I HEART ROO – by Tiffiny Hall
I grew up in a vegetarian household of black belts. My energetic parents, both Taekwondo Masters and salad savants, led an organic, green-juiced up lifestyle. But it was ‘kaleing me’ and by the time I was 16 my body wasn’t responding well, as I was training hard but my nutrition wasn’t on fleek. I found it hard to pack in the protein for the amount of exercise I was doing and I was low in iron. As a teen I started cooking kangaroo. I did my research and couldn’t beat the Roo report card: 150g serves up 92% of my protein hit for the day, less than 2% fat and I learned that lean meat, well, kept me lean and I soon had the best six pack ever. Plus oodles more NRG.
Later, when I was a Gladiator on TV under a very strict training and food regime, many of the Gladiators were given CLA tablets to help lean up. Conjugated Linoleic Acid is an omega-6 polyunsaturated essential fatty acid (EFA) found naturally in meat and dairy. It’s famous for anti-cancer properties but CLA really deserves a red carpet because it has ah-mazing weight loss benefits, helping to break down fat cells.
Your body needs a little good fat so it doesn’t store bad fat.
I was the only Gladiator who didn’t take CLA supplements because my beloved kangaroo has five times more CLA than lamb. I’ve kept Roo in my diet as my secret weapon as a coach, taekwondo instructor and as a trainer on The Biggest Loser because it not only helps keep me lean and energetic, but also helped my contestants to lose weight and my taekwondo students to stay strong.
I love marinating sliced kangaroo fillets in olive oil and cracked pepper for a summer salad, or barbequing Roo with sweet chili sauce to eat in pita wraps, Roo San Choy Bau is another fave, Rooghetti (kangaroo mince red sauce over spelt spaghetti or zucchini noodles), and the husband loves my Roo patty burgers.
I eat Roo 2-3 times a week. As a trainer, it’s important to be lean, but more importantly I need energy for my clients, classes and to run my business. Roo fuels my day and helps me to train for life.
References
“Conjugated Linoleic Acid Reduces Body Fat Mass in Overweight and Obese Humans.
“http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Kangaroo-meat-5-times-more-CLA-than-lamb