Gluten Free Oat and Date Muffins

Fun things going on at my new company +Demanding Life Foods.  One big aspect is finding recipes that are easily adjusted to be gluten and cow-dairy free.  While for some these things may seem like a fad, they really have serious health and performance benefits.  You can look to various attributes such as inflammation from gluten or hormones found in cow's milk for the easy wins for changing a diet, but also the long term goals of having a more varied diet that has shown to bring health benefits as well.  Unfortunately, most of our mass produced foods are made with severely inflammatory substances that harm our cardiovascular systems in the short term, but also may trigger worse disease such as cancer or Alzheimer's in the long term.

On a personal level, changing recipes from cow's milk or flour didn't seem appetizing from the beginning.  Many store bought items just don't taste right without normal ingredients.  Take the gluten free beer I tried to be nice and get my wife last week.  Very bad idea, and tasted like soap almost!  One sip and that was out the door. 

Fortunately baked goods, when done right, can be pretty tasty.  A favorite around +M2 Revolution and our clients has been some delicious Date Oat Muffins I found on Eating Well.  The first obstacle is always the flour used for baking.  My wife had already found an amazing baking mix with Pamela's, but also using sorghum flour from Bob's, gives baking a great taste and texture.  

The dates in the muffins are perfect for adding natural sweetness to the muffins.  Other muffin recipes call for twice the amount of sugar while the dates cover this in a more health way, packed with other nutrients to improve health.  The consistency is great as well with chopped walnuts and toasted rolled oats mixed in before baking.

Changing out the buttermilk in the recipe causes a bit more concern.  That is more of a crafting ingredient and took some research, and chance.  We settled on goats milk opposed to a nut milk as I had done with other recipes like oat meal.  It worked great!  Using a guide to help gain the creamy attributes of buttermilk, the muffins came out like nothing was changed.

If you want, go ahead and try them out for yourself!  They are available in our Personal Chef/Catering menu throughout the week, so give us a try too!

Here is my altered recipe for a dozen:

• 
  
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons gluten free rolled oats
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 3/4 cup Pamela's Baking Mix
• 1/3 cup flaxseed meal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup goat's milk
• 1/4 cup goat's yogurt
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/8 cup conola oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chopped pitted dates, (see Ingredient notes)
• Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Spread 1 cup oats and the walnuts, if using, in 2 separate small baking pans. Bake, stirring once or twice, until light golden and fragrant, 4 to 6 minutes for the nuts and 8 to 10 minutes for the oats. Transfer to a plate to cool.
3. Meanwhile, whisk Pamela's Baking Mix, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
4. Whisk eggs and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in goat's milk, yogurt, orange juice, oil, orange zest and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until moistened. Fold in dates, the toasted oats and nuts, if using. Scoop batter into the prepared muffin cups (they'll be quite full). Sprinkle the tops with the remaining 2 tablespoons oats.
5. Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and spring back when touched lightly, 15 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

Demanding Life Foods

A new adventure in my life is starting out very soon.  Back from an amazing wedding to the love of my life, the next exciting chapter begins!

Over the past few years this idea has been developing in my head.  Training for triathlons while working a full time job was rough.  Obsessively working on getting a hold of my life, weighing 250 pounds, the stark realities of how hard it was set in.  Learning how to balance the training, work and developing a healthy diet/lifestyle was a huge part in my weight loss and improved health.  I had always loved cooking, but didn't really have an outlet aside from the small meals I was preparing for myself and my future wife.

The project started by a chance conversation with a friend at +M2 Revolution.  In August of last year a friend gave me the opportunity to develop a meal plan for him, as he was a vegetarian and didn't eat a balanced diet.  His job as an attorney, and training schedule took up a great deal of his free time which limited his food options when in a hurry.  Enter me!  Putting together a balance daily set of meals, that both supported his diet requirements, and training regimen, was complicated at first, but brought out some great meal options I had really never explored with my own personal cooking.  In the end, Demanding Life Foods was born!

People in San Francisco, and everywhere, have incredible ambition and drive for their professional and personal development.  Our mission is to fuel their lives with balanced, healthy, and tasty meals to help remove a stumbling block to maintaining a healthy lifestyle to match their fruitful careers.

To that end, Demanding Life Foods will open for business this August in San Francisco, especially for Ironman Lake Tahoe athletes in their final phases of training!

The end menu is not vegetarian, but incorporated some of the dishes.  Hopefully in the near future I can offer a fully vegetarian menu, but for now it will be a mixture of healthy meats, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and nuts.

Some of the best aspects of our cooking is the concentration on Organic and Non-GMO ingredients.  Its not feasible to source 100% Organic, but nearly all ingredients are certified organic.  Another great benefit to our menu is the Gluten Free and Non-Cow's Milk aspects.  Gluten sensitivities affect more people than realized, and most can benefit from a reduced amount from wheats and flours.  Gluten causes inflammation in general among all people, so the benefits to any athlete is strong.  The removal of Cow's Milk products has multiple benefits, and really no drawbacks.  Using Sheep and Goat based products, as well as Almond and Coconut Milk, our clients can satisfy their taste and nutritional needs, with less risk of hormones and irritation from Cow's milk.  Demanding Life Foods goal is the fuel our clients lives, to help them meet their goals.

You can view a sample menu and pricing for a week here.

Calorie needs for each client is based on their specific needs.  After filling our a survey, each client will have an email consultation with our Registered Dietitian to make sure the menu plan is a good fit for them. We know you will love the tastes of the foods we deliver, but sometimes, people have conditions where they should seek other dietary avenues for their health needs.  Once the survey and consult is complete, our recommended calorie levels are set for the client's daily needs, be it 1,500 to 3,500 calories a day.  Serving sizes are based off this amount, and your meal plan is set for deliveries.

Food Delivery

The big benefit to our program is delivery.  For anyone with a busy life there are obstacles to overcome that mostly include time.  There is no ordering to take care of, no pickup, no box of food on your door-step in the middle of the night to worry about, or even a time to coordinate for a hand-off.  Demanding Life Foods acts as a personal concierge and delivers your food to your refrigerator while you are out, taking care of all these worries.  We are a fully bonded and insured company, and each delivery will be made by a trusted employee (me for the beginning), who has gone through extensive screening and background checks.

In the end, I'm leaving the corporate world and exploring a brand new adventure that I will happily share with everyone.  Target date for first food deliveries is August 18th.

To contact me about options and start our consultation process please email me at info@demandinglifefoods.com.  Website still being developed.

Like us on Facebook too!   Still working on logos and filling out the page.

M2 April Play List #1

Have some new music on tap for classes.  I actually get to teach a few, so fun times for me!  Not sure how much everyone else enjoys me up front, and its a bit nerve racking keeping track of time.

If you want to stop by its M2 Revolution.  Fully equipped spin studio with CycleOps Indoor Cycles, Alter G and high speed treadmills, along with Vasa Trainers and Ergometer and more.  Pretty much anything you want to help make you faster in all sports.

Another playlist is in the works too.

Dirty Heads - Believe


Flight of the Conchords - Business Time (yeah, went there)


Adele - Rolling in the Deep


Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks


DMX - Its All Good


Cage the Elephant - Aberdeen


Billy Idol - Dancing with Myself


Red Hot Chili Peppers - Higher Ground


White Zombie - More Human Than Human


Rob Zombie - Living Dead Girl


Dirty Heads - Morning Light


Deadmau5 - Moar Ghosts N Stuff


DMX - X Gon' Give It To Ya


The Kooks - Do You Wanna (Goldielocks)


Deadmau5 - Hi Friend!


Rage Against The Machine - Testify


Kid Rock - Cowboy


Run-D.M.C. - It's Tricky

Never underestimate a race when you venture into Ultra's - North Face 50k

When I signed up for this race a few months back I figured, "I just did an Ironman, 50k of trails should be cake!"  48 hours after completing the North Face 50k Endurance Challenge I can say I'm a bit humbled and have a greater respect for Ultra-Runners, or possibly questioning why people would do that to themselves over and over again!  I couldn't even fathom the 50 mile race going on at the same time!

Training could have gone better over the past month, but Thanksgiving and work got in the way a bit.  Still had my long runs in, but really no vision of what I wanted to do in the race.  Going into race morning, was sort of fun for the laid back atmosphere as I decided this was to be my "fun" race to finish off the year.  I was taking it seriously and would race as far as my conditioning would take me, but I knew it wouldn't be my best showing.

Started the morning picking up Liz and Annie on our way to the shuttle at 5am.  Annie had been a great training partner and even went off on my birthday "Epic" run with me earlier in the year.  Caught the first bus leaving the city and arrived at the festival area with plenty of time to get ready and socialize with everyone.  Hot coffee, propane heaters, and a good vibe from all the athletes made hanging out pretty fun. 

Gearing up for the race was a little stressful as the weather called for chilly rain storms to pass through the area.  Gloves, thin arm warmers, compression socks in addition to normal shirt and shorts.  Wary of my decision, but it turned out perfect for the day.  The rain came in every once and a while, but no downpours, so nearly perfect race conditions.


After a short speech from Dean, the race began at a mellow warm up jog out of the festival area and down into Rodeo Beach.  After a mile, my legs wanted to go, so I was off dashing through traffic and nearly up to the leaders.  Up the first hill and trying to pace myself with the extra post Ironman weight.  (Mom wanted me to put on some pounds after seeing me in Europe)  Heading down to Pirate's Cove is a fairly technical descent and I took it pretty fast and distance myself from the guys who passed me on the uphill.  In retrospect, I should have taken it easier as fast feet through there probably took more energy than braking.  Up and over the hill to Muir Beach and still feeling good!


Running along Highway 1 to Heather Cutoff and the long grind to Pantoll was a good way to try to recover, but then, just at a mellow turnaround I manage to step in a hole and tweak my ankle.  Serious panic attack goes through my head as I try to evaluate the situation.  The last time this happened my ankle swelled up like a balloon, but it didn't feel as bad.  Crossing the field to the hill, my ankle recovered and I felt good enough to continue (my mind was still grappling with the fact I still had 20 mile!).


4 miles and 1500 feet later at Pantoll and the legs are so grateful to get a let up, but now into some technical trails, so not really.  Some hopping, dancing, and running later, I arrive at Bootjack which was definitely my favorite part of the race.  So many people got out there including a few SF Tri PEP's who cheered us on.  You could hear everyone from  the bottom of a short hill and just wondering what was going on.  After grabbing a PBnJ, a Gu Brew refill I was off down the hill into Muir Woods.

Running the Dipsea Trail into Muir woods is steep, quads not happy.  Bottomed out and happy to see an aid station and start dosing up with some Coke.  Crossing a creek and steep climb, time to hike.  First time today hiking, and I was content with that.  Back down to the hill and onto the very rare portion of flat on this course.  I was so happy to be on flat.  legs could actually stretch a bit, and fueling was easier.  Cruised all the way back to Muir Beach and onto the evil climb we all were dreading.

The climb out of Muir Beach is just nasty with mud caking to your shoes at every step.  Hard to find a good line so you don't slip.  I don't think I even thought about running it for a second.  A friend caught up to me at the bottom of the hill, and I was thankful for someone to share the hike up.  95% of this race was alone time.

A good 45 minutes later, we finally crest the climb and are on our way back to Tennessee Valley.  Downhills hurt more than uphills now.  Quads screaming and I'm way too tentative to let loose.  Things are pretty blurry at this point now and I finally know why there is a brand out there called "Zombie Runner".  My only thoughts are moving forward.  I was so happy (probably didn't show it) to see a training friend Ivy at Tennessee Valley.  She's always got a smile and good things to say, so she encouraged me along and said I looked great (lying).

Final climb up Monticello and I know its the last one.  I make a deal with myself to run 2 minutes, then walk 1.  All the way up, I was cursing my watch when it hit those run marks, but it got me to the top!

Final aid station and final fueling to make sure there was not last minute cramping.  "2.7 miles to go" a volunteer said.  A euro-pro 50 miler came along and lets out a desperate "We go down now?" in an awesome German accent.  This put a smile on my face and some other laughed as well. 

Pain all the way down into Rodeo Beach.  Both physical and mental as I'm getting passed.  Still having fun though once I hit the flats and I know there was only 10 minutes of pain left, but one last short uphill just for spite.

Garnering all that I had left I try to charge up and finish strong.  I'm sure it didn't look like much, but it felt horrible.  Finishing, I was elated.  So happy to stop.  Got the medal, got some hot food, and sat my tired butt down.

This was an incredible experience and it showed me a new level of respect for the Ultra level of competition.  I'm not sure when I'll be back to it, but next time I'll be much more prepared.

Below are the course maps.  A little long according the my GPS at 33 miles, but those things are always a little off.  6,700 feet of elevation is the big number of the day though!



TI and Packing

I just couldn't resist one last race before heading out to Switzerland and it was a great one. Many people hack on SF Treasure Island Triathlon because of the six looped bike course, but I love it as you get a great chance to put some serious intensity in.

The swim felt fast, but was slowed a little by currents. I'm not just saying that to make myself feel better, but a few guys I have raced against this year had approximately 2 minutes added to their normal time so its legit. I got out of the water 2nd in my Age Group, so great improvements there! T1, different story as I lost any advantage, taking 2 minutes to everyone else's 1. I never know what I'm doing and should actually practice doing a T1, or at least strategize.

The bike is just a hammerfest that seems like a Formula 1 course. Max effor with 90 degree turns and tons of lap traffic. Hopefully people weren't too pissed with the constant "ON YOUR LEFT" screams. Nearly 23 mph average with a slow lap to begin and end, but i'll take it. Was hoping for a little more.

T2, fast. Thought of ways to take a few seconds off, but I was on par with everyone else. Out on the three lap out and backs. Flat run and crusing. Three guys in front of me so I had to chase. 1st and second were keeping their distance on me, but 3rd was reeling in. Pressing halfway through the second lap though and it felt like someone punched me in the stomach! Never had a cramp in a race before and I nearly paniced. The only thing to do is slow down. It took a quarter mile, but it subsided and I was back to my chase, hoping I had enough real estate to get 3rd. On my way out the last lap I took the minute the 3rd place guy had and brought it to 30 seconds, time to charge home the last mile. Unfortunately he has some kick to and the final stretch saw us race in with the same margin.

Great race and I learned a lot. I was using my Ironman nutrition for this race and I think I had a bit too many calories in my stomach for the intensity of that run. I have my IM breaking point now at least. 4th AG and 13th overall for a very competitive race isn't bad either. Feeling good about Zurich and my goals.

Now its time to pack up the bike and everything else. Packing has been difficult and I keep looking back at what seems an enternity ago when my group started this whole experience. At the same time it also feels like yesterday it all started too. Soo many training sessions of fun and pain leaves the last six months a blur. I'm trying to make sure I don't get too excited yet. Three flights is going to be a long trip.