fat

What’s on the Menu

If you’ve been following this blog for an extended period of time, you are probably privy to the fact that I’m a devout omnivore. That devotion is what inspires me to order the “charcuterie board” whenever I see it on a restaurant’s menu.

Meat and cheese may seem simple, but the variety of flavors that can exist within those two food categories appears to be endless. Which is why when Shannon asked me what we should have for a mid afternoon snack on Christmas I almost involuntarily responded, “charcuterie!”

I’ll admit right now that I had no idea that my request would result in the picture you see below.

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(Vegan Cheeze Dip in the top left corner)

As you can see the board contained a variety of meats and cheeses, but it also contained Shannon’s vegan cheeze dip. I know what you’re thinking “How the hell can cheese dip be vegan?” Fortunately, the answer to that question is ridiculously simple. Check out the recipe from her blog to see why:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cup Raw Cashews
  • 2-3 Garlic Cloves
  • 1 1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
  • 3/4 cup Water
  • 3 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1 tsp Chili Powder
  • pinch of Cayenne Powder
  • pinch of Turmeric

DIRECTIONS:

Dump all the ingredients into a food processor and blend till creamy.

This recipe is perfect for everyone! It doesn’t contain any dairy, the cashews are full of healthy fats (source), the nutritional yeast has a surprising amount of protein (source) and the vast majority of its carbs come from fiber.

You make this dip for you next big party and I promise you’ll be having people asking you for the recipe. Just make sure you tell them you got it from elementaltampa.com!

What’s on the Menu

Spaghetti and meatballs. I feel like those two have been perpetually linked since the beginning of time, or since pasta has been a thing. Fortunately, we’ve discovered that meatballs don’t always need a refined carb counterpart. This week’s look into Shannon and I’s menu features turkey meatballs paired with garlic sautéed baby bok choy instead of pasta. Bok choy is a great pasta alternative because it’s a cruciferous vegetable that is loaded with vitamins A, K, and C and contains over 70 antioxidants, which is why some researchers believe it can aid in cancer prevention (source). Expanding our food choices, especially when it comes to vegetables, is crucial to optimizing our health and developing as a species (source). The next time you go grocery shopping, forget the box of barilla and go for the bok choy. If you are already a bok choy fan, let us know what dishes you incorporate it into. We’re always looking for new recipes.

 

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.

blue-apron

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.

ribs

From the Vault: Exo Cricket Flour Protein Bar taste test

We reach way back in the ETT Wrap Show vault for this episode. This week’s Addicted to Fitness podcast features my former cohost Tyler and a taste test of a protein bar made from a tasty little critter. Before we get into the taste test, Tyler and I discuss my experience learning jiujitsu from current UFC fighter Joe Lauzon. This eventually leads to us talking about two of the biggest names in MMA at the time, and now strangely enough, Conor McGregor and Jon Jones. I inform Tyler about Jones’ impending suspension and why I think there is “no way” McGregor could beat Nate Diaz in a rematch. Boy was I wrong. After all the UFC talk, Tyler and I jump into the protein bar taste test.

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Collage made with image from Conor McGregor’s IG page

Exo protein bars, according to their website, are “soy, dairy, grain and gluten-free. Paleo and environmentally friendly protein bars.” Most protein bars cannot makes these claims due to their ingredients, but the main ingredient in Exo bars is unlike any other protein bar. These bars are made with cricket flour. Yep, you read that right, this is a cricket bar. Most of the world already uses insects as a go to food source, but we still consider them somewhat taboo here in the United States. Except for crabs & lobsters which are essentially sea insects. Anyways, crickets produce 100x less greenhouse gases than cows and require a tremendous amount less water to produce than other protein sources like pigs and chickens (source). Tyler and I munch on two of these bad boys and to our surprise, love how they taste. High in fat and protein, these bars will keep you satiated a lot longer than any granola/trail mix bar. They also contain a significant portion of your recommended daily allowance of calcium and iron. The dates and honey used in the bars give them a relatively high sugar content, but I imagine the glycemic load is lowered due to the fiber and fat. I’d highly recommend everyone head over to the Exo protein bars website and grab a sampler pack. You won’t be disappointed, I promise.

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Image courtesy of Exoprotein.com

Let us know about the newest “health” food craze that you’d like us to try on the podcast. I  already have a couple in mind *cough* cockroach milk *cough* but we always love hearing your suggestions. In addition to leaving us suggestions on future taste tests,  please help us out by leaving us a rating and review on iTunes. Our downloads continue to climb each week which means your ratings, reviews and shares are helping us grow our audience. Thanks for the support and stay healthy this week peeps!

Links to this week’s episode:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/from-vault-exo-cricket-flour/id1121420986?i=1000377041722&mt=2

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

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/from-the-vault-exo-cricket-flour-protein-bar-taste-test

What’s on the Menu

Being a Maryland native, I’m predisposed to like crab cakes. It’s in my blood. In my opinion, the blue crab should be the state animal. Do states even have state animals? Anyways, I love this delectable seafood dish and depending on the ingredients, a crab cake itself can be rather healthy. My grandmother would use a little bit of flour as her binding agent, but the prominent ingredient, and rightly so, was the crab. Three ounces of cooked blue crab contains 15g of protein and almost half of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin B-12. The naughtiness of this awesome dish usually arrives with the addition of a sauce or a bun if you have it as a sandwich. The version you see below, created by my talented wife Shannon, is the gluten free version of a crab cake “sandwich.” The crab is held together with egg, mayo and gluten free breadcrumbs and the “bun” is a portobello mushroom. I can tell you it would make my grandmother proud. If you’re sticking to a strict low carb diet you can ditch the potatoes for another vegetable. Trust me, you’re going to want to add this dish into your weekly meal plan.

An Interview with Certified Diabetes Educator Nicole Recine

The highly anticipated interview with certified diabetes educator (CDE) Nicole Recine has finally made its way to the Addicted to Fitness podcast. In addition to being a CDE, Nicole is also a registered nurse and soon to be nurse practitioner. She has made numerous guest appearances on other podcasts including our friend Vinne Tortorich’s Fitness Confidential podcast. I hope you were looking forward to this as much as I was because Nicole doles out a ton of awesome health and nutrition information during this interview. Nicole and I discuss numerous topics including the difference between type 1 & type 2 diabetes, the insulin response created by certain foods and how a high fat-low carb diet may be the key to weight loss. If you’ve tried to lose weight and been unsuccessful, you may want to schedule a phone consultation with Nicole. Just head to her website for all the details on how you can enlist her services.

The interview is definitely the focal point, but we also release the dates for a pair of upcoming ETT events on this episode. If you’re interested in finding out more about those events, just like us on Facebook. We’d also really appreciate if you’d give us a rating and review on iTunes. Your feedback helps us reach more people. Thanks for listening and stay healthy this week peeps!

Links to this week’s episode

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

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

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/an-interview-with-certified-diabetes-educator-nicole-recine