Almond Cookies, Sat. Lady Luck WOD, Some More New Hours and New Equipment!

Almond Cookies...recipe below

Alright CrossFitters, we hope you all had a great weekend! Us trainers sure did at the gym. Saturdays WOD was a great "Lady Luck" WOD with the deck of cards. Although there really isn't any luck since you have to perform every card regardless:) The only luck one can wish for on these WODs is to not get too many of the same suit in a row; no other WOD causes so many curse words than after pulling the same suit over and over again (don't blame the shuffler, blame Pukie:).

We also had a great Titans Class on Sunday. Like mentioned earlier, we went over the Bench Press. I think everyone came away from it with a good bit of things to remember and work on for their next bench day. We had some great weight being pushed, and also had quite a few heavy attempts that weren't, but remember that you have to reach that limit occasionally to know where it is and work to break past it! Great job everyone!

We would also like to announce that starting this WEDNESDAY, we'll be having a 5:30-6:30 a.m. class on Mon, Wed, and Fridays. Just like the Sunday class, we'll be testing these days out for a little while to see if they get enough attendance to make them worthwhile.

And, like promised, here is my end result recipe for the Almond Cookies that I have been trying to perfect. I got the original starting recipe from a post on 'Mark's Daily Apple' but I took some things out, substituted some others, and then tried to make it taste good:) So give it a shot and let me know at the gym how they turned out (if bad, let me know and I can maybe find where you and I differed:)

I picked the Almond Meal up at Huckleberry's on the south hill (kinda on the expensive side, but I don't plan on making them everyday so I think it's worth it).

1 3/4 cup Almond Meal
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 cup honey
* Mix these together and then blend in the following:
1 large egg
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 cup butter (room temperature)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Once a consistent batter has formed, place in the fridge to harden for 30 minutes.
On a baking sheet/pan/etc, roll mixture into small balls and slightly flatten. I have been getting about 12 of them but you could probably get even more by making them smaller which I would suggest (maybe go for 15). Sprinkle with cinnamon (optional) and then bake for 8-10 minutes making sure to not get them too browned. Once done, stick in fridge to help them cool down and harden a little (they tend to still be pretty soft coming out of the oven). Depending on how many you make and different brands of food, etc, I roughly estimate that each cookie comes out to be around these zone block: 4 (Fat) and about 1 Block of Carb and Protien each. But no flour!!!! And since these add nothing but good and healthy fat, I have been chopping up 1/2 a cup of either macadamia nuts or pecans to throw in there as well. Pretty good for a Zone/Paleo-friendly treat!

Sat WOD, Vegas style

Always changing it up!

Working hard as a team on Sat.

Lindsey and Marissa wasted this WOD!

Mr. Mike teaching a fundamentals class...welcome.

"Please don't be another spade, please don't be another spade...ah, sh**!"

Great kip Marissa!

Team Two knocking out one of the rows

Also, we have finally gotten the new plates to replace "The Green Tens". They have been so good to us, but no longer serve a good purpose. And although they have been replaced (we now have 2 sets EACH of black, Hi-Temp 10's and 15's), we have put them on display in the gym for two reasons. The first, similar to that first dollar made, these plates have been with Mike and Angela since the very beginning of CrossFit Spokane. And as CrossFitters keep getting strong and prove they can't be stopped, the fate was not the same for the "Green Tens". But could they have lasted longer? Yes. Which leads me into the second reason for them on display...caring for your equipment. Yes, YOUR equipment. It may belong to the gym, but it is yours. These weren't intended to be bumper plates, but no matter how many times we would mention this, they still managed to get used as such. Don't get me wrong, safety rules above all and if something HAS to be dropped, so be it. But many a times we would see the obviously conscious decision to let them smash into the ground. Not good. And although we now have replaced them with bumper plates, the skinnier ones still have a tendency to bend a little if dropped hard. So, please be as kind as possible to our new circular friends:)

You can also use this care in a few other areas. We know not everyone does these, but they do occur every so often. So from here out at CrossFit Spokane, if a trainer catches you ever doing any of the following....10 burpees on the spot!:)

-Letting an EMPTY bar drop hard onto the floor (not good for the bars)
-Using a Jump Rope outside without a mat underneath
-Dropping a Kettlebell from anything higher than a couple of inches (ouch!)
-Coating your hands with so much chalk it looks like you strangled a box of powdered doughnuts
-Leaning empty bars or solo plates against the racks or walls (ouch!)
-And last but not least, if you are using "change"/small steel plates which don't allow for the collars to clear the floor when the bar is on the ground and they are left with the collars pointing down, it's burpee time! If you wonder why some of the collars have been getting "flexible", see the second picture below.

RIP Green Tens, you've been good to us.

Naughty, naughty CrossFitter:(

-Brandon