Ingredient Review - Three Whey Proteins

There are so many whey protein products on the market, you could spend your entire life researching and trying each product, eventually driving you bonkers. You'll get recommendations from each store, all the online reviews (even this one), recommendations from trainers, friends and strangers. Your choices will depend on what you're looking for in a whey protein supplement. Keep in mind this is not a meal replacement review, see my earlier blog on this topic.

I'm new to using supplements and will be the first to admit, I'm learning as I go. I decided to add whey to my diet simply for the fact I wasn't getting enough protein daily for my fitness goals. I lift 4 times a week (yes, right  beside the guys), run 5-6 times a week, and other activities. If you lift, the recommendation is 1 g of protein per pound of body weight. That can be hard to do eating only whole foods, it was for me. Whey protein shakes are a quick, easy way (no pun intended) to increase your daily protein intake. They can be mixed with water, milk, coconut water, etc. You can throw it in a blender and add yogurt, fruit, peanut butter, etc. for more of a smoothie concoction.

There are three types of whey protein:
Whey Concentrate
Whey Isolate
Whey Hydrolysate

Each has it's pros and cons which I won't go into here. The deciding factors on which product I use/try are: 1) zero artificial sweeteners and other processed artificial crap 2) taste/consistency when mixed w/water 3) cost 4) no adverse physical reactions. I've used all three products below personally. From strictly and ingredients perspective Legion Supplements Brand is a solid choice.

If there are products you've tried, let me know your thoughts.

	GNC Brand - Natural	True Athlete- Natural	Legion Brand - Natural
Flavor	Chocolate	Chocolate	Chocolate
Cost (2 lbs)	$39.99	$33.99	$37.97
Buy Again	No	Yes	Yes
Serving	1 scoop/38.2 g	2 scoops/30 g	1 scoop/31.6 g
Protein	24 g	20 g	26 g
Calories	150	110	102
Total Fat	2.5 g	1.5 g	.41 g
Saturated	1 g	1 g	.12 g
Trans Fat	0 g	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	60 mg	65 mg	.5 mg
Sodium	95 mg	120 mg	46.8 mg
Potassium	290 mg	0 mg	0 mg
Total Carbs	8 g	4 g	1.4 g
Fiber	1 g	1 g	0 g
Sugars	3 g	1 g	.2 g
Vitamin A	0%	0%	0%
Vitamin C	0%	0%	0%
Calcium	15%	12%	13%
Iron	6%	5%	2%
L-leucine	0%	0%	4 g
Ingredients	Protein blend (whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate), Cocoa powder, Natural flavors, Cane sugar, Cellulose gum, Lecithin, Xanthun gum, Stevia extract, Sodium chloride	Whey protein concentrate, Cocoa powder, Natural flavor, Inulin, Xanthan gum, salt, Reb A (Stevia extract), Bacillus coagulans, lactase digestive enzyme, papain, bromelian	Whey protein isolate, L-leucine, Cocoa, Natural chocolate flavoring, Xanthan gum, Stevia extract

Greens You & Your Kids Will Eat

We've all heard the hype with greens being a "super food" chock full of nutrients and antioxidants that our bodies need to fight off illness and disease. There's plenty of research to back up these claims (WebMD - Leafy Greens). But many of us, especially our children, think "YUCK!" when talking about spinach, kale, broccoli, etc. How many kids do you know say, "Hey Mom, can you cook spinach tonight?" Probably close to zero. And it really doesn't matter that Popeye gets really big muscles after eating it (do they even know who Popeye is any more?). So the problem becomes how to incorporate these super foods into our diets without the hassle and arguments.

My son is a prime example of turning his nose up at spinach, he hears me say it, sees the word on a package or fresh in the store it's always, "I'm NOT eating THAT!" So a simple trick I tried years ago was calling all leafy veggies "greens" which includes Swiss chard, kale, beet tops and spinach. He even helps me prepare the "greens" for the simple, quick recipe below. I used to hide greens in meat or turkey loaf, but tried this recipe and now he eats them without complaint.

If you're new to greens, I'd recommend starting with Swiss Chard since it's mild and inexpensive, but any leafy greens will work. Feel free to mix and match your greens (e.g. Swiss chard w/Dandelion leaves), just try them, nothing to lose, lots of nutrients to gain. Or if you're looking to get two veggies out of one, buy a bunch or two of beets with the tops still attached. You can cook the beets for one meal and the greens for another.

Greens With Garlic

1 - 2 bunches of leafy greens (depends on the size of the bunch, 1 bunch of Swiss Chard will provide 4 people 1 small portion each. I always cook a minimum of 2 bunches, leftovers are reheatable for a couple of days)
6 - 12 cloves of minced garlic (we like garlic in this family and tend to go a bit heavy, start with a smaller amount and increase the next time you cook this)
1/2 c lemon juice (helps remove the bitterness of the greens)
1/2 tbs of salt (if you need more, can be individually added after serving)
1 tbs olive oil (optional, it doesn't add or detract anything from the dish, I've made it both ways)
2 c water

1. Rinse the greens thoroughly in cold water, remove hard stems and rip or cut into bite size pieces and place in large sauté pan. Don't panic if the greens are heaping in the pan, they will wilt down considerably.
2. Add garlic, lemon juice, salt, oil and water (more can be added if required), place lid on and cook on medium high heat. Stir occasionally to mix ingredients. Reduce to simmer once the greens have wilted a bit. Cook 10-15 min until greens are all wilted and tender.
3. Using a slotted spoon, serve. Can be garnished w/fresh parmesan cheese.

Dish goes with any protein, only requires one dish to cook and is quick to the table. Best of all, you and your family are getting the health benefits greens have to offer.

Let me know what you think.

Review: Sesame Chicken with Lo Mein & Green Beans

There's an easy way to make this recipe and a hard way. The easy way is to purchase everything pre-packaged, pre-cut, etc. but this will drive up the cost per serving. The hard way is to purchase everything and cut/prep yourself. This will drive the cost down but increase the time from start to table. I'm concerned about both so as a mid-week meal, this did not work for me coupled with the fact you need a minimum of 5 dishes/pots to cook the meal making clean-up longer.

Let's get to it...

Per Serving (2 1/3 c): Calories - 510, Carbohydrates - 62g (Fiber - 5g), Protein - 28g, Fat - 14g (Sat - 2g), Cholesterol - 25mg, Sodium - 810mg

1 - 12oz package cleaned & cut green beans OR buy bulk and snip ends yourself, kids can help
1 - 16oz package Lo Mein noodles, frozen or other, prepare to directions
1 lb seasoned chicken breast strips for stir-fry OR buy breasts and cut strips, add salt and pepper
3 tbs vegetable oil, sesame oil can be used to add more of an Asian flavor
2 cloves garlic, minced (used 6 cloves, but we love garlic in this family, it wasn't overpowering)
1 - 12oz package Asian slaw
Salt & pepper (fresh ground adds good flavor)
1 c sesame garlic sauce (used the whole bottle, there wasn't much more left after pouring the cup
1 tbs roasted sesame seeds (more can be used if you like)

1. Blanch green beans in boiling, salted water (skip the salt, you're not missing anything) for 3-4 min. Remove w/slotted spoon and set aside. Add noodles to same water, blanch for 2 min, drain and set aside <-- 3 dishes/pots right in first step
2. Drizzle 2 tbs oil in stir fry pan, tilt to distribute evenly. Heat on high until faintly smoking. Stir fry chicken 4-5 min, remove from pan and set aside <-- 2 more dishes/pots
3. Drizzle remaining oil in stir fry pan, tilt to distribute, keep heated on high, add garlic, Asian slaw and green beans. Stir and toss 2-3 min. Season w/salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add chicken, noodles, garlic sauce to stir fry pan, stir to heat through, garnish w/sesame seeds. Serve.

Feel free to add your comments, recommendations, changes, etc.

Review: Udon with Tofu & Asian Greens

I'm always looking for flavorful, healthy recipes that are quick and my child will eat. Sounds like a tough order, but every once in a while I run across a recipe that fits the bill. Udon with Tofu & Asian Greens mostly lived up to its statements. Keep in mind I'm not a professional cook, I don't prep my food super fast or way ahead of time.

The recipe stated it will be done in 15 min. They didn't include the prep time. Both the prep time and cooking makes it closer to 30 min from start to table, not bad for a mid-week dinner. Added bonus, limited dishes required for cooking the meal, I always consider the clean-up ;-)

The number of ingredients was minimal which sometimes means flavor will be minimal. The flavor for this recipe was not intense, rather mild, which worked for my child but I like more zip, not spicy, just good flavor. I'm a firm believe that healthy and simple doesn't have to equate to bland and crappy.

Since the broth is created for the greens per directions, the noodles and tofu are bland. Recommend reserving some of the broth off to the side and mix the noodles w/the greens and the remaining broth. Once you've divided the meal into the bowls, take the broth you've reserved off and pour over the tofu in the bowls. This means you will need to make a bit more of the broth but will add flavor to all parts of the dish. If you're looking for more "green" in the dish, double up on the cooking greens. It may look like a lot when you start, but after they wilt, they decrease tremendously. Adding other veggies, shredded would work best, will add nutrients and color to the dish that it's currently lacking. Consider carrots, red, orange or yellow peppers, just to name a few.

Kid test: he liked the noodles, greens and sauce, skeptical about the tofu. The consistency took a bit of getting used to. He'll never ask for me to make this but ate  w/o complaint.

Per serving: Calories - 430, Fat - 19g (Sat - 3g, Mono - 7g, Poly - 6g), Cholesterol - 0mg, Sodium (not using reduced sodium soy sauce) - 990mg, Carbohydrate - 51g, Fiber - 8g, Protein - 18g

1 - 8oz package udon noodles
4 tbs roasted peanut oil or 3 tbs sesame oil mixed with 1 tbs vegetable oil (used sesame oil)
1 - 12oz package firm tofu, cut into 12 pieces (used Wegmans brand)
Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
1 - 11oz package Asian cooking greens or baby spinach (used Wegmans pre-packaged Asian greens)
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced diagonal
Large pinch red pepper flakes (if you like more pizazz add another pinch or two)
3 tbs soy sauce (used La Choy Reduced Sodium)
Pinch of sugar

1. Cook the udon noodles as the label directs, avoid overcooking, you don't want mushy noodles. Drain, reserve 1/3 cup of cooking water.
2. Heat 2 tbs oil in medium skillet (use a larger size if doubling up on greens, adding veggies or serving size) over medium heat. Pat tofu dry and season w/salt and pepper. Put tofu in pre-heated skillet and sear until golden brown, approx. 2 min per side. Set aside and keep warm.
3. Add 1 tbs oil and the greens to the skillet. Toss until just wilted. Add scallions and red pepper flakes with the remaining 1 tbs oil, soy sauce and sugar. Add reserved cooking water, heat to create a broth. Divide noodles and greens in 4 bowls and top w/tofu.

Feel free to add comments, your reviews, recommendations for improvements, etc.

Review of Bison Meatloaf Recipe

We've all heard about the benefits of Bison meat, high in protein low in fat (see comparison below from The Bison Council). As you can see, lower in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol and higher in iron. The Native Americans were definitely on to something when hunting this hearty animal.

	Bison	Beef
Calories	103	189
Total Fat (g)	1.35	11.1
Saturated Fat (g)	0.53	4.49
Cholesterol (mg)	59	72
Protein (g)	21	21
Sodium (mg)	45	53
Iron (mg)	3	1.5
Based on 100 g of meat

But how does it taste? Is it easy to cook? Will my family like it? I decided to give it a try.

The meat was readily available at my local Wegmans, so I picked up one pound of ground meat, thinking this would provide the most options as far as recipe choices. Next searched the Internet for a viable "meatloaf" recipe. Surprisingly, there were a ton of possibilities available. Decided to give this a try Bison Meatloaf Recipe on Food.com with some variations based on what I had in the fridge. Variations include no eggs and no bread crumbs. I used dried minced onion (1 tbs) instead of fresh and garlic salt (1 tsp) replaced the fresh garlic and salt. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mixed together.

The mix was a bit more sticky than beef but washed off easily with little residue. Instead of one large loaf, decided on single serving loaves (4 oz each). Placed them on a foil covered cookie sheet, popped them in the oven and 25 min later they were ready. What did they taste like? Good old fashioned meatloaf, my son and I didn't notice a big difference in taste. There was limited fat on the cookie sheet after cooking, which was great compared to the ton of fat from beef. The only real difference - the consistency was a bit more dense than ground beef, it didn't crumble like beef would have without eggs and bread crumbs, but other than this, it was a winner in my book.

Bottom line, it's a great replacement to beef and I'll be trying other recipes with this healthier version of red meat. Plus we have a local Bison farm (Wooden Nickel Buffalo Farm) and will be looking at purchasing meat directly. Great experiment for a Sunday dinner. Enjoy!

Simple to Understand Article on How Much Protein With Each Meal

Not sure about you, but understanding how much protein to consume during a day, at each meal, etc. can be confusing. There is debate on whether if you consume more protein, it goes to waste, too little you won't be able to build muscle.

I found the following article informative on providing basic information regarding how much protein to consume along with benefits. Personally a high protein diet has helped me in many ways from losing weight and body fat and eliminating nausea associated with eating too many simple carbs (think white pasta, refined sugar, white bread, etc.) at a meal. My daily protein target is 100 - 130 g per day and is accomplished through lean meats, low fat dairy, protein shakes and bars and is easy to achieve.

Let me know your thoughts on protein intake and the article.

Protein 101: How Much with Each Meal by John Berardi

Don't Complain at the Gym, Your Trainer is Always Right

Well, I'm at Best Fitness this week feeling like I'm not making any progress and complaining about it to my trainer, Doug. It was a stressful week at work and I just wanted something to be going right. "I want to be bigger, more defined, faster, faster, faster." He just looks at me and shakes his head as we head to the first exercise.

I stopped complaining for all of a minute. He shakes his head and tells me to shut up and lift, politely of course. In between sets, we start talking about goals and setting realistic ones:

• Below 20% body fat --> current 22%
• 200 lb squat --> current 185 lbs
• 100 lb bench press --> current 75 lbs
• 5 unassisted pull-ups --> current 1/2 a pull up, yes this exercise is my nemesis

Over the next 30 minutes my mood improves. Must be all those good-for-you hormones that are released that help build muscle AND elevate your mood. As I'm doing what I call a "form set" or the last set in the series where the weight is a bit lighter, you focus everything you have on the muscle contraction itself, holding each for a couple seconds and go until failure; Doug, being the great trainer he is, decides to video this set, focusing on my shoulders during the lat pull-down. Once completed, he shows me, pointing out every muscle pop, definition, shadow and movement. "You never get to see this part of your workout, your shoulders/back are already improved from when we took the photo of you doing the pull-down. So now will you stop your complaining?"

I just starting grinning from ear-to-ear. It was exactly what I needed to see and hear. Just remember, if you complain to your trainer they will prove you wrong and be extremely happy about it.