HaleyI’ve always been a bit hesitant about chiropractors. It’s not the practitioners themselves, but the act of cracking that has me shirking. I’ve never purposely cracked anything, even my fingers. So the idea of asking to be cracked sounds a bit like punishment.
But yesterday, after a 10-month chiropractic hiatus, I went to visit Dr. Jeff Malucci because I tweaked my neck a few days ago and knew something was off. Dr. Jeff is a skilled chiro, and has an in-depth knowledge of CrossFit. James has seen him two to three times a month for the past two years, and recommends him to any gym members looking for a fix because he specializes in athletes. Besides that, he’s a super nice guy and easy to get along with. He doesn’t throw his vast knowledge in your face, but instead educates and guides you to a better understanding of your body and its movements.
When it comes to patients, I’m probably one of Dr. Jeff’s toughest cases. It’s not that my body is out of whack any more than the next guy; it’s my jumpy disposition and constant winces that he has to watch out for. But poor Dr. Jeff has learned to be patient with me until I finally relax a bit and he can work his magic. Before he pops my neck, I always take several long deep breaths and kindly ask him not to paralyze me 🙂
At my appointment yesterday, he deduced that one reason my neck was out of whack was because I do switch-grip pullups, with my right hand always over the bar and my left hand always under. I’ve known for two years that I need to continually switch my grip, but in the heat of a workout, I always go back to what I’m best (aka fastest) doing. Least to say, yesterday was a wake-up call for me. The last thing I want is to have one built up lat on the right side of my back and only a strong bicep on my left. And as you can imagine (and Dr. Jeff explained this to me in the simplest terms), my neck being off creates a chain reaction in my body so that other areas are affected.
So aside from the million other CrossFit elements I need to work on (double unders, push ups, ring dips, snatches, etc.), I have to add back in pullups. Two steps forward and one step back. But I’m secretly hoping for leaps of successes soon!
In related news, Dr. Jeff’s wife just had her third baby 12 days ago–and she’s my age! She’s super sweet and used to help out in his office, but now she’s staying home with her boys for good.
Though none of my friends have begun procreating, I think it’s a given that people cook for you when you have a newborn. After all, it seems like the last thing on your mind would be preparing food for your family.
Dr. Jeff told me about a few paleo pancake recipes his family has tried–and that they were all horrible. So with this in mind, I thought it only appropriate to make his family something paleo-friendly to say congrats, but also to reinforce that paleo baking doesn’t equal disgusting 🙂
Chocolate Cutie Bread
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softenend
- 1/4 cup palm sugar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/3 cups coconut flour
- 3 cuties
- 2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend butter and cream cheese in mixing bowl. This mixture is bound to get stuck in your beaters, but that’s ok, it’ll work itself out as you blend in more ingredients.
3. Blend in palm sugar and maple syrup.
4. Blend in eggs, one at a time.
5. Blend in coconut milk and vanilla extract.
6. Blend in salt, baking soda, baking powder and coconut flour.
7. Peel three cuties and blend with hand mixer.
8. Add to batter and blend.
9. Using a sharp knife, shave two 1-oz. squares of baking chocolate.
10. Add to batter and blend.
11. Distribute batter between two greased loaf dishes, and bake at 350 degrees for roughly 45 minutes.
Let it cool and enjoy (and make sure your husband doesn’t eat it all at once).
Yum! Oranges and chocolate make such a great flavour combination, so I can only imagine how tasty this is!