Recently, I was at an event where they had a bunch of food trucks out, and one of those food trucks was the Grilled Cheese truck.  Of course, their entire menu looked absolutely incredible, but as is usually the case, they don’t have nutrition facts; and I’m sure if I asked them to weigh each ingredient as they prepared it, they would laugh at me.  Or tell me to “live a little.”

Anyway!  I took a picture of their menu so that I could go home and replicate these ideas in my own kitchen, with my own ingredients, with the food carefully measured so that I may know the nutrition facts.  The result?  Grilled Mac ‘n Cheese Sandwich.  This post will offer two recipes, since I first need to tell you how to make my new Mac ‘n Cheese recipe; then I’ll go into the Grilled part of it.

So first, cook your pasta–  I choose a wheat (mostly whole grain) medium shell pasta.  I cooked a serving, which is 56g of pasta.  While that’s cooking, you can exercise immense self control and prepare your bowl to accept the pasta by putting 4g of butter and 100g of cottage cheese in it.

Once the pasta is finished, put it into the bowl, and add 34 of colby jack cheese on top.  Salt to taste (which if you’re me, happens to be a fair amount).  Voila!  Mac ‘n Cheese that is incredibly delicious!

This picture doesn’t quite do it justice. . .

Recap of Ingredients + Nutrition Facts for Mac ‘n Cheese

Ingredients: 56g Wheat Medium Shell Pasta; 4g Salted Butter; 100g Cottage Cheese; 34g Colby Jack Cheese.

Nutrition Facts: 425.5 Calories; 47g Carbohydrates; 20g Fat; 25g Protein.

Let’s take it one step further. . .

Oh yeah.

Two slices of whole grain bread and another 4g of butter with the previous ingredient list gives us our Grill Mac ‘n Cheese Sandwich.  Butter two slices of whole grain bread and start your skillet at a medium temperature.  Placing the butter side down, lay down a piece of bread, and place Mac ‘n Cheese on top, liberally.  Place the other slice on top with the butter side up.  Cook to the desired crispiness.

#NomNomNom

How was it?

I absolutely love my Mac ‘n Cheese–  I think it’s incredible!  My Grilled Mac ‘n Cheese needs a little refinement.  It was incredibly delicious, but I feel like it needs a little bit more colby jack cheese added during the grilling phase.  Next time I’ll probably add about 10g of cheese, but it was still fantastic!

Recap of Ingredients + Nutrition Facts for Grilled Mac ‘n Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients: 56g Wheat Medium Shell Pasta; 76g (2 slices) Whole Grain Bread; 8g Salted Butter, 100g Cottage Cheese; 34g Colby Jack Cheese.

Nutrition Facts:  635 Calories; 83g Carbohyrdrates; 22g Fat; 33g Protein.

Important note:  Neither of these are low Calorie options; compared to their “real world” counterparts, they may be a better options, but they’re still incredibly energy dense.  And filling.  And delicious!

Filed under: Nutrition, Recipes by Gabriel DeVine
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I have a client that has seen tremendous progress–  She has lost 17 lbs. since training with me, and started in early May of this year (19 weeks).  Just like most people, though (myself included), she feels as though the progress could be quicker.

In most cases though, I don’t do things for speed–  I do them for quality; the shift in lifestyle; the healthy psyche along with the healthy body.  I stress a nonrestrictive diet because losing fat isn’t about reaching a finish line, or losing any sense of enjoyment with food.  Losing fat is all about making a positive lifestyle change that is healthy and sustainable.

Case in point, this client works in an office where a coworker is also losing weight, and at a slightly faster rate than my client.  That person, though, is on a popular meal replacement diet where they derive a majority of their calories through fluids.

Luckily, my client realized why my method of addressing lifestyle through nonrestrictive dieting is more important.  She asked her coworker what she’s going to do when she’s done with her diet, to which her coworker replied, “Oh, I can’t stop.  I’m just going to keep on the program indefinitely.”

What?  Indefinitely?  Rather than learn how to control your nutrition, you would rather sip protein shakes every day?  Where is the enjoyment from that?  Why not just track your food and control portions?  Why limit yourself?

Luckily, my client recognized this, and even brought that up to her coworker, asking why not just get a grip on her overall nutrition?  The coworker, of course, said that it would be too hard to track their nutrition.

I’ll never lie to anyone and say the nutritional aspect is easy, but which would you enjoy more:  Being able to eat whatever you want, or having to sip on protein shakes every day while not eating most foods out there?  Who would you rather be?

Filed under: Health by Gabriel DeVine
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6 years ago I was obese (BMI 32.35) and unhealthy. 5 years ago I was skinny and unhealthy. 4 years ago I started living a healthier lifestyle. 3 years ago I became interested in bodybuilding and lifting weights. 2 years ago I got serious about bodybuilding. 1 year ago I decided I wanted to do a bodybuilding competition. About 1 week ago, I stepped on a stage in a posing suit.

It’s been a long journey that is far from over, and it’s fun to look back on other aspects of my life and see how they’ve evolved as well.  6 years ago, when I was obese, smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, and drank heavily, had you told me I would eventually become intensely passionate about health & fitness, and would change career paths to help people realize their health & fitness goals, I likely would have laughed.  And lit up a cigarette to spite.

. . .  But that evolution is a part of the journey.  Everyone is obsessed with the quick fix, or how fast they can get something done, but I’m here to tell you that life is not about the destination!  At the risk of getting too heavy for a blog post, if you look at all of our lives as a book, the first chapter starts in the same way, and the last chapter ends in the same way; what differs are the pages in between.

There are many bodybuilders that never step up on stage, instead opting to do “mock preps” so they can talk about preparing for a show without ever being judged.  They’re too scared to not win; they’re too scared they won’t step out on that stage as the winner they see in themselves, and they can’t handle the thought of failure.

. . .  But failure is where you learn from; and where’s the fun in that!?  With no knowledge of competing in bodybuilding, and without ever having seen a show, I decided to get on that stage, because life is about doing, and it’s about the journey.  It’s about what you learn along the way, whether it’s what foods work well for you while dieting, or how your body responds to dieting, or simply that you’re not very good at posing and you need to practice if you ever want to win a competition.

I didn’t win my first show, but that is perfectly okay!  Rather than talk about a goal I had set for myself, I went out and did it; sure, I may not have won, but I went the distance!  I had a blast, I learned a lot, and I can now call myself a natural bodybuilder.

When you’re on the path toward your goals, it’s important to keep your eyes on the goal, but it’s also crucial that you enjoy the ride while you’re getting there.  While my goal is to get my “pro card” as a natural bodybuilder, what’s the point if I don’t enjoy the journey (that could take years) along the way?  Even if your goals will only take a few months to achieve, what do they mean if you’re not enjoying yourself?

That’s why I advocate flexible dieting; that’s why I advocate taking risks; that’s why I advocate living the dream–  It’s important to enjoy the journey!

Filed under: Body Building, Health, Motivation, Personal by Gabriel DeVine
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