When Gourmet Meets Nutrition,
Part 1
by Dr. John Berardi, CSCS
Sometimes "health food" is just plain awful. And it's this simple fact that drives some folks away from eating healthy altogether.
While I lament this fact, I have to admit I feel most sorry for those poor folks who decide to lower their heads and keep at it — those who keep eating miserable tasting food because they want to lose weight or accomplish some other health or physique-type goal.
And I feel sorry for them because they don't even know there's a better way.
You see, every day, there are people out there eating healthy, easy-to-make meals that might easily be found in gourmet restaurants. Meals that could impress the most discerning foodie. Meals that could fool a first date, a reluctant spouse, or picky-eating kids. Meals that just plain taste good. Meals that, when planned and eaten consistently, can improve and even completely transform your body.
And how do they do it?
With the principles of what I call "gourmet nutrition."
Traditionally, the worlds of gourmet cooking and healthy nutrition have been at odds. The gourmands have sacrificed all (including nutritional value) at the altar of flavor and the "artistic presentation of food."
And the nutritionists have sacrificed all (including flavor) at the altar of physiology and nutritional value.
Yet flavor and nutritional value are not mutually exclusive. I prefer to think of them as absolutely reconcilable. And by using the principles of "gourmet nutrition" you can create meals that both taste great and are healthy, too.
To this end, a "gourmet nutrition" meal must conform to the following:
It must taste great.
Simply put, to be considered "gourmet nutrition," meals must taste great, and not only to your weightlifting friends. They must taste great to everyone from chefs, to foodies, to guys and girls whose idea of "gourmet" includes chocolate-mint flavored protein shakes.
It must contain lean, complete protein.
Protein is the building block of muscle. And even if you don't want to build more muscle, you definitely want to preserve the muscle you have for as long as you can. This helps to keep your metabolism revving, improve your fat loss profile, and reduce cardiovascular disease risk. And that's why I encourage you to eat a lean, complete protein source with each gourmet meal.
It must be low in sugar and processed carbohydrates.
Sugar isn't always the demon ingredient it's made out to be, but there are valid and strong reasons to limit sugar and processed carbohydrates in your diet. These types of carbohydrates (when ingested outside the workout window or in the absence of complete meals designed to slow digestion and absorption) digest too quickly, leading to erratic blood sugar, energy levels, and hormonal responses — none of which do your health or physique any favors.
It must prioritize healthy fats over bad fats.
Whenever possible, the goal of every health-conscious individual should be to eliminate the nasty trans fat we hear so much about. But even beyond avoiding trans fats, it's important to keep our saturated fats in check while prioritizing healthy mono and polyunsaturated fats. Gourmet nutrition means eliminating trans fats while balancing out your saturates, monos, and polyunsaturated.
It must control calorie intake and density.
One of the major reasons many people gain fat as they age (aside from lack of exercise) is the fact that their daily meals are often too high in calories. Indeed, many popular food choices can be quite calorie dense. And this means that even though you don't feel like you're eating a lot of food, you're packing in too many calories with each meal. To this end, "gourmet nutrition" meals should be designed with calorie density and portion control in mind. This helps you avoid sneaking hundreds of extra calories into your diet with each meal, unknowingly.
It must include fresh, natural, additive-free ingredients.
In general, the fresher the ingredient, the better it is for you — and the better tasting. So, when choosing your meals, ask yourself if you've ever seen what you're about to eat growing in the ground or running around on a farm somewhere. If the answer is no, you're about to eat processed food. Ditto for anything that comes in a box or plastic container.
Please understand it'll be next to impossible to avoid all processed foods. In fact, there may be some processed foods that you want to include in your diet. That's okay. Really, you just want to make sure your daily diet draws mostly on fresh, whole foods.
It must offer you carbs only if you "deserve" them.
You've probably read all about high carb vs. low carb dieting. In myopinion, this high vs. low carb debate is a little misunderstood. As the body handles carbs best when it's in an exercised state, the best carb strategy is this: eat carbs only if you've earned them.
Have you exercised? If so, you've earned a higher carb meal. Have you exercised a lot? If so, you've earned even more carbs. However, keep this in mind; if you haven't exercised, your carb intake should probably be lower. Therefore "gourmet nutrition" means having two categories of meals — higher carb meals (for when you've earned them) and lower carb meals (for when you haven't).
Post Workout vs. Anytime meals.
My meal classification strategy uses the distinction between post workout and anytime meals. Why does this classification exist? Well, research shows us that the body handles carbohydrates best during and immediately after exercise. From this, we know that it's a good idea to consume most of our daily carbohydrates during and after exercise (Post Workout). Likewise, if we haven't exercised, it's best to avoid higher carb meals during this time — instead focusing on proteins, good fats, and fruits and veggies.
Please note that this rule is a general rule of thumb that works well for most as a starting point. Now, I should mention that some people are actually able to tolerate higher carbohydrate intakes outside of the Post Workout period. These individuals generally know who they are. They're often naturally very lean, and sometimes very skinny.
If you don't fit into that category, you're best off consuming carbs only in the two to three hours after an intense workout, or at least using that as the starting point for some trial and error, slowly introducing carbs outside that window and measuring the results.
So there you have it — 8 criterion for designing "gourmet nutrition" style meals — meals that both taste great and can help improve your body. And now that we've defined this criterion, I'd like to share with you some wicked recipes that personify "gourmet nutrition."
The Popeye Fruit Smoothie
The Protein Shake
Popeye Fruit Smoothie (Post Workout)
Servings
1 large or 2 small
Prep Time and Cooking
TimePrep time: 5 minutes
Prelude
Spinach is a super-food high in anti-inflammatory nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and alkaline potential in the body. (No wonder Popeye ate it to boost his strength.) As a result, we try to include spinach in many of our meals, including our shakes. And while spinach doesn't seem like it'd be a great smoothie ingredient, this shake tastes awesome as raspberries, goji berries, and cashews lend their unique flavors to the mixture.
Ingredients
1 cup raspberries (frozen)
1 cup spinach
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup cashews
2 scoops Vanilla Low-Carb Metabolic Drive
2 tablespoons fresh goji berries
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a countertop blender. Blend on high until mixture is a smooth consistency.
Variations and Options
If you're lactose intolerant or wish to avoid dairy, replace the 1 cup of yogurt and 1/2 cup of milk with 1 cup of lactose-free yogurt and either 1 cup of unsweetened soy milk or 1 cup of water and 1/2 scoop protein. Alternatively you can substitute with non-cow's milk dairy (i.e. goat milk, yogurt, etc.)
For a major vitamin boost, add up to 3 cups of spinach to the recipe.
If you can't find goji berries, you can substitute with goji berry juice or raisins.
Eggs Benedict
Breakfast
Eggs Benedict with Grilled Onion (Any Time)
Servings
1 large or 3 small
Prep Time and Cooking Time
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Prelude
Eggs benedict is a high carb, high fat breakfast tradition; delicious but not so friendly to the waistline. So with this recipe, we've decided to cut the carbs, replacing the English muffin with grilled onion slices. We also decided to cut the fat with a low-fat Hollandaise sauce. The net result is a veggie-packed breakfast that's not only delicious, it's nutritious, too.
Ingredients
Eggs Benedict
Olive oil cooking spray
3 onion slices (1/4 inch thick each)
5 oz (140 g) smoked chicken breast low-fat deli meat
3 cups spinach
3 tomato slices
1.5 oz parmesan cheese (grated)
3 whole omega 3 eggs (individually poached or fried
Hollandaise Sauce
2 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard
pinch of salt
pinch of Splenda
pinch of chili powder
Instructions
Preheat a non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Lightly coat with spray and gently place the 3 whole onion slices in the pan.
** Tip: The onion slices are in place of an English muffin, so it's important not to break them.
Cook until the bottom is nicely browned and then gently flip each slice. Cook until onion is nicely browned on both sides.Carefully remove from pan and set aside.
While the onions are cooking, whisk all hollandaise sauce ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add mixture to a small saucepan and gently heat until mixture is warm but not boiling and set aside.
Once onions are done, re-spray pan and add the spinach. Cook until spinach shrinks to at least half its original size. Remove from pan and set aside.
Place three onion slices individually on a plate. Put a tomato slice on top of each onion slice. Place 1/3 of the chicken, spinach, and cheese on top of each onion slice. Top with an egg and garnish with hollandaise sauce.
Variations and Options
Post Workout Option: Add two slices of whole grain toast or any Gourmet Nutrition oatmeal recipe.
For a meat variation, substitute chicken with 2 oz (70 g) of lox or 5 oz (140 g) of turkey ham
For a cheese variation, substitute parmesan cheese with slices of havarti or aged white cheddar.
For a veggie variation, substitute the spinach and tomato with other vegetables such as sautéed mushrooms, zucchini, or red peppers. For a sauce variation, replace Hollandaise sauce with fresh home-made Pesto (recipe provided in Gourmet Nutrition V2).
If you'd like to avoid Splenda, you can replace it with a small amount of Stevia.
Dr Berardis new Gourmet Nutrition book is out now to buy. It features over 120 delicious recipes and its a Bragain.
No comments:
Post a Comment