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  • Sick? Don’t Reduce Your Fever

    Feeling under the weather? Don’t reduce your fever with pills. Our superstar editor, Stephanie, had a fever from the flu the other night while outside her window sat 18 inches of Maryland snow. Her remedy? Baths and sleep. The simplicity of her approach and my realization that I haven’t had a fever in a long,…

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  • Sweet Thursday – the Three C’s

    If you eat candy regularly, you may live longer than me. Welcome to today’s strange rendition of Sweet Thursday. I’m taking this opportunity to focus on some peculiar studies. It’s a good reminder that you can make anything sound good in a vacuum. These studies don’t sit well with me or make much sense, so…

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  • Sweating to Lose Weight

    Wearing a wet suit to stay warm in frigid water, I get. Wearing this while working out? The idea of wrapping yourself in neoprene while working out makes me cringe. Apparently, the goal is to assist in long-term weight loss. However, y’all know we don’t just go with an initial gut reaction here at Kaplifestyle.…

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  • Teas

    Most men will opt for coffee over tea, myself included. That doesn’t mean we have to choose. We can appreciate the many health benefits of tea, and we can pair it with music. Today, a ballplayer came up to me, accompanied by several teammates, to inquire about tea. He asked very generally, “What are your thoughts on tea?”…

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  • Turkey Chili – Heather Downey [Guest Post]

    For athletes, chili is an underappreciated meal. An all-encompassing, well balanced dish, chili features animal flesh for protein and fat, beans (a natural protein-carb combo), veggies and spices to cover all our needs in one savory, satisfying bowl. Heather Downey, our resident expert on nutritionally dense, powerful, flavorful meals designed for those of us with…

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  • bulletproof upgraded coffee beans review

    If you dare to call yourself bullet proof, expect your Kevlar to be tested. In this post, we’ll touch on Bulletproof’s base product, Upgraded Coffee, and the techniques they use to spread the word. A friend hit me up months ago and mentioned that he knew somebody connected to the company. They wanted to send…

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  • Core Strength Moves

    You don’t need fancy exercises to build core strength. If your desire is to inspire the muscles around your spine and midsection to fire, squat. A Kaplifestyle reader reached out to me to ask about a good core routine for beginners. Waltz into any fitness center and you’ll find folks twisting with cables, doing various…

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  • Lethal Injections or Life Saving Vaccinations

    Remember when there were no immunization shots and folks prevented disease with whole foods and exercise? Me neither. There has never been a moment in our lives when that statement was totally true. Yesterday, we touched on colds. Today, we’ll take a look at some of the more serious diseases out there. This post will…

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  • Sweating to Lose Weight

    Wearing a wet suit to stay warm in frigid water, I get. Wearing this while working out? The idea of wrapping yourself in neoprene while working out makes me cringe. Apparently, the goal is to assist in long-term weight loss. However, y’all know we don’t just go with an initial gut reaction here at Kaplifestyle.…

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  • Strong Minds

    If you’ve known me at all over the years, you know I frequently talk about how vital it is to have a strong mind. This post offers no advice. It’s simply an ode to the characteristic I respect most in human beings. During my MLB career, I paid close attention to the psyche of the…

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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