#shauhin

Anyone who has spent a lot of time in the field knows that maintaining adequate nutrition can be difficult and frustrating, so I have been really looking forward to returning to a very clean and strict diet. Since being back from the forest, I’ve been back in the gym, experimenting a lot with nutrition and self optimization, and obsessively catching up on the current literature about nutrition and exercise physiology. This has caused me to stumble upon the work of Dr. Rhonda Patrick, who happens to have her own podcast called found my fitness. Through her platform I have been exposed to many authors I wouldn’t have known about otherwise, and have learned a lot about how different vitamins and minerals are involved in gene regulation, aging, and performance. I have also learned that intense exercise can stimulate neurogenesis, so all you fellow academics who think working out is just for meat heads, you’re doing yourself a disservice!

One major addition that I have added to my routine thanks to Rhonda is a carefully thought out green shake for breakfast. I drink this shake every morning, and since replacing my breakfast with this shake, I have felt great! On the rare days when I don’t drink the shake I always feel noticeably worse. Rhonda’s original recipe is on her website, but here is my version.

4 large kale leaves

4 rainbow chard leaves

1 cup of baby spinach

1 carrot

1 tomato

1 avocado

1 apple (with the peel)

1/2 cup of frozen blueberries

1 scoop protein powder (whey isolate) OR one cup Greek yogurt (must have 25g protein)

~4 cups of water

1 tablespoon MCT oil

I have a skeleton version of the shake which is just the spinach, kale, chard, avocado, protein, MCT, and water when I’m running low on the other ingredients. 

Rhonda has a video on her podcast detailing all of the micronutrients and phytochemicals packed into this shake. The biggest difference between my recipe and Rhonda’s is more protein and the addition of MCT oil, which has a thermogenic effect on the body. If you decide to try it let me know what you think!

I live in the north east, so it is hard to keep a garden in the winter. I really want to be able to keep my own supply of all these greens, so I am working on setting up my own indoor hydroponic system. Once it is up and running I’ll put up a post so you guys can see it in action and how I set it up.