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Mitch: Hello and welcome. This is our latest update for our tasty man meals. We'll see how it went with the zesty lentil salad, and Theresa is here to give us another recipe to add to our healthy meal arsenal.

This is "Who Cares About Men's Health" where we aim to give you information, inspiration, and another interpretation about your health. I'm Producer Mitch, and I'm filling in for Scot who is out of town this week. So I guess I will be bringing the BS this episode. And for the MD, we are joined by co-host and chef-in-training, emergency room physician Dr. Troy Madsen.

Troy: That's me. Thanks, Mitch.

Mitch: And from Ï㽶ÊÓƵ of Utah College of Health Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology trying to get me off of roller food, we have registered dietician and culinary coach Theresa Dvorak.

Theresa: Glad to be here.

Mitch: He is the Director of Graduate Studies for Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, and fun fact, my mom's favorite all-time guest for the podcast, Thunder Jalili.

Thunder: All right. I'm glad to hear I'm good for someone out there.

Theresa: The moms. You got the moms.

Troy: You're everyone's favorite, Thunder. You are. You're the VIP.

Mitch: So let's go ahead and just dive in this week. Theresa this week tried to sneak in a salad that didn't have iceberg lettuce. So we were working on . . .

Troy: Ooh.

Mitch: Yeah. Right? So we were working on the zesty lentil salad. And how was this for everyone? Troy, how did it go?

Troy: I am going to tell you, this salad really was my next step in cooking.

Theresa: Yes!

Troy: So we had to get together for my brother for his birthday.

Theresa: You cooked it for other people?

Troy: Yes.

Theresa: Yes!

Troy: He said, "Hey, we're going to be having . . ." He said, "I'm going to grill some salmon and we're going to have some cheesy potatoes and some fruit." And I said, "Hey, can I bring a salad?" And so I actually made it and I took it. And there were six other people there who tried it and provided their honest feedback. I said, "Please give me your honest feedback."

Mitch: So, Troy, is this usually what happens? People invite you over and you're like, "Oh, I'll make something," or is it like grab some chips on the way?

Troy: No.

Theresa: No. They tell him what we're going to eat and he says, "Okay, sounds great."

Troy: They tell me what we're going to eat. I'm like, "Cool. I'll be there. What time?" I rarely bring anything. I have never in my life made a dish that I have taken to any event and let other people consume. So this was a first for me. I've certainly bought things.

Mitch: That's so cool.

Troy: Yeah. I've bought things, but I've never made something and taken it. So this was a big deal.

Mitch: How did that feel?

Troy: It was good. I felt like I was putting myself out there on a limb a little bit, but then I was just like, "Hey, guys, it's not my recipe. I don't take it personally." Although I did have to make a few modifications. I could not find bulgur, so I went with . . . not quinoa. I used couscous.

Theresa: Couscous.

Troy: Yeah. And I'll tell you, too, I always just . . . I assumed that lentils are the same thing as beans. And I found beans and I couldn't find lentils, so I just found some canned white beans and I used those. And I was going to text my wife and be like, "Are beans and lentils the same thing?" But I was like, "No. I can do this." So I used beans instead of lentils.

Mitch: Okay.

Troy: A couple of modifications.

Thunder: Troy, that's like saying the liver and the heart is the same thing.

Troy: For some people, it is, Thunder, okay? For some people, it probably is.

Mitch: Hey, he made something fancy. He made something healthy.

Theresa: Hey, that works.

Troy: It works. It was a substitution.

Thunder: How did people like it?

Troy: That's a great question. It had mixed reviews. I enjoyed it. I will say given that these are tasty man meals, it was the women who liked it and the men who were just like, "Hmm, I don't know." So my mother . . .

Thunder: It's a lot of vegetables for a man.

Troy: It was a lot of vegetables for a man. So my mother was there. She was so proud and she said, "This is delicious." I noticed that she did not get seconds, but she ate everything she got.

Mitch: Oh, man.

Troy: My sister-in-law actually really liked it and went and got seconds. My brother, whose birthday it was, was like, "Eh, maybe this will grow on me." My dad was flat out like, "Yeah, I don't really like it." And my 13-year-old nephew said, "This tastes like something my mom would make me eat."

Mitch: Oh, no.

Troy: That was his review.

Thunder: That means it's healthy.

Troy: I know. Exactly. I said, "Well, it's healthy." And then my other nephew wouldn't even try it. Tough crowd there, but again, mixed reviews. I enjoyed it. I thought it was tasty. I liked it. Generally, it was a good experience. I made something. People ate it. Some people really liked it. So it was cool. It was good.

Thunder: Well, also, Troy, you did the experiment with a range of demographics there.

Troy: Oh, yeah.

Thunder: Not just men, but young, old, different gender. So good test.

Troy: Yeah. It was across all age groups. And it was a group of individuals who looked at the bowl I had made . . . because I got the pearl couscous, the large couscous. And they said, "Oh, wow, it has corn in it." And I said, "Actually, that's couscous." So they said, "What's couscous?"

Mitch: Surprise.

Thunder: You should have gone with the corn. "Yes. It's corn."

Troy: I should have gone with the corn.

Theresa: Roll with it.

Troy: What was I doing? I should have got corn. Yeah. So, anyway, it was definitely a diverse audience and a diverse testing group. And again, some people really liked it. My sister-in-law said, "This is really good," and did not . . . she's not the type who's going to go get seconds just to make you feel good. She legitimately liked it. So that was good.

Theresa: That's great. What did you think?

Troy: What did I think?

Theresa: Yeah.

Troy: I enjoyed it. I will say I didn't love it, but I definitely liked it. Last week, the spaghetti squash, I loved. For me, that's a keeper. This, I enjoyed and I found it tasty. I wondered if maybe my substitutions weren't the best idea. I don't know if the beans were the best idea. I've got to try it with lentils, and I've got to find bulgur and try that. But I enjoyed it. It was straightforward, fairly easy to make. So I liked that about it.

Theresa: Good.

Thunder: Troy, I will say that the lentils and the bulgur will definitely give it a different taste and probably a different texture too . . .

Troy: Yeah.

Thunder: . . . than the beans. So give it another try with the actual lentils.

Troy: With the actual ingredients.

Thunder: Yeah.

Troy: That's a great idea.

Theresa: And I would say, too, if you found the beans . . .

Troy: Yes, I did.

Theresa: . . . lentils were close by.

Thunder: You were so close. You were within probably 15 feet.

Theresa: Pretty close, honestly.

Troy: I know. I couldn't find my . . .

Theresa: Because they're usually in the same aisle. So you were close. Just look a little more.

Troy: I was within shouting distance.

Thunder: Troy, let me ask you a question.

Troy: Yes.

Thunder: When you got the beans, did you see the Hispanic/Mexican-type foods anywhere in that area?

Troy: That's another aisle. The Hispanic foods are . . . they have a Hispanic foods aisle.

Thunder: Okay. Because in the store that I go to, our local Smith's, that's where the lentils are.

Troy: Okay.

Thunder: And we actually have beans, I think, farther down the aisle. So in that same vicinity.

Troy: Yeah. I will say I found that and I looked around and I was like, "Beans and lentils are the same thing. They're just different names for the same thing."

Thunder: Of course.

Troy: So I just went with it.

Theresa: Well, they're both high in protein, high in fiber.

Troy: Yeah, exactly. Like Thunder said.

Theresa: The lentils and the bulgur will bring more nuttiness to the flavor than . . . Couscous and a white bean are pretty bland. You've got to add a lot more to them. So if I was doing that, I maybe would have added some more garlic, a bit more on the lime or lemon juice, things that are going to bring in a lot more of that robustness and brightness to those sources. But great try.

And honestly, I have written down the goal for you guys and my hope is that not only would somebody say, "Hey, can you make dinner tonight?" but that you willingly bring something to the table.

Troy: I did it.

Theresa: And you did that on your own and that's so amazing. So well done.

Troy: I did it. And it was a first for me.

Mitch: Congratulations.

Troy: I know. It was a proud moment, I will say.

Mitch: So, Thunder, what did you do? Did you have a chance to make this or have your daughter make this?

Thunder: No, I didn't outsource it this time. I actually did it myself. I actually had a great experience with it. So, similar to Troy, I had an outdoor movie I was going to go to. So one of my friends has an outdoor movie screen and we go there sometimes and have dinner and watch movies. He said, "Can you bring a salad?" And I said, "As a matter of fact, I can."

Troy: Wow.

Thunder: So I made the recipe, and I did make one change. I didn't add the red onions because my wife said, "I don't like raw red onions." So I didn't add those in there, but I didn't know that she also doesn't like that much feta, so she never ended up eating the salad anyway because it had feta.

But there was a wide demographic of people, just like at Troy's party. We had my friend and his wife, and his sister and husband, and then our two nephews, one is 10, one is 11. So different ages, different genders. The kids were afraid to eat it. They didn't like the look of it. I kept telling them, "It tastes so much better than it looks," but they wouldn't believe me. All the adults really liked it. So it was a hit.

Troy: Nice.

Thunder: And I really liked it. I actually ended up not only feeding everyone there, which was eight people, but I had a little bit of leftover that I had the next day for lunch.

Mitch: Yeah. This was a big batch, right?

Thunder: Yes. It was a lot of food. And I considered it a meal. I had it for lunch the next day because it has the lentils and it has the bulgur and it has vegetables. So it was like a meal.

Mitch: That was one of the things that I was noticing, is just we had it hot that first night. I felt full. It wasn't like a little side dish necessarily, even though that's what I thought it would end up being. It was a full meal that day.

Theresa: Would it go into the good salad category there, Mitch?

Mitch: Yes, it would.

Theresa: Awesome.

Mitch: And that was it. There was something really fun about doing the bulgur and the lentils. To be honest, even Jonathan was making the joke. It's like, "It seems like she's trying to sneak lentils in with you." Like, with how much Mom mixes in, it's like with a kid. You sneak little vegetables in their food. But it was my first time cooking with bulgur, and it was almost like oatmeal, somewhere between oatmeal and rice cooking it up.

I think one of the things that I'm really taking home from these last few recipes and something I really appreciate is that I've cooked before, but the cooking that I tend to gravitate to was always these big, ostentatious meals. That's when I would cook, is when it was a show stopper and it would take all day. And those were the recipes that I gravitated to, but my day-to-day meals were gas station food or frozen food out of the freezer.

Thunder: Roller food.

Mitch: Exactly. These recipes are super easy, and that's what I'm really appreciating too. I throw two pots on the stove, I throw some stuff in, stir it every so often, and chop some veg up. Done.

Theresa: Awesome.

Mitch: Shake up in a little mason jar, whatever . . . that's what I used to shake up a little bit of a dressing and you're done. It's 30 minutes and you're in and out. And it's a tasty, healthy meal and it's . . . Jonathan really liked it. I really liked it.

Troy: And that's one thing I really like too. Again, like you said, Mitch, it's one of the things you're cooking the one thing and then you're just chopping the other stuff, and then you throw it together and you're done. And when I took it to the dinner, I just kept it in the fridge. I made it that morning, kept it in the fridge, took it that evening, served it cold. And again, it had some people who liked it, which was nice.

I was curious, though, were you guys able to find bulgur? Do you say it bulgur like "vulgar," or do you say it "vulgur"?

Thunder: Yes.

Troy: Is it like "vulgar"?

Theresa: I've heard it both ways.

Troy: Okay.

Theresa: Your choice. Tomato, tomahto.

Troy: Tomato, tomahto.

Thunder: I had an easy time . . .

Troy: Did you find it? You found it pretty easy?

Thunder: I had an easy time finding it. Yeah, it was no problem because I know where the Bob's Red Mill stuff is. And if there's some sort of obscure grain or something, they usually have it.

Troy: Okay.

Thunder: So, yeah, I just got from there. And it's not expensive. That was another thing. The lentils, I bought for $1.20 for a bag and I didn't even use the whole bag. Same thing with the bulgur. It was like $4, and I used maybe half of it. So the point is I could make this again. If you figure out what you are spending per serving on this meal, it's probably super low.

Troy: Yeah.

Thunder: Everyone always says you can't eat healthy because it's too expensive. This is definitely an exception to that rule.

Troy: Agreed. Yeah.

Theresa: And to Mitch's point, it cooks up like oatmeal and it can be used as a breakfast grain as well, and often is. And that's actually where I found it at my grocery store, was in the breakfast cereal/oatmeal aisle. So where the oatmeals were, there was a bunch of other grains, the Bob's Red Mill grains, like Thunder mentioned, where you'd find polenta and ground flax, flaxseed, and then the bulgur was there as well.

Troy: Interesting. Okay.

Theresa: So it can sometimes be in different spaces. But yeah, this is definitely something you could put in place of oatmeal if you wanted to in the morning. Put some cinnamon and a bit of honey and dried fruit and almonds on it and you've got a porridge. So that would be a great alternative. Yes, it's still slightly processed from the whole wheat berry, but it's considered a whole grain compared to, say, a flour or a processed grain. So you're getting a lot of bang for your buck nutrient-wise. And like Thunder mentioned, a lot of these ingredients go a long way and they are really packed full with nutrition.

Thunder: One other thing I really liked about the bulgur in this recipe, I like how it gave it some bulk. It has a pleasant, mild taste and it makes it bulky in a good way that you feel like you're eating something and you can be full.

Mitch: Yeah, it was almost somewhere between a rice bowl and a salad for me. There was a texture to it, there was a nuttiness to it that I really, really appreciated in more than just, "Here's a pile of vegetables."

Thunder: Yeah, I agree.

Theresa: Your standard salad, right?

Mitch: My standard salad, yeah.

Thunder: Iceberg with thousand island.

Mitch: Yeah. It's like, "Great. Thanks. Nutrition."

Troy: Well, I am intrigued by the bulgur. I've got to find this now. I just gave up on it. I looked around, I couldn't find it, I just said, "I'm not going to find it. This is far too exotic for my grocery store to have." But I've got to find it. They've got to have it there. So I'd want to try this again with the bulgur, like I said, and then lentils too. And I don't know if it was the couscous, but I think for my dad it was more just the parsley. I think he's just not a fan of parsley.

Theresa: Sure.

Troy: So I think . . .

Thunder: You can go easier on the parsley.

Troy: Yeah. I've just got to go a little easier on the parsley.

Thunder: I actually went a little heavier on the mint because . . .

Troy: The mint was good.

Thunder: . . . we have mint that grows in our yard.

Troy: Oh, wow.

Thunder: I've been meaning to trim the mint anyway, so I just went crazy with the mint. Probably doubled it.

Troy: That's cool.

Thunder: It ended up being a good thing because a lot of people commented, "Oh, I like the mint in there."

Mitch: Yeah, that was a surprise to me because I only use mint for my mojitos. Mint is never used in just a meal. So that was cool to use that herb.

Troy: Agreed. That was really cool. I liked it too. Tasted great.

Mitch: So moving on, though, this week, Theresa, it looks like . . . I like saying this. It looks like this week we're doing a saucy buddha bowl.

Theresa: You got it.

Mitch: That is so fun. That's a fun . . .

Theresa: We're going saucy this week.

Mitch: Saucy. I love that.

Troy: Saucy buddha. love it.

Mitch: So what's coming our way this week? What are we learning? What are we doing?

Theresa: So this week is your ultimate meal prep week. And what we've got here is . . . so in the recipe, I have listed out certain vegetables that I think go really well and complement each other well in this. However, it's one that you really could just what's in the refrigerator, what looks good, what vegetables do I like and roast them up and put them in. So there's a lot of variety that can happen in this particular meal.

And we explore quinoa with this particular one. But just like you mentioned, you could use the bulgur, you could use couscous, you could use a brown rice. Any kind of grain would be awesome in these grain bowls, in these buddha bowls. So you could even do a lettuce bed at the bottom of or spinach or something like that, fresh greens, if you wanted to as well. So, again, there's a lot of variety, a lot of choice that can happen.

And this is your sheet meal. Now, the downfall is that we're doing this in what tends to be a really hot time of the year in August. So we've got that factor, but this is one that you could certainly slip in your back pocket and pull out in the winter, in the fall, when it starts getting cooler and you actually want to have the ovens on to help bring some warmness into the kitchen.

You could also do this out on the grill if you wanted to. You could make little foil packets. If you're into camping and outdoorsy, you could put them in foil packets and do this out on the campsite as well.

So that's something else that I really like about this particular meal, is that there's a lot of variety there. And it reheats amazingly well. So, for lunch the next day or dinner, that works too.

And then we've got a couple of different dressings that I put on here. So I don't know if some of us want to try one dressing and others try another one to get some of that feedback, but one is an Asian Gochujang paste, which is a Korean chili paste, and the other one is a tahini, sesame seed paste base. So a couple of different options there for the sauces too.

I have found through my cooking that I'm a saucy person. I just am. I like the sauce and it brings . . . a little bit goes a long way. So, in these, if you look at the nutrition breakdown, yeah, there's a ton of calories there, but you really only need a little bit. You only need a couple of tablespoons for one bowl and it brings a lot of flavor and deliciousness to the bowl.

Thunder: Theresa, I have a saucy question for you.

Theresa: I love it. Yeah.

Thunder: So I'm a little bit of a spice wimp. And as I'm looking at these, tell me how spicy are these sauces on a scale of 1 to 10? And if I wanted to make it a little more gentle, how much should I reduce the spice content?

Theresa: Yeah. For sure. So the spicy farmhouse dressing, which has the Gochujang . . . I think I'm saying that right. Probably not. I apologize, my Korean friends.

Thunder: Sounds right to me.

Theresa: It is certainly on the spicy end. So if you're not a fan of spice but want some flavor, I would reduce that to two to three teaspoons, or about one tablespoon, so in half. It makes it on the spicy side. I would say a medium spice, medium to high.

Thunder: If you reduce it, it makes it medium?

Theresa: Nope.

Thunder: Or as is?

Theresa: As written is medium-high on the spice.

Thunder: Okay. That would probably be too much for me. So I would want to go with a couple . . .

Theresa: Okay. Then go in half. It's also one of those things that I also make both of these recipes without the spice as well and then add spice onto it afterwards. So I make these for the whole family, and my young children don't like a lot of spice. "It's too spicy, mama." And so I keep the hot sauce out, which is a great way too if you're serving other people. You can keep the spiciness out. Just mix up everything else and then you can add little bits as you go and on your own. So that's another way to consider it.

The spicy tahini, in general, is less spicy than what the farmhouse spicy dressing is as written. So the chili garlic . . .

Thunder: Would you say that's more of a medium or a mild-medium?

Theresa: I would say more of a medium, mild to medium, yeah.

Thunder: Okay. So maybe that one I could just do it the way it is.

Theresa: Yep. Exactly. I will say too, though, keep in mind that your chili paste . . . this is a great good-to-know tip. The longer it sits in your refrigerator, the less spicy it becomes.

Thunder: Oh, I didn't know that.

Theresa: So I had a container of the chili garlic paste, which is fantastic, and then you get to the bottom of the container and you're using however much you use, and then you buy a new container, and you go to use the same amount and it's like, "Whoa, this is twice as spicy." So, yes, it will lose some of the spiciness the longer it sits in your refrigerator. Just keep that in mind too.

And always something with spice, you can always add more. It's really hard to take it away. So that's why I also like to keep that separate, especially when you're serving multiples or trying something for the first time.

Thunder: Would it freeze well, this recipe? Because everything we've made so far is a pretty big portion and I love the idea of freezing it for another time.

Theresa: Certainly. Definitely. It freezes great. And the dressing will last in the refrigerator for weeks. And these are both dressings that I like to put on almost anything. I'll just be honest there. Any grain, any beans or rice dishes, on your lentils. It's really fantastic. And so I make up a double batch and label it and keep it in the fridge in a jar and add it wherever you want.

Thunder: You hear that, Mitch? You can put it on your iceberg lettuce.

Mitch: Absolutely.

Theresa: It actually does really well on lettuce-based salads too.

Mitch: Okay.

Theresa: So you certainly can.

Mitch: I'm just looking at the picture and everything. This does look the most meal preppy I've seen of what we've made so far. I see it in the little pre-portioned glass jars.

Theresa: Well, the picture I chose was meal preppy, yeah.

Mitch: Yeah. But what I'm reading, as I'm reading through the steps and stuff, this seems pretty straightforward. We're roasting some veg and putting some grains in there.

I guess what is the kind of goal for these types of meals that lasts forever? Just filling? Good nutrition? What are some of the things that we're looking for in here? The sauces are great. I'm also a saucy person. I drench things whenever I can. I think that they're really tasty. But what are the goals for this particular meal this week?

Theresa: So I'm looking for balance. I'm looking for a good source of fiber. We've got lots of vegetables and the whole grains here. I'm also looking for a variety in color. When I build a meal, I use the rule of thumb of about three or four different colors. And here, we've probably got six different colors going for us. But the more color you have, the more variety in nutrients you have as well.

Plus, it's got a good amount of protein to help . . . the protein and fat from the dressing helps to keep us satiated through the day so that we don't just eat something and have a sugar spike and then crash and then we're hungry an hour later. I'm really looking for meals that stick with you a little bit. And that's where that complexity comes from.

Thunder: Theresa, I'm glad you mentioned the comment about protein, because I think when people just look at the ingredient list of what you have in this recipe, there's no chicken or beef or anything that jumps out to you. So we may look and think, "Gosh, it only has some eggs and that's it." But really, if you look at the nutritional breakdown that's provided, it has quite a lot of protein in spite of it being almost a vegetarian meal, or I guess if you're ovo-vegetarian, it is a vegetarian meal.

Theresa: You got it. So we've got the whole grain, the quinoa. And there is actually protein in vegetables too. So we've got to keep that in mind.

And if I'm prepping this for the rest of the week, how I wrote the recipe is a fried egg on top. You don't need an egg. I didn't put an egg on it when I made it for dinner last night. You could if you wanted to. Certainly, you could add something else. You could put some tofu or a piece of fish or chicken on top. But you're right, it's good and filling and complete as it is nutritionally.

You could also boil eggs. If you like boiled eggs, that's a great way, especially if I'm packing it for lunches throughout the week. A boiled egg tends to do better the second time around than a fried egg does. But if you're doing it warm, having that oozy sunny side up egg on top is really great. So there's a lot of variety that you can get there too.

I would say it also multiplies really well. So you could double this easily, and you're only having to increase the amount of labor time of chopping vegetables just by a little bit because you're already doing it.

And that's also another piece that I like, particularly about this bowl or this recipe, is that you could then reuse the vegetables in different ways. So you could make a black bean taco with roasted vegetables, and you add some black beans into it and you've got your tacos and add some salsa to it. You could do a morning hash or something like that with this because it's got the sweet potatoes and the roasted veg and onions and whatnot there, and add a bit more of your scrambled eggs if you wanted to. So it's got a lot of variety that I can pack on to this meal too.

Mitch: Man, that's the kind of stuff that I'm always looking for. I guess because whenever I try to "eat healthy," it's just like you were saying before, it's like my default is a piece of iceberg lettuce. That's what health is. And so this idea of meals that stick with you and are tasty and you can make it into tacos or hash or whatever, that's exciting.

And that's stuff that I think as a layperson, a non-dietitian, non-nutritionist, that's exciting. That's really an exciting . . . a bunch of recipes to add to my arsenal without a lot of thinking. So I really appreciate that.

Theresa: Yeah.

Mitch: Troy, how are you feeling about this one? You had a success last week.

Troy: I know. I'm feeling pretty good. I will say when I first looked at it, I was not excited because I saw quinoa. I love the taste of quinoa, but about three hours later, I feel like I pay the price for eating quinoa. I refer to it as the revenge of the Inca. And I don't know if others experience this. Kind of like Mitch experienced with the spaghetti squash. It's every time. I think it tastes great. Maybe I just eat too much of it and I'm like, "Oh, wow." It hits me hard. So I like the idea . . .

Theresa: You're not alone.

Troy: That's good to hear.

Theresa: I have encountered others that are the same way. So I would say on that, Mitch, just choose a different grain. Find the bulgur and use bulgur as your grain.

Troy: Yeah, this is my week that I'm going to try and find the bulgur. I really want to try it. I love how you describe it.

Thunder: No matter how long it takes.

Troy: I'm going to find it. I could not find that friendly produce lady this last time to ask her where bulgur is, but I will find someone this time. And I will find bulgur.

Thunder: Even if you have to be in there for hours, you will find it.

Theresa: If you do internet shopping, you can order it online too.

Troy: I know. Yeah.

Theresa: Just saying.

Troy: I know. I don't know if my store offers that.

Theresa: I'm talking Amazon or something like that.

Troy: Oh, true. That's a good point. Yeah, Amazon. Anyway, I like the idea of substituting because I want to try the bulgur. So I'm going to try that. But I have to say this week, and maybe it's just because I'm developing a little more comfort, but I'm looking at this recipe and pretty much everything I think I can find. I know where these things are. All the other weeks we've had stuff on there where I'm like, "Okay, I don't know what this," or, "I don't know where I'm going to find it." So that's often been a barrier for me, but this week, everything looks pretty straightforward, which is great.

Thunder: Here's another thought when you're shopping for this recipe. I always look for ways to make it a little easier on myself. And I think I could actually get frozen cauliflower. It is already cut up. That makes that part easy. I can get frozen cut-up peppers as well. Those are available in my grocery. So just an option if you think you want to maybe speed up the process or make it a little simpler on you.

Troy: I like that.

Theresa: Awesome.

Troy: I remember you saying that. And I need to explore the frozen vegetable area more, because I think that sounds like a great option just to throw that in and not have to do as much chopping.

Theresa: And I would say, too, in the produce section often there's fresh, pre-prepared veggies also. So you can find a lot of these things in those refrigerated sections too. So that's a great way, especially when we're looking for something quick and easy. That's certainly a great tip.

Troy: And I'll tell you one thing that's jumping out on here. I'm going to make my mom proud with this. She gave me some bell peppers from her garden when I saw her this weekend and made dinner. I have bell peppers. I'm going to use them in this recipe.

Theresa: Nice.

Mitch: Look at that. Oh, man.

Troy: Yeah. Then I'll call my mom and say . . .

Thunder: Got to take a picture of that and send it to Mom.

Troy: Yeah. I'll send it to my mom and be like, "Hey, I used the bell peppers. They made the recipe so good." So, anyway, I've got bell peppers. I've already got a head start on this one.

Theresa: Nice.

Mitch: Well, I'm looking forward to making it this weekend. So if you're listening and you thought that any of these recipes sounded really tasty, if you want to join us, maybe want to try out some of these healthy man meals that Theresa has been putting together for us, you can find the link to the recipe on the show notes or at our website on whocaresaboutmenshealth.com.

And if you want to see what we're doing and check out some pictures and maybe some posts about our adventures in this healthy cooking, you can check out our Facebook page at facebook.com/whocaresmenshealth.

And feel free to let us know what you think about the recipes or even post some photos of what you're cooking. It's been exciting to take photos about all this too.

So, Theresa, Thunder, it has been a pleasure.

Theresa: Thanks so much.

Thunder: Thank you. It was great to be on. I'm looking forward to trying this one.

Troy: Yep. Graduation week. This is it, cap and gown.

Theresa: I know.

Troy: This is the grand finale.

Mitch: And again, thanks for joining us and thanks for caring about men's health.

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