Tag Archives: athletic performance

The Underutilized Egg

When I read the marketing slogans used to advertise eggs with terms like free-range, cage free, and organic I still am not confident I’m actually getting a quality egg. Pasture raised is where it’s at and what I want. Although, the egg is rather resilient from absorbing toxins from its mother hen, still it’s important that hen ate her natural diet to nourish her eggs. Chickens eat grass, grubs, slugs, and other insects. They don’t eat “chicken feed.”

Nutrition? Lets talk macros. Egg contains your protein and healthy fats including omega 3. This easily obtainable, underutilized source of protein is packed with everything your muscles want and need. Perfect for a snack or post workout feast as pictured below.

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We’ve all heard the bad rep the egg has.  The egg has been blamed in the American health food industry for a lifetime as raising bad blood-cholesterol and leading to heart disease. I call BS, and so did scientists. The real culprit is man made vegetable oils, transfats, and sugar. Especially refined sugar. View the new Scientific report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee from the USDA here and read for yourself. It states, under the bold headline:

Cholesterol. Previously, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended that cholesterol intake be limited to no more than 300 mg/day. The 2015 DGAC will not bring forward this recommendation because available evidence shows no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol, consistent with the conclusions of the AHA/ACC report.2 35Cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.

Foods containing cholesterol and the serum cholesterol in our bodies are two separate materials and they should have different names.  The rise in Cardiac Vascular Disease has caused fear of consuming cholesterol containing foods when in reality your body actually needs cholesterol to be fully nourished. Including, to make testosterone. So… Let the gains begin. Crack some shells!!

Bone Broth

I’ve never experienced such an epic work out like I did my first time supplementing with Bone Broth. Think outside of the box. Think about this: What gave our ancestors the strength to fast for days when supply was low yet still have energy to hunt and survive? Jittery pre-work out formulas are full of unknown ingredients that possibly do more harm than good. Guilty! I’ve used them in the past and absolutely loved the rush of energy and the unstoppable feeling I would get from “two scoops.” I, however, did not enjoy the jitters or the crash I would have later on in the day.

It’s time to turn to Mother Nature and look at holistic/organic approaches to pre-workout supplementation geared towards the athlete. At the time I was listening to many podcasts on health and wellness and I kept hearing the buzz about bone broth and how “the liquid gold has gut healing properties and turns you into a super human.” Naturally I was curious to know more. After some research, a trip to the local market, and a stop to see Jack at http://www.healthyheritagebeef.com/ we had everything to make our first batch. Aside from the gut healing probiotics and collagen protein this stuff is also amazing if you’re feeling under the weather or even nursing a hangover.

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     Crockpot: 7 quarts

     Yields: About 10 pints

     Ingredients:

  • Low Heat 24-36 hours (DONT LET IT BOIL)
  • (Free roaming) Chicken feet
  • (Free roaming) Chicken carcass
  • ¼ Ounce Apple Cider Vinegar
  • (Grass fed) Beef knuckle
  • (Grass fed) Marrow bones
  • (Grass fed) Beef neck
  • Herbs of your choice
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Fill to the top with quality filtered water. I use a Soma water filtration system check them out. https://www.drinksoma.com

When do you consume this super power pre-workout? I take a little more than a pint with me to the gym and drink it on the way. It takes me about fifteen minutes to get to the gym and by then its doing its magic. I stretch and let the gains begin!

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Fast Then Feast

Grass fed beef, pasture raised eggs, uncured bacon, avocado, broccoli, and melted grass fed butter in the center for dipping. All organic, of course. The bacon and eggs are from our local farmers at Healthy Heritage Beef Farms. http://www.healthyheritagebeef.com Jack brings the goodies to the local Tampa Bay markets.

The breaking the fast. Fast then Feast!