Buzz!

Sunday, February, 19, 2012

Mobility:
Tricep mash
10 Wall extensions
Bottom of squat 2 minutes

Warm-up:
Row 150 meters (legs only)
10 Wall squats
Samson stretch, 30 seconds
Row 150 meters (legs and back only, no arms)
10 Wall ball
10 Handstand kick-ups
Row 250 meters, this should be a sprint, followed immediately with 5 wall balls
Samson stretch, 30 seconds

Workout of the day:
For time:
Row 2K
50 Wall-ball shots, 20 pound ball
Row 1K
35 Wall-ball shots, 20 pound ball
Row 500 meters
20 Wall-ball shots, 20 pound ball 

Cool down:
50 Hollow rocks
50 Arch rocks 

Bu’s baaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve been out of town for a little over week now, here in the very suburban part of Jacksonville, Florida. My diet of clean and whole foods has been harder to sustain, but not for reasons you would think. Yes, my Grandma is taking great pleasure cooking all my childhood favorites and keeping me full, but luckily, foods indigenous to where my family is from in the Philippines includes dark, leafy greens (saluyot, kangkong, mulunggay) and hearty vegetables (like gourds ampalaya and kalabaza). I’m probably eating more veggies and good fat (lots and lots of fish! Um, hello, the Philippines is an archipelago of 7,000 islands) than I do at home.

While it is my first priority to consume whole, unprocessed food, I feel it is also very important how and where the food is harvested. After careful investigation on the internet, I’ve come to find that there are no Farmer’s Markets in the city, no real way to source local, family farmed products. (There is a community garden, but only open 3 hours a week to the public) So I decided to venture into North Florida’s basic, chain grocery store. Perusing the colorful packaged food aisles, produce section and meat department, I was keen to the marketing tactics and buzzwords that barraged me as a consumer. Being that my former career was in the wholesale produce and specialty imports industries, food systems and the distribution chain from grower to consumer affords me the knowledge to decipher words marketers bombard consumers with in hopes that you’ll buy their product.

Organic–  There are 3 levels of organic as defined by the USDA:

• “100% Organic”: Can only contain organic ingredients, meaning no antibiotics, hormones, genetic engineering, radiation or synthetic pesticides or fertilizers can be used. Can display the USDA organic logo and/or the specific certifying agent’s logo.
• “Organic”: Contains 95% organic ingredients, with the balance coming from ingredients on the approved National List. These products can also display the USDA organic logo and/or the certifier’s logo.
• “Made with Organic Ingredients”: Must be made with at least 70% organic ingredients, three of which must be listed on the package, and the balance must be on the National List. These products may display the certifier’s logo but not the USDA organic logo.

Organic pesticides do exist and are most certainly used in that bunch of asparagus you paid three times as much for at Whole(paycheck) Foods. 

Sustainable/Sustainably Grown- As defined by UC Davis Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, sustainability rests on the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Therefore, stewardship of both natural and human resources is of prime importance.  For example, a farmer would plant an acre of grass per acre of grass his cattle grazed, ensuring that the food chain has an equitable balance, ensuring the preservation and sustainability of his industry. Some consumers also extend sustainable production to include fair farm labor practices and animal welfare.

“Local”-  There is no universal defnition of local food, but is comprised of many characteristics outside of just a geographical distance. One prominent example, that is easily accessible to us, is a market where transactions are conducted directly between farmers and consumers (direct-to-consumer), i.e the Farmer’s Market or a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

 Free-Range–  In the United States, USDA regulations apply only to poultry and indicate that the animal has been allowed access to the outside. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) requires that chickens raised for their meat have access to the outside in order to receive the free-range certification. There is no requirement for access to pasture, and there may be access to only dirt or gravel . Free-range chicken eggs, however, have no legal definition in the United States. Likewise, free-range egg producers have no common standard on what the term means. 

Grass-Fed/Pastured– Grass and forage shall be the feed source consumed for the lifetime of the ruminant animal; animals cannot be fed grain or grain byproducts and must have continuous access to pasture during the growing season. Please be aware this standard does not state that the animal should not be given anti-biotics or hormones. Most  major chain stores (ahem, Whole Foods) are marketing their beef products as grass-fed with an asterisk stating that the animal was grained-finished, meaning the last 3 months prior to slaughter, the cattle was fed grain to fatten it up. 

Heritage– Heritage breeds are traditional livestock breeds that were raised by farmers in the past, before the drastic reduction of breed variety caused by the rise of industrial agriculture. Heritage animals were bred over time to develop traits that made them particularly well-adapted to local environmental conditions. Breeds used in industrial agriculture are bred to produce lots of milk or eggs, gain weight quickly, or yield particular types of meat within confined facilities. Heritage breeds are generally better adapted to withstand disease and survive in harsh environmental conditions, and their bodies can be better suited to living on pasture. Buying “heritage” preserves agricultural variety and protects genetic biodiversity.  

 Heirloom– Sustainable farmers who grow heirloom fruits and vegetables help to preserve genetic diversity by ensuring that these unique plant varieties are not completely replaced by the few commercial varieties that are mass-produced by industrial agriculture.

PCF GRASS-FED MEAT PROGRAM 

PCF has long supported ethical, organic, grass-fed farmer Grassland Beef for our meat needs. As a PCF member, you have a 15% discount of your entire order. Just go to www.grasslandbeef.com, create your order cart, print out cart page (DO NOT SUBMIT ORDER), take off 15% off your total, bring in print out and cash/check for the total discounted amount into the office and your order of meat should arrive within the week. It’s that simple.

PCF WEEKLY PRODUCE PROGRAM

Every week since January 2010, the gym has offered weekly produce delivery. We were fortunate enough to partner with Gloria Tamai of Tamai Farms, located in Oxnard. While she is not organic certified (the USDA has made it very expensive and difficult for family farms to get certified), I know Gloria is organic and sustainable by practice, which in my opinion means more than some definition created to suit the needs of chemical and pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists. Tamai Farms is a short 60 miles north of the gym- HOW’S THAT FOR A CARBON FOOT PRINT?! $25/$13 for a full/half order of seasonal produce. Sign up by Sunday evening on the white board for Wednesday delivery. Cash/Check only racket, right Martina?   

If you want to rap with me on how your food choices impact your body or the earth, stop me when you see me in the gym or drop me a line (lauren@sweetassassin.com).

BRUSSEL SPROUTS WITH CHESTNUT BROWN BUTTER