Category: Macronutrients

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Savory Turkey-Cranberry Hash

I’m not ready for Thanksgiving to be over. Seasoned with sage and garlic, this healthy turkey cranberry hash uses riced cauliflower as the base with a bit of crunch from almonds and celery. This dish takes very little time to make and is great for meal prep!

Cauliflower is a staple food in my diet. It is awesomely versatile – on it’s own it has little taste, but readily absorbs other flavors while cooking. Just as importantly, it has an outstanding micronutrient profile with high a content of dietary fiber, Vitamin C, K, and folate.

Frozen riced cauliflower is sold at all major grocery stores, Target, and Costco. I keep a stock in my freezer for whipping up quick meals – all it takes is about 5 minutes in the microwave. If you have the time, you could also buy fresh cauliflower and rice it yourself.

Regarding the macros, I set up this recipe for 20 g of protein, 10 g of fat, and 13 g of carbs for a total of 220 Calories per serving. It is readily adjusted to your needs:

  • Increase/decrease protein by adding more or less turkey
  • Increase/decrease fats by modifying the amount of almonds
  • Increase/decrease carbs by modifying the amount of cranberries

Please let me know if you tried this recipe!

If you are looking for some help to manage your health and fitness through the holidays, and transition to healthier habits, please reach out.

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Healthy Vanilla Maple Baked Apples

Deliciously sweet baked apple stuffed with high protein oat vanilla maple filling. Amazing flavors with a fraction of the sugar and fat!

This is a great snack to get an apple pie a la mode flavor fix with lower calories, while also getting dose of protein. This beautiful treat is delicious direct from the oven or cold. These apples are also highly portable – I’ve been packing them in Tupperware this week as part of my meal prep to snack on after a workout. Half of one of these apples is only 150 Calories.

Honeycrisp apples were used here, but any variety will do. Size and type may impact the baking time; you want the apple to still be a bit firm after cooking.

Given the apple already has a relatively high amount of carbs, I used a minimum amount of rolled oats in the filling mixture – just enough for taste. Steel cut oats also work great if you prefer those.

For the fats I incorporated sunflower butter, however almond butter also works nicely. The addition of hemp hearts adds a delicate nutty flavor and some texture to the filling. Crushed toasted almonds or walnuts would be a great substitute if you don’t care for hemp hearts.

For protein, Trutein Vanilla was used. For the cinnamon, adjust the amount to your liking. After baking, the core is dense and cake-like. The additional filling placed on top of the apple makes it really decadent and its a great dip for the “lid”/top slice.

Given that apple has plenty of natural sugar, to keep the sugar lower I used Walden Farms sugar-free pancake syrup in the filling and also drizzled on top of the apple after baking. Traditional maple syrup or pancake syrup also works if you don’t like the taste of artificial sweeteners (however it will add additional calories).

Enjoy!

Give this recipe a try and let me know how it tastes!

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Meal Prep: Juicy Chicken Breast

Friends don’t let friends eat nasty chicken! This is a fast, simple method to cook juicy chicken breasts – perfect for weekend meal prep.

Chicken breasts are a staple in my diet, so I make sure they taste good. They are high in protein, lean, and relatively flavor neutral so can be spiced up in almost any combination imaginable.

They are one of those foods that are super delicious when prepared well, but can also be a rubbery or dried out nightmare if not done right. I don’t like eating things that taste like tires, so I went on a mission to identify a fast, failsafe way to cook chicken tenderloins and breasts.

This chicken comes out MOIST, every time. The best part is that you don’t need to turn on the oven or stove…. it’s all about the George Foreman tabletop grill! Using a batch style process, you can cook 1-2 lbs of chicken breasts in less than 30 minutes. I like to use breast tenderloins as it saves me the step of butterflying whole breasts.

In this example, I use just salt and pepper for seasoning however you could use just about anything. I keep a supply of this chicken in the fridge and eat it throughout the week. I usually throw it on lettuce, toss on cooked vegetables, or put in soup. It also makes great chicken salad.

You Will Need:

1-2 lbs of chicken breast tenderloins, or butterflied chicken breasts, fridge temperature

Cutting board

1 extra large bowl

1 piece of aluminum foil

Tabletop grill, such as the George Foreman grill

Canola spray oil

Cracked black pepper and sea salt

Instructions

  • Lay out the chicken on the cutting board while the grill heats up
  • Add salt and pepper to the top side of the chicken
  • Chicken on the grill!
  • After 4 minutes of cooking
  • Place cooked chicken in bowl
  • Cover bowl with foil immediately

Before starting, ensure your chicken is not frozen. It should be cold, at refrigerator temperature. If you are using full size chicken breasts, butterfly them first.

Step 1: Plug in your tabletop grill and allow it to heat up. Do not spray any oil on the grill just yet.

Step 2: Take your chicken out of the fridge and lay out the pieces on a cutting board.

Step 3: Add salt and pepper on the top face of the chicken, amount to your liking.

Step 4: When your grill reaches temperature, lightly spray the top and bottom grill surface with oil.

Step 5: Place your chicken tenderloins, (salt and pepper side down), onto the grill. The size of my grill let’s me cook 6-7 tenderloins at a time.

Step 6: Sprinkle salt and pepper onto the top side of the chicken pieces, amount to your liking.

Step 7: Close the grill, cook for 4 minutes

Step 8: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP: Remove your chicken pieces from the grill and place them into the large bowl. Immediately cover the bowl with the aluminum foil.

Step 9: Set the bowl aside, and repeat the entire process again for your remaining chicken, making sure to transfer each batch to the bowl and re-covering with the foil immediately after.

NOTE: allow the entire covered bowl of chicken to come to room temperature on the countertop before transferring to a storage container and putting in the fridge. This resting time ensures the chicken stays juicy. Note that the bowl will contain some extra juices, which you can also dump into the storage container and use when you eat.

Enjoy and let me know if you tried out this method!

If you need additional support on meal prep strategies, feel free to reach out. Click the button below if you want to get started with nutrition coaching.

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Protein For Fat Loss

Protein is the most valuable macronutrient for retention of lean muscle mass while on a fat loss diet. But how much do we need and how does it help us? Here’s the latest from the research.

The Role of Protein – Three Major Points

1) Protein fuels our muscles with the amino acid building blocks needed to repair damage (catabolism) and grow additional muscle (anabolism). Appropriate protein intake and resistance training facilitates these processes to promote fat loss versus muscle loss.

2) As energy intake decreases, we become increasingly hungry. Beyond it’s critical function in muscle recovery and growth, protein increases levels of our hormones that provide feelings of satiety after a meal, and decrease our appetite stimulating hormone. Extended feelings of fullness enabled by appropriate protein intake is a welcome benefit!

3) Compared to carbohydrates and fats, protein has a greater energy cost to digest and metabolize – around 30%. You are burning more calories by eating protein versus other macronutrients, all in support of maintaining an energy deficit in a fat loss diet.

How Much Protein? Don’t use the US RDA……

The US Recommended Daily Allowance is 0.36 grams per pound of bodyweight per day (g/lb BW) for sedentary individuals – far too low for an exercising individual, particularly someone who engages in some form of resistance training.

A review of the current research on the impact of protein intake on body composition and muscle protein synthesis indicates that a good target for an average adult who is resistance training is 0.73 g/lb BW per day for muscle retention (and accretion).

Practical Example: a 160 lb resistance training individual currently consuming 64 g of protein per day (0.4 g/lb BW) in a calorie deficit would significantly improve their likelihood of lean mass retention by nearly doubling protein intake to 120 g/day. To compensate for the increased protein, this individual would also need to decrease the amount of carbohydrates and fats; simply adding more protein would create a calorie surplus.

So if 0.73g/lb BW is enough, would higher be even better? It’s tempting to make this extrapolation. In a fat loss diet, we want to dial in the right amount of protein to induce beneficial body composition changes, yet not take our dietary protein so high that we excessively reduce carbohydrates and fats to the detriment of performance, mood, hormones, and other markers. There are some studies indicating that higher (upwards of 0.9 g/lb BW) has no detriment and may further support lean mass retention, the overall number of studies are limited and do not yet justify higher levels across the board. That being said, based on some of the other benefits I do recommend higher protein levels to some clients in consideration of lifestyle, food preferences, satiety, training modality and intensity, and existing lean body mass (body fat does not require protein to support it).

What Type of Protein?

Eating high quality, complete proteins containing all nine essential amino acids (our bodies can’t make these and they must be obtained through diet) is the priority. Complete whole food protein sources include red meat, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, milk, yogurt, and soy. Beyond recommendation of these foods, a personalized assessment based on your current body composition and goals can be established.

When transitioning to a diet higher in protein, many people find it challenging to meet their daily protein target eating only whole foods. This is where protein powder supplementation can be useful tool. Examples of complete protein powders include, whey, egg, casein, and soy. These are digested at different rates in the body and can be utilized to their advantage at different times of day.

The specific type of complete protein powder used is of secondary importance compared to the importance of meeting daily protein intake. Bottom line – if you are going to start to incorporate protein powder into your regimen, firstly pick one that has all the EAAs, tastes good to you, and is agreeable to your stomach. The specific type and timing can be dialed in after you have formed the habit.

A lot of folks take BCAAs (branched chain amino acids aka leucine, isoleucine, and valine) as a supplement to their diet. Despite their popularity, research is fairly clear that BCAAs are ineffective for muscle protein synthesis and in this regard they are just expensive flavored water. Instead, eat or drink whey protein around workouts. You are getting plenty of BCAAs by consuming the whole foods and the protein powders mentioned above. I’m not against BCAA supplements if they make you feel good – some studies indicate they do help with recovery – but understand you are spending money on something that, from an efficacy perspective isn’t moving the needle much compared to complete protein.

When Should I Eat Protein?

After you’ve locked down the amount high quality protein you need, distribute it relatively even across the snacks and meals that you eat throughout the day, ideally every 2-4 h. There is a diverse body of research regarding how much protein the body can digest and utilize for muscle protein synthesis from each serving/meal and depends on age, gender, body composition, training status, and other considerations. Given the large number of variables, a good range to stay in is 20-40 g of high-quality protein per meal. An example of 20 g of protein would be 57 g (2 oz.) of cooked chicken breast.

Protein Timing and Training?

Specific protein timing is of secondary importance relative to overall protein intake and general distribution. However, if you are engaging in intense resistance training the post-exercise period should incorporate a solid dose of protein and carbohydrate since muscles are depleted of fuel (glycogen and amino acids) and muscle fibers require repair.

There is a misconception that the post-exercise anabolic window for muscle protein synthesis is narrow, whereby if protein is not consumed immediately post-workout, the opportunity for “gainz” will be forfeit. Far from the truth – the aggregation of research suggests that the anabolic period extends many hours post-training. From a practical eating perspective, try to get a dose of protein within 2 hours after training.

Closing Notes

It’s important to remember that fat loss and muscle growth occur by separate, distinct processes. Although it is impossible to convert fat to muscle, it is possible to preserve lean body mass while decreasing fat mass during a calorie deficit, and it is also possible to increase lean body mass while decreasing fat mass. Protein intake has a strong influence over this; I work with clients on customized protein quantity, type, and timing based on meal frequency preferences, training modality and duration, and schedule. This ensures we are maximizing the benefits of protein from a body composition, performance, and sustainability perspective. I’ve seen incredible body composition changes firsthand in my clients.

I love keeping up with latest in protein research. I’ll keep you updated on the latest credible findings. As always, please feel free to reach out with questions.

Ready to get started on your nutrition strategy?

Recommended Further Reading:

Morton, R.W., et al,A systematic review, meta-analysis and metaregression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults, Br J Sports Med, 2018;52:376–38

Schoenfeld, B.J., Aragon, A.A.,How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2018) 15:10

Rahmi, M.H., et. al, Branched-chain amino acid supplementation and exercise-induced muscle damage in exercise recovery: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials, Nutrition (2017) 42:30

Jaeger et. al., International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, v14, Article number: 20 (2017)

Longland, T.M. et al, Higher compared with lower dietary protein during an energy deficit combined with intense exercise promotes greater lean mass gain and fat mass loss: a randomized trial, Am J Clin Nutr 2016;103:738–46

Trommelen, J. , Loon, L.J.C., Pre-Sleep Protein Ingestion to Improve the Skeletal Muscle Adaptive Response to Exercise Training, Nutrients 2016, 8(12), 763

Aragon, A.A., Schoenfeld, B.J., Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window? Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2013, 10:5

Wycherley, T.P., et al, Effects of energy-restricted high-protein, low-fat compared with standard-protein, low-fat diets: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial, Am J Clin Nutr 2012;96:1281–98

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Sweet & Spicy Tofu

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A simple Chinese stir fry-inspired dish packed with protein and veggies.

When my taste buds need a break from chicken and turkey breast, pork, and lean cuts of beef, I use opportunity to explore new recipes with other protein sources. This recipe uses Tofu (a complete protein and an excellent option for vegetarians and vegans) and collagen* as the main protein sources. If you are not a tofu fan, this dish would also work great with chicken or pork.

Firstly, the tofu. It’s important to use extra firm so it doesn’t fall apart during cooking. Typically a tofu stir-fry dish calls for fried tofu which is deep fried in soybean oil and triples the calories:

Instead, I “fake fried” the tofu in a pan with a light spray of canola oil to give the exterior a crisp texture. The end result is nicely browned cubes that aren’t greasy and are ready to absorb the glaze.

  • Before “frying”
  • After “Frying”

For the glaze: A common way to thicken a glaze or sauce is to add corn starch. Rather than corn starch (carbohydrate), I instead used collagen protein which provides the same result but instead adds additional protein. It’s a great substitution; collagen is flavorless and readily absorbs into water. It seamlessly mixes with the other ingredients in the glaze.

Hoisin sauce and chilli sauce can be purchased at all major grocery stores, although it is usually less expensive at the Asian grocery stores. You can adjust the level of heat by adding more or less chili sauce. The recipe keeps it mild, I usually add more as I eat it.

Chinese eggplant and the peppers.

Finally, a note about the veggies. I used Chinese eggplant because it contains slightly less water than the more commonly found large ones to reduce the risk of over-steaming and sogginess. Eggplant is a high fiber food and contains some great micronutrients. It also happens to be an amazing sponge for flavors, win-win! For the peppers, you can use any color – I just happened to have a red and orange in the fridge. Green would change the flavor a bit, but not in a bad way.

Sweet and Spicy Tofu Eggplant

Makes: 4 servings

Per Serving: 256 kcal, 26g Carbs, 20g Protein, 8g Fat

Ingredients:

  • 2 Chinese eggplant, chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 2 bell peppers (any color), chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 425 g (15 oz) extra firm tofu
  • 40 g collagen protein
  • 60g (3 tbsp) hoisin Sauce
  • 30 g chili paste
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 6-8 mists of canola oil spray

Instructions:

  1. Cut tofu up into approx. 3/4″ cubes
  2. Mist large skillet or pan (flat bottom) with canola oil spray and place in the tofu cubes.
  3. Turn heat to medium-high and allow the tofu to cook for 6-7 minutes, or until the bottom side turns golden brown. Flip the cubes and repeat the heating process until all sides are golden. Remove tofu from pan and set aside.
  4. In a small bowl, thoroughly stir together hoisin sauce, chili paste, water, minced garlic, and collagen powder to form the glaze. Set aside.
  5. Lightly spray the skillet again and add the chopped veggies. Heat on medium high for 12-14 minutes, or until veggies are tender and you see the eggplant turn slightly translucent. Stir up the veggies every minute or so to ensure even cooking. Try not to let the pieces stack on top of one another to ensure that they all cook through. Here is what they should look like after cooking:
  6. Turn heat to low. Add tofu back to the pan then add the glaze. Gently fold all ingredients together until the glaze coats all of the pieces.

This dish goes great with either white or brown rice.

I enjoy coming up with new recipes for myself and to meet my client’s needs. Please let me know if you’ve given this a try!

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* Meats, whey, casein, and egg protein are excellent complete protein sources. A complete protein source must contain all nine of the essential amino acids – the amino acids that or bodies can’t produce on their own and we must get from our diets. Soy and hemp are also complete if you are looking for plant-derived alternatives.

However, collagen is an incomplete protein- it lacks one of the nine essential amino acids (tryptophan). Further, its amino acid profile is skewed towards glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline which is not ideal if you are looking to sustain and grow more muscle. If your diet is primarily based on the complete sources mentioned above, there is no harm incorporating collagen into your diet…..it will help strengthen your nails, hair, skin, and joints.

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Rice, Rice, Baby

A brief review of rice. Is brown or white better for you? What kind should you be eating?

Anatomy of Rice

Brown rice is a whole grain; white rice is basically naked brown rice. During the milling and polishing process the bran (the “brown” of brown rice) and germ are removed, leaving only the endosperm. The bran is a protective layer that contains some fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The germ contains a little bit of fat, protein, and some other micronutrients.

My second grade drawing showing components of a rice grain.

Nutritional Comparison

Utilizing the USDA FoodData Central database, I generated the table below for side-by-side of 100g cooked long grain brown rice versus 100g cooked enriched long grain white rice. Numbers noted in parenthesis are the percentage of the US Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for each vitamin and mineral. Vitamins and minerals that had a value of zero or in cases where there was no difference between white or brown the two were omitted so that we can focus on differences.

Fiber: White rice has less fiber than brown rice, but overall rice is generally a lower fiber food. Eat vegetables and fruits regularly and the amount of fiber in serving of white or brown rice will play a minor role in your daily fiber intake. That being said, foods containing fiber are generally more more satiating and blunt glycemic response, so brown rice may be a better option if you are working on losing weight or are at risk of Type 2 diabetes. Less fiber can also be a good thing; white rice is friendlier to digest if you are having gut issues.

Vitamins and Minerals: As you can see it’s a mixed bag with brown having higher content of certain vitamins and minerals in some cases, and fortified white in other cases. If you have a relatively balanced diet and/or take a multivitamin, I would not be too concerned with these differences as you decide what type of rice you want to eat.

Glycemic Response: Glycemic Index (GI) and Gycemic Load (GL) are gauges to understand the impact of a food on blood sugar levels. GI is a comparison against 50g of a reference food (glucose, score 100), whereas GL is a more practical because it takes into account the portion size of a food. Glycemic Load = GI/100 multiplied by the net grams of carbohydrate in the serving (net excludes dietary fiber).

GI and GL are slightly higher for white rice, which you may want to take into consideration if you are at risk of Type 2 diabetes. Based on current research, eating brown rice helps support lower blood sugar levels and reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes. However, it’s also important to place GI and GL within context of practical eating. These measurements are taken on isolated foods – I don’t know about you but when I have rice, I’m not just eating rice. I’m usually eating it with vegetables, meat, or other things. These “mixed meals” have a high influence on digestibility and therefore can change/blunt the glycemic response.

Other Notes

The naturally occurring metalloid Arsenic is found in both white and brown rice, but is higher in brown rice. Arsenic is toxic to humans and associated with certain cancers, heart disease, and Type 2 diabetes. Presently, consensus is the benefits of rice in our diet outweighs the Arsenic risk; eating rice in reasonable amounts is acceptable. As a risk mitigation ensure your diet is not based too heavily on rice, and reduce exposure level by thoroughly pre-washing your rice (Arsenic is water soluble). Arsenic aside, I wash my rice anyway because it provides a fluffier texture.

Brown rice contains lignans, natural polyphenol compounds that some studies indicate protect against heart disease and can lower total cholesterol. Other health-protective benefits may come to light as further research is conducted.

Key Takeaways

Both white and brown rice are excellent carbohydrate sources. There is no reason to restrict yourself to one type as a healthy adult in a balanced diet.

Brown rice is more micronutrient dense, however these differences do no warrant selection of one type of rice over another.

If you are trying to lose weight, brown rice may be a better option as the high fiber content can provide a greater feeling of fullness.

If you are are risk for Type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, or have high cholesterol, studies indicate that brown rice may be a better option provided consumption is within recommended servings.

Like all foods, eat reasonable portions and do not rely on rice as a main source of nutrition.

Wash all rice before cooking.

References:

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169704/nutrients

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168878/nutrients

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