Everyone is always asking Anand Bhatt what he’s eating, whether it be on the road, at home or in a restaurant. “What is the secret to your well being?” “What the $@&! are you eating now?”
These are only some of the reactions and responses to Anand’s eating choices.
Gone are the days of having Jack Daniels for breakfast. Today’s rock star requires the ability to be healthy, stay awake and alert for days, the ability to sleep whenever (and sometimes on a bus or airplane), and all without the the use of drugs and medication. The careless lifestyles of David Lee Roth and Mick Jagger yield a liver damaged, fast-food cracked, out of shape rocker that can’t handle the 24/7 lifestyle and demands of today’s celebrity.
Anand Bhatt thankfully reveals to us in this book his recipes and food and shopping selections that not only keep him healthy, give him control over his body and mind, but also provide the hedonistic taste for pleasure that every rock star demands! And if it’s good enough for a rock star, it definitely works for the rest of us!
- Andy Desai, Record Executive, S.W.I.
ANAND BHATT’s
ROCK STAR RECIPES
“The Dog and the Wolf
A gaunt Wolf was almost dead with hunger when he happened to meet a House-dog who was passing by.
“Ah, Cousin,” said the Dog. “I knew how it would be; your irregular life will soon be the ruin of you.
Why do you not work steadily as I do, and get your food regularly given to you?”
“I would have no objection,” said the Wolf, “if I could only get a place.”
“I will easily arrange that for you,” said the Dog;
“come with me to my master and you shall share my work.”
So the Wolf and the Dog went towards the town together. On the way there the Wolf noticed that the hair on a certain part of the Dog’s neck was very much worn away, so he asked him how that had come about.
“Oh, it is nothing,” said the Dog. “That is only the place where the collar is put on at night to keep me chained up; it chafes a bit, but one soon gets used to it.”
“Is that all?” said the Wolf. “Then good-bye to you, Master Dog.”
Better to starve free than be a fat slave.”
- Aesop
ROCK STAR LIFE
It’s true that entertainers are subjected to a life defined as feast or famine. When we’re first starting out it’s quite literal and after success has hit, it rings true emotionally and physically. The ups and downs are part of the excitement of the fast-paced life, whether you’re a rock star, a CEO, a parent, or a student. They are also the reasons why our physical and emotional health can be so important in order to not spiral out of control. A daily dose of of the drive-through just doesn’t cut it for us no matter how “easy” the option looks. The foods that we accept as part of our daily lives without question only appear to give us freedom of choice through ease of consumption, but in reality they keep us on a short leash of health problems, body image and self-esteem problems, and sometimes indirect economic problems.
Rock stars, in pure alpha fashion, have an inability to handle authority. All though I often admire those that are comfortable being told what to do without flinching, I assure you that it’s sometimes OK to bite the hand that feeds us in order to learn how to feed ourselves. We’re told what food should and shouldn’t be defined as, and what is and what is not good for us.
We are forced to accept these notions without consulting our own thoughts mostly in part due to our nagging feelings that our days are too busy in order to think about such things.
“I don’t have time to read the labels on boxes when grocery shopping,” a friend once said to me. He’s at least 30 pounds overweight, has self-esteem issues, anxiety, insomnia and regularity problems, and sexual dysfunction.
His pantry is full of items that which if he had read the labels he wouldn’t feed to his cat. The truth is we DO have choices beyond what we see directly in front of us, an unlimited amount actually. Imagination and open-mindedness to what may initially seem unusual are the only traits required to prevent emotional and physical burnout.
People are always asking me what I’m going to eat today, as if it’s some sort of exciting mystery.
I suppose if I compare it to the every day meat+potatoes flavorless diet that is in front of us at every turn, then what I eat is quite wild. You’ll see, however, after reading or skimming through this book that my recipes & choices aren’t as outrageous as they seem on the surface.
I’m sure most people when they think of “Rock Star Recipes,” they think of the lot of us drinking Jack Daniels for breakfast and doing a couple of needles full of heroin for lunch. That may be how it used to be in the industry, but life requires more flexibility than the “party all night, sleep all day”
axiom that prevailed with our musical forefathers.
Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of nights where I come home late and am ready to crash until 2:PM the next afternoon. But, I’ve also got conference calls and publicity appearances in various different countries and timezones on the same day, not to mention interactions with my fans and friends on social networking platforms, as well as in person meet and greets.
Let’s face it, our forefathers didn’t have a flat technology-connected world propelling their careers. They physically went from city to city, country to country to meet fans and promote their endeavors, and that’s it. All though David Lee Roth is filled with some great advice, part of me thinks he would have spiraled into a Bret Michaels style stroke and sleep deprivation psychosis in a matter of months if he were to be active in today’s demanding lifestyle.
I know. I’ve lived the stereotypical rocker life too.
Back in the 90s and early 2000s when we were just starting out as a band, a common breakfast for me would be a lot of smoke, 12 beers, and a fistful of Xenadrine. If it was a video shoot day, we would wrap up by nightfall and would party until we passed out - with me usually being the last one up, awake, and still going. Our food choices were ridiculous.
When Ryba and I were roommates and were writing and recording initial Anand Clique and A&A tracks, we were also college students at UIC (the University of Illinois at Chicago). I irresponsibly consumed a pound of ground beef every day, and my only vegetable was probably whatever was on a pizza. If it weren’t for Zantac prescriptions (and some great David Lee Roth advice that would allow you to keep your immune system up even when sleeping on a bus) I’d be dead by now; and keep in mind that I’m neglecting to mention much of the body-taxing partying details on top of it all.
I remember a period where every night for an entire summer, during times when I wasn’t out until dawn after my “day” job of playing bar mitzvahs and weddings, I’d go to bed early and wait for Ryba to come home from his day job of loading trucks at UPS until 3:AM. He’d wake me up, we’d slam (or inhale) a bunch of stimulants, I’d pop a tab of something that even Jim Morrison would think twice about, and we’d head to North Avenue Beach and smoke a pack of cigarettes while sitting on a bench and laughing at the sunrise joggers. We did this every night.
These are happy memories mind you, because we had A LOT of fun. However, we also faced angry landlords and neighbors and very angry teachers and department heads. I also was put on prescription antacids, vomited on stage, had a hell of a time quitting smoking, had fluctuating weight issues and the whole myriad of problems that most every rocker knows too well.
Needless to say I rarely made it to class. How I graduated with honors and made it all the way through graduate school is a bit of a sign of the times. Life followed predicatable schedules back then. Even though my responsibilities consisted of touring, professoring classes at different schools throughout the day when in town, attending my own classes, and then rehearsals and gigs at night, there was somehow still time to attempt to recoup from the damage done in order to get by (at least physically).
Forward to today. I may talk to U.S. press at 8:AM U.S.A. time but talk to Thai press at 2:AM U.S.A. time later that night. If I were a fat wheezing braindead idiot, there’s no way I’d be able to handle those interviews and balance my dating and social life. At one point while climbing the ladder, I took a good look around at the burnt out sad shape my former idols and musical forefathers were in. They were a mess: affectively, bodily, and maturity-wise. So many great celebrities were unable to handle their own, albeit fortunate, lives. I had to get control over mine.
An important condition that grabs EVERY rocker, is adrenaline fatigue. Even if you’re trying not to drink coffee and Red Bulls, the lifestyle of the career itself is that of a high impact exciting ride for a while, and then nothing for a bit. Adrenaline tolerance and burnout is inevitable, and one has to learn to roll with the situation not just emotionally but physically as well. Food and drink choices help immensely in helping regulate the natural and extreme ups and downs that life throws at you.
So without further delay, let’s dive into it. Part of me is writing this book in the hopes that my friends will read it and stop asking me insane questions as if I’m from another planet J, and another part of me truly believes that it is important that I share what I’ve learned and discovered. I understand that questions and opinions will exist, and I urge everyone to feel free to ask me anything and/or post comments at http://facebook.com/anandbhattrock . I’ll try to read and answer as many as I can!
MORNINGS
“The Hart in the Ox-Stall
A Hart hotly pursued by the hounds fled for refuge into an ox-stall, and buried itself in a truss of hay, leaving nothing to be seen but the tips of his horns. Soon after the Hunters came up and asked if any one had seen the Hart. The stable boys, who had been resting after their dinner, looked round, but could see nothing, and the Hunters went away.
Shortly afterwards the master came in, and looking round, saw that something unusual had taken place. He pointed to the truss of hay and said: “What are those two curious things sticking out of the hay?” And when the stable boys came to look they discovered the Hart, and soon made an end of him.
He thus learnt that Nothing escapes the master’s eye.”
Mornings are something else for me. My body seems to be the type that has the most positive energy and mood as soon as I wake up.
Unfortunately, this dissipates quickly as soon as I attempt to do anything other than sit with my thoughts or read a book.
THE MOST IMPORTANT part of my day is morning quiet time. Now I do understand and am well aware that I have the unusual luxury of being able to wake up at 9:AM and sit still either reading or meditating until Noon before I decide to do anything with the day, BUT rest assured, I too have days where I am to be somewhere by 8:AM. On those days I find it best to wake up 2
hours earlier and either sit still and think about the day or read for at least 30 minutes before starting in on the tasks ahead.
QUIET TIME! Without it, burnout will set in very quickly. Time and time again we all learn the hard way that we are not meant to jump out of bed in a frenzy and attempt to maintain that chaos without serious emotional and physical damage. If you have kids, I recommend you hide from them! Seriously, you know when they get up. Perhaps try getting up earlier, even at the expense of your sleep, and hide in the bathroom if you have to. Not that I’m telling you what to do or giving out advice ;), just my opinion.
Research shows that regular quiet time can help people focus, make good decisions, and perpare invididuals to succeed in the most demanding tasks. One study by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte discovered that students were able to significantly improve their performance on several tests after spending only twenty minutes a day for just four days (Zeidan, 2010).
So hide out and get some quiet time EVERY
morning and you will be impressed at what you can accomplish effortlessly throughout the day.
My favorite QUIET TIME beverage? My morning cup of Tea!
TEA RECIPES
We’ve got Black, Green, White, and Herbal.
There are times, however, when we have to forbid ourselves from having caffeine, on those days a good Rooibos or Ginger Tea can provide an excellent start for the day.
BLACK TEA RECIPES:
I’m not usually a fan of Assam black teas. Often this type of tea has the malty consistency of Guiness to me, and I gave up drinking Guiness for breakfast a long time ago. Unfortunately most, if not every, black tea we get in the states is of the Assam variety. Most blended teas are OK, but usually not as strong. Some examples of brands that are blends are Lipton, Tetley, Red Label & WaghBakri. Lipton sells a Darjeeling, but it’s a bit pricey. Darjeeling is thinner and has a more fruity taste. I’m very particular to Nilgiri tea, the kind that grows in south indian mountains, but it’s hard to get. I have to have someone in South India mail me a special package when I really want some.
For most people, however, Assam tea is great and often a preferred choice. I suggest trying out a variety of different types and making a personal decision on what you like.
NOW, here’s the deal and the catch: I use LOOSE tea. I try to stay away from teabags unless I’m in a sad hurry, or there is nothing else available. I’m also going to explain the preparation of boiling tea that I learned from my Father (with my own additions of course). Notice I said BOIL, not steep.
Also, unless you’re in the middle of nowhere and cannot get access to ethnic grocers, I wouldn’t bother with teas from fancy stores. Their tea appears to often be TWELVE times the price and not as good. It sometimes appears to me that tea shops pull scams against non-Asians. A premium, really good, tea should cost less per pound than coffee. That’s right!! So feel free to march into your nearest Indian store and grab or ask them for some WaghBakri brand tea. If they don’t have that, pick up some Red Label.
You’ll have an orgasm when you taste these and realize how so many people have been scammed out of their money by buying in places where Asians don’t shop.
BTW: A little non sequiter, avoid saying the phrase “Chai Tea” in front of anyone Indian.
It puts a big sign above your head that says
“IGNORANT – please sell me a bridge!”
Chai means tea. “Chai Tea” is redundant, and it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever to ask for some “tea tea.” If I owned a store and someone came in using the phrase “Chai Tea,”
I’d probably get away with selling him/her my oldest & crappiest bag for a hundred dollars an ounce more than it’s worth because she/
he just revealed to me that they won’t know the difference (and may even subsequently thank me about it later like a fool).
OK, back to the Black Tea Recipes: PLAIN, how my Dad drinks it: Traditionally we should be making tea by boiling a pot of water, and measuring out the tea, adding milk, and some more time consuming instructions ad nauseum. If you have time to do all of that, than you probably shouldn’t be complaining about giving yourself 3 hours of quiet time every morning. In this day and age, it’s best not to be afraid of our microwaves.
When microwaving, we want to make sure our tea is boiling. The trick to really good tea when done traditionally is to bring the ingredients (including the tea and other liquids) to a BOIL, and letting it boil for as long as you can before it spills over.
PLAIN BLACK TEA:
• 1 Very Large Pyrex/glass measuring cup
• 1 TBSP of tea (preferably precut in granules)
• ½ CUP of water
• ½ CUP of skim milk (or soy, or almond, etc.)
• 1 strainer
• 1 mug
Mix tea, water, and milk into the Pyrex and microwave for at least 3 minutes (you want it to boil but not overflow, you may have to do 4 or 5
minutes). Carefully remove from the microwave, stir a bit, then strain into your mug. ENJOY!
With all of these tea recipes, you can add sweetener to taste, there’s nothing wrong with that. All though, if I catch you doing it I’ll probably call you nasty. But, to each his own.
If you’ve never had tea made this way before, then you’re welcome J. Aside from the fantastic flavor, each sip will safely raise your glutamate, serotonin, and adrenaline levels in an intense, smooth, and seemingly magical way.
MASALA BLACK
You can buy Tea Masala (spices) at the Indian store where you bought your tea, but you can also make your own by throwing in random amounts of raw spice ingredients. The core ingredients of a good Masala are cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, black pepper, white pepper, and cinnamon.
I have an Aunt who jokes that her tea looks like vegetable soup, but you know what? It’s FANTASTIC. This same aunt however instructs that you should add a pinch of masala powder to each pot of tea. I add a full teaspoon. A pinch of anything is not going to satisfy the all-or-nothing rocker.
MASALA BLACK TEA:
• 1 Very Large Pyrex/Glass Measuring Cup
• 1 TBSP of Tea (preferably precut in granules)
• ½ CUP of water
• ½ CUP of skim milk (or soy, or almond, etc.)
• 1 TSP. of Masala (spices)
• 1 strainer
• 1 mug
Mix tea, water, spices, and milk into the Pyrex and microwave for at least 3 minutes (remember you want it to boil but not overflow, you may have to do 4 or 5 minutes).
Carefully remove from the microwave, stir a bit, then strain into your mug. ENJOY!
SIMPLE GINGER BLACK SPICE
My favorite morning kick! Now, I don’t use ginger powder too often. Here’s a trick I learned form an uncle of mine in Jersey: Buy a whole lot of ginger root from the store, cut it into 1 to 2-inch pieces and freeze it. You can grate them by hand, but I drop the frozen chunks into a blender and pulverize them into a cold powder. Then I store that frozen powder in the freezer. Now, every morning you can just chip away at that powder a bit and grab an easy spoon full of
“ginger dust” to add to anything you want.
YOU’LL NEED:
• 1 Very Large Pyrex/glass measuring cup
• 1 TBSP of tea (preferably precut in granules)
• ½ CUP of water
• ½ CUP of skim milk (or soy, or almond, etc.)
• A LOT of ginger (to taste, but a lot)
• ¼ TSP. of cayenne pepper
• 1 strainer
• 1 mug
Mix tea, water, ginger, pepper, and milk into the Pyrex and microwave for at least 3 minutes (you want it to boil, you may have to do 4 or 5
minutes). Carefully remove from the microwave, stir a bit, then strain into your mug. ENJOY!
Now that’s a good tea!!!!
GREEN & WHITE TEAS
In this section, note that I will be providing Green tea recipes, but green tea can be substituted for white tea at any point to make White Tea recipes.
Hope that makes sense. Green teas are pretty much only available in full leaf or powder form.
My favorite is Gyokuro, but it has a harsh come down/crash. A good Sencha is just fine. Matcha is even better. Matcha is available in a powdered form that tastes fantastic.
The first time I got hooked on a really strong Matcha was in Tokyo. A really hot local girl decided to take me out on a date and show me around town (funny how many stories start out this way isn’t it?) and one of the our stops that she planned was a tea tasting. I remember it was raining, as it so often does in Tokyo during summer, and we dropped our umbrella into the little canister in the front of the tea shop as we walked in.
Some words were exchanged in japanese with the shopkeep and we were both escorted upstairs to a pretty oldschool looking, all wood room. It sort of resembled a dance studio crossed with an attic, to give you a feel of the atmosphere. An older lady came out from behind a curtain and began to demonstrate the ‘proper’
way to mix up a cup of Matcha.
Next to her was a pile of powdered tea and a very large pot of steaming water with a ladel in it. She put some of the deeply colored green powder into a bowl, ladeled in two servings of hot water, and reached for a tiny wooden brush and literally began scrubbing the Matcha powder and water in the bowl with quick circular motions until the drink resembled a thick, deep green paint.
Once she was done it was our turn, and we practiced cup by cup until we got it right.
That Matcha was the strongest and most spectacular green tea experience I’ve ever had and I’ve been chasing the green tea dragon ever since. Each sip put out some sort of caffeine and antioxidant body buzz and really got the blood flowing.
Ladies, if you want get a guy aroused then taking him out to get high on lots of green tea is absolutely the way to go. Works on me every time ;).
PLAIN GREEN TEA
Now, I put milk in just about every tea I drink.
“Flat White” the style is called. Some don’t like milk in their green tea, you’ll want to take your tastes into consideration.
Green & White tea should be steeped versus the boil method previously described for black tea. Another hot girl in Tokyo (seriously, the city is filled with them) taught me that you want to bring your water to just shy of the point of boiling, and then throw in your tea. Also, unlike at many Chinese Dim Sum restaurants, you’re probably not going to want to steep the tea for longer than 1 min. You can remove the leaves and resuse them once.
Ryba and I have a different approach. We like green tea when we’re writing and recording A&A albums, and we like it really bitter and strong!!!! Therefore, we let it steep. The longer it steeps the more bitter it gets, the stronger it gets, & the better it gets (traditional japanese tea connoisseurs are throwing up and shaking at the thought of this right now).
PLAIN GREEN TEA (leaves)
You’ll need:
• A FISTFUL of tea leaves
• A POT of water
The above measurements are relative of course
;). Heat the water to boil or near boil, throw in your tea leaves. Strain at the time interval deemed by your taste.
PLAIN GREEN TEA (powdered)
• 2 TSP. of powdered green tea (preferably Matcha)
• ½ CUP of water
• ½ CUP of milk
• 2 mugs
In the first mug, throw in the powdered tea. In the secong mug, microwave the water. Slowly add the hot water to the tea in the other mug while vigorously stirring the tea as the water comes in (preferably with a fork or a wooden tea brush). The more stirring you do, the more flavor will emerge. The tea “brush” is best for this job, but let’s face it, most of us have spoons and forks. Beat that tea like an egg, then add the milk. Feel free to steam the milk before you add it to get a hot Matcha Latte. ENJOY!
MASALA GREEN TEA
• 1 Pot
• 1 TBSP of Tea (powdered OR a Fistful of leaves)
• ½ CUP of water
• ½ CUP of skim milk (or soy, or almond, etc.)
• 1 TSP. of Masala (spices)
• 1 strainer
• 2 mug
Boil/Near Boil water in the pot, add tea and spices. Steep to taste, then strain into mug. Add milk.
Now that’s a good tea!!!!
HERBAL TEAS
ROOIBOS:
Rooibos, or African Red Bush, is actually a member of the legume family. The plant has broom-like leaves.
According to Wikipedia, “Rooibos is becoming more popular in Western countries particularly among health-conscious consumers, due to its high level of antioxidants such as aspalathin and nothofagin, its lack of caffeine, and its low tannin levels compared to fully oxidized black tea or unoxidized green tea leaves. Rooibos also contains a number of phenolic compounds, including flavanols, flavones, flavanones, and dihydrochalcones.
Rooibos is purported to assist with nervous tension, allergies and digestive problems.
Traditional medicinal uses of rooibos in South Africa include alleviating infantile colic, allergies, asthma and dermatological problems.”
Rooibos tea is OK as a tea bag. There’s nothing wrong with following the instructions on the box.
I like to add vanilla bean (and milk of course) to my red tea.
“In South Africa it is common to drink rooibos tea without milk, but instead with a slice of lemon and sugar or honey to sweeten. The flavour of rooibos tea is often described as being naturally sweet (without sugar added) and slightly nutty.
Rooibos can be prepared in the same manner as black tea, and this is the most common method.
Several coffee shops in South Africa have recently begun to sell “red espresso”, which is concentrated rooibos served and presented in the style of ordinary espresso. This has given rise to rooibos-based variations of coffee drinks such as red lattes and red cappuccinos. Iced tea made from rooibos has recently been introduced in South Africa, Australia, and in the United States.” (wikipedia.org).
GINGER TEA:
I drink this tea for the amazing taste, but it actually has health benefits of easing the stomach and aiding digestion, reducing pain, and relaxing the body while being a stimulating thermogenic at the same time.
For a good ginger tea you can grate fresh, but I get the best results by using the frozen ginger powder which is prepared in advance as instructed in one of the previous sections.
Ginger has seriously scored itself as one my favorite items in the kitchen.
YOU’LL NEED:
• 1 Very Large Pyrex/glass measuring cup
• 1 TSP of black pepper
• ½ CUP of water
• ½ CUP of skim milk (or soy, or almond, etc.)
• A LOT of ginger (to taste, but a lot)
• ¼ TSP. of cayenne pepper
• 1 strainer
• 1 mug
Mix tea, water, ginger, pepper, and milk into the Pyrex and microwave for at least 3 minutes (you want it to boil, you may have to do 4 or 5
minutes).
Carefully remove from the microwave, stir a bit, then strain into your mug. ENJOY!
In fact, I’m going to take a break and make myself a cup of this right now! I’ll see you next chapter.
FOOD
“The Belly and the Members
One fine day it occurred to the Members of the Body that they were doing all the work and the Belly was having all the food. So they held a meeting, and after a long discussion, decided to strike work till the Belly consented to take its proper share of the work.
So for a day or two, the Hands refused to take the food, the Mouth refused to receive it, and the Teeth had no work to do. But after a day or two the Members began to find that they themselves were not in a very active condition: the Hands could hardly move, and the Mouth was all parched and dry, while the Legs were unable to support the rest.
So thus