Archive for the ‘Drinks (no alcohol)’ Category

Rocket Fuel Breakfast to Power Your Body in Motion

Rockets, power, motion! Please tell me you find that “let’s go!” motivating! When it comes to fuel to power endurance exercise/any physical activity to keep your body in motion, the key is making sure to take in fats, protein, some carbohydrates and fluids – and having them all with full-on flavor.

Here’s what I had recently for the hop on the bike shown above with terrific good friends.

The fats, from whole milk Greek yogurt, whole milk kefir, almond-peanut butter and freshly made whipped cream, combined with protein from egg and whole grain flour in the fruit pancake, Greek yogurt and kefir gave me slow-burning sustained energy. The carbohydrates: a little sugar in my iced coffee/chocolate/coconut water drink, cookie spread on my pancake slice and fruit, dried fruit and jam in my fruit and yogurt mix, gave me instant energy to start my ride. And front-loading fluids with 30-40 ounces of iced coffee/chocolate/coconut water got me going well hydrated so that I just needed to top off with water while I rode, and the potassium in coconut water helped both prevent cramps and improve energy metabolism.

Of course, everybody’s body and fuel requirements are different, and only YOU know YOU. That means it’s most important to pay attention to what YOU eat and drink and how that affects YOUR physical performance, no matter what kind of physical activity YOU do. Still, though the fine details differ person to person, the base components are the same: carbohydrates for quick burning energy, a good shot of fat and protein for long-burning, sustained energy and plenty of fluids to start off well hydrated.

The next few posts, starting with iced coffee/chocolate/coconut water (killer good!), will show how to make each of the 3 pieces shown above that I have regularly – and always with a little improvised variety for flavor fun, before hopping out on the bike.

More soon!

Jump Starting a Good Day with Great Coffee Made Easy

How ’bout we turn around “Wake up and smell the coffee!” to “Make some great coffee to wake up to!”?

Sounds much better, and It’s easy to do.

First, here’s all you need: either whole bean (my preference) or ground coffee, coffee grinder (if needed), coffee maker, coffee filters and tablespoon.

The secret to making a great cup of coffee is using good (or great) quality fresh coffee beans or ground coffee and the correct ratio between ground coffee and cold water. That ratio is usually 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 6 ounces of cold water, as shown in the coffee package brewing recommendations pictured below. The only problem:…

…coffee maker machines tend to measure water not in ounces but in “cups” – and those cups are neither the traditional 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces, or 6 ounces as shown above, nor are they standard among coffee maker brands. 

There’s an easy one-time technique you can see how to use by clicking this link or any picture on this page for easy-to-follow Great Coffee Made Easy picture book directions.

Enjoy and make it a good day! (More about that “make it” next time.)

Warm Antidote to Bitter Cold: Ginger Mint Tea with Picture Book Directions

Man, it’s been and is brutally cold across much of the US. So, how ’bout we turn this…

…into this…

…all in a cup. Ginger mint tea is something I make and drink everyday – warm, fully flavorful and all anti-inflammatory.

Just click this link or any picture above for Ginger Mint Tea picture book directions. Then, enjoy – and stay warm!

Turning Lemons into Lemonade: Figuratively and Literally

First, the figurative lemon. I recently became part-owner of VOmax, makers of custom design performance sportswear. When my new business partner, Raj Singh, took ownership at the beginning of the year, the company was dysfunctional. Business was down. Morale was low.

Our objective as new owners: transform the company from dysfunction to excellence. Easy to say, hard to do. But even in dark times, there’s usually a bright side – and, in our case, quite a few of them.

We started right away promoting excellence in our products and service – always a dynamic process. On the personnel front, we recently hired a new graphic artist, Fred Crisp – excellent talent, positive attitude, and terrific eye for detailed art/design. Then, just last month, we hired an outstanding merchandiser and production manager with lifelong experience in the apparel business and fresh PhD, Charm Rammandala – you bet, he’s a charm!

VOmax team transferring graphics from paper to cycling jersey fabric

We’ve also retained and added to our skilled, highly talented core of technicians on our factory floor, who expertly put all our products together with loving care. Love makes a family. The new VOmax is our family, and all of us are now fully alive exuding, “You’ve never seen us like this before!” pride.

Now, for the literal lemon and how to turn it into fresh lemonade. Just click this link or picture below for a complete, easy to follow step-by-step picture book recipe that shows how to do that both with the traditional amount of sugar and also with reduced sugar – that’s the way I have it now. Great stuff!

Bottom line: no matter how sour the lemon, there’s always a way to turn that bad boy around to something positively sweet.

Love BIG Coffee! – with Picture Book Directions

Just back from terrifically interesting, very fun HUGE Eurobike 2017  bike show in Friedrichshafen, Germany (show link has already been updated for 2018). More about this year’s show – with food – soon.

But first: don’t know about you, but I dig big coffee BIG time, but this is the biggest coffee I could get in Germany. Read more »

Waking Up to Freshly Brewed Coffee: Made Easy and All in Pictures

Freshly Brewed CoffeeYou know those days when things just don’t go right, and the harder you try, the louder the voice in your head screams, “C’mon, man. Wake up and smell the coffee!” Yesterday was one of those days for me – OW! –  but instead of raging about it, I took that voice’s advice and laid down a new much more colorful version of Freshly Brewed Coffee Made Easy.

Already I feel better. And I’ve chugged enough freshly made brew along with a coconut bowl pancake to fuel me for an excellent rip on the bike as soon as I get this off.

Freshly brewed coffee and coconut bowl pancake

Like I mentioned in the picture book recipe you can get by clicking any picture on this page, the key to a good cup of coffee is nailing the right ratio  of cold water to ground coffee. Sounds easy enough. The only problem is that coffee makers are not calibrated to a standard “cup” size, and those cups are not the standard “1 cup = 8 ounces”. The way to deal with that is to use a measuring cup to to measure 12 ounces of water. Then pour that water either into the coffee maker reservoir or carafe with “cup” markings on it to see exactly how many cups your coffee machine makes with those 12 ounces of water. As shown in the pictures here, my coffee machine makes 3 cups of water with 12 ounces of water.

Calibrating Coffee CupsHere’s what you need to make coffee using a coffee maker.

Needed to make freshly brewed coffeeAgain, just click any picture on this page for a complete, newly revised, and very easy to use step-by-step picture book recipe.

Freshly Brewed Coffee Step-By-Step Picture Book Recipe pages

Fresh and Quick Iced Tea – All in Pictures

Fresh & Quick Iced Tea

All right! The temperature’s finally changing from cool to warm, so how ‘bout we take tea from hot to cold as easily as possible. What you’ll see here is the fastest and easiest way I know to make fresh and flavorful iced tea. The key is warming the water only enough to get the tea bags to steep effectively and then getting the tea in the refrigerator to cool as quickly as possible.

Just click any picture on this page for complete, easy to follow step-by-step picture book directions. Read more »

Designed by Free Wordpress Themes and Sponsored by Curry and Spice