Category Archives: Recipe Box
Growing the Guns
So as I mentioned in my post yesterday, Saturday is my self-control recharge day. I usually go into the gym for a nice deadlift workout before I begin my day of binging, but I just wasn’t up to it today.
Actually, I realized I need a full de-loading week. I usually try to wait till a vacation to take a week off, but with no vacations planned for the near future, I’m just going to be taking next week off from weights. It is always hard taking time off when you are still in the gym 24/7, but hey it’s necessary. (Tomorrow I will post a nice little video about foam rolling!)
Anyway, today for one of my cheat treats, I made chocolate coconut whipped cream for our coffee. Can you say DELICIOUS!?!
Chocolate Coconut Whipped Cream
Chocolate coconut whipped cream in a mug Ryan made for me with some delicious breakfast potatoes and grapefruit!
Ingredients:
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup organic grass-fed heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup Trader Joe’s coconut milk
Whip cream and coconut milk together until the mixture starts to thicken. Add in cocoa powder and continue blending until the thick consistency of whipped cream (takes about 5-8 minutes depending on what level the mixer is on).
If you need a bit of sweetness, add in a tsp of powdered sugar. I don’t find it necessary but it won’t kill you either!
Our breakfast was also delicious. Occasionally, I add in potatoes on Saturday and today’s breakfast potatoes were delicious.
The Meat Lover’s Breakfast Potatoes
The Meat Lover's breakfast potatoes and half a grapefruit. YUM!
Ingredients:
1 potato
1/2 lbs The Meat House Lamb Merguez
1/2 onion
1 tsp cumin
2 slices of nitrite free bacon
1 oz Chorizo (Nitrite-free from the Meat House!! Our latest discovery!)
1 tbsp Duck fat (courtesy of The Meat House)
Chili powder, salt and pepper to taste
3 cage-free, omega-3 eggs
Brown the bacon and onion with cumin in a skillet. Add duck fat and potatoes. Once the potatoes start to brown, add merguez and chorizo.
Once mixture is cooked, divide onto plates. Cook eggs in grass-fed butter and place over breakfast potatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and chili powder.
Since I’ve provided you with recipes to help grow the guns, I think it is now appropriate to show you some true Man Biceps!
Heather's awesome bicep! A dedicated runner who can appreciate the benefits of weight training!
A pre-birthday bicep picture from Kristen who recently started weight training!
And last but not least…an early St. Patty’s day bicep from Alyson…
Her bicep says "Lucky." 🙂 LOVE IT!
The hard work just isn’t paying off
There is nothing more frustrating than seeing a person that kills themself day in and day out at the gym, but doesn’t get results.
And the sad part is, I see people like this all the time.
I see women that spend 30 grueling minutes on the treadmill followed by some 2 hour Barbie weight training program whose bodies never change – no muscles gained, no weight lost.
And they are working super hard.
And they keep working hard – Repeating the same grueling workout at least 5 times a week and eating the same foods that they’ve always eaten. And they believe they are being super healthy yet nothing changes.
Sometimes I want to walk up to those people, shake them and say, “How’s that working out for you? Seriously, how is that workout and “healthy” lifestyle really working for you!?!”
I want to shake them because they are wasting their time doing something that obviously isn’t working.
And if they do decide something isn’t working, they usually blame the workout. They may then even hire a trainer who writes up a new and wonderful routine for them.
And they work hard every time they meet with the trainer and even go to the gym on their own.
But they still aren’t seeing results.
And why aren’t they seeing results? Well they will most likely blame the trainer and the workout routine. When in reality, diet (and potentially even overtraining) is what is leading to their lack of results.
When people want to lose weight or fat, they turn to exercise. They can depend so much on exercise in fact that they start training so much that they actually hurt their progress.
But exercise is really only 20% of the weight loss/body composition battle. The other 80% is diet.
So if you aren’t getting results stop doing the same old thing and killing yourself day in at day out at the gym. If you are working hard in the gym, maybe your diet is to blame.
Here is one recipe from the Recipe Box to help you kick-start a new healthy eating program that will help you get the results you deserve for all of your hard work!
The Meat House Country Scramble
Ok so this doesn't look beautiful but it tasted delicious!
Ingredients:
2 potatoes
1/2lbs of The Meat House Country Sausage
2 oz Wild Boar Salami (courtesy of The Meat House)
3 strips of bacon
1/2 onion
1 tsp cumin
Salt, chili powder and pepper to taste
4 eggs
In a pan, heat bacon and onions. When onions are translucent, add in chopped potatoes. When potatoes start to brown a bit, add in the country sausage. Season with cumin, salt and pepper and add in wild boar salami.
Once sausage is cooked and potatoes are golden brown and crispy, divide hash onto plates. Cook eggs in the same pan till over easy. Serve over the hash with a sprinkle of chili powder.
If you are looking to make this low carb, but equally delicious, cut out the potatoes.
P.S. We use salami from The Meat House because it is nitrite free. AND all of their sausages are made in-house and have all-natural ingredients while being gluten-free!! Please don’t substitute in any sausage or salami as it will deduct from the nutritional benefit of the dish!
“Abs are made in the kitchen.”
A lot of my clients want to lose weight.
And what I tell those clients is that working out will help them build muscle. It will help make them healthier. It will make the weight loss process easier.
But I also tell them the honest, hard truth –Â that if they don’t eat well, they won’t reach their weight loss goals.
I would LOVE to tell them that all they need to do is workout with me because that would make me a ton more money.
But it isn’t the truth.
Working out may help you build a six-pack, but if you don’t eat well, you will never be able to see it!
And I want my clients to be able to see all of their hard work paying off! Actually I want every body everywhere to be able to see their hard work paying off just like I saw mine pay off.
So until the end of March, I’m offering a complimentary PERSONALIZED 2 month Man Bicep diet to anyone who subscribes to Man Bicep AND sends me a “Show Me Yours” photo.
If you’ve already subscribed, just email me with a photo saying that you are interested and I’ll develop a 2 month Man Bicep diet program for you.
These first two introductory months of the Man Bicep diet are meant to really kick-start your weight loss or even help you cut that last little bit of fat that just seems to not want to come off. After the first two months, you can shift into more of a maintenance phase, which will allow a bit more freedom.
So subscribe and show me those Man Biceps!!
Nike has all those ads about loving other body parts...why not one about the bicep!?!
Nutrition Label vs. Ingredients
When I would diet in college, the first thing I would look at on any nutrition label is the calories and fat per serving.
Then the year I did low-fat, low carb, I started paying attention to not only the calories and fat, but also the number of carbs listed.
Since starting Primal, I rarely ever look at nutrition labels. Actually, most of the foods I eat don’t even have nutritional labels on them since they aren’t prepackaged.
And when I do eat a prepackaged food, the first thing I look at isn’t the nutrition label – it’s the ingredients.
If all the ingredients are natural, then I shouldn’t have to worry about what the nutrition label says. Plus, nutrition labels can be extremely misleading.
For example, let’s take two different diet sodas. Both have no calories and no sugar.
Size: 8 fl. oz.
| Amount Per Serving | % Daily Value * | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 0 | 0% | ||
| Total Fat | 0g | 0% | ||
| Sodium | 35mg | 1% | ||
| Total Carbohydrates | 0g | 0% | ||
| Sugars | 0g | 0% | ||
| Protein | 0g | 0% | ||
| Amount Per Serving | % Daily Value * | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 0 | 0% | ||
| Total Fat | 0g | 0% | ||
| Sodium | 60mg | 3% | ||
| Total Carbohydrates | 0g | 0% | ||
| Sugars | 0g | 0% | ||
| Protein | 0g | 0% | ||
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Both sodas basically only have a little bit of sodium in them. And because both sodas don’t have calories, most people would pick the Fresca since it is a light soda, which is supposedly a bit better for you.BUT if people looked at the ingredients, they would realize that these sodas are FAR from the same.
Diet Dr. Pepper Ingredients
CARBONATED WATER, CARAMEL COLOR, ASPARTAME, PHOSPHORIC ACID, ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE), CAFFEINE. PHENYLKETONURICS CONTAINS: PHENYLALANINE
Fresca Ingredients
Carbonated Water; Citric Acid; Concentrated Grapefruit Juice; Potassium Citrate; Potassium Sorbate; Potassium Benzoate and EDTA (to protect taste); Aspartame; Acesulfame Potassium; Acacia; Natural Flavors; Glycerol Ester of Rosin; Brominated Vegetable Oil;Carob Bean Gum PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE
There is one specific ingredient in Fresca that makes it a bazillion times worse despite the fact that the nutrition labels on both sodas look almost identical. That ingredient is Brominated Vegetable Oil.
Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) is composed mainly of bromine, a poisonous chemical whose vapors are considered both corrosive and toxic. BVO has been banned in over 100 countries because it is a potential carcinogen and causes a number of disorders starting from simple headache, fatigue, weight-gain to cancer, heart and kidney diseases.
So what the nutrition label on Fresca doesn’t tell you is that it contains a chemical that is corrosive and toxic and has been banned in OVER 100 countries!
So if you only look at nutrition labels, you may want to start reading the ingredients to find out what you are really consuming.
OR best of all…just eat all whole, natural foods so you don’t even have to worry about it! Check out this week’s Recipe Box Recipe for a great meal with a very simple list of ingredients!
Yummy in my tummy
Cooking – whether you love it or hate it, it is an essential part of any healthy lifestyle.
And really, it doesn’t have to be painful!
So to encourage people to cook, and to prove just how easy it is to make delicious meals on Primal/Paleo, I’ve decided to start a Recipe Box section of Man Bicep!
I plan to post a recipe each week (if you have any requests, let me know!). There will be quick and easy recipes, breakfast recipes, dinner recipes and yes…even dessert recipes!
So let the chowing down begin! Here are two wonderful recipes to start you off! I actually had these yesterday on my Primal cheat day for Breakfast number 1 and 2…yes, I did in fact eat two breakfasts yesterday.
Recipe #1
The Chocolate-Coconut Protein Shake
It is a great option for a quick snack or breakfast!
Ingredients:
1-2 scoops of Chocolate Whey Protein
1/3 cup light coconut milk
1/4 cup chilled water
Add all ingredients to shaker and mix well!
For this recipe, I use Trader Joe’s light coconut milk because it has nothing added to it. I also like Optimum whey protein. I like the taste and it doesn’t have any carbs.
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Recipe #2
The Lamb Merguez Egg Scramble
This is a great breakfast, or even a quick dinner, option. It takes about 15 minutes to make.
Ingredients:
1/2 lbs Fresh Lamb Merguez (courtesy of The Meat House)
3 oz Smoked Duck Breast (again…thank you Meat House!)
5 Eggs
2 tbsp Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde
2 tbsp Trader Joe’s Tomatillo & Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa
Sprinkling of Trader Joe’s Grass-fed Cheddar Cheese
Tablespoon of Mitchell’s Chili con Queso (courtesy of The Meat House)
Fully cook the Lamb Merguez and then add the smoked duck, eggs and salsas. Scramble together on medium heat. Then scoop the egg scramble onto a plate. Add some extra salsa, some cheese and a dollop of queso. Serve with a side of veggies or fruit!
We use the Meat House and Trader Joe’s products because they actually are all natural. There are no vegetable oils or gluten fillers added to any of their stuff. The queso is also just salsa and full-fat cream cheese and cheddar cheese. The eggs are cage-free from Trader Joe’s as well.
This is just one of Ryan’s wonderful breakfast scrambles…more to come soon!!
Man Bicep 