YOLO, Southwest Airlines... YOLO.

Hi!

Firstly, thank you for the abundance of free drink cards you guys send to us periodically; while my wife can't currently enjoy them (more on that later), I sure do! 

My wife and I are frequent guests of your company, having a direct flight from Tampa to Las Vegas helped secure our patronage and brand loyalty. A matter of fact, my wife and I started dating in Las Vegas after I flew her out as a result of a hot craps table run. So if you really want to test the elasticity of this story, you can make a giant stretch and say that if if wasn't for Southwest, we may have never been married... You know, on account of those other airlines forcefully removing passengers and what not.

Sorry, I digress.

In 2017 my wife took a new position in her company that requires her to fly often. Phoenix, Memphis, Denver... She is a jet-setter. She usually leaves on a Monday and comes back on Thursday, every week for usually 6-8 weeks at a time. "That must be really hard on your relationship", you may say. You kidding me? I'm a bachelor for 3-4 days a week. Walking around the house in my underwear, I get to eat Taco Bell at the drop of a hat, never have to watch Real housewives of whatever city and I get to just chill with our 3 year Vizsla pup... Who really runs this house. Besides, we get that feeling of longing towards the end of every week and it keeps things very exciting in our new-ish marriage... Which brings us to our dilemma.

​I knocked her up.

Why do we consider this a dilemma? Don't worry baby bird, I'm going to feed you. With the amount of travel she did in 2017, she blew through the Southwest tiers all the way to the top baby, Companion Pass! ​So here we are, sitting here with all of these destinations we wanted to visit- Costa Rico, Aruba, Grand Cayman... and now there is this human growing in my wife's stomach which is prohibiting us from utilizing this awesome perk that she earned, mainly because of the restrictions with Zika. 

While this may be a stretch for most companies, Southwest is the cool brand. The brand that allows their flight attendants to rap the safety instructions. The brand that doesn't charge change fees. The brand that can get me from my door step in Tampa to a craps table at the Mirage in 4 hours... Surely we can figure something out in this situation. We are not asking for something my wife didn't earn, were just asking for an extension of that well deserved perk to start in 2019 so we can actually enjoy it... as a family of 3! For the record, my wife is still traveling for work for the beginning of the pregnancy, but with a due date of July 1st, it won't be much longer which counts out the ability of hitting the tier points again this year.

So what do we have to do here? Name our kid Southwest? While I'm not a Kardashian, I'd consider it maybe as a middle name option. 

Obviously a lot of this is said in jest, but we really would love it if you guys could make some sort of consideration based on our situation. If you pull up both of our Rapid Rewards accounts, you'll not only notice the amount of travel we do, but also the fact that we both have Southwest Credit Cards and utilize them very often; my wife especially. At the end of the day my wife and I are very brand loyal and we'll be a customer for life... But how cool of a story would it be for us to tell everyone we know about how Southwest took our situation under consideration and did the right thing for the customer.

Thank you for listening to our story. I hope it made you laugh a little and brought some smiles to your day. We hope to hear from you soon!

Below are obligatory photos of our cute dog baby announcement (for bonus points) and proof of our little nugget, the doctor said he/she already has a great big heart... The picture came directly from the sonogram like that, no photo shop work.

Open letter to Sprint from a customer who YOU won't let ME give YOU money...

To whom it may concern,

I am writing this letter not in hopes to fix my situation, because the dozen or so representatives that I spoke to already made it loud and clear that that wasn’t happening. My hope is to give your company an understanding of what a loyal customer went through trying to give your company my money and my business. First a brief explanation of my situation:

I’m trying to upgrade my phone because the amount of memory I use doesn’t even allow me to utilize my phones options or make any software updates; I must delete photos, videos and/or apps in order to utilize the basic functions of my phone. I contacted Sprint on June 28^th, via the *2 feature on my phone, and was told I was eligible for an early upgrade… I was reassured of this offer while I was at a Sprint store and a Best Buy looking at new phones the same day. Now, being the savvy shopper I am, I went home and researched the phones and plans I wanted and went back in 3 days later to purchase my new phone and switch my plan to the Framily plan. I was told at the local Best Buy that I wasn’t available for an upgrade. Thinking this was an error I called *2 again and was told again, that I am not available for an upgrade. After questioning the validity of the representative’s statement to no avail, since she acted like she didn’t want anything to do with my problem, I went to the Sprint store where I was also previously told I’m available for an upgrade. It is at this point, many hours later, that I am told that the “early upgrade promotion” had ended the previous day. Just to clarify… It is at this point that I was told for the FIRST time that my availability for an early upgrade was “a promotion” and “had an expiration date”… And it just so happened that it expired the previous day. Just so we are all on the same page, there is documentation of me calling in on the 28^th of June as well as the many times I have called in during the days following.

Like most, I have had a cell phone for the better part of 14 years. I started with Nextel and when Sprint purchased them I have been exclusively with Sprint since. Like most American consumers out there I am very brand loyal; I only drink Coke, only drive Fords and rarely go outside of the Nike brand… That loyalty usually stops with service based companies because of competitive pricing, proprietary products and coverage areas. Sprint is not the only game in town. It is not the best game in town. And after my experience, their customer service team is far more worried about getting satisfactory marks on a survey then getting results.

I had one simple request during the many times I spoke with the customer service department: I need a new phone. Instead of coming up with a solution, I was blatantly told no… many, many times over. There is an old service industry adage referred to as “The customer that never returns”. It outlines that most people who have a bad experience never say and word and just simply don’t come back. The act of spending their money with a competitor and never giving you a chance to rectify a situation is more devastating than the customer who demands a refund or makes a fuss… Most times a company won’t even know that “the customer that never returns” had an issue that needs fixing in the first place. Enough of these customers will have a huge impact on the company in the long run. In my situation, I expressed my displeasures as an opportunity for your company to rectify the issue. Your company not only chose not act, but became completely apathetic. My situation was “escalated”, meaning brought to a supervisors attention, 3 TIMES… each of those 3 times I was told I would “receive a call back because the supervisor was in a meeting”. Those meetings must still be going on because I still have yet to receive a phone call back from any of the 3 supervisors. I hope the 2 week long meeting is about how to better the customer service department at Sprint.

At the end of the day I wanted to give Sprint my money to buy a new phone. I offered to send my phone into them (after one rep told me that my current phone wasn’t “paid off”, that’s why I can’t get a new phone… whatever that means) AND I would pay them for a new phone. I offered to purchase a refurbished phone. All the while not one representative could come up with a creative thought as to what we can do in my situation. I wanted to stay with Sprint as I defended them on numerous occasions to my friends who tease me about the lack of coverage, the many times they have service in areas that I don’t and the gimmicky “Framily Plan” they had to devised in order to recruit clients on a ultra-discounted, multi-level marketing approach to a cell phone plan. Instead, I made myself very clear to each representative I spoke to. Its math and very easy to understand:

Buying a brand new 64g Iphone 5s at full price from Sprint- $849+ tax

Or

Breaking my contract with Sprint- $225

Buying a new 64g iphone 5s at a discount with a new 2-year activation from Verizon- $199.00

Sell my iphone 5s 16g on e-bay +$400

I spend $24 and have the brand new phone I wanted with Verizon or $849+ tax for a phone with Sprint. Guess which one I picked?

At the end of the day, I wasn’t asking for anything for free. I wasn’t asking for any discount. All I wanted was what was promised to me… A 64g iphone for $35.21 per month on easy pay. The crazy thing is, if they granted what was originally offered to me, I would have paid full retail price over the 2 years.

So Sprint said no to me PAYING them full price for a new phone. Sprint said no to me CONTINUING my service with them. Sprint forced me to leave them. With such a large organization, it’s baffling to me as to how the simplest business 101 rule was over looked… It’s cheaper and easier to keep a current client than to go out and find new ones. I wonder if CEO Dan Hesse answered my call and I proposed my offer of giving him my money and staying with Sprint… If he would have allowed me to leave Sprint… I guess we’ll never know.

Sincerely,

Keith Strotz

 Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE iPhone

How to throw a bachelor party… For the love of God start planning it before you start drinking.

How to throw a bachelor party… For the love of God start planning it before you start drinking.

So I just recently got engaged. On top of pondering my own perfect bachelor party, I have been in charge of 2 bachelor parties, both of which went without a hitch... Both figuratively and literally… No one got drunkenly, “Hangover movie” married on either Bachelor party. But I learned some lessons that can be passed on to future Bachelor parties for efficiency.

1   1.) Put someone in charge. Pick someone who is organized, straight forward and who is up for the task; this may or may not be the Best Man. If you are staying local and the best man is from out of state, he most likely isn’t as familiar with the locations, directions, trends or local night life as someone else in the bachelor party. Make sure the person in charge is not scared to make a decision or take charge because odds are the group leader will most likely be the final voice on most decisions.

     2.) Ask what the groom wants and make a plan. Give the groom the chance to at least design the cornerstone of the weekend, and then make a plan to fill in the rest. If the Groom wants a relaxed golfing weekend, set up the weekend around golf with a few nights out. Likewise if the Groom wants a crazy, end all be all party… Grab some blow-up dolls, a few strippers, a case of penicillin and go to town. At the end of the day, letting the groom build the cornerstone of his last hoorah will allow him to get what he wants out of the party while the rest of his friends use it as an excuse to act like wild, adolescent assholes away from their significant others.

     3.) Give the group a voice. Create a Facebook page, an e-mail feed or a group text message feed. My choice would be a Facebook page; almost everyone has it and you can make it private, e-mails could get sent to spam and no one wants their phone going off every 5 seconds at work. The only downfall to a Facebook page are those “I’m too cool for Facebook” people that you have to contact separately to keep them in the loop… If there are too many of those, the other 2 routes may be better. Use the groups to communicate, vote and make decisions so that you can get some sort of itinerary set up. You can also ask the group for any hook-ups in the area; someone who can get in to a club for free, discounted drinks, discounted rooms or car rentals… you never know who in the group knows until you ask.

     4.) Get a payment app. Everyone paying up front is awesome, but something always pops up that the group needs to pay for and people always “need to go to the bank” because they didn’t bring enough cash. Use an app like Venmo or Chase quick pay and make sure everyone has it set up before the trip. Venmo is great because people can write descriptions of the payment to keep everything organized and remember who paid (i.e. dinner, hotel room or strippers). The worst thing in the world is being the person collecting money because you put everything on your card and people “forgetting” to pay you.

    5.)  Have a good time. Sounds easy enough right? Just make sure people are comfortable with what’s going on. This trip is all about the groom, so if he doesn't feel comfortable getting a lap dance, find a “no touch” strip club or sit away from the stage and enjoy the view… the rest of the heathen friends will be sure to spend all of their money on the back room delights if they choose to. Make sure to casually mention your with a bachelor party to the server or bartender (don't be all in your face with it, night life people hate that) and you may score a round of shots or get some good insight on where to go.

Plan the trip according to the group’s specs and you’ll be sure to have a good time. Keep the pictures to a minimum (don't agree to delete them at the end, that shit never happens) and for God’s sake don’t check in to places on social media… You’re just asking for a pre-wedding break-up.

How flossing can help you live past 100 and being sick for a Bachelor party.

Staying healthy isn't easy. I just read an article from longevity expert Dr. Sanjay Gupta that said flossing your teeth can reduce inflammation which in turn helps reduce inflammation throughout the body… which in turn helps lower the risk of heart disease. He said flossing every day could help you live past 100. So of course I went out and bought a case of floss from Costco. He also mentioned that he doesn't floss “as much as he would like to”. Hypocrite…

So I’m currently sick. I went to the doctor, which I never do, but I can’t be sick right now. I usually allow my body to fight off the sickness, it helps strengthen your immune system and I am not a fan of antibiotics as your body can become immune to them with over use… Our country is way too quick to pop a synthetic pill in order to “feel better” instead of giving your body what it needs to help fight off sickness with its natural antibodies. Anyways, I digressed, back to the reason I can’t be sick right now… So I have a bachelor party in 4 days… It’s not my bachelor party, but that doesn't make it any less important not to be sick. You only get a few reasons to go on a trip with your boys, act like complete idiots, drink incessantly, smoke cigars and play golf multiple days in a row (unless you have a wonderful fiancé like I do… She reads my blog)… and a bachelor party is one of those ways.

So when my doctor prescribed the medication, she mentioned I have to take it for 10 days straight. I know you can’t drink while on antibiotics, so naturally I tried to negotiate with her. My offer for doubling the RX for 5 days didn’t really go over well with her… Something about hurting my liver or something, I don’t know I wasn’t really listening to her and she was obviously under the impression that my liver was still fully functioning… I didn’t have my 2006 Beer Olympics Gold Medal there to try and explain my drinking habits. She wasn’t having it either way.

When I went to the pharmacy I asked to speak to the pharmacist; I spoke to him about my situation. I feel as though this should be a more common question, right? As he starred at me with his disapproving eyes, he explained to me that this particular antibiotic does not counteract with alcohol but is processed in the liver, so excess alcohol wouldn’t make me vomit but it wouldn’t be the best thing in the world for my liver. So my adolescent brain naturally only heard one thing and I needed clarification… “So if I throw up it’s because of the amount of alcohol I consumed and not the medication, correct”?

On the ride home after I was asked to leave the pharmacy, I could only think of one thing… How much I hated flossing and how I just invested $37 in floss at Costco.

Why Crossfit is ruining the world and how it’s causing CANCER!

STOP! Before you throw a fully plated prowler at me or pelt me with weighted med balls, I am a Crossfitter and believe in a majority of what Crossfit stands for. But while you are here, you might as well read the article and understand what got you here, and why internet trolls are taking over social media.

I read an article on Facebook today that somehow connected drinking coffee to cancer… On my way to work I noticed that somehow I subconsciously walked by the coffee maker that I use every morning and didn’t turn it on. I ate the same breakfast this morning that I eat every morning with my coffee, but this time I didn’t notice that I didn’t have any coffee to drink. It didn't hit me that I didn’t have my coffee with me this morning until I was walking into work and realized that I not only didn’t I have my coffee but I forgot my lunch box, water bottle and protein shaker bottle; this morning was awful to say the least.

I read a different article a few weeks back explaining how some of the most common beers are so terribly bad for you that they should be banned from the shelves… Now I second guess myself every time I order a beer.

While my reactions to those stories are wildly true, it hit me that what we read on social media sites, blog pages and the random website from the darkness of the inter-web have such a huge impact on our psyche… If we let it. The new rage in Social Media advertising is what I like to call “Propaganda Marketing”. It is when a blog page, website or an internet troll posts an outlandish picture, video caption or blog title (i.e. my title about Crossfit causing cancer) glamourizing something to the point where you have to click on the link to see it (Have you ever seen one of those titles that say something like “This goat didn’t eat for days, then THIS happened…” yea, I clicked on that too). It is a cheap way to get hits on websites, videos and blogs but it often leaves more questions than answers.

With the amount of information now a days at our finger tips, it’s hard to distinguish between the truth, the half-truths and the outlandish lies… Because it’s on the internet so it must be true, right? The easiest way to make a buck on the internet these days are to discredit something trendy and popular. The one to guarantee the quickest response? Crossfit. Hands down Crossfit has changed the landscape of the fitness industry, mostly because of the cult like following it produces; if you’re going to fight Crossfit, you’re going to have to fight it’s fan based that has pledged their allegiance to the fast pace, chalky world of Crossfit.

At the end of the day, do your research. If a blog is siting sources from a major publication or a scientific study, then go check the source before you put faith in it (if they don’t site any sources, chances are they are opinion based and can most likely be full of half-truths and outright lies). Whatever you do, DO NOT repost something you don’t agree with or find holes in… you are then just feeding into their ploy and sending people directly to their site for more hits, more traffic and more money for them. The best thing you can do is just ignore them.

Now, for my opinion on the health and fitness world. … there, now that I got that out of the way. Any health professional or dietitian would be hard pressed to disagree with the thought that we should be consuming whole foods like organic vegetables and fruits (mostly in a raw state), organic meats, fats from nuts and oils as well as complex carbs. We should also stay away from processed foods, GMO’s and excessive amounts of sugars. Of course everything in life should be had in moderation and good judgment. As far as exercise is concerned, do whatever makes you happy as long as you are moving and active. If you want to do Crossfit, DO YOUR RESEARCH and find a place that you feel comfortable with and that has a coaching staff that is competent and focuses on form. If you want to join a big box gym, DO YOUR RESEARCH and find a place you feel comfortable with and that has a staff and certified personal trainers that are willing to help with basic exercise information (do NOT let them talk you into some sort of personal training contract that you don’t feel comfortable with, they are there to help not sell you something, even though most of their intentions are the other way around). If you have no idea what you are doing, DO YOUR RESEARCH and find a good personal trainer to help you with the ins and outs of working out and program design. If you want the ultimate workout and live in the Tampa, FL area go check out Core5 Studio (www.core5studio.com) for a comprehensive fitness program.

At the end of the day, do what works for you, but with all of this great information at our finger tips, there is plenty of tools to help you weed through the garbage and get what you need!

As Always; Peace, Love and Fitness!

I should really become a Paleo chef...

I tell myself that I should be a chef after every meal I cook... But its really easy when your working with fresh, flavorful, organic(mostly) meats, veggies and condiments. I've concocted a few more recipes... and most of them were derived from my own head or some stuff thrown together that actually worked! As I read back on this, I must warn you again... I am very easy to please when it comes to food. I enjoy most every food, flavor and texture... So when I say I should be a chef, I could probably only be a chef for myself... which I am... soooo... I guess its congrats to me on my new career!..... A chef for one... myself... Boy I have a lonely job... Luckily I have Jill to eat with me... Anyways, I'm done rambling, here is some food ideas!

I love salt and vinegar chips... and miss them dearly, they are my most favorite comfort food. I have found many recipes for baked kale chips, but I decided to try my own twist, and they came out good... I must warn you though, I love vinegar, but for those of you who don't as much, be careful how much you add. This is also the recipe for regular Kale chips if you don't add the additional salt and vinegar. :)

Salt and vinegar (kale) chips:

   INGREDIENTS:
One bundle of fresh kale
2 tbl spoons coconut oil melted
1 tbl spoon of lemon juice
sea salt
pepper
vinegar

   HOW TO MAKE:
Pre-heat oven to 
Wash Kale and pat dry with paper towel
cut Kale stems off
cut Kale leaves off stalk veins into chip size pieces
pour oil over kale leaves in a mixing bowl and massage oil into kale
add lemon juice, sea salt and pepper to taste
spread Kale in one level on a cookie sheet
bake in oven for 35 mins, after 12 mins toss them and make sure they aren't burning
Let stand for 2-3 minutes (if you can leave them alone that long)
place desired amount of chips in a mixing bowl and add vinegar (and more salt if desired) to taste.

We tried another recipe for Paleo pasta and meat sauce... This time with zucchini noodles... Jill did the honors. I actually liked this recipe better than the spaghetti squash we made on the previous blog because the veggies here didn't add a sweetness and flavor change that the spaghetti squash did.

Jill Boo Boo's Paleo spaghetti and meat sauce:

   INGREDIENTS:
2 large zucchini's
1 large squash
diced onions (about a 1/4 cup)
1 minced garlic clove
olive oil
sea salt and pepper
1 pound ground turkey (or organic/grass fed ground beef)
1 jar Paleo friendly spaghetti sauce (or make your own!)

   HOW TO MAKE:
Brown and season your ground meat to taste (we add the onions here to flavor the turkey, but you can add to the zucchini/squash mix if you'd like). Drain meat.
Add spaghetti sauce and set on simmer to let the flavors mix while you make the spaghetti.
Peel the zucchini's and squash
Cut the vegetables into long thin (spaghetti like) pieces.
Set saute pan (we used a wok) to med high and add the oil.
Saute your veggies for a couple minutes to warm them up and release some of the juices
 Add spaghetti to sauce and your all done!

While I was trying to find something to eat for lunch, I came up with this really easy and very delicious concoction. I made it on a whim, but the flavors were very well defined and meshed well together! I will call it Garlic Onion flaxseed mustard pepper chicken... I call it that because that name contains most of the ingredients... So I don't have to think. Your welcome.

Keith's GOFMPC:

   INGREDIENTS:
2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
olive oil
2 tbls of minced garlic (I cheated and used pre-minced garlic in olive oil)
1/4 chopped onions
1/2 red pepper cut thinly 
Dijon mustard
flaxseed
favorite spices (I just used some off my spice rack including Italian seasoning, some fajita seasoning I had and a touch of cayenne pepper seasoning... just have to be careful because some of these are loaded with salt. Next time I will go fresh spice, but this was a spur of the moment lunch!)

   How to make:
set your saute pan to med high
put in enough oil to coat the pan
when the pan is hot add the garlic, peppers and onions... let them saute and release some flavor (about 3-4 minutes)
add chicken, then add enough dijon mustard to liberally coat the chicken (my mustard is in a squeeze bottle so I just kind of drizzled enough on to cover it). The mustard will thin out as it get hot and coat the chicken nicely.
saute until chicken is cooked through, then turn stove to med-low
add a touch more Dijon mustard and sprinkle on some flaxseed (enough to cover the top of the chicken).
toss ingredients together and let them simmer for about 2 more minutes.

Now eat the crap out of it! It makes enough for two servings with the ingredients I put up above.

Soooo, Jill and I are enjoying trying the new recipes and we will continue to play around with ones we find online and make some up ourselves! As always, we will let you know how they come out!

I miss bread... But its getting easier...

So I spent about 98% of my day working on Paleo recipes... Research, shopping, prepping and cooking... So I'm just going to dive in because I'm freaking stoked about how things came out!

Let me predicate by saying I'm no chef, but I love cooking and more importantly eating, and I'm DEFINITELY no baker! But I follow directions pretty well and love to try what I cook... So without further adieu:

I went to find Almond flour as most of the bread and muffin recipes call for it, but its stupid expensive(like $14 for a small package)... So I decided to try my hand at making it, so I bought Publix almonds, 2 cans at 10.5 oz each for a total of around $8.50... I have a food processor at home and all the references I looked at said just to "Blanch" the almonds to get the skin off and just throw them in the food processor... Sounds easy, right? Ha! I can make anything hard. So here's how its supposed to go:

Blanch the almonds, which is as simple as boiling water, pouring the water over the almonds and let let sit for 1 minute, draining them and then rinsing them... and the skin should "Just fall off"... I WISH!... The skin didn't loosen at all for me, so I repeated the process... Worked this time, but I had to pop the skin off of each freakin almond... I'm sure there is an easier/better way, but that was my life today... for an hour... non stop. Anyway, after that I threw them in the oven at the lowest possible temp to dry, threw them in the food processor and BOOM, you have almond flour.

So now I wanted to make what we missed the most... something like bread... So I made blueberry muffins. Recipe below... and the are flippin delicious!

INGREDIENTS

    2 cups almond meal/flour
    1/2 tsp baking soda (soooo... I used baking powder... oops.. but they turned out great!)
    1/2 tsp salt
    2 eggs
    1/4 cup honey
    1/4 cup olive oil (used applesauce instead, great option!)
    2 tsp vanilla
    3/4 cup blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS

    Preheat oven to 350F
    Line a muffin tin with paper liners
    In a medium bowl mix together the almond meal, baking soda, and salt
    In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, honey, vanilla and oil
    Next combine the dry and wet mixtures, then add in your blueberries
    Fill your muffin tin with the batter and bake for 25 minutes

Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes | Number of Servings: 6 muffins

They little freaking pieces of deliciousness came out moist, flavorful and freaking stupid good. They are packed full of protein, low in carbs and packed full of flavor... I do have to warn you tho, because its cooked with almond flour it is around 220 calories per muffin, but almost 170 of those are calories from fat... Which is paleo strong! ... I can't stress enough how good these things were...

Next, we love (by love, I mean I dream about them) these chicken wings from a local pizza chain and I found a recipe for them so we tried them last night... Holy little baby Jesus they were good... I don't want to write the name of the restaurant because our friends and us love going there and I would hate to get in trouble for posting this recipe, but lets just say the name of the place rhymes with Smanthony's Smoal Smire Smizza... Below is the recipe, they are essentially grilled rosemary chicken wings:

Ingredients

• 4 pounds chicken drumettes or wings or both
• ½ cup lemon juice (the juice of 3 large lemons)
• ¾ cup regular olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 4 springs fresh rosemary, stripped and roughly chopped
• ¾ tablespoon coarse Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Place the chicken drumettes in a gallon freezer zip lock bag.
2. In a large measuring cup, mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper.
3. Pour the olive oil mixture over the chicken wings.
4. Push as much air out of the zip lock bag and seal.
5. Place the bag flat in a 13 x 9 pan (as a precaution incase it leaks)
6. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 24 hours turning the bag every so often.
7. The next day, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow to sit out for 30 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, place a grill pan on the grill and preheat your grill to as hot as it gets. Mine got to about 450-500.
9. Drain the excess marinade from the chicken.
10. Place the chicken on the grill and cook for about 8 minutes per side or until the skin is crispy.

 I did mine in the oven on a broil pan. 450 degrees for 40 minutes and broil 2-3 minutes (or until brown and crispy) on each side. The restaurant also serves them with caramelized onions, so I made them and served them with the onions as well... I'm all about authenticity...

I got the 4lbs of chicken for Publix for around $6 and it made about 14 drumettes, plenty left over for lunch tomorrow! They are a great dinner and I may try them with chicken breast next time and may also leave them in the marinade for 48 hours next time. Just remember, if you decoded the name of the place and want to try the real thing, this meal is a very paleo friendly dining out option!

There are two great recipes to try! Jill Boo Boo has been a good sport with my cooking attempts and she loved both of these... At least that's what she has told me... I love her for that, and for waking me up every morning at 7am to work out... which is not fun... Next blog will have some more baked goods and more dinner options including Jill Boo Boo's zucchini Noodle spaghetti and meat sauce!

Paleo Weekend; Friends, a fire pit and animal carcasses

Our first weekend with our changing lifestyle and it was our first big test. Friday we went to a dinner party which could be an awkward situation seeing as how most people don't eat the way we eat. Luckily we were with a group of friends who are like minded so we had a little healthy eating/Paleo dinner party. Skirt steak, salmon and chicken skewers were on the menu with healthy sides like broccoli and Brussels sprouts. I did cheat and use some butter on my veggies... I had a couple squirts of "I can't believe its not Paleo(butter)" spray... As my friends and I liked to call it all night.

Beer is my other weakness. I love beer. Like in the way a fat kid loves cake or the way my friends love craps in Vegas. There are many gluten free options out there, but I haven't found one that pleases my pallet. So what I am willing to do for you guys out there, I'm only doing this for you and research purposes, is trying all of the gluten free beers I can and review them here for you at a later date. For now, I'll stick to red wine and vodka/soda (or vodka/water with lots of lemon) when I am in a social drinking setting and want to partake (obviously we are going to try and not drink alcohol as much as possible... God I sound like an alcoholic right now).

I found a ton of Paleo friendly recipes for things I missed most and I'm going to try them this week including:
biscuits, bread, muffins, tortillas, etc. We were going to make a run at making them this weekend, but we had issues finding almond flour locally. We did do some more grocery shopping this weekend; we got our meats (mostly organic when we could find it) at a local superstore and reserved the fruits and veggies for the local farmers market.

Speaking of farmers markets, I love the one we have locally Check it out. It seems like every time we go there, no matter what we pile into our cart, we only spend $20... Obviously the produce you get from a farmers market is usually fresh and organic, but it also supports local farmers and growers. A word of advice, only buy what your going to use in the coming days because these foods aren't usually treated with the nasty toxic preservatives to help them keep longer. We usually purchase for a week out for most of the produce. This week we started our "spice garden" in the kitchen window sill with pre-grown Rosemary, its about 12 inches tall already and was only $1.99... Kidding me?!?! We've already used some in lunch and dinner!

Saturday we went over our friend's house to watch the first week of playoff football; another awkward situation as most football parties include buffalo wings dripping with blue cheese, chips, cheese dips and our weakness... Pizza. Luckily our group of friends choose a healthy lifestyle as well, but we didn't want to impose so we packed a lunch! We made lettuce wraps with chicken, avocado and homemade salad dressing, brought a couple pieces of fruit, veggies and some homemade granola. They also had some food made there; vegetarian chili, Mike's chicken concoction (chicken, potatoes and sauerkraut- delicious!) and chips and salsa... Seeing how were not eating corn or grain but love salsa, our friend Jenna found some carrot chips in her fridge and those worked out perfectly!

We will be stepping up our cooking skills this week, trying out some new recipes... were excited to bring you some new choices for you. Good luck this week, and look for a new blog soon!

Day 2... I want to crawl in a Cave.

Alarm clock went off at 6:15 this morning. Who's idea was this? We decided to do an early morning workout with our friend (and personal trainer) Drew and his girlfriend Ashleigh. I'm going to predicate this post by saying they are both in waaaayyyy better shape than I am. Needless to say I almost threw up/passed out/died... And while I made it through the workout, when I got home I stood at the bottom of the stairs for 20 minutes pondering how I was going to hoist myself up them. As you could probably predict, we somehow talked ourselves into doing a high intensity circuit workout on day 2... The Workout... Its a CrossFit style workout that we did in a normal gym with normal equipment... so no need for specialty items.

As far as our meal plan is concerned, we got a little more creative but still nothing too extreme; again we want to make it as simple as possible at the beginning.

Pre-workout: Since it was super early and we needed something in our stomachs we cheated a bit and used a brand name soy based protein powder. Could have been a ton worse, but we will be reviewing some Paleo friendly protein powders in the coming days.
Breakfast: Two eggs over easy (I cooked mine in left over bacon grease, I poured out the greases and just left the pan coated in it... Jill cooked hers in butter) with sea salt and pepper and 3 pieces of bacon.
Lunch: Basically same as yesterday... Spinach salad with carrots, green and orange peppers... But today we used tuna instead of turkey and added mushrooms. We also used our homemade salad dressing... and it was freaking awesome (recipe below).
Dinner: Spaghetti and meat sauce... with a Paleo twist. We used spaghetti squash for the "pasta" and our meat sauce was a Paleo friendly sauce (recipes are everywhere online) with ground turkey for the meat*. It was absolutely delicious! The spaghetti squash was sort of sweet but very close to the consistency of pasta. Next time we will try zucchini noodles, as friends said they love that as a pasta substitute as well.
Here is how we made it:

Take a medium spaghetti squash and cut it in half:

Scoop out the insides with a spoon:

Put one squash in upside down in a bowl with 1 inch of water, microwave for 7 minutes (repeat for next half)

Careful! Its flipping hot! Now, use a fork and scrape against the walls of the squash and take your bounty and put it in a bowl. When your finished with both squash, add your meat sauce and Bon Appetit!

*We use, and have always used, ground turkey for anything that calls for ground beef as it tastes almost identical and is much healthier. On that note, I learned this lesson a couple months back (thanks Ashleigh), there is ground turkey(usually 80/20 lean to fat ratio), lean ground turkey (93/7) and lean ground turkey breast (99/1)... For the most part we try and get the turkey breast, but at minimum get the lean ground turkey. Try it for tacos (Taco Tuesdays!), meat sauce, hamburgers or whatever else calls for ground beef.

We also made homemade salad dressing (Delicious!) and homemade granola.

Salad dressing: It is super simple and very tasty if you like balsamic vinaigrette.

• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar;
• 1 crushed clove of garlic;
• 1 tsp dried oregano;(I think it would be better if fresh but we just used the ones from our spice rack to see if we would like it)
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

Put ingredients into a a jar with a lid and shake well.

We've used quite a bit already in the 2 days we've had it. :) The above recipe makes almost a full salad dressing jar.

Granola:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, unsalted
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp raw honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup dried cranberries OR blueberries OR raisins (or combo)

**I don't like coconut so we didn't use it, and we also used a raw, unsalted mixed nut blend (No peanuts!) instead of just pecans. For the dried fruit we bought a organic mix of dried berries (no sugar or sugar substitutes) from Publix in the Greenwise section.

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Add nuts, seeds, and coconut to large mixing bowl. 
3. Melt coconut oil in microwavable dish, then mix in honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until consistency is even.
4. Pour onto nut mixture and toss to coat evenly. 
5. Spread thin on a baking sheet (parchment paper makes for easy clean up.)
6. Bake for ~20 minutes or until coconut browns, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
7. Mix in dried fruit.
8. Allow it to fully cool before eating. Enjoy with plain Greek yogurt or milk (as you would with traditional cereal.) 

It was good, nothing too amazing, but good. The reviews I read on it says its a good substitute for cereal if used with almond milk or raw milk for all of you dairy users. I'm going to try that in the next couple of days... Because I looovveeee cereal! I also took a scoop and added some almond butter to it, rolled it into a ball and froze it... I think I will do that for the next batch we make as it was easier to grab and snack on (plus I freaking love almond butter). Either way, throw some granola in some Ziploc bags and they are a great snack( good for the sweet tooth too).

Nothing too crazy went on today. It was a Thursday so we didn't have to worry about the weekend bug biting us to cheat. I will say that we are still learning as we go; our good friend Jenna pointed out that butter is NOT Paleo... Something that we have been utilizing with all of our meals. I have read numerous articles, many from Paleo sites, stating that using butter with vegetables helps the absorption of nutrients of up to 75% better than eating them alone. So with that in mind we are going to continue to use butter for now as I research this more. We also decided to have a cheat meal (meal, not day) once a week to keep ourselves sane... $10 says that the meal will be pizza every week.

I noticed that I had a bit of a headache later in the day. Not sure if it had anything to do with my body detoxing, as I have read about the "Low Carb Flu" that some people experience on the Paleo diet. I will keep track of this and mention if it continues.

Now, to humble me a bit... Below are my starting measurements:
Weight: 188lbs This is the heaviest I've been, at 5'8 I've normally stayed around 170lbs
Calf:14.5"
Thigh: 22.5"
Waist: 36.5" I'm a slim guy and have always been in decent shape, but I've never been over 34" in my life.
Chest: 40 3/4"
Arm:14.5"
I will re-measure at least once a month and track my progress of here.

Roses: Jill- Dinner and the homemade salad dressing  Keith- Same

Thorns: Jill- Lack of options (we'll get better as we go)  Keith- Continuously hungry, lack of snacking.







Here are some interesting books I came across... I want to note that I have not read them nor have a review for them, but just wanted to give some more references for people looking for more! :)

Caveman Day 1

With day 1 in the books, excitement was more of a motivational factor than actually enjoying the food. Jill and I woke up, made breakfast together and designed our day's meals. Jill is in a tough position because she is left to the mercy of just a cooler for lunch (no microwave or any way to cook lunch) but we made due and hopefully it will help some of you out there.

Before we started our mission to a healthier lifestyle in 2013, Jill and I decided to have a fat day (as if the last 6 months wasn't enough) to end 2012. This is going to be disturbing, but we had fun doing it, until our bodies hated us for what we did to it. We went to both Chick-fil-a and Burger king for lunch (we wanted the Chick-fil-a sandwich and of course the sauces that comes with it, but wanted burgers too... and of course, onion rings) and had Chinese food for dinner. While this was a great idea at the time, I feel as though it hindered my first day as I felt bloated, lethargic and just plain gross all morning... And for good reason, here is a break down of my last crappy lunch and dinner:
Lunch: BK Double whopper, Chick-fil-a sandwhich
Dinner: Chinese take out- broccoli and beef with lo mien and wonton soup
Totals:
Calories: 3245 Carbs: 438 Fat: 120g Protein: 154g

As I write this, I'm shaking my head... It's insane to think that I can pass my daily intake(in the most unhealthy way) in two meals. The most amazing thing? I forgot to add my soda intake (I splurged since its my last time drinking it and had 3 cokes yesterday) when I did, it added almost 1,000 calories and doubled my carbs! Thank God this is all changing!

We are going to keep it simple the first couple days and not get into the hardcore Paleo recipes until we get some days under our belt... But believe me, the world of Paleo has a ton of great tasting recipes at its disposal. Day 1 went like this:

Breakfast: 2 eggs over easy (cooked in butter with sea salt and pepper) and 1/4 avocado, I had a coffee as well
Lunch: Salad- Baby spinach, Carrots, 1/4 avocado, 2oz turkey, 2 tbs of gluten free dressing
Snack: 1 cup mixed unsalted nuts(No peanuts! Peanuts are not nuts, they are legumes and are not Paleo!)
Dinner: 1 tilapia filet cooked in butter, with lemon juice, garlic, sea salt and pepper, steamed mashed cauliflower (mashed potatoes consistency) with butter sea salt and pepper.
We ended somewhere around 1500 calories, 81g protein, 57g carbs (majority of carbs came from the cauliflower and mixed nuts 22g and 14 g respectively)

*So we are all on the same page, anything I mention we ate should be assumed organic unless noted. In this meal plan we were finishing our non-cage free eggs and haven't made our dressing yet, so we used store bought.

Jill refers to herself as a crack addict going through withdrawals from missing carbs in her diet. If she had it her way she would eat bagels with cream cheese for all of her meals. Jill also wasn't a fan of the cauliflower mashed potatoes... when I asked why, she said she doesn't like cauliflower... I then proceeded to stare at her blankly for 2 minutes, seeing as how she failed to mention that as I slaved over them for 30 minutes... She did say that they matched the consistency of mashed potatoes though.

I got extremely hungry around 5 pm annnnnd I'm already sick of nuts. I made a cup of green tea and it managed to curb the appetite a bit, as I read an article suggesting that. I really enjoyed the mashed cauliflower potatoes but I'm not hard to please because I eat pretty much anything.

Our workout was light today for the first workout of the new year since Jill and I haven't hit the gym in a while. We did a light weight, two stage, circuit workout with 3 rounds of sets of 8-12 each. Looked something like this:

back squats/leg extension
split squat/lunges
bosu ball air squats/ box jumps (2 consecutive rounds of 30 each no rest between)
20 minutes of cardio on the Arc training (pikes peak level 5 for all you Arc lovers)
Again, the point was to ease us in, which is why we started with legs... I hate legs... Like every other red blooded American man... But we have to... Mainly so my friends stop making fun of my calves. Either way, we are picking up the pace tomorrow with our pseudo personal trainers and Paleo friends Drew and Ashleigh... super excited. : /

Roses: Jill- The tilapia Keith- Mashed cauliflowers

Thorns: Jill- Salad dressing (we are making our own tomorrow), Keith- lack of snacking.

Future tasks-
Homemade dressing
Homemade trail mix

Up Next: waking up way too early to work out, measurements and trip to the farmers market.

My 2013 resolution? Be a Caveman.

The new year brings people an opportunity to a sort of clean slate, a new beginning and a chance to start over. I personally see it as a cornerstone; its a good starting point and easy way to gauge a change you want to make in your life. 2012 was a yo-yo year for me, especially when it came to my weight and body composition. Early in the year I was at a point where I felt in the best shape of my life and just 8 short months later I feel the exact opposite. My terrible lifestyle choices in the second have of 2012 caused not only a 20 lb weight gain, but also a terrible bout with indigestion and a bad self complexion in the mirror. Luckily, everything is reversible and I've done it before. For those of you reading this who have major health issues like diabetes, indigestion, celiacs disease, or any other issues primarily due or controlled by your diet (unfortunately this list is grossly big primarily due to the current trend in our countries available food supply), my new lifestyle change is something you need to look into.

I have chosen a lifestyle change (notice I didn't say diet) that I'm familiar with and have dabbled in before and absolutely loved. I was introduced to the Paleo diet over a year ago through a short campaign in Crossfit. I followed the diet loosely for about 3 months and never felt better. If you are looking for weight loss (or lean muscle gain), better sleep, more energy or just an over all better feeling... Research the heck out of the Paleo diet. Below is a list of websites, apps and references that I use for information and pull recipes from:

Websites:
http://www.livingprimal.ca/
http://cavemanstrong.com/
http://www.paleoplan.com/
http://beta.primal-palate.com/
There are a ton of websites out there dedicated to paleo.
Apps:
My Kitchen App for iphone and droid free of charge. (phenomenal app)
My fitness pal for iphone, droid and blackberry free of charge.

A quick and simple way to explain the Paleo lifestyle is that it's what our bodies were designed to eat and what our ancestors ate before food was processed and mass produced. Whether you believe in Paleo or not, its hard to not agree that it makes sense. You eat lean, natural meat, fresh veggies, fresh fruits, nuts and fats. The concept is argued over because of its strong stance against wheat, grains, oats and dairy... Things our society has been force fed since we figured out how to farm and mass produce these crops. The reality is our bodies aren't designed to break down grains and especially legumes (Why don't we eat grains and legumes? for a good read on this issue). The other issue people have is that it's a low carb diet. I've done a low carb diet before and felt like punching myself in the face come 5:00 pm. The difference with eating Paleo is that it includes a high amount of fat in its diet and your body burns (converts to energy) fat way more efficiently than it does carbs. Not to mention Paleo's lack of sugar intake will stop that late afternoon crash and stop your body from going into fat storage mode.

The Paleo diet is a great concept, but it literally is all about making healthy, conscious food choices. Receiving your vitamins and nutrients from a natural, healthy food source is the only proper way our bodies were designed to absorb them... Although big pharm would like to argue with me on that.

This time around, I will be much more strict than my previous attempt at eating Paleo. I will be capturing my journey, as well as the journey of my girlfriend and friends, of our 2013 lifestyle change here for your viewing pleasure. We will have recipes, workouts and tips to hopefully guide you through the process. If you have any questions, you can reach us at ignitefitnesstraining@gmail.com.

Happy 2013 and cheers to good health!

-Keith

The year the NFL takes control of the business and treats it like a game

Week 3 in the NFL has bench marked a new standard in the business of football; the introduction of the soap opera. The NFL has long been a story of highs and lows, triumphs and failures, and comebacks of many kinds. We’ve had players guarantee win’s, “The catch”, “The miracle at the Meadowlands”, “The music city Miracle”, an undefeated team scratched from the record books with one incredible catch, but no drama has ever been induced and hand fed like the soap opera the NFL has scripted and puppeteered this year… The year the NFL takes control of the business and treats it like a game.

It all started very coy (cue the melodramatic music). March 2^nd 2012 began the unraveling of America’s love interest with Bountygate. The commissioner and the rest of the NFL systematically destroyed the team that America had grown to love, the team that overcame a natural disaster to win the country’s heart and hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy. The NFL had created this storyline over the past 7 years; they created a romantic story for all of the country to root for. It was organic; it pulled on the heart strings of all Americans. They took a team and a city that was fraught with despair and destruction, gave us a reason to believe in the good of humanity and gave us a hero to root for; just to tear it down. Now they have created a monster, a foe, for all NFL fans to despise… They gave us a reason to side with them. Over the past 8 months, like an abusive relationship, they have made us believe that they know what’s best for us.

This season is poetry in motion. If Bountygate was the Iliad, the beginning of the NFL season is the Odyssey. The NFL initiated phase 2 in its new plan to monopolize the country’s beloved sport; replacement officials. Simply put, the term replacement official is a bit of an oxymoron. One of the most powerful corporations in the world has replaced the very checks and balances that keep its company running smoothly. This would be like running a world class restaurant with McDonald’s cooks, sure they can operate a microwave and a fryer, but they can’t perfectly execute a porterhouse, couscous or any one of the five mother sauces. More importantly, why would you want them to even try? These poor guys have been called up to the big league without even the chance to succeed. The NFL has created a villain, one for us to root against and blame our beloved team’s shortcomings on.

The NFL’s answer? A referee God. They have placed a sideline Ref that’s lone job is to communicate with another Ref upstairs to oversee that the Refs on the field are reffing correctly. Huh? So the official’s final call is divulged from a source that the public does not see, hear or know? The NFL has taken measures to make sure that the NFL’S product is the one that is on the field. The drama that has ensued from the replacement Refs is exactly what the NFL wants. Their ratings are up, they are in the headline of every story come the beginning of the week and fan’s just can’t get enough. Remember William Hung? American Idol rode that train wreck as far as they could, exactly like the NFL is doing with the replacement Refs.

So when does the madness end? The NFL has constructed a very powerful case to leverage themselves in the negotiations with the real refs. While the NFL keeps reporting on its continued negotiations, they continue to get to point the finger at the Refs union and the replacement Refs. Want better Refs? It’s the union’s fault they haven’t agreed on anything and they have forced us to use replacement Refs. The NFL can’t afford to pay pensions! That’s absurd… especially with all of the money they are raking in with the ratings increase and resurrected interest in the NFL. I’m sure the government will be looking into this soon enough, since they have their nose in every other national sport.

With every flag thrown, call missed or close field goal decided, an anticipated meltdown ensues (see Belichik). Dramatic finishes, underdogs and hero’s are in the past, the NFL had to commit to a new storyline, one to resurrect this corporation in a down economy. The business of football is a 10 Billion dollar industry and the commissioner can’t let its share holders down. Touché Roger Goodell, I’ll be tuning in again this week to watch the drama unfold!