Hey Reader!

In the 62nd issue of The MF Kitchen, you'll slice into the details of:

• Recipes for my Meal Prep Spicy Elotes Pasta Salad and XL Triple Chocolate Protein Breakfast Cookies!
• The 'secret ingredient' from one of the most expensive coffees in the world...
• My go-to "get better fast" sickness recovery plan...
• New OREO flavor? Here are my thoughts...

Preheat your ovens…

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Weekly Recipe Roundup 🍽️

Meal Prep Spicy Elotes Pasta Salad If you're looking for a meal prep recipe for the week, this Spicy Elotes Pasta Salad is a must-try! Only 594 calories with 63g protein for a BIG bowl! Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself: ​​​Meal Prep Spicy Elotes Pasta Salad.pdf​

XL Triple Chocolate Protein Breakfast Cookies Take your breakfast to the next level with these XL Triple Chocolate Protein Cookies! Dense, delicious, and incredibly easy to make! Plus only 329 cals and 21g protein! ​​Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself: ​​​XL Triple Chocolate Protein Breakfast Cookies.pdf​

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Recipe Recreations Of The Week 🤌

451 Cal Cheesy Bolognese Crispy Potato Bake!

Macros for 1/4th the pan:
​451 Cals, 47g Carbs, 11.5g Fat, 40g Protein

Here's the recipe and video:​
👉 https://www.instagram.com/p/DF-0ynoOjo8/​

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Zach's Beats 🎧

​Swing Swing - ayokay​

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Weird Food Fact 🤓

You just had one of the best cups of coffee of your life.

This coffee was a gift because you'd never spend this much on a 12oz cup of coffee.

How much, you ask? $236. Insanity.

Twelve ounces of the smoothest, richest, most luxurious coffee you’ve ever tasted.

You’re sipping it, wondering what makes it so special.

The beans? The altitude? Some ultra-exclusive, hand-picked roasting method?

You get curious. You Google it.

And then you realize…

It came from cat poop.

Yup, that's Kopi Luwak. The world’s most expensive (and questionable) coffee.

Somewhere in the forests of Indonesia, a small cat-like animal called the civet roams around, snacking on only the ripest, juiciest coffee cherries.

But instead of fully digesting them, the beans ferment inside its stomach, stripping away bitterness and creating what coffee snobs describe as a smooth, caramel-like flavor.

Then the civet… ahem… "processes" the beans, nature takes its course, and eventually, some very dedicated coffee farmers come along and collect, clean, and roast these former poop nuggets into one of the most expensive coffees in the world.

Does it actually taste better?

Some say yes. Others just love the exclusivity.

But science says it’s basically the same as other high-end coffee.

So if you ever see a $100+ cup of coffee on a menu, just know:

• It might taste amazing.
• It might also have been inside a small jungle mammal very recently 😆

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One FAQ ❓

Answer: I usually only get sick once every two years.

But guess what? My streak ended last month.

So lesson learned: the universe has a sense of humor.

But when I do get sick, my only goal is to bounce back fast without feeling like I’ve lost all my progress in the gym or need to “start over.”

So if you find yourself getting taken down by whatever virus is making the rounds, here’s the no-BS game plan to recover faster, feel better, and keep your health goals on track (without doing anything dumb).

1) Sleep Like Your Life Depends On It (Because It Kinda Does)

If there’s one non-negotiable when you’re sick, it’s sleep.

Your immune system is running a full-scale war inside your body, and sleep is when the troops do their best work.

Bad sleep is usually what makes me more vulnerable to getting sick in the first place, so the second I feel anything coming on (scratchy throat, runny nose, that weird am I getting sick? feeling) I go into full recovery lockdown mode:

• No late-night scrolling (blue light wrecks melatonin, making it harder to fall and stay asleep).
• Cold, dark room (keep it at 65°F and blackout-level dark because your body sleeps deeper that way).
• Magnesium Glycinate (200-400mg) + extra L-Glycine (2-3g) before bed. Why? Magnesium calms the nervous system, and glycine lowers core body temperature, helping you fall asleep faster and get deeper sleep.
• Take some Zinc! Zinc works best if taken at the FIRST sign of symptoms. If you wait until you’re fully sick, the benefits drop off fast. Zinc lozenges (75–90mg/day in divided doses) are the most effective.
• Vitamin C (1-2g/day) can slightly shorten symptom duration when taken consistently during illness. Bonus points if you pair it with quercetin, which may enhance absorption.
• NyQuil if necessary (because hacking up a lung at 3 AM helps no one).

The more sleep you get, the faster your body fights back. No cutting corners on this one.

2) Keep Eating Normally (This Is Not the Time to Experiment With Juice Cleanses)

The second people get sick, they start doing weird things with their diet.

Suddenly, it’s all about ginger shots, lemon water cleanses, and drinking hot broth like they’re in a medieval apothecary.

Let me save you some time: just eat like a normal human.

• No need to overeat or undereat. Your body needs fuel to recover, but digestion also takes energy.
• Stick to foods you digest well. This isn’t the time to experiment with new “immune-boosting” concoctions that might wreck your stomach.
• Protein still matters. Muscle doesn’t just vanish overnight, but keeping protein intake solid helps prevent unnecessary losses.
• Stay hydrated. Electrolytes help, but you don’t need to drown yourself in Pedialyte like you’re cutting weight for a fight.

If you’re hungry, eat. If you’re not, don’t force it. Just keep things balanced, and don’t overcomplicate it.

3) Move, But Don’t Be an Idiot About It

There’s this weird gym bro logic where people either:

1. Try to “sweat out” their sickness by hitting a heavy leg day while barely breathing through their nose.
2. Become a human potato and don’t move for an entire week.

Neither is ideal.

Instead, I aim for light movement. Usually a 60-90 minute walk outside.

• Fresh air? ✅
• Helps with sleep? ✅
• Doesn’t tank recovery? ✅
• Sunlight for immune function & circadian rhythm? ✅

No lifting heavy. No high-intensity cardio.

Just enough to keep things moving, avoid feeling sluggish, and help my body reset.

And if I’m feeling really wiped? I just focus on deep nasal breathing and getting outside for a few minutes. No need to be a hero.

Final Thoughts

No “miracle” immune-boosting hacks. No sketchy IV drips. No overpriced wellness shots from a juice bar.

Just sleep, solid nutrition, and smart movement.

And if you really want to avoid getting sick? Make these things your baseline before you get hit.

But let’s hope we both stay out of the sick zone.

P.S. Don’t be this kind of influencer:

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Serving Surprise 😮

The Post Malone OREOs!

Marketing and packaging? A+ work.

But are these OREOs actually amazing?

Listen, I’ve been an OREO historian for years. I’ve tried them all.

Back in 2017, I even collected limited-edition OREOs. Then reality hit... I was running out of space so I gave them all away. Still hurts.

Anyway, onto the Post Malone OREOs…

The breakdown:

• Calories: 140 per 2 cookies (standard issue).
• Flavor: They nailed it. Genuinely delicious.

Do they crack the Top 10?

Maybe. If they do, it’s #10 at best but no higher.

And since I can’t just throw out a Top 10 debate without giving you my personal Top 5 OREOs of all time, here they are:

My Top 5 OREOs of All Time:

1. Fruity Crisp (THE GOAT, undisputed.)
2. Rice Crispy Treat (Pure nostalgia.)
3. Red Velvet (The assignment was understood.)
4. Blueberry Pie (Could have been a disaster, but it was pure magic.)
5. Cotton Candy (Way better than it had any right to be.)

And if you want to go deep on OREO history, my buddy Junk Banter spent 10 years ranking over 130+ flavors.

Check out his insane full list + reviews here:​
👉 Junk Banter’s Full OREO Rankings​

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I hope you are having an amazing weekend thus far.

Ate some amazing food yesterday at ABA here in Austin.

Now about to head out to see my best friend (@themacrobarista) crush his first DJ set at an AM coffee set!

Cheers to a great week ahead.

Much love and happy cooking,​
Zach

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