Manly Meals

Men's Health's website is simply fantastic. They have a great new gimmick on the site for making quick, simple, healthy meals (Guy Meals Made Easy). You pick a protein, like pork, then a style in which to cook it, "Japanese," for example, a side starch, and its style, oh, let's try "Spicy Sesame Noodles", and a vegetable. We'll go with "Coconut Ginger Zucchini". This is what pops up for each -

Japanese Style Pork Chops

1.5 pounds of pork chops
3 Tbsp any miso paste
1 Tbsp each sesame oil and peanut oil
Black pepper
Chopped walnuts or soy sauce (or both)

1. Start with 1.5 pounds of pork chops.

2. Combine the ingredients for Japanese flavor—3 Tbsp any miso paste, 1 Tbsp each sesame oil, and peanut oil, lots of black pepper—and rub or smear it all over your protein. Let it marinate if you have time.

3. Light up the grill, heat the broiler, or fire up a cast-iron skillet and cook the pork chops on both sides until they're done the way you like it. Use a small, sharp knife to take a peek inside if you're not sure.

4. Sprinkle on chopped walnuts or a drizzle of soy sauce (or both), and serve it hot or at room temperature.

Serves 4

Spicy Sesame Pasta/Noodles

1 pound of pasta or noodles
1 part sesame oil and 1 parts peanut oil
1 or 2 chopped fresh hot chilies or dried chili flakes
Chopped scallions

1. Start with about a pound of pasta or noodles. Boil them as simply as possible, using nothing more than salt. Undercook pasta a bit so it still has some bite; drain it as needed.

2. Five minutes before you're ready to eat, put the spicy sesame flavor ingredients—1 part sesame oil and 2 parts peanut oil, plus one or two chopped fresh hot chilies or dried chili flakes—into the appropriate size pan with some salt and pepper.

3. Set the pan over medium heat, and cook, stirring once in a while until fragrant; if the mixture is boiling too much, lower the heat.

4. Drizzle the flavorings over the warm noodles, and toss.

5. Add chopped scallions.

6. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and toss again.

Serves 4

Coconut Ginger Zucchini

1 pound of zucchini
Peanut oil
Chopped ginger, garlic, and chilies
Coconut milk
Chopped pistachios, almonds, or peanuts
Chopped cilantro

1. Start with about a pound of zucchini or a combination of vegetables.

2. Slice, chop, or grate them as you like; leave small or thin whole.

3. Put a film of peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

4. Once it’s hot, add chopped ginger, garlic, and chilies. Stir as needed.

5. Add the vegetable(s) and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. If you’re using a combination of vegetables, begin with the ones that will take the longest to cook and build up to those that wilt the fastest.

6. Stir once in a while, searing the vegetables a bit. Adjust the temperature and add oil as needed to keep things moving in the pan.

7. When everything is cooked through, splash in some coconut milk, scraping up any brown bits from the pan.

8. Add chopped pistachios, almonds, or peanuts, and chopped cilantro and toss, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

9. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Serves 4

"The Greatest Abs Workout Ever"!!!!!!

I really think it would sound better to say "greatest ab workout ever" but what do I know? I did add those exclamation points in the title to make this post really eye catching. Incidentally, at David Barton Gym they have a class called "ASSolutely ABBulous". Why must they capitalize the letters they do and why does "ABBulous" have two b's? These are questions to which no one will ever know the answer. Kind of like the square root of a million.

Anyway, click on this photo I snapped of my own abs to read the article at Men's Health.com -

It's intense. Many people do not realize that the only way you're ever going to see your abs is to get rid of the fat that covers them. This must be done with aerobic exercise. You can do lots of crunches and even buy some gimmicky ab roller thingy and never obtain a six pack. This is a particularly noteworthy component of the workout -

Burn Off Your Belly

This interval routine is designed to strip away the excess flab that’s hiding your six-pack. Do it 3 days a week, after your weight session or on the days in between. Use your mode of choice—a treadmill, stationary bike, or rowing machine.

Step 1 Warm up for 3 to 5 minutes at an easy pace, about 30 to 40 percent of your best effort.

Step 2 Run, cycle, or row at 95 percent of your highest effort for 30 seconds.

Step 3 Perform active rest, slowing back down to your warmup speed for 90 seconds.

Step 4 Repeat five to seven times.

Step 5 Once you can complete eight intervals, reduce the length of your active rest periods by 5 to 10 seconds each workout, until they’re only 30 seconds long.