The Other White Meat

mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, carrots, hummus on a ciabatta roll. mmmmmm lunch.

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breakfast #2

mashed yams with strawberries, flax seeds, and vanilla granola. looks like bird food but tastes good!

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FACTS: Calcium and Milk

Cows get their Calcium from plants. The Calcium they get from plants has large amounts of Magnesium. The body needs magnesium to absorb and use Calcium. Cows milk has insufficient amounts of magnesium. Therefore, your body does not absorb and use all the Calcium you think you are getting by drinking a glass of milk.

NOTE: Countries with the highest consumption of dairy also have the highest rates of osteoporosis.

Breakfast

mixed greens, quinoa, red quinoa, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, health mix, and hummus. mmmmmmm.

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The Six W's

Work Will Win When Wishing Won't

- Todd Blackledge

Kevin Garnett: His Work Ethic is Second to None

RECIPES: Engine 2 Diet

RIP’S SWEET POTATO LASAGNA

1 onion, chopped
1 small head of garlic, all cloves chopped or pressed
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 head broccoli, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 can corn, rinsed and drained
1 package Silken Lite tofu
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon rosemary
2 jars pasta sauce (see E2-Approved Foods)
2 boxes whole grain lasagna noodles
16 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
6 roma tomatoes, sliced thin
1 cup raw cashews, ground

Preheat oven to 400º. Sauté the onion and garlic on high heat for 3 minutes in a wok or nonstick pan. Add the mushrooms and cook until the onions are limp and the mushrooms give up their liquid. Remove them to a large bowl with a slotted spoon. Reserve the mushroom liquid in the pan. Sauté the broccoli and carrots for 5 minutes and add to the mushroom bowl. Sauté the peppers and corn until just beginning to soften. Add them to the vegetable bowl. Drain the tofu by wrapping in paper towels. Break it up directly in the towel and mix into the vegetable bowl. Add spices to the vegetable bowl and combine.

To Assemble:

Cover the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch casserole with a layer of sauce. Add a layer of noodles. Cover the noodles with sauce. This way the noodles cook in the oven, saving time and energy. Spread the vegetable mixture over the sauced noodles. Cover with a layer of noodles and another dressing of sauce. Add the spinach to the second layer of sauced noodles. Cover the spinach with the mashed sweet potatoes. Add another layer of sauce, the final layer of noodles, and a last topping of sauce. Cover the lasagna with thinly sliced roma tomatoes. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle with the cashews, and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

ENGINE 2 DIET

Shoes Cured My Back Pain

I work on my feet eight hours a day, five days a week. I was always having some major lower back pain and my left foot always felt like it was broken after a long day. Every now and then after a long hard day at work my right knee would hurt.

I always figured that the pain was always the result of my weight. That’s what everyone always told me and I believed it. It makes sense, right? More weight, more pressure on my bones and joints.

The first day I worked out I walked into my trainer’s gym wearing some Reebok basketball shoes. “Are those your training shoes?” , he asked. They were. He was hesitant to let me workout that day simply for not wearing a good pair of shoes. I thought any pair of shoes was fine to workout in as long as you felt comfortable. I was wrong. Very wrong.

The next day my trainer calls me up and tells me to meet him at a place called Road Runner Sports. I show up and an old man sits me down and starts inspecting my feet. He’s measuring and touching. I’m thinking I should be feeling a little violated. He was passionate about feet but not in a fetish-way.

Finally the old man is done and he brings out a few different types of shoes. First thing I do is look at the prices. $120, $145, $160! I have never spent more than 80 dollars on a pair of shoes! All these tests on my feet have to be a ploy to convince me to buy an expensive pair of shoes.

I tried on the first pair and they felt fine but nothing special. The second pair was better but still nothing miraculous about them. The third pair…it was love at first step. The most amazing pair of shoes I had ever worn. I was walking on clouds. I bought the shoes and took them to work the next day.

After standing for three hours, usually about the time my feet start to hurt, I noticed I had no pain. At the end of the day when I was walking to my car I noticed that I had no back pain. It was amazing!

I never realized how important a good pair of shoes is.I bought a second pair of the same shoes and I use one pair strictly for workouts and the other for everyday use.

I strongly recommend buying a good pair of shoes with good arch support. Go to a store that specializes in sports shoes. It might get a bit pricey but it is a very good investment. If you are going to start a workout regiment, shoes are your most important investment.

Protect Your Dreams

We Were Born for Greatness but the World Has Programmed Us for Mediocrity

I thought this was a nice little motivational video.

ANDI Score: What Is It and Why It's Important

ANDI: Aggregate Nutrient Density Index

Remember elementary school when you would try to cheat on a test and write the answers on a small sheet of paper. You were so sneaky and so terrified of getting caught.

Think of ANDI as the answers on that little white sheet of paper you’re hiding in your hand. Except this time you don’t have to be so terrified because your not going to get punished if you get caught with your little cheat sheet. In fact, I am encouraging you to carry it with you on your next trip to the grocery store.

ANDI was created by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, founder of Eat Right America, and he suggests that it is time for America to change its dangerous diet of low-nutrient foods. We need to turn around and head in the opposite direction, towards a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and grains. Its okay we have a GPS system now via the ANDI scoring system.

ANDI scores foods on a scale of 1-1000 based on the concentration of nutrients in every calorie. It measures the concentration of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, which are vital to a healthy immune system.

It is no surprise that vegetables dominate the top of the list and it will only benefit you to start incorporating these into every meal. You no longer have to walk around the produce department clueless as to which vegetable pack a real punch! Now you know.

Kale is at the top of the list with a score of 1000 but please don’t be the genius who decides to eat only kale for the next week thinking its his/her ticket to health. If you only eat kale you will get sick. Don’t be the idiot.

VIEW THE FULL LIST HERE: ANDI

A Bit About Drewski

In January 2010, I woke up one morning and struggled to get out of bed. Not because I was tired. Not because I was injured. I weighed 406 pounds. Yes, 406 pounds and it was difficult just to pick myself up.

I have been over weight my entire life and I don’t have some depressing reason as to why. It was not because of my parents divorce. I didn’t have a particularly rough childhood. I simply ate way too much. No self control and I was never educated about the effects of nutrition.

Growing up we rarely had home cooked meals. I knew of vegetables but didn’t know what they tasted like. Our meals were usually fast-food because it was convenient and cheap.

In high school I weighed 320 pounds. I know people made fun of me behind my back. They laughed when I could barely fit into the desks and they gasped when they first saw me shirtless for swimming class. I was embarrassed and I decided to do something about it. I had enough!

The summer before my junior year I started driving to the basketball courts every morning. I started shooting the basketball for an hour. It was a bit discouraging at first because I missed every shot. Then, one morning I hit 4 in a row. HOLY SHIT! My basketball obsession was born. I started shooting more and more. I went from one hour to entire mornings at the park. Soon, I was a solid three point shooter and I made a few friends at the park.

I played so hard everyday and I loved it. I was sweaty, I was breathing hard and I felt great every time. I stayed with it all summer and lost 30 pounds. I felt amazing. This was the turning point in my life.

There was one problem.

No one told me about hydration and nutrition to go along with exercise. No one ever talked to me about it! I was clueless. My idea of hydration was a 64oz Gatorade or soda. My idea of eating properly was ordering a small combo meal at McDonald’s and not opting for the super size. This lack of knowledge is what lead to my injury.

The following summer I was going to hit the courts again and harder than the previous summer. I wanted to lose more than 30lbs. I played every morning and evening. I played until my shirts looked like I jumped into a pool. I played until my muscles couldn’t even say no more. They just gave up. What was the big problem? I was not hydrating.

I had just played a few games in the morning and we were all dead tired but the new gym at another park had just opened up and we all decided to go. We played one game and I had a weird feeling throughout my body. It was like my muscles were just weak all of a sudden. The ball is in play and I’m guarding my man. He cuts to the basket and I follow. He stops and runs back the other way. I tried to stop but all I remember is hearing the pop and falling to the ground. There went my NBA career. I would never play along side Kevin Garnett. I TORE MY KNEE!

The sad part is my family didn’t have medical insurance so I had to live with the injury for years and I still do but more on that later.

After the injury I went back to my old ways. Not exercising and super-sizing my meals. The pound crawled back. Well, more like sprinted back with a vengeance.

In 2004 I moved to Santa Barbara on my own and it was a great experience. I had a good job that paid well for a kid fresh out of high school and I lived in a beautiful town. The problem was that I fell in love with Jack in the Box. Specifically the Bacon and Cheese Ciabatta Burger. Everyday, every meal.

In 2007 I moved back to Los Angeles at a whopping 390 pounds. I got a job at Whole Foods Market and this is a part of what has changed my life. I have finally learned about nutrition and exercise. Most importantly, HYDRATION!

In January 2010 I tipped the scale at 406 pounds and it was time to do something about it. No more excuses. In February I was presented with an opportunity that changed my life. My Girlfriend’s Cousin’s soon to be husband (twice removed on my mother’s side. Knows a guy who knows a guy) said he would be my trainer free of charge!

I started eating a little better and the training is grueling but it is working. I have lost 57 pounds and we are still going. I still have a long way to go but I am DEDICATED.

This is why I am here. I am going to share everything with YOU. I want to share all the information I know and that I am still learning. I want to inspire you and you to inspire me! This is all about getting healthy. Mind and body. It will take dedication and hard work but we can do this TOGETHER.