Vinnie Tortorich

Fitness Confidential Podcast

Making Holiday Drinks NSNG® – Episode 1214

by Vinnie Tortorich

 : Episode 1214 – Anna Vocino joins Vinnie this Monday, and the two talk wild political correctness propagated by PETA, making holiday drinks NSNG®, Vinnie’s parents make appearances, and more.

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PETA

  • What PETA really wants is for people to not own pets whatsoever
  • They are absolutely off their rockers
  • In fact, they’re listed as a shelter – people surrender their pets to them, and PETA puts those animals down
  • We are a society that loves our pets – PETA needs to get over it, or become a big, non-kill shelter
  • Good breeders go AFTER puppy mills
    • PETA talks about puppy mills like people approve of them – they do NOT
  • Vinnie and Anna agree animals should not be sold in pet stores
  • But eating meat is where Vinnie and Anna disagree
    • Eating meat, particularly when slaughtered correctly, is natural and not wrong

MAKING HOLIDAY DRINKS NSNG®

  • During the holidays, there’s lots of sugar around
  • Smells of caramel and cinnamon reminds Vinnie of the holidays as a child
  • Starbucks is selling a peppermint latte
    • May seem innocent, but it’s full of sugar
  • Anna used to enjoy peppermint mocha lattes from Starbucks
    • 63g of sugar in one cup!!!
    • This is a chemical sh*!storm as well
    • Don’t drink this
  • You can make it NSNG at home!
    • Melt some cacao, stir it in
    • Add some pure peppermint
    • Yes, it won’t be sweet, but it will get the job done

AGRICULTURE

  • Sugar cane is grown in the south
    • Cut the cane and then burn it
    • It’s very bad for the environment
      • Kills and displaces many animals
    • Growing agriculture can be environmentally harmful
    • Same with growing cotton – animals die when they harvest it

NSNG® is Affordable – Episode 1199

by Vinnie Tortorich

 : Episode 1199 – The lovely Anna Vocino joins Vinnie this Monday and the two talk the recent Thanksgiving holiday, getting back into ketosis after putting lots of life into living, managing finances, the fact that NSNG® is affordable, and more.

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NSNG® IS AFFORDABLE

  • Some people worry that this way of eating is cost-prohibitive
  • This is part of why Vinnie offers all of this info for free – to make sure it isn’t too expensive!
  • Anna’s cookbook is very affordable for this same reason
  • Cauliflower mash (in place of potatoes) is very popular and not cost prohibitive!
    • A cheap substitute
    • She offered parsnip mash as another option
      • Someone angrily tweeted at her that it was very expensive to do this – bankrupting!
        • You don’t NEED to buy the parsnips
        • If it’s too expensive for you, pick something else, like cauliflower or broccoli to mash!
        • This isn’t a way of eating where you HAVE to eat certain things if they’re too expensive
  • It being expensive is an excuse many use!
  • It is true that often the cheapest food are the least nutritious
    • If you eat this way, you will need less food, for one
    • Additionally, you can find discounted veggies and meats at many stores!
  • You will be surprised how much money you spend on junk snacks

Hidden Unhealthy Ingredients – Episode 1198

by Vinnie Tortorich

 : Episode 1198 – The wonderful Gina Grad joins Vinnie for this Sunday School episode, and the two talk Thanksgiving and hidden unhealthy ingredients in seemingly healthy foods.

Content warning to parents – Vinnie mentions a derogatory word in this episode in order to explain its origin.

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GINA’S THANKSGIVING

  • All of her family from everywhere is invited to Thanksgiving in LA
  • Kansas City, Chicago, Seattle, Arizona all represented
  • Gina makes some NSNG fare to represent the low carb community
    • Her stuff is always the first to go – it’s rich, delicious, and healthy
    • Bacon brussel sprouts, for example
    • Vinnie knows Gina is an AMAZING cook
      • She has a segment on Adam Carolla called “Eat Your Feelings” where she brings an NSNG dish every week

HIDDEN UNHEALTHY INGREDIENTS

  • Starbucks now has sous vide egg bites
    • Big step above their cakes
  • Delicious, but still has some bad stuff in it
    • Chemicals you don’t need
      • Adds to the product’s shelf life
      • Also designed to make you crave it more
  • Gina used to get eggs at iHop
    • The scrambled eggs and omelettes made her feel bad
    • It’s because they put GRAINS in their EGGS!
  • People worry about things like tryptophan in turkey – this is not the enemy!
    • It’s the pie, the potatoes, etc. that are bad

Lose Weight Without Exercise with NSNG® – Episode 1157

by Vinnie Tortorich

 : Episode 1157 – Pete Bridges joins Vinnie this Saturday to discuss olive crusted halibut, Pete’s NSNG® story, and how he has been able to lose weight without exercise (though now he’s a big Zone 2 athlete!), and more.

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OLIVE CRUSTED HALIBUT RECIPE

  • For dinner, Serena made amazing olive crusted halibut
  • Check out the recipe at the bottom of these show notes!
  • Delicious, easy, and makes Vinnie sad for vegans that they can’t eat it

PETE BRIDGE

  • Listened to Carolla show
  • He had a family friend who had lost a lot of weight thanks to Vinnie and NSNG®
  • At that point, Pete decided to go all in
  • He and his wife have both done it, and they absolutely love it
  • Pete attended the recent Seattle Meat-Up!
  • Loved the meet-up, found it definitely worth it
  • Check him and his wife out in Instagram at the Insta handle: @nsng_pacnw

LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT EXERCISE

  • 5’10” and 38 years old (started last July)
  • He went from 255 lbs to 190 lbs
  • Pete has not lifted consistently in over a year, just now started to focus on exercise
    • Majority of his transformation came from just eating
  • His wife has lost about 30 lbs
  • Pete eats a lot of yummy fatty things — keep yourself satiated!
  • He puts some Life into Living — during one meal, then get RIGHT BACK ON
  •  NSNG® is something Pete looks forward to doing
    • Even just a LIL meal makes him want to get back to it

Olive Crusted Halibut

★★★★★

Fish

Prep Time: 10 Cook Time: 20-30 Difficulty: Easy Servings: 2 

INGREDIENTS

2 filets of halibut (I suspect it would be good with sea bass or swordfish also)

½ Cup of kalamata olives, pitted

½ Cup of green olives, pitted

1 Tablespoon capers 

¼ Cup of plain Pili nuts or pine nuts

1 small clove of fresh garlic, thinly sliced

1 sprig of fresh basil leaves, chopped

¼ Cup of finely grated fresh parmesan (do NOT use the pre-packaged version-it will ruin it!

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

1 pinch of hatch chile powder or chile flakes to taste

Freshly ground Redmonds Salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

DESCRIPTION

Easily one of the simplest, quickest and most impressive recipes in my box of tricks. I first tasted this in one of my favorite restaurants in the world – Steelhead Diner in Seattle. You know it was a great dinner when you can’t stop thinking about weeks later…but I digress. I was so obsessed, in fact, that I decided to try making it and, much to my and Vinnie’s excitement, it was a huge success. NSNG® Approved. Enjoy!

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350 F

Prepare a roasting pan or baking dish. I like to use parchment paper to avoid the fish sticking to the pan and breaking apart when I serve it. First I smear a tiny drop of olive oil in the bottom of the pan to make the parchment paper stick and then I put the fish on top. If you don’t have any paper drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil in the pan before you put the fish in.

Drain olives and capers well. Place olives, capers, Pili nuts, sliced garlic and chopped basil leaves in a blender. Blend until the mixture forms a thick paste but still has small chunks of olive, nuts etc. You don’t want a puree, it should have texture to it. 

Transfer from blender to a mixing bowl and add the pinch of chile, lemon zest, and grated parmesan and season with some lovely chunks of freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly rinse fish in cold water and gently pat dry with a paper towel – it helps the crust stick to the fish. Place the fish filets in the roasting pan and, using your hands, scoop up some of the mixture and form an approx. ¼ inch layer of the olive crust on top of the fish. Gently press it onto your filets so that it covers them well.

Place the pan in the upper half of the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until it is cooked to the doneness (is that a word?) that you like. Personally, and professional chefs would throw their hands up in horror at this, I like my fish cooked through. Vinnie prefers it a little less done, but since I’m the cook :)……My rather skinny filets took about 23 mins. If yours are thicker/larger they will take a bit longer. 

I served this on creamed spinach (very easy to make) with toasted pine nuts. I poured the run-off cream from the spinach around the edge to make it pretty and because, well, it’s delicious!

NSNG vs. Other Low Carb Diets – Episode 1129

by Vinnie Tortorich

 : Episode 1129 – Anna Vocino joins Vinnie this Monday, and the two talk desensitization to death, NSNG vs. other low carb diets, Fat Doc sneak peaks, and more.

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LOW CARB DIETS

  • NSNG is a low carb lifestyle
  • It is different than other low carb diets
  • Paleo is a throw-word now
    • Honey is on the table
    • It’s a slippery slope
    • Not always low-carb
    • Some of Anna’s dessert recipes are paleo (not always low carb)
    • Easy to sneak in sugar with paleo
  • Keto is not the same as NSNG
    • Keto diet also uses a lot of artificial sweeteners and crap like stevia
    • NSNG, you don’t need to be in ketosis
    • Keto diet finds ways to cheat on the daily
  • Atkins is a higher protein diet
    • The OG low carb diet
  • For NSNG, you should go super clean for the first 60 days
  • If you fall off the wagon, get right back on with the next meal
  • Gluten-free doesn’t mean healthy
    • Lots of awful flours like soy flour
    • Corn, tapioca, other crap
    • Just as bad for you in many situations
    • Bad from a hormonal standpoint as well

Calories Aren’t What Count – Episode 1094

by Vinnie Tortorich

 : Episode 1094 – The amazing Anna Vocino joins Vinnie this Monday, and the two talk the Zoom, the fact that calories aren’t what count, new food labeling, replacement foods, and more!

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TRANSITION TO ZOOM

  • Vinnie and Anna recorded this podcast with Zoom
  • They have transitioned away from Skype because Skype is annoying and unreliable
  • With Zoom, they can video themselves and record it, as well as screen share, etc.
  • Check out this podcast on Youtube as well!
  • You can actually see the two of them chatting and the whole thing

CALORIES AREN’T WHAT COUNT

  • CICO = calorie in calorie out
  • As of May 5th, chain restaurants require calorie counts on menus
  • This is BAD because it is reinforcing this notion that CICO is what matters
  • There is NO WAY that eggs are worse than a “low cal” dessert just because the calorie content is lower
  • While this type of thing may be well intentioned, it is sabotaging people who want to lose weight/get healthier but do not know
  • Sure, you can starve yourself and lose some weight, but it is NOT healthy nor sustainable
  • Vinnie isn’t saying eating 5000 calories a day, but eating well is more important than eating less
  • CICO is way worse

FOOD LABELS

  • Gone from new labels on foods is calories from fats
  • Additionally, serving size is being standardized
  • Except, small chip bags will just be one serving to simplify
    • This is great because it will take some confusion out of it
  • Total carb consumption will be lowered so that %s will be greater for fewer carbs
  • Transfats being removed!
    • About time because sat fats can be good
  • “Natural sugars” will be listed on bars
    • This is a way to trick folks again
    • Just because sugars are ‘natural’ does not mean they’re okay
    • Your liver can’t tell the difference
  • Most important thing: READ INGREDIENTS!

REPLACEMENT FOODS

  • A lot of people try to make replacement foods
  • Ex: low-carb bread for sandwiches
  • This can be dangerous because it reinforces your craving for the food
  • Anna only makes fat-head pizza every once in a couple months
  • It’s hard for people to convince themselves that they don’t need foods like bread or pasta, etc.

REBECCA TAYLOR

    • She is NSNG and has lost weight and seen many health benefits
      • Size 16 to size 8
      • Also has incredible increased energy
    • She posted on her FB page about her journey and why NSNG works
    • See below