Shredded Mexican Chicken

This dish was inspired when I was looking for a quick and easy meal that could feed a lot of people - my current go to dish if I'm having a party or going to one is to make a crock pot of Paleo friendly pulled pork.  If you're going to a non-paleo place you can bring along some small rolls and you can eat your pork and know that it's 100% Paleo and everyone is content.  I've been on a Mexican kick lately, had just bought a family pack of chicken and decided that I would tackle creating a slow cooked shredded chicken dish.



What I put in the crock pot (other than the chicken)



 Ingredients:

• 8 chicken breasts
• 1 large onion
• 1 large red pepper
• 2 large green peppers
• 1 jar of Trader Joe's Salsa Verde
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (no sugar added!)
• 1/2 - 1 cup of chicken broth
• 2 - 3 tsp Mexican chili powder
• 2 - 3 tsp Cumin
• 2-3 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• Sprinkle of red pepper falkes (optional)
• Salt & Pepper

Add everything into a crockpot or slow cooker (chop the veggies please!) and then cook on low for 6 hours.  The result = some delicious shredded chicken!  It has a bit of heat, if you're not a cayenne pepper person you can sub a mild hot pepper or some red pepper flakes instead.  I'm sensitive to cayenne and felt like this packed a little heat, but others that ate it thought it was delicious!

What dinner looked like the first night

I ate it along with a plate full of sauteed kale, but you could also eat these in lettuce wraps.  If you do dairy, some cheese on top would have been delicious, also a bit of guacamole or diced avocado on top would be a nice cooling complement to the slight heat of the Mexican chicken.

Paleo Spaghetti

Autumn is officially here and so are all of the yummy winter squashes.  Here is a great and easy recipe for those of you that are missing pasta - you can get spaghetti squash almost everywhere right now, I got a great deal at the farmers market a few weeks ago where each squash was only 75 cents!  This is a dish that is great to reheat, take to work for lunch, or have for breakfast if you're so inclined.  It's easy to do so give it a try - no excuses!

Roasted Spaghetti Squash - Paleo Spaghetti


Heat oven to 400 degrees and put a halved, seeded spaghetti squash in a baking dish or baking pan, lightly coated with coconut oil. I always put mine face down, so that the inside of the squash is on the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, remove and let cool. Once cool, use a fork to scrape the squash out from the shell, it will have a "spaghetti" like consistency.

To save time you can also half and seed the squash, and cook in the microwave for 6 to 8 minutes. Follow the same process to scrape the squash out.  For this recipe where I took the pictures we cooked the squash on the plate in the microwave instead of in the oven.

Healthy Living Principle #5: Eat More Fat

Welcome back to my Principles of Health Series, to refresh yourself on numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 check the linked blog posts.  Today we're talking fat and it's importance in your diet.  Newsflash - Fat doesn't make you FAT, it's not 'artery clogging,' and it won't raise your cholesterol.  

So where did the idea that Fat makes you FAT come about?  In summary it started in the 1960s with a study by Ancel Keys called "The Seven Countries Study" in short he had some good science but no convincing results, so he selected data that support his hypothesis that eating fat makes you fat and the myth was born.  The study was sponsored by the US government and adopted into food policy and eventually the food pyramid.  From here the fear of fat was born, and along with that fear, a food industry focused on removing fat from its food source and creating low fat versions of common foods and even working to create new fats to replace the horrible 'saturated' fat that was thought to clog arteries and lead to heart disease. 

Now if you're not supposed to be afraid of fat anymore, what types of fat should you focus on adding back into your diet, and why?

What types of fat should I eat?

Grilled Chicken Kabobs

What's for dinner?  I ask myself that question often, almost everyday actually.  This weekend we decided to make the most of the summer weather (hitting 80 in October is definitely summer weather when you live in the north east) and make some grilled chicken kabobs.  It was really easy and turned out delicious.

What you need:

• 1 - 2 pounds of chicken thighs
• 1 large green bell pepper
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 large onion
• Minced garlic
• Olive Oil
• Oregano
• Salt and Pepper
• Kabob Skewers - wooden or metal

Interview with Philadelphia CowShare

I've had many great experiences with Philadelphia CowShare, in fact they have been providing me with my supply of grassfed meat for the past 6 months thanks to a 1/8th share and a 1/16th - I shared 1/8th with someone else!

Eating higher quality foods and especially ones that are local is high on my list of things to do to be healthier. I love the variety of what you get with the CowShare program and it's affordability. To learn more about this awesome company that connects people with locally raised grassfed beef, I reached out to Jessica Moore, owner of Philadelphia CowShare.

 What is Philly CowShare?
Jessica Moore (JM): Philadelphia CowShare is a business that specializes in locally, sustainably raised animal proteins. We support great farms by buying their meat and delivering it to the people who want the benefits of buying directly from farms and the convenience of home delivery.


What areas do you serve?
JM: We deliver to the larger Philadelphia Metro Area including roughly 25 miles from City Hall and 75 miles from Lancaster County. We can deliver to areas slightly outside this boundary for an extra charge.


Are you at farmer’s markets?
JM: Philadelphia CowShare isn’t currently operating at any farmer’s markets; most Philadelphia-area markets prefer to have farmers selling directly to consumers. Since we partner with farmers who would rather farm than market and sell, we don’t get the chance to sell at most markets. You can sample a selection of our cuts at some neighborhood markets including Milk and Honey, Fu-Wah, and Mariposa in West Philly and Green Aisle Market in South Philly.


Why should I use Philly CowShare?
JM: There are many reasons our customers buy our CowShares. It is a convenient way to get great tasting, healthy and lean, grassfed beef. The beef goes from the farm to the butcher and is then delivered directly to you. The bundle of beef, called a “CowShare”, is designed for seasonal cooking. Eaten 2 lbs per week, an Eighth CowShare will last roughly 6 months. Our method of packaging the beef also uses the entire animal, reduces waste, and promotes conscious eating. In addition, the money you pay for your beef stays in our region and supports the local economy.

How are your cows raised?
JM: All our cows are raised on pasture and do not receive growth hormones, steroids, or antibiotics. The farms use grazing techniques such as rotational or intensive grazing to promote healthy weight gain from the cow’s natural diet. In the winter months, cows eat hay that is often produced right on the farm. Just as we must manage our health, a beef cattle farmer must manage the health of the soil, promoting rich, nutritious grass growth and the health of the animals grazing the land. The location of the farm and the weather have a lot of influence on the techniques a farmer uses to raise cattle.

New Paleo Resource: Eat to Evolve

I'd like to introduce those of you that live in the Philly or Main Line Area to a new local Paleo resource, Eat to Evolve.  For those of you that are Paleo or thinking about going Paleo this could be a great resource for you.  Eat to Evolve focuses on delivering high quality Paleo meals to your door - so for those of you that want to try Paleo but can't cook or don't have the time...this could be the perfect solution for you.

Roger Dickerman is owner and trainer at the "anti-gym" Relentless Fitness Studio located in Center City Philadelphia on 10th Street between Locust and Spruce.  Roger is passionate about fitness and about the fuel that you put in your body to create optimal fitness.  His passion is contagious, and when you talk with him and work with him you'll feel the energy and passion that he has to help you reach optimal health.  He believes that you are in control of you, but realistically wants to help you reach that best version of you through training and diet. He had a vision to help make Paleo Foods more accessible and easier to find in the main stream.  He partnered with JPM Catering and Main Line Delivery to bring his vision of accessible Paleo food that can be conveniently delivered to your door! 

Check out my interview with Roger sharing more about what Eat to Evolve is, and be sure to check out their website.

What is Eat to Evolve in 25 words or less?

RD: Philadelphia-based healthy fresh food delivery service emphasizing freshness, quality, and taste. Customers place orders by Thursday to receive food for the entire week on Monday.

Take a look at some of our foods pictured here:

Sunday Cooking

I took advantage of everyone recovering from the flooding Post Hurricane Irene to do some Sunday cooking to get ready for the week.  So what did I make?

• Egg Cassarole (for 2 to eat all week for breakfast)
• Sweet Potatoes (for dinners and post workout)
• Pot Roast (Sunday Dinner and Monday Dinner)



Sunday Cooking!



I did all of this cooking at the same time, so that while my Pot Roast is cooking on the stove, I'm chopping up my sweet potatoes.  For the first 15 mins of cooking the sweet potatoes I'm chopping the veggies and cracking eggs for the egg cassarole.  After everything is in the oven/cooking on the stove then I clean up everything I used to prepare.  I like cooking, and when I'm cooking I tend to listen to podcasts - I'm a big Robb Wolf fan, and to me there is nothing better than cooking up a whole bunch of Paleo goodies while listening to Robb Wolf (I know I'm a bit of a nutrition-dork!).

 

My New Favorite Paleo Stuff!

All of you that are part of the Paleo community know how important it is to support it, in one of my posts a few weeks ago I talked about how Paleo is becoming more and more mainsteam.  A few weeks ago was the first Ancestral Health Symposium, AHS, which was a Paleo/Primal focused gathering of all of the amazing minds that are helping to push the movement forward and share all of the benefits of a Paleo life. 

The great news is that the AHS was a success and they are already planning the next one for 2012, and the even better news for me is that instead of it being out in California again, 2012 is going to be on the east coast.  There was so much amazing information shared in AHS and I wanted to share with you how you can go and watch the recorded lectures here.  I am working on watching them all, but take a look and see what's interesting to you.  I'm already a huge a fan of Robb Wolf, Mark Sission, the Whole 9, and Nell Stephenson (who have videos that you can watch from the AHS as well as their own blogs and books) but I also learned about a lot of other bloggers that are out there in Paleo land that are doing great work.  I wanted to share some of these new resources with you, they'll be added to my list of blogs as well.

The Food Lover's Pirmal Palate - is written by an amazing couple that is 100% (well basically) Paleo, and they are based in PA!  They are on the other end of the state, but reading their blog and learning more about their cookbook that is currently on Pre-Release at Amazon.com has left me feeling instantly connected with them.  Take a look at their blog and what they are doing, and definitely reserve a copy of their cookbook today - the images and recipes look amazing and staying true to the Paleo theme should be easy to make.  I pre-ordered my copy already, grab yours too.

CaveGirl Eats - another close to home blogger who works out at Crossfit Tribe, which for those who don't know is right over the bridge in NJ and is the home gym of Steve's Club.  She's got a great perspective, sense of humor, and takes Paleo beyond just food and also addresses how you can be more Paleo with your body care!  I've added CaveGril Eats to my regular blog roll and am hoping to run into her at one of the many Crossfit events coming up this fall.

A few more blogs that landed on my radar from the AHS are Nom Nom Paleo and FitBomb, add these guys to your reading list and let me know what you like!  What else do you read that you think I should be checking out?

Paleo is reaching its Tipping Point

The Paleo Diet is reaching its tipping point. You know that critical point that Malcom Gladwell talks about in his book? The movement started to gain momentum last year when I realized that a few of my co-workers were in a transformational program addressing workouts and nutrition - and guess what their nutrition plan was...yup basically Paleo. Next thing I knew 10 or more people I worked with were changing their diet to Paleo, Robb Wolf released his book The Paleo Solution and it made the New York Times Best Seller List, Art DeVaney and Robb Wolf were featured on Nightline, Paleo is listed on the US News report about diets, and this week Yahoo featured an article titled "Paleo Diet: Smart eating or latest fad?" "Paleo Diet: Smart eating or latest fad?"*

Image used in the Paleo article by Getty Images - Please note: baby corn = not Paleo and the sauce that is covering the ribs is probably not Paleo either

 

Why is Paleo on the tipping point? Simple answer: because it works and people are seeing results. They are feeling better, experiencing more energy, improving their body compesition, but most importantly they are noticing that they are getting clincially healthier too. Paleo practitioners are reducing inflammation in their body and noticing that they don't have headaches anymore. They are healing their gut which has been damaged by the constant onslaught of anti-nutrients that are found in grains, legumes, and dairy, and they are reducing their risk of lifestyle diseases (or syndrome X as it's also called) like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Healthy Living Principle #3 - Think Seasonally



Flickr: All rights reserved by fatboydon

To follow up Healthy Living Principles #1 and #2, #3 is Think Seasonally. What does "think seasonally" mean?  When you are choosing your fruits and vegetables, choose the majority of what you're eating based on those foods that are in season where you live.  Some foods are in season "year round" so feel free to enjoy them year round When you eat seasonal foods, they are more likely to be locally grown (since the food is in season where you are) and picked closer to their peak of ripeness verses picked early and ripened with gas or have color added so that the food looks more appetizing.  When you are eating foods that travel less distance, and that are picked closer to their peak you are getting a more nutritious product, and increasing the nutrients for your dollar.  Another great thing about eating seasonally is that it tends to be cheaper: blueberries are less expensive in July when they are in season and you can get them from New Jersey (for those of us on the East Coast) verses in January when you have to eat ones that are imported from a warmer climate where they can still be grown.  On that note, foods that are seasonal and local travel less, so in addition to generally being more nutritious and less expensive they are also better for the environment (less travel to get to you) and can help support your local farmers.



How do you know what foods are seasonal, the easiest way is to go to a farmer's market, find one local to you today here and see what they have.  Most farmer's markets source their products from LOCAL farmers, which means that you'll be getting seasonal produce.

Paleo in US News Report

Ok I'm a little late to the table on this, but I still wanted to share some of my thoughts.  US News released a report ranking the Best Overall Diets and the good news is that the Paleo diet is included on the list.  The bad news is that it's last...my blink reaction to the list is that I want to see the ranking criteria.  Any study or report that includes the Slim Fast Diet and Medi Fast Diet (which feature consuming fortified supplements instead of eating actual food) on the list of the best diets automatically raises a flag for me. 

The Top 20 Best Diets....according to US News:
1. DASH Diet
2. Mediterranean Diet
2. TLC Diet
2. Weight Watchers Diet
5. Mayo Clinic Diet
5. Volumetric Diet
7. Jenny Craig Diet
8. Ornish Diet
9. Vegetarian Diet
10. Slim Fast Diet
11. Nutrisystem Diet
12. Vegan Diet
13. South Beach Diet
14. Eco Atkins Diet
14. Zone Diet
16. Glycemic-Index Diet
16. Medifast Diet
18. Raw Foods Diet
19. Atkins Diet
20. Paleo Diet

Memorial Day WOD

Breakfast this morning: red swiss chard, nitrate free bacon, 2 farm eggs, and some cherry tomatoes.  This was the perfect breakfast to fuel my memorial day hero WOD at Crossfit KoP.

Murph

1 mile run

100 pull ups

200 push ups

300 squats

1 mile run

*Women 10# weight vest, Men 20# weight vest

This was the first time attempting Murph, and I decided to try it Rx (as prescribed) above, which meant wearing the 10# weight vest.  Today was hot too, it was at least 80 degrees and sunny, great weather for sunbathing not so great for running in a weight vest.  This workout was mentally and physically tough, I took Coach Jason's recommendation and tackled the workout as the a mile run sandwiching 20 rounds of Cindy (5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 squats).  Next time I do this, I would keep the same rep scheme but I'm remembering to tape my hands.  I didn't realize how much harder the extra 10#s would be on my hands on the pull ups!  This was a tough workout for me and the first one I did with a weight vest.  I finished in 48 minutes and change, looks like next time I attempt this I have plenty of room for improvement.

I was honored to do this Hero WOD on Memorial Day weekend.  Thanks to all our heroes, celebrated and un-named, that keep us safe!

What Does Healthy Mean?

One question I frequently get asked is "Is this healthy?" -- Which I actually find a difficult question to answer. I usually want to respond with, it depends... which is not what the person asking me the question is expecting to hear.  

For example, last week I was at a team event where we were traipsing around Philadelphia on an adventure scavenger hunt. One task on our quest for points was to find a healthy snack and take a picture of the team enjoying it. We ducked into a small convenience store in Old City, and some members on the team grabbed two granola bars listed "high in fiber" and we snapped a picture -- so that's a healthy snack, right? Back to my initial gut response to the question, it depends...


The definition of what is healthy depends, in some ways, on what you individually are doing with your food and lifestyle choices, what your current state of health is, and what your health goals are. However, there are some universal principles of healthy living that can apply to everyone - regardless of what type of food choices you follow - strict Paleo, Vegetarian, Macrobiotic, Raw foodie, Mediterranean, South Beach, or one of many other combinations and your current state of health (e.g., perfect health, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, an autoimmune disease, etc). I would like to share 10 Principles of Health with you as things that you can incorporate into your life to improve your overall health - no matter who you are.

Seafood Medley Recipe

Following a Paleo lifestyle involves a big committment to taking the time to cook and prepare your food.  Cooking should be fun, but I often find myself in a rut, making the same things over and over again.  I recently discovered a seafood medley at Trader Joe's which was under $8 and contained shrimp, scallops, and calamari.  I made this dinner that felt gourmet but without any of the fuss or price.  Try it out from your local TJ's, I served it with sauteed spinach but you could also serve over spaghetti squash to stretch it a little farther.  It served 2, but with more substantial sides you could stretch this to serve 4.



What's for dinner at your house?

Seafood Medley

• 1 bag of Trader Joe’s Seafood Medley (shrimp, scallops, and calamari)
• 1 Shallot, sliced
• 3 Cloves of Garlic, minced or finely chopped
• Splash of white wine and/or chicken broth
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Sautéed Spinach

•   Bag of baby spinach
• 1 pound of cremini mushrooms (baby portabellas)
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Olive Oil
• 1 clove garlic
• Salt and Pepper to Taste 

In a shallow pan, add about olive oil, minced garlic, and sliced shallots. Cook for a few minutes until the garlic become fragrant and then shallots start to become translucent. Add the defrosted seafood medley, white wine, and chicken broth (depending on how much ‘sauce’ you want) and stir constantly. Cook for about 5 to 8 minutes until the seafood is fully cooked. Turn off heat and cover until spinach is ready.

In a second pan, heat olive oil and garlic, and add sliced cremini mushrooms. Cook for about 4 minutes, until the mushrooms begin to soften. Add spinach, salt, pepper, and cherry tomatoes halved. Cook until all of the spinach is wilted.

Plate, serve, and enjoy!

Food as Medicine

"Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be thy food" Hippocrates

The idea of food as medicine has been around since ancient times, its funny how today we've completely disassociated the idea that food makes you feel good or bad, and that food has a direct impact on our health and how we feel everyday. 

Have you considered how foods make you feel - does caffeine perk you up but then make you jittery?  When you eat a donut or a big bowl of pasta do you feel good afterwards? How about more subtle things, like when you eat dairy do you experience that your skin breaks out a few days later, or that you wake up the next morning and are more congested than usual?  Food directly impacts how we feel and directly impacts our health.  Experimenting with how foods impact your body is a great way to determine what you want to eat for your optimal health.  Personally I think that whole foods make me feel best, and I've found that I operate and feel much better when I eat clean.

Check out this article, Spices and herbs that promote longevity on how spices and herbs can help improve your health.  One of my goals is health and longevity - e.g. to live a long time and be healthy for that time.  I'm always looking for ways to increase my longevity, like reducing stress and inflammation and varying my workouts.  I know that food directing impacts how you feel, but hadn't thought about things like spices and how they can help.  A few I found interesting in the article are that cinnamon can help lower blood sugar and that in addition to anti-nausea properties, "ginger is also thought to relieve the aches and pains of arthritis, headaches, sore muscles, and menstrual cramps." 

What new spice or spices are you going to add to your food? 

Optimal not Tolerable

Why do I make it a priority to cook most of my meals, to paleo-ize recipes, to pack lunches and snacks, and to go to the grocery store multiple times a week to keep up a steady supply of fresh foods?  It seems like a lot of work, and I feel like all I do at home anymore is cook, eat, and do dishes!  So why I do what I do, because I'm striving for optimal not tolerable.


What do I mean by optimal?  Think about it from the perspective of a race car - it's designed to run on high octane fuel.  If you put regular 87 in it you're putting in a "tolerable" fuel source.  The car will still run, but you're going to gunk up your engine and get poor performance out of the car.  When you put in the "optimal" fuel, high octane 93 or racing fuel, your car doesn't just run, but it runs optimally - you'll notice that it has great performance, it responds better, etc.  Your body responds the same way to what you put in it.  Anything with fat, carbs, and protein is considered food.  I believe Paleo foods are truly your optimal food source, based on the way your body breaks them down at a nutritional level and then how your body uses those nutrients to fuel your body and brain.


Tolerable Breakfast

Optimal Breakfast

It's true you can get fiber, vitamins, and minerals from grains, legumes, and dairy but these food groups are tolerated by your body and cause a lot of bad things like inflammation and gut irritation when you eat them. You can get the same vitamins, minerals, and fiber (and in larger quantities with more diversity) through eating more vegetables and fruits and eliminating the foods that your body tolerates and replacing them with ones that your body runs optimally on. Why would you want to put things into your body that are sub-optimal, if you are what you eat - I want to be putting optimal foods in so that I can achieve my best in everything I do.  Being sharper and more attentive at work, having better workouts and faster recovery, and overall having more energy to enjoy all the activities I do in my daily life.

One of the common questions or concerns about switching to a Paleo diet is that you will be missing out on essential vitamins and minerals: Where are you going to get your fiber? and What about calcium? are two of the most common questions I get. When you compare Paleo based meals to the "healthy" Standard American diet meals you will see that the Paleo meal is always higher in vitamins and minerals every time. You can get fiber naturally from eating whole fruits and vegetables. Calcium is a bit more complicated to understand, but you can get calcium from leafy green vegetables (like broccoli) and when you change to eating Paleo foods you better manage the acid/base balance that your body struggles to maintain - primarily through the leaching of calcium from your bones. Now do you understand how a nation that consumes so much dairy could also have a problem with osteoporosis.

The next time you make a food choice, think about what you are putting in your body - personally I'm going for the real, whole foods verses the newest flavor of cheerios which is claiming to have 20% of my daily recommended intake of fiber.  How much fiber do you think is in the veggies in my omelette or in the avacado...definately more than 20% RDA.

The Buzz Around Resistant Starch

Over the past few weeks I've seen this idea of "Resistant Starch, RS" in a variety of places - a friend at the gym told me that they saw it on TV and Rachel Ray was talking about how amazing Resistant Starch is, Health Magazine's Carb Lover's diet is based on the concept of RS, and then another friend sent me this Yahoo article, 8 reasons carbs can help you lose weight. I read through it and was appalled, here are the 8 reasons and my take on them.

1. Eating carbs makes you thin for life - they cite research that "the slimmest people also ate the most carbs, and the chubbiest ate the least"  There are no facts at all on how this study was set up, I don't trust it.

2. Carbs fill you up - they claim carbs are an appetite supressant, I don't agree.  Fat and Protein have much higher saitey and trigger leptin, the hormone that tells your brain that you're full.

3. Carbs curb your hunger - "According to researchers, when dieters are taken off a low-carb diet and shifted them to an approach that includes generous amounts of fiber and Resistant Starch foods, something wonderful happens: Within two days, the dieters' cravings go away" -- I don't even know where to start with this, what cravings, how low carb are the dieters, really 2 days and cravings go away - no credibility here.

4. Carbs control blood sugar and diabetes - Um no, controlling your blood sugar controls insulin which relates to decreased insulin sensitivty (this is bad).  The less insulin sensitive you are, the higher your risk of type 2 diabetes.  Fat and Protein have a much lower impact on blood sugar than carbs do and do not contribute to blood sugar spikes -- therefore not negatively impacting insulin sensitivity. So I don't agree that carbs can control your blood sugar or diabetes - since they cause decreased insulin sensitivity and blood sugar spikes.

5. Carbs speed up metabolism - article claims that RS speeds metabolism by not depleting muscle mass, but protein is the real muscle builder in your body so not sure about this claim, I don't think they have much to base this statement on.





6. Carbs blast belly fat - carbs are stored as fat when eaten in excess of immediate energy needs (hint this is easy to do when eating large amounts of carbs).  Belly or Abdominal fat specifically is also sepcifically a stress/cortisol issue which doesn't really tie back to carbs at all, I don't agree with this one either.

Cleaning out your pantry

Its approaching that time of year again when you start to see charities collect food for families in need for the upcoming holidays.  This year, I suggest you take a look into your pantry and think about what you can donate - but instead of giving away your can of beans, soup, and box of pasta and then replacing it - make it a challenge to be healthier and remove the package food that you know is not making you healthier from your repertoire for good. 

After you have made the commitment to change your food, to eat cleaner and healthier, you've probably noticed that when you're hungry you're reaching for something in the fridge or on the counter verses stored in a package in a cabinet in your kitchen.  So take the opportunity this season to say goodbye to all of the package foods that are sitting in your cabinets tempting you, and donate it to a local food drive.  If you don't have it around, then you are less likely to eat package foods.  I recently made a donation of pasta, pasta sauce, canned soups, canned beans, rice packets, and about 20 gluten containing bars to a local food charity in the Philadelphia area.  I am sad that food drives can only accept non-perishable packaged foods (which tend to make them unhealthy) but I was happy that I was able to give the food to someone instead of throwing it away.  Make cleaning out your pantry part of your commitment to becoming a healthier person or family today.

Mark's Daily Apple - Iron Chef Challenge

Those of you who have been following Mark’s Daily Apple’s 30 Day Primal Challenge will recognize this entry for his Primal Iron Chef contest. Mark challenged his readers to come up with a primal recipe a la the cooking show Iron Chef America.


Here are the details on the Contest: Primal Iron Chef from Mark’s website:

“Cue the dramatic music, take a bite of your favorite vegetable, steel your fiery gaze at the audience, because it’s time to play Iron Chef: Primal Edition!!! (hold for applause). Reader Nate came up with the idea for this one. For anyone not familiar with the popular Japanese import cooking show, chefs are tasked with creating an assortment of dishes that all include one secret ingredient. For the MDA version…

1. Create a recipe using the secret ingredient.

2. Write a step-by-step walk-through describing how to make the recipe in 1000 words or less.

3. Include pictures of the finished recipe as well as pictures showing the process.


SECRET INGREDIENT: COCONUT. In whatever form you choose”

3, 2, 1....Go! Keeping the timed theme of the Iron Chef show, for Iron Chef Primal addition my creation can be made in about 20 minutes. Now that you've changed you lifestyle to eat primal, what do you do with your ice cream maker?  For today’s challenge  I'll show you how to make a great primal dessert...

Coconut Ice Cream!

 

What you need: An ice cream maker and an already cold insert and a few primal ingredients that you may have on hand already. Coconut ice cream can be made simply with just coconut milk but it gets more exciting when you add a variety of ingredients - be creative with what you have around. In the past I've added unsweetened cocoa, strawberries, bananas, mango, bits of dark chocolate and various nuts to create different ice cream variations. Try one version and see what other flavor combinations you think would be delicious together.

Coconut-Banana-Almond Primal Ice Cream



Ingredients used for today's challenge



1 can of coconut milk

2 bananas (preferably frozen)

1/4c unsweetened coconut flakes

A handful of chopped almonds

Cinnamon for garnish (optional

 



Pour in coconut milk first



Turn the ice cream maker on, and immediately add the can of coconut milk already chilled if possible. Then add in the 1/4c of unsweetened coconut, it adds some additional texture to the ice cream and keeps the coconut flavor prominent. To freeze bananas, cut them into small pieces first and thread them on a wood skewer, put them in a baggie or container and stick them in the freezer. Keep these frozen bananas for a tasty frozen treat or to make things like smoothies and primal ice cream.  To use the frozen banana, take the banana off of the skewers and mash it up a little bit, to a consistency that you want in the ice cream. I like to mash them a bit so the flavor is incorporated throughout the ice cream instead of eating big chunks of banana mixed in. If your banana is fresh, you should mash it a little more since the banana isn’t already cold.







Mash and then add the frozen banana



Stir the ice cream liquid to incorporate the banana if necessary, and then let the machine do the work for about 15 minutes. You can pass this time preparing another dish, cleaning any dishes you just got dirty, or even squeezing in a few primal sprints outside!  You can serve this dessert to a group of primal eaters or to a group you are trying to convert, it has a great flavor and consistency and will especially appeal primal kids in the middle of summer.



Almost done, nice a creamy



At the 15 minute mark take a look at the consistency, it should be thickening up now looking more like whipped cream than like the liquid you started with. At this point, add the chopped almonds if you’re including them and then leave the ice cream in the maker for another 5 minutes (for a total of 20 minutes).

Turn off the ice cream maker, and scoop the fluffy coconut ice cream into 4 small bowls. Dust with cinnamon if you want to, and serve with a spoon and eat immediately. The final product looks and tastes delicious and is a special primal treat.

Makes 4 servings



Ready to eat!



Milk, Does the Body Good?

There are conflicting opinions when it comes to dairy; I mean, Milk does the body good right?  We live in a country that eats more calcium than any other population yet also as the highest occurrence of osteoporosis.  Something doesn't seem to add up in this scenario.  So let's break it down, do you need to have diary in your diet?  And if you remove it how do you get enough calcium and other vitamins - like Vitamin D that most milk is fortified with?

Milk and dairy products are made up of carbohydrates, fat, and protein like most other foods.  The carbohydrate in milk is Lactose, the protein is Casein, and the fat is Saturated fat.  Now that you know that eating fat doesn't make you fat, I hope you're reconsidering all the skim milk you've been consuming.  Even though I don't include dairy in my diet, I think that dairy is something that can be included in a paleo/primal lifestyle in moderation and from the right sources if it works for you - that's the most important point.  Ideally a Paleo diet that still included dairy would be raw milk straight off a farm.  A general rule of thumb is that the closer the dairy products are to their original state and the aninimals were to eating and living in their natural state the better quality of the product you're eating.