DAYS 9 and 10

DAY 9

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope y'all made time to look good for your significant others.  I know I couldn't thank my wife enough for the love and support she gives me.  I can honestly say I don't always enjoy lifting weights, but I am motivated each and every day by her.  I work hard to make sure that we will have a long, healthy, and happy life together.  I love you, Lee-Cassie.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for us!

Valentine's Day was no excuse to miss a day a training.  I squeezed a great workout into my busy schedule.  I feel like my body is starting to head in the right direction now that I have the right food to fuel me and the right schedule to get proper rest.  One set-back has been the crowds in my gym lately.  I workout in a shipyard, so when we have more Navy ships docked, there are more people in the gym. I plan on starting to workout early in the morning this Thursday. We'll see how that goes.

DAY 10

My sweet wife went grocery shopping for us this week after I compiled a list of the types of food I should be eating every week to fuel my workouts.  Below is my personal 7 day list if you're curious. I don't have too much time to write tonight.  I'm getting to bed early so I can get in the gym bright and early tomorrow morning.   

FRUIT
Apples
Bananas
2 Pineapples (precut)
Plums, Pears, or Oranges
Berries

VEGGIES
5 Bags Fresh Spinach
3 Bags Baby Carrots
7 Potatoes
1 Onion
4 Red Bell Peppers
Cucumbers

DAIRY
1 Dozen Eggs
2 Large Containers Plain Yogurt
4 Cartons Egg Whites
Sliced Sharp Cheddar
2 Gallons Milk

MEAT
3 Packs Chicken or Turkey Sausage
4 Pounds Extra Lean Ground Beef
Large Bag of Chicken Breasts
Fish

GRAINS+NUTS
Whole Grain English Muffins (NOT ENCRICHED)
1 Box High-Fiber Cereal
Walnuts
Cashews
Quinoa
Steel Cut Oats
Spaghetti Noodles

OTHER
Banana Cream Syntha-6 Protein Powder

Sports Drink Mix
Fish Oil Capsules (EPA + DHA = 300 to 600mg)
1 Bottle Flax Oil
Green Tea
Spaghetti Sauce

Let me know! How is your workout going? What does your grocery list usually look like?

Grocery List - Fruit

I always have a hard time to remember what fruits I should buy organic and what is safe to eat non-organic. I would buy all organic if I could, but sometimes the selection is low and the prices are just way too high. This is why I've split this list into conventional (aka non-organic) fruits I think are safe and ones I think we should buy organic. The ones in the list titled "Fruit Okay to Buy Non-Organic/ Conventional" are almost always considered 'clean fruits' and are free of pesticides.The fruits in the "Fruit to Buy Organic" list have at least a generous amount of those pesky pesticides when grown conventionally. In case you were wondering, no, you cannot wash all the pesticides off. They are treated throughout the growing process and a lot of it is absorbed.

I tried to alphabetize the list to help with looking things up. Fruits I consider to be highest in pesticides all have an asterisk * next to them. I would avoid conventional forms of these asterisked fruits as much as possible. I hope this helps you guys and gals out. I know I will be pulling this list up about every time I'm wandering around the produce aisle or making my grocery list.

Fruit Okay to Buy Non-Organic/Conventional 

Avocados
Bananas
Blueberries (local)

Cantaloupe (in season and domestic/avoid ones imported from Mexico)

Honeydew Melon
Kiwi

Mango

Papaya

Pineapple

Watermelon

Fruit to Buy Organic

Apples**
Blueberries (if  buying non-local)
Cantaloupe (if out of season/imported)

Cherries*

Grapefruit

Grapes*

Oranges

Lemons

Nectarines*

Peaches*** (conventional peaches usually have the highest amount of pesticides over any other fruit)

Pears*

Plums

Raspberries*

Strawberries**

Tangerines
Tomatoes (buy local)

*Fruits considered to be high in pesticides if non-organic.

**Very high in pesticides if non-organic

***Extremely high in pesticides if non-organic

Let Us Know! Do you have certain fruits that you only buy organic? Is your decision to buy organic fruit based on flavor, the lack or pesticides and other chemicals, or because you like to stick to locally grown crops? Is there anything missing from the lists? 

Grocery List - Meats, Poultry, and Fish

MEATS

Beef (organic, grass-fed) – Get lean cuts of grass-fed beef, 93/7 or better, to avoid high fat content. Grass fed beef will cost extra, but you’ll be avoiding all of the horrible chemicals and hormones that are pumped into most cows. Beef can have anywhere between 25 and 35 grams of protein  and 150 and 250 calories (in 4oz serving) depending on the type of cut.

Bison (organic, grass-fed) – This is a great alternative to beef. Fat content is generally lower and there is a ton of protein packed in (32g in 4oz). Get grass fed!

Lamb

Elk

Venison

Pork Tenderloin (organic)

POULTRY

Turkey (organic) – 34g of protein and 180 calories in 4 ounces. Turkey has to be the best poultry you can eat.

Chicken breast (organic) – It’s the leanest part of the chicken. You can also get it ground like beef and turkey. It’s another one of the best proteins you can buy with 190 calories, 35g of protein, and 5g of fat in a 4oz serving. I have a hard time finding organic chicken, but it is definitely worth the splurge. You avoid tons of synthetic chemicals, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and all kinds of other bad stuff. Anyone who has seen Food Inc. knows what I’m talking about and if

you haven’t seen it, you should definitely add it to your Netflix queue!

Ostrich

FISH/SEAFOOD

Salmon (wild caught) – Salmon is probably the best fish you can eat. It’s full of fatty acids called Omega-3s that have tons of great benefits for your body including cardiovascular health, anti-inflammatory, better brain function, and protection from heart attacks and strokes (200 calories and 29g of protein in 4oz). Avoid farm raised at all costs, they are fed chemicals to give them color, fed things like chicken feces, and given antibiotics at higher levels than any other livestock.

Sardines and Herring – Both of these, like Salmon, are high in Omega-3s.

Trout (farm raised) – Farm raised trout is just fine (140 calories and 24g of protein in 4oz).

Lobster

Crab

Mussels

Clams

Oysters

Crawfish

Scallops

Shrimp

Squid
Tuna (limit mercury exposure! eat skipjack light canned tuna if you want to eat often, eat albacore or yellowfin if you just want to eat it once a month or so)


Let us know! Is there anything missing from these lists? Are there any meats you like to eat organic?