So it’s official, I’m a daddy at 53 years old. All the idiots in the medical community said there were hundreds of risks that could befall our little one. We defied them all. One major one was my age—I guess the doctors weren’t looking at the physical specimen that I am. Now enough with the bragging and the fun, let me tell you how we did it… clean eating.
Cleaning Eating isn’t easy
Not many of you really know that much about me, because, well, I don’t want you to know much except that I’m that asshole that writes a blog about fitness, sometimes. The asshole part is correct but I also run a company that runs several Internet properties, RoccoCastellano.com being one of them. Stress used to be a very present part of my day and night. (I am writing this column at 12:06 a.m.) Many people asked me how can I just keep going, how is it possible for me to be so productive like the energizer bunny and keep a family environment intact and be happy—this column not withstanding. It’s actually hard f—ing work… for all you lazy bastards out there, stop reading now and go watch, cat videos on YouTube… you won’t get it. This column will not be about how “easy” it is to do what I do but it will give you some insight in how to do it and actually get it done. So buckle up, shut up, grab a protein drink and let’s get ready to rumble.
As a family, we pretty much focus on clean eating. Most of our food is organic and locally grown, as in I know the chickens that lay my eggs and the farmer that grows my tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and eggplants: that would be me, plus a bunch of friends I’ve gotten to know over the years. When I’m not eating my homegrown food, I buy grass fed and finished beef, bison and elk as our meat sources from a local butcher. Chicken comes from Whole Foods, Mary’s air-chilled, so what it costs a little more? Boo-hoo. Pork comes in the form of bacon and pork loin from the same butcher and because I love the way my wife cooks both of them.
Cook Most Meals at Home
The one thing about our household is we both are extremely good cooks. My wife loves to cook and I have actual chef training. So no matter what, we are cooking as many meals at home as we can (at least 19). The rest are most likely leftovers. I can hear it now, boo-hoo, boo-hoo I have to work, I can’t cook all my meals, I “have” to eat shit food. Well, no you don’t my little fatty. You can prepare your foods like we do. If you go to my YouTube channel you can see how I prepare my salads, snacks and meals.
My wife and I also drink a green super food shake at least 2 times a day. The one I love is Purium’s Apple-Berry Power Shake. It’s packed with nutrients and is very low calorie (not that I really give a shit). There are many things we do that some people cringe at but I just laugh and tell them to go screw themselves.
I’m healthy and you will die a strange, painful death. Thank you and have a nice day.
Bone Broth is a Staple
My protein supplementation comes from bone broth or gelatin. I cook 10 lbs of chicken feet—yes chicken feet, you didn’t read that wrong—every week and create a bone broth gelatin. Bone broth has specific brain beneficial amino acids such as proline and glycine, which have a calming and healing effect, without the pro-aging effects of tryptophan and cysteine, which most protein powders have in good supply.
It’s important for me to have my supply for the whole week so I put it in mason jars. I drink it in the morning when I wake up and at night before I go to sleep.
My wife and I both take Vitamin D with Vitamin K (You always want to take vitamin K to help your body convert and absorb Vitamin D… and make sure it’s Vitamin D3). Most Americans in the Midwest usually have some degree of vitamin D deficiency. It’s probably because no one gets enough sun, everyone works inside during the sunny hours and most people don’t drink enough dairy because they believe they are lactose intolerant. We actually drink raw milk and supplement vitamin D at between 2000 mgs and 4000 mgs.
Two Oils in Our Pantry
We also make sure that everything we cook in a frying pan or fryer is cooked in coconut oil and the only other oil we use as a non-cooking oil (except for my marinara sauce) is olive oil. So the only two oils in my pantry are coconut oil and olive oil.
We eat as many fruits and vegetables as we can that are in season. The result is an unbelievably healthy 9-pound 12-ounce baby boy with the grip of a steel worker. Now, not that I’m biased but who’s cute as a button and sleeps throughout the night, except when he’s feeding.
Eat clean. It pays incredible dividends.