👨‍🍳 The MF Kitchen #69 - more flavor, fewer calories

Hey Reader!

In the 69th issue of The MF Kitchen, you'll slice into the details of:

Recipes for my Gochujang Ramen and OREO Cereal Milk Protein Ice Cream!
Have you tried this spicy green stuff before? Turns out, it might be fake...
Macro friendly ways to make vegetables less boring and more flavorful!
One of my favorite macro friendly snacks (that I nearly invented myself)...

Preheat your ovens…

Weekly Recipe Roundup 🍽️

Gochujang Ramen

Let me show you how to eat a lot of ramen and lose weight!

This recipe will bring ramen back into your diet with ease with each serving being BIG and only 445 calories with 40g protein!

Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself:
Gochujang Ramen.pdf

OREO Cereal Milk Protein Ice Cream

A WHOLE Pint of OREO Cereal Milk Protein Ice Cream for 301 Calories with 38g Protein!

Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself:
OREO Cereal Milk Protein Ice Cream.pdf

Recipe Recreations Of The Week 🤌

Thick & Fluffy Protein Belgian Waffles!

Macros per Waffle w/out Toppings:
247 Cals, 30g Carbs, 3.5g Fat, 24g Protein

Here's the recipe and video:
👉 https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZaRfHCltml/?igsh=MTVkNTdmMnVsb25mZw==

Zach's Beats 🎧

A BOP

FREELANCE - Jonathan James

Weird Food Fact 🤓

You're sitting at your favorite sushi spot, chopsticks in hand, ready to dive into a fresh California roll.

You confidently dunk it into the soy sauce, dab on a little bright green wasabi, and brace yourself for that unmistakable, nose-clearing kick.

Except there's just one tiny problem…

What you're eating probably isn't wasabi at all.

Yep. That innocent-looking green blob next to your sushi rolls is actually a spicy imposter.

It’s usually just horseradish mixed with mustard and food coloring.

Real wasabi (made by grating the root of the wasabia japonica plant) is notoriously hard (and expensive) to grow.

It’s delicate, needs flowing mountain streams, shady conditions, and a crazy amount of patience.

Because of this, genuine wasabi costs upwards of $100 per pound (making it pretty impractical for most restaurants).

So, they turn to horseradish as their spicy sidekick.

It’s much cheaper, easier to handle, and capable of delivering a similarly fiery punch (though true wasabi is smoother, subtler, and way less harsh).

While I’ll likely continue to ignore this pile of green heat next to my sushi, it’s still a pretty interesting fact to know!

And fun to mess around with other people 😆

One FAQ ❓

Question of the Week:
“I’ve been trying to incorporate more veggies into my meals, but I find myself getting bored with the same options. What are some creative, macro-friendly ways to make vegetables more exciting and flavorful?"

Answer: Let’s be real, if the same ol’ steamed broccoli or sad side salad is wearing you down, you’re not alone.

But veggies don’t have to be BORING!

Here are some creative, macro-friendly ways/recipes to make them exciting and actually crave-worthy:

1.) Salads that Actually Taste AMAZING!

Trust me, most do their very best to taste like God’s great earth they come from lol.

No more of that.

These are a game changer because you not only get a ton of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) but you also get a ton of food volume for not a lot of calories!

Here are a few of my favorites to start with:

2.) Throw Your Salad in a Wrap or Burrito!

Simple switch-up but definitely adds a nice dynamic.

Here are a few of my favorites:

3.) Pair with Ramen 🍜

If I had to rank some of my favorite recipes of all time, it’s my ramen stir-fries.

They are an insanely delicious way to tackle that ramen craving while also getting a bunch of veggies, protein, and food volume.

Here are my favorites:

4.) Frozen Riced Veggies

These are super clutch and convenient!

You can save a ton of calories by replacing your rice with these.

OR you can just bulk up your meals with rice with even more food volume by adding in these riced veggies.

Here is my favorite Chicken Fried Rice recipe using cauliflower rice!

Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice And no it’s not soggy at all. I have a specific cooking method to prevent this! Also, I utilize the riced veggies to make pizzas and cheesy garlic breads!
Cauliflower Crust Garlic Cheesy Breadsticks
Low Carb Broccoli Crust Pepperoni Pizza
Cauliflower Crust Supreme Pizza

5.) Pasta Salads are an Incredibly Underrated Meal Prep

If you want a bit more carbs in your salads while also making your veggies actually taste good, my pasta salad recipes are for you.

And they are honestly better after a day or two in the fridge!

Here are a few of my favorites!

6.) Pickled Veggies are Slept On

Last week I covered how clutch pickled veggies are for convenience but also for adding taste/volume to your meals!

My Random Plate of Deliciousness recipe is a great example of this!

EAT YO VEGGIES! Hope these all help!

Serving Surprise 😮

*The product I'm salty I didn't create myself...*

These are incredible. Like a perfect product.

I had an idea for this product back in 2014 when I was on a massive rice cake kick.

I would eat them savory.

I would eat them sweet.

They were a perfect low-calorie vessel of crunch and versatility!

And I always thought:

“Man, it'd be great to have these in a similar size to cereal that you could snack on. Flavor them like a cereal with tons of combination but keep them as low calorie as possible.”

I liked to snack on dry cereal but didn't like how little the serving size was.

I thought the rice cake idea was that happy medium.

The idea came and went and I never took action on it.

BUT it's all good lol. These are incredible and are exactly what I would've wanted to create.

I found them last year and have been eating them all the time since.

21 pieces for 90 calories is insane.

I have found them at HEB and recently found them at Publix when visiting my parents in Florida.

They are on Amazon too.

Anyways, I love to see more macro-friendly products on the market and wanted to share!

Yes, I know cooking takes a little more effort than just tapping a delivery app…

But it gives you something no takeout ever will:

Control
Confidence
And meals that actually move you closer to your goals.

Think about it.

We spend over 32,000 hours eating in our lifetime. And more than 50,000 hours just thinking about food.

That’s decades of your life wrapped up in what you eat.

So yeah, learning to cook meals that actually taste amazing and support your goals?

That’s not just a good idea. That’s a cheat code.

So just know that the mess you are making in the kitchen (yes it’s annoying lol) is an investment in a lifelong skillset that will unlock food freedom.

Much love and happy cooking,
Zach

P.S. If you want more of my best low calorie, high protein recipes but MUCH more in depth, check out my YouTube channel! I know you’ll love them as much as this person does!