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
15 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
110 Comments
So about two months ago I interviewed my good friend and holistic nutritionist Isabel De Los Rios for a guest coaching session, and within that call we gots to talkin’ about dairy quite a bit.
After the call, I started to think twice about my consumption of dairy (you can probably guess what Isabel’s position was), and from there made a couple adjustments to my diet that have made a profound impact on my fat loss over the last 6 weeks:
1. I’ve cut back considerably on my dairy intake altogether
2. Whatever dairy I do eat, it’s organic (sorry, I’m not giving up cheese)
Now, I generally have a couple protein shakes each day, and I generally mix the protein with milk. Then, a couple months back, I swapped out the regular milk for Almond Milk. No lactose, no dairy, no indigestion, no bloat…and frankly, I think it tastes better.
And oh yeah, it has one THIRD the calories of regular milk while scoring far lower on the Insulin Index.
There’s pretty much no downside. So, next time you’re in the store, I highly recommend you pick up a carton of Almond Milk and try it out. You can find Almond Breeze (by Blue Diamond) in just about every grocery store in the refrigerated section or there’s even a shelf-stable version available. Personally, I like the vanilla (unsweetened) flavor best.
Give it a few weeks, and I guarantee your waist-line will thank you for it.
Want to learn some AWESOME nutrition strategies to help you burn up to 10% of your body fat in the next 30 days?
Isabel just put up a video on her site where she teaches just that:
==> How to Burn up to 10% of Your Body Fat in the Next 30 Days <——- Watch here
Enjoy!
Joel
37 Comments
Who doesn’t love pancakes on the weekend?
Um, no one, that’s who.
Well, great news. You can have your cake and eat it too with this high protein Pumpkin Pancake recipe.
Thank my main man Jay Hunter from Prograde Nutrition for this one.
High Protein Pumpkin Pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin puree (pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
1 scoop of Prograde Protein (the Vanilla flavored, Stevia sweetened protein powder)
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
Instructions
Combine the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, and protein powder in a small bowl. In another bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. If the mixture is too thick, thin with a little water.
Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon the batter into the skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on the top and the edges look dry. Flip and cook until the second side is golden brown. Top with all-natural maple syrup if desired.
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 pancakes!)
Your friend,
Joel
53 Comments
So I’m at Starbucks getting ready to pull an all-nighter. It’s like 11:21 or something absurd like that.
Lots of college kids. Kind of reminds me of my college days…actually, that’s not true; I never went to Starbucks in college.
Anyway, you’re probably wondering why I’m a 27-year-old business owner and pulling an all-nighter. Good question. Basically, I procrastinated on something that just so happens to be due tomorrow and I have no choice but to get it done tonight. And of course, there was about ZERO chance that I’d actually get it done at the home office, so I came here.
But, here’s the cool thing: I’m working on something REALLY awesome and TOP SECRET and I’m even going to let you know what it is in a few weeks. Oooo, the anticipation.
But HEY, instead of actually doing my work, why don’t I take some time to blog about Starbucks and coffee?
You think it’s a good idea, too? Awesome. YOU’RE awesome.
So, if you’re like me, you like a good cup of coffee every so often. Or perhaps you just like coffee-flavored things (also like me), such as a White Chocolate Frappuccino (630 calories, 119 grams of sugar – but hey, it DOES have 0 grams of fat).
Fortunately, the whole point of this blog post is for me to provide you with an equally satisfying, tasty coffee-flavored icy treat, which I promise to do in just a moment.
But first, allow me to give you some advice:
Starbucks is good for:
- A change of environment for getting work done at midnight if you’re a true procrastinator like me (I also use random hotel lobbies, in which I’m not even a guest, for this purpose. Works great and makes me feel very resourceful, which I am.)
- Regular coffee (which I just ordered)
And that’s about it.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The other stuff does TASTE good (some of it really good), but it comes at the expense of lotsa calories and insulin spiking sugars. Fortunately, I have a pretty sweet (read cool – not sugary) solution for you.
One other quick thing…don’t be fooled by the “Light” options either, like the Java Chip Frappuccino Light Blended Coffee — that mofo still packs up to 300 cals and 55 grams of carbs depending on the size.
So, today, I’m here to satisfy your coffee-flavored dessert-esque beverage cravings with a much healthier alternative.
The Vanilla Cinnamon Mocha Almond Protein Smoothie (awesome name, I know)
AND, it’s only 150 calories, with 100 of those bad boys coming from lean muscle building protein. Here you go:
- 1 Scoop of Prograde Protein (the low-carb vanilla protein sweetened with Stevia)
- 1 heaping tsp of instant coffee
- 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
- 6 oz of Almond Milk (unsweetened)
- 4 oz of crushed ice
Blend (in a blender) and enjoy.
You’ll never miss a Frappuccino again.
Enjoy today’s blog? Going to try the recipe? Already tried the recipe (you action-taker, you)? Have a different opinion about Starbucks?
Respond in the comments section below! At least 40 comments and I’ll be back with at least 2 other blog posts this week. At least.
Talk to you below!
Your friend,
Joel
60 Comments
This weekend I’m back in the North East attending a marketing conference up in Connecticut, traveling with my buddy and fat-loss frenemy, John Romaniello.
Now you’ve probably never heard of a frenemy, but that’s who John Romaniello is to me. Part friend, part ENEMY. Allow me to explain.
First, John lives in the North East (enemy), where it’s like 3 degrees right now (double enemy). Okay, maybe not 3 degrees, but once you get under 20, it doesn’t matter.
I had to get on a plane to visit him (enemy), which took like 90 hours (triple enemy) due to delays, 3 guys in orange suits and an umbrella. Listen, I really can’t get in to it right now…
When I finally got there, John took me to the gym (ok, cool…) and then proceeded to take me through a workout that made me vomit about 23 mins and 42 seconds in (immediate jump to quintuple enemy).
On the other hand, John allowed me to use some of his $97 hair product before heading out to dinner, which I suppose makes him my friend.
Anyway, yes, the point of this blog post. It’s coming.
So, I’m on a rather strict diet right now. Why you ask? Because John Romaniello stole $5,000 of my money and has refused to return it to me, unless I come in at less than 212 lbs and 10% body fat by April 19th.
Somehow, he conned me in to signing my name somewhere, and I apparently agreed to this.
Either way, it was John’s mother’s birthday today. And prior to departing for our conference in Connecticut (from where I am composing this post, alongside a snoring Vince Del Monte), we decided to go out to a celebratory dinner at Bryant & Cooper Steak House (Long Island, NY).
Now, you would think that John was trying to sabbotage my $5,000 non-wager by taking me to such an establishment, but the truth is, John knows I’m a ninja.
No, like a real ninja.
And by that I mean that I still managed to leave very FULL and satiated and I even ate dessert without even so much as settling for a pre-mature cheat meal.
How? Simple, I learned a little trick called volumizing my plate (i.e. I chose the right foods and was able to eat a lot of them—while out to eat, without skipping a course, all while never having to “watch” anyone eat while I wasn’t—and without massive caloric damage).
I started with a green bean and tomato salad (tossed in a light vinaigrette), followed by the main course (a 10 oz filet mignon, lean as could be, and 2 “family size” sides of green veggies—the first, lightly buttered asparagus, the second, spinach tossed in olive oil and garlic).
And while John and his mother enjoyed a birthday pecan pie ala mode together for dessert (sweet boy, that John), I didn’t have to forgo the 3rd course either.
Instead of the thousand calorie pie, I chose a heaping bowl of mixed berries, which was, in comparison to their dessert, significantly larger, while bringing in about 1/10 of the calories.
The truth is this, you can EASILY be social, dine out, eat GOOD, and leave full when you make the right choices.
Not sure what to order? Just hit up a nice steakhouse and order what I had. It was, as the Italians say, delicioso.
And tomorrow, I’m having a beer. A really tall one. With some cake. Bring on the fat-loss accelerating Cheat Day.
By the way, for your next Cheat Day, order a birthday cake. It doesn’t matter if it’s your birthday or not, just do it. Trust me, it’s awesome.
Your friend,
Joel
P.S. What’s your favorite healthy “out to eat” meal? Let me know, along with your comments, below! At least 50 comments and I’ll be back early next week with some amazing content I’ve got lined up for you guys. Talk to you below (I’ll be checking in throughout the day ;)
112 Comments
When I find out about something cool or experience something great−be it a new CD, a great movie, good food, or the many other great things life has to offer−I want to share it with all my closest friends.
So, two things to share with YOU today (you know I consider you one of my closest friends, right? ;):
1. Citizen Cope’s new album, The Rainwater, just dropped today. Probably the best band you never heard of. Preview it on iTunes. Grab it at Best Buy. Trust me, you’ll enjoy it. My favorite song on the new album is “Lifeline”.
Second, I had the opportunity to cook up one of my favorite healthy breakfasts this morning, and while enjoying it thought who better to share the recipe with than you, my beloved subscriber.
The recipe is for Stuffed French Toast, and while that may not sound too healthy, I got the recipe from my colleague and good friend John Berardi−an absolute GENIUS when it comes to making healthy food taste great.
Check it out below and give it a try the next time you’re in the mood for super-charged, great-tasting healthy breakfast!
Stuffed French Toast
4 oz nonfat cottage cheese
1 scoop (20 grams protein) Vanilla Whey Protein
1 tbsp raisins
1/2 cup egg whites (approximately 4 eggs)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp skim milk
1/2 cup raw oats
2 large slices of 12-grain or 100% whole wheat bread
1 tbsp raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries for garnish
1 tsp of Splenda
Blend the cottage cheese in a blender until smooth. Remove to a medium bowl and add mix in the protein powder and raisins. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix the egg whites with the cinnamon and milk. Set aside.
Place the oats on a flat plate.
Preheat skillet on medium-high heat.
Fold each slice of bread to create a “pocket”. Fill each pocket equally with the cottage cheese mixture. Take the bread and dip each side into the egg mixture. Then, coat both sides with the oats. When ready, cook both sides until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes each side. Garnish with berries and serve.
Makes 2 Servings
Alright, comment time.
Did you enjoy this post? Will you give the recipe a try?
Are you familiar with Citizen Cope? How awesome is he?
And lastly, if you have a fun recipe and/or an “undiscovered” band that rocks out, share it with us all below!
At least 100 comments and I’ll be back with 3 more recipes later in the week!
Joel
62 Comments
An Extremely Content-Rich Interview with my friend Vince DelMonte, and a special guest appearance from his girlfriend, Flavia!
Vince and Flavia at their recent photo shoot in the Domincan.
Alright, let’s get right down into it, Vinny. A lot of people work out, few people see real changes from their efforts. Why do you think so many people fail to see results from the time they spend in the gym?
People are focusing on time spent instead of time invested, and that’s an extremely important distinction. For example, last night I saw this dude in the gym attempting a Bent Over Row. He picks up the barbell, leans forward about 2 inches, does about ten reps with maybe a few inches of movement, racks the bar, stands up tall and gets some water. No sweat. No noise. No change of facial expression. Nothing. I’m thinking to myself, “Go home, man! Where’s the intensity? Take up knitting or basket weaving!”
Two problems:
1. Most trainees do not know what intensity looks like. They are a product of their environment and the lack of energy and intensity rubs into their own workouts, whether they are aware of it or not. After you become a fly on the wall and watch my DVD’s you’ll see and hear what real intensity looks like. We don’t use professional athletes or scripted models in my DVD’s. Instead I use real weights, real intensity, real sweat and real effort.
Click here to continue reading
72 Comments
This week I’ve had the pleasure of entertaining some of my closest fitness buddies for a few days here in Tampa, and upon awakening, several of us found ourselves facing the all too common dilemma deciding what to eat for breakfast.
Vinny (Del Monte) chose to go with some left-over lobster and steak from our evening at Shula’s the night before (where, by the way, John Romaniello joined me in being inducted in Shula’s 48 oz. Club, by ordering—and finishing—their signature 48 oz. Porterhouse. Nice work, John), while I decided to go with the more conventional egg.
You see, truth is, I like eggs and tend to eat a lot of them.
Now, I’m sure you’ve heard a time or two before that you should be mindful of consuming too many unhatched chickens as their cholesterol content is rather high.
I’ve even heard the recommendation that eggs should only be eaten once per week to avoid cholesterol issues. If that’s the case, I’m probably due to die rather soon.
Fortunately, it’s not.
Click here to continue reading
53 Comments
This past weekend I was hanging out with Transformation Domination LIVE speakers Craig Ballantyne and Vince DelMonte, both of whom are collectively almost as cool as me.
No really, we measured it.
Anyway, after some informal “meetings” and such, we decided to head out to dinner at a Hibachi restaurant called Benihana, home of the official worst desert ever—the pineapple boat.
I assumed from the name that it would come with at least 3 “passenger” scoops of ice cream, some whipped cream, and a cherry, but no, the pineapple boat is simply a shallow 1/8th cut of pineapple, mostly rind, for $6.
Terrible.
Fortunately, their Japanese cuisine was much better than the dessert, which leads me to this suggestion: Order the Hibachi Chicken and Steak, not the Pineapple Boat.
Just a heads up.
Nevertheless, as a diet author it’s not too often that I go out to eat without coming home with a least some ideas for blog content. This experience was no different.
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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...