Paleo Pizza and Tuesday/Wednesday Workouts

Because my computer decided not to post this when I planned to, you get Tuesday and Wednesday wrapped into one. Lucky you!

Tuesday's 5 am workout took about 45 minutes to do.

Warm-up: 20 lunges

Side-to-Side Squats: 2x20, 15 lb

Straight-Arm Raises (Front/Side): 2x20, 10 lb

Step Back Lunges: 2x20, 15 lb

Inchworms: 5

Punches: Jab-Cross – 20 each side, Hook-Uppercut – 20 each side

Wall Sits: 1x1 min, 2x30 sec

Bench Press: 10-8-6, 50 lb

Angled Leg Press: 20 @ 120 lb, 20 @ 180 lb

Abs (Lay flat on your back. Lift your legs about 6" off of the ground and rotate to the right. Rotate your legs over your head and then to your left, returning to your starting position. Switch directions. Repeat 20 times - 10 in each direction.)

Cool-down: Stretching

By Wednesday morning I was so sore from my recent reintroduction into weight lifting, that the effort of  ignoring my muscles to roll over and turn off my alarm was almost too much. I had a very serious debate with myself over whether I should just let the alarm keep going off. I mean, it'll turn off eventually, right? Instead I turned it off and went back to sleep until my next alarm.

Sitting at my desk for the day at work was rough, too. Because I sit on my ass for most of the day, my muscles, such as my hip flexors, like to tighten up so that when I do try to stand up, it becomes a very slow process of stretching out my muscles first. Therefore, my exercise for the day was to go for a nice relaxing walk... outside. It was wonderful getting fresh air.

And you know what else is wonderful? Pizza. Especially pizza with a yummy crust, like the one from the picture below. So keep scrolling for the recipe. Yum!

Paleo Pepperoni and Sausage Pizza

Pizza Crust

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup shredded coconut 

2 Tbls flax seeds

2 eggs, thoroughly whisked

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp ground pepper

sprinkle of salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease the bottom of a round cake pan with coconut oil.

Mix the ingredients together and transfer to the cake pan. Use the back of a spoon or your hand to spread the mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan. It'll be pretty sticky.

Bake for 20 minutes or until top is browned and crust-like.

Topping

1/2 cup pasta sauce (like this one I found in Whole Foods)

6 pieces of pepperoni

1/2 cup sausage crumbles, precooked (I used mild Italian sausage)

5 basil leaves, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

Once the pizza crust is made, spread the pizza sauce over the crust and sprinkle with the basil and green onion. Spread the meat across the sauce...

... and top with the cherry tomatoes.

Bake for 15 minutes (this is basically just to heat the meat and roast the tomatoes).

Slice into quarters and serve hot.

Paleo Pizza and Running

For some reason, I find that when I cook during the week, it usually takes me a long time. And by the time that I actually finish whatever it is that I'm making, I'm not really hungry anymore and it's about time for me to go to bed. Sigh. At least I know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow.

I went for a run yesterday after I got home and unloaded the groceries into my fridge. I started my run around 7:15p.m. today, with the temperature at about 86°F. My old running coaches always said to dress for weather 10°F higher than what it is, because that's what it'll feel like. And let me tell you, between the heat outside, the humidity, and the amount of heat my body was generating, I felt like I was cooking from the inside out. My legs started hurting that night, which only warned me how much it'll hurt this morning. When I stiffly walked into work this morning, you know the culprit.

I wanted to make something that I hadn't done in a while, so I decided to make some Paleo pizza.

Paleo Pizza Crust

1/2 cup almond flour

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp basil

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground pepper

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir up the dry ingredients. Taste to see if you want any other seasonings (then add said seasonings). Crack and whisk two eggs in a separate bowl before mixing in with the dry ingredients.  Use your hands to knead the dough to make sure everything is fully incorporated. Place the dough onto a well-greased or parchment paper-lined baking pan, and spread (using your hands or a rolling pin) until roughly 1/4" thick. Place is preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crust is solid and starting to brown on the edges. And now your pizza crust is done. Voilà!


I topped my crust with a mixture of 1/4 chopped onion, 1/3 of a small red bell pepper, 1/3 of jalapeno pepper, 1/2 cup of quartered cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup mushrooms, 1 cup spinach, 1 clove garlic minced, and 3 chiffonaded basil leaves that I had cooked in a pan for about 20 minutes. Delish! The basil definitely gave it a good flavor!