Thanks to Robert Couse-Baker for the photo
"But I don't have enough time to cook!"
Yeah, I've heard all the same excuses from guys who want to build a badass body but somehow can't come up with the ingenuity to prepare a few healthy meals for the week. (Shame on them.)
I'm gonna do them a favor and share a quick recipe I usually cook once per week that equals five meals: good ol' chili con carne.
If you want a few good laughs at my expense, you can watch the accompanying video. If you find me annoying (impossible) or rather unattractive (slighly more possible) you can just read the recipe below.
Ingredients (less than $17 total)
1 medium onion
2 carrots
2-3 celery stalks
1 red bell pepper
1 15oz can garbanzo beans
1 15oz can kidney beans
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
1 pound of ground beef
1 heaped teaspoon of chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, and salt
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
1 bottle of Black Butte Porter or other comparable microbrew (optional)
To Make the Chili
Peel and finely chop the onions, carrots, and celery. Halve the bell pepper and remove the stalks and seeds. Rough chop.
Put a pot on medium high heat, throw in your vegetables, and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and your spices. Cook for 7-10 minutes until the veggies are soft.
Add the drained garbanzo and kidney beans. Add the tomatoes. Fill one of the empty tomato cans with water and pour into the pan.
Add the ground beef. Pour in a tablespoon (or three!) of balsamic vinegar.
Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to "low" and let it simmer for about an hour with the lid slightly askew. Stir it every ten minutes or so.
++++
Win Nate's Favorite Cookbook
I like to cook and I want you to like cooking, too. Not only is it fun and creative, it's a great way to stay healthy (and impress dates). So here's what I'm gonna do: post something – anything – about nutrition below and I'll pick the person with the best post to win Jamie's Food Revolution
Note: I picked two winners for the cookbook. Drew and Zach, check your e-mails!
Posted May 23, 2010 by Nate Green.
This entry is filed under nutrition.
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Comments for This Entry
Somehow catching or collecting your own food greatly adds to the enjoyment. Right now is watercress and mushroom season, and of course trout are available all year round.
Here are two of my recipes:
Steak and Watercress: http://blog.yellowstonetraders.com/blog/503
Trout en Papillote: http://blog.yellowstonetraders.com/blog/443
I had the same issue with cooking, so I ended up eating things that require no cooking. Peanut butter, sausage, cheese, pre-cooked shrimp, etc. I've lost almost 30 lbs by just reducing my carb intake. Many people get derailed with "I can't cook" or "I don't have time to cook" and then go and eat horrible food. Having a problem turns into an excuse for not thinking at all about how you can eat better.
Hey Nate thanks for the recipe.
My go to meal is "TNT" (taco-no-taco):
12 oz lean meat
1 cup red beans
2 cup brown rice
2 cup plain yogurt
salsa
The food's not that healthy, but the Sopranos cookbook is a great buy.
I'll try that recipe this weekend, looks great!
- Chad
So, speaking of impressing dates... I am convinced my girlfriend fell in love with me over the 'Precision Nutirition Perfect Steak" recipe along with the roasted tomatoes and pine nuts!
Follow that with the 'Pecan Crusted Salmon" and a bottle of Pinot and you're golden!
Love the chili vid. Keep it up!
Hey Nate,
looks great. Funnily I´ve made some chilli myself yesterday (for lunch this week). I didn´t use celery but added 2 more pepper bells instead. Usually I also use more diced tomatoes to make it more viscous, looks more like a pasta sauce though ;)
I like cooking healthy stuff on the weekends.. it´s relaxing and you can prepare yourself for the week :) For breakfast I love oat blueberry pancakes!!
Regarding your ancle: in every case you should cool it and keep it up (on a chair, or sofa or whatever).. Otherwise the blood at the inflammation will stay.. I´ve had cracked outside hinges at least 5 times.. Are you sure it´s nothing serious? Once I had a cracked hinge again, I´ve walked 5 weeks with a broken ankle..
Looks good, bet it smells better. I will have to give it a try, go grass fed! Just finish a book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. Without a doubt the best argument I've read on... well... eating animals. Highly recommended even to all the die hard carnivores out there. Thanks Nate, get off that foot man. Bon Appetit.
As a person aspiring to build a badass body, it took me awhile to learn that eating is 50% of the equation (the other being work your butt off in the gym and don't be one of those guys who sit around and curls for an hour). You read in workout blogs or books that you should have a ton of nutrients, protein, etc, and then you look at what people recommend you eat on a workout day and a recovery day. Personally, I don't have time to sit around and cook 3 solid meals a day, on top of that having to prepare multiple day snacks and bringing them with you on a busy schedule. The latter is quite possible, requiring only a small amount of time in the morning, but creating 3 healthy, solid, and great tasting meals is just difficult (for me mainly, finding the time to do so!)
But I must say, with great recipes such as this, and along with another recipe on off-days, I can cook in semi-bulk and keep it all refrigerated to last the entire week. This way, I get all the nutrients my body needs along with a great tasting lunch!
Thanks for sharing, but just food for thought (no pun intended) - in the future, will you be having a search option or categories for your blog as it gets bigger? Maybe a recipe or food category is in order =)
Nates' "SWOLLEN ANCKLE CHILI".
Onions are crucial to the recipe, even if it means limping through the produce section.
There are a host of onion health benefits , including reducing inflamation of injuries which is typical of amatuer basketball players .
I suspect this chili is high in protein so Nate should be on the mend .
This is the best post. Thanks for the cookbook!
Great recipe,
Something that helped me stay lean was finding ways to have healthy condiments.
My favorite condiment is Hulk spread....
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper
1 whole avocado
mix in food processor and voila'....a great alternative to mayo
Avocado facts....................
Avocados have the highest fat content of any of the fruits, a medium sized avocado contains 30gr fat, however 20 grams of this fat are health promoting monounsaturated fats.
One cup of avocado has 23% of the Daily Value for folate, important for heart health.
An avocado has more than twice as much potassium as a banana.
Avocados contain oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that may help to lower cholesterol. Elements in avocado have been studied and found to inhibit the growth of some forms of prostate cancer cells.
my favourite chicken burgers...
4 chicken thighs
3 tsp chilli flakes
2 cloves garlic
1 red chilli (finely chopped)
8 tsps lemon juice
4 tsps olive oil
trim the fat off the chicken, mix all the ingredients in a bowl, leave to marinate for as long as you've got.
cook on bbq for about 20 minutes
serve on a crusty bread roll with spinach, roasted capsicum, tomato and garlic aoli.
we have these pretty much every friday night
Not exactly a light meal, but all healthy stuff:
Linguini
Fresh spinach
Sun-dried tomatoes (look for them pre-chopped in oil)
Parmesan cheese
Olive Oil
Garlic
Eggs
Cook the pasta. Drain and set aside. In a pan, add the oil and garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted. Toss with pasta and top with cheese. In another pan, fry 2 eggs overeasy (don't break the yokes). When cooked, place on top of pasta. Serve. When eating, break the yokes and use it as a sauce. It's 7 minutes to cook the pasta. And in that same amount of time, you can cook the veg up and fry the egg. The whole dish is ready in 10 minutes.
I can eat this everyday (and did a week or two back). Don't make half a box of pasta, a single serving (weight it on a kitchen scale) is more than enough, it's not so bad for you if you don't pork out on so much refined pasta.
The best way, in my opinion, to get over the "I can't cook" excuse (or any other excuse for that matter) is single-tasking.
If you can't cook, learn to cook 1 meal. It's less daunting of a task that way. Once you've mastered that one, add a second meal to your arsenal. Pretty soon you'll have at least a week's worth of great recipes that you've mastered.
Same goes for other bad habits. Work on improving or eliminating just one at a time.
Besides, cooking and nutrition and a healthy lifestyle are all lifelong journeys.
In my opinion there's no reason to be complaining about a lack of time to cook or the inability to do so. Erik Fankhouser sleeps 5 hours a night, and wakes up at 3:30 AM to cook his meals. Hell most people at 18 eat maybe 2 meals a day, but I cook for an hour and a half every night to make sure I get 6 nutritious meals full of protein. I'm not as busy as most guys (full time job, kids) but I do have school (calculus is horribly time consuming), a part-time job, and a girlfriend topped of with 6 hours of sleep a night. If you're serious about attaining a "badass body" you might as well be committed. Cooking for yourself helps improve both your composition and your health, and chicks dig dudes who can whip up a good meal.
Dieting or gaining can be made simple for anybody. Get roughly 1x-2x grams of protein per body weight, healthy fats, and limit carbs if you're dieting. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store and drink water. Berardi's 7 nutritional rules are golden.
For the busy dudes, here are some recipes that will help supply meals for the entire week:
Beef Stew
2-4lbs of your favorite cut or ground beef
1-2 cans of black beans
2 bags of mixed frozen vegetables
1 bag of frozen green beans
2 Packets of McCormick's Beef Stew Seasoning
Throw it all in the crock pot, add enough water to cover, and eat in about 8 hours. Delicious.
Ridiculously Easy Chicken
Stubbs chicken marinade is out of this world. Marinade a pack of chicken breasts for a day, cook them the next. Now you have a weeks worth of chicken done.
Chili
I got this chili recipe off of Le on the rosstraining forums. It makes awesome chili every time.
"3lb extra lean ground beef
2 large sweet onions.
4 Italian tomatoes
4 regular tomatoes
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of mixed beans
2 large carrots. - optional
1/2 clove of garlic
1 large red bell pepper - optional
1 green chili pepper
1 red chili pepper
2 tbl spoons cumin
2 tbl spoons crashed chili peppers
2 cans of tomato paste ( we get real small cans here)
1 large can of tomatoes sauce
2 tbl spoon of extra virgin olive oil
My secret ingredients (optional but add great flavor)
1/2 cup of dark beer (stout)
2 squares of 85% dark chocolate (graded)
Chop tomatoes, onions, bell pepper and carrots (I like large slices)
Finely chop chili peppers and garlic.
in a large pan add 2 tbl spoons of olive oil and add garlic and chili peppers
wait until they sizzle then add 3lb of ground beef. Its important to get extra lean beef otherwise you'll need to drain the fat.
Once the meat is starting to brown nicely and 1/2 of beer and let it cook for a while on a medium heat. Add chopped onions and carrots; keep stirring the chili so the meat is nicely separated.
You can drain the beer now or let it cook with it for a while longer.. i drain it.
O.K time to add chopped tomatoes, crashed chili peppers and cumin, and chocolate mixed it well and cook for a few more min
Add tomato paste and sauce and mix well. You probably want to lower the heat to low now. Finally add the beans and stir. Let it cook on low for a some time, stir now and then."
The best guide I have found for nutrition is the following:
Whenever I am sitting down to a meal, I look at what I am about to eat. I ask myself: "Would I survive very long If I could only eat what it is in front of me for the rest of my life?"
if the answer is yes, then I can chow down.
If not, then I need to fix my meal, whether that means cutting portions, adding in vegetables, or anything else that could fix what was wrong with it.
It takes the guilt out of knowing whether or not I am eating right.
I see that garbanzos are used in this recipe. Being that it is one of my favorite food ingredient, I'll share with you a little secret.....
The key to an incredibly creamy hummus (and less gaseousness) is to remove the skins from the chickpeas (garbanzos). Once fully cooked, place chickpeas in a pot or bowl and cover with several inches of water. Massage the chickpeas through your hands while underwater and the skins should slough right off and float (usually to the top of the water). Works best with freshly cooked beans, but still works (albeit with a little more effort) with the canned variety.
To make fresh garbanzo beans (and most other bean varieties), start by rinsing and then soaking overnight or for 12 to 18 hours. Rinsing the beans are important because, well, beans are dirty; there is no washing step between the field and the time they get to your grubby hands because any moisture could cause the beans to start to sprout or begin to mold (kind of like that stuff underneath your refrigerator). Soaking is important for several reasons. Firstly, and most importantly, it hydrates the bean and therefore reduces the cooking time by up to 70%; the shorter cooking time also helps to preserve the nutrients in the bean. Secondly, soaking will help to evenly cook the beans, thus preventing the skins from falling off before the insides are fully cooked. And lastly, the soaking process breaks down those indigestible gas-producing sugars called oligosaccharides (no, you didn't step on a duck) and other undesirables that tend to decrease the absorption of nutrients.
Still having problems with the ol' butt trumpet? Still gettin' a case of the panty burps? Here is a few more methods to deal with those oligo-silent-but-deadlies.
SODIUM BICARBONATE! Yes, sodium bi-friggin-carbonate; or in laymans terms, baking soda! Add to your soak water at a ratio of 1 tsp baking soda to 1 cup of beans to 4 cups of water (if I was mean, I would've listed vinegar instead of water...mwah hah hah). Expect about a 25% reduction of gas-producing sugars from this method.
PRESSURE COOKING! Succumb to the peer pressure-cooking. Not only does this reduce your cooking time, but along with the baking soda water soak, you can expect up to a 70% reduction in those pesky oligosaccharides. Looking for a good pressure cooker? Look no further than the B/R/K Pressure Cooking System, a modern, German made, piece of solid stainless steel; guaranteed not to blow up like a hand grenade on your stove. (One caveat with respect to pressure-bean-cookery. Some bean varieties have large loose skins that can slough off and clog the pressure regulator).
EPAZOTE! Also known as Mexican Tea! Just because it's from Mexico and it sounds like peyote doesn't mean it gets you high; I promise you, this is 100% legal. This spice is used in a variety of culinary dishes and is highly prized for it's ability to that thunder from down under. For all those who like the taste of gasoline, you're in luck, because it is said to impart a hint of that flavor. For all others who either don't like the taste of gasoline or have never tasted gasoline (i.e. the smart ones), you're also in luck, because I've never tasted the reputed gasoline flavor. For a lucky few of you who joke about being skinny from a tape worm (and sometimes wonder if it's true), this stuff is 100% effective at eliminating the common human tape worm. How does a person use this stuff? You can add it directly to beans if you don't mind chewing on a little roughage, or do like I do and make a tea with it. Either add the tea to your beans or drink as you would regular tea. One last thing, if you're in or around Seattle and you stop by Pike's Place, then stop by Tenzing Momo and pick yourself up a few ounces of epazote.
A few other bean other handy bean tips and facts:
One pound dry beans = 2 Cups dry = 5 to 6 Cups cooked (approximately)
For a "quick soak", bring beans and water to a boil for 1-2 minutes, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 1 hour. Afterwards, discard the soak water and cook the beans as you would normally.
According to the California Dry Bean Board, "No matter how food prices and inflation have varied, dry beans remain at or near the top of the USDA's list of foods providing the most protein per dollar."
Still want to read more about beans and figure out where I found some of those percentages [on reducing the oligosaccharides]? Well then check out this published paper: http://www.pjbs.org/pjnonline/fin58.pdf
The basic rule I use at the grocery:
"If my great grandma were here and wouldn't recognize it as food, I shouldn't be eating it."
With this in mind, my meals are formed from eggs, dairy, veggies, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and nut butters. My favorite breakfast lately is greek yogurt mixed with stevia and 2tb peanut butter. Tastes a little like peanut butter cheesecake!
On a side not, peeling and seeding a pomegranate is so much easier in a bowl of water.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/297020/how_to_peel_and_seed_a_pomegranate/
Awesome vid Nate, haha.
I love cooking stuff that lasts for many meals. Chili is great, humus is another staple of my diet.
Here's my favorite quick mix "Fish Wraps"
1 large can of tuna, drained
Romaine lettuce
Taco sauce (Taco Bell in a pinch, I prefer the sauce from a local restaurant)
Shredded cheese
Just drain the tuna, mix in 2-4 packets of taco sauce and stir. Add shredded cheese (heat in microwave if wanted) and spoon into lettuce leaves. Wrap it up and eat it. I use really hot sauce because the cheese and lettuce help soothe the heat.
This takes less than 5 mins and makes 2-4 wraps depending on how big you want each one. Is also SUPER cheap.
Just a short reminiscence, more or less...
My grandfather always used to say that there are two types of people, food-wise.
1.) Those who eat to live.
2.) Those to live to eat.
He believed and was proof that the former always tended to enjoy themselves more and live much longer than the latter.
Dude, stop trying to be like me - i.e., basketball-related injury. I'd rather it be my ankle than shoulder, personally. Seriously though, hope it gets better!
-Tony
I'm going to give you my currently favorite Indian recipe to balance out all the (delicious) Mexican food being posted...
Beginner Almond Shrimp Curry with Tomatoes
Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup slivered, blanched almonds, ground
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large tomato, cored and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, but tails left on
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1. Pour the oil into a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the almonds and garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the garlic is browned but not burned.
2. Add the tomato, cayenne, salt, sugar, and garam masala. Stir occasionally and cook for 2 to 4 minutes. The tomatoes should break down into the sauce.
3. Dump in the shrimp and pour in the cream. Stir well, then drop the heat to medium, cover the skillet, and cook for 5 minutes, or until all the shrimp are orange and cooked.
4. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve.
The only tricky part is collecting all the spices. If you can't find garam masala, just google it to find the spices that it uses and put them in individually. This is great served over some basmati rice.
great post and perfect timing! i am just finishing up my freshman year of college and getting ready for summer. being a freshman, the university required us to have a meal plan that binds us to the school cafeteria for all 3 meals of the day. i say i was "bound" because you pre-pay for the meal plan so it would be a waste of money to spend on food when you have the cafeteria food that you were required to pre-pay for right in front of you. of course this prepaid food was absolutely atrocious, most of it being deep fried or extremely greasy. being a skinnier guy, ive been trying to gain weight this year, and the cafeteria made it extremely difficult to eat healthy and gain good weight at the same time. but next year i am going to have an apartment with a full kitchen. so this summer im learning how to cook with some help from my mom (the queen of cooks) and watching a lot of the food channel. watching jamie oliver's food revolution also really inspired me to want to learn to cook for myself (and possibly a date); that show truly delivered a great message. anyways, im going to make this chile for my first kitchen experiment, and add plenty of other recipes to my repertoire while im at it. thanks again for the post!
This is more of a food suggestion than a rule or specific recipe. For those working more carbohydrates into their diet, soba noodles can be a great gluten-free choice if you're willing to make them yourself from 100-percent buckwheat flour and soak them (in a slightly acidic solution) overnight. The soaking will help reduce anti-nutrient in the buckwheat (if you start with non-heat treated buckwheat, that is, since that would destroy the phytase present in the buckwheat). An added bonus is that buckwheat with reduced anti-nutrient content is a very good source of magnesium, which most of us tend to be lacking in, even more so since who among us downs massive amounts of cacao nibs or actually consumes a truckload of chlorophyll-rich green vegetables each and every day, right? This adds an extra punch of magnesium to your daily dietary proceedings. Buckwheat groats for breakfast are another option to work this quality food into your day.
As for the soba, making your own is likely worth the effort, but Eden Organics does offer a 100-percent buckwheat option, albeit not organic and not having been pre-soaked to reduce the mineral binding phytic acid content. Pair the soba noodles with a homemade peanut sauce and some stir-fried veggies, and you have a nice base for any meal.
As an aside, 100-percent buckwheat soba (aka Towari/Juwari soba) rose to popularity in Tokugawa-era Tokyo (known as Edo during that period) as a way to stave off beriberi. The relatively wealthier residents o Edo ate more thiamine-poor white rice than their rural counterparts, so consuming thiamine-rich soba was a way to skirt potential issues arising from thiamine deficiency.
On a final note, soba contains antioxidants like rutin and quercetin, is a source of choline, has all the essential amino acids present (including lysine; unlike wheat, which is lacking in lysine), is a solid source of the aforementioned thiamine (and riboflavin, too) , and contains a polysaccharide that is easily digested. All in all, it is a potentially useful addition to a hard-training athletes diet and well worth a bit of extra prep time to make your own soba noodles.
Best nutrition tip,
Don't stress out over what to eat, just eat less, enjoy what you are eating and don't over analyze
A friend of mine once asked whether I was sure that I was studying the right thing in college (electrical engineering), because I posted this gourmet picture on facebook:
http://goo.gl/Pr56
She told me that I was surely ignoring my inner call to become a chef! :)
Nutritional Tip: Eat breakfast, everyday.
In my experience there is no reason to have a hot, healthy breakfast. I have to be at SeaTac Airport every day at 5am so time is of the essence. If you can take a few minutes to microwave some oatmeal and scramble a couple of eggs with some onions and spinach and eat a piece of fruit in the car as you leave, there's a breakfast on the go and trust me if you multitask the whole procedure doesn't take more than 5-10 minutes. Not enough time in the morning for even that, you say? Then get your outfit, lunch, etc. allllll laid out the night before so all you have to do is get up, get dressed, and grab breakfast. Less morning prep time which, if you're smart about it, can result in a few minutes more of relaxing, constructive sleep. And who doesn't like more sleep? Stop making excuses and start making breakfast. You'll feel a lot better in the morning with a lot less coffee. Just my thoughts.
Quick Healthy recipe that I use, and always goes well for dates, and there's always leftovers for lunches - I know it looks long but I promise its really easy (mostly).
Chicken and broccoli el gratin with caramelised onions
1 cooked chicken
1 bunch broccoli
4/5 large potatoes (maris piper are the best - if you can get them)
2/3 medium sized red onions
For the sauce: 1 pint of milk (ish)
knob of butter
1 tablespoon cornflour
500g (ish)grated cheese ( a strong tasty Chedder ideally)
1. Firstly peel and chop your potatoes (as these will take the longest to cook) don't cut them too small as they're going to be sliced afterwards and layered into the pie, put these on the hob to boil until they're softened and able to be sliced, they don't want to be mushy like for mash and if they're not really soft it doesn't matter either - they're going back in the oven to finish off.
2. Cut up the broccoli into florets and this point too, these can steam over your potatoes in a steamer or a colander (covered with tin foil) about 5 mins before they're ready.
3. Chop your red onions into rings and put these in a frying pan on the hob with a good splash of olive oil and a teaspoon of sugar ( just to caramelise, don't get carried away) and cook these until brown and soft
4. Whilst your onions and potatoes are cooking - Take your cooked chicken and strip all the meat off it and put into and oven dish, bite size pieces are perfect. ( You can discard the skin if you like, even though its tasty its where all the fat is too)
5. You're now going to make a cheese sauce with a roux. (This is the only tricky bit) In a large sauce pan, melt some butter and add a tablespoon of corn flour to it, this will make a paste, keep the heat on (not too high or the butter will burn) and keep adding milk, keep the sauce moving or it will go lumpy, once its thickened, take off the heat and add the cheese, if its too thick add more milk - too runny add more cheese. You want it thick enough to keep the dish together and runny enough so that it means the dish isn't too dry.
At this point your onions should be caramelised, potatoes cooked and the broccoli should there too. This is where it all comes together
6. Put the onions in with the chicken and add the broccoli, drain the potatoes and cut them into 1/2 inch slices, this will all then be layered with the chicken and veg in the oven dish. pour the sauce over the top and whack in the oven till its golden brown on top, everything inside is cooked so you just need to ensure its hot all the way through.
7. Serve on a big round white plate and get ready to receive some praise!
Also, if you're not a massive fan of broccoli then frozen peas are great, they can just go straight in the dish as they are and will cook through in the oven.
Hope this is good for someone to try, always works out a treat for me!
The easiest way to eat healthy is to plan ahead. I took a page out of Robin Miller's book (a Food Network personality and dietitian). I cook a large meal or two, typically on the weekend, and transform it in to other meals throughout the week. Seasoned meat for tacos makes an excellent chili. The marinara sauce used to make an oven baked chicken parmigiana can be used for the sauce for a whole wheat pizza or add ground beef or Italian sausage for pasta. Any leftover chicken or steak can be cut into bite size portions and added to a stir fry.
I am a foodie and enjoy cooking so it isn't hard for me to eat clean but I found making one or two meals and transforming them gives me variety and keeps on the right track. It can be hard coming in after training, work, or whatever and scrambling to make a good, healthy meal in 30 minutes and less but with just a little planning it can easily be done.
BTW, I would be thrilled to win Jamie's cookbook as I've looked at a few times and almost bought it but I didn't. Another excellent cookbook for eating healthy is Rocco's new one, Now Eat This.
Hi Nate, greetings from Italy! :)
I found out about you (on t-muscle) 4 months ago and since then i follow your blog :)
Nice recipe and cool video!!
Here in Italy we don't eat a lot of chili (mhm..actually we don't eat it at all :D) so i'll try your recipe as soon as i can ;)
Just a doubt: you eat meat almost daily i'm right? I alwais been told that's not healthy what do you think about it?
How about some italian recipes? I think they would be perfect to impress your date ;)
- Mauro
Nice vid man....
I'd personally go lighter on the cumin cause it's wicked strong spice...but if you wanna put more hair on your chest. that'll do it.
Great recipe and being that I am all about keeping things easy, I will def give it a shot.
Good work!
Mike A
Hi Nate,
I think the most important thing is to keep things simple. Limiting your ingredients to fewer but good ingredients is key to that and then you can combine them in different ways and it's actually not that bad to eat the same meal a couple of times if it tastes good and is healthy. Like that it'll get easier to keep your diet and you'll enjoy the exceptions even more.
Great recipe, will try it tomorrow.
André
Excellent recipe, Nate. I'd add some japs and maybe substitute bison for the ground beef. I'll be trying this tomorrow. I like to put chili on baked sweet potato fries; made by slicing and baking in the oven with a little olive oil for about 20-30 minutes. It’s sort of like healthy chili fries??
Personally I like to cook twice a day. I'm not a morning person so I prefer to prepare my oatmeal in the micro so that's not really even cooking :P I throw in some blueberries, cottage cheese and butter with healthy fats on it and I'm ready to eat.
Yeah everyone doesn't like cottage cheese (you pussies!) but you could just throw in some protein powder too. Seriously that breakfast takes like 5-10min to prepare max and the same ammount of time to eat. And with blueberries it tastes pretty damn good too (It might not look that great though. It looks like someone's brains O_o). In the mornings when I have more time I like to cook omelets.
The second time I cook is dinner. But this time I prepare alot bigger meal so it'll last for the next day's lunch.
So there I'll have three big meals per day and also I don't have to eat the same food on lunch and dinner. It's easy to add some snacks between them: protein shake, natural youghurt, fruits, peanuts, homemade protein bars, supershakes (thank you Dr. Berardi), whatever.
If you really suck in the kitchen (or even if you don't) and feel that you're not making any progress my best advice would be that you buy Precision Nutrition. Can't get any better than that.
I usually make it a rule of thumb to not eat sugary foods and/or anything of that sort like cereals. I use to have a big problem eating late at night with cereal and it didn't exaclty help me out with my goals =P
Nate,
I am glad you shared your Chili recipe, and I am just like you when it comes to eating it almost everyday (okay, not every day, but very often).
Regarding a great recipe, try this one out (I am not sure about the conversions, not that familiar with American serving sizes):
- Chicken breasts (skinless) - 3-4 medium sized breasts
- Red/Yellow Peppers - 1-2 medium sized
- Broccoli - 1
- Leek (a type of onion) - 20 cm
- Sun dried tomatoes (optional) - 6-10 pieces
- Quinoa - cook enough for 4-6 people
- Salt, black pepper, and sweet chili sauce (depending on your taste)
Chop down the vegetables and the chicken in to small pieces, preferably cubes, and fry it in a pan. I like my chicken pretty dry, but that's up to you. Cook the quinoa and mix all the ingredients into a large bowl, and don't forget to add the sweet chili sauce and mix it all together.
As a dressing on the side, I recommend the following:
- Greek Yoghurt
- Lots of lemon-pepper
- Golden Delicious apple (half an apple is enough)
Chop down the apple into tiny pieces, and mix it together with the lemon-pepper and the Yoghurt. Serve this cold next to the stew.
Try that recipe, and if I don't win that damn book, then something is obviously messed up.
No seriously, just kidding. Try the recipe and let me know if you like it!
Regards,
Jonas, Sweden
Nutritional advice:
Use carbohydrate and calorie tapering to get a bad ass body. What is meant by carbohydrate and calorie tapering is to gradually reduce the amount of carbohydrates and calories in each meal as the day progresses.
First off you want to start off by having 6 meals during the day, each separated by about 2.5 to 3 hours. The breakfast and post workout meals should be the most carbohydrate dense while the other two, in between breakfast and the workout should contain a moderate amount of carbohydrates.
After the post workout meal the other meals you have should contain fewer carbs and have lower calories. This is done to avoid spiking insulin when you are less active (the last hours of the day).
Shopping smart and cooking for yourself is THE ONLY way to ensure you are eating the right diet. Personally I spend a lot of money on food, because I like it and eating right is a priority.
I would absolutley make this.....
But I respect the office bathroom wayyyyy to much :)
Out,
Chris
Dam didnt see the contest....
Now to nutrition:
The best suggestion I’ve ever heard about health and nutrition is “treat your body like a temple”. Personally that’s a philosophy worth living by.
Regardless about whatever the hell you believe know this: You can get all you want from life out good health.
Energy, clarity, focus, strength, longevity, and one hell of a body.
The problem is most people focus all there time on the wrong thing: The Miracle Solution
The key to optimal nutrition is just a down right general awareness of what your actually putting into your body. There no such thing as synthetic health. I don’t care what you read or watch about.
Whether it’s a greens powder, protein shake, fish oils, I mean the list can go on an on. These are supplements, they should supplement a healthy diet and lifestyle. There not an excuse to eat like crap because they contain some magical powers.
Nutrition’s not hard. I mean cmon, we have this thing called the internet and some of us may have even heard of this place called “Barnes and Nobles” where you don’t even need to by a book while your there but sit with a nice coffee and just chill out.
Invest in your health and get one hell of a return. Don’t get hung up on stuff like carb cycling, fasting, fat oxidization, I mean the list could go on. This stuff’s important but you need a prerequisite in Nutrition 101.
Start to read and educate yourself. Keep up with current trends and studies. Focus on reading labels. Start buying food with only natural ingredients, the shorter the ingredient list the better. Start buying free range chicken without hormones from a Whole Foods or Trader Joes, get rid of processed carbohydrates, throw vegetables in each meal, when ordering out switch fries with veggies, get fish instead of red meat, don’t put butter on everything, add more raw to your diet.
It’s honestly not hard. You can spend 1 day power reading- just glancing at the table of contents of some nutrition books and start to notice some commonalties of an exceptional diet.
Get the habits and ease into the lifestyle,
Out,
Chris
The best thing that I have done for my diet is to plan ahead. Once or twice a week when I make a trip to the grocery store, I make sure to chop and bag any vegetables or fruit right when I get hope. I also cook a bunch of chicken breasts, ground turkey and ground beef. This cuts down on my cooking time and makes it much easier to prepare meals when I am tired from work or the gym and don't feel like slaving away in the kitchen.
I also try to plan my meals out a few days at a time so I can cook meals in advance and throw them in the fridge if I know I am going to have a busy day.
Cooking Steak.
Try cooking your steaks in a cast iron skillet. Sear it for 30 seconds on each side, then throw the whole pan into an oven preheated to 500. Flip after 2:30 to 3:30, depending on how done you like it. Don't dig in yet, let it set on a plate for 5:00 to let the juices stabilize. This I find is the hardest part. Bon apetit! One extra bonus, you dont have to wash a cast iron skillet, just wipe off the excess grease with a towel.
Keith
Here's my tip: when you go grocery shopping, make a list of ingredients that you need to make a number of meals that you'd like to have for the week. I find that this helps me to make meals instead of thinking about what can I do with X, Y, and Z.
Here's a recipe that I've borrowed from a girly magazine that I read while I was waiting for an appt:
- 1 tbsp of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 cup of cashews
- 1 big handful of spinach
- 1 tsp of cumin
Over a medium-hot heat, warm up your olive oil and cook your garlic.
Then, add in you spinach and cashews. Stir constantly.
Add the cumin.
The whole thing takes about 5 minutes for preparation and 1-2 minutes to cook.
I love it. Sometimes I squeeze some lemon juice on it.
I like to substitute ground venison to any recipe that requires ground beef. Not only is deer hunting a great way to enjoy the outdoors, but dragging a just killed deer a quarter mile or more through the woods is great exercise and the venison is healthy and lean.
Since you posted a meal you can eat on for days and I could use a new cookbook, what the hey...
I love this dish and can eat for lunch for 2-3 days. It is filling, tasty, has a low glycemic index, lots of fiber, complex carbs and protein. Pretty much the ultimate workout meal. I have a theory that eating this daily for a week would be good for a 2 lb gain of muscle.
You don't have to brine your chicken, but it will taste even better if you do. You can buy your own brine mix or make your own. Just go easy on the herbs and spices; you don't want to overdo it.
1 Gallon Water
1/4 C Sea Salt
2 cloves garlic (more to taste)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1-3 lbs Chicken
Mix it all up and let the chicken sit for a few hours. Then bake chicken for 25 min at 400 degrees. Chop after removing from oven.
As for the rest, you will need...
2 Tomatoes (chopped,preferably organic)
1 Large Onion (chopped)
2 Cans of Chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
2 or more cloves Garlic (chopped)
2 Tbsp olive oil
Optional Other Spices (you can play around with thes), Kale, Spinach (cooked of course) etc...
While chicken is baking, add garlic (I like more but I love garlic) and 2 tbsp of olive oil to wok. Saute garlic for 2-3 minutes and add 1 chopped onion to wok, saute until onions begin to brown. Add 2 chopped tomatos, 2 cans of chickpeas (rinsed and drained) and any salt or pepper to wok. Now would be a good time to add spices (I like basil, thyme and parsley). Add chopped chicken and stir. When it gets soupy it is ready to eat.
Even my super picky girlfriend loves this dish. Give it a try!
Most weeknights cooking is a means to an end. Feed the family. However, cooking on the weekends lends itself to being a bit more creative. What can you create with the base ingedients you have on hand. I love putting on some good music, fixing myslef a nice drink and making a nice dish. There is a whole experience for me when making a dish in the weekends and nothing make the creato rmore happy to see the wife and kids enjoy a meal. I am a fan of simple recipeies that I can make without having to visti 8 stores to find just one ingedient. Eat a balance meal, lots of protein, some fats and a bit of carbs. Good food, good drink and great company make for a fine meal. One other piece of advice to add to the above tips for cooking a steak in the cast iron skillet. Get to know a farmer who raises beef and pork. Nothing beats a steak that you can get directly from the butcher. Cowpool if you have to. You may never eat steaks another way again.
“Various populations thrived on diets that were what we’d call high fat, low fat, or high carb; all meat or all plant; indeed, there have been traditional diets based on just about any kind of whole food you can imagine. What this suggests is that the human animal is well adapted to a great many different diets. The Western diet, however, is not one of them.” - Michael Pollan from In Defense of Food
"Carbs won't make you fat. Fat won't make you fat. Carbs and fat together won't make you fat. Whether or not you gain fat is all about food quality. A 3000-calorie diet can make you gain fat or lose it, depending on the foods you eat. Once quality is in place, then it's time to look at quantity." - Chad Waterbury from a TMUSCLE article
Those are my two favorite nutrition quotes. I think a lot of people would benefit if they focused more on quality than quantity. Pollan's rule "don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize" is probably the best nutrition advice I've ever heard
Lemon Garlic Chicken Skewers and Mixed Veggie Grill:
Summer is almost here...this a quick recipe for the grill that I usually cook up on a saturday or sunday and it gives me about 5 meals that I take for lunch. You'll need a few things to make it happen so here goes.
Stuff You'll Need:
-3 packages of teflon coated metal skewers from your local Walmart ($2/pkg)
-Aluminum foil
-4 chicken breasts (I buy my breasts from Costco and freeze them)
-2 Bell Peppers, 2 Zucchinis, 1 Red Onion
-1 Large Lemon
-Dried oregano
-Olive oil
-3 cloves of garlic
-Balsamic vinegar
-Large ziploc baggies
-Salt and Pepper
What To Do:
-Cut chicken breasts into cubes and place inside the large ziploc baggy.
-Chop up garlic into tiny, tiny pieces and add to baggy
-Add 1-2 tablespoons of oregano to baggy
-Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to baggy
-Add the juice of the lemon to the baggy
-Add salt and pepper to baggy
-Set aside
-Cut peppers, zucchini and onion into bite size pieces
-Place pieces onto large sheet of aluminum foil
-Add salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar to veggies
-Wrap veggies in aluminum foil so they are sealed with some room to breathe
-Place veggie "package" on grill on medium heat
-Skewer chicken
-Place chicken on grill, 5 minutes on each side (no pink juice!)
-Divide into 5 "lunch containers" and enjoy!
Jaison
Nate, I eat miserable and am my dates bore easy with my cooking because i only know how to scramble eggs, grill chicken and buy subway... A cookbook would be not only a way to help add some variety to my diet but also help me score with the chicks, thus, increasing my quality of living exponentially. Either way I am a huge fan of Jamie Oliver and am currently a member of his food revolution.
Great recipe Nate and good to see you've got some skills in the kitchen.
I think Zach above deserves the book...his limited repertoire in the kitchen seems to be ruining his dates - he needs the help and Jamie O is the man for the job!
Best part is this is simple.
Batching this will save heaps of time. Thanks!!!!!!!!!
Nice recipe and its so simple!
Here's a take on some real protein pancakes:
4 eggs
1-2 cups fresh spinach finely chopped
few ounces meat chopped (deli meat, leftovers, whatever)
dash of salt and pepper
1 tomato sliced
Beat eggs, mix all ingredients (except tomato) in a bowl. Lightly grease pan with cooking spay. Pour mixture into pancake size portions. Cook and top with tomato slices. Enjoy!
Here is a recipe for a great Saturday movie and dinner night at home.
Saturday morning:
Look up ingredients for Puerco Pibil
Pick up ingredients at store.
Prepare marinade and then marinate meat.
Saturday afternoon:
Begin baking Puerco Pibil.
Pick the movie 'Once Upon A Time In Mexico'.
Saturday Night :
Eat Puerco Pibil, watch the movie, enjoy the irony.
Quote by Johnny Depp as Agent Sands in 'Once Upon A Time In Mexico' concerning Puerco Pibil:
"It is a slow-roasted pork. Nothing fancy, just happens to be my favourite, and I order it at every dive I go to in this country, and honestly, this is the best it's ever been. . . . It is so good that when I'm finished with it, I'll pay my check, walk straight into the kitchen and shoot the cook. Because that's what I do. I restore the balance to this country."
Wow, this post is like a cookbook in itself.
Oh yeah fellas, here is another great recipe:
Chicken egg drop soup
4 cups water
few cloves garlic
beef boullion/powder (cube or couple teaspoons)
dash of salt
2 chicken breasts
4 eggs
4 green onions chopped
1 teaspoon seasame oil
Boil water with garlic, beef boullion/powder, & salt. Once boiling add chicken breasts for a few minutes. Take out chicken breasts and chop into small pieces, then put back in water. Add eggs and stir with a fork to break up the yokes. Stir for another minute (the eggs cook really fast).
Add seasme oil and green onion to soup. Enjoy!
Only takes around 10-12 min to make and get about 4 servings of high protein soup. I sometimes like to add brown rice to it. But if you do only add it when you plan on eating a serving. If you add rice to the whole batch, the rice will become too soggy.
My sister-in-law told me this and she looks pretty damn good. For breakfast you eat like a king. For lunch you eat like a prince and for dinner you eat like a pauper.
What she was trying to tell me was eat a larger meal in the morning and decrease the amount of carbs as you get further into the day. My Brother and her eat a nice breakfast, a moderate lunch followed by a rather small but nutritionally sound dinner(consists of meat and veggies.)
Chris, i really appreciate the support man
Cooking is so much easier than people think. When I cook for them, they are amazed at how much better it is than store bought.
No worries Zach, you got my vote!
Be consistent.
Whether it's a total diet/exercise/lifestyle overhaul, or just some 'baby steps', realise it will take time to see affects so be consistent with the changes and be patient, the changes will come.
Nate,
Do you happen to know the carb, fat, protein breakdown?
Thanks
I will keep it short and sweet: proper nutrition is a must. I lifted weights for years in high school and college, thinking that as long as I worked out, then I would get results: not true. I lost quite a bit of fat, but the whole time I was pissed off at the fact that I could not build muscle. I lacked proper nutrition. I still have a lot of work to do, but ever since I started paying attention to nutrition, my results have been far more impressive. To feed our bodies with processed junk food and expect it to grow faster, stronger, and more attractive is like expecting a car to run with sugar poured in its gas tank. Someone I talked to on the Men's Health forums always said, "Abs are not made in the gym: they are made in the kitchen." Now I get what he meant.
Broccoli Salad
2 large heads of broccoli
Smoked Turkey Bacon
Olive Oil
3 firm red tomatoes, halved, deseeded and finely sliced
Chives Minced
For the dressing:
• ½ a clove of garlic, peeled and finely grated
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Use a small knife to remove the broccoli florets and cut them up into smaller ones. Basically, this is your opportunity to make the broccoli really delicate and more salady-looking, so spend a bit of time doing this. You’ll be left with the stalk, so discard the thick dry base, then cut the remaining stalk in half lengthways and finely slice.
Blanch your broccoli florets and sliced stalks really quickly in boiling salted water for 60 seconds, just long enough to soften the broccoli but still leave it with a bit of a bite. Drain it in a colander, then spread it around a clean tea towel to steam dry (this is important because it will help the dressing cling to the broccoli). Once completely dry, transfer to a serving dish.
Fry the bacon on a medium heat with a small splash of olive oil until crisp and golden, then spoon most of the bacon bits over your broccoli. Any leftover fat in the pan can be used in your salad dressing. Pour it into a mixing bowl with all the other dressing ingredients and whisk.
Add the sliced tomatoes and chopped chives to your broccoli and bacon bits. Dress it all really well, and check the seasoning. If it needs pimping up, add a splash more vinegar. If you’ve got any chive flowers, sprinkle those over the top and serve straight away. It’s beautiful on its own or served next to any grilled or roasted meat or fish.
Made the chilly. AMAZING.
Ahem...chili. Too many porters.
Like Fish?
http://btthirtyone.blogspot.com/2010/05/classic-fish-fry.html
Boiled dinner?
http://btthirtyone.blogspot.com/2010/05/one-pot-meal.html
GET SOME
BT
Well, being a guy still in transition from "husky" to "hunky" I realize more than ever how important the correct nutrition is to any physical transformation. I honestly cannot fathom how I used to eat the way I did and not have any serious health conditions by now. I don't even think I could go back to eating that way without my "common sense" literally jump out of my skull and slap me senseless.
It's taken some getting used to, but I truly enjoy fueling my body with more efficient, healthy foods. My wallet enjoys it as well since I don't spend nearly as much dough on fast food meals. If it weren't a billion degrees down here in the South, I'd like to try some of that $17 Chili you fixed up there Nate. It looks reeeeeally good and a healthy, cheap meal is always welcomed.
So, now that I'm trying to get myself whipped in shape, I'm always on the look out for more recipes that fall under my nutritional guidelines. I like my turkey sandwiches, but a man can only stand so much. I'd love to try my hand at some new dishes, not only for myself, but for my parents who have become more interested in fitness after seeing the changes I've been making. I'm definitely gonna have to fix up a few of the recipes I've seen listed on this blog post.
Btw, my new favorite man food is just some good ol' bison burgers. Had em for the first time the other night and I'm in love.
David
Something I threw together this very evening from spare bits and pieces left in the fridge.
First, there are 3 very important things when preparing to cook:
1) Music. While metal is abso-f**king-loutely the right music to lift too, cooking to anything resembling Slayer or Slipknot generally results in a black, charred mess. No, for cooking, something smoother is needed. I highly recommend taking a step back in time and putting on some Louis Armstrong, BB King or John Lee Hooker (or all three).
2) Knife. You've mentioned before the importance of having a good kitchen knife, but one other important thing is to keep it sharp. I tend to sharpen mine each time before I use it using a sharpening steel. A few passes along the steel are generally enough to keep an edge (plus it just plain looks impressive if you've got a date over, makes it look like you know what you're doing and a real man takes care of his tools).
3) Drink. Personally, I'm more of a bourbon man, but a microbrew is acceptable here.
Two dishes here, a main and a side, meatballs with stupidly simple tomato sauce as the main, and spinach and sweet potato mash for the side.
Meatballs & Tomato Sauce.
Meatballs:
Minced beef (that'd be ground beef for you Americans)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
2 table spoons plain flour (could probably use something healthier here, but didn't have anything else to hand)
olive oil
some herby bits and pieces if you like
Sauce:
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tomato, seeds removed, chopped
4 table spoons tomato ketchup
more herby bits and pieces if the mood takes you
1. Place all the meatball ingredients except the olive oil and mix everything together, then form into ball shaped... er... balls.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the meatballs for about 5 or 6 minutes. Keep moving them around to stop them burning on one side then take them out and put them on a plate (plate is optional, a bowl will do in a pinch)
3. For the sauce put the onion and garlic in the pan the balls have just come out of and fry them for a few minutes, then stir in the tomato and ketchup. Simmer for a few minutes then throw in the meatballs for a few minutes to make sure they're warm.
4. Serve.
Spinach and Sweet Potato Mash
A couple of sweet potatoes
Couple of handfuls of spinach, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
butter (optional)
olive oil
1. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes, then add them to a pot of boiling water and simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes until soft
2. Drain the potatoes, add the butter and mash
3. Heat the oil in a pan and throw in the garlic and spinach, cook until the spinach has wilted (can put the garlic in first if you perfer it cooked more, some do)
4. Stir in the mash and cook for a few more minutes until it's all warm enough to eat.
5. Um... Eat?
Oh, I cooked this all based on what I eat, so if you're entertaining, better double up on everything. Maybe add in a bottle of wine too, I recommend something red. Don't forget to put the candles on the table and make sure there's clean sheets on the bed (hey, you never know, right?). Don't worry about the washing up, it'll keep till the morning.
Hey Nate,
To chop up all those veggies, you need one of these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b86SOHZ0nIA
Now for Tiger's Chili, which puts a greater emphasis on MEAT, as you will see in a second:
3 lbs 93% lean ground beef
2 green peppers, chopped (about 12oz)
1 onion chopped (about 3 oz)
2 28oz cans diced tomatoes
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
3 15oz cans dark red kidney beans
1.5 teaspoons salt
1.5 teaspoons garlic powder
4-5 tablespoons chili powder (depending on the alam level you want)
(If you use Chili pepper instead of powder, you will really raise the alarm level!)
4 bay leaves
5 tablespoons olive oil
add olive oil, onions and green peppers and cook over medium heat. Keep stirring until soft
Add your 3 lbs ground beef, turn heat on high.
Keep stirring until beef is brown. Add your garlic and salt and keep stiring.
Next mix in the 3 cans of tomatoes.
(I like to go 'can', 'tbsp chili powder')
Next add 3 cans of kidney beans, and adding more chili power to taste.
Let simmer for 2 hours, remember to stir every 6 minutes.
I like to boil 10oz of noodles and mix in. This is optional.
This makes about 12-14 portions. Sets you up for the whole week.
(Remember to remove the bay leaves as you divide up the portions)
Goes GREAT with red wine and a salad.
I made this recipe yesterday, simple and delicous!!
Thanks Nate! I've tried almost all the recipes you've posted on your blog, love the simplicity. Have you thought about making a cookbook yet :P? I would buy it!
Well, that took me about an hour!
I just got done reading all the posts and I really have to thank you guys for taking time to share recipes, tips, and stories. Seriously, everyone should go through and read the comments - there are some great posts.
So, it was difficult picking one "best" post. In reality, I'm not even sure how you quantify the best post.
So, I'm giving away two cookbooks.
One to Drew who said:
"The best way, in my opinion, to get over the "I can't cook" excuse (or any other excuse for that matter) is single-tasking.
If you can't cook, learn to cook 1 meal. It's less daunting of a task that way. Once you've mastered that one, add a second meal to your arsenal. Pretty soon you'll have at least a week's worth of great recipes that you've mastered.
Same goes for other bad habits. Work on improving or eliminating just one at a time."
And the second goes to Zach who apparently just needs to get laid:
"Nate, I eat miserable and am my dates bore easy with my cooking because i only know how to scramble eggs, grill chicken and buy subway... A cookbook would be not only a way to help add some variety to my diet but also help me score with the chicks, thus, increasing my quality of living exponentially."
Thanks again to everyone. You guys rock.
-Nate
Well done Nate, but to be fair, you should have tried all the recipes in this thread and sent a cookbook to the one you liked best :-)
At least ONE of the recipes should have earned a cookbook, I think, but then you're the guy giving them away, LOL.
Also the guys that won didn't post "nutrition" advice. Although I will give the first guy credit, he did have a good tip. Zach just needs to man up and try a recipe. (I could cook a recipe at age 10 man) lol
sour grapes lol
This website is awesome and I appreciate the time you take to do this. I'll try this recipe some time soon.
Nate I am totally into what you're doing here man. A little bit of everything. I don't have any crazy recipes. I keep my eating very simple. I have learned that what's considered healthy has been healthy for human bodies since the beginning of time, but because of our damn taste buds, the sheer number of unhealthy options has become overwhelming. It's to the point now where people spend their lives trying to create healthy options out of unhealthy food. Just keep it simple. And keep doing what you're doing man! Thanks!
Consumer Reports: Protein drinks can damage your health
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2010/july/food/protein-drinks/overview/index.htm
Recipe kicked ass! It's a good way for me to add new food sources like beans and celery into my diet and save some time and money while I do it.
Great post. I always need new cooking ideas.
Nate can you do an entry on personal grooming, hair removal etc? I am looking for techniques and what chicks actually like.
Nate make sure that you take care of that ankle, those type of things take so much time to heal. I like the idea that you actually made enough food that would last you for a while.
My main thing is just finding the time to cook? I will definitely cook this meal because I love chili, but never seen it cooked this way. I have to try this out soon.
Honestly, that's expensive man. $90 a month is my MAX.
nice post about raw cacao nibs bulk
here is a good blog post i found about raw cacao nibs bulk
Just came back from Trader Joe's with the ingredients for this chili. Cost me *exactly* $17 dollars (give or take tax). I had a few of the ingredients at home already, but still, it added up nicely. Getting ready to start cooking now.
just made the best salad ever!
2 cans of chick peas
1 can of red kindey beans (or any type you like, i foresee black beans looking great in this salad.)
1 each red, yellow, orange and green pepper
(you can also add celery, grilled zucchini
half or whole onion (depends how small)
EVOO (i just poured a little at a time until i was content)
salt, pepper, cumin... your favorite spice.
this makes a alot but the longer it sits the better it tastes (dont keep too long, the whole thing lasts me about 3-4 days but its a LOT of food)
i have this for lunch or for late night snack...
so good you cant stop.
last night i actually picked this over fudgesicle.
is that a crime?
hope you like
Bloody Hell Banana! all those chick peas and Beans - I'd be farting for a month!
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