Kick-Ass Power Foods

extract from Strategy for a Kick-Ass 2009 by Krista Schaus

The harder you train, the more you need to refuel, replenish and revitalize the body. You build a kick ass physique with high quality nutrition. Incorporate these power foods into your kick-ass nutritional plan for 2009.

Pumpkin
This super-vegetable is very high in carotenoids, which neutralize free radicals in the body. Pumpkins are also high in lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which may help prevent the formation of cataracts and reduce the risk of macular degeneration, a serious eye problem than usually results in blindness.

Besides antioxidants, pumpkins also have a lot of common nutrients, like iron, zinc, and fiber. One serving of pumpkin will give you five grams of fiber: important for bowel health, and will make you feel fuller longer.

Pumpkin is the low-carb, low-calorie king of the squash family. One half cup of canned, unsweetened pumpkin puree contains a measly 40 calories and 7 grams of carbs. You can sweeten it with some vanilla Metabolic Drive, if you like.

Add the puree to oatmeal, protein pancakes or smoothes. Steamed pumpkin is nice diced in salad or as a side dish with chicken. The possibilities with pumpkin are endless!

Açai
The dark purple berries of the Amazonian açai palm are rich in essential oils, vitamin E and C, contain up to 33 times the antioxidant content of red wine grapes, and have a robust flavor redolent of unsweetened chocolate.

Açai's mineral spectrum is also complete, making it an essential food for the active individual who needs to replace and restore minerals lost during intense training. It also contains high levels of glucosamine, which can help protect the joints and rebuild as tendon and joints.

Free-Range Meat
Want to improve your physique without changing another single habit? Switch from commercial ground beef to organic free-range beef, bison, elk and venison.

Free range beef is higher in protein and iron, and has nearly four times more CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) than commercially-sold grain-fed beef. Don't drain the fat, it's the most nutritious part of the meal!

Free-range meat is leaner and lower in saturated fat, comparable to chicken and turkey, and naturally lower in calories than commercial beef. Not to mention that it tastes way better. Free-range meat should definitely be on your shopping list in 2009.

Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are even higher in omega-3 fatty acids than flaxseeds, but unlike flaxseeds, they can be stored for a long time before going rancid, and they don't have to be ground in order for the nutrients to be digested and absorbed.

Chia seeds are packed full of nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, niacin, zinc, and lots of fiber, and vegetarians will also appreciate that they're a valuable protein source. They're also hydrophilic, meaning they can hold large amounts of water. With this in mind, this is not a power food you want to consume the week before a physique contest.

Add chia to your oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt and cottage cheese. You can also combine it with ground flax to replace bread crumbs as a topping on chicken or as a fiber supplement.

Krista's Homemade Omega Fiber Supplement:
In a mason jar, combine:
1 cup ground flax meal
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds

1 tablespoon twice daily with water, greens supplement, glutamine and probiotics will do wonders for your system. Add a scoop of the homemade omega fiber blend to your Metabolic Drive and Superfood protein shake, and you now have a super-complete meal.

Clams
Low in fat, high in protein, and loaded with essential minerals, clams are nutritional powerhouses. They're the number one source of heme iron, which is iron bound to a non-protein compound. Found only in red meat, poultry, fish, and seafood, heme iron is much more easily absorbed by the body than free iron.

Clams are also an excellent source of vitamin B12 and copper. These three nutrients help the blood deliver oxygen to working muscles.

Swiss Chard
According to the Worlds Healthiest Foods, "if vegetables got grades, then Swiss chard would be one of the valedictorians."

Swiss chard has lots of vitamin K, A, C, E, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron and dietary fiber. It's also a good source of copper, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, protein, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, folate, biotin, niacin and pantothenic acid.

Swiss chard resembles beet greens, with a more distinct salty-sweet taste. Rainbow chard is the most nutritionally diverse due to the rainbow of stem colors such as red, orange, yellow and purple. Chop it and sauté with butter or olive oil, red and green onions and garlic, for a super power food combination.

Pseudo-Grains
These seeds aren't technically grains, although they can be eaten like them. They have little or no gluten, are easy to digest, and are high in fiber, protein, and micronutrients like iron. Pseudo-grains are great if you're carb-intolerant, or on a cutting, leaning or paleo-type diet.

• Red quinoa, unlike its blonde cousins, doesn't taste like dirt. Boil one cup of quinoa in two cups of water, add cinnamon, stevia leaf powder, and chopped fresh ginger for a yummy and nutrient dense breakfast option or post workout meal.
Stir in a scoop of rice, whey or vegan protein powder, and 1/4 cup natural yogurt for a perfectly macro-combined meal. Quinoa is the only grain product that is a complete protein. Try flaked quinoa instead of oatmeal.

• Amaranth can be prepared and served the same way as quinoa. It has the consistency of couscous or tapioca when cooked, and is a nice alternative to oatmeal in protein pancake recipes. It also has twice as much calcium as milk, more proof that you can get your calcium without a cow.

• Wild rice is a water grass seed, not really a rice variety.

• Buckwheat is a relative of rhubarb. It's very dense, and good in breads, muffins or pancakes when mixed with other lighter flours.

• Spelt is an ancient species of wheat, virtually unchanged since about 5000 BC.

• Kamut is another ancient wheat variety.

No pseudo-grain is better than another. Add all of them to your new arsenal of nutritional superstars.

Krista's Super Pseudo-grain Pancakes
1 cup egg whites
1 whole egg
1 scoop Metabolic Drive vanilla protein powder
1/2 scoop pea protein
1 cup cooked amaranth or quinoa
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon and molasses
Mix ingredients together in a blender and fry like a pancake, flipping when bubbles appear.

Legumes
Legumes comprise the larger family of peas, beans and lentils, and are full of soluble fiber, which has been shown to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels while also improving the body's ability to utilize insulin.

Legumes are packed with nutrients as well, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and folate. Extremely low on the glycemic index, legumes are an excellent source of healthy carbohydrates that provide long-lasting energy without elevating insulin levels.

Highest in protein and lowest in starch, lentils are the most nutritious and beneficial of all legumes. Prepare red, green, brown and yellow lentils for maximum nutrient density. Canned variations will do in a pinch, but for maximum nutrients, soak and cook your own.

Peas and beans can also be enjoyed in protein powders. Thicker and denser than whey protein, pea protein is best used as a thickener in soups, stews and protein pancake recipes.

Legumes still have plenty of carbs, so if you're in a leaning phase going into pre-contest, make sure to keep serving sizes modest, and eat them primarily post-workout.

Hemp Milk
Hemp milk is a tasty dairy and soy alternative that provides all ten essential amino acids, digestible protein, fifteen essential vitamins and minerals, and 40% of your daily value of calcium. Hemp milk is also free of the common allergens associated with soy, dairy, and almond milk, but is lower in sugar and higher in essential oils (omega-3 and 6) than rice milk.

Hemp seeds are high in GLA (gamma linolenic acid), an Omega-6 essential fatty acid. GLA activates brown adipose tissue (BAT), an active tissue that burns calories for heat. When BAT is actively functioning, it's a powerful mechanism for weight loss and weight control.

GLA also provides the nutrients necessary to control the sodium potassium pump in each cell of the body. This pump is essential for cellular homeostasis, and can account for up to 20-50% of daily caloric energy usage. If the pump isn't working effectively, the body stores that unused energy as fat.

You can also make your own hemp milk in about 3 minutes:
1/4 cup shelled hempseeds
1 cup water
Vanilla, maple syrup or honey (optional)
Put seeds in a blender, adding enough water to cover them one inch deep. Blend into a thick cream. Add vanilla, maple syrup, honey, or a ripe banana, and serve as a thick drink.
You may also mix at a ratio of 4.75 parts water to one part seed for a lighter milk.

Kick-Ass Nutrition Plan
Now that you've collected an arsenal of nutrient-dense power foods, here's how you can put them all together into a day of super eating.

Breakfast:
3 pseudo-grain pancakes, topped with maple syrup, pumpkin puree and kefir.

Morning Snack:
1 scoop Metabolic Drive
1 cup hemp milk
1/2 pack açai pulp, frozen
1 scoop Superfood
2 Flameout capsules

Pre-Workout: Spike, Beta-7

Workout: BCAA

Post Workout: Surge Recovery

Lunch:
3-6 ounces elk or venison sausage
1/2 cup azuki beans
1 cup steamed broccoli
2 Flameout capsules

Snack:
2 cups raw baby spinach
Olive oil & lemon dressing
1/2 cup boiled baby clams
1/2 cup blueberries
Handful of walnuts, pumpkin seeds and pinenuts

Dinner:
4 to 6 ounces grass-fed bison steak
2 cups chopped Swiss chard sautéed in olive oil with red onion and garlic

Evening Snack:
1/2 to 1 cup organic yogurt sprinkled with chia seeds
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
2 Flameout capsules

Before Bed:
2 ZMA capsules