10 Vices and Indulgences that do a Body Good.

In the latest issue of details magazine, the one with Chris Hemsworth on the cover, there is an article that talks about how many of our vices and indulgences may actually have health benefits. Check out the article below, and if you like it please comment and share!

 

 

When it comes to matters of health, it seems that everything you do—or at least want to do—is bad for you. But recent research is calling into question exactly how bad our biggest vices truly are.

It turns out these so-called health offenders can actually strengthen your muscles, up your gym performance, boost your immune system, fight flab, and even prevent chronic diseases. Not bad for “unhealthy” habits, eh?

Here, 10 vices you can finally embrace guilt-free.

Sleeping In

Go ahead—hit the snooze. Or just break the damn thing altogether. According to a recent study from the University of Munich, people who wake up to an alarm rather than according to their body’s internal clock are three times more likely to be overweight. Waking up before your body is ready messes up your circadian rhythms, leading you to feel perpetually jet lagged and eat when your body isn’t primed to absorb nutrients, slowing your metabolism considerably.

Smoking Marijuana

“Medical” marijuana is bit of a misnomer. Every dooby comes with health benefits. A 2013 study published in The American Journal of Medicine found that regular pot smokers have 16 percent lower fasting insulin levels and smaller waist circumferences compared to marijuana virgins, dramatically lowering their risk of diabetes. Researchers don’t yet know why marijuana has the effect, but who cares? We’re heading to Colorado.

Snacking on Candy

Grab some gummies on your way through the checkout line. People who eat candy have lower BMIs, smaller waists, and less health-wrecking inflammation than those who skip sugary treats, per findings published in Nutrition Research. Sound counterintuitive? While candy is a veritable sugar bomb, it’s low in saturated fat and calories when compared to other desserts, making it a pretty good way to curb your sweet tooth and avoid devouring a whole cheesecake when your willpower finally relents.

Biting Your Nails

Gnawing on your nails isn’t exactly a turn-on, but it does have legitimate health benefits. Ingesting the germs that live on fingernails can potentially strengthen the immune system, according to Hilary Longhurst, Ph.D., a consultant clinical immunologist at Barts Health and the London NHS Trust. Nail biting exposes your body to relatively small amounts of bacteria so that when your immune system meets them again, its already equipped with the weapons that will annihilate them.

Drinking Alcohol

Next to diet and exercise (we know, we know) the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has ID’ed moderate alcohol consumption as one of the key behaviors that can lead to a longer life. A healthy happy hour habit lowers your risk of heart disease and wards off Alzheimer’s and other chronic illnesses, according to the CDC’s research. Keep it to two drinks a day, though. Any more than that and you can actually reverse alcohol’s good-for-you effects.

Going on Vacation

Put those PTO days to good use. In one study of 13,000 men, researchers from the State University of New York found that taking even one vacation a year reduces your risk of dying—from pretty much anything. And when it comes to men’s No 1. killer (that would be you, heart disease), one week away annually for just five years can reduce your risk by 30 percent.

Eating Chocolate

That bottle of chocolate syrup in your fridge is good for more than making sundaes. Cacao’s flavonoids lower blood pressure, slash stress hormones, and even fire up alertness and performance by increasing blood flow to the brain and heart. One Italian study found that participants who ate dark chocolate every day for 15 days cut their risk of insulin resistance by nearly half, thanks to chocolate’s high-powered flavonols. Snack smart: Bars with at least 70 percent cacao blend the greatest amount of antioxidants with the least amount of sugar.

Having Lots of Sex

As if you really needed a reason to get it on, sex can improve your immunity, help you sleep better, and—get this—look younger. As described in his book, Superyoung: The Proven Way to Stay Young Forever, neuropsychologist David Weeks kept tabs for 10 years on thousands of men and women who looked significantly younger than their years. What did they have in common? Active sex lives. (That’s at least two to three romps per week.) Apart from the aforementioned health boosters, sex keeps you looking young by triggering the release of human growth hormone, which promotes skin elasticity and prevents wrinkles, Weeks says.

Guzzling Coffee

Perk up! People who drink four cups of coffee each day are about 10 percent less likely to get depressed, according to a 2013 study from the National Institute of Health. One possible explanation: Coffee beans are ridiculously rich in antioxidants, among them chlorogenic acid (CGA). When consumed in moderate doses, the polyphenol has a major anti-inflammatory effect and is linked with reduced blood pressure, improved insulin response, reduced risk of Alzheimer’s, and even weight loss.

Getting a Massage

It does more than feel good. It does good, too. Regular Swedish massages (the ones that go deep) reduce the adrenal gland’s secretion of stress hormones, according to one recent study from researchers at Emory University School of Medicine. As those hormones are known to suppress the immune system, spur inflammation, and degrade muscle cells, getting rubdowns on the regular may combat a whole host of chronic diseases. A previous study from the same researchers found that even a single massage session is enough to bolster the immune system.

Read More http://www.details.com/blogs/daily-details/2013/10/10-vices-that-do-a-body-good.html#ixzz2jDhjGbeo

10 Secrets to a Low Calorie Lifestyle

I can hear the complaints already. Ok…yes, this is a manly blog. Yes, we like to report on everything masculine, manly and all-together XX (vs XY – mind out of the gutter). But something that is becoming all-together socially acceptable for men is the topic of being more healthy in terms of diet. We here at IaMW have decided to embrace this trend and run with it. So here are 10 secrets to a low-calorie lifestyle, as told in the latest issue of GQ:

1. Reduce!
When you’re young—in your twenties, say—it’s easy to think that no matter how many pounds you put on, you’ll always be able to starve and exercise yourself back into fighting shape. Here’s some bad news: Weight gain is self-reinforcing. As your weight climbs, your body’s metabolism adjusts to maintain your new girth.

The solution? Don’t let yourself slip in the first place. Maintaining a low weight over the course of your entire life is about more than looking good; it’ll preserve your overall health. By being vigilant about how much you eat—no matter how old you are—you’ll save yourself from a lifetime of fending off weight gain and the health problems that accompany it.

2. “Low Fat”? No Thanks
If you grew up in the ’80s, the notion that fat is evil is probably lodged deep inside your brain. But remember: It’s calories you’re concerned about, and you needn’t obsess over where they’re coming from. Certain low-fat foods replace fat with sugar and can actually end up containing more calories: Low-fat yogurt, for example, can contribute more to your daily caloric intake than the richer, creamier (and tastier) full-fat stuff.

3. Learn Your Portions
Even though you’re eating the right mix of things, you’re almost certainly eating way too much of everything. According to Walter Willett, chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, for an adult male, a healthy portion of meat is “about the size of the palm of your hand and as thick as a deck of cards.” The more fat or sugar an item has—i.e., the more it resembles dessert—the smaller the serving size. You probably have a good feel for it already; test yourself on these items:

1. An average serving of peanut butter should be the size of:
(a) a Ping-Pong ball, (b) a pea, (c) a tennis ball.

2. A serving of cheese should be the size of:
(a) a wheel of Brie, (b) your fist, (c) a stack of Post-it notes.

3. A serving of pasta, rice, or potatoes should be the size of:
(a) your netbook, (b) your cupped hand, (c) a travel tube of toothpaste.

(Answers: 1.a; 2.c; 3.b.)

4. Starting Now: Less Meat
Want to know where most of your calories are coming from? Follow the lead of two anonymous GQ editors—one a fish-eating vegetarian, one a barbecue fan—and record what you eat for a few days.

Vegetarian
29% Non-meat protein
18% Grains
10% Alcohol
16% Snacks
14% Dairy
5% Fruits/veggies
8% Seafood
Total calories: 10,472

Carnivore
26% Meat
31% Grains
16% Alcohol
12% Snacks
7% Dairy
8% Fruits/veggies
Total calories: 13,126

5. You Can (Almost) Never Go Wrong With Fruits and Vegetables
As a general rule, you can eat them until you’re full. One of the great triumphs of modern supermarket shopping is the sheer variety of produce on offer—half a dozen kinds of apples, a few kinds of pears, kiwis, mangoes, papayas—and you’ll improve your chances of keeping a healthy amount of fruit in your diet by cycling through different varieties. For veggies, avoid steaming and boiling; they may be the lowest- cal options, but you’ll be bored to death within days—and return to your old, higher-calorie way of eating. Instead, sauté, roast, or grill them.

6. Eat Protein, Curb Hunger
Protein—especially the sort found in lean meats and dairy—is another great way to trick your body into satiety. When digested, it causes the release of a hormone called CCK that makes you feel full. Combine lean protein and fruit—say, yogurt and strawberries—and there’s a perfect breakfast.

7. A Lower-Calorie Night Out
First the bad news: Alcohol is calorie-dense, and a few drinks add up quickly. But by having a glass of water with each drink, you’ll wind up ordering fewer of them (and have less of a hangover the next morning, too). Per serving, wine has the fewest calories, then beer, then cocktails.

8. Keep It Simple
Instead, try focusing on just a few basic ways of cutting back—a salad instead of a burger and fries for lunch (800 calories less) or the petite portion of steak when you’re out for dinner (200 calories less)—and once you’re doing that consistently, adopt another, like buying smaller dinner plates to use at home (you’ll put less food on them).

9. It’s Okay to Indulge—Every Once In Awhile
You will slip up and help yourself to a coma-inducing plate of nachos every now and then—don’t let that derail you. “This is not all or nothing,” says Harvey Simon, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “It’s not a question of changing everything all at once. That doesn’t work.”

10. Stock Your Low-Cal Pantry
We went grocery shopping with Mark Bittman—bestselling cookbook author, New York Times columnist, and with his latest book, Food Matters, vocal booster of low-calorie eating—to find out how to stock our shelves. Wheat berries? In. Snackwell’s cookies? “Those,” says Bittman, “are the death of America.”

• Olives: For snacking.
• Whole-grain crackers: “Kavli, Wasa, Ryvita, Ak-Mak—they have real guts.”
• Hummus and avocados: For the crackers.
• Popcorn: “Put a fourth of a cup of popcorn in a paper bag and throw it in the microwave. Add lime, salt, and hot sauce like sriracha.”
• Cooked, peeled, vacuum-packed beets: For salads, snacks.
• Olive oil, vinegar (balsamic, white wine, apple cider), and Dijon mustard: For salad dressing.
• A bag of lemons: “Lemons add zest to baked fish, salad dressings, chicken dishes, whatever.”
• Steel-cut oats: For breakfast.
• Wheat berries, bulgur, quinoa, barley, millet: “They’re cheap, they keep forever, and they’re lower in calories than processed grains.”

Ice Cream – Top This!

Thank you Men’s Health for providing yet another way to eat healthy that I will try once and forget about!  Nonetheless, the  June 2010 issue (featuring LOST‘‘s very own Josh Holloway on the cover) has an article that shows its readers how to make ice cream tastier and healthier by whipping your own toppings.  When you stick your spoon into souped-up ice cream – with all those swirls of corn-syrup caramel, chunks of peanut butter cup, and gobs of brownie – you may as well be eating a GIANT candy bar.  Enjoy some ice cream without all of the dumb calories: crown a scoop of vanilla with one of these simple, low-fat toppings:

Dark Chocolate Sauce

1 Bar (3 oz) semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp black coffee

1/4 cup whipping cream

1/2 Tbsp butter

Mix the first three ingredients in a bowl.  Microwave until they are mostly melted – 1 to 2 minutes – stirring halfway through.  Add butter and stir until smooth.

Fresh Strawberry Sauce

1 Cup trimmed and chopped strawberries

2-3 Tbsp sugar

1/2 Tsp orange liqueur

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.  Mash the strawberries until the sauce is mostly smooth.  Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.

Maple-Walnut Sauce

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 Tbsp rum

2 Tbsp chopped, toasted walnuts

Combine the ingredients and simmer until reduced by half. Stir in walnuts and serve warm.

Joel Robuchon’s Cassoulet: Heaven In a Clay Pot

The latest Men’s Journal, on which Mel Gibson’s crazy face stares at you with an ace of spades, includes a recipe for Joel Robuchon’s delicious Cassoulet.  When you have reached your winter limit for comfort foods such as meat loaf and shepherd’s pie, turn to cassoulet, the classic french stew.

Like any man, tackling a great carnivorous tradition – think of the feuding between Texas and Carolina barbeque devotees – the would-be cassoulet maker has to first pick sides in an ancient regional argument.

There’s no disputing that a cassoulet is cooked in a traditional cooking vessel, a cassole, or that beans, meat, and vegetables are its base.  The controversy centers around which meats should join the beans and the vegetables.

Three French cities each claim to make the only authentic cassoulet, and according to the great french chef Prosper Montagne, the three styles are th holy trinity of southwestern french cuisine: Castelnaudary’s ham, loin, sausage, fresh bacon, and goose confit is the Father; the Son is Carcassonne’s mutton and partridge version; and the Holy Ghost is the mutton, bacon and pork belly cassoulet that hails from Toulouse.  While this is all very nice, you want to master one the right way – not one of the three right ways.  So you will be relieved to know that there is a fourth and superior front in the cassoulet battle.

In his indispensable new tome The Complete Robuchon, chef Joel Robuchon throws his weight behind a best-of-all-worlds cassoulet, blending lamb shoulder, lamb neck, pork sausage, pork belly, and duck confit.  Because of all these can be found in good gourmet shops, you’ve done half the work by the time you finish shopping.  After that just follow the straightforward recipe (below) and prepare for the ensuing gastronomic coma.

The Celestial Vessel

Deep and thick enough to distribute heat evenly, an authentic French cassole is a conical ceramic pot glazed inside, similar to this one from Emile Henry ($115; emilehenryusa.com).

Ingredients

• 2 lbs dry white beans, tarbals or lingot
• 1 carrot
• 4 onions (2 stuck with 1 clove each, 2 sliced into 1/8 inch rounds)
• 10 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 lb pork rind
• 1 bouquet garni
• 1/2 lb garlic sausage
• 3/4 lb saucisses de toulouse
• salt
• pepper
• 1/2 lb lean pork belly
• 1.5 lb duck confit, with fat
• 1.5 lb boneless lamb shoulder, chopped into 2 inch chunks
• 3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1.25 cups of dry bread crumbs
• 1 bunch parsley leaves, minced

The Procedure

1. Put the beans in a large pot with carrot, 2 onions stuck with cloves, 6 garlic cloves, pork rind, and bouquet garni.  Cover with cold water and turn heat on high, lowering before water bubbles.  Simmer for one hour.  Add garlic sausage and saucisses; simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Put pork belly in a large pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove pork to a colander, rinse with cold water, drain.
3. In another pot, melt 4 tbsp fat from confit.  When hot, brown lamb chunks over high heat.  Remove to plate.  Cook sliced onions in same pot for 3 minutes over low heat; stir.  Add tomatoes, 4 garlic cloves, and 10 tbsp bean cooking liquid.  Let bubble for 10 minutes.
4. Fish bouquet garni, onions, pork rind, and sausages from the bean-cooking pot.  Discard the garni and leave the rest on a plate.  Drain the beans, saving liquid, then add the beans to the pot with the tomatoes and onions.
5. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  Slice sausage and saucisses into 1/2 inch rounds.  Line a large terrine with the pork rind and fill with alternating layers of meat, saucisses, garlic, sausage, and bean-onion-tomato mix.  Finish with a layer of beans, top with 2 tbsp of confit fat (spread evenly over the surface). The liquid in the terrine should barely cover the top layer; if it doesn’t, add cooking liquid.  Bake for 3 hours.
6. Mix bread crumbs with parsley.  When cassoulet has baked for 3 hours, sprinkle with parsleyed crumbs and put back in the oven for an hour to brown.  Serves 10.

The Easy 4 Day Detox

Thank you, Details Magazine.  There is an article in their “Health and Grooming” section in the January 2010 issue that discusses this post-holiday must:

Who says all that end-of-the-year gluttony requires months of penance? You may think you’re doomed to nibble kale until the Fourth of July, but you’re wrong. “All you need is four days to get back on track,” says New York dietitian Keri Glassman, author of The O2 Diet. “That’s enough time to reset your body.” Follow these simple tips and you’ll get rid of the bloat and maybe even find yourself thinking about fruit and vegetables instead of cheeseburger sliders.

Eat Early, Eat Often
You should have a good breakfast—no-brainer, right?—but the key is to be eating within one hour of waking. If you wait until you’re at your desk, you’re more likely to overindulge. When should you stop eating? That’s where things get interesting. Despite what your girlfriend says, it’s okay to keep feeding right up until you go to bed. “The goal is to be eating consistently,” Glassman says. “If you’re on a schedule where you have dinner at 9, that’s not so bad. By munching throughout the day, your body’s always burning calories at its best. It’s like throwing twigs onto a fire.”

[Read More: The Best Breakfast in America]

Take a Sabbatical from Sugar and Salt
Although one Oreo cookie is fine in theory, it’s hard to stop there. Sweets and alcohol often make you crave more sugar, putting your noble efforts at self-control in peril. Sodium prompts your body to retain water. It’s not enough to put down the salt shaker; beware the lunchtime deli run, too. Pickles, sliced meats, and split-pea soup are all known to pump you full of H2O.

[Read More: Ice Cream Sandwiches are Back]

Don’t Overdo the Juice Fast
Liquid diets can help you feel lighter in the short term, but maintain them for any longer than three days and you’re setting yourself up for nutrient deficiencies, fatigue, and failure. Juicers often start bingeing right after swallowing their last sip, warns dietitian Keri Gans of the American Dietetic Association. “If you’re going to try it,” she says, “don’t think you can just drink juice and then go to McDonald’s.”

[Read More: A Details Classic: Manorexics]

Give Up the Shredded Wheat
According to New York nutritionist Oz Garcia, the wheat-based starches you find in breakfast cereals are trouble. “Many men, as they move toward a better diet, think whole wheat is good for them,” he says. “But it triggers appetite and water retention. It also contributes to gaining weight around the gut and developing man boobs.” Try oats or grains like quinoa or millet instead—or get your carbs from vegetables like yams, squashes, and pumpkins.

[Read More: A User’s Guide to Man Boobs]

Bring On the Artichoke
A plate of fiber-rich lentils or chickpeas will fill you up, but so will the often overlooked—and decidely delicious—artichoke. Glassman suggests having one every afternoon. “It’s low-calorie,” she says, “and it takes a while to eat.”

[Read More: The Pills You Should Be Popping]

Don’t Be Too Spartan
When Bradley Cooper had to shed a few pounds for his upcoming role in The A-Team, he ate mostly boiled chicken, broccoli, and brown rice. Channing Tatum has streamlined his physique with the same regimen. Glassman says it’s a good plan, though a bit too ascetic. Boiling the chicken adds no fat or calories. But grilling it with a little nonstick spray and some herbs and spices adds about two calories and lots more flavor.

[Read More: Bradley Cooper Has Hollywood by the Balls]

Bite Your Tongue
As a topic of conversation, your diet restrictions are about as interesting as a grocery list. Unless your name is Oprah, no one cares that you’d kill for some lardo on wheat bread. So be a champ and keep your virtue to yourself.

[Read More: O-Face or Oprah Face?]

Turn Up the Heat
No less an expert on overindulgence than John Belushi would head to the sauna after a wild night. The Animal House star was crazy, yes, but he was no fool. One 20-minute session can improve your mood and your appearance. The heat raises your outer body temperature, boosting your circulation and making you feel euphoric, and the sweat flushes debris from your pores. “It mimics the effects of running the Central Park loop,” Oz Garcia says. Try saying that about wheatgrass.

[Read More: Find the Right Massage]

Need Motivation: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

StickK.com lets you bet against your weak, impulsive self. If you lose the wager, you fork the cash over to a friend, an enemy, or even a cause you despise—like, say, Sarah Palin 2012.

Fatbet.net—founded by two buddies trying to drop 10 pounds each—helps you set up weight-loss competitions with friends and chart the results. Those who meet their goals split the winnings.

[Read More: The Slacker Workout]

Put Down the Protein Shake
Put down the whey powder. Dr. Jeffrey Morrison, a New York weight-loss specialist, recommends breakfast shakes made from rice protein, which is less rough on the stomach. Mix two scoops of protein powder, two tablespoons of flaxseed fiber, eight ounces of water, and ice in a blender. Consume with the morning paper.

[Read More: Meal-Replacement Shakes]

The Sports Drink Myth
“Coconut water is what Gatorade wishes it was,” Oz Garcia says. It has the potassium and the sugar you need to feel restored after a workout but none of the artificial ingredients or the food coloring.

[Read More: Alex Rodriguez: Confessions of a Damned Yankee]

The Hangover Remedy
Forget hair of the dog. Come the morning after, try rehydrating with this: Fill one half of a glass with apple juice, the other half with water, and add a pinch of sea salt. “As a cure, it works,” Morrison says.

[Read More: The Best way to Drink Tequilla—Hangover Not Included]

D.I.Y. Lunch – Pack a Lunch that Packs a Punch

Gotta love it.  In the January 2010 issue of GQ Magazine, the one with a near-naked Rihanna on the cover, there is a lunch theme in the recurring “D.I.Y. Man” section.  This is a step-by-step guide to packing the perfect lunch.  “Your mom’s not making you PB&J anymore (we hope), but if you’re smart, you’ll still brown-bag it occasionally.  You’ll eat better, save cash, and never have to schlep to Quiznos again.

1.  Build a smarter sandwich

• Sturdy, grainy bread from a bakery, sliced by you.  Not only will it taste fresh and flavorful; it won’t turn into a squishy mess.
• Cheese adds a salty, creamy texture to the mix. Use something good, like an aged Cheddar or Gruyere, sliced thin.
• Like Tom Colicchio preaches, “Keep the wet stuff away from the bread” so it doesn’t turn soggy. Your Dijon or mayo?  Spread it on the cheese instead.
• Use greens that taste like something.  Try arugula.  It’ll add a big, peppery kick to every bite.
• Invest in quality cold cuts.  Look for markets that prepare their own turkeys and roast beef.  Or order up a pound of good real ham.  Sliced feathery thin.

2.  Avoid the Soup Nazis

• This is soup as a meal, so you want something hearty (and easy), like potato leek.  Here’s how to make it.  In a stockpot, saute a chopped onion with a bit of olive oil.  When it turns translucent, add a chopped garlic clove, then three big chopped leeks (trim the tough green parts), a pound of peeled, diced potatoes, and salt & pepper.  When the potatoes start to brown, add enough chicken stock to cover the vegetables.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer.  The longer it simmers, the deeper the flavor becomes, but its good to go after about 30 minutes.  If you have a blender, puree the soup.  In the morning, grab half a baguette and transfer the soup to a thermos.  Zap it in the office microwave; then, if you want, add some heavy cream – the kind in the little packets by the coffee machine will do just fine.  Finally, if you feel like adding some shredded cheese, the same Gruyere you already have in the house for sandwiches – we’re not going to argue.

3.  Get all European

This one’s easy: no cooking, hardly any assembling.  Start off with a hunk of bread.  Olives.  Cornichons (those little pickles).  A hard cheese, like Pecorino or Piave.  Finally, some kind of hard European salami that you will cut yourself, at your desk, with the Swiss Army knife you bought expressly for this reason.  The salami should have a casing that looks rumpled, hard, and covered with flour (it’s really mold).  It should have a name like Felino or Crespone.  If it’s vacuum packed and made in Ohio, it’s the wrong kind.

4.  Say yes to pasta, no to the microwave

Leave your leftover Carbonara and Bologmese at home.  What you want is something lighter and simpler that can be eaten at room temperature.  Dress the pasta with a quality olive oil, salt, pepper and a sharp cheese like a ricotta salataor feta and throw in some chopped olives.  If you’re a meat guy, add sausage.

Turkey Day Tricks: Gourmet Leftovers (Volume 1)

It is here.  The season of festivities, family and an average of a 10 lb weight gain is finally here.  Many men have learned how to master the beautiful bird but not many people put much focus on the leftovers.  Sure, everyone eats them, if there are any left to eat, but how do you make them gourmet? The November 2009 issue of Men’s Journal, the one with Tim McGraw on the cover, tells us how to do it.  They feature 3 specific recipes.  In the spirit of saving time and space, as well as keeping you in suspense, I will feature them one at a time.  So for those of you for which Black Friday is less about the shopping and more about the aftermath of success, first up is Turkey Gumbo…

Turkey Gumbo (Serves 8-10)

This recipe is so good, that you may want to consider cooking an extra turkey next Thursday  for this day-after special. John Besh, author of the new cookbook  My New Orleans suggests a smoked  turkey carcass, but any will do, and lard instead of vegetable oil.

Ingredients

• 1 turkey carcass, with all of the meat removed
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or duck fat or lard)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 onions, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 small can dices tomatoes
• 1 lb andouille sausage, diced
• 1/2 lb smoked pork sausage, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp creole or cajun seasoning
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups okra, diced
• meat from turkey, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup green onions
• Tabasco
• 1 qt rice

HOW TO: “for the roux, heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat, add flour, and allow it to slowly brown; stir constantly for half an hour.  Once brown, lower the heat to medium and cook slowly until it looks like dark chocolate.  Add onions and stir well. After 5 minutes, add celery, bell pepper, tomatoes, sausage and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes before adding carcass and covering with water.  Allow to boil before lowering the heat to a simmer, then add Worchestershire, creole seasoning, bay leaves, and okra.  Simmer for 1.5 hours, occasionally skimming the fat off the top. Remove carcass, add meat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add salt, pepper, green onions and Tabasco to taste.  Serve over rice.”

Diet Tricks for Holiday Treats

If you are like us, you love candy…and constantly fight with your waistline.  In the October 2009 issue of Men’s Health magazin (the one woth Obama on the cover) has and article on how to get your candy fix but not gain weight.  You can indulge, and like everything…moderation is key.  The article states that candy sales spiked in the recession, because it is a cheap pleasure, but that you can enjoy candy without the guilt that typically comes with it.  The tip?  Keep it to 400 calories or under.  Here are 3 ways to stretch your halloween pleasure:

The small but sinful: rich chocolate with richer fillings.

1. Milk Chocolate M&M’s – one fun-size bag is 90 calories.
2. Milky Way – 1 fun-size milky way is 75 calories.
3. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – 2 cups = 210 calories.
4. TOTAL = 375 calories

The balanced approach: A medium sized mix of rich & fruity candies

1. Snickers – one fun-sized bar is 80 calories
2. Skittles – one fun size bag is 60 calories
3. Butterfinger – one fun-sized bag is 100 calories
4. Jawbreaker – 2 jawbreakers are 70 calories
5. Starbursts – 4 Starbursts equal 80 calories
6. TOTAL = 390 calories

The big pig-out – lots of low-cal items

1. Nerds – one small box is 50 calories
2. Jolly rancher – 3 hard candy pieces are 50 calories
3. Bubble gum – 2 pieces equals 30 calories
4. Smarties – 1 roll is 25 calories
5. 3 musketeers – 1 fun-sized bar is 63 calories
6. Tootsie pop – One sucker is 60 calories
7. Brach’s Candy Corn – 10 pieces is 75 calories
8. Hershey’s Sticks smooth & Creamy – 1 stick is 60 calories
9. TOTAL – 413 Calories

Work Advice: Avoid the Afternoon Crash

A nutritionists advice on staying alert all day without any caffeine, pills or 73-hour energy.  This post is brought to you by the September 2009 issue of Men’s Journal Magazine.

7 AM: Start with Breakfast – if you eat sugary cereals your sugar could spike, only to crash later and cause you to become lethargic. Oatmeal typically provides the right carb/protein ratio to get you going without the crash.  The more natural, the better.

9 Am: Snack Intelligently – when you start to get hungry reach for natural peanut butter and whole wheat crackers.  These metabolize slower and maintain blood sugar levels.

11 Am: Take a Speed Walk – Japanese researchers found that a 3-minute speed walk every half hour increases oxygen to the brain and keeps you more alert.

12 PM: Hydrate often – Thirst can be mistaken for hunger.  Keep a reusable water bottle handy…a good rule of thumb is an ounce of water for every 2 pounds of body weight per day.

2 PM: Eat a Smart Lunch – Heavy food makes you tired.  Instead, go for grilled chicken & avacado on whole wheat to carry you through the day.

Eat Like A Man

Along with recipes, the “How Men Eat” article in Esquire Magazine’s September 2009 issue listed rules for how men eat…and how it may be different than a woman’s rules about food.  There were several interesting and humorous rules listed, but we simply could not list all of them in one post due to the fact that it would simply be too long.  It would take time to write and to read, and we want to keep the manliness flowing.  That being said, we picked out some of our favorites.  If you would like to see the full list, contact us and we can send it to you.  Enjoy the following on how a man eats:

• “I’ll eat something that fell on the floor without thinking about it.  Women seem to have a problem with this.”
• “I’ll dip just about anything in just about anything – something from the fridge, something from the other end of the table.  Fried chicken in guacamole. A slice of pizza in  the tub of take-out ranch.  Whatever’s in front of me.”
• “If any of the daily specials contain the words ‘potpie,’ ‘goose fat,’ or ‘barbecued,’ I order it.”
• “You can tell a lot about a restaurant by the type of hot sauce they bring you.”
• “A man doesn’t cut a burger in half”
• “Everything should be crispier – the bacon, the hashbrowns, the bun, the skin on the roast chicken.”
• “A man doesn’t need more bread.  More chips, maybe, but not more bread.”
• “A beer with lunch can be transformative.”
• “A man can talk while he’s eating as long as it is a really good point and he needs to take advantage of the moment.”
• “Men eat as competition.  We eat on dares. We eat the hottest pepper to show our strength. It bonds us.”