Honey Sesame Chicken

Honey Sesame Chicken
 
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 Tbsp ginger, grated
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
- 3 Tbsp sesame seeds

 
Directions
- Combine garlic, honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil and ginger
- Cut the chicken up into slices and place the slices into crock pot
- Cover the chicken with the honey mixture and cook everything on low for three to four hours
- For the last 30 minutes, remove chicken from the crock pot, leaving the sauce remnants
- Dissolve the corn starch in water and pour it into the crock pot - combine this with the sauce that's already in the crock pot
- Cook this on high for about 10 minutes or until sauce has thickened up
- Once the sauce has thickened, return the chicken to the pot and stir until serving
- Top the chicken off with sesame seeds

BTC Presents Chicken and Potato Kabobs

Left: Teriyaki Chicken & Potato Kabobs
Right: Lemon Garlic Chicken & Potato Kabobs

Ingredients
Chicken Breasts or thighs, cubed
Potatoes, cut into bite size pieces (use any potato you like)
Skewers (soak wooden 60 minutes +)

Directions
- Marinated cut chicken for 30 minutes or longer. (The longer the better)
- Microwave cut potatoes for 5-10 minutes, covered (season with salt & pepper or whatever you like)
- Alternate chicken and potatoes from end to tip.
- Preheat grill Medium for gas grill or high on grill pan.
- Place kabobs on grill 6 minutes per side, flip and continue cooking. (Tip: Only for indoor grill pan: 3 minutes in, put an ice cube or two on the pan and cover to steam the food to help cook inside and out.)
- Take remaining marinade, heat up in a sauce pan and brush it over the kabobs.
- Serve with salad, rice and beans, asparagus or whatever makes you happy.

BTC Presents: Protein Balls

Top row: L: Cookie Protein Balls, R: Birthday Cake Protein Balls. 

Bottom Row: L: Original Protein Balls, R: Cashew Caramel Turtle Protein Balls.

Protein Balls
2/3 cup spread per batch, I use p28foods & buffbake
1 cup oats
1.5 Tbsp Honey
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup Chia seeds
Mix all ingredients and cover
Rest and chill for 30 mins
Roll them into balls
Enjoy and eat!!!

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Ingredients
Bacon (Beef, Turkey or Pork) I used Beef and Turkey Asparagus
Garlic
Unsalted butter
Salty and pepper to taste

Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Take a piece of bacon and wrap asparagus around it. (I did 5 spears of Asparagus per bacon slice.)
- Spray sheet pan
- Heat butter, garlic, salt and pepper
- Brush garlic butter on the wrapped asparagus
- Cook for 15-20 minutes
- Enjoy!!!

Bros That Cook Presents: Bacon Cheeseburger Quesadilla

Serves 2
Ingredients
2 P28 Wrap
1 lb of any ground protein (I'm using Turkey)
2 slices of bacon (I'm using Beef Bacon)
1 cup Reduced Fat Shredded cheese
Handful of Spinach

Avocado Spread
4 Avocados, Chunky
Garlic (Up to how much need)
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of Chipotle pepper powder
Lemon or Lime juice (depending on how much you need)

Directions
1. Cut Wrap in half so you got two halves and set aside
2. Make Avocado Spread and set aside.
3. Heat pan to medium heat and cook your meat.
4. Cook bacon and cut into pieces
5. Apply spread to wrap
6. Add cheese, meat and spinach
7. Heat pan to medium heat and apply spray or butter
8. Cook wrap for a few mins and flip to cook the other side.
9. Serve with Avocado and Chipotle Sour Cream
10. Enjoy!

Bros That Cook Presents: Bacon Cheeseburger Quesadilla

Serves 2
Ingredients
2 P28 Wrap
1 lb of any ground protein (I'm using Turkey)
2 slices of bacon (I'm using Beef Bacon)
1 cup Reduced Fat Shredded cheese
Handful of Spinach

Avocado Spread
4 Avocados, Chunky
Garlic (Up to how much need)
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of Chipotle pepper powder
Lemon or Lime juice (depending on how much you need)

Directions
1. Cut Wrap in half so you got two halves and set aside
2. Make Avocado Spread and set aside.
3. Heat pan to medium heat and cook your meat.
4. Cook bacon and cut into pieces
5. Apply spread to wrap
6. Add cheese, meat and spinach
7. Heat pan to medium heat and apply spray or butter
8. Cook wrap for a few mins and flip to cook the other side.
9. Serve with Avocado and Chipotle Sour Cream
10. Enjoy!

My Bedtime Cocktail

 

8 oz Kefir Milk in the Animal Cup
3 Tbsp Flaxseeds
2 Tbsp Chia seeds
2 Tbsp of P28 Cashew Caramel Turtle
2 Kiwis
Fish oil
400 mg Magnesium
5,000 IU Vitamin D3

Explaining Carb Cycling

Carb cycling is a very effective fat loss nutritional strategy which I feel carries multiple benefits and is definitely one of the more intelligent ways to fuel the body for positive body recomposition. There are multiple ways to carb cycle and it will come down to what you as an individual needs ultimately, however the main reasons behind carb cycling and why it's so effective remains much the same. 

Before I go any further let me explain briefly what carb cycling is. It's a specific dietary formation which you follow across the week where your carb intake will differ on specific days. Some days will be "low" other days will be "moderate" and some "high." In terms of what is low, moderate or high to you will be completely relative to your weight, body fat levels, activity levels and carb tolerance. 

Here are some  the key reasons why carb cycling works for you.

BBI Product Review: Brigitte's Naturally Kale Power Smoothie Meals

I'm reviewing Kale Power by Brigitte's Naturally. They have two different versions of their product with/without protein. Kale is the main star of this drink and at first, it was an acquiring taste but once I got past that, it was delicious. It also has mango, banana, pineapple and various of goodies. It's low in calories. 110 calories w/o protein and 90 calories with the protein in the 8 ounces bottles. They do have 16-ounce bottles as well. They use a vegan protein so not a big boost in your daily protein intake but you'll get a lot of fruits and vegetables in your body. It's a blended kale+fruit+superfoods in one drink. No added sugar, dairy free, vegan, soy free, non-GMO, high in Fiber and loaded with Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

The Great Bodybuilding Debate

Who's side are you on? BroScience or Hard Science? Give me some feedback and embrace the debate.

Bros That Cook Presents Beef and Broccoli Uncut!

This is my cooking segment called Bros That Cook!!! Enjoy!!!

Finished Product

Ingredients:
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp garlic, mincedT
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
2 cups Beef Broth (regular or low-sodium)
1 cup Soy sauce (I use Bragg's Liquid Amino)
2 Tbsp Sesame oil
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 lbs Beef Chuck Roast, cut into thin strips (I used London Broil)

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients except for the beef in crock pot or slow cooker
2. Whisk all ingredients until you see no clumps.
3. Add beef
4. Cook for 3-4 hours on High
5. Last 30 minutes, cook uncovered
6. Steam as much broccoli you need
7. Serve over rice, whatever you prefer
8. Enjoy!!!!!

Tip: If you want do to this for food prep, add more meat. Try with other proteins as well.

Why Fiber is Important

1. Insulin management 

One of the best things you can do in relation to your nutrition and general lifestyle is a focus on managing insulin correctly to optimise muscle growth, fat loss, and even performance levels. Having enough fiber in your diet will certainly help blunt aggressive insulin spikes which are key to managing overall insulin health. 

It does this by slowing down the speed at which the carbohydrates hit the blood stream and the rate at which they are broken down. 

2. Nutrient absorption 

If you are failing to consume enough fiber then you're ability to absorb and assimilate the other nutrients you are eating will be compromised, no question. High protein diets are naturally acidic therefore without enough fiber present this can disrupt gut health.

Cutting calories

When you cut calories from your diet in order to reduce body fat and improve condition you want to minimize the negative effect this will have on your energy, mental focus, strength and of course muscle mass. 

It isn't as simple as "eating less" because if you get it wrong you'll sacrifice a lot of muscle, lose a lot of strength and end up feeling like s***. 

There are things which you need to do in order to maximize fat loss while retaining muscle tissue and performance at the same time. 

Here are 3 things that you should help you out:

1. Carbs

Removing SOME carbs from your diet is going to be inevitable for most when creating a calorie deficit BUT you need to keep your carbs as high as possible as your calorie intake reduces. Carbs are protein sparing, therefore, they are muscle sparing, they help keep you looking full and they also contribute towards performance in the gym. You often see people get lean but lose all of their fullness and size as well as their strength when they cut carbs excessively to lose fat.

Fat Loss Stack and Tip

Body composition is significantly affected by your ability to process carbohydrates/blood sugar. Here is the stack for you.
Fish Oils
Magnesium
BCAAs
Greens Powder
Chromium
L-Carnitine

Start and finish your day with a large serving of fiber. This will help eliminate toxins and stabilize blood sugar.

Step Our Game Up!

There's that moment in most people's lives when it comes to training where they begin to take this more seriously. The results are there for everyone to see once this happens, they go from being in decent shape to really fulfil their potential. 

Let us focus on making your time in the gym and outside of it more productive in getting better results, from today onwards.

There are MANY things you can do, here are 3 for you to apply instantly. 

1. Rest periods 

Are you resting for as long as you need or for as long as you should? Realistically, your rest periods should be no longer than 90-120 seconds between sets. By keeping a closer eye on your rest periods you are instantly going to increase the level of intensity you are working at. This will lead to added overload within the muscle, greater stress on energy systems, heightened oxygen debt and increased calorie burning.

Gut Health and Intolerance

Earlier in the week, we discussed the importance of rotating your foods, with one of the KEY reasons being gut health. The fact is if your gut health is optimised then your ability to absorb the nutrients you are eating is also optimized, leading to faster recovery, more muscle growth and even a flatter abdomen due to less bloating. 

Water retention can be another issue where there are digestive issues. 

The point is, it's crucial to your results!

Something which you really need to focus on identifying and addressing is intolerance or even mild sensitivities with specific foods as these are going to compromise everything.

Variety In Your Food Choices

Let's discuss the the variety of food. Many people stick to the same food all the time and you get bored of it. Here are some tips to help you out with your food choices.

Gut health (and general well-being) 

Serious gut intolerances are overwhelming, largely from eating the same foods day in day out, all day long. Chicken breast is the most common example of many eating this 6-8 times a day. By doing this, your gut can and will over time develop a sensitivity to this food, which is especially the case where protein based foods are concerned. 

From a general gut health perspective, it's also key to have a wide variety of foods in order to get a wide array of healthy bacterias, trace elements, minerals and vitamins which all contribute towards healthy digestion. You should NEVER be following a diet plan which only has a handful of foods, it's a recipe for gut issues and general health. 

There's also more opportunity to sustain gut health in the long run by having more variety because you can cycle between various food sources so you're never overloading the body with too much of the same thing, for too long.

Struggling In The Gym

You feel weaker than normal, your muscles aren't "firing" as they normally do and you just feel drained.

Many will just put this down to a bad day, but the reality is that there must be a reason for this to happen. Here are 3 common reasons why we see this happen.

1 - CNS Overload

If your central nervous system (CNS) becomes overloaded it will become fatigued which is going to have a very negative effect on performance in the gym. The CNS is the mechanism used to recruit muscle fibres properly, via motor units. Things like a lack of quality sleep, excessive stimulants, dehydration and poor diet quality all lead to CNS fatigue over time. Make sure that to avoid this you are ticking the boxes above.

Maximizing Anabolism

Here's 5 tips to increase being anabolic within your body.

1. Naturally increase testosterone levels by supplementing with zinc, adding some saturated fat to your diet and making sure you sleep properly. (IE: ZMA)

2. Don't skip meals, eating every 2-4 hours to ensure that muscle protein synthesis (MPS) levels are maximized which is the driving force of muscle growth. 

3. Train with added intensity, focusing on beating your numbers with different rep ranges to introduce new levels of stress on the body.

Pre-Workout Nutrition

I would say between 60-120 minutes before work.

Here's why....

You need the nutrients to get into your system to help energize the body, and to support recovery when needed. For this to happen the food needs time to be partially broken down and of course for this to happen it's important you pick the right food. For instance, white fish over beef steak would be better pre-workout due to the fact its easily broken down.