FULL NAME: Mariekson Julius Gregorius
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6'3", 205 lbs
BORN: February 18, 1990, in Amsterdam, Netherlands
POSITION: Shortstop
SIGNED: As an undrafted free agent in 2007
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION: Won the 2011 IBAF Baseball World Cup and was knighted, along with his teammates, in Curaçao
Back in Spring Training in 2010 I was feeling really tired, and I knew something was off. Your body lets you know when something isn’t right. Every time I ate red meat, it never felt good in my stomach. Sometimes I would even get sick. I had some tests done. To eliminate the problem, I had to cut out red meat. I don’t eat red meat at all anymore. For at least a month I was a vegetarian to get everything under control. Now, I’ve been eating mostly fish and chicken, which is what I love. I am from Curaçao, and that’s what I eat most of the time anyway.
My typical breakfast is egg whites and potatoes. Once in a while I'll have a yogurt.
My favorite fruit is strawberries, but they have to be all-natural, fresh, and organic from a farm stand. And melon too. My favorite green vegetables are asparagus, green beans, and broccoli, and I recently discovered that I also like spinach. I prefer eating my greens instead of juicing them.
My biggest meal of the day is my pregame meal, which is steamed rice with either salmon or chicken. Almost every day I also do a fresh fruit smoothie before the game. Sometimes I blend pineapple, strawberry, and kiwi, or kiwi, banana, and mango, or just mango or strawberry. I mix the fruit with almond milk and a little bit of ice.
For energy on the field, I drink a lot of water to stay hydrated because without a lot of water, my body isn’t going to function right. Once in a while before a game, I’ll have dark chocolate, almonds, or pistachios. They help give me energy throughout the game.
Back home I grill fish for dinner all the time. For example, when I cook salmon, I put honey and lemon on top, and then grill it. Or I cook chicken. Some guys ask why I only eat chicken and fish, and I explain that this is all my body can take. But I prepare the chicken and fish in a variety of ways. My favorite fish is the one I get back home. I don’t know what it would be called here, but back home it’s red fish, or as we call it, pisca cora.
I like photography and drawing because they keep me calm and let my mind get creative. I like going to beaches when I’m home, and swimming. It helps with muscle recovery and works the tiny muscles. And I relax with my family most of the time. I always try to be myself, be humble, and do things the right way.
SERVES: 2 // PREP: 10 minutes // COOK: 5 minutes
Impress your guests with this delish dairy-free spinach dip. Nutritional yeast is the star ingredient; it gives the dip a subtle nutty, cheesy flavor.
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
1 garlic clove, smashed
½ cup cooked cannellini beans (see this page)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1½ teaspoons nutritional yeast
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1½ cups packed chopped baby spinach
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1. In a small skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Transfer to a food processor along with the beans, lemon juice, olive oil, nutritional yeast, and red pepper flakes and pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed. Add the spinach and pulse until evenly incorporated, 20 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste and pulse again.
3. Serve with raw vegetables, such as carrots, cucumbers, celery, and radishes.
with Chard
SERVES: 2 // PREP: 15 minutes, plus marinating time // COOK: 20 minutes
This chicken dish requires little prep, and marinating the chicken the night before is a huge time saver. The steamed chard is a flavorful contrast, but kale, collards, or escarole work well too.
Peel from 1 orange, coarsely chopped (reserve the fruit for another use)
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
2 whole bone-in chicken breasts (about 1 to 1¼ pounds)
1½ teaspoons coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons raw honey
3 cups chopped Swiss chard (any color), tough stems removed first
1. In a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag, combine the orange peel, garlic, 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add the chicken and massage the mixture onto the chicken breasts. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the sesame seeds, lemon juice, remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil, honey, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. Preheat a grill to medium-high heat and brush the grates with the coconut oil. Remove the chicken from the bag, discarding the garlic and orange peel if desired. Lay the chicken, skin-side down, on the hot grill and cover. Sear the chicken on one side for 7 to 9 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Flip the chicken and cook for 10 to 12 minutes more, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F at the thickest end of the breast, avoiding the bone. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
4. In a saucepan fitted with a steamer basket, bring 1 inch of water to a boil. Put the chard in the basket, cover, and steam until just wilted, 15 to 20 seconds. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt.
5. Remove the chicken from the bone and cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices. Divide the chard between 2 plates, top with chicken, and drizzle the reserved lemon sesame sauce over top.
MAKES: 10 truffles // PREP: 10 minutes
Get all your essential nutrients plus mega deliciousness in just one bite. These highly addictive truffles incorporate two powerful ingredients: detoxifying chlorella and anti-aging, anti-inflammatory royal jelly.
¼ cup almond butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cacao powder
2 tablespoons raw honey
1 teaspoon chlorella powder
1 teaspoon chia seeds
½ teaspoon royal jelly
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon hemp hearts, for coating
1. In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the hemp hearts. Use the back of a spoon to drag the ingredients across the bottom of the bowl to mix well.
2. Once the ingredients are fully incorporated, use a #100 scoop (slightly under 1 tablespoon) or your hands to portion the mixture into ten 1-inch balls.
3. Roll the balls in the hemp hearts. The truffles will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 months wrapped in wax paper and stored in an airtight container. If refrigerated, remove and serve at room temperature.
with Pistachio Granola
SERVES: 2 // PREP: 5 minutes
Young Thai coconut meat is the key ingredient in this creamy yogurt. Older coconuts have a hairy protective husk on the outside and the meat is more solid and firm. Whole young Thai coconuts are always wrapped in plastic and located in the refrigerator section of most supermarkets. They can be cut open to scoop out the soft, fleshy meat. And some specialty grocers stock prepackaged coconut meat in the frozen food section; simply let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
2 cups young Thai coconut meat, thawed if frozen
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
Probiotic powder from 4 probiotic capsules
⅔ cup Pistachio Granola (recipe follows)
In a high-powered blender, blend the coconut meat, lemon juice, probiotic powder, and 3 tablespoons water until smooth. Divide the coconut yogurt between 2 bowls and top each with about 1/3 cup of the granola. The yogurt will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
PISTACHIO GRANOLA
SERVES: 4 // PREP: 5 minutes // COOK: 15 minutes
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup coarsely chopped pistachios
¼ cup chopped dried papaya or dried pineapple
¼ cup dried blueberries
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick silicone mat.
2. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the honey and oil until they blend when you swirl the pot. Remove from the heat and mix in the nuts. Using a flexible spatula, scrape the mixture onto the silicone mat and spread evenly.
3. Bake until the nuts are browned and crisp, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately mix in the dried fruit.
4. Let the granola cool to room temperature on the baking sheet. Crumble into the desired size pieces and use for topping yogurt or oatmeal. Store any extra granola in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks.
