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  • Protein Powder Alternatives

  • injury

    Hello, my friends, and thanks for joining week 12 of our open thread. We don’t have time to waste. Let’s roll.Charlie says: Being an elite athlete, I am sure you have dealt with your fair share of injuries. I recently suffered a torn labrum which required surgery. I rehabbed slowly but surely, returned to my…

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  • diabetes

    Taking a walk after a meal burns calories, but more importantly, stimulates and improves your digestion.Dinner tonight in Milwaukee was a 10 ounce New York Strip steak covered in blue cheese, grilled beets and carrots with an evening stroll on the side. Hand in hand with my date (my laptop and work bag), I set…

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  • carbs

    Welcome back to our open thread, let’s hop to it.Mike: Question on your grain free experiment. Will sweet potatoes be your main/only source of complex carbs? And will you be eating more than one today?Also in regards to sweet potatoes with breakfast. I’m a big fan of cutting one open, stuffing with some sautéed veggies…

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  • Au Naturel

    If you want to be your strongest, get some sun on your boys. And by boys, I mean your testicles. Baseball players are continually trying to mine every (legal) advantage they can. Any pro athlete is working to get stronger, faster, more powerful, and they’re looking to their nutrition, supplements, even superstitions to do so.…

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  • Raw Milk

    Where have you been all my life, raw milk? Drinking milk in adulthood is not a common practice in most of the world. Americans love their milk, however, and I am no exception. Venturing to the store presents a dizzying array of options, ranging from whole to skim, and a host of milk substitutes and…

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  • Uphill Sprinting

    Sprinting uphill burns fat efficiently and is safer than running on flat ground. When I was a lad, I lived on a square city block. You could walk (or run) around it. The environment was conducive to flat ground sprints, and we had plenty of barefoot asphalt races in Reseda in the mid- to late…

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  • FAQs

    What are your thoughts on [protein shakes, powders, pills, etc.]? I eat and recommend real, whole foods.  Supplements should be used sparingly, if at all. How do I get muscles like yours? Do you take steroids or human growth hormone? I have never taken steroids or human growth hormone. I strongly advise against shortcuts like these…

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  • Train Your Cravings

    Don’t like broccoli, kale or spinach? Fear not. You can train your brain to crave vegetables. One of my best friends as I was growing up ate nothing unless came in a bag wrapped in paper from a drive through. He’s an unhealthy adult now. While I was never that extreme as a 17 year…

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  • Hot and Sour Soup (with sample recipe)

    When most normal folks crave comforting soup, they head to their local deli and grab a pint of chicken noodle. Our know-it-all editor and my partner at Kaplifestyle, Stephanie, isn’t normal, folks. She takes a typical family’s winter situation and makes an otherwise easy solution difficult. She rehydrates (whatever the hell that means) dried mushrooms…

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  • Enjoy the Rain

    It rarely rains in Southern California, but when it does, it may bring with it health benefits. I’m generally inclined to enjoy all weather, but rainy, chilly days feel especially healthy to me. I’d dig the drizzle regardless, but the studies help crystalize my visceral feeling. From redlandsdailyfacts.com: Negative ions are tasteless, odorless and invisible…

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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