BE STRONG TO THE FINISH!!!

Ahh, summer!  One of the best parts of this season is the abundance of available veggies to help supplement your food intake, whatever shape that may be.  I'll be trying to highlight some of the main veggies included in most "diets" thoughout the rest of this season.  If you have questions about any, drop me a line!

 What is Spinach? Spinach is very popular in European and Middle Eastern cuisine, yet is eaten all over the world. Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is an edible flowering plant of the Amaranthaceae family. It is native to central and southwestern Asia, and grows to a height of up to 30cm.

Nutrition: Both spinach and its cousin Swiss Chard, AKA Silverbeet, are rich in vitamins A, K and C, fiber, folate, iron, calcium and potassium.

Types of Spinach: English Spinach has long leaves with the roots still attached. It is best served lightly cooked or steamed, depending on personal preference. Baby spinach, on the other hand, has flat, soft leaves, and is milder in flavor. Baby spinach is more commonly served in salads.

Selecting: Steer well clear of spinach with limp and/or yellowing leaves. When buying English spinach look for thin stems - this indicates youth and tastiness.

If you are after Chard then look for produce with smaller leaves and firmer stems. Spinach is often confused with Chard, and subsequently interchangeable in many recipes. Chard, however, has harder stems and takes longer to cook.

How about some soup flavoring tips?

Soups often need a little something extra to bring them to life, however, with many sauces and stock flavorings rendering themselves non-paleo, people often struggle for ideas.

Here are 6 flavorsome tips for enhancing the flavor of your soups without stock!

1. The Best Vegetables To achieve a similar level of flavoring to that of stock, use onion, celery or carrot as one or more core parts of your soup ingredients. These aromatizing vegetables provide big, natural flavors.

2. Go Easy On The Water Perhaps the most common mistake people make with homemade soup is going overboard on the water content. Don't end up diluting your flavors with too much water. Pace the water as you go; it is better to end up with a thicker soup you can thin out rather than a thin soup that lacks flavor.

3. Add Pepper and if NECESSARY, Some Salt An under-seasoned soup will taste bland, yet an over-seasoned soup can taste bitter. Add salt and pepper as you go, testing the flavor after each addition to ensure you don't overpower the taste by being too generous. Take baby steps with salt until you realize the delicate balance of flavors you are looking for (always use salt sparingly as it should not be consumed regularly on the paleo diet).

4. Tamari (Wheat Free Soy Sauce) With normal soy sauce out of the paleo equation, add a tablespoon of tamari to your soup dish. This can be done during or after the cooking process, depending on how integrated you want the flavor to be.

5. Get Spicy Chili brings to life almost any soup lacking in flavor. Cumin, coriander and paleo-friendly curry powders are also excellent additions, bringing your soup to life and exciting the taste buds. These spices also make for a pretty top sprinkling, adding to the aesthetics of your dish.

6. Lemon & Vinegar A splash of lemon or squirt of vinegar can be just the ingredient needed to take a soup from average to great. Lemon works particularly well with mushroom soup, and carrot soup benefits from a touch of lemon or vinegar, taking it from bland to boisterous.

For more great, natural food flavoring tips, and a plethora of paleo-friendly recipes, make sure you have a copy of the Paleo Cookbooks:

=> www.paleocookbook.com

Storing Vegetables 101

Hey everyone, it's been quite a busy summer so far, but I'm back to provide you with as much good info I can find to help you make quality decisions about your nutritional intake!

First off, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL YOU FOLKS WHO DID THE 30-DAY PALEO CHALLENGE at CROSSFIT SEVEN CITIES!

I hope that as you progressed through the "challenge"(I just can't see how eating MORE and BETTER food can be a challenge!), you learned important points and helped yourself to increase in physical and mental ability.

My goal was succeeded, I "balanced out" at 14.5 pounds lighter and improved my 8K (@5.3 miles) run time from 52:50 to 45:37.  Now I can't wait to hit some big rocks to climb around on!

Apart from the measured results, I am commited to NOT eating many things that I now know have no place in my cupboard, such as processed sugar, salts and foods.  This will be with me for THE REST OF MY LIFE, and I hope that you all have taken something positive from this experience.

That being said, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, and I will continue to provide interesting and useful(I hope!) stuff for all of you readers out there.  Let's GET IT ON!

I got this little helper from Nikki Young, editor of many paleo cookbooks, and with the PLETHORA of veggies out there this season, I thought this would help:

Vegetables make up a staple part of the paleo diet, therefore, it is vitally important that you know the best way to store your vegetables to promote long life and optimum taste!

1. Treat Vegetables With CareBruises and cuts damage cell walls and expose the vegetables to spoilage by microbes. Worst thing is, one piece of rotten vegetable can start to contaminate others around it. If you do see a rotten piece, get rid of it quickly.

2. Don't Cut UnnecessarilyMany people have a tendency to cut pumpkins, squash and other vegetables down to a manageable size when they get them home. Thing is, a cut vegetable goes bad twice as quick as an uncut one. Where possible leave vegetables whole.

3. Keep Vegetables Out of Sunlight Vegetables, once picked, need to be kept out of the sun and ideally stored in the dark. This will promote longevity
4. Know Your TemperatureVegetables are seasonal, although you might not know it looking around a supermarket. Do your homework and find out the optimum temperature to store each vegetable you buy. For example, avocados will ripen faster in the fridge.

Dairy, the Cave, and You

Not everything can be substituted (this goes without saying). Unfortunately, there really isn't a paleo substitute for bread and butter pudding, where the main ingredients are bread, milk, and sugar - three ingredients that should be avoided at all costs when following the paleo principles.

In saying that, some recipes can work out well with paleo substitutions where cream, yogurt or milk is an ingredient.

For curries:Where cream, yogurt or milk is added to a curry sauce in small amounts, coconut milk, almond milk or no substitute at all can work out really well.

Within cakes:Small amounts of milk can be substituted as well with coconut milk or almond milk to provide the moisture needed.

How about custards?You can make delicious paleo friendly custards with coconut milk, egg yolks, and a vanilla bean.

Learning to live without dairy becomes extremely easy when it's put into practice. Try not to focus too much on reinventing your favorite non-paleo meals, and focus on creating delicious paleo friendly meals.

Don't continue to stress over cravings or missing your favorite meal of lasagna, or creamy cabonara, instead focus on finding a paleo recipe that can take its place - because I can guarantee there are plenty of recipes that don't consist of dairy, grains, processed foods and sugar that you will enjoy eating time and time again.

Don't believe me? check out the Paleo Cookbooks.


=> www.paleocookbook.com

What NOT to have in your pantry!!!

To give you a helping hand in clearing out your cupboards of non-paleo friendly foods, here is a quick 6-point list of things you don't want to find in your kitchen.

Once you have expelled these demons from your kitchen be sure no-one tries to sneak them back in!

1. Corn-Fed Beef - Cattle evolved to eat grass, not corn. This is no secret, but something that is generally hidden and not spoken about by government health agencies. Many farmers feed animals corn, grains and soya beans to fatten them up faster for slaughter, all at the detriment of our nutrition. Grass-fed beef is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, Omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium; and lower in saturated fats.

2. Milk (Dairy) - Milk is not part of the paleo diet, simply because the human body isn't biologically designed to consume dairy. Dairy cattle are treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to boost milk production. Milk also contains IGF-1, which contributes to breast, prostate and colon cancers.

3. Farmed Salmon - Salmon are not meant to live on a diet of grains and soy, neither are they supposed to be crammed into pens. Farmed salmon is nutritionally weak and contains carcinogens, PCBs and pesticides. For safe and healthy salmon switch to wild-caught Alaska salmon.

4. Sweets - Refined sugar causes a plethora of health problems, not limited to causing a spike in insulin and playing havoc with your hormones and energy levels (causing unnatural peaks and lows).

5. Grains - Our ancestors thought of grains as starvation food, only to be considered where death by starvation loomed. Historically grains were near impossible to eat because it takes a ton of manual work just to make them edible. Then there is the gluten, found in wheat, rye, and barley. This is causing 1% of the population celiac disease and a further 40% problems with bloating and digestion.

6. Snacks - Be careful of snacks that appear paleo friendly on the surface but underneath are coated with corn syrup or added preservatives. Beware of banana chips dipped in vegetable oil or dried fruit with added sugar. If you are unsure about which snacks to buy then why not make them yourself?

Go for nut bars and other healthy on-the-move paleo friendly snacks such as those found in the Simple Paleo Recipes cookbook.

Here's the link:
=> www.paleocookbook.com/simple-paleo-recipes

YUM! Berries! RAW Berry Pie with Macadamia Nut Crust!

Ahh, SUMMER!  One of the best parts of the summer feeling is getting fresh berries to snack on (in moderation, of course) and all those DELICIOUS DESSERTS that come with them.  For this outdoor grilling season and get-togethers, sometimes a good dessert just tops off the evening; so I’ve found a recipe that meets the PALEO standards and truly satisfies the “sweet” bicuspid (should I have said Canine?).  I’ve also listed some properties of locally grown berries so you can put “proof to the pudding”.  ENJOY and share with your friends, save as a power snack, but CAUTION!!! THIS PIE MAKES 12 SERVINGS, SO SLICE IT THIN!!!

Here are some numbers – per slice; 299 cal, 19g fat (9gmono,5gpoly,3gsat), 7g protein, 32g carb, 5g fiber, 5mg sodium naturally derived, 0mg chol.

 

Berries first: 1 cup fresh or frozen = … and what they help fight against!

Strawberries              Raspberries                Blackberries               Blueberries

Cal-49                          Cal-64                          Cal-62                          Cal-84

Vit C – 149%dv            Vit C – 54%dv              Vit C – 50%dv              Vit C - 24%dv

Fiber – 12%dv             Fiber – 32%dv             Fiber – 31%dv             Fiber – 14%dv

Folate – 9%dv              Fiber – 6%dv               Fiber - 9%dv                Fiber – 2%dv

Atherosclerosis           Colon Cancer              Cancer                         Aging Brain cells

RAW BERRY PIE WITH MACADAMIA NUT CRUST

(Taken from “Delicious Living”, June 2011 edition, writer Lisa Turner, check out her site– www.inspiredeating.com )

This is kind of a complex dish, but worth the work!  The Key to this is FRESH NUTS AND MOIST DATES – THIS HELPS MAKE AN AWESOME CRUST.

If Macadamia nuts are expensive or hard to find, substitute cashews in the crust.  Fresh mixed berries are the best, but if necessary substitute two 10-oz packages of frozen mixed berries, thawed.

2 Cups  Raw cashews

10 pitted dates (soak in water if firm or dry), cut into quarters

½ Cup raw Macadamia nuts

¾ Cup Raw Walnuts

½ cup Raisins (soak if dry, drain)

½ tsp Coconut Oil

1-1/2 Cups (6-7oz) Strawberries, sliced

3 Cups (14oz) mixed fresh berries

2 TBS Raw, unfiltered Honey

½ tsp Vanilla extract, (or scrape the inside of ½ Raw Vanilla Bean, add to 1 tsp water and blend)

¼ Cup Whole mint leaves for Garnish

1.      Soak Cashews in water for four hours, rinse and drain.

2.      Place 3 dates in a bowl and cover with ½ Cup water, let stand for 30 minutes, SAVE THIS WATER.

3.      While they’re doing their thing:

In a food processor combine the remaining 7 Dates, Macadamia nuts, Walnuts, and Raisins.  Process on high until mixture STARTS TO FORM A BALL, SCRAPING SIDES AS NEEDED.  Lightly coat a 9 inch pie dish (Glass dish if you have one) with the coconut oil; press the nut mixture evenly into the dish, crimp the top edge for looks.  Chill for a bit to firm it up, maybe 15-20 minutes…

4.      FILLING – Remove Dates from soaking water, saving the water.  In a Food Processor, combine the soaked and drained Dates and Cashews, 1 Cup Strawberries, 2 Cups Mixed Berries(Saving 1 cup for the next step), Honey and Vanilla.  Process 3 minutes until smooth and creamy, adding the reserved water from the dates if necessary.  Add remaining 1 Cup of berries and PULSE until berries are chopped up but still visible.  SPOON FILLING INTO CRUST, SMOOTH TOP, FREEZE  FOR 1 HOUR.

5.      Remove pie from freezer and arrange remaining ½ Cup strawberries around the perimeter.  Place mint leaves between the strawberries (make it pretty, like maybe 1 strawberry and one mint leaf per slice) Remember 12 SLICES.  (If making ahead, remove from freezer at least 30 minutes before serving.

Tell me what you think! 

Next, my very crafty wife came up with an AWESOME IDEA for A Sheppard’s Pie dish.  I’m gonna whip it up and let you know how it works.  Talk to you then!

Finding the right oils- Plus- "Huevos Salsito"

Did you know that saturated fats are the healthiest oils to cook with? It is because they are the least reactive to heat/light and are more stable than polyunsaturated oils.

Applying high heat to delicate oils such as almond oil or macadamia oil will likely cause them to turn rancid, quickly destroying a lot of the nutritional qualities these oils have.

Selecting the right oils to use within your cooking can ultimately improve your intake of good fats and nutrition, so to ensure that you know which oils stand up best in keeping their nutritional profile intact for the type of cooking that you will be doing, here is a quick list of common oils and when they are best used:

High Heat/Frying/Browning
Coconut oil
Palm Oil
Lard

Medium Heat/Light Saute
Olive Oil
Sesame Seed Oil
Hazelnut Nut Oil
Pistachio Nut Oil

Low Heat/Baking
Pumpkin Oil
Sunflower Oil

No Heat
Fish Oil
Flax Seed Oil
Cod Liver Oil
Hemp Seed Oil

My version of a great breakfast, without the salt, dairy and glutens!

4 eggs

4 pieces of Canadian bacon

"SALSITO":

4 diced fresh tomatoes

1 diced green pepper

1 diced sweet onion

1 clove garlic

OPTIONAL: 1 diced Jalapeno pepper(with seeds and veins, hotter/without seeds and veins, milder)

About 2 TBS fresh chopped cilantro, (more or less to taste, start with 1 TBS and go from there)

Black Pepper to taste

Juice of 1/2 Lemon or Lime (Hint: if you're out of citrus, use 1/2 TBS ACV(apple-cider vinegar); different taste but awesome results nonetheless)

Combine in a bowl and let sit for about ten-fifteen  minutes.

HERE'S HOW IT COMES TOGETHER!:

In a small non-stick frying pan, lightly brown the Canadian Bacon, remove to a plate.  Add JUST A BIT(less than a tsp) of Olive oil to help break up the little browned bits, add the eggs and cook them ANY WAY YOU WANT (I made mine over medium).  Place the eggs on the Canadian Bacon and cover with as much salsa as you want.  Extra hot sauce is optional!

Serve with 1/2 a sliced banana and 3-4 sliced strawberries on the side.

SIMPLE AND QUICK!  ENJOY!