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  • Protein Powder Alternatives

  • Cleaning Up the Dry Cleaning Myth

    If you travel for business, you may think dry cleaning your threads upon returning from a road trip is a prudent move. If it’s been a good long while since your last trip to the cleaners, I won’t argue with you. However, it’s likely you only need to go that route if significant time has…

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  • Black Rice

    If brown rice is better than white rice, clearly purple (or black) rice is even healthier, right? A few days back, I paid my third visit to a downtown Phoenix sushi establishment, intent on some sashimi. I’m a lover of buttery consistency when it comes to salmon and tuna, and Harumi checks that box. While…

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  • Bouncing Back

    Handling disappointment with a process is critical to navigating life with grace and class. For a successful journey, you need to be resilient. Today, amateur players across the country will sit by the phone, anxiously waiting a call from a MLB team alerting them that they have been drafted to play professional baseball. For every…

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  • Dairy

    If your body responds favorably to dairy, I say go for it. If not, I don’t see incorporating it as a necessity. I’m often asked if I include dairy in my nutrition plan. Folks wonder about my take on it in general, including most recently when I posted a sample food journal. This doesn’t surprise…

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  • Building a Home Gym

    Stop paying monthly bills, bite the bullet and build a gym at your home. It makes financial sense and is a much more efficient way to train. If you a) enjoy the social element of a health club, b) care to use cardiovascular machinery or c) don’t have free space for a simple rack and…

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  • Inexpensive Wine

    Good wine doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s like art, totally subjective. I’m no wine connoisseur, though I’m interested in learning. I know that I appreciate the occasional glass with a steak or some cheese. But wine doesn’t have to be reserved for special events and treated with reverence. Tonight, I had a glass of Pinot Noir that I…

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  • Fat Washing Cocktails [Guest Post]

    I knew I wanted to introduce a guest blogger at some point to Kaplifestyle. I’ve been hemming and hawing, waiting for the right moment to give it a shot. Providing a platform to teach is among the greatest gifts a man or woman can give to another. When our editor, Stephanie, told me about her…

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  • Going Back To Cali

    I genuinely appreciate Phoenix and its landscape. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last 6 weeks here. That said, I can’t wait to get back to LA. Southern California, in my estimation, is the most magnificent place on earth. In particular, Los Angeles is our state’s crown jewel. I’m proud to present to you five regions you…

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  • Risk Taking, Confidence, and Connection

    I have no patience for risk aversion. Allow me say that in a less abrasive way. Taking calculated risks and behaving in a brave, bold manner gives puts us in an optimal position to have success in every compartment of our lives. When interacting with our fellow human beings, we must be strong with our…

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  • Bass and Bikes – Tim Commerford [Guest Poem]

    Y’all know we range far and wide on Kaplifestyle. Music, sports, fitness…it’s all fair game. Sometimes the three come together exquisitely for a post. My music tastes are eclectic, but Rage Against the Machine has been the soundtrack for the finest of my workouts. Several years ago, I met Rage’s bass player, Tim Commerford. Our…

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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