Go Macro Giveaway!

Hello readers! I'm excited to announce the first give away by Flavor To Go Fast! After riding for and doing some reviews for GoMacro last year, they've come back interested in helping you guys try out some delicious Macro Bars!

Today I'm going to review the Chocolate Protein Bar, a new addition and my new favorite. But first the giveaway details:

Any reader of this blog can use the code BLOG15 when ordering off of the GoMacro Shop will receive 15% off of one case of bars (not individual bars).

Second, anyone that likes the GoMacro Facebook Page and comments on this blog post is automatically entered to win a free case of MacroBars ($43.35 value!). The winner will be chosen and announced 4 days from today.

Rating: A-

To explain my review of this bar I'll have to give a little info on the progress of my personal nutrition. I used to simply eat gluten free, but after cutting out all grains and legumes for a few months, I now only consume rice for grains because it sits with me the best. I do miss my oats, and for most people they are ok, but like gluten, often times cutting it out will reveal some benefits. I was attracted to this bar for that reason! It does not also make one starving after eating it or shortly after, due to it's lower sugar/carb content and therefore glycemic index. I would prefer whey protein over brown rice, but then it would not be vegan, so I cannot really complain. The use of brown rice syrup for sweetener is also one of my favorite aspects because fructose can definitely be hard to get down and is less ideal for health (sorry all you agave fans!), especially when consuming during training (I've been riding with these bars every day recently!).

On the flavor, I love it! Chocolate protein is a simple title that works for a number of audiences, but to me its more like Chocolate Tahini Crunch or Chocolate Sesame Crunch! And that's a great thing! I never new cocoa could go so well with a bit of grainy crunchy sesameness and sunflower seed.

If you want a tasty and nutritionally appropriate bar that's not overly carb heavy/sugary (especially not from fructose) for good long lasting energy and a little extra protein, this is the ticket!

I'm sad to say I just finished my last Chocolate Protein Macrobar on my 3.5 hour training ride today! And it made me feel so strong on those intervals!

An Epic Thanksgiving Feast

Man I should have started making all this food the day before!  This year easily beats last year. More skillz and better ingredients thanks to the superior Paleo way of eating (sorry Vegans, I believe these recipes are healthier than last years dairy and almost meat free ones!).

I won't bore you with my description of all the recipes so this will be more of Thanksgiving Food Porn. Enjoy.

I was excited weeks before for this Heritage Turkey, thanks to El Salchichero. Yes that means eat all the delicious fat possible for those desirable Omega 3's and fat soluble vitamins.  A Torchon cooked Sous-Vide so all I had to do was brown the outside (in Ghee, which I am obsessed with all of a sudden) and then heat in the oven for 2 hours.  And make stock! But that deserves a whole separate post coming soon for various good reasons.

The Lemon, Sage and Spices wrapped in the inside were absolutely insane!

The 'Gravy' I made by simply reducing some of the stock I made was amazing on everything.  No cream or flour included! (I got 3 delicious containers of stock...going to be slurping turkey jelly all day!-stay tuned)

Now onto my plate before dissecting each component:

In the bottom middle is my stuffing. Pictured below steaming in the light! I omitted the sausage/mushrooms and used coconut oil. It was a hit (only dish at the table to compete with a standard 'normal' stuffing). I didn't miss the bread at all.

This had no recipe, just a bit of guidance from SnackingSquirrel and my own experience of eating baked sweet potatoes and squash a couple times a day.

A mix mash of Parsnips, Colored Carrots, Delicata Squash, Acorn Squash, and Kabocha Squash. With a bit of Ghee. Nothing like delicious buttery (better yet-Toffee like thanks to Ghee) squash, especially the mushy Acorn.

A salad dressing thanks to Oh She Glows, followed exactly for once.

I liked the dressing (above) even better than our cranberry sauce, the perfect blend of tart, sweet, and sour and tasty on everything.

Cranberry sauce. Enough said.

Mashed Yams/Sweet Potatoes like last year. This was über popular once again. Simply steam, mash, and mix in 1/2c Coconut Milk and 1 generous Tbsp of Coconut Oil. Creamy, sweet, and delicious, nice with a touch of cranberry sauce/dressing.

 Onto making pies. Above are the Pecan Pie filling ingredients about to be processed, it called for 3 eggs but 1 had a double yolk so I got a bonus yolk! I was stoked since that's never happened to me before. Thank you Farm-Fresh Eggs.

 Close and personal, this pie ended up quite delicious but a little bit nut buttery/energy bar like.  I love it like Almond paste/Marzipan, especially with Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream but am more of a liquidy pecan filling kind of guy.

 The epic crust for the Pumpkin Pie. I followed this for both crusts but got way more pecans into the pumpkin one, which made it way better. I could just make it as a cookie if I added a hint of ginger!
 Boom. 

Pre-Oven Pumpkin Pie. 

Pre Oven Pecan.

Donezo! I should of cooked it longer but couldn't because of the crust getting overdone, next time I'll do the crust less the first time around.

 I enjoyed with a bit of Fage Greek Yogurt as well as Coconut Bliss Vanilla Bean (which was so good, the bean part so strong it was almost like coffee ice cream).  The Pumpkin filling was a bit like Pumpkin pudding, not super firm and very creamy.

They go together quite well. In fact I had a slice of each for breakfast today and again after training.

 The whole table, this year only my dishes were present! Except for one imposter stuffing...

Ok I can't take credit for the gourmet turkey, El Salchichero I don't know what I'd do without you.

Cooking from 7 to 5 was well worth it for the 30 minutes of eating (plus several leftover meals).

Now leftovers for days if they last and the wonders of stock coming soon.

As part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher program, I have been entered for the chance to win a trip to Greece courtesy of FAGE. You too can enter to win one of three trips to Greece by entering the FAGE Plain Extraordinary Greek Getaway here: http://www.fageusa.com/community/fage-greek-getaway.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

This post is all about these Grain Free Super Chocolate Cookies which I will be making again, but first a bit about Kombucha!

I've made my own for a while before, but only drink 1-3 bottles per week and with my travel/limited time I've now switched to buying GT's again. Especially since they reintroduced the Classic stronger variety (actually raw, more health benefits) after the Kombucha Outlaw last Summer.

They really give me some good energy as well as help digestion, and now with the Chia varieties, I can sneak in some extra healthy nutrient packed fat with Omega 3's (although my main sources are still fish oil and grass fed meats/pastured eggs and yogurt, since you only convert 10-15% of Omega 3's in the ALA form to the beneficial stuff).

The Chia versions aren't carbonated, so easier to drink for those not used to Kombucha, and they remind me of slurping jello as a child. I've tried Cherry and Raspberry so far and they are delightful.

The also new "Third Eye Chai" flavor which is exactly as awesome as it sounds.

Now for Chocolate. Cookies.

I'd like to call them Triple Dark Chocolate Cookie Dough Almond Fudge Cookies!!!

I actually followed the recipe for once (since it didn't require any grains/sweetener/dairy), almost:

•  1/4 Cup Cacao Nibs and 2 Squares of 88% Dark Monkey Chocolate (the best) 

The changes were good, I would just recommend adding the nibs/chocolate at the end for crumbly purposes. They really are like fudge and cookie dough at the same time, with a tiny hint of delicious salty creamy coconut. Is that possible?

I even made another batch for my house/teammates (using chocolate chips this time, but only melting in some of them), and they all got gobbled right up.  I also made one extra cookie separate out of the batch where I really melted most of the chocolate in. It turned into way more of a crunchy biscuity chocolate type cookie! Much less crumble but I loved both variations (cookie dough vs biscuit).

Thai Lime Coconut Chicken Curry

It's a great thing when farmer's markets lead you to good deals and fresh healthy whole foods. It's even better when they are new and way more delicious than your basic go to items. Thank you to the Santa Cruz Farmer's Markets (I've been frequenting many of the different daily ones)

(photo from Serious Eats) A new squash experience: More Sweet and Nutty than others!

This tasted ridiculously delicious. Way better than anything I should be able to create from random. It gets its own dedicated post!

It started with Delicata Squash and Kaffir Lime Leaves (also labeled as makroot leaves). They are both epic. So much flavor in just one whole food each. Thank you to the staff at the UCSC Campus Farmer's Market for the suggestions (not the combo, just the individual ingredients).

Then combine with lots of other good spices, herbs, and ingredients and I don't know how I do it. No need for grains/bread/legumes/dairy when you have super extra delicious whole foods that are even excellent on their own, and provide way more nutrition.

Sometimes I'm stoked on the food I make. Other times I like it so much it's almost less enjoyable because I'm bummed that everyone I know can't enjoy it as well! This is by far one of those times. Creamy, sweet, a little spicy but not really, a little tangy but not fruity. Excellent textures for days.

First time in a while I've done some real cooking/put a bit of extra time in and it was so incredibly worth it. Ahhhhh satisfaction. Ok onto the ingredients:

• Chicken Breast (from earlier) baked with Basil, Thyme, Coconut Oil, splash of Temari
• 1/2-2/3 Can Lite Coconut Milk with several Kaffir Lime Leaves, 1/4 bunch Cilantro, 2T Lemon Juice, 2 shakes Dried Basil, 1T Green Thai Curry Paste, 1 Chopped Shallot 
• 1 Baked Delicata Squash sliced/in coconut oil 
• Grilled Brussel Sprouts with Mustard Powder, S&P, Coconut Oil

I baked the chicken in the oven at 375º for 20 minutes and then sliced it up. The squash was 400º for 45min-hour (until super soft and browning).  I browned the Sprouts on medium high heat at first and then reduced the heat to low to cook for a pretty long time, covered, until starting to get soft, and then added the curry mix (mix all ingredients in bowl w/ hand blender or food processor/blender), squash, and chicken.

This was the perfect meal for me to refuel and prepare to rebuild for another day. The proper protein from a free range boneless skinless chicken breast, just enough healthy fat from almost a full can of coconut milk (I could do a full can if extra hungry), and 1 whole winter squash that's not too big or too small. And a hearty flavorful meal at that!

 I must make this over and over again. Hopefully in XL quantities to share and store for later. Definitely the best chicken curry sauce i've made!

I'd also like to use a red purple onion (never know which to call them) because they taste so good in curry's! Sweet yet with a bite.

Persimmons and Pumpkin Smoothie Epic Bowl Fun

I've finally jumped onto the Fall Bandwagon! Pumpkin Pie Spices (I don't have the actual mix), Pumpkin, and Persimmon in everything! My favorite time of year (been waiting for persimmons for so long!!!).

Bam: First Fall Breakfast!

I have been into using the frozen Acai Smoothie Packs from my freezer and they've been making some epic bowls. This one went:

• Acai
• Pumpkin
• Persimmon
• Hazelnut Butter and Macadamia Nuts
• Pumpkin Pie Spices (Ginger, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cloves)
• Vanilla Protein Powder

I'm burned out on cloves since I hit them heavy handed a few times and ruined too many foods.  Hazelnut goes epicly with the spices though, and the persimmons are sweet and creamy within the amalgamation of yummy vanilla protein and acai. Also more of my new favorite hot cocoa (note that delicious melty drop of coconut oil, mmmm).

This time in the bowl went:

• Pumpkin (maybe 1/4c)
• 1T Chia Seeds
• 2 Scoops Vanilla Whey
• 2-3T Nonfat Greek Yogurt
• Pumpkin Pie Spices
• Topped with a bunch of Melty Coconut Butter
• Persimmon

At this point when I open a can of pumpkin I can just eat it straight without any extra sweetener or spices, but I've held back for the most part to make it even better first...

The Turtle Shell Chocolate Sauce - Coconut Butter trick is quite delicious (fun?), and I definitely enjoy pumpkin pie flavoring (I've literally had it in so many smoothies/recovery drinks/breakfast bowls recently), but also the Vanilla Whey with Chia Seeds combo makes an epic vanilla poppy seed theme/texture.

I also experimented with Pumpkin Pie Hot Cocoa. Pretty good (just added Pumpkin Pie Spices and 1-2T Pumpkin to my regular combo), although definitely something to be in the mood for since my regular mix is so tasty already. I might try way more pumpkin next time.

*On a side note hard boiled egg yolks mix into the pumpkin quite well for a pleasant creamy taste (I definitely mixed some hard boiled eggs into my pumpkin breakfast bowls a couple of times).

Here's another meal replacement/recovery smoothie party I had:

I went with:

• Frozen Banana + Blueberries
• Vanilla Whey Protein
• Macadamia Nuts
• Ginger Juice/Ginger Powder
• a Persimmon, Macadamias, Coconut Flakes, Cacao Nibs, and a Coconut Chocolate Chip Macaroon mixed in

These Cocoroons are straight up dangerous. Way too good.

It was creamy, gingery, sweet and full of delicious cookie like crunchies. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Enough said.

Now I just have to step it up and actually bake with pumpkin and persimmon instead of being lazy and eating them in quickie breakfast bowls/smoothies!  Stay tuned...

Quick Tasty Experimentation

I made an effort to use up my waffles after having an excess post waffle-testing (and having to leave for home).

This was a bit of the standard set up: Toaster-ovened with or without the Blueberries and Cacao Nibs at the same time, and accompanied/mixed with Vanilla Vegan Protein Powder mixed with just enough water and PLENTY of Cinnamon. Hot Cocoa for occasional dunkage.

Then I had an idea...

Gluten Free French Toast Waffles? Taffles?

After seeing so many delicious egg/quinoa bakes and other similar bakes in the food blog world I decided to just throw some of my favorite free range eggs in the toaster oven with my waffles. Definitely an easy and delicious way to enjoy a French Toast like waffle providing the essential morning fat, carb, and protein! Cinnamon and Cacao Nibs included. A little soggy and a little crunchy for the win.

Another morning I tried out making some high protein more blueberry muffins to use up the last of my brown rice flour and quinoa.

They were a little dry, but rose the right amount. Super sweet, tart, and delicious blueberry clusters were epic (I used a lot!).

Melting coconut oil all over the top makes up for a bit of the dryness and is super tasty.

Epic Blueberry Insides

I don't know if the recipe is sharing but I'll include it anyways for inspiration/if you feel like using up some brown rice flour and quinoa flour or quinoa. And lots of Blueberries!

• 2 Eggs
• 1c Blueberries
• 1/2c Brown rice flour
• 1/4c Quinoa flour
• 1/4c Whey protein
• 2g Baking soda
• 50g Olive oil
• 20g Agave nectar 40g Brown rice syrup
• Dash of Salt
• Cinnamon 6g
• Contents of 1 Vanilla Bean

Baked for 27.5 minutes at 350ºF.

All of these Gluten Free treats make me extra happy because A) I've discovered that the less wheat I eat, the less my knee tendonitis bugs me when I ride (no advil or rocktape needed) and B) Aaron Gwin (best American mountain biker ever thus far, just truly came out of the woodwork this year and won the world cup overall) is gluten free!