Whole Wheat, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins

I realized that the only muffins’ recipes I’ve posted so far were made with protein powder: double chocolate protein muffins, and pumpkin protein muffins. I don’t always bake with protein powder though; there are other several recipes for healthy muffins that I like to make.
This one, for instance, is amazing. A combination of wholesome ingredients to make some delicious muffins easy on calories. Packed with fiber, but with little sugar, and very little fat.

Do You Know Why Exercise Is Good For Mental Health?

We’ve said this times and times again exercise is good not only for the body but also for the brain. Studies across the board show that daily physical activity can also boost mental health. But what actually accounts for the association between exercise and mental health?

Lentil "Meatballs" With Light Pesto

Talking about “meatless meatballs” is an oxymoron. One that is hard to justify.
As my niece told me: “How can you have meatballs if there’s no meat inside?”
To a certain degree I had to yield to her reasoning. If there’s no meat you should call them “[something]balls” not meatballs.
Two incongruous words paired together, what a headache to explain to kids. With these lentil ‘meatballs’ however the resemblance and taste to meat is so close that there’s no better way to describe them besides ‘meatballs’.
That’s why the oxymoron is justified. Just this one time.

Always Scan The Ingredient List From Top To Bottom!

We talked about how important is to read nutrition labels on food, but that’s not the only thing you should look for. As crucial is to scan the ingredients list.
You’ll be surprised to see that some foods comprise numerous ingredients with weird and complicated names that more often should belong in a chemistry lab, rather than on your plate.
Here’s a few things to help you successfully scan the list...

Source FDA

The 80% Diet - 20% Exercise Rule

It is well established that when trying to lose weight a combination of both exercising and dieting provides best results.
Alone, neither of them is sufficient.
Some people are able to shed pounds just by cutting calorie intake, but the results are unlikely to last without some physical activity. Conversely, you can spend hours in the gym, but if you’re stuffing your mouth with high-caloric and unhealthy food you won’t go far.
To put it differently, both factors are necessary to achieve optimal weight loss.
Exercising without a healthy diet is futile, but an healthy diet is per se not enough.
However, it’s not always apparent how much these two factors plays in the weight loss equation.
In other words, how much should you exercise? How much you should restrict calories?

Why You Need To Read Nutrition Labels More Carefully

In our quest to become healthier, one of the strongest tool we have in our hands are the nutrition facts labels printed on the food we’re buying.
They've often been the subject of criticisms, as some claim that they fail to provide enough information and that the data displayed can be misleading.
I'd rather say: they’re there, let’s take advantage of them.
All we need to do is to learn how to read them correctly and with some common sense we are going to do a lot of good to ourselves.

Source FDA

White Bean Hummus

You know how much I fancy hummus. Since I mastered - what I believe to be - the ultimate hummus recipe, I make a batch almost every week.
Hummus is made with chickpeas, which are legumes. There are many other legumes that I adore though: lentils for instance, not to mention beans. So why not making hummus with other legumes?

Do You Know How Much Caffeine You're Drinking?

Judging by the line I see every morning at the coffee shop down the street from where I live, it seems that we’re a city, a country and maybe a world running on caffeine.
It would be actually fascinating to see what would happen if we took caffeine out of the picture for just one day. I don’t think much will be achieved, but who knows...
Anyway, this is not my point. My point is: do you actually know how much caffeine are you getting each day?
If you’re not sure, take a look at this infographic below.
It’s accurate and very accessible. You can find the original file here, along with a detailed explanation of how this infographic was created alongside the data collected. It’s too bad that there’s no reference to tea (especially green tea, which is my only source of caffeine), but the creators did an awesome job in displaying how much caffeine contain the most notorious drinks you can find today on the market.



The Iron You

Andy Murray, A Bikram Yoga Enthusiast

Have you watched the US Open final on Monday night? If not, you really missed on something because it was awesome.
Five sets in which the players battled like crazy on every single point.
In the end Andy Murray of Scotland overcame defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia in five sets which lasted over four hours and three quarters.
This is the first Grand Slam title the Scottish player has won in his career; but as many journalists have reported this is partially due because he has had the misfortune to be playing in the same era as three of the greatest players who ever played on a tennis court: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
However, in the last few months Murray seemed to be at the top of his game; reaching the final at Wimbledon, winning the Olympic gold few weeks after that and now triumphing in New York.

Spicy Turmeric Chicken

Lean meats, such as chicken and turkey, are an important component of an athlete’s diet as they are a readily available source of precious aminoacids.
Even if it’s crucial to differentiate what we eat so as to include also plant sources of protein; lean meats are always a handy thing to resort to especially after a kick-ass workout.
However, plain grilled chicken can get boring soon, that’s why it’s nice to have a quick fix recipe for cooking a tasty chicken.