You’ve got into healthy eating patterns, you’re now exercising frequently but the weight doesn’t seem to be moving? You’ve followed the advice and it isn't working? I want to give you a tip off as to what it could possibly be that’s holding back your results…
Read MoreIf you have been waiting for a post that shows you how to be 'more man', this is it. We're talking MEAT! Dried meat! Specifically - making your own biltong! What could be more embedded in masculinity than that?
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When you have nothing at the ready and a hunger kicks in, you snack right? The problem is that often for blokes trying to manage their weight, it's their snacks that let them down. They grab for quick convenient foods often not knowing that they are high sugar, high fat and thus high calorie.
With a little bit of preparation however, you can prepare excellent snacks at home and take them to work so you have them ready when the hunger kicks in. These Salt and Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas are an example of that.
Read MoreSo you've got a bit of a sweet tooth? Yeah, me too. Don't think that because you're trying to eat a little healthier, you need to go without. Oh no, far from it...
This cheeky little dessert is the perfect after dinner delight and will satisfy your sweet affection. Think of it as a healthy twist on bananas flambe. Yet whilst the latter of these contains refined sugar, alcohol and butter, this recipe incorporates only healthful items...
Read MoreWhen I am sitting down to a Sunday beer or just relaxing with mates, I've got a go-to snack that the lads love. They're happy to rip me about it - "Jase, mate let's just gets some chips or some crackers and cheese"
But when I blend up this simple, little dip and throw it on the table with some pita bread and green olives, the troops dive in!
When I am sitting down to a Sunday beer or just relaxing with mates, I've got a go-to snack that the lads love. They're happy to rip me about it - "Jase, mate let's just gets some chips or some crackers and cheese"
But when I blend up this simple, little dip and throw it on the table with some pita bread and green olives, the troops dive in!
Read MoreAs we come into summer, we start to move away from hot breakfasts. I always find my hunger drops when it's hot and that's the main reason I tend to be leanest at that festive end of the year! That's despite the beers!
So rather than egg-based breakfasts, I love moving toward cold options like chia bowls or granola and yoghurt. Yet the issue is that many commercial options are loaded with refined sugar and are not that healthy.
With that in mind, I've put together an awesome, tasty and simple Home-Made Nut Granola recipe just in time for summer.
Read MoreIf you like pancakes, this recipe is your friend. It makes delicious, tender and fluffy pancakes and takes only minutes to make.
My favourite topping is a drizzle of maple syrup and a tonne of sliced strawberries. And if you want to get fancy, a sprinkle of muesli, coconut and cacao sends the taste and sexiness through the roof.
Read MoreI don't eat a whole lot of bread but when I do buy it, it's that really dense, unprocessed, expensive stuff that's low GI goodness. Particularly on a weekend, I love grabbing an avocado and a couple of boiled eggs and popping them onto two pieces of rye toast. That there is my porn! "Get a life, Jason" . Washed down with a long black or two, that to me is perfection. I'm a simple guy...
But what do I do with the rest of the loaf? It will be stale bread by next weekend so it usually ends up in the freezer. But wait, I have an idea...
If you know anything about me, you'll know I LOVE chicken schnitzel. The problem is when you get it from the pub, it's deep fried and calorie-laden. That's why I prefer to make and bake it in the oven at home where I can eat more chicken and less shitty, cheap oil.
Usually I use just inexpensive, white breadcrumbs. I see them as a commodity that's like flour or sugar - "just get the cheap one". But would my schnitties taste better if I was to use a healthier bread? At minimum, it helps me use up the left over and I'm all about trying to use fresh ingredients I already have rather than buying more and more stuff.
Well guys, I've got to tell you, the outcome was tremendous. It's hard to get baked schnitzels to taste exactly the same as their fried cousins but these were the bomb. Super-moist, it's almost as if somehow the home-made crumbs kept the chicken more succulent.
Read MoreI'm totally on a fish bender right now. A 'fish mish' if you will! I don't know what's behind it but with such incredible access to seafood in Australia, I invite you to join me by trying this recipe.
This one, Blackened Cajun Fish, I first came across when I was in the Caribbean two years ago on an island called Turks and Caicos. Being an island and having a ready supply of fresh seafood, blackened fish was the speciality.
Blackening seasoning gives a spicy, smokey favour to food and can be used on any meat or vegetables. The recipe may vary between cooks but generally contains thyme, oregano, onion and garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt.
I find cooking with a cast iron skillet on medium to high heat gives best results, creating an outer spicy crust and a deliciously, tender and juicy centre. Ohhhh man, I get mouth-waters just thinking about this. Topped with a squirt of fresh lime and paired with some brown or wild rice, there is simply nothing better.
Once you've made up the blackening seasoning, feel free to store the excess for later. Fish one night, steak the next...
Read MoreJust so you know, I fully expect to cop it for this post! I expect all the manly men out there to blow up and say "pffft, you'll never catch me doing that shit! I'm a real man!"
But before you comment fellas, I want to ask you a quick favour. Head into the bathroom and look closely at yourself in the mirror. Really inspect your face close up... Notice anything?
How about those tiny little black dots that are right across your nose - what are they? Well my masculine friend, they are blackheads!
Read More"PROTEIN-BIRD" - such an ugly creature that provides so much love to humans, chicken is just the tits! Low fat, high protein - it's the perfect choice food for those wanting to manage their weight without eating cardboard. Blokes generally don't like eating cardboard.
Our favourite fowl is so versatile and I recon we should take a moment to appreciate just how lucky we are to have this god-given creature for our consumption. I say that with a half-tongue in cheek, but with also a serious belief that we as humans, should aim to connect more with our food. Where it comes from, how it's farmed, how it's treated. Having this consciousness makes you appreciate meal times that much more!
So this dish was a very simple, on-the-spot idea! So that means you too can whip it together in less than 10 minutes prep time and about 20 minutes of cooking. I am always worried about cooking chicken and making sure it's not still pink. Yet at the at same time, make sure you pull it out after 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven so your perfect little chicken pocket doesn't become dry!
Enjoy it guys...
Read MoreA few week's ago I had the pleasure of interviewing a really tough bloke. A bloke that I have known for 20 years but not spoken to in a while. It's funny hey, you're so busy dealing with your own shit that you just don't even comprehend how tough some other people have it and what battles they're facing.
Cliffy, my mate, is the perfect example of the private battles people face when on the surface, everything seems A-OK. According to statistics from Beyond Blue:
Suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15 and 44, with around 2,500 people dying by suicide every year. That's 8 people EVERY day!
Depression, anxiety and suicide is non-discriminatory and affects people from different of age, gender, sexual preference, race and wealth groups. Perhaps this is the reasons why tacking the issue is such a massive challenge and one which clearly has a LONG way to go.
Read MoreSure, slow cookers tend to be the domain of winter. True! But for some reason, I woke today and just felt like slow-cooked chicken wraps. By now, you're probably aware that I love lime and coriander as a combo and here's just one more example.
Slow-cooked dishes are just so easy. Get a bunch of ingredients, tip them all in the cooker, cover and walk away Then, 6-8 hours later, come home and smell the deliciousness wafting up the stairs. Too bloody good!
Slow-cooked dishes can also be super-healthy if you are using decent cuts and trimming some of the excess fat. In the case of chicken, simply trimming the visible white fat does the job and you're left with a tasty-as, shredded meat that can be eaten freely with rice or added to a wrap.
The best part? As the left-over shredded meat soaks in its juice for a day or so, it just gets better. This recipe gives you enough for a good few sessions!
Read MoreI don't know what it is, but the combination of lime, chilli and coriander gets me juicy! It smells like summer, feels fresh and healthy, and tastes the tits.
The cool thing is that these three ingredients go so well with any "meat dish" - pork, lamb, beef, chicken, prawn or fish! I even had it with kangaroo a few nights back. You just marinade whatever meat you choose in these three ingredients plus some garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and BANG, you're on!
In this recipe, I've used chicken and matched it with an avocado and tomato salad and some deliciously healthy black rice! Gosh, I guess this is a sign I'm getting old! Saturday night in with a meal for one?? haha!
Read MoreI love coffee and I'm an advocate of the benefits of caffeine in moderate amounts. Pair it with the delicious texture of chia seeds and you've got the perfect snack or dessert.
So what are chia seeds? Derived from the South American plant Salvia Hispanica, chia seeds give true bang for their buck in a nutrient sense. In fact, 30g of chia provides around 12g of fibre, nearly 5g of protein and 5g of Omega-3 healthy heart fat! Add to this the fact that they are a super-antioxidant food and at only a moderate calorie contribution, there's a reason why the popularity of this innocuous little bugger has spiked.
When you see chia pods in a supermarket being charged at around $5 a small tub, it would be right to assume that there's a fair bit to making them. NOT SO! I want you to try making this simple recipe! The chia forms a gel when soaked in a liquid and takes on the flavours of whatever you submerge it in. GET AMONGST!!!
Read MoreSometimes you don't feel like a whole meal huh? You're peckish but a snack will hit the mark just perfectly. The issue is, so many of us will grab for that packet of chips or cheese and crackers. As an indulgence, that's cool but if this becomes your norm, weight management will always be an issue.
So try on this simple snack idea. It'll take literally 5 minutes to do up and is one of those super tasty, super simple things you'll ask yourself why you've never done before.
Read MoreI remember the first "bowl" I ever had was in Bali at the famous Nalu Bowls near Single Fin in Uluwatu. I'd always thought of these as kind of 'girly' but one taste got me hooked. I'd joined the "superfood rebellion". Haha! Not...
I've got to say, I don't really believe in the concept of superfoods being magic silver bullets to health as that little magazine in the Sunday paper may have you believe. I do however believe in nutrient density and the fact that some foods are just packed with goodness if you eat them in their rawest state.
The thing about acai, chia and other bowls is that in Australia, they cost you and arm and a leg to buy. Interestingly though, when you have the ingredients, they are super easy to make and the PERFECT anecdote for a hot summer day.
To demo what I mean, check out this simple recipe below...
Read MoreI'm planning a very big night tonight. Yep, it's 3pm and I am sitting at my laptop thinking about the year that's wrapping up. So before rushing off to crush loads of drinks, I wanted to spend a couple of hours to myself, collecting my thoughts and sharing them with whoever cares to read. And then... I shall drink!
So without further delay, enjoy my thoughts... ;)
Read MoreSo when your mate puts on you at the gym that he's very hungry and has nothing to eat, what do you do? Of course, you offer him dinner at your pad - with one condition: he must cook.
So in this simple but tasty recipe, I've got hold of my buddy Keil and commissioned him to whip up dinner for the two of us. Like a dancer with two left feet, his cooking skills are moderate at best. But when you cook in JS's kitchen, shit goes down!
Salmon has got to be my favourite fish. It's proper BANG for the buck. High in both protein and heart-healthy unsaturated fats, it's muscle and brain food. And it's so versatile - this recipe is just the start of my salmon collection!
Enjoy... J
Read MoreIs this the sexiest thing you've ever laid eyes on? Yeah, I think so. Judging by the instant "Give Me That Now" response that I got through Instagram when I first posted it, I know you've been hanging for this one...
My inspiration for this recipe is an AWESOME cafe in Newcastle, Australia called Talulah Bar where I recently had breakfast and after tasting their one, I came up with my own take on it! Here you go!
High in heart healthy fats and protein, put simply, you need this in your life!
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