Father’s day foods- key, healthy foods for men to eat

There is certain dietary advice that pertains to everyone. But we can be sexist when it comes to nutrition as there are foods I recommend specifically to men due to their anatomy (wink) and health risks. So tell the men in your life to eat these “dude foods”.

Watermelon

Watermelon contains lots of lycopene, which is important of prostate health. There is also an amino acid in watermelon that helps with exercise recovery and post-exercise soreness. And if that’s not enough? There’s an amino acid in watermelon that’s known as nature’s Viagra (may be a little awkward to tell your dad about that).

Clams

I feel shellfish gets ignored when it comes to nutrition. Clams have impressive potassium, which helps keep blood pressure under control. They’re also rich in B vitamins to control cholesterol.

Try using bone broth (we love the Nona Lim Thai curry and lime broth) for clam cooking.

And fried clams don’t count.

Spinach

If forced to pick, I’d choose spinach over kale. Spinach is a great source of magnesium and over three quarters of men are magnesium deficient. Studies show when mag (we have nicknames for our minerals) is low, levels of C-reactive protein are higher. C-reactive protein is a marker for heart disease and inflammation. Maybe get dad drinking green juice?

Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds are a great source of zinc. Zinc is important for testosterone production, sperm health and immunity. Our bodies don’t store zinc so it’s important to get enough via diet.

Saw Palmetto

I think men over 50 (or all men depending on their family history) should take this supplement for prostate health and there’s some encouraging info about saw palmetto and male pattern baldness. Some studies show it leads to hair regrowth.

And if you’re in need of a Father’s Day gift? A little flavor and metabolism booster for dad? Or, you can always give the gift of Foodtraining...send your father, husband, grandpa our way.

Happy Father’s day (and summer solstice) too all.

I whipped myself

You may have read about our Whipping Week we launched for the New Year. Clients have been "whipped" in our offices and via our Foodstalking program people are getting a virtual whipping in Chicago, Texas and Florida. See what happened when Carolyn (@onesmartbrownie) whipped herself.

For the most part, I am fine with my vices and believe you should love what you eat and drink. But after a little too much “love” over the holidays it was time to rein it in. I enjoy a challenge but have to admit I’m always hesitant to go super strict. After all, I am the girl who creates my own juice/soup cleanse rules (why would I live without coffee?).  But we launched our Whipping Week and I was ready to give it a try. And so I “whipped” myself.

If you’ve read our newsletter or blog posts, you know this entailed NO booze, NO grains, NO meat and NO dairy and limited fruit. Some people have a last supper before they start a new regime, I had to have a last “sipper”.  One flute of champagne with berries and I was ready for whipping.

And here you have a day in the life of Whipping.

Breakfast

Bulletproof-ish style coffee with a little almond milk and tsp coconut butter and blended.

 ½ cup serving of homemade chia . No fruit at breakfast was the hardest part for me, but this was all about keeping it simple.

Mid morning: Wakaya turmeric tea  

Lunch- making lunch the biggest meal of the day is a challenge for me but works best. Here is my lunch deconstructed (pink is salmon). It was more of a “dunch” or dinner for lunch as we like to call it.

Mid afternoon: our new obsession from FoodMatters, was honestly my favorite daily ritual. Bone broth (made from grassfed beef) is so warming and filling. This pic doesn’t so it justice but it’s flavored with herbs and spices and lots of ginger and is so delish.  Half a bottle and I was good to go until my (early bird) dinner.

Winner winner no chicken dinner. Dinner was basically veggie heaven, tons of vegetables, my favorite way to do this is with the spiralizer. I added a tbsp of olive oil and lots of garlic and a bit of miso too.

After dinner one of the first nights of Whipping Week I had a hot date which was now going to be hot tea (instead of a drink). I’m sure he was excited about this, nothing like mint tea to really set the mood. Luckily the man in question handled it very well and tea’d it up too. (+10 points for him).

Over a solid  Whipping days  and a whipping-ish, weekend,  I felt SO good and light My snacky tendencies and  carby/sweet extras  that had been sneaking in were nipped in the bud. Of all my workouts, I only had one less-than-stellar spin class the whole week which I blame on not drinking enough water versus whipping. So this week was really neither like 50 shades nor the hunger games, much to my delight.

Have you gotten whipped or tried our whipping tenants? Tell us how it’s going, what have been your favorite meals? Does this look difficult?

Bone Broth: Yay or Step Away?

Yesterday I spoke to CBS about bone broth (segment airs Christmas week); Carolyn is going to “break” things down for us today.

Bone broth is the new “hot” beverage (literally) of the season. Truth be told it’s not really new but newly popular thank in part to paleo peeps and GAPS diet. It’s gaining a cult following similar to kombucha. But let’s get to the “bare bones” if you will… bone broth, yay or stay away?

What is bone broth?

As the name implies bone broth is made from chicken, beef or fish bones slowly cooked for 12 or more hours. While the thought of slurping on bone leftovers might make you lose your appetite, it’s not that different from regular old chicken stock. The main difference is that store-bought stock is cooked at high temperature for a short amount of time. Stock is about flavor and not about extracting goodness from the bones.

So, why bones?

Bones are nutritional powerhouses. During cooking, collagen from the bone breaks down into gelatin and this is where the goodness comes from. It’s a super rich source of minerals including calcium and amino acids. Also present are glucosamine and chondroitin names you may recognize from commonly used joint supplements. Whether you are arthritic or just achy from exercise, bone broth can help. Gelatin also benefits our skin, digestive tract and immune system.

How do you make bone broth?

You can heat broth and put in thermos, nuking not suggested

Confession, we don’t (or haven’t yet). You can use leftover bones from roasting a chicken etc. but we’d suggesting asking your butcher for marrow or soup bones (we hear chicken feet are great), you need a couple pounds of bones.  You place bones in a pot or slow cooker, cover with water, add apple cider vinegar which helps extract nutrients from bone and onions, garlic and any flavorings. Be careful to simmer and not boil the broth and then wait and wait. This is at least a 12-hour process (and we thought highlights were time consuming). When you’re done cooking you’ll strain and chill the broth (you can freeze some in jars). They key to this is that the result should resemble brown J-e-l-l-o (vom). Bone broth is not a looker.

Or, you can buy bone broth

Perfect on a cold day

If you’re like us, you can buy bone broth at Brodo (Lauren suggests chili oil and fresh turmeric “toppings”) on the LES or Bone Deep and Harmony. Rumor has it Hudson & Charles in the west village is brothing too as are our friends at Food Matters. There are also online retailers. Sally Fallon has a new broth cookbook that was sold out on Amazon the last I checked (but available at B &N). Pacific foods have also joined the bone broth brigade but we’re not sure how we feel about this yet.

Children of nutritionists must try bone broth (he loved it, stole his mother's)

Any downside or concerns?

The haters will say there’s not a lot of research on bone broth, which is a legit point, but there’s a long history of use that means a lot to us.

You also want to watch the pot or vessel you cook in. Ceramic has some lead concerns so stainless steel is the way to go.  And finally you must use quality bones from organic chickens or grass fed beef. Animals store pesticides and hormones in their fat and you don’t want to drink that.

So, Yay or Step Away?

Lauren was asked if bone broth is a miracle and if bone broth will replace coffee? We don’t believe in food miracles nor do we have plans to “replace coffee”. However, bone broth made from grass-fed beef bones is full of omega-3’s and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which reduces inflammation and may decrease body fat. So, sip your way slim?

We say “yay” bone broth is a delicious and warming ritual for winter. With any healthy food, to feel the max benefits, it needs to be a regular part of your diet. Try a cup of broth a day or use it when making other soups or stews. If it’ll prevent us from getting sick, make us less achy with better skin and digestion? We’re in.

Have you tried bone broth? Do you make it? Are we silly for being squeamish about making it? Or are you phobic too?