Pounding the Pavement and Inhaling Protein

 

My feet and legs hurt - I think it's from kicking so much butt by breaking my 10K PR a week and a half ago. Or it could be because I need new running shoes. Either or.

Whatever the reason, I better get them quick, fast and in a hurry since I'm less than a month out from the race Kelly and I are running in Kansas City on April 18. Boy howdy, it's coming up fast!

From last Saturday to this coming Saturday, I'm scheduled to run roughly 35h miles but I'm a horrible traveling runner, meaning I don't do a good job of sticking to my training when I'm out-of-state, so I'll probably be relegated to about 25ish miles. Not bad, but not great.

I'm having trouble deciding/noticing if I'm getting any faster or more resilient during this round of training. I live in a holler among the Flint Hills, so GPS reception is sketchy and at any given time my Nike+ running app could be telling me I've run 1/2 mile farther than I actually have, which [falsely] leads me to believe I'm running 8:15 minute miles for 10 miles straight. Impossible? Absolutely not. Probably inaccurate? Yes.

So while I'm not sure if I'm going to break my PR next month, one thing that I'm certain about is that this girl is getting hangry quite often. Generally after a long run.

One of my favorite beef meals - smoked beef brisket.

After a long run, which I personally quantify as anything over six miles, I have a noticeable desire for protein, specifically meat. When I say “noticeable,” I mean that I must eat some sort of meat within a half hour or I may chew my arm off to suffice. Sometimes I will eat a few slices of lunch meat to hold me over until I can prepare a full meal or sometimes I will schedule my long runs so that I arrive back at my house roundabout the time my husband has finished grilling lunch or supper, which allows me to dive into a burger, steak or chop almost immediately after my workout. If I don’t get some sort of meat or protein in my system pronto, I feel very sluggish and have a hard time functioning the rest of the day.

Give me all of the flank steak. All. of. it.

Why am I craving protein? Well, that's easy: protein helps support a strong, lean body which is obviously important to me. Furthermore, a high-protein diet helps build and replenish muscles while at the same time providing the "full" feeling meaning if I'm full from steak I'm not chowing down on Cheetos or cupcakes. I get most of my protein from beef and pork but I am also a huge fan of scrambled eggs with ham and cheese and a big glass of milk. I personally believe that breakfast for supper is one of life's underappreciated treats. Actually, I think breakfast food anytime is pretty much the bees knees.

Anyhow, since I have no desire to stop running due to my fondness of my current pant size, I've got to devise a way to get more protein into my system in order to keep the Cheetos and cupcakes out of my system. Those items tend to mysteriously disappear shortly after they are purchased. Weird.

Next week, I'll have a protein update that I'm excited to share, a new meaty recipe and hopefully, some new kicks!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Faux Fried Fowl

Is this recipe healthier than real fried chicken? Yes. Was it delicious? Yes. Was it better than the real thing? I will leave that up to you to judge. I do know that it was far less time consuming and didn't require me to stand over bubbling Crisco for an hour. I doubt it is as good as my real fried chicken, but I'll take this for a quick meal any night.

 

I give you faux fried fowl aka oven-fried chicken. It was delicious! I sort of improvised and used the spices I had in my kitchen but I am certain you can go on Pinterest and find a great assortment if you're not into mine. I got my inspiration from some cornflake chicken recipe and went from there. Remember, we like a lot of seasoning in our home!

 

You'll need:

 

1 beaten egg

3 tbsp. milk

1 sleeve of crushed saltines

1/2 tsp thyme

1.5 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tbs butter

1 lb of chicken breasts

 

Mix together dry ingredients and in a gallon Ziploc bag. Combine milk and beaten egg - dip chicken breasts into mixture and then place into gallon Ziploc bag. Shake it up.

 

 

 

 

Place chicken on foil lined pan. Drizzle melted butter on top of chicken.

 

 

Bake at 375 for about 55 minutes or until the middle is 170 degrees F. Don't screw around with chicken, make sure it's completely cooked to the right temp or you could get food poisoning on your way to your honeymoon. No lie.

 

 

Serve with starch and veggies/fruits. Super juicy, super delcious and even had some crunch to it.

 

What's cookin' in your kitchen this week?

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~



I'm a Meatatarian



No veggies? No problem.

I'm a red-blooded, God-fearing, feisty American and I like meat. I know how it's produced, I'm comfortable with the sacrifice made to yield it and I can prepare it 154 ways to amaze even the most skeptical foodie. I eat it at almost every meal and even snack-time if some beef jerky is handy. That's right, I'm a meatatarian.

 

You might be wondering what a meatatarian is, so pay attention while I drop a profound answer in your lap:

meatatarian: a person who, for a variety of reasons, eats mostly meat and very few vegetables. This dietary 'lifestyle' may be due to allergies or could be attributed to a sincere distaste for most vegetables.

I fall into the latter of those two descriptions - I have eaten a lot of vegetables in my twenty-somethings years, in fact it was a rule in the Buzzard household that you had to clean your plate before getting up for dinner. I actually tested this rule to the max when I was seven and fell asleep at dinner because I didn't want to eat spinach.

 

In spite of my avoidance plan, leftover spinach graced my plate at lunch-time the next day. The only thing worse than spinach is leftover, re-warmed spinach. Gag.

 

However, upon leaving the parental castle for college I vowed that I would not continue to eat another food that I despised, thereby depriving those who enjoy vegetables from what they view as an exemplary eating experience. Hence, my diet consists of meat, dairy, grains -- sometimes whole, others not -- and fruit. Often times, my plate contains meat, cottage cheese and a potato/green beans/corn/squash; however, if said potato dish includes peppers or other contemptible vegetable intruders, I quickly jump off the veggie train.

 

It's worth noting that I have tried almost every vegetable in the grocery store so I'm not condemning them without actually having tried them. You name it and I've *probably* tried it and subsequently, disliked it.

 

Bear in mind, I do have vegetarian friends. They are insanely awesome and although we poke fun at one another about dietary choices, I have never seriously tried to convert them back to meat-eaters and they have never tried to persuade me to stop gorging on bacon and steak. They have their reasons for choosing their lifestyle and I have mine. We can all coexist and co-eat in peace.

 

I often wish that I did like vegetables. I see commercials for fresh salads chock full of crispy fresh peppers, cucumbers and carrots. I would love to partake, really I would, but my most recent attempt at ingesting crunchy, fresh salad-type foods led to a near vomit experience in the local Olive Garden. I doubt they would have viewed me as family if I had spewed in the garden.

 

My ordering process at restaurants drives my husband insane but I fail to understand why my palate restricts his meal experience. I challenge you to find a restaurant in existence in which I couldn't suss out at least one thing to eat - plain is always an option - therefore, my food preferences should in no way affect his options.  I profess that I am not a picky eater; I know what I want and I eat a lot of it. Steak, bacon, burgers, chops, wings - bring all the smokey, spiced and sauced goodness to me on a silver platter and I shall demolish it in one fell swoop.

So, to my fellow meatatarians, here are some survival tips for navigating through an increasingly veggo-filled world:

• Do not be ashamed of your choices - God made you this way and no one can argue with that.
• Keep a close eye out for veggies that are added but not disclosed - i.e. the bacon and cheese hot dog in a pretzel bun at Sonic does not make buyers aware of onions in the mix but they are sure 'nuff on the dog.
• When the day arrives that you're tired of defending your choices (and it will come, no fail), claim to be allergic to specific vegetables. This strategy will immediately stop whatever heckling you're receiving. I have used this at Taco Bell in order to stop the staff from ignoring my requests about a lettuce-less burrito.
• Pose the question, "If I were a vegetarian would you be giving me this much guff?"
• Refer to one of any number of Ron Swanson classics - here, here and here.
• Bonus info: if you order fajitas and ask for no onions or peppers, they will often double the amount of meat you're getting so the portion sizes are equal. Huzzah!

I imagine, in the distant future, there will be a support group for folks like myself who, despite society's need to interrogate and force change upon our dietary choices needs, have chosen to eat mostly animal products mixed in with a few whole grains and some fruit.

Stand strong, fellow meatatarians, and let protein drive the force.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Wordless Wednesday - The Chickies Are Growing!

 

Growth and development update coming soon - and nutrition too!

Chipotle: That's Not Natural

Chipotle appears on my blog often - the burrito giant often brags about sourcing naturally raised meats while condemning conventional agriculture and even goes to such lengths to produce anti-conventional agriculture videos that are glaringly inaccurate, which makes them a high priority on the list of blog topics.

Which is why this photo I saw on Feedstuffs Foodlink's Facebook page made me giggle.

This picture, courtesy Feedstuffs Foodlink, was taken by a customer in Kentucky although it's worth pointing out that similar signs have been seen in Illinois Chipotle locations.

What does this mean? Well in this post, I talked about how Chipotle has said in the past that the economy sometimes prevents them from sourcing natural beef and chicken. Here is the excerpt verbatim:

“We do, however, face challenges associated with pursuing Food With Integrity. For example, current economic conditions have led to natural chicken and steak supply shortages. It can take longer to identify and secure relationships with suppliers meeting our criteria, and there are higher costs and other risks associated with purchasing naturally raised or sustainably grown ingredients. The growing time for naturally raised meat and sustainably grown vegetables can be longer. Herd losses can also be greater when animals are not treated with antibiotics and hormones and field losses can be higher for organically grown produce. Given the costs associated with natural and sustainable farming practices, and recently due to decreased demand as a result of the weak economic environment, many large suppliers have not found it economical to pursue business in this area.” -- taken from Chipotle's annual report.

What this means is that due to a variety of factors, many of which are likely drought/supply/economy related, Chipotle has found it absolutely necessary to use conventionally produced meat instead of natural. I'm guessing it's either because it's too expensive for them to turn enough profit or they simply can't find enough of it to keep their supply chain running. Like I said, those are my speculations.

Several people commented on that post when I originally put it on my blog arguing that Chipotle didn't actually say, "We are using conventional" and to those folks I say, is this the absolute proof you need? I should hope so.

I must applaud Chipotle for being honest and not hiding their conventional sourcing from customers, although I wish they'd just drop their elitist marketing ploy altogether.

Poll the audience: Who out there can honestly say that they buy food based solely on production practices and nutrition, without considering price?
Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

What's in That Chicken McNugget?

 photo from here

I've been asked this question before on the blog - most recently in a comment from this post. And I've always forgotten to answer it; sorry, I'm not perfect and sometimes I forget. But McDonald's of Canada has stepped up to the plate and become completely transparent in regards to what is in their products. They have recently invited their customers to pose their questions online at Our Food. Your Questions. and boy are the inquiries rolling in.

Some of the more popular questions are - my synopsis is in italics, but to read the word-for-word detailed answers, visit the website.

-- How is it that a McDonald's burger does not rot? Too dry; not enough moisture for bacteria/mold.
-- Does Canada use pink slime? (which I hate saying but that is verbatim - the actual term is lean, finely textured beef) No.
-- Does your egg McMuffin use real eggs? Yes - a freshly cracked egg for every sandwich.
-- Inside the McNugget, is it actually the meat of the chicken or cut offs that nobody would actually want to eat? Answer (verbatim): It's definitely chicken inside our McNuggets. We use seasoned chicken breast and a few seasonings, along with a natural proportion of skin for flavour and as a binder.

I hope that clears up any misconceptions about random chicken parts.

 One of my faves is, "Would you live in the life of one of your cows for even a week?" That'll make you take a deep breath! McDonald's has yet to answer that one but you can see the answers to the above questions and more by following the link to the Your Questions website.

I applaud McDonald's for taking this approach to helping consumers make connections between their food and the way it's produced/prepared. You should definitely go over and look at some of the other questions being posed and maybe even ask one of your own.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Potatoes Say Good-bye

Geez, I love taters. I don't know if there are many other people out there who adore potatoes like I do. I love them fried, baked, mashed, crinkled, shredded, covered in cheese, boiled and even raw. They are their own food group to me - a delicious food group of starchy perfection.

Which is why I've decided to give them up.

But only until Easter - and then it's game on for Grandma Buzzard's fried chicken and mashed taters for Easter dinner.

That's right, I'm giving up potatoes for Lent and I think this may be an even harder challenge than when I gave up soda for Lent (a lack of Dr. Pepper almost killed me).  So what will I be eating instead? 

Well, I'm obviously not going to cut back on my meat consumption. I'll continue to enjoy lean beef, tasty pork and lots of different forms of chicken. But to fill the gap on my plate where potatoes used to go......

That's not an exaggeration, I generally am pretty strictly meat and potatoes.... and cottage cheese. I looooooooove cottage cheese. If you don't believe me, ask the Ninja.

To fill this void I'll likely be eating a lot more of the following things:

- Green beans - did you know one cup of green beans contains 30% of your daily Vitamin C req's?
- Corn - One cup contains a pretty significant amount of Thiamin and Vitamic C
- Rice/pasta - I'll try to eat whole grain options in this category. Whole grain foods are very heart healthy and by the way, so is lean beef!
- Cottage cheese - this obviously has a lot of calcium in it!

If you haven't noticed, I'm not a big fan of vegetables. However, I like lots of different kinds of meats so maybe I'll rotate some kangaroo or some other exotic meat in there to toss things up a bit!

Are you giving anything up for Lent? If so, what?!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~