First of all, let’s talk about food. If I could pick a blog to be in love with it would be PaleOMG because when I visit it I laugh, I salivate just looking at the food, and I can definitely relate to many of Juli’s thoughts and feelings about food, CrossFit, and life. She creates absolutely amazing recipes, particularly the SWEET ones. Elana’s Pantry is also a place to find really nice, simple recipes for treats. Elana has many years experience with grain-free baking and cooking and the Paleo Diet, so this website is a must-see. She has stolen my heart with her chocolate chips cookies and banana bread. I have tried many recipes for both of these, and hers are the best by far. 

Another food blog I love is Paleo Table. This woman knows her stuff, is a CrossFitter and even goes so far as to create Meal Plans complete with shopping lists! How great is that?! Another spot for quality recipes is Paleo Mama’s Cave Chick Cuisine. Check out the Infamous Chili and the Cottage Pie. They are BOMB!

I get asked about supplements a lot. There are only a few supplements that I take and my opinion is that supplement overkill is unnecessary in most cases. On a daily basis I take one gram of high-quality fish oil and 2,000 units of vitamin D3. I also take 1/4 cup of egg white protein mixed with almond milk post-WOD. Occasionally, I will use Natural Calm if I am having trouble sleeping or I am experiencing a lot of stress. I took this while I was in grad school and it was amazing. I buy all of these supplements online at iHerb. I find their prices to be very reasonable, they have super-fast shipping time, and they always send extra little goodies in the box. Also, orders over $40 ship for free and you get discounts of 5% off your order when you order over $60. You can set up an account at the site so you don’t need to type in your shipping/billing information every time you order. iHerb is a great resource for natural products of all kinds, including household items and beauty and hygiene products. Let me know if you’re going to order from iHerb and I will give you a coupon code for $5 off your first purchase! 

At one time or another every CrossFitter needs words of inspiration and motivation. I regularly read Lisbeth Darsh’s WODs (WORDS of the day) at CrossFit Lisbeth. She writes brief, to-the-point posts that will get you thinking about your CrossFit life and life in general. I find that her writing puts things into perspective very quickly. I also enjoy reading posts by Lauren Plumey at Shorline CrossFit. Lauren, a CF Games competitor, knows what she’s talking about, especially when it comes to competition and the sport of fitness, so heed her advice. 

For gear, like shoes, I head on over to The Shoe Mart or Zappos. Again Faster is where Kyle purchases all the gear for the gym and they also sell shoes, jump ropes, and some apparel. Their website just got an overhaul and it is badass. It’s not only a great place for gear, but also written pieces from some great CrossFit minds, tips for nutrition, and the Mic’d Instructor Series which are some of the best tutorial videos you will come across. There are some quality people over at AF, so use them as much as possible.  

If you want to get all sciency about Paleo and need answers to your “Why?” questions, my suggestions are RobbWolf.com and Mark’s Daily Apple. Robb Wolf is a genius, he tells it like it is, and has an awesome podcast that is funny and informative. Mark Sisson, who is more “primal” than paleo, also knows his stuff and has an amazing website full of interesting information about food, exercise, and life in general. Loren Cordain, the God Father of the Paleo Diet movement also has a website. The FAQ section is great. 

Lastly, but in no way least, there is movement. Like I mentioned previously, the Mic’d Instructor Series from Again Faster is amazing. Then there is the Mainsite, CrossFit.com. The Exercises & Demos tab is great for looking up movements. If you haven’t visited MobilityWOD with Kelly Starrett there is something wrong. Please go there NOW! KStar is a physical therapist/CrossFit Coach/pro athlete/genius who is unmatched (in my opinion) when it comes to looking at human movement, analyzing it, and helping us make it better. Like Kelly always say, “All human beings should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves”. I couldn’t agree more. Stop moving in bad positions!

I hope I didn’t leave out any of my favorites, but if I did I’m sure I will mention them somewhere along the way. Please do not hesitate to post questions in the comments section or to email me directly (ashley.rochefort@gmail.com). I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful weather and are able to get outside for some vitamin D! 

I got some sunshine at the beach the other day with two of my favorite ladies.