Starting October 3, 2006, CrossFit Eastside is teaming up with Team Survivor Northwest to offer a class specifically for women cancer survivors.

TSNW’s mission is “to support women in cancer recovery through empowering programs of physical activity and health education.” We can so get with that!

The TSNW CrossFit class will be Tuesday evenings at 7:00, through November 21.

To join the class, contact the program manager, Brenda, at pm@teamsurvivornw.org or 206-732-8350. Or, send an e-mail to Carrie at CFES.

In addition to her awesome physical prowess and quick sense of humor, Heather Gibbons is also a whiz in the kitchen. She has created a fabulous Zone-friendly chili recipe that’s quick and easy to make, uses readily available ingredients, keeps well in the fridge for several meals during the week, and is absolutely delicious. This has become a regular staple meal for several of us.

With this or any other recipe, you can always make Zone-equivalent substitutions. For example, this recipe can also be made with lean, grass-fed ground beef, or a mix of that and ground turkey. We’ve also sometimes substituted yam for the red beans. Just look up the block counts of the foods you want to replace and add and make sure you stay on target.

Gibbons Zone Chili

20 oz. ground turkey breast
1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 2/3 cup onion, chopped
1 1/3 cup zucchini, chopped
1 cup red beans
1 cup black beans
Several cloves garlic, minced
2 cans Muir Glen “Roasted Tomatoes with Medium Chilis”
1 can Hunts “Tomato Sauce with Roasted Garlic”
Spices:
--Cayenne pepper
--Cumin
--Ground Roasted Red Chili
--Salt
--Pepper
Shredded pepper jack cheese (optional)

Sauté garlic, onion, and bell pepper until tender. Add turkey and zucchini and cook through. Add all other ingredients and season to taste. Simmer for 15 to 30 minutes.

1 ½ heaping cups (plus slightly less than 1 oz. shredded jack cheese) = 3 Zone blocks

Spotted in blogdom recently (in the marvelously titled blog “Oh, Please”), some real wisdom about stress and its effects:

Stress is like a computer virus in your brain. Stress consumes processor speed. It's like you've got some loop running in the background, chewing up RAM. I have been amazed at how much easier and more pleasant it is to get things done when I don’t stress about them. Trust me. I've lived this from both sides. In high school I was an overachieving valedictorian stress monkey who lived on No-Doz and slept 4 hours a night. Not stressing out is like having superpowers. It's like having some kind of hyperdrive at your fingertips. Really. Manage your stress.

Stress is physical. Stress is biochemical. Respect the organism. Managing stress is largely about the physical, biochemical cycle. Lack of exercise, crappy diet, and lack of sleep = stress. If you have an exercise routine, keep it up, even during finals. If you don’t have an exercise routine, get one.

Amen, sister.

Lots of us in this world of achievers and stress monkeys could benefit from these insights. It’s one interlocked piece in the jigsaw puzzle of health, fitness, and happiness.