cooking

What’s on the Menu – These Veggies Could Save Your Life

Vegetables are a great source of vital nutrients. I know that’s not exactly a news flash but eating a variety of veggies is necessary to obtain a wide range of vitamins, minerals and other beneficial organic compounds.

One such group of veggies that Shannon and I try to each multiple times a week are cruciferous vegetables. The member of this veggie family, including the brussels sprouts pictured below, contain organic compounds known as glucosinolates that have been found to have anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects (source).

I love roasting them in the oven, but when I’m crunched for time, I simply boil them up, cover them in spices & butter and chow down. I want to point out that eating them with a fat source, like butter, helps you absorb the tremendous amount to of Vitamin K contained in these mini cabbages.

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What’s on the Menu – Cooking in batches is good for your health

Shannon and I really try our best to make one wholesome “Big Batch” dish every week. Having one dish that is ready to go whenever we get home from work prevents us from ordering out or picking up dinner. We’ve found that the less takeout and delivery we get, the better we feel. It’s also much easier on our finances.

One such big batch we make frequently is a Tuscan Chicken Skillet. I’ve shared the recipe with several of my clients and they all love it. It’s not exactly a quick meal, but it’s definitely worth the time. It’s also one of those dishes that I believe taste better the next day.

Below is the recipe and a few pics. If you end making it please send us and email (elementaltampa@gmail.com) or share a pic of it on our social channels (Facebook, Instagram or Twitter).

Tuscan Chicken Skillet

  • Cook 1-1.5 lbs of chicken tenderloins in olive oil for 4-5 mins on each side, or until cooked thru⠀
  • Remove chicken from skillet, add more olive oil & 8 oz of chopped mushrooms, cook till soft⠀
  • Remove mushrooms and add an entire onion, sliced & cook till soft⠀
  • Add a can of diced tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, garlic, spices (salt, pepper, oregano & thyme) and 1/4-1/2 cup of chicken stock⠀
  • Simmer till liquid reduces slightly then add chicken and mushrooms back in⠀
  • Remove from heat and add several handfuls of greens and season to taste⠀

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Addicted to Fitness Show Notes – A Review of Food4Thought_F4T Meal Prep Service

This week’s episode includes a recap and a review.

First, let’s talk about Nick and my training.

To be honest, it’s been a bit light on my side. Taking care of our little one and traveling for the holiday took over most of my week. However, I was able to squeeze in some short yoga and spinning sessions at home. As much as I love spending time with our little girl, I do confess how much I’m looking forward to getting back in the yoga studio for a full hour-long yoga session.

Nick meanwhile, has been truly enjoying his training sessions as they also serve as workouts. His fellow trainers at Tampa Strength have been passing along some new exercises that Nick has been busy learning, as they all prepare to launch a new training program targeted at moms. More details to come soon!

I made a comment about a hypothesis that more people are trying to be health conscious around the holidays nowadays, rather than waiting until after. This has actually been our approach in recent years – balancing the big holiday feasts with activity and more wholesome, light meals.  In fact, we actually discussed ways to survive holiday eating in a past podcast (listen to the episode here).

Nick suggest another great idea to stay health conscious around the holiday. The members of Tampa Strength are taking part in a challenge called Project Zero, which involves focusing on maintaining your weight through the holidays instead of obsessing about losing weight. It acts as a great accountability tool to help participants be more mindful about holiday eating. It also has financial incentives, which always prove to be a great motivator as well.

As for our holiday, we followed our usual Thanksgiving tradition, driving to see family. This year’s biggest difference was that we had the baby to introduce to everyone, which proved to be a lot more work than we anticipated. If you have any interesting holiday stories you’d like to share, please feel free to share them with us on the Addicted to Fitness Podcast Facebook page.

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Our review this week features a meal service from right here in Tampa Bay.

It’s not the first meal service that we’ve tried given the number of companies in this particular industry. We’ve used larger meal services like Blue Apron previously, who have grown to the point of going public this year and apparently been slipping in their rating as well as their stock price, and also tried some other local meal prep companies (which we’ve previously reviewed in an earlier podcast episode).

This time around, we are sampling Food4ThoughtF4T, who reached out to us on Instagram and asked if we’d be interested in trying their meals. Owner, cook and delivery person, Adrienne Padron, dropped off several meals and asked us to review them. Being fans of food in general, we researched the company and decided to give it a go!

Food4ThoughtF4T has easy online ordering available and even delivers to local customers. You can enjoy multiple meal quantity packages (whose menus change each week) with the average cost per meal being $7.50. The meal options range from vegetarian, seafood, poultry and red meat.

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I reviewed a couple of meals – “Caramelized Onion Turkey Burger” and “Chicken Fried Rice” – that Nick chose for me. Nick tackled the “Protein Packed Prosciutto Quinoa Salad” and “Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps.”

Pros:

  • Compact packaging that even separates out some of the ingredients to prevent items like lettuce from going bad
  • Use of cheese to add flavor
  • Ingredients are fresh
  • Ingredients and macros are included on the packaging

Cons:

  • Some of the dishes can be a bit on the bland side
  • No real heating instructions on the package
  • Nutrition info not included on the website

Be sure to reach out to them for more info – email – help@food4thoughtf4t.com; number – (813) 586-1348 – or visit their website to pick out your meals and get started today!

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If you haven’t done so already, please head to iTunes (link) give us a rating and review. We’d also appreciate it if you’d support our sponsors. Stop on by their website, hempcoffeeexchange.com, and research their products. When you’re ready to buy their sustainable super coffee, use the promo code “ATF” will get 20% off your order.

As always thanks for listening & sharing the podcast and stay healthy this week peeps!

Links to this week’s episode:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/a-review-of-food4thought-f4t-meal-prep-service/id1121420986?i=1000395585338&mt=2

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nick-burch-702220833/a-review-of-food4thought_f4t

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/review-of-meals-from-food4thoughtf4t-meal-prep-service

What’s on the Menu – How Fat Can Be Your Friend

When celebrity fitness trainer Vinnie Tortorich came on the Addicted to Fitness podcast (click here to listen to entire episode) last year, he made a statement that really resonated with me. He said

The worse thing about dietary fat is that it’s called FAT!

That one statement inspired me to look into the low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) lifestyle to determine if it suited me better than the not so low carb lifestyle I was participating in at the time. After subtracting certain items that contain refined carbs from my diet and adding more items that were high in healthy fats, I started feeling fuller, longer and was no longer hangry two hours after a meal.

There is one particular “fatty” food item that has been a part of my diet well before my shift to LCHF. I’ve been hearing about its health benefits for well over a decade and its versatility has made it a staple in Shannon and I’s kitchen. It can be used as a cooking oil, salad dressing, finishing sauce and even a skin care product. The multi-talented food item I’m referring to is olive oil and it’s this week’s menu spotlight.

Olive oil is a broad category of oil made from pressed olives. I realize that isn’t “breaking news,” but I wanted to mention that because the different types of olive oils at the supermarket can be quite overwhelming. If you’re looking for the variety that provides the most health benefits, you’ll want to stick with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Any other variety may use solvents to extract the oil or partially consist of cheaper, inflammatory oils.

Even though EVOO, purchased from a reputable producer, doesn’t contain any protein or carbs, it’s still highly nutritious. One hundred grams, which is about 7 tablespoons, of EVOO contains 72% of our recommended daily allowance (RDA) for Vitamin E and 75% of our RDA for Vitamin K (source), both of which can contribute to preventing cardiovascular disease. The micronutrients contained in olive oil are impressive but it’s the type of fat it contains that really sets it apart from other cooking oils.

EVOO consists primarily of monounsaturated fat. This type of fat is more heat-resistant, which means it is less likely to oxidize when used in cooking applications. This is one aspect of EVOO that makes it superior to other cooking oils like canola or even flax-seed, which consist primarily of polyunsaturated fat. Less oxidation means less free radical production, which can cause inflammation that may researchers believe is responsible for chronic health conditions like atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s and cancer. Oh, and EVOO contains a ton of anti-inflammatory phenols and polyphenols to further combat those previously mention conditions (source).

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As you can imagine, I frequently use EVOO to saute veggies and as my go-to salad dressing (2 parts EVOO + 1 part vinegar). I also use it to make my baked sweet potatoes fries nice & crispy, add extra flavor to my fried eggs and add even more monounsaturated fat to my daily avocado snack.

I mentioned it quickly earlier in this post, but it is very important that you purchase your EVOO from a reputable producer to get the optimum amount of health benefits. There are two great books, Extra Virginity & Real Food / Fake Food, that describe some of the deception associated with olive oil.

A couple quite tips I’ll give you in regards to purchasing EVOO are buy imported and make sure the container it comes in is NOT clear (light can cause oxidation over time). If you have a brand of EVOO that you swear by, I’d love to hear about it. Feel free to share it with us via email (elementaltampa@gmail.com) or snap a pic of the bottle and share it on our social channels (Facebook, Instagram or Twitter) and don’t forget FAT DOESN’T MAKE YOU FAT!