Easy Local Tomato Salad

Here is an easy salad anyone can make after taking a quick trip to their local farm stand. There is nothing better than fresh tomatoes when they are in season. And for those of us who live in New England, that season is right now!

Ingredients:

- Red tomatoes (heirloom or Burgundy wine)
- Yellow cherry tomatoes
- Fresh cucumber
- Feta cheese
- Fresh oregano
- Extra virgin olive oil - the good stuff!

Preparation:

Quarter the red tomatoes and halve the yellow tomsatoes. Slice your cucumber into 1/4" slices and then align them around an appropriate plate. See my picture for a demonstration. Leave a gap in the center for your feta cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and lastly sprinkle with fresh oregano. You can also add some good balsamic if you like.

Enjoy!

The Forbidden Food You Should Never Stop Eating

Posted By Dr. Mercola | September 01 2011

The demonization of saturated fat began in 1953, when Dr. Ancel Keys published a paper comparing saturated fat intake and heart disease mortality. His theory turned out to be flimsy, to say the least, but the misguided ousting of saturated fat has continued unabated ever since. Fortunately, the truth is finally starting to come out, as medical scientists have begun to seriously question Keys' findings.

Time to Put Ancel Keys' Theory to Rest

Keys based his theory on a study of six countries, in which higher saturated fat intake equated to higher rates of heart disease. However, he conveniently ignored data from 16 other countries that did not fit his theory. Had he chosen a different set of countries, the data would have shown that increasing the percent of calories from fat reduces the number of deaths from coronary heart disease.

And, as illustrated in the featured article, when you include all 22 countries for which data was available at the time of his study, you find that those who consume the highest percentage of saturated fat have the lowest risk of heart disease.

Furthermore, many have now realized that it's the trans fat found in margarine, vegetable shortening, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils that is the true villain, causing far more significant health problems than saturated fat ever could!

Still, despite the scientific evidence, the low-fat dogma remains a favorite among most government health authorities. Case in point: the most recent food chart issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in December of last year, recommends reducing your saturated fat intake to a mere seven percent of caloric intake—down from its previously recommended 10 percent…

Newer Studies Debunk Keys' Theory

The USDA's lowered recommendation is illogical when you consider the evidence available today, which supports saturated fat as a necessary part of a heart healthy diet. For example, as discussed in the featured article, a number of indigenous tribes around the world are living proof that a high-saturated fat diet equates to low mortality from heart disease.

These include:

Tribe	Primary Diet	Percentage Saturated Fat
Maasai tribe in Kenya/Tanzania	Meat, milk, cattle blood	66 percent
Inuit Eskimos in the Arctic	Whale meat and blubber	75 percent
Rendille tribe in NE Kenya	Camel milk, meat, blood	63 percent
Tokealu, atoll islands in New Zealand territory	Fish and coconuts	60 percent

And then there's human breast milk, which contains 54 percent saturated fat. Since breast milk is the most perfect diet in existence for developing infants, the presence of high amounts of saturated fat cannot easily be construed as a "mistake."

Furthermore:

• A meta-analysis published last year, which pooled data from 21 studies and included nearly 348,000 adults, found no difference in the risks of heart disease and stroke between people with the lowest and highest intakes of saturated fat.
• In a 1992 editorial published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Dr. William Castelli, a former director of the Framingham Heart study, stated:
  
  "In Framingham, Mass., the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person's serum cholesterol. The opposite of what… Keys et al would predict…We found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active."
• Another 2010 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that a reduction in saturated fat intake must be evaluated in the context of replacement by other macronutrients, such as carbohydrates.
  
  When you replace saturated fat with a higher carbohydrate intake, particularly refined carbohydrate, you exacerbate insulin resistance and obesity, increase triglycerides and small LDL particles, and reduce beneficial HDL cholesterol. The authors state that dietary efforts to improve your cardiovascular disease risk should primarily emphasize the limitation of refined carbohydrate intake, and weight reduction.

I believe that last point is very important, and is likely a major key for explaining the rampant increase in obesity, heart disease and diabetes. And once you can pinpoint the problem, turning it all around becomes that much easier.

Carbohydrates, Not Fat, is the Root of Obesity and Heart Disease

Heart disease is so common today, it's hard for people to remember that a mere 100 years ago, this disease was really uncommon. As Dr. Donald Miller writes in the featured article:

"There were 500 cardiologists practicing in the U.S. in 1950. There are 30,000 of them now – a 60-fold increase for a population that has only doubled since 1950."

Such an explosion of heart disease indicates that something has changed that is contributing to this epidemic.

What is that "something"?

Our diet!

Most likely, the studies that have linked the so-called "Western diet" to an increased heart disease risk simply confirm that sugar and refined carbohydrates are harmful to your heart health. Because although the Western diet is high in red and processed meats and saturated fats, it's also alarmingly high in sugar and refined carbs like bread and pasta. And, as concluded in the last study listed above, when you reduce saturated fat and increase refined carbohydrates, you end up promoting obesity, heart disease and diabetes...

Gary Taubes has also done an excellent job of explaining the connection between carbs and obesity and its related health issues in his book Why We Get Fat: and what to do about it.

In a nutshell, eating fat and protein does not make you fat—carbohydrates do.I firmly believe the two primary keys for successful weight management and reducing your risk for diabetes, heart disease and other weight-related health problems are:

1. Severely restricting carbohydrates (sugars, fructose, and grains) in your diet, and
2. Increasing healthy fat consumption

According to last year's Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the top 10 sources of calories in the American diet are:

Grain-based desserts (cakes, cookies, donuts, pies, crisps, cobblers, and granola bars) 139 calories a day	Alcoholic beverages
Yeast breads, 129 calories a day	Pasta and pasta dishes
Chicken and chicken-mixed dishes, 121 calories a day	Mexican mixed dishes
Soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks, 114 calories a day	Beef and beef-mixed dishes
Pizza, 98 calories a day	Dairy desserts

Looking at this list, it plain to see that CARBS—i.e. sugars (primarily fructose) and grains—are the primary sources of our weight- and health problems, not saturated fats.

(As an update, you've often heard me state that soda is the number one source of calories in the US diet, which it was—based on the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The updated NHANES survey above covers nutritional data from 2005-2006, placing grain-based foods in the top two slots. Still, soda comes in at number four, and I still believe a lot of people, particularly teenagers, probably get a majority of their calories from fructose-rich drinks like soda.)

The Different Types of Fat

Fats can be confusing, but you can generally divide fats into four types:

1. Saturated fats, from animal fat and tropical oils
2. Monounsaturated fat, such as olive oil
3. Polyunsaturated fat, such as omega-3 and omega-6 fats
4. Trans fats, such as margarine

Sources of healthy fats include:

Olives and Olive oil	Coconuts and coconut oil	Butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk
Raw Nuts, such as, almonds or pecans	Organic pastured egg yolks	Avocados
Grass fed meats	Palm oil	Unheated organic nut oils

Another healthful fat you want to be mindful of is animal-based omega-3. Deficiency in this essential fat can cause or contribute to very serious health problems, both mental and physical, and may be a significant underlying factor of up to 96,000 premature deaths each year. For more information about omega-3's and the best sources of this fat, please review this previous article.

Having the proper balance between omega-3 and omega-6 fats is also very important for optimal health. So in addition to increasing your omega-3 (which most people are sorely deficient in), you also want to decrease your consumption of omega-6, found primarily in:

• Corn oil
• Soy oil
• Canola oil
• Safflower oil
• Sunflower oil

The ideal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 is 1:1, but the typical American diet is more like 1:20 in favor of omega-6. The overabundance of these oils in processed foods of all kinds explains our excess omega-6 levels.

The other fats you want to avoid are the trans fats. Trans fats are formed when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil during food processing in order to make it solidify. This process, known as hydrogenation, makes fats less likely to spoil, so foods stay fresh longer, have a longer shelf life and also have a less greasy feel. The end result of the hydrogenation process is a completely unnatural fat that causes dysfunction and chaos in your body on a cellular level.

Your Body NEEDS Saturated Fat for Optimal Function

Saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources provide a number of important health benefits. In fact, your body cannot function without saturated fats! Saturated fats are needed for the proper function of your:

Cell membranes	Heart	Bones (to assimilate calcium)
Liver	Lungs	Hormones
Immune system	Satiety (reducing hunger)	Genetic regulation

Healthy Fat Tips to Live By

So please remember, you do need a certain amount of healthy fat, while at the same time you'll want to avoid the unhealthy varieties. The easiest way to accomplish this is to simply eliminate processed foods, which are high in all things detrimental to your health: sugar, carbs, and dangerous types of fats.

After that, these tips can help ensure you're eating the right fats for your health:

• Use organic butter made from raw grass-fed milk instead of margarines and vegetable oil spreads. Butter is a healthy whole food that has received an unwarranted bad rap.
• Use coconut oil for cooking. It is far superior to any other cooking oil and is loaded with health benefits. (Remember that olive oil should be used COLD, drizzled over salad or fish, for example, not to cook with.)
• Following my nutrition plan will automatically reduce your modified fat intake, as it will teach you to focus on healthy whole foods instead of processed junk food.
• To round out your healthy fat intake, be sure to eat raw fats, such as those from avocados, raw dairy products, and olive oil, and also take a high-quality source of animal-based omega-3 fat, such as krill oil.

Spinach, Watermelon, & Feta Salad

An easy to make and super healthy salad for the summer months. I got inspired by a few of my clients who had various takes on this salad and I thought I would make up my own and give it a whirl.








Ingredients:
Watermelon chunks
Fresh feta
Cucumber
Red Onion
Fresh baby spinach
Extra virgin olive oil
Aged balsamic

Preparation:
In a glass bowl combine a few handfuls of watermelon, crumbled fresh feta, sliced cucumber, sliced red onion, and the spinach. Exact amounts are up to you - just eye ball it and you'll be fine. Drizzle with EVOO and balsamic and then enjoy with the rest of your meal.

Mixed Berry Protein Smoothie

Mixed Berry Protein Smoothie

Now that summer is here there will be plenty of access to fresh fruit however I always use the frozen stuff for smoothies because it helps thicken the drink rather than being watered down.

This is an easy recipe that I constantly make after I workout or for a snack and never really measure.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of frozen wild blueberries
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 fresh banana
6oz of yogurt (not the sugary stuff)
1 scoop of high quality protein powder (I use Hammer Nutrition)
water

Preparation:
Add everything to the blender and maybe 3/4 cup of water. Blend until thoroughly smooth and continue to add water for desired consistency.

Great for summer and hot weather, and for a post-workout recovery drink!!

Grilled Multigrain Flatbreat Fiddlehead & Red Onion Pizza with Balsamic

Grilled Multigrain Flatbreat Fiddlehead & Red Onion Pizza with Balsamic

So I walk into Wholefoods hungry and noticed a pile of fiddleheads which you can only find in the spring since they are in fact baby ferns.. yes you know the green plants you see in the forest!
I'm thinking this would make a great pizza for some reason with sliced red onions.

Here is what you need and how to do it:

- Wholefoods multi-grain pizza dough cut into 2 equal balls
- Few handfuls of fresh fiddleheads
- Thinly sliced red onion
- Crushed garlic
- EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- Lemon juice from one lemon
- Shaved pecorino romano cheese

1. Roll out your dough at room temp until thin and somewhat round until you have 2 crusts. Fire up your gill or large cast iron pan and spray the dough with EVOO, grill both sides until toasty brown and then set aside.
2. Mix your fiddleheads in a bowl with red onions, lemon juice, garlic, and EVOO drizzle until coated completely. Sea salt and pepper is fine as well.
3. Layer the shaved pecorino romano on each flat bread and then cover each crust with your fiddlehead mixture.
4. Bake in a 400 degree oven for another 10 minutes until everything is piping hot.
5. Drizzle high quality balsamic over each pizza and serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

What To Eat For Success!

Afternoon everyone,

Well it's almost close for the day and week, and it's shaping up to be a relatively decent Mother's
Day weekend in terms of weather which means you should get outdoors as much as possible.
I'll be hitting the bike on both days before I get ready for you guys all over again on Tuesday.

Anyway so people always ask me about nutrition and what I personally eat throughout the course
of my day. In my opinion not everyone can follow the same eating plan as everyone else because
we are all on different schedules, however the same general rules apply:

Limit Sugar - especially processed of any kind and fruit juice
Omit Processed Foods COMPLETELY - I know your company kitchens are stocked with junk so please avoid
Eat Balanced Meals - 1/2 vegetables, 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch
Organic Whenever Possible - If it's not safe for your pets to play in a garden full of chemicals then I'm pretty sure it's not safe for you.
Spring Water - The best water source are free flowing springs that are free to public and available for your pleasure http://www.findaspring.com/.
However if you cannot get this type of access then clean spring water is better over tap for many reasons too lengthy to list.

With all that in mind here is what my day usually looks like:

5:30am - 2 egg/meat/provolone cheese sandwich on whole wheat english muffins
1 cup of cooked oatmeal with a banana or berries - little real maple syrup for taste.
8:30am - 1 cup of banana/mango or mixed berry Traderspoint Creamery yogurt (non-homogenized whole milk)
2 cranberry/pecan rolls
Noon - 1 large salad with grilled chicken, fish, or other meat (never tofu or processed anything mimicking real food) with olive oil and balsamic

3:00pm - Apple or banana, or some sort of homemade protein/granola bar.. or both!

7:30pm - Chicken, steak, or fish with salad, vegetables (roasted, grilled, or steamed), and sweet potato/potato or rice

9:30pm - Bowl of high protein cereal or whey protein shake with frozen fruit and water.


How many calories is all of that? I honestly have no idea because I do not count calories and personally I think counting
calories leads you to having a harder time losing weight if that's your ultimate goal. Keep in mind that this meal plan
is not for everyone and that I literally exercise intensely for a minimum of 2 hours a day, 1 hour of each day involving functional
training. 10-15 hours of training is reserved for cycling, stairs, jump rope, hiking.. etc.

I'm also have a whey protein drink after each workout, take multi vitamins, high quality fish oil, and get 6-8 hours of sleep per
night with literally maybe only a glass or 2 of wine per week - this week was an exception when I had a few drinks.

All and all you can modify and shift things around to fit your lifestyle and food likes/dislikes. Generally you want to consume a good
amount of protein if you are looking to shed the fat and definitely lay off the sugar, especially the martini's when out on business
dinners!

Any questions feel free to ask and I'll be happy to help out.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!


Chris

Grilled pork chop with sauteed veggies and porcini mushroom ravioli

Grilled pork chop with sauteed veggies and porcini mushroom ravioli:

I just made this tonight with a bunch of veggies I bought at Russo's this afternoon.
Here is what you need and how to do it!

Ingredients:

• bone in or boneless pork chops
  
• 1 Asian eggplant
• 1/2 White onion
• 1 cup chopped baby bok choy
• 1 cup rainbow swiss chard chopped
  
• 1/4 cup red pepper chopped
• fresh porcini mushroom ravioli
• 1/4 cup snap peas
  
• olive oil

Preparation:

Heat a large skillet on medium high heat and season your pork to taste with sea salt/pepper or whatever else you like. Add a bit of olive oil to the pan and sear the pork on both sides until brown and then lower the heat a bit and cook for additional 5 to 6 minutes until medium/well.

Set aside and add onion, peppers, and eggplant to pan with a bi more olive oil. Cook until eggplant is soft and then add your remaining veggies, cover, and let wilt. While these are cooking you should add your ravioli to boiling water and cook until they float. Combine the ravioli to the veggie mixture just to coat with the flavors and plate it up.

Very tasty and easy. 30 minutes tops! Chicken or steak can be used as a substitute.