Hey Reader!

In the 80th issue of The MF Kitchen, you'll slice into the details of:

• Recipes for my Cheesy Bolognese Crispy Potato Bake and Butterfinger Protein Ice Cream!
• I shared my creator journey (rare podcast appearance from me)...
• Why are these two things on EVERY table across the world?
• Master guide to drinking while still losing fat (use this on July 4th)...
• How many calories are in alcohol? Here are the facts (plus my go-tos)...

Preheat your ovens…

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Weekly Recipe Roundup 🍽️

Cheesy Bolognese Crispy Potato Bake Prepare to be blown away by how dynamic the flavors of this recipe are when you give it a try! Super easy to make and a great option for meal prep. Makes 4 big servings that are only 450 calories with 40g protein! Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself: ​​​Cheesy Bolognese Crispy Potato Bake.pdf​

Butterfinger Protein Ice Cream Without the actual Butterfinger on top, this ice cream comes out to just 306 calories with 40g of protein! You can have a full pint of ice cream for that and only 23g of carbs! ​​Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself: ​​​Butterfinger Protein Ice Cream.pdf​

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Recipe Recreations Of The Week 🤌

58 Cal Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks 🥖

Macros for the WHOLE Batch (12 Breadsticks):
​696 Cals, 69g Carbs, 20g Fat, 60g Protein

Here's the recipe:
👉 https://www.instagram.com/p/DDNLQ3kxs9X/​

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Zach's Beats 🎧

​Space Jam - Dominic J​

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This Week’s Flavor 🎥

I never do podcasts like this. Getting into the ins and outs of my business is not something I tend to share publicly. But when my friend Brian asked me on his pod, I thought about how I might be able to help others with their creator journey. ​Click here to watch it.​

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Weird Food Fact 🤓

Ever wonder why, out of all the spices out there, salt and pepper are always the go-to table staples?

Turns out there’s some tasty history behind this pairing.

Salt has always been king because it was essential for food preservation (there weren't always fridges) and flavor.

The Latin word for salary (salarium) comes from sal (salt)! Pretty cool.

But pepper? All about prestige baby.

Black pepper actually originated in India.

For centuries, getting it to Europe was a tough and pricey journey.

Because it was so rare and expensive, pepper became a status symbol (call it a culinary flex of its day lol).

Wealthy folks started sprinkling pepper everywhere to show off their status.

Over time, pepper became more accessible, but its place at the table stuck around.

The combination of salt (a practical necessity) and pepper (a luxury spice) became a classic culinary duo.

Eventually, restaurants and household tables everywhere adopted salt and pepper as the essential seasoning staples.

And considering I use both in pretty much all my recipes, I'm all for it!

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One FAQ ❓

Answer: I most definitely will be drinking on July 4th so let me give you my game plan of how I'll do it.

First, let me tell you a secret that'll make all this make sense.

There is a 4th macronutrient.

I know. What the hell. All this time and now a 4th macronutrient wants to pop up!

We have protein, carbs and fats but what is the 4th?

This macronutrient provides 7 calories per gram.

Which is more than carbs (4 calories per gram) and proteins (4 calories per gram), and only slightly less than fats (9 calories per gram).

And this 4th macronutrient, unlike carbs and fats, cannot be stored in the body and must be metabolized immediately.

Aka that means the metabolism will solely focus on metabolizing it until it is allllll gone.

This means the metabolizing of carbs and fats is turned off till then.

Sounds like a big deal. It is but it isn't. I'll explain later.

But anyway, what is this unknown 4th macronutrient!?

Alcohol.

Yep the good ol dranky drank.

And soo many people will tell you these insanely complex protocols for minimizing fat/weight gain while drinking but 99% of it is BS.

Literally all you need to know is that alcohol provides calories just like any food you eat.

And those calories contribute to your daily calorie intake.

Thus if you have 4-5 drinks that total up to 650 calories, you'll need to account for those calories.

So let's say you do want to track those calories into your macros.

There isn't a “alcohol” macronutrient to track it under so how do you actually track it?

Here's the exact way to do it:

1. Figure out how many calories you had (or will have) or drinks. For this example, let's use a round number of 200 calories.
   ​
2. Track those calories as either carbs or fats or split between both.
   200 calories / 4 calories per gram carbs = 50g Carbs
   Or
   200 calories / 9 calories per gram fat = 22g Fat
   Or
   You can split the calories to take from some of your carbs and some of your fat.
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3. Track your macros using whatever macro tracker you use!

BUT it really isn't this simple.

Well it would be if we were robots.

The thing about alcohol is that it can really only do so much “damage” to your macros.

Unless you are a TANK, you are not going to be able to consume enough calories via just alcohol to make any lasting change to your body composition.

But what happens to your decision-making/motivation when you are now schwasty pants?

It goes bye-bye and you are now face-deep in foods that MOST definitely don't fit your macros lol.

This is where the real damage of drinking happens.

So not only are you using a good chunk of your calories drinking…

But your drunk behind is also making food decisions that you normally wouldn't be.

Haha I don't want this to be all doom and gloom!

I want you to drink (if you want to lol).

BUT I want you to also be aware of putting yourself in a great position to succeed!

And if you rarely drink and this is a day to have some fun, GO FOR IT!

I am team FUN if that means you are more consistent long term because of it.

I personally love me some day drinking (July 4th is perfect).

I get to drink all day outside and then have a nice dinner to sober me up.

So I go to bed sober and then wake up the next day feeling amazing!

That's how I know I am getting old lol.

Hope this all helped! Just reply to this email if you have any other follow-up questions.

P.S. Here’s a little graphic I made to make tracking it a bit easier.

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Serving Surprise 😮

I know a follow-up question I am going to get from the alcohol FAQ is which are my favorite low-calorie drinks.

So let's cover some of my favorites.

Along with some that you might not know are high calorie.

For light beers, it’s not even close for what I think is the best...

The general rule of thumb for light beers is that they will be around 95-110 calories per beer.

With the non-light version of that same beer being around 150 calories. So really not that much of a difference to be honest.

For my beer aficionados, you won’t like it when I mention that the highest-calorie beer options are your delicious IPAs.

They range from 200-300 calories per 12oz.

Next category:
​Hard Liquor

I am a tequila guy if we are going out to the bar and ordering drinks.

“Can I get a tequila club soda with a lime please.”

I need my drink to not taste THAT good because I’ll drink it wayyyy too fast if it does.

And I am a cheap date (lightweight) so if I start crushing drinks, welllllllll buh byeeeee 🤣

So general rule of thumb for hard liquor is around 95-110 calories (per shot).

• Tequila: 96 calories
• Vodka: 96 calories
• Whiskey (86 proof): 105 calories
• Rum (80 proof): 96 calories
• Gin: 96 calories
• Brandy: 96 calories
• Scotch: 96 calories

So next up we have the category of white claws aka a “flavored malt beverage”. They are all around 100 calories.

Not a huge fan of these just because they are too sweet of a drink for me lol.

Lastly, we have the beloved wine!

I love me a good wine + charcuterie bar!

Typical serving size is 4oz but I know good and well you are drinking more than that 😏

But we’ll roll with that serving size haha.

• Red Wine: 100 calories
• White Wine: 96 calories
• Rosé Wine: 100 calories
• Sparkling Wine: 80 calories

The category of alcohol is limitless in regards to options and drinks, so let me know what you’d want me to cover in more detail in the future!

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Every holiday is about memories, connection, and joy.

Those are things that last a lifetime.

One day of eating more than usual?

That’s gone in a week when you’re back to your routine.

Body fat is temporary. Memories are forever.

So, give yourself permission to enjoy this time.

Don’t let one day of indulgence steal the joy of your progress or the holiday itself.

We’re playing the long game.

Happy early July 4th!

Your friend,
​Zach

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