REST DAY.

This week I made:

Oatmeal from steel cut oats, soaked overnight in water with a tablespoon of Astro Plain Balkan Yogurt. Cooks up quickly, add a tablespoon of honey after it’s cooled and serve with Organic Meadows whipping cream. That’s right, all natural 35% fat whipping cream. Mmmmm! Great breakfast with eggs for training days!

Tex Mex Beans & Rice:
Long Grain Brown Rice: Heat up 2 tbsp each butter and olive oil. Sautee 2 cups dry rice for about 5 minutes, until it starts to turn milky. Add 4 cups of water, or substitute some water for chicken broth or coconut milk, and bring to a boil. Let it boil until the water is reduced to the level of the rice, then cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 1.5 hours.
Beans: You could soak beans overnight and cook for 2+ hours the  next day. I’ve been buying canned beans by Eden Organics, available at Metro. They have black and kidney beans, take your pick!

Mix the rice with a can of beans, add another tbsp olive oil and some chili flakes, salt, and pepper.

Carrot Salad:
Type 1: Grated carrots, pineapple, yogurt, and raisins
Type 2: Grated carrots, grated apple, raisins

Nachos: ground beef, red pepper, green onions, tex mex cheese, full fat sour cream. Found corn tostadas that seem pretty good at Metro.

Chicken:
Legs for chicken salad with mayo/avocado and veggies
Breasts with coconut oil and pineapple OR butter and lemon juice and veggies

Whole fat dairy products are a great source of  the fat-soluble vitamins A , D, E, and K. They also facilitate your body’s absorption of other nutrients. Even lactose-intolerant people can handle real butter and real cream pretty well, and its worth it for the flavour and vitamins from these nutritious foods. If you don’t mind paying a little extra for quality, Organic Meadows brand is a local dairy co-op based out of Guelph.

Butter: I buy Organic Meadows cultured butter. A bit more expensive but much better, and even if you put it on everything (like I do), it lasts a long time.

Cream: Organic Meadows makes a great whipping cream. Add to scrambled eggs, coffee, oatmeal…

Kefir or yogurt: a cultured dairy product, great as a snack with berries or in a smoothie.
Get the full fat stuff and from whole milk, not “milk ingredients.”
I get my kefir from Starsky, either the affordable Elite Dairy brand or the Organic stuff from PineHedge Farms in glass bottles.

Whole Milk: If you’re going to drink milk, enjoy as it was made: with fat! Partly skimmed milks (2% etc) contain powdered milk, which has been heated to extreme temperatures and lost nutritional value. The vitamins are in the fat, and have to be re-added synthetically to skim milk. Powdered milk also contains oxidized cholesterol which, unlike naturally occurring cholesterol, causes arterial plaque build-up. No place to get raw milk around here so we won’t get into that.

Cheese: Good in moderation, always full fat.

MEAT:

Meat: Omega-3 Eggs, chicken breast, ground meats (great and cheap for homemade burgers!), canned tuna, fresh fish/seafood…
Starsky has small containers of ready-to-eat salmon pieces, cheaper than any smoked or fresh stuff and great in salads.

Bacon: from Starsky. Superior quality and taste than the standard packaged stuff. Longos deli counter also apparently has decent stuff.

FRUITS & VEGETABLES:

Assorted frozen berries, great for instant shakes.

Bananas: great for after a workout.

Pineapple: goes great with chicken, on its own or in a salad.

Apples: raw or make applesauce to have with chicken.

Avocado: fresh guacamole tastes great on a burger patty or as a dip for fresh veggies! Choose avocados that yield to the touch and have darker skins, but not too squishy. Buy the firmer ones and let them sit on the counter or place in a brown paper bag til they ripen, then keep in the fridge. Throw an avocado and a clove of garlic, maybe some tomatoes or salsa in the Magic Bullet.

Broccoli Slaw: pre-packaged salad from Sobeys or Metro. A $2 bag makes 4 salads, mostly shredded broccoli stalks with a bit of carrot and red cabbage.

Red pepper: relatively expensive but so good! Also use jalapenos liberally!

Salad: Throw whatever you like together – carrots, celery, cucumber, pepper, zucchini, green onions…
If you pre-chop a bunch of veggies and toss with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and vinegar (balsamic, or I also use Eden Foods red wine and apple cider vinegars, from Metro), the salad will stay fresh all week and you can just grab a scoop and go each day!

POST-WORKOUT CARBS: Earn your carbs!

Bread: Ezekiel bread is made from sprouted organic grains, which are nutritionally superior and easier to digest than those in regular processed breads. I found it in the freezer section at Metro, but you can get it and other fresh sprouted grain breads at organic stores everywhere. According to NT, if you put raw honey on the warmed bread and let it sit for 15 minutes, the enzymes in the honey will help digest the bread! I keep it in the warmed toaster oven, then slather with almond butter.

Brown Rice: When soaked overnight in water and cooked for at least 50 min, brown rice is easier to digest and the nutrients absorbed easier. Make 2 cups to last the week. A small serving goes great with vegetables in cold salad or with stir-fry.

Steel-cut Oatmeal: Add a bit of yogurt to a 1/2 cup of water and a 1/2 cup of oatmel and let it sit overnight. This small amount of prep will make the oatmeal cook up easily in 5 minutes, and make it more nutritious. Enjoy with butter or cream, raw honey, and berries.

Sweet Potato: Try mashed or sliced and baked with apple.

Purple Potatoes: Allegedly higher anti-oxidant value, same price as regular potatoes.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Sea Salt: The all-natural stuff. Sea salt has many important minerals that facilitate digestion and nutrient absorption, and makes food tastier. Limit your refined iodized stuff hiding in processed foods and add a bit of good quality sea salt to your meals.

Almond butter, Raw Honey, Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk, Mayo with Olive Oil…

Coffee

Workout: 10am
Back Squat 3×5 @ 172.4! Knees DID NOT buckle! Feel much stronger eating more.
Push Press 3×5 @ 95#
Chin Ups 3×5 @ 10#. BW 130#
Good progress!

PWO: 12pm
Vanilla Protein powder
3/4 cup Chocolate Milk
Banana

Lunch: 2pm
3.5 oz chicken breast
Apple
Kiwi
1 cup whole milk

Dinner: 6:30 pm
4 slices pizza with lots of meat
1 cup Chocolate milk
1 clementine

According to FitDay.com: Calories 2523  Fat 87g  Carbs 282g  Protein 158g

Breakfast: 11am
4 eggs
1 thick slice bacon
coffee
4 fish oil, multi vitamin

Snack: 12pm
Alex’s homemade protein bar! Mmmm
1 cup whole milk

Lunch: 2:45
1/2 pound lean ground beef
3 lg corn tortilla chips
1/4 red pepper
1/4 green pepper
1/4 jalapeno
handful Tex Mex cheese
2 stalks green onion
heaping tbsp Organic Meadow sour cream

1 kiwi
1 cup whole milk

Snack: 5:30
1 cup whole milk
10 ShaSha Lemon Snap cookies
1 tbsp coconut oil

Snack: 7:30pm
coffee
6 tim bits
1 cup whole milk

According to FitDay.com: Calories 2677  Fat 167g  Carbs 141g  Protein 156g

9am: 1 cup whole milk

Breakfast: 10am
4 eggs
1/2 potato
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp coconut oil
coffee
4 fish oil pills

Lunch: 1:45
1/2 pound ground beef
4 lg corn tortilla chips
1/2 red pepper, 1/2 jalapeno
handful tex-mex cheese

1 cup milk
4 fish oil pills, multi-vitamin

4pm: apple

Dinner #1: 5:15pm
4oz chicken breast
homemade pineapple salsa from NT recipe
6 macadamia nuts

Dinner #2: 10pm
cheesy garlic bread, chicken fingers, fries, beer

FitDay.com Total: Calories 3347  Fat 188g  Carbs 198g  Protein 184g

No almond butter, was hungry after!

Breakfast: 10am
4 eggs
2 thick slices bacon
1 1/2 cup pineapple

Workout: 11:30am
Bench Press 3×3 @ 127.4#
Power Clean 5×3 @ 108#
Played with rope climbs

PWO: 12:30
Strawberry Kiwi protein shake
banana
1/2 cup chocolate milk

Snack: 2 pm
3/4 cup kefir
vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup chocolate milk
4 Enjoy Life gluten free chocolate chip cookies

Dinner: 5pm
1/2 potato, homemade fries
1 venison sausage

1/2 can tuna
1/2 cup broccoli cole slaw
1/ red pepper
1 tbsp mayo

Broccoli coleslaw (Sobeys/Metro) is shredded broccoli stalks with a bit of carrot and red cabbage. Super tasty.

Snack: evening
1 bag whole milk

Total: Calories 2705  Fat 128g  Carbs 184g  Protein 205g

Breakfast: 9:45

1/2 Smitty’s Meat Lovers Skillet
1 cup coffee, black

Lunch: 1:30

Burger
2 slices Ezekiel Bread
1/2 avocado
Tex-Mex cheese

Dinner: 5:00

2 venison sausages
Apple
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp honey

Snack:

3/4 cup kefir
banana
1 scoop Chocolate PB protein powder
1 tbsp coconut oil
3 squares dark chocolate

Total: Calories 2377  Fat 140g  Carbs 173g  Protein 118g

I need to make sure I have that morning protein shake. And more eggs.

Breakfast (9:30am)

Ran out of eggs

2 slices thick bacon

Shake:
3/4 cup kefir
6 frozen strawberries
6 frozen grapes
1 tsp maple syrup

1 slice Ezekiel Bread
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tbsp almond butter

Ezekiel bread is made from sprouted organic grains, which are nutritionally superior and easier to digest than those in regular processed breads. I found it in the freezer section at Metro, but you can get it and other fresh sprouted grain breads at organic stores everywhere. According to NT, if you put raw honey on the warmed bread and let it sit for 15 minutes, the enzymes in the honey will help digest the bread! I keep it in the warmed toaster oven, then slather with almond butter.

Lunch: 12:15

1/2 Smitty’s Meat Lovers Skillet

Workout: 1:30

1/2 cup chocolate milk during!

Back Squat
3×5 @ 170#

Push Press
5x 85, 90, 95#

Chin Ups
10# – 3,3,3,3,3

PWO: 2:30

Strawberry Kiwi Protein Shake
Banana

Snack: 5:15

1/2 cup milk
5 ShaSha Lemon Snap Spelt Cookies (yummy!!! From Metro)

Snack: 7:45

Oh Yeah! protein bar

Snack: 9:15

Vanilla protein powder
3/4 cup kefir
2 Enjoy Life Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies

Total: Calories 2901  Fat 139g (43%)  Carbs 289g (38%)  Protein 141g (19%)

Need more real protein!!

BK Sausage n Egg Croissantwich
Hash Browns
Orange Juice
2 French Toast Sticks

Calories 1330 Fat 69g Carbs 150g Protein 27g

Workout (10:30)

Bench Press 3×3 @ 126#
Deadlift 2 @ 215, 2 failed attempts. Will reset to 185# next week

PWO (11:45)

Strawberry Kiwi Protein Powder
Banana

Lunch (2:00)

3.5 oz chicken breast
1/2 cup veggie salad
kimchi
1/2 cup kefir with 1 tbsp raw honey and 4 strawberries

Dinner (6:30)

4 eggs, scrambled with chili sauce
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup mixed berries

Snack (10:15)

Assortment of salami, prociutto
Apple, 4 strawberries
Almond, peanut butter with honey
2 squares Dark Chocolate

Lunch + Dinner + Snack Calories 1614  Fat 94g (52%) Carb 112g (26%) Protein 88g (22%)

Total: Calories 2944 Fat 163g Carbs 262g Protein 115g

Shake (6am)
1/2 cup kefir
1/2 cup whole milk
1 banana
1 scoop chocolate peanut butter protein powder
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp olive oil

FitDay.com: Calories 572 Fat 33.7 (52%) Carbs 33.6 (23%) Protein 36.9 (26%)

Breakfast (9:30):

Black Coffee
3 eggs, 1/2 avocado, 2 slices thick bacon
1/2 cup oatmeal with heavy cream

FitDay.com: Calories 906 Fat 70.7 Carbs 32.0 Protein 40.6

Workout (10:30):

Back Squat
3×5 @ 165#

Push Press
5×80
5×85
5×90

Chin-Ups
15 reps @ 10# – 5, 4, 3, 3

Post Workout (12:15):
1 scoop Strawberry Kiwi Protein Powder
1 banana

Lunch (2:00)
Chicken Shawerma on pita

Evening (8:00)
Oh Yeah Bar

Later Evening (10:00)
3 thick slices of summer sausage

Total: Calories 2507 Fat 147g Carb 154g (18g fibre) Protein 150g