Hey y’all! It’s HOT! Summer is definitely upon us. I don’t know about you, but when it’s hot my appetite drops. I don’t like to eat big meals in the summer, but sometimes that leaves me needing a little extra boost throughout the day. I honestly cannot believe I haven’t shared this recipe yet. This is one of our favorite snacks. Tim asks for it pretty regularly and if you make them, you’ll understand why.

Not only do they taste amazing, but they are extremely easy to make (like everything I do) and they are a perfect like pick me up if you need something before or after a workout… Or like around 2:30 pm when you start getting that afternoon lull. 😉

I’ve done these in several different forms. I have made bars, little bite sized squares, rolled them into balls (which wasn’t the most successful, but you do you) and I’ve even put them into a mini muffin tin form. They’ve held up best for me in a bite sized square, but you do have lots of options.

**Quick note** These will be ok without being refrigerated if you’re taking them with you somewhere, but to store for multiple days, keep them in the fridge. They’ll last longer, but also when they get warm they tend to fall apart. It all has to do with the coconut oil in them!

Ok, here ya go!

INGREDIENTS
9-10 soft, pitted medjool dates
1 Cup hulled pistachios – You can use raw or roasted – If you use salted pistachios, skip the salt in the recipe
1 Cup hulled pumpkin seeds – same notes
4 TBSP coconut oil – liquid form (you can just zap it for a few seconds in the microwave if needed)
3/4 tsp cardamom – I actually like a full tsp, but if it’s a new flavor for you start with less and add to taste
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of sea salt – skip if using salted nuts
Optional – 1 tsp Matcha Powder – if you have trouble with caffeine skip this. These are still a great little energy bite without the added caffeine

DIRECTIONS

Add pistachios, seeds, salt (if using), cardamom, and matcha powder to a food processor. Pulse a few times to begin mixing and chopping, but don’t over do it. Add the dates, vanilla, and oil. Pulse until all of the ingredients are combined and it begins to clump together.

Once your mixture is ready, decide what form you want your bites to take. For bars or squares, line a pan (I use a glass 9×9 dish) with cling wrap leaving enough over the edges that you can cover your entire mixture. Transfer the mixture into the pan and press it nice and flat so that it becomes very compact. Wrap the plastic wrap over the top and chill it in the fridge of freezer until firm (about 10 minutes in the freezer or 20 in the fridge).

Unwrap it, cut into bars or squares and then transfer it into a dish with a lid to store! Like I said, they will fall apart a bit if the coconut oil heats up so keeping them refrigerated is best, but they won’t last long anyway because they taste so good!

Food Facts: * If you’ve never used cardamom, it has a very unique flavor. Interestingly enough, it is in the same family as turmeric and ginger and has some really amazing health benefits as well! Cardamom is great for digestion. It works as an aid for nausea. It’s a diuretic and works as a liver cleanser. It’s used as a breath freshener and also has amazing antioxidant properties that are used to prevent and treat cancer. Hooray cardamom!

Happy Hump Day! Ok, real talk for a moment… Yesterday, as I was getting ready to coach class, I said hello to everyone as they were coming to check in and asked how they were doing. I got a variety of answers, but most were along the lines of “Tired,” “Stressed,” “Had a rough week so far…” Don’t get me wrong, I find myself in that boat more than I’d like to, but I was really feeling for my class yesterday. I had 10 people and maybe one answered back with, “I’m good!”

It made me sad that on TUESDAY, everyone was already having a really rough week. People were beat down, their minds elsewhere… I know sometimes you can’t help that. Life tends to air on the side of difficult, BUT I hope that when you guys come into the gym that you’re able to set that stuff aside and take the hour for YOURSELF. All of those things you’re worried about… they’ll still be there to deal with after class. It’s going to affect your training, your focus, and your mood if that’s where your mind is when you’re in class.

Do yourself a favor when you come into the gym. Leave your phone in the car or stashed in your bag. Set all that “life stuff” outside and give yourself an hour to just BE when you come in here. Take a mental body scan when you walk in to refocus yourself. Take a deep breath to let that stuff go for a bit and just be present. You’ll feel better, you’ll be more productive, and your training will go better too.

Additionally, I’m a pretty good listener if you need to get something off your chest 🙂 We love you guys and want to be a source of relief and happiness so let us be that!

Ok, food! Warmer weather, sunny skies (for a minute…) I wanted something bright and fresh and I’ve been getting some AMAZING mangoes lately so I went for something a bit more tropical this week and I don’t regret it at all. This is another one of those ‘heat part of it and add the cold stuff after,’ but what can I say? I love dishes like that… Anyway, so so so easy and full of flavor. I hope you enjoy!

Mango Coconut Chicken Bowls (made 4 bowls)

INGREDIENTS

2 Cups dry jasmine rice
2 Mangos – 1 peeled and pitted to go into a food processor,  the other peeled and diced
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast – cut into large chunks – make sure none of them are too thick
Unsweetened shaved coconut flakes (for topping)
Avocado (for topping)

Mango Puree – 
Peeled and pitted mango for food processor
2 TBSP Olive Oil
2 TBSP Lime Juice
3 tsp Honey
1 TBSP Sriracha
2 garlic cloves – peeled
1 tsp salt

Corn Salsa –
The diced mango
1 can black beans – drained and rinsed
1.5 cups sweet corn (off the cob)
1/2 red bell pepper – diced
1 jalapeno – *optional – finely diced
1/2 red onion1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 TBSP lime juice
1/2 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook rice according to package. While that’s simmering, combine all ingredients for puree into a food processor and blend until smooth. Reserve 2/3 for topping. In a large bowl, pour the other 1/3 of the puree over your raw chicken to marinate for appx. 10 minutes.

While your chicken is marinating, dice the red onion, jalapeno, bell pepper & mango, and chop the cilantro to your liking. Mix in a bowl with the corn, black beans, lime juice, and salt. Let sit until ready to serve or put it in the fridge if you’re using it later for meal prep.

Heat a cast iron skillet (a regular skillet will do, but I love cast iron…) on the stove over med-high heat with a little bit of oil. Place the chicken in the pan, but be careful not to crowd it. Leave it alone for 3-4 minutes and then flip and cook until it’s no longer pink in the middle (usually another 3-4 min depending on thickness)

To build your bowls – Divide the rice into 4 bowls. Evenly divide your chicken on top of the rice. With the remaining 2/3 of your mango puree, drizzle over the chicken and rice. This will be the portion you reheat.

Keep the corn salsa, avocado, and coconut flakes separate to use as a topping after you’ve reheated your bowl!

This is a very simple recipe and took about 30 minutes to put together. Whether you’re looking for a quick weeknight meal or something that will brighten your day at lunch, this is a good one to add to the rotation. Enjoy!

How’s your week been? This week has been one that I felt like I started off behind and I am struggling to keep up. This past weekend was busy for us. Awesome, but busy. Monday came very quickly and almost felt like a break from how fast paced the weekend was!

What I did not fall behind on however, was meal prep. And that God for that! If I hadn’t gotten our to our meals for some reason this weekend, this “I can’t catch up week” might feel even crazier. It’s amazing how much better life is when I don’t have to think about food through the week. Kudos to meal prep. It’s an awesome concept.

Anyway, I have things to do so I’m going to stop wasting time blabbing about how busy I am so I can actually get back to being productive!

I have another breakfast recipe for you that I didn’t expect to like all that much, but I honestly love it. Enough that I’ve made it twice now. Usually, I like to mix quinoa with other grains for texture and I’m not a fan of boiled eggs, but I’m also not sure I’ve ever eaten a soft-boiled egg before this. They are way better than hard boiled eggs! I left these bowls without any bacon or sausage, but you could add it if you want.

This is really easy to throw together, filling, and customizable to your liking.

The measurements below made 4 bowls for us.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups dry quinoa – cook to package instructions
4-8 Eggs (depending on how many you’d like in each bowl – I like 2 eggs for each)
1 Pint small tomatoes (cherry, rainbow, etc..) – quartered
1/2 Red onion – diced
1 Jalapeno – diced
1 clove garlic – finely minced
2 TBSP chopped cilantro
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil
Avocado to top

DIRECTIONS:

Cook the quinoa according to the package. When it’s finished, fluff with a fork, at 1 TBSP olive oil and salt to taste and mix well. Divide quinoa into 4 containers.

While the quinoa is cooking, make your pico. Quarter the tomatoes, no need to deseed. Chop the onion, jalapeno, garlic, and cilantro. Mix all of your ingredients in a small bowl. Add 1 TBSP of olive oil, the lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

For dang near perfect soft boiled eggs – Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lower the eggs into the water. Keep the heat high enough for a boil and set the timer for 6:30. Immediately transfer the eggs to a large bowl filled with ice water for appx. 2 minutes or until they’ve come back down to room temp.

Once cooled, slice eggs in half and place them in your bowls. Keep the pico and avocado separate until you’re ready to eat.

Reheating – depending on the “doneness”of you eggs and whether you like them warm or cold you can leave them on or take them off when heating the quinoa. Heat in the microwave for 1:30 – 2:00. Add pico and sliced avocado and enjoy! It’s simple, but tasty and filling!

You may have noticed the little words written up in the top right corner of the programming square for the day. Or, maybe you’ve seen the ‘context’ block in your app when you look at programming. Possibly, if you’re listening and paying attention 😉 , you’ve heard your coaches discussing it for the day and how it should effect the way you approach your workout for the day. It’s the CONTEXT.

This is an important note that works directly with your daily program to keep you safe and help you progress. If you’re ignoring the context, I can guarantee that you are not getting everything out of your programming that you could.

Check out this excerpt below from Jeremy Jones of Thrivestry programming to help you understand a little more about where the context comes from and what it’s for so that you can get even more from your daily workouts.

Click the link here to read the whole article:  Using the Context of the Programming for Longevity and Getting out of Ruts 

Or scroll down to get a preview of the content!

Using the Context of the Programming for Longevity and Getting out of Ruts

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Big Picture

In the end, the context is a ‘big picture’ layer that on the micro level keeps us growing, healthy, and involved. On the macro level, it is where we learn lessons about ourselves that apply to our lives outside of the gym.

Are you stuck in Competition mode in your life? Are you always pushing to win and sacrificing other parts of your life?

Are you stuck in Mental Toughness mode? Are you always trying to grind it out and piling on more? Putting off recovery and fun things because you feel guilty if you aren’t constantly busy?

Are you stuck in Practice mode? Are you always playing it safe, planning, and never actually getting out there and doing something new? Are you avoiding the next challenge because you are comfortable where you are, and you don’t want to fail?

-Coach Jeremy Jones

A note from you CFA Coaches: 

Remember folks, we are training for life, not just for the best score that day. This is why we track progress, test and retest, and continue to adapt as we go through our weeks/months/years in the gym!

We’ll continue to talk about it, but we hope you start paying a little extra attention to those contexts and see how they can aid in your approach the the workouts. Try it for a few weeks and let us know what you discover!

Don’t get me wrong. We eat meat in our house. In fact, our freezer is full of it. But, in an effort to change it up a bit, in addition to at least one pescatarian meal, I’ve been trying to do a meatless meal once a week.

I’ve done black bean taquitos, portobello mushroom tacos, and several other dishes. Most recently we had nice little meal with an Asian flair. This was so fresh and delicious, but filling at the same time. We’ll definitely be including this in our rotation again!

INSTRUCTIONS

Who likes steak?? Actually, it doesn’t really matter whether you eat meat at all, this is such a versatile recipe. It can easily be swapped out to meet vegetarian and even vegan guidelines if you wish.

We don’t have steak often, but when we do I try to come up with some creative ways to serve it. This recipe took a little planning due to the marinating time, but it was still so easy and SO flavorful! It was worth the wait.

I served this with some quinoa, fresh corn, and of course, some avocado. While I did this in the oven on a grill plate this time, it’s probably even better on a grill. Hope you guys enjoy!