Random Thursday Thoughts

Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Training

Since I have to make the final vet visit with the puppy tomorrow, I probably won’t have time to post a Friday blog, so I figured I would post a rare Thursday edition instead. I have some random stuff bouncing around my brain this morning, check it out:

1. I am a fan of always trying new foods and ideas, and I have been rocking a new carb for breakfast this past week. I bought some Ezekiel Almond Cereal on Sunday, and I have been having 1/2 cup (1 serving) with a large handful of fresh blueberries and some unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It is absolutely awesome. The cereal absorbs all of the milk and expands and softens, but doesn’t get mushy. I am absolutely loving it right now.

I will say that the Ezekiel sprouted-grain cereal is high in calories and carbs, that 1/2 cup has 38 grams of carbs (6 fiber) and 200 calories, so do keep that in mind.

Though not the almond cereal, or vanilla almond milk, I thought this was a cool picture

2. My wife and I found what appears to be a good looking fish oil product for our puppy. It is by Vet’s Best, and it contains not only some fish oil and it’s everything-healthy omega-3′s, but some evening primrose oil for the anti-inflammatory omega-6 GLA to boot, along with some vitamin E to prevent oxidation. Seems quite solid to me.

Now I don’t know much about dog food, what is a quality company, what is not. If anyone knows of a similar product that is better, or gives this one a thumbs-up, let me know. Any feedback would be appreciated.

3. A growing pet peeve of mine is when people complain that they are hungry when they are dieting and trying to lose weight. Newsflash – when in a caloric deficit your body bumps up ghrelin production, meaning you will be hungry. It is an unfortunate fact of eating below-maintenance calories.

Focusing on high quality protein, healthy fat and fiber (especially soluble, like in chia or glucomannan) can help hold that hunger at bay. So can drinking a cup or two of green tea between meals, as it is a moderate appetite suppressant.

The fact still remains that you will get hungry. I am sorry, but you will just have to deal with it, a small sacrifice to meet your goals.

I prefer to see you thinking about wild salmon and blueberries, is that wishful thinking?

4. Mike Robertson is having a nice little customer-appreciation sale on Bulletproof Knees until the end of the day today. Just enter the coupon code KNEES2010 (yes all CAPS) at checkout and you will get $15 off. I wrote about this product in the past (here), as I think it is far and away the best corrective exercise resource on knee health.

Check out Bulletproof Knees, and remember this sale only goes through the end of the day on today. Plus it has a picture of dudes playing rugby, which makes it even more awesome.

Vanilla, Nuts & Flax Smoothie

Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Recipes

As many of you know I have always been a fan of Dr. John Berardi and his Precision Nutrition system. His work and website are what got me into this industry in the first place!

Many of the smoothie recipes that I have come up with have utilized the recipes from Precision Nutrition, just modified BSP style.

One of my favorite Precision Nutrition smoothies is the Nuts & Flax shake. It is absolutely delicious. The problem is that it utilizes cottage cheese, which is a food I have limited and no longer encourage. I have modified this smoothie to meet my specifications, ie – be awesome.

BSP Vanilla, Nuts & Flax Smoothie

• 6-8oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 6oz vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 2 tbsp milled flax seed
• 2 tbsp almonds and pecans
• cinnamon to taste
• ice cubes if desired
• Enjoy!

Give it a shot and let me know what you think. I will note that this smoothie is the rare exception that does not contain any fruits or vegetables, so I recommend having a serving of choice with it.

PS – I am currently adding many blogs to my Recipes category, as well as updating my Resources page, so keep an eye out!

You Asked, I Answered

Filed under: General Health, Nutrition

Question 1: Any recommendations on protein powders? Or at least protein types. Been using a great whey/casein blend for a while, but looking to get away from it as per the dairy issue.

Answer: For protein powders there are a lot of options, it just really depends on what you can fit into your budget. If you are a fan of whey, like I am, then I would encourage some products like this:

1. Whey Cool by Designs for Health
2. BiPro by Davisco Foods
3. Grow Bioactive Whey by Biotest

Obviously there are a TON more choices, but I just chose 3 good products, with different price points.

I would rank Whey Cool (and products like it such as Warrior Milk) as probably the Cadillac of protein powders, but you pay an arm and a leg for it.

I think BiPro is another fantastic product, maybe a slight step down from Whey Cool, but it is more reasonably priced, though still not cheap.

If Whey Cool is the Cadillac, then Grow would be the Buick. It is still a quality product, but it does contain some sucralose, which I am not really a fan of, but it is also the most reasonably priced whey here, and it tastes great.

It really all depends on your budget, and how much you are willing to spend on protein powder. To me if you start getting a lot cheaper than Grow, then I start to wonder about the quality of the product, it might still be good, but I certainly have my doubts.

If you want to get completely aware from dairy-based protein powders, see the next question.

Question 2: Do you have any recommendations for affordable rice protein powder that doesn’t taste like dust? I got some vanilla rice protein powder from Whole Foods, and I use lots of fruit, but I keep feeling like I’m drinking a chalk shake. Sun Warrior rice protein powder gets good reviews, but is expensive.

Answer: Unfortunately most rice protein powder is awful, in my opinion. I tried Sun Warrior and personally was not a fan, but I am also used to some delicious whey. I too have heard good things, and have had a few clients who really like it, so it is probably the best rice protein powder out there, but you do pay for it.

Other options would be some egg protein, or hemp protein like Hemp Pro 70 by Manitoba Harvest. Hemp certainly has a distinct taste, and is a little nutty, but I still prefer the Manitoba Harvest over the Sun Warrior myself. Give each a shot and let me know what you think.

A Delicious Deviation

Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Recipes

For my wife and I, Sunday mornings are often a departure from the norm. Every Monday through Saturday we are up early, making the same breakfast, doing the same things, you know, in our routine. Sundays however, allow for more time and creativity, and this is where meal experiments can really shine (or fail, but at least it was worth a try).

This past Sunday Anna and I were not in the mood for eggs, so we popped open our copy of the Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook, and perused the breakfast options, looking for something interesting. Lo and behold, we stumbled across a delicious french toast and parfait recipe that looked absolutely awesome.

Since we didn’t have every single ingredient, and you know I am going to modify it anyways, we made that recipe BSP style. It called for some whole grain bread to be cut into 1-inch squares, so we used some sprouted grain Ezekiel bread. We mixed that with some omega-3 eggs, and added cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Top it off with a little maple syrup, and it was awesome.

The parfait portion called for cottage cheese, yogurt, and strawberries among other things, and we didn’t have any of it. So instead we subbed in plain Greek yogurt for the cottage cheese and regular yogurt (and added a packet of Truvia for a little more sweetness), used blackberries for the strawberries, and it to was incredible.

The point of this post is to show that eating healthy does not have to be boring or monotonous. Too often people get stuck into healthy eating ruts, including me, where they eat the same meals over and over and over again. Variety is the spice of life, people. Continuity certainly has its place, but there is something to be said for stepping outside your comfort zone and trying a new recipe and just seeing what happens.

In the end it was a phenomenal breakfast, not only did it taste great, it looked the part too.

For more recipes like this, definitely check out Gourmet Nutrition and the complete Precision Nutrition System.

Vanilla & Berries Delight

Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Recipes

As many of you know I used to eat cottage cheese like it was my job, often twice per day. I had a recipe that I ate nearly every single day, and I loved it. Now that I have cut back on my dairy consumption, and no longer really eat cottage cheese, this delicious meal was no longer an option.

So I have decided to do something about it. I have created a non-cottage cheese smoothie version, which I personally think is absolutely delicious. If you love vanilla and you love berries, you will absolutely love this smoothie.

Vanilla & Berries Delight

• 6-8oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 scoop vanilla protein
• 1/2 cup wild frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
• 1 tbsp milled flax seed
• 2 tbsp chopped walnuts
• ice cubes as desired

Now if you are a guy who needs a few more calories than this provides, then I would add in 6oz vanilla Greek yogurt, and maybe bump the flax to 2 tbsp and the walnuts to 1/4 cup, or you can just do any one of those things, depending on your needs. You could also add in some old-fashioned oats or quinoa flakes if you needed to bump up the carbs.

If you are a woman, or anyone looking to keep calories lower, you could keep it as is since it is only about 360 calories, or you could cut walnuts down to 1 tbsp and berries down to 1/4 cup each if you really needed to.

The point is, do not be afraid to make changes or experiment based on your needs and desires. Enjoy!

PS – A lot of you have requested that I add a Recipe Categories feature. Well take a quick peek to your right, as it is finally here. As I continue to blog I will add old recipes to that category as well, so that way all of my recipes will be much more easily found!

A Day In The Life: Take 4?

Filed under: General Health, Nutrition

With my recent decrease in dairy intake and other dietary changes, I have had some requests for another Day In The Life installment, showing my personal food intake. One thing I want to remind everyone is that these are example days, not every day is the same. Feel free to use my exact meals, or experiment with your own, as food is one of the great joys of life, eating should be a pleasure, not a mindless feeding.

Wake @ 6 – take puppy out to walk/pee

Breakfast @ 6:30

Omelet

• 1/2 tbsp Barlean’s coconut oil
• 5 whole omega-3 eggs
• 1 cup mixed frozen peppers (red, yellow, green) and onions
• dash Redmond Real Salt
• 1-2 tbsp black bean & corn salsa

Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup Wyman’s wild frozen blueberries
• 1 tbsp milled flax seed
• 1 scoop Biotest Superfood
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Beverages

• 3oz POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
• 12oz water
• 1 cup black coffee

Supplements

• 1 multi-vitamin
• 3 fish oil pills (1.8 grams EPA/DHA)
• 2 borage oil pills (600mg GLA)
• 4,000 IU vitamin D
• 500mg Curcumin
• 1 probiotic

Pre-Training @ 9:45 (while driving to CP)

Smoothie

• 6-8oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein
• 5 grams creatine
• 1 cup frozen dark cherries
• 1 tbsp milled flax seed
• 1 tbsp raw cacao nibs
• 2 tbsp walnuts
• 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

Beverage

• 12oz white, green or black tea

Train @ 11-12 – lots of water

Post-Training Lunch @ 1

• 1 Large Serving of My Wife’s Chili (makes 5 large or 10 small servings)

Dinner @ 5

Greek Yogurt Special

• 16oz 2% Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 cup Wyman’s wild frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup frozen raspberries
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp almonds and pecans
• 1 packet Truvia

Late Dinner @ 9ish

Stir-Fry

• 1 chopped chicken breast
• 2 cups mixed frozen veggies (broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, onions, red pepper, corn)
• 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, sprayed with the Misto
• seasoned to taste

Beverages

• 8oz water
• 4oz Red Wine

Supplements

• 3 ZMA before bed

That is an example day, though half the time at breakfast I replace the oats with 1/2 Ezekiel English muffin with 1/2 tbsp Manitoba Harvest hemp seed butter and 1 tsp organic fruit spread, with a banana. I also eat a lot of Ezekiel wraps after training when we haven’t made chili. I have a bunch of tasty recipes, and I have one with a piece of fruit like an apple or an orange. I also drink a ton of water throughout the day, along with another 2-3 cups of white, green or black tea.

I hope this helps some of you find some good recipes, and see that eating healthy is also delicious!

Omelets Made Easy

Filed under: General Health, Nutrition

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love my omelet for breakfast. I eat the same omelet usually about 6 mornings per week for breakfast, I just love it that much. I have mastered my technique for rapid omelet making, and I am also known for eating quite rapidly when I am hungry, so overall I make and eat my omelet within 15-20 minutes (this also includes an Ezekiel English muffin with natural peanut butter and a banana).

Now I have always made the time in my morning preparation to eat this omelet. I did this even in college. A lot of people though, aren’t willing to sacrifice 10 measly minutes of sleep to make and eat this omelet rather than a bowl of cereal or a Pop-tart. Fortunately for those of you, a client of mine has come up with a brilliant solution.

We will call this client “Pete”. Pete is notorious for being one of the world’s slowest eaters, and he isn’t much of a cook either, so making and consuming an omelet traditionally-made took him roughly an hour every morning. Which is ridiculous. So Pete decided to do something about it.

Using his Magic Bullet, Pete blended up his 5 omega-3 eggs and 1 cup of mixed frozen peppers and onions and a tablespoon or two of salsa while his pan was heating. He then tossed the blended concoction onto the pan, which cooked much faster now that it didn’t have to heat full chunks of frozen veggies. He was able to cut his cooking time in half.

Now that his omelet was nice and smooth with minimal veggie chunks to chew, Pete was able to eat his omelet much faster as well. His new cooking and eating time was now about 25-30 minutes (including an Ezekiel English muffin with natural peanut butter and a banana, yes he eats the same breakfast as me), which for Pete is practically a world record.

This has been a huge morning saver for him, allowing those few extra minutes of sleep he craves, as well as giving him more time to make the rest of his meals for the day before heading off to work. With a little dedication, even the least likely of us can succeed.

Saturated Fat and Chocolate Cherry Bliss

Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Recipes

An interesting tidbit came across my path today, as one of my favorite bloggers announced the release of a meta-analysis by one of the most prominent lipid researchers in the entire world, Dr. Ronald Krauss. The meta-analysis looked at the observational studies evaluating the link between saturated fat intake and cardiovascular disease. Surprise, surprise they found absolutely no link between the two, quoting:

“A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD.”

To check out the study for yourself, click HERE.

After 40 years of bullshit advice, is the medical community finally going to come around? We shall see.

Finally, I want to leave you guys with a nice smoothie recipe for the weekend. I “borrowed” and modified this from the new Warp Speed Fat Loss diet template, so if you are a cherry fan, take note!

Chocolate Cherry Bliss

• 6oz unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or unsweetened chocolate if you can find it, or water)
• 1/2-1 cup frozen dark cherries
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp walnuts
• ice as desired

This is absolutely delicious, and is a great treat if you are craving something a little sweet at the end of the day. You could spice it up even more and add 1 tbsp raw cacao nibs as well.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Steaz: Ready-to-Drink Green Tea

Filed under: General Health, Nutrition

While in the midst of Warp Speed a CP client came across a gem of a product at Whole Foods and sent me a picture (oddly enough, this is the same product that another client had asked me about, but this was the first time I actually saw it).

Thank You Danny & Chris

Steaz is a naturally sweetened (stevia and erythritol – the sweeteners in Truvia), calorie-free sparkling organic green tea. It is delicious. It is especially delicious if you are on a lower-carb diet for a New Years resolution.

It is certified organic, and was just introduced to market in October. After receiving that picture I headed off to Stop & Shop as planned on Sunday. As I was perusing the “natural food aisle”, as is my wont, I just happened to spot this exact drink sitting in the refrigerator: jackpot!

We tried the blueberry pomegranate, and it is excellent, and I have been told (but have not tried personally) that the orange is to die for.

Steaz sparkling green tea has received two Best of 2009 awards from BevNET, the leading online community website for the beverage industry. It won Best New Organic Product of 2009 and Best New Carbonated Beverage of 2009.

Most calorie-free green teas are artificially sweetened with health-poor aspartame or sucralose (Splenda) and actually have very little green tea or antioxidants in them. Steaz sparkling green tea has 120mg of green tea antioxidants per bottle, which is very good as a normal cup of fresh brewed green tea has about 195mg.

The Healthy Beverage Company (www.steaz.com) is the maker of USDA Certified Organic and Fair Trade Certified Steaz Iced Teaz, Steaz Sparkling Green Teas and Steaz Energy drinks and shots. According to SPINSscan Natural, Steaz is the best-selling natural Energy Drink brand in the U.S., based on total dollar and unit sales. Steaz beverages are sold nationally in natural, specialty, gourmet and club stores, as well as food service outlets. Steaz is also sold in retail grocery stores such as Whole Foods Markets, Safeway, Stop n Shop, Wegmans, and Shaw’s supermarkets. Recently, Steaz Organic Iced Teaz were launched in all Target Stores nationwide.

So if you are interested in some calorie-free sparkling certified organic green tea that is ready-to-drink, while also supporting a good company that sources from fair-trade farmers, then give this one a shot. Enjoy!

Grocery Shopping 101

Filed under: General Health, Nutrition

On my last blog post of 2009, I asked you the readers to give me feedback on what you were looking for in 2010. What questions you had, or what topics you wanted covered, stuff like that. I had a tremendous response, and I thank you for that. A few people in particular asked me to elucidate my grocery shopping habits, and help them figure out what theirs should be.

When it comes to grocery stores, most are set up the same way. The good stuff on the outside, the dangerous shit in the middle. If you stick to the perimeter of the store you will find the fruits and vegetables, the fresh seafood, the fresh beef and poultry, the eggs, the yogurt and usually the nuts. That is the vast majority of your needs right there!

Now you will have to make foray’s into the middle aisles to get stuff like beans, frozen fruit, frozen vegetables, quinoa, oats, milled flax, tuna, salsa, natural peanut butter and more, but the trick is to make a list and stick to it! That is a key point right there, do not stray off of your list, that is when you get into trouble.

Now these same people also asked how I differentiate my shopping. Meaning, where do I buy some stuff, where do I buy others, since not everything I eat is available at one grocery store, or at least isn’t the most reasonably priced at every store. If you have the means, you could probably purchase everything I list below at Whole Foods, if like me that is well outside of your budget, then you should consider splitting up your shopping.

I do the vast majority of my shopping at a local Stop & Shop, with some Whole Foods mixed in and a dash of Amazon.com. Here is exactly how I do it:

Stop & Shop (purchased weekly or bi-weeekly)

Produce

• gala apples
• navel oranges
• bananas
• random fruit selection here: strawberries, pineapple, etc
• baby carrots
• cucumber
• spinach
• sweet onion
• green pepper
• sweet potatoes
• wild frozen blueberries
• frozen raspberries
• frozen strawberries
• frozen mixed peppers and onions (for omelets)
• frozen mixed vegetables (a few varieties for late-night stir-fry)
• veggie wash (especially for foods on Dirty Dozen List)

Nuts & Meat

• almonds
• walnuts
• pecans
• wild salmon
• buffalo
• chicken breast family pack (when on sale)
• tuna, chunk light
• natural peanut butter

Eggs & Dairy

• omega-3 eggs
• 2% plain Greek yogurt

Grains

• organic beans (kidney, garbanzo, black)
• quinoa
• old-fashioned oats
• buckwheat

Misc.

• salsa, black bean and corn
• pesto, extra virgin olive oil and basil
• hummus, original tahini
• guacamole
• POM Wonderful pomegranate juice

Whole Foods (purchased monthly)

• unsweetened vanilla almond milk (cheaper than Stop & Shop)
• Ezekiel sprouted grain tortillas
• Ezekiel sprouted grain English muffins
• Ezekiel sprouted grain bread
• milled flax (Barlean’s Forti-Flax)
• raw cheese
• pasture butter
• grass-fed beef – sirloin strips and ground
• coconut, shredded unsweetened
• Tazo Tea (green, black, white)
• Rooibos Tea (Republic of Tea Good Hope Vanilla)

Amazon (purchased as needed)

• chia seeds (Navitas Naturals)
• cacao nibs (Navitas Naturals)
• coconut oil, organic unrefined extra virgin (Barlean’s)
• hemp butter (Manitoba Harvest)

Now this is my shopping list, and it might not be the same as yours, and that is ok. I didn’t put the amounts that I buy because it isn’t always set in stone, but when I go to Whole Foods I generally stock up enough to last me at least one month, usually more, since it is a 20+ minute drive. Hopefully this gives you an idea of how to set up your own grocery shopping, and remember stick to the list!