Sore Muscles?

After hitting the gym rather hard the other day, my muscles are extremely sore now. This gives me a great opportunity to share with everyone how to fix that. The secret is BEEF. Why? you may ask, because of Carnitine. It is nutrient found mostly in red meat. Recent studies have shown that carnitine can help relieve exercise-induced muscle soreness by about 45%. One ounce of beef contains 15 to 35 mg of carnitine. So this is a great time to make Fajitas!

Fajita beef
1 1/2 to 2 lbs flank steak
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2c orange juice
1 tbs chopped garlic
1/4 c olive oil
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp dries oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 onion (yellow or red it doesn't really matter)

in a large mixing bowl, mix together lemon juice, orange juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. Marinated flank steak in this for at least an hour but over night is better.
Remove beef from marinate and slap on to a hot grill or a skillet. cook 4-6 minutes on each side for medium rare. (longer if you want medium or shoe leather well done)
While your steak is cooking julienne(cut into thin strips) your peppers and onion. Saute quickly. Be careful not to over cook your vegetables. 1 minute is plenty to cook the vegetables.
when your beef is done pull off of heat and on to a cutting board. Cut thin strips across the grain of the meat.
Divide the meat and vegetables evenly on to plates and serve with your favorite tortillas.
This recipe serves about 4.

The meat per serving is as follows, 300 calories, 35g protein, 3g carbs, 15g fat, 70mg sodium, 90mg carnitine.

Be careful not to over do it on the carnitine. There are supplements available but if you take in too much carnitine it can do you a lot more harm than good. At 3000mg a day you risk sever complications including nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and a "fishy" body odor. So don't over do it, moderation is the key. Stick with great Fajitas and a glass of red wine and you'll be great.

Enjoy and have a happy healthy day!!
Chef Matt