by Steven Mathis | Dec 27, 2015 | Blog, Eat Real Food Based on Your Needs, Recipes, Uncategorized
This is a quick and easy lunch recipe. It provides tons of protein, good fats, fiber, vitamin C and potassium. Zucchini also contains significant quantities of folate and vitamin A, which are important for general good health. The black beans provide a good dose of iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper and zinc. The fiber from the black beans will help you control your blood sugar, feel full longer, and promote digestive health. Another benefit of this recipe is that the amount of carbs can be easily manipulated without changing the core recipe. The amount of carbs we eat should be based on our goals, body fat, and activity levels. You may be at a stage where you need a larger quantity of carbs, are carb cycling, or you may not have earned your carbs by crushing a workout. Regardless, this recipe can accommodate all of those scenarios. The soup itself consists of chicken, zucchini, bell peppers, black beans and tomatoes. Once the soup is prepared, it can be served over rice or quinoa (my favorite). To manipulate the carbs, vary the amount of rice or quinoa based on your personal needs. Chicken, Zucchini, & Black Bean Soup (Serves 5) Ingredients Chicken, uncooked, 1 ½ lb Olive oil, extra virgin, 1 tbsp Zucchini, chopped, 4 cups Green Bell Pepper, 1 medium, diced Black Beans, canned, 1 ½ cups, rinsed and drained Diced Tomatoes, 1 cup Garlic Powder, 1 tbsp Parmesan Cheese, grated, 1/4 cup Quinoa, 3 cups, cooked Directions 1. Cook the chicken using your preferred method. My preference is to line a baking dish with aluminum foil and...
by Steven Mathis | Nov 11, 2015 | Blog, Eat Real Food Based on Your Needs, Recipes
To stay up to date on the latest posts, click here and Like my Facebook page! Key Points: Beware of foods with labels that sound healthier… reduced fat, gluten free, low calorie, etc. Reduced fat foods usually swap good fats for sugar and chemicals. Instead, stick with the whole fat version. Your body and hormones will thank you! Gluten free foods aren’t any healthier (unless you have an allergy) than their gluten containing counterparts. Flavored yogurts and oats are definitely not the way to go. Instead, make your own and use real, whole foods to add a ton of flavor! Beware of smoothies purchased at the local smoothie shop. Experiment and make your Super Shakes. In order to be healthier, you eat reduced fat peanut butter, gluten free bread, yogurt and drink smoothies. You are on the right track, right? Not necessarily… First, give yourself a big pat on the back for making an effort, being aware that you need to make a change, and trying to take control of your life! Second, slap yourself for buying into media hype. You see, with the media constantly hyping diet trends like gluten free, low fat, low carb, etc., manufacturers took the cue and played on people who only read headlines and don’t look deeper. So, let’s look deeper! There many foods that claim to be “health” foods but aren’t. To keep from boring you with a detailed list, I choose five of the more prevalent unhealthy, health foods. Let’s break them down, find out why they aren’t healthier, and what to do instead. Reduced Fat Peanut Butter On the easiest...
by Steven Mathis | Nov 3, 2015 | Uncategorized
Okay, so the weather is cooler and the leaves are changing. That can mean only one thing… It’s fall! Fall brings football, the World Series, Halloween, and the need for something warm to eat. For me personally, nothing beats a big bowl of chili. Opening a can of Hormel doesn’t do it for me. No, I want something more. But I don’t want to spend hours slaving to cook something tasty. I also don’t want to pollute my body with a bunch of crap either. Enter my Easy Chili recipe. It really is easy to make and takes about 20 minutes to assemble. Easy Chili Serves 4-6 Red Bell Pepper, 1 ¼ medium Green Bell Pepper, 1 ¼ medium Red Onion, 1 ¼ medium Turkey or Grassfed Beef, ground, 2 lb Crushed Tomatoes, canned, 5 cups Red Kidney Beans, canned, 2 ½ cups Garlic, minced, 5 tsp Himalayan Sea Salt, 1 ¼ tsp Black Pepper, 1 ¼ tsp Cumin, 1 ¼ tsp Chili Powder, 2 ½ tbsp 1. Brown the beef or turkey. 2. While the meat is browning, dice the peppers and onion. Set aside. 3. Combine the meat, tomatoes, and beans in large pot and place on low heat. 4. In the meat pan, sauté the peppers, onions and garlic. 5. Once the veggies are tender, add them to the tomato pot. Then mix in the salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder. 6. Cover the pot and let the chili cook for 1 – 2 hours on low heat. Stir occasionally....
by Steven Mathis | Oct 27, 2015 | Eat Real Food Based on Your Needs
Key Points: We should eat real food based on our needs. If a food didn’t come from the ground, a tree, or living creature that was fed by the other living organisms (plants, other animals, etc), then it isn’t real food. Use the five second and the ingredient list tests to identify real food. Use the bonus the shelf life and location tests to identify real food. Diets seem to rank up there with politics and religion as a taboo topic. Regardless of how you describe the way you eat, whether it’s the Standard American Diet (or SAD… irony?), Paleo, Primal, high carb/low fat, low carb/high fat, etc, you are on a diet! Face it! Your diet is simply what you ate today. I don’t promote or subscribe to any particular style of eating over another. Instead, I feel that we should eat real foods based on what our bodies need. So, there are two parts to that statement: “eat real foods” and “based on what your body needs.” Let’s start with “eat real foods”. What does that mean? What is “fake” food? Let’s look at three distinct but accurate definitions. What is “real food”? First, Mike Dolce, MMA’s expert on weight cutting and nutrition, tells listeners of the Mike Dolce Show to eat “earth grown nutrients”. When he refers to earth-grown nutrients, Dolce says, “Now, I’m not talking about cocaine or things like that, obviously. We’re talking about blueberries, avocados, chia seeds, and a tremendous amount of green vegetables.”[i] Second, Loren Cordain, Ph.D., says to eat a diet with “lots of lean meats, fresh fruits, and vegetables.”[ii]...
by Steven Mathis | Oct 19, 2015 | Blog, Training, Uncategorized
We’ve seen (or done it!) hundreds of times! What exactly? Start a workout without doing any prep work. I understand… you are rushed, you are pumped to get into the training, you don’t like working on mobility… However, those excuses don’t negate the need to properly prepare our bodies for the upcoming work! A warm up is generally described as preparing the body for physical activity. An effective warm up will enhance overall performance, allow for more effective and efficient movement patterns, and decrease the risk of injury. [i] In other words, suck it up and do it… your body will thank you! So, how should we program a warm up? Well, that depends. What are you doing during the training session? Are you just lifting, running, rowing, or are you doing some combination? The warm up should be geared toward the upcoming activities. For example, if I am only running, I am not going to spend a lot of time working on my upper body. Instead, I’ll focus on my ankles, calves, hamstrings, hips, and core. On the other hand, if I am performing large lifts that require a significant range of motion (squat, snatch, clean & jerk, etc), I need to prepare my entire body. Even though the exact elements may vary, a good warm up will generally consist of cardiorespiratory work, foam rolling, dynamic movements, and specific mobility work. Cardiorespiratory Work The purpose is to increase your heart rate and body temperature and should last 2-5 minutes. Some good examples include jumping rope, slow jogging, rowing, etc. While I don’t always include cardiorespiratory work, it is...
