Recipe: General Tso Chicken – Performance Edition

Athletes understand that nutrition is the cornerstone to the building of their physique and peak performance. However, like the rest of us, they crave the same fast, tasty, not so healthy indulgences, and often while they can afford the calories, are also left with hampered performances due to nutrient lacking food.

Here is a sample of how you can have your favorite meal and know you are doing your body some good. The chicken can be made in advance, as can the sauce – and you can throw it in a stir fry pan or wok with fresh veggies of your choice, as your brown rice cooks and have an incredible meal at home. Great for last minute guests, or to keep on hand frozen for quick preparation during a busy week.

Everyone loves General Tso Chicken. Eating it with brown rice, does not negate the bad found within the tasty morsels and savoury spicy sauce.

Here is our performance version which is not only healthier, but pretty damn tasty too!

This dish happens to be gluten, nut, soy, egg, and dairy free!Continue reading→

Recipe: Faux Soy Sauce

Soy Sauce, or liquid salt (street name) is a popular, heavily used condiment with a long and ugly rap sheet. To focus on the negative aspects of soy sauce, would negate the purpose of this recipe. Instead, let’s take the main reasons people use it:

-flavour enhancer
-colour enhancer
-as a marinade
-balance flavours
-dipping sauce
-base for salad dressings

And the list goes on…

What is not so good about soy sauce:

-high in sodium
-possible traces of msg despite labelling otherwise
– high levels of 3-MCPD, a chemical which has the potential to cause cancer
-hidden wheat source
-soy itself which is not without its own controversies

After much tweaking and testing, we feel we have come up with a delicious and easy to make alternative to soy sauce. It is extremely popular with our performance nutrition patients, who always keep some on hand, even when they are travelling.Continue reading→

Superfood: Magic Mushrooms

Mushrooms have long been a “love it” or “hate it” food. Their culinary history is steeped in both truth and fiction, but one thing is for certain, they are definitely magical. Here is a brief overview of why they should be a part of your diet. As with all fruits and veggies, please source local and organic where possible.

What mushrooms do:

• Support immune function
• Promote cellular growth
• Protect against environmental stressors
• Help the body’s detoxification process
• Preserve cellular structure
• Support healthy gut flora
• Aid digestion

Other Miracles of Mushrooms

Help in the Fight Against Cancer
Current research shows that a diet that includes plenty of mushrooms can help slow down the development of certain cancers, including breast cancer, which is 70% hormone dependent. Mushrooms are one of the very few non-meat sources of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which has been shown to block aromatase, a protein necessary for producing estrogen in women. CLA is also found in dairy products, beef, and lamb.

A Great Source of Key Hard-to-get Nutrients
An average Portobello mushroom has 21% of the daily required intake of selenium and 33% of copper; it has as much potassium as a medium-size banana. Other varieties are just as rich in minerals and mushrooms retain their nutrients when stir-fried, oven baked or grilled.Continue reading→