Beet-en to Death (incase you missed it... a reminder of my infatuation with beets)

This past summer I posted a lot about beets. Prehaps too much. Some may even call it a bit of an obsession.....

Regarles, my interest in these stained red roots came mainly from the surge of attention the athletic community have given them in recent years. Essentially, if beets could make be a better athlete... thats a functional "Ergogenic" food and im all about it!

So, the real question. Was my summer of beet bonification nothing more than promoting another sensationalized "superfood" or can beets actually make the fast and strong faster and stronger!?

Presented with an opportunity to do some independent research at school this term, I set out to find the answer to my newly burning question.

As you may have expected, its not simply the beet but a specific compound found in beets (and other vegetables) that have launched them in to the fitness community spotlight. It turns out when we eat beets were also eating a whole bunch of nitrates which chemically "reduce" in the body during digestion and form nitrites which essentially produce whole bunch of nitric oxide or NO. The last of these is pretty much what fitness freaks and health professionals are so excited about.

Why?

Nitric Oxide is apparently a major key to physical health and performance.

Heres how: 

This graphic makes short of a fairly extensive and growing body of research outlining the multiple ways in which Nitrates from beets (and many other vegetables) effectively support athletic performance by producing Nitric Oxide when digested.

So yes, the science is there. Beets and other nitrate rich vegetables do stand to have a notable impact on physical performance by increasing nitric oxide production in the body.

But does that mean..

As you may have guessed, not quite. Beets (nitrate sources, that is) can stand to support top athletic performance but this means nothing if your not already supporting your performance with proper training, nutrition, and rest.

My recommendation? Train Hard. Eat Well. Sleep Enough. and then if your a sports nutrition nut like me....... Eat more beets!! (*about 2 cups of beet juice consumed by athletes daily has shown most effective results in studies)

What about you? Would you ever consider trying Beets as an ergogenic aid??  

Info-graphing Your Path to Successful New Year's Change.

School Life Vs. Home Life: A Tale of 2 Diets

Source

With the holiday season in full swing our busiest (and possibly most stressful) time of year often brings us back to our roots and the comfort of home sweet home. As a student, making the transition from living at school to spending time home for breaks literally seems like existing in two completely different worlds. Each place is so unique with different daily schedules, different company, responsibilities, and challenges. After returning to school from Thanksgiving break the impact that these key differences have on my diet and general wellbeing became starkly obvious. I found, among other things, that when eating at home I generally eat more balanced home-cooked meals where as at school I tend to reach more for “quick fix” carb-dense foods.

Our diets are undoubtedly influenced by our surroundings and while I always chalked up less favorable eating at school to restricted availably of certain foods, its clear that added stress of courses as well as peer-influence which normalizes the typical junk food laden “collage student diet” also play a big part in altering my appetite. In this way, actual and perceived nutrition is constantly affected by multiple aspects of our environment. These factors essentially determine the feasibility of healthy eating (or how possible it is for you to adhere to a certain eating pattern) as well as the likelihood of healthy eating (weather constant influences in an area generally support or test an ideal diet).

Acknowledging the ways in which different places can sway our eating habits is therefore a huge step in creating a strong, healthy lifestyle. By recognizing specific challenges an environment presents we can begin to make small adaptive changes to our behavior there. When healthy food is not provided at work, for example, we can plan on bringing a few meals from home. Some times we can best improve our diet by simply making healthy eating more natural and enjoyable wherever we find ourselves.

I know when I’m weighed down by stress and work at school even just taking a day to catch up on sleep and relax can often do away with an otherwise mounting craving for junk food and chocolate.

How do keep your diet strong in different locations?

Stick It! : Making Healthy Habits Survive the Test of Temptation and Time.

(Source)

It seems we all know people who are at the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to health and fitness. There are the 3-gym trips a day, veggie-munching fitness freaks and the "I know I should.....but" population. The health fanatics are on the "highway"; always going, always conscious. In contrast, those who find excuses are stuck in the city gridlock; they start up a lot but they never get further than a block with a new healthy habit before braking.


So what puts some people on the highway and other in the city? And more importunity where is the entrance ramp?!?


Generally we answer this by putting the "highway" people on a pedestal: assuming they are just more iron-clad and driven by nature. This is simply not true. While there is some evidence that suggests self-regulating food (among other) choices is inherently easier for some people, chances are most people that are on the "highway" aren't there for the sole purpose of being the healthiest person they know. That is, they have a constant motivation for staying healthy that makes the idea of maintaining healthy lifestyle less of a chore. In fact, it becomes more like an enjoyable center of their life. This is what keeps the highway people consistently healthy; eating well and exercising has essentially become woven into their daily routines, hobbies, social groups, and jobs.

Finding and embracing health-related activities and interests is therefore essentially the on-ramp to a highway lifestyle. Luckily, that doesn't mean you need to start training for a marathon today, or ever for that matter! The key is to find something you genuinely ENJOY. That could be a recreational sport, some personal time spent walking each day, or perhaps even a weekly trip to the farmer's market. Whatever you find, so long as it gets you moving, eating well, and feeling good: own it! Take pride in your new habits and remember that this change isn't about surviving x-number of weeks in some detested boot camp workout program. It's about creating your own version of a happier, healthier lifestyle.

So what healthy activities do you enjoy most?

(for me it's simply spending a morning preparing some farm fresh samples of local food at the market!)

 

Love Beets !!

Admittedly, beets have become a bit of a new food obsession. Not only have they been linked to improved athletic performance by some recent research, when cooked right they actually taste great!

Although they may seem like a bit of an undertaking when you approach a dirt coated bunch lying in the market, I have finally found a somewhat manageable strategy for preparing your own beets on a "no time" type of schedule.

Step 1: Cut off the root like top and just a small portion of the bottom of the beets (the part that can have a long tail still growing like a carrot).
Step 2: Scrub your beets with a brush under running water.
Step 3: Wrap em up in tin foil and bake them at 375 degrees for about an hour or until they are tender all the way through.

And then you have deliciously sweet roasted beets wrapped conveniently in their own little foil pouch so you can save em in the fridge and pull them out as you need them (like when you want to throw together a quick salad with roasted beets, swiss chard, and tomatoes!) 




Have you tried cooking with beets? Whats your favorite way to serve em up !? 

Cherry Sunflower Muesli

Make It!! 

-Combine about 1 cup old fashion oats, 3/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup vanilla flavored yogurt, and 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cherries in cereal bowl.

- Cover and let soak overnight. 

-Top with a tablespoon of sunflower seeds and honey. 

- Enjoy!! 

Mue-WHAT!?

I love oatmeal. It offers more fiber, less sugar and better satiety than boxed breakfast cereal. Not to mention it's quite a bit cheaper to make in the long run and allows you to make a new variation everyday!

I also love hot weather. Swimming, suntan, shades, I really don't need to explain this one.

I do not, however, love hot oatmeal on a hot day.


Luckily, for or the summer months, there is no better solution than Muesli! (pronounced mew-slee) which is basically cold oats soaked with milk, yogurt, and your choice of flavorings. Best of all you make it the night before you plan on eating to let the oats soak up all that good stuff so its ready to go when ever your done with your morning swim, run, ride, coffee, or graceful roll out of bed.

Have you tried Muesli yet? What varieties have you dreamt up?

Delicious Grilled Vegetables

Quick, Tasty, Healthy Summer Side Dish! 

Do IT !! 

- Gather some Peppers, Zucchini, Onions, Brussels, and Parsnips. (plus any other veggies you love!)
- Toss em in some Oil, Salt, Pepper, and your choice of herbs or spices (I used a little Garlic, Paprika, and Parsley)
- Pop em on the grill in a grated pan or roast em off at about 345 degrees in the oven until tender!