Peters On Paleo

Kerry and I had an amazing trip to Sacramento for my cousin’s wedding and then finished the week up in Seattle with my aunt, parents, and nephews.  We did a great job adhering to the Paleo diet, while making allowances for vacation-related indulgences such as wine and dark chocolate.  The main goal was calorie quality versus quantity, for these foods which should be consumed rarely and in moderation when on the diet.

Being in Seattle, I was excited to enjoy the quality seafood at reasonable costs.  I hit up Pike’s fish market and got a whole rockfish, 2 lbs of mussels, and 12 humongous pacific oysters for $30!  I added an oyster knife to my order engraved with “Word Peace, Pike Place Fish”

Oysters are an easy recipe.  You need lemon wedges, optional Tabasco sauce, and a dish of ice.   Wedge the oyster knife into the slot at the oyster hinge and twist.  A satisfying popping sound lets you know you went all Lincoln Hawk on that oyster.  Pry the rest of the shell open by sweeping the knife around and discard the shell half.  The oyster is still attached to the other half, so drag the knife underneath so the oyster is ready to slurp.  Sprinkle on some lemon juice and tobasco, and down the hatch it goes, with the salty liquid it’s floating in.  One of the best gastronomical experiences possible.

Me and my new oyster knife getting to work with a view of Lake Washington.

So the raw (still living) oyster texture is not for everyone.  My mom suggested steaming them for 5-10 minutes, which firms them up.  It also makes them easier to open, as there were a few that I was struggling with as they had a lot of buildup around the hinge.  So we set up a steamer –  I steamed them for only 5 minutes to avoid overcooking, but I think 10 minutes would be ok.

Steamer - pot with 2 plates stacked (one inverted so plate bottoms are facing each other). Filled with water below the 2nd plate.

So we had fun with that.  Then for dinner it was grilled rockfish.  The friendly crew at Pikes gutted, removed fins, and scaled my rockfish, but I asked them to leave the head on.  I did cut the tail off,to get the thing to fit on the hibachi grill, and scored the skin and seasoned inside and out.  I filled the cavity with lemon slices, thyme, and rosemary that I picked up at the market.

Skin was scored and rubbed with olive oil, salt , and pepper.

Flipping this is a challenge, as you can see, I laid the fish on  one side of a grill basket with a handle.  When it came time to flip (skin was blackened), I then set the other half of the basket on top of the fish and flipped that way – no worries about sticking to the grill!

Fish was served by forking it off the bone.  I really enjoyed the fatty “cheeks”, just forward of the gills.  This thing served 3 people, with grilled green beans and lemons on the side.

My nephew helped grill lemons

All done!

In addition to these dishes, during my stay I had steamed clams, mussels, Chinook salmon, softshell crab, peel-and-eat shrimp (out of a paper bag), and scallops.  Definitely took advantage of Seattle’s offerings, and while a few “cheats” did occur, both Kerry and I came back home feeling good and ready to finish the challenge strong!

Staying grain-free and eating well while on travel is possible, even if you can’t bring a cooler.   On my last trip I ate big salads with chicken or fish, hard boiled eggs from the deli counter, larabars (dried fruit, almonds, and dates), and meat&veg entrees at restaurants.  Now if you want to be nitpicky, “there’s vinegar in that dressing, dates are full of sugar, that restaurant veg dish was sauteed in peanut oil…” then no, I was not orthodox paleo.  But I gotta give myself a pat on the back for avoiding the crazy amounts of processed, refined foods and grain based items that are so easily accessible while on travel, away from the safety of my paleo-friendly pantry and refrigerator at home.

There was a situation where I did end up fasting until morning, but it wasn’t because I couldn’t get to decent food if I wanted.  I was enjoying myself with family who were enjoying some artisanal bread & cheese which I politely declined.  I’d rather spend time with them than go off on my own.  I’ve pretty much converted myself to a “fat burner” so after a high-fat/low-carb meal, I can go 12-18 hours without food and feel fine, as long as I’m not planning any intense workouts.  I do notice a dull headache around hour 16 sometimes.

Anyway, once I’m off this challenge, I’ve decided to go back to a very relaxed approach to the diet.  I think I’ll be avoiding grains and refined foods still, but the silly squabbles about what is “good” and “bad” on paleo has to stop.  Things like occasional desserts with honey, maple syrup, agave, or even refined sugar are great treats.  Milk, cheese, yogurt, and whey powder are good for some and not for others, so live and let live.  Heck, traditionally prepared grains – soaked, sprouted, or fermented to remove the antinutrients (phytates and lectins) are perfectly safe to eat for most folks (just time consuming to prepare).

The key, in my opinion, is to make choices which allow one to THRIVE in this life, and not just survive.   Strive for high quality foods in every catagory, support businesses and farms that care about a sustainable environment, and focus on a variety of fresh produce and animals for most of the time.

The more I think about it, the more I realize this paleo thing requires a complete change in your relationship with food.  Once you adapt to this mindset, rules and guidelines are not important.  Remember that the origin for the word “diet” is “way of living”.  I think my next few posts will dive into my personal history, as there are some (possibly) interesting stories from the last few years that have brought me to where I am today.

For now, here’s a recipe for chicken nori rolls that I made for the first time, after reading about BrokeAss Gourmet’s beef kimchi nori rolls, I ‘ve been craving toasted seaweed.  Mine are not nearly as pretty as her’s, and I was totally winging it in the flavor department, but I’m going to make many returns to the riceless “sushi” technique for dinner ideas.

I had 3 lbs of chicken tenders that I coated in a dijon mustard-egg batter that was flavored with tumeric, coriander, salt, and peper.  (Yes there is vinegar in mustard, use mustard powder if you are avoiding vinegar). I then “breaded” the chicken in a coconut flake – almond sliver dredge mixture and put them on a rack on a baking sheet for the oven to cook thoroughly.

Chicken station

Ready for the oven

While they’re roasting, I grated cauliflower in a food processor.

Grating station

I then heated a pan coated with coconut oil, sauteed some shallot and garlic, and “stir-fried” my cauliflower.  I killed the heat and sprinkled chopped green onion for fun.

(I served this with some sauteed mushrooms)

When the chicken was done, I took my nori paper, laid a sheet down and put one chicken tender in the middle.  Alongside it I spooned some cauliflower.  The heat from the chicken and cauliflower softened the nori so that I was able to roll it pretty easily, but I still need practice.  I used a wet brush to seal the ends, and kind of just pushed the ends in so it looked like a green burrito.

Not exactly the sushi bar...

So I would just eat this thing whole, but for fun I sliced it like sushi.   Haha, psych out!

PRIMAL CHILI

Here’s the most refined recipe I’ve ever written (And possibly the cheapest to make)

~4-5 lbs of meat and bones

Select cheaper, tougher cuts in the discount section that are suited for long cooking times like stew meat, oxtail, shanks, Manager’s special chuck roasts, bones, etc.  Don’t limit to beef, either; goat is an excellent choice.  For example, I used 2 lb goat stew meat, with bones (Look for it in the Indian grocery store freezer) and 3 lb beef tail/shank combo package.

The rest of the ingredients are very affordable

1 small can tomato paste

1 large onion, diced

From a can of chilies in adobo sauce:  2 chipotles (chopped) and 1 tbsp adobo sauce

2 to 3 tsp salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

½ cup chili powder

Quick note – canned chipotles in adobo sauce does contain vinegar (not technically Paleo-approved, but I’m not convinced it’s all that bad for you).

Making your own chili powder is by far superior to store-bought.

(Based on Alton Brown’s Food Network recipe)

Chili Powder –

~4 oz of dried chiles, heat level is set by type of chile, for example:

3-4 seeded ancho chiles (mild)

5-6 seededcaliforniachiles (medium)

5-6 seeded japones chiles (hot)

2 tbsp cumin seed

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tsp paprika

Process all of the above in a blender to achieve powder consistency.

A quick note about spices and herbs.  Avoid the spice rack section at the grocery store unless it’s a emergency (like you’re hosting 20 family members for Christmas dinner and you’re out of the cloves that you use once a year for the mulled cider that  keeps everyone buzzed and happy).  Buy spices in bulk from the international grocer with the foreign language labels or even the health food store where you bag your own and write the plc # on a tag.  Also, buy whole seeds whenever possible and grind as needed using a $13 blade coffee grinder (keep it away from coffee!).  While fresh herbs are always preferred, dried herbs get you through winter and keep much longer.  Buy dried herbs in bulk as well – the vials of McCormick’s are so incredibly overpriced it makes me nauseous.  I plan to go big on an herb garden next spring (I didn’t have time this year since we moved) to save on fresh herb costs.  A heavy consumer like myself saves hundreds of dollars a year this way.

Now let’s make chili!

If your meat is thawed, an optional step is to pat dry, sprinkle with salt, and sear it off in a hot pan with some rendered fat or coconut oil to get the nice browning, then…

Put all meat in a pressure cooker (OK if frozen) and add about 6 cups of water to cover.

Be smart and follow the manufacturer’s instructions on using the pressure cooker.   Cook under pressure (mine is 15 psig) for about 80 minutes if frozen, 60 if thawed.

When safety lock is released, remove all the hunks of meat to let cool.  Strain the leftover liquid (stock), and decant the grease using a fat separator.  We’ll need this stock in a moment…

Using tongs, fork, and/or fingers, separate and shred the meat.  Discard the bones and gristle at this point.  Really fingers work the fastest here.  And don’t be too anal about it – work fast, and get all the bone fragments out.  Part of the Primal chili experience is to eat the softened cartlidge, connective tissues, and visceral fat that made it into the final product.

Combine in the pressure cooker vessel (out of efficiency, you can move to any pot you want now).

Meat, tomato paste, chipotles, adobo, onion, and chili powder

Add about 4 cups of the reserved stock – add more or less to reach a desired consistency, keeping in mind it will thicken as it simmers.

Add 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp pepper,

Stir and simmer for 20-30 min, until onion is translucent

Taste and add extra salt if desired

Photo courtesy of Adam C.

So as you can see, once you have the shredded beef and supply of chili powder, the rest comes together pretty quickly.

Keep leftover stock in fridge and use for recipe requiring beef stock.

After this you’ll never make chili with boring, textureless ground beef and you’ll find that beans are unnecessary and cumbersome.  You’ll also find that cornbread is really cheap filler to make up for weak, watery chili and topping with sour cream and shredded cheese is just plain offensive.

Most people might agree that the hardest part about any restrictive diet is maintaining willpower in social settings, when opportunities to “cheat” are non-stop.  Usually I reserve these situations to let my guard down and enjoy myself, but during a challenge, as my wife keeps reminding me, this is not allowed.  However, the end of the challenge is in sight!  I’m looking forward to relaxing just a bit.  I’m pretty sure I’m in this for life, so I gotta roll with the punches.

Here are some tips I’ve been using to keep on the straight and narrow.

1.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Dr. Wansink (Mindless Eating) has done tons of experiments showing how opportunistic we tend to be when it comes to overeating on sweets and refined carbs.  Basically, I try not to sit in front of the bowl of  chips, and I keep my back to the table of snacks.

2.  Keep the mouth busy.  While gum probably isn’t Paleo, gnawing on sorbitol is better than bagels.  I also keep a water bottle or coffee around to sip on.  The same thing applies for drinking – I grab my club soda and lime to ward off the urge to crack open a beer.

3.  Bring something safe to share.  A big flavorful salad sure beats the pants off the plain vegetable tray featuring the island of soy-based dipping sauce.  Doesn’t matter if you’re eating Paleo or not.  Or, bring along a crockpot with Primal chili (recipe coming soon) or meatballs for something hot.

4.  Fill up on the main dish!  The protein and veggies are there, so enjoy them!  The less hungry you are the easier it is to turn down the noncompliant foods.

Any other ideas?  Feel free to share.

On to the recipe – chicken stock is a critical ingredient to keep on hand.  While not a recipe, it deserves its own post.  I collect chicken parts in the freezer.  I do this by buying whole chickens or bone-in split breasts and trimming myself for skinless/boneless recipes.   When I can fill about 2 gallon ziptop bags with chicken bones, cartlidge, and otherwise scraps, its time to make stock.

Here’s what you need:  a large stockpot or pressure cooker (~7 qt range).  One very large bowl, 2 medium bowls, a fine mesh strainer, a fat separator, and 3-4 quart size storage containers or jars.

I use a pressure cooker because it cuts the process to about 1/4 the time.  Fill your pot with frozen chicken and cover with water.  Apply high heat and skim the foam and floaters that rise to the top.  Be aware of the height of the water, as the pressure cooker has an upper limit to avoid blowouts.  I tend to skim out a lot using a ladle to help clarify the end product, and it’s easy to add more water as needed.  I do this 2 or 3 times as the liquid comes to a boil

Skim the scum

Once its mostly clear, cover and lock down for one hour.  If you’re going old school and applying no extra pressure, keep it at a simmer, and add water as needed for about 5-6 hours.

What an extra 15 psi does in an hour.

I kill the heat at about 50 minutes so that the pressure cooker unlocks on its own without having to release steam or anything.  Not the most appetizing looking result but that liquid is precious.  Full of goodness from the melted cartlidge and bone marrow, I can’t think of anything that is more nourishing.  But we’re not done yet.

Using tongs, I remove as much solids as possible to one medium bowl and set aside to cool.  Then I set up a double strainer over the extra large bowl and strain the remaining particles.

I need a bigger fine mesh strainer, but this works.

Now that the solids are gone, we need to cut the fat from all the rendered skin.  This is why fat separators exist (sometimes called gravy separators).   I’ve tried, and I’ve found no good replacement for a fat separator.

"It cuts the fat!"

I do this part in batches to fill up my quart containers.  Final yield was 3 quarts.  Don’t hastily throw this stuff in your fridge because it’s still piping hot.  Let it cool to avoid making the refrigerator work overtime.   Keep it covered and it won’t be susceptible to bacteria.  I then threw the 2 extras in the freezer to keep until needed.  Once cool, you’ll notice these become solid like jello (from the gelatin, ie melted cartlidge).  You WON’T see storebought stock have this effect, which is why it’s inferior.

Now, back to that pile of skin, bones, and meat… We’re not throwing it all away.  Set up the 3 bowls – one for the unsorted chicken (full), one for the meat, and one for the garbage.  With clean hands start picking – the meat will fall off the bones, and the fat and gristle will easily be felt out.  In 7 minutes you can have 1.5 lbs of shredded chicken, that is relatively flavorless, but still a good source of protein that you can flavor for chicken salad, tacos, or omlettes.

What a week!  Time for posting have been tight, and on this Friday night I’m beat.  I do have a lot to talk about, just need time to sit and write.  I don’t want to many days to pass without an update, however.

So this will be quick and to the point; I analyzed food from Week 1 using NutritonData.com.  I’m shedding weight now, but I need to eat more calories per day.   I’m averaging only 1890 calories a day – I thought I would be much higher than that.  22% of calories are from carbohydrates, 34% from protein, and 44% from fat.  This was also a surprising result.  I would guess there is considerable amount of error, because I can’t enter my food exactly.  I estimate portion sizes and leave out minor ingredients.  But to find that fat is the majority of my calories is very interesting since I didn’t really even consider the fats that the food was cooked in!

Also, my omega-3/omega-6 ratio is lower than desirable at about 0.3, including correction for fish oil.  My cholesterol intake is through the roof at nearly 1 gram per day, since I consumed a dozen eggs in Week 1.  However, I buy the good quality eggs that tend to be lower in cholesterol and higher in omega-e than standard eggs, so I’m not concerned by this at all.

For fun I compared to the FDA guidelines, which recommend 60% of calories come from carbohydrates.  While I fall well under this recommendation, I’m meeting the recommendation for dietary fiber, at 25 grams per day.  This means I’m simply eliminating all the sugar and starch.

I feel great right now.  Legs are a bit sore from some sprint intervals, but I rested today.  Tomorrow will also be a rest day as I travel to San Diego for the “Our Finest City” half marathon on Sunday.  Eating clean on travel? Yikes.  Here we go…

Grill chicken faster by cutting out the spine and saving it for a stock.  Simply cut up either side of the spine with shears.  Then you can push the rib cage down and get a nice flat even surface for grilling.  I make a generous spice rub with whatever’s on hand:  dried herbs, garlic, paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper will do the trick.  Use your fingers to separate skin from flesh and rub the spice mix in there.  Leave it outside the skin and it will burn; underneath, and it will be absorbed more readily as the skin renders.

I'm getting pretty good at poultry anatomy. And don't you dare think I threw away those organs that came stuffed in the cavity. They are safely frozen for the next project.

I had a rocket hot fire and got sidetracked, so I did have a bit of burning.  I don’t apologize.  It still tasted great.  Get that breast up to 150, thigh up to 170, and let the bird rest for 10 minutes before attempting to cut.  Sometimes the legs fall off on their own.  Don’t sweat it, just enjoy.  And I recommend just eating with your hands and making a mess.  Lots of fun.

Move that chicken around to avoid burning over the hot spots. Take it off direct heat and close lid to roast. Will take about 30 minutes.

Final result was a little more blackened than I meant for, but I'm sure my primal ancestors weren't perfect either.

I thought I’d just share a few thoughts today.

Club soda or seltzer water is an excellent alcohol replacement, especially with a wedge of lime.  While I have not completely abstained, I’ve cut back alcohol consumption by 95%.  In other words, 2-3 drinks a day down to less than 1 a week, and limited to distilled clear spirits.  Do I feel any improvements?  Hard to say, really;  if anything, I’m saving money.

I want to draw a graph of the % calories from animal protein in an entree vs entree cost for what is considered an inexpensive restaurant versus an expensive restaurant.  I’ll use chain restaurants which post nutrition info on the menus, I’m thinking maybe an easy comparison would be applebees vs. outback.  My hypothesis is that cheaper restaurants actually just have higher % calories from cheap carbohydrates.

Listen to Dr. Ron Rosedale concisely debunk the myth of “good and bad” cholesterol and the role of cholesterol in heart disease.  I listened to this three times (first heard it on the Latest in Paleo podcast).

Also from Latest in Paleo, Gwen Olsen discussed her book Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher.  I really liked her quote, “Pharmaceutical companies are not in the business of  health and healing, they are in the business of disease maintenance and symptom management. ”  Makes sense – if they healed you, they would no longer have you buying their drugs and they would go out of business.  Controversial?

I’m going to try to make mayonnaise with egg yolks, lemon juice, and warm liquid bacon fat.

I consider myself to be pretty open minded to try new foods, but I think I would only eat raw earthworms if it was a matter of survival.

I ran a half marathon with my aunt last weekend in San Diego.  I ate 4 hardboiled eggs, 2 lara bars, and 2 bananas before, and another 2 hardboiled eggs, 8 oz whey protein drink, and 2 bananas afterward.   Water only during the race.  It seemed to work out alright!

Recipe:  bottom round.  I grabbed a small grassfed bottom round for a reasonable price.  Bottom round is lean and tough, and the best solution is to braise it and then slice it thin.  You can cook it low and slow all day and it will shred apart if you don’t want to slice thin.

I applied salt to the roast and let it sit for a bit to come up to room temperature.  During this time I heated up the oven to 400.  In my cast iron skillet with some coconut oil, I browned the roast on all sides – allow at least 2 minutes per side to get proper searing.  Then I deglazed the pan with beef stock (made from beef bones previously in my pressure cooker).   I added some ground mustard seed, dried herbs, pepper, and coriander.  Then I reduced the oven temp to 350, covered the roast and liquid mixture with a lid, and put it in the oven for 30 minutes.  Flipped the roast over, and 30 more minutes.

Maillard reaction!

Now it’s good and tough still, but the braising broke down some of the connective tissue.  If you were to go maybe another hour at 250 deg, you might be in better shape, but I didn’t have the time!  However, I did just sharpen my knife.  So, I removed the roast to a cutting board and let it rest for a few minutes while I set the pan back on the stove on medium high heat to simmer and reduce the liquid.  My memory faded, but I may have hit the liquid with some more seasoning and herbs because I thought it was still a bit too bland.  Anyway, I turned my attention to the beef while the sauce reduced.

Skill is required. Practice makes perfect.

With as much precision as I could muster, I sliced my beef thin.  A deli slicer would have been nice here…

When I came back to the sauce, it was thick and syrupy.  I added some ghee (clarified butter – no milk solids) to give it some body.  Woah this is potent stuff!  I then tossed the beef slices in the sauce, which can only be described as unctuous and rich, packed with flavor and saltiness.  The thin slices gave the beef some interesting toothiness without being tough – this is a critical step.  I served it on a bed of steamed greens.

Read a great quote today:

From this personal experience, a belief is formed. And once we believe in something, we have a remarkable ability to filter out any evidence that might contradict that belief.

– From Chris Kresser’s article on obesity

But this quote can be applied to a much bigger picture, of course.  It gets me thinking about the personal nature of food, and how we can tend to defend it like our finances, political views, spiritual beliefs, or love.  Two books come to mind that also touch on the topic: Consuming Culture (Why You Eat What You Eat) by Jeremy MacClancy and We Are What We Eat (Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans) by Donna Gabaccia.  I have copies of these books if you’d like to borrow them.

Additionally, I should not leave out the Bible with the intense symbolism of bread’s role the first communion with Jesus and his disciples – “Take and eat for this is my body”  Or, if you prefer to take the story literally, there is a chapter on cannibalism in Consuming Culture…

I did cave this weekend and consumed a drink(s) – Woodford Reserve with 1 ice cube, and it was superb.  I’m not sure how “one drink” is measured, but by any reasonable standards I had more than one.  For some perspective, here’s a confession – before this challenge I typically drank every night, and usually more on weekends (always in moderation).  So 4 days of temperance was a commendable feat.  I’m running a 1/2 marathon next Sunday in San Diego, and my goal is to stay dry from now until I cross that finish line.  I was supposed to run alongside my uncle, Harry Peasley, but I, along with some other family members, will be running in his honor instead.  He’d be upset if I didn’t have at least one  margarita afterward – I sure do miss him.

Today’s recipe is for a chicken apple stirfry that popped up on the foodee blogroll.  Here’s a link to the original recipe.  Of course, substitutions were made.  It’s not that the recipe isn’t perfectly fine as it is, it’s just that I try to be resourceful.  The “spicy sausage seasoning mix” is delightful, and I was pretty close to having all those ingredients (shown blended in the lid of my spice grinder – aka blade coffee grinder).

Once you grind spices in a coffee grinder, you can never go back to using it for coffee.

I browned and cut all the chicken before adding it back to the apple/spice mix.

Not as pretty as delightfultastebuds.com, but I blame the lighting.

This one ended up being so-so for a few reasons.  I overcooked the chicken; it was perfect after browning, and then adding it back to stir fry was too much.  I didn’t add enough salt to bring out the spice mix flavor, and it lacked that saucy glaze that only 30 min of liquid reduction can provide.  (I’m thinking of that the orange chicken I made awhile back from heath bent, see previous posts).  Also, spicy apples made it taste like autumn.  I guess summer is quickly slipping by, but I’m not ready for fall food yet.  So there is promise to be had here, but needs work.  Sorry to be so hard on myself!

Just when I think I’m starting to figure this diet stuff out, Johnny Lawrence sweeps my legs with some perspective.  I listened to Nora Gedgaudas talk on the Latest in Paleo podcast, and it was a good reminder that I need to always keep an open mind, listen, and adapt.  I strongly recommend the Latest in Paleo podcast because Angelo covers such a broad range of topics with insight from many sources “outside the bubble.”  I made up a quote in school:  “It’s a learning process as long as I’m willing to be corrected.”  Yeah, I’ll take credit for that.

Another learning opportunity came from reading Whole 9’s poster at the Ancestral Health Symposium.  Paleo can get “cute” sometimes with the almond flour and dried fruits… reminders like this can help keep me in check.

I spend about 90 minutes a day in the car, so podcasts are lifesavers.  If you’re interested, I also listen to Crossfit Radio, The Paleo Solution, The Adam Carolla Show, and Ace on the House.  Those last two are both hosted by Adam Carolla and have nothing to do with paleo, but they’re entertaining.

I also feed a lot of blogs to my phone and check them throughout the day during small breaks.  My two new favorites are Broke Ass Gourmet and Cheeseslave. Gabi on Broke Ass Gourmet just posted a kale-andouille “pizza” with a cauliflower crust that you can bet I will be making very soon.  From reading her recent posts, it looks like she’s slowly moving away from grains just recently, and her recipes are just killer looking.  Ann Marie on Cheeseslave, while not strictly Paleo, is inspirational in her approach to food.  After reading this post about eggs, I’m convinced I need to get to the farmer’s market more.  Details to come later.

Another thought:

Eat outside more.

Finally, I constructed a Paleo-friendly dessert last night that needs some tweaking, but holds some promise.  I combined about 1/2 cup of coconut milk, with diced mango and kiwi, then sprinkled on some pecans.  Finally I topped it with a cacao nib and fennel “crunch”.  Cacao nibs are the raw beans that chocolate is made from, so the only sugar comes from the fruit.  The coconut milk is like a custard, but sets better when colder.  This is where I think I can improve.  The fennel seed complimented the subtle chocolate flavor of the cacao very well.  I pulsed the seeds in my spice ginder (blade coffee grinder) to break into the sprinkles.  Very satisfying, but as with any dessert, keep the portion small.

My made up dessert ingredients

My cacao nib and fennel sprinkle crunch topping, with coconut milk at the ready.

Tastes better than it looks... Yeah, I need to work on my photography skills.

And so the 45 day challenge begins today!  I call it “Day 1” because “Day 0” doesn’t make any logical sense.  Quite a fun day with the Crossfit Indy North community abuzz on Facebook.  There is a lot of excitement for the challenge, and I think there will be a lot of positive results.  (Well, my fellow CF’er and coworker Adam has a beef to settle, but whatever motivates you works!)  I’m interested in hearing the different approaches and stories which result.  Coach Bryn gets mad props for orchestrating this!

So enough about others, let’s talk about me.  As an engineer, I like gathering and analyzing data.  I also like to experiment.  So I’m going to maximize the data extracted from this 45 day challenge as much as time permits.

I posted a link to the rules already; there are 8 catagories of team rankings.  The first item was workout “Cindy”, and it’s in the books.  The rest of the results will be acquired on Day 45.  For those outside the bubble, Cindy is rounds of 5 kipping pullups, 10 pushups (from chest-to-deck to arms locked out), and 15 squats to a 12″ med ball for 20 minutes.   Kerry and I rocked it out, and we’re happy with our start.  We didn’t hold back because we want to see the isolated effect of the diet change.

So in the meantime I’m recording other things on my own.  Here’s what else I’m tracking:

– 5k run (once per week)

– blood presure (once per week)

– blood lipids

– average calorie and macronutrient breakdown

– dependence on prescription meds to control asthma

These non-scored categories are for my own curiosity.  The calorie counting is going to be a pain, but I can do it for 45 days.  But the real breakdown will come in waves.  I’m going to book a physical at the end of this to get the blood lipids checked; I had it done in May for insurance purposes which will be the “before”.

The asthma experiment will be really interesting.  I’ve taken Advair for over a year now to keep allergy-induced asthma in check.  I’m very sensitive to grass and mold.  Robb Wolf has mentioned on his podcast numerous times that there could be a relationship between gluten, even in tiny amounts, and allergies.  So after 22 days being completely gluten free, I’m going to stop taking the Advair and see what happens.  I’ll have my emergency inhaler on me at all times, and I won’t be purposefully inhaling excessive amounts of grass pollen or mold spores.  But I’m just going to observe and report.  We’ll see how it goes!

So that was a lot to write about, but let’s talk about meatballs.  These are my new favorites, and I based it on Mark’s Daily Apple recipe for primal meatballs.  So read through that real quick, and you’re welcome to follow the recipe exactly  I didn’t, as you might have already guessed…

I did not use any prepacked sausage or bison.  I used 2lbs of ground turkey or chicken with equally delicious results.  Also, I used herbs I had on hand dried or fresh; I was lucky to have a friend give me some clippings from her rosemary bush recently.  And, since there are tons of spices already in the sausage that I didn’t have, I upped the amounts of herbs, a pinch more salt, plus I added ground coriander and fennel seed for fun.  Optional addition of red pepper flake to add some heat! Finally, I tried to replace the heavy cream with coconut milk, and that was a major success!  So follow Mark’s description of how to assemble.

I then thought it needed tomato sauce, since I had some canned crushed tomatoes and a ripe tomato that was begging for use.  Then to make it a one-pan meal, I dumped diced yellow “crookneck” squash and covered to simmer until the squash was cooked (5 min is plenty).  I’ll leave you with some of my own crappy pictures (by comparison).

I fit 2 lbs worth in my 12" skillet.

It's not pretty, but it makes for easy cleanup and storage of leftovers for lunch.

Getting close to the start of the challenge!  I’ve been very conscious  of this all week, and I’ve kept busy getting my cheats in before the official start.  You could say my 80% rule was notched down to about 65%.  Drank a few beers at the Crossfit Games viewing party, hit up Adobo Grill downtown for some delightful Mexican food, played fast and loose at the Indiana State Fair, and took advantage of a “welcome to the neighborhood” free pizza coupon from the neighborhood establishment.  Needless to say, I’m not at my leanest at this moment, but I think it’s a reasonable start point.

I’m weighing in on Monday August 8, and the official start date is August 9.  Official rules are here, if you’re interested in some of the specifics of what Kerry and I are getting ourselves into.  I’ve never kept a food log for more than 2 meals, so I see that as being the most difficult rule to adhere to.  We did buy some journals to help out with that, and I will even go a step further and try to painstakingly log calories to the best of my ability with the help of websites/phone apps like MyFitnessPal.  I may even find the time and energy to analyze the results and post anything interesting here.

Fitness-wise, in addition to the “Cindy” workout, I think I will track my 5k run time.  I’m planning on running a 5k every Monday evening, and I started two weeks ago.  The goal is to run it as fast as I can each time and track performance. I’d also like to track my strength numbers, but that may be more loosely defined, based on whatever comes up in the Workout of the Day between now and September 22 (I think I counted that right…).

At the outset, my personal goals are not really to lose any weight at all, but see a drop in % body fat and an increase in strength, endurance, and speed.  So we’ll see how it goes.  I’ll try to update the blog 2-3 times per week, but it will most likely be published in waves of 2 or 3 at a time.

Today’s recipe is for a Brussels sprout hash.  My recipe is based on Alton Brown’s Brussels sprout episode.  Alton is the closest thing I have to a celebrity idol, and 90% of my culinary technique is a direct result of Good Eats episodes (watching some numerous times).    I combined the two recipes demonstrated in that link to arrive at my dish which celebrates the bright vegetal funk of the sprouts.

Into a food processor with the slicer attachment goes about 1 lb of sprouts, 1/2 lb of broccoli florets, 5 spring  onions (or 1/4  large onion), and about 6 baby turnips.   I then tossed the vegetation combination in a large bowl while seasoning with salt and pepper.

Halfway through the processing stage.

Setting the bowl aside, I diced 2 or 3 strips of bacon (shown are half strips) and rendered out the fat in a hot skillet.  Once the bacon bits started to crisp up, I simply added all the veggies and cooked it per Alton’s method, like a hash.

Use a large skillet that can handle all that green without spilling over.

I believe I served this up with my thick cut grilled pork chops, or you can take Alton’s advice and go with the roast turkey.

While I didn’t break it down, this just has to be packed with nutrition, and it’s a super tasty way to learn how to enjoy Brussels sprouts.  Feel free to garnish with some roasted pecans or almond slivers or dried cranberries.