Review: ViSalus - Fixing Quickly?

The buildup
Someone I follow on Twitter asked me to check out a product he was marketing called ViSalus.  I'd never heard of it.  Apparently, I've been living under a rock. It's a multi-billion dollar weight loss program, featuring shakes, etc.  It's also a very successful multi-level marketing company (MLM).  Two things about this really didn't jibe with me - the quick fix nature of meal replacement shake programs and the MLM aspect of it.  There's actually a third thing, but I didn't know up front (see 'My depressions' below).  But, I respect the source, and know that he has very high standards and ethics, so I thought it was worth trying.

What it is & how it works
I decided to try their shake product in Sweet Cream flavor.  I start my day with a protein shake
and an omelet, so I figured I could replace my shake or cut back on it and mix in this stuff.  I feel strongly about eating whole foods and having the stomach digest real stuff, so I didn't want to ditch the omelet. I bought one bag for just over $50 shipped. It claims to have about 30 servings, so it's not too expensive per serving vs. what you'd pay at GNC or somewhere for a competing product. You have to do an auto-purchase plan, but you can cancel or delay anytime. I did notice it's available for a touch less on Amazon and don't have to do the auto-order, but you don't get any support with that.  If the person you're buying from provides meaningful advice, that may be worth the $7 per bag difference to you, so you'll have to figure that out for yourself.  I tried to cancel my auto-order after getting the first bag, but they shipped a second bag instead of canceling.  It wasn't the end of the world, but that's why I don't tend to like these auto-sign up things.  They have a way of auto-sending you more than you wanted (and charging for it).

The shake is a mix of soy protein and whey, plus a number of other ingredients (vitamins, minerals, etc).  The soy is non-GMO, which is great, but it's not an organic product (which the whey shake I use, love and recommend is).  It has 12 grams of protein per serving (2 heaping scoops), which isn't enough for me since I try to get 30 grams within 30 minutes of waking. My whey shake has 24 grams, the casein shake I have with dinner has 20 grams, and my omelet is between 8 and 15 grams (depending on size and whether I throw other stuff in it that has protein, like edamame or lentils). Still, it's not too bad, and could definitely be mixed into other things to get me to 30. Being a protein shake isn't really what it's positioned as, so I can't hold that against it.

My impressions
As far as taste goes, it's delicious. It's seriously sweet (I think it's too sweet - see 'My depressions' to understand why). I've had some terrible fake vanilla flavored shakes (when I was a fat teen, I tried Slim-Fast...ew), and this ain't one of them. It's really good.

They also include quite a bit with the purchase despite me getting the cheapest option they sell. I got a booklet that has a lot of tips and tools that mirror my 10 Principles quite a bit (setting goals, going public, tracking, etc). They also include these little flavor packs that add both flavor and some other benefit - e.g. strawberry with phytonutrients, banana energy burst, etc. They actually sound tasty. I haven't added any of them, so I can't comment on the taste or whether the claimed benefit is legit, but I'd at least guess the taste is good given how great the Sweet Cream tasted.

In addition to what came, I got a series of really helpful tips and ideas from the person who asked me to try it. They may be exceptions in terms of their commitment to helping, so I can't speak for others selling ViSalus, but it was really helpful. They offered guidance on usage, creating goals, plans, etc, and gave me a number of recipes for how to make different shakes from the base product I bought. Like getting all the extra flavor packets, this was a surprising commitment given I bought the cheapest option I could get.

I should add that the product is lactose and gluten free. Some people see whey as an ingredient and assume that, since it comes from milk, the product must not be ok for lactose-intollerant people.  Whey is one of the two proteins in dairy, while lactose is the sugar.  Having an issue with one doesn't mean you will have an issue with the other per se. I'm lactose-intollerant, and it's fine for me. There's less than 1 gram of sugar per serving, and lactose is a sugar, so there really isn't anywhere lactose could hide anyway.

The company has a ton of hype associated with the products - testimonial videos, ginormous checks they give people for losing weight or selling a lot of their product, competitions for weight loss, etc. That's fine. It's not me, but it's fine. Sometimes, paying people to lose weight helps get them over the hump and then they are just interested in being fit. The approach just isn't really my style, so I sort of ignored it.

They are very into the auto-purchase approach, so if you just want to try it, be careful and ensure you've canceled any auto-shipping options you've been signed up for.  As I mentioned above, somehow I screwed that part up, and ended up getting a second bag when I only wanted to try it with one.

My depressions
Once I checked the product out, I saw one particular ingredient I didn't like - sucralose. You probably know it by its brand name, Splenda. It's not the worst thing in the world, and definitely the best artificial sweetener out there. However, like all artificial sweeteners, it does cause an insulin response in the body in the same way sugar does. This is the trick with a lot of 'low glycemic index' or 'low GI' items. They get the green light for diabetics and for weight loss, but insulin spiking is a key contributor to fat accumulation in the body. To fully understand this, you must read Gary Taube's incredibly powerful book Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It.

Aside from the inclusion of sucralose from a body chemistry standpoint, sucralose also tends to be extremely sweet. I definitely have heightened my sensitivity to sweetness since cutting almost all sugar from my diet, and I find this product way too sweet. It's like a dessert to me. Don't get me wrong, it's super tasty as a result, but I'd prefer something maybe half as sweet. You can deal with this to an extent by diluting it more, or including competing flavors (I put cinnamon and cayenne in most drinks I mix up, which helps, but you could also mix it into coffee or mix cacao powder in to help tone down the awareness of sweetness. The bitterness of cacao and coffee would be a nice balance to tone down the sweetness, for sure).  Generally, I advise people to cut back on things that enhance sweetness to make you more sensitive to it, and thus less likely to go for it (or do so in lower quantity). If you satisfy your sweet tooth with less sweet for your tooth, so much the better. The high sweetness of this product on a regular basis will lower your body's sensitivity to sweetness, so you'll crave more before satisfaction is reached. Again, this goes back to the body chemistry of sweetness, whether from sugar or otherwise. Your body is easily fooled into thinking it's getting sugar, and acting like it did. That's not good. Stevia is currently the only non-sugar that doesn't do this (and it's not artificial - so much the better).

My bigger issue, though, is with the approach at play here - the quick fix diet. I don't advocate anything quick (except intervals or speed work). To me, you really need to work at and for something for it to change your life such that your new normal is health. I'm not into the idea of losing X pounds for some event (high school reunion, ex's wedding, etc) because as soon as the event is over, you have nothing driving you to be fit. The same goes for meal replacement shake approaches. At some point, if you're lucky, you will reach your goal and come off the program. What happens then?  You haven't learned about healthful eating sufficiently (if you disagree, then explain why you didn't lose weight without drinking a shake instead of eating food?) to maintain health. You haven't changed your life priorities and values to have the health you deserve for yourself or set the right example for your friends and family. The approach this product is driving isn't something I can really get behind.

I'm also generally very weary of multi-level marketing. Those three words are usually followed by one of the following three words - scam, scheme or ploy. This is MLM. That in and of itself doesn't make it bad. Given the person who brought it to my attention, I set this part aside. I'm not looking at it to make money, so it's really neither here nor there for me to care about it being MLM. I just need to evaluate the product itself, not how it's marketed.

To buy or not to buy?
Diet isn't 'a shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch and a sensible dinner' (to quote the old Slim-Fast line). Unfortunately, this has become the American way. We can't wait for our results, and we don't want to work for them. Fitness and health are worth working for because it is that work itself that is the source of health.  They journey is the destination. ViSalus is diet in the shake sense, unfortunately. I can't get behind that part of it. Using it as a protein shake is more up my ally as part of my morning protein routine.  In that respect, ViSalus is ok but not great. It's definitely good at getting the results it aims to get for those who want to treat it as a quick fix weight loss tool. If that's what you're looking for, then I'd say you're looking in the right place with that product (but I'd want to discuss what's lacking in what you're looking for). If you're looking for a protein supplement, it works, but I'd recommend something less processed like Garden of Life's vegan Raw Protein line (my current protein of choice - I mix it with a scoop of raw cacao powder to enhance the flavor), or, if you want whey, go with Jay Robb's products.

For me, I gave it the two months I bought product for. Because I have put the work in and know what I need to do to be healthy, I think I can use this product effectively. But I also believe I could be as effective without it and would at least prefer something 'cleaner' (fewer or no chemicals and organic).

Either way, I did the work to enlighten my body. Will you do the work to enlighten.your.body?

I Got Some Time with NOW Sports Products

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of NOW Foods. 

We have used NOW Foods products in our home for a few months, and really like them for their quality and focus on what goes into their products (and, equally, what doesn't go into them).  As a FitFluential ambassador, I had the opportunity to try some of their NOW Sports line of products and write a review of what I think.  Full disclosure - these products were all provided to me by NOW Foods for the purpose of this review.  All thoughts contained are my own, though.

You can find all of these products on NOW's website (products are linked below), use the "find a retailer" link to find where to buy (they're sold nationwide by health food retailers), or get them from many online retailers like Amazon.com.

What did I get?
I got five products - two protein powders, and three dietary supplements:

1. Sprouted Brown Rice Protein
   
2. Vanilla Pea Protein
3. Liquid Carnitine
   
4. MCT Oil
   
5. Extreme Men’s Multi

The only one that was a new idea to me was the MCT oil, but I've used all the other products in the past, though never from NOW.  I've also never used a liquid form of L-Carnitine.

Product by product, let's see what my month with them has shown.

Sprouted Brown Rice Protein
This is a basic, staple product.  If you haven't seen how I feel about protein, then you need to (check out my YouTube video or read the various blog posts I've done on it). It's important, and you should be starting your day with it. A great way to do so is via a protein shake.  There are lots of options out there, including dairy and egg proteins, and vegetable proteins.  This is a vegetable protein, and it's in a very pure form.  How pure?  There's only one ingredient, and it's the thing that it is - sprouted brown rice protein.  That's it.  That means this is vegan, soy free and gluten free (though some people don't take well to rice protein even though it isn't technically gluten).

Here's what NOW Sports says about the product:

This GMO-free vegan protein powder is ideal for those with allergies or sensitivities to the natural compounds found in whey, egg, soy and other protein sources. Natural and pure with no added ingredients, each tablespoon offers four grams of protein and mixes easily with a smooth texture.

It's easy to use - just dump a table spoon into water, almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, goat milk, sheep milk, milk milk, etc.  You get the idea.  You can also mix it with coffee, though I'd suggest you only do cold beverages for a variety of reasons.  Hot or warm protein shakes are gross.  Unfortunately, NOW doesn't include a scooper, but I have like 50 laying around, so I just reduced/reused/recycled a solution.  I rarely find a protein powder that lacks a scooper, so this was kind of surprising, but not a deal breaker.

For me, the taste is horrible, but I expect and accept that.  I've never liked the taste of rice protein, and because this is just straight rice protein powder with no added flavorings, you get that full on rice protein taste.  It's strong and maybe the best way to describe it is bitter, but that's not quite it either.  So I tend to add some things to calm it down.  I add cinnamon, cayenne, turmeric, stevia, shredded coconut, vanilla extract (1 tsp) and a mix of 50/50 water/unsweetened coconut milk.  All of those additions are organic, by the way.  The cinnamon is for sugar regulation in addition to flavor, the turmeric is for inflammation (definitely not for flavor - I don't care for it, but it's hard to taste if you add about a half a tablespoon), and the cayenne is for a lot of things, including metabolism boosting.  I then add a few ice cubes and blend it into a smoothy.  It's still gross, but not too bad, and definitely drinkable.  Coffee would probably be a nice addition to help overpower the strong brown rice protein flavor.

Another way I've been using it is adding a half a tablespoon to slow-cooking oatmeal.  You can still taste it a bit, but it's not too bad.

One other issue I have with it is that, as a protein supplement, it doesn't have much protein.  Four grams per serving.  Protein supplements should do something for your protein intake, and 4 grams isn't doing much.  For someone who is looking to add a bit more protein without looking to amp their protein intake, this might be the kind of thing to look for.  It isn't what I would use as I generally want more protein in my shakes, and I'd probably eat some nuts or a bowl of lentils to get the same or more protein instead.  For comparison sake, a serving of cashews (1/4 cup) has five grams of protein.  Gram for gram, the powder wins (a serving is five grams, four of which are protein, vs five out of 28 grams in a serving of cashews), but I think eating a handful of cashews is easier and tastier.  You might have other dietary concerns that mean you are in need of something that's basically pure, vegan protein without the fat of nuts or fiber of lentils or beans.  Or you might just want a different protein if you're already heavy on beans and nuts.  This might be a good choice then, but the protein is so low, and the taste is so strong (and unenjoyable) that I'd personally look for something else (like Garden of Life RAW protein).

So why bother?  Well, you may be allergic to nuts.  Or you may be vegan/vegetarian, and want to diversify your protein sources.  I think that's what NOW Sports is going for here.  They suggest adding it to a relatively small amount of liquid (six ounces), and don't talk about using it as a sports supplement.  That is weird since it's part of their Sports line.  I think it would fit better in their NOW Foods line instead.  I think it's really about rounding out or diversifying your protein sources and getting a bit more into your life.  For that, I think this is fine, but I'd think about non-drink ways to add it, too - like my oatmeal idea.

I would mention that it isn't organic, which I wish it was.  It is, however, GMO-free, which is awesome.  I'm very much against GMOs and the engineering of our food supply, so a big thank you to NOW Foods for caring about that, too.  The question is just one of fertilizer and pesticides keeping it form being organic, but at least the crop wasn't created in a lab bent on profits over safety and health.  There are organic options, so if that matters to you (it does to me), this is a brand to skip.  If not, I'd definitely give a thumbs up to NOW Sports Sprouted Brown Rice Protein for those vegans looking to have a more diverse protein profile in their lives.  If that's not you, maybe the next product is more up your ally.

Vanilla Pea Protein
If my issue with the taste of brown rice protein turned you off of vegan proteins, don't swear them off yet!  There are other options, and this is one that blew me away.  Other common vegan proteins are  hemp and pea protein powder, and this one is pea-based.  I've generally found pea proteins to taste other than good, so I was concerned.  Here, NOW Sports has added flavor via natural ingredients to create a sweat and delicious protein powder.  It's sweet thanks to a mix of stevia and xylitol.  No sugar, no sucralose (Splenda), aspartame (Nutrasweet), sugar alcohol (stomach pain), etc.  These ingredients will also not cause a spike in insulin production, which is great (whereas the other sugar substitutes do).  Xylitol also has an added benefit of tricking bad gut flora into thinking its sugar.  When these bacteria eat the xylitol, they can't process it, and explode.  Seriously.  Xylitol is administered by some naturopaths as a treatment for overgrowth of bad gut flora for this reason.

OK, so enough about exploding gut flora.  This powder mixes very well in the same kinds of liquids as the rice protein (or other protein powders), but you don't need to worry about hiding the taste.  In fact, you'll probably want to relish the taste and ensure you don't mask it.  It is a bit strong, but it's good.  I love vanilla and I love toffee.  Put them together, and you get a really indulgent flavor that you swear is bad for you.  But it isn't.  No sugar.  25 grams of protein (that's the most of any vegan protein powder I've ever used, and gets you almost all the way to 30 in the first 30, as I recommend - 30 grams of protein in the first 30 minutes of waking up).

Here's what NOW Sports says about the protein:

Got allergies? No way you’re doing whey? NOW® Sports Pea Protein contains no soy or dairy, just 25 grams of easily digested, non-GMO vegetable protein. It’s pure and natural, hypoallergenic, has a smooth texture and mixes easily into your favorite beverages.

And it comes in Vanilla Toffee. We’re pretty sure all the best things come in Vanilla Toffee.

NOW Sports even remembered to put a scoop in there!  But the scoop is huge.  I mean humongous.  It's so big, I actually had trouble getting the powder into my blender bottle because of how wide the scoop is (it has a wedge shape that's wider in the front, which makes it harder to use but cool looking).  My preference would be to use a half-sized scoop and recommend people use two scoops per serving (as ViSalus does).  It just makes the logistics easier to deal with.  I know, I'm picky, but the little stuff matters.

My only other comment is that the taste is a little salty.  By 'a little' I mean 'very'.  A serving has quite a high sodium level - 540mg, which is 23% of the recommended daily allowance.  The unflavored version has only 330mg.  'Only' being used loosely here, but I will just say I really notice the saltiness and actually detracts from the drink.  If they could tone it down closer to 400mg, it would still be high, but not overpowering.  I'm not concerned with my sodium intake, so this doesn't matter to me beyond taste, but I would be uncomfortable recommending the product to someone who is hypertensive (I have a client with hypertension, and I couldn't suggest she use this), and I think they went a little overboard unnecessarily.

So, save for the sodium, I love this stuff.  Same deal as the brown rice powder in terms of being natural and not organic, but I like it.  If you're cool with the sodium level, go for it.  You won't be upset with the flavor.  I would suggest mixing in some coffee (if you drink it) as that might detract from the salty flavor a bit.

Liquid Carnitine
In high school, I used to take L-carnitine pills thirty minutes before eating (along with chromium picolinate), so I have had experience with the product.  It is an amino acid that helps your body make energy.


Here's what NOW Sports says about their L-Carnitine liquid:

L-Carnitine is carnitine in a highly absorbable liquid form. What’s carnitine? An amino acid that helps transfer fatty acid groups into the mitochondrial membrane to produce energy.* It naturally occurs in red meat and other animal-source foods, but for those who supplement NOW® L-Carnitine is the purest form (containing no sugar, salt, starch, wheat, gluten, corn, soy, milk, egg, shellfish or artificial colors/flavors), clinically tested, and vegetarian. It comes in Tropical Punch or Citrus Flavor.

I can't really say a ton about how the product works or whether it works, but I've had good experience with L-Carnitine in the past, and have no reason to think this isn't working the same way.  I will definitely comment about the flavor.  It's awesome.  I was hesitant to go with a liquid approach as I tend to prefer to pop a pill (it's easier if you travel or are on the go a lot), but I've really loved this stuff.  They also make a tropical punch flavor, which I bought myself after running out of the citrus flavor I got for this blog review.  It's good, but I think I actually prefer the citrus - it's a little fresher tasting and less heavy-sweet.  They're both super tasty, though. I start and end my day with it (since you are best off taking it on an empty stomach), and love it.

MCT Oil
Medium Chain Triglycerides, which is what MCT stands for, are fats found in coconut and palm kernel oil (perhaps other places, but I don't know).  They're fats that are more easily digested than other types of fat. As a result, they are known to increase your body's ability to burn fats rather than store them (think of priming a flue in your fireplace to get a fire to burn better).  The idea is to substitute MCT for other fats so you do a better job of burning the fat you are taking in, and thus end up promoting leaning out your body.


You can add it to foods, but need to be careful with heat.  MCT oil doesn't do well with medium to high heat since it has a low boiling point, so it's better to be a replacement for oil in salad dressing, or perhaps in place of butter or olive oil added to bread or potatoes (I eat neither, so I feel funny recommending this).  I've been cooking with non-stick, ceramic cookware and then putting some MCT on the end product after it's plated to bring some richness back into the dish, and it's really nice.  I have also put some into quinoa, and would do it with rice (if I eat it, it's only brown), and like how it makes the dish taste and eat - smooth and decadent.  The dose is a table spoon, and they suggest using it about three times per day.  You can take a straight tablespoon of it, or add it to a drink, too, but then you're not replacing other fats with it, so that sort of defeats the purpose.

Here's what NOW Sports says about their MCT Oil:

Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT’s) are fats that are naturally found in coconut and palm kernel oil. MCT’s are more easily and rapidly digested than other types of fats, as they require lower amounts of enzymes and bile acids for intestinal absorption. MCT’s are metabolized very quickly in the liver and are reported to encourage energy expenditure, and not fat storage. Numerous studies suggest that substituting MCT Oil for other fats in a healthy diet may therefore help to support healthy weight and body composition.

I like the product, but am not sure if it's doing anything.  Your mileage may vary, but I don't see any issues with it, and do like how it's made meals taste and feel richer - like I'm indulging - without necessarily being a bad thing.

Extreme Men's Multi
This is a multi-vitamin aimed at men.  It has a pretty good nutrition profile, including a little MCT oil.  The only things it doesn't have much of are calcium, magnesium and fat.  I wouldn't expect my multivitamin to have fat, but this one has a little bit (2.5g across three pills (the daily dose), which I'm sure is just due to the MCT oil).

There's not much to say here beyond it being a good looking (not aesthetically, but ingredient-wise) multi-vitamin.  It is a fairly big soft-gel-type pill, and you have to take it three times a day.  If I could, I would make it one pill you take once a day.  I have a feeling it's so large to accommodate the MCT oil, so I'd skip that ingredient and consider just using the MCT liquid.  The benefit of having the dosing split across the day is that you may do better absorbing the nutrients than if you got more of a dose all at once.  I don't know what bioavailability testing on these nutrients has been done, whether the doses are high enough in one pill that it's irrelevant, etc, but that could be a benefit.  Slow and steady wins the race, right?  Unless you're fast and can endure.  That's my question here.

So, a fine multi-vitamin.  A month's supply is about $35, which isn't terrible but isn't cheap, either.  The multivitamin I take (Rainbow Light Men's One) costs $20 for a 3 month supply and is a one-a-day option.  I haven't found any issues while on the NOW Sports multi, but I haven't noticed any clear benefits, so I plan to go back to the Rainbow Light product for just over an 80% savings.

About NOW Foods
NOW Foods, a family-owned company since 1968, is a leader in the nutritional supplements industry and dedicated to providing customers with a comprehensive approach to wellness by offering a variety of high-quality, natural and affordable products. Founded on the belief that natural is better, NOW Foods is proud to offer more than 1,400 natural products that are specifically formulated to help support optimal health through good nutrition. NOW Foods product offerings range from nutrient-rich foods and supplements to personal care and sports nutrition items.

Visit www.NOWFoods.com for more information on NOW Foods products and local retailers. 

Flawed Logic: "If I'm gonna die anyway, I might as well enjoy what I'm eating"

Tell me you haven't heard or thought this before:

If I'm going to die anyway, then I am going to eat whatever I want and enjoy the time I do have. Why would I give up XYZ and be miserable?

That, my friends, is called 'flawed logic'. It's one of the most common responses out there for eating healthy (along with "I don't have the time," "it's too expensive," and "I don't have the willpower."). Why is it flawed logic?  Simple, it ultimately presumes that the only enjoyment in life comes from food. So, if you give up your most loved foods, then your life will be miserable.

How would your significant other feel about that? Your siblings? Kids? Parents? Friends? Pets?

I don't blame those who say things like this. It's what our society programs us to think - food is not fuel to us, it's a source of enjoyment and pleasure. It tastes amazing and makes us feel good. We run (or maybe waddle) to it when we're sad or upset, just like the Golden Girls with their late night cheesecake sessions. So it's no wonder as a society we say things like this.

In reality is that food is ultimately just a fuel. Also, healthy eating can actually be tasty. And it can be done economically, both in terms of cost and time.

But the real reality is that our lives and the enjoyment we experience within them aren't just about food. We take joy from so many other things. Time with loved ones, great movies/shows/games/music/etc, vacations, our jobs (seriously, some people take real enjoyment from their work), time with our pets - and the list goes on.

Why do we think that giving up on some foods we like that literally are killing us somehow wipes out all enjoyment from our lives?

This question came to me after watching a great documentary called Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead by an Aussie named Joe Cross. It follows him over 60 days as he goes on a fresh juice-only diet, and educates you about what our food choices are doing to us, and what healthy living can do instead. It's a fantastic movie (and book), so I highly encourage you to watch it.  It's free for Amazon Prime members, and available on DVD and streaming from most services out there (Amazon, Netflix, etc), and there's also a book version (on Kindle, too). He suffers from an autoimmune disease that has him on several medications (including strong doses of steroids), and yet he's still suffering (and overweight and feeling miserable). He transforms himself, is able to come off his meds, and is happier and healthier. He enjoys his life in a way he didn't before. And he helps another man along the way with the same ailment and even worse health (who then intern helps others, too).

What Joe learns and teaches is that we need to look for all the other sources of joy in our lives beyond food, raise the value those have in our minds, and then make healthier choices to enhance our ability to take in those sources of enjoyment. What we find along the way is that we had a false notion of what our real happiness comes from or, more accurately, just how happy we thought we were.

Whether you want to be as extreme as Joe (and you can't help but feel like you want to be), the message is so clear and valid. Live healthier, get to a place of true enjoyment, and enlighten.your.body.

Recipe: Bean Bourguignon

I was reading Runner's World recently, and found a very good looking recipe in it.  Generally, I find their recipe's too look great, but be way too high in sugar for my preference.  It's funny - usually they have naturally sweet ingredients (like fruit), but then add more sugar, honey or maple syrup on top of that, and I never know why they do that.  Of course, by, "it's funny," I mean, "it's sad and unnecessary."

So, with a bit of skepticism, I read a recipe for making a classic, rich, savory dish into one a bit healthier.  Bouf Bourguignon is an old French classic for a rich, flavorful, slow-cooked treat. If you've seen the movie Julie & Julia, you may recognize the dish's name.  Runner's World replaced the beef with white beans, so as to be more health-conscious while still providing lots of protein. Oddly enough, they add in prosciutto for flavor, thus dashing any hopes of this being a vegetarian or vegan dish.  My version kept with the meat, but I have a couple of ways to move further away from carnivority (if that's a word, which it isn't).

So, here's the Runner's World recipe, as it appears on their site, save for one edit.  They left out re-adding the mushrooms, so I've written that in below (see the blue text). This comes from http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/recipe-bean-bourguignon.

Ingredients

Photo courtesy of Runner's World

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 package (10 ounces) baby portabella mushrooms, quartered, or cut into sixths if large
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, minced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup flour
1 cup dry red wine, such as cabernet sauvignon, burgundy, or merlot
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 cans (15 ounces each) white beans, drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms. Cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms start to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add remaining tablespoon of oil and onion to the pot. Cook onion, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add prosciutto, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves. Add the cooked mushrooms back in. Cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir. Whisk in wine and broth. Stir in the beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve. Serves 6.

Nutrition Information
Calories Per Serving: 377
Carbs: 44 g
Fiber: 9 g
Protein: 22 g
Fat: 11 g

It's a very simple dish, actually, with the toughest part being, well, just about nothing. OK, if you use fresh thyme like I did, picking it from the stems is time-consuming.  It's basically about throwing things in a pot, sometimes taking some out before adding them back in - but you could even skip that, and just add the onions after the mushrooms cook.  I wouldn't, but it's probably not that big of a deal.

So, what did I do to alter this?  Well, first, I don't drink, so the wine had to go.  This allowed me to make this recipe while sticking to my Clean14 pledge of no alcohol (along with other things). I was trying to think of what to use instead, and my wife had a brilliant idea - seriously brilliant - use pomegranate juice. It has a similar flavor profile and tartness.  It is very sugary, though, which is my only concern. A serving of POM Wonderful has over 30 grams of sugar. You could also use tart cherry juice. I just looked at a concentrate version on Amazon, and it has 14 grams per serving, so that would work nicely, too.

The second thing I changed was to ditch the white flour. That has the nice effect of making this a gluten-free dish, while also replacing wasteful carbs with more productive carbs and protein.  You can go several ways here, but I chose a mix of almond and coconut flour. The coconut flour is closer to white flour in consistency, while the protein and carb profile of almond flour is really nice. I also think it gives a richness to dishes while not adding rich stuff.  I was also a little concerned with the coconut flour giving coconut flavor to the dish.  I can say this didn't happen at all given how flavorful the other ingredients are, and how little you're using (it's only a 1/4 cup of flour, so even all coconut flour should't do much).  As always, I'd recommend Bob's Red Mill for your flour needs.  They're a great company with great products and great values.

Third thing I changed was to use natural, black forest bacon.  Nothing wrong with prosciutto if you're ok with meat (and pork), but the really good stuff without junk preservatives can be very costly.  I added 20 strips of well-cooked bacon (I bought pre-cooked, but you can cook it yourself - I just didn't have the time) for about 1/4 the price of 6 ounces of prosciutto.  This gave a lot of great flavor to the dish.

To avoid pork, you could easily use turkey bacon (I actually intended to, but the Whole Foods I went to was out of it when I went).  To go vegan, you can use vegan bacon. It doesn't have the same flavor, but it has a good flavor, and I think would definitely do the job. If you don't want to do that, you could add probably a tablespoon of liquid smoke to get the same effect.  Lastly, if you want to avoid adding something like that, you could use shiitake mushrooms, which have a nice, woody, smokey flavor to them.  I'd do another 10 ounces (so doubling the amount of mushrooms), and make sure they're nicely cut up to release as much flavor as possible.  To keep it vegan, you could easily use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth (as RW points out), but you could even possibly use miso soup (Whole Food's 365 brand has a miso broth that has a very light flavor, and could help make up for the lack of wine by adding a bit of fermentation to the dish).  I haven't tried doing it with miso, but a gentle miso broth could work nicely here.

My only other change was to add way more thyme than they recommend, and to do so with fresh thyme.  I love the taste of thyme, and it can help to make up for the lost flavors from rendering beef, wine or prosciutto.

The whole thing, including picking the thyme from the stems, took about 40 minutes, with 30 of that being cooking.

So how did it taste?  Honestly, unreal.  The house smelled amazingly, too.  I got three good-sized servings out of it, but I'm not sharing them with anyone because I'm stingy and like it took much.  This would go really well over brown rice or quinoa (tip - cook them in chicken, veggie or miso broth for an even better taste), or on its own.  I put it over a little bit of chicken-stock-cooked brown rice.  It would also pair really nicely with some rutabaga chips.

Recipe: Cilantro Garlic Rutabaga Chips

Finding healthy ways to eat isn't hard. Finding healthy ways to eat that still including really enjoying your food can be tougher for some people.  The recipes I provide here try to give you truly healthy eating that also tastes good.  While tasting good is key, sometimes how a food eats is just as important.  We Americans have a need for crunching things, and those things can't always be raw veggies for most people.  The good news is, there are lots of ways to solve that need and still be healthy.  Case in point, Garlic Cilantro Rutabaga Chips.

FYI - if you would prefer this in video form, I did an episode of my podcast on rutabaga chips, so check it out on YouTube or subscribe to the iTunes podcast.

ingredients

• 1-2 medium rutabagas
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1/2 table spoon turmeric
• 1/2 table spoon paprika

cooking for life

So what is a rutabaga, first of all.  It's a cross between a turnip and cabbage, and is a root vegetable.  It doesn't have too strong of a flavor, which makes it ideal for chip making.  Select medium-sized rutabagas with a firm feel to them. Some have purple on the outsides and some don't - don't worry too much about that.

Before we deal with the root itself, let's make the seasoned oil so it gets a chance to really take on the flavors we are going to add.  This batch is a cilantro and garlic rutabaga chip (with sea salt, turmeric and paprika), but you can really season them however you want.  I've done them similarly but with dill instead of cilantro.  You can put in sea salt and cayenne for a spicier chip.  You could make curry chips.   You could just do salt and oil.  It's really up to you and what you enjoy.  The key is to keep them healthy, so stay away from sugars (any kind of sugar, e.g. honey, maple syrup) or heavy sauces that likely hide a ton of sugar (e.g. BBQ sauce).  The idea is to get the flavor profile with the spices themselves instead of a sauce with spices in it. Most herbs and spices have health benefits (like turmeric for anti-inflammatory benefits, cayenne for metabolic and anti-inflammatory benefits, ginger for digestion, Ceylon cinnamon for sugar regulation, etc).  We're also going to use garlic, which is very healthful and good for your gut along with cilantro, which helps the body detox from things like heavy metals (which most people have too much of in their system in today's world).

Start by washing your cilantro, and then separating the stems and leaves.  We're primarily going to use the leaves, but the stems pack a lot of flavor, so I have a trick use for them before throwing them out.  Be sure to pat the cilantro dry before picking the leaves off or your job will be much harder and your seasoning will not mix well when you add the oil.

Oil and seasoning coming together

How much Cilantro to use is up to you - you can't really overdo it, but I suppose if you don't like cilantro (I know a few people who don't care for it), then you wouldn't want to use much (or use something else, like dill).  Set the leaves aside for a moment.  Take the stems into a bunch, and crack them in a few places to open them up.  Get a large bowl, put the stems in, and pour oil over them.  What kind of oil is largely up to you, but make a healthy choice.  Use olive oil, avocado oil, macadamia nut oil, coconut oil or sesame oil.  Stay away from canola and vegetable oil.  You don't need a ton of oil - it needs to be enough to coat the chips.  Usually a quarter to half cup is sufficient.  Add to this mashed up garlic (use a garlic press, or crush and mince it).  I typically use 3-4 large cloves.  Again, feel free to adjust this up or down to your taste.  Same goes for the spices.  I added about a table spoon of salt, and a half table spoon of paprika and turmeric.  Use the cilantro stems to stir it all up, taking care not to mix the stems in.  We need to pull them out soon, so don't make that job harder on yourself.

Chop up the cilantro leaves, and mix about 3/4 of them into the oil.  Again, stir things up.  Let that oil sit for an hour or so to really take on the flavors.  It's not mandatory, but the longer it sits, the more flavorful it will be.

Now back to the root of the issue.  You can't misspell rutabaga without root.  OK, that wasn't funny.  Use a peeler to take off the outer layer of the rutabaga.  Now you have to make chips, which you can do a couple of ways.  You can use the peeler and just peel right across the rutabaga.  That will make consistent but thing chips.  You can use a mandolin (a board with a blade you can adjust the depth of to make consistent slices) set to either 1/16" or 1/8", depending on how thin and crispy you want your chips.  If you use 1/16", be more vigilant while cooking the chips as they'll cook faster and can go from undercooked to burnt very rapidly.  As a note, you can peel or slice your chips right into the seasoning bowl, but if you do, pull out the cilantro stems before.  If you make the chips elsewhere, pull out the stems before adding the chips in.

Next, combine the chips into the oil and seasoning mixture, and work them together with your hands. OK, before doing that, wash your hands. Wait, go back to the whole beginning and wash your hands. OK, now wash them again before mixing things up.  Good work.  Now the key is to make sure that each chip is oiled/seasoned on both sides.  Be mindful of chips being stuck together.  Once you work everything through nicely, set the bowl aside for an hour if you have the time. Again, this isn't super necessary, but the longer they sit, the more flavorful they'll be.  I just made a batch of these with dill and let them sit for about 8 hours before cooking them, and they were out of this world.

Now, get the oil off your hands.  Stop for a moment and appreciate how nice your hands feel.  Wait, you have a piece of cilantro stuck to one of your fingers.  Got it?  Good.

Chips arranged on a baking sheet, ready for the oven.

Now we have to set the chips up for baking.  Preheat your oven to 350˙F and get out of baking sheet. Line it with parchment paper (I find this works better than aluminum foil as it lets the oil pull away from the chips rather than making them sit in a pool of oil, which leads to less crispiness and heavier chips that aren't as healthy for you. There also a benefit to reducing your exposure to heavy metals, so it's win-win.).

Try to avoid overlapping chips or piling chips on top of chips. If you do, you'll get softer, soggier chips.  this might mean you need two trays.  So be it.  If you have a wire rack you can bake on, you can use that, too, but be sure there's something under it to catch oil drippings, and make sure you can easily clean it (i.e. don't just use the oven's rack - and if you tried, you'd get all burned from trying to lay the chips on it when the oven is heated up).  Now is also the time to use any remaining cilantro to sprinkle some fresher (i.e. less oily) cilantro on the chips (as in this photo).  This is optional, of course.

Done. Some more so than others.
Be sure to rotate the trays to help avoid this

Once the over is at 350, pop the sheets in.  At 10 minutes, turn the trays around.  If you have two trays on different levels, also flip which is on top and which is on the bottom level.  The key is to help the chips cook evenly.  If you have a convection oven, that can be helpful here.

If you made chips using your peeler or cut to 1/16" with something like a mandolin, keep an eye on them every minute after 10 minutes.  If you cut them a little thicker, start your checks at minute 15.  For 1/8", I typically find them to be done around 18 minutes.  For 1/16", it's usually more like 14 minutes.

Nice, crisp chip

That's it.  They're done.  Let them cool for a minute or two (you can eat them warm or cool).  I don't recommend treating these like store-bought chips that will keep for a few days.  Eat them the day you make them.  You won't have a problem doing that.  They're really good, and you will likely be more concerned with wether you got enough and if it's ok to lick the parchment paper.  No, it isn't.

These healthy chips are one way to deliver on the clean14 challenge if you have vowed to cut out junk food from your diet.

Recipes like this really show how you can eat fun and tasty food while you enlighten.your.body.

Podcast Episode 009 - enlighten.interview: Dai Manuel

The first interview from newbodi.es, we are honored to bring you the inspirational and motivational Dai Manuel, COO of Fitness Town and one of the top health and fitness bloggers in the world. Dai has a similar story to mine with a background as an overweight teen, then changing his life and working to change the lives of others.

If you enjoyed this video, subscribe on YouTube or get the podcast on iTunes and spread the word. It's one more tool I'm giving you to help you enlighten.your.body.

Podcast Episode 008 - clean14

enlighten.your.body by cleaning your life of the things that you shouldn't be putting in it. clean14 is a challenge we've started on facebook for people to find things they eat, drink or (worse) smoke, and take them out of their life. learn more and join the challenge at http://www.newbodi.es/clean14.

this video ties to a post I did on the clean14 challenge.

If you enjoyed this video, subscribe on YouTube or get the podcast on iTunes and spread the word. It's one more tool I'm giving you to help you enlighten.your.body.

Eat Your Kids Scraps - Just Make Them The Right Scraps

You hear a lot from parents of toddlers about how they put on a bunch of weight eating their kids leftovers. Parents, you know the drill, you give your kids chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, etc, they eat some of it (hopefully enough to fuel their little bodies), and then have scraps to throw out. Invariably, you eat the scraps rather than tossing them.

I was guilty of this.  It adds pounds to parents, for sure.

So I cut that out. It helped.

But I realized that I've been eating my son's scraps again. And it's not resulting in weight gain. Why? The issue wasn't the scraps. It's what the scraps were made of. You have to get to the root cause of the issue. If you are feeding your kids processed foods, eating those scraps will be other than good for you, to put it nicely. But why not realize that these foods aren't good for them, either?

Last night, I had peas, carrots and chicken from my son's plate. They were all tasty and totally good for me. More importantly, they were good for him.

So, yeah, cutting out scraps of not-great-for-you food is a good idea, but cutting the not-great-for-your-kids food in the first place is the best idea. Set the right example and provide the right things for their growing, little bodies. To start, enlighten.your.body,

Q: How do I stick with it (Part II)

Q: How do I stick with doing what I know I should? I am pretty good about exercise, but I eat things I know I shouldn't. I just have to make myself do it, right?

A: I talked about motivation in the first part of my response to this question. You should read that post, but the essence is about finding a driver within you so that you aren't making yourself do anything, but wanting to do something for your health (eating right, exercising, etc).

In this part, I want to address the 'something'. Let's look at exercise first. Some people have this idea that you have to go to a gym, feel awkward, get super sweating, wear cheap flip flops in the shower, and rush off to work late and sweating all over again. You have to sit (literally or figuratively) on a machine, staring at a wall, mirror, magazine or small TV screen.  You have to do it for at least 60 minutes or you won't lose any weight.

Does this sound enticing to you?  No, I'm sure it sounds more demoralizing to you than enticing.  As a work out addict, that doesn't appeal to me at all.  If it doesn't appeal, you will dread it.  If you dread it, you will have to make yourself do it, and that's exactly what we're trying to avoid.

So how do you do it? You need to find what you enjoy doing, and do that.

I had to stop during a CUYOP run to get
this photo of the great scenery I get to run in

OK, that's too simple, right?  Well, not really.  For me, I learned that I prefer outdoor exercise, so I took up cycling and running. I use machines in doors when weather really keeps me off the roads, but I combined those two things with my commute to balance my time (check out my post on CUYOP, and the Twitter hashtag #cuyop), get some varied scenery (I have a few routes I can take, including a nice riverfront section), and found that when I have an actual goal, I enjoy it more (i.e. getting to my office vs. just running a loop around my home).  So I found exercises I generally enjoy more than others, and found modalities for doing those exercises that I prefer.

I also have gym exercises I prefer, so I try to do those more than those I don't prefer or care for (I'll run on a treadmill, but find it really mind-numbing, same for upright bikes though oddly not for recumbent bikes).  Then the question is how do you do them and for how long. I recently had a long discussion with a client who couldn't get past the idea that she needed to do at least 60 minutes of cardio to make it worth anything. That's just not so. The key is not to do things at a constant pace.  Use intervals on a machine where every so often, it makes you go faster or deal with more resistance.  Pick an undulating hill course (on a machine or in real life).  Use intervals out on the road by going faster for a minute, and then slower for a minute in a pattern throughout your run/walk/ride/rollerskate/XC skiing/etc.  The run/walk approach is a great way to get into running and build your cardio-respiratory ability while not over-taxing your system. You can use a stop watch set to signal each minute, or better yet, download any of the great, free interval apps for your smart phone (I use Seconds for iOS).

Scientifically, intervals work better than constant work as the up and down in effort sparks a fat burning response that can last for hours after your workout.  As a result, you don't need to do it as long for the same result as if you did a constant effort workout.  The key is to not just choose an interval workout, but actually do it.  By that I mean when the interval hits, move faster. It's pretty easy to get lost in your reading or a show and ignore the machine telling you to pump it (or miss the point where you were supposed to start running again if you're out on the road).

Unscientifically, the variation keeps it interesting, and keeps you engaged (since you have to pay attention to when the interval hits, and you'll want to pay attention to when its done so you can slow down).  I started using a second interval program on my elliptical to spice things up, so I split my workout between the base interval program and a Speed Work program I found that really kicks my butt and is super fun.

I was recently participating in a month-long competition that included doing 100 burpees a day. Burpees are a mix of a squat thrust and a jump (unless you do the cross fit version, which substitutes the squat thrust with laying down on the floor).  They're great, and terrible, too.  I found that I really dreaded them, and would procrastinate starting, which just ate into the rest of my workout time. Due to an injury, I had to stop doing them before the competition ended, but I also realized I should have dropped them from my routine because of how I felt about doing them and the cost that feeling was having on my workout overall.

The same exact story applies to healthy eating. Kale is the greatest food in the world and the only thing you should eat according to some fanatics. What if you absolutely hate it? Well, then, forcing yourself to just eat kale will be a recipe for not sticking with healthy eating. Find healthy things you love (and I'm not talking about packaged foods that advertise low fat or low sodium, but actual food that was alive at some point (whether veggie or animal or both is up to you). If you hate chicken but want to avoid red meat, experiment with turkey, seafood or veggie-based meat alternatives to keep your protein up. If you don't like leafy greens, try baby broccoli, which is a hybrid of kale and broccoli.  Try some foreign veggies like baby bok choi (aka youcsai) or daikon. Open up those spices you haven't been using to give your dishes a kick. Check out some of my recipes for inspiration, or look at Twitter for healthy cooking ideas - it's LOADED with them.

So, find your true motivation, and then find the things you enjoy doing. Just find how to transform your life into one you choose to really live healthily and fully. That's how you enlighten.your.body.

Clean 2014

I like to give myself major, overarching goals for each year (#4 from my 10 Principles is to set goals, both near and far - this covers the 'far' part based upon which you set your 'near' goals).  My first time doing it, my goals were around the makeup of my body (lowering my weight and body fat). The second time, I focused on what my body can do (running a certain number of races of a certain distance within the year).  I used both of those big goals to build a series of steps to get there.  For instance, my second year goal was to run five 5Ks in a year. I setup my training and found races to get me there. I actually didn't technically do it since I did one 5K, one 5.6K, one 10K and a half marathon which was good for 21.1K.  I more than did the distance (41.7 vs 25), but just didn't do it as I had said I would, which I'm more than ok with.  I also did a century ride as I picked up road cycling, and climbed the three tallest peaks in New England in three days.

So the question is what to do next year.  I could set another goal of completing some specific thing, like doing a marathon (on my mind, but I think it'll be 2015, though I have an ultra-marathon relay race and a half marathon planned already).  Rather than continuing the same type of goal as last year, I decided I'd challenge myself differently, and want to invite all of you to join me.

I challenge myself to live cleanly.

I already eat pretty healthily, but I want to take it up a notch, and take a stand publicly.  I've found that going public about things makes it much easier to see you to your goals.

So what do I mean by 'clean'. For me, specifically, it means no coffee, no soda, no processed foods.

I've found myself dependent on coffee, and completely lethargic and grumpy (to put it nicely) when I don't have it. That is not ok at all. I'd love to go the next step and say, "no caffeine," but I don't want to cut out green tea or other things that have caffeine as they have other benefits.  Coffee is definitely the main way I get it, and I don't get relief from feeling run over by a bus if I have other kinds of caffeine, so it's definitely most important to cut out coffee.  No dependence here!

I also find that I feel much worse (physically and emotionally) when I put junk into my body.  Junk doesn't mean treats, but processed foods that are more manufactured than made.  Foods that aren't so much food than a series of chemicals brought together and put in a container by machines. I don't eat much of it, but I do eat it at times, and I never feel good after.

The last thing is no soda.  I actually tried to do this in 2013, but started cutting myself slack on airplanes, and then when driving long distances and then when eating out at a restaurant.  I don't need it, and it isn't good for me, so enough.  No excuses, no exceptions.

As an aside, I would have added "no alcohol" but I've been doing that already.  I was never a big drinker, and decided it was pointless to have a couple of glasses of wine a year (what I had gotten down to), so I might as well just keep it out of my body. I wasn't having enough to get the benefits people talk about from wine, and doing so would concern me about the other things I'd be asking my body to deal with (sugar, toxins, etc).

I am actually going to start this now rather than waiting until 2014 to start. I don't need to put off the health and mental benefits for another couple of months.  Today is the fourth day I've been 'clean' by this definition, and I'm definitely coming out of the dark with the coffee dependency, which is great.

So, will you take up the "clean14" challenge?  What will your challenge be to yourself?  Will you start now, or wait until 1/1/2014? Take a long look at your life and how you fuel it, and find places where you can and will do better for your happiness, your health, and the example you set for your friends and family. Join the "clean14" challenge on Facebook and use the hashtag "#clean2014" on Twitter to share your challenge and how you're doing.  It's a great way to enlighten.your.body.

Review: ENERGYbits

UPDATE: I am not supporting this product due to a decision they've made on their marketing during the Olympics. I feel it's offensive and demeaning to women. The product works, but I feel you should support good products from good companies. I'd pass on these.

the buildup
ENERGYbits are a spirulina pill that you down to get a load of protein (64% protein) and nutrients with basically nothing else to help power you for exercise and contribute to your health.  I've had my eye on them for a while, and have been really curious to try them as I myself have added spirulina to my diet for its various health benefits.  I was lucky enough to be offered a free trial for the purpose of this review.

what it is & how it works
Spirulina is an algae that is a 'super food'.  Not to over-use an over-used buzz word, but spirulina is a nutrient-rich plant that grows naturally in the ocean but can be cultivated hydroponically and organically, which is how ENERGYbits grows theirs. It is loaded - loaded - with various nutrients and vitamins. It also happens to be high in protein for what it is. Word in the healthy eating scene is that the protein in it is more bio-available (available for your body to absorb and use) than protein from many other sources (nuts, meat, soy, etc).

It's highly absorbable and rich in nutrients your body thrives on. What it isn't is tasty. Spirulina has a very 'green' flavor, as the marketing material ENERGYbits sends out says.

The product comes as little tablets, and they recommend taking 30 of them 10-15 minutes before your workout. I made the mistake of taking a bite at one point, and was left with the very 'green' taste for a couple of hours (not the few minutes that the marketing material mentions - swish all you want, them suckers stick to your molars like cement...very gross tasting cement).

A key thing that the team at ENERGYbits tried to stress to me is about the quality of their product. Spirulina quality varies greatly by how it's made (or harvested), when it's dried, etc. Ocean-harvested sounds natural (like free-range or grass-fed livestock), but actually it can be less ideal since the spirulina is exposed to pollutants in our oceans from trash or the Fukushima nuclear fall out (spirulina is native to Pacific waters). ENERGYbits grows their product organically and hydroponically, and dries it when they're going to make the pills, so it stays fresh longer. They also recommend refrigerating the tabs (not necessary, but better if you can), and trying to consume them within 3-5 days of pulling them from the fridge.  You get a bag of them, plus a little tin that you can put a serving into to take with you so the main stash can stay in the fridge.

They have four varieties, spanning energy, recovery, vitality (really immunity strength) and weight loss benefits.  I have the original ENERGYbits that are 100% spirulina. Some of their products add to or replace the spirulina with chlorella (another algae).

my impressions
I definitely didn't like taking them (I did them 5 at a time since I figured trying to swallow 30 at once would be problematic), but that was over within a minute. What I found on my run (6 miles in just over 50 minutes with a pre-existing injury) was that I wasn't lacking for energy, nor was my energy ever spiky. I have used Gu, Recovery Beans and Honey Stinger Gummies, and definitely notice how the energy 'comes on', but then fades.  I wouldn't usually need to take something for a 6 miler, but I wanted to test the product, and I have been dragging lately.

For reference, my injury is thought to be tendonitis in my left big toe, but I'm finding my joint is full of blood when I take my shoe off (inside - my joint is blue - not outside with blood staining anything), and my skin is all leathery.  I think my shoe is rubbing on the joint way too much, and its gotten to a point where it's really injuring me. It feels like a stress fracture, but it isn't (I've had x-rays and been checked).  Anyway, enough about that, but you can imagine how that might be impacting my performance.

Setting aside the impact of my injury, I definitely had the energy I needed to keep up. I had some negative split action as I warmed up, rather than the flat splits I usually do with a morning run like this where I don't use any energy.

Aside from the energy delivery, I was also really curious about how my stomach would do. I have friends who are triathletes who talk about the issues you face when you have a stomach full of water and Gu after going for hours. With something like Gu, you need to keep sucking the stuff down every couple of miles (if you follow their advice), and my own use has backed that up since the sugar-based energy runs out pretty quickly. Since I didn't find that with ENERGYbits, those 30 tabs were enough, and then my stomach wasn't stuck processing all kinds of sugars, and thus my blood supply didn't have to be directed toward digestion.

So I'd say my stomach was ok from this.  That said...

my depressions
I often end my runs and get a stomach ache. It generally passes after an hour or so. The day I did this run with ENERGYbits, I was a bit nauseous all day. That could have nothing to do with the product as my allergies were kicking up and I felt kind of miserable in general. I'd have to test them again to know if it was the bits or not. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt here, and assume it isn't them, so maybe rather than calling this section "my depressions" I'd call it "my potential concerns".  I have a standard review format I'm trying to stick with, though, so here we are with depressions.

UPDATE: I used them again yesterday before some speed work, and was totally fine. I'd say I'm sure that the energy bits had nothing to do with how I felt after my first use. Unfortunately, they couldn't make running on the treadmill non-soul-crushingly-boring, but they did help me keep my energy levels consistently where they needed to be.  I cranked a quick run slightly quicker than I usually do - and that's with my foot injury, so good stuff.  I was aiming for two 7-minute miles, but did 2.1 miles at 6'42". I tend to run in the low-to-mid-8s, so this is a quick pace for me.

to buy or not to buy?
So, what's the verdict. Pending confirming whether they caused my gastric issues (which I'm doubtful of), I'd say I'm very positive on them.  I'd be curious about a longer run or something like a century ride where you could be out there for 6+ hours (depending on speed and course).  You may need to re-up.  But I really did like how even the energy was. It was nice not to think about it or crave it.

That's really what fueling strategy is about. Find the fuel that works for you to keep you going without feeling weird or spiky, and let the exercise enlighten.your.body.

As you saw in my update at the top, while I'm good with spirulina, I can't recommend ENERGYbits to people because of some really demeaning marketing they're doing. Call me prude, but it's not about that, the slogan they're using is just offensive to women and reminds me of college days with guys trying to get girls drunk to have their way. What on Earth does this have to do with a natural energy product? Nothing.

Recipe: Green Eggs

I've given a lot of breakfast advice over the past couple of years with a focus on getting 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking (read this Q&A post for some thoughts on the matter). This seems to be a real sticking point for people who aren't used to eating breakfast, or, if they are, they eat something fast, cold and simple (bagel, cereal, muffin, etc). The idea of cooking breakfast sounds way too hard, and the idea of having eggs every morning sounds way too unhealthy.  You have it backward in terms of the health point.  As for it being hard, yeah, you've got me there.  The good news is, I have a solution.

How is it that I eat a multi-ingredient omelet every morning around 5am without making so much noise that I wake up my whole household? How do I do it without having to cook on top of trying to workout, do some work, shower, get dressed and get out the door to get to my office?  The answer is really simple - I cook the omelet at night, and employ my economics undergrad degree a bit by leveraging economies of scale.  In non-dork terms, I make more than one omelet at a time.  Sometimes, I don't even make an omelet, but do more of a fritada so I can just stick it in the oven for 20 minutes and not even have to think about it (or clean the dish for a few days).

OK, here's the deal. You need an egg for each day you're cooking for, some egg whites, powdered greens (optional, but highly recommended since they're SO good for you), spinach, onions or scallions, chia seeds, mushrooms, cayenne, salsa, sea salt, a kitchen sink and anything else you want in your omelet. Be sure to skip cheese, milk and anything you don't want in your omelet.  I tend to make enough for five or six breakfasts, so I use that many whole eggs, and then probably another cup to two cups of egg white added in.

Start with cracking the eggs into a bowl.  Add a scoop of greens for each day's worth of breakfast (e.g. five scoops for five breakfasts).  I find stirring the greens in after each scoop is best for avoiding clumps. A mini whisk is ideal, but I fork will work ok.  If you get some lumps, don't worry too much, but generally try to minimize how many lumps you get. Also add any seasoning (salt, cayenne) at this point. After you have all the greens in, add in your egg whites, and stir it all together some more to help mix it and break down any remaining lumps.

In a sauce pan, sauté the veggies a bit as they won't cook sufficiently for most people's taste once in the egg mixture. Add the spinach (or kale, if you like) half way through.  Sprinkle chia seeds on top, and then pour the eggs in.  If you're doing this in a quiche dish as a frittata, pour the veggies into the dish, spread them, and then sprinkle on the chia seeds.  Chia seeds are a great source of fiber and energy. They're good to work into your diet, and this is an easy way to do so. A nice optional ingredient is salsa or pico de gallo. Just drain the liquid off, or let it burn off during the cooking process. Tomatillo sauce is also a nice addition. Really, just play around to suit your preferences and taste, and to help differ things from week to week.

Next, pour in the egg mixture. If it isn't enough to cover the veggies, add some more egg white.  I felt like a little more spinach was in order, so I pressed some down into the mixture, but that's basically it.  You can cover it and let it cook on medium or medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes (until the middle isn't liquidy), or stick the quiche dish in the oven at 375 for 15-20 minutes (checking that it looks cooked throughout).  The time will depend on the depth/thickness, so adjust for your situation. I find lower heat for longer time works better than trying to cook it hot and fast.

When it's done, let it cool, and then just cut it into wedges that look like a good portion for you to eat at breakfast.  Depending on the size of the pan or quiche dish and the thickness of the frittata or omelet, I find I get five or six portions out of it.  My breakfast routine consists of a wedge of that warmed in the toaster oven (15 minutes at 275 or so) or microwave (1:30 on high is usually good) plus a protein shake and a couple of newbodi.es 4hb slow carb bars.  Sometimes I'll also make lentils to along with it, and only eat one slow carb bar.

A tasty, good for you, protein-packed way to enlighten.your.body first thing in the morning.