food

What’s on the Menu

There is a food craze going on that may seem new, but is in fact as old as time. This particular food item can be found in high end restaurants AND in the middle of the Serengeti. Celebrity chef, TV host and all-around badass Anthony Bourdin calls it “God’s Butter.” Shannon likes to call it “meat jelly.” I just call it DELICIOUS! If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m talking about bone marrow. This often overlooked culinary delight can be found inside the bones of ruminants (cow, deer, etc.) and for the longest time was discarded by most Americans in the late 20th century & early 21st century. It seems like we’ve finally discovered the richness, in both nutrition and taste, of this somewhat forgotten food item. One ounce of beef bone marrow contains nearly 15g of fat (mostly monounsaturated), 2g of protein and 140 calories. It also contains important sources of fat soluble vitamins and minerals like calcium and iron (source). The exact amounts of these nutrients is hard to find but it’s believed that consuming bone marrow can improve gut health and even help treat individuals with cancer (source). I’m not quite prepared to call bone marrow the next miracle treatment for cancer, but I am willing to order it every time I see it on the menu.

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Bone Marrow starter from Edison Food+Drink Lab

What’s on the Menu

One of the big components of eating healthy is cooking the majority of your meals at home with whole ingredients. As a working professional I know that meal planning & grocery shopping for an entire week of meals can be time consuming. Fortunately, services like Blue Apron can have all the ingredients you need to make wholesome meals, that meet your dietary preferences, sent right to your door. Plus, if you’re a avid podcaster listener, I’m sure you’ve heard the host give out a Blue Apron promo code to get you a couple free meals. No, I’m not a paid endorser (I wish I was honestly), I just know services like these can reduce individuals reliance on ordering takeout or going out to eat. Shannon and I go into more detail about this awesome service, and meal prep in general, in a past episode of the Addicted to Fitness podcast. Give it a listen and let us know if it convinced you to give Blue Apron a try.

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What’s on the Menu

I’m tired of one of my favorite Thanksgiving Day staples being blamed for post feast sleepiness. Tryptophan is an amino acid that contributes to the production of the body’s “calming” hormones serotonin and melatonin. It’s true that turkey contains tryptophan, but no more than any other animal protein. According to the infographic below, a 3 ounce portion contains 250-310 milligrams. If you look at natural sleep aid supplements, like Onnit’s New Mood, a recommended dose contains 2-3 times that amount. The turkey you eat during your meal is not solely responsible for you feeling like you have narcolepsy. 

The real culprit of post Thanksgiving dinner sleepiness is most likely the amount you eat and, in my opinion, the massive amount of sugar you consume. Think about it. The marshmallows & brown sugar on the sweet potato casserole, the cranberry sauce, the obligatory pumpkin pie. All these dishes create a massive blood sugar spike which will almost certainly lead to you passing out in front of the TV while the Lions lose another Thanksgiving Day football game. If you’re interested in not acting like a tranquilized bear after yourThanksgiving Day meal, you may want to eat a little more turkey and ditch the sugary & carby side dishes. With that said, you best believe I’m having some pumpkin pie tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving peeps!

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Infographic courtesy of Time.com

Thanksgiving Edition of The Macros Game

Shannon and I kick of this week’s episode of the Addicted to Fitness podcast teasing a pair of upcoming Elemental Training Tampa (ETT) events. We make a bold prediction about ETT member Carmin’s fight at Mike Calta’s Punch Out 2, which will have already taken place by the time this episode debuts. Make sure you check out our Instagram or 102.5 The Bone’s website to see if our prediction was correct.  We also mentioned our upcoming group workout taking place November 19th in the Tampa neighborhood of Seminole Heights. If you live in the area and want to participate, RSVP at our Facebook event page. After all the ETT news, Shannon let’s us in on a huge decision she recently made that will certainly change her life for the better.

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For the last decade or more, Shannon has wanted to acquire her yoga teacher certification. She has practiced numerous types of yoga over the years and has even help tudor beginners through basic poses. After years of searching for the right program, she finally took the plunge and invested in the Bella Prana Yoga teacher program. Shannon outlines their curriculum and describes why Bella Prana’s approach to yoga inspired her to enroll. She promises to give us periodic updates about her training over the next several months. I think it’s safe to say that ETT Yoga will be coming soon. One thing you won’t have to wait for is the newest edition of The Macros Game!

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ETT Yoga by Shannon coming soon. Paddle board not included

We are closing in on Thanksgiving Day, which in my opinion is the most epic food holiday of the year. That’s why this edition of the Macros Game will feature common Thanksgiving Day food items. Shannon and I go head to head in this nutritional trivia game to determine who know more about the macronutrient (protein, fat, carbs) content of turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and several other items you’re likely to see on Turkey Day. Make sure you play along at home and send us your scores.

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In addition to your Macros Game scores, we’d love for you all to send us your thoughts and comments about the podcast. Better yet, leave us a rating and review in the iTunes store. You may not realize it but those rating and reviews help us grow our listening audience. We’re always appreciative of your support and feedback. Keep listening, keep sharing and stay healthy this week peeps!

Links to this week’s episode

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/thanksgiving-edition-macros/id1121420986?i=1000377818029&mt=2

Android: http://subscribeonandroid.com/addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/rss

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/thanksgiving-edition-of-the-macros-game

What’s on the Menu

This week’s #whatiatewednesday is not only a delicious one, but a super easy “do it yourself” one. It all started when I saw that my local Whole Foods had a sale on organic pork ribs. For less than $10, I was able to purchase ribs from pigs that weren’t given any antibiotics or growth hormones and were fed organic, non-GMO, feed. Even though we’ve recently talked about how misleading food labels can be, the price and my desire for ribs made this an easy purchase. I have a preference for smoked ribs, but that takes a tremendous amount of time, which is something I feel most people lack especially in the middle of a workweek. That’s why the crockpot is such a godsend. Cover these bad boys in a homemade NO SUGAR dry rub, then throw them in the crockpot on low for 8 hours and BAM! Fall of the bone ribs. No need to cover these ribs in a sugary BBQ or any liquid at all. Your dry rub will provide all the flavor you need without giving you that pesky blood sugar spike.

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What’s on the Menu

Today’s #whatiatewednesday post is a slight departure from what you normally see from me. I was doing some research for an interview that will be featured on an upcoming episode of the Addicted to Fitness podcast and I came across this chart from 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Every five years, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) puts out a comprehensive report about what Americans are eating, how it’s affecting our health and somewhat educated suggestions on how to reverse some scary health trends. I believe that one of the reasons we’re seeing ever increasing rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes is due to the massive amount of grains, specifically refined grains, we eat on a daily basis. If you look at the chart below, you’ll see that some age groups are eating more than 1.5 times the daily recommended amount of refined grains. If you need a frame of reference for what 1 ounce of grain looks like, it’s equivalent to approximately 1 piece of bread. But bread isn’t the only culprit. Cereal, bagels, tortillas,  grain-based dessert and numerous other refined grain products are contributing to several of the current health problems we as Americans face nowadays.

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Please don’t take my word for it. Do yourself a favor and check out research done by much smarter people than me like Nina Tecicholz, Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. David Perlmutter (his book Grain Brain is enlightening). You can also listen to registered nurse and certified diabetes educator Nicole Recine on the upcoming episode of the Addicted to Fitness podcast. She, along with the other people I listed, do a great job explaining the detrimental effects of excess carb intake.

What’s on the Menu

This week’s #whatiatewednesday post is meant to help those who’d like to add a little flavor to their food without adding empty calories. It’s true, sauces can sometimes be a stumbling block to healthy eating. Whether it’s preservatives or added sugar, something as simple as store bought tomato sauce can be detrimental to your quest to eat better. That’s why I wanted to highlight a sauce that in my opinion, and according to the label, seems legit. Publix Greenwise’s roasted garlic tomato sauce contains only 4g of sugar per 1/2 cup and has an ingredient list that I could recreate at home if I were so inclined. If you do use it, I’d suggest sticking to the serving size or less and use it to add a little flavor to veggies, not pasta. 

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