I thought I’d give everyone a glimpse into what’s in my meat-free kitchen. Despite loving variety, I’m a minimalist; if I can’t throw it in a stir fry or a salad or prepare it early then I usually don’t purchase it. I keep any sort of processed food to a minimum as I really prefer the clean taste of fresh food. I also don't like the widely held idea that a vegetarian diet has to be a grain-heavy diet. Know thyself!
Let’s start in the pantry:
Dried and canned beans: Black/garbanzo/kidney. These are a staple for their low impact on blood sugar and big shot of protein and fiber. They are also great at absorbing whatever spices and flavors you’re using when you cook.
Quinoa: The only non-animal product that is a complete protein. I cook this in a rice cooker and use it to replace rice in most of the recipes I cobble together. It makes an awesome rice pudding and a great base for any curries or stir fried meals.
Coconut oil and Shavings: One of the big deficiencies I’ve noticed in the vegetarian diet is an absence of saturated fat. This can have a poor impact on testosterone production in males so I’ve bridged that gap with coconut and grass-fed butter. Remember, as we learned in the movie Castaway, coconut milk is a natural laxative, so be warned.
Refrigerator:
If you’re open to eating butter, I would recommend looking for butter from grass-fed beef. It’s a nice shot of Omega 3 and 6 as well as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which has been proven to inhibit carcinogenesis (cancer cell growth) and inflammation. I want my foods to be processed as little as possible and those fake-butter sprays and spreads don’t fit the bill. The only one I have seen outside of farmer’s markets is called Pasture Butter by Organic Valley and it is seasonal.
Local veggies: I get my vegetables as part of a CSA share with Grant Family Farms in Wellington CO (http://www.grantfarms.com ) This is a great way to get great organic produce, help local farmers and connect with your community; farms typically do tours and gatherings for their members. Farms all over the country use these programs and I recommend you do some searching in your area. You can taste the quality and difference from the fruits and veggies that you pick up at the grocery store.
WARNING: You may get sticker shock since you’re buying the entire share upfront rather than spreading it out as you do with your grocery bill. Your farm should be able to work out some kind of payment plan if that’s a bit much to pay all at once. For example: This past week I received two bunches of kale, 5 huge heirloom tomatoes, a few onions, a pumpkin, two turnips, a head of cauliflower, a bag of sweet peppers and some fingerling potatoes. It’s a nice bounty to get every week for 6-7 months a year. I supplement this with yams, celery and carrots, bok choy and whatever else is around the store in the winter. It’s tough to go wrong with vegetables.
Almond Milk: Slowly but surely I’m becoming a convert. I’ve never been a big milk and breakfast cereal type so having any kind of milk has been a new experience. I also get coconut milk on occasion; both tasty and nice to mix with a scoop of protein rather than water.
Fruits: I gravitate towards things like mango, papaya, banana and pineapple in addition to the stalwarts like apples and pears; I try for massive variety in everything. Phil Richards (http://www.philrichardsperformance.co.uk/) is a UK-based fitness coach who advocates a diet low in animal products. He recommends consuming plenty of pineapple and mango to combat B-vitamin losses as well as promote filtration push pH level in the body towards a basic level. Not that you need an additional reasons to eat papaya and mango because they are DELICIOUS, but there you go.
Eggs: I get my eggs from Grant Farms as well and I recommend farm eggs over the eggs from the supermarket. You will taste the difference. There are so many good things in the yolks that are difficult to come by with a plant-based diet (choline, CLA, Omega 3’s, etc) that there’s no reason to just consume the whites unless you have special dietary considerations.
Greek-style Yogurt: I prefer the plain versions as they have the lowest sugar and the highest protein content. Greek style is very thick and it mixes nicely with some frozen berries or in a shake.
Supplementation: I’m admittedly biased towards Biotest and True Protein with regards to supplement companies as they both offer good prices and quality products. Additionally Biotest is a Colorado-based company.
Curcumin: TONS of great information coming out on curicumin as a very powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory. Look for one that includes piperine as this will increase the bio-availability of the curcumin.
Protein Powder: I’m eagerly awaiting my first delivery of vegan protein powder from True Protein. It’s a mix of 75% gemma pea and 25% rice protein and is entirely non-GMO.
Creatine Monohydrate: If you’re a strength athlete then this should be a staple. Taking this as directed offers great benefits; there are specific ways to use this around contests but they’re not overly necessary.
Resveratrol: This is another anti-carcinogen found in the skins of grapes and is part of the claim that red wine is awesome for you. Data is just starting to emerge on this but it’s very promising. I take 200mg per day.
Other than these, I’ll use a post-workout shake with some added aminos and a vitamin and mineral supplement. I’m supplementing for health first and filling dietary gaps rather than the next big thing in sport performance. In essence I’m striving for a holistic approach to diet and supps rather than a singular focus on sport performance. There is no reason to compromise health (short or long term) for short-lived gains in sport performance.
Training for Week 10/23-10/29
I’ve just gotten back into the gym after 5 weeks away from anything lifting-related. My surgeon diagnosed my pain as a sports hernia (essentially a groin tear) rather than a normal hernia and has said he wouldn’t recommend surgery unless it’s still limiting in 3-6 months. So it’s on me to rehab and, since I know it’s just a groin tear, I can be a little aggressive with my rehab work. I’m also working through bit of biceps tendinitis in my shoulder so it’s probably better that I’m limited so I can focus on healing.
For this week I lifted on Monday and Wednesday. Nothing worth logging; all upper back and shoulder work along with some rower intervals. I’ll start logging again next week when I’m back on a normal training schedule. This next 4 week block will be focused on rehab, diet and cardio with goals based around shoulder/groin pain as well as body composition.
My goal is to be back to full training by Jan 1 2011; I’m hopeful that 8 more weeks will be enough to get back to reasonable form. My weight has been holding steady around 220.
Quick Hit: Invest in a foam roller and a lacrosse ball; these will set you back a whopping 15 bucks total and do much better work than a lot of soft tissue and massage therapists. Elite Fitness Systems (http://www.elitefts.com) sells a few different ones for great prices; I recommend the black ones as they tend to stay hard longer and outlast the white rollers (insert innuendo here).
Roll your front delts, pecs, lats, glutes, IT bands, calves and any tight soft tissue. Even if you aren’t an athlete it’s great for correcting the tightness and pain from being slumped over a computer all day. Along those same lines: strengthen your upper back and stretch your pecs/front delts.
If you’re tight and have poor tissue quality then the first few times you roll (especially with the lacrosse ball) will hurt like hell. Keep working it and the soft tissue will become more pliable as the scar tissue is broken away. Rolling also promotes blood flow into the area; lacrosse ball rolling on the soles of the feet feels EXCELLENT and can help with sort feet and inflammation.
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