Cooking up a Paleo Storm

In between work and class projects I've some how found the time to read a few paleo books.  While I don't follow the paleo diet 100%, and Ryan certainly doesn't; most of our meals are fairly compliant.  As an NWW dietitian the diet we recommend is relatively close to paleo, but for many clients we still allow them to eat some bread or crackers, whole grains, beans, and dairy  if we feel their body/metabolism can handle it.  This is in contrast to people following a strict paleo diet who forgo all grains (except the occasional rice), beans and lentils, and dairy (except butter and cream).  One thing NWW and paleo have in common 100% is NO SUGAR!  Or at least keeping it very minimal.

Back to what I've read.  First up was It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig.  This was a great book.  They did a fantastic job describing insulin resistance and leaky gut in terms anyone can understand.  Their Whole30 diet challenge is a great way to get people to make changes and feel the difference.  Plus you can log onto their whole9life web page for more support and reading.  The writing style is inspiring, and keeps the reader engaged. But my favorite part are the meal planners.  Instead of several recipes, they provide a basic skill such as browning ground meat, and then give different veggie and spice options to add variety.  I've actually made copies of these for a couple of clients who were overwhelmed with cooking and getting bored with the few things they know how to cook.  While I have not made any of their one skillet meals yet, I was inspired to make picadillo for the first time in a long time.

Next up was Practical Paleo by   This is a big book.  Similar to ISWF, Practical Paleo starts out with an explanation of gut health, and hormone balance, and a few other topics.  What I like about PP over ISWF are the pictures, especially the one about Poop.  Yes, she covers why poop looks the way it does, what is normal and why abnormal poop happens.  Speaking of poop... lets talk about fermentation and how I love to make kraut.  Maybe the connection isn't obvious to you yet, but fermented food introduce good bacteria into our digestive system.  We've been joking at work about setting up a sauerkraut station in the back room, maybe not the best idea.  But one of the opening recipes in the book is for homemade sauerkraut, I couldn't pass it up.  In another week or two, we will have spicy purple kraut!

After flipping through the recipes Ryan really wanted to make the jalapeno burgers with sweet potato buns.  But before that I made a couple of the seasoning blends and ferment some purple cabbage.  I used the cooling blend on chicken legs and threw a little of the chorizo blend in our morning eggs.  The burgers were tasty, a neat combination between the savory meat and the sweet "buns"; which are really just potato pancakes.  I ate mine open face, while Ryan went burger style.  He pulled stumps in the backyard for 3 hours, so he could use the extra carbs.  Next up from this book, Apple Egg Muffins!

Roasted zucchini to go with our burgers topped with avocado and a little cheddar.

That's a tasty burger.

For the novice home cook the recipe section of this book starts out with a how-to guide on cutting and chopping.  This is a very smart move on her part since many people do not even know basic cooking skills such as chopping an onion.

On the side I've also been reading the Civilized Caveman blog.  From his recipes I made the Sweet Potato Ginger brownies, and a couple days later used the leftovers to make french toast for sunday breakfast.  Mmm Mmm Mmm.  However, I'm coming to the realization that I don't really like the texture of bake goods that only use coconut flour.  His banana bread is supposed to be amazing, so when I get a chance (and some ripe bananas) that will definitely be in my oven.

Last but not least, cucumbers.  We picked up a giant bag of pickling cucumbers from the farmers market yesterday, they are super tasty.  I knew I would make a cucumber-dill-tomato salad for the Night to Unite block party, but what else?  Then I thought...duh...make pickles.  I've never made pickles before but I know how it's done.  Of course knowing me I didn't want to make them the quick refrigerator way, nope, I want to ferment mine!  So thanks to Mark Sisson, it was easy to pull p a recipe on making fermented pickles.  I got to try these just this morning.  They are delicious and crunchy, and super salty.

Ok everybody, get out there read, cook, and ferment!

Eating Mindfully

I've found that that I am not very good at paying attention to my food.  I noticed this while working in Georgia.  Instead of actually taking a lunch break, I would grab my salad or sandwich and eat at my desk, just working away.  I thought this made me a better employee.  These days I work on my masters class while eating breakfast.  I sit at the table with Ryan, completely ignoring him, chowing on my eggs and writing my discussion board posts.  While at work, I still eat at my desk between clients, answering e-mails or doing research, mindlessly chomping on salads or stuffing meatballs in my mouth.  And lately, since Ryan has been working in DC during the week, I come home and eat supper or a snack in front of the TV.  This has to stop!  I eat and barely realize it.  People criticize teens (and adults) for eating snack foods while playing video games or watching TV... eating balanced meals in front of electronics or in the car isn't much better.

So for the past couple weeks, I've made a conscious effort to close my lap top and move away from my work computer during meal time.  Some days are more successful than others.  However, I'm finding that when I do shun my electronics (which now includes an iphone), meals have become more satisfying.  Instead of mindlessly chewing and not actually tasting my food, I've discovered a few interesting preferences.  Examples: As much as I try to enjoy kale in my eggs, I don't like it as much as spinach. Sauteed kale gets chewy.  And Paleo bread isn't very good for dunking in my coffee, it doesn't toast well either.  It finally dawned on me that I seriously don't care about rice.  It's not that I don't like it, I just don't see any point in making it for myself, it's just bland and starchy.  I've also found that I really like sugar snap peas dipped in mayo, but I also really really really like them sauteed in butter.

Some people will say that when eating we need to be completely present and only think about the meal.  I'm not to that point, and it's not a goal of mine either.  My mind tends to wander, meal time is definitely not a meditative experience for me.  But powering down makes it easier for me to feel satisfied after meals.  Of course, I have not been 100% perfect with this change, last week I had a final project due for class and ate breakfast while proof-reading my paper.  This morning I really wanted to watch the news since I've been feeling out of the loop; so that was on while I ate breakfast.  Yesterday was much more successful.  I ate breakfast with mom (then drove to Minnesota) and even though both lunch and supper were eaten at work, I pushed away from my computer and chatted with Shirley at the front desk in our office.

The question I have not yet answered is this; is there any benefit to eating more mindfully?  Or at least not eating in front of an electronic device?  A quick search on pubmed reveals that yes, mindfulness matters.
1. It helps people lose weight, and control binge eating behavior.
2. It lowers stress levels and CRP.
3. It prevents weight gain.
4. Mindful eating decreases serving sizes, helping people eat less.
5. While not exactly mindful, family meal times have also been shown to be beneficial.

So this week I challenge you to close your lap top, push away from your desk, turn off the TV, silence your phone and just eat.  Chew your food instead of inhaling it.   Eat at a table, not in the car and not at your desk.  Chat with your coworker in the office break room, have a conversation instead of texting at the restaurant.  Listen to the radio if you eat alone, or eat outside if the weather is nice.  Whatever you do, get away from the screens.

My mindful meals for the rest of the day include:
Lunch-Big salad with leftover grilled chicken from Sunday's supper.
Snack-Core Support mixed with coconut milk
Supper-Trader Joes chicken sausage with roasted yellow pepper/mushrooms/carrot and olives.
Snack if I need it-almond butter on a spoon.

Eat Up!

After clients have been working on their meal plans for a while, they often get bored with their food options.  Not because I tell them that's all they can eat, but because that's all they think to eat.  Meal plans are really just a blue print, the options you can make out of them are endless.  You just have to get a little creative.  This week, thanks to my new iphone, I've been taking pictures of my lunches and a few other things, so here is a week of what I've eaten!

Sunday:  Eggs and rice crackers with TJ goat's milk creamy cheese, Roasted chicken thighs and big salad, grilled salmon and sauteed green beans (and red wine with Rich, Ryan's dad, he did the grilling)

Monday:  Eggs and Veggies, Applegate Roast beef Rudis Wrap with carrot sticks and guacamole (I was at the car shop and needed something I could eat with my fingers while waiting, 1/2 lara bar, leftover chicken thighs and green beans.

Tuesday: Eggs and Veggies, leftover chicken thighs and 1/2 sweet potato and salad, pearberry smoothie for supper between clients, 1 scrambled egg with cheese and almond flour carrot muffin as a bedtime snack.

Wednesday: Eggs and Veggies, post workout whey protein shake, sauteed ground beef and purple cabbage on 1/2 leftover sweet potato, raw cheddar cheese and TJ bison jerky mid afternoon,  leftover chicken sausage thing I made a while back and froze,  1/2 lara bar and 2 hardboiled eggs with Hain mayo as bedtime snack.

Thursday: 2 Mini salmon loafs and veggies and 1/3 pear, last of the chicken thighs with 1/2 sweet potato and frozen broccoli, Ground beef/cabbage on big salad.

Friday:  Eggs and Veggies Duh!  Ground beef/cabbage over 1/2 leftover sweet potato, supper out with mom and dad (I had a grilled salmon cobb salad).

Saturday: Broccoli & Tomato frittata before starting work on the new house, chicken salad and veggies from Byerlys, 2 homemade protein balls,  crockpot chicken taco salad with the whole family!  And wine, of course.

As you can see, by making a few bigger batches of things, chicken thighs, baked sweet potatoes, and my random beef mixture, I was able to eat a variety of foods without getting bored.  It does take a little planning, but I was able to eat well all week long.  The key is making sure you have enough ingredients on hand.  Oh, and a big enough lunch box to pack it all in!

PearBerry

Now that summer is kind of here...if you count wearing a coat to work at the beginning of June as summer that is...I've gotten into making smoothies.  While did this a little bit last year, over the winter I pretty much abandoned it in favor of snacks that wouldn't leave me needing a hot cup of tea afterwards.  However, a couple weeks ago I rediscovered the blender and out of necessity came up with my new favorite smoothie; PearBerry.  Now after a hard workout, I turn to this cup of deliciousness for a boost of protein and a little bit of carbohydrate.  Of course you could do just blueberry or just strawberry, but the small amount of pear makes it a little bit sweeter, and I think it helps thicken it up a bit.

1/2 - 1 scoop whey protein
1/3 ripe pear
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2-1 cup Water or ice or carton almond/coconut milk
Supplemental Carnitine or Glutamine (optional)
1 scoop dynamic greens (optional)
1 big handful baby spinach (optional)

As a post workout snack you don't want too much fat getting in the way of your digestion and absorption of the protein. You might be wondering about a couple of the optional items.  For people looking to lose fat, adding carnitine can help your body shuttle any free-fatty acids into your muscle's mitochondria and use it for energy.  Glutamine aids in muscle recovery, and can also help reduce soreness or DOMS.  The dynamic greens are basically just freeze dried, powdered, fruits and veggies.  They provide a huge hit of antioxidants that will neutralize free-radicals created during your workout.  My other favorite combo for smoothies is raspberry with the chocolate dynamic greens.  It tastes like desert.  Baby spinach because it's good for you.  Same concept as the dynamic greens, but not quite as many antioxidants.  Mostly it's just a way to say you got in another serving of leafy green vegetable.

If I make a smoothie as a meal I add extra fat to help keep me full.  Usually 1/2 cup of canned coconut milk or 1/2 an avocado.  Mmm Mmm Mmm.

Goat Cheese Lasagna

Ryan is in DC for the next two weeks, and will be flying back and forth for the next two months.  I can already tell life is going to be very quiet around here.  With him out of the house it leaves me a little more time to experiment with new recipes.  I found this low carb lasagna on Maria Emmerich's blog.  For people with a cows milk sensitivity this is perfect for them since it uses goat cheese instead.

I wasn't a fan of using 3 pounds of meat, so I replaced the ground beef with 2 zucchinis and 8 oz of chopped mushrooms.  The more veggies the better! I sauteed and drained the zucchini/mushrooms and thought most of the liquid was gone, but after baking the whole thing I still had to drain quite a bit off.  In the future I might try and squeeze the water out of the cooked veggies and see if that works better.  Might add some cooked spinach too. Instead of deli chicken I used Applegate roast beef for the noodles, it just made more sense to me.

Maria's recipe calls for 4 cups of shredded cheese, I figured a little over 1/2 a pound would be enough, but actually I ended up needing about 1 pound.  Even without the full 4 cups, the recipe still came out delicious.  It is a little difficult to cut through the roast beef noodles (maybe chicken would have worked better after all...) then tend to shred apart.  Even for a fussy casserole, I'd say this recipe is worth the time and effort.  Actually, I would make this before I ever try the eggplant/zucchini noodle version again.

As you can see, I made a trip to Trader Joes for most of my ingredients.  But then I went to the Co-op for my Beeler's ground sausage.  There also I found raw goats milk cheese, which I think I would use in the future.  Since TJ had the cheese, I just decided to buy it there, not knowing if or what I would find later.

I couldn't believe it though, the organic marinara Sauce and the organic mushroom spaghetti sauce are the only sauces out of at least 8 that do not contain soybean oil!  Ack! Don't eat that stuff.

Several pots and pans later....we have lasagna!  Forgot to mention that I also had some leftover wine from the weekend that I poured into the sauce for a little added flavor and polyphenols.

Mmmmm.... Success.  Side salad of romaine lettuce with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Maria says the recipe feeds 12, but those would be some mighty small slices.  I was able to cut mine into 8 slices, and they seem adequate.  After eating one for dinner, I stored 3 slices in individual containers for the week, the other 4 went in the freezer for Ryan to try when he gets back from DC.