New Year Nutrition Challenge

By: Jeff

Join us for the New Year Nutrition Challenge

As the calendar flipped from 2014 to 2015, many people were thinking of resolutions or goals to help make themselves a better, happier and healthier person in the new year. In our house we did the same thing, but with a twist.

Everyone always uses bland statements and goals when looking ahead to the new opportunities which await in the new year. Why not be specific and join us in the New Year Nutritional Challenge?

Here are the details of the challenge:

Allowed:
- Vegetables
- Quality sourced protein (think organic, local and grass-fed or a combination of the three)
- Fruits (within moderation)
- Nuts, seeds and legumes
- Coffee (1 serving a day and be sure it is freshly brewed and not loaded with sugar)
- Tea (1 serving a day and just as coffee must be brewed and not pre-made)
- Eggs
- Whole Milk
- Water (lots and lots of water)

NOT Allowed:
- Excess Sugars (Candies, chocolates, etc.)
- Breads (even whole grain bread)
- Cereals
- Low-Fat Milk
- Artificial Sweeteners (anything which says 'SUGAR FREE' will have artificial sweetener in it)
- Sodas, Energy Drinks and Juices
- Rice
- Pastas
- Jellies and Jams
- Alcohol of any kind (No wine, beer, gin, vodka, rum...you get the picture.)

Essentially what you are doing in this challenge is eliminating excess sugar and carbohydrates and resetting your body to living within the healthier realm of vegetables, fruits and proteins.

This challenge is flexible in terms of duration. You could challenge yourself to do this for one week (or 7 days), or for a month. If this is your first time doing a challenge like this, I would recommend at least two weeks to start. This gives your body a chance to cleanse itself of sugars and allow your body to move past the cravings which will run rampant during the first week.

My wife, Nicole, and I did this challenge from the weekend after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. Around a month in duration and afterwards we both felt great. We enjoyed the holidays and have started the challenge again.

Doing this challenge with someone else will make this an easier process. Whether that person is a spouse, friend or co-worker is irrelevant. Just someone who can sympathize with your plight will certainly go a long way in your success.

During our time doing the challenge between Thanksgiving and Christmas we had friendly wagers with one another if someone slipped up throughout the journey. For instance, if I slipped up Nicole would get to teach her typical Thursday spinning class and go directly to a hot yoga class afterwards while I stayed at home with our 3 children and took care of dinner, dishes, etc. (Neither of us slipped up once, by the way.)

Do whatever you have to do, but give this challenge a try. It is worth it for your health, and you will lose weight in the process. Combine this challenge while increasing your activity level will only help you feel better, look better and improve your overall health.

If you slip up? Don't worry about it. Put it behind you and start over again. One of the main reasons New Year's resolutions fail is the fact people are too hard on themselves if they fail to live up to the standard they've built in their minds. Instead, take it easy on yourself. Expect more, but hit the reset button and get back on the horse. Resiliency is always a favorable trait.

With that said, who wants to be a part of this journey with us? Simply leave a comment below in the comment section stating when you are starting the challenge, as well as the duration of your challenge. I'll be checking up with you to see your progress...remember just one step at a time!

The Christmas I grilled the family turkey

By: Jeff

The 2014 Christmas Eve will be one I will remember, not just because of the time spent with family and friends, but also it was the first time we provided the main dish for dinner...the turkey. Not only was that a first for our family, but we cooked it a way no one had ever tasted before (including myself). 

The brine

The 2014 Christmas was the first time we ever grilled a 13-pound turkey, and to say the result was good might be the understatement of the year. We decided to take pictures of the process and share them with the readers of the site.

The first step in the process, and probably the most important for the best flavor, was placing the turkey into a brine. The brine was a simple concoction. About a gallon of water, a cup of salt, a cup of sugar, black pepper corns, minced garlic, freshly squeezed orange juice along with leaving the oranges in the brine.

After the brine has boiled, let it rest until the liquid cools to room temperature (you can expedite this process by adding ice cubes to the brine.) Once the brine has cooled, get a pot large enough for the liquid and the turkey (many use a clean Lowe's or Home Depot container) and place the turkey into the brine for at least 12 hours (some leave it soaking for up to 48 hours).

While the turkey is soaking, it is time to prepare the other ingredients for when the turkey is done soaking. Take 4 oranges and cut them into quarters, 3 onions cut and sliced and 3 apples cut into sections. These ingredients will be stuffed into the turkey, along with being placed in the drip pan underneath the turkey while cooking on the grill.

Once the bird has soaked in the brine, remove from the liquid and dry thoroughly. After drying, you will want to season the inside and outside of the turkey with salt, pepper and butter. If you are looking for a nice flavor and crusty skin, we took rendered bacon fat and also used that on both the inside and outside of  the turkey.

Once seasoned, we put the turkey onto a roasting rack which will go directly on the grill and will be rotated 180-degrees every 30 minutes.

Before I go any further, the grill is something which needs to be focused on. I cook with charcoal and smoke with wood chips. I decided to use apple wood chips, and had a healthy batch of chips soaking in water for 2 hours before using them.

The turkey will cook on indirect heat, which means a heat source will never be directly underneath the turkey, but rather to each side of the turkey. This operation requires frequent babysitting. Once you have your coals at high temperature, you will have to check every 30 minutes to add charcoal, as well as add hot coals every other trip to maintain proper temperature. I used one large bag of charcoal from the start of the grilling till I was done.

Before placing the turkey on the grill, place the oranges, apples and onions left over into a drip pan between the coals and fill with 2-3 cups of water. The drippings from the turkey will mix with the flavors of the fruit and vegetables to create an aroma and a basting sauce which is unbeatable.

As stated earlier in the article, you will rotate the turkey every time you check on it to ensure it cooks evenly throughout. I placed our turkey on the grill at 10:45 a.m. and took the finished product off the grill around 2:30 p.m. You want to maintain a high medium temperature throughout the process, adding wood chips to the coals every time you check on the turkey. The internal temperature should be between 170-180 degrees and should be checked in multiple areas on the turkey (thigh, breast, etc.) to ensure the meat is cooked throughout.

Once the turkey has reached proper temperature, take the turkey off the grill and place in a roasting pan inside. Tent the turkey with aluminum foil for about an hour. In the meantime, you can take the drip tray and baste the turkey to keep the turkey moist before serving. After the turkey has rested for an hour, it is time to carve and enjoy! Once you try turkey this way, you will never want a typical oven cooked turkey again. It is time consuming, but well worth the wait.

All it takes is saying "No" one time

Sometimes all it takes is saying, "No" one time...

By Nicole

It can all start by saying, "No" just one time. 

I can't even imagine what it would feel like to have to lose 20, 50, or even a hundred pounds just to feel like yourself again or even trying to stop a food addiction like soda.  However, you have to start somewhere. 

I completely understand how food offers so many things to the human body and a lot of us have had years to build this multi-faceted relationship with it. Just recently I had been struggling to stay strong with the lifestyle we follow. If someone had M & M's or any type of chocolate I was on it. It left me feeling lethargic and lacking motivation to be as active as I would have liked. 

So, something had to be done. I just had to say, "NO" one time to a food offer that would do my body more harm than good. I know that food temptation is EVERYWHERE, but you can change. 

So what can you do?

Take a second to write down what it is you are eating throughout the day, sort of like a food journal. After about a week, examine those choices. What percentage are vegetables? Fast food? Healthy fats and meats? Processed food? Grains? Water? Sugar in all forms (soda, fruit, candy, alcohol, juice, etc)? For most, these results are eye opening, so what are you going to do to change?

Decide what it is you can possibly cut back on or even eliminate to make you healthier. For most people sugar is their main addiction and new studies are showing sugar can be just as addictive as drugs like cocaine.

When analyzing your nutrition, always try to remember what paleolithic, or original man, had accessible to him (or her). They did not have access to much fruit, so the constant craving for sugar was never there. But over the years, fruit has become so accessible and sadly, larger (I am pretty sure apples shouldn't be the size of a softball) it has people walking around in a constant sugar craze. 

So, please do yourself a favor and break up with these foods which are causing weight gain, Type 2 diabetes, thyroid issues, cancer and so much more. All it takes is for you to say, "NO" just one time. Trust me, after that one moment of strength you will start to feel better, then you will start to look better and it will continue to get easier and easier to stay strong! 

Wondering where to start? Here is a recipe you can say, "yes" to and it is so simple even a cave man could do it!

Crockpot Chicken

1 whole chicken

3 bags baby carrots

1/2 stick of butter (organic is best)

Salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder to taste. 

Place the whole chicken in the crock pot, breast side down. Season the chicken with the salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.  Slice the butter and place on top of the chicken, save some slices to put on the carrots. Place the opened bags of carrots around and on top of the chicken.  Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours or on high for three. 

Of course, you need another vegetable. Here is our children's favorite way to have broccoli...

4-6 heads of broccoli, cut into small florets 

Grapeseed oil (olive oil is best not heated)

Salt and pepper

Place the broccoli on a large baking pan. Drizzle well with grapeseed oil and season generously with salt and pepper. 

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until most pieces start to crisp. You will want to stir halfway through. 

Trust us, once you have it this way, you won't want to have it any way else!

Enjoy!

When in doubt, choose local

Eating local food can be better for your health,
as well as the environment.

By Nicole:

Personally, I like knowing what is in the food we eat. The food we eat as a family has always been a battle I am willing to fight for, especially if it is something our children will be eating too. 

Being a physical/health educator I have always had a connection with nutrition and of course physical activity. It wasn't until our oldest was born that I fully submersed myself in the whole concept of nutrition and the effects it has on our body.

For most of my life I placed a ton of trust in the recommended guidelines from the food pyramid, which became MyPyramid and now MyPlate. Then I read the book Skinny Bitch, which opened my eyes to the whole Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO).  After reading and doing more research we decided that we would try following a pescatarian diet (fish, eggs, veggies,fruit, nuts/seeds, and grains), because at that time we were not able to find local grass fed meats. 

Then our oldest our oldest was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and our eyes were opened to the whole world of blood sugar spikes.  What was causing those spikes? I am sure you can guess...wheat, corn, fruits, juice, oats, rice, etc. So gradually we started to eliminate those foods which were causing huge blood sugar spikes and added meat back into our lives (protein is a "free" food for diabetics, meaning it does not contain carbohydrates).

Thankfully, we found a local farm that raises their animals they way animals should be raised (cows should eat grass and pigs and chickens should eat off of the land) .  It truly is nice knowing that our meat has not been fed antibiotics or growth hormones. Believe it or not, but those hormones and antibiotics become part of your food, which eventually can lead to many health problems, antibiotic resistance being one of them.  It is also nice to know that our meat is local and not from hundreds of miles away from our grocery store, decreasing the carbon footprint on the enviroment.

In closing, if you are not able to find a trustworthy place to buy your meat, choosing organic meat is second best.  If that is still not an option, just make sure that the meat you are buying is free of hormones and antibiotics.

If you live close to our home town (Hagerstown, MD) and would like to know where we buy our meat, please feel free to ask in the comment section below the article.

In the mean time enjoy the recipe below:

Fall Harvest Crockpot Chicken

1.5 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 sweet onion, diced
1 pear, peeled and diced
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup chicken broth (optional)
2 bay leaves
Sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cinnamon

Layer squash, half the onions, pears, and cranberries on top.  Add 1 bay leaf and some spices. Arrange a layer of chicken on top of the spices.  Add another layer of spices and second bay leaf on top of the chicken.  Add the remaining onion, pear, and cranberries.  Pour the broth over the mixture (this is optional, to make the dish more like soup).

Cook on high for 3 hours and then on low for 90 minutes

A great cold weather meal! Happy eating!

Don't fall for the gimmicks of the food industry

All those labels...consumers must read between the lines.

By: Jeff

Around the holiday season you are enticed by gimmicks everywhere. The latest gadget on television, the new car promotion at the local dealership and even at your local grocery store. The difference between the examples previously mentioned, the grocery store gimmicks aren't just near the holidays, but all year long.

There are a million gimmicks at the grocery store, and all are horrible in their own unique way, but for today's article I am going to focus on the hottest word in the food business: the healthy food industry.

People are starting to buy healthier/organic all the time. Why? Well, because it says organic on it, obviously. The issue with this is not all healthy/organic foods are created equal.

Companies have made millions upon millions of dollars by putting words like 'Natural' and 'Free-Range' on their products to hoodwink you into thinking their products are ultimately better for you. However, that isn't always the case. Do some research and you will see the real truth.

The following came from a great article you can read on your own by clicking THIS LINK:

"Natural" - A "natural" or "all-natural" product seems to imply that all the ingredients were plucked straight from nature with no interference from human beings, but in reality there isn't much on this earth that ISN'T natural. The FDA only regulates the word "natural" in meat and poultry products to include those that contain no artificial substances - although confusingly, genetically modified organisms are allowed. One could convincingly argue that even petroleum by-products, high fructose corn syrup and rat excrement are natural - after all, they all came from the natural world. Perhaps the biggest offender on this list, the tag "natural" on any item is basically meaningless and has been usurped by grocery manufacturers trying to compete with the certified organic food label.
"Local" - There are no legal standards for the word "local," so your grocer could put up oranges from Chile and call them "local" with no repercussions. How to avoid this conundrum? Shop for produce at farmers markets, visit local farms and get to know the people who grow your food.
"Free Range" - As far as the USDA is concerned, the only certifiable "free range" food items are poultry and eggs. The law states that chickens must be "allowed access to the outside," yet there are zero specifications as to how big this outdoor area must be. There might be one door that goes to a 4'x4' yard for 100 chickens or more that are all eating hormone-fueled, pesticide-drenched food. Your best bet is to purchase USDA Certified Organic eggs. Other "free range" meats such as beef or pork are not regulated at all, and you will just have to trust the manufacturer (or do your research).
"Made with Whole Grains" - This product might include 99.99% refined grains and .01% whole grains, but there's no way to know because the term is not regulated. The manufacturer could throw two grains of oatmeal into five tons of their product and assert that it is "Made with Whole Grains." Don't fool yourself into thinking you are eating healthier than you are!
"Lightly-sweetened" - Surely a food product that is "lightly-sweetened" contains less sugar than the norm, right? Not necessarily. Another unregulated term, "lightly-sweetened" is used to describe plenty of products that are loaded with sugar, corn syrup or other sweeteners. This food label means nothing!

When you see the truth about what the food industry does to trick consumers into buying their products it should make you feel wronged in many ways. After all, you are trying to make healthy decisions for you and your family, not to be conned into buying something which doesn't provide what the label promises.

However, if you look at the list of products that might have the label 'Made with Whole Grains', it shouldn't be purchased if you've made the jump to a Paleo or Primal lifestyle. Avoiding artificial sweeteners would eliminate the 'Lightly-Sweetened' label as well.

The real issues are with the 'Natural', 'Free-Range' and 'Local' tags. Your best bet? Try and find a local farmer that can give you an in-depth and honest look into how their food is produced and their animals are raised, sheltered and fed from birth until the end of their lives. It might be more expensive, and it might take some time to find, but there are farmers in your area who are doing their job the way it is supposed to be done. All you have to do is find them.

Consider this just the first of many articles with the theme of not trusting our country's food industry. Knowledge is power, and as the site progresses you will see more information regarding the shady nuances of our crooked federal food industry. Some might say 'ignorance is bliss', but when it comes to your health, you should know the truth.

Keepin' it clean...and I'm talking about your diet

Keep it clean and reap the benefits!

By: Jeff

Ever see those people in the gym every day, every week and every month yet never seem to change? They obviously work out, but what is the problem? They work hard and are diligent in their routines, but something doesn't add up.

What doesn't add up is what they are doing outside of the gym. You could work out an hour a day, have the most precise strategy and work your tail off while doing it, and still not see results. The missing piece of the puzzle is nutrition.

If you think of your fitness goals as a house, poor nutrition will leave you with an extremely shaky and unstable foundation. Support your fitness goals with solid nutrition and you will see gains like you've never seen before.

So with the myriad of diets and weird gimmicks on the market, what should you do? The answer is simple...keep it clean.

When it comes to eating in a Paleo or Primal fashion, it is a lifestyle not a diet. Diets are fads that wax and wane throughout our society just to eventually fade away. Remember the Adkins Diet, the Low Fat craze of the early 90's (quite possibly the worst thing ever to happen to this country from a nutritional standpoint) and of course the South Beach and Sonoma Diets? All once prominent, now gone.

All those plans have a start and an end point. Problem is, people who use these as the framework for their overall health are left wondering what to do when they've finished the plan laid out for them.

When researching a nutrition plan, the best case scenario is to find one that is flexible. This is where a Paleo or Primal lifestyle fits almost every lifestyle. Sure, it requires some sacrifice, but that is to be expected with any set of dietary guidelines. After all, if it were easy everyone would be walking around with six-pack abs.

For both the Paleo and Primal nutritional guidelines you only need to follow the nuts and bolts to see success. Stick to whole foods. Foods that have a shelf life, not ones that can sit around for 6 months and still be edible. Fruits, vegetables and lean protein sources. Eliminate breads, starches, artificial sugars and pastas.

Nicole and I have been doing a challenge from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. After gorging ourselves with pumpkin pie, we have eliminated all sweets, starches, artificial sugars and even alcohol from our diets for nearly a month. Both of us have been going strong and haven't cheated once since that time. The results you see from a good training regimen along with a nutritional plan like this is remarkable.

Eat as much as you want, just make it good, clean food. When the challenge ends, we won't go to eating Ben & Jerry's every night (although that is tempting with my sweet tooth), but will simply plan accordingly once a week to have something extra. It is about enjoying the holidays, having a cheat meal once in a while, but never letting it lead to a complete derailment of your progress.

Enjoy the holidays, but this time around let's keep it clean will ya?!

Live Well and Drop Dead

Nicole & Jeff

If you had a choice of living a shorter life that ended with a lingering disease, or a longer life that resulted in your final day being as good as ever, which would you choose?

Most would choose the longer, healthier life.

This is where this website got it's start. As parents of 3 small children, we have seen the way we live our lives change drastically in the last 6 years. Everything from the way we train our bodies, to how we treat our bodies has take a full 180 degree turnaround.

We now have found a balance in our lives that was absent for years. Our plan is to share our success with others in hopes they can find the same balance we did. We look to share workouts, recipes and general health tips that will be able to help anyone live their lives in a healthier way.

The main writers on this site are Jeff and Nicole. We have been married for 7 years and are Physical Education teachers. We are not certified dietitians, but Jeff was a full-time personal trainer and successfully trained individuals and groups before deciding to teach full-time. Nicole continues to be a group exercise instructor part-time along with teaching.

We hope you join us and take the first step to leading a happier and healthier lifestyle! If you have a question or comment, leave it in the comment section below.