Hey Reader!

In the 36th issue of The MF Kitchen, you'll slice into the details of:

• Recipes for my Popcorn Chicken & Fries Meal and OREO Uncrustable Protein Pop Tarts!
• 10 Weird Cereal Facts you’ve never heard of...
• Do you have Sweet Treat Syndrome? You're not alone (here's how to deal with it)...
• 3 new protein products (and my unbiased reviews)...

Preheat your ovens…

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Weekly Recipe Roundup 🍽️

Popcorn Chicken & Fries Meal If you are looking for one of my favorite fat-loss meals that I eat ALL the time, this Popcorn Chicken & Fries meal is it! So much food for only 569 calories with 62g protein! Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself: ​Popcorn Chicken & Fries Meal.pdf​

OREO Uncrustable Protein Pop Tarts If you remember me talking about pudding mix last week, this is a recipe where it really shines! Enjoy that Oreo taste at any meal! Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself: ​OREO Uncrustable Protein Pop Tarts.pdf​

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Recipe Recreations Of The Week 🤌

XL Grinder Salad Wraps recipe out here changing lives and saving macros!

Macros for the WHOLE Wrap (2 halves):
​516 Cals, 26g Carbs, 20g Fat, 58g Protein

Here's the video and recipe:
👉 https://www.instagram.com/p/C-YEG0zuw7c/​

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Zach's Beats 🎧

Jacked minion sold me on this playlist. ​GYM HYPE + EDM​

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Weird Food Fact 🤓

10 Weird Cereal Facts you’ve never heard of...

1.) Fruit Loops are not what you think.

Let me ask you a question first: What is your favorite flavor fruit loop? We have green, blue, red, yellow, orange, and purple. Which one is your favorite flavor? It’s a trick question. They're all the same flavor 😭

2.) Lucky Charms origins story.

The idea for Lucky Charms wasn’t magically delicious lol. It was a random marketing executive for the company who took one of the weirdest candies of all time (circus peanuts) and chopped them up into pieces. Then, mixed them with Cheerios and realized it was BOMB.

3.) Tony the Tiger was the only survivor.

When Frosted Flakes first launched, Tony had competition. Not from other cereals. Nope. From inside the company for the lead mascot role... There was Katy the Kangaroo, Elmo the Elephant, and Newt the Gnu. None were as “GREAT” as Tony the Tiger so he still runs this shit till this day lol.

4.) Cap’n Crunch isn’t who you think he is.

He isn’t actually a captain.

Horatio Magellan Crunch (Cap’n Crunch) wears a uniform with only three stripes.

What does that mean? It means he’s a commander in the US Navy, not a captain (which would have 4 stripes).

Commander Crunch just doesn’t have the same ring Cap’n Crunch does. I get it!

It was brought up so much in fact, that a year ago, they announced that they added a fourth stripe to him:

5.) Snap, Crackle, and Pop

These three elves were the first-ever cereal mascots. In 1933, Rice Krispies were launched by Kellogg’s. The names were meant to represent the sounds the cereal makes when the milk is added.

6.) The first-ever cereal brand.

In 1863, the first-ever cereal brand was launched. It was called “Granula.” It was made from dense bran nuggets that had to be soaked overnight before they could be eaten. So literally brick cereal haha Mmmm sounds soo good 🤣

7.) Cereal prices adjusted for inflation.

In 1922, a box of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cost 12 cents. Today that same box is $5.29. What’s crazy is, $0.12 in 1922 adjusted for inflation should be $2.13 in 2024. BUT it’s not what it seems. The boxes in 1922 were only 8oz. Today they are at least twice the size so it makes the prices adjusted for inflation make more sense

8.) Cereal Mascots are looking down on us

Well not necessarily us. Many cereal mascots are often designed to look downwards, making eye contact with children in grocery store aisles. The shit we don’t think about with food branding that influences us to buy!

9.) Cinnamon Toast Crunch wasn’t always the GOAT

In the early 1990s due to massively declining sales, our beloved CTC was nearly discontinued. But they decided to give it one more quarter. And they let the fan base show their support to prove they should keep it. That move led to CTC going on a historic run to the cereal Mount Rushmore.

10.) Cereal mascots not only look down on us.

But they are also most times, left-handed haha. This is because the majority of people are right-handed. And when they pour cereal from the box, they’re more likely to see the mascot facing them if it’s left-handed.

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One FAQ ❓

Answer: “Ma’am, I have your diagnosis. You might want to sit down for this.”

She sits down nervously.

Then doctor proceeds with the results.

“Your results are back and you have... Sweet Treat Syndrome.”

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You know that feeling after a meal where you just want something sweet!?

This isn’t just you. This is built into us being human.

I made up Sweet Treat Syndrome but it’s actually called by two different names.

The two are:

1. "dessert stomach”
2. “sensory-specific satiety”

In simple terms, just think of this as the more bites you eat of a particular food, the less appealing it becomes.

The first bite is the best bite.

The second bite is maybe a tiny bit less as good as the first bite.

And so on until the meal is over.

Besides if you eat a meal like me and try to make the best bite the last bite lol

But back to the topic, why do we want a sweet treat after our savory meals?

I think it’s a combination of these two points:

1. Because we had a savory meal, the changing of a flavor/sensory experience like something sweet will allow for the happiness of that first bite to come back to a super high level.
2. Dinner and dessert are ingrained into our brains at a young age so it’s definitely some cultural conditioning going on.

Is this a bad thing to have these cravings after a savory meal?

Absolutely not!

I have them every single day.

But being able to build the tackling of these cravings into your daily diet while not ruining your fat loss goals is crucial.

And most importantly, being aware of the natural inclination of your body to have these cravings.

You are not broken. You are just a foodie like me haha.

So my best advice is to have an arsenal of 5-10 different recipes that are your go-to for tackling your sweet cravings with ease.

These can all vary from a snack of 100-200 calories after a meal.

OR can the sweet be a whole meal in itself of 400-700 calories?

All ya gotta do is make sure they fit into the grand scheme of your macros/calories.

Here are a few fan favorites for each category:

Lower Calorie Snacks:

​45-Second Protein Lava Brownie​

​86 Cal Crispy Apple Turnovers​

​167 Cal OREO Protein Dirt Cups​

​46 Cal Mini Protein Cheesecakes​

​164 Cal Protein Cookie Dough Jello Snack Bowls​

Higher Calorie Meals:

​Triple Chocolate Brownie Protein Pizookie​

​Fruity Pebble Cereal Milk Protein Ice Cream​

​Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Dessert Pizza​

​Frosted Strawberry Uncrustable Protein Pop Tarts​

​Blended Overnight Oats Protein Cookie Dough​

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Serving Surprise 😮

Every time I go grocery shopping, I like to pick one new “protein” product to try.

Most suck lol.

AND most don’t really have that great of macros.

They are usually higher calories than the real/better thing with just more added protein.

So it pretty much just defeats the purpose.

*Takes deep breath so doesn’t go into a long rant 😅

Here are the latest 3 I’ve tried for the first time and whether they did indeed suck...

1.) Drumroll Donuts

Protein Donuts are usually boring as hell cake donuts that are dryer than the Sahara.

So I had super low expectations for them.

Macros per package of 3 donuts:
​190 Calories, 13g Fat, 27g Carbs, 10g Protein.

So pretty much a donut with a smidge of protein.

And it’s a plant-based protein so I already know it’s going to be more dense than light/fluffy.

I’m already making this review longer than I’d like but there are sooo many caveats and details 😭

Was it any good, worth the macros, and worth the price?

The taste and texture were better on the chocolate than on the vanilla.

Definitely more of a cake pop-type consistency than an actual donut.

I didn’t hate the taste but didn’t LOVE it. I’m indifferent.

The price was $3.41 for 3 donuts so not awful, but definitely not cheap for 3 tiny donuts.

All in all, would I buy them again?

Probably not.

BUT were they a terrible product?

Nope! You might like them, but for me, it’s just not worth the price, macros, taste/texture.

Alright so here are the next two and these are going to be rapid-fire because I don’t want this section to be incredibly long.

2.) Protein Moon Pie’s from Redefine Foods

Might be a controversial take (shouldn’t be because it’s obvious) but Moon Pies are one of the most overrated dessert snacks in history.

So taking a mid dessert and making it into a protein snack is a recipe for a mediocre product 😐

Macros: ​
270 Calories, 16g Fat, 31g Carbs, 14g Protein

Aka really really bad which means this better be really good.

Cost: ​
$3.99

The taste was not bad! The texture of the filling was definitely pretty weird.

More dense than an actual moon pie consistency.

If this was 150 calories with 14g protein, I’d buy this again.

But given the current macros, nahhhh.

3.) Legendary Foods Frosted Strawberry Protein Pop Tart

These get RAVING reviews from people.

I’d honestly never tried one.

Macros: ​
180 Calories, 8g Fat, 22g Carbs, 20g Protein

So macros are actually really good.

Cost: ​
$3.10 so not terrible.

I got shafted with the frosting haha.

The taste and texture weren't bad.

Think of a fluffier pop tart that is not flaky.

More of a drier cake pop tart.

BUT I can see how people can really like this product.

It’s got incredible macros.

And the taste/texture are good enough for those macros.

Would eat again but my tummy can’t handle erythritol so I sacrificed myself so I could review this for you lol 🫠

Let me know some products you want me to review next.

And if you’ve tried any of these before, let me know if you agree/disagree with my review!

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And that wraps up Issue #36 of the Macro Friendly Kitchen, hope you enjoyed it!

91,000 of you here which is crazy to think about.

In case you missed my free guide on how I take beautiful pictures with my iPhone, I'll link it here:

👉 free iPhone food pics guide​

Your friend and fellow last bite architect,
​Zach

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