By Henry Gould – Jan 18th, 2019

You might be wondering if the title of this blog was generated by a computer algorithm that just got water spilled on it. Thankfully not! Today I wanted to switch it up, offering a bit of a “low attention span” post with 3 interesting items to take you into the weekend. Sound good? Greeeeeeeat.

STOCK A SMARTER PANTRY

“Tidying up with Marie Kondo” has taken Netflix by storm, offering viewers the opportunity to see what real de-cluttering looks like while at the same time angering academics and writers who are being told they shouldn’t own more than 30 books.

Keeping a cleaner and more efficient kitchen can be a huge motivator to cooking more at home. When the kitchen is dirty and you have 30 stale spice jars in a drawer, you’re never going to want to make Natalie Cumberbirch’s Grain Bowl from earlier this week.

The solution? THROW EVERYTHING OUT, START OVER.

Go through your cupboards, drawers, fridge, and get rid of anything expired, gross looking, or that you know you realistically won’t eat. Then, go to the grocery store and stock up on the following.

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • In my opinion, EVOO should be your go-to lipid of choice. Years of cooking shows scared people into thinking EVOO would burn and catch fire the second it hit your pan. Relax. Unless your pot is glowing hot, it’s fine to use EVOO for searing and frying. It’s also incredibly healthy, tastes great, and can be use in raw applications as well as cooked.
  • I’m partial to Italian oils, but there is fantastic EVOO available from Spain, Greece, Chile, Croatia, and Lebanon.
  • Extra Virgin refers to the first pressing of olives which contain more of the flavor compounds. This is what you want.
  • EVOO is like wine; if you spend over $20 on a bottle, chances are it’s going to be good. Bosa Foods has a great selection.

• Sea Salt
  • Iodized salt tastes like chemicals, and almost always leads to over salting of food.
  • Good quality sea salt from Italy is cheap (~$2 a box), tastes natural, and is perfect for any cooking application.
  • Again, Bosa Foods has a great selection.
• Spices
  • Buy spices whole, in small quantities, and store in your cupboard in jars with tight lids.
  • Toast whole spices in a pan before grinding them. This helps release the oils and enhance the flavors.
  • Grind spices in an electric coffee grinder, or a mortar and pestle.
  • Cooking with whole spices is great too (Cinnamon, Cardamom, All Spice) just make sure to remove them before eating
• Vinegar
  • Give someone a bowl of plain boiled chickpeas and they’ll struggle to eat more than a few bites. Dress the same chickpeas with vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil and the bowl will be gone before you know it.
  • Getting comfortable with acidity in cooking can make a massive difference. As well, because vinegar is a fermented product there tends to be more umami flavor than you would get from citrus fruit like lemons or limes.
  • Red Wine Vinegar, White Wine Vinegar, Sherry Vinegar, Balsamic, Rice Wine…. all excellent.
  • Learning to season and balance food with acid is a huge step in cooking better.
  • Salt Fat Acid Heat is a great show on Netflix that explores each of these flavors in more depth.
• Mustard
  • I’m a bit of a mustard freak; never less than 4 jars or tubes on the go at all times.
  • Dijon Mustard is essential (I prefer Maille brand) as is a good German mustard like Thomy
  • Keen’s or Coleman’s English Mustard powder is great for rubs, or for mixing plain with water and having on ham or roast beef.
  • Dressings, dips, sauces and stews can usually all benefit from a spoon of mustard to add richness and umami.

SOBER JANUARY PART 2

I’ve been told the only thing worse than sober January is hearing people talk about sober January. Probably true! However, it seems the benefits of abstaining from alcohol for a month have positive impacts beyond saving money and a hangover.

Apparently taking a month off the booze can do much needed repair to the liver, so says this recent article from British GQ.

HOCKEY PLAYERS CAN’T FIND PANTS CUZ THEIR BUTTS ARE TOO BIG

As Yard Athletics founder and trainer Ilan Cumberbirch can attest, years of hockey and hours in the gym lead to an extremely strong lower half. The flip-side? Tricky to find pants!

This latest piece in Men’s Health asked a bunch of NHL Players about their struggles to find pants, and it seems the problem is wide spread (pun intended). I’m sure this is an issue across most professional athletes, but particularly amusing with hockey players given some have comically large legs.

To hear more about the jean journeys of Taylor Hall, Jonathan Toews, and Max Domi, read here.

The post Stocking A Smarter Pantry; Sober January Part 2; NHL Players Can’t Find Jeans appeared first on Yard Athletics.

By Henry Gould – Jan 4th, 2019

It’s the same old story every January; new year, new me. Lots of people tell themselves they’re going to get back in the gym, eat right, drink less, and overall make “healthy” decisions to start the year. They always start with good intentions, and nearly all inevitably fail.

It doesn’t have to be so! Something I tried last year which set a great tone to 2018 was “Sober January”. Although dry months like these can seem preachy and holier than thou (especially when you’re ordering club soda at a craft brewery), I found it to be a much needed reset after a December of constant festivities.

I’m not really a believer in detoxes – isn’t that the liver’s job?? – but cutting out alcohol for a month almost certainly has health benefits, not to mention a reduction in calories and cash spent. It also brought a sort of mindful clarity, perhaps due to better sleep patterns, less staying out late, less anxiety. Either way, it’s something I’d highly recommend.

Because so many social engagements traditionally revolve around drinks, below are a bunch of ideas that don’t involve alcohol, and will help make January a fun, hangover-free month.

• Stock The Fridge With La Croix
  • Keeping a healthy stock of sparkling water in the fridge makes a massive difference in cutting the cravings for a cold drink
  • A lot of times it’s not so much the drink itself, but having something cold and fizzy that tickles the itch
  • La Croix and other drinks like it are 0 calories, 0 sweetners, and a hell of a lot cheaper than beer, wine or spirits
  • If the bosses at La Croix want to sponsor Yard Athletics, you know where to call!

• Plan Brunch / Lunch parties instead of Dinner
  • If your dinner parties are anything like mine, they involve a lot of red wine
  • Easy solution? Skip dinner altogether! Invite friends over for Breakfast / Brunch / Lunch, ditch the mimosas and go right for the coffee
  • Starbucks will sell you a 96 0z to-go carrier if you ask, which saves you doing pour-over coffee for 6 people
  • I wouldn’t be mad if someone made me this Mushroom, Leek and Fontina frittata on a Sunday morning…

• Cross-Country Skiing at Cypress
  • Downhill gets most of the love, but cross-country skiing is hugely enjoyable and a great form of exercise
  • Rentals and Trail Tickets are super cheap after 3pm ($16 each) so it makes for a much more cost effective day than Whistler
  • Best of all, you can save the money you would have spent on apres-ski drinks for a warm bowl of ramen once you come back downtown

• Learn to Cook – Take Class
  • It’s no secret that the millenial generation doesn’t know how to cook. Without starting on a passionate, 10 page essay, I have strong opinions why this is very, very bad thing!
  • Learning to cook is a lifelong pursuit, and not something a single recipe or class will teach you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start somewhere…
  • Arguably the most popular cooking school in Vancouver is The Dirty Apron, whose classes involve professional instruction that are fun and informative
  • Check out their calendar, plan a night with friends or loved ones, and eventually stop buying dinner at the Whole Foods hot bar

• Plan a Day Trip
  • Getting out of the city for the day is a great way to explore your area without breaking the bank on flights and accommodations
  • Some potential ideas:
    • Seattle – do some shopping, get a burger at Dick’s Drive-In, check out Bellevue, try and catch a glimpse of Bill Gates house 
    • Whistler – leave at 6am, get onto the mountain by 8am, skip the drinks at Longhorn’s and head home at 3pm to beat the traffic. Or avoid the mountain altogether and go for a spa day at Scandinave
    • Sunshine Coast – take an early Langdale ferry, explore Sechelt / Gibson’s, do a hike, grab some beer at Persephone for when Feb 1st hits, head back on the last ferry
    • Fort Langley – less than an hour drive from downtown Vancouver, but you will feel like you’re in another world. Very cool little town, old buildings with lots of history, and tons of great places to get lunch, shop, and look around. Make your way home via North Vancouver, stop at Two Rivers Meats and get some dry aged steak for dinner. You deserve it…

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