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Ohhhhhh yeah, killer recipe for your Saturday morning: High Protein Banana Yogurt Waffles!
And if you don’t have a waffle maker, this tasty high protein batter works just as well as pancakes!
Enjoy :)
High Protein Banana Yogurt Waffles
Ingredients
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 scoop of Prograde Protein (the Vanilla flavored, Stevia sweetened protein powder)
1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest
1 medium banana
Directions
Preheat a waffle maker.
In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and protein powder together. Add the yogurt, milk and vanilla extract. Shave in the lemon zest. Mix well for about 10 seconds. If the mixture appears too thick, add a little water (1 tsp at a time) to lighten.
In a separate bowl, mash the banana with the backside of a fork and then add it to the other wet ingredients. Mix all for another 10-20 seconds. If batter needs thinner consistency, add a little more water (again, 1 tsp at a time).
Pour the batter into your waffle maker and follow the cooking instructions that accompany your particular model.
If you do not have a waffle maker, this recipe works well as pancakes.
Makes 2 Servings
Super easy. Super tasty. Super healthy. And just in time for the weekend :)
Want 197 other delicious, fat-burning recipes for a whopping $4.95?
==> http://ProgradeStore.com/cookbook
As an act of good will our friends at Prograde have put together a kick-butt fat-burning recipe book, and you can get all 197 of them for under 5 bucks. That’s a whole 2.5 cents per recipe.
It’s a one time payment and there is NO “catch”. 197 healthy and delicious (and EASY) recipes for under $5. That’s all there is to it.
Do you have to buy it? No.
Is it less than $5? Yes.
Will it give you 197 new ideas to spice up your diet? Yes.
The rest is for you to decide.
==> http://ProgradStore.com/cookbook
Be easy and enjoy the weekend (and the waffles!)
Your friend,
Joel
19 Comments
Honeymoon is ON! I’m officially relaxing on the beach with my beautiful wife (wow, crazy to say that!) in the Dominican Republic and my main main Craig Ballantyne has stepped up to the plate to deliver a killer article breaking down fat loss nutrition in to 3 EASY Steps!
Check it out!
3 EASY steps to Fat Loss Nutrition
By Craig Ballantyne
Nutrition is simple. Research even proves it. Let me show you how, just by taking a look at a few simple studies that destroy classic “nutrition myths” and prove eating whole, natural food is a simple way to lose fat.
The first myth to bust with scientific research is that “fruit makes you fat”.
This is such a joke, but I continue to hear it all of the time. What does the research say?
In a study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (85: 1465-1477, 2007) researchers put subjects into one of two low-fat diet groups. The only difference was that one group ate more fruits and vegetables. At the end of the 1-year study, the subjects who ate more fruits and vegetables lost more weight than the other group.
Moreover, the fruit-and-vegetable eaters reported being less hungry but were also able to eat more food (that is, they were able to eat a lot of low-calorie fruits and vegetables that kept them full all of the time).
Bottom line, fruit doesn’t make you fat. In fact, it helps you lose weight, as does eating more vegetables. That’s why fruits and vegetables are 2 of the 3 components of the Simple Nutrition Fat Loss Diet Foundation.
The other component of the Fat Loss Diet Foundation is raw nuts.
Now most people believe that eating nuts will make you fat, but research shows otherwise. According to a review study published in the Journal of Nutrition (138:1741S-1745S, 2008), nuts are associated with a lower body mass index. In addition, when subjects add nuts to their diet, it did NOT cause weight gain.
The researchers believe that nuts help fill you up (thanks to the fiber) and it’s possible that not all of the calories from nuts are absorbed into your body.
And finally, some research even found that it was easier for people to stick to a diet when nuts were in their meal plan.
Recent research has also shown that subjects lost more fat mass and had a greater reduction in their systolic blood pressure when they substituted almonds for complex carbohydrates in their diet.
(Reference: Wien, M., et al. Almonds vs complex carbohydrates in a weight reduction program. Int. J. Obes. 27: 1365-1372, 2003.)
So despite the common belief that nuts will make you fat, there is no research to back that up.
In fact, nuts will help you stay satisfied and will give you fiber, healthy fats, and even some protein. And that’s why nuts are the third component of the Simple Nutrition Fat Loss Diet Foundation.
Once you’ve laid the foundation by basing your diet and meal plan on raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts, you can then begin to add whole grains, meat, milk, and even supplements, etc.
There is no “one best way” to eat. If you want to be a vegetarian, that’s fine. You can be lean and strong and sexy without eating meat. If you want to have meat every night for dinner, you can also lose belly fat with that type of diet too, however you must make sure that the meat is high quality, and you should understand that there may be negative health consequences to a diet high in processed red meat.
But with the Simple Nutrition approach, you’ll lose fat by eating healthy, high-fiber and low-sugar whole foods such as vegetables (broccoli, peppers, and greens), fruit (oranges, apples, strawberries, & blueberries), nuts (almonds, cashews, and walnuts), and whole grains (oatmeal and multi-grain bread). And you can also enjoy ample portions beef, chicken, & fish.
Plus, you get your cheat meals to look forward to and have them work their magic :)
Fat loss nutrition really is that simple. Enjoy!
———————————————————-
I love the way Craig breaks fat loss nutrition down in to SIMPLE, easy-to-understand guidelines that anyone can follow and implement. In fact, Craig’s put together a really cool dirt-cheap resource detailing his complete “simple” approach that includes things like the his very own personal grocery lists and meal plans (the same one’s he uses to maintain single digit body fat year round)!
Definitely worth checking out if you’d like a true “insider’s guide” to simplifying your diet.
>> Simple Nutrition for Fat Loss <——- Click here to simplify your diet (and still get awesome results)
Catch ya soon!
Joel
P.S. Drop a facebook comment or a “regular” ol’ blog comment below!
222 Comments
Today’s post is going to be short, sweet and to the point.
That said, it may be the most valuable piece of dietary advice that I could EVER give you.
You see, last night around 9:30 PM while watching my DVR-ed episoded of Entourage my appetite started acting up and I began to have some pretty intense cravings.
A couple minutes later, I found myself in the kitchen rummaging through the fridge, cupboards, and pantry looking for something to satisfy my hunger (yes, I’m human and I deal with cravings, too).
After scoping out what was available, I ultimately ended up eating some sliced flank steak and big portion of fresh green beans.
Do you know what stopped me from downing a bowl of ice cream or reaching for a bag of potato chips last night?
Simple. These foods aren’t in my house.
Do you want to end your struggle with late night snacking (with the wrong foods) and increase your dietary adherence ten-fold? Then here it is, the best diet tip I could ever give you:
Click here to continue reading
177 Comments
Yesterday we covered much of research regarding the safety of aspartame and most other non-nutritive sweeteners, but what about their affect on weight loss?
Are artificial sweeteners keeping you fat?
Again, let’s take a look at what the RESEARCH has to say:
1. Kanders BS et al. An evaluation of the effect of aspartame on weight loss. Appetite. 1988; 11 Suppl 1:73-84.
In this study, two groups were analyzed: diet only and diet plus aspartame. In the end, the diet plus aspartame group resulted in 33% greater weight loss over a 12 week period.
2. Blackburn GL et al. The effect of aspartame as part of a multidisciplinary weight-control program on short- and long-term control of body weight. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Feb;65(2):409-18.
In this study, researchers at Harvard Medical School analyzed aspartame’s impact on weight loss and long-term maintenance of lost weight. Over a 19-week period, study participants regularly consuming aspartame lost more weight than those abstaining from its use. Moreover, the aspartame group was able to better maintain lost weight over a 2 year follow-up period when compared to the non-aspartame group.
Click here to continue reading
267 Comments
Alright, so I ended up causing quite a stir with my post about artificial sweeteners yesterday, and today I’m back to share some research as promised. When talking artificial sweeteners, there are generally two major concerns:
1. Safety
2. Fat Loss
Let’s discuss the research surrounding both. First up, safety.
1. Butchko HH et al. Aspartame: review of safety. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2002 Apr;35(2 Pt 2):S1-93.
In this 2002 paper, over 20 years since the food additive was approved by the FDA, a comprehensive review of all aspartame research to date concluded that aspartame is indeed safe when consumed by normal humans in acceptable amounts (more on acceptable amounts in a minute).
2. Magnuson BA, Burdock GA, Doull J, et al. (2007). Aspartame: a safety evaluation based on current use levels, regulations, and toxicological and epidemiological studies. Crit. Rev. Toxicol. 37 (8): 629-727.
Click here to continue reading
658 Comments
Time: 7:12 AM.
Location: a little “fitness” event I attended a few weeks back in Austin, TX.
State: tired.
So what did I do? What 99% of the rest of the world does in that type of situation – I got myself a cup of coffee.
And THEN—believe it or not—I proceeded to pour the contents of two little blue packets to my morning cup of joe.
You should have seen the stares from the fitness crowd.
I immediately checked my zipper, but surprisingly, I was already all-systems-go on that front.
Hmmm.
Why then the stares?
Well, it wasn’t but a couple seconds later when a friend of mine blurted out “you use that stuff??” as if I had committed some moral sin.
My reply?
Click here to continue reading
28 Comments
Understanding Fat Loss Plateaus (From the introduction of Ninja Nutrition Tactics)
So, what REALLY causes fat loss plateaus to happen and why is getting exceptionally lean incredibly difficult?
Well, that’s two questions, so let’s address them one at a time :)
A general fat loss plateau or stall in weight loss can happen for many reasons, but they all basically come down to metabolism and hormones.
If you’ve read some of my previous writing, then you’re probably pretty familiar with leptin, so while I’ll save you the long science, I do believe a brief explanation is in order.
Leptin, AKA the anti-starvation hormone, is basic the “control” hormone when it comes to weight loss, particularly fat loss. Other important hormones with regards to metabolism and weight loss, such as the appetite regulating hormones neuropeptide-Y and ghrelin, and the metabolic thyroid hormones are all more or less dependent on leptin.
As an analogy, Leptin is the “Sergeant” hormone from which all other hormones take commands. Either that or leptin is just REALLY cool and the other guys simply base everything they do around what leptin’s doing.
Bunch of lame-ass follower hormones.
I digress.
The point is, if you hope to have any success when it comes to weight loss, then you need to understand and learn to manipulate leptin.
To make things extremely simplistic:
High leptin levels = Heightened fat burning and metabolism
Low leptin levels = Decreased fat burning and metabolism
Unless of course you suffer from leptin resistance, which we’ll talk about momentarily.
So how is leptin mediated? Two ways:
1. Leptin is mediated by body fat levels.
Because leptin is secreted by fat cells, it makes sense that there is a direct, linear relationship between the amount of body fat you are carrying and the amount of leptin you have floating around. That is to say, the more fat you have, the more leptin you have, and vice versa.
This is THE major reason why losing those last few pounds is exceptionally difficult.
Oops, looks like we are answering the second question before we fully answer the first. I tend to do that.
But yes, low body fat levels unquestionably mean low baseline levels of leptin. Essentially, with every pound of fat you lose, the lower baseline leptin levels fall, making it even more difficult to lose the next pound.
Fun stuff, I know.
To recap:
Low body fat levels = low leptin
High body fat levels = high leptin
Uh oh. Now I have to explain why “fat” people, if they indeed have the highest leptin levels because of their large amount of body fat, aren’t the leanest people in the world if leptin is so metabolic.
Good question, my smart fellow, but there is indeed an explanation, and that explanation is called “leptin resistance”.
Similar to insulin resistance, if leptin receptors are constantly being bombarded by high levels of leptin, they start to become less sensitive to the hormone.
This is what happens with insulin in Type II diabetics. People eat crap food and loads of highly processed carbohydrates for years, flood their bloodstream with insulin every hour of the day, and gradually over time insulin receptors become so desensitized to the hormone to the point that insulin no longer “works”.
The same occurs with leptin. Overweight people, who have been overweight for years, become resistant to the hormone due to massive amounts of leptin (caused by high body fat levels and high calorie intakes, which we’ll talk about in a minute) slamming receptors for extended periods of time.
I won’t go into too much further detail about leptin resistance and sensitivity here, but for the sake of the conversation, we’ll just say that leptin is “broke” in these individuals.
Can it be fixed? Yes. And I actually cover exactly how to do this in the Ninja Nutrition Tactics manual.
2. Leptin is mediated by calorie intake.
In addition to leptin’s relationship with body fat, leptin is also pretty chummy with the amount of food you’re taking in on a daily basis. That is, your calorie intake.
High calorie intakes = high leptin levels
Low calorie intakes = low leptin levels
That said, that darned “common sense” does come into play here as well (i.e. you can’t eat 5,000 calories a day and expect your high leptin levels to cancel out the rules of mathematics).
The important thing to recognize is that typical dieting, in which you are restricting calories on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, derails leptin “fo’ sheezy” (as the kids say), and there’s no getting around that.
This means that with chronic dieting, you WILL screw with leptin and you WILL hit a fat loss plateau, period. It WILL happen-so whatcha gonna do about it?
That’s where Ninja Nutrition Tactics come in, and in the NNT manual, I reveal not one, not two, but ELEVEN of my absolute BEST methods for dealing with and overcoming any fat loss plateau.
Oh yeah, and I also talk quite a bit about the whole “getting really lean” thing, too, so let’s go back to that real quick.
As mentioned, the number one reason losing those last few pounds of fat is such a curse word is low leptin and the fact that your body does not WANT you to be single digit body fat-at all.
It’s all like “Noooooooooo, stay fat and keep me warmmmmm. I’m colddddd. And what are we going to do if we end up like Tom Hanks in that one movie-you know, the one with the volley ball. That could happen.”
And theoretically, your body is correct. But, being lean is way cooler than Tom Hanks (sorry, it’s true, I took a poll), so if you’re going to ever get exceptionally lean, you’re going to have to learn the ways of the Ninja.
And in addition to hormonal and leptin manipulation, there are quite a few other things that come into play which I openly share in the NNT manual.
Bottom line, it AINT easy to figure out, but the good news is that you don’t have to since I already did it for you.
Are you ready to embrace the Ninja code? Are you ready for Ninja Nutrition Tactics?
Next week, I’ll be releasing the entire 63 page manual, detailing ALL 11 ninja strategies, for a few short days. BUT, as I promised yesterday, I’ll be back tomorrow with a sample tactic straight from the manual just to give you a little “taste” of what you can expect.
Stay tuned! Until then…
*Ninja vanish*
Shogun Marion
P.S. Oh, in the meantime, if you’re interested in getting a jump start on finally losing those last 10 lbs of stubborn body fat, you can save $60 on John Romaniello’s Final Phase Fat Loss training program by visiting the special “hidden” page located HERE.
140 Comments
Research is good and research is bad.
Research is good because it can teach us a LOT.
Research is bad because most people don’t understand how to take the results of a study and analyze beyond the study to see how it fits in the big picture.
Fortunately, I will help do both with regards to the below study.
So, a team of researchers sought out to discover some stuff about protein:
J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Sep;109(9):1582-6.
A moderate serving of high-quality protein maximally stimulates skeletal muscle protein synthesis in young and elderly subjects.
Basically, they wanted to see if a 90 gram serving of protein (about the equivalent of 12 oz of grilled chicken breast) would elicit a greater muscle building response when compared to a 30 gram serving (approximately 4 oz of grilled chicken, beef, etc).
The answer: No.
The conclusion: Your body can utilize approximately 30 grams of protein for muscle building purposes at a time. Elite athletes and bodybuilders, perhaps a bit more.
So, does this mean that you should only eat 30 grams of protein per meal regardless of your calorie needs?
No.
There are other factors that should be considered when determining your protein intake, independent of how much of that protein is able to fuel the muscle building process.
What we can, however, learn from this study is a very general rule:
It’s best to spread your protein intake out throughout the day, ala 6 meals with smaller protein portions than 3 meals with larger portions, because yes, there seems to be an upper limit to the amount of protein that the body can use toward rebuilding or building muscle at any one time.
Now, that number could certainly change based on whether the group was participating in regular, intense resistance training — I’m betting the amount would go up. Perhaps 40 grams on average…maybe more.
Either way, you’re probably going to get better results by splitting it up over the course of the day.
Later this week, I’ll be back to answer the question “How much protein do I actually need anyway?”
And I think you’ll be surprised by the answer.
If you’d like to see that article, do two things for me:
1) Hit the Facebook “Like” button below, then…
2) Leave a comment in the comments section
At least 100 comments and I’ll be back later in the week with the “How much protein do I really need?” article.
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
147 Comments
NOTE: There is a BIG question at the bottom of this post that I would love for you to answer. Looking forward to your response :)
So, yesterday Lisa (my fiance) and I decided to go for what ended up to be a rather lengthy walk along the water throughout the Davis Islands district of Tampa Bay. Some nice houses back there, including the nearly finished skeleton of Derek Jeter’s new 30,875 square foot mansion.
It’s the one on the right. More on Derek in just a minute.
As the walk went on, we realized 1) I was hungry and wanted Mexican food, 2) Lisa was hungry and didn’t care and 3) we both needed a break as we’d been walking way longer than anticipated.
So we stopped off at Estella’s, the supposed “go to” restaurant on Davis Islands. We even saw Derek and his fiance Minka Kelly (best known from the NBC television show Friday Night Lights – if you don’t know about it, know about it…one of the best shows on TV) sitting outside dining there as we passed by a few weeks ago.
So, we figured it was probably pretty good. I mean, we heard good things, and hot chicks dine there…Lisa would fit right in.
Wrong.
Place. Was. Awful.
From the service to the food. Bleh. Worst of all, I sat through my entire “meal” (if you even want to call it that) with no beverage, only to have the waiter bring me my requested Corona Light after I was finished eating.
Screw up my food, okay. Screw up my beer…that just landed you a ——— through the tip line of the check. And that’s coming from someone who usually leaves a generous 20+ percent. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I didn’t tip…had to be when I was a broke college kid and by total accident.
But this was deliberate, and I hope they got the el message. People want their beer with their meal.
Soooooo…this morning I was still in the mood for Mexican (because that place certainly did NOT hit the spot), leaving me to turn to my old staple “simple” Mexican Omelet Recipe.
Enjoy:
The Easiest Mexican Omelet in the World
Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 slices of organic pepper-jack cheese
3-4 tbsp salsa
You can probably figure out what to do with that, but I’ll still include directions:
Directions:
Pre-heat an omelet pan on medium heat. Whip the eggs in a small bowl. Transfer eggs to the omelet pan. Allow eggs to cook, lifting the edge of the omelet throughout to allow any uncooked egg to run under.
Once mostly cooked, flip the omelet shell. Lay the two slices of jack on one side an fold the omelet over. Transfer to a plate and top with salsa. If you want to get really fancy, add some sliced avocado on the side. That’s what I did. It was delicioso.
Alright, so here’s my question? Did you ever NOT leave a tip? What was the service like that caused you to make that bold move? Share your experience below! I’m really curious.
Looking forward to the responses!
Joel
13 Comments
Want to truly eat and be lean and healthy for life? Well, there’s only one way it’s going to happen – by finding healthy meals that taste GREAT so you can enjoy your daily diet without feeling the lease bit deprived.
And that’s what I’m here for (well, at least one of the reasons) – to HOOK you up! Enjoy today’s recipe:
Totally Awesome Turkey Chili
Ingredients:
5 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 turkey breasts, cubed
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp chipotle powder
2 Tbsp paprika
1 ¾ cups crushed tomatoes
½ lb sun-dried tomatoes rehydrated and sliced
4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cups rinsed, uncooked brown rice
4 cups chicken stock
2lb pumpkin peeled, seeded and cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup chopped cilantro
Directions:
Coat the bottom of a large stockpot with 3 Tbsp oil and heat it on medium-high. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add the turkey, oregano, cumin, chipotle powder, and paprika. Cook until the turkey browns. Add the tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, rice and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Then simmer for 40 minutes.
In a separate bowl, toss the pumpkin cubes with 2 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, cocoa powder, and half of the chopped cilantro. Spread the cubes on a baking pan and bake them at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes.
Add the cooked pumpkin mixture to the chili pot with some salt and pepper and the remaining cilantro.
Super easy. Super tasty. Super healthy. And just in time to cook up a big pot for the weekend :)
Want 197 other delicious, fat-burning recipes for a whopping $4.95?
==> http://ProgradeStore.com/cookbook
As an act of good will our friends at Prograde have put together a kick-butt fat-burning recipe book, and you can get all 197 of them for under 5 bucks. That’s a whole 2.5 cents per recipe.
It’s a one time payment and there is NO “catch”. 197 healthy and delicious (and EASY) recipes for under $5. That’s all there is to it.
Do you have to buy it? No.
Is it less than $5? Yes.
Will it give you 197 new ideas to spice up your diet? Yes.
The rest is for you to decide.
==> http://ProgradStore.com/cookbook
Be easy and enjoy the weekend (and the pancakes!)
Your friend,
Joel
Deborah on 
Brittanie on 
Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...