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  • Bacon Fat

    Saving and cooking with bacon fat is resourceful, cost efficient, and, least surprising, f’ing scrumptious. My 12 year old son, Dane, loves bacon. Our family even gives him bacon themed and flavored gifts on holidays. Seriously, he can’t get enough of the salty swine. It’s no surprise then, that many of my mornings are spent…

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  • Sweet Thursday – Bananas (with recipes and the Java Bananza!)

    A sweetener doesn’t have to be dripped, scooped, sprinkled or shaken. Bananas are my first choice to add a sugary pop to my food if the flavor profile fits. Most smoothie makers understand the delightful benefit of adding a banana to the mix, but what about mixing one up in oatmeal or baking into your…

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  • water

    Moderation in all things is important, and that includes your water intake. Staying hydrated is critical, but don’t pursue it at the expense of listening to your body.Our bodies are equipped with an exhaustive set of signals. They tell us we need to sleep by making us feel tired. They tell us to move our…

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  • Forgot Lunch?

    Now that I’m a working stiff, making sure I have healthy and accessible food at work is a necessity. When I played Major League Baseball, I never had to worry about making sure I had food at the office. Everything was provided for us ever hungry, bat wielding lads. If the sustenance at the ballpark…

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  • Gluten Free Living

    In the early 2000s, it wasn’t trendy or cute to eat gluten free. Now, it’s like wearing a pink Sox hat to Fenway or postgame interview shaving cream pies in the face for the cats on the field. There is gluten free pasta, bread, frozen meals…getting the picture? The latest “healthy” marketing craze seems to…

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  • Hot Dogs

    Can I be frank? The majority of hotdogs are absolute garbage. You can, however find an “A” version of a “D” food. Most hotdogs are constructed (I use that word deliberately) from the trimmings of meat left over after an animal has been broken down into choice cuts. This alone seems relatively innocuous.  The combination…

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  • Preparing for Competition

    I’m in a heap of trouble.  I might have just made a very bad decision, so the first thing I decided to do was to come share it with you, my partners in this adventure. You remember my friend Hunter? Well, after my rather pitiful showing last week with the “Jackie,” he decided to inspire…

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  • Neighborhood Cleanup

    Life gets busy between work and family obligations. Getting to the gym or just finding time to break a sweat can be overwhelming. We know that working in and around our community is important for our overall well-being, but somehow it ends up sliding to the bottom of the priority list. I’ve long had the…

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  • dress

    Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. Does Mark Twain have a clue? This post is about a little trial and error when it comes to clothing choices.As you know, I have started a new job. I have spent the last three days getting playfully buried by my co-workers…

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  • Need to Focus? Dress Up

    Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. Does Mark Twain have a clue? This post is about a little trial and error when it comes to clothing choices. As you know, I have started a new job. I have spent the last three days getting playfully buried by my…

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I aim to plan and consciously choose all of my indulgences. I have the knowledge and willpower to do so, but occasionally, I will have a substantial misfire.

I was in Boston, my home away from home, for the 2004 World Series reunion. I splurged nutritionally as I had intended, but I didn’t map out my large nutritional stumble while watching the game.

I had it all pre-navigated. My two men (12 and 14) and I love to experience travel through food. We think it’s the most efficient and interesting way to explore the culture of a city. We discussed the trip ahead of time and decided on three restaurants where we would fully indulge and eat like kings. We’d start with the team dinner at a fine steak and seafood house, follow it up with breakfast the next morning at a bakery, and finish it out with lunch at a tapas joint in the South End.

The first night the three of us shared bone in filets, swordfish steaks, oysters, giant shrimp, crab cakes, lamb chops, chocolate cake, apple crisps and cold vanilla ice cream. I enjoyed a few glasses of whiskey, neat, and my boys drank Sprite. We left the restaurant 1 for 1. Remember, this indulgence was planned.

The next morning, we went to a bakery suggested by a Boston-based chef friend. The boys picked up scones and French toast; I scored big with a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a crusty roll with spinach and tomato. The bite came complete with a Dijon mustard finish that struck a chord with me, managing to last all day. 2 at bats, 2 knocks.

After mobbing around on the T train all morning, making our way to Harvard and back to Downtown Crossing, we landed at our destination for lunch, Toro. Theo Epstein made the recommendation after I mentioned that my boys and I were on a food adventure. This is the guy who went out to get the “washed up” 2002 version of David Ortiz, so he’s proven his scouting mettle. If he thinks it’s a worthwhile trip, I’ll take his advice.

Back to food.

Rather than turn this post into a restaurant review, I’ll keep it simple. I had an out of body experience. Every small plate that arrived was visually captivating and stunning on the palate. We sprinted the gamut. From spicy curry beef empanadas to cauliflower with golden raisins and pine nuts to the pièce de résistance, roasted bone marrow with radish citrus salad and oxtail marmalade. This dish, holy fuck. Our waiter described it exquisitely as “like rich, hot, beef flavored butter.” I was now 3 for 3 and ready for my final at bat.

A theme throughout this entire trip was advance planning. My first mistake was not preparing for this final meal. I figured my boys and I would just eat at the ballpark and didn’t put much thought into it. I knew that the options would be plentiful and come in large quantities. I wasn’t necessarily wrong, but I quickly got off course.

I was running around at Fenway from this place to that, answering questions and meeting folks. My boys were on their own and already up in the suite by the time I arrived around the start of the first inning. They had eaten pizza, snacks and fruit, totally what I expected for them. I walked in starving, my second mistake.  I reached for a plate and piled on decent looking veggies, a huge mound of guacamole, and the only available protein, stale fried chicken strips. I could have reached into my bag and opened a can of wild caught salmon. I didn’t. My defenses were down. I hadn’t snacked. I ingested that garbage and suffered strike one.

You know my stance on processed foods. Those frozen chunks of flour covered meat product provide little nutritional value. I had already experienced a whirlwind day filled with emotion and exertion, and the pizza under the heat lamp began to look lovely.

I advocate indulgence, but I advocate planned, quality indulgence. This was neither. I scarfed down a piece and the drugs hit my bloodstream. I couldn’t chew fast enough. Strike two.

The final pitch of the at bat came in and I chased it. I scarfed down a few more slices, knowing even as I did so that it wasn’t my finest hour.

3 for 4. In baseball that’s a hell of a day. Nutritionally, I expect 4 for 4s from myself almost always. I’m in control, so the high bar is appropriately set. Rather than dwell on it, I’ll do what Manny tells us to do after a rough at bat. “Turn the page, papi.”

I write this from the plane the following morning. I’ve turned the page. Today, I’ve ingested steel cut oats, fresh organic blueberries, a pile of kale, a chunk of a ham steak, a few fresh scrambled eggs and organic black coffee.

In my bag, I have a large salad with tons of fresh veggies, almonds, chicken, organic Hannah yams. I also still have that wild salmon I passed over for pizza in a box.

I’m back on track. I remember last night’s at bat and will make the adjustment without carrying the emotion of yesterday over into today’s game.

I hope you’ll share your stories of strikeouts or home runs in the comments section below.

Kap