper, onion, and celery and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.

*For beef – Add the beef back to the pot with the seasoning, tomatoes, bay leaf and broth. Bring to a low simmer and simmer for about an hour or until beef is tender.

If not using beef – add seasoning, tomatoes, bay leaf, veggie broth AND everything from next step all at once. No need to simmer for an hour.

Add the potatoes and chickpeas and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.

Finally add the remaining frozen veggies, stir and cook for another 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender and soup is hot throughout. Season with salt and pepper to taste, remove the bay leaf and enjoy!

I am trying to summon fall, guys. I am REALLY trying to bring on the cooler weather. 😉 What I mean is, I’m wearing jeans and making “fall” inspired recipes. I know we live in Texas and it’s still 1,000 degrees, but I’m doing my part. What are you doing??

Kidding, but I honestly don’t care how hot it is outside, this is so good! I did a lot of tasting and adjusting with this recipe and I feel like to give a super clear recipe I will probably have to do it again, but this will get you pretty dang close to what I ended up with. I truly believe that recipes should only be a guide and you should adjust to your taste anyway, but… here ya go!

If you don’t have an instant pot yet…. what are you even doing? I am not kidding… that thing has CHANGED MY LIFE, but if you don’t have one, scroll down below the instructions for a version that can be done in a slow cooker.

I would love to know if you make this and if you did anything different that you loved.

**Side note – For the next 6 weeks my recipes will all be Whole Life Compliant (at least for Kickstart and Lifestyle – Performance, I’m happy to talk with you about adjustments).

Creamy Southwest Chicken Bowls

INGREDIENTS
1.5 lb boneless chicken breast (or thighs if you prefer)
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (check for added sugar) – drained
1 7 oz can diced green chiles – drained
2 large bell peppers (any color) – cut into wide strips
1/2 a medium yellow onion – cut into wide slices
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2  cup full fat unsweetened coconut milk (the canned kind)
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pink sea salt
1/2 tsp cayenne (more or less to taste)
1 tbsp arrowroot starch (possibly more for thicker sauce)
1 tbsp cold water
2 cups brown rice (uncooked)

To top – optional
Cilantro
Avocado
Green Onions

INSTRUCTIONS

Instant Pot – 

Unless you want to make your rice in the instant pot, go ahead and start cooking it according to the package on the stove so it will be ready when your chicken is!

In a small bowl, mix the spices well. Use them to season both sides of the chicken, but hang on to anything that is left.

Heat the saute function on high and wait for it to get hot. Add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom and add the chicken. Cook for about a minute on each side and then cancel the saute function.

Add the broth, lime juice, bell peppers, onion, and remaining spices to the pot. Close the steam vent on the lid and select the manual high pressure setting and make sure the “keep warm” function is on. Cook for 7:00 and then release the quick release valve until all the steam has been let out.

Remove the lid and add the tomatoes, chiles, and coconut milk. Mix 1 TBSP of arrowroot powder with 1 TBSP of cold water until it’s completely dissolved and stir it into the pot. This is meant to thicken the sauce. You can continue to add a TBSP (mixed with water) at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Serve by laying over a bed of rice and spooning as much sauce as you like! I was able to divvy this up into 4 meal prep bowls with a little extra sauce (which I kept because it’s delicious!) I topped this with cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and some avocado. Yum!

Slow Cooker – 
 
Follow the same steps regarding the rice and seasoning the chicken. Then, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Put a shot of olive oil in the pan and saute the chicken on each side for about a minute per side.

Add the chicken, broth, lime juice, remaining seasoning, peppers, and onions to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until the chicken is good and tender. Then, add the tomatoes and chiles, coconut milk, and arrowroot mixture (add more for thicker texture).

Cook on low for another 15-20 minutes and serve or divvy up for tomorrow’s lunch!