The Best Beef Hamburgers (in Bulk)

Whenever I make food in bulk, I always try to make sure the dish checks a several boxes:

1. The food has got to be at least as delicious as when first prepared once reheated (or just served again in the case of cold dishes).

2. It has to line up with dietary goals for myself and my family (this generally means it is not processed and made from fresh ingredients).

3. It needs to be budget friendly. This generally means, I’m looking towards ground beef, turkey, dark chicken meat, and stews or soups for main dishes.

For many years, I was trapped in the chicken, rice, and broccoli food vortex. This is the stereotypical bodybuilding diet that is devoid of much in the way of healthy fats and flavor. Never again. Taste is king and you can get that while aligning with your other goals.

One of the most simple and delicious bulk meals I like to make - that everyone loves - are hamburgers (with or without a traditional bun). If you don’t eat red meat, then this isn’t the recipe for you. But if you do, here is the best way to make the most delicious burger.

I like to read recipes and tend to try to learn from trained chefs and brilliantly creative home cooks, alike. Recently, I learned from a chef that putting other ingredients into ground beef for a loaded-style burger is really frowned upon by the upper echelons of the culinary world. Personally, I like burgers with stuff packed in the meat! But, I kept reading because this chef claimed that all you need for the perfect burger patty is a fatty ground beef (85/15 or 80/20) and a lot of salt.

Hey, if he was correct, then all I was saving was preparation time and money.

Not only does this simple approach cut down on preparation time, but it also reduces the cost per burger significantly - given the other ingredients you are not having to buy and the encouragement to enjoy a ground beef with higher fat content.

The Perfect Burger (in Bulk)

3-lbs ground beef (the fattier the better)

Sea salt to taste

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Form each patty into LOOSELY packed patties. I can’t emphasize how important it is to pack them loosely. If they are packed too tight, each burger patty ends up feeling like you are eating a dry hockey puck.

Then generously season one side of the burger with salt and pepper. Throw them seasoning side down on a skillet or grill and season the other side before letting them cook for 4-5 minutes (or however long you need to get the desired level of doneness).

Let the burgers rest for about 5-minutes and then plate them up however you like! They may be so delicious and juicy that you don’t find the need to add much of anything at all to the top.

The last step in this is equally as important as the preparation - it’s the storage of the leftover burgers. After taking whatever is being eaten for that meal, immediately place the leftovers in airtight storage containers. I really like this style because when you reheat, the moisture stays in the container and helps keeps the meat juicy and fresh tasting.

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Feeding the Family: Battlefield in the Kitchen 2019 Edition

We did a couple posts back in 2014 called The Battlefield is in the Kitchen: Part 1 and The Battlefield is in the Kitchen: Part 2. I thought it would be nice to throwback to those and expand on them with more of a family focus.

If you’ve been visiting the blog lately, you’ll have noticed a new series I’ve been doing called Feeding the Family. Compared to 5-years ago when the first Battlefield posts went up and my kids were 2 and 4, their needs were not very aligned to the way I chose to eat. That was the applesauce and halved grapes stage. 

But, we’ve now entered a different stage of their lives and our lives as a family and as I reread the Battlefield tips, through my mom lens, I felt like they really were not very helpful for applying to my family! I’m willing to bet that if you have a family with children, you would agree.

Here is the updated 2019 version:

Plan Ahead: the original recommendation was to plan on cooking in bulk 1 or 2 days per week. While adults intent on maximizing their time in the kitchen may be just fine with eating the same 2 or 3 meals for a whole week, kids are not!

Okay, so if you’ve seen many of the mommy-style food blogs, you’ll see elaborate meals prepared for children, that are (in my experience) not realistic. We’re approaching this battlefield-style, so we’re not going to have time to “plan ahead” and make turkey-cucumber pinwheels with homemade mayonnaise and black bean brownie animal cutouts. We’re going to get real. Real practical.

Planning ahead for family meals if you are working during the day and/or are a single parent is a super challenge. But here are some of the things I have found that work:

• If you prepare food in bulk, do so judiciously. Pick things that keep well for several days. For example, a properly seasoned hamburger will stay delicious for a couple days. Just reheat it, and stick it on a fresh bun with some salad. The whole family will enjoy this.

• Have staples on hand that hit your targeted family nutrition goals.

• Draft a few meals to make during the week and shop for them ahead of time. I say “draft” because...

• Be willing to be flexible and you’ll live to fight another day! My best plans for meals during the week - even with ingredients on hand - are often no match for our schedule! Sometimes, you’re going to need to pull that pizza out of the freezer.

Purge Your Pantry: again the original recommendation may be a bit too extreme for families. As much as I personally would never miss Oreos or potato chips in my pantry, the other 75% of my family definitely would! 

I’ve tried to find a reasonable middle-ground here. I do adhere to the principle of “If it is in your house eventually you or someone you love will eventually eat it.” 

Under that guideline I don’t want too much junk in the house. So, we generally keep only one dessert in the house at any given time. It might be ice cream OR cookies OR pie. But never all of those at one time. We also rarely ever have more than one type of chip. In terms of staples we keep plenty of (that the kids love) here’s what I always have on hand in the pantry or refrigerator:

• High protein pasta: Barilla makes a delicious high protein pasta. My kids aren’t quite ready for meat sauce, so this gets them the protein and carbs they need. Again, pairing it with a salad makes for a quick, easy, and realistically healthy meal.

• No sugar added Applesauce

• Soup - I do not consider this healthy, but rather a somewhat neutral food. The main advantage is the kids love soup and it’s crazy fast.

• Dried fruits (no sugar added, which is sadly limiting, but if you get the stuff with sugar you may as well just buy candy)

• Nuts 

• Nut butters

• Canned plain tomato sauce (no sugar added) & canned diced tomatoes - it’s shocking how often tomato can be used as a base for many meals

• Tortilla chips

• Shredded cheese and tortillas (quesadillas)

• Bread, yes, bread.

***With a proper stock of the basics, you can throw something quick together when the Plan Ahead technique occasionally falls apart!

Eat Real Food - this is a great principle, but I think being flexible and setting your mind on the 80/20 rule is best. Avoid overly processed foods 80% of the time. This will leave room for the desserts and chips I mentioned we have in our house!

Eat in Moderation - this is what parents need to live by! Eat to 80% full. For the kids, allow their natural appetites to guide them. When they are smashing food, let them! It means they are probably growing or about to. If they’re not hunger, don’t push the issue, get a few bites in and let them move on.

Make Small Changes - Yes! I wrote a post recently on this. Here’s the main key: you do not need to announce small changes! Just do them! I always cringe when I hear one or both adults in the family has decided everyone will now be eating Paleo. Please don’t, just don’t. 

• First of all, kids don’t need to eat that strictly.

• Second of all, neither do you!!! Start slowing with reasonable, sustainable changes. Hey, read my 80% rule - seriously, this is life changing. 

While you’re navigating this and trying to imagine a world where Twinkies don’t live in your pantry, please remember highly processed and prepackaged foods are literally engineered to be highly addictive. It’s worth it to break the cycle.

How the Food Industry Helps Engineer Our Cravings

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food

Since you’re here: We have a small favor to ask! At SAPT, we are committed to sharing quality information that is both entertaining and compelling to help build better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage us authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics.

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Performance Nutrition: Collagen Supplementation

Okay, so I am not claiming to be a collagen expert, but there is some interesting information I want to share as I think it can help many, many people.

Over the last couple of years, collagen protein has emerged as the next darling of supplements in the multi-billion dollar fitness industry. It is touted as a way to speed up recovery from injury - and almost any injury at that! 

But is it just another carefully packaged, expensive product with little to show in the way of research supporting its use? Or does it work as advertised? 

Let’s find out more. 

What is collagen exactly?

“Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and helps give structure to our hair, skin, nails, bones, ligaments and tendons in our body. Thanks to collagen, we’re better able to move, bend and stretch. Collagen is also behind helping hair shine, skin glow and nails stay strong.” - Vital Proteins website

What does collagen supplementation do?

The product makers claim that making an effort to consume collagen protein can help do everything from restore the bounce in your skin to shine in your hair and even help bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles repair after injury.

Wow, that all sounds awesome! Count me in! Well, wait… let’s explore the last part of those claims a bit by focusing on injury. 

Does collagen supplementation really help?

If you check out these two studies (here and here) it is pretty clear there is evidence that supports its use in acute injury.

That’s really great news. But what you pair the collagen with, plus when you take it, prove equally important.

Here is a bit of structure on how to use during the pre-workout timeframe:

Step 1: First and foremost, in the realm of recovery from injury, gelatin works just as well as collagen. So, if you are on a budget, making some old fashioned Jello may be just as good, if not better. Secondly, and most importantly, pair the collagen/gelatin with Vitamin C. The dietician I work with recommends 50mg.

Step 2: Consume about one hour before exercise. The idea here is that the collagen will get synthesized into the various structures of the body at an increased rate when taken before exercise and especially when paired with Vitamin C.

Step 3: Have a training session, practice, or rehab session that is loading/stressing the recovering area.

Step 4: New information is surfacing about multiple “doses” per day being especially effective. So, you could consider having a second serving later in the day (not necessarily paired with exercise).

Step 5: Give it some time. How much? I’m not sure, but probably 2-weeks at minimum to see if you notice improvement.

I’ve been using this protocol with some of the athletes I work with and we’ve had very encouraging results. So, I’d say it’s worth a try.

Taking this a bit further, I think there is reason to consider using collagen/gelatin in a pre-workout timeframe for anyone training who wants the best possible adaptation to the training/practice load. Meaning: even non-injured athletes could expect good results.

Part of the benefit to running, jumping, and resistance training is how dense and robust it makes the body’s tendons, ligaments, and bones. All those same benefits can seemingly be amplified by this little tweak to your pre-workout nutrition. Thus, potentially cutting your risk of injury.

Personally, I have a heck of a lot of trouble with my tendons, in particular. So, I’m going to give this protocol a month and see where we end up!

Since you’re here: We have a small favor to ask! At SAPT, we are committed to sharing quality information that is both entertaining and compelling to help build better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage us authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics.

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Feeding the Family: Clean Plate Club

I don't know about anybody reading this, but when I was growing up, the big thing that my parents always said was that you wanted to try and finish all the food on your plate at any meal. My mom made a game out of it, and called it the Clean Plate Club. It was a celebration if I ate everything on my plate. In my house it was not something that was strictly enforced, but rather something to be attempted at every meal and celebrated when it was achieved. This helped me have a positive association with eating everything on my plate (and not thinking twice about having seconds!). 

But I know in other homes, it would be typical to take it to a bit of a different level, where children are told they have to sit at the dinner table until they eat everything on their plate. This method doesn’t necessarily create a positive association, but it does effectively make the children grow up into adults who feel a sense of guilt for not eating all the food they’ve ordered or made at home.

Okay, so what’s my point here? Well, BOTH situations are examples of us teaching our children to ignore their hunger and satiety cues in favor of not wasting food. This could result in a lifetime of slight overeating that will add up to unwanted weight gain at some point in their lives.

So, I want to talk about this concept for parents, because I believe it is really up to the parents to make important dietary decisions for their children in the early years (say, the first 10 or so). Up to a certain point, parents are the ones that introduce different types of foods to their children. If you introduce them early on to a lot of processed foods, that are quite frankly delicious, then it's pretty tough to dig yourself out of that hole to get them to eat vegetables and other unprocessed foods. 

How parents talk about and influence the eating of their children is very important.

Another thing to keep in mind is that children are born really knowing exactly how much they should eat on any given day. This is why their appetites can fluctuate pretty dramatically day to day and is impacted by several factors such as their activity level, if they are getting sick, or if they are about to grow. The activity level of the day before can affect the appetite of the next day, with a high activity day prior making the kids want to eat more, and the kids wanting to eat less after a low activity day. As parents, we need to be mindful of what factors could be driving appetite and be attentive to what they need (or don’t). 

Of course as any seasoned parent knows, at the dinner table, there’s a balance that needs to be struck between appetite fluctuations and just pickiness. I know my kids are extremely picky, so what may look like a lack of appetite may just be them being picky. The key is to keep up the positive association with eating, but also with respecting their actual appetites that day. Avoid forcing them to continue eating when they are not and definitely avoid any kind of shaming or guilt if your child is wanting more food - they’re growing! It’s something to celebrate!

Many times at the dinner table there is a little bit of negotiation that has to go on as well. I know a lot of parents out there know what I am talking about. If we have something really delicious with our meal, like applesauce for my kids, that’s all they will want to eat and will ask for more apple sauce. You have to be careful in those situations. While applesauce is a fine choice, I want them to eat some of their salad or some of the hamburger, too. So we say “Okay, but first you need to take two bites of the other things on your plate. If you do that, and you're still hungry, then yes, you can have some more applesauce.” This way they'll get through some of the other food. The point is that we aren’t sitting there making them eat everything on their plate, we are noticing that they are still hungry and trying to get them to eat a little more balanced. That's where I try to be flexible and help them understand that they don’t have to have it all, but they do have to try everything. 

I would just suggest thinking about how your family talks about eating at the dinner table, and just investigate that a bit. I think many people eat with the idea that food is expensive, we don’t want to waste it! They also think: “I have a little bit more room before I’m stuffed, I can finish that.” And I agree, the last thing we want to do is be wasting food. But, this approach leads to excess calories being eaten, that many people don’t intend to eat or need.

We never want to waste food, so just be willing to pack up the leftovers for another day and consider putting smaller portions on your child’s plates. How eating is approached from childhood can really influence how a person eats when they are adults. The goal is for a positive association between food, but with respect to hunger and satiety cues. This will build children into adults who are better prepared for navigating our world of delicious, but nutritionally devoid convenience foods.

Eating to 80% Full

Let’s talk about calories.

All we need to know with calories is the amount. If you want to lose weight, or if you want to gain weight, it's all about the caloric balance in the end. There's no magic formula for this. For example, we’ve all heard of these experiments where people would eat a Mcdonald’s or 7-Eleven diet and still lose weight. Mind blowing, am-I-right? Not really. 

If you’re only goal is to lose weight, all you need to really worry about is a negative calorie balance. There's a million different ways that you can do this. That’s one of the reasons that things like intermittent fasting, ketogenic diets, and whatever else are so popular, is because it gets you into a negative balance with what are - on the surface - easy to follow rules.

But In the end, they don't work for most people because they're so restrictive. They overly restrict the things that people like to eat that aren’t necessarily considered healthy, but are just fine in moderation. This is why learning how to truly EAT is a better long term plan. 

Removing carbohydrates from your diet for the rest of your life is not realistic, it's really just a short term strategy. Different diets whether it’s high fat and low carb or low fat and high carb will make you perform and feel differently, but both can help you lose weight. 

The thing that confuses people is that the popular diets they see models or physique competitors use are short term solutions, not long term plans. Most people’s goal is not to step on stage, but to be 10 pounds lighter and feel better about themselves. For this to happen, it’s more about understanding very basic dietary concepts. One is to consume more quality non-processed foods. 

Another important one I use with my nutrition coaching is the concept of eating to 80% full. Essentially you can eat whatever you want, as long as you don’t eat until you’re stuffed. That's a strategy that works extremely well.

In the end if you are looking to perform at a high level or to build lean body mass, what you eat is going to matter. But if you're just trying to lose a little bit of weight or feel a little bit better, ignore all of the fads. Just start with eating until you're 80% full and see how that works for you. Once you get comfortable with that, there’s plenty more strategies to start trying, just start simple. 

Please remember, ignore the fads and strive to learn how to eat in a sustainable way for a lifetime. You need those sound habits before you use any other advanced methods. Diet is something to be thought of in the long term, not what can make a quick fix. Using sound and simple habits such as the 80% rule will definitely get the best results and allow you to keep them.

Since you’re here: We have a small favor to ask! At SAPT, we are committed to sharing quality information that is both entertaining and compelling to help build better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage us authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics.

Thank you! SAPT

Feeding the Family: Plant Based Eating

People become plant based eaters for a lot of different reasons. I experimented it with it myself a number of years ago, and actually ate completely vegan for probably about a year and a half. There are many reasons people do this, some people may be concerned about health and longevity, there may be religious reasons, or they may just love animals.

Some people are maybe focused on the environment and making sure that our food sources are sustainable. Other people may just not like the taste of meat or the idea of where that comes from. For me, it was a health and longevity question that I wanted to experiment with.

People also have different definitions of what plant based eating means to them. For some people, that just means that ⅔ of their plates are plants, and there may be a little bit of animal protein on their plate. For other people it means they're vegetarian, or strictly vegan. Some only eat dairy, or only eat chicken, or only eat shellfish. You can really define it for whatever fits for you. But to me, the main point is that we're really focused on getting a lot of vegetables.

I encourage you, if you're interested, to try this out to do some experiments with yourself, and see how you feel and how you react. Just be careful and don't have too many rules or restrictions, just really switch the focus to getting lots of really good foods into your body and into your system.

As far as what to include in the diet, I would encourage making sure that you include beans and legumes because they're both good sources of protein. Be careful with these, there’s a lot of fiber in them and that could cause some intestinal distress. You may also want to look at higher protein whole grains like quinoa. A good rule of thumb as you're starting is try to limit soy products as much as possible. Again, focus your base on the plants and the beans and only have soy products in moderation.

You may also want to consider some supplementation. A good start would just be a good multivitamin, there are also algae based omega three fatty acids that you can use instead of fish based products. You can also purchase plant based protein powders, they have a different flavor than the milk based ones but I think they are palatable.

If you’re looking at experimenting for a longer period of time, you may want to get some blood testing done.

If you're a strength athlete, I recommend supplementing with three to five grams of creatine each day. You may also want to consider taurine and beta alanine, as these are useful for people who are 100% plant based athletes. Lastly, if you're getting into this and you're really sticking with it for a period of time, you want to just keep your eyes open for any hormonal disruptions that could affect your energy balance. For example, if you're eating a lot of processed soy, this can affect your thyroid and sex hormones. The same thing can actually happen if you're eating a lot of cruciferous vegetables. So kale, cauliflower, broccoli, things like those can also affect your hormonal health and even your nutritional nutrient status. All that fiber binds to fat based substances like steroid hormones, and then pulls them out of the body with that fiber when you go to the bathroom.

Another thing to keep an eye on with this kind of diet is undereating. Keep an eye on calorie intake and make sure your calorie intake is appropriate for your body size and your activity level. The other thing is, if you end up getting into some processed foods, or eating a lot of like nuts and nut butters for your protein source, then you may find you’re overeating. You want to keep an eye on those things.

You know, when I started eating a vegan diet I did enjoy it and I did feel good.

For me, what I found over time was it required a whole different skill set in the kitchen to prepare food. Preparing food when I was vegan was extremely time consuming, labor intensive, and expensive if the meals were going to be appetizing. After a certain period of time, my schedule just wouldn’t allow this amount of food preparation time.

When this happened I began going to the store and picking up convenience foods that were labeled vegan, but were extremely processed and filled with things I didn’t need. At this time 7-8 years ago, pre-cooked healthier items became more available such as pre cooked chicken breast, so the convenience foods I was eating to stay vegan were less healthy than the animal based products available.  So it dawned on me that I was actually starting to eat less healthfully than if I would just have a chicken breast. That's when I migrated back to, a more moderate style traditionally balanced diet.

The key when experimenting with these diets is to know what you are getting into and plan accordingly, stick to healthy options and keep your health in check.

Since you’re here: We have a small favor to ask! At SAPT, we are committed to sharing quality information that is both entertaining and compelling to help build better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage us authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics.

Thank you! SAPT