Hey Reader!

In the 135th issue of The MF Kitchen, you'll slice into the details of:

• Recipes for my Loaded Smash Potato Nachos and Protein Cheesecake Cannolis!
• "Don't eat a big meal for dinner or you'll gain weight!" Well, that's a lie...
• Can you burn calories while you sleep? But just how many are we talking...
• You don't need to be a drug dealer to follow recipes (it'll make sense lol)...

Preheat your ovens…

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Weekly Recipe Roundup 🍽️

Loaded Smash Potato Nachos If you are looking for a way to take your potatoes to the next level, this is it! Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself: ​​​Loaded Smash Potato Nachos.pdf​

Protein Cheesecake Cannolis This low calorie cannoli hack is a game changer! ​​Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself:​ ​​​Protein Cheesecake Cannolis.pdf​

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Recipe Recreations Of The Week 🤌

😋 Protein Cheesecake Cannolis

Macros for each Cannoli:​
​57 Cals, 8g Carbs, 1g Fat, 4g Protein

Here's the recipe:​
👉 Protein Cheesecake Cannolis.pdf​

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This Week's Flavor 🎥

Crispy Apple Turnovers If you are looking for a nostalgic low calorie snack/dessert, these apple pie turnovers are it! Only 86 calories per turnover! ​Here's the recipe and video.​

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Zach's Beats 🎧

A BOP ​FREELANCE - Jonathan James​

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One FAQ ❓

Answer: This is one of those things that sounds SO logical on the surface that everyone just accepts it as fact.

But the truth is, meal timing doesn't matter nearly as much as you've been led to believe.

Let me break down the "buzz" first...

The idea is that if you eat a big dinner and then go to sleep, you're not "burning it off," so it just turns into fat while you're lying there.

Except that's not how your body works.

Your body doesn't shut off and stop using energy when you sleep.

It's running the whole time to repair muscle, digest, regulate hormones, and keep you breathing.

You're burning calories all night!

Your metabolism isn't clocking out just because you are lol.

What actually determines fat loss is your TOTAL calories over the course of the day (and the week).

Not what time those calories showed up.

If two people eat the exact same 2,000 calories and hit the exact same macros:

1. One front-loads it at lunch
2. One back-loads it at dinner

They're going to get the same results.

The body cares about the total, not the timing.

So why do I make dinner my biggest meal?

Because it fits MY life and MY preferences.

I work out around 4:30pm.

By the time dinner rolls around, I'm hungry, I've earned a big satisfying meal, and honestly?

Sitting down to a big dinner is one of my favorite parts of the day.

It's when I'm relaxed, not rushing, and can actually enjoy my food (and watch a show).

The real secret here is that the "best" meal timing is whatever helps YOU stay consistent and satisfied.

Some people genuinely feel better with a big lunch and a light dinner. Awesome, do that!

Some people (like me) love a bigger dinner. Also awesome!

Some people skip breakfast entirely and eat two big meals. If it works for them and they hit their numbers, great!

None of it is "better" for fat loss.

What's better is the approach you can actually stick to.

So don't stress about the clock.

Figure out the eating rhythm that keeps you full, keeps you sane, and lets you hit your macros day after day.

THAT'S the winning move.

The timing is just seasoning 😉

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Weird Food Fact 🤓

Right now, as you're reading this, your body is quietly torching calories.

And tonight, while you're dead asleep, drooling on your pillow, dreaming about whatever weird stuff you dream about 🤣... your body is STILL burning through hundreds of calories.

Here's the wild part...

The average person burns somewhere around 40 to 80 calories per hour while sleeping (which adds up to about 300 to 600 calories over a full eight-hour night).

You could burn 400+ calories tonight doing nothing but lying there unconscious.

But how does it work?

Sleep looks completely passive from the outside, but inside, your body is running a full night shift.

Your brain is consolidating memories, your cells are repairing tissue, your liver is processing nutrients, and your heart and lungs keep running on autopilot.

All of that takes energy (and energy is just calories).

There's even a fun little detail here:

Not all sleep burns the same!

REM sleep (the dreaming stage) actually burns noticeably more energy than deep sleep, because your brain fires up to nearly awake levels while you're dreaming.

But before you cancel your gym membership and just decide to "sleep your way lean" no lol.

This is just your baseline metabolism doing its thing.

It's not a replacement for actually moving your body.

You're not going to nap off a pizza 😂

But it IS a good reminder that your body is always working, always burning, even when you feel like you're doing nothing.

Which is exactly why sleep matters so much.

Good sleep keeps that whole engine running the way it should.

So tonight, when your head hits the pillow, just know... you're still burning.

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Serving Surprise 😮

Unless you are a drug dealer (no judgement!), you'll want to read this.

I am not a fan of measuring cups.

But I am a fan of measuring spoons.

Why?

In measuring cup sets, the smallest is usually the 1/8th cup.

That's about 15g.

Your food scale can do a much better job of tracking that accurately.

Now comes the drug dealer...

Drugs are potent. They need to be measured with the utmost precision.

To measure ingredients in the 0-2g level, you'd need a drug dealer-type scale to get it that precise.

And seasonings and spices are easy to overdo (so you don't want to add too much).

So I love measuring spoons because they can measure ingredients on a much smaller scale without needing a 'drug dealer-type' scale.

I got mine for $8 off Amazon and highly recommend it!

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Small reminder before I leave you to your Sunday...

Prioritize your sleep.

And not for the calories you burn overnight.

Good sleep means better energy, smarter food choices, and a body that runs the way it's supposed to!

Don't sleep on sleep lol.

Much love and happy cooking,
​Zach

P.S. The FAQ section of this newsletter is actually questions people asked. So if you have a question yourself, reply here and let me know!