Paleo meets the slow cooker.

...Wow...let me first wipe off the dust from the blog, I guess life got to the better of me and I lost track of time.

I've talked to a lot of people about the hows/whys of diet failure from their own perspective.  There are a few trends that I think a lot of people have experienced and is a driving force of why people quit or refuse to start working to a better self.

In no particular order here are some of the quickest answers that are given (see if you agree or disagree):

•  People are too hard on themselves (unrealistic goals, no goals, or no perseverance)
• There is no support or accountability 
• A desire for a goal, but there is no actual ambition to finally reach that goal
• Not tracking progress (caloric, measurements, etc) 
• Wrong diet for the expected results

To me there are some other elements that come into play:

• Lack of sleep (your body will supplement energy through calories instead of sleep - don't believe me? Check it out.
• Poor timing of meals 

To me the over arching theme that has hit me with the Paleo/Primal diet is the time - or lack there of time in every aspect of a diet/change of lifestyle.  The age old advice of my mother comes to mind when she had late meetings and still needed to get dinner on the table by 6.  This wasn't because my dad demands his dinner by 6 on the dot, this isn't the case.  The admirable reason for needing dinner on the table by 6 was because she had a gym class at 7 and needed time to eat, change, and get to the gym.  

Let's face it, prepping and cooking meals, as well as cleaning a sink full of pots and pans, can take a lot of time.  My hectic schedule can't handle that kind of commitment on a regular basis.  Add the difficulty of making healthy foods taste great, we have a Herculean task on a good day and a near impossible activity on a stressful day.   

So how does one manage food prep, a small amount of actual pots and pans, cooking, and making sure it is ready to eat at a reasonable time?  I'll give you a hint, fast food/t.v. dinners aren't the answer.  I really don't know if there is really a right answer, but I am going to hit up the entire slow cooker theory.  The experiment starts Friday when my parents come over for dinner after I've been at work all day for staff development.  If this works, I am going to try and add this tool into the mix of conquering the lifestyle to a new me.   

Getting comfortable with who you are

There is something that I have heard a lot as I've started this journey into nutrition and fitness - be happy who you are and remove the negative thoughts that are associated with how your body looks.

So let me make a few biased statements that I have either encountered or I have personally felt over a life time.  I have said these myself to others or in my head during times of strenuous activities: "I'm tired of being the fat, slow, old guy in the room,"  "this is the heaviest I've ever been," or my personal favorite "I don't want to be the last one finishing....again".  You see this are all the negative thoughts that are a constant battle with me, which is partially to blame on society and partially to blame on my own lamenting of a lack of will or better yet dedication to the plan.


What you deem as being healthy and what I deem as healthy may be completely different; however, each of us are constantly bombarded by the "image" of fitness.  I've put forth two images that sum up a lot of what is good and also some of what is bad with the perception of "healthy".  First, the image of the guys over a period of time shows what I would consider an unhealthy weight and progresses to a better or more fit weight.  I feel that I am between picture 3 and 2 from the left.  Ideally, I would love to be around 2 full out...this will happen, but I may still be around the same weight.

On the flip side of the coin, women have a worse time of it and even as I write this I should count my blessings that I don't have that much stress in my life.  I've put up another image of what most people would not consider the ideal image.  The image on the right are some of the female Olympic athletes, which should be considered like the pinnacle of fitness.  Looking at the image these women don't fit the mold of the ideal image, but these women train for their sport and respective physique.



Well, I am about 2 months in the the plan of eating a paleo/primal diet (which could still be better) and I am the heaviest I have ever been.  I woke up this morning and weighed in at 216 pounds, which is crazy to think that I physically feel great (except after those ass-kicking WOD's).  Psychologically, I am upset with the fact that I feel fat...one three letter word...but it is a powerful little word.

I know I have lost weight and then slowly started to gain it back, which seems to be in the form of muscle.  I am hoping that the change in diet will continue to work in dropping the pounds of fat and the CrossFit workouts will tone and increase the muscle mass on my body.  It is going to take me some getting used to that being heavier isn't always a bad thing.

Focus on doing. Focus on building. Focus on being the best version of YOU that you can be. Give your body a chance to grow and perform. Your body is smart. It will adjust to homeostasis if you let it. And you just might realize that the best version if you is yet to come.

Living by the 80-20 rule.

Been awhile since I have posted.

I recently got into a conversation on how I follow the Paleo/Primal diet.  The only way I have found time to eat the way I want to in order to lose the weight/live in a better manner is to follow an 80/20 rule.  This doesn't mean that 80% of the time I follow 20% of the diet.  Rather, it means that I am trying my best to follow the diet of high protein, vegetables, and no white starchy carbs (processed or otherwise) 80% of the time.  I am doing this because I don't want to lose the enzymes that my body already produces to handle the occasional potato, piece of bread, or some rice here and there.

There have been weeks that setting up the meal schedule has been near to impossible to keep up with and z finding time to make the trips to the grocery store is near impossible.  However, I have been able to sneak in time to make meals and snacks to help along the way.  

This has led to the following 80/20 rule and how it makes my life a bit easier.  Most diets will call for a cheat day or to heed the cravings to keep yourself sane. The rule that it is completely acceptable to out on an "All you can eat buffet" or tackling an entire container of ice cream.  But stopping by for a higher caloric meal here and there when you are burning off those extra items working out is perfectly fine.  Note:  eating denser calorie foods that a healthy is still the way to go.  There is a major difference between a double whopper with fries and a salmon steak with grilled vegetables or a few tablespoons of peanut butter, use your judgement.

Sharing the love...

It has been a tough week in regards to keeping up with the desired Paleo/Primal diet.  Stress, work, and an overall feeling that there isn't enough time in the day has led to a few days where I started to slip back into the poor diet habits.  I expect these days to happen, but my body has not exactly reacted well to the entire influx of starchy/processed carbohydrates.

On a brighter note, I was able to introduce several co-workers to the world of Paleo through my stir fry.  I am pretty sure it was a hit, but it was more important to have a reason to get back to the plan.  Strange to think that a bunch of vegetables with some spice and coconut aminos can make such a great meal.  Colorful and flavorful - if the teaching thing doesn't work out...maybe I could make it as a cook.  It was nice to bring a small taste of both my cooking and a completely healthy meal to people who enjoyed the meal.

Today's topic - portion control.

I was raised by two individuals who have diabetes and there has always been some form of food measuring in the house hold.  My mom was a little more lenient with the portion control and my dad was pretty strict and consistent about breaking out the measuring cups.  These were the two examples that I saw on a regular basis and some of these ideas stuck with me other didn't.  I like my comfort food (most of which isn't Paleo) and at times I have taken down more food than I should have at any given time.

Even with this new diet - that idea is still in the back of my head.  Should I be eating less of this or I wonder what constitutes a "true" portion size.  A lot of the blogs and books I have read throw portions out the window and state that you should eat when you are hungry and eat enough to be satisfied.  From a personal viewpoint, it is hard to argue with a diet that says eat as much as you want as long as you are eating:  vegetables, lean meat, seeds, nuts, or more vegetables.  Calorie wise, I am still way under my allotted 2100 calories a day and I am rarely hungry aside from the normal breakfast, lunch, and dinner times.

I feel better and I know I am eating more vegetables than I have in the past.  This is a plus and really I feel like my body is handling more stress and functioning better since switching diets.

Basic portions and how to figure them out, trust me it can still be a little confusing.  The major benefit to this is not having to count every single calorie or carbohydrate.  However, there is a running idea that you can eat as much as you want or could eat as long as it is within the set parameters of approved foods.  This is a major pit fall, because no matter how many healthy foods you eat, if you are exceeding the needed caloric intake every day those extra calories have to go somewhere.

The paleo plate is primarily set up around the protein source.  This is similar to several other diets and frankly it isn't a bad place to start.  Most proteins (lean meats, fish, eggs) shouldn't exceed the size of your fist.  I like having protein at every meal, because it keeps me satiated for a longer period of time.  I am starting to watch this more and more as my diet continues, because I am still nervous about the over eating of the good things.  It would be counter intuitive to what I am trying to do with my dietary needs.  Eggs are another easy one to "measure".  You should eat as many eggs as you can hold in one hand.  Some people will be able to hold 3-4 eggs and other 1-2.  I stick with my 2 egg breakfast and this keep me full until lunch.

After the protein comes the vegetables.  Fill up your plate with vegetables.  Pretty simple, right?  Well even this can be confusing.  Sedentary people may not want to load up on the winter squashes, sweet potatoes, or   root vegetables because they are carbohydrate dense.  This would mean a larger emphasis on the leafy greens as a general rule of thumb.  If someone is more active, be sure to plug in some of these carbohydrate dense vegetables to support your specific needs.

Fruit - 2 to 3 serving a day.  I think this one is also relative, because of the amount of natural sugar that can be found in the fruits.  I eat fruit with breakfast through the consumption of a smoothie, which covers most of my fruit needs.  I will occasionally eat some fruit as an afternoon snack, but this is an uncommon event.

Eat in moderation.  Tackle some vegetables for the needed nutrients and try to split the meals up every 4-5 hours to allow your body the proper time to digest the food.

Week 1 Summary

Week 1 - Successes and Failures

One week down of the Paleo/Primal diet.  I feel great and I am starting to shed the excess pounds.   So here are the successes, in not particular order.

•  Lost 1.8 pounds in a week of diet change.  Read this part. The lost of weight wasn't water weight or muscle mass - hopefully that means it was strictly the midsection area of concern.  This is an awesome reality that there may be something to this diet.  I haven't felt hungry that often in the day outside the normal meal times.  This is a major thing in my success column.  Yes, losing weight is a motivation in my current goal/mind set...but it isn't the driving factor.  
• Over spring break (the first extended break that I haven't been running around/coaching/traveling) I avoided major pit falls in terms of health.  I got plenty of sleep, exercised, cooked some great meals, and avoided the mindless boredom snacking.  It's hard to want to eat when your stomach is still feeling full from the meal 2 hours ago.  
• Energy levels are great.  Granted I took a 2 hour naps when I made it home, but I was only able to sleep a few hours the night before.  Always happens to those anxious to return back to the hallways of a high school.  
• My body has fought off an upper respiratory infection and pollen allergies.  That's right, my body came through without me having to go to a doctor and get some medication.  
• No soda in a week.  Switched to green tea with lemon and honey before sleep.  Great choice and one I highly recommend.  

Failures or moments of temporary weakness/poor decisions.

• The Snickers bar that was on my desk is no more.  Sadly, I consumed it a few night ago after a hard work out.  I know one here and there won't hurt the long term goal, I had prided myself in not eating one since the wrestling season was over.  
• Two beers after grilling one night.  Alcohol is not paleo, but it is a vice that I like in moderation.  

Challenges

• Finding time to cook/prep meals.  I like the meals I am making, but spending an hour in prep time/cooking can get tiresome at times.  This will just take some getting used to and eventually it will feel normal.  
• Getting to the gym every other day.  Or getting some exercise everyday.  Over spring break it was easy.  The basic routine was this: wake up, eat breakfast, and go work out.  Now that teaching is back in full swing, I need to find the motivation and time to continue hitting the gym to lift and push my body.  
• Resisting the large amount of sweet carbohydrates out there.  I don't have a particularly large sweet tooth, but it was a challenge to walk by the donuts, cakes, and other sweet foods at the bakery section of a grocery store.  Everything looked good, but I am trying to cut those out of my diet.  I guess this means that my body is slowly being reprogrammed, but it is resisting slightly.  

Ugg goes foragin

Okay, so everything I have read talks about the importance of wild caught sea food, leaner meats, and fresh produce.  For those doing this diet, you soon realize there is one major draw back to this dietary change - cost.

Let's face it fresh and quality food is more expensive than processed, frozen, or "quick and easy" meals that a lot of people gravitate to on a regular basis.  I blame the high stress jobs, long hours, fast food mentality's and simply put a lack of time to prepare a good meal.  Best advice - take the time to try.  Plan out some meals and cook them on an off day to have "pre-made" meals that you cooked.  It adds a new flavor and twist to a microwave meal.

Okay, I'm off the soapbox.  Back to the fresh food and where to get them at a reasonable price.  I found an international farmers market that was about 10 minutes from home.  The Nam Dae Mun farmers market completely surprised me and I look forward to going back next weekend.  Simply put, I was able to get a week's worth of proteins (pork chops, flank steak, chicken, scallops, crabs, and tilapia filet), vegetables (zucchini, onions, celery, garlic, bell peppers, cucumbers, spaghetti squash) and some fruits (papaya and a pineapple.  This impressive list was purchased for under 50 dollars.  Ladies and gentlemen, this is was you call a major win.  I like my Publix and occasional Kroger trips, but this place rocks.  If you are in the Gwinnett County area, check it out.  It'll be worth your while.  

Eating for your health

You are what you eat, simply put.

I've starting reading The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson and some of his major points deal with the amount of carbohydrates that Americans eat and the health issues that have come about from it.  Most Americans lead a fairly sedentary life, working 50+ hours a week (sorry the 9-5 is out of the question when work is brought home), eating fast food on a regular basis, and finding more excuses to stay inside instead of going out to get some fresh air.

So primal...what does this really mean in regards to paleo?  From my first amounts of reading there isn't a great deal of differences.  I almost like the idea of a primal diet over the "paleo" diet.  There are several different paleo diets out there (meaning there are lots of different tribal groups/foraging areas in the world), but the primal diet has been presented as the core of what my meals have become.

Also, the primal diet allows for dairy in moderation, as long as your body can handle it.  So even though I am  following a more paleo diet and most of the recipes will be considered paleo, I do enjoy my milk/chocolate milk after a hard work out.

Back to The Primal Blueprint...

I am concerned about diabetes and heart health.  Both parents have diabetes and one has high blood pressure and a few years back major heart surgery.  The heart health concerns will be a later post, but I wanted to really focus on the concerns about diabetes.  The more I read, the better I feel about deciding to change my diet habits.

Here are a few excerpts from the Diabetes Well Being website.  The biochemistry behind insulin and how your body uses it is pretty self explanatory and the long term effects of continued exposure to these toxic levels of sugar are just now being understood.  Our body processes carbohydrates into glucose, which is the energy our cells need to move and our body needs to grow.  This insulin makes the glucose a usable energy source.

Don't read this as sugar/carbohydrates are bad.  But the majority our the carbohydrates consumed are in the form of sugar (high fructose corn syrup) and processes grains.  Neither of these have a lot of nutritional value, but both are extremely effective in causing our body to go into overdrive to go back into homeostasis. The excess glucose not processed by the cellular respiration is stored as fat, which back in ancient times was a good thing.  A small fat store allowed for animals and people to fatten up to survive the winter months.

Fast forward to modern days there is a lack of exercise, which leads to the weight problems.  Combine the lack of exercise with an overworked pancreas.  If the pancreas is constantly working in overdrive to keep up with the insulin needs it is going to get worn out.  As the pancreas can't produce the proper amount of insulin the glucose gets stored as fat or passed through the urine.  Mark Sisson, points out that muscles are also prone to insulin resistance, which causes a constant trigger response the cells are starving.  This sensation caused by insulin not doing its job results in that sugar cravings, even if you just ate no more than a few hours ago.  This fact alone may be the leading reason for how type II diabetes is on the rise.

The dangers of eating garbage on a daily basis...

The bane of our existence ...sugar.  Rather the amount we eat.  

I can speak for myself in that I am not a huge sweets person, but when I get the craving I can tackle a bit of chocolate, gummy snacks or ice cream.  Right now I am staring at a Snickers bar that has been on my desk for going on 3 months now and I still really don't have a desire to eat it.  Hopefully that trend continues.

As a high school teacher and a wrestling coach, I have become more aware of a growing trend in how things are shifting in terms of high school diets/eating habits.  If it is green or "healthy" leave it alone, but if it has sugar, flavorings or comes in a crunchy plastic wrapper - it's all good.  I tell my athletes on a regular basis that eating items that are from a vending machine is the equivalent of shoving a pile of garbage down the gullet called a mouth.  Very quickly, they pointed out the Mountain Dew in my hand.  Albeit, the soda is bad and potentially one of the worse things out there.  They had a point, but failed to realize how their nutrition was affecting their ability to wrestle and more importantly their ability to live.

See we humans like sugar.  It's sweet, found in a lot of really good tasting things, and hey it is ZERO fat!!! Right?!?  All of these facts point to the truth, but how about the biochemistry behind it all?  Excess sugar is stored as fat.  We know this, we understand this and yet, we toss this information to the wind whenever the urge for a sweet treat is around.

I can't put it much better than Jamie Oliver does and frankly he is what I would consider an expert in terms of food preparation.  I agree with most of the points made and applaud him for making these things more known to the world.  School aged children are at the highest risk at poor eating habits, because they are perpetuated by their parents.  Worse than that, eating healthy can be more expensive than grabbing a frozen TV dinner or the precooked meals that just need a quick dive into the closest microwave to be ready to eat.  I know this because I am currently doing that transition.  My food cost has gone up, but my energy levels have also gone up and I feel better after I work out.  I can't want to have my next health screening to answer the question:  How do you feel? Have you changed your diet?  How much weight have you lost?  Because, I am eating higher quality foods I know I am going to be able to lead a higher quality of life.

I know it is tough, I've spent 2-3 days cooking and making leftover plates so that I don't have to cook a lot into next week.  It takes time, but I'd rather spend my time doing this than in a hospital bed or a doctor's office later on.  I feel for the single parent working 60-80 hours a week to provide a house, meals, and everything else for their family.  I will never knock on them for doing the best they can, but I would still encourage them to try and find time to teach their kids to cook and spend time at the dinner table.

Back to sugar, there is evidence for how bad sugar can really be on our diet.  The article list is dealing with high fructose corn syrup (a chemically derived sugar), but it lends itself to the current sugar consumption that humans, more specifically Americans down in a given day.  Anthropological research suggests that our ancestors didn't consume a lot of sugar and when they did it was opportunistic.  Anecdotal evidence that I would have to eat nearly 8 feet of sugar cane to get the amount of sugar in a typical liter bottle of soda.  Only, I couldn't get the fiber or other nutrient that the sugar cane would provide.

I can't tell you all the risks of high fructose corn syrup, but there is a lot of evidence mounting against the usage of such a chemical.  It is scary to think that a product so regularly found may be linked to things like Autism, obesity, cancer, Diabetes, and learning deficiencies.   For this guy, I am one day number 9 of no soda, no candy, and an overall reduction or removal of processed foods from a crunchy plastic bag.

Day 2: Ugg goes southern comfort for dinner

Sometimes we run from our food and other times we run to it.


Paleo - what does it really mean?  There have been a few meme's out there describing what Paleo is and how it really works.  In theory, people are supposed to eat the way the cave man did - too bad we really don't know what that diet exactly entailed.  There have been some usual suspect though: meats, fish, nuts, regional veggies, seeds and leafy green vegetables (anything that could be hunted or gathered).  This means no pasta, grains, cereal, candy or overly sugared things*.  *Please Note* I am not advocating a complete loss of these items, but please be mindful of what you are putting in your body.  I'll post later on the dangers of sugar and processed starches.  I think there is a healthy balance and it is one you have to find for yourself.

Now some interesting facts that I am just learning about as I read.  I got into a conversation regarding grains and if we should or should not eat them.  I had some knowledge dropped on my like a 45lb weight.  One a given day a person should only have 6-7 servings of grain.  Even with this recommendation the rate of obesity continues to rise to alarming rates.  Over 33% of us are obese and the numbers are getting higher.  I don't think this is a direct result of the grain consumption, but most grain items are packed full of energy that most of us don't burn off in a given day.  To play devil's advocate for a second - grains can't be that bad humans have eaten them for thousands of years.  Agreed.  Humans have adapted to consume these items, but like all things grains have adapted not to be eaten.  They have a natural toxin, Lectin, which can prevent the GI tract from repair itself.   I am reducing my grain intake to reduce my sugar intake.  Simply put excess sugar gets stored as fat in our body.   Hopefully this will force my body to start burning my wonderful fat stores when I work out.

I have talked to some people about their thoughts in regards to the Paleo diet and how it has been perceived and better yet how it has been received over all.  I noticed a large trend with the paleo diet - CrossFit.  I've done CrossFit for a bit and will eventually make my way back to it.  Basically it is a workout that will kick your butt on a daily basis, whip you into shape, chew you up and spit you out and at the end of the day you will be in great shape both in terms of mental and physical strength.  I have some friends that stick to a stricter paleo diet and typically will only eat raw fruits and vegetables.  Those raw foods are also without seasonings and excess salt.  Kudos to those people and I really mean it.  That diet is hard to keep up with on a regular basis.  I am struggling with my food prep time now, I could only imagine how much longer it would be to clean, cut, store all of those items...not to mention cooking the meats.

There is a major draw back to this type of strict diet.  Your body makes enzymes to digest foods and when you aren't eating those foods your body doesn't make those digestive enzymes.  At face value, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal.  Consider this scenario, you've been going strong on a diet of raw fruits, vegetables, lean mean and root vegetables for a month or two.  Everything is peachy until you have a craving for a fast food burger - you eat it and within minutes or hours your body lets you know that eating that garbage was a bad decision.  It may become my mantra for this entire experience - moderation is key.  Both in the diet and in how you approach a diet - any diet.  I am looking at an 80/20 split for my diet.  Following it 80% of the time and allowing the occasional indulgence here and there.

Dinner tonight:  Shrimp and "Grit"

   Left over parsnip and cauliflower soup that was simmered to remove the extra chicken stock.  I added some butter to it.  The shrimp was wild caught pink shrimp ($5 at Kroger) cooked with some olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and Cajun seasoning. Asparagus was roasted with some olive oil, garlic, and Balsamic vinegar.

It was very good, but I ate way too much.  Need to learn that portion control thing.

Day 2: Ugg found an egg...

Ugg's best eggs.  573 calories (this can be reduced): 

Saturated fat (13g), polyunsaturated fats (5.7g), 

monounsaturated fats  (16.1g), Cholesterol (431mg), 

Sodium 431.1mg, Potassium  668.3mg, Total Carbs 14.4g 

(Dietary fiber 1.7g, Sugars 4.9g, and 40.7 g of protein

The incredible edible egg...

If you have watched the commercials there are probably some major concerns or confusions about the benefits and possible risks of the egg.  I blame the media for this misnomer about egg consumption. Now, let me take this opportunity to restate the key to anything - moderation.  Most studies will state that the consumption of a single egg a day has no linkage to chronic heart disease.

Let me attempt to address some of these issues...

Recent history has advocated for the consumption of just the egg whites as opposed to the whole egg and this has perpetuated the attitude of the bulge afraid 80's.  Do eggs whites have protein?  Yes, but that isn't the whole picture of it.  The egg whites are as powerful in regards to the protein profile of the whole egg.  Without the yolks to present there is a lack of amino acids that allow the proteins present to be bio-available for the body's usage.  Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg.  Also, the yolks contain all of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg and all of the essential fatty acids.

Not sold yet?  How about the cholesterol?  Okay, I'll see that point and counter with this big fact about your body.  Cholesterol is naturally made in your body and is used for making steroids (estrogen and testosterone, for example) that aids in reproductive health.  Additionally, cholesterol is used to make cortisol, which the body uses to regulate blood sugar levels and defending against infection.  Cholesterol is also used to make vitamin D for the creation of strong bones and teeth.

Here's the kicker when you don't take in cholesterol your body will make it.  Just a natural state of the ways things work.  The coolest thing that has come about in recent years, whole eggs are actually able to raise your HDL's and lower your LDL's.  I'm still looking into this because there are some confounding studies, but the theme is this:  one egg a day gives the needed cholesterol and a lot of other needed items.  Remember moderation.

Ugg's Eggs.  
2 Large eggs (usually do 1, but today it was a brunch instead of breakfast)
2 pieces of bacon
2 oz left over pork short rib
1/3 cup onion
1/2 cup green pepper
8 grape tomatoes

Cook the bacon and drain half the fat off

Shown with a breakfast smoothie
1 banana
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup frozen peaches
2 cups water
Blend together

Day 1: Eating like a caveman...sort of...

Day one of a possible lifetime journey...

Cod and shrimp cooked with garlic, balsamic vinegar, cayenne  and lime juice.  Served with a side of mango and pineapple chutney.  Overall, pretty good dish and pretty tasty as the first venture into the paleo-diet.

Not a bad dish...although cooked ripened mango = a sweet mush without texture.  Even though the chutney tasted very good there was a strange mismatch of textures.  The pineapple held up very well, but the mango had the consistency of warm baby food.  Texture issues aside, the combination of the balsamic vinegar, the heat of the cayenne and the sweetness of the fruit played off each other very well.

The second part of the meal included a parsnip and cauliflower soup that wasn't bad.  It has the look of a bowl of watery grits, it probably needed more salt.  I added some cheese and bacon to act like a potato soup from a restaurant   Overall, I'd give my first attempt at this recipe a 6 out of 10, but it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't try it again.

(109 calories per serving, 4 g of fat, 9 g of protien; 9
g of carbohydrates; 3 g dietary fiber; 6 g net carbs.


There is a trend in paleo that uses animal fats instead of vegetable oils, which makes sense in terms of the diet...but I would wonder what a trained dietitian would think about this idea.  A quick internet search yielded these nuggets of knowledge.

Olive oil remains one of the healthiest oils you can drizzle over a plate of veggies, but if you're interesting in branching out there are other options.

Ghee, rice-bran oil, duck fat, coconut oil, nut/seed oil, lard and animal fat rendered from cooking down fatty meats.  So let's take a closer look at some of these options.  Ghee is a clarified butter and there are ways to make it at home.  Rice-bran oil isn't quite paleo, but it is being used in some of the higher end ethnic fast food restaurants instead of peanut or canola oil.  The nut/seed oils have been around for awhile and are slowly starting to make their way to the main stream consumption.

Here are the ones that have peaked my interest and honest concerns in regards to the health benefits or possible pit-falls of using these items.  Coconut oil is approximately 92% high saturated fats, which can be off putting for some individuals.  Note though that this is also a major source of  lauric acid, which aids our immune system.  The only other major source of dietary lauric acid is breast milk.  If a new born needs lauric acid for its immune system, it may not be a bad idea of give our own bodies a booster here and there.  Duck fat...even as I type this part of me has a red flag screaming bad idea.  Although duck fat is often used in high end restaurants it has some major health benefits.  Duck fat is high in monounsaturated fats, which makes up less than 50% of its total fat content.  Not sold yet?  I wasn't either, but duck fat also has just 14% saturated fat, which is less than butter.  That's a plus, but logistically it may not work out for the common cook.

Here's one for the common cook - lard and schmaltz.  If you are still reading this after seeing that lard is good for you then you are in for a treat.  I haven't cooked with lard yet and I may or may not in the long run.  That being said, I do use schmaltz a good bit when I am cooking meals.  Rendering fats from meats can add flavor to a meal without having to use a processed oil to do it.  My personal favorite is bacon, but who can argue with bacon?!?  No one, bacon always wins and better yet, how many people would consider a healthy dish edible just because the word bacon is in it.  Part of me will struggle with this, but there are health benefits for these long demonized cooking oils.  So here's the skinny:  Lards and schmaltz have oleic acid - a monounsaturated fat that can lower risk of depression.  Better yet, these monounsaturated fats (45% of the fats that make up lard/schmaltz) are responsible for lowering LDLs (bad cholesterol), while leaving teh HDL levels (good cholesterol) alone.  


I leave you with this basic rule:  whatever kinds of fat you buy, keep your chemical exposures to a minimum by buying certified-organic plant oils and pastured or grass-fed animal fats.  

Interesting read to help you understand:  Hard facts on Oils, Fats and Lard
Bonus shot of the spaghetti squash beef stir fry.  Home made recipe.

Paleo - Interesting thoughts on a how the modern diet is killing us...

I started about 3 weeks ago with a mindful change to the way that I eat and take care of my body. This came about through the desire of refining my body, instead of the urge to simply lose weight. I think there is a distinct, if not, subtle difference in the two idea. One must change their diet in order to lose weight, but one may not simply lose the weight by a drastic shift in their eating habits. Some tips that were in the newest cook book...

• As much as possible, eat fresh, rather than packaged food -- fresh meats, poultry and fish, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits.
  
• Avoid additives - eating fresh foods will drastically reduce your intake of additives right there.
  
• Gauge your carbohydrate intake by your waistline and your blood sugar.  Paleo isn't strictly low carb, allowing for starchy root vegetables, winter squashes, and a wider variety of fruit than most low carbers eat.  This does not mean that if you've got blood sugar and/or obesity trouble, you can throw caution to the winds and say, "it's paleo! That means I can eat all the (insert high carb food here) I want!!"  You may be able to foo your mind, but you will never fool your body.
  
• Get enough sleep.  Create a proper sleep environment, as dark and as quiet as possible, and consider an eye mask and earplugs if you live in a city.  Remember that Ogg (the aptly named caveman) not only didn't have a television, he also didn't have much in the way of light once the sun went down, so he went to bed.
  
• Exercise, but thing about how your ancestors used their bodies.  Ogg didn't run marathons.  He probably didn't run much at all, except when chasing prey or being chased as prey, and then he didn't jog, he ran like hell, but quit as soon as he safely could.  On the other hand, Ogg walked a lot - looking for food, stalking prey, following the herds with the seasons.  He lifted and carried, because how else are you going to get the antelope back to the cave?  He climbed, both to access food and to get out of harm's way.
  
• These ideas and points were taken from Dana Carpenter's book "500 Paleo Recipes" and offer some insight to the concept of both the diet and the exercise habits of the cavemen.  Remember these ideas are, at best, hypotheses of how the paleolithic man ate and gathered foods.  

So where does the modern lifestyle fit into the dichotomy of the good choice or poor choice of food habits that we have around us on a daily basis.  On a typical day, most Americans choose the drinks on the right hand side of the picture as opposed to the left side of the picture.   A single day of this won't lead to chronic high blood sugar, diabetes, dental complications or any other number of health issues that have become more prevalent in modern times.  

I think the sugar content intake combined with the amount of additives that have been introduced into our diets are also leading to far more health issues that have yet to be described or substantiated.  However, there is something to be said that we are eating more and more items that at some point was either toxic to our bodies or caused us great discomfort.  I had recently read about the large amounts of starches that we eat that have to be cooked first (rice, potatoes, most grains) in order for our body to process these.  I don't know if these means that the Ogg didn't eat these items, but I would imagine if he had access to these items he would have figured out ways to eat them.  *Note:  I am not against these items, but I think they should be eaten in moderation.

What I am more and more alarmed by are constant bombardment that our body gets from the "safe" high fructose corn syrup.  The jury is still out on this topic.  Frankly, I think both sides are spouting a lot of rhetoric and even propaganda; however, Occam's razor states that the simplest idea or explanation is often the correct one.   HFCS has been around less than 40 years and in those 40 years how many health related issues have come about as common place conditions.  Personally, if you have to treat a product with 3 difference chemicals to make it edible, then you probably shouldn't eat it to begin with.  I am guilty of partaking in these sweeteners, but I have also seen my midsection expand with these items.  

Moderation needs to be in moderation.  Cheat days or small comfort foods won't kill you, but eating 4 Twinkies a day everyday for a year - you'd probably feel horrible.  On the flip side, eating a salad or a piece of fruit for every one of those cheap sugary treats - your body will also let you know how it feels.