Ingredients
2 bags of choc chips
1 tin condensed milk
2 scoops protein powder (unflavoured, preferably)

A small handful of walnuts or other (optional)

Pour chips into microwave-safe bowl and nuke for 1 minute or until melted.
Add and mix quickly the protein powder. Mix in the condensed milk. Throw in the nuts if desired for a healthy helping of good oil. Let fudge harden in the fridge about two hours. Cut into bars or slices.

4 pork chops (shoulder has the highest protein, with loin chops next)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped
3 gloves garlic, chopped
1/2 to 1 tsp chili powder
non-fat cooking spray

Trim fat off chops. In a small saucepan, combine the pepper, sugar, tomato sauce, onion, garlic and chili powder. Simmer for 15 minutes until slightly thickened.

Lightly coat grille or bbq with cooking spray. Place chops on bbq and spoon or baste a heaping tablespoon of sauce over each chop. Cook for about ten minutes (less if using the George Foreman. The meat should be white and tender).

Serve the cooked chops with salad, and the remaining warm sauce.

Creatine Monohydrate is one of those supplements.

Creatine supplementation increases performance in high intensity exercise, results in lower lactate levels, it’s an antioxidant and it improves recovery time after injury. What can’t this stuff do?

So we know creatine is good for muscles but maybe it’s also good for the brain! There is some evidence that creatine supplementation can influence cognitive function and mood state under certain circumstances. Funding for this type of research is usually limited. Drug companies like to pour their money into research on their own medicines and not into supplements that are widely available and relatively inexpensive.

However, Reuters reports that the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, one of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is launching the trial as the first in a series of publicly-sponsored studies of new Parkinson’s treatments.

The study will recruit 1,720 people with early-stage Parkinson’s disease across North America. Neither patients or doctors alike will know whether they are getting creatine or a placebo. The study should last three to five years.

“This study is an important step toward developing a therapy that could change the course of this devastating disease,”

“The goal is to improve the quality of life for people with Parkinson’s for a longer period of time than is possible with existing therapies.”

said Nation Institute of Health Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni.

Parkinsons is caused by the mysterious destruction of brain cells that produce dopamine, an important neurotransmitter or message-carrying chemical involved in movement.

Drug therapy to replace the dopamine or reduce tremors can help some patients for a while, but symptoms tend to eventually worsen. Experimental treatments that involve the transplant of new cells have also had limited success.

In mice, creatine was shown to prevent the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells.

“One thing we want to get across is that you can’t go to the store, buy small amounts of creatine and think it’s going to improve your Parkinson’s symptoms. We don’t want anyone to think this is a panacea for Parkinson’s,”

said Dr. John Goudreau of Michigan State University, who will run one of the trial sites.

Fair enough, Dr Goudreau but given the creatine is safe and inexpensive why wouldn’t you take some just incase. And there are other benefits to be derived from supplementing with creatine as well.

And if someone is regularly belting you in the head, maybe that’s more reason. Just ask Muhammad Ali.

OK, so we’re paraphrasing, but the point is that chicken is a powerful, tasty, low-fat source of protein and above all easy to prepare.

In short, essential to the bodybuilder’s diet. But how do the culinarily-challenged approach these silky mounds of goodness?

No matter what their good intentions, many of those aspiring to a high protein, low-fat diet can cope with the Subway line, but are all at sea in a supermarket. They know that being organised and prepared with six scientifically balanced meals a day is key to good, effective muscle growth, but just can’t seem to get the hang of it.

If Dave Palumbo can find his way around a kitchen, anyone can.

If you’re the sort who’s to be found staring miserably into the abyss of the refrigerator before grabbing keys and wallet and heading straight for the nearest greasy spoon, Berardi’s bulk chicken basics are for you:

Preheat oven to 180-190 degrees C, depending on the oven. Place enough boneless chicken breasts for 3-5 days on a cooking sheet covered with aluminium foil, spaced about 1 inch apart. Squirt lemon juice over them. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Place tray of chicken in oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until flesh is white. Let cool before storing them in fridge. Throw away the foil and you don’t even have to scrub the baking sheet.

Keep roasted chicken breasts in Ziploc bags or airtight containers in the fridge for up to six days, although they taste best at around three to four days.

SEE ALSO:
For more great training and nutrition wisdom, check out Dr Berardi’s complete system, Precision Nutrition. Containing 5 nutrition guides, two audio CDs, two DVDs, and our Gourmet Nutrition cookbook, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want — guaranteed.

And what’s more, you get a free lifetime membership to his private, members-only website, where you can talk exercise and nutrition 24/7 with thousands of fellow members and the Precision Nutrition coaches. Find out more about Precision Nutrition.

The study suggests that men should regularly consume servings of broccoli and tomatoes, preferably in the same meal.

“Studies have shown that men who regularly eat servings of fresh tomatoes have up to a 40 per cent reduced risk of developing prostate cancer, while the sulphur compounds in broccoli are known to be a mechanism that delays cancer growth,” said John Erdman, professor of food science at the University of Illinois, where the study was conducted before the results were published in the the US journal, Cancer Research.

One in six males are marked for prostate cancer. As TC says,

“While it’s thought to be an old man’s disease, it’s such a slow-growing cancer (most of the time) that it probably starts 10 to 20 years before symptoms pop up.”

So, while you’re sorting out the fitness aspect of your pro-active stance against disease, get cracking on nutrition too. After all, offence is the best defence, and eating broccoli and tomatoes together may be a good place to start.

Some culinary input from TC, but just don’t call him a “recipe guy”, at least not to his face.

Marinated Broccoli and Tomato Salad

250 gm Broccoli
125 gm mushrooms, fresh
3/4 c black olives, pitted and drained
1 c. cherry tomatoes

Dressing

1/3 c olive oil
1tb white wine vinegar
1 tb lemon juice
2 tb chopped parsely
1 shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper.

Trim flowerets from broccoli. Steam or boil in salted water for about 1 minute, or until they turn bright green. Drain.

Trim stems from mushroom, slice or leave whole

Combine broccoli, mushrooms, olives and tomatoes in a bowl. Mix dressing ingredients and whisk until blended. Pour over vegetables. Turn gently to coat vegetables.

Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or more.

Good news: John Berardi’s team of kitchen whizzes have found a way to make even cottage cheese taste great.

They’ve also added a healthy dose of essential fatty acids from nuts and flax, together with fiber to ensure maximum absorption while you sleep.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese

2 tsp flax meal or LSA meal

1 tsp peanut butter or other nut butter

1 scoop calcium caseinate protein powder or whey protein powder or 1/2 each

1 tsp cocoa

Splenda, to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, and stir until smooth.

This is a meal that should be eaten within a few hours after exercising, because of the combination of protein from beef (a massive 71 grams per serve) and carbs from the beans, which are also high in fibre.

Like other legumes, kidney beans rate low on the glycemic index, contain more fibre than any grain source, and have the potential to reduce body fact as well as increasing relative muscle mass.

As Berardi says,

“If the promise of a leaner physique isn’t enough, a recent study found that legumes may add years to your life, being the most effective dietary predictor of survival in a longitudinal study of elderly people across the world.”

If you’d more information on, or a copy of Berardi’s Optimal Nutrition plan, you can find it here.

This recipe makes ten servings, and freezes well. Unless you’re planning a dinner party or feeding a village in Ethiopia, be prepared to freeze about four serves. Or why not freeze it in ten individual serves? You can find lightweight containers in the kitchen aisle at your supermarket, or just use Baggies. Alternatively, halve the ingredients before preparation.

Yes, it’s like mothers milk!

Dr. John Berardi’s Chili

INGREDIENTS

2 kg extra lean ground beef (96% fat or less)
4 cans kidney beans, drained.
2 large onions, chopped (frozen chopped onions, from the freezer aisle at your supermarket, are a fantastic time-saver)
2 large tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can
500 grams carrots, chopped or sliced
4 capsicums—1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange—chopped or grated.
6 cloves garlic, chopped (or two teaspoons preserved)
2 bottles V8 Juice, spicy or plain (Tabasco sauce can be used to spice up the plain juice at this stage)

1/3 to 1/2 cup cashew meal

Spices
4 tsp Mexican chili powder*
1 tsp cumin,
2 tsp paprika,
1 tsp ground pepper
* (Available from Spanish grocers or from the spice aisle in your supermarket. Do NOT use anything labelled just “chilli powder” which is usually made from pure ground chillies and this amount could blow your brains out! The Mexican or Spanish version is actually a mildish combination of spices, like an Indian masala. If you can’t find it, substitute a packet of chili seasoning mix)

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large fry pan, brown the beef, onions and garlic in batches or all at once, depending on the size of the pan. A large wok with a lid works perfectly for this. When the beef is brown, and the onions change colour, add the spices and continue frying for another couple of minutes. Transfer the beef and spices mixture to a large pot with a lid if necessary. Add the beans, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, and V8 juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer with the lid on.

To make the cashew meal, process raw cashews in the blender in short bursts, until a grainy meal is formed. Don’t process for too long, or you’ll make cashew butter.

Stir the cashew meal into the chili, cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve garnished with chopped coriander leaves or a sprinkle of aged cheddar cheese.

Nowadays there are a lot of misconceptions with respect to protein intake. Should one take in 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight? Or is it 1 gram per kilogram? And, to the non-scientist, just how much is that?

Well, before discussing this issue, I think it’s important to explore the difference between protein need and protein optimization. When someone asks the question – how much protein should I eat – they are usually trying to figure out how much protein they need to optimize body composition and performance. But the question, “How much protein does an athlete need?” is a very different one from “How much protein should an athlete consume to improve body composition and athletic performance?”

In the research world, the word need is in no way associated with optimization. Instead it’s defined as the minimum amount necessary in order to prevent deficiency. Therefore, in asking how much protein an athlete needs, you’re asking the question “What’s the minimum amount of protein an athlete can get away with to prevent wasting and eventual death?”

Since most athletes have access to and usually consume enough protein to stave off death, the common protein question about how much protein an athlete needs is a bad one. This question doesn’t address the issue of real importance, the one that addresses what an athlete should consume to improve performance and body composition?

So, how much protein do individuals need to optimize performance and body composition? Well, the truth is, I don’t know. Everyone is different. However, what I do know is this – about 85% of all the individuals I’ve ever consulted with have been eating less protein that I recommend. And the first thing I do to stimulate results (usually “results” mean body composition changes) is to increase the protein intake while making a few concomitant changes to carbs and fat intake.

Now, there are a number of reasons why I boost protein intake in most clients so I’d like to outline them in this article.

Reason #1
Increased Thermic Effect of Feeding — While all macronutrients require metabolic processing for digestion, absorption, and storage or oxidation, the thermic effect of protein is significantly higher than that of carbohydrates and fat. In fact, protein requires 25-30% of the energy it provides just for digestion, absorption, and assimilation while carbs only require 6-8% and fat requires 2-3%. That means that eating protein is actually thermogenic and can lead to a higher metabolic rate. This means greater fat loss when dieting and less fat gain during hypercaloric diets.

Reason #2
Increased Glucagon — Protein consumption increases plasma concentrations of the hormone glucagon. Glucagon is responsible for antagonizing the effects of insulin in adipose tissue, leading to greater fat mobilization. In addition, glucagon also decreases the amounts and activities of the enzymes responsible for making and storing fat in adipose and liver cells. Again, this leads to greater fat loss during dieting and less fat gain during overfeeding.

Reason #3
Increased IGF-1 — Protein and amino-acid supplementation has been shown to increase the IGF-1 response to both exercise and feeding. Since IGF-1 is an anabolic hormone that’s related to muscle growth, another advantage associated with consuming more protein is more muscle growth when overfeeding and/or muscle sparing when dieting.

Reason #4
Reduction in Cardiovascular Risk — Several studies have shown that increasing the percentage of protein in the diet (from 11% to 23%) while decreasing the percentage of carbohydrate (from 63% to 48%) lowers LDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations with concomitant increases in HDL cholesterol concentrations.

Reason #5
Improved Weight-Loss Profile — Research from Layman and colleagues has demonstrated that reducing the carbohydrate ratio from 3.5 – 1 to 1.4 – 1 increases body fat loss, spares muscle mass, reduces triglyceride concentrations, improves satiety, and improves blood glucose management.

Reason #6
Increased Protein Turnover — All tissues of the body, including muscle, go through a regular program of turnover. Since the balance between protein breakdown and protein synthesis governs muscle protein turnover, you need to increase your protein turnover rates in order to best improve your muscle quality. A high protein diet does just this. By increasing both protein synthesis and protein breakdown, a high protein diet helps you get rid of the old muscle more quickly and build up new, more functional muscle to take its place.

Reason #7
Increased Nitrogen Status — Earlier I indicated that a positive nitrogen status means that more protein is entering the body than is leaving the body. High protein diets cause a strong positive protein status and when this increased protein availability is coupled with an exercise program that increases the body’s anabolic efficiency, the growth process may be accelerated.

Reason #8
Increased Provision of Auxiliary Nutrients — Although the benefits mentioned above have related specifically to protein and amino acids, it’s important to recognize that we don’t just eat protein and amino acids — we eat food. Therefore, high protein diets often provide auxiliary nutrients that could enhance performance and/or muscle growth. These nutrients include creatine, branched chain amino acids, conjugated linoleic acids, and/or additional nutrients that are important but remain to be discovered. This illustrates the need to get most of your protein from food, rather than supplements alone.

So, looking over this list of benefits, isn’t it clear that for many individuals, an increase in protein intake would be advantageous for most people’s training goals? Since a high protein diet can lead to a better health profile, an increased metabolism, improved body composition, and an improved training response, why would anyone ever try to limit their protein intake to the bare minimum necessary to stave off malnutrition?

It seems to me that whether someone’s on a hypoenergetic diet or a hyperenergetic diet, the one macronutrient they would want to be sure to overeat would be protein. Instead, by limiting protein intake, most individuals look for what they consider the bare minimum of protein, and then overeat carbohydrates and fats instead. That’s a big performance and body composition mistake.
SEE ALSO:
For more great training and nutrition wisdom, check out Dr Berardi’s complete system, Precision Nutrition. Containing 5 nutrition guides, two audio CDs, two DVDs, and our Gourmet Nutrition cookbook, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want — guaranteed.

And what’s more, you get a free lifetime membership to his private, members-only website, where you can talk exercise and nutrition 24/7 with thousands of fellow members and the Precision Nutrition coaches. Find out more about Precision Nutrition.