What you do every single day matters.

What do you do to stand out and rise above your peers?

Why everyone should love (and eat) liver!

I have never liked liver. My Mum used to make beef liver in a gravy with onions when I was growing up. Sorry Mum but it was gross. :-(
But when she made chicken liver pate I loved it and became a convert!

As a Sports Nutritionist and someone living a low carb whole foods lifestyle, I think everyone should eat liver. LIVER is FULL of VITAMINS, MINERALS, MICRONUTRIENTS and TRACE ELEMENTS which support energy production, healing, and health. In fact, per ounce, liver has more than many fruits, vegetables and muscle meats, including the fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K), iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, folic acid, Vitamin C (yes Vitamin C!), and the list goes on and on. I'm not saying you shouldn’t eat low carb vegetables and nutrient dense fruit like berries (which are full of phytonutrients, certain vitamins and minerals as well as fiber). We just don’t have the research to support avoiding all fruits and vegetables (stay tuned).
So here it is, one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet - Chicken Liver and Bacon Pate!

(Why add bacon? Who doesn't love bacon! Try it and you'll be glad you did.)

Pate may not look great but tastes AMAZING!

Ingredients:    

1 pound fresh chicken livers, diced

6 slices bacon, chopped

9 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1/4 cup brown onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp capers (or green peppercorns)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup sherry (brandy or Cognac works too but Sherry is less expensive)

Directions:
(Some recipes say you should soak the livers in milk for a few hours to tenderize and soften the flavor. I've tried it several times for up to 4 hours and not noticed any difference.)
1. In a large frying pan cook bacon on medium high heat.
2. Add 6 tbsp of butter, Olive oil and saute the onion until soft.
3. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.
4. Add the chicken livers, capers, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper.
5. Cook the livers for 5-6 minutes or until browned no the outside but still pink on the inside.
6. Add the Sherry and cook for another 4-5 minutes and some of the Sherry has evaporated. Check the livers are cooked through. If not cook for another 1-2 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
8. Remove the bay leaves, place the mixture into a food processor, add the last 3 Tbsp of butter and pulse until well blended.
9. Put the pate in small containers, cover and place in the refrigerator until firm (4-6 hours).
10. Enjoy the awesomeness!!
(Note: For a tasty liver snack on the go or when you are travelling, check out grass fed liver bars from EPIC Bar - https://epicbar.com/buy.html)

Strive to do something meaningful and significant every day.

Inspiration and Motivation Are All Around Us

Sometimes it's hard to see the wood for the trees, or in this case, the twigs for the snow.  ;-)
But look a little deeper and you can FIND THE INSPIRATION to set your goals, and the MOTIVATION TO KEEP WORKING to achieve them.  Stay Strong!
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How's that New Years' Resolution Going?

Do today what others won't ...

The Lean Wolf Leads The Pack

I've been asked why the name, "Lean Wolf Running?" The short version is, a good mate of mine and I were on a long run and towards the end we were pushing hard and it was hurting. Looking for inspiration and resolve to keep up the intensity he said, "the lean wolf leads the pack".
Until then I had never heard this quote from the book Once A Runner by John L. Parker. It resonated with me immediately and on many levels. It did the trick and we finished strong, albeit fatigued.

Over the years since then, I have thought about that quote more times than I can remember and it never ceases to inspire me.

As a runner, "the lean wolf leads the pack" makes me think the one who is the leanest is also the hungriest, they want the prey more than those who are more content. You have to really want it, you have to be able to make the sacrifices (you have to be lean in other aspects of your life), you have to be the most motivated to really go after what you want. Stay lean and stay hungry to reach your goals.

In life, for me it means staying focused on your life goals and not being side tracked with the many unimportant things. Focus on the 1 or 2 truly meaningful things in your life, like family first, and ignore or get rid of your distractions. Leading the pack means being successful in life, not materialistically but finding what makes you happy and content. Stay lean and you will lead the pack. You will be truly happy and content.

As a father, I think of talking with my children about what it means to be a Lean Wolf. About recycling and not being wasteful, About having a small footprint on the Earth. About staying healthy, thinking consciously about what we eat and drink, where those foods come from so our environment stays lean, healthy and free of pollution.

Over the years these and many other permutations of the meanings of "the lean wolf leads the pack" have struck and stayed with me.
How about you? Do you have an inspirational quote or mantra?

Cauliflower Cheese Bombs

These low carb snacks are THE BOMB!
They're a little work but well worth it.  :-)

Cauliflower Cheese Bombs

Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower
2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup sharp cheddar, shredded 
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs
                                                  salt & pepper to taste
(Optional - Bacon bits!)

Directions:
1. Blend the cauliflower in a food processor until coarsely chopped to the size of grains of rice. 
2. Put the cauliflower in a bowl and microwave for 6-8 minutes,
3. Wrap the cauliflower in a thin dish towel and squeeze out the excess water (Be careful, the fluid will be VERY hot!).
4. Place the mixture back in the bowl and add cream, butter, both cheeses, eggs, salt and pepper. Mix well.  (You can add cooked bacon bits in here if you like. I like!!)
5. Place 1 tablespoon of the mix onto your oiled cookie sheet. 
6. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes until browned on the bottom.
7. Remove and place shredded cheese on top of each Cauliflower Cheese Bomb.
8. Switch to broil for 1-2 minutes until tops are brown and crispy.
9. Remove, serve and enjoy!

Quick and Easy Frittata (Bacon & Egg Loaf)

This is one of the quickest, easiest and tastiest low carb recipes ever! Uses only 1 bowl and 1 loaf tin (so quick clean up too!)
My Mum used to make this for us when we were kids and I have always loved it. Now I make it for my family and it's a crowd favorite. I hope you and your families enjoy it too!

Low carb still means eat your veggies!

Ingredients:
6 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 zucchini, grated
4 slices of bacon, chopped
1/4 brown onion, finely chopped
3 Medium mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup spinach, sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped or crushed
1 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350F (180C).
2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Place mixture into loaf tin and bake for 25 minutes.
4. Enjoy!

Not your usual mid-life crisis.

So why start this blog?
It wasn’t turning 40 that instigated my mid-life crisis it was the birth of our 4^th child a few months later. And I didn’t feel the urge to go buy a red sports car, I felt a strong urge to take my children camping and go run in the woods … a lot! The birth of our beautiful baby girl made me acutely aware of life slipping away from me and how I was letting nature and the outdoors slip progressively more and more out of my life and the lives of my children.

So, I decided to take the plunge and commit to running (and mountain biking) 100 miles on the trails from Colorado Springs to Denver as a way to motivate myself to get my life back on track and along the way, show my children that the joys of the outdoors are literally, just outside your front door! I have wanted to take up ultra running for a few years but haven’t even run consistently for almost the past 10 years, so 2015 will indeed present some challenges. Seems like a normal thing to do right?  :-)

As part of my journey, I decided a year ago to start living a whole foods low carbohydrate high fat lifestyle. Why? Pretty simple, without training consistently I was getting fat and lethargic on a typical Western high carbohydrate diet. It was a healthy diet full or fruits, vegetables and grains, so I knew I needed to change. I’ve had great success losing weight and feeling more energetic, and without negative impacts on my cholesterol levels. I hope through this blog I can share my experiences of how to successfully implement a low carb high fat lifestyle and avoid common pitfalls so you can enjoy the same benefits I have experienced! I also hope this will stimulate lots of comments and discussions on other peoples’ experiences on similar low carb or low sugar lifestyles such as Paleo.

I hope you enjoy this blog and will share your own experiences!

A little bit about me

• Exercise Physiologist (BS and MS),
• Sports Nutritionist (PhD),
• endurance athlete (marathon PR - 2 hours 46 minutes),
• Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist,
• USA Track and Field certified coach
• Father of 4 amazing children,
• Husband,
• And I’m living a whole foods, low carbohydrate high fat lifestyle.

I have also authored and co-authored numerous scientific articles, abstracts, book chapters, presented at national and international conferences, and been interviewed and quoted by publications such as Runners’ World, Active.com, Men’s Fitness, Muscle&Fitness, MSN Healthy Living, and The New York Times.