Hey Reader!

In the 138th issue of The MF Kitchen, you'll slice into the details of:

• Recipes for my Spicy Chicken Nuggets & Fries Meal and Brown Sugar Cinnamon Protein Pop Tart Oatmeal!
• 100 of my best low cal high protein hacks!
• Don't know how to log food or what macros are? Here's where you can start...
• Popular snack has skyrocketed in price by 3,845%...
• The go-to travel meal that's low calorie and helps me 💩...

Preheat your ovens…

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Weekly Recipe Roundup 🍽️

Spicy Chicken Nuggets & Fries Meal If you are looking for one of my favorite fat loss meals that I eat ALL the time, this Chicken Nuggets & Fries meal is it! So much food for only 553 calories with 60g protein! Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself: ​Spicy Chicken Nuggets & Fries Meal.pdf​

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Protein Pop Tart Oatmeal One of my go-to oatmeal dishes. Once you dress your oatmeal up a little, you'll never go back to plain oatmeal 🫡 ​​Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself:​ ​Brown Sugar Cinnamon Protein Pop Tart Oatmeal.pdf​

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Recipe Recreations Of The Week 🤌

🔥 359 Cal Loaded SMASH Potato Nachos

Macros for 1/4th the pan:​
359 Cals, 31g Carbs, 10g Fat, 37g Protein

Here's the recipe and video:​
👉 ​​https://www.instagram.com/p/DY2XvIdxTo_/​

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This Week's Flavor 🎥

100 Best Low Cal High Protein Hacks I use all of these hacks to make food taste better, end up lower calorie, and help me stay lean while I do it. Just posted on YouTube!!

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Zach's Beats 🎧

Some nostalgia on this beautiful Sunday ​Swing, Swing - All American Rejects​

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One FAQ ❓

Answer: First off, welcome!

I'm genuinely pumped you're here.

I want you to take a deep breath because I promise this is WAY easier than it sounds right now.

Let me break it down for you...

Step 1: Don't worry about logging yet.

I know that sounds backwards coming from a macro guy lol. But hear me out.

If you've never done any of this before, throwing "log all your food AND learn macros AND cook new recipes" at yourself all at once is a recipe for overwhelm.

So let's not do that.

Start by just making a few of the recipes.

Pick 2 or 3 that sound delicious to you, cook them, and get comfortable in the kitchen first.

Every recipe already has the macros calculated FOR you, so you don't have to do any math.

You're just cooking good food and getting a feel for it.

That alone is a huge win in week one.

Once cooking feels natural, THEN we add logging on top (one thing at a time).

Step 2: Understand what macros actually are.

"Macros" is just short for macronutrients.

There are three of them:

• Protein — builds and maintains muscle, keeps you full (chicken, beef, eggs, Greek yogurt, protein powder)
• Carbs — your body's main energy source (rice, pasta, bread, fruit, potatoes)
• Fats — hormone health and energy (oils, butter, cheese, nuts, avocado)

Every food is made up of some combination of these three.

When you "hit your macros," you're just eating the right amounts of each one to match your goal. That's it!

Step 3: Logging is easier than you think.

Logging just means writing down what you eat so you can see how it adds up.

Most people use a free app (Carbon, MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, or whatever you like) where you either search the food or scan the barcode, and it fills in the macros for you automatically.

At first it feels a little clunky (like anything new).

But here's what nobody tells you...

You eat a lot of the same foods over and over.

So after a week or two, logging your usual meals takes about 30 seconds because they're already saved.

It gets fast FAST.

The most important thing:

You are going to get so much better at this the more you do it. With all of these things!

I promise.

Right now it feels like a foreign language.

In a month, it'll be second nature.

You'll start eyeballing portions, you'll know your go-to meals by heart, and you'll wonder why it ever felt intimidating.

Nobody starts good at this.

Everyone (including me 14 years ago) starts exactly where you are right now.

The only difference between you and someone who's "good at macros" is reps of doing it.

And luckily, you have me and a great macro friendly community to help you with it 😁

So here's your game plan:

Cook a few recipes over the next two weeks.

Don't stress about logging yet.

Once cooking feels easy, download a tracking app and start logging your meals.

Take it one step at a time and give yourself some grace while you learn.

You've got this!

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Weird Food Fact 🤓

If you've been reading my emails for a while, you know that popcorn is one of my go-to snacks.

Low calorie. High volume. And still very tasty.

But I went to the movies the other day and thought to myself...

How did popcorn become the snack of movie theaters everywhere?

So I did some digging.

And it turns out, it was purely accidental.

Back in the early 1900s, popcorn was a street-food staple because it was cheap, easy, and smelled amazing.

But fancy theaters didn't want messy popcorn crumbs ruining their velvet seats.

They even banned it!

Then the Great Depression hit and theaters needed a quick way to boost profits.

So they swallowed their pride and started pushing popcorn as much as possible.

And they made a killing with it.

But something I think we can both agree on is the fact that it is REALLY expensive at movie theaters.

To the point where I debate even buying some.

Turns out, they've just been consistently raising the price of it for almost 100 years...

I can sneak candy in, but popcorn might be a little tough 😅

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Serving Surprise 😮

The travel meal I eat everywhere (so I can actually poop 😂).

Whenever I travel, this meal is almost guaranteed to make an appearance.

Why?

Because travel usually means eating out more, less fiber, and... let's just say your digestive system notices.

So I keep this ridiculously simple meal on repeat:

• High fiber tortillas
• Pre-cooked chicken (or any pre cooked protein source)
• Light laughing cow cheese wedge
• 2% cheddar
• Pico de gallo
• Diced onion
• Avocado
• Taco Bell Hot Sauce

No stove, no meal prep, no cooking.

1. Lay down a tortilla.
2. Spread half a cheese wedge on it then 10g of cheese and 3oz chicken.
3. Close like a quesadilla and microwave for 30-40 seconds.
4. Then open back up and add the rest of your toppings.

And now you've got a taco that's about 270 calories, 25g protein, and nearly 14g of fiber.

Two tacos give you 50g of protein and almost 30g of fiber, which is exactly why this has become one of my travel staples.

It keeps me full, keeps calories in check, and most importantly... keeps everything moving 😆

Sometimes the best nutrition "hack" isn't fancy.

It's finding a meal that's relatively cheap, available almost anywhere, and so easy you'll actually eat it consistently.

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Before you go, just remember this:

It's way too easy to be an asshole to yourself.

We all do it. I’ve done it more times than I can count.

But if you look back on your past self, you’re probably way more forgiving than you were in the moment, right?

Try applying that same kindness now.

Try things. Learn. Be less of a jerk to yourself. Repeat as needed.

And give it more time than you think it’ll take. You’re doing better than you give yourself credit for. With macros, logging food, cooking, and everything else in life!

Much love and happy cooking,
​Zach