Workout of the Day:
Perform three sets of:
Thrusters x 12 as quickly as possible (use the heaviest load you can manage unbroken for 12)
Rest exactly 60 seconds
Burpees x 12 as quickly as possible
Rest exactly 3 minutes;
and then,
“Annie”
Rounds of 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10 reps of:
Double-Unders
Anchored Sit-Ups
Coconut Oil Makes the Fluffiest Eggs
Written by Michele Vieux
Coconut oil makes eggs fluffy and delicious! I recently discovered this thanks to a suggestion from my buddy Wayne before he left us for NYC. The high smoke point (360 degrees) helps create little bubbles of steam to flow through the eggs and fluff up even more than when cooked with butter.
The high smoke point also means that coconut oil is perfect for sautéing, frying, and pretty much any other type of cooking you can imagine. It is a great substitute for butter in recipes and I’ve even heard of people using it to make spreads for veggies, as a creamer in coffee, and even lick it right off the spoon. I haven’t yet been that brave but am looking forward to testing it out in some of my recipes.
For those of you (weirdoes) who don’t like coconut—never fear, coconut oil doesn’t have a distinct taste so you can cook with it without changing the flavor of your dish.
Since I have been using more coconut oil, I thought I better do a little research to make sure its inclusion won’t cause me harm or hinder performance. Here’s what I found out (in addition to the fact that it makes a wonderful skin and scalp moisturizer).
Coconut oil is a tropical oil that South Pacific populations have thrived on. In fact, most South Pacific diets contain 30 – 60% of their calories from coconuts and coconut oil and the people consuming this much coconut product have normal cholesterol levels and little to no presence of cardiovascular disease.
It is made by drying the flesh of the coconut by heating it at a low temperature until the moisture is evaporated, leaving an oily residue. There are other processes of removing the oil that include chemical drying so make sure you look for a cloudy, solid substance labeled “virgin, organic” coconut oil to avoid these chemicals.
Coconut oil is made up mostly of medium-chain saturated fatty acids (about 92%) and more specifically, lauric acid which has a neutral effect of cholesterol and triglyceride levels. For those of you who just freaked out when I said “saturated fatty acid”, you should know that fatty acids aren’t necessarily a bad thing.
Saturated fats make up one half of cell membrane structure, enhance calcium absorption and immune function, aid in the body’s synthesis of essential fatty acids, and are a rich source of fat soluble vitamins.
Western diets typically contain a majority of long-chain fatty acids so getting this variety in the diet is good. The medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil provide anti-oxidant, anti-viral, anti-microbial properties and RAISE metabolism!
Variety is the spice of life. It also makes sure we are getting all of the nutrients our bodies need, and with the intense workouts we perform in addition to our regular routines, CrossFitters need to be especially concerned with it.
I recommend subbing coconut oil in some of your recipes to achieve this variety. It can be found at most health food stores and foreign markets. It can be a little expensive (which will keep you from eating it by the spoonful) but is totally worth the investment.
Oh no! Someone put legumes in my eggs!!!
Just wanted to say “Thanks” to all of you at Crossfit Invictus who helped make our recent visit there. I had heard nothing but positives about your gym, and it exceeded my expectations. We got some great coaching, great meal advice, great workouts and the people there were very friendly and welcoming. If any of you happen to be in the West Palm Beach, FL area, I invite you to stop by BGI Fitness (south) and enjoy some of our “east coast” hospitality. Train Hard and Stay Safe!!!
Tom and Anita Reyes
Would peanut oil have the same effect? It also has a high smoke point right?
Hi I have a non-egg question. I have been starting to add more meat to my diet and have been buying 1lb of lean (4% or7%) ground beef and will eat the entire pound in 4oz servings through out the course of the week. Is this too much red meat to eat in one week?
Walnut Oil also works well when cooking eggs but at a slightly lower temperature, both Roasted and regular provide a good dose of Omega 3 Fatty Acid.
It’s also a good salad dressing either straight or used in the following recipe.
1/2 Walnut Oil
1/4 Dajun Mustard
1/4 Lemon Juice
I usually pre-make a bottle of this and just leave it in the refrigerator like a normal salad dressing, the advantage is there isn’t much signifigant added sugar like 99 percent of commercial dressings available and it tastes pretty good.
Coconut milk is also a great base to smoothies if you shy away from dairy. Just be aware that if you’re using a whole can at a time it can still put you in caloric excess pretty quickly–not the best situation for weight loss.
Lucy, a question of ‘too much’ beef is a bit too broad. Do you mean from a calorie, too much fat, red meat in general, or something else? But I will say that if you can get grass-fed, you’re better off.
Thanks for all the other recipe ideas guys!
Lucy, great job on including more meat in your diet! Lean animal proteins are the recommended source for muscle-building and energy. You are on the right track but try to include other sources of meat. Ground meats are typically not-so-lean and are not as nutritious as choices like fish, chicken breast, pork loin, and lean cuts of beef like sirloin.
Ben, yes, peanut oil has a high smoke point but peanuts are also legumes so it is not a recommended choice. If you want to add more authentic flavor to a dish, try using sesame oil.
Just wanted to let you know I’m still following the WOD’s and they are kicking my ass. Very much appreciated.
Shopping list : coconut oil. gotcha.
Bench: 3×5 185-195-205PR
Deadlift: 5×1 365 across
Wanted to do a Metcon since I haven’t done anything in awhile, but didn’t have the facilities. Also my hip abductors are sore from snowboarding for the first time in like 4yrs yesterday, So I figured I’d get something heavy in. Oh yea, deads w/o chalk suck.
M-Dog thanks for the shout out!!! I need to find a coconut fix here in NYC!
Congrats on the PR, Brent! No chalk? Hook grip! They’ll still suck, just in a different, painful sort of way.