Member Nutrition Blog

Use your Head! It Does your Body Good!

Radioactive Milk Only A Danger After 58,000 Glasses
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/03/21/134746912/radioactive-milk-only-a-danger-after-58-000-glasses

Whenever you find yourself spinning out about pesticide residue this, hormones that, and antibiotic whatever, try and keep some perspective (yeah, you know who you are and there are lots of you out there).  We all spend a lot of time thinking about the "science" behind the sport of fitness. Yet at the same time, we are like lemmings to the slaughter when it comes to the topic of food, nutrition and food safety. Not every exposure to a chemical is going to kill you or even harm you (and not even repeated exposures), and not everything that is "natural" is good for you (witness E. Coli).

This article is a good reminder to all of us to pause and think.  Use your head.  It does your body good!

Finally A Meat CSA

Hey Travis, Justin, Chris, and Brooke,
I am contacting you in an effort to reach out to the crossfit community with a cool offer. I thought you all at Crossfit East Sacramento might be interested in this awesome grass-fed meat CSA that my friends the Fowlers are putting together for this year. They have a small family farm in Penn Valley where they raise chickens, turkeys, pigs, goats, and cows all on pasture. They also have pastured eggs that are just phenomenal. The past year I've been helping them out on the weekends to try to learn more about animal husbandry and where the meat I'm eating comes from. The care of their animals is some of the best I've seen from a health standpoint (rotational grazing, no hormones, no antibiotics, and sanitary slaughter practices) and the taste is just superb. I've been doing crossfit for about 2 years and I can definitely tell a difference in my health, energy, and strength since switching to only eating their meat.

Anyway, I know you appreciate the importance of good food and so I wanted to let you know about their CSA in case you and/or some of your clients may be interested. The basic premise is that you pay up front (and you can pay installments) to reserve your share of meat. Then, for 6 months you get a certain share of meat and eggs every month. So, for example, I'm signing up for the couple's share, which is about 3 chickens, 8# pork, and 2 dozen eggs per month, plus a thanksgiving turkey. You can check out their website for more info: http://www.fowlerfamilyfarm.com/

They will have a drop point in Auburn, so that would be the closest thing for you guys.

Thanks,
Leda McDaniel

Thought I would share this with all of you.  If it looks good for you, give it a go and let the rest of us know what you think.

Simple Chicken and Rice

It's probably obvious that I'm not a recipe guy, or even a nutrition guy.  I'm an ingrediants guy.  If you want nutrition facts you can look them up, plenty of web sites for that.  For recipes, you need to work that out for yourself anyway based on your particular tastes.  The things I look for in a meal are good ingrediants, texture and presentation.   I also like convienience.

Human beings taste is limted to salt, sweet, bitter and sour, and possibly Umami.  Also keep in mind the nose is as important as the tongue.  So my goal is to balance out the basic flavors.  For texture I like to mix up hard and soft, e.g. crunchy and soft.   

Last night I did a one-pot meal consisting of chicken and wild rice.   I seared the chiken on the grill, which I do mainly because I like to carmelize the skin and impart some of that grilled flavor.  While the chicken is grilling I tossed some onions and celery into my dutch oven, let that cook for a few minutes, then tossed in some left over salsa and stock, along with a bit of lemon juice and red wine.  The stock was a combination of left over vegetable liquor and chicken stock, but you could use anything you wanted.  Added salt, pepper, herbs de provance. Once this was boiling I added one cup of wild rice, then put the chicken on top of the whole thing and put it in the oven at 300 degrees. Simple.  

I let this cook in the oven for about three hours.  Lemon slices were added near the end.  Also towards the end I browned up some blanched almond halves.  I added this, along with some raisens, to the wild rice (after separting it from the rest of the pot).  The almonds added a bit of texture, the raisens a bit of sweetness to offset the nutty flavors in the rice and almonds.  

I paired this up with Dogfish Head Midas Touch beer (a rather exotic offering, went nicely).  

The prep time for this meal was maybe 1/2 hour, maybe a bit more.  Cooking time for me was three hours, but you can shorten or extend that to suit your needs.  By the way you notice I put the lemon slices on top of the chicken, which I think normally would have gone underneath the skin.  Either way works for me.  Anyway keeping it simple.  We ate all the chicken, but plenty of rice left over for another meal during the week.

Cheers.

Life is Too Short to Drink Crappy Beer

Let's face it, CrossFit is a gym.  People who go to gyms and work out until their heads are swimming, people who invest 100% of themselves in every aspect of life -- those people are going to drink beer. It's a really safe bet.  Those same people may, from time-to-time, get obsessed about their diets.  They will see out the very best, highest quality food they can get their hands on.  You know who are.  And so do I.

So here it is: don't drink crappy beer.  What you want is the very best.  Right now, the best beer in America is Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.  How do I know? Becuase I make it a point to know these things. Don't worry about how I know.   Instead of engaging me in some petty arguement about which beer is best, ask yourself this: don't you deserve the very best?  You work you butt off, you take abuse from trainers, you compete when you don't feel like it, you absorb pain for the sake of feeling alive.  You do your best to live up to the highest standards -- of course you deserve the best!  

And here it is:  Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA!

Now, this beer isn't cheap.  That doesn't bother me.  The best beer in America is way cheaper then cheap wine.  Why spend $8 on crappy wine when you can spend that same $8 on great beer?  Please, tell me you understand what I'm talking about.  

Unlike other IPA's, this one is completely balanced.  It's hoppy, it has grapefruit, and yet it has a smoothness unparrelled by any other IPA I've ever had.   It lingers right at the back of the throat -- just a touch of sweetness.  And the nose is incredible. 

Look, if you're going to drink your carbs, at least give yourself a fighting chance to enjoy what your'e drinking.  Beer is not the place to "scale down"! 

Cheers!

Simple Dinners and Meal Planning

I like to keep dinners simple, but I find that the more interesting the meal is the more I enjoy it. So I try to mix things up a bit.

I've been trying to perfect a "one pot" meal using pork shoulder.   Essentially I'm stewing the pork in BBQ sauce.  It's pretty simple: I sear the pork on the grill and then slow cook it in the sauce. The sauce recipe changes depending on what I have on hand, but it's essentially beer or cider (or both), tomato sauce, peppers, onions, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper.  Nothing exotic, whatever herbs I have.  Sometimes I'll use a tablespoon of molasses or pomegranite syrup to offest the bitterness of the liquid (e.g., if I use stout or a strong IPA as the base).   

This week I made the pork, and after enjoying the first meal I took the meat out and kept the saunce separate and used it in another recipe: baked eggs for lunch.  Another lunch was pork tortilla.  I also took some of the Pork and made a pozole (of sorts).  The pozole was stock, medium hot salsa, some mexican oregano, salt, onions, carrots, red peppers, garlic and of course garbanzo beans.  I sauteed the vegetables in with some bacon (which allowed me skip using oil) and added the garbanzo beans, and finally the pork right near the end.

So I extended the original meal into several other meals.  And I froze a quart of the cooked sauce, which I can thaw out later to use with another meal -- meatballs perhaps.

This way I get a lot of options, and it's all pretty quick. 

 Cheers!

Better than botox

I came across this article the other day and in my scientific way, I thought I gotta research this biochemistry behind this!!! But then I started reading and found it's just like all the rest. It's a calorie restriction...and that's going to make you lose weight...wow! Duh!

HCG Diet

What I found particularly amusing is when I googled "hcg det" and clicked on images, this popped up as a suggestion of what kinds of food a person needs to eat after their last injection. Hmmm, does this look familiar to you? Minus the bread on the far right, I'd say this is what all of us should be mostly eating anyway.

So if you are struggling with what  you aren't doing, let's be grateful for where you are today. You started paying attention to your fitness, you started questioning your calorie sources, you joined what is clearly the best gym on the planet and right now you're reading the nutrition blog. You care! Now how are you going to manifest it?

Light Dinner: Shrimp Salsa and Butter Lettuce

Sometimes I get home from CrossFit and don't want to have a complicated meal.  Something not too heavy, simple to prepare.   The other night I decided I would make a simple salsa, toss in some boiled Shrimp, and toss it over some lettuce.  The salsa: tomatoes, peppers, salt, pepper, garlic, and lemon juice.   I actually used bit of vinegar too, but you could skip that.  Photo is kind of weak, but you get the idea.  And I added some Avodado and some Asparagus.  Worked out pretty well.

What about the 4-legged companions?

C'mon, you knew it was a matter of time before I worked in a photo of Monte. Here he is chewing on a bully stick (look it up). But if you're so damn focused on your own nutrition and hopefully you care about what your kids are eating (and doing the best you can), then it's time to turn to your furry companions. Now, I am not a vet, so like any other blog, take what I say with a grain of salt. But I beg you to look at what your pet is eating and whether you are maintaining them at a healthy weight. There are many good options out there, and the same rules apply. If you need a degree in organic chemistry to read the ingredient list, then your pet shouldn't be eating it. If you think grains are bad for you, they are likely to be worse for your dog! Monte eats (and Higgins ate) Taste of the Wild. I've considered going back to the BARF (bones and raw food, think Paleo for dogs and cats) diet and may do half and half like I did with Higgs. The best barometer is the dogs fitness level and their elimination. They should have a waste and make little. But no diet should be changed without careful attention to detail. Be sure to talk to your vet before making a decision. And remember, those little guys need to be switched gradually.

Not these pictures justify Higgins' (Monte's predecessor) weight loss from left to right. Higgins became more spry and playful when he lost the extra pounds (12 total). Shocker? Not really. All I did was heed to my vet's urging that Higgins was overweight, read a lot, and switched Higgins to a grain-free diet. In addition to losing weight, he also experienced relief from his allergies. Unfortunately, we lost Higgins to heart disease, which as we learned has nothing to do with their diet. They don't develop plaque like we do; it was a genetic defect and there was little we could do about it. Anyway, their nutritional requirements are totally different than ours. They don't need carbohydrates (no, really, they don't!), but it's not simple. I recommend the Whole Dog Journal. They have good articles and a few books on the subject. And, just like people food, I love to talk dogs and dog food. Feel free to bend my ear. I am no expert, but I have read a lot and talked to many, many people.

Love you, Higgins.

Coconut adds 'cream'

I thought the flavor would be pronounced, but no one could guess it. I pulled the recipe from the box notes from our Riverdog CSA. It was carrots, chicken stock/broth, coconut milk, and onions. I added butternut squash (came in the box 4 weeks earlier), then finished it with cilantro and chopped onion. Everyone who had a taste couldn't place the richness of this soup, but it was from coconut milk. It was really good because it smoothed out the bitter flavors and provided an extra layer of flavor that anyone would enjoy. The nuttiness of the squash and milk came together in a perfect balance. Add a dash of cayenne and you won't be disappointed. We ate this with a salmon patty from Costco on a bed of sauteed cabbage.

You call yourself 'Paleo'???

I don't Paleo. We zone because we refuse to give up dairy. What can I say? Food brought us together and our lives are too unpredictable (Roger travels) and we are too inflexible to give up our second most pleasureable indulgence. But this menu included venison kielbasa my brother hunted, dressed, prepared and smoked, then accompanied with romanesco (see my Monday post), butternut squash (from the box also), and some spices.

My brother sent me venison that either he or my 12 year-old nephew killed, dressed and prepped themselves. In my freezer resides portions of my nephew's first and second deer. As an aside, my brother owns a forensics company and my nephew was NEVER allowed to play with toy guns. He learned at a young age to respect them. And now, he respects the deer. My brother tells me that my nephew had more than a few deer locked in his sights, but resisted because the emotional responsibility weighed on him.

Now, I'm not going to say who's got the upperhand on this, but I'm willing to bet my nephew is closer to paleo than most of us. You want to have a grassfed discussion, by all means go at it. All I'm saying is, who's ready for boar hunting?