Hi Protein & Black Bean Chili

I've spent a few years "tweaking" this one to get it just right. Hope you enjoy it.

Hi-Protein & Black Bean Chili

• 2 lbs lean ground beef or turkey
• 2 cans kidney or pinto beans, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce OR 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes & 1 can sauce
• 1 can medium OR hot Rotel
• 1 medium onion, diced
• ½ diced bell pepper (optional)
• ½ (of a 4.5 oz can) green chilies
• 3 TBS chili powder
• 1 TBS garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• ¼ tsp chipotle pepper (optional)
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• black pepper to taste
• 2 beef boulion cubes
• 2 cups water (judge the amount)

Brown beef or turkey in pan, then place in a large stock pot or crock pot.. Saute diced onion in pan and add to pot. In a small saucepan, boil a small amount of water to disolve the boullion cubes. Add to pot, along with all other ingredients, except for the dry seasonings.

Mix the dry seasonings together, then add and mix into the pot.

Cook on low to medium heat for about an hour on the stovetop or if using a crock pot, about 4 hours on high.

Top with shredded cheese (I like Mexican shredded blend), or serve over rice or macaroni. Eat with a spoon or dip with tortilla chips.

Some folks like to top with sour cream too, but not me.

Quote for Today

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.

Marcus Aurelius

Try These Great Protein Pancakes!

I love pancakes. Unfortunately though, conventional pancakes do not fit into my idea of a healthy, high-protein diet. The following recipe is for high-protein pancakes which are not only good for you, in my opinion, they taste even better than regular ones.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
• 3/4 cup eggs and/or egg whites
• 1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a GOOD blender and mix well. I like my Ninja. Mix well and pour onto a preheated non-stick skillet or griddle. after batter starts to "bubble" on top, carefully flip and cook about the same amount of time on the other side. Top with you favorite fruit, honey or my favorite, a SMALL amount of pure maple syrup. 

The above recipe is about right for two people. I usually triple or quadruple the numbers, depending on how many folks I need to feed.

I've Been Gone Awhile and Then, OOPS!

I know it has been a long time since I updated this blog, but I've been (or HAD been) training in my basement gym (The Dungeon) faithfully for the last couple of years, that is, until a few weeks ago. That's when I had a major OOPS!

Back around the beginning of this year, I got interested in Powered Paragliding or PPG. For those who don't know what that is, it's where you strap a motor with a propeller on your back, hook into a paraglider "wing", run into the air and fly like a bird. After much research, back in late June, I spent a full week training, learning mostly how to ground handle or "kite" the wing. A few weeks later, it was time to learn to handle the wing in the air. This is accomplished by hooking up to a ground-based "tow rig" which uses a winch and a small, very strong tow line to pull you up into the air, allowing you to glide down, controlling the wing as you go. This drill is supposed to end with a successful landing, where you land on your feet and take a few steps before turning and gracefully setting your wing on the ground.

Well, things didn't go as planned for me. The video below shows me being towed up for the third time that morning. On this third "flight", I landed on my rear end, put my hand back to catch myself and broke my wrist in the process. I'm now in a cast on my left arm from just below the elbow down. Did I mention that I'm left-handed? This has greatly limited my ability to train. There are still some lower body exercises that I can do, but most of the upper body stuff has been put on hold.

So, watch the video and have a laugh at my expense.

A "Whew" of a Leg Day

Yesterday, being a cardio-only day, I performed a few short sessions of Spiderman crawls, which I posted about, along with a video showing how they're done.

Little did I know what an effect those were going to have on my leg workout today! Leading off with front squats, it became quickly evident that my core was FRIED from yesterday's frolicking.  I was unable to finish my last set, mainly due to being unable to keep the necessary upright torso position to perform the front squats properly.

I'm still loving the idea of using Spiderman crawls as a conditioning tool, but I won't be doing these immediately before a leg day anymore.

Spiderman Crawls!

Well, after about a month and a half of practicing the principles form Tim Anderson's book "Original Strength", I decided that since today was an "off" day (cardio-only), I'd do some Spiderman crawls. I only did a few minutes worth, spread out through the day but let me tell you, these things are HARD! I'm thinking that these will be a regular thing for me now. What a rush! I snagged the video below off of YouTube. Thanks to Steve Maxwell for showing us how it's done.

Thank You, "Original Strength"

I've been using some of the movements from the book "Original Strength" on myself for about a month and a half now. The movement principles laid out in the book are deceptively simple and based on movement patterns developed during early childhood but lost or forgotten in adulthood.

I have had nagging pain in both shoulders off and on for about ten years now, along with one shoulder surgery about five years ago which resulted in some limited relief.

Several months ago, I wound up on the Original Strength site and registered to get the free ebook "Pressing Reset". To be honest, I scoffed at the material at first because I thought it was too simple to be of any help or use to me.

About that time, I was back into a pretty good groove in my workouts, but the shoulders were really starting to give me fits again, like they always have, whenever I demand a lot from them. Looking for relief, I started doing some of the movements from the ebook, separate from my regular workouts.

The shoulder pain started improving very quickly and I was impressed enough that I ordered the book "Original Strength". After reading through the book a couple of times and performing the movements several times throughout the day, I'm progressing in my regular workouts very nicely and my shoulder pain is all but completely gone.