okra and tomatoes

Yesterday at the grocery store I picked up some fresh okra. I’m familiar with okra, but I’ve never worked with fresh okra before, so I was pleasantly surprised that it was so good and so was the family – it disappeared and I wasn’t able to have leftovers for lunch!

Here in the South, okra goes with tomatoes like peas and carrots, so I took some inspiration from multiple recipes and came up with the following:

Primal Okra and Tomatoes

• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt*
• 1/2 teaspoon Greek seasoning*
• 3 tablespoons butter*
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound fresh okra, sliced (1/4 inch)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium tomato, chopped

Mix the yogurt and the Greek seasoning in a bowl and set aside.

In a skillet, melt the butter on medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and cook until it softens. Stir in the okra and the seasonings: cumin, ginger, coriander, black pepper, chili powder, and salt. Stir well to ensure the seasonings are incorporated well throughout the okra. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the tomato and cook for another 10 minutes.

Serve with a dollop of the spiced yogurt.

This is one of those recipes that you can’t really mess up, so experiment with the spices and amount of tomatoes. If you like it spicier, add more chili powder. If you like it less spicy, remove the black pepper and the chili powder. Add more tomatoes if you want it to be more of a stewed consistency.

*For a paleo version of this dish, ditch the yogurt and exchange the butter for a more preferable oil.

swiss chard

Today was my first day to work with Swiss chard and as I’m sitting digesting a wonderful meal I’m wondering what took me so long? You’ve probably seen it in your local grocery store, but if you’re like me you’ve strolled right past it because, let’s face it, mom never cooked it. If spinach and a beet got together one night, played a little Barry White, had a little wine, and made some sweet music, the fruit of this unlikely (but beautiful) union would be Swiss chard. It’s no surprise, then, that Swiss chard is actually very closely related to both spinach and beets. Creepy.

According to Mark’s Daily Apple, Swiss chard delivers 716% of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin K, 110% RDA of vitamin A, 52% RDA of vitamin C, as well as a healthy dose of magnesium. In addition, he lists Swiss chard as one of his “16 Most Powerful Foods.” With that kind of reputation, how can we not include it in our weekly rotation?

Trolling around the net I found a lot of complicated recipes with Swiss chard that included many other ingredients. I tend to stay simple for my weeknight side dishes, so none of those really jumped out at me. I also saw from several sources that you can use it anywhere you use spinach. While probably true, it didn’t inspire me. So after perusing my pantry, I came up with this dish:

Primal Swiss Chard

• 1 bunch of Swiss chard, soaked and rinsed well
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons bacon grease*
• Crushed garlic, to taste
• Salt, to taste
• Crushed red pepper, optional

Trim the ends of the red stalks on the Swiss chard. Then cut the stalks away from the leaves. Cut the stalks into about 1/2 inch pieces. Cut the leaves across about every 2 inches. Set the stalks and the leaves aside separately.

Melt the bacon grease in a skillet (one that has a lid) over medium heat. Throw in the onions and cook them until they are soft. Add the garlic (and peppers if you like spice) and cook for a minute more. Add the stalks and cook for about 5 minutes or until they are soft. Turn the heat down to low and add the leaves. Place the lid on the skillet and let it set for about 3-5 minutes or until the leaves are wilted (not cooked!). Add some salt to taste and give it a stir until the salt is incorporated and the leaves are mixed well with the onions and stalks. Serve warm from the skillet.

Give it a try and let me know how you like it!

*The meaty taste of bacon grease goes well with the hearty flavor of Swiss chard, but honestly, you can use whatever oil you like. This is the only ingredient that makes this a primal recipe instead of paleo.

the grok-arita (caveman margarita)

When I want to cut loose and have more than a glass of red wine, I head to margarita country. The problem with most margaritas that are served in bars or restaurants is that they are loaded with HFCS. In addition, most tequila aficionados will tell you that there’s no need to bury the flavor of the tequila anymore with such strong, sweet ingredients because we have easy access to 100% agave tequila. So here is my favorite margarita recipe from many moons ago – low and behold, it’s very primal in nature (pun intended)!

• 1 1/2 oz. 100% agave tequila
• 1 oz. freshly-squeezed lime juice*
• 3/4 oz. organic agave nectar
• 3/4 oz. water

Whether you’re making 1 drink or an entire pitcher, just stick to this ratio and you can’t go wrong. If you make this drink for others, I promise that you will need to have it on hand, especially the CrossFit/Paleo/Primal crowd.

*Note that 1 average lime yields about 1-1.5 oz. of juice. Be prepared to buy and juice a lot of limes. The Chef’n FreshForce Citrus Juicer is the way to go because it’s double-hinged (trust me, you’ll be thankful after about 5 or 6 limes).

Try it out and let me know what you think in the comments.

Chef’n FreshForce Citrus Juicer

on road trips

I used to look forward to road trips because they came with a built-in excuse to eat quick, on-the-run, fast food. Not that we needed an excuse to eat fast food, but in my mind there was absolutely no guilt attached to road trip eating – because you’re on the road! What else you gonna eat?

Yesterday as we packed up to head out for Spring Break, we knew that we didn’t want to stop and grab something from McDonald’s. We already had a lot of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grilled chicken on hand to pack for the trip, so we made little lunch bags for everybody. We took sandwich bags and loaded them with:

• Red Bell Peppers
• Cucumbers
• Strawberries
• Almonds
• Grilled Chicken (cut into bite sizes)

It went over well for the most part, although our younger kiddoes are still not as thrilled about this new way of thinking. The key? Planning ahead. So far that’s the been the difference between eating well and eating junk this Spring Break.

on eating by spreadsheet

When I first started thinking on what I wanted to write about and communicate here, I was very much focused on The Zone. Every CrossFitter is likely to know about The Zone thanks mainly to the now infamous CrossFit Journal Issue #21 from way back in May 2004 (our copy is covered in who knows what, the ink is smeared, it’s in bad shape from being used so much). On day two of my training regiment I was introduced to this new way of thinking about food. At first, I was drawn to the regimen and the counting and the weighing, but I burnt out on it quickly because food is and always has been more about the emotions for me. The math was ruining it! However, earlier this year I decided to hit it hard again and read up on Dr. Sears’ Top 100 Zone Foods. It worked and I began to see results again.

Even just a week ago I was deep in the spreadsheet mindset and I was working on a spreadsheet that calculated the carbohydrate food blocks by weight. It just kinda hit me like a lightning bolt: “What in the world are you doing? This is dumb. I shouldn’t have to crack open a spreadsheet every time I want to eat!” That same day I came across Mark Sisson’s website, Mark’s Daily Apple. His approach to the whole paleo/CrossFit subculture just seemed to fit me better than others. I love his approach to balance on both the food and the fitness. It just all goes together easier for me – and there’s not a single spreadsheet for download on his website. Before Mark, “going paleo” seemed to be extreme to me with no balance for living life.

I’m still plugging through his book and I plan to finish it this week, but I’ve already started to put his basic principles into practice and I feel better, I have more energy, and I’m losing weight without really trying. In just 4 days I’ve lost about 2 pounds while eating what I like! I know this is just a microcosm, but this feels very sustainable to me.

As we head into Spring Break this week we’re actually planning ahead by bringing our own food. We don’t want to be ostracized by the rest of the family or be seen as pariahs, but at the same time we don’t want to go backwards either. Just something simple like replacing the daily morning donut regimen with some eggs, berries, and nuts. Also, instead of snacking like we normally would on vacation, we’ll just grab some pre-cut vegetables from our cooler. Then for lunch and dinner we’ll eat what everybody else eats, just in moderation.

I’ll report back in and let you know how we did.  As of yesterday, my weight was 265. Posting that here will keep me honest and accountable!

paleo-ish pizza

Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. For instance, right now we are trying to rid our house of some food items that are not exactly primal in nature. They’re not bad per se, but we’d like to zero in a bit more on our protein sources.  So to review, last night I made a ton of fresh chunky salsa to put on top of some grilled fish. This morning I drained and sauted the leftover chunky salsa and used it to top a nice frittata. Oddly enough I had just a little bit left and I hated to see it go to waste. So I did what I do best – I improvised based on the ingredients I have on hand.

The results? Stunning, if I do say so myself: a paleo-ish pizza!  Now I have to admit that while the ingredients in my creation today are not exactly paleo that with a few modifications they easily could be. Here’s what I had on hand:

• Leftover salsa – the last of it, I promise!
• Turkey bacon – 6 slices
• Sliced ham lunch meat – 2 slices
• Greek cheese
• Fresh baby spinach, wilted

First I fried the turkey bacon until it was nice and crisp. This is the “crunch” of the pizza, so it’s critical to get it crisp. Once that was finished I placed them on a paper towel to drain and become even crispier. They I took the ham and overlapped it slightly in the pan to make a figure 8 shape. I grated the cheese on top of the ham and then placed the bacon on top of the cheese. After heating up the leftover salsa, I placed that on top of the bacon and put a bit more cheese on top. Then I topped everything off with wilted spinach. To recap: ham, cheese, bacon, bit of cheese, chunky salsa, bit of cheese, wilted spinach.

The bacon is a nice substitute for the crunch of the crust and the salsa provides the tomato “sauce”.  I sliced it into 4 rectangular slices and shared with my wife – it was a huge hit

Next time I will have better quality ingredients on hand for the protein: bacon and ham with no nitrates.

Get in your refrigerator and pantry – you might be surprised what you can cook up!

leftover chunky salsa

One of the reasons I go with a chunky salsa to top off meats and such is that I like the texture of the fresh veggies. They add a satisfying crunch to any bit of grilled meat or fish. However, after sitting in their own juices and the acid overnight they will start to go soft very quickly. I usually try to finish off any leftovers within 12-18 hours, no more than 24.  After that you end up with a tasty mush.

A great use for leftovers is to use them to spice up your eggs in the morning: scrambled, omelette, or frittata.  Here’s what I do:

1. Drain the salsa in a strainer. Save the juice to drink if you like.
2. Add the drained salsa to a heated pan with oil. Saute just long enough to heat it through. Remove from the pan.
3. Add some more oil to your pan and prepare your eggs how you like them.
4. Top your eggs with the heated salsa (if it juiced back up feel free to take it for another drain).

You’re going to love how this turns out!

on cheat meals

Since we started this endeavor 6 months ago and more earnestly in January, my goal has always been to eat well about 90% of the time. I just flat out like food too much – all kinds of food. In addition, I have 3 children ages 15, 12, and 10 and while we want to teach them about making wise food choices, we also know that they need some balance in their lives as well. This has been my mantra and I’ve made progress while sticking to it.

As I mentioned yesterday, I downloaded The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson yesterday on my Kindle. As soon as I started to read it, it was like we are kindred souls and I didn’t feel this huge gulf of “I’m much smarter than you” that some of these diet and way of life books make me feel. This is another quote of his on the topic of balance and it made me realize that part of my goal with the happy gastronomer has already been fulfilled – not by me, but by Mark! Read this:

I strongly support you making allowances for, adjustments to, and occasional deviations from the Primal Blueprint based on your particular real-life concerns and constraints. You’ll encounter many references to my 80% Rule in the book …, which basically means you can chill out and enjoy your life rather than invite the additional stress and anxiety that comes from a perfectionist approach or an overly strict regimen.”

For the record, he does say that you should strive for 100% perfection in the plan but with a realistic expectation that you will hit about 80% and that’s OK.

Anyhow, it’s always been our “thing” on Friday night to reward ourselves and the kids with a treat meal – and their favorite (and one of ours, I’ll admit) is Taco Bell. I can hear the gasps from everyone now, but suck it – I’m not competing later today in the sectionals.

But last night as I lay in bed I noticed that I just didn’t feel right. In fact, I felt like crap. I checked my blood pressure and it wasn’t bad, but it was elevated and so was my pulse. My body wasn’t starting to shut down at about 9:00 like it normally did. To top it all off I’m up at 4:30 AM writing this instead of waking up at 6:30. Overall result: cheat meal FAIL.

And it hit me: my body is finally starting to reject my drug of choice: food that’s bad for me. The challenge for me now is what next?

paleo birthday “cake”

I had a bit of a dilemma this morning because today is my trainer‘s birthday. Thanks to her, my whole family is now participating in some form of CrossFit, eating better, and in general leading happier, more fulfilling lives! So I wanted to show her how much I appreciate her today when I showed up for our 6:00 AM WOD.  The problem is that she’s competing in tomorrow’s Central Southern Texas Sectional for the CrossFit Games so she’s on a very strict diet for a few more days. So before heading out this morning I whipped up the following recipe for a Paleo Birthday “Cake”:

• 1 egg, hard-boiled
• 1 candle (must be beeswax to be considered paleo)

Crack the top of the egg and remove about a dime’s worth of shell. Insert candle. Light. Enjoy.

Good luck to Coach Heather and everybody competing tomorrow at the sectionals, especially the folks from CrossFit Texas and CrossFit Central!

on progress

In the past 5 days I have been In the Zone for about 95% of my food intake (I had Indian food for lunch one day with a friend). I have concentrated more on ensuring that the food I am eating is of a higher nutritional value thanks to The Top 100 Zone Foods guidelines by Dr. Sears. I’ve completed 3 CrossFit WOD’s with mixed results (still carrying around 75-ish extra pounds or so and struggling with a nagging shoulder injury), and I’m starting to do more and more research on Paleo (not quite there, yet). The results? I’ve lost 2.5 pounds in the last week.  Make that 72.5-ish extra pounds. 🙂