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What’s On The Menu – The Superior Nut Butter

Much like coffee creamers, the variety of nut butters has seemed to increase almost exponentially over the past 5-10 years. I imagine that the increase in childhood peanut allergies (21% increase since 2010) has been a major contributing factor.

For those of us that aren’t stricken with that terrible affliction, deciding on whether to buy peanut butter or almond butter can be a constant struggle. Well no need to worry because this menu spotlight will tell you which nut butter is nutritional superior.

Both are a great source of monounsaturated fat, fiber and plant based protein, but almond butter has more vitamin E, iron and calcium. Just make sure the only ingredients are almonds and maybe a pinch of salt. You don’t want to negate the nutritional benefits by buying something full of sugar and additives that prevent oil separation.

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What’s On The Menu – The Vegans Got This One Right

My dietary preferences are broad to say the least. Animals, plants, fungi and even bacteria are all menu options for yours truly. That means that all wholesome food options, whether they be paleo, keto or vegan, are literally on the table for this omnivore.

One such vegan item that I’ve been putting on pretty much everything as of late is this pesto from Trader Joe’s. It has a short list of whole ingredients and is high in that oh so important macronutrient, FAT.

If I could change anything in it I would substitute the cashew butter for walnuts & nutritional yeast. Shannon is a former vegan and we’ve made a lot of vegan pesto. I can say with the utmost confidence that adding nutritional yeast gives it a much more “cheesy” flavor.

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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 – Goes Together Like Peas & Coffee

A few weeks ago I shared my favorite dairy coffee creamer, but I want to let all you know that I’m also a fan of nondairy creamers. As mentioned in the previous post the variety of nondairy choices you have to choose from is borderline overwhelming.

Soy, almond, and coconut are probably the most popular (besides the uber processed coffemate), but there is one that is starting to show up more in stores that I believe provides the most nutritional benefits.

Ripple Foods produces “milk” made up primarily of pea protein. Eight ounces contain nearly 5 g of fat and 8 grams of protein. It doesn’t have as short of an ingredient list as I’m use to, but it’s much more nutritious than almond milk.

Too much dairy wreaks havoc on my digestion so I like to add this and some unsweetened coconut milk to one of my daily coffee concoctions.

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What’s On The Menu – The OG of Coffee Creamers

The coffee creamer industry has really blown up in the past couple decades. Every grocery store now has multiple shelves dedicated to every type of creamer you can imagine.

Hazelnut flavored creamer made from soy milk? Got it!

Pumpkin spiced flavored creamer made from almond milk? You betcha!

I, on the other hand, prefer the original coffee creamer.

ACTUAL CREAM!

Besides collagen from Great Lakes, heavy cream is my preferred coffee additive. Two tbsp contains 12 g of fat (mostly saturated) and no sugar or carbs. It does contain a small amount of lactose so those that are intolerant may want to use unsweetened coconut milk if they want a fatty coffee creamer.

Just stay away from the sugar-laden creamers filled with artificial ingredients.

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Addicted to Fitness Show Notes – 3rd Annual Girl Scout Cookie Challenge

It’s that time again. We’ve got another Girl Scout cookie challenge on this week’s Addicted to Fitness podcast. We’re on our third year of this fun fitness challenge and this time Shannon is going to give it a go.

For all those new to this challenge, the ultimate goal is to burn off the calories contained in 3 Girl Scout cookies as quickly as possible.

Just like in previous years, we chose the peanut butter & chocolate Girl Scout cookie known as the Tagalong. We were primarily concerned with the calorie content for 3 of these cookies, but the other nutritional facts are: 14 g fat, 20 g carbs (12 g sugar), 3 g of protein.

Shannon downed three of these bad boys, performed a 5 minute warm-up, then jumped on our beloved Peloton cycle to burn off the 210 calories worth of cookies.

While Shannon was doing most of the heavy lifting, or in this case riding, I gave our training recaps for the week.

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In addition to doing several sessions on the Peloton, Shannon did yoga almost every single day and got to a yoga class at her home studio, Bella Prana. She also performed a couple HIIT workouts to round out her fitness for the week.

I had my personal training sessions at Title and Tampa Strength, including a session with a new ETTampa client. I’ve also been working hard on creating new content for you ATF listeners. We’ll be making an exciting announcement about our new weekly show real soon!

While Shannon was chugging away on the bike, I shared several interesting factoids about Girl Scout cookies like:

  • Since 1999, Girl Scout Cookies bring in about $700 million in annual revenue
  • Thin Mints are the most popular
  • All the girls on the boxes are Girl Scouts
  • In 1985, a 13-year-old girl sold $25,000 worth of cookies

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Thanks to Shannon’s Apple Watch, we were able to count down the final seconds before she reached the 210 calorie goal. Make sure you listen to this week’s episode to find out how long it took her to complete this year’s challenge. Then you can go back and listen to the previous years episodes to find out who completed the challenge faster.

Let us know what you think of this fitness challenge on the Addicted to Fitness Podcast Facebook page. While you’re there, please leave us a rating & review, which we’d also appreciate if you could do in iTunes. It only takes a few minutes and really helps us reach more listeners.

All you ATF coffee lovers should definitely check out our sponsors The Hemp & Coffee Exchange. Visit hempcoffeeexchange.com and read about their delicious & nutritious sustainable super coffee and when you place your order, make sure you use the promo code “ATF” at checkout to get 20% off your order.

Links to this week’s episode:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/addicted-to-fitness-podcast/id1121420986?mt=2

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nick-burch-702220833/3rd-annual-girl-scout-cookie

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/3rd-annual-girl-scout-cookie-challenge

 

What’s On the Menu – Too Good To Let Go To Waste

Let’s be honest. Guacamole is the best “dip” there is. Don’t bring your hummus, spinach & artichoke or salsa in my kitchen. NOT UP IN HERE!

Between the taste, nutrition and ease associated with preparing it, every thing else is playing for second place. Which is why I had to act fast when I had several ripe avocados at the house last week.

Instead of letting them go bad, I decided to make guacamole with whatever ingredients I had available. I ended up using 2 avocados, cherry tomatoes, shallots, fresh lime juice and salt. The heart healthy monounsaturated fat contained in the avocados was too good to let go to waste. ⠀

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What’s on the Menu – The Best Breakfast Option Out There

I’m a gigantic breakfast fan. The options you have at breakfast far surpass anything lunch or dinner has to offer, and I believe it’s all thanks to one magical food.

Eggs.

Whole eggs, yes yolks and all, are at the top of my “Whole Foods” power ranking list. Right below eggs on that list is its frequent companion on a many diner menus. Steak.

Steak & eggs is high in protein & fat and contains a ton of important micronutrients like iron, vitamin B, choline and omega fatty acids. I had the meal below and swear I wasn’t hungry for the rest of the day. I believe based on the nutrition research I’ve gathered & personal experience, that this is a much healthier option than the meals filled with processed carbs that seem to dominate breakfast foods (cereal, bagels, etc.).

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