Team Machine Updates

Hi Kelly, The past week was easier than expected. I cut out sugar/flour etc.starting on Monday and it was fine. I have been feeling a bit off allweek but not due to cravings, sort of feels like I have low bloodpressure. Not sure of it’s just my body getting used to it. I diddrink a beer and eat some popcorn Friday night and had brunch at afriend’s house this morning which included a bit of pancake and 1/2 acroissant, otherwise on track. The big thing I noticed was poorrecovery after work outs. After Wednesday’s tabata squats my quads weretired. They were dead after Thursday’s raggedy ann to the point thatthey were spontaneously buckling when walking and very painful to touch.Went to the climbing gym Thursday evening and just flailed. Food log: Thursday Oct 23B: Pear, 3/4 cup 1% cottage cheese, walnuts, chia seeds, coffee w/cream.L: Organic ground turkey salad with 1oz cheese, .25 avocado, salsa, andraw vegetables, 1 appleS: 1 hard boiled egg, 8oz whole milk latteD: Same as lunch minus appleS: Plain yogourt with protein powder Also snacked on about .25 c nuts and seeds while at work. Drank 6-8glasses water. I’m attaching a recent picture but most of the recent photos of me arewhile climbing so I’m wearing a helmet. I should be able to get abetter next week when my husband returns with his computer. Jenn

Food Log Entry

Breakfast
2 eggs, 3 slices Cdn Bacon, Banana, 6 almonds

Snack
Porridge consisting of
1/4 cup oats, 1/4 cut red river cereal, soaked overnight then cooked.
sesame seeds, cinnamon & about 1/2 cup milk

Lunch
Salad — red pepper, cucumber, mixed lettuces, avocado, almonds & sunflower seeds, an entire can of Tuna, Raspberry vinaigrette(store bought unfortunately)

Snack
protein shake – 1 cup plain yogurt, protein powder, 1 banana, blueberries

Dinner
Homemade Chicken broth
100% beef patty (no other ingredients – just beef)
Kidney Beans, Asparagus, Long grain brown rice (soaked for over 12 hours then cooked)
Parmesan cheese

Note: I know that rice & oats are grains however, I consider this to still be “clean” eating because what i’m eating has not been processed at all. And the grains were prepared properly by me.

How I’m feeling
With regards to food, i’m really enjoying the clean eating. I was pretty much eating that way before so this isn’t much of a change. However, I am cheating (being lazy) less often than I used to.
And I do notice it in how I feel. Most of the time, I feel well-nourished, and not remotely bloated “too full”. I feel “light” and yet strong.
When I do cheat, I notice that I feel it in my gut. I just feel “fat”. Probably because my body isn’t digesting the food as well as when I eat cleanly.

Cheating
I had my cheat meal on Friday night and had Pizza & 2 beer.

Other cheats include the following
1 day I had a small bag of potato chips
1 day I had 2 slices of toast to go with my eggs
1 day I had 1 pancake with my breakfast cause I LOVE pancakes and
1 day I had 1 waffle with my breakfast
Lots and lots of wine & beer during the Halloween party

I think that that’s it for my cheats. Ate very well the rest of the week.

Recipes
I don’t really have anything to contribute because I don’t really cook things in a way that require a recipe.
I generally just steam my veggies or lightly sautee them, then add salt, pepper & olive oil & that’s it.
My proteins are very similar. Usually just lightly sauteed or grilled w/salt, pepper, olive oil & maybe a few other spices.

Question
Is Maple Syrup allowed or not allowed.
If I use 100% Organic Pure Dark Maple Syrup, is that allowed??

Nutrition related articles.
Not sure if you have heard of or perhaps already own the book “Nourishing Traditions”.
If you haven’t, I’m gonna leave it in the Crossfit office for you to take a look at it. I’ve flagged a couple of things in the book that I think you will find informative.
One of them is a brief discussion about soaking grains.

thanks
rosita

My report for the week:

- Sent my food log earlier in the week (Tues, I think?).

- Favourite recipe: A reasonably good “clean” substitute for pumpkin pie. I know I keep sending dessert recipes, but that’s what excites me… what can I say?
Pumpkin Dessert
1. cut the top off a baby ‘sugar pumpkin’ (the little ones that are usually used for decorative purposes) and clean out the seeds and guts
2. put a little bit of water inside the hole and microwave the pumpkin for 6-7 min (or bake for 35 min)
3. once soft, scoop out the flesh and mix in a bowl with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves
4. one pumpkin = one serving = approx 1 block carbs (~ 1/2 cup pumpkin)

- How I am feeling: Generally very good. Not too many cravings for the bad stuff anymore, except when I get really hungry. I broke down earlier in the week and ate a bunch of Smart Food popcorn… not sure why I had such a craving for it, but I was at the grocery store and it was easily accessible to me. I guess it wasn’t the worst thing I could have eaten, but I’m still not proud of it. I am finding that it is becoming much easier to be around other people when they are eating/drinking ‘forbidden’ foods, such as the other day when we had birthday cake and doughnuts at work (I resisted!). One thing I’ve noticed, though, is that I am insatiably hungry – this has been going on for about a month and I can’t figure out why I just can’t seem to get enough calories in me. Some days I will eat a 3-4 block breakfast and be absolutely starving two hours later. Proportionally, I am definitely eating more blocks of protein and fat than I am carbs, but the carbs I am eating are not as dense as what I used to eat (more fruits and veggies instead of grains). Any ideas?

- Cheats: Um, the SmartFood popcorn… oops. On Wednesday night I shared a bottle of red wine and a dessert (that was my official “cheat” meal). Last night I shared a small dessert after dinner, but I managed to avoid the booze and rice that was served with dinner. Haven’t eaten any grains at all this week.

Carli

Carlis last blog post..Guest Coaches for Charity Clinic Next Weekend.

Hi Kelly,

Below is a website (sorry i could not get it to link…) with a ton of information on plastic water bottles…I also attached another article on “flavoured” water that i thought was interesting.

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/bpa.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0813/is_3_35/ai_n27893285/pg_3?tag=artBody;col1

Great discussion on clean eating! I have learned more from that then I did when i was in dietetic school!!

Aileen

As I mentioned; I’m in. I found an easy way to keep track of what I’m doing is with a blog. I used to write it in a food journal, which I would always forget; but I’m never far from a computer. Its totally easy to set up, it took me about 10 minutes – first time. You can see it at: http://daviddugganwatts.blogspot.com/

What I find with “clean” eating and other diet issues; I like to try different things, record how I feel and go from there. My long term goals relate to health and longevity, not specific levels of anything, nor body building. I want to eat in such as way that allows me to perform at my best, at whatever I am doing. I feel that together with exercise and diet; consistently good sleep is really important. I believe in trying different things rather than sticking with absolutes. In the zone v. paleo debate; it makes sense to me to draw the benefits of each “school of thought” to a more hybrid system of appropriate quantities of great food. It doesn’t have to be an either/or; why not have both. Given a certain day’s activities; certain types of food make more sense. I also find it works for me to eat fat before exercising and protein/carb after.

Its is a very interesting study to monitor what makes our bodies operate at an optimum level and the side benefit of finding out is that we are working toward our health goals.

Davids last blog post..Guest Coaches for Charity Clinic Next Weekend.

I’m not doing the challenge but here’s some stuff people might find helpful:- – If you love almonds then most ‘London Drugs’ sell a 1kg tub forabout $17 which is way cheaper than buying the small packets of them(they also do other nut types but I don’t care for those). And theyare raw unroasted unsalted ones. – I tried pretty strict paleo for around 4 weeks and lovedit….except I eventually had to give it up as I just couldn’t getenough carbs into my system, I just found it too hard to force myselfin pure volume to eat what I needed (found this out the bad way). Ithink paleo with oats is do-able though. – Any sugar hit I lust for I try and get from fruit, it’s amazing howgood a strawberry, oats, ice and protein powder smoothie can tastewhen you don’t normally have sugar. – If you’re keeping a log of what you eat, keep track of why youate…most of the crap I do eat is when I’m at work and stressed, ordidn’t get round to making my lunch because I was busy the nightbefore etc. then look at this log and try and find any patterns thatyou could correct. – If you’re a peanut butter freak like me and get your fats that way,but can’t stop (damn addictive stuff) then maybe go to costco wherethey sell the little packets that you get in cafes etc. it’s a lotharder to gorge on stuff when you have to open loads of littlepackets. Financially a silly thing to do…but whatever works for you. Paul

Pauls last blog post..Guest Coaches for Charity Clinic Next Weekend.

sigh……

I want to be good …really I do …. I will try to eat clean but i think Yoda once said ..”there is no try nly DO”

my weaknesses are pita bread
sugar in my tea
gin and tonic
chocolates that patients give us at work

amongst others

Shep wants me to drink milk to ‘muscle up ‘… i will drink a bit more but I will also up my fat intake and see what happens

I am back on high dose fish oil as of this week as well I will also resume my fit day profile

keep me posted Kell

Zola

Zolas last blog post..Guest Coaches for Charity Clinic Next Weekend.

Hey Zola, a gallon of whole milk a day works wonders for weight gain. So says good ol’ Rippetoe.

Of course, that might be a bit much

-Max-

PS: For a good laugh, check out this list of quotes from Rippetoe .

Hey Jenn, you are asking your body to produce energy from new sources so it is completly normal to feel a bit lathargic at the begining. When you start replacing starchy carbs with fat people say it can take up to 3 weeks for your body to learn how to use fat as a source of energy after which point in time it can become a much more effective source than the short burst starchy carbs.

-I got tired of baby carrots (have an article on the potnetial harmful effects of baby carrots that I will post shortly) and broccoli and have moved on to eating raw cauliflower and red peppers. My new favorite things! But if you get tired of eating raw vegitables you can marinate them in olive oila nd garlic and bake them. Makes for a rather tasty alternative!

Very true about how you feel after you cheat Rosita. I was just talking to Dan about this this morning. At first you ahve these huge cheat meals but then after realizing they make you feel like crap each time you just stop (or minimize) the cheating. But first you have to wein your body off all the crap before you get to this stage.

-as for the mapple syrup question, if you think of the unprocessed stuff comming straight from a tree, I think its about as clean of a sweetner as you can get. Any one else have thoughts on this? I will add it to my list to ask Rob Wolf.

-Look forward to reading the article on soaking grains-this is another thing on my list of questions to rob.

Kellys last blog post..Guest Coaches for Charity Clinic Next Weekend.

Pumpkin Recipee looks good Carli, Joy also recently came accross a pretty clean pie recipee that used Almond flour, coconut milk and salt.

As for the hunger problem…up the fat. Heres some advice I agve Zola inregards to that last week:
Id forget about the milk thing and add fat blocks. If you are following the 11 block zone I would up the fat blocks to 33 blocks. Sources could come from: Olive Oil (start adding it to everything-salads, shakes, even your dry curd cottage cheese. You can also bake vegitables marinated in olive oil (Cauliflower is especially good this way), avacados (can spread on toast or add to salads), Nuts (carry almonds around with you and have some after every meal-I’ve also started adding almond butter to my protein shakes-rather tasty). Also, you taking fish oil supplements? If so up them to 3grams a day, if not, start.

For the milk thing to work you need to be drinking whole milk. Most people in the states will drink Raw whole milk but it is very hard to come by in Canada because of our regulations. A couple issues with milk: (1) Most people can not process it effectively (a lot of people are alergic to milk without even knowing it) (2) Most store bought milk has a whole lot of crap added to it and is actually highly processed (Hence people using raw whole milk when they have access to it)

The cottage cheese is definitely better from a protein standpoint, but where milk has its advantages is with the fat (assuming you are drinking whole milk-no piont even going near skim). I’m not a big supporter of the whole milk craze, but it has definitely prodcued results in some people. Personally I would try just upping your fat content in general (part of which could come from incorporating some whole milk).

Oh and in regards to the sugar in Tea thing, I got tired of drinking black coffee, so I started putting some cinamin in it. Takes the bite off quite nicely!

Hi All,

I moved my food log to: http://mmmyummy.wordpress.com, I keep it updated with my daily diet (for better or for worse).

A tip about olive oil. The extra virgin stuff (more expensive, darker) is good to put on things. The cheaper olive oil is better for cooking with. Olive oil looses a lot of the goodness when heated. So if you’re cooking with it, use the cheap stuff. If for salads and what not, use the eating stuff (virgin/extra virgin).

Ben

Bensons last blog post..Oct 25, 2008 – lots of party.

I am real easy.
This week I am switching up what I eat. I regularly eat clean. I switch up from “carb cycling” – basically mon-wed I eat the same thing, Thur/Friday the same meals and Sat/SUnday the same meals again as opposed to eating different meals on different days of the week.

This week:
breakfast – 1 cup orgainic Kamut flakes – 1 scoop protein powder – 1/4 cup blueberries – handful of goji berries
snack – protein pancanke
lunch – chicken breast; brocolli & carrots – i drizzle udo’s oil ontop
snack – protein pancake
dinner – halibut; zuchinni & spinach salad with udo’s oil as dressing
snack – I LOVE my pancakes!!!

I will report how I feel after a week…this is my lazy man plan. This is also my hungry man plan because really its not that filling.
For breakfast/snack/lunch its already all at work prepped ready to eat.
For snack/dinner/snack its at home already prepped ready to eat.
My cheat is on sunday’s and it is a blizzard from dairy queen and I take my protein powder with me and get them to mix it when they mix the blizzard…might as well make my cheat effective!

Recipe of the week – in time for Halloween – this is not my own creation I get all my clean recipes from Oxygen Magazine.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tbs curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 3 apples, peeled, cored, chopped
• 15-oz can pumpkin puree
• 2 2/3 C low-sodium chicken broth
• 2/3 C water
• 1 tsp brown sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pour oil into a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Add onions garlic, garlic, curry, cumin, and cayenne. Sauté stirring often, until onions are soft. Stir apples, pumpkin, broth, water and sugar. Bring to a boil, then let simmer covered with heat reduced to low. Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Puree food in a food processor of blender. Just before serving, return to pot on low heat.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Calories: 93
Fat: 3 g
Protein: 1 g
Carbs: 15.5 g
Fiber: 6 g

Makes 6 servings

What do you put in your protein pancakes?

I saw one recipe the other day that combined egg white, cocunt oil and whey protein powder.

Kellys last blog post..Guest Coaches for Charity Clinic Next Weekend.

Ben, a little something i learned in my nutrition course about oils….
You suggested using cheaper oil for cooking with… You’re very right that when you’re cooking with it, you lose a lot of the good stuff. An additional point however is that the ‘cheaper’ oils have not only already lost the good stuff, but they’ve already turned into bad stuff. They’re damaging so should be avoided.

Oils and fats are damaged by heat, light & i think the 3rd thing is oxygen although i forget at the exact moment. If you use cheaper olive oils, then they have most likely been processed i.e. been subjected to heat. The heat oxidizes the fats in the oil. So, a) you lose the goodness of the fats and even worse b) they are fats that cause damage to our bodies.

As we all know, fat is not bad for you….. but, it is OXIDIZED fats that damage our arteries. So, in my humble opinion, and that of my nutrition teacher, you should never use the ‘cheaper’ oils as the fats are not only no longer good, but they’re also actually damaging to your cardiovascular system.

If you’re cooking at a temperature that heats olive oil a lot. I’d use a different type of oil. Butter, Cocunut oil and Lard are excellent fats to cook with. They’re more stable and it takes a higher temperature to oxidize them then a lot of other oils. A great idea is to do 1/2 butter, 1/2 oil. The butter protects the olive oil from becoming oxidized.
So, personally, I’d only buy unrefined Olive Oil and just be careful how i use it. I can use it to lightly sautee. If I do something that requires higher temps, then I’d use a different type of fat to cook in.

Here’s a snipit from the notes from my Nutrition course.
Choose high quality, UNREFINED oils in moderation. These will cost more, but the health benefits are PRICELESS.
Try:
* Oils labeled ‘unrefined’: they are produced using cool temperatures and without chemicals
Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the “first cold pressing” ONLY for low-temp cooking; do not let the oil come to the smoking point. Avoid “pure” or “extra pure” and other olive oils as they are highly refined.
* Cooking at moderate temp: use extra virgin olive oil: appearance=cloudy (not filtered), golden yellow (ripe olives).
* Enjoy butter in moderation
* Tropical Oils: Palm & Coconut (anit-bacterial & anti-fungal properties) are highly stable, excellent for baking, cooking & frying.

** Short-chain Fatty Acids are used by the body first for energy and are found in animal fats – butter, lard, etc.
** Long-chain Fatty Acids are stored faster & used later and include oils like vegetable oils

** AVOID most commercially produced vegetalbe oils that come in clear plastic bottles; these are generally highly ‘refined’ using high-heat & chemical solvents
>>> includes > margarines, canola, sunflower, safflower, grape seed & many olive oils, salad dressings….

As far as the protein pancakes go…I used to drink protein shakes for snacks which was basically one scoop pp and water blended. But that doesn’t satisfy the “mind” so what I do is I take my scoop of PP and add just enough egg white to make a batter and then poor into my mini fry pan and then put in the oven or toaster oven to cook. My mind is much more satisfied “chewing” soming rather than “drinking” something. Sometimes I add a few berries and banana slices to mix it up or a handful of a raw nut mix if I need a little bit more energy. However I found this great recipe in Oxygen Magazine – its more for a breakfast I used my mini pancakes as a snack….Protein Powder is important there are some funky tasting ones on the market. I use Isoflex by Allmax they have great flavors and tasts amazing and the nutritional content is good. You can go tastier with Lean Dessert by BSN but its a little bit higher in fats and sugars.

PROTEIN ENERGY PANCAKES:
INGREDIENTS:
• Olive oil spray
• 3/4 cup quick cook oatmeal
• 3/4 cup egg whites
• 1 tbsp fat-free cottage cheese
• 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
• 1 tbsp sugar-free syrup
• 1/4 cup blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS:
Mist pan with Olive oil spray. Combine all ingredients and pour into small frying pan in pancake form.

When sides start to brown, flip. Pancakes will need approximately 3 minutes on each side.

Serve with sugar-free syrup and blueberries.

NUTRIENTS PER SERVING (including cinnamon):
Calories: 355, Total Fat: 4 g, Sat. Fat: 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.5 g, Carbs: 53 g, Fiber: 8 g, Sugar: 7 g, Protein: 30 g, Sodium: 386 mg, Cholesterol: 1 mg

Sonia I love your idea to mix protein powder with egg white to make a batter and turn it into a pancake. Definitely going to try that. Thanks so much for idea.
I struggle coming with ideas for snacks so this is a great one.

Interesting recipe for the Protein pancake out of Oxygen magazine.
I do wonder however how “clean” this recipe is. As it uses Olive oil Spray which has probably been heavily processed. And Quick cook Oatmeal which is not only grains but also grains that have been highly processed and that have little nutritional value and I’m guessing spike our insulin response. And then on top of that, they’re suggesting sugar-free syrup. Which to me means that it is also not natural. Oh and also fat-free cottage cheese. Again, it’s not natural or healthy.

You could probably take the recipe and modify it to make it “clean. Cook separately some organic steel-cut or rolled oats that have been soaked overnight and cooked for about 20 minutes. Maybe leave the oats a little runny.
Then mix with egg whites & FULL fat cottage cheese (I wonder if you can get Cottage cheese that comes from Raw milk rather than pasteurized milk). Then make your pancake and use Organic (straight from the tree) DARK (cause it has the most nutrients) maple syrup.

(no idea if this would actually work or if Machine would consider this to be following the ‘rules’….just thinking out loud)

I tried making Protein Powder pancakes last night after o-lifting by mixing: 30g of 100% whey (unflavored), 1tbs of salba meal, 3tbs of egg white and then frying with some olive oil, and umm yah, they tasted pretty much like they sound -dry and plain.

I like the idea of adding cinamon (its my new flavor of choice), want to avoid the oats, but think they could definitely use some “from the tree” dark maple syrup. The advantage of adding some cottage cheese is that it would add more moisture to them and give them a bit of a gooey factor that mine were definitely missing!

Interesting thread over on the performance menue: http://www.cathletics.com/forum/showthread.php?p=41760#post41760

Its about how often “Paleos” cheat, what they cheat with and what they consider cheating.

Kellys last blog post..Team Machine Updates

rosita, thanks for the info about oils. I wouldn’t mind cooking with more unsalted butter + olive oil. Gotta try that. What do you guys think about peanuts?

I make a nut mix with peanuts, walnuts and almonds. I used peanuts cause I ran out of cashews.

Bensons last blog post..Oct 25, 2008 – lots of party.

Lots of research on peanuts and their potential downsides. WIll post an article later today. They are also considered to be a legume. I’d stay away from the m and buy some more cashews.

On the note of recipees, I just posted a paleo pumpkin pie recipee http://www.kellyfrankson.com/2008/10/paleo-pumpkin-pie/ and found a Paleo Chicken Pizza recipee that is scheduled to be posted tomorrow and an Applesauce & Cinamin pancake recipe that will go up on Friday,

So stay tunned!

Kellys last blog post..Team Machine Updates

Hi Everyone,

I haven’t been near a computer lately, but finally got a chance to catch up on everyone’s updates.
It’s interesting to see the similarities and differences everyone has with their meal plan.
I will later post a day in a life of Joy but for now, I just wanted to share this paleo recipe website with everyone http://www.paleofood.com/ Check out the dessert recipes on this site

Cooking is one of my favorite hobbies….so I always appreciate good recipes. I like variety and I think variety is important to obtain all the vitamins and minerals different foods have to offer…not to mention, variety makes it easy to stick with a meal plan!
I recently discovered Almond flour….it’s just grounded up almonds. I always use this instead of flour. Coconut oil is also a favorite of mine and I take cod liver oil in the winter instead of regular fish oil.

Focus on nutrition for overall health and performance….everything else falls into place.

Joyjoy

Sweet Tooth? Tried this last night and it is to die for!!! I picked up the sample pack when I was in Las Vegas at the Mr. Olympia convention I don’t know if they even sell it here – I will look into…its protein powder pudding!
https://www.vitaminme.com.au/site/page.cfm?u=28&s=shopProductInfo&t=shopProductInfo&productId=11807

Sent Rob Wolf a list of questions and here are some of his responses:

Regarding the questions:
1-about soaking grains-soaking actually begins the break down process for the starches in grains…thus INCREASING the glycemic index. It DOES decreas the anti nutritnet load somewhat, which is why so many cultures do this with grains, but it is still a sub-par option IMO.

2-about Mapple syrup-sugar is sugar! The hippies want to make all this stuff somehow different but it all registers as sugar…and the folks who routinely use it have insulin control problems.

3-about deli meats-There are better and worse deli meats…the reality is preservatives….preserve the meat! It’s tough to have that stuff last at all without some salt, a little sugar etc. When you consider the evils of too many carbs and the attendant insulin spike, deli meat is benign…no worries

Keep the questions coming

What do you guys think about coconut milk? I’ve been using a 1/2 cup of it in my protein shakes to add extra fat to my diet. I was looking at the label and it is 12g of saturated fat for a 1/2 cup serving…

That seems like a deadly amount.

Bensons last blog post..Oct 25, 2008 – lots of party.

Tried the protein pancakes after o-lifting again. This time I combined 1 scoop Whey Protein, 2 tbs salba meal, 2 tablespoons unsweetend apple sauce, 1 tsp vanilla, Cinamin, 1 egg, 2 tbs egg white.

SO MUCH BETTER. I actually enjoyed them this time

Kellys last blog post..Paleo Pumpkin Pie

wrt Rosita’s comment on Olive Oil spray … You can get pump spray type things at kitchen stores (Ming Wo etc.). Just fill a reservoir with regular olive oil, pump some air in like a bike pump and give a little spritz on the pan.

You have to play around with the protein pancake but once you master the taste and texture you like you will be hooked. Since Halloween is one day away and you see all the pumpkins in the grocery stores on sale here is a little breakfast recipe in the spirit of Halloween and to “switch it up” you morning oatmeal. Cook oatmeal as you regularly do. Then add 2tlbp pumpkin puree, 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnimon.

Kelly I am going to grab you some sample packs of the Isolflex flavored protein powder and get you to try different flavors – i.e. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip or Chocolate Chip Mint – this will change the taste of your pancake.

Made some great chicken broth last night that left me with loads of poached chicken to work with and stock to make easy soups.

4.5-5 pounds of chicken breast bone in, skin in (don’t worry, you discard the skin)
1 onion cut into 8
2 carrots cut in half
3 celery stalks cut in half
2-3 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
1-2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp dried thyme
parsley if you have it

Put it all in a large pot and cover with 2 inches or so of water. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer until chicken is cooked (160 F /no longer pink), about 15 minutes. Remove chicken to a rimmed baking sheet to cool. Remove veggies with a slotted spoon and discard (or eat). Filter broth through a fine meshed sieve lined with a damp paper towel. If broth comes measures more than 8 cups reduce on high heat (ie boil until it reduces).

When chicken is cool enough to handle remove and discard the skin. The meat can then be either shredded (two forks work well for this) or chopped.

I made a simple soup with some shredded chicken.

As much broth as you want
Veggies of choice : I used 1/2 an orange pepper, some snap peas and some mushrooms
Thinly sliced garlic and ginger
Tamari (or soy sauce) to taste
Shredded chicken (about 1/2 a large breast)

Heat broth, add veggies, garlic and ginger
Warm till veggies start to soften but aren’t limp
Add chicken and season to taste.
Sesame oil would be a nice addition to up the fat content and flavour.

Okay, so I’ve been messing around with the protein pancake and trying all kinds of variations to make it more moist, less crumbly, tastier, etc. I’ve come up with what I think to be the most palatable combination:

2 eggs
1 scoop (30 g) vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup dry curd cottage cheese
1/2 banana sliced thinly
cinnamon to taste
(top with almond or cashew butter afterwards)

7 blocks protein
2 blocks carbs
3-5 blocks fat (depending on how much nut butter you use)

It also worked well with applesauce, but the banana sort of carmelizes nicely and sweetens the whole thing up a bit.