Follow dbax21 on Twitter

6.29.2011

Four Solid Veggie Recipes


There is one thing that the mainstream and everyone else can all agree on when it comes to food: we should all be eating more vegetables.  I try to get a good helping of them with every meal…problem is, they can get boring.  Here are four unique ways to cook up some nice side dishes…

Roasted Curried Cauliflower Steaks
1 Head of Cauliflower
Cumin
Smoked Paprika
Any curry powder
Salt
Olive oil
Preheat over to 350

First, sit the head of cauliflower upright on your board.  Start from one side of the cauliflower and slice head into ¼ to ½ inch slices (should look like two-dimensional trees).  Arrange ‘steaks’ on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with all of the spices and salt on both sides.  Roast in heated oven for around 30 minutes (flipping them once) or until browned.
With my favorite meatloaf and some salad

Simple Arugula Salad
Arugula
One avocado, diced
One diced Roma tomato
Lemon
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Toss arugula with avocado and tomato.  Dress with a squeeze of lemon, drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.
Salad at breakfast? Yes.

Grilled Kale
Kale
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat grill.  Drizzle whole kale leaves (steams on) with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place leaves directly on hot grill and cook until leaves brown and crisp.  Cut from stems when finished and cut into bite sized pieces.

*These can also be tossed with a dressing like a salad.  I actually tried it with some Greek yogurt and it was awesome...sounds weird, tastes great.
Great as a BBQ side.

Paleo Creamed Spinach
Chopped spinach
1 chopped onion
Coconut oil
Coconut milk
Salt and Pepper

Saute onions in coconut oil over low-medium heat until soft.  Add chopped spinach.  When spinach heats up and begins to wilt, add enough coconut milk to cover bottom of pan.  Add salt and pepper.  Let the mixture simmer over low heat until the spinach thickens (about 10-15 minutes should do).
More meatloaf!

 Give 'em all a try! Vegetables can taste good!

6.16.2011

"Healthy"

I was talking with a coworker today about how whole grains have become so prevalent in the American diet.  I would guess that 9 out of 10 people on the street would insist that people should eat plenty of them on a daily basis.  We were talking about how that could have happened if eating whole grains were, in reality, not only unnecessary, but harmful.  How can so many people be convinced that they NEED something that will ultimately do them potentially more harm than good??  That is an excellent question.  Got me thinking…who can you trust when it comes to health? 

Let’s think about that.  In a perfect world, I would answer: the government, doctors, health-food companies, pharmaceutical companies, and anyone else claiming to want to make me healthier.  I would definitely place these parties at the top when it comes to food advice in a perfect world.  The problem is that the world is not perfect.  There are other motivators in the real world that seem to steer our trusted advisors.  More often than not, those motivators are dollar bills.

Let’s start on the medical side…Now, I am not saying that doctors are motivated by money and don’t want to help get people healthier.  In fact, I have the utmost respect for doctors and nurses and the rigorous training and schooling that they must endure to gain their statuses. What I am saying is that perhaps the system in which the doctors operate does not give them enough tools to help patients live healthy lives.

The entire American healthcare system is designed around helping to repair damaged people.  We have cutting edge medicines and procedures to cure illness, to fix broken bones and torn ligaments, and even to make fat people skinnier.  That is all great, and I am proud of what our country has discovered in these arenas, BUT…what does our healthcare system do to help us AVOID breaking?  There is virtually no preventative value in our current system.  Bottom line is that the system is taking on too much responsibility to try to make people healthy via medicine and surgery.  I firmly believe that the healthcare debate/problem in our country is far less complicated than made out to be.  Insurance companies all claim that it is the “cost of care” that drives rising health costs in the US.  I agree.  Let’s save that money that we are spending on “care” and put it towards “prevention” via healthier lifestyle education.  Instead of opting for the costly gastric bypass surgery, how about teaching people to lift some weights and to cook food that doesn’t need a microwave? Costs of treating cardiovascular disease are forecasted (by the American Heart Association) to come to a cool $818 billion in 2030.  Come on.  We cannot let that happen.  It’s insane to call this an ‘epidemic’.  Most of these ‘sick’ people can fix themselves with some good food.  Rx: eat salads.

So we have established that the healthcare system doesn’t really advise us much on how to eat and live a healthy lifestyle, so who else do we turn to?  Sadly, that answer usually falls somewhere between advertisers and the USDA.  I say “sadly” because none of these parties are at all objective.  For example, the US Government spends approximately $5 billion on farm subsidies per year (direct payments to farmers) to produce: corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton, rice, and some other nuts, seeds and grains. The government is practically in the grain business.  Coincidentally, every diet that the USDA has recommended includes a nice base of grains despite much research that grains are not too good for us.  Why don’t they subsidize vegetables?  Because grains make more money.  By the way…for you grain-junkies, I ask you this: can you name a benefit to eating grains that you cannot get by eating vegetables?  No.  So why are we supposed to eat them again?  (Not rhetorical, please tell me). 

Lastly, I don’t really need to spend much time on explaining why marketers of food products cannot be trusted.  They spend over $10 billion (a 2004 estimate, probably much higher now) in annual advertising, and they use names like “Lean Cuisine” and “Healthy Choice” to dupe us.  Have you ever met someone that looks “Lean” and feels “Healthy” that eats nothing but “Lean Cuisine?”  If so, I would like to meet him.  Don’t buy this garbage. Moving on.

 My point is simply that there are countless different viewpoints around proper diets, nutrition, and exercises…all claiming to be the ‘healthiest.’  If we continue to listen to what ‘they’ tell us with no objection, we will continue to suffer from the epidemic that is poor health.  This is a big, expensive problem…take action, question authority, and make an effort to find your own definition of ‘healthy’.

6.04.2011

Eggs! Six Ways to Cook Em Up!

Let’s talk about eggs.  They are one of the most nutritious foods around, they are easy to cook, and they taste great.  If you aren’t eating them, you should be.  Egg dishes fit in breakfast, lunch, or dinner so I figured we would look at a few of my favorite ways to cook ‘em up…

In order by degree of difficulty (my opinion, take it for what it’s worth)…

Hard boiled:
Completely submerge eggs in water in a pot (cover by about 1 inch).  Place the pot on the stove over high heat and bring water to a boil (we want bubbles, here).  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 more minutes.  Immediately remove eggs from hot water and place in ice water until cooled (this step is important, it will make sure that the yolks aren’t that ugly greenish grey color on the edges).  Peel, eat.

*Great chopped up in salads, as a portable snack, a quick breakfast, a lazy dinner, etc.  You can make a lil’ deviled eggs appetizer too by scooping the yolks out adding ingredients like paprika, mayonnaise, avocado, etc then spooning the mixture back in.

Scrambled:
Beat eggs in a bowl and add a pinch of salt and pepper and some chopped herbs to taste.  Beat them until well mixed (you can add some whole milk if you’re into that).  Melt pasture butter, or heat ghee or cooking oil (olive/coconut) in a sauté pan on low-medium heat.  Pour eggs into the pan and gently fold them over alternating sides until just after they stop running.  (Key: NO high heat, and don’t overcook them)
Scramble with mushrooms, spinach, sausage and some yam

*Great anytime.  You can also add meat or veggies into the scramble to balance the meal out…get creative.

Fried:
After cooking up some bacon, the pan should be hot and filled with rendered fat.  You can use this, butter, ghee, olive oil, or coconut oil.  Once the pan is hot, turn the heat just below medium.  Crack eggs gently into the pan.  Once the whites begin to set, loosen the eggs with a very thin spatula, and carefully turn them over.  For over-easy, let the other side cook for about 30 seconds then remove (a bit longer for over-medium). For sunny-side up, just cover the pan and let the steam cook the white through instead of flipping it.
Fried egg with arugula salad

*Fried eggs make dishes fancier.  Eat em for breakfast, throw them on top of a burger patty, or add one to your salad or veggies.  Everybody likes some hot, runny yolk.

Omeletted (I made that word up…you’re welcome)
Broccolini Omelette

Frittata:
See omelette.  Almost the same recipe…just use more eggs (eight or so makes a solid one).  Instead of flipping the omelette, let the edges set in the pan (something oven-safe), then throw it in the oven or under the broiler (keep a close eye on it) until the top is completely set and very slightly brown.  Cut it into pieces (like pie) to serve.
Vegetable frittata

*Great leftovers for any meal.  You don’t have to eat them hot either; they taste great at room temperature.

Poached:
Bring water to a boil and then reduce the heat so that the boil isn’t all wild.  Gently crack egg/s into water and let them cook until the egg white is set (maybe 3-5 minutes).  Remove egg/s from the water with a slotted spoon, and try to drain off all water.
Breakfast hash

*Usually best on top of things like: grilled asparagus, salad, sausage patties, or hash (sweet potato is my favorite).

There are certainly other ways to make eggs, but this should keep you pretty busy for your next carton or two.  As far as shopping is concerned, opt for ‘organic’ and ‘pastured’.  Ignore the stuff like “Omega 3 Enhanced”.  All they do is feed the hen flax seed.  Not worth the extra dollar IMO.

Happy egg-eating!

6.01.2011

The Paleo Cheater's Blues


Lately, I have been noticing that many friends/family members have become interested in changing the way that they eat and adopting new Paleo habits.  Most start out with some kind of Whole30/30 day-long (or 8 week-long for my CFLA peeps!) ‘experiment’ or ‘challenge’ type deal.  I have tried to provide some guidance and recipes and support, but I am finding that once they get through week one, they don’t even need it!  My friends and family are off and running with this stuff.  Apparently, Paleo is spreading and the results are addicting…
Whole9


With any addiction though, the trouble comes after those challenge period ends.  After 30 days, Alexis and I became accustomed to taking weekly pictures and noticing positive differences on a weekly basis in our bodies, our health, and our performance.  Those changes fueled the fire and kept us loving the lifestyle.  When we decided to add in one ‘free’ day per week (kinda Tim Ferriss-esque), it snowballed at times.  An Umami burger for dinner on Friday night turned into pancakes and mimosas on Saturday morning, and so on…
What we found was that the freedom associated with coming off of the strict plans makes you feel out of control and, sometimes, super guilty. Kinda ironic that the stricter the plan, the more in-control I felt. Despite the fact that we all know that we are far better off than we were Pre-Paleo, slipping up or ‘cheating’ still feels like a major letdown. 

This post is to encourage all of the occasional Paleo-'cheaters' (for lack of a better word).  You are all still kickin’ ass.  Try to think in terms of progress towards a goal.  If your goal is better health and fitness, reflect on how much healthier you feel now than you felt Pre-Paleo (in spite of some ice cream now and then).  If your goal is six-pack abs or the perfect wedding dress body, just know that you are probably just one more 30 day challenge or so away (if even that long).  The majority of the WORLD is forced to sift through hundreds of diets and cleanses and Men’s/Women’s Health articles to find a way to accomplish their health and fitness goals…we know EXACTLY which levers we need to pull to feel and look great.  What more could we ask for???

So next time you opt for a gnarly dessert or too many IPAs after that meal of grass-fed beef with avocado and a raw kale salad, don’t let it bring you down.  You have come too far to let it bother you!  Just picture your life now vs day one of your Paleo quest, and feel proud of everything you have learned and accomplished for yourselves.

Drink me! It's okay!


On a side note, you should check out Tim Ferriss's book if you haven't already...some interesting stuff. 
The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman