Healthy Eating Blog

Clean Eatz Kitchen introduces a new, keto-friendly fish noodle to their menu for May. The Alaskan pollock noodle is a keto-friendly noodle that’s made with wild-caught, sustainable Alaskan pollock and egg whites. The noodle is featured in their Keto Sweet Chili Stir Fry meal.

“It’s the craziest thing, I was very skeptical at first”, recounts production manager Ben Mitchell, “The idea of a noodle made from fish sounds like it’s going to taste fishy and have a strange texture, but when it’s in the dish, it tastes just like any other noodle - no fishy taste or smell”. 

The Alaskan Pollock noodles are the latest keto innovation from Clean Eatz Kitchen. “Keto is our second-most popular diet and we are always looking for new ways to serve those customers” says CEO Jason Nista. The keto noodles have 10g of protein to only 7g of carbs per serving. They’re also gluten free and made using only 8 ingredients.

Clean Eatz Kitchen is a market-leader in direct-to-consumer meal plans and meal prep. For their diet conscious customers, Clean Eatz Kitchen cooks and ships pre-made meals to customers’ houses, ready to heat and enjoy. Their model takes the thought and effort out of having to meal prep to reach your diet goals. 

PLAN. PLAN. PLAN.

Before you leave, have the decision made about what foods are a no-no for you and which foods you're willing to let slide. When you do this, you'll spare yourself the stressful mental battle when options do arise, and lessen your chances of experiencing any post-consumption "unpleasantness" that night or the following day. You'll be able to plan ahead better about what kind of foods to bring with you and how much you'll need. 

1. Search ahead for hotels that have mini-fridges and microwaves
2. Ordering out: ask the cook to sway away from the extra butter and marinades, also ask for sugar free options
3. Be prepared and snack smarter. There are some great options whether you have access to a fridge or not. 
1. No fridge snack ideas: Clean Eatz Barz, tuna packets, beef jerky 6g of sugar or lower, a handful of any type of nuts, protein bars with 12g of sugar or lower, peanut butter, protein balls, quest chips.
2. Fridge / cooler snack ideas: small bag of carrots, bell peppers or celery with 1/4 c of hummus, guacamole or bolthouse ranch, 4-5 slices of turkey or ham deli meat with 1 tbsp of low fat cream cheese with 1 dill pickle slice, string cheese, hard boiled eggs, a serving of greek yogurt. 
4. Water consumption: Just because you're on the road isn't an excuse to lower that water intake - chug away! You still want to get in as much as possible even with the bathroom breaks.  Aim for 100oz + a day.
5. Avoid regular sodas: that's just extra calories you're consuming quickly. If you need a pick me up, try reaching for a coke zero, diet dr pepper or bang energy - no more than 36oz in total a day.
6. Limit your alcohol consumption: Stay away completely if possible. If you are in need of some better options - Vodka with crystal lite or a jack and diet coke are simple choices to keep the calories and sugar intake down.
7. Movement: This might be one of the most important parts of this. Whether you do or don't slip a little bit, you want to take some time to walk everyday and / or get a quick gym session in 3-4 times a week. 

KEEP MOVING!

1. You'll maintain healthy blood and oxygen flow throughout the body, allowing your lungs, heart and muscles to function properly and efficiently. 
2. You'll fight off and avoid potential diseases and sicknesses; with good circulation, the white blood cells in your immune system will be transported around the body as needed. 
3. You'll keep your organs in its best working order. Efficient circulation helps remove waste from the body created by different organs.

Did you know that more than half of the US population takes a dietary supplement? In this post we are going to review some of the common dietary supplement and their uses and provide the scientific evidence of these supplements. Always consult a physician before starting a supplement program. 

Supplements should be just that - supplemental to a balanced diet. If you're able to eat a 100% balanced diet, you wouldn't need supplements. In the real world, it's not always possible to eat a balanced diet, in which case, supplements may help you compensate. 

Its important to note that supplement industry is loosely regulated by the FDA. Over the years, some supplement companies have given the industry a bad rap by selling inferior products with promises of performance. Manufacturers of supplements are responsible for adopting "Current Good Manufacturing Practices" but the FDA only audits supplement companies in retrospect - there is no approval process for supplements the same way as there is for prescription medications. Many of the best supplements companies volunteer for their product claims to be evaluated by organizations such as the USP to provide consumers with confidence in support of purchasing their products. 

Supplements for Athletic Performance

With a plethora of marketing materials out there recommending hundreds of products, which products have the most scientific evidence backing their claims of performance:

1. Protein Powders - protein provides amino acids to skeletal muscle, which during periods of athletic performance, helps the muscle recover and grow. Protein powders are everywhere with the most common, and most effective, deriving from dairy (whey and casein) but protein powders can also meet different dietary restrictions in the way of soy isolate, pea protein powder, and brown rice isolate
2. Creatine Monohydrate - Creatine helps your body regenerate intracellular ATP during high-intensity workouts. Essentially creatine helps increase muscular storage and over time can aid in increasing muscle mass. Creatine is commonly found in beef, pork, and fish but supplementation with creatine powders is cheap and effective. 
3. Essential Amino Acids - Essential amino acids are the nine amino acids that the body can't product on its own and therefore are required to be obtained from diet. Again, whereas a 100% balanced diet will provide all the necessary amino acids, if your diet isn't perfect supplementing with EAA products can be helpful. 

Supplements for Fat Loss:

Like athletic performance, many individuals are seeking to accelerate their fat loss through supplementation. Here are a few supplements with strong scientific evidence to support fat loss supplementation

1. Caffeine - the most abundant and easily accessible weight loss supplement, caffeine stimulates the nervous system to increase energy expenditure, decrease consumption, and reduce perceived effort levels during exercise. Until recently, caffeine was perceived as a diuretic, concurrently dehydrating you but recent studies have shown the effects to be only very mild. 
2. Capsaicin - Hot chiles! It seems obvious but eating spicy foods can stimulate themogensis, increase your body temperature and decrease the total amount of food you consume. Of course, if hot foods don't sit well with you, capsaicin supplementation will probably upset your digestion and outweigh any gains. 
3. Meal Replacement Formulas - Substituting protein-rich shake formulas for meals have proven to be successful in supplementing weight loss. Physically and psychologically these formulas are able to control your meal intake, ensuring you get a balanced meal without overeating. 

There are literally hundreds of other supplements out there on the market including BCAAs, Glycerol, Nitrate, Glutamine, MCTs, etc., which may have moderate effects in helping you achieve your goals but each should be evaluated specifically with your physician for safe consumption. 

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We've all heard it: "DRINK MORE WATER!" but why is water so important to our weight loss goals and how does our water intake effect our overall health and well-being? The Mayo Clinic prescribes 11 cups of water for women and 15 cups of water for men per day. And that's before doing any exercise! Are you getting enough?

Why is drinking water good for you?