Mark Sisson's Blog, page 102

Avocado Egg Burger (Plus a Giveaway!)

There’s just something about an egg burger. The runny yolk and savory taste of beef together feel about as rich and decadent and satisfying as it gets. Add avocado with the typical burger fixings, and you’re looking at the king of keto burgers.

This might not become your everyday burger, but we’d call it one of those must-have burger experiences. The fresh tastes, the creamy textures, the sheer audacity of it—few burgers inspire the way this one does.

Servings: 4 burgers

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound of grass-fed beef
4 eggs fried in avocado oil
4 firm avocados
3 tsp. sesame seeds
8 slices of red onion
4 slices of tomato
3 Tbsp. Primal Kitchen® Chipotle Lime Mayo
2/3 cup microgreens
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Form hamburger into 4 patties. Grill for 8-10 minutes on medium heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper on finished burgers as desired.

Fry eggs on high heat for 2 minutes to get crispy edges and a soft, runny, yolk.

Peel avocado and discard pit. Cut beefsteak or vine-on tomatoes into slices. Cut red onion slices. Wash microgreens and dry.

Stack burger with bottom of avocado, then onion, tomato slice, burger, microgreens, egg, and Chipotle Lime Mayo. Then top with other avocado half. Enjoy!

Nutritional Information (per burger):

Calories: 398
Total Carbs: 3.5 grams
Net Carbs: 2.9 grams
Fat: 29.4 grams
Protein: 27.7 grams

Now For the Giveaway…

Enter to win: $100 in keto staples from Primal Kitchen (including the keto starter kit + collagen + protein bars), a copy of the Keto Reset book and Keto Reset Cookbook, PLUS a month supply of Vital Farms Eggs and Butter (in coupon form) and some Vital Farms swag!

To Enter:

1. FOLLOW @vitalfarms, @primalkitchenfoods, @marksdailyapple & @theprimalblueprint

2. TAG a friend below that would love this Avo Burger just as much as you!

3. BONUS entries for signing up for our Keto newsletter: https://www.primalkitchen.com/pages/k...

Open to U.S. only. The giveaway will close on Monday July 1st, 2019, at 11:59 pm (PST), and winners will be announced and contacted via IG direct message on Tuesday, July 2nd.

The post Avocado Egg Burger (Plus a Giveaway!) appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekly Link Love — Edition 35

Research of the Week

In a study paid for by Impossible Foods, a novel yeast product used in the meat-less Impossible Burger was found to trigger weight gain and raise blood markers related to kidney disease in rats.

Researchers discover DMT-making neurons.

Smoking cigarettes is associated with negative changes in personality.

Antidepressant usage linked to an increase in suicide.

Giving elite runners’ gut microbes to mice made the mice more athletic.

Type 2 diabetics who lower their cholesterol may suffer more diabetic polyneuropathy.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 350: Endurance: Dr. Craig Marker: Host Brad Kearns talks with Dr. Craig Marker about the right way to do high intensity interval training.

Episode 351: Palmer Kippola: Host Elle Russ chats with Palmer Kippola about treating and overcoming autoimmunity.

Episode 352: Keto Q&A: Host Brad Kearns answers listener questions.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Media, Schmedia

Bad dog food brands.

Certain anticholinergic drugs linked to dementia.

Interesting Blog Posts

Do LDL particles cross the endothelium?

A look inside the sports fan’s brain.

Social Notes

How I coffee.

Everything Else

First steps for a baby gorilla. Brings me back.

Which creatures do we find scariest and most disgusting?

Everest as mountain of human fecal matter. Sad to see.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Podcast I enjoyed: Dr. Jason Fung talks fasting on Dr. Peter Attia’s podcast.

Article I found interesting: LDL and the Immune System.

I found another reason to avoid hospitals unless necessary: Hospital flies that carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Another good podcast: George Henderson on Human Performance Outliers.

Great point: Why are we subsidizing our own disease burden?

Question I’m Asking

If there’s a problem with GMO, is it something inherent to the “GMO-ness” or is it whatever trait they’re inserting?

Recipe Corner

Crispy garlic-stuffed chicken.
Cantonese roast duck. Get ready to fight over the skin.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Jun 23 – Jun 29)

Find Your Tribe, Find Your Health – Why we need tribe.
Staff Pick Tuesdays: Relaxation Routine – How my staff likes to relax.

Comment of the Week

“New, Limited Release from Primal Kitchen: Collagen with Ground Placenta

New Recipe: Collagen Cord Blood Smoothie

Chock full of essential amino acids and stem cells, this tasty smoothie can …”

– Way ahead of you, Paleo Bon Rurgundy.

The post Weekly Link Love — Edition 35 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

19 Keto Ground Beef Recipes

A special thanks to Courtney Hamilton at Paleohacks.com for today’s keto recipe roundup.

There are so many comfort foods that use ground beef in a starring role. Think meatloaf, meatballs, cheeseburgers, chili—you get the gist. It may feel too indulgent to keep on your keto diet but rejoice! Ground beef is an easy protein to use in low-carb recipes, especially those of the comfort food variety. On this list, you’ll find hearty fare like keto meatloaf with a tomato-y topping (without the sugar found in standard ketchup), a variety of low-carb chili options for any night of the week, and even innovations on carb-laden classics, like cheeseburgers and tacos. If you crave lighter options, try the crunchy romaine salad with taco toppings or veggie-filled Thai beef bowls served atop cauliflower rice.

It’s worth mentioning that grass-fed, organic ground beef will offer you the best nutritional bang for your buck, as well as ensure you’re enjoying ethically and humanely-sourced meat. It’s better for the environment, and affordable to boot. It’s a win-win all around.

#1 Cook Eat Paleo | Easy Keto Meatloaf

Meatloaf often contains sugar hidden in the ketchup, but this keto version uses fresh salsa instead.

#2 Tasteaholics | Meatballs in Coconut Broth

Beefy meatballs simmer in a rich lemongrass coconut broth for a Thai-inspired dinner.

#3 Wholesome Yum | Keto Low Carb Chili

Skip the beans with this keto and low-carb chili. You can make it in either your slow cooker or Instant Pot!

#4 I Breathe I’m Hungry | 10-Minute No-Chop Low Carb Chili

If you want all of the flavor of chili without any of the time, this 10-minute recipe is for you.

#5 The Healthy Foodie | Keto Ground Beef and Spinach Skillet

Get a super dose of iron in this one-pan recipe, thanks to the spinach, capers, and, of course, the beef.

#6 Low Carb Yum | Low Carb Korean Ground Beef

You can swap out the molasses in this Asian-inspired recipe to keep it 100 percent keto-compliant. It’ll still be sweet, savory, and spicy!

#7 Keto Summit | Keto Hamburger Soup

When cooler weather strikes, this hamburger soup warms the soul, sans carbs.

#8 PaleoHacks | Keto Tex Mex Casserole

Load up on keto-friendly, spicy deliciousness with this creamy avocado-topped casserole.

#9 Real Simple Good | Easy Curry Beef Bowls

Channel Indian flavors with these ground beef curry bowls, packed with curry powder, ginger, and garlic.

#10 Ketogasm | Low Carb Keto Breakfast Burrito Bowl

Enjoy ground beef for breakfast with this hearty, low-carb breakfast burrito bowl loaded with cauliflower rice, cilantro, and scrambled eggs.

 

#11 Tastes Lovely | Keto Ground Beef Taco Meat

You don’t have to give up your beloved tacos on a keto diet! You can use this taco-spiced meat to stuff into keto-friendly wraps or tortillas.

#12 Thyme and Joy | Paleo Hamburger Skillet with Thousand Island Dressing

This tangy beef skillet is topped with red onions, avocado, lettuce, dill pickles, and a homemade keto Thousand Island dressing. It’s like a burger without the bun!

#13 Tastes Lovely | Whole30® Ground Beef Burrito Bowl

Burrito bowls are a great way to enjoy ground beef on a keto diet. Load yours up with fatty avocado or guacamole to fuel ketosis!

#14 Paleo Running Momma | Instant Pot Paleo Beef Chili with Bacon

It’s a proven fact that bacon makes everything better, and this beef chili with peppers, onion, and garlic is no exception.

#15 Tasty Yummies | Grain-Free Thai Beef Bowls

We recommend topping these Thai-inspired ground beef bowls with carrot ribbons, cucumber slices, red chiles, and fresh lime juice for best results.

#16 40 Aprons | Instant Pot Beef with Peppers

If you’ve got 10 minutes, you’ve got time for this quick Instant Pot beef with peppers—the perfect keto weeknight meal!

#17 Beauty and the Foodie | Easy Hamburger Pie

It’s everything you love about a hamburger, baked into a crustless pie!

#18 Savory Tooth | Beef Picadillo

Think of picadillo as a Cuban type of chili with lots of briny green olives. Serve with cauliflower rice for a complete meal.

#19 Primavera Kitchen | Ground Beef Taco Salad

This bright and hearty salad boasts plenty of fresh ingredients, like spicy salsa, creamy avocado, and crunchy romaine.

Thanks again to Courtney Hamilton from Paleohacks.com. Interested in seeing a certain recipe or roundup of a certain category—Primal or Primal-keto? Let us know below!

The post 19 Keto Ground Beef Recipes appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

12 Intermittent Fasting Tips for Athletes

Yesterday, I explained the potential benefits and drawbacks of intermittent fasting for athletes. Maybe yesterday’s post intrigued you. Maybe you’re curious about this whole intermittent fasting thing but don’t want to sacrifice your performance in the gym or on the field.

What are my specific recommendations for athletes who wish to explore intermittent fasting? I’ve got twelve…plus some details about my own fasting and workout routine.

1) Use Restricted Eating Windows Over All-day Fasts

Athletes who want to lean out or maintain strength and performance while lowering body weight might have more success with shortened eating windows than with all day fasts or “one meal a day.” Fast for 12-16 hours, train, and break the fast. Then have 8-12 hours to eat. This will give you a nice block of almost pure fat-burning with enough of an eating window to get the calories you need to grow and maintain muscle and to recover from your training.

2) Small Amount Of Protein Pre-workout May Help

Having a small bit of protein (20 grams whey or maybe 10 grams BCAAs) can help if truly fasted workouts are too hard.

3) Fasted Walks In the Mornings

Whether you skip breakfast or dinner, you’ll have a block of time in the mornings before eating anything. That’s when fat-burning will be upregulated, and brisk fasted walking is a nice way to enhance it.

4) Light Cardio After a Fasted Lifting Session

A heavy lifting session will get free fatty acids liberated from your adipose tissue, particularly if you’re fasted. Doing some very light cardio after your weights should in theory help you utilize all that mobilized adipose tissue. Go for a 20-minute walk, do ten minutes on the bike, or something similar.

5) “Train Fasted, Race Fed”

This is a more intense version of “train low-carb, race high-carb,” a popular and well-researched method of enhancing fat adaptation and increasing fuel efficiency in endurance athletes. Training in a fasted state “forces” the athlete to burn stored fat because, well, there isn’t a whole lot of carbohydrate available. Plus, fasting necessarily increases the circulation of free fatty acids, which can be burned for fuel. This applies to everyone, not just people “racing.” The trick is to train in a fasted state (if you find it helps) and compete (whether it’s CrossFit games, a basketball game, a lifting competition, etc.) in a fed state—as long as it seems to improve your performance.

6) Most Of the Time, Break the Fast Shortly After the Workout

If you’re skipping dinner and eating breakfast, try morning workouts. If you’re skipping breakfast and eating lunch, try afternoon workouts.

7) Every So Often, Continue the Fast After a Workout

This enhances secretion of growth hormone, which fasting already elevates. Don’t make this an every-workout habit, though. Diminishing returns and all.

8) Every Athlete Can Probably Benefit From the Occasional Longer Fast (24 hours+)

This will normalize inflammation, boost growth hormone, and upregulate autophagy, giving you all the necessary co-factors for rest and recovery. Tissues will heal, joints will recover. Do nothing more on these days than easy movement (walks, hikes, bike rides, swims). Time this fast away from competition because your performance may suffer. Do these once a week or every other week.

9) If You Have Joint Problems (or Want To Avoid Them), Take Collagen or Drink Bone Broth Before a Fasted Workout

Fifteen grams of pre-workout collagen or gelatin with a few hundred milligrams of vitamin C has been shown to improve collagen synthesis in connective tissue, and collagen shouldn’t disrupt the fast too much.

10) More Isn’t Better

I see this a lot, especially with endurance athletes who get into intermittent fasting. They start eating breakfast later and see their times drop and their body fat disappear. They feel lighter on their feet, faster, just better all around. So they push breakfast even later and maintain the benefits, even building on them. Pretty soon they’re skipping lunch, and their performance drops off a cliff. When trying to use fasting to improve athletic performance, less is more generally speaking.

11) Realize That Exercise and Fasting Are Additive

For the average couch potato to get the benefits of fasting, he or she might need to go 16 hours without food. The couch potato isn’t liberating body fat through training. The couch potato isn’t getting into ketosis through physical activity. The couch potato isn’t increasing mitochondrial density—the power plants of the cells which actually process fuel—with exercise. The athlete is doing all those things. For the athlete, many of the benefits of fasting will appear with smaller fasting windows.

12) Consider Sleeping Low

“Sleeping low” is an alternative to full-on fasting that actually seems to work well. This is how you do it:

Afternoon workout. This should be something intense that depletes glycogen—sprinting, metabolic conditioning, high volume strength training, high intensity endurance workouts.
Eat protein and fat at dinner, no carbs. You’re not refilling your glycogen. You’re reveling in your lack of glycogen.
Sleep.
Wake up and do low-intensity cardio (walking, cycling, hiking, swimming) before breakfast. Eat carbs at breakfast.
Repeat.

When a group of triathletes followed this protocol, both their submaximal efficiency and supramaximal capacity. High submaximal efficiency means you get more power out of each stroke/pedal/step with less energy required. Your “easy pace” becomes faster and more powerful. High supramaximal capacity means you can last longer at your maximum power output.

It’s likely that full-on fasting could be integrated into this protocol. Maybe with a compressed eating window leading up to the afternoon workout.

A Few Words About My Routine:

A few people have asked, so I’ll give an overview of how I approach this topic for myself:

Every day, I do time-restricted feeding. This isn’t a formal declaration I make with myself every day. It’s not really a schedule. It just happens naturally. I wake up and most days I’m not very hungry for anything but a cup of coffee, so I “skip” breakfast and eat my first meal around one in the afternoon following a workout.

Most of my workouts are performed in a fasted state, and I usually keep fasting after the workout for a few hours. I’ll extend that fast after the workout to really take advantage of the increased secretion of growth hormone. I’m not really trying to “get big” or anything, I’m more interested in maintaining body comp and function and increasing longevity. Natural pulses in growth hormone help with that.

Before most workouts, I’ll do some Collagen Fuel. This doesn’t seem to impair my fast and it helps me keep my joints working well—an important part of aging.

Half an hour before my weekly Ultimate Frisbee game, I’ll also include a little Primal Fuel (my whey isolate powder). This just helps me perform better. I’m not going to lose. (By the way, I’ll talk more about protein types for different functions in an upcoming post.)

That’s it for today, folks. Have you tried any of these fasting workout tips? Have they worked? Do you have any more to add? Let us know down below!

References:

Marquet LA, Brisswalter J, Louis J, et al. Enhanced Endurance Performance by Periodization of Carbohydrate Intake: “Sleep Low” Strategy. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(4):663-72.

The post 12 Intermittent Fasting Tips for Athletes appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Intermittent Fasting For Athletes: Benefits and Concerns

To the average person, the idea of elite athletes skipping meals sounds like pure madness. Athletes are fine-tuned, well-oiled machines. Machines need fuel. You don’t see race car drivers running on empty to “promote training adaptations” in their vehicles. No, high performance requires high energy reserves.

Athletes need to eat, and eat well. Right?

But humans aren’t machines. We’re biological. The car doesn’t respond to training stress, but we do. We adapt, grow, recover, and build new capabilities in response to the stress we endure. You expose yourself to a ton of stress, recover from that stress, and end up stronger/fitter/faster on net. That’s training. And sometimes, high stress is exactly what we need to progress—a few heavy sets of squats, some rounds on the Airdyne, a killer CrossFit workout—as long as you can recover from it. A major modulator of our stress is the amount of food we have coming in. At least in theory, exercising in a fasted state could provoke a powerful adaptive response that athletes would find helpful.

So, does it stack up? What exactly can intermittent fasting offer athletes?

Benefits Of Fasting For Athletes
Increases In Growth Hormone

Growth hormone helps spur, well, growth. It improves immune function. It builds muscle, bone, and cartilage. Kids are swimming in the stuff, and they heal like Wolverine. Older adults who inject it enjoy improved wound healing and workout recovery. That’s why it’s a banned substance in professional athletics, and it’s why natural ways to augment growth hormone secretion can be very helpful to athletes of all stripes.

Fasting increases growth hormone, most likely as a way to limit harmful tissue degeneration and preserve muscle; so does exercise. Once or twice a week, I like to fast after workouts to extend and expand the GH release. That’s a slightly more extreme version of post-workout carb abstention, but it’s the same idea: withholding food and forcing your body to adapt. This increases growth hormone (important for fat burning and cellular repair) and speeds up fat adaptation.

Improvement Of Metabolic Flexibility

In experienced male lifters (5-year history of 3-5 days/week training upper and lower body, drawn from advertisements placed in bodybuilding gyms), fasting for 16 hours a day and eating for 8 increased metabolic flexibility.

Metabolic flexibility is the ease with which a person is able to switch between sources of energy—from carbs to fat and back again. For the average person interested in health and longevity, maintaining metabolic flexibility is an important way to live a healthy life. For an athlete interested in performance, health, and longevity, metabolic flexibility is absolutely essential.

If you’re metabolically flexible, you can burn fat for longer before switching over to carbs. You can burn carbs when you actually need them, right away. And afterwards, you can switch back into passive fat-burning mode to keep unnecessary carb cravings and insulin low and improve recovery.

Reduction Of Inflammation

To attain the training effect, an athlete must incur a big blast of inflammation (from the exercise) and then recover from that inflammation. Blunting the initial inflammatory response with drugs and even mega-doses of vitamins will impair the training effect. You can also reduce the training effect by training too soon after a workout, thereby stacking inflammation.

You need the inflammation, but you also need the inflammation to subside. Both sides of the coin matter. What fasting does is improve your natural ability to dampen inflammation. You get the big inflammatory response of a tough workout.

This is where a fasted workout can really shine. When you’re fasted, you’re in a state of very low inflammation. And then you introduce the workout, and inflammation spikes. It’s a big response, a heightened response—and you must adapt to it. Oscillating between fasting, training, and feeding lets you hit those extremes, those margins where peak performance occurs.

Maintenance Of Energy Expenditure

There’s something revitalizing about going without food for a decent period of time and then feasting. You could spend the week restricting calories each day or use fasting to arrive at the same weekly caloric load and the effects will be different. Chronic calorie restriction enervates. Intermittent calorie restriction peppered with intermittent feasting energizes.

For an athlete, chronic calorie restriction spells doom. They need energy. They need to be able to expend energy when they need it. Luckily, studies show that intermittent fasting is one way to “reduce calories” without reducing energy expenditure. Perhaps the main reason is that IF doesn’t necessarily lower calories; it just changes when you get them. In the bodybuilder study, the athletes in both the fasting and the control groups ate about the same number of calories. But only the fasting group lost a lot of body fat, and they did this without suffering a drop in energy expenditure. Pretty cool stuff.

That said, you can overdo it. Too much fasting for too long will depress energy expenditure, as would happen with any kind of chronic calorie reduction. It’s just that fasting seems to stave off the drop in energy longer than other forms of “dieting,” especially if you maintain your calorie intake.

Concerns About Fasting For Athletes
May Reduce Testosterone

In the bodybuilder study, the group with the 8-hour eating window experienced a drop in testosterone. As T is essential for muscle protein synthesis, performance, strength, and general vitality, this could be problematic for athletes (particularly male ones). Despite the drop in testosterone, though, they still gained lean mass, lost fat, and got stronger—so it may not be practically relevant.

May Be Hard To Get Enough Calories To Gain Muscle or Recover

Athletes do need more fuel than the average person. A big draw of fasting for weight loss is that it makes it easier to reduce calories by erecting illusionary barriers that we nonetheless adhere to. If you only have an 8-hour eating window, you can’t eat outside of it. If you’re “fasting today,” you simply can’t eat. It makes things really simple for people who otherwise have trouble limiting food intake.

The flip-side is that it can make eating enough calories difficult, especially for athletes who do need more fuel than the average person. In a recent study, lifters who ate inside a 4-hour eating window had a 650 calorie daily deficit, lost a little bit of body fat but failed to gain any lean mass, while the control group—who ate more calories and protein—did gain lean mass. The fasting group simply wasn’t able to eat enough food or protein. Despite that, the 4-hour eating window group still gained upper and lower body strength, and they didn’t lose muscle mass. I suspect they could have gotten great results with a few hundred more calories of protein.

As is the case with every study that attempts to collate the individual experiences and results of hundreds of humans into “trends” and “averages,” there’s a wide variety of personal responses to fasting among athletes. The name of the game is experimentation—you have to see what works for you. This week I’ll give some specific recommendations for specific types of athletes, as well as my own experiences utilizing fasting in the pursuit of better physical performance.

For now, though, how has fasting worked for you and your athletic pursuits? Does it seem to help or hinder?

References:

Moro, T., Tinsley, G., Bianco, A., Marcolin, G., Pacelli, Q.F., Battaglia, G., … & Paoli, A. (2016). Effects of eight weeks of time-restricted feeding (16/8) on basal metabolism, maximal strength, body composition, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk factors in resistance-trained males.J ournal of translational medicine, 14(1), 290.

Tinsley, G.M., Forsse, J.S., Butler, N.K., Paoli, A., Bane, A.A., La Bounty, P.M., … & Grandjean, P.W. (2017). Time-restricted feeding in young men performing resistance training: A randomized controlled trial. European journal of sport science, 17(2), 200-7.

The post Intermittent Fasting For Athletes: Benefits and Concerns appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Primal+Keto Cooking Made Easy: Lemony Asparagus

Asparagus has always been one of my favorite vegetables. With great fiber content and a unique taste, it’s a go-to for my Primal and keto meals. Another plus: it’s simple to prepare. That said, however, it does take a bit of precision. The best way I’ve found to prepare asparagus is roasting, and nothing beats the tanginess of lemon to complement its taste. Serve it up with some flavorful chicken or salmon for a full Primal and keto-friendly dinner.

?

Lemony Asparagus

Servings: 2

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: ~12 minutes

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus
1/3 cup Primal Kitchen® Lemon Turmeric Dressing and Marinade
1/4 cup Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil
Zest of ½ lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 ºF.

Cut ends off of fresh asparagus and discard.

Place asparagus on a sheet pan. Toss with salt and pepper, avocado oil, and Lemon Turmeric Dressing and Marinade.

Roast in oven for 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness of the asparagus. Remove from oven and toss with fresh lemon juice and zest. Enjoy!

Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories: 534
Carbs: 7.4 grams
Net Carbs: 6.3 grams
Fat: 57 grams
Protein: 1.2 grams

The post Primal+Keto Cooking Made Easy: Lemony Asparagus appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Cilantro Lime Cod

The light taste of fish is often overpowered by heavy sauces. We’ve found marinades to be a great alternative. Some healthy oil means they hold up better to the heat of baking or grilling as well. A quintessential summer flavor for said marinade? Cilantro lime of course! And we’ve got the marinade ready-made, to boot…. We’ve complemented this quick delicacy with fresh green beans, garnished with red pepper, red onion and some cilantro for an easy and tasty dinner pairing.

Servings: 3

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

12 oz. cod filet
1/4 cup Primal Kitchen® Cilantro Lime Dressing and Marinade
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. onion powder
pinch of red pepper
optional equipment: cedar plank

Green Beans:

2 cups green beans, ends trimmed
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 Tbsp. Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp. minced red onion
Additional cilantro, minced red onion and avocado, to garnish

Directions:

Soak a cedar plank in water for 2 hours. While the plank is soaking, preheat the oven to 375 ºFahrenheit.

Toss the green beans, red pepper, garlic, avocado oil, red wine vinegar, and a pinch of salt and pepper together. Lay the mixture out on a parchment-covered sheet pan. Roast for 15 minutes, then flip the vegetables over with a spatula. Roast until the green beans and are well roasted and top with minced onion and cilantro.

In a bowl, combine the Primal Kitchen Cilantro Lime Dressing and Marinade, garlic, cilantro, salt, pepper, cumin, onion powder and red pepper. Cut the cod filet into 2-3 portions and gently toss them in the sauce. Allow them to rest for 5 minutes.

Fire up your grill. The fish will need to cook over indirect heat. Take the cedar plank out of the water and place on a paper towel. Place the plank on the grill for 2 minutes. Flip the plank over and place the fish portions on top of the plank and spoon and remaining marinade over the top. Cover the lid and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the fish is firm and opaque. The cooking time may vary slightly depending on the thickness and size of the portions of fish. Top with chopped cilantro, minced onion and avocado slices and serve alongside the green beans.

Nutrition Information (4 oz. cod and 1/3 of green beans):

Calories: 240
Total Carbs: 11 grams
Net Carbs: 9 grams
Fat: 12 grams
Protein: 22 grams

The post Cilantro Lime Cod appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekly Link Love — Edition 34

Research of the Week

Traditional fishing practices beat conventional wisdom.

Body fat is directly linked to heart disease.

Dogs evolved special facial muscles so they could manipulate our emotions.

Eating more protein via red meat is good for obese seniors.

Fertilizer is responsible for way more methane than livestock.

Food deserts cannot explain obesity.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 349: Leanne Vogel: Host Elle Russ chats with Leanne Vogel about keto for women.

Primal Health Coach Radio, Episode 16: Laura and Erin chat with Christina Rice, a coach who figured out how to control her own health after no one else could help her.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Media, Schmedia

The bracelet that shocks you if you eat too much junk food.

Are smartphones giving young people horns? Hmm. Maybe not.

Interesting Blog Posts

Questioning the plans to establish official “birth-to-24-months” dietary guidelines.

The rise of sober culture.

Why women often struggle with weight loss.

Social Notes

Forgot to mention I’m gonna be a grandpa.

Everything Else

Good overview of the diet-heart hypothesis.

In the Indo-European family of languages, the word for “salmon” hasn’t really changed at all over the last 8000 years.

Robotic fish with battery blood.

Washington state officials ask landowners to let whales decay on their property.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Study I found interesting: Which countries are most honest?

Viewpoint I found interesting: The big push for lab-spawned fake food and meat replacements is more about promoting global food industrialization than saving the environment.

Move over Genghis: Two bulls are responsible for 9 million dairy cows.

I fully expect all the LDL-phobes to stop eating wild salmon now: Eating fish linked to greater increases in LDL than red meat.

A culture’s popular art reveals its most pressing issues: The hit Japanese TV show called “I Will Not Work Overtime, Period!”

Question I’m Asking

Would you use a product like the bracelet that shocks you to curb bad habits and instill good ones?

Recipe Corner

It’ll be tough to match this recipe.
Curry chicken salad, always a classic.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Jun 16– Jun 22)

How I Supplement for Training – What’s worked for me.
How My Response to Stress Has Changed Through the Years– What’s changed.

Comment of the Week

“When we bought our tiny shed, an 8x4metre box, half that size downstairs, we boxed what all we had and after a year donated what we hadn’t dragged out. We didn’t have much, now we have less and we love it. In 6 months we’ll be mortgage free at 47 and 53, permaculture based on an acre of off grid ocean paradise. Because we down sized and constantly checked in with need vs want. Life got simpler, easier and more fun. Now we choose. I recommend giving the Jones’ a wave but not trying to keep up with them.”

– Kate seems to have figured things out.

The post Weekly Link Love — Edition 34 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Keto Fridge Fudge

Fudge is the stuff of nostalgia. The fact is, however, it’s just a memory for most of us because of the high sugar content and unhealthy ingredients of typical recipes. But not this one…

This tempting keto fudge is just as creamy as you remember it, but with almost zero carbs and a boost of collagen as well as healthy fats, this recipe is a keto dream. And with the goodness of Nuttzo keto butter, it’s got a satisfying crispy crunch. Keto living just got more delicious.

Servings: 13 one-inch cubes

Time In the Kitchen: 15 minutes

Cooling Time: ~ 2 hours

Ingredients:

1 cup Nuttzo Keto Butter
1/2 cup coconut butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 scoops Primal Kitchen® Chocolate Collagen Fuel
5 Tbl. cocoa powder
1-2 Tbl Swerve (or monk fruit) to taste
Good pinch of Himalayan salt
Equipment: silicone ice cube tray

Instructions:

Melt and mix all ingredients in a double boiler (or bowl put over boiling water). Stir well.

Pour into mold or tray and refrigerate until solid.

Pop out of silicone cube container, and enjoy! Store covered in the refrigerator.

Nutritional Information (per piece):

Calories: 231
Carbs: 5.6 grams
Fat: 21.6 grams
Protein: 6 grams

Now For the Giveaway…

Win everything you need to make this keto fudge and more with $100 in keto staples from Primal Kitchen (including the keto starter kit + collagen + protein bars), a copy of the Keto Reset book and Keto Reset Cookbook, PLUS $150 in keto goodies from Nuttzo!

To Enter:

1. FOLLOW @eatnuttzo, @primalkitchenfoods, @marksdailyapple & @theprimalblueprint

2. TAG two of your friends in the giveaway post on IG

3. BONUS ENTRIES for signing up to our Keto newsletter: https://www.primalkitchen.com/pages/k....

The post Keto Fridge Fudge appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

21 Keto Bread Recipes

Thanks to Courtney Hamilton at Paleohacks.com for today’s keto recipe roundup.

One of the biggest challenges on the keto diet is curbing your cravings for carbs.

We’re used to filling up on bready things to feel satiated, so it makes sense that we reach for a sandwich when we’re low on energy. Going keto typically means that you need to give these foods up, but luckily, it is possible to whip up keto-approved loafs, rolls, and more that cut carbs while delivering the same chewy crumb you crave.

This recipe list has everything from fluffy almond flour sandwich bread to low-carb and keto-friendly snacks, like buttery garlic bread. On the sweeter side, there’s moist zucchini bread dripping with gooey, sugar-free dark chocolate, or a quick and easy blender batter blueberry-studded sweet loaf.

Sate your bread cravings with these keto-friendly recipes, and cut the carbs while doing it.

#1 PaleoHacks | 3-Ingredient Keto Cloud Bread

This fluffy keto bread is lighter than air because it’s not weighed down by any flour whatsoever.

#2 Diet Doctor | Keto Garlic Bread

Whip up a big bowl of zucchini noodles with marinara sauce and pair it with this keto garlic bread for the perfect keto alternative to pasta night.

#3 PaleoHacks | Amazing Low-Carb Keto Bread

This keto-friendly take on sandwich bread uses plenty of eggs to incorporate air, making the dough super light and fluffy.

#4 With Food and Love | Hearty Seed Bread

Switch up your idea of whole grain bread with this keto version made with crunchy seeds like pepitas, sunflower, flax, and chia.

#5 PaleoHacks | Cauliflower Bread Sticks

Become one of those people who makes genius use of cauliflower with this low-carb take on garlic bread sticks.

#6 Health Starts in the Kitchen | Everything Bagel Keto Bread

Missing bagels? This bread takes all the best parts of an everything bagel and makes them keto.

#7 PaleoHacks | Paleo Cauliflower Garlic Bread

Cauliflower strikes again in this garlicky bread. It’s best topped with creamy avocado and olive oil!

#8 Wholesomelicious | Keto Sandwich Bread

Pile this sandwich bread high with your favorite keto toppings—we’d go for sliced turkey and creamy avocado, ourselves.

#9 PaleoHacks | Keto Raspberry Bread

Sweet breads can still have a place on the keto diet, as you’ll find with this delicious raspberry loaf.

#10 PaleoHacks | Keto Biscuits with Coconut Flour

Coconut flour is the ultimate low-carb solution in these fluffy biscuits, just waiting to be slathered in grass-fed butter.

#11 Keto Connect | Keto Pumpkin Bread

You’ll love this sweet, crumbly pumpkin bread, packed with warm fall flavors.

#12 Ditch the Carbs | Coconut Flour Low-Carb Zucchini Bread

Zucchini packs in so much moisture in this low-carb zucchini bread, it’s almost cake-like.

#13 Sweet as Honey | Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Made with sugar-free chocolate chips, this chocolate zucchini bread is an indulgent yet keto-friendly treat you can feel good about.

#14 Sugar-Free Londonder | Fluffy Keto Buns

These keto buns are perfect for breakfast, as a snack, or as a dinner roll side.

#15 The Harvest Skillet | Macadamia Nut Bread

Who knew ground macadamia nuts could be transformed into crisp, tasty bread?

#16 Nutrition Refined | Psyllium Flatbread

These psyllium husk-based flatbreads are a low-carb alternative to naan and pita. Yum!

#17 All the Nourishing Things | Blender Batter Keto Lemon Blueberry Bread

Channel spring with this lemony blueberry loaf that you can mix up right in the blender.

#18 Mad Creations Hub | Keto Hemp Seed Bread

Incorporate healthy hemp seeds in both the batter and exterior in this crazy nutritious bread recipe.

#19 Sugar-Free Mom | Low-Carb Blueberry English Muffin Loaf

Part English muffin, part bread loaf, this blueberry-studded treat is all keto.

#20 Low Carb Yum | Coconut Flour Psyllium Husk Bread

Keep this coconut flour bread on hand to serve with your favorite meals. It’s super easy to throw together!

#21 The Castaway Kitchen | Keto Thins

Sate a stubborn carb craving with these soft and chewy keto buns.

Thanks again to Courtney Hamilton from Paleohacks.com. Interested in seeing a certain recipe or roundup of a certain category—Primal or Primal-keto? Let us know below!

The post 21 Keto Bread Recipes appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.