Thinking Out of the Box

There was a time not so long ago when the lunch box was the ultimate in personal expression. More than a mere carrying case for peanut butter and bologna sandwiches, your lunchbox showed who you were and who you aspired to be.

We have seen the pretty-in-pink girls carrying Barbie or teen-dream Bobby Sherman; tomboys carried Charlie's Angels, Wonder Woman while boys had Buck Rogers or GI Joe. Little kids carried Disney. Now, let me show you a spin on this with my muscle-building Alejandro’s Box Meal.

This is perfect for a muscle-building diet. It’s also really easy – steamed vegetables and chicken. Each box meal has the right amount of protein, carbohydrates and fiber for you.
For this, I usually pull out my steamer pot and add water and salt. It is important for the water to taste as salty as the ocean. Once that is ready, I’d place the chicken for 25 min while I get the vegetables ready. Then on the second rack, I place the vegetables which only need no more than 12 min. As soon as they are both cooked, I remove the racks and cook the noodles in the same broth that now has the flavors of the chicken and vegetables.

Here's a tip: Don't throw out the water when you're done. That is a healthy chicken and vegetable stock. You can store that in a container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Now, you have ready-to-use broth for your next dish.

Enjoy!

Muscle T-Shirts and Tank Tops

I'm happy to announce that my muscle T-shirts and tank tops are finally available. And these are not just for adults. I have kids clothes too so that your kids can train in gear that's just like their parents. Now, how cute is that.

Our clothing combine the very best materials with new digital printing technologies to produce brilliant images without compromising on comfort. There are T-shirts, tank tops, long sleeve shirts, ringer T's , hooded jackets and much more!

So, check them out now at MusclePapi.com.

Tell me What you Eat and I will tell you What you Are

You know that you should eat better, but for some reason that you can’t quite place, you’re not. Or maybe you’re one of the many Americans who resolved to improve their diets this year and have given up on your resolution already. If this sounds familiar, then take comfort in knowing you’re on the right track. You have the knowledge and the desire to improve your health by improving your diet. All you need is a little push to get started. So, for those of you looking for some motivation to start eating right, here are seven great reasons.


1. Look Younger
If you choose to eat primarily junk food and processed food, not only are you not giving your body the nutrients it needs, but also you are consciously ingesting toxins that your body will have to work to remove. Further, consuming sugar and grains will increase your insulin level, and that is the equivalent of slamming your foot on the aging accelerator. There is simply no more potent way to accelerate aging than eating sugar and grains.

2. Reach Your Optimal Weight
If you’re eating real foods for your metabolic type it is almost impossible to overeat, as your body will naturally tell you when you are full. Further, your body will naturally normalize its weight, whether you need to lose weight or gain it.

If your diet is focused on carbohydrates like grains, potatoes, sweets and other starchy and sugary foods, you’ll likely have trouble losing weight. This is because the body's storage capacity for carbohydrates is quite limited and when you eat them in excess they are converted, via insulin, into fat and stored in the adipose, or fatty, tissue.

3. Improve Your Mood
If you feel depressed or experience a drop in mood an hour of so after eating it may be due to an improper combination of proteins, fats and carbohydrates at your last meal. You might be eating the perfect foods for your metabolism, but having too much of one type of food in place of another can easily produce the symptoms listed above. You can determine the correct combination of foods for you by finding out your metabolic type, and you’ll likely find that your mood improves after a meal.

4. Increase Energy
Eating the right foods, especially those for your individual metabolic type, will produce a marked and lasting improvement in your energy and should leave you feeling satisfied for hours. On the contrary, eating junk foods will cause your energy levels to drop.

5. Get Radiant Skin
If you eat a diet full of pure, whole foods, your body will be healthy and will have the nutrients to devote to things such as skin and hair. If you only give your body a limited amount of nutrients, your body will use them for immediate, vital functions and may not have enough left over to improve the quality of your skin.

6. Fight Disease and Prevent Common Illness
Eating right will strengthen your immune system, and, as you likely know, a strong immune system is key to fighting off disease, viruses and other illnesses. It is especially imperative to avoid sugar if you feel you are coming down with something, but keeping sugar out of your diet for the long haul will do wonders for your health and make your body stronger, which will make it harder for the flu or other common illnesses to bother you.

7. Live a Longer, Higher-Quality Life
Along with living a longer life, you will have a higher quality of life when you eat the right foods for your metabolic type. Your insulin levels will stay under control–as I said earlier, elevated insulin levels are one of the major accelerants of aging–and you will have energy, stamina and great cognitive functions, even as you get older.

8. Start Eating Right Today!
If you want to learn a diet that will truly help you to achieve all of the things mentioned above plus more, just drop me an email or check out my Nutrition section. Often, all you really need is someone to just point you down the right way.

So, Eat Well and Live Better!

Licensed to Eat

Have you ever felt hungry during the day? Here are a few tips so that you never have to cheat on your diet.

What to always have in the pantry
• Walnuts
• Oatmeal
• Tea ( English Breakfast or other assorted flavored teas)
• Protein drinks
• Peanut butter
and keep a bag of cut lettuce in your fridge

Now, let's say you get hungry
1. Before 12 noon and until 3 pm
2. From 3 pm to 12 midnight
3. After midnight

Here's what you can do
1. During this time, you can do more carbs but hey, remember, good carbohydrates only. So, you can have an extra half cup of brown rice or 1 cup of oatmeal, any oats will do. If you will like something more tasty, you can also get a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter.

2. This is actually the worst time of the day. Why? Because your metabolism is slowing down. Yes, so everything you eat has to be carefully calculated. Here, we are talking specifically about carbs. So, what you can do is fill yourself with an assortment of tea.

You may also add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Now, here is where the cut lettuce comes in. Open that bag of veggie and make yourself a salad. If you like, you may add a little protein too.

3. During my competition days, I felt that this was the time for growing. So just get that extra protein boost now. You don't need the carbs. If you don't want a protein drink, get some small pieces of chicken breast instead.

That's it! So now there's no excuse to cheat anymore.

Fresh Direct Delivery Day

Hey guys

I just finished putting away my weekly Fresh Direct delivery. Everything is nearly perfect as usual and I don't have any complaints. Sometimes I may get a cracked egg or two but when you order 4 dozen, that's not a big deal. After all, they are eggs.



Anyway, this is not what I really wanted to talk about. What I wanted to say is that I simply love my Fresh Direct Delivery Day, as I call it. It's just exciting when my huge order arrives.

First, there's all the meat. Pounds of turkey and chicken breast. And then the ground beef, for my juicy hamburgers, which incidentally, all my friends ask what I put in them to make them, well, delicious :)

Then, there are my peppers for my Mexican night. There will be tamale ancho chiles which are the best for fajitas and huevos poblanos, some jalapenos and, of course, los tomatillos. Oh, they are so so good. Not only do they look really good in my kitchen, they are part of my low carb-muscle building meals.

Finally, and most importantly, the ingredients for my Friday Night Cheese Party. It's an awesome cheat meal. But if you think about it, it's really not all that bad when compared to MacDonald's or other fast foods. I guess that's why you don't see many overweight people in Europe.

Anyway, it's time to feast! Happy cooking!