Next week starts a whole new diet.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Always over the fads.
Yesterday, I discovered that the paleo movement has become almost as crazy restrictive as the vegan movement. So I have decided to stop toying with my ideas of a paleo diet and stick with my true omnivore but mostly vegetarian deal: I can eat any non-processed food that I want to eat, but at least 85% is going to be plant based. While doing this, I am still going to cut back on most grain consumption. I will personally allow quinoa, brown rice and buckwheat to remain as a variety option, but they won't be staples in my personal diet. Meat will make an occasional appearance if I can find locally raised or wild caught specimens. The same stipulation goes for eggs, honey and goat dairy. This does not mean I will not experiment with vegan options or even paleo options, because I love to experiment. But you can forget about me giving up nuts or beans. It took me 22 years to develop a taste for nuts and beans, I'll be damned if a little phytic acid will deter me from eating them from time to time.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Menu Plans
Menu plans, an excellent idea, however I am very poor at their actual execution, mostly because I am lazy and find excellent ways to distract myself in order to procrastinate.
ANYWAY!
Last week in the old Apartment, Pantry cleansing meal plan:
Monday:
Breakfast : banana, egg salad sandwich
After workout snack: my recovery coffee, almonds, a few chocolate chips
Lunch: Whatever is in the fridge leftovers: mushroom oatmeal "risotto" mixed with a little roasted butternut squash and red pepper soup
Afternoon munchies snack: how does that bag of chocolate chips disappear so fast? (no worries, there is about 1/8 of a cup left of the half bag that I had...)
Dinner: weakened, we went out for hibachi because again, I am lazy and did not want to cook.
Tuesday: (A plan!)
Breakfast: banana, coffee ... should I do the amaranth porridge today or Thursday?
Lunch: More leftovers! Everything must go!
Dinner: Pizza!
Wednesday:
Breakfast: banana, something with protein...we'll work on that
Lunch: Leftovers? If not we will make this oat Waldorf salad but use the cuke and apples that are going bad.
Dinner: Couscous salad, there may not be quite enough couscous to get through this, but I'm sure there will be leftovers from something to fill it out.
Thursday:
Breakfast: we are probably out of bananas by now...lets kill that pineapple, and make some bread
Lunch: barley salad I'm thinking of adding some salmon to my portion and a chicken to my SO's portion, but then I think I might do that for all of the salads here.
Dinner: Singapore Mei Fun! I love this stuff, I probably will not love the homemade version as much, but it requires less prep to get rid of my rice noodles than pho or pad Thai.
Friday:
Breakfast: more bread? will have to find more protein...
Lunch: Polenta!
Dinner: While I'm sure we have plenty of things left to make in the pantry, I have lifeguard class so this will probably be a Jimmy John's night for me.
Saturday: (Moving day)
Breakfast: whatever I can find before guard training.
Lunch: whatever our moving buddies want
Dinner: Thai? Please can we have Thai?
Sunday:
Breakfast: we need to go grocery shopping
Lunch: we really should not have gone grocery shopping hungry
Dinner: I have a bunch of produce, but no desire to cook it. to SO: "so do you want salad or should we go raid the Chinese buffet?"
Coffee and Recovery Drinks
I love coffee, and coffee does not hate my body, but I only drink maybe 2-4 oz. of espresso every other day. And my espresso machine? So much better than Starschmucks.
There are lots of theories on how to best recovery your muscular ability after a workout. My favorite is the chocolate and cinnamon milk idea. (It gives you an excuse to drink chocolate milk!) The idea is that the protein and minerals in the milk help provide the building blocks for your muscles and that cinnamon and chocolate provide minerals and additional amino acids that help your muscles accumulate more glucose for faster regeneration. Whether you find any of these cases to be highly dubious or have a grain a truth, doesn't really matter, I personally find that I feel better if I have worked out really hard and have a glass of chocolate milk, whether by endorphins or what not.
I do not consume too much dairy, (unless it be cheese and yogurt in scant encounters), so I substitute dairy milk for any nut milk. I started out with almond milk, because of its higher protein and calcium level, (and it is what I had at the time), but today I used coconut milk, which is exceptionally tasty, because it is coconut milk. Now I am thinking that both milks should be combined for their benefits of extra protein, potassium and flavor.
My measurements are rarely stable, but if I want a tall glass these are typically 12 oz. so a double shot of espresso (4 oz.), 4 oz. almond milk, 4 oz. coconut milk, 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup (don't pick the kind with corn syrup if you lave your body), 1 teaspoon cinnamon. And for a shorty, 8 oz., one shot of espresso (2 oz.), 3 oz. almond milk, 3 oz. coconut milk, 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup, 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
It is best to stir the cinnamon into the chocolate syrup so that it will actually dissolve when the hot coffee is pulled rather than clump and give you textured coffee.
I've been told, that water, protein and electrolytes are all you need for muscle recovery and that diuretics like coffee should not be included in muscle recovery drinks. I say, the colon jumpstart and the muscle recovery work perfectly well together, at least it tastes great.
ANYWAY!
Last week in the old Apartment, Pantry cleansing meal plan:
Monday:
Breakfast : banana, egg salad sandwich
After workout snack: my recovery coffee, almonds, a few chocolate chips
Lunch: Whatever is in the fridge leftovers: mushroom oatmeal "risotto" mixed with a little roasted butternut squash and red pepper soup
Afternoon munchies snack: how does that bag of chocolate chips disappear so fast? (no worries, there is about 1/8 of a cup left of the half bag that I had...)
Dinner: weakened, we went out for hibachi because again, I am lazy and did not want to cook.
Tuesday: (A plan!)
Breakfast: banana, coffee ... should I do the amaranth porridge today or Thursday?
Lunch: More leftovers! Everything must go!
Dinner: Pizza!
Wednesday:
Breakfast: banana, something with protein...we'll work on that
Lunch: Leftovers? If not we will make this oat Waldorf salad but use the cuke and apples that are going bad.
Dinner: Couscous salad, there may not be quite enough couscous to get through this, but I'm sure there will be leftovers from something to fill it out.
Thursday:
Breakfast: we are probably out of bananas by now...lets kill that pineapple, and make some bread
Lunch: barley salad I'm thinking of adding some salmon to my portion and a chicken to my SO's portion, but then I think I might do that for all of the salads here.
Dinner: Singapore Mei Fun! I love this stuff, I probably will not love the homemade version as much, but it requires less prep to get rid of my rice noodles than pho or pad Thai.
Friday:
Breakfast: more bread? will have to find more protein...
Lunch: Polenta!
Dinner: While I'm sure we have plenty of things left to make in the pantry, I have lifeguard class so this will probably be a Jimmy John's night for me.
Saturday: (Moving day)
Breakfast: whatever I can find before guard training.
Lunch: whatever our moving buddies want
Dinner: Thai? Please can we have Thai?
Sunday:
Breakfast: we need to go grocery shopping
Lunch: we really should not have gone grocery shopping hungry
Dinner: I have a bunch of produce, but no desire to cook it. to SO: "so do you want salad or should we go raid the Chinese buffet?"
Coffee and Recovery Drinks
I love coffee, and coffee does not hate my body, but I only drink maybe 2-4 oz. of espresso every other day. And my espresso machine? So much better than Starschmucks.
There are lots of theories on how to best recovery your muscular ability after a workout. My favorite is the chocolate and cinnamon milk idea. (It gives you an excuse to drink chocolate milk!) The idea is that the protein and minerals in the milk help provide the building blocks for your muscles and that cinnamon and chocolate provide minerals and additional amino acids that help your muscles accumulate more glucose for faster regeneration. Whether you find any of these cases to be highly dubious or have a grain a truth, doesn't really matter, I personally find that I feel better if I have worked out really hard and have a glass of chocolate milk, whether by endorphins or what not.
I do not consume too much dairy, (unless it be cheese and yogurt in scant encounters), so I substitute dairy milk for any nut milk. I started out with almond milk, because of its higher protein and calcium level, (and it is what I had at the time), but today I used coconut milk, which is exceptionally tasty, because it is coconut milk. Now I am thinking that both milks should be combined for their benefits of extra protein, potassium and flavor.
My measurements are rarely stable, but if I want a tall glass these are typically 12 oz. so a double shot of espresso (4 oz.), 4 oz. almond milk, 4 oz. coconut milk, 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup (don't pick the kind with corn syrup if you lave your body), 1 teaspoon cinnamon. And for a shorty, 8 oz., one shot of espresso (2 oz.), 3 oz. almond milk, 3 oz. coconut milk, 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup, 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
It is best to stir the cinnamon into the chocolate syrup so that it will actually dissolve when the hot coffee is pulled rather than clump and give you textured coffee.
I've been told, that water, protein and electrolytes are all you need for muscle recovery and that diuretics like coffee should not be included in muscle recovery drinks. I say, the colon jumpstart and the muscle recovery work perfectly well together, at least it tastes great.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
I actually have something to write about!
Hi everybody!
In my perusal of Reddit's Science News, I have discovered this: "Alcohol is a significant contributor to cancer deaths in the US, say researchers". Awesome!
The news article is linked to this article from the American Journal of Public Health "Alcohol-Attributable Cancer Deaths And Years of Potential Life Lost In the United States."
The news article, to me seems geared for shock and awe, so I am dubious about its reflection of the study. However, I am not a subscriber to the American Journal of Public Health so I can only read the study's abstract.
The line from National Monitor that makes me so dubious? "Gallup poll found that Americans average approximately 4.2 drinks per week. However, the World Health Organization reported in March 2012 that adults in Europe average three standard alcoholic drinks per day." But the article continues to only report about Americans and their cancer rates tied with consumption of alcoholic beverages. Their linked source to the World Health Organization (WHO) shares some cancer and alcohol related information at least: "Cancer is proportionally higher in southern Europe, as consumption levels were considerably higher two decades ago and cancer often takes a long time to develop."
While I am certain, alcohol has some part to play in declining health, despite is wonderful mind altering properties after a long day of endless bull shit, I want to see a comparison study here. If the average European slings back three glasses of wine in a day, with a moderately to low mortality rate from alcohol attributable cancer (based on WHO 2004 numbers), what is in American alcohol that apparently ratchets up the death toll?
Why this question? Well, alcohol in moderation, like anything in moderation also has health benefits. If our journalists, and Scientists, are going to make a comparison to European drinking vs. American drinking, we should really compare quantity of the average drink, and then the components of that drink before we say that "oh it's the alcohol that causes the cancer for sure!" Does the original article touch on any of these things? It is hard for me to tell from just an abstract. But if there comes down a decree to make it harder for me to get alcohol but even easier to purchase a gun, I might have a few words to say about that.
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