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  • Protein Powder Alternatives

  • Risk of Supplements

    You may have read our posts about dietary supplements and already be familiar with our strong support of real, whole foods over pills. In previous writings, I advised moderation for folks who mine for shortcuts in the form of vitamins, bars and powders. Today, I read something that is causing me to make the same suggestion more emphatically. From sciencedaily.com:…

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  • quick meals

    Summer is over for my two young men, so I am making school lunches every day. Finding what to put in their bags can be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be an insurmountable one. I start with a fundamental question: What will I absolutely not include in their sacks? This is an important…

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  • Sweet Thursday – Break the Cravings (Epic Bar Review)

    We have trained ourselves to reach for a sweet snack between meals. Break this behavior chain and you will find yourself with a world of convenient options for that 3pm craving. You know I rarely review products, but I do enjoy the tasting process. When I discover a new commodity that captures my attention, I…

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  • stairs

    Jumping is a great way to build power, explosiveness and athleticism. I’m of Eastern European descent (sounds more interesting than white, right?), but I used to be able to leap. I swear. You don’t believe me and that’s what video is for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq_KIe9Rh3s Early in my career, I trained with a Zen master. Okay, he…

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  • sprints

    We’ve talked enough about the fat burning, muscle building capabilities of sprinting around here. We haven’t talked about how much mental confidence we can derive from operating at our fastest and most explosive. Men, very generally speaking, begin losing speed, power and athleticism in their early to mid 20s. Testosterone output in males peaks around…

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  • Skin Deep

    The post below was a collaborative effort between Stephanie, our superstar editor, and me. We discussed and debated on the phone, then quickly hammered out a draft. What you’re about to read is an accurate representation of our collective view on the appearance of vegetables. Laugh at us. We deserve it. We’ve got to dig…

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  • Food Synergy

    I’m often asked what food should be eaten prior to competition for fuel, consumed prior to bed to burn fat or to assist in getting a good night’s sleep. While there are certainly individual choices that are better than others, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Synergy is defined as the interaction…

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  • Responding to Guilt Trips: Strength and Kindness

    Guilt trips damage relationships and should never work. You may have noticed that the NLCS just ended, and the World Series is set to begin. As an analyst for FOX Sports, this is perhaps my busiest time of the year. I’m not only in studio for a large part of the day, but I spend…

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  • Importance of Fat

    Opting for a low-fat diet while on a training program might sound like the right thing to do to get lean, but the opposite may be true, particularly when it comes to hormone production. From marksdailyapple.com: Eat plenty of saturated and monounsaturated fat. Fat blunts insulin secretion while increasing testosterone production. Insulin may be useful…

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  • Avocados (with sample recipe)

    European sailors en route to the New World used avocados in place of butter. I’m guessing those seamen were all about flavor and consistency. They knew they were ingesting a true super food, newfangled ideas about cholesterol and heart health be damned. There is nothing quite like scooping out a bite of creamy green heaven.…

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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