Older Bolder Life

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Inquiring Minds Want to Know: Older Bolder Links, Reads, Recipes, and More 31 August 2019

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90 days of nutritional ketosis improved T2DM in women. (Shocking, right?)
Keto Tales: John Wall (NBA) gives keto a spin.

Sprint interval training improved body composition in post-menopausal women.
Vit D supplementation correlated with decreased cancer risk. (Free MedScape account required)

Being married lessens dementia risk?
Optimists live longer, and probably have a hell of a lot more fun along the way.

Higher maternal fluoride levels in pregnancy linked to lower IQ.
The CDC updated their flu vaccination guidelines last week.

Kids, screen time, and retinal damage.
Learning from a daughter with Downs.

8 signs you’re smarter than average.
Dog owners are slimmer and fitter, and have better CV health.

Food, Glorious Food

Pan roast steak over fire (vid).
Are African chickens really leggier?

Hmmmm, take note when the Whole Foods CEO disses plant based meats.
And somewhat ironically, is the fake meat backlash itself fake?

Thai-Inspired Coconut Steak on a Stick
Grilled Sweet Potato, Onion, and Chile Salad
Easy Home Italian Dressing Mix

The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Thai-Inspired Coconut Steak on a Stick

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Though I have to admit we were somewhat late to the realization that Thai-inspired flavors and spices, along with coconut, often play wonderfully with beef, we’ve become big fans of the combination around our camp.

With cooler weather on the horizon we’ll be slipping these Thai-Inspired Slow Roasted Short Ribs and this Coconut Braised Chuck Roast with Gremolata back into the rotation; fall is indeed just around the corner.

Traditionally we’ve always hosted a get together sometime during this upcoming long weekend; ribs have almost always been on the docket for that crowd, though I couldn’t resist putting these on the menu this year.

I happened to run across an amazing deal on some grass-fed rib eyes, but this will work with a number of other cuts; one of the first times I made it recently we used tri-tip and it was damned delicious.

There’s nothing very complex about the recipe, though do note that this works much better with an overnight marinade in the fridge. And the basting sauce is optional, though you’ll need to do something with the remaining coconut milk from the can (other than stir it into your coffee tomorrow), and basting the steak skewers on the grill really does boost the flavor.

My other best suggestion is to make more than you think you and your guests will eat; this one makes a killer lunch the next day over salad or just on it’s own.

2 pounds rib eye, top sirloin, tri-tip, etc, cut into 1-inch cubes

Marinade
1 cup unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk
6 garlic cloves
4-6 red Thai chiles (Fresnos or red jalapeños in a pinch), stemmed, chopped
1.5-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled, rough chop
1/4 cup good fish sauce
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp lemongrass puree
Optional: 1 tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)

Optional Basting Sauce
1/2 cup unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk
2 tbsp good fish sauce
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tsp lemongrass puree (optional)

Add all the marinade ingredients to your trusty blender and puree until smooth and uniform; pour over the prepared steak cubes in a large bowl, stir to make sure every piece is coated, cover and throw in the fridge overnight.

When ready to grill, drain and discard the marinade and thread the meat onto skewers, just touching, not tightly packed.

Fire the grill, and use that remainder of the coconut milk from the can to make the optional basting sauce; stir the ingredients together over low heat until combined, set aside.

Now grill over a medium fire, turning and basting every 2-3 with the basting sauce if using, for 14 to 16 minutes until done to your tastes.

Enjoy.

Health and Fitness Expectations after 40: Managing the Timeline Game

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Last week I introduced a series to come focusing on managing expectations, in particular expectations that those of us working to maximize our health and fitness after our 40th birthdays create for ourselves.

Given what we know about athletic performance, I’m thinking here of the old rule of thumb that your VO2max (think of VO2max as a measure of your body’s ability to utilize oxygen) declines by about 10% every decade post age 30, we probably should really be talking about expectations we create for ourselves post age thirty. (And this old study shows that the traditional 10% per decade decline doesn’t hold true for fit people actively exercising, even in their 7th decade).

And of course, the absolute crux of the timeline expectation game is damned simple – the time it’s going to take you to get from your starting point to your fitness, or weight, or metabolic health target depends on a host of factors unique to you, and critically where – relative to your targets – you’re starting from.

An Embarrassing Example from my Own Experience

When I first made the decision now just about three years ago to do what ever it might take to reclaim my health and fitness, I was a physical and metabolic disaster. In a full blow metabolic syndrome (I could have been a poster boy), I had just finished a round of treatment for renal cancer, had developed an idiopathic thrombocytopenia (low platelet count), weighed 412 pounds, and had so many aches and pains I could hardly walk through a store without the aid of a cart, and on the worst days, needed help tying my shoes.

A mentor helped me take the first steps in terms of revamping my diet and beginning at the most basic level in terms of rebuilding my fitness, and drilled into me the importance of setting attainable and rational short and intermediate term goals (incentives, and success, are huge helps). He also challenged me to set “reach for the stars”, seemingly at the time almost crazy goals as well; we can talk about structuring goals in detail sometime in detail – the psychology is fascinating – for sake of this story let’s just say I did set some seemingly unreachable long term goals (most of which I’ve now surpassed at the almost two year mark).

My mentor, wise friend that he is, hammered into me week after week that part of the process is indeed expecting life to get better (fitness to improve, weight to drop, etc), but he cautioned every single time that trying to pair my fitness and weight loss goals with a timeline I’d pulled out of thin air was a fool’s errand. He (correctly) harped on the principle that our expectations (especially when it comes to timelines) need to be tempered and tied to our reality unfolding day by day.

For Every Year a Couch Potato a Month in Recovery?

My mentor repetitively hounded me with another rule of thumb that he swears he learned from Dr. Phil Maffetone (I’ve yet to find it expressly stated on his site or any of his books), basically saying that after 40 (arguably 30 or 35 as well), for every year you’ve spent not exercising and overweight, you’ll spend at least a month of consistent fitness and healthy eating to reverse and overcome the damage and deconditioning done on your way back to a healthy baseline.

To be perfectly honest, I despise most rule of thumb discussions in health and fitness in general, as there’s simply too much variability in human physiology and experience to make them conform meaningfully to an individual’s reality.

That said, I’ve used this principle in advising clients and patients for years now – for every year a couch potato you’ll spend a month eating healthy and exercising consistently to restore a healthy baseline – and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t ring ring true more often than not. And note I’m talking about a healthy baseline here – becoming a masters cyclist or runner might take a little longer.

The Bottom Line: Play to Win the Long Game

In particular for those of us over 40, restoring optimal health and fitness after a period of…let’s say any time living with less than optimal nutrition and shunning exercise…is going to be a long game; accepting that reality will make the process immensely more rewarding, enjoyable, and sustainable.

Amazingly I still have people contact me for help in “easily dropping 50 pounds in three months”; most of the time we don’t mesh and work together – unrealistic expectations at the start are a huge hurdle to overcome. (Can somebody drop 50 pounds in three months? While possible, it’s sure as hell not probable, but it depends on where you’re starting from and how you want to get there; I dropped 50 pounds in four months myself at one point in my journey. )

By 40, most of us have accumulated at least a few dings and bruises, we don’t recover as quickly from aggressive workouts or injury, we often have very demanding work and family responsibilities, and we’ve often accumulated some damned harmful and deeply ingrained habits too. These things won’t prevent you from coming back, but they’ll impact your approach, and the timeline.

Have a long way to go to rebuild your health and fitness? It can be done; embrace the longer journey, savor the victories along the way, and build a lifestyle to take you into later years, remaining active, vital, and engaged.

the Older Bolder Life Salad Wednesday: Grilled Sweet Potato, Onion, and Chile Salad

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Since late May I’ve been personally pushing my fitness levels fairly hard; starting my fitness and health recovery journey a little over two years ago I never imagined I’d be sprinting and dialing in some pretty danged specific training to compete next spring in Masters track and field events. (I’ve been telling people lately that back then I was a 412 pound weakling; thankfully that’s now very nearly 200 pounds and lightyears of fitness ago…)

Having been in nutritional ketosis for more or less the past 16 months (probably 95% of the time or better) I have noted that my performance did begin to lag on my leanest carb intake days, prompting some experimentation with carb cycling and adjusting my carb targets on my hardest work days.

One of the ways we’ve done that is incorporate sweet potatoes into the rotation a bit more often. Back in our pre-primal/pre-paleo days we had several grilled potato salads we enjoyed, so that set me to playing with several recipes featuring grilled sweet potatoes.

This Grilled Sweet Potato, Onion, and Chile Salad is one that we keep coming back to again and again; we love the Asian-inspired flavor profile in the dressing, the sweetness of the grilled onions, and the herbal tones from the basil added to finish it off. This salad (or side dish if you prefer) is even damned pretty on the platter or plate too.

You can serve it warm just as it’s finished, at room temp, or chilled – my wife prefers it chilled, but it’s good any way you dish it up.

Approx. 2 pounds sweet potatoes, sliced cross-wise into 3/4-inch thick discs
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup EVOO or avocado oil
1 large or 2 smaller red onion(s)
3 garlic cloves, grated
2 cups basil leaves, torn if large
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Dressing
2/3 cup rice vinegar (unseasoned)
3 red Fresno or jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced
3 tbsp EVOO or avocado oil
1-3 tbsp good fish sauce
1 tbsp honey (optional)

Cover the sliced sweet potatoes with water in a large sauce pan; add the salt and stir to combine. Bring to a healthy simmer, reduce heat to medium and simmer gently until the potato slices are just tender (use a fork or paring knife to check) – this will take 9-10 minutes pending how thick your slices are. Remove from the water and drain.

While the potatoes are cooling, whisk together the sauce ingredients, adjust for salt, and set aside (you’ll want to whisk again before pouring over the grilled potatoes).

Fire the grill (you only need a medium heat fire here).

Grate the garlic into a large bowl, stir in the 1/4 cup oil, and add the onions which you’ve cut into wedges (6-8 per onion) through the root end (keeps the wedges together on the grill). Toss the cooled potato slices and the onion wedges in the bowl, add a sprinkle of salt.

Now grill the onions and potato slices until well-marked, crispy, and a little charred (10-15 minutes pending your fire). Return to the large bowl (wipe out any excess oil in the bowl first), chopping into bite sized pieces first, toss with the dressing, then gently toss in the basil leaves and sesame seeds, adjusting for added salt one final time.

Can serve warm off the grill, room temp, or chilled – this one’s good any way you take it.

Enjoy.

Why I’ve Switched from Cast Iron to Carbon Steel

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In the decade and change that I’ve been writing about food (mostly over here on our fly fishing site), I’ve made it clear that I’m a huge fan of cooking in traditional cast iron cookware. Cast iron, particularly cast iron that’s been cast and finished with care and attention to detail, performs like almost nothing else available.

Cast iron holds heat like nothing else, and when cared for with a modicum of attention and diligence develops an essentially non-stick surface that beats any artificial coating hands down.

Like many of you, we’ve been searing rib eyes, bone-in pork chops, and even smash burgers in cast iron seemingly forever. Breakfast (or lunch) bacon just looks right sizzling away in cast iron.

That said, the longer I’ve hung around with professional food industry friends, and peeked behind the curtain in several high-end commercial kitchens preparing delicious whole foods with great care, I’ve been more and more impressed with carbon steel cookware.

Carbon steel cookware has been around a long, long time; some of the most venerable purveyors have been turning out cookware works of art in small French and German factories for over a century. Chefs have been using carbon steel for years and years, recognizing that it offers cast iron’s amazing heat retention, seasoning and non-stick properties, and is a hell of lot lighter than traditional cast iron.

Another benefit of carbon steel is the fact that it seasons much more quickly than traditional cast iron, and is slightly easier to maintain as well. And while not a consideration for everybody’s kitchen, it’s possible to find great carbon steel at very reasonable prices too.

Recently we’ve taken the plunge and picked up a 12-inch carbon steel pan; after shopping around, and given welcomed input and influence from friend Chef Libby in Austin, we ended up picking up this 12-inch Blue Carbon Steel Frying Pan from Made-In cookware in Austin, though their carbon steel line is made in one of those long-standing French factories.

I’m actually seasoning the pan today, given a break in our heatwave via a series of early morning thunderstorms rolling through, and following Made-In’s fairly standard recommended seasoning procedures here. Actually I’ll probably run it through two or three cycles during the day today, letting the pan cool slowly to ambient temps in the over after it’s heating cycle is completed; and I’ll post an “after pic” at the bottom of the post when finished later today.

There’s a veritable smorgasbord of recommendations floating around out there arguing different methods to season carbon steel and cast iron; I’ve tried literally dozens over the years, and keep coming back to the simple oven cure and slow cooling method. Those heated oils need to slowly polymerize to truly build up a non-stick surface. Have a method you like better? By all means use it, just don’t over-oil – that’s the most common mistake leading to a puddled, uneven, even sometimes sticky finish.

There’ll be rib eyes searing later today, and here’s some Ancho Cumin Coffee Rubbed Pork Tenderloins below…

the Older Bolder Life Salad Dressing Monday: Easy Home Italian Dressing

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A couple of weeks ago a coaching client asked me if we had a recipe for an Italian salad dressing spice mix similar to “the one in the little box you buy at the grocery store”; she was of course referring to the Good Seasons mix that’s graced grocery store shelves, and many a kitchen, for decades.

While this iconic salad dressing (and oft-used marinade) is unquestionably an Americanized creation that has very little if anything to do with genuine Italian cuisine, I have to admit it’s herbal, salty, garlicky flavor, perked up with a blast of mouth-puckering acidity from the vinegar, sometimes just hits the spot. And in years past, when pressed for time setting up marinades for various meats headed for the grill, I must admit I’ve used it for seasoning in a pinch.

We’ve played with this spice mixture on and off for years; in response to the recent question above, I dug it out the files, dusted it off, refilled a few key spice ingredients so as to have the freshest possible spices on hand, and mixed up a few batches, tweaking along the way.

You’ll note this recipe is similar to a number you can found out there, though most don’t add the fruity heat of red pepper flakes. Most of the recipes for this mixture include a call for sugar; I don’t add it ours, though I might dribble in no more than a teaspoon of a good honey when shaking up a batch.

Finally, just about any vinegar you wish to use works here; our favorites are a good ACV or red wine vinegar. Same for the oils – I typically use a combination of a good EVOO and avocado oil. And it’s easy as pie to shake this one together in a pint jar with a tight fitting lid…

2 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp good salt
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp celery seed
Optional: 1-3 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Optional: 1 tbsp sugar or sugar substitute of your choice

To Mix
2/3 cup oil of choice (EVOO or avocado for us)
1/3 cup vinegar (see note above)
2 tbsp of the dried spice mixture
2 tbsp water

Stir together the spice mixture; store tightly sealed in a cool, dry, dark place.

When ready to mix a batch of a dressing, combine 2 tbsp of the spice mixture with 2 tbsp of water and 1/3 cup of the vinegar of your choice; mix well. Whisk (or shake, see above) in the oil until well emulsified; the dressing will separate if it stands for too long, simply stir or shake well to recombine.

Enjoy.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know: Older Bolder Links, Reads, Recipes, and More 24 August 2019

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Head games: Phone breaks and mental depletion.
Orthorexia as a mental disorder? Perhaps it should be.

So only 12.2% of American adults are metabolically healthy? Impressive.
So maybe the magical “blue zones” aren’t everything we first thought?

The life of a very early morning riser.
From the trust me, I’m from the government file: Sleep at 82 degrees?

Hottest fitness craze: working out alone at home.
Another pitch for Tom Brady as an anti-aging poster boy.

Longevity secret of a 110-year old Montanan: Orange juice and raw liver.
Can I really save the world by pooping every other day?

Watching sports is as good for you as working out? C’mon guys…
Is cost really the reason kids aren’t playing more sports?

Food, Glorious Food

How to pan roast lamb (video).
How to sauté mushrooms like a pro (video).

Getting kids to eat healthy from BulletProof.
More on the red meat sin tax.
Just say no to another fake butter.

Roasted Red Pepper Mayo
Cauliflower Rice Tabbouleh
Spicy Grilled Bacon (or Pork Belly) Skewers

The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Spicy Grilled Bacon (Pork Belly) Skewers

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A couple of months ago a friend from Montana sent me a pic of thick-cut bacon threaded onto skewers and slowly cooked on the grill; he was at an outdoor expo and a vendor was cooking these and apparently selling them hand over fist one early summer day in Boise.

My friend is not the handiest guy in the kitchen or around the grill (patience is indeed a virtue, and the lack of it can lead to disaster when cooking over live fire); he didn’t have the best of luck with this one the first time he tried it, leading to him pestering me the past few weeks for help working this one out.

After figuring out that you simply can’t rush these Spicy Grilled Bacon (or Pork Belly) Skewers over too hot a fire, we’ve had great results the past couple of times I’ve grilled these up, including the night before last served over a simple salad with a great guacamole on the side.

When stirring together the basting mixture, note there are three ingredients listed as optional; we think it needs all three, including just a bit of honey to add a hint of sweetness to the heat, and the ginger and lemongrass weave in a couple of other flavor notes that round out the Asian-inspired riff here.

Build a two-zone, fairly slow, live fire or just fire one burner if cooking over gas, and don’t wander off and leave these unattended for long. Keep turning and baste right at the end a few times to build a flavor-packed layer of flavor on that crispy bacon.

1 pound thick-cut bacon or uncured pork belly, cut into 1/4-inch slices

3 tbsp chile paste (sambal oelek)
1-2 tbsp honey (optional)
2 tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
2-3 tsp good Sriracha
1 tsp minced or pureed ginger (optional)
1 tsp minced or pureed lemongrass (optional)

To serve
Your favorite green salsa or chimichurri, such as…
Quick Columbian Guacamole
Tomatillo Avocado Salsa
Quick Columbian Aji Sauce
Our House Chimichurri

Lime quarters

Fire your grill and set things up to cook over indirect heat – bank the coals to one or two sides leaving an unheated zone in the middle or on a gas grill just fire one burner.

Combine the glaze ingredients (the Chile paste, optional honey, rice vinegar, Sriracha, optional ginger, optional lemongrass) and set aside. Thread the bacon/pork belly slices onto wooden (soaked) or metal skewers like an accordion (see the images) and grill over indirect heat for 15-30 minutes, pending how thick your slices are. Turn every several minutes, adjusting position as needed, until beginning to brown.

At this point start brushing with the glaze every 45 seconds or so, followed by a turn, for another 3-4 minutes until they’re nicely colored and maybe even a little sticky.

To serve, set out the salsa and limes, and go to it.

Enjoy.