This is such an easy recipe and the taste is amazing. To start, you have to purchase some good tuna steaks. Fresh tuna is very expensive right now, but there are certainly frozen varieties that are fine to use. I actually purchase my steaks from Market Street. They have a seafood freezer where they have a great selection of shrimp, scallops, and fish. The tuna is hidden in there :). You can purchase two steaks for roughly $12-$18 dollars.
You only need to partially thaw the tuna before you cook it. I usually let it thaw in cold water (still in its vacuum pack) for about 30 minutes. It should be sort of soft on the outside, but still very firm or partially frozen in the center. Get a large bowl of ice water ready and set aside. While the tuna is thawing, this is a good time to fix your rice. It can be cooking while you are preparing the dressing and the tuna.
For the Dressing:
4 Tbsp Soy sauce plus 2 tsp
2 Tbsp Rice wine vinegar plus 2 tsp
4 tsp Water
1 tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Peanut oil plus 1 tsp
2 Tbsp Sesame oil plus 1 tsp
Combine the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, water and sugar and whisk well. Continue to whisk oils slowly into the soy sauce mixture. You can adjust the ingredients to suit your taste preferences. Set aside until ready to use.
Cooking the tuna:
Remove partially thawed tuna from the packaging and place on a cutting board. Sprinkle kosher salt on both sides and then completely cover with fresh ground pepper on both sides.
Preheat a non-stick skillet to medium high and let it get really hot. Place the tuna in the skillet and let it cook just until the side that is facing down begins to turn solid gray, but only a few millimeters thick. Turn and cook the other side the exact same amount of time, or until the solid color is the same thickness as side one. This happens FAST. You should also begin to see solid juices running out and striations in the fish just start to appear. Take it from the heat and immediately place in ice bath. The ice bath stops the cooking and allows the center of the fish to thaw completely, while keeping it very cold.
Get your choice of greens ready to go in your salad bowl. I usually use mixed greens, but arugula works well,too. Note: arugula is spicy! You might want to mix it with another type of green lettuce.
Take the tuna from the ice bath and pat dry with paper towel. Put back on cleaned cutting board and use a sharp knife to slice the tuna into thin slices. Use the parts of the tuna that won’t slice as a topping for the middle of your salad. I call these “nuggets”.
Lay the tuna slices on top of the salad greens. Drizzle your dressing on top and serve with a side of rice. You can also top with cilantro. Enjoy!
This article is taken from the Hyperbiotics.com website. They did it so well, I wanted to share!
The holidays are just about here, and as excited as we are to dive into all of the delicious goodness likely to be on our tables this year, there is one aspect that some of us don’t so much look forward to: digestive troubles from a holiday binge.
From meats and cheeses to bread, fruits and baked veggie dishes (don’t forget dessert), sharing the annual meal of gratitude with the ones you love often means that overindulging – and the feelings that follow – are inevitable.
The good news is that probiotics can help. In fact, there are several steps you can take toward proper gut health that can have you saying goodbye to seasonal struggles with your digestive system when your inner foodie comes out to play for the holidays.
Go with Your Gut
The key to feeling great during the gluttony of the holidays is to maintain a healthy gut environment on a consistent basis. Gut health is not only important for experiencing optimal digestion and regularity, but it also affects all other supportive systems, like the nervous and immune systems.
You may even be able to improve your mood and boost overall energy in the days and weeks leading up to the holidays by making simple, healthy choices in favor of your GI tract – like eating probiotic-rich foods or taking a probiotic supplement.
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that colonize within your gut, and their presence can help to balance out the microbes that live there – keeping you feeling your best when it comes to foods, drinks, stress, and other holiday elements that can weigh heavily on your digestive system. A probiotic supplement that can effectively deliver good bacteria to your GI tract can help support regularity and even reduce bloating and gas – two of the most common complaints after a jubilant meal.
A high-quality probiotic like Hyperbiotics PRO-15 can pack billions of beneficial, living microbes into a single serving and might just help you enjoy your holiday feast without falling asleep at the dinner table or feeling backed up and uncomfortable in the days that follow. Simply put, a healthy gut environment can help you enjoy the time spent with your loved ones.
Focus on the Right Foods
It’s all about the details (or should I say micronutrients) when it comes to the foods that we eat around the holidays. So, to really curb the digestive distress, focus on foods that provide nourishment to your body vs foods that leave you feeling overly-stuffed and depleted.
For example, did you know that the right carbohydrates like whole grains and healthy complex carbohydratescan help keep glucose levels steady? As well, fibrous compounds from fruits and vegetables also support energy levels throughout the day and provide food and energy for the probiotic colonies in your gut – helping them to colonize and keeping your system supported.
Lean meats are great energy foods because they contain protein, vitamin B12, and essential amino acids like Tyrosine, an important amino acid for regulating hormones released in the gut environment which affects how we feel almost instantly.
Fatty acids like Omega-3 can be found in nuts, leafy greens, and fish and are important for many functions, including mood regulation. Fatty acids also help maintain a healthy gut lining, so they’re relatively gentle on the digestive tract.
Secure a Good Night’s Sleep
The night after a celebratory dinner can be a tricky one to get through, especially if you’ve really indulged in all that the seasonal fare has to offer. Interestingly enough, a December 2014 article called “The Gut Microbiome and the Brain” published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Medicinal Food describes a direct connection between your gut bacteria and your sleep and circadian rhythms. Balancing the bacteria in the gut through probiotic supplementation and conscious food choices can help you bust through a bout of post-feast insomnia.
A gigantic meal of any sort can leave you feeling exhausted, and while a cup of coffee might sound like the perfect digestif, caffeine can disrupt your REM sleep. When you’re not getting enough REM sleep, mental clarity often suffers as a result. Secure a good night’s sleep by choosing tea or hot water with lemon after your meal and increasing your intake of probiotic and prebiotic foods and supplements as the holidays approach.
Get Ahead of Bloat and Digestive Upset
Overeating is the most common cause of bloating, and gas can easily get trapped in your stomach from fatty foods, carbonated beverages, sweeteners, and dairy. Unfortunately, our culture is one adorned with buffets and double cheeseburgers, making overeating not just a holiday tradition, but a common occurrence. By eating slowly, listening to your body, and stopping once you are satisfied (not stuffed), you can start to rise above the temptation to overeat and feel great this season.
As well, when we’re not experiencing “business as usual”, it can be very hard to give thanks or focus on anything else for that matter. Digestive issues are incredibly distracting and no one should be burdened with them when it comes to enjoying a little time off with your family.
One of the best ways to combat digestive distress is to stay hydrated. It seems simple, but water helps keep digestive flow in motion, and you can achieve a healthier system simply by allowing more water to move through your digestive tract and break up anything that might be slowing you down. Try drinking an extra large glass of warm water with fresh squeezed lemon and a dash of pink Himalayan salt first thing in the morning to jumpstart your hydration (and bathroom) routine.
Attitude is Everything
Whatever you do, don’t beat yourself up about a hearty holiday meal. Because the body metabolizes guilt in a multitude of ways, one of the best things you can do is to prepare for your indulgences ahead of time.
Prior to your foodie festivities, plan for a healthy holiday and aim to increase your workouts or stay physically active, eat prebiotic and probiotic foods that can more positively impact digestion, and stick to limited portions so that you can ensure that the bounty you consume in the future is properly processed by the GI tract, and moves through your body quickly and without issue so that you can cherish another year of happy memories with your family. Because let’s face it, there’s not much better than feeling your best while being with the people you love.
Want to try a probiotic that will change your life? Order yours here and get a discount because of Rudog Nutrition.
We’d love to hear from you! What are some of the ways you cope after a holiday meal?
Are you thinking about changing things up this year? Maybe you are ready for a new way of eating . Maybe you have thought about trying to eat clean all the time. (Do we really know what “eating clean” means? It seems to be a highly variable definition.) Maybe you have even wondered if becoming vegetarian is a good idea or not. There are definitely more and more fighters evaluating their diet options, and even departing from their “high protein” ways. Fighters are starting to explore eating styles that have previously been considered non-traditional for MMA, like vegetarianism and veganism. There are several fighters who are known for their vegetarian and vegan eating styles; Jake Shields, Frank Mir, and Mac Danzig, to name a few. If you are considering adopting a vegetarian way of eating, you will first have to decide exactly HOW vegetarian you are going to eat.
There are so many variations. Some are super strict (like vegan) and some allow milk and eggs, but not beef and chicken. The type of vegetarianism you decide on will determine what foods you will have to focus on to make sure that you get enough protein and certain vitamins, like calcium, B12, and Iron.
If you are just going to be a straight forward vegetarian, at a minimum, you will not be eating ANY meat, fish, or poultry, dairy, or eggs. The good thing is this generally means that the overall diet will be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, while higher in fiber, B vitamins and antioxidants. On the other hand, if not well planned, the vegetarian diet can be low or inadequate in B12, Iron, calcium, and omega 3 fatty acids. It becomes important to eat a variety of foods so that over a period of time there aren’t any risks of nutrient deficiencies. Aside from having to make sure that the diet is providing all of the vitamins a fighter needs, it is important to make sure that the diet also provides enough total calories for the amount and type of training a fighter will be doing. The typical MMA fighter needs anywhere from 2000-4000 calories a day. This will depend greatly on height, weight, age, and training level. Unfortunately, many fighters have no idea how many calories they need to be eating, so they end up eating too few calories. Plus, since they are constantly cutting weight, they are always trying to eat even less. The vegetarian MMA fighter needs to know exactly what his or her caloric intake should be so that the diet can be designed to meet the need.
Let’s pretend we know a 28 yr old fighter named Jim who wants to become a vegetarian. He is 5ft 8inches and fights at 155 lbs. He used to walk around at 175, but since he has been working with Rudog he doesn’t do that anymore. He has adapted his training and diet to maintain his weight at 160. (He is soooo smart!) Now that he wants to be vegetarian, his diet will definitely change. His calorie needs are estimated to be around 2500 calories per day. Here is what a typical day might look like for him:
Breakfast
1 Whole Wheat English Muffin
1 tbsp Jelly
1 cup Orange Juice
1 cup Mixed fresh fruit topped with coconut flakes
Morning Snack
¼ cup Homemade trail mix
12 oz Green tea
Lunch
1 Veggie burger w/lettuce, tomato on whole wheat bun
1 oz Baked Lays
2 cups Mixed green salad w/ 1 tbs olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Dinner
2 cups Spicy tofu with brown rice
2 cups Steamed veggies
1 cup Fresh fruit
Evening Snack
2 cups Popcorn
12 oz Fruit smoothie made with soy milk
This meal plan ends up providing around 2500 calories, with 63% from carbs, 12% protein, and 25% fat. If you analyze if for vitamin and mineral content, it will not provide the recommended daily amounts of calcium, vitamin C, iron, B12, and others. This is because when dairy and eggs are eliminated, it becomes difficult to get those nutrients without some serious menu planning and rotation. Variety in food selection becomes extremely important. This particular meal plan did not include any dry beans or legumes, but doing so would certainly bump the nutrient value in several categories. The problem is most guys don’t want to eat beans every day, let alone for every meal. Not to mention the “GI distress” that comes with the territory. Oh, you WILL be gassier as a vegetarian, beans or no beans! That just comes with the territory. It is generally not a bad idea to take a multivitamin if you are eating vegetarian or vegan. You can also see where getting enough protein every day certainly takes some planning. This meal plan provides 12% and a good range is anywhere from 15-25% for fighters. A protein supplement would be an option to look at, or just make darn sure that there are high-protein foods consumed every day, like nuts, beans, hummus, egg substitutes, soy, and tofu. Where you have to be careful is the fat content of the diet. The vegetarian protein sources can be high in fat. It’s definitely a balancing act. If you choose to go the vegetarian route that does include dairy and eggs, it becomes MUCH simpler. The protein and calcium intake is less of a concern.
For the vegan, the challenges are a little more difficult because the food choices are much narrower. It can also become tempting to slide into a routine of eating the same thing all the time. This is certainly convenient, but over time can compromise the nutritional quality of the diet. When variety is limited, vitamin and mineral content is, too. The biggest challenges are getting enough absorbable iron and B12. These are best absorbed by the body when they are eaten from animal products, so getting them strictly from plant based foods is more difficult. The absorption rate of iron is greatly decreased when it is coming from plant based foods. Without the use of a high quality iron supplement the risk of anemia is high. It’s not a bad idea to have regular blood tests to make sure everything is ok.
Vegetarian diets are definitely possible for MMA athletes and fighters, but they do require a little more pre-planning and food preparation. Here are some things to think about if you are considering going vegetarian:
Pros
Lower in saturated fat
Higher in fiber
Lower in sodium
Lower in cholesterol
Greater intake of fruits and veggies
Cons
The diet can become higher in fat if cheese and dairy are used as main sources of protein and for flavor
Higher dairy intake can increase the intake of saturated fat
Foods can be more expensive
Fresh foods don’t last long and can be spoil before they are eaten.
You will need more time for frequent trips to grocery store and for food preparation.
Any time you are considering a significant diet change, it is a good idea to talk with a registered dietitian just to make sure that the diet is appropriate for you and what your fitness goals are.
In my opinion, the heart rate monitor may perhaps be the most under-utilized training tool in all of MMA training. The heart rate monitor can provide extremely valuable information and feedback about your training, as well as your level of conditioning. I have yet to see anyone use one where I train, and there are “experts” there! However, kudos must be given to Rich Franklin, who in the July 2010 issue of Fighters Only, is shown wearing his heart rate monitor while he trains. I was very impressed. There’s a fighter who clearly has great coaches and trainers. I suspect that most guys are a little unsure as to how or why to use one. Hopefully, this article will help explain some of that and motivate you to get one and use it!
Why get one?
As a fighter you are constantly working to improve strength, conditioning, recovery, and performance. The only way you can evaluate your progress is to measure what you do. For example, you know if you are improving strength by keeping track of how much weight you lift. You know if your performance is better by your actions and results in the cage. How are you able to evaluate progress of conditioning and recovery? What is it that you are measuring? If you are simply evaluating based on how you “feel” during or after a workout, that is NOT good enough. You need real data that shows exactly how well (or not well) you are doing. Using heart rate monitors during training can help do the following:
1. Improve aerobic conditioning and aerobic threshold
2. Simulate intensity levels that are more reflective of an actual fight
3. Identify any unsafe stress response to a given exercise or activity
.
Let’s go through each of these briefly, to give you a better understanding of how these can be accomplished.
Improving aerobic conditioning and threshold
When you are able to measure your heart rate, you are able to identify how long it takes you to reach your target heart rate, as well as how long it takes you to return to your resting heart rate. This is also known as recovery. The less time it takes for your heart rate to return to a normal rate(or near normal rate) is a measure of how conditioned you are. Heart rate feedback also allows you to measure how long it takes you to reach your maximum heart rate. As you are more conditioned, it should take you longer to get there. You can also adjust the intensity of your workout to keep you in a desired heart rate zone. Suppose you are 28 years old and you want to work out at a low intensity so that you are staying in your fat burning zone. You know that your desired heart rate for this is 115. (220 – Your Age) x 60% The heart rate monitor allows you to track whether or not you are exercising appropriately. You can increase or decrease your intensity accordingly. This is how you make a workout work FOR you.
Reproducing the Fight
You have to be able to simulate the same level of intensity in your training that you will experience in your fight. Knowing your heart rate during 5 minute, all out sparring sessions is critical. You also need to know how well you recover in those 30 second rest periods. If your recovery is poor (heart rate is not back to normal, or near normal levels, at start of next round) then you have identified an area you need to work on. You have seen fighters who seem to have trouble recovering between rounds. It doesn’t have to be that way. Proper training can correct it.
Identifying unsafe responses to exercise
This is perhaps the most important use of the heart rate monitor. If you already know your max heart rate, your recovery rate and your aerobic threshold, then you are much better able to determine if an exercise has pushed you to an unsafe limit or triggered an irregular response. For example, if it is 110 degrees outside and you are pushing tractor tires for the first time ever, your heart rate is going to spike. It is important to monitor how high it goes and how quickly it is able to recover. Going too high or taking too long can be dangerous. You need to know your body, and your coach needs to know it, too.
How do I know which monitor to buy?
There are literally hundreds of monitors out there. Choosing one can be as complicated or as simple as you care to make it. I am all about what works. I have listed some criteria that I think are “top 5” when considering a monitor, but there are lots of other things to consider. These are in no particular order.
Cost Duh! Of course this is a consideration. Do you want to spend $50 or $500? The complexity of the monitor will drive the price. A basic monitor that will calculate average overall HR (heart rate), highest and lowest HR, total calories spent, and have a pause function is a pretty good one. This should cost $100 or less. If you want to track your diet intake and customize 12 different workouts you are going to spend a lot more.
Strap or no strap? The monitors that have chest straps are going to be more accurate and probably a little less expensive. What is nice about the ones that have a strap is your coach or trainer can actually wear the “watch” while you wear the strap. They can keep track of all of the data while you just focus on exercising.
Face Size The size of the face should not be overlooked. You want it big enough to be able to see it, but not so big that it is heavy and in the way. Women especially may want to consider a man’s version as the women’s versions can sometimes be too small to read easily.
Button Size A lot of you guys have large hands and fingers, which can make it difficult to manipulate the buttons. Choose wisely here!
Battery Replacement This may be the MOST important one! I did not even know to consider this when I purchased mine years ago. Apparently, some of the monitors require you to ship your monitor back to the manufacturer to replace the dead battery. Mine sure does. It is still sitting in my gym bag, dead. A major pain in the butt. Others have batteries you can replace yourself. It will say on the package somewhere, so be sure to
know what you are getting.
After doing a little research, the following monitors have repeatedly shown up as being highly recommended and user friendly. On a personal note, I own a lower end model made by Polar and I loved it, until the battery died.
Polar FS1
Simple, and easy to use. Recommended for those not needing all the bells and whistles.
Easily and accurately measures your heart rate to help you get to just the right intensity or your exertion level. This basic HRM features added exercise timer and time-of-day watch features, extra-large digits for easy readability, and one-button functionality. It provides a visual and audible alarm when you reach your target heart rate zone. It provides information on total exercise time and average heart rate during total exercise time.
Omron HR 100C
The Omron is another basic heart rate monitor that is inexpensive, easy to use and doesn’t require hours of time spent reading a manual to figure it out. You get a continuous reading of your heart rate, an alarm that tells you when you’re in your heart rate zone, time of day display and a daily reminder alarm. At around $30-$50, this is a great price for what you get and users will be pleased with how easy this is to use.
Timex T5G941
The Timex T5G941 is another basic model that’s easy to use, offers basic heart rate and workout information and is a favorite among exercisers. The display is large, so you can easily see the numbers and it includes an activity timer to rack exercise time as well as information about minimum, average and maximum heart rate for each workout. Most exercisers like the fact that you can change the battery yourself (something you can’t do with all HRMs) and that you can figure out how to set it up without spending hours reading the manual. At around $30-$60, this HRM is perfect for people who want the basics for a great price.
Supplementing the diet with Omega 3 fatty acids is a good idea. Research absolutely supports this. It is particularly important if you are someone who doesn’t eat fish on a regular basis or at all. Omega 3 fatty acids are known to have a protective effect on the cardiovascular system. They inhibit clot formation and promote vasodilation. This is good if you are trying to NOT have a heart attack or a stroke, and would like to have good blood pressure.
With this in mind, Rudog now has a liquid supplement called Rudog Omega. It is orange flavored and has omega 3 fatty acids plus Vitamin D3. The D3 supports cardiovascular health, but also supports neurologic and bone health.
Anytime you are considering a supplement you should consider the following:
1. Do I really need it?
2. Is it safe?
3. How much does it cost?
4. What are my choices? Who else makes this product?
With that in mind, please evaluate Rudog Omega and other liquid omegas that are out there. Specifically, SFH.
Here is what you will find:
Rudog Omega is :
STEAM distilled and has
Fish Oil (Sardine & Anchovy) 4,365 mg *
Omega 3 1,300 mg
EPA 698 mg
DHA 436 mg
Other 1931mg
Vitamin D3 1000IU
SFH is
MOLECULAR distilled.
Total Omegas =3705 mg
EPA 2204mg
DHA 990mg
Other 512
Vitamin D3 1000IU
Rudog Omega is $.80/teaspoon. SFH is $1.00/teaspoon
Rudog is only going to put out a high quality product. We have built our reputation on only associating with the best. Supplements are no exception.
Email us directly at [email protected] to order or request more information.
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