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Restaurant-Style Mexican Rice

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I’ll always love a good potluck. They were a summertime ritual during my childhood, and such a great example of the way people come together around food. Potlucks don’t have to be fancy, and in fact, it’s better when they aren’t. Just a good spread with a diverse array of dishes, where you get a little taste of just about everything.

From appetizers and salads to sides and desserts, here are 20 generously-sized recipes perfect for feeding a crowd at any backyard potluck this summer.

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What does a coffee buyer do? This might seem like a silly question to ask. “Buy coffee,” is the easy, most obvious answer. But in the coffee world, a green coffee buyer’s role is complex and multifaceted.

Green coffee buyers are the ones who travel to origin countries to source coffees — “green coffee” to be precise, as it’s the coffee which hasn’t been roasted yet. Of all the jobs in the coffee industry, the coffee buyer’s definitely comes in as the most glamorized. Just imagine traveling the world to taste coffees and decide which ones to bring back. Of course, being a coffee buyer isn’t always a rockstar, jet-set lifestyle.

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This post is sponsored by the Paleo Recipe Generator, which features over 700 Paleo recipes personalized to meet your unique needs.

Type of dish: Salads
Servings: 3
Equipment: Small Mixing Bowl, Large Salad Bowl 

Ingredients:

Directions:

Enjoy!

For more recipes like this, and meal plans that can be customized just for you, check out the Paleo Recipe Generator.

Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/

Meet Ron, an office manager for a retirement and investment firm, a lay pastor at a local church, and a badass nerd.

Ron and his family (wife of eight years and two girls) live in western Indiana, where they raise some of their own food, and work their butts off in the yard.

Not long ago, Ron was stuck feeling as though he was just drifting through life –  sapped of energy, unmotivated, and overweight.

But after coming across Nerd Fitness, going Paleo, and implementing exercise strategy from the Nerd Fitness Academy, he’s turned his life around both physically and emotionally. Ron is down over 100 lbs (and 10 inches off his waist), and is hungering for the next thing to keep him challenged. 

Let’s find out how he did it.

Ron’s Story

Steve: Thanks for taking the time to let me interview you dude! Let’s start with what life was like for the “old” you. 

Ron: I was a sad sack of unmotivated carrion. My days usually started late because I had usually stayed up too late the night before watching TV or reading. Only having enough time for a quick shower and something carby or sugary for breakfast on the way out, I would collapse into my office chair typically 5 minutes or more late.

To no surprise, my stomach was usually pretty quick to rumble, so I was typically in the break room searching for munchies by 9:30 or 10.

Lunch was usually hurried because, shockingly, I was usually behind schedule having arrived late and taking up time for the previously mentioned munchies. Portions for most meals are surprising to look back at now. Like oliphant-sized portions. I don’t remember chewing a whole lot. Things were swallowed or torn into like an orc. I don’t remember tasting much either, for that matter.

I was completely exhausted by 5. You can imagine how fun I was when I arrived home. I was too tired to play with the kids, work in the yard, or help with the house. Dinner was an exaggerated display of the lunch mob scene. Then I usually followed that a couple hours later with a “bedtime snack,” which meant anything in the pantry that I could munch on while I sat in front of the TV or studied on the computer. I couldn’t tell you how much I would typically consume because there was no sense of regulation or measure. I just ate until I felt better. I ate until I didn’t feel bad about all the things I thought were so bad about my life. It was a deadly cycle.

Steve: Holy crap – you were seriously stuck in a cycle of doom. So what was it that sparked the change?

I remember being on vacation with my family and my closest friend’s family. We usually go to Lake Michigan in August. I love the beach there, but I remember being so aware of my weight that I couldn’t enjoy it. I couldn’t enjoy the kids. I wasn’t happy about spending time with my wife or my best friend and his family. I wasn’t thankful for what I had been given. I felt sick at what I had wasted. I felt disgusted that I had selfishly spent so much time being a horrible steward of what God had blessed me with.

When we were back home, I started searching. I wanted to find something sensible. I knew none of the gimmicky stuff would work for me. I needed something I enjoyed and could connect with, and I found this article by this nerd on fitness. His “deep” thoughts were “eat a little better, get a little stronger, run a little faster.” I felt the connection, I had dealt with God on the deep roots of the problems that had caused all of this, and I was ready to live differently.

Steve: And what’s a typical day like now?

I get up with more time on my hands, and usually have time to read something encouraging from the Bible or a spiritual article. My wife spoils me and without fail is up making me eggs and bacon. This is my absolute favorite food now, especially if it contains some kind of greens like kale.

Work actually goes by much quicker nowadays. I convinced my boss to let me replace my desk with a standing desk on the wall, so I am usually on my feet or at least leaning on a stool. I usually do not feel the mid morning call for snacks.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I enjoy running after work as well as on Saturday mornings. I have been training all winter and spring for my first half marathon which I recently finished. I know it’s not your favorite mode of exercise, Steve, but the camaraderie of my running club has helped immensely and the experience and advice of other runners has helped me to pursue it carefully and wisely. I also cross train on other days using the workouts in the Nerd Fitness Academy.

Steve: If you love it and it’s working for you, that’s awesome! Seems like you’ve changed completely – how did you get started?

When I first started I was just focusing on completing different routines you had on the site and others I found online. This worked great and is what I was doing when I lost a lot of my weight.

I  soon found some exciting goals to conquer – the challenge of completing a half marathon just pulled me in. So, I put my focus on this, and maintaining my core and building strength.

Steve: That’s awesome man – sounds like you got the workout part figured out! What about your diet? 

I have had a gluten sensitivity since high school that required a diet change not long after I was married. Of course, gluten-free does not mean healthy, so when I started studying on Nerd Fitness, I was definitely excited to get on the Paleo bandwagon. My wife was not as excited as I was, which was my fault looking back, as I did not take the time to share with her what I was learning and the reasons for my excitement.

Eventually she did see the merits, and we use a Paleo-ish strategy. (I would not say we are 100% as we do use rice and some other exceptions, but definitely emphasize whole foods over processed.) We have also started raising some of our own meat in the form of chickens and have a good size garden. It’s been awesome to see the kids learning from a young age where our food comes from and to help in growing their own.

Steve: I love that you’re raising and growing your own food! Well done sir! Let’s talk about the journey itself – how did you track your progress?

Focused entirely on weight early on, weighing myself almost daily. Then feeling the weight of your reprimands in the Academy, I stopped obsessing over that and took encouragement from losing inches around my waist and chest as well.

Steve: Haha awesome, glad to see someone’s listening! What would you say was the most important change you made that helped you succeed?

As a family man, the most important change would have to be when the whole house changed. It made it so much easier to have my wife and kids eating healthy with me so that I didn’t come home to temptation.

Steve: Was it your family that was your main support system?

Yep – I got lots of of encouragement from my wife – my chief supporter. Other family and my family at church really helped to encourage me when they noticed changes. My best friend helped big time with the accountability by being willing to ask how I was doing in working out and such. Of course, the information and community on Nerd Fitness was an instant shot in the arm whenever I was struggling.

Steve: Have you tried and failed to get healthy before in the past? What made this time different? Any advice for someone in your old shoes?

I would have to say the big difference in this effort was the small bite approach.

My advice would be to look honestly at your life, and do some self-examination – are your bad habits merely symptoms of deeper root problems? Then resolve to tackle this a step at a time: “Eat a little better, get a little stronger, run a little faster.”

Steve: You’ve lost a hundred pounds and transformed dramatically. What’s next for you?

Now that I finished my first half marathon, I have a goal to do another one in the fall with a focus on finishing it in under 2 hours. This last one was 2 hours and 9 minutes.

Steve: That’s awesome. Your physical appearance has clearly changed…what else has changed about you?

I would say my eyes are more open to all I have to be thankful for.

Steve: Star Wars or Lord of the Rings?

Definitely Lord of the Rings, but I enjoy Star Wars and know enough about it to frustrate the ones that love it with incorrect references and such.

Steve: Do you have any nerdy passions or pursuits?

I could read all day every day. If I go missing, look for me in a dirty hotel room, covered in the dust jackets of a thousand books.

Steve: If you could have any superpower in the world, what would it be, and why?

Matter manipulation so I could manipulate what matters.

Steve: I see what you did there. Quote to live by?

“God finds our desires not too strong, but too weak…like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” -CS Lewis

Steve: Tell us something interesting about you!

I can beat most people playing chubby bunny. Google it.

Steve: Thanks for putting my words into action my man! The Rebellion is proud of you

Why Ron Was Successful

Ron cracked the code: when you’re stuck in a cycle of demotivation and apathy, 100 lbs of weight loss and changing nearly all of your daily habits can seem like an impossibility. But Ron’s life now looks completely different – he’s full of energy, has built a solid base of healthy habits, and is hungry to take on the next challenge.

Let’s take a look at the why Ron broke through:

Ron had a great “why”: Ron had an awesome source of motivation – his family. One of the exercises in the Nerd Fitness Academy asks Rebels to write down their “big why” – the reason you decided to start on a path to a healthier and leveled up life, which helps keep you going when the initial excitement wears off and you have to stay on target. Ron had one of the best reasons out there – he wanted to be able to play with his daughters, and serve as a role model for healthy behavior. We can accomplish tremendous feats when we are fueled with a powerful “why.”

Exercise strategy: Ron implemented a cross-training exercise strategy. He didn’t JUST go for runs or didn’t spend all day at the gym. Instead, he implemented some core strength training ideas, but set his big goals around his runs because that’s what made him happy! Ron didn’t spend his time stressing about “getting through” workouts he hated. Instead he found something that got him excited.

Not only did this help him to start to build an antifragile body, but it also gave him many different ways in which he could see progress (and thus create some awesome positive feedback to keep him motivated and on track). When you see your running mileage going up AND you’re getting stronger from week to week, it’s hard not to get excited about leveling up your real life character even further.

Ron took small bites: Ron says he never really gave “getting healthy” an honest try before. It was the mantra of “small bites” (aka tiny permanent changes) that made approaching this huge journey seem doable rather than impossible. When we stand at the base of the mountain and look up, it’s easy to turn around and think: “no way am I getting up there.”

But when we look forward at the road ahead, instead of the peak of the mountain, we begin to realize that all really need to do is put one foot in front of the other. Just ask Frodo: that’s how he walked to Mordor!

If you’ve failed in the past, or struggled to even get started on your journey, give it another shot. Try setting incredibly small goals, and stop looking at the peak of the mountain. Just focus on that next step.

Ron went Paleo-ish: As we say (ad nauseam) – diet is 80-90% of the battle. Nearly every success story we’ve had has made diet a key focus at some point in their journey. Ron didn’t stress about going 100% paleo, following a strict “clean eating” diet, or counting calories every day, but he did put a focus on eating less processed food and more real food.

We often overcomplicate the diet thing. In reality, that’s all it takes: eat more real food, and eat a little less junk each day. In the Academy we have 10 different levels of “healthy eating,” and we encourage people to find the level that works best for their lifestyle and goals – for Ron it was a paleo-ish focus on eating whole foods and more vegetables. He’s even now growing his own food in his back yard!

Become the Next Success Story

Ron made some major changes over a period of 18 months. He didn’t use quick fixes. He worked smarter, implemented a few small changes that made a big difference and built on those over time.

Remember, we want to create permanent changes that last a lifetime, not just get you ready for the beach or your wedding. With over 100 lbs lost and a new outlook on life, Ron joins the hall of Rebel heroes to help inspire us all to keep moving forward and leveling up.

Remember – we’re a community, here to support and lean on one another. Let’s learn from each other’s successes.

What questions do you have for Ron?

-Steve

PS: I was really proud to learn that Ron was a member of the Nerd Fitness Academy – and to see that the programs were an important part of his journey. If you’re looking for more complete and directed instruction, check out the Academy and see if it can help you too. Otherwise, the 600+ articles and free workouts on Nerd Fitness are a great place to start too

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Q: I am doing a cooking project for school and I am focusing on Japanese cuisine. I need a Japanese dessert that I can make in an hour or less, as I have to make a three-course meal from Japan.

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Your ability to raise your arm above your head is dependent upon the healthy function of a major joint in your shoulder region – the glenohumeral joint. This is what most of us know as the “ball and socket joint” of the shoulder. It allows you to move your scapula in pretty much every direction.

The rotator cuff muscles are what support the glenohumeral joint. A lot of people think there’s just one rotator cuff, but guess what? You’ve actually got four of them.

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We’re in the prime of picnic and backyard barbecue season, with the biggest day of them all — the 4th of July — right around the corner. This time of year wouldn’t be complete without one of my favorite side dishes: potato salad. Chunks of fork-tender potatoes, well-seasoned and tossed with some crunchy veggies and a touch of mayo, or perhaps a nice vinaigrette — it’s a summertime staple.

No matter what your favorite potato salad style happens to be, be sure to avoid these five common mistakes when making your next batch.

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Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss

Your ability to raise your arm above your head is dependent upon the healthy function of a major joint in your shoulder region – the glenohumeral joint. This is what most of us know as the “ball and socket joint” of the shoulder. It allows you to move your scapula in pretty much every direction.

The rotator cuff muscles are what support the glenohumeral joint. A lot of people think there’s just one rotator cuff, but guess what? You’ve actually got four of them.

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If you’ve purchased Wishbone Ranch Dressing in the past few months, you might want to check your label.

The company announced a voluntary recall last week since some of the bottles were accidentally filled with blue cheese dressing instead.

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For today’s edition of Dear Mark, we’ve got a three-parter. First up is a controversial topic: vitamin D supplements for breastfeeding babies. Do they need it? Can they get enough through mother’s milk? Or is there another, better method for ensuring optimal vitamin D levels in breastfeeding infants? Next, what’s my take on the ol’ ingredient bait and switch employed by food manufacturers? And finally, say a person’s trying to program kettlebell training into their weekly routine. Should they consider it cardio, strength, or something else entirely?

Let’s go:

Mark,

First off, a sincere thank you for being such an awesome resource!!

So I was hoping to get your opinion on Vitamin D supplementation in newborn babies.

I have a five week old son, I also have four and 10 y/o old daughters. I was surprised to find out when we were checking out of the hospital with my son that it is now recommended that infants get 1 ML or 400 IUs of Vitamin D daily. This was not the case just four years ago when my daughter was born.

I am a big believer in the benefits of getting the proper amounts of Vitamin D. However, I am not really a big fan of supplements unless medically necessary and something just doesn’t sit right with me giving it to my newborn- especially because we never did with my other children and they are healthy primal kids.

It seems like the rationale for the rec is that babies have sensitive skin so they can’t spend much time in the sun, and Vitamin D does not come through breast milk as much as some other vitamins/ minerals.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Ryan

Thanks for the kind worsd, Ryan.

Let’s be clear: vitamin D deficiency is a serious issue for anyone, especially infants. In the long term, vitamin D deficiency early in life leads to rickets, skeletal malformation (curved spines, bowed legs, thickened ankles), and poor growth. Infants who are born and stay vitamin D-deficient are also more susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections. Overall, vitamin D plays important roles in endocrine, immune, and heart health, along with cancer prevention, so starting one’s life from a deficit can have major repercussions.

In the US, infant rickets appears almost exclusively in infants who are breastfed. That may come as a surprise to some of my readers, but breastfed infants with rickets were also likely to receive no vitamin D supplementation and very little sun exposure. So it’s probably a combination of poor maternal vitamin D status, inadequate maternal vitamin D intake, lack of sun exposure for both the mom and the infant, and inherently meager levels of vitamin D in breast milk.

Is there anything you can do to increase vitamin D levels in breast milk enough to give your nursing infant enough? Yes.

In one study, mothers taking 3.3 micrograms, or a mere 60-70 IUs, of vitamin D via cod liver oil were unable to impact their breastfeeding infants’ levels.

In another, a much larger maternal daily dose (6400 IUs) was able to replicate the effects of giving infants 300 IU directly.

In another, maternal supplementation with 4000 IUs was superior to supplementation with 2000 IUs for attaining optimal infant vitamin D levels.

So it can be done via supplementation, provided you take enough (~4000 IU minimum). Maternal sun exposure may also work, but I haven’t seen any corroborating evidence.

Supplemental vitamin D is probably fine. 400 IU/day is usually enough to prevent rickets and keep vitamin D levels above 50 ng/mL. Not always, though. In Izmir, Turkey, vitamin D deficiency was “worryingly high” in 4-month old infants despite 400 IU/day supplementation. This was particularly true in winter months. Getting your kid’s levels tested is a good idea if you go the supplementing route. Apply a few drops to the nipple just before feeding. That’s the mother’s nipple, by the way.

Your baby can also supplement with cod liver oil, which has vitamin D (and vitamin A, for that matter) and has been shown to reduce the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections in children. Some tots even like the taste of fermented cod liver oil, which is just crazy if you’ve ever tasted it yourself, but who knows? Kids are weird. I know one guy who actually gives his 2 year old daughter capsules as a treat. He actually has to prevent her from eating too much.

There is another method, of course. I prefer this one to the others, and I think it confers additional beneficial effects beyond improving infant vitamin D status: light but daily sun exposure. Infants aren’t going to burn up because of a minute or two of full sun exposure. Make it a bonding experience. Strip down to your skivvies (the both of you, and bring the other parent along, too) and flop down in the sun. Expose every nook and cranny. Return inside or cover up when the little one’s skin starts to feel warm to the touch. Avoid pinkness. A study from 1985 found that just 30 minutes of full sun per week wearing a diaper was enough to keep vitamin D levels topped off in exclusively breastfed infants — it really doesn’t take much more than five or six minutes a day.

Those expert health recommendations that infants all receive vitamin D drops presuppose that they aren’t getting any sun exposure, which is probably a safe assumption for most. That’s kinda been drilled into parents’ heads for generations: avoid the sun at all costs! Your fragile baby will literally wilt in the sun. But it’s not true. It’s safe, as long as you’re smart about it. It’s most likely how most infants got adequate vitamin D for most of our history.

You’ve got some time to decide. Absent postnatal sun exposure, vitamin D levels last about 8 weeks in the exclusively breastfed baby.

I “tolerate” erithrytol and xylitol, but prefer to use things like stevia, barring that, honey or maple syrup, but categorically refuse Truvia. The reason is that while they advertise it is stevia, the ingredients and nutrition panels reveal that it is mostly erithrytol with barely a nod in the direction of a stevia bush.

Two other examples that come to mind are “honey mustard” that starts with HFCS and has “some” honey halfway down the list. Or the “olive oil mayo” that starts with soybean oil and again has “some” olive oil halfway down the list.

Apparently parity between the front and back labels is too much to ask at the grocery store.

Any thoughts on this?

James

It’s a huge issue, James, and you’re totally right. As you say, even if the “hidden” ingredients aren’t in and of themselves offensive or particularly undesirable, the deception rankles. Take something like Spectrum Organic Olive Oil Mayonnaise, which, going by the words printed on the label and the prominent depiction of an olive branch, should be made of olive oil. But it’s not. The first ingredient is soybean oil, followed by whole eggs and egg yolks. Only then does olive oil appear.

American ingredient labels are arranged in order of quantity. The earlier the ingredient appears in the list, the larger the proportion of the final product it comprises. Anyone who has ever made mayo knows that it’s almost all oil. Most mayo recipes do about a half cup of oil for every egg yolk. So if olive oil comes after eggs on the Spectrum mayo, you’re looking at a pittance of olive oil in the finished product. It’s soybean oil mayo.

Coincidentally, that’s one of the main reasons I started Primal Kitchen — to provide a beacon in the night for all the disaffected mayo (and other condiment) seekers sick of being ripped off with false promises of olive oil. As many of you know, I come up with most of my products to address a deficit or solve a problem in my own life. My reasoning is sound, I think: if I need something, others do, too. And I love mayo, but hated making it. Primal Kitchen™ Mayo is flying off the shelves, so I guess I was right.

Hi, Mark,

I’m working through your program and have a question regarding the strength phase. I’m assuming that keeping heart rate below 75% does not apply since this is difficult to control. I use kettlebells for this, limiting to 20 minutes. However, they are demanding on the heart rate as are lifting heavy things.

Would a 20 minute kettlebell session with limited rest constitute a sprint session and hence substitute. Greatly appreciate your thoughts.

Best regards,

John

A 20-minute kettlebell workout is probably veering toward the cardio side of things. Even still, it’ll make you stronger, too. That’s what’s so cool about kettlebell training: it’s both. Using kettlebells can make you stronger and improve your conditioning.

Kettlebell training with light weights and high volume (12-16 kg bells, 12 30-second rounds of swings with 30 seconds of rest) increase maximal and explosive strength.

The hormonal response to kettlebell training is consistent with muscle adaptations to strength training.

Furthermore, weightlifters who incorporate kettlebells into their training enjoy additional strength and strength-endurance gains. It really can’t hurt (and may help) to add a KB workout once in awhile.

Many people find that regular KB swings improve and even eliminate back pain, and research into muscle loading and activation during the swing supports these anecdotes.

As for aerobic adaptations, KB training’s good for that, too. One study had female college soccer players do 20 minutes of KB snatches using 15 second work/rest intervals. Compared to a control group who performed only circuit weight training, the KB snatch group experienced gains in aerobic capacity over four weeks. Another study found KB training about as good for aerobic fitness as moderate-intensity uphill treadmill walking.

However, there are compromises. When you directly compare it to traditional strength training, kettlebell training doesn’t increase strength to the same extent. And compared to treadmill running, KB training doesn’t elicit as strong an aerobic adaptation. But it does produce gains in both areas.

It’s worth noting that most KB training studies use relatively low weights and still get good results for both strength and aerobic training. If you were to pick up a heavier bell — upwards of, say, 24 kg for women, 40 kg for men — you’d get even greater strength adaptations.

That’s it for this week, folks. Thanks for reading, and be sure to leave a comment down below. I’d love to hear your input on today’s questions.