A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate to receive a box full of beer, courtesy of BrewDog, one of the more popular craft breweries out there. BrewDog is out of Scotland and James Watt, one of the owners, sent me a variety of their beers to sample. Here’s the list: Read more ยป
O’hara’s Irish Stout With Onion Burgers And Flax-Dusted Kale
Happy St. Patrick’s day everyone! I hope you enjoy the day, drink some good beer, eat some good food and stay safe. I am posting the obligatory “Irish Beer Review” but I’m also adding my unique twist on the same old “beef and cabbage” theme.
The beer I’m reviewing is Ohara’s Irish Stout and I paired it up with my onion burgers and flax-dusted kale and chard (both part of the cabbage family). Here’s the video review. Scroll down below the video to get the recipe for the burgers and kale/chard.
Score 42 points, 4 Mugs
Here are the recipes for the burgers and greens.
Onion-Burgers
- 1lb 80/20 ground beef
- 1 small red or yellow onion
- salt and pepper
Dice the onion into small pieces and mix well with the ground beef. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until medium well done.
Flax-Dusted Kale and Chard
- Mix of Kale/Collard/Mustard or Swiss Chard leaves
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove diced garlic
- 1 tbsp milled flax
- salt and pepper
Separate the leaves from the stems of the greens. Roughly chop the stems and set aside. Chop the leaves into small pieces and set aside. Chop the garlic.
In a large skillet heat 1/2 the olive oil and brown the garlic. Add the chopped stems and saute for 2-4 minutes or until the stems are just tender. Remove the stems from the pan. Add the rest of the olive oil along with the leaves and saute until the leaves begin to wilt. Add the stems back into the pan and mix together with the greens. Sprinkle the milled flax onto the leaves/stems and toss. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Butternuts Snapperhead IPA
Here is my review of an IPA from New York brewer Butternuts.
Score 32 points, 3 Mugs
Get Strong With My Easy And Quick Four Exercise Workout
As I wrote in my book Beyond The Twelve-Ounce Curl, building strength is an important part of overall health and fitness. The problem for many people (at least as they see it) is that they don’t have the time or money to join the local gym. Or, if they did, they don’t want to be working out next to some body builder wanna-be’s that grunt every time they lift something heavy.
Well, I don’t belong to a gym, although I have in the past and found it to be much like I described above. So, how do I build my strength? By doing easy (and inexpensive) body-weight exercises at home, that’s how. I’m a big fan of them since they promote the use of multiple muscles at once and you need to invest in a bunch of expensive equipment in order to do them.
My basic workout is composed of four exercises:
- Push-ups
- Pull-ups
- Squats
- Planks
That’s it. Sure I mix things up a bit and do other exercises from time to time, but the core of my workouts revolve around these four exercises. I do two workouts a week and each workout lasts about 20 minutes.
Here’s a video showing my “expansive home gym” and the exercises I do. I may post some workouts as well as a review of my new portable pull-up bar that you will see in the video.
My Healthy Berry Smoothie Recipe
Some of you may have noticed that the past few Mondays have been dedicated to more “health and fitness” type posts. That’s not a mistake 
Along with the beer reviews I want to help you get more out of your life and a big part of that is living a healthy, balanced life that includes some exercise, good eating and of course beer.
Well, today I want to share with you an easy to make “quick meal” that I often use to start my day or refuel after a long workout. This “super berry smoothie” is full of good stuff and packs a nutritional wallop that can really get you going in the right direction or refuel your body after a workout. This smoothie has a great mix of protein, fat,carbohydrates and fiber along with a dose of healthy omega-3 fatty acids and potassium. Here’s the video (look below the video for the recipe and nutritional info):
Recipe:
-1 cup 2% milk
-1 cup strawberries
-1 cup blueberries
-1 medium banana
-1 tablespoon milled flax
-dash of cinnamon
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth
Approximate Nutrition Information:
Calories: 432
Fat: 11 grams
Saturated fat: 4 grams
Protein: 13 grams
Fiber: 14 grams
Sodium: 108mg
Potassium: 649mg
Calcium: 34% RDA
Vitamin D: 25% RDA
