New Kitty!!!

We adopted a cat!  And named her Samoa, just like the cookie, because she looks like one.  I had a cat growing up, he was very affectionate to mom, dad, me, and that was it.  To everyone else, he was not very friendly.  Samoa on the other hand, just wants to be loved, and she wants to share her love.  Even at 4am... So how does our new family member relate to food?  When we first adopted her she was eating Purina One adult formula, salmon flavor.  And she had terrible gas.  Here's part of the ingredient list the rest is just added vitamins and minerals:

Salmon, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, poultry by-product meal, soybean meal, whole grain corn, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, animal liver flavor, soy protein isolate, brewers dried yeast, tuna meal, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, salt, potassium chloride, caramel color, 

Hmmm... what are corn gluten and soybean meal, and caramel color doing in cat food?  I've never seen a cat walk through a soybean field, sit and chow down on a soybean.  As you might have guessed there was no way I was going to let her keep eating this stuff.  This was especially true when we brought her home and discovered she was super gassy!  She could clear the room it was that potent.  Just like a human, cats were never meant to eat corn or soy.  I tried switching her to Canidae dry grain free cat food, but she refused to eat both the chicken and the salmon flavors.  Seriously?  But look at the ingredients, it even contains probiotics!!!  

Chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb, potatoes, potato protein, peas, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), natural flavor, fish meal, choline chloride, methionine, taurine, sun cured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, yucca schidigera extract, Dried Enterococcus faecieum fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, 

I wasn't too concerned about the natural flavor since I haven't heard of companies putting MSG in pet food.  Probiotics and real ingredients aside, Samoa went on a hunger strike.  We thought it may have been partly due to the upper respiratory infection she came home with from the humane society.  But even when she was feeling better she was still eating around the new food in her bowl.

So we switched her over to Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon Flavor.

Deboned Salmon, 

Chicken Meal, 

Turkey Meal, 

Potato Starch, 

Pea Protein,

 

Peas, 

Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), 

Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids),

Natural Chicken Flavor, 

Potatoes, 

Sunflower Oil (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), 

Alfalfa Meal, 

Whole Carrots, 

Whole Sweet Potatoes, 

Cranberries, 

Blueberries, 

Barley Grass,

Dried Parsley, 

Dried Kelp, 

Taurine, 

Yucca Schidigera Extract, 

L-Carnitine, 

L-Lysine,

Turmeric, 

Oil of Rosemary, 

Beta Carotene, 

Vitamin A Supplement, 

Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), 

Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), 

Niacin (Vitamin B3), 

d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), 

Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), 

Biotin (Vitamin B7), 

Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), 

Vitamin B12 Supplement, 

Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), 

Vitamin D3 Supplement, 

Vitamin E Supplement, 

Iron Amino Acid Chelate, 

Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, 

Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, 

Copper Amino Acid Chelate, 

Choline Chloride, 

Sodium Selenite, 

Calcium Iodate, 

Salt, 

Caramel,

 

Potassium Chloride, 

Dried Yeast (source of Saccharomyces cerevisiae), 

Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, 

Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, 

Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product

Just like the Canidae it contains probiotics, but I was surprised that it also contains Caramel.  I've thought about writing to the company to find out why, and if it is truly necessary.  Honestly, the cat doesn't care what color the food is.  But she gobbled it up, didn't pick through her old food, and within 2 days was completely off the Purina.  And...her gas went away!  Along with her dry food we also feed her wet food in the morning.  Wet food has a much higher protien content than dry food which is what cats need, especially indoor cats who do not spend their day outside hunting.  We switch back and forth between  Whole Paws by Whole Foods and Pet Guard brand.  Its hard to compare their macro contents to the dry food, but here goes.
Purina One= 37% protein, 13% fat, 2% fiber
Blue Buffalo= 40% protein, 18% fat, 3.5% fiber
Wet Foods= 10% protein, 4% fat, 1% fiber

From what I can figure out, the macros are determined by weight and since the wet food has a higher water content the macros appear to be much smaller than the dry food.  But obviously they still provide enough calories to grow and nourish a cat.
Protein = 8%
Fat = 4.5%
Fiber = 1.5%
Moisture = 82%


Pet Guard ingredients: Salmon,Mackerel, Water Sufficient for Processing, Ocean Fish, Rice Flour, Shrimp, Brewers Dried Yeast, Guar Gum,


Whole Paws ingredients: fish broth, whitefish, chicken, chicken liver, tuna, dried egg whites, potato starch, dried egg product, natural flavor, fish oil, sodium phosphate, salt guar gum...vitamins and minerals

Blue Buffalo wet Duck ingredients: Duck, turkey broth, chicken liver, natural flavor, potatoes, carrageenan, guar gum, flax seed, salt...vitamins and minerals


Ryan is really excited to have her try the duck flavor...I have no idea why.  Must be a guy thing.

I know some people out there make their own raw cat food, but most of the time I'm just happy to put real food on my own plate.  However Samoa does like raw eggs, and those are easy to feed to her.  She wasn't so keen on raw beef liver, didn't even want to lick the blood off the packaging.  Apparently she is not a vampire.  She also loves sardines!  Just like me.

More Sardines please!

Protein Shamrock Shake

Last week I had the opportunity to do a short segment on Kare11 news describing the importance of PROTEIN!!! Hope you enjoy it, I sure had fun filming it.

Crustless Quiche, Salmon Cakes, and Smoothies oh my!

Diana, Me, and Pat

The smoothie we made on the show is sure delicious.  But now that it's March I know many people are looking forward to Shamrock Shakes from McDonalds.  Unfortunately, even a small 12oz shake contains over 21 tsp of sugar!  Along with neuro-degenerative additives such as blue and yellow food dyes.  Instead try my Shamrock Protein Shake for an afternoon pick-me-up.

1 cup water
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1/2 Avocado
1/2 Banana
1/2 tsp Peppermint extract.

Blend and enjoy!
Serves 1.

20g protein, 15g carbohydrate, 10-15g Fat

Intermittent Fasting, Self Experimentation

If you are familiar with the Paleo lifestyle, or weight lifting, or dieting... you may have heard about intermittent fasting (IF).  Perhaps you've heard about leangains and bullet-proof butter coffee IF, or that women shouldn't IF...or maybe they should.  For Christmas, Ryan received the book "Man 2.0, Engineering the Alpha," which encourages 16/8 IF.  Fast for 16 hours, with an eating window of 8 hours.  Since Ryan is trying it, I thought I'd give it a whirl.  I'm not discussing all the benefits of fasting, or the hormonal changes that happen in your body, you can read about that

Bye Bye Breakfast

here: Leangains top ten fasting myths
here: The IF Life 101
here: Precision Nutrition-IF experiments
also here: Mark's Daily Apple
here: Roman Fitness IF 101
and here for the ladies: Roman's wife Neghar Fonooni

Instead, this post is about my 1 wk experiment using 16/8 IF.  For 7 days, I simply skipped breakfast which I typically eat between 7 and 8:30 after working out.  Lunch came between 11 and 1pm and supper between 4-7pm.  It's hard to keep a eating schedule, when my work schedule changes almost every day, and I have to eat when I can.  My days looked something like this:

Morning Coffee at 6:30 with a little cream and 2-3 tsp MCT oil

Post workout: Water with 1.5g Glutamine

Lunch 11-1: Big salad with 1 can tuna or chicken + 1-2 Hard boiled eggs + Dressing + macadamia nuts

Snack 2-4pm: Protein shake made with 1/2 avocado (no fruit) or 1-2 1000 Hills Beef Sticks + Veggies + Hummus

Supper 4-7pm: 6oz Meat + Veggies + Fat, one night I had a Chipotle salad with guacamole.

Snack at 8:30-9pm: 1oz dark chocolate with a spoonful of almond butter OR, lowish carb Almond flour muffin with butter.

Some days were harder than others, and there were a few days where I felt really good, like my brain was on some sort of high.  After 7 days of skipping breakfast though, I was hungry, Carb Hungry!  By Friday I wanted to eat, to seriously eat.  To binge on pie and muffins, and fruit, and sweet potatoes.  So guess what I did on Saturday?  While I didn't binge, I definitely let myself eat those foods.

Coffee at 7am

Breakfast at 9am: 2 Deviled Eggs+ Banana

Lunch at 12:30: Big Salad + Chicken Breast + Dressing + 1 small sweet potato

Snack: Made Chunky Monkey muffins, licked the batter of the spatula, I think I also ate some PB protein balls and a beef stick.

Supper at 6pm: Giant piece of pork roast + 1/2-1 cup Winter squash + Roasted B-sprouts

Desert at 8pm: Small piece of GF pumpkin pie + 1/2 muffin

Sunday
Brunch at 10am: 2-3 egg spinach frittata from the Lowry with some greasy hash-browns.

Mid-afternoon Snack: I don't remember... but probably a chunky monkey muffin or protein balls.

Supper at 6pm: Bowl of leftover Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

Desert: Small slice of GF pumpkin pie, maybe some chocolate.

I think the reason for these carb cravings is that even though I increased my lunch and supper protein/fat portions, my snacks remained about the same size.  So I was in a good 4-600 kcal deficit every day.  As someone who works out 5x week, that's a pretty big hit.  I also discovered that a protein shake didn't really cut it in the afternoon, I needed solid food to truly feel satisfied.

Here's the weird thing, during my week of IF, I actually gained 2#.  And then after my weekend of eating what and when I wanted, I lost it.  After a week of eating semi normal again I was back up 2#, and at the end of the week, down 2#.  Who knows... I'm not obsessive about weighing myself, I just wanted to see if it changed during this time.  Granted, I've been lifting heavy for the past 2-3 months and have already added 10# to my squats and normal.
dead-lift and increased my pull up by 1.  Like any good weight lifter, I'm hoping it's muscle.  I also felt a little constipated during that week.  (TMI?)  My guess is that without my usual 1-2 cups of veggies in the morning, my fiber/food intake went down enough to slow GI movement.  After my "eat everything in sight Saturday," things were back to

So what did I learn?
1. That if I don't eat I'm not going to DIE!  I can recognize hunger for what it is, and keep going.
2. Not making/eating breakfast means I have more time for other things in the morning, like cleaning or doing laundry, or making lunch.
3. I like to eat breakfast, and I think for the most part, I feel better when I eat it.
4. I had fewer chocolate cravings or chocolate thoughts.  I think it's because my body needed real food.
5. I'm ready to try a 24hr fast.  It's really not that crazy when you think of the number of Jr and Sr. high students who do the 30 hr famine.  Probably a good thing to do Monday after the Super Bowl.

Why will I continue to IF 1-3x week?  Because it reduces your risk of Alzheimer's/dementia and gives your body a chance to repair tissues (muscle) via increased growth hormone production, and increases cellular apoptosis (cell death) reducing your risk of cancer.  Sorry, there is no drug on the market that can do all that.  Also because I have a small lazy bone in my body; so it's nice not cleaning up breakfast dishes.

IF is not for everyone.  You can disagree with me, but I do not believe people with an active eating disorder should do it.  Pregnant women should probably not start experimenting with IF unless it was already part of their daily practice.  Just listen to your body moms-to-be.  If you are prone to anxiety and panic attacks, I wouldn't recommend it, especially if you have very unstable blood sugars.  People with DMT1 need to have a very good understanding of their blood sugars and insulin needs and always have supplies on hand to correct a low.  People with DMT2, who are not on insulin or medication which causes hypoglycemia (metformin doesn't count) would probably see good results with IF since it increases insulin sensitivity.

Just because you are IFing, does not give you license to eat a bunch of junk.  You still have to eat mostly real foods.  Who should IF?  Well.... If you are healthy, try it.  If you have weight to lose, try it.  If you travel frequently and hate crappy airplane food, try it.  If you hate breakfast and are not hungry till lunch, you're probably already IFing.  If you are a man, you should definitely try it!  If you are a woman who tries IF, and after a month or more notice more acne, irregular menstrual cycles, insomnia, anxiety, depression...STOP, and go eat breakfast.

Swap Out Your Sugar.

I recently did a short segment on a local news station.  Check it out!

http://www.twelve.tv/news/newsitem.aspx?newsid=1431&newsitemid=23492

Swap cereal and juice for eggs and fruit and you'll save yourself over 11tsp of sugar.

Instead of a sandwich with chips and soda opt for chili with a side salad and sparkling water.  BAM! you just decreased your sugar intake by 15+ tsp.

How you might ask?  Take the total carbohydrate of any food and divide by 4.  This will tell you how many tsp of sugar you just fed your body.

Health-Bent's Primal Cravings

A coworker recommended the blog health-bent.com to me last year, and now I've been recommending it to many of my clients who are gluten and dairy free.  It's great for clients with families who need quick easy meals or "treats" for special occasions.  Even though I'm becoming more and more convinced that cookbooks are becoming obsolete, the Keatley's first cookbook 'Primal Cravings' looked too good to pass up.  I now have my mother-in-law to thank for this past months delicious meals:

Chili Dog Chili- The recipe in the cookbook is a little different than the website version, but it really does taste like a chili dog minus the bun. We topped ours with diced pickles a squirt of mustard and some homemade kimchi. The best part was that it was ready to eat in less than 30 minutes.  To be honest, I actually despise hotdogs; it's an acquired food aversion from working at camp. However, we bought grass fed beef dogs from Whole Foods, and when mixed into the chili, they were quite tasty.  This dish is perfect for Super Bowl Sunday, which is when we are making it again. While it's great even without any beans, I did add 1/2 a can to the leftovers just to stretch it for two more meals during the following week.

Hot and Sour Chicken Soup- I originally made this for myself and froze some of the leftovers.  I didn't feel that the broth had enough flavor, so I added about 2 tsp of miso to each bowl and that really brought the dish together.  Ryan recently came down with the flu while in DC for work.  The night he came home I thawed out the leftovers and he added lots of sirracha to his bowl in hopes of clearing out his sinuses.  For the most part, I'm not a huge chicken and rice soup person, but the Asian flavors in this version are right up my alley.  Ever since it turned cold, all I want to do is eat stir-fry and curry. I couldn't find the shiratake mushroom noodles recommended in the book and had to settle for kelp noodles; neither of which I have used before. The Keatleys are right, the kelp noodles aren't anything to get excited about.  But for someone with a grain allergy, or diabetes they would be a nice alternative.  In the future I may forgo the noodles and use a little white rice instead, or just add extra carrots and perhaps some daikon radish.  Never could leave a recipe alone.  We ate the remaining leftovers last night (I added extra chicken to stretch it...see a pattern here) and topped it with kimchi, super duper delicious.

Thai Chili Chicken Meatballs- No paleo cookbook would be complete without a meatball recipe.  We ate ours with stir-fryed veggies.  The sauce was quite sweet, so we added extra sirracha...what else right?  I let Ryan make the meatballs, which he doesn't make on a regular basis, so ours were more of a Tai Chili Chicken meat-blobs.  I think these would be great for pot-luck or party.  A person could serve the sauce on the side and let guests decide how much they want.

Pumpkin Chili-Again, no paleo cookbook would be complete without at least one or two chili recipes.  I made the website version several months ago, and it was good.  I used cubed butternut squash instead of pumpkin 1.because TJ sells it.  2. because sometimes I'm lazy and want pre-chopped veggies.  I'm not sure I loved the flavor combination, but it's nice to have variety and I do plan on making it the "real" way sometime in the future.

Chunky Monkey Muffins-This was my first time cooking with tapioca flour, and the muffins came out amazing!  The nice thing about tapioca flour is that it doesn't cost a mini-fortune, unlike coconut flour and some almond flours.  For people wanting a low carb option, this is not it.  For people with a sugar addiction, this is not for them.  For someone wanting a Gluten, Dairy, Grain Free uber tasty muffin that isn't crumbly and dry, and that could easily be made nut free, this is for you!  I was licking the spoon and spatula before they even made it into the oven.  Sooooo good.  Ryan is looking forward to the gingerbread muffins and the apple tart.

Cowboy Breakfast Skillet-We have not made this yet, but it contains eggs, avocados, sweet potatoes, and hot sauce...what's not to like?

With so many of the recipes on their website you might be wondering why buy the cookbook?  Ummmm..... I truly don't know.  I guess I just like to have a real cookbook.  Plus it has extra recipes not on the website such as chorizo stuffed pork chops which I have promised to make for Ryan's little brother Chad.  And the biscuit recipe will soon be paired with gravy instead of honey butter for a Saturday morning brunch.  Unfortunately I now feel the need to invest in a mandolin so I can make the butternut squash lasagna and plantain chips that go with the Chili Pie (aka-nachos).