I missed my regular update last week, but It’s been such a busy couple of weeks that I just haven’t had time to read. We had a baby shower last weekend which required finally painting the house the way my wife has wanted it to look for years, cleaning EVERYTHING (the carpet, bathrooms, etc.), decorating the house for the baby shower, and preparing food. I’m so happy the baby shower is over with. Hopefully I can get back to a more relaxed schedule again. I guess this hectic lifestyle is something I should get used to though, with a baby coming in just a couple more months.
On to the update. Here’s what I’ve been reading lately.
Best Vegan Cookbooks for Athletes
Another post from No Meat Athlete this week. This one is awesome because it has a whole bunch of books that are both vegan and really healthy. There are lots of vegan cookbooks out there, but a lot of them require using junk like seitan and other processed foods. There are at least four books here that I want.
Harmful or Harmless: Magnesium Stearate
I’ve noticed that magnesium stearate is in a ton of supplements. I’ve always avoided it just because I didn’t know what it was and I would never remember to look it up. Chris Kresser did all the hard work for me and explained it all!
Pills made from poop cure serious gut infections
The fecal transplant procedure is becoming so popular that someone has already created a way to give a “fecal transplant” simply by swallowing a pill. Dr. Thomas Louie devised a method to extract bacteria and remove waste from donor stool and pack it into gel capsules. The patient needs to take 24-34 capsules in one sitting, but they have no taste and don’t result in nasty burps since they don’t dissolve until they are past the stomach.
The Healthy (But Practical) Plant-Based Diet — A Typical Day
It’s cool to see what other vegans eat in a typical day, especially fit vegans who have different dietary needs to support an active lifestyle.
Gotu kola | University of Maryland Medical Center
I found out about gotu kola while reading an article about how to get better sleep (my wife is having trouble sleeping during her pregnancy, which is common). It sounds like an interesting plant with a lot of different uses – speeds up wound healing, treatment for stretch marks, reducing anxiety, decreasing joint pain and treating insomnia – but it also sounds like there’s not enough research to show that it’s completely safe.
The “Promised” 18 Week Protocol
I’m a huge fan of minimalist training. There was a time when I felt like I was doing myself a disservice if I wasn’t working out 5 days a week but after starting Stronglifts 5×5 a couple years ago, I’ve completely change my line of thinking, especially after seeing more progress with minimal training than I ever did with 5+ days per week training. And now with a baby on the way, minimalist training is going to be even more important.
Recipe: Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with Sweet Potato Topping
This sounds awesome! I’m definitely making this soon.
Simple Hacks to Fix Your Sleep
We already turn our phones and tablets to Airplane Mode every night but we still keep things plugged in near our beds. I can’t say for sure if it has helped me sleep better but I feel better a out doing it just because I know of the potential harmful issues. I might have to try moving the clock next.
We’d love to share a few healthy vegan recipes on LASL sometime if you wanted to be a guest.
Awesome, thanks for the offer Everett. I’ll try to come up with something soon.