Hey Reader!

In the 146th issue of The MF Kitchen, you'll slice into the details of:

• Recipes for my Personal Pan Tortilla Pizzas and Protein French Toast Sticks!
• Ground beef doesn't have to be boring... here are 4 recipes that will surprise people.​
• Less than 20 minutes to cook each night? Do this...
• More people die from vending machines than shark attacks?
• Make your very own hot pocket!

Preheat your ovens…

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Weekly Recipe Roundup 🍽️

Personal Pan Tortilla Pizzas Tortilla pizzas are INSANELY underrated for not only the taste + CRUNCH but also convenience and macros! Click here for the recipe and PDF: ​Personal Pan Tortilla Pizzas​

Protein French Toast Sticks Alright let me know…. Are French Toast in the same class as Pancakes and Waffles!? I am of the mindset that French toast is overrated….. but with this recipe…. Holy shizzzz 🤤 Click here for the recipe and PDF: ​Protein French Toast Sticks​

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Recipe Recreation Of The Week 🤌

🍪🍦 Cookie Dough Protein Frozen Yogurt Cookies

Macros per Frozen Yogurt Cookie (Makes 4): ​
~195 Cals, 23g Carbs, 4g Fat, 17g Protein

Here's the recipe and video:​
👉 ​​https://www.instagram.com/p/Ddt6cxQReuO/​

If you haven't already, join the FDL Community so you can share your own creations.

​Click here to join now!​

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This Week's Flavor 🎥

Ground Beef Doesn't Have to be Boring! Looking to improve the rotation of recipes you always make? Try adding one of these 4 ground beef recipes that are all proven crowd pleasers. ​Here is the recipe and video.​

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Zach's Beats 🎧

6th grade me bopping my head to this ​Get Like Me - David Banner​​​

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One FAQ ❓

Answer: Practice helps.

But i'll be honest and say most of it is shortcuts.

And the biggest one isn't about cooking faster at all.

It's about cooking at the same time...
​

1.) Start something, then walk away.

The first thing I do when I walk into the kitchen is get something going that doesn't need me.

• Frozen veggies go on the stove to caramelize
• Fries go in the air fryer
• Rice goes on to cook

Then while those are doing their thing, I'm doing mine.

Sometimes that's prepping the rest of dinner.

Sometimes it's washing dishes, tidying up, or honestly hopping in the shower lol.

Most recipes have a ton of "waiting" built into them.

The trick is to stop standing there watching it happen.

2.) I don't meal prep, I ingredient prep 😉

This one changed everything for me.

I don't make five identical containers of chicken, rice, and broccoli on Sunday.

I'd be miserable by Wednesday.

Instead, whenever I'm already cooking a protein or a carb, I just make MORE of it.

Cooking chicken tonight? Make double.

Rice? Make a big pot.

Then it goes in the fridge, and on a busy night it's already done.

I just heat it up and build something new around it.

Same effort tonight with way less effort later.
​

3.) Have a rotation of "already halfway done" meals.

This is where ingredient prep really pays off.

If you've got cooked chicken or beef in the fridge, any of my chalupa recipes take under 10 minutes to put together.

Throw the chicken in the shell with some cheese and toppings, air fry it for a few minutes, and ta-da, you got dinner!

Find 3-4 meals like that you genuinely love, and your weeknights basically run themselves.​
​

4.) Two quick wins:

• Buy the shortcuts. Bagged coleslaw mix, frozen veggies, jarred minced garlic. I use all of these in my own recipes. There's no prize for chopping everything yourself.
• Make your sauces ahead. Most of mine last about a week in the fridge, and a good sauce turns leftover chicken into a whole new meal.

Twenty minutes is plenty!

You just have to stop spending it one step at a time.

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Weird Food Fact 🤓

You're starving.

You feed a dollar into the vending machine and punch in B4.

The chips start to spin... and stop.

Stuck.

Dangling right there against the glass, mocking you.

So you do what everyone does.

You give the machine a little shake.

Nothing.

So you shake it harder.

And that (statistically) is more dangerous than swimming with sharks.

I'm serious lol.

Between 1978 and 1995, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission counted at least 37 deaths and 113 injuries caused by vending machines tipping over.

That works out to roughly two deaths a year.

Fatal shark attacks in the U.S.? Around one per year.

A fully loaded soda machine can weigh 700 to 900 pounds (and most of that weight sits up high).

Rock it back and forth enough to free a stuck snack, and it can come right down on you.

Researchers found the victims were almost always men, shocking, I know 🤣

Meanwhile sharks get Shark Week, Jaws, and an entire summer of panic every year.

Vending machines get... a Snickers.

The good news? This story has a happy ending.

After a big safety campaign in the mid-90s, machines got warning labels and anti-tip designs, and these deaths have become incredibly rare.

So you can relax next time you walk past one.

Just maybe... don't wrestle it over a bag of Doritos 😁

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Serving Surprise 😮

Hot Pockets were a core memory for me growing up.

Microwave, burn the roof of your mouth, repeat lol.

But here's what's actually inside one classic Pepperoni Pizza Hot Pocket:

320 Cals, 38g Carbs, 15g Fat, 10g Protein

Which kind of sucks...

But I want to share a trick to make your own hot pockets (with much better macros).

Because my Jalapeño Popper Hot Pocket comes out to:

244 Cals, 26g Carbs, 4g Fat, 26g Protein

Fewer calories, about a quarter of the fat, and MORE than double the protein 🤯

And the "secret" is stupid simple.

I just use low calorie bread.

Here's how:

1. Take two slices of low cal bread and flatten them with a rolling pin
2. Add your filling to the middle of one slice
3. Lay the second slice on top
4. Crimp the edges shut with a fork
5. Air fry until golden and crispy

That's it!

You've got a handheld, crispy, melty pocket that tastes like the freezer aisle version (except it actually keeps you full).

Now that you know the method, you can stuff it with basically anything you want.

Pizza, buffalo chicken, breakfast, cheeseburger.

Whatever you're craving!

Here's the recipe for my hot pocket recipe:​
👉 https://www.instagram.com/reels/C0PSiIKuM1d/​

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Something I mention a lot that I'm going to again...

Go out there and make a recipe that you've been wanting to try (maybe the hot pocket above or ground beef recipes from this video 😉).

Yes, you Reader!

I know you have a few saved that you still haven't made!

Get the ingredients this week and make it.

You won't regret it!

Much love and happy cooking,
​Zach