calories

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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FU IIFYM

This week’s episode of the Addicted to Fitness podcast kicks off with a ton of exciting Elemental Training Tampa news. Shannon and I talk about a pair of diehard ETT personal training clients, the date for our next group training session and recent/future equipment purchases. You may not realize it but if you’re reading this you are a part of the ETT community. First off, THANK YOU and please feel free to check us out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

In addition to our ETT updates, Shannon and I go in-depth on a crucial vitamin that most Americans are deficit in, Vitamin D. Known to most people as the “sunshine vitamin”, vitamin D plays a large part in variety of bodily functions including creating strong bones. Thanks to an infographic provided by the great Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Shannon and I let you know about the possible reasons behind the current deficiency statistic, the possible side effects of being deficit and what you can do to avoid this deficiency.

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Image courtesy of foundmyfitness.com

Last but certainly not least, we dive into the topic that spawned the title for this week’s podcast. I heard about the IIFYM (if it fits your macros) diet from friends of the show Vinnie Tortorich and Anna Vocino. They were discussing a Yahoo article that was singing the praises of a diet that lets you eat whatever you want as long as you stay within your prescribed daily macronutrient count. That’s right. IIFYM claims you can eat fast food and still lose weight. We debunk this calorie counting fad diet and give our opinion on the best approach to eating healthy.

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Image courtesy of memecrunch.com

Thanks to you listeners, the podcast recently surpassed 1000 total downloads. I know of other podcasts that would immediately shut down if they had an episode that got only 1000 downloads, but we’re excited about this milestone. Primarily because it means you’re listening and more importantly you’re sharing the podcast. You can’t imagine how much that means to us. We deeply appreciate your support. If you haven’t done so already, please leave us a rating and/or review on your preferred podcast app (an iTunes rating/review would be especially awesome). Thanks again and stay healthy this week peeps!

Links to this week’s podcast

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fu-iifym/id1121420986?i=1000375192544&mt=2

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

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/fu-iifym

Bone Broth, Plant Protein & Meal Prep

Guess who’s back, back again. Shannon’s back, tell a friend.

Sorry about that blatant and tacky rip off of the great Marshall Mathers, I’m just excited about Shannon’s return to the Addicted to Fitness podcast. She returns just in time to help me review a pair of beef related food products. I try a cup of beef bone broth, procured from Growing Rootz (a Tampa natural & organic food purveyor), while Shannon sips on a fruit and veggie smoothie containing Great Lakes beef collagen protein powder. We analyze the nutritional benefits of both products and let you know whether or not they’d be a good addition to your daily diet. After talking a whole lot of bull (get it), we go to the other end of the spectrum and discuss our favorite plant based protein sources. In addition to our preferred plant proteins, we list off a ton of favs given to us by listeners on Facebook and Twitter. Last but not least, we dive into our weekly ritual of meal prep. Shannon describes what we do every Sunday to help us maintain our nutritious diet day in and day out and we recommend a company that will help eliminate some of the burden of meal planning & grocery shopping.

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I’m happy to report that after only two episodes this month, we have already surpassed the download numbers for June and July. That means you’re listening and more importantly you’re sharing the podcast. You can’t imagine how much that means to us. We deeply appreciate your support. If you haven’t done so already, please leave us a rating and/or review on your preferred podcast app (an iTunes rating/review would be especially awesome). Thanks again and stay healthy this week peeps!

Links to this week’s podcast

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bone-broth-plant-protein-meal/id1121420986?i=1000374410575&mt=2

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

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/bone-broth-plant-protein-meal-prep

What’s on the Menu

I’m back with another #whatiatewednesday post for you all. If you haven’t been living under a rock the last few years, someone has probably told you that avocados are good for you because they contain “healthy” fats (monounsaturated & polyunsaturated to be exact). But you may not know that 1 avocado has more potassium than a banana and 4g of protein with all 8 essential amino acids (source). They also include other important micronutrients like vitamin A, C, iron and calcium (source). These nutritional facts make them an important component of anyone’s diet, especially non-meat eaters. As you can see I like to dress mine up with a little red pepper & olive oil. I’m pretty fancy.

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What’s on the Menu

This week’s menu item is not one particular food, but an entire meal I prepared for my wife and I. The salad is made of arugula, watermelon, grated cheddar and a balsamic reduction. Even though watermelon has a high glycemic index (72) it has a low glycemic load (5) due to the water and fiber it contains. Enjoying it with a protein, like the shrimp pictured below, will reduce the watermelon’s insulin response even further. While we’re on the topic of reducing insulin response, substituting zucchini noodles for any refined grain based pasta will do just that. Reducing your refined grain intake could lead to you avoiding troublesome health conditions like bloating and irritable bowel syndrome just to name a few. The real beauty of this meal is that it took about 15 minutes to make. Quick, healthy and delicious. Just the way I like it!

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What’s on the Menu

This week’s look into my food choices is ultimately a result of listening to individuals like Tim Ferris and Dom D’Agostino. All I kept hearing from these intelligent folks is how good sardines were for you. Once I finally got up the nerve to buy a couple cans, I realized how right they were. One container, like the one pictured, contains 13g of protein and several important vitamins & minerals like vitamin D and selenium. As good as they may be for me, I knew I would need a little something extra to make them more palatable, which is why I purchased Primal Kitchen mayo. Not only is this a wholesome food with only 5 ingredients, 1 tbsp contains almost 20% of my daily value for total fats. This meal really packs a nutritional punch 👊

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What’s on the Menu

Let’s face it, proper nutrition is one of the key components to losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. People frequently ask me what I eat and what better way to share that with people then participating in the weekly trending topic #whatieatwednesday. One of my menu items that I recently highlighted were collared greens. Shannon let me know that this dark leafy green was one of her go-to’s when she was a vegan. Not surprising since 1 cup of boiled collared greens has 5 g of protein, not to mention a ton of vitamins & minerals like vitamin A and calcium. FYI – the collared pictured below are definitely not vegan friendly. I cooked them in butter, garlic and diced ham 😊. You can stay up to date with my weekly #whatieatwednesday posts by following me on Instagram under the handle @ettampa.

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Amnesty Request

I want to apologize to you folks for being absent over the past few weeks. I took a little break from social media during Shannon and I’s week long honeymoon in Hawaii and I’m just now getting caught back up. I should have scheduled the weekly podcast posts in advance, but sadly I did not. My bad. If you’ve subscribed to the Addicted to Fitness podcast, then you’re up to date on the episodes that dropped the past two weeks. If you’re are not yet a subscriber, here’s what we talked about on those podcasts.

USDA Dietary Recommendations: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

One cup of cooked oatmeal, 4 slices of whole wheat bread, 1 mini bag of popcorn and 1 cup of cooked brown rice. That’s what the USDA recommends I eat, in addition to other food groups, to satisfy my daily caloric need. Shannon and I discuss this and other dietary recommendations from the USDA on this nutrition focused episode.

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From the Vault: Girl Scout Cookie Challenge

This week’s episode features a throwback to our ETT Wrap Show days. Listen to my former cohost Tyler give the play by play of the first official ETT challenge. I down a few Girl Scout Cookies then determine who long it takes to burn them off using battle ropes and jump squats. Original air date March 7th, 2016.

 

Hopefully you get all caught up and are ready and waiting for the next episode of the Addicted to Fitness podcast. If you listen to us on iTunes or Google Play, please leave us a rating and review. If you aren’t able to use either of those services, just head to the podcast website to listen to our weekly dose of health & fitness info. Thanks peeps!