Recipe - Boneless Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

• Boneless pork ribs (lean)
• ~1tsp Homemade Sazon
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro flakes
• black pepper
• ¾ tsp celery seed
• 1 tablespoon of ground annatto (achiote)
• 1 tsp salt (optional)
• ~1 tbsp Fish Sauce
• I prefer this brand
• Olive/Canola Oil Spray
• This can be omitted depending on how good your non-stick pan is

Method:

Protip: as the picture shows, the meat should be touching and clustered together in the middle so that it cooks quickly and all the way through. Rotate the sides that are on the outside to the inside occasionally in order to achieve even cooking.

1. Put half the fish sauce in the pan and spray oil.
2. Heat just until sizzling noise
3. Throw in ribs
4. Season raw side while other side cooks
5. Once cooked halfway through, flip
6. Season cooked side (should look roasted but not black at this point)
7. Cook until mostly done then flip to sear seasonings into previously cooked side
8. I like the rectangular shaped slices because each side can be cooked to avoid charring
1. Flip onto a side that has not been on the bottom yet
2. Flip onto other side
9. Slice open the thickest piece and check for doneness
10. Enjoy your low-fat, low salt meat

Other seasoning option:

Homemade Mexican Seasoning:

• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne powder (more=more heat)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cloves

Recipe - Peanut Butter and Jelly Variants

• Gluten Free bread
• Sunflower seed butter
• Prunes

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• Gluten Free bread
• Powdered peanut butter
• Cinnamon
• Raisins

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• Gluten Free bread
• Sunflower seed butter
• Cinnamon
• Raisins

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This one is a bit weird but I like it:

• Corn tortillas (2)
• Sunflower seed butter
• Raisins

Limited Labs - Ketone.io Sports Drink

Limited Labs is pushing out a new product in January that I am looking forward to. Check it out here

Got the beta test samples. Reviews on the way.

The name has since changed to Ketone.io

1. Strawberry Lemonade
1. Taste: 7.8/10
2. Cucumber Lime
1. Taste: 7.2/10
3. Orange Mango
1. Video
2. Taste: 7/10A bit too salty for me but still good.

Me using Ketone.io

Limited Labs - Phoenix Mood Enhancer

Limited Labs

Order here

Instagram

My first dosage of this may not be the best display of this supplement's effectiveness. I had a long week and took it on low sleep during a day filled with sugar and junk food. Nonetheless I did notice modest reductions in: frustration, irritability, anger, and I also had increased willingness to work. Round two was better. I noticed the benefits that I was expecting and I can say that Phoenix does everything it claims to. Because of finals week I didn't have a chance to fully delve into the research but I wanted to at least post something. In a few weeks when everything calms down I will keep going.

One goal of Phoenix is to utilize the synergistic effect of the supplements to bolster norepinephrine production and function, specifically in the brain. Norepinephrine has been shown to enhance memory through enabling synaptic plasticity (12). What that means is your brain has the tools it needs to help you remember stuff.

"The effects of choline on hepatic lipid metabolism, mitochondrial function and antioxidative status in human hepatic C3A cells exposed to excessive energy substrates"

This is a heavy article. DNA methylation modifications, mRNA expression of the critical genes and their enzyme activities involved in hepatic lipid metabolism, mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in C3A cells exposed to excessive energy substrates, are among the things discussed in this article (1). What this is basically dealing with is how well the cell functions as a whole. The hepatic (liver) cells in this study were exposed to high levels of energy substrates (basically what happens to our livers when we eat a big Mac, side of fries, and a milkshake). Choline protected the cell from early death by favorably impacting concentrations of the initially mentioned substances. Choline is found naturally in a lot of foods: eggs, beef, fish, turkey, chicken, but is usually supplemented to reach desired concentrations (much like creatine).

Foods naturally high in choline: Nutritiondata.com

GABA

This is a neurotransmitter that has a wide range of functions throughout the body (9). Deficiencies in this chemical lead to all sorts of issues (4). "These observations demonstrate H+/GABA symport and suggest that this transport mechanism may be accessible as a route for oral absorption of therapeutically-useful GABA analogues." (10) This is good news for us because we can supplement with GABA to attenuate or eradicate insufficiency symptoms.

L-Dopa

This is a derivative of L-Tyrosine. 

L-Tyrosine

Ltdlabs sent me a link to examine.com which lays out what's going on with L-Tyrosine (10). This website is awesome and backs up everything they say with research. I also did a quick search and I found another article confirming the absorption of L-Tyrosine via the intestines (11). L-Tyrosine improves cognition, subjective well-being, and working memory (10). It decreases stress and could potentially lower blood pressure.

5-HTP

examine.com/5-HTP

1 Zhu, Jie, et al. "The effects of choline on hepatic lipid metabolism, mitochondrial function and antioxidative status in human hepatic C3A cells exposed to excessive energy substrates." Nutrients 6.7 (2014): 2552-2571.
2 Uma, Sundaram, and Parameswaran Gurumoorthi. "Dietary antioxidant activities in different germplasms of Mucuna." Journal of medicinal food 16.7 (2013): 618-624.
3 Yadav, Satyndra Kumar, et al. "Mucuna pruriens seed extract reduces oxidative stress in nigrostriatal tissue and improves neurobehavioral activity in paraquat-induced Parkinsonian mouse model." Neurochemistry International 62.8 (2013): 1039-1047.
4 GABA
5 Choline
6 Global Healing Center
7 L-Tyrosine
8 Tully, Keith, and Vadim Y. Bolshakov. "Emotional enhancement of memory: how norepinephrine enables synaptic plasticity." Molecular brain 3.1 (2010): 1.
9  Watanabe M, Maemura K, Kanbara K, Tamayama T, Hayasaki H (2002). "GABA and GABA receptors in the central nervous system and other organs". In Jeon KW. Int. Rev. Cytol. International Review of Cytology 213. pp. 1–47. doi:10.1016/S0074-7696(02)13011-7. ISBN 978-0-12-364617-0. PMID 11837891.
10 Thwaites, David T., et al. "Gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) transport across human intestinal epithelial (Caco‐2) cell monolayers." British journal of pharmacology 129.3 (2000): 457-464.
10 examine.com
11 Glaeser, Bruce S., et al. "Elevation of plasma tyrosine after a single oral dose of L-tyrosine." Life sciences 25.3 (1979): 265-271.
12 Tully, Keith, and Vadim Y. Bolshakov. "Emotional enhancement of memory: how norepinephrine enables synaptic plasticity." Molecular brain 3.1 (2010): 1.

Limited Labs - Dragon Cognitive Enhancer

Limited Labs

Order here

Instagram

Limited Labs hooked me up with some free samples of their new product Dragon and promised to send along some Phoenix samples as well upon release. I received a quick response when I asked for research which immediately bolstered my opinion of the company overall.

This is hands down the best cognitive enhancement pill I have ever taken. I was genuinely astounded by how well this worked. I took the black and white pills and they were surprisingly easy to swallow. They had no smell or flavor. I had the normal ~4hr boost from the caffeine but it was more powerful than caffeine alone. The most amazing part is that the overall alertness and cognitive benefits lasted throughout the rest of the day (7am until around 8pm). Also worth noting is I did not wake up the next day exhausted. Sometimes if I take in a lot of caffeine, sugar, or weird stimulants, I feel it the next day. This product made me feel better the next day if anything.

Caffeine and Teacrine

Caffeine is an adenosine receptor antagonist and so is theacrine(Teacrine). Without getting too detailed, Teacrine will act the same as caffeine but with less detrimental effects and other beneficial effects of being anti-inflammatory and aiding sleep (1, 5, 6, 7).

Cognizin Citicoline

Cognizin citicoline has many observed benefits: increased motor speed and attention, increases Brain Energy (ATP) by 14% and Speeds up Formation of Brain Membranes by 26% in Healthy Adults, phospholipid synthesis and turnover stimulation, appetite modulation, protective effects during hypoxia, and many other benefits in rat models. Future research is warranted to find out even more benefits this awesome supplement may provide (2)

Coluracetam & Phenylpiracetam

From what I could find after briefly searching, research on piracetam is complicated and still in development. One research article explained its neuroprotective effects (3).

Sulbutiamine

This is basically thiamine aimed right at your brain. This specific form can get inside your brain more easily and be used by your brain cells (4). It has also been shown to help prevent neuronal cell death as a result of serum deprivation (8).

I am gradually adding more research.

1 Teacrine
2 Cognizin
3 Piracetam and Piracetam-Like Drugs
4 Lonsdale, Derrick. “A Review of the Biochemistry, Metabolism and Clinical Benefits of Thiamin(e) and Its Derivatives.” Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3.1 (2006): 49–59. PMC. Web. 25 Mar. 2016. ----->https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1375232/
5 Xu, JIE-KUN, et al. "Theacrine, a special purine alkaloid with sedative and hypnotic properties from Cammelia assamica var. kucha in mice." Journal of Asian natural products research 9.7 (2007): 665-672.
6 Wang, Yuanyuan, et al. "Theacrine, a purine alkaloid with anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities." Fitoterapia 81 (2010): 627-631. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Xiao_Rong_Yang/publication/41942987_Theacrine_a_purine_alkaloid_with_anti-inflammatory_and_analgesic_activities/links/560ba2a508ae576ce6412343.pdf
7 Feduccia, Allison A., et al. "Locomotor activation by theacrine, a purine alkaloid structurally similar to caffeine: Involvement of adenosine and dopamine receptors." Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 102.2 (2012): 241-248
8 Kang, Kui Dong, et al. "Sulbutiamine counteracts trophic factor deprivation induced apoptotic cell death in transformed retinal ganglion cells."Neurochemical research 35.11 (2010): 1828-1839.

Product Spotlight - True Citrus

True Citrus Website

http://www.truelemon.com/how-we-got-started

I received free samples from True Citrus and was pleasantly surprised. I wanted to have them somewhere on my site because this is a high quality company and product. They gave me a 50% off coupon for taking a survey about the samples they sent. The beverage powder packets taste great for only having stevia and a small amount of sugar as sweeteners. The acid will help with digestion and it is useful to get your sweet fix if you have a sweet tooth like me. The lemon/lime/grapefruit/orange packets are good substitutes if fresh isn't available for recipes.

8/10 I would recommend this product as a high quality water enhancer. The price can be a little hard to swallow but with discounts it is manageable.

Power Bowl

This is a simple and healthy idea for a quick protein and omega 3 fat source.

Don't let the looks deceive you, it can be pretty delicious with high quality sardines and the proper seasoning.

Canned/Fresh Sardines
Canned/Fresh Cooked Spinach

Optional Seasonings:
Adobo
Sazon
Garlic/Onion Powder
Salt/Pepper
Mustard/Dry Mustard with salt and vinegar

Food Spotlight: Cauliflower(Brassica oleracea - Botrytis Group)

Raw
Cooked

Cauliflower is a domesticated cultivar of Brassica oleracea, aka wild mustard.  One of my favorite foods is steamed cauliflower with cheddar cheese.

Other great ways to prepare it:

• Roasted in the oven with:
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper/Turmeric