Eat Guilt Free
Collab Reveal with Ox + Kitchen Setup 101 (part 2)
Greetings All,
Today reveals the first Collaborative between Octopod and Ox!
We put our heads together and came up with a timely release for everyone to start 2022 ad keep positive momentum!
Will give the whole rundown below, but first.
Coffee ☕️
January Coffee shipped out this morning!
Fresh off roast, and 🐙 is ecstatic on the flavor profiles that came off this month’s selections. Two distinct coffee’s that are easily in the best quality bracket available. Your tastebuds will be in heaven.
EL SALVADOR (BLACK HONEY PROCESS) Blackberry, Nougat, Chocolate
HONDURAS *SPECIAL-BATCH (WASHED) Plum, Honey, Black Tea, Floral
If you missed this release, don’t worry!
Orders placed within the next 48 hours will go out with FedEx 2-day shipping and be to your doorstep in a flash! (Free shipping in the US)
Get your coffee order here before the January window closes!
Ox & Octopod Collab:
We decided to put out something that will be an amazing help and value for everyone to start 2022.
Whether you have set some New Year’s resolutions or updated your goals for 2022, we are all looking to improve and become more efficient/better versions of ourselves.
One of the biggest health lies floating around is that in order to be healthy, you have to eat bland/boring food. Ox and I are taking this head on.
So many people get in a rut planning meals and resign themselves to eating boring, monotonous, flavorless food.
Or, you’re breaking out of an unhealthy lifestyle and caught up with tracking apps, calculating macros and feeling overwhelmed.
Using a Barbell Approach to combine Fitness & Food, to create a lifestyle you truly enjoy and excel in.
Introducing: “Eat Guilt Free” with Ox & Octopod
It has been shown that in order to form a new habit it takes 21 days. We are making this as simple as possible by giving a framework for delicious eating with a recipe cookbook combining amazing-simple recipes, macros and best practices for making this your new normal!
The ebook starts with intro essays from Octopod (on cooking) and Ox (on fitness).
Followed are 20 recipes, with concise instructions taking all the guesswork out.
Each recipe has macros calculated for you, making this easy to incorporate into your daily schedule. Savoring mealtimes, and maximizing your health!
For 1/5 the cost of your out of shape personal trainer and your new gym membership, get started living a healthier life
This is a REAL solution to making healthy eating the tastiest it’s ever been
Kitchen Setup 101:
Last Free Substack we outlined the bare-essentials every kitchen should have, with an emphasis on Efficiency and Mobility.
Today we shift from Minimalism and add to the list for a Solid Setup with a few extra conveniences.
The List from Last week:
Essentials:
Chef’s Knife
Paring Knife
Cutting Board
Saute Pan
Saucepot
Stock Pot
Microplane Zester
Vegetable Peeler
Streaming Insert (Strainer)
Whisk
Tongs
Spatula
Cake Tester
The recommended Chef knife, Cutting Board and Partnered Cookware provider, Heritage Steel, are linked accordingly!
Adding for a Solid Setup:
If you are in a more permanent location and frequent cooking is in your lifestyle the following tools can save a lot of time or add versatility to what you can prepare.
Bread Knife: If you are baking crusty, sourdough/artisan doughs at home, a bread knife can make life much easier. To be clear, a well sharpened chef’s blade will cut through just fine, but if you want to put less wear on the blade have a bead knife around. $50 or so can get an adequate blade.
Sheet Pans: Sheet pans/jelly roll pans. These pans are essential for baking sheets of cake, baking bread loaves, roasting vegetables, roasting poultry in the oven, and also serving as a cooling/resting station for hot items.
Wire Racks: As referenced above, wire racks help expedite cooling for cakes, fried items, roasts, and other preparations. The rectangular grid racks work best, offering maximum support.
Cast Iron cookware: If you are wanting to expand from Stainless Steel cookware, cast iron is a logical next step. Refer to the last Substack for more info on cast iron vs enameled cast iron, and this substack on care and maintenance for Cast Iron ⬇️
Baking Stone: Debated about putting this in Advanced but one preparation clinched it. Pizza 🍕. There is no reason to not be making pizza at home, and your best results will come on a baking stone, as well as for next-level bread baking. Rectangular makes best use of oven space.
Blender: A blender should be a priority over a food processor or stand mixer. Smoothes, Juicing, Vegetable Purees, Soups, Bulk Mayo, Dressings, and other emulsions… all are easy with a good blender. You will see a ton of brand-cults between Ninja, Blend-Tec, VitaMix, etc etc. After spending years and years in residential and pro kitchens, the VitaMix is the best go-to. Higher price tag, but they are almost indestructible. You can find them used, online. If in good condition you can get a deal on them. Get the Pro line. Comment with questions for (specifics).
Pressure Cooker: Outside of a blender, the pressure cooker is the ultimate efficiency hack in the kitchen. Beans, lentils, braises, stews, soups, stocks, broths… all with hours of time saved. Recommend Stovetop vs Electric. See the previous substack on pressure cookers and stock making.
Rice Cooker: If you make a lot of rice, this is worth considering. Bonus is most come with a steaming basket you can use for vegetable or protein steaming. Downside is they tend to be on the small side. Zojirushi is the only brand to look at. Japanese precision and reliability.
Ox and I appreciate your continued support! Please keep an eye out as we both have much more in store as we take Food & Fitness more accessible for everyone! If you aren’t already, got on the “Strong as An Ox” Substack for the best Fitness content, period.
This weeks Paid Post will be on Vegetable Magic 🪄
Until next time, Frens! 🥂