This last couple days of no blog posts have been brought to you by ATT, where U-Verse may happen to crap out on you for 3 days then magically work when the technician shows up. Yeah, so I look like a crazy person when the tech shows up. At least it’s working now.
I wasn’t about to try to type a whole blog entry on my phone over the weekend. So, I took a vacation from the blog. Once I have a little more time, I’ll post a real update later today.
Fine, I’ll admit it. I love pork. My porkiphilia probably contributes to this being maybe my favorite paleo recipe so far. While it takes a little bit of planning ahead, cooking the pork is pretty low maintenance. 6+ hours of doing whatever I want while the oven does its job.
Start with a big ole hunk of pork. I usually use a 6 pound pork butt. Much like Sir Mix-a-lot, I like big butts, because I’ll snack on these leftovers repeatedly for several sequential meals.
The night before you want to this oinker for dinner, you’re going to make a simple dry rub out of salt, paprika, ground mustard and garlic powder. Rub it all over the pork butt and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
Also, if you’re going to use homemade ketchup (there is a recipe inside the link at the end of this post), the night before is a good time to make it so that the flavors can meld overnight. I made mine right inside a plastic container. One less bowl to wash.
The next day, 6 or 7 hours before dinner, pop that bad boy in the oven at 300 degrees. I don’t even wait for it to preheat because what’s 6 minutes when the thing has to cook for 6 hours.
Somewhere in the last hour of cooking, or whenever you have time (I love the time freedom this meal allows), you need to make the sauce that goes on top. Whisk some apple cider vinegar, ketchup, mustard, garlic, cayenne, salt and black pepper and simmer for about 10 minutes. Another easy step completed. As an aside, the Paleo Diet Lifestyle website I got this recipe from has recipes for homemade paleo ketchup and mustard (I usually use Creole Mustard in about 1/2 of the recommended amount). Do the ketchup. I say skip the mustard. The recipe that they have is just mustard powder and water. If you do this (and if you’re kinda sadistic or curious, you should try it), you’ll find out how spicy mustard really is. The ketchup recipe is excellent.
Ok, so let’s say it’s been about 6 or so hours. You know you’re done when the meat is very “fork tender” and the outside of the hog has a nice dark crusty texture. If so, take it out, and let it sit for about ten minutes.
The next part is the only part that really takes time or effort. Take two forks and shred the swine. I shred it all- the crusty outside, most of that fatty part on the bottom, and all that juicy meat. Once it’s shredded, taste it. Ok, you probably already would have at this point. I’d have had a whole serving by now. My point is: it’s awesome without the sauce. But I like the spicy, tangyness the sauce gives. So, pour that sauce that you made on top and mix it up. (I usually set about half of the pork aside and don’t sauce it because Sarah prefers her pork sauceless).
Tonight, I made some broccoli to go with the pork. Sometimes I just gorge on the pork. BTW – if you save a little bit of the sauce (or have some left over because you wife doesn’t like it), you can drizzle just a little over your broccoli to give it a twang.
Alas! The moment you’ve all been waiting for the recipe. Check out the rest of the site while you’re there. It’s chock full of paleo info and recipes. All the recipes I’ve tried from this site have been great (save for the mustard).
Yeah, that’s right… fudge. Paleo. Fudge. Heaven, right?
Yes, it’s fudge-y. Yes, it’s delicious and coconut-y. Yes, it’s sugar… tread lightly.
I stumbled upon this Raw Coconut Fudge recipe on A Real Food Lover’s blog. I had never read her blog before, but it’s hard to disagree with her beliefs that food should be organic, sustainable, traditionally prepared, and local when possible.
I immediately made the coconut fudge and was pleasantly surprised. The ingredients and process is very rudimental: blend all the ingredients (coconut oil, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, honey, vanilla, and salt) in a food processor and chill.
I literally started this quick little recipe immediately after I read it, while Sophia (my almost-2-year old) was taking a nap. So, I put everything into the food processor and waited for her to wake up. Only a crazy person runs a food processor with a sleeping baby in the house.
Oh look who’s awake. Let’s process this fudge. Blend it up, and pout it into a bread pan lined with parchment paper. Not sure why the recipe said a bread pan; I’m sure any vessel would work, but the bread pan did the trick.
Pop it in the fridge for an hour, and you’re pretty much done. All that’s left is cutting it up and enjoying some paleo-friendly-but-should-only-be-eaten-in-extreme-moderation coconut fudge.
The fudge has a salty, coconut flavor and melts in your mouth. The texture is both smooth and grainy… if that’s even possible. I think if a different sugar was used, perhaps a liquid (coconut nectar, agave, etc), the texture may be perfectly smooth. However, with the additional liquid, I’m sure the other ingredients would have to be adjusted as well.
Definitely put this one on your paleo party food list and as an occasional treat. PS – you’re going to want to store this in your fridge or it gets a wee bit smooshy.
I browse a fair amount of paleo blogs on a daily basis, and some variety of this meal appears pretty often. While it may not always be bok choy (fennel, kale, anything green) and the ingredients slightly vary, the meals are always pretty similar. Here is the version that I created today.
My initial though was to basically brown the bok choy in a pan prior to putting it in the oven. Clearly, the choy was way bigger than the pan. So, I oiled up my roasting pan and put it on the stove top and wilted the bok choy that way. A few minutes on each side on medium high heat and the leaves started to wilt/brown. Meanwhile, in the t00-small pan, I seared the outside of some boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
After adding the chicken to the roasting pan, I poured in some chicken stock, pearl onions and button mushrooms (for the record, I’d slice the mushrooms in half next time around). A sprinkle of salt, pepper and parsley and into the oven it went.
I baked the whole mess of stuff from about 45 minutes, stirring in two or three times to make sure the mushrooms cooked all the way. Meanwhile, I made some Cauliflower Rice to finish the meal.
While it’s probably not necessary, I’ve included the Chicken and Bok Choy recipe on my Recipes Page.
Nuts are that go-to snack for most people trying to live within the confines of a paleo challenge/diet/lifestyle. They’re easy to grab, crunchy, nutty, and nutritious. Personally, I usually go for either almonds or pecans, but I’m also a big fan of cashews. The only problem with nuts is that they’re so easy to overeat.
How many nuts do you normally snack on? Seriously? Unless you’re conscious of portions, your answer is probably a few handfuls. Now go grab a handful of nuts. Just one handful…. I’ll wait…. Got them? Good. Now count them.
We can play the game where you get to guess how many almonds are in my hand. I’ll give you a hint, it’s slightly more than the FDA recommended serving size. The recommended serving of almonds is one ounce, or about 23 nuts. My handful was 26 almonds. Which means if I eat two handfuls, I’m already double the recommended amount for the day. (Keep in mind the FDA also recommends eating lots of grains. Not that you should stick the the FDA guidelines, cause you shouldn’t. You should tailor your own intake based on your person goals, lifestyle and body. But this does illustrate the point that nuts are easily overeaten.)
So what to do? Make them less healthy, of course. These Rosemary Cashews are great for putting some cashews out for a gathering, but heed my warning: you will eat all of these if you leave them around your house. The recipe comes from health-bent.com which is another great blog that has tons of paleo-friendly recipes.
It’s a very simple recipe too. Basically take a cup and half of raw cashews, and toss them with a couple TBSP of rosemary, a couple TBSP of honey, some olive oil (I use 2 TBSP, where the original recipe calls for 3 TBSP), cayenne and salt. Spread the nuts on a tray and bake them for 12 minutes at 350, stirring halfway.
Voila! You have some freakin awesome rosemary cashews. The spice of the cayenne balances nicely with the sweetness of the honey, both of which accentuate the flavor of the rosemary. A very simple, but well-balanced combination of ingredients. The original health-bent recipe can be found HERE.
While running isn’t my first choice of exercise, it seems like there is a race every weekend in Birmingham. Yesterday there were at least two races in town. I can understand the obsession with running around here, there is some really beautiful scenery, and the hills make the runs that much more interesting.
This past Saturday, I took part in the Mutt Strut put on by Hand in Paw, an organization that specializes in animal-assisted therapy. I was a part of the CrossFit Rebellion team, so I had to put my best running-shoe clad foot forward. Until this race, the only other race I ever really participate in is the Crescent City Classic, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I think there were a little over 500 people signed up for this race, which seems about right based on the crowd that was there. Considering it usually takes me 3-8 minutes after the gun of the Crescent City Classic just to get to the starting line, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to walk right up to the front before the starter pistol fired.
That’s the start line. And behind me….
This just about a minute before the race actually started. The runner wrapped to the left out of the picture, but it wasn’t too crowded. I kind of like the smaller race. Although I did almost have an incident with a dog at the start, I was happy to not have to run around the walkers, people with strollers, and other obstacles.
I was shooting for a 20 minute finish, which would have been pretty fast for me. Before this race, I had never really run a 5k, so I wasn’t really sure how I would fare in comparison to my goal. On top of that, that I had no idea where the route was going to take me or where I was at any given time. Still, I finished with an official time of 21:13, and was very happy with the results.
CrossFit Rebellion team: Robbie, Jackie, Anna, Peter, and Rodney
Photo Credit: Alima Deneke
My time put me the 5th overall finisher and 2nd in my age group. Two of the people in front of me (including the one in my age group) were CrossFit Rebellion members: Rodney finished first at a little over 17 minutes (an easy pace for him) and Robbie finished just over 20 minutes. The CrossFit Rebellion girls did great too, which helped us to dominate the competition. Our team beat the second to best team (all male) by a combined time of 27 minutes and an average of over 7 minutes. We got some sweet medals to take home and all the pride and glory that CrossFit Rebellion can hold.
This isn’t the first race in which CrossFit Rebellion has taken home the bacon (mmm…bacon), and I know it won’t be the last. I give credit to our awesome trainers Kyle, Alima, Nick and Brittany. We’re going to need to invest in a trophy case for the gym.
I might as well see if Whole Foods Market’s meat counter would like to start giving me kickbacks. God knows I spend enough money there that they can afford it. It feels like every other post heralds some type of pork out of the case. So, Mr. Foods-Market, if you care to give me money, send me an email and we’ll talk. Until then…. OMG, you have GOT to try the Chorizo out of the Whole Foods meat case. It’s paleo and makes a great burger.
I like to mix about equal parts chorizo and beef , along with an egg, to make a “chorizo burger.” Of course, I gut the sausage and dump it into a bowl with the ground beef, add an egg, and mix. Then I put my pan on medium, put some oil in and fry up some patties. (This particular day I made these immediately after lunch, so I cooked them in leftover bacon grease.
See the divot in the middle of the burger patty? That little tip comes from an episode of Shaq vs. Rachel Ray in a burger cook off. Rachael Ray’s husband gives the Shaqtus some pointers, and this one one of them. I figure if it’s good enough for a 15x NBA All-Star, it’s good enough for this 5’9″ blogger. Unless YouTube removes the video, you can see Shaq getting tips HERE.
Nothing goes with Chorizo quite like fresh avocados. So, I made a quick little guacamole. After tossing the avocado halves into a large mixing bowl, I squirted about a quarter of a lime worth of juice on them and stirred them around the bowl. I always add the lime juice immediately so that it prevents the avocados from turning brown during the rest of the process.
Next just add diced onion, garlic, tomato and cilantro along with salt and some fresh pepper. I mush it all up with the back of a fork, give it a stir, and Whammy! you got yourself some guacamole.
After I was done making the guac, I spread a nice comfortable bed of lettuce for the chorizo burger, which I topped with a slice of tomato and the guacamole. Poor little guy didn’t know what was coming and was gone in a flash.
I don’t cook gumbo very often, probably because I’m not a very “soup” guy. I like to chew my calories. Maybe it makes me feel like I’m getting more nutrients. In any event, it seemed about time to try my hand at a paleo gumbo. Normal gumbo is another one of those meals that really isn’t too far away from paleo to begin with. Replace the rice with cauliflower rice and you’re already half way there. The problem comes in with the roux, which is used to thicken the gumbo. Roux is a mixture in equal parts of flower and (usually vegetable) oil. Well, you can see the problem there.
But, alas, there is another way to thicken gumbo, with the mighty okra. Yes, not only is it good for frying, but that sticky stuff inside of the okra actually helps to thicken gumbo. So, I started out with a tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of a big pot over medium heat. Once it was hot, I began to saute about 2 pounds of fresh chopped okra. Meanwhile, in a pan next door, I began to brown a pound and a half of smoked andouille sausage (read the ingredients to make sure it’s paleo, but Whole foods has some that works).
The okra ended up needing some more oil to keep from sticking, so I dumped the oil from the sausage pan into the okra pot (while they were both still cooking). After about a half hour of the okra sauteing (the sausage were on for less time), I poured the sausage into the okra pot.
Next it was time to add what’s considered the “Holy Trinity” in Creole cuisine: onion, bell pepper and celery. Garlic is probably like St. Peter to the trinity, so it’s often included in the conversation, as it was in my gumbo. At this juncture, I also added a tomato and 2 TBSP of tomato paste to the pot.
Stirring very frequently, I cooked this down for about 15 more minutes. Then, I added 10 cups of water, salt, pepper and about 1 tsp of cayenne.(So, if I were really awesome, I would have though to peel all the shrimp ahead of time and make a shrimp stock to use here instead of just plain water. Since I hardly ever plan meals more than a day in advance, that didn’t happen. But you should consider it, cause it’ll make your gumbo even better than mine.)
I brought it to a boil, then reduced heat and simmered for about 45 minutes. Then I added the peeled shrimp and let them cook in the gumbo for about 15 minutes. Then just stir in a bunch of green onions and serve over cauliflower rice. You can find the Cauliflower Rice Recipe on my Recipes Page.
The andouille makes it spicy and seasons the whole dish. I had three bowls of this at my first sitting and another couple later in the night… not bad considering I’m not a “soup guy”
New Orleans is littered with small restaurants that would shame most other cities’ finest cuisine. So, I have a very hard time identifying one “favorite” restaurant. To solve the problem, I usually just cop out and say “P.F. Chang’s.” It really shouldn’t hold that coveted spot at the top of my list. In truth, it doesn’t, even if that’s what I say. I get the same thing every time I go to P. F. Chang’s, but the part of the meal that’s most important are the Lettuce Wraps.
I tried to recreate a paleo version of the chicken lettuce wraps, complete with the little special sauce they make at the table. I can tell you, what I’ve created is good, but it isn’t the P. F. Chang’s lettuce wrap that you’re used to. So, any comparison of my paleo version to the original doesn’t stand a chance. The normal version is chocked full of sugar and who knows what else that I can’t put into a “paleo” recipe. But if you want to mix it up, and try these out, you won’t be completely disappointed, they came out pretty good. There is a link to the recipe at the bottom of this post.
I pre-diced my bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, ginger, dried chilies (that’s actually Habenero in the picture, I used it cause I had it already), green onions, and shiitake mushrooms. Then I started the recipe by combining coconut aminos (paleo-friendly soy sauce alternative, dry sherry, water, sesame oil and arrow root. This mixture gets set aside for a little bit.
Ideally, I’d cook the diced chicken breast and all these other ingredients in a wok but 1) I’m not really sure where we put ours cause we never use it, 2) I’ve had only minor success in a wok, and 3) the non-stick skillet works just as well. So, the chicken gets a quick 3-4 minute sear. Because it’s diced, it cooks very quickly.
Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside. Then, for only a minute, I stir-fry the ginger, garlic and green onions. Add in some shiitake and bamboo and chestnuts, and cook for another few minutes. Despite it being a non-stick pan, this requires some stirring to prevent burning and sticking. Next, I add the chicken back in along with that mixture we put on the side (it’ll need a quick stir before you pour it into the pan). Warm it up, and it’s ready to serve.
The easy part is scooping the chicken into the lettuce wrap. The hard part is eating it without making a mess. A quick note on the lettuce: I probably should have paid more attention to the lettuce physiology when buying the head of lettuce. Mine was kind of misshapen which made peeling perfect little wraps off the head a difficult task.
The recipe also includes a sauce that’s made of agave nectar, coconut aminos, rice wine vinegar, tomato paste, lemon, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, Chinese hot mustard, sesame oil and water. I pour the sauce right into the lettuce wrap, then ride down my arm when eating. Usually by the time I go for seconds, I just tear the lettuce up, pour the chicken and sauce on top and eat it like a salad, but that’s not quite as pretty.
While they may not be the original, these chicken lettuce wraps are worth the little trouble they are to make. The recipe looks kinda daunting to me at first, but I’ve separated everything, including the ingredients to make the steps a little easier to follow. The Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe is included on my Recipes page.
I love PaleOMG.com. She’s a paleo food blogger who really does it right. She’s writes well and posts excellent recipes. I highly recommend you check her out… unless you have only budgeted time for one paleo blog a day. If that’s the case, you’re already in the right spot. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. One of her recipes that I make way too often is her paleo granola.
I’ve tried a few different paleo granola recipes, and so far I like the PaleOMG Granola Recipe the best. Depending on what I’m looking for (crunchy bars/sticks or a pile of gooey granola), I adjust the recipe. The recipe starts with almonds, pumpkin seeds, and pecans. In the past I have substituted sunflower seeds, walnuts and cashews. The ratio (nuts::sweeteners::fruit) is more important than the actual ingredients.
I add the cinnamon and salt along with the nuts, seeds, and coconut flakes. Next, I warm up the coconut oil and honey, combine with the maple syrup, and add that to the bowl. This is a good spot to remind you that this isn’t an everyday paleo food, IT’S A SOMETIMES TREAT! Look, the recipe has two different kinds of sugar. Keep it occasional, especially if your goal is to lose weight.
If you’re going to go for a piece of granola that you can pick up, skimp on the liquids: measure a couple tablespoons short on the coconut oil and honey, and use about half the maple syrup. You won’t really miss it and you’ll end up with a crispier, more portable granola bar. Once it’s all combined, I pat it down onto a piece of parchment paper and pop it in the oven.
I usually stir mine after 10 minutes, another 10 minutes, and a final 5 minutes. If I want crispy granola, I pour off the green liquid that’s in the bottom (all the liquids tainted by the color of the pumpkin seeds). If I want gooey granola, I leave the liquid. Next, I mix the granola with the dried fruit. (Word of warning: The PaleOMG recipe is slightly unclear that THIS is the point at which you add the fruit.) I usually use a half cup of dried cranberries and a half cup of dried cherries. Again, you can use any dried fruit. It’s the ratio that’s important. I pat this down onto the parchment paper and let it cool.
After 10-15 minutes, I cut it and remove it from the baking sheet so it can cool. That’s it! Ready to eat.
It also makes a decent paleo cereal. Break the granola into little pieces, pour in some milk (coconut, if you’re 100% paleo), and you have yourself some paleo-approved cereal. I know you’ve been craving it. One word of warning, the granola “cereal” doesn’t float. So, that’s something to look forward to, a granola cereal treasure hunt (which is neither granola nor cereal).
