I have a few announcements for everyone:

1. "Team Saturday" will be a little different this week. We will partake in the Lumberjack Hero WOD instead of our traditional team challenge. For those of you who do not know, 4 of the soldiers killed during the Fort Hood shootings a few weeks ago were fellow CrossFitters and this WOD will be done in their honor. For those of you who would like to donate to the cause, here is the link to do so: CrossFit Lumberjack Donations.
2. If you will be joining us for the Weightlifting Meet next Saturday at Windy City CrossFit, I need 2 things from you ASAP:
   1. $20 for the registration fee
   2. weight class you will participate in
      • Men's Weight Classes Upper Limits in Pounds:
        • 136.4
        • 151.8
        • 169.4
        • 187.0
        • 206.8
        • 231.0
        • 231.0+
      • Women's Weight Classes Upper Limits in Pounds:
        • 105.6
        • 116.6
        • 127.6
        • 138.6
        • 151.8
        • 165.0
        • 165.0+
3. I will be available at 10:30am on Saturday, December 5th (tomorrow) for anyone interested in getting some additional Oly work in before next Saturday's event. Feel free to hang around the Fort after Saturday's WOD, but please be courteous of the Intro class. Cranking up the music or sharing equipment with the newbies tends to be pretty distracting.
4. If you order meat from the MeatGoat, please be there on Thursday night to pick it up. We have absolutely nothing to do with this service and will not be responsible for meat left at the Fort.

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• 1 can of Thai Kitchen coconut milk
• good size scoop of Thai Kitchen red curry paste
• several shakes of the "21 Seasoning Salute" from Trader Joe's
• 1 cup of organic vegetable broth from Trader Joe's
• 1 pound of raw shrimp from Trader Joe's (wild caught)

I made a quick lunch for Jennie and myself today which took about half the time it takes to get a Broccoli Beef from Panda. Don't let the simplicity of this dish fool you though. It was both very hardy as well as delicious.

To replicate this creation, combine the coconut milk, curry paste, and seasoning in a pot over low heat and warm until the curry paste mixes completely with the coconut milk. Add the vegetable broth and shrimp and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Enjoy!

Next time, I am going to try taking the tails off before cooking and dicing the shrimp. I figure this will make the dish more like a soup and a LOT less messy to eat.

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As you all know by now, our transition to Mind Body Online has been anything, but smooth. Please hang in there though and I should have everything working smoothly in short order. Until then, I will do my best to keep you all updated. If you have any questions along the way, please don't hesitate to ask. Also, please try to stay current on our blog posts. It is easiest for us to relay messages through this blog as well as our whiteboards at the Fort.

Here is what I need everyone to do:

• Please go to Mind Body Online and create an account
• Email Bill letting him know that you created an account so that he can give you proper permissions
• Wait until you run out of punches or your monthly membership is up and then make a purchase through our Mind Body Online store

In the mean time, I will be working on altering everyone's accounts to reflect your current membership status. Once I figure this out, you will be able to register for classes. Until then, continue showing up to the Fort as usual. Remember, the class registration thing is a test run as of right now and will not charge anyone for a no show or two or ten. You aren't required to use it, but we would appreciate it if everyone tried it out and provided us with their feedback.

**Update**

Due to several people's concerns about having to miss classes around the Holidays and such, we have decided to put the kids on 12 class punch cards as well. The cards will be good for 2 months and will cost $120 for kids of non-members and $80 for kids of members. I am adding this option to our online store immediately.

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While searching the "healthy" aisle at Jewel the other night for a "no sugar added" marinara sauce for our meatza, we came across "The Original Breakfast Cookie". Frankly, I didn't realize that there were multiple breakfast cookies to choose from nowadays. I mean, I know there are pop-tarts and other sugary frankenfoods, but to try to sell me on eating cookies for breakfast, now that is something new.

The uninformed masses patroling such an aisle are unlikely to be able to realize how poor of a food choice this breakfast cookie truly is. Afterall, the packaging is plastered with statements such as:

• All Natural
• 0 Trans Fats
• Baked Fresh with Whole Grains for life on the go!

How is one to argue with such information!?

I decided to take it one step further and visit the website of The Original Breakfast Cookie. Here is what the manufacturer has to say about their Breakfast Cookie:

The Original Breakfast Cookie is something you can feel good about eating. Baked fresh with heart-healthy whole grains and sweetened with fruit puree, our cookies combine the flavors we all love with a heartiness that satisfies for hours. Packed with protein, antioxidants, fiber and complex carbohydrates, it is a healthy and delicious way to start your day. Every Breakfast Cookie is handcrafted in our own bakery using the finest ingredients available. You can taste the exceptional quality in each bite. Taste one, or better yet, taste them all!

A few of the customer reviews were right there in plain site as well and I thought you should know what Carissa Hayes has to say about The Original Breakfast Cookie:

I would recommend any of Erin Baker's cookies to everyone. They not only taste great, but are healthy too. I feel much better allowing my children to eat these cookies than any other product that is out.

UN.BE.LIEVABLE.

OK, so I'm being a little dramatic. Ignorance like this is completely believable in this day and age. Carissa obviously trusts anything her government or big business has to say about nutrition. Hook, line, and sinker!

Finally, let's take a look at the nutrition label of such a nutritional goldmine:

Whole Grain Oats, Unbleached Wheat Flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Prune Puree, Evaporated Cane Juice, Water, Chocolate Chunks (sugar, chocolate liquor, anhydrous dextrose, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), Brown Rice Syrup, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder, Chicory Extract, Molasses, Baking Soda, Vanilla Extract, Sea Salt, Soy Lecithin, Dried Egg Whites, Aluminum-Free Baking Powder, Cinnamon.

There you have it. A convenient, healthy, delicious cookie for breakfast. What else could anyone want? *HUGE EYE ROLL*

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Tres Potrillos was less than a quarter mile from our hotel so we went there for dinner. Here is what we had:

6 jumbo shrimp marinated and rolled up with bacon and prepared to perfection. Served on a bed of lettuce with sliced oranges and ranch dressing.

Grilled steak served with Mexican rice, fried beans, guacamole salad, pico de gallo, jalapeños and four flour tortillas

Grilled chicken, melted cheese, chorizo and pineapple. Served over a flour tortilla with Mexican rice, lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes and cheese

I asked them to hold the rice and beans, but they insisted on being wasteful.

Luckily, Jennie also avoided being poisoned...

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Jennie was invited to attend the CrossFit 101 seminar at CrossFit Legacy this weekend so we drove to Akron, OH today. Knowing full well that road trips usually result in HORRIBLE food choices, we made sure we were prepared for the 7 hour drive. We stopped at Starbucks for a couple Americanos and ate from our cooler which was stocked with plenty of water, 12 hard boiled eggs, almonds, 85% cacao bars, and a meatza!

For those of you who do not know, meatza is a pizza in which the crust is made of meat instead of dough. Here are some in-process pictures of our latest meatza creation:

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What: Windy City CrossFit Winter Weightlifting Meet
When: Saturday, December 12th at 11:00am
Where: Windy City CrossFit, Chicago, IL
How Much: $20
Who: ALL CrossForters!

Windy City CrossFit has been kind enough to put this event together. There will be several weight classes for both men and women. Everyone will have 3 single rep attempts at both the Snatch and Clean & Jerk. The weight of your most successful lift for each movement will be added together to come up with your score. Prizes will be awarded. Please add your name to the white board at the Fort if you are interested in attending.

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