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  • Outreach

    Yesterday, I met a recovering meth addict. He shared a tale of staying in Humboldt County, living in a tent and soaking up the healthy energy of the town. I’m fascinated by his experience. He’s trying to get his life back together and is working on becoming the strongest man he can be, the most powerful version…

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  • Be Decisive

    A message to wait staff everywhere: when a customer asks for help with a meal order, be decisive. Recently, I strolled into a new Indian restaurant in Phoenix. The food was strong, the service was attentive and the experience was enjoyable…sans a two minute stretch in which the woman serving my table struggled to make a…

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  • Be Decisive

    A message to wait staff everywhere: when a customer asks for help with a meal order, be decisive. Recently, I strolled into a new Indian restaurant in Phoenix. The food was strong, the service was attentive and the experience was enjoyable…sans a two minute stretch in which the woman serving my table struggled to make a…

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  • Football is Life

    Yesterday, I watched my 15 year old son play a passing league game with his high school teammates in preparation for their upcoming fall football campaign. As a father, it was hard not to beam with pride as I watched my son take the field and shine. He took snaps under center on offense and…

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  • Soundtrack for the Moment

    Alicia Keyes is the perfect Father’s Day morning accompaniment to breakfast, coffee and emails…for today only. Stay with me, this post is going to bounce around and be random and eclectic, just like my dad. It’s not surprising that I woke up thinking about music. My father, after all, is a musician. Classical music was…

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  • Grief and Loss

    Grieving is highly variable process. There are no shoulds or shouldn’ts, there is no roadmap, and there are definitely no rules. Don’t ever let anyone tell you where you should be or how you should be dealing with your loss. From Jeff Olsen, author of The Slight Edge: Grieving is neither neat nor orderly. There…

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  • Cocktail Class 2: Game On

    My cocktail lineup is pretty thin. Knowing how to masterfully create one drink (this martini) will never make me a successful spirits manager. I’ll lose every game without some variety. I need to start building my team’s depth chart, and I know just who to ask. Before I reach out to Stephanie, let’s talk some…

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  • Vitamin Shots and Quackery

    B vitamins are a critical part of maintaining your health. Luckily, you can grab them from a variety of natural sources. Look to dark leafy greens, fish, cantaloupe, poultry, meat, eggs, dairy…getting the picture? Needles do not reside on this list. You needn’t seek out shots for your nutrient…shot. I regularly weight train at a…

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  • Do Your Own Nutrition Homework – Matt Buschmann [Guest Post]

    In 2013, I identified Matt Buschmann as a man with the capability to lead a baseball organization both nutritionally and from a training perspective. My assessment is informed by his devotion to trial and error, willingness to devour new information and apply data. Of course, he is also an elite athlete with the mental strength…

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  • soda

    Orange juice isn’t “just as bad for you as Coke.” Don’t fall for that bullshit.Somehow, this became a popular narrative. Especially in dieting circles, folks glanced at a nutrition label, noticed that the sugar and calorie content of the two drinks were similar and determined that they should be uttered in the same breath. This…

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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