Cytosport Muscle Milk Bottles *Review*

As most of you probably know by now, I'm a HUGE connoisseur of protein supplements.  Whenever I get the chance, I try out something new on the shelf and see how it compares to what I've already had.  The other day I ran out of Combat Powder, and needed a quick, single day replacement for post workout nutrition.  I drove over to Walgreens, walked up to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of Chocolate Muscle Milk by Cytosport.  After my workout, I chugged that sucker down, and well.....here's my review of the stuff:

Taste:  The chocolate version tasted great!  Sure, it wasn't the best protein I've ever had, but it wasn't far off, especially for a single dosage.  It's very thick and filling, and tastes like a real and substantially chocolatey shake.  Not hard to drink at all, and honestly it tasted good enough that I wished I had more.  The chocolate flavor is very potent, and doesn't taste very "chemical" at all (as some other proteins do.)  Reminded me of a brownie, even though it's been years since I've had one of those.  I will say though that I'm not a very picky person, and can appreciate most forms of chocolate flavor.  You may be a little more discerning, but I can say that I'm quite confident you'd enjoy the beverage.

8/10 

Protein Content:  As far as the protein factor goes, the profile definitely isn't bad.  Is it the greatest protein source out there?  No.  But it's a good blend of many different proteins, including milk protein and a few types of whey.  The whey isn't amazingly refined, so I assume it won't absorb quite as quickly as a heavily filtered whey isolate or hydrolyzed whey.  Still, unless you're splitting hairs, it's not a huge deal, in fact I think it's good to have a blend so that the protein will feed your muscles over a longer period of time.  One bottle has a total of 25 grams of protein, which isn't huge, but is enough.  Just to compare though, most powdered proteins will give you about 50 grams of protein for the same number of calories as in a bottle of Muscle Milk.  So you're not getting a super concentrated dose, but the amount of protein your body can absorb in one sitting isn't that impressive anyway, so it's not a big deal.  Overall, the protein is of medium to medium high quality, and there's a decent amount of it.

7/10

Other Nutritional Profile:  One thing I noticed right away about Muscle Milk is that it has an interestingly large fat dosage.  Cytosport calls in "functional fat," which I assume means that their marketing it as healthy fat.  One bottle has a total of 9 g of fat, 1.5 g of which is saturated.  I'm not completely sure, but I think the fat mostly comes from the milk, as well as the oil used in the ingredients.  I can't vouch for exactly how high quality the fats are, but let's just say they don't raise any red flags or scare me away.  

A 14 oz bottle of Muscle Milk has only 3 grams of sugar, which is quite low considering the very sweet taste.  There are artificial sweeteners used, but I have no problem with those, though some people might.  The ingredient list is quite long, which I usually don't like, but expected in this case because most protein shakes have quite a bit that goes into them.  

Here's the nutritional information right off of Cytosport's website (click to enlarge):

7/10

Price:  Not the cheapest stuff out there, but definitely not the most expensive.  One bottle is around 3 bucks, not a killer investment if you need some quick protein.  I'd only use it as a temporary replacement for powder though, because you generally get a LOT more bang for your buck with powder.

8/10

Name:  SUPER COOL!  I mean seriously, "Muscle Milk"?  That's AWESOME!  Wish I'd thought of it.  Sure beats "whey protein isolate," or "mass gainer."  It's like, 

"Hey George, whatcha drinking?"

"Oh, nothing special, just MUSCLE MILK!!!"

Love it!

10/10

Overall, would I recommend the ready to drink Muscle Milk 14 oz bottles?  As far as the chocolate goes, yes I definitely would.  It's a great replacement for a powder for a day or two, and is a viable post workout protein source.  It's got a good blend of protein types, tastes great, and won't break the bank.  If you get a chance, try a bottle!  Let me know what you think!

Lift hard, lift heavy, refuel, and as always, good luck!!!

Emerald 100 Calorie Almond Packs *Review*

These days, it seems grocery store shelves are absolutely littered with "low calorie" or "100 calorie" snack packs.  They usually come in the form of a cardboard box labeled with some colorful picture of a very yummy looking cookie, cracker, or combination of the two.  Sometimes they come with a little bit of frosting, other times they have intricate lacy designs dancing across the surface of these mini cakes.  If you've ever bought a box, you know it's filled with perfectly portioned little foil baggies topped off with miniature versions of the cover art, dry little cakes that aren't much bigger than your fingernails (or more plentiful.)  Rarely do they taste very good, and I can guarantee that almost NEVER will they leave you the least bit satisfied.  Not to mention, despite being only 100 calories, these little treats aren't the least bit healthy for you.  They're filled with artificial ingredients that'll encourage your body to hold onto that body fat you're trying so hard to lose.  Ladies and gentleman, there is an alternative to the nasty 100 calorie snack cake fad.

Luckily for you, this solution comes pre-packaged, therefore you'll get the portions right every single time.  AND it's loaded with tons of vitamins, minerals, protein, healthy fats, and low in carbohydrates.  And guess what else, it's a much tastier product than any of those stupid little crackers.  What is this revolutionary low calorie snack pack?  They're called Emerald 100 Calorie Almond Packs.  Now Emerald is a big name in nuts (check out their website here: http://emeraldnuts.com/press/images/products/Emerald_family.jpg), and I believe that these 100 calorie snack packs are probably one of the smartest ideas they could've come up with.  You get around 20 nuts per package (or maybe like 25, I'll have to count next time I have a pack), which equals out to be about 100 calories exactly.  Here's the nutritional label for each snack pack:

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 18g (1 pack)

Amount per Serving:  Calories 100

Calories from Fat 81.0

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 9g    13%

Saturated Fat 0.6g    3%

Cholesterol 0mg    0%

Sodium 150mg    6%

Total Carbohydrate 4g    1%

Dietary Fiber 2g    8%

Sugars 1g

Protein 4g    6%

Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat 71.7%

Carbs 17.7%

Protein 10.6%

So what exactly is so great about these little packets of almonds?  Well, obviously it has to do with the properties of almonds themselves.  Not only are almonds one of the healthiest nuts you could ever consume, they're very satisfying and therefore will leave you more full than you might expect (and definitely more full than a 100 calorie cookie pack.)  With plain, roasted almonds, you get all sorts of remarkable health benefits:

Healthy Fats:  Almonds have a very large amount of unsaturated, heart healthy fat.  The fat in almonds has been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol quite effectively, and will also prevent unneccessary inflammation in your body.

Lower Risk of Obesity/Weight Gain:  That's right, you read correctly.  The fats in almonds (and other nuts) has actually been shown (in several studies) to DECREASE the risk of weight gain.  Here's a little blurb from an article regarding the subject:

The 28-month study involving 8,865 adult men and women in Spain, found that participants who ate nuts at least two times per week were 31% less likely to gain weight than were participants who never or almost never ate nuts.

That's pretty awesome, isn't it?  So while nuts may be calorie dense, they definitely will NOT add fat to your figure if enjoyed in moderation.  And, because fat is satiating, you're more likely to remain full for longer after consuming a 100 calorie almond pack, which can keep your calories for the rest of your day in check.  Neat!

Protein:  While almonds aren't the greatest source of protein out there, you still get a good 4 grams of protein per 100 calorie Emerald almond pack, which is nothing to be scoffed at.  The protein in almonds can help you to sustain lean muscle mass, which will in turn keep your metabolism running full tilt and your fat loss efforts at a maximum.

Vitamins/Minerals:  Almonds are packed with all sorts of those little healthful vitamins and minerals our bodies need to stay healthy, and each almond pack has 25% of your daily vitamin E, 4% of your daily iron, and 4% of your daily calcium as well.  That's a pretty good profile for such a pocket sized snack!

Now before I conclude, I'd like to personally vouch for these almond packs as being one of the greatest things that's ever happened to my college diet.  They're incredibly versatile, portable, and can be incorporated into your diet no matter what your goal may be.  Want to lose weight?  It can be easily done with these packets, they'll fill you up and put your body into fat burning mode.  Want to pack on the muscle?  It's easy to throw a couple of these packets in your belly to increase your daily calorie consumption and give your muscles protein and healthy fats to help develop more lean mass.  I personally use them for the latter purpose, and find they compliment a meal of canned salmon quite nicely, and give my body a little more material to work with when it comes to my muscle building goals.

All in all these 100 calorie almond packs from Emerald are probably one of the smartest choices you can make when it comes to mid day snacking.  They're easy to carry just about anywhere, and are EXTREMELY healthy.  They've got all sorts of nutrients that your body needs to really become a lean, mean, muscular fat burning machine.  Not to mention that these almonds are absolutely DELICIOUS.

So what are you waiting for?  Pick up a package, you won't regret it, and your body will finally thank you for the elimination of those nasty snack cakes.



GOOD LUCK!

Transforming Taste Buds

If you're like a lot of people, I can talk about healthy foods all day and you'll still imagine a nasty taste in your head.  What's he talking about, tomatoes tasting good?  Butternut Squash being absolutely delectable?  Steamed broccoli and cauliflower hitting the spot?  It may be completely foreign to imagine such natural, raw, bland foods to taste so good.  You'd much rather stick with your heavily spiced up food with sugar and salt, because that actually tastes like something!  But I emplore you, give these more natural foods a chance.  I can 100% guarantee that through a little bit of practice, you can make those foods taste as good as I think they do.

So what are you doing wrong?  Nothing really, it's just the habits you've been supporting.  You may eat the processed  overly sweet stuff on a regular basis.  So guess what?  You've come to accept it as the norm.  If you think that chocolate cake tastes sweet, think of how it tastes to me, someone with a very low sugar diet.  Think of it like, albeit a little depressing, a drug addiction.  You've become addicted to food that packs an extremely powerful sodium, sugar, and fatty punch.  All three of those things taste great to you because your instinct is to consume things that your body can run on for long periods of time and give great energy (fat and sugar.)  Your body doesn't really know any better that that mayonnaise smothered quizno's sub is wayyy overkill.  Yup, it's an addiction of sorts, so like a powerful drug addiction, anything less potent won't get you that "high."

How can you break the addiction?  Well, like anything, it takes time.  First things first, DO NOT GO COLD TURKEY.  An extremely raw veggie, plain meat, clean diet will absolutely kill you if you try to switch all at once.  Your food won't taste like anything, and you'll give up in a couple days, maybe a couple weeks at most. Your taste buds are extremely adaptable, but only if you introduce new flavors slowly.  There's a reason why we learn to accept new tastes as we get older.  Children don't often like vegetables, but grow into the taste (or maybe they don't, as is the case with many adults I know.)  

In my personal opinion, there isn't much of an excuse not to like healthy food.  If you say it doesn't taste good, you usually either haven't given it enough of a chance, or haven't cooked it right.  Some foods may take 9 or more tries before you really start to appreciate them.  

Try these tips to slowly get yourself into eating healthier:

Mix veggies into food you already like:  Who doesn't like macaroni and cheese?  Or maybe a big heaping pot of beef stroganoff, or a plate of crispy nachos?  What these all represent are prime opportunities to start mixing vegetable flavors into already delicious foods.  Try some diced tomatoes on those nachos, or some broccoli in that cheesy mac and cheese.  Put some carrots or onions in that beef stroganoff.  Heck, if you're having a big ol' burger, put a couple more slices of tomato on it than you normally do, and maybe another piece of lettuce.  Slowly pull those natural tastes into your diet, just a little at a time.  Each time you do it, maybe take out a little of the main flavoring (and probably unhealthy) ingredient.  Add a little less salt in your food, put only a tiny skim of mayonnaise on that burger, use a little less cheese in that macaroni.  Try to emphasize the vegetable taste just a little more each time. 

Vegetable side dishes:  Don't do these plain at first, use some kind of a healthy additive.  Saute your veggies in a tasty oil, or spread a little salsa on them.  Sprinkle some cayenne pepper on them for quite a kick, or just regular black pepper might do as well.  Try to use frozen veggies, or the ones that steam in the bag.  Canned usually has a little too much sodium, and they don't taste as good anyway.  At first, steam your veggies pretty aggressively.  Make them soft, chew-able, so they melt in your mouth a little easier and don't fight back with a harsh crunch.  And try to put at least a few on your plate at every dinner.  You don't even have to eat them all.  If they're there, you're more likely to at least give them a shot.

Less sauce on the meat:  This one's pretty self explanatory.  If you put BBQ sauce on your chicken, next time you have the chicken make a conscious effort to maybe put about a third less sauce on the next time.  Then a little less the next time after that.  You don't ever have to completely get rid of it if you don't want to, but try to emphasize the flavors of the meat above the sauce.  Another good idea is to have sauce every other or every third time you have the meat, as a rare treat.  I bet this'll make it taste better anyway, and you won't take that BBQ sauce for granted.  

Cook meat with care:  If you're going to put less sauce on, you might as well try a little harder to cook that chicken so its as tender and delectable as possible.  Make your dinner meats taste great by themselves, and you'll be less likely to top them with all sorts of crazy, unhealthy toppings.

Replace your snacks:  I've mentioned this one a few times.  To help your taste buds to adjust a little quicker, try replacing your afternoon potato chips with a banana, or a bowl of strawberries, or an apple.  Fruit is sweet, so you'll still get that sweet tooth satisfied.  It's also more satiating, so you'll be less likely to eat as much.  Just replace one snack at a time.  Take it slow.

Drink the pure stuff:  There is a LOAD of sugar in most soda, and believe me a glass of mountain dew will NOT help break your sugar addiction.  I suggest drinking more water, or maybe a glass of milk, or 100% juice.  Try your best to get those soft drinks out of your diet though.  Soda doesn't help anything, of that I can assure you.  If you're dying for a sugary drink, try a zero calorie drink sweetener.  

To close this article, I'm going to say this one more time.  To break a processed food/sugar addiction, you need to do it gradually.  If you do, your taste buds WILL adapt.  Give them time, and don't give up.  The younger you are, the faster it will happen.  Set goals for yourself.  Try a few more veggies every meal.  A little less ketchup, a few less potato chips, maybe fruit for dessert a few nights a week.  MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!

Don't give up, you will adjust, and you'll be incredibly grateful that you did.  It's fun to watch someone wince as you munch on a tomato in absolute and genuine happiness.  Good Luck!