Omelet Muffins And Boy Are They Good Healthy Eating!

Omelet Muffins

As seen on Mark's Daily Apple.

I came across this recipe on Mark Sisson's blog called Mark's Daily Apple. Mark focuses on eating primal which is an understood version, and the best that I've read so far, of the Paleo Diet eating style.

The Omelet Muffins were officially created by Amy Schoenherr and submitted to a Primal Eating recipe contest. Although she didn't win, these quick and tasty healthy meal treats allow us with suPer crazy schedules to eat healthy on the go without having to stop by a Dunkin Donuts or Mickey D's for some juicy sandwich that's packed with pro-inflammatory oils, grains, trans fats, nitrates, salt, estrogenic chemicals (pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, & fertilizers, allergenic hidden corn products, and the list goes on.

Mark says it very well so I'll just quote straight from his blog: 

"This easy and clever variation of a regular old omelet can be made in batches of a half-dozen or more and eaten throughout the week. Amy’s muffins, made almost entirely from eggs, are little powerhouses of protein, fat, nutrients and flavor. Mixing in a little water and mayonnaise keeps the eggs fluffy and moist while they bake. Other than that, what you mix in for added flavor is up to you. Anything you love adding to an omelet – diced vegetables, meat, and some cheese if you’re so inclined – you can add to this recipe to create your own personal omelet muffin.


Keep in mind that while omelet muffins are pretty darn perfect for breakfast on the go, they’d also be great for a weekend brunch. Double the recipe and make a dozen. Then, make time to sit down with family or friends and enjoy the type of long, leisurely breakfast that’s so hard to come during the week."

As soon as I finished reading through the ingredients my mouth immediately began watering with hunger. So I forwarded this recipe to her email and said we've GOT to get this going. So she happily ventured to the store to pick up what we needed and then made it for our evening meal that night. All I have to say is WOW! I'm always looking for ways to make old things new and this is definitely one of my new flavorful favs. I posted it recently on my Facebook page and a lot of people requested the recipe. Soooooo..... without further ado... here it is. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup cooked meat, cut or crumbled into small pieces
• 1/2 cup diced vegetables
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground pepper
• 1/8 cup mayonnaise
• 1/8 cup water
• Optional Ingredient Idea: Make a Mexican Omelet Muffin by adding 1/4 cup shredded cheese, onions, and lightly drained salsa to the eggs.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 6 muffin tins with butter or coconut oil or for easier removal line with paper baking cups. The baking cups also help the muffins hold their shape.
In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add meat, vegetables, salt, ground pepper, and any other ingredients and stir to combine.



Spoon or scoop into the muffin cups.



Bake for 18-20 minutes until a knife inserted into the center of an muffin/omelet comes out almost clean. The omelets will continue to cook for a minute or two after removed from the oven. Remove the omelets from the muffin cups and serve, or cool completely and store for another day. Here's a pic of my finished products:

One is Swiss(raw) and Organic non-Bacon the other is Apple, Almond, and Cinnamon.

By the way, if you haven't connected with me on Facebook yet now's your chance.
I've got my page right here and I post a lot of my recipes there.
Click Here: Bob Garon's Facebook Page

Never Do Cardio Exercises Again and Burn Fat Better

 

This guy NEVER does "cardio" and I've said for a long, long time that stead-state cardio is a big waste of time. It will not make you stronger, leaner, or in better shape compared to other- and shorter- means. The secret formula to being in great shape and being 100% healthy is simple. Don't confuse simple with easy. By using the word 'simple' here I'm meaning essentially it's quite basic.

I have always been a firm believer that what you practice should be a direct reflection of your goal. If your goal is to swim the English Channel you better jump in the water and do a few strokes. If you want to be a college grad, well enroll, go to class, and then hit the books. If you want to climb Everest then I suggest getting started by climbing some smaller peaks around town and working on your Hypoxic Training. If you want to be better at pullups then I recommend a program suitable for that goal. If you want to be a good bowler, well... grab your balls and toss em down the lane.

If you want to be healthy, have a lean body, overall great well-being then this is what you needs to be doing in order to achieve optimal fitness:

1. Perform full-body movements that force the body to work multiple joints at once.

2. Instead of doing crunch after crunch (in every range that you can think of like decline, side, reverse), focus on training your abs and core the way they were meant to be trained. Make them stabilize your torso in full-body movements.

3. Interval Train rather than long boring stead-state cardio that is just so time consuming more than it ever is effective. I'll give you some great interval training workouts for you to practice in a few days. Check back.

AND HERE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE OF THEM ALL:

4. Only eat REAL FOOD, as close to nature as possible and focus on vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, grassfed meat, wild caught fish, whole eggs, raw (unpasteurized) dairy, and healthy fats such as virgin coconut oil, EVOO, high fat cacao, walnut oil, etc. Limit, and best eliminate, any and all grains and refined carbs to an absolute minimum.


So again, remember that whatever your goal is your daily practice reflects it perfectly. If it does not, well then you'll experience results according to your practice.

Dr. Groovy Radio Show Interviews Bob Garon

The other day I had the very special privilege to be on the Dr. Groovy Show over at the Aurora University radio station with Charlie Betts. It was a great experience and I'm glad that I was able to share the amazing fat loss, increased strength, and muscle toning benefits of kettlebell training.




Listen to Charlie on the Dr. Groovy radio show HERE.

AND... Swing by to see me and get YOUR FREE Test Drive: http://SynergyKettlebellKamp.com

Olympic Ideals, Worry and Get Out Of Your Own Way

"Sean, worry about yourself." - Sean Killion's mother to her then 8 year-old-son

I will never forget the first time I saw Sean Killion.  It was the fall of 2002 and my buddy and I were on the pool deck waiting to hear this gentle giant, one of the greatest American swimmers of the past 20 years, talk about the nuances of the freestyle, and our coach approached this unknown person and they started talking very intently. The person in question was wearing an Oakland Raiders visor, flip flops, a North Face sweater vest, and looked like he was carrying about 50 pounds of dead weight on already his hulking frame. In short he looked like a former professional football player that had mistaken the entrance of the pool somehow to the weight room. But sure enough, this character was one of the greatest American swimmers of the past twenty years--none other than Sean Killion. 

As it turns out, Sean held the American record in the 400 freestyle for almost 17 years. Additionally, he beat Vladimir Salnikov--the Michael Jordan of distance freestylers--in the 1986 Goodwill Games. More importanly, Sean was able to takethe skills he learned in the pool and transition them into a brilliant career and marriage. There are few things that he talked about that I have been pondering on, and want to get them out into the internet. Here goes:


  1. Worry About Yourself

Sean said that when he was growing up in New Jersey, he had a tendency to complain about things that were outside of his control. Mrs. Killion, being a wise and integrated human being, told her son, "Sean, worry about yourself." He said that was the best advice about life that he ever got. Maybe this is why Mr. Killion was able to accomplish so much: he listened to his mother, and he mastered a very difficult lesson at a very young age.

The way I see it, a human being only has so much energy. Holding this constant, this energy needs to be put to the highest and best purpose each day. Any energy spent worrying about things that are outside of one's control, or are things that others should be doing but aren't, is energy that could be redirected towards the task at hand. I am not saying don't be compassionate, or don't be concerned about family members. What I am saying is focus your energy towards the things of great importance and let the unimportant stuff go.

An example: At every workplace I have EVER been to, there are always a group of people or groups of people who love to talk about the ongoing of the office, who did what to whom and how, etc. I have never seen the thought leaders of the company engage in such behavior, they usually have their head down at a computer trying to figure out how to solve the real issues of the company. Case in point: If you want to be amongst the best at anything, keep your head down and worry about yourself. [Unpacked: Essentially stay focused, never give up, and if you fail get right back up and keep trying again until you succeed. Don't let anyone or anything distract you from your goals. Set your own standard.]

2. Get Out of Your Own Way

At one point during Killion's talk, someone asked him, "How did you beat Salnikov?" At the time I had no idea who Vladimir Salnikov was. As far as I was concerned, Salnikov was Russian computer virus. A wry smile appeared on Killion's face, "Well," he said, "I just sort of got out of my own way. I had been training hard and feeling good in competition. I kept my head in my race and didn't worry about what Salnikov was doing. He made a slight mistake in his race, and I was able to capitalize on it."

Lots of times I think about epic performances being full of tricks or special knowledge. Most of the time the greatest performance in any arena are so basic that they almost seem magical. And in just focusing on the basics and getting the job done, you put yourself in a position to win rather than a position to lose.

3. Managing Your Highs and Lows

The last thing that Sean talked about while on deck was this: perceived success and failure is just feedback. Everyone will have "bad" days and everyone will have "great" days. If one can use success to stay focused on what is working, and use failure to correct the things that need work, then each day is a step in the right direction. If you can have that mentality with whatever you do, then you will consistently have satisfying results.

While I was working in public accounting, I knew early on that it wasn't the right career for me. Even though I have moved on, there are still a lot of wonderful little tricks that I picked up from those years. All experiences--in some way or another--can be used as direction to become the person that we want to be.

Author: Michael Munson lives in Phoenix, AZ and is one of my Girevoy Sport (G.S.) Kettlebell Students who regularly practices endurance swimming, running, and high intensity workouts. To read more of Michael's work follow him here: http://www.zenaccountant.blogspot.com/

Does Your Pace In Life Dictate Your Eating Habits?

I just received a great email from my buddy Brendon. He was overseas living and working abroad in the UK for the past 5 months and decided to give me a run down of his healthy living experiences while there. Check out the email below. He makes some great points that follow along with what I've known and blog about all along. Here's his exact email for you...

Hey Bob!!


Hope all is great for you in Illinois. I have a couple of interesting observations for you as it pertains to my health and the health of people in the USA.


As you know, I just spent several months in the UK. I often ate on the run and was busy traveling and scarfing down every kind of food imaginable. London has the greatest food markets in the world and I was on vacation!


Pollution and "Hay fever" (really bad allergies) are common in London during the summer and I was suffering from them. It's really, really bad.


But, despite being on the airplane several times, taking the London tube (subway) every day, riding on public buses and eating a sometimes questionable diet, and usually drinking a lot of alcohol, I DID NOT GET SICK ONE DAY.


Here are some of the "surprising" reasons that I believed helped me remain "healthy" for the most part:


1. I did not drink very much milk at all. If I had milk on cereal, it was only once a week maximum and it was full-fat un-homoginized. My refrigerators were not big enough to store milk.


2. I did not drink milk with meals. Instead I drank water or alcohol. I drank water mostly.

3. My biggest meals were often at night. I'm not kidding. I did eat during the day, but sometimes it was a piece of fruit and decent sized lunch. Sometimes just little bits of food until I got home at night.


4. My favorite dessert or part of dinner that I had several times a week, sometimes twice a day was a BIG container of full-fat plain (probiotic filled) Greek yogurt (I often added my favorite British jam because it tasted so good) This was probably my STAPLE food over there.


5. I spent most of my time outdoors! The only time I spent inside was waking up in the morning and then cooking dinner and sleeping at night. I had no TV and wanted to see everything in Europe that I could. In Arizona, I am spending a lot more time indoors. Indoor air pollution is making people sick!!!! It's so bad....


6. I walked a lot. In London and in Europe you walk almost everywhere. Up and down the stairs. Uphill downhill everyday. No gym is no problem, because I found an outdoor jungle gym when I needed it.


To sum up what I think kept me healthy:


A. Being outdoors (indoor toxins and pollutants, no dogs/cats indoors)
B. Walking a lot every day
C. Eating tons o full-fat natural probiotic Greek style yogurt almost every day
D. Not drinking Milk. Not drinking Milk. Not drinking Milk.
E. Not sticking my hands in my mouth, ears or eyes. (Swine flu had no chance!)
F. I cooked my eggs slightly, but I had free-range eggs kept at room temp on the counter all the time.


A lot of people here in the U.S. are telling me that they have a cold and are getting sick and I'm wondering why???????


How can I live in a crowded, busy city, eat a hectic diet, travel on public transport, fly on planes and NOT get sick. Yet people in the U.S. with all of our comforts and wealth are getting sick?


My solution, stop drinking milk, eating refined carbs, open the windows in your house, get outside and get moving.


Ok his email was great and through the ramble here are the main points:

1. No pastuerized milk
2. High Fat Meals including tons of yogurt
3. Lots and lots of Water
4. Being outdoors most of the day or at least as much as you can
5. Walking a lot
6. Eat fresh fish & eat as much of it as you can (ie. whole sardines, makeral, etc.)
8. Some days if you're traveling or busy and your day might lack veggies make a huge salad at night with cucumbers, red beats, carrots, spring onions and fresh goat cheese.

Here are my buddy Brendon's final thoughts...

Keep in mind that I did drink a TON of alcohol and I did eat lots of things that are BAD for you like sweets, bacon, ham, burgers, cheese etc. Sometimes even white rice!! What I want people to know is that even seemingly big slip-ups in diet, the threat of swine-flu, or the hectic pace of life does NOT have to lead to sickness if your foundation is strong. Staying active outdoors is the number 1 thing I recommend.

Processed food, sitting around, spending time indoors, eating lots of carbs and drinking pastuerized milk can make you sick.

Wow! What a great message Brendon. Thank so much for the email and for allowing me to post it on my blog so that other can benefit from your own personal experiences.

As always, I love hearing your feedback and comments. Brendon would love to hear from you too and any of your own experiences outside the U.S. Please leave your comments in the section below.

Thank YOU!

Interview With Bob Garon & Anthony McClellan Part 4

I hope you've been enjoying the series we've been having on the nutrition in my audio interview with Anthony McClellan. I'd like to hear from you and what you've thought in the comment section below.

Here's Part 4 for you and this is a very good part too. Well they've all been good, but that's just my very biased opinion and that's okay. In this part we talk about cholesterol and some of the myths regarding eating fat makes you fat. Truth: It doesn't. You don't get fat from eating fat. In fact it's the exact opposite.


Listen to the rest of our interview for more. You'll hear how we may have found the chicken that laid the yolk-less egg and how my favorite cow is the brown cow... producing chocolate milk. :)





Q. Does it harm raw eggs to scramble them or cook them? Does it oxidize the cholesterol?
A. No at all. The whites should mostly be eaten cooked, as raw egg whites contain enzyme inhibitors that can cause digestive problems. Oxidation only occurs during commercial processing when the eggs are forced out of a tiny hole at high temperatures and pressure.

Q. I am confused because my farmer feeds grains to chickens; is that okay?
A. Cows and sheep are ruminants and should get mostly grass.  But chickens and turkeys have to get grain or they won't grow right or lay enough eggs.  We wish farmers wouldn't give soy because the isoflavones do end up in the egg yolks and the fat.  Unfortunately, most farmers doing pasture feeding are giving soy to their chickens.

Egg White Eating Can Create A Biotin Deficiency
Although biotin deficiency is very rare, the human requirement for dietary biotin has been demonstrated in two different situations: prolonged intravenous feeding without biotin supplementation and consumption of raw egg white for a prolonged period (many weeks to years). Avidin is a protein found in egg white, which binds biotin and prevents its absorption. Cooking egg white denatures avidin, rendering it susceptible to digestion, and unable to prevent the absorption of dietary biotin

Sources:
1. http://www.westonaprice.org/faq.html
2. http://www.oralchelation.com/ingred/biotin.htm#ref7


In case you missed Parts 1, 2, & 3 be sure to listen to them.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 

And I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments. Please leave some below. Thanks! 

Interview With Bob Garon & Anthony McClellan Part 3

Here's Part 3 of the really cool series I recently did with Anthony McClellan of Get Fit Boot Camps. This part covers my intermediate fasting strategies, why raw dairy, and eating little to no grains and when you eat them not to eat gluten.

I'm VERY lactose intolerant... I mean REALLY intolerant. If I drank a teaspoon full of pasteurized milk I'd be in the bathroom feeling like Wolverine was just unleashed inside my intestines and the results are an uncontrollable unloading of more liquid from my body than I knew a human body ever had. Well raw dairy is my answer. The same seems to be true with everyone I encounter and recommend eating raw.

What exactly is pasteurization do you ask? Why does it cause so many problems when it's supposed to be "helpful". What about Ultra Pasteurized?  And what about Homogonized?


Here's all the details for you. Yes it's wordy, but all excellent info. Part 3 of our interview is also below. Enjoy!

PASTEURIZATION

Pasteurization is a process of heat treating milk to kill bacteria. Although Louis Pasteur developed this technique for preserving beer and wine, he was not responsible for applying it to milk. That was done at the end of the 1800s as a temporary solution until filthy urban dairies could find a way to produce cleaner milk. But instead of cleaning up milk production, dairies used pasteurization as a way to cover up dirty milk. As milk became more mass produced, pasteurization became necessary for large dairies to increase their profits. So the public then had to be convinced that pasteurized milk was safer than raw milk. Soon raw milk consumption was blamed for all sorts of diseases and outbreaks until the public was finally convinced that pasteurized milk was superior to milk in its natural state.
Today if you mention raw milk, many people gasp and utter ridiculous statements like, You can die from drinking raw milk!” But the truth is that there are far more risks from drinking pasteurized milk than unpasteurized milk. Raw milk naturally contains healthy bacteria that inhibit the growth of undesirable and dangerous organisms. Without these friendly bacteria, pasteurized milk is more susceptible to contamination. Furthermore, modern equipment, such as milking machines, stainless steel tanks and refrigerated trucks, make it entirely possible to bring clean, raw milk to the market anywhere in the US.
Not only does pasteurization kill the friendly bacteria, it also greatly diminishes the nutrient content of the milk. Pasteurized milk has up to a 66 percent loss of vitamins A, D and E. Vitamin C loss usually exceeds 50 percent. Heat affects water soluble vitamins and can make them 38 percent to 80 percent less effective. Vitamins B6 and B12 are completely destroyed during pasteurization. Pasteurization also destroys beneficial enzymes, antibodies and hormones. Pasteurization destroys lipase (an enzyme that breaksdown fat), which impairs fat metabolism and the ability to properly absorb fat soluble vitamins A and D. (The dairy industry is aware of the diminished vitamin D content in commercial milk, so they fortify it with a form of this vitamin.)
We have all been led to believe that milk is a wonderful source of calcium, when in fact, pasteurization makes calcium and other minerals less available. Complete destruction of phosphatase is one method of testing to see if milk has been adequately pasteurized. Phosphatase is essential for the absorption of calcium.

ULTRAPASTEURIZATION

As the dairy industry has become more concentrated, many processing plants have switched to ultrapasteurization, which involves higher temperatures and longer treatment times. The industry says this is necessary because many microorganisms have become heat resistant and now survive ordinary pasteurization.
Another reason for ultrapasteurization is that it gives the milk a longer shelf life–up to four weeks. The grocers like this but many consumers complain of a burnt or dead taste. The milk is virtually sterile–is that what you want to drink?
Milk producers are not advertising the fact that they are ultrapasteurizing the milk–the word is written in very small letters and the milk is sold in the refrigerator section even though it can be kept unrefrigerated until opened. Horizon, the major organic brand, is ultrapasteurized, as are virtually all national brands.

HOMOGENIZATION

Milk straight from the cow contains cream, which rises to the top. Homogenization is a process that breaks up the fat globules and evenly distributes them throughout the milk so that they do not rise. This process unnaturally increases the surface area of fat exposing it to air, in which oxidation occurs and increases the susceptibility to spoilage. Homogenization has been linked to heart disease and atherosclerosis.

Source: http://www.westonaprice.org/transition/dairy.html

Listen to the interview below...

Heres an excerpt from an article from Raw Milk.com

“Back in the 1970s, a couple of blokes were sitting in an English pub, bemoaning the consolidation of the brewing industry in England and the decline of British beer and ale. A commodity that represented the soul of Britain–carefully brewed ales from countless small-scale manufacturers, each with a distinctive color and taste–had been edged out by the insipid canned beers of a few large monopolistic breweries. What was needed, they decided, was a return to traditional brewing methods. They launched A Campaign for Real Ale, which soon became the force that turned back the mega-brewers and reinstated varied and delicious ales to English tables and pubs.
Back in the 20s, Americans could buy fresh raw whole milk, real clabber and buttermilk, luscious naturally yellow butter, fresh farm cheeses and cream in various colors and thicknesses. Today’s milk is accused of causing everything from allergies to heart disease to cancer, but when Americans could buy Real Milk, these diseases were rare. In fact, a supply of high-quality dairy products was considered vital to American security and the economic well being of the nation.”

And from RawMilkBenefits.com:

“The benefits are numerous and plenty. First, it is very rich in enzymes and actually contains all of the 22 essential amino acids. This includes phosphate, which is important for the absorption of calcium. And forget about all the synthetic calcium supplements out there, raw milk is truly the best source of calcium available.
It is also a great source of vitamins, in particular vitamin B12, which is an important vitamin that is hard to find in non-meat sources. It also contains the enzyme IgG and vitamins A, B, and C.
Research shows that it also contains enzymes and antibodies that actually render milk less susceptible to bacteria. Lipase is also present which aids in the digestion of fats.
Another great benefit is that it also contains CLA, or conjugated linoleic acid, which has been noted to fight cancer.”

Here are some great websites regarding much more info on raw dairy:
www.SaveYourDairy.com | www.Raw-Milk-Facts.com | www.RealMilk.com

You'll also hear me mention and talk about two movies: "King Corn" and "Food Inc." 

In case you missed Parts 1 and 2 be sure to listen to them.

Part 1
Part 2

Stay tuned for Part 4 showing up soon.