Lentil "Meatballs" With Light Pesto

September 24, 2012

Lentil "Meatballs" With Light Pesto
Talking about “meatless meatballs” is an oxymoron. One that is hard to justify.
As my niece told me: “How can you have meatballs if there’s no meat inside?”
To a certain degree I had to yield to her reasoning. If there’s no meat you should call them “[something]balls” not meatballs.
Two incongruous words paired together, what a headache to explain to kids. With these lentil ‘meatballs’ however the resemblance and taste to meat is so close that there’s no better way to describe them besides ‘meatballs’.
That’s why the oxymoron is justified. Just this one time.

Light Pesto

Always Scan The Ingredient List From Top To Bottom!

September 20, 2012

We talked about how important is to read nutrition labels on food, but that’s not the only thing you should look for. As crucial is to scan the ingredients list.
You’ll be surprised to see that some foods comprise numerous ingredients with weird and complicated names that more often should belong in a chemistry lab, rather than on your plate.
Here’s a few things to help you successfully scan the list...




Source FDA

The 80% Diet - 20% Exercise Rule

September 19, 2012

It is well established that when trying to lose weight a combination of both exercising and dieting provides best results.
Alone, neither of them is sufficient.
Some people are able to shed pounds just by cutting calorie intake, but the results are unlikely to last without some physical activity. Conversely, you can spend hours in the gym, but if you’re stuffing your mouth with high-caloric and unhealthy food you won’t go far.
To put it differently, both factors are necessary to achieve optimal weight loss.
Exercising without a healthy diet is futile, but an healthy diet is per se not enough.
However, it’s not always apparent how much these two factors plays in the weight loss equation.
In other words, how much should you exercise? How much you should restrict calories?

80% Diet 20 % Exercise Rule

Why You Need To Read Nutrition Labels More Carefully

September 18, 2012

In our quest to become healthier, one of the strongest tool we have in our hands are the nutrition facts labels printed on the food we’re buying.
They've often been the subject of criticisms, as some claim that they fail to provide enough information and that the data displayed can be misleading.
I
'd rather say: they’re there, let’s take advantage of them.
All we need to do is to learn how to read them correctly and with some common sense we are going to do a lot of good to ourselves.



Source FDA

White Bean Hummus

September 14, 2012


You know how much I fancy hummus. Since I mastered - what I believe to be - the ultimate hummus recipe, I make a batch almost every week.
Hummus is made with chickpeas, which are legumes. There are many other legumes that I adore though: lentils for instance, not to mention beans. So why not making hummus with other legumes?

Do You Know How Much Caffeine You're Drinking?

September 13, 2012

Judging by the line I see every morning at the coffee shop down the street from where I live, it seems that we’re a city, a country and maybe a world running on caffeine.
It would be actually fascinating to see what would happen if we took caffeine out of the picture for just one day. I don’t think much will be achieved, but who knows...
Anyway, this is not my point. My point is: do you actually know how much caffeine are you getting each day?
If you’re not sure, take a look at this infographic below.
It’s accurate and very accessible. You can find the original file here, along with a detailed explanation of how this infographic was created alongside the data collected. It’s too bad that there’s no reference to tea (especially green tea, which is my only source of caffeine), but the creators did an awesome job in displaying how much caffeine contain the most notorious drinks you can find today on the market.




The Iron You

Andy Murray, A Bikram Yoga Enthusiast

September 12, 2012

Have you watched the US Open final on Monday night? If not, you really missed on something because it was awesome.
Five sets in which the players battled like crazy on every single point.
In the end Andy Murray of Scotland overcame defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia in five sets which lasted over four hours and three quarters.
This is the first Grand Slam title the Scottish player has won in his career; but as many journalists have reported this is partially due because he has had the misfortune to be playing in the same era as three of the greatest players who ever played on a tennis court: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
However, in the last few months Murray seemed to be at the top of his game; reaching the final at Wimbledon, winning the Olympic gold few weeks after that and now triumphing in New York.




Spicy Turmeric Chicken

September 10, 2012

Spicy Turmeric Chicken


Lean meats, such as chicken and turkey, are an important component of an athlete’s diet as they are a readily available source of precious aminoacids.
Even if it’s crucial to differentiate what we eat so as to include also plant sources of protein; lean meats are always a handy thing to resort to especially after a kick-ass workout.
However, plain grilled chicken can get boring soon, that’s why it’s nice to have a quick fix recipe for cooking a tasty chicken.

Suggested Reading: Eating Animals

September 7, 2012

This book has been around for almost three years, and chances are you have already read it or heard of it.
If not, “Eating Animals” talks about the food industry with a particular focus on factory farming; providing a serious and
(unfortunately) horrific information of how livestock are raised in America today.
The detailed data presented is the result of more than 3 years of accurate research and it’s offered through the author’s own journey.
It reads like a novel, the narrative is captivating and at times funny; it’s well documented and gives factory farmers and animal activists a chance to speak in their own words.



It's Never Too Late To Become Healthy

September 6, 2012

Saying that it’s never too late to become healthy sounds always really cool. It’s the kind of motivational saying that anyone wants to hear. But have you ever stop and wondered what really “too late” means? Are there really no age limits when it comes to making changes in your lifestyle?
Apparently so, as a recent published research has concluded that even seniors and elderly people, aged 75 years old or more can greatly improve their health by living a healthy lifestyle.
The results of switching habits can be pretty dramatic as it can add 5 years to women’s life and an astonishing 6 years to men’s.




Whole Wheat Quinoa Bread

September 2, 2012


Another recipe, more quinoa involved. Yes, we have to get ourselves ready for 2013 (UN’s International Year of Quinoa). There’s no slacking off, we must learn how to incorporate quinoa in all our meals.
What about making some bread with quinoa?
Bread, real bread, it’s not that complicated to make, but it does take time. Not so much in the preparation but it has to rise for several hours. This quinoa bread is no exception. You’ll need a good 4 to 5 hours. Good news is that while the dough rises you have plenty of time to do other things.
I, for instance, scheduled my training schedule accordingly. I knew I had to wait around 1 hour between each step so I went for my 6 miles run during the first ‘rise’, took a yoga class during the second ‘rise’, and watched two full episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” during the third and final ’rise’ (I know, this is not so much exercising but I was worn off and wanted to be a couch potato for once).

Let's Talk About Malnutrition

August 31, 2012

When we hear the word malnutrition, we immediately think about not getting enough food. However, that issue has another name: it’s called undernutrition.
Undernutrition happens when the human body doesn’t get enough calories in order to function properly.

For millennia mankind has struggled with undernutrition. Only during the last century or so, in the most affluent societies, this issue has been almost eradicated. Unfortunately, it still afflicts the poorest parts of the earth where, people still struggles to get food on their plates daily.
Malnutrition, is broader category, that includes undernutrition but is not limited to it.
In fact, malnutrition has been defined as the condition resulting from an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, are in excess or are in wrong proportion.
In other words, malnutrition includes undernutrition, overeating and nutrients deficiency.
The latter being the insufficient and/or unbalanced supply of nutrients that the body needs.
So, even in affluent societies, where undernutrition is no longer an issue, and where we have the luxury of throwing away more food than we actually consume, malnutrition is still an issue.
How come? Because the modern unhealthy diet makes us overfed and overweight, but may fail to provide for all the micronutrients that the body needs to maintain optimum health.
And it’s this latter issue that I would to focus on today.


Are you getting all the nutrients you need?

Don't Get Fooled: Multigrain Doesn't Mean Whole Grain

August 29, 2012

This is a mistake one might easily fall into: seeing a food labeled as “multigrain” (such as multigrain bread, crackers or cereals) and thinking that it’s a “whole grain” food.
But this is not always the case as the label multigrain just means that are two or more different types of grains have been used in a product. Not that the grains used were whole.



The Best Quinoa Patties

August 28, 2012

The Best Quinoa Patties


2013 is “The International Year of Quinoa” according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. An important recognition given to the Andean indigenous peoples, who have maintained, controlled, protected and preserved quinoa as food for present and future generations.
The international organization wants, in particular, to focus world's attention on the role that quinoa’s biodiversity and nutritional value plays in providing food security and nutrition.
Over the last decade quinoa has become a “global food” thanks to its high nutritional value and health benefits. Nowadays, you can find quinoa in almost every grocery store around the country. The price has also become much more "democratic".
Quinoa is one of the staple foods in my diet, and these patties are definitely one of my favorite recipe involving this wonder seed.

Frozen Meat 101

August 22, 2012

I don’t know about yours but as far as my freezer is concerned, besides some frozen fruits, it’s stocked with meat. It’s so convenient to have it there. When I arrive home late at night, I can always resort to my freezer for some chicken or turkey meat.
But I never cared that much about the freezing process of meat. I just threw it in the freezer in after buying
it and forget about it until time had come to eat it.
However, I recently discovered that there are several different methods of freezing and, moreover, that physical and chemical reactions can still occur in meat during storage in freezer.
The more I red about it, the more I realized how little I knew and that it was about time to fill this gap.




People Makes All Sorts Of Assumption On What's Good For You, But You Know Better

August 12, 2012

When it comes to fitness people are always ready to make all sort of assumption on what’s good for you, what’s bad for you, what you should do, what you shouldn’t do, etc.
They all seem to know better. But even though listening to suggestions it’s a good thing to do, in the end it’s really up to you to know what really works best for you.




Hitting Plateau In Losing Weight? Don't Give Up, Mix It Up!

August 6, 2012

This happens to everybody on a weight loss journey: you begin a diet, at first it works perfectly, pounds drop consistently, you can see and feel the changes in your body but then everything STOPS. You hit the wall, nothing happens anymore and that number on the scale just stays the same. And what’s the first reaction? Throwing the towel and giving up. 
You start believing that the diet just doesn’t work anymore and might start wondering if there’s any diet that is going to actually work for you. But stop right there, most of the times is not the diet that is not working, more likely it’s just your body that it’s getting used to it and causes what it is usually referred to as “plateau”.



Is There A Thing Such As Eating Too Much Healthy Food?

August 1, 2012

Here on TheIronYou we always stress out the importance of choosing to eat a lot of healthy food as a way to improve the quality of life. Generally speaking fruits and veggies are identified as being the core of healthy food and healthy eating regimens. In other words the more you eat of fruits and veggies the better you’re off. That’s the general consensus among nutritionist around the world.
BUT, sometime I wonder: is it possible to exceed on healthy food consumption? Is there such a thing as eating too many veggies and fruits? Can this harmful? Is portion size also relevant when it comes to healthy food?
According to a Loyola University Health System registered dietitian the answer to this question is yes. Portion size always matters!




High Protein White Smoothie

July 27, 2012



Sometime in life in order to move forward you have to take a leap of faith. Depending on the choices you’re facing it can be either a big one or a small one.

When it comes to food it’s rarely a big one. Even if it might take some courage to try a snake meat shred soup or monkey brains (yuk!) the worst that can happen is that you’ll spit it out or just get nauseated. No biggies.
So what I’m asking you today is to take a leap of faith and try this smoothie. It’s made with an unconventional ingredient: cannellini beans. But you’ll have to trust me when I say that you won’t taste them, and that this is an awesome smoothie.
A smoothie with the highest protein content ever. But that’s not all. The proteins come from all different sources: legumes, dairy, nuts, and protein powder. Also, since we’re not using fruits or juices it’s pretty low in sugars hence it can make a great alternative if you have friends and/or relatives that need to keep their blood sugar low.

How Often Should I Replace My Running Shoes?

July 26, 2012

I was talking to my friend Sam last week and he told me that lately he’s been experiencing some knee pain after his morning runs. I know from experience that knee pain should be taken very seriously and it's not something you wanna mess up with so I sat him down and started asking him all kind of questions. Turns out he’s been running on a pair of shoes that are at least 2 years old and that he’s also been using for walking, working out, shooting hoops and a number of other activities.
So I told him that before having his knee checked, he should try buy a brand new pair of running shoes and give it shot. He called me last night saying that he did as I told him and that he no longer experienced knees pain after running.
His story gives me the opportunity to talk about one of the most important things in running: replacing running shoes.