Recipes – Whitecoat Fitness

Happy Cinco De Mayo! Successful veggie intake for my 8 year old!

Two things of note: I realize that I haven’t posted in a few weeks and secondly, my posts have been leaning toward nutrition including this one! No excuses other than life as a dad and periodontist get super busy and nutrition really is my passion!

My wife was away for a girls trip this weekend and so the kids and I really just hung around the house. My son Grant was getting over being sick so we couldn’t actually get out and stretch our legs much including going out for a Cinco de Mayo celebratory dinner which I was sorely disappointed about.

As a huge fan of Mexican food, I have come up with a number of healthy recipes over the years to satisfy my cravings but have never found one for a really good salsa until now! One of my staff members, Claudia, is originally from Mexico and brought in some of her homemade salsa a few weeks ago and it had to be one of the best I have ever had! I was finally able to convince her into sharing after asking multiple times and made a batch today that did not disappoint! See below for the ingredients and steps in making. It is a bit laborious but well worth it! I even got my daughter Lily, who eats very little vegetables or fruit, to have second helpings and my wife, Sue, just walked in the door from her weekend away and couldn’t keep her hands out it! Thanks Claudia! A win: win kind of day in the Evans household! The kids eating vegetables and me getting my Mexican food fix while also celebrating the true Cinco De Maya where the townspeople of Puebla, Mexico were outmanned 3:1 but were still victorious in holding off French fighters even with the odds so stacked against them! That’s what I call will power!

Until next time, be fit!

Brian

Authentic Mexican Salsa (shared by my team member Claudia!)

Ingredients:

2 lbs of Roma tomatoes

1 yellow onion

2 large jalapeños (you can add more depending upon your taste for spicy)

15 cloves of garlic (skin on)

2-3 tbsp of olive oil

1tsp Cumin

2 tsp of black pepper

Salt to taste

1 bunch fresh cilantro

Directions:

In a non-stick sauté pan or Le Cruset dutch oven pan in my case, add 2 tbsp oil and whole Roma tomatoes and cook on very low temperature for ~ 20 minutes. The key is to cook the vegetables from the inside out which imparts the flavor!

Remove the tomatoes from the pan and peel skin. Chop the onion into six large pieces and add the garlic and jalapeno cooking again for ~ 20 minutes. Peel garlic cloves and add all ingredients to blender with cumin and black pepper. Add salt to taste after blending. Let salsa cool, then add half the fresh cilantro. Use the remaining half to add upon serving according to individual tastes.

Tip: If you want your salsa chunkier, only blend half the tomatoes and coarsely chop and add the rest separately.

Enjoy!

Macro-friendly Cake Baking with Grant!

My ten-year old son Grant has developed an interest in cooking and baking! It reminds me of when I was around 10 years old and became interested in watching PBS cooking shows such as “The Frugal Gourmet” and “Yan Can Cook”. I also have great memories of spending time with my favorite Aunt Jewel and Memaw Evans baking up cookies, fudge and a southern specialty, Divinity, in the kitchen.

Today, we have the Food Network, Cooking Channel and Google that provide us with a tremendous opportunity to cook and bake our favorite dishes right at home. I like to take recipes and test to see if I can make them more “healthier and macro friendly” and of course, tasty! It is also a great opportunity to spend time with your kids and teach them how to lead a healthier lifestyle with food.

This past weekend, Grant helped me grocery shop for the week and he found a Pillsbury Moist Supreme Cake mix”that he really wanted!” After arguing with him in the aisle for a few minutes that we would could find a healthier cake option, I gave in and bought the pre-mix and decided this was a perfect opportunity to test the waters by changing up the box recipe and creating a more macro-friendly cake!

We also replaced the box recommendation to use a pre-made frosting that is laden with fat and sugar with a more”protein rich cream cheese frosting”.

Here is exactly how we did:

For the cake, we did use the mix but substituted 1 cup of applesauce for the oil, 4 egg whites for the 2 whole eggs and used 1/2 cup of Almond Milk versus 2% milk to reduce the overall fat and calories.

For the frosting, we created our own and ramped up the protein and eliminated a ton of sugar and fat. We mixed a half a cup of 1/3 reduced fat-free cheese with one package of sugar-free vanilla pudding mix and 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder. We used more almond milk to obtain the desired frosting consistency.

For decorations, we dusted with unsweetened coconut flakes and non-edible silver balls and mini chocolate chips.

Grant wanted to use the bundt cake pan instead of the usual 9in pans recommended on the box.

The result? A quite tasty and I must say, not a bad looking cake either with much higher protein and significantly less fat and overall 280 less calories per serving than the regular mix! Plus, invaluable time spent with my son!

Comparison of calories and macros per serving:

Regularly prepared serving:

555 calories

71 grams carbs

17 grams fat

1.5 grams protein

Modified Healthier version with added chocolate chips!:

280 calories

40 grams carbs

7.5 grams fat

10 grams protein

Give the recipe and let me know what you think!

Until next time,

Be fit,

Brian

Tips to Stop the Super Bowl Sunday weight gain!

Welcome back guys! It’s Super Bowl Sunday! One of my favorite days of the year for parties and celebrations! It is also prime time to blow your nutrition plan on caloric dense foods and beverages if you are not careful. I have employed a few strategic steps over the years to negate weight gain for parties and celebrations, because let’s face it, you have to live a little!

Tips:

Plan on consuming mostly protein and veggies throughout the day keeping your calories relatively low but protein high! Personally, as an example for breakfast, I will have a combined 2egg/4 egg white omelet with peppers and mushrooms with coffee and sugar-free Coffeemate Italian Creamer and a protein shake for lunch.
Add in an extra few minutes of cardio to your normal resistance or cardiovascular training. An example: if you perform HIIT (high intensity interval training), do 3-5 more rounds or walk/run an extra 15 minutes to “make more caloric room” for later.
Drink tons of water! I typically consume 1-1.5 gallons of water a day and on days of planned parties, I will have an extra glass or two before the party begins. The water will make you feel fuller while salivating over those wings, nachos and dips!
If you do plan to consume alcohol, try to stick with mixed drinks using calorie free mixers/sodas. Consuming diet sodas will easily save you 100-150 calories per drink. If you must drink beer, stay with the lower calorie options if possible.
Simply enjoy yourself and do not go overboard! Like I initially stated, you have to live a little. Expect that you may have a slight weight gain the following day or two that will mostly be related to water retention from the sodium in many of the party foods. Just get back on your normal routine the next day and stay consistent and that water weight will drop!

Below is a high protein, low carb buffalo chicken dip recipe that we make for Super Bowl that is off the charts just as good as any other dip I have eaten! Give it a try! You will not be disappointed!

Comment on what you think or what you would like to read about next time!

Until next time, be fit!

Brian

Healthy High protein Buffalo chicken dip

Ingredients:

1 lb of shredded chicken breast (rotisserie chicken works great as alternative to baking or crock pot cooking)

1 cup of non-fat plain yogurt

1/2 cup of fat free cream cheese

1 cup of reduced fat shredded Colby cheese

1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles

1/4 cup of Frank’s Wing sauce

1/4 cup of Frank’s Traditional Red Hot sauce

1 Tbsp of Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix

Directions:

Bake chicken or place in crock pot until fully cooked. Place shredded chicken in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Once mixed, place the dip into a 9 x 13in baking dish and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Eat with your favorite Tortilla chips or Veggies such as carrots or celery sticks.

Serves 10 people

130 Calories per serving: Macros: Protein: 22 Carbs: 4 Fat: 2

The Journey Began March 2014

It was March 13, 2014, my 39th birthday! I would be the big 4-0 in one year. I have alway set goals in my life both professionally and personally. Things were going great in practice, my two kids, Grant and Lily were doing well in Kindergarten and preschool, and my wife, Sue was happy with her position at Yale as a faculty member of the Radiation Department. I had previously been competing in Spartan and Tough Mudder races to fuel the competitive drive I have always needed outside of work and while the races were both challenging and fun, I realized they were also potentially quite dangerous with high risk of injury. Given the fact that my “hands” are extremely important to my career, I knew I needed to find another challenge and make new goals. As I had previously mentioned, weight training and cardio were always a part of my daily activity. Staying fit is a priority and I had been training with a personal trainer for about a year and was very impressed with the focus on proper form with lifts. He was also helping me train for the aforementioned obstacle course races. During this time, I learned the proper way to lift weights. I also began getting tips from some of the other trainers regarding diet and nutrition. What I started noticing very quickly were aches and pains that I use to have in my knees, back and shoulders started to go away once I learned how to squat, how to perform lunges properly, and how a heavy weighted, barbell bench press was not required to develop my chest. I also learned that low carb, Fat free and low sugar foods were not necessarily the answer to a leaner physique. A couple of the trainers at the studio competed in body building competitions and suggested that I give it a try. At first, my answer was “no way”, I could never get into body building. But as i thought about it more, I realized bodybuilding does require tremendous discipline and will power and would be a perfect challenge that I ultimately could not refuse! So, I decided as a gift to myself while turning 40, I would be in the best shape of my life! At this point, I weighed around 165 pounds and was around 18% body fat and had no idea about how much I was about to learn about the body and the science behind nutrition!

The Fitness Journey of a 40 something

My name is Brian Evans. I am a 41 year old happily married, father of two kids who owns a periodontal practice in Connecticut. I grew up in Arkansas and spent 7 years in New Orleans while in dental school and residency before moving to Virginia where I was stationed and served in the Navy as a dental officer. I moved to Connecticut in 2007 and have been there ever since. Fitness has always been a big part of my life beginning with participation in typical childhood sports, high school football and golf, collegiate golf, road races in dental school and obstacle course racing in my 30’s. Weight training has always been an activity that I consistently included in my lifestyle but over the last three years I found the other passion in my life, body building and nutrition. I have created this blog to share with you the knowledge I have obtained over the last few years regarding proper weight and cardiovascular training and diet and nutrition and how to incorporate it into your daily lives. Let’s face it, we all need balance in our lives and fitness many times takes a back seat! Folks always are looking for a quick fix! Fitness is a multi-billion dollar industry that is full of so many false promises targeting individuals who want that quick fix. I see it everyday via infomercials such as “if you do this exercise 5 min every day for 6 weeks, you will be shredded” or if you follow this diet plan for 8 weeks, you will get the abs you have always dreamed of”. Well, my goal is to share with you the mistakes that I made and how following a few simple nutrition rules and training smarter has made all the difference! Sharing this knowledge really begins with my journeys of how I trained and prepared for two body building competitions over the last two years and how I was able to gain 6 pounds of lean muscle naturally at 41 years old! Look for my next post soon that begins the journey of Physique competion #1!