Don't sleep on this one-bowl Italian masterpiece 🤌🏼

Happy Women's History Month! I want to take a moment to celebrate all the incredible women in our community and beyond. From the fearless leaders breaking barriers in every industry to Everyday Legends — the unsung heroes inspiring us with your strength, resilience, and unwavering determination. This one’s for you! 

With women in mind, I’m sharing an exclusive recipe from my upcoming cookbook Eat Like a Legend, packed with folic acid to fuel your greatness.

Today’s Agenda

• EAT: Ladies, don't sleep on this one-bowl Italian masterpiece 

• PERFORM: How much does food really affect your sleep?

• LIVE: Helping Legend Jen lose fat on a 100% plant-based diet

One bowl, so much folic acid

Today’s hero: women. And folic acid. Which is why I’m bringing this super easy, hearty recipe, loaded with beans and kale — excellent sources of folic acid, and crucial for women's health. A cup of cooked beans can provide up to 90% of the recommended daily intake, while a cup of cooked kale offers around 17%. Incorporating folic acid-rich foods like beans and kale into the diet is essential for women's well-being at all stages of life. 

FOR WOMEN
Folic acid is vital for DNA synthesis and repair, particularly important during pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects. Studies show that consuming 400-800 micrograms daily reduces the risk of such defects by up to 70%. 

FOR EVERYONE
Iron is essential for every body, whatever your gender. Folic acid supports red blood cell formation and heart health. Endurance athletes require a lot of it, people who menstruate lose a lot during their cycle, those on resistance programs—such as my mates wanting to hit 300lb on the bench—definitely need it!

Ribollita (a.k.a. The Soup of All Soups)

I'm not sure how, but I managed to go my entire life without eating ribollita until I first went to Tuscany, where this classic soup was born. We were seated outside at a long table with glasses of Chianti and steamy bowls of ribollita made by a nonna who grew up nearby. It's incredible, how what started as a peasant dish (in Italian, the name means "reboiled" and refers to reheated leftover soup thickened with stale bread) could become a masterpiece.

It makes a killer one-bowl meal, packed with hearty beans and silky black kale, and full of umami and acidity thanks to tomato and Parm. The best part is that it's great for you, regardless of gender: full of fiber and protein, rich in anti-inflammatories and polyphenols that boost your immune system.

Below, I’m sharing an exclusive recipe (only for our newsletter legends!) from my upcoming cookbook Eat Like a Legend, up for pre-order now.

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large ovenproof soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until the oil shimmers. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies have softened and turned slightly golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Tip the canned tomato liquid into a small bowl and give the tomatoes a gentle squeeze over the bowl. Add the squeezed tomatoes to the pot (the nonna taught us this trick, which helps build a richer flavor) and cook, stirring and breaking them up, until the tomatoes thicken (your spoon will leave a path as you stir), 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Add the stock, tomato liquid, beans, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the kale, half the cheese, and half the bread, cover the pot, and cook at a gentle simmer, stirring now and then, until the kale is very tender and the bread just begins to fall apart, 25 to 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Give the soup a stir, add the remaining bread in a single layer on the surface along with the rest of the olive oil, cheese, salt, and pepper. Bake in the oven, without stirring, until the bread on top is golden, 10 to 15 minutes.

5. To serve, allow the soup to cool and top with more parmesan and olive oil.

Want more delicious, super easy recipes to perform at your peak? Pre-order your copy of Eat Like a Legend now.

How much does food really affect your sleep?

Food has a significant impact on various aspects of our lives, including our performance and of course — our sleep patterns. The relationship between food and sleep quality is intricate and multifaceted. In order to perform at the highest level, we have to understand how our actions are impacting our body. Depending on what you eat and drink and when, you might be unknowingly sabotaging your rest and recovery!

The fascinating process of sleep is characterized by two distinct phases:

1. slow-wave sleep (SWS) 

2. rapid eye movement (REM) sleep

By paying attention to what you eat and when you eat it, you can set yourself up for better sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day. Optimizing what you eat (cutting back on alcohol, watching your caffeine intake, eating more nuts and fatty fish) can help you sleep better. Similarly, being mindful about when you eat (no food within 2 hours of bedtime, chamomile tea at night) can make a huge difference on your quality of sleep.

Enter WHOOP 

To sleep better, understanding these sleep phases and their interactions with substances like caffeine is essential. WHOOP captures the biometric data shown to have the most meaningful impact on your health, giving me a comprehensive look at my body’s key performance data. 

WHOOP helps me keep an eye on my sleep, so I understand if my SWS or REM needs some extra love. This way, I can pay attention to patterns and change habits that don’t serve me.

If you’re like me and you’re looking to improve your performance, continue to push your limits, and get closer to understanding your potential, join our WHOOP community. 

Can you lose fat on a plant-based diet?

“My #1 goal is to lose the belly fat I gained after losing my dad to cancer in Sept 2022 and drinking my way through the grief,” wrote Legend Jen. “It was the hardest year of my life... but I am really trying to be a better version of myself for me and my family. I have 2 teenagers and my husband is in the air force.”

First of all Jen, you’re an absolute savage! I’m so proud of you for your resilience and self-awareness. I’m sure you crushed the Moab Run the Rocks 3-day trail run this month! What an incredible feat!

My Analysis and Recommendations:

• You'll need to build up a baseline of sustained energy intake to improve endurance for your pursuits, such as Moab. You're on the right track with your current habits, but there are definitely some small tweaks we can make to help build muscle while reducing fat. 

• Remember that fat cannot be spot-reduced. Where our bodies store fat is based on many different factors, many of them genetic. Women especially tend to store more fat in the midsection as they age. What we can control is what we eat with the goal of gaining lean muscle - the more lean muscle we have, the more calories our bodies burn simply at rest. With this, we can also work on adapting our overall caloric intake, workout frequency, duration, and type, to burn fat all over the body. 

Final Thoughts:

• Your workouts look good, if anything I'd suggest possibly adding one more rest day if you can, a mobility-focused day, or changing one of your HIIT-focused days to a lower impact strength training workout. 

• You don't have to give up the foods that satisfy your soul to be healthy. Generally, an 80/20 approach works best to achieve sustainability in the long run.

Lastly

Win big with our referral program. Share this newsletter with Legends in your life and help them become even more Legendary. 🎁