Irrational Fitness | A different kind of training

Forced Evolution

This section is guided and built off of the ongoing book that is yet to be finished. It stands high amongst the projects that I am yet to finishm but I feel that Irrational provides a venue to make a lot of the book available to those who are interested in making improvements in how they look, feel, and perform. Like everything we do here at Irrational, the way we approach food might upset some people. That is fine. If you are looking for one on one nutrition coaching with a heavy bent towards high end performance, phenomenal health, and looking great without clothing check out our Nutrition Packages. For those wondering more about our tao of food, read on. What follows comes from the book...

A Question of Purpose

Walking through a bookstore recently I was struck by the overwhelming number of books that preach about the next great diet or program that they offer. I would rather not join the legion of authors that make claims of having the new great way of changing your life for a number of reasons, the least of which is my hatred for their atrocious covers. However here I am writing a book on how to eat better, with what I can only hope is a less atrocious cover.
The problem is that we, the wealthiest, most technically brilliant, and medically advanced society that this earth has seen, continue to follow some of the single worst dietary and lifestyle habits imaginable. As a society we feel it is a hardcore diet if we 'aren't allowed' to eat things that come in packages. In fact our grocery stores have us so dumbed down in our approach to food that many people actually buy their vegetables pre-prepared for them and packaged in yet more plastic. For most people though, they don't even eat the plastic wrapped pre-prepared salads that come with a nice healthy dose of sugar-fat-lets-call-it-dressing, rather their healthy diet is made up of a host of cereal grains that are the most nutrtionally impoverished whole foods on the market. So lets step back for just a second and admit that there is a diconnect in society, where otherewise intelligent people still persist in a childish approach to how they fuel their bodies.
So, lets return to those other books. Most of them work on the short term. I mean they have to, as they do two things that are important. They usually limit the over consumption of calories that a lot of people are getting, and second, they tell you to quit eating garbage. I mean there are usually some attempts to give you low fat, or low carb, or low taste cupcakes, but for the most part nobody in the fad diet industry is trying to convince you to feel better by eating more chocolate bars. So for that reason alone, regardless of the approach, most diets work for a little while. The thing is, that most people actually interact in the real world, they enjoy food with good taste, have busy lives, and don't want to live either a) off nothing but bacon, or b) off nothing but wonder bread. Given that rather simple issue, any diet that is extremely one sided and doesn't allow for flexibility will eventually fail, and even if it doesn't, living on nothing but steamed brocoli and chicken breast will soon make you either extremely angry, or an extremely boring person to be around.
My purpose at this juncture is based on the issues I just covered. We as a culture need to change our attitudes to food. We need to learn to cook more, and actually enjoy food rather than just claiming that is why we are stuffing out face with deep fried potatoes. The food we eat should have actual taste, and we should actually know where it comes from. However we also need to make healthy choices about the food we are cooking that make sense given our biological make up. Our bodies in no way evolved in a world of such abundant cheap calories, and if we intend on having bodies that work and move to the best of their potential we need to eat with that in mind. So the purpose here is to help educate people about what is good food, and why they should eat it, and why it is so much more fun to eat in a human way than it is to eat a low-carb-high-fat-super-protein-high-shake-no-taste diet.
At a certain level, the moment that anyone takes a real concern with what it is that they put in their bodies [and begins acting on that concern], they are likely to see a radical difference in their entire being. This is most certainly true if their current diet resembles the diet of the majority of north Americans, those people who ensure that grocery stores continue to stock their interior with foods that come in fancy packages and which refuse to rot. Yet there are a lot of people who do care about what they eat yet find themselves faced with an abundance of information, and lack of certainty in how to approach what they eat. I feel that my clients, my friends, and the strangers from the gym who ask whether I am taking 'anything special', deserve an eating guide that presents them with actual factual information. These days a person needs to read through a stack of contradictory books, a host of scientific journals, supplement claims, and then be bombarded by late night television miracle pill advertisements just to discover that it turns out we should eat a lot of vegetables.
Certainly there may be some value in acai berries, whey protein isolates, macha green tea, blue algae, organic veggies, creatine, low carb diets, high protein diets, chase-down-your-food-with-a-club diets, and a whole host of other options that we are regularly presented with. Yet some of us don't want to sprout our rice, or weigh our veggies, or eat only six almonds. I personally love food, I enjoy eating things that taste of something other than cardboard, and occasionally I even like eating something that, god forbid, may have both fat and simple carbohydrates in it. Of course this must be matched by the reality that I also like looking good naked, being able to train daily, pursue the hobbies that interest me on any particular week, and perform at the top end of my potential. This seeming dilemma thwarts the vast proportion of diets which all still claim that they are simple and easy as long as you are willing to carry nasty meal replacements around with you, sprout your food a week in advance, and avoid much of the social act of drinking an occasional beer with your friends whose idea of exercising is something other than the missionary position. The result is this book, a collection of rants, recipes, and excerpts from scientific journals that allows for those who simply want to eat more food that doesn't come in packages, but also caters to the high level strength and intensity athlete that would like that single digit body fat percentage year round without spending thousands on supplements and other chemical foods. So this is my attempt at reminding people that eating, and cooking are worth doing well.

People Who Think They Love Food
Stolen from Forcing Evolution, the book which will never be finished

I find myself sitting across from yet another person who is in abysmal shape, we have just spent fifteen minutes talking about the damaging effects that grains can have on the intestinal track, and then comes the statement that I have been expecting since the conversation began; "I can't give up grains, I just love food way too much". The dam breaks, the flood of rage is unleashed from the pit of my soul, and the rant fills the coffee shop. I hear this lie again and again from people who spend a lot of time shoveling food into their mouths, barely chewing before they swallow, washing it down with some delightful drink that could be used to clean engines. Most people don't actually like food. Rather they are junkies looking for the next insulin spike and the subsequent big wash of dopamine to hit the brain after consuming a dizzying amount of sugar in the form of a healthy-high-fiber-whole-grain-super-good-for-you-please-believe-us-we-have-acai-berries cereal or pasta. I happen to know people who like food. They eat slowly, savoring a single mouthfull. These people do not sit down and consume an entire box of pasta in front of a television during a commercial break. Dan Barber and Michael Pollan love food. They speak passionately about it, create and enjoy dishes that have delicate flavors, and are usually come in serving sizes that are smaller than the pile of fries that got heaped out of a deep frier and onto your plate in a pub by an eighteen year old cook who just wanted an easy job. The vast majority of people I have met who claim to like food spend most of their time eating sandwhiches, bagels, sweetened drinks, and boxed pasta. Ironically they don't even think they like vegetables because every time they have them they are overcooked and practically floating in some low fat butter substitute. A bagel is not the food choice of a person who loves food. An ahi tuna steak seared in wasabi and butter served with a side of oven baked asperagus that has been drizzled with truffle oil and lightly flavored with sea salt; that is a love of food.

Coffee usually acts as a good visual. A lot of people claim to like coffee, however I doubt this. Most people really like large servings of milk flavored with sugar and a slight smell of coffee covered in more sugar. Coffee on the other hand is should properly be served in something the size of a thimble and has such strong and distinct flavors that the drinker takes as much time to consume the coffee as the drinker of the milk and sugar concoction, which they would offer up in a trough if there was a way to fit that into a cup holder. We are a country of 'food lovers' that eat quickly in front of flashing pictures while trying desperately to find a way to distract ourselves from the fact that our food tastes like sawdust. That is not a love of food. It is perhaps a time for change, a distinct need exists for a change of pace in our eating and our cooking. Too often friends complain that they don't have time to eat or cook meals. This is a dangerous comment when one sits back to look at it. While I openly admit to building recipes that pander to a faster paced lifestyle, it worries me to think that I am feeding this notion that it is okay to be too busy to eat. That somehow our work lives have become so important to us that we no longer have the time to feed ourselves. That is a denial of basic biology, and I would go so far as to say that it is a denial of humanity. When our lives have become so consumed with other activites that we no longer have the time to feed ourselves then a reevaluation must take place. Food matters.

It is this item that the rest hangs on, this notion that food matters. However when we have given over to the world of fast food and meals that can be eaten on the run, it is easier to dismiss the importance of food. Perhaps the place to start is with just one meal a day. A breakfast in the sun eaten slowly, lunch taken somewhere quiet with an actual table as opposed to eating off one's lap or desk, or perhaps finish the day with family or friends over dinner. These would be excellent places to start a new approach to food. However to eat slowly and to enjoy the process then food must actually taste good. Delicate flavors must take the place of artifical colors and sweeteners. So yes a lot of what I push is a choice of foods that are healthy and build the body up, however I am equally in favor of foods that are worth taking your time with.

So the individual who made the comment about loving their grains looks at me from the puddle of tears and misery they have become, and as the red haze slowly drifts from my vision the comment is made, 'But what else am I supposed to eat if I don't eat grains?' At this point the rage has drained me and it perhaps time for me to weap. I mean really, what else is there for a person to eat if they can't eat from the entire central section of the grocery store. If you go to a coffee shop almost every food option they present you with is somehow laden with grains, and even the majority of items found on real menus contain little more than some colors to go on your bread. I am uncertain who to blame for this movement, somehow along with losing the time to eat food, we have lost a sense of what good food is. It is perhaps little wonder then that people eat on the run.

This is for all those guys who have been buying protein powders marketed as gainers, here is a shake recipe that tastes good and doesn't contain the host of cheap sugars, maltodextrins, or gluten rich grain carbohydrates. This is a protein fat shake that is oh so good.

Super Recovery Shake

Time: About a month if you try and blend this by hand.
Calories: 800-1000

• One can coconut milk
• 1/2 can of water
• Two scoops vanilla casein
• Two scopps whey powder
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate espresso beans
• 1/4 cup almonds

Blend this happy mix until everything is well mixed. Pour it into a container and start pounding this during the last set of your workout. Note that you should have to earn this shake. This is not for those of you out there who go for a long walk and think of that as a good session. Save this for heavy complexes, or the other workouts which leave you wanting to cry.

This is proof that I give people what they want, the quiche recipe was asked for and the quiche recipe was given. Magic. Just like that.

The Chicken Quiche [That I cooked and ate in front of everyone at the gym]

Time: If you are a prep god this takes so little time that you move backwards in time. The actual cook time depends on depth of pan. Maybe 35-40min.

• Cayanne
• Sea Salt
• Cracked Blck Pepper
• 10 eggs
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• Chopped Cilantro
• Chopped Basil
• 1/4 cup chopped feta
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 2+ chicken breasts
• Coconut oil/butter

Saute or bake your chicken breasts. They need to be cooked when they go into the quiche, so just deal with those in whatever way suits your fancy. Get that started and then it is on to the prep work.
Take your glass baking tray [I recommend a shallow tray if you want this to cook more quickly], grease it up with butter or coconut oil and then the magic starts. Break all ten eggs into the baking tray. Mix until frothy. Add the chicken broth and coconut milk. Toss in some spices at this point and mix it until the liquid looks relatively uniform.
Then it is just a matter of adding the carrot [more than 1 cup if the tray is huge], the cilantro and basil, and by that ppint your chicken should be done, and can be cut into small strips and tossed in.
I finish the whole thing off by putting in about a 1/4-1/2 cup of chopped feta, add in some more spices and then place the whole thing into the oven. Bake it between 350-400 for roughly 30minutes, or until it is done in the middle.

This campus board has nothing to do with the quiche... but the quiche is good to eat while looking at the board in a mix of wonder and fear.

Okay so this is actually just a host of pics of really good meals that I have happened to remember to grab photos of in the past while. This is again a compilation to prove that paleo eating [with maybe a little dairy] is both phenomenal, tasty, filling, and happens to also be a lot better for you.

Yes I admit there is some bread in the first pic, but that same meal is just as good on a bed of dark greens. All of the above meals are of course better with coffee.

So it seemed about time to toss out a couple new recipes for snack foods. I have heard too many foolish comments by people who in no way eat a paleo style diet complaining that they would never eat this way because they can't be so strict. So for those interested in trying out some favorite snack foods here are two favorites.

Crossfitter bits
Time: This depends on whether or not you AMRAP the prep. Probably sub 3.

• Cayanne
• Sea Salt
• 1 cup Dates
• 2 cups Almonds
• 1/2 cup Dark Cocolate covered espresso beans
• Shaker container
• Lid for shaker container

Round 1: Place the dates, almonds and espresso beans in the shaker container.
Round 2: Spice accordingly.
Round 3: Place lid on container.
Round 4: Shake as vigorously as possible for three minutes. Post number of shakes somewhere where people care.

It should be posted openly that simply because something is free of grains it does not mean that it should be consumed by the kilo. Also while it is tempting to sell you all on some line about how the cayanne and caffeine make this a great snack for ramping up the metabolim and CNS while ensuring a constant supply of energy I will hold myself above such low pandering. This stuff is simply both tasty and delicious.

Kale Chips

Time: 30-40min depending on desired degree of crunchy.

• Cayanne
• Sea Salt
• Kale
• 1 Lemon
• Olive oil
• Cracked Black Pepper

So wash and dry your kale as you would normally do for anything that you are about to take off the pawed over shelves of a grocery store. Then cut all of the leaves of the kale off of the stalks. Spread evenly across a baking tray, and then douse this in lemon, cayanne, sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil. Try and do this as evenly as possible. From there this simply needs to be placed in an oven and baked on 350 for about 30minutes with one short break to flip/move around if you feel diligent. They should be a little soft.

Grilled Turkey and Cauliflower Rice Fry
Time:15-20min

• Black Pepper
• Sea Salt
• 1 Lemon
• Head of Cauliflower
• 1 Red Pepper
• Two Eggs
• 1/2cup Celery
• Coriander/Dill/Parsley
• 2tsp Coconut Oil
• Two cloves garlic
• 2tbsp chopped/minced ginger

Okay so grilling turkey is pretty simple. Take turkey breast, season with something delicious like black pepper, lemon, and sea salt and then grill it on a barbecue or saute it lightly in coconut oil. This can be used as a stand alone recipe, or combined with a whole host of salad/veggie options.

As to the Cauliflower. Grate or run your cauliflower through a food processor until you have a whole bunch of small rice like pieces. This is your "rice". This can be steamed for a few minutes, or boiled with a touch of sea salt until it is cooked. I recommend making a large batch of "rice" at a time as it keeps well and makes a great base for a whole host of different foods. On this particular occasion after steaming it we will be tossing about 1-2cups of cauliflower rice into a fry pan with some coconut oil. Mix in two eggs, chopped celery, chopped red pepper, chopped garlic, touch of chopped ginnier, and some spices. Mix in your fresh herb of choice as you are brining things to a close. You can either chop your turkey breast into the mix as you are frying it, or simply serve it on top. I recommend tossing in something with a citrus bend, like some lemon juice, or even a couple pieces of chopped orange.

The Ultimate Paleo Pizza

Total Time: I make this in under 40minutes, but then I use ninja skills and trained bears to prep a lot of the food for me. Cook time is around 30min.

Ingredients:
Crust...
3 tsp olive oil, divided
1 C ground almonds or other nuts, or really just use a nut flour
3 Tbsp cashew butter
1/3 C egg whites
Spicy Italian Toppings...
1/2 C chopped red onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped red pepper
1/2 C halved grape tomatoes
1 large spicy Italian sausage, cut in 1/2" slices
1/2 C spicy salsa
1/2 tsp oregano
1 Handful of jalepno stuffed olives
Pesto Chicken Option...
1 Chicken Breast 1 container pesto [if you make your own you get bonus points]
1 cup chopped spinach
1/2 cup goat cheese
1/2 chopped red pepper
1 chopped apple

Originally my proposal for pizza while eating a lower carb diet was the pita pizza. The ultimate inovation when it came to a fast delicious personal pizza. Indeed it transformed a dark winter into a wonder of guacamole and spicy flavors. Wonder on every level, however now we are into another year and the demand is made from the paleo world that the grains must be sacrificed and yet pizza continues to be one of my favorite foods in a my salt craving world. The solution it appears is to buy stock in nut flours, as once again I am turning to them to form the basis of the pizza crust. I personally find this to be more of a creipe style crust, but it does the trick. If you are looking at the two topping options I list here and happen to be wondering how to make a pizza that you like I would suggest that you go and play in heavy traffic for a while before emailing me any questions.

Mix the nut flour, cashew butter, and egg whites in a small bowl. Grease a pizza baking sheet the olive oil, then spread the "dough" mixture over it. Preheat the oven to 250 F.
From there add your toppings. If you are putting a meat of some kind on I would suggest cooking it before placing it on the pizza, though the veggies can go on raw as they will cook just fine with the pizza.
Cover the dough with the salsa, then add the meat and vegetables, excluding the tomatoes. Add the oregano then bake for 10-20 minutes. Remove from oven, add any ingredients you wish to have fresh and the pizza is done.

Almond Banana Paleo Pancakes

Total Time: A bit more than fifteen minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
4 big tbsp almond butter
4 eggs
one banana
2 cup pumpkin/applesauce
pinch of nutmeg
cinnamon
sea salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
optional:
chocolate/vanilla protein powder

So each weekend I spend some time trying to determine how I can best make pancakes that I can convince myself are okay to eat. The solution for a long time was to simply take all the healthy ingredients I could find and mix them into a giant mess that was near impossible to cook, flip, and which was chalk full of various grains (Ed note: See Flat Carb Cakes, they are delicious.) However then the paleo pancake was born. Eating breakfast with friends who were celiac required that I come up with a grain free solution that was still something that resembled a pancake. This is the end result. A grain free, protein and fat rich pancake which tastes delicious.
I personally serve these up topped with a full fat yogurt, some mixed berries, and with a side of some kind of meat. These are usually best as a post training meal on the weekend if you intend to get silly with what you put on them, or you can just drop the toppings and maple syrup and eat them whenever you wish. For those climbers out there, these are a phenomenal crag food snack if you eat them cold while trying to figure out how to send that next awful v9 crimp problem with the huge deadpoint. Or if you are looking to put on mass with your workouts, a couple of these make a great training snack at the gym.

As to cooking these beauties up:
Mix the ingredients.
I vary the amount of almond butter and applesauce/pumpkin to get the consistency I want. If you have never made pancakes before, play with this recipe a couple times to get the result that you want. I aim for thick enough that when I pour some onto the frying pan it doesn't try and become a creipe. Cooking time will vary on heat, I aim for mid-high heat. Flip them when the bubbles start popping.

Pub Food Paleo Style

Total Time: Almost an hour if your prep time takes you a while

Ingredients:
Wings
20 chicken wings, split and tips discarded
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup red pepper sauce
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Sweet potatoe Fries
1-2 yams
Sea salt
Cracked Black Pepper
Chili flakes
Cayenne
Olive Oil

I have a number of clients who are working on getting through a paleo diet and have been demanding that I offer up a meal that can give the illusion of cheating. So here is the next best thing to a pub food feed. I offer you up hot wings, side of baked sweet potatoe fries, and I would suggest some greek salad to go with as a side (That recipe isn't here).
You make it like this...
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Thinly slice yams and season as you like with a dash of olive oil over them, place on a baking tray.
Bake wings for 30 minutes, or until cooked through and crispy.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine melted butter, red pepper sauce, tomato sauce, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Mix together.
When wings are baked, dip in sauce to coat well, then shake off excess and return coated wings to baking sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) and bake for another 15 minutes to set sauce. During this time toss in your yams and bake them until they are cooked through and a little crispy.

Almond Bread

Total Time: At least an hour. This is bread. Mind you it has no flour so is it bread...?

Ingredients:
2½ cups almond flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder 3 eggs
1 tablespoon agave nectar/honey
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Nobody should actually eat grains right. I mean they cause a host of dietary problems, and are likely one of the major reasons for the fact that we have so many fat people everywhere. The problem is is that we make bread from grains, and people have some serious trouble resisting peanut butter and jam on toast. My solution that I offer to the world is almond bread. Add on some creamy roasted cashew, macadamia, or almond butter and some home made raspberry jam and your day just got awesome. What is more it is low in sugars, high in healthy fats, and high in protein. This is another great training snack, or a great expedition fuel type food.

As to cooking these beauties up:
In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, then add agave and vinegar.
Stir wet ingredients into dry.
Scoop batter into a well greased 6.5 x 4 inch loaf pan.
Bake at 300° for 45-55 minutes on bottom rack of oven; until a knife comes out clean.
Cool and serve.