cooks at home
AGING GRACEFULLY
Supplement entrepreneur walks the talk.
WRITTEN BY ANN LINDEMANN
PHOTOS BY JAMIE KINGHAM
Many Tahoe residents strive to live healthy, age-defying lifestyles, but Nathan Hamilton, 48, has more skin in the game than most. Hamilton is the president of Incline Village, Nev.-based Juvenon, a national supplements company that is dedicated to healthy aging.
A longtime Bay Area biotech entrepreneur, Hamilton and his wife, Courtney, packed up their young family in 2005 and moved to Tahoe.
“By 2005, we realized that technology was such that we could live wherever,” he recalls. “I also realized that I could live 10 years longer if I changed my attitude, dedicating myself to health and wellness as opposed to money-making schemes.”
At about this time, Hamilton made a fortuitous connection with University of California, Berkeley biochemist Bruce Ames. This noted scientist discovered a natural compound that improves cellular energy and helps prevent premature aging. This supplement, dubbed Juvenon, now is the namesake of the company.
“We have an understanding of why people prematurely age,” Hamilton explains. “I try to do all the things that I tell others to do, including not only taking Juvenon, but also exercising, intermittent fasting, and eating nine servings of vegetables a day.”
However, as a father of three active, and sometimes picky, daughters — Caitlin, 13; Carly, 12; and Chloe, 9 — Hamilton has his work cut out for him in the kitchen.
“One of our daughters only eats white food!” Hamilton says, only half-joking.
Still, the Hamilton house rules include taking at least a bite of everything and lending a hand in the kitchen by cooking meals on a weekly basis.
“I think it’s an important life skill,” he says. “If you’re not going to eat processed food, you’ve got to learn how to cook.”
To further cajole his children into healthy eating, Hamilton aims to make it tasty. One such meal is Kobe-style sliders featuring grass-fed beef from Pilot Brands. Made from free-range, New Zealand Wagyu beef, these youth-friendly, two-ounce sliders are rich in healthy fat.
Hamilton likes to offer a tempting aioli topping and caramelized onions for the sliders. To sneak in some healthy veggies, he pairs the burgers with baked sweet potato fries, and sometimes Brussels sprouts.
Hamilton realizes that healthy aging is all about balance, and though he believes Juvenon can add five healthy years to people’s lives, he knows there’s more to aging gracefully.
“Not everyone is going to buy our product,” he says, “so I encourage those people to follow proven healthy lifestyle tweaks that can help them age better.”
Frequent edible Reno-Tahoe writer Ann Lindemann had considered a meatless 2017 resolution, but then she tried Nathan Hamilton’s absolutely delectable, juicy sliders. Well, maybe next year?
Resources
Juvenon Juvenon.com
Pilot Brands — Pasture-perfect meats Pilotbrands.com
Recipes
Grass-fed Kobe Beef Sliders With Tarragon Aioli and Caramelized Onions
(courtesy of Nathan Hamilton. Makes 20 sliders)
4 medium onions
2 egg yolks
½ cup fresh tarragon, minced
1⅔ cups mild olive oil (for aioli)
¼ cup Champagne vinegar
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil/clarified butter (to brush on buns)
Small slider buns or rolls
Caramelized onions
Slice onions into ¼-inch slices. Coat bottom of wide pan or Dutch oven with olive oil and heat on medium-high. Add onions. Turn heat down to medium. Cook 20 to 30 minutes before stirring. Essentially, you want to brown an entire layer of onions before stirring.
Next, try to flip onions. The objective is to keep evenly browning and heating onions. Flip/stir a few times more. Within 1 hour, onions should be perfectly browned.
Tarragon aioli
Add egg yolks, garlic, vinegar, and salt to food processor. Pulse until everything is chopped and egg is frothy. With food processor running, slowly add oil until mixture is thick. Add minced tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste.
Burgers
If using Pilot Brands burgers, simply remove from box and grill. If pan frying, use high-heat-tolerant oil such as grapeseed or peanut. Cook on high for a couple minutes on each side to get a nice sear.
Presentation
Cut buns and brush with clarified butter or olive oil and grill or toast until golden. Spread one side of each bun generously with aioli. Then, add grilled burger and some caramelized onions. Enjoy!
