My life was getting very UN-spicy with the same grocery-store-offerrings appearing on my plate over and over again – even if they were dolled up in pretty new preparations.  Cauliflower is still cauliflower even if you are pretending it’s mashed potatoes or rice.

Enter the Farmer’s Market to bring sunshine back into my life!  I have been a frequenter of various Farmer’s Markets for years now and truly enjoy the variety and freshness they offer.  Plus, it’s really cool to be able to talk to the ACTUAL farmer that grew my food.  During Apple season, I buy apples from the same guy every week and I truly look forward to the smile, nod, and “How was your week?” that we exchange as he weighs out my 4 pounds of organic apples (we eat a LOT of apples).  And check this out – in January, during the Arizona citrus season, there’s a grower that brings his gorgeous citrus harvest to market.  While asking him about his operation I learned that his Orange Grove is a family business located on none other than Orange Grove Road.  Who knew?!  There’s meaning behind the name!  Plus, he has the best Meyer Lemons I’ve ever had.

There are a ton of benefits to shopping locally for your produce, some of which go beyond straight forward nutrition.  For your consideration, I present you the top 5 reasons to try out a Farmer’s Market this week!

It tastes better.  If you haven’t had fresh picked fruits and vegetables, you don’t know what you’re missing.  Most conventionally grown produce are picked BEFORE they ripen in order to prevent damage during shipping.  Then, once on site, they are ripened with chemicals (because we all need more of those, right).  Food that has ripened of it’s own accord, through it’s own natural processes tastes BETTER!  Take tomatoes for instance – the sun helps them develop their natural sugars for a sweet and full flavor.

It’s better for you.  Let’s count the ways – less pesticides and chemicals, more development of nutrients since the plants were allowed to ripen on the vine, less time between picking and the market.  These all add up to produce that is richer in vitamins and minerals and poorer in fertilizers, chemicals, and pesticides.

Variety.  In order to keep the shopping “expereince” uniform across stores, grocery chains want exactly the same kind of foods available at each store.  They also choose foods based – not on taste – but on shipping ability and shelf life.  At the Farmer’s Market, variety is what sets each table apart.  A little healthy competition goes a long way to diversify the offerings.  I have seen and tasted foods I’ve never had before and taken how some of the best produce I’ve ever had!  Squash blossoms, armenian cucumbers, watermelon radishes, a ton of various squash I don’t even know the name of – there’s so much to discover!

So, what are you waiting for?  Go stop by your local Farmer’s Market and discover something tasty and nourishing!

Other ways to get local produce outside the market.

CSA – Community Supported Agriculture is essentially a food subscriptions service.  You pay the farmer in advance, he takes that money and pools it with shares from other community members and grows an abundance of foods.  At harvest time, the food is split equally among the members.  Want to learn more?  Start here.

Grow your own – I have a notorious black thumb, but even I can grow herbs and greens.  Even growing a simple container or potted garden is a great way to get started in the world of gardening.  Imagine how nice it would be to have a variety of fresh herbs available at a moment’s notice – FOR FREE! – right on your back porch.  Or, you can grow a “salsa” garden of onions, peppers, cilantro, and tomatoes.  Maybe start a potato barrel.  Whatever you want to try, it’s easy to supplement your grocery store purchases with a simple backyard garden.   For some ideas on the possibilities, click here.

Trade with your neighbor - When you’re planning your backyard garden project, coordinate with a neighbor or friend and plant different things so you can trade at harvest time.  Most Arizonans are swimming in produce come January, so instead of planting your own citrus tree find a friend who would like to trade you for some tomatoes come summer.  

U-Pick Farms - This is a fun way to be able to get your hands dirty and get back in touch with nature.  U Picks are around, but you will want to make sure that they are using organic farming practices to get the best quality.  My favorite local U Pick is the Tucson Village Farm.

It’s so fluffy I think I’m gonna die!

So, for reals, when the first bite of this warm Cauliflower Rice soaked with the savory Ginger Coconut sauce hit my mouth my first thought was:

It’s so good I think I’m gonna die!

Thankfully, I survived the food ecstasy moment.  Because there was still more to eat.  I was actually thankful that my son wasn’t feeling good and didn’t eat his because it meant I got to eat his too.  (Yeah, I said it.)  This was the perfect thing for the cold, drizzly day in the Old Pueblo.  I hope it brings some warmth and richness to your corner of the world, too.  Cheers!

Ginger Coconut Chicken

1/2 c Full Fat Coconut Milk (from a can)

1/4 c Apple Cider Vinegar (or other acid – lemon juice, lime juice, etc)

2 tbsp Coconut Aminos (available at Natural Food Stores, a soy/gluten free alternative to Teriyaki and Soy Sauce)

1/4 c Almond Butter

1/2 medium orange, peeled

1/4 c diced pineapple

1 tsp fresh ginger*

2 lbs. Sliced Chicken Breast

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a blender.  Place the chicken in a suitable container for marinading (a shallow glass dish is a good option).  Pour marinade over chicken, cover and let sit for at least 2 hours.  Flip chicken once during marinade time, if possible.

(When you are ready to put this meal together, follow the directions below to stir fry your veggies FIRST and then cook the chicken in the same pan.  This prevents any leftover sauce from burning in the pan).  

When ready to cook the chicken, melt a few tablespoons of cooking oil (a stable, saturated fat – coconut oil, butter, or ghee) over medium high heat in a sautee pan or wok.  When pan is hot, drop in the chicken and some of the marinade.  Depending on the size of your pan, you may want to do this in a couple of batches so you don’t crowd your pan.  Cook till done through. Make sure you cook the mixture to a temp of at least 165 so that all the bacteria in the marinade is killed off during cooking.  Alternately, you can reserve some of the marinade separate from the chicken and use it now to make the sauce.

Stir Fried Veggies

2-3 cups any combination of sliced vegetables (such as onion, green onion, mushrooms, carrots, leeks, bell pepper, broccoli, water chestnuts, etc)

What I Used This Time:

1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced

1 large red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 cup snow peas

1 large sheet of Seaweed, crumbled

Melt a few tablespoons of an appropriate cooking fat in a large sautee pan or wok over medium high heat.  Let the pan come fully to temp so you get a nice sizzle when you drop the veggies in.  Stir Fry the veggies for about 5 -8 minutes (depending on what kind of veggies you’re using) until tender crisp.  If you are using vegetables that cook at very different rates, start with the sturdier veggies first, and then add in those that take a little less time to cook.

Cauli-Rice

1 head of cauliflower

2-3 Tbsp Stable Cooking Oil (coconut oil, grass-fed butter or ghee would be good options)

S&P to taste

Coconut Aminos to taste (1-2 tsp, optional)

Prepare the head of Cauliflower by cutting away the outer leaves and stem.  Cut into large chunks and place in a food processor or blender.  Process into small chunks – but do not over process into a paste.

Heat oil in a large skillet or sautee pan (if you want to use the same pan as for the veggies and chicken, just make sure to cook this before the chicken).  Add the Cauliflower to the pan and season with S&P.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is softened and translucent around the edges.  Add in some coconut aminos to taste in the last minute of cooking.  Transfer to a serving dish.

As noted in the recipe, if you want to do this all in one pan, my suggestion is to start by preparing the Cauli-Rice, then the Stir Fried Veggies, and finally the Chicken.

To serve, scoop a portion into a bowl and make sure to drizzle it generously with the Ginger Coconut sauce.  It is killer delicious on top of the rice!

Chef’s Notes

* It’s easy to always have fresh ginger on hand if you keep it in the freeze, prepared as you will need it for recipes.  You can cut it into 1 inch sections for use in marinades and sauces, or slice it for use in stir fry’s and other uses where it is kept whole.  The texture of the ginger will become soft but that usually doesn’t matter when you are cooking with it!

It’s not that I dislike that action of cheating (if you think that, you obviously missed my description of the Great Pie Indulgence) it’s really just that I hate the word cheat.  Why?  Because it’s inaccurate.  It doesn’t describe what is truly going on.  To say you are “cheating” on your diet implies two things:

1) That there is some authority figure standing over your diet that you have somehow dodged and thus that you have gotten away with something

2) That your cheat has a positive impact and you are getting away scott-free and without consequence.

Neither one is true.  The whole paradigm is off!  Living in a false paradigm is, in my opinion, one of the most dangerous and damaging things you can do.  Truth always sets free, even if that’s in small and unexpected ways.  Rigorously purse reality and you never know how it will change your life.

The problems I see with this approach to food are…

It approaches enjoyment of less healthy food with a guilty conscious.  When it comes to food, can we leave morality and “goodness” out of the equation?  You are not a better person because you do or don’t eat a clean diet.  Food choices and how healthy you are have nothing to do with your value as a human being!  There’s nothing to be ashamed of when you have a craving or chose to indulge.  Beyond that, it assumes that, if we are to be healthy, we shouldn’t enjoy food.  Nothing can be further from the truth!  We are human, we are made to enjoy life and food can absolutely be a huge part of that!  But which one is more enjoyable – giving in to every temporary indulgence which later produces guilt and frustration OR finding satisfaction and enjoyment from healthy, nourishing foods that don’t leave you with a calorie hangover?

It inappropriately outsources responsibility for your nutrition choices to a non-existant authority figure.  There’s no one you’re dodging when it comes to food.  If you choose to indulge it is you and you alone that bears whatever consequences may come from your decisions.  You’re not getting away with anything.  It would be more honest and more productive to make decisions in light of this fact.  Instead of “Oh, I’ll just have a little treat, no one will ever know,” try this, “I really want to indulge right now, but I know if I do I will only be sabotaging my efforts to reach my goals.  I’m going to pass.”  Or sometimes you can say, “This is a really meaningful treat for me.  I know it might slow me down in reaching my goals, but this is a worthwhile pit stop!”  See the difference?  Instead of denying reality and pretending like consequences don’t exist, when you own your health you make choices based on how valuable the indulgence is and whether it is truly worth slowing down your health goals for. 

It too narrowly defines you as a human.  You are more than just a physical being.  You are also an emotional being, a relational being, and – dare I say – a spiritual being.  What that means is your decisions have to be made in view of the fullness of who you are.  When you are faced with a birthday cupcake, or a slice of wedding cake, or a piece of your aging-Grandmother’s pie there can be other things that prompt you to eat besides just your desire for sugar.  It can also be your desire to celebrate, to bond socially, or to reminisce.  If you are not accounting for these other motivators, how can you accurately make a decision about when to indulge and when to skip?  More often than not, you still need to skip out on the the boxed birthday cake at your friend’s kid’s birthday party, and even the gorgeous slice of wedding cake at your co-workers wedding.  But that slice of your favorite pie your grandmother baked up for you to enjoy during your annual visit home – truly, this is a time that one slice may not hurt.  I hear the “Well, it’s only once a year,” excuse a lot.  The only problem being that, when you add all the indulgences up, it’s nowhere close to once a year.  It’s like once a week!  But when you carefully choose your indulgences and make them truly meaningful, the frequency becomes much less – as well as the unhealthy side effects. 

So, how do you know when it’s time to cheat and when it’s time to pass?  Well, unlike most other things in the world of health, there’s no specific formula for this.  This is up to YOU to decide.  And that’s the point – it’s YOUR choice, not the choice of your imaginary Diet Policeman.  It’s up to you to weigh your goals, your desires, and the meaningfulness of your treat.  Accurately accounting for the fact that it’s YOUR choice and that YOU are the only one who bears whatever consequences may come is a truthful place to start.  And that’s always the best place to be when making choices.

I can’t tell you when to indulge and when not to (and I wouldn’t want to, even if I could).  What I can do is help you expand the thought process beyond “It tastes good, therefore I will eat it.”

You MIGHT indulge IF the indulgence meets 2 or more of these:

The indulgence is…

…meaningful. 

As a surprise for your 40th birthday, your mom made you the same birthday cake that she made for you every year when you were a kid.  It’s your favorite.  It’s delicious.  It’s homemade.  And YOUR MOM made it. Blow out the candles and have a big ol’ slice.

You just got the promotion you’ve been waiting on for 5 years.  Your co-workers went in to take you out to lunch and a plate of pasta is calling your name.  It’s your favorite restaurant.  It’s your favorite meal.  And it’s a big day.  Pile on the Parmigiana!

…chosen.

Your husband/wife announces he/she’s taking you out to a REALLY nice restaurant for your 10 year anniversary.  To prepare, you check out the menu online and pick out a light appetizer and a Paleo-compliant entree – but for dessert, the Creme Brulee is calling your name!  You can’t wait to get there and sink your teeth into this amazing meal!

You’ve been working on losing some weight, and you are almost done.  Another 2 weeks, and you’ll be there!  When that target weight pops up on the scale, you are planning to indulge with just one of your favorite drinks from Starbucks.  The thought of a Grande Mocha Frap is keeping you motivated to stick to it!

…truly decadent.

It’s homemade.  It’s fresh.  It’s bursting with flavor.  It is the height of your favorite indulgence.

…rare.

It’s the once a year Grandmother’s pie, the once in a lifetime celebration, the once every 5 year special anniversary, the only Alaskan cruise you’ll ever take.  It doesn’t come along everyday, and celebrating it with a small indulgence is certainly allowable.

Consider passing if the indulgence meets any ONE of these:

The indulgence is…

…not that meaningful. 

Your co-worker grabbed some monster cupcakes from Costco to celebrate her 27th Birthday.  Meaningful for her, not meaningful for you.  Wish her happy birthday with a warm smile, maybe a hug, and pass on the treat.

Some dude you barely know is retiring and some other dude you barely know bought a cake that some other dude you’ve never even seen scribbled his name onto (and misspelled).  Not meaningful.  Probably not even delicious.  Tell him Bon Voyage and have a conversation with him about his most meaningful experiences.  Pass on the cake.

…a response to cravings.

It’s late afternoon and you just got out of a really stressful meeting.  A doughnut is staring at you, begging you to eat it.  You know that if you eat it, the sugar rush will instantly make you feel better…but you’re too stressed out to think about the sugar crash awaiting you in about 30 minutes if you went for it.  Slay the sugar dragon!  Go for a brisk walk instead (just 10 minutes is all it takes!)

…not awesome.

You are considering eating something that came from a box, bag, or can.  It was not prepared with love.  It was probably not even made by a human, but rather extruded from a piece of cold metal in a factory 1,000 miles away.  It’s stale, but the artificial flavors will make it taste edible.  Put it down like a hot potato and save the indulgence for something decadent.

…readily available.

You’re considering grabbing a candy bar at the check out lane.  Or a Latte from Starbucks.  Or a burger from McD’s.  Or some fries from In-N-Out.  Why?  It’s there anytime you want it.  Pass.  Save the indulgence for something you can’t always get.

Off Site Links You May Enjoy:

Whole 9′s Guide to Nutritional Off-Roading

Want some?  Get some!  Ha ha…that’s not quite what Randy meant when he coined that popular BBC phrase.

Thanksgiving is upon us, but that doesn’t mean you have to drop all the progress you’ve made.  A cheat or two?  Sure – but if your plan is to indulge in every Gluten-containing, sugar-laden dish that will be available to you on Thursday I’m taking bets on how you will feel Friday…

Instead of making every dish a gut bomb, why not pick out one or two that are truly special and skip the rest?  Bring along one of these to the feast and you will be sure to have something to pile on your plate so you don’t feel left out.

If you’re looking for some general tips on substitutions for your Holiday cooking, check out these posts.

The Science and Art of paleofying @ The Paleo Mom

Part 1

Part 2

Keep scrolling for some great recipe ideas – and don’t forget to share some of your favorite REAL FOOD dishes in the comments section!

Turkey

Alton Brown’s Roast Turkey

Here’s the way I do my Turkey every year and it is glorious!  The only Paleo swap out – use butter or ghee (depending on you tolerance level) instead of Canola Oil to coat the bird.  You could also use Coconut oil or any rendered animal fat.  What you are looking for is a fat that is stable at high heat, which all of the afore mentioned are.

Simply Recipes Roast Turkey

Here’s a great method too, and one I think I will adopt for next year.  It uses the technique of roasting the bird breast side down, which forces all the juices into the breast meat, keeping them nice and moist.  This is the way Julia Child roasted all her birds, so you would be in good company if you went this route.  I also love her advice to start with the best quality bird you can.  Getting a flavorful roast bird does not involve a lot – a few basic techniques to keep it moist and a bit of seasoning. That means there is little room to play up flavor that doesn’t exist.  To get a truly wonderful end flavor, you have to start with good quality ingredients.  Opt for butter or other high heat FOC (fat of choice).  Do not use olive oil, as it will destabilize under the long heat. 

Gravy

Simply Recipes Giblet Gravy

What could be more Paleo than including ALL the parts of the bird in your Thanksgiving meal?  To that end, I’ll be making giblet gravy every time I make a bird!  Eating “head to hoof” is growing in glamor, becoming popular on gourmet menus and in foodie circles.  It simply follows the practice of hunter-gatherers across the globe by attempting to find a use for every part of the animal.  Eating the organ meat is an excellent practice for environmental sustainability and for our health.  Organ meats are dense with nutrients that are essential to human health.  They are a nutritional powerhouse! Sub out Arrowroot Powder, Tapioca Starch, or Potato Starch to thicken. 

Herb Gravy

If you’re looking for a non-giblet gravy (but why would you intentionally skip out on all the benefits of eating the giblets??) here’s a traditional herb gravy made with either pan-drippings or butter.

Stuffing

Comfy Belly’s Cornbread Stuffing

The Paleo Mom’s Eggplant and Wild Mushroom Stuffing

Real Sustenance’s Rosemary and Sage Bread Stuffing

Cornbread or Classic Stuffing?  The battle rages on!  How about neither?  The above recipes are totally Paleo…not a stitich of wheat bread, corn bread, or other gut irritating foods to be found.  Just pure, nourishing goodness.

Cranberry Sauce

Multiply Delicious’ Cranberry Sauce

Paleo Pot’s Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce

Does your Thanksgiving table include the can-shaped tube of Jelled Cranberry Sauce?  Ditch it!  There is no dish that is more easy to prepare from scratch than Cranberry Sauce!  The few minutes of prep it will take you to prepare this super easy dish will be well worth it.  The flavor of freshly prepared cranberry sauce is bright and rich!  Most Cranberry Sauce recipes are pretty Paleo friendly – except for all the sugar used to cut the sweetness of these tart berries.   Check out some of the ones above for a more blood-sugar friendly method.  Or maybe you’re ready to ditch the sauce and just include the berries in another dish altogether?  Try out some of the recipes below for a new take on this classic flavor.

Martha Stewart’s Red-and-Green Cranberry Salad

Sides

For a recent camping trip in the mountains, I knew we’d be facing some cooler temps. There is nothing – NOTHING – better than a warm meal when you are camping. So, before we left I whipped this up with things I had lying around, packed it in a glass mason jar and threw it in the cooler. After a long hike on a cool evening, I plopped the jar into a pot of boiling water and let it come up to temp. Serve and savor

Green Chile Beef Stew

1 lb Beef Stew Meat
1/2 c diced celery
1/2 c diced carrot
1/2 c diced onion
2 Cups homemade bone broth * (or sub in store bought broth if you must)
1 Cup of water or more broth (optional – depends on how thick you like it. I was going for a thick stew, so I left it at 2 cups)
1 can diced tomatoes (fire roasted are especially nice if you can find them)
1/4 cup to 1 cup Green Chile Salsa Verde (any brand will do as long as the ingredients are clean. I would start with a 1/4 cup and add more to get the heat level to your liking)
Any other vegetables you have on hand that you would like to add in

Method

In a large Dutch Oven or stew pot, brown meat in a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add in some more oil and sweat your mirepoix: celery, onion, and carrot. (Tidbit: this is the culinary term for a soup starter based on the traditional french method of flavoring a stock. There are some variations, but generally you sweat down some celery, onion, and carrot to get started).
Once the mirepoix is nice and soft, you are ready to add everything to the pot. Throw in the rest of the ingredients, including the beef, and turn the heat up. Get it back to boiling and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Now pop the top on and walk away. Leave it at a simmer for as long as you can, but at least an hour. Make sure the temp is nice and low so it doesn’t dry out!
Serve warm! This is a great recipe to double and freeze or can!

*Bone Broth can also be made from chicken bones but subbing in a chicken carcass.  My usual routine is to roast a chicken each week, strip off the meat for leftovers and plop it into my crock pot (along with all the other ingredients called for) and let it sit overnight and into the next day.  I turn it off before dinner, can it after I put the kids to bed and – voila! – easy, easy bone broth.

** For the meal pictured, I happened to have some of the stew leftover when we got back from camping.  I threw in some green beans leftover from breakfast and some Curried Cauliflower Rice left from dinner.  Brand new meal.  Watch for that Curried Cauliflower Rice recipe to be posted soon!

When it comes to finding recipes, I have two main sources – blogs and books. Blogs are my go-to for a couple of reasons. #1 – They’re Free. #2 – They are readily available at a moment’s notice.

Years ago, when I stumbled onto the world of food blogs, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  How had this not come to my awareness sooner!! I started printing out recipes whenever I found ones I thought I would like to try, and filing them in a three ring binder for later reference. Recently, my wonderful husband bought me a tablet and I now do all my blog browsing on it and download the recipes to the Chef Tap app. Again – why did no one tell me about this sooner!?! You simply click “Share” and it downloads the recipes into your own personal database. You are free to categorize, edit, and make notes as you wish. The added bonus – it’s way easier to follow a recipe off a tablet then off a huge book. I love it!

There are also a ton of great recipe books out there, many that are specifically Paleo.  The number is growing everyday as more and more people catch the good food word and interest in the subject is going up.  Personally, I do not stick solely to Paleo only cookbooks or blog sites.  I like the variety and challenge that comes with browsing non-Paleo resources and then modifying them to suit my needs.  Any site or book that agrees with me on the simple premise of eating whole, fresh foods is one I can dig into.  Sometimes I have to pass up a recipe, often I can modify it to fit my requirements, and many times I can use it in it’s original form.  The key is to just start looking!

Here’s some great places to start…

Paleo Blogs

The Clothes Make the Girl

Nom Nom Paleo

Health Bent

PaleOMG

Food Renegade

Urban Poser

Multiply Delicious

Non-Paleo Blogs

Simply Recipes

Kaylyn’s Kitchen

Smitten Kitchen

Books

(I have not personally browsed all of these, as I am much more of a blog girl.  However, these are ones I feel confident in recommending as they have been highly reviewed by sources I respect.)

Well Fed

Eat Like a Dinosaur

Paleo Comfort Foods

Everyday Paleo

Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook

Make It Paleo

Gather: The Art of Paleo Entertaining

Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

Pumpkin bread.

Pumpkin Ice cream.

Pumpkin muffins.

And all of it loaded with sugar, gluten, grains, and seed oils. Sad, really, since poor inoffending pumpkin is getting dragged to the “destroy your health” party when really he (or is pumpkin a she?) has no business being there.

We hear you pumpkin. We know you don’t really want to hang out with those guys. We know you’re a nutritional powerhouse – nutrient dense with a low glycemic load, satisfying yet not calorie dense, and enough vitamin A for 2 days in just one little serving of your creamy, slightly sweet and nutty goodness. We get it pumpkin. That’s why we’re here to help…

If you’ve been skipping all the pumpkin treats this Fall in an effort to stay on track with your health goals, you will love this post! (Or, if you’ve been indulging in pumpkin treats and then slapping yourself on the head because of the post sugar/carb/gluten headaches/body aches/joint pain/weight gain/bloated belly you will REALLY love this post). You don’t have to party on the wrong side of town to get down with pumpkin. Get pumpkin away from the motley crew he (or she?) usually hangs with and you get all the indulgence with none of the gut-searing-joint-aching pain that accompanies the usual autumnal treats.

Visit the links below and try out some of these Pumpkin treats that let Pumpkin be the goody-two-shoes he/she actually is…and no carb hang overs will follow. Promise! (Although I will say you should try to use as little sugar as possible when cooking up a treat.  These recipes keep it pretty moderate and use natural sweeteners – a great start.  But an even better finish would be to try the recipe with half the sugar called for and see if you can get yourself use to less sweetness.  Worse comes to worse, pour a little maple syrup over your pie to sweeten it back up…but at least give pumpkin a shot to do it’s thing.  You can also replace half the pumpkin with Butternut or Kabocha squash.  They are both naturally sweeter than Pumpkin, so you can get away with much less – or even no – added sugar.)

Meals

BBC Blog: Roasted Pumpkin, Sausage, and Egg Breakfast Sandwich

PaleOMG: Pumpkin Cream Chicken Casserole

PaleOMG: Meaty “Rice” Stuffed Pumpkins

Health-Bent: Pumpkin Chilli with Avocado Cream

Balanced Bites: Pumpkin Pancakes

Girl Meets Paleo: Pumpkin N’Oatmeal

Living Paleo: Pumpkin and Chicken Curry

 Healthy Recipe Journal: Roasted Pumpkin Salad (This is not a Paleo site.  Omit the rice to make it Paleo).

Simply Recipes: A Whole Bunch of Pumpkin Soup Recipes (Again, not a Paleo site.  If you choose to use butter and cream, I recommend Organic only.  Otherwise, sub in Ghee for butter and Coconut Milk for Cream.  The last recipe calls for brown sugar.  I recommend subbing in 2 Tbsp maple syrup)

Treats

Urban Poser: Pumpkin Spice Coconut Macaroons

Urban Poser: Real Pumpkin Spice Steamer/Latte

Health-Bent, via Food Renegade: Pumpkin Cake Bars

The Paleo Mom: Pumpkin Pie

Nom Nom Paleo: Pumpkin Custard Cups

PaleOMG: Blueberry & Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread (This one is a super star – only a Tablespoon of added sugar!)

PaleOMG: Sugar Detox Pumpkin Cake in a Mug (No sugar here either!  She rocks so hard…)

Multiply Delicious: Pumpkin Spiced Donuts (Again with the low sugars!)

Multiply Delicious: Paleo Pumpkin Streusel Muffins (This chic sits high in my book…just dates in this)

Against All Grain: Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk Ice Cream

(Scroll to the bottom for some helpful food prep lists!)

The 7 P’s.  You know what we say around BBC…Prior Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.  To succeed nutritionally, you must have a plan.  Planning out your meals for the day and week helps you look down the road and anticipate hurdles.  What works for my family is to plan out our evening meals once a week.  Sometime I do this very specifically – if we are having guests over or I want to try a new recipe, I plan the full meal so I can make sure to have enough food and the right ingredients.  Other times I leave it kind of loose…”Leftovers” or “Breakfast for Dinner” or “Salmon” is enough to help me come up with a plan as I roll through the week.  A good plan lets you prepare, but isn’t so restrictive as to be inflexible.

Develop Good Habits.  The quicker you can move a new behavior into habit, the easier it is to maintain.  I habitually boil a dozen eggs at a time so I always have some on hand.  I habitually prepare a Roast Chicken, Grilled Salmon, and Hamburgers every week (that’s three meals I don’t have to think about).  I don’t eat anything unless it’s on my plate to prevent consuming extra calories.  I habitually scramble up 6 eggs, steam some broccoli, and cut up some fruit for breakfast for me and the kids every morning.  I have lists of staple items to restock in my kitchen.  I grocery shop on the same days.  Habit.  Habit.  Habit.  It’s easy because it’s the same thing I always do.

When Cooking, Cook a Lot.  Living a Whole Food life means you will be in the kitchen more often.  It can also mean more dishes and time, unless you cook smart.  When you cook, cook enough to have leftover portions for lunch or a dinner later in the week…maybe even some to freeze.  Minimize your time in the kitchen by getting double the meals from the same amount of time.    In my family, whatever we have for dinner is automatically lunch the next day so I am sure to make enough to cover that.  I minimize time in the kitchen and make sure we all have whole, healthy food for lunch!

Have a Prep Day.  This is not something I do, but I know many people that find it helpful.  Because I am a home most of the day, I find it easier to do small amounts of prep a little at a time than to commit a couple of hours on the weekend.  But if you have a 9-5 job, having a set time each week that you make a plan and prepare as much of the food for your weekly meals as possible is the way to go.  Chop veggies, make a huge salad that you can grab and go from all week, cook some meat ahead of time…do as much prep as you can on this day so the meals come together in minutes during the week.

Prepare Your Own Convenience Foods.  This is an alternative strategy to the one above, and it’s the one I do.  I have a list of staple foods that we go through quickly and that I always want to have on hand.  As we begin to run low, I make more.  These are my “Convenience Foods” – things to always have at the ready.

Enjoy Cooking.  There’s no getting around it – living a Whole Foods lifestyle will mean more time in the kitchen (unless you’re rich and can afford a cook – lucky dog).  When I first began living this way, I quickly became frustrated at how being in the kitchen meant missing out on playing with my kids or spending time with my husband.  Then I realized why so many cultures cook communally!  When I invited my kids and my husband to come in the kitchen with me, the time spent cooking became a rich time of  community and hanging out.  My kids are learning the basics of nutrition (and how to cook!) and we are spending valuable time together.  Cooking has become a truly enjoyable way to connect and spend time together!

I encourage you to spend some time planning, thinking about what habits would be helpful for your routine, and what foods you want to always have on hand.  To get you started, here is my list with some links to recipes.  For those without recipes, I will be working on getting those us on this blog!  Stay tuned!

Quick Protein

Boiled Eggs
Deviled Egg Salad (use home made mayo to avoid seed oils in conventional brands)
Chicken Salad
Tuna Salad
Protein and Veggie Scramble (basic idea: chop up protein, chop up veggies, scramble in a skillet till cooked. Store for later use.)
Canned Tuna/Salmon/Herring/etc
Meatloaf (I form these into mini loaves and freeze them for my son’s lunch or a quick dinner)
Meatballs
Hamburger Patties
Diced/Sliced Chicken Breast (Grill or Bake Chicken Boobs, slice or dice, freeze in individual servings for later use.)
Jerky (If you buy store bought, please make sure there are no nitrates, sugar, or teriyaki sauce)

Prep Ahead Convenience Foods

Herbal Tea
Black Tea
Kombucha
Salad Dressing
Chopped Veggies for Snacks
Mayo
Baked Goods (some examples…)
Almond Bread
Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Muffins
Banana Bread
Grain Free Granola Bars
Lara Bars

(This is about to get long, so if you are just here for the recipe, scroll to the bottom.  But if you want to go on an amazing fantastical adventure on insight into why you keep cheating on your diet, then keep reading.)

But on a recent trip back home I got back in touch with my East Coast roots and reveled in the greatness of the down home cooking I grew up on (including 7 – SEVEN – pieces of pie during the trip.  What can I say?  My family makes some darn good pie).  I intentionally chose to indulge (like, a lot) because I knew my access to these foods were limited (this was my first trip home in 3 years). I didn’t indulge in everything I could have, just the things I really really wanted and knew I would enjoy.  Pepperoni rolls, my grandmother’s pie, and my best friends cupcakes…and a Purple Long Island Ice Tea.  Of all the poor food choices i could have made, that’s what I indulged in.  There were lots of other things I said no to because it just wouldn’t have done it for me the same way.

I got to thinking about my sister though, who has recently converted to a Paleo lifestyle.  She’s feeling MASSIVELY better – ready to wake in the morning, more energy, clothes are lose, attitude is better, head is less foggy, and she’s enjoying  food again instead of being enemies with it.  And it’s only been two weeks so far – love it! She’s lost 12 pounds to boot – not too shabby.  I couldn’t help thinking, though, that she has got a much tougher battle than I do because the food culture surrounding her is filled with enticements at every corner.  Italian fare and Processed foods are THE go to back East- Pastas, casseroles, desserts, hot dogs, Pepperoni Rolls (read: carbs, additives, and very little fresh foods).  She’s a strong chic though, I think she’ll make it.  But it will be tough!

Food culture is hugely important, and it’s an area that is often overlooked.  We are told to simply “Eat Right” and “Move More” as though those were the only two factors that stopped us from getting out of shape in the first place.  It’s more than that…it’s our access to healthy foods, it’s the kind of foods we were raised on and thus how are tastes have been shaped,  it’s our knowledge of health and nutrition, it’s how supportive the people around us are.  All of these things and more make up our food culture.  It’s important to pay attention to it so we can anticipate the challenges and make plans to overcome them.  It’s just one more factor to keep your eye on in your journey toward health, but it’s a sneaky one, so I just wanted to put it out there.  (Here’s a link to a great documentary that looks at this issue a little more, if you are interested.)

Maybe you, like my sister, find yourself in a poor food culture  – dougnuts in the break room, cupcakes at the birthday party, rice and beans at family dinner, relatives who won’t take No for an answer, a spouse that eats ice cream while you are trying to lose weight.  Temptation is everywhere and the pressure to “Just have a little” coming from friends and family who are anxious for us to “enjoy” ourselves by participating in food that will take us off course is just the push we need to cave.  So, how do you overcome these challenges?  See them AS challenges, not excuses.  Just  like you know that coming to boot camp every night is going to be a challenge you will have to overcome in order to get healthy, see navigating a family dinner, or making it through an office meeting as just one more challenge that you will overcome to reach your goal.  You are not doomed to indulge just because they food is siting there.  Just because someone else is eating it, doesn’t mean you have to also.  Look around at your food culture, identify the challenges, and plan out your strategies for how you will navigate the temptations that come your way!

Now, as I illustrated with my pie-fest-extraordinaire, I am not one of those healthy people that think you should never indulge…far from it.  Actually, I think it’s one of the healthiest things you can do - but I would advise you to do it only when the indulgence is meaningful and chosen.  As in, eating this food has strong psychological or sociological ties and/or you are doing it because you want to, not because “Well, it’s there so I guess I have to eat it.” or because “I’m craving it.”  Never, never, never eat in response to a craving.  When you do, you make it all the more strong.  It’s like Randy says – plan your cheats.  Know what you are going to do and when, choose what is most meaningful to you…and then enjoy every bite.

(Can I just add that 7 pieces of pie is a ridiculous indulgence…that should not be a normal portion for indulgence.  I won’t do something like that again for at least 5 years.  But you better believe that, once I have lost my last 10bs of body fat that I’m working on, I’m going to have a small bowl of home made coconut milk ice cream.  That’s a little more reasonable!)

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In honor of my sister back east, here is a cleaned up version of a salad that is all over the place in her hometown.  The original version comes from one of the best Italian restaurants in her town.  Everyone is pretty sure the owner has mob connections somewhere in his family, so I’m calling this one Mob Boss Salad.  For funsies.  Makes me feel cool when I eat it.

Mob Boss Salad

Salad

1 Head of Ice Burg Lettuce, chopped

2 cups of Mixed Greens of Choice

1/2 cup Roasted Red Peppers (I used jarred), diced

1/2 cup Olives of choice (I used black and green)

1 large tomato, seeded and sliced in thin wedges

Sliced Pepperoni (must be nitrate free) to taste (optional)

Pepperoncinis (optional)

Dressing

1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar (I recommend Bragg’s brand)

1 Cup Light tasting Olive Oil or Extra Virgin Olive Oil

S&P to taste

Mix all ingredients for salad.  For dressing, combine in a jar and shake well to combine.  Dress just before serving.

Note: Change up the flavors by adding in different olives, peppers, and cured meat varieties.  Kalmata olives, Spanish Green olives, Capocolla, Salame, and other varieties of cured peppers will give you a totally new salad.  Feel free to play with the proportions of ingredients or add a serving of Protein to make it a meal.

Proponents of the Paleo Diet make the claim that the highly processed “frankenfoods” that make up the vast majority of most of our diets are to blame for the wide variety of health problems that we are currently experiencing in the modern world – and science backs them up.

Common sense does too, doesn’t it?  We don’t really need all the science in the world to tell us that fresh whole foods are better than anything that comes from a box, bag, or package (but it’s nice to have that science…big proponent of science, don’t read me wrong…).

In this post, I want to spend a little time introducing you to the concepts of the Paleo Diet.

Dallas and Melissa Hartwig, the gurus behind Whole 9 and authors of the New York Times Bestseller “It Starts With Food” (which I highly recommend), have done a most excellent job of putting Paleo into a nutshell:

“ Whole9′s Nutrition in 60 Seconds

We eat real food – meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, healthy oils, nuts and seeds. We choose foods that were raised, fed and grown naturally, and foods that are nutrient-dense, with lots of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals.

This is not a “diet” – we eat as much as we need to maintain strength, energy, activity levels and a healthy body weight. We aim for well-balanced nutrition, so we eat animals and a significant amount of plants.

Eating like this has helped us to look, feel, live and perform our best, and reduces our risk for a variety of lifestyle-related diseases and conditions.”

Said another way, the Paleo Diet seeks to improve health by increasing the intake of foods that bring health and nutrients to the body - foods that would have been common to ancient man - and by eliminating foods that cause inflammation, hormonal disregulation, excessive weight, and disease in the body - foods that have only become available to modern man through food processing and the growth of the commercial food system.

One of the biggest things I’d like to stress is that the Paleo Diet is not about losing weight – although that is often a pleasant outcome of following this lifestyle.  Instead, it is a holistic approach to health that concerns itself with all aspects of wellness – consuming nutrient dense foods, getting enough sleep, managing stress levels.  Paleo living is first and foremost about nourishing the body.  If we nourish our bodies with the appropriate nutrients and calories, health will naturally result.  We will have adequate energy, our body will shed excess weight, we will be vital into our later years, we will be less likely to contract disease, our minds will be clear and focused, our moods will be unencumbered by sugar crashes.

That’s the general idea of the Paleo Diet.  Before I introduce you to the specifics of how to eat Paleo, let me caution you that you will likely have a LOT of questions.  So did I.  I had doubts, hesitations, even fears.  But, within a few months of turning into a Paleo eater all of my doubts were answered.  Either I had worked out the fears or I had found answers to my questions.  But those first few months were pretty shaky!  No great change is ever easy, nor does it happen overnight.  Let me just encourage you to turn your brains on and don’t shy away just because this seems “different” or “extreme”.  Let me assure you that these nutritional recommendations are well researched and have a sound scientific backing.  This will take time, research, and an engaged mind.  For now, just read and consider this a first step.

Now let’s get a little more specific.

What’s In

All Vegetables

All Fruits

Lean Meats

Grass-Fed/Pastured Fatty Meats

Eggs

Seafood

Healthy Sources of Fats (Coconut, Avocado, Palm Oils, Nuts, Olives and Olive Oils)

Starchy Tubers (Sweet Potatoes, Yams, etc)

What’s Out

Grains

Legumes

Alcohol

Processed Sugars

Artificial Sweeteners

Food additives and processed foods

What is Questionable

Dairy

White Potatoes

Natural Sweeteners

Now, before anyone freaks out on me – yes, I did just tell you not to eat ANY grains.  Like, at all.  And, yes, there IS a reason for it.

Instead of rehashing what so many bloggers before me have already said a million times, I’m going to point you to some places to do some of your own reading and research.  I’m only going to give you a few of what I consider to be the very best quality of resources, so as not to be overwhelming. There are a ton of excellent Paleo sources out there right now!   These four are top notch in my book because they are well written and, more importantly, well researched sources that provide clear explanations.

Whole 9 Life - This link will take you right to the resources page over at Whole 9.  I strongly suggest you read all their “Manifesto’s” for a concise introduction to the reasons why I just told you not to eat bread anymore…and alcohol…and milk.

The Paleo Mom - A great resource with tons of reading on the specifics of the Paleo Diet.  This link will take you right to her Paleo Basics section, but look around for lots of great recipes.

Robb Wolf – A former biochemist and Author of several books on the Paleo lifestyle, here you will find tons of articles and Robb’s podcast which teaches you about all things Paleo.

Balanced Bites - Holistic Nutritionist and author of many books, including Practical Paleo, Diane Sanfilippo’s site is chock full of resources.  From her 21-Day Sugar Detox, to recipes, to nutrition education this site has it all!

Have More Questions about starting the Paleo Diet?

How many times a day do I eat?  How much protein?  Can I seriously not have ANY bread?  Keep your eyes out for our upcoming Nutrition Seminar that will introduce you to the Paleo Diet, the reasoning behind it, how to get started, and the benefits that can be expected.  Let your trainer know if you are interested in learning more!

This preparation was inspired by this recipe at one of my favorite blogs Urban Poser.  Head over and check her out for some truly amazing Paleo dishes!  I changed things up a bit and provide a bit more detail in the preparation for those that are new to Paleo baking. 

Pumpkin, Sausage, and Egg Breakfast Sandwich

Ingredients:

For the Muffins:

3/4  cups coconut flour*
1 tsp baking soda
1/4  tsp salt
1/2  cup coconut oil
1/2  cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix, just plain old pumpkin) OR fresh roasted squash puree (pumpkin, butternut, even sweet potato)
3   eggs

For the Filling:

7  eggs

1/2 lb any variety of Nitrate-Free sausage (breakfast, Italian, chorizo, etc)**

1/4 c freshly chopped herbs (basil, cilantro, chives, etc…I used basil)

Sliced Apple
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.
In a bowl, combine oil, pumpkin, and eggs.  Beat till smooth.  Add coconut flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix well, till smooth with no lumps.  The batter should be thick but uniformly moist.  If you scoop up a spoonful it should hold together.  (If you used freshly roasted squash, you may wish to add 2 Tbsp of Coconut Milk to prevent it from being too dry).

Scoop up a big spoonful and press it together slightly, into the shape you want it to be when done cooking.  It will not rise or shrink – what you see is what you get with these beauties, so shape it as you wish.  I like to gather a loose ball with a spoon, press it together slightly, and the flatten it a bit…not too much, so that the biscuit doesn’t get too dense, but just enough so I have a good surface to build a sandwich on.
You can make these any size you wish.  I like to make a variety of large and small – some for little hands and some for bigger ones.
Bake for about 20-25 min or until slightly golden brown.

While the muffins bake, scramble up your sausage of choice in a pan.  While it browns, crack your eggs and beat them.  Once the sausage is fully cooked, you will add your eggs.  Before you do, make sure you have enough oil in the pan to prevent the eggs from sticking – add some coconut oil if needed (remember – don’t be afraid of fat.  Your brain needs it to live.)  Add your eggs and your fresh herbs, and let them cook up omelet style.  Cook till the giant egg/sausage round is firm and able to be flipped.  Flip and cook till cooked through.  (Alternately, you can do this frittata style.  Cook the sausage, add the eggs and herbs to an 8×8 greased pan and cook them in the oven alongside your muffins.  You will know the frittata is done when it’s dry on the top…about 20 minutes).

When the eggs and muffins are both done, you’re ready to plate.  Allow the muffins to cool for at least 5 minutes…maybe 10 if you can keep your pants on.  It’s worth the wait   Gently slice the muffins, cut or break off some of the egg mixture and add it to the pile.  Add a few thin slices of apple or one big chunky one.  Place the happy little muffin next to some fresh fruit or sauteed veggies.  I had mine with kale and it was a match made in heaven.  Breathe deep, taste slowly, and enjoy the expereince!

Notes:

* You can find coconut flour in the bulk section of health food stores or along with bagged items in the flour section (look for Bob’s Red Mill, you can’t go wrong).  For those new to cooking with coconut flour, please note that these babies will be dense and crumbly…delicious, but different than your usual wheat flour muffin.  Coconut flour is extremely high in fiber and absorbs moisture like a mad man.)

** Most commercially prepared sausage has some combination of MSG and/or nitrates.  If you can’t find sausage free of these ingredients, best to just use plain ground meat instead.  Nitrate free sausage is available in most health food stores (In Tucson, look at Sprouts – they have a wide variety of excellent choices) and at Farmer’s Market’s.  If you can afford the extra cost, Grass Fed is really the best bet here.

What does a good breakfast look like?

1. It’s slow.  Okay, don’t roll your eyes at me.  Eating slowly and enjoying your food isn’t just something your mom said to get on your nerves – it’s actually good for you!  Eating slowly means that your body has time to activate it’s hormonal chain and key your brain into the fact that you ate enough and do not need to eat more.  Eat too quickly – or eat distracted – and your body doesn’t get the signal, meaning you will over eat.  And if you are eating in a stressed situation, all the worse.  During periods of stress, your body releases cortisol, which causes food to be stored as belly fat (aka, visceral fat) which is really bad for your health.  I’ll do a full post on that down the road, but for now, just slow down and concentrate on your breakfast will you?  I realize that means you might have to get up a little earlier, or not multi-task your morning into the stress-filled oblivion it currently may be.  I get it.  I have three kids, and mornings are usually pretty busy.  But if you really want to get healthy, some things are going to have to change…and it’s not just exercising more and eating the right food.  It’s also living less stressed and a little slower.  Give your breakfast 15 minutes of undivided attention…that’s all it’s asking.

2. It’s balanced.  Read this: a bagel is NOT a balanced meal.  Neither is cereal.  Oatmeal either.  For a meal – any meal, not just breakfast – to be balanced, it has to include the right proportions of the macronutrients – protein, fat, and carbs – and a good dose of as many micronutrients as you can manage – that means a couple of varieties of vegetables and fruits (emphasis on the vegetables).  Let me break down what your body needs and why:

• Protein – Whether you know it or not, your body just spent the entire night repairing all your muscles, joints, and ligaments.  That means it’s going to need more materials to build with later on in the day, so it needs protein!  Give it a good dose!  A portion of protein that is equivalent to the size of your open palm, or as many eggs as you can fit in one hand…or maybe a little of each.
• Fat – Want to know why you eat breakfast and then feel hungry within an hour?  Because you are not eating enough fat!  Fat is an essential nutrient for the body and, among other things, it helps you stay full.  It’s your slow burn energy – so fuel up, because you have a lot to do before lunch.  Choose, at minimum, a good 2-3 Tbsp serving of fat – olive oil to cook with, a big handful of coconut flakes, a 1/4 cup of olives, or about half an avocado.  Mix and match if you like.
• Carbs – Breakfast is one of the very few times of day that your body is aching for a good does of carbs.  It’s been busy all night, and it has run out of glycogen stores.  Your body is primed and ready to process it.  So, grab a small piece of fruit or microwave a sweet potato.  A serving of carbs should be no bigger than your clenched fist.
• Vegetables – Yes, I did just say eat vegetables for breakfast.  I know the average American doesn’t do this but YOU, my friend, are not the average American.  Eat them raw, saute them in an omelet, stir them in with your eggs, or heat up leftovers from last night – I don’t care how you get them, but do get them.  They provide a valuable assortment of vitamins, minerals, and other phytonutrients that your body needs to properly function.  In addition, it provides fiber, which will help fill up your belly and keep you feeling full. Vegetables should be eaten at EVERY meal!

3.  It happens soon after waking.  If you are metabolically healthy (meaning your body’s hormonal system is working properly and you can trust your body’s signals) and you don’t feel hungry when you wake up, then you don’t need to eat.  But most of America is not metabolically healthy (If you’re new to this health thing, I’m betting you’re in the majority of Americans).  Not sure if you are metabolically healthy?  Err on the side of caution and eat your breakfast within an hour of waking.

If you are at a loss for what to make, try out these quicky breakfasts listed below.  Also, Google is your friend people.  Google “paleo breakfasts” and check out the awesomeness that comes your way.  There are so so many good options available to us, there’s no need to rely on your usual, unhealthy junk to start your day!

5 Quick and Healthy Breakfasts

1. An appropriate portion of Pre-Boiled Eggs, a small piece of fruit, and a huge handful of carrots.

2. An appropriate portion of Egg cupcakes – loaded with veggies – and a small piece of fruit.

3. Homemade jerky, a handful of coconut flakes, a small piece of fruit, and entire sliced bell pepper.

4. Bacon and Eggs – to go! – and a bunch of cucumber slices with mashed avocado for dipping.

5. Leftovers…like, from dinner.  Don’t look at me weird.  Food is food…you eat breakfast for dinner, why not dinner for breakfast?

It’s not that I think you should never follow recipes, it’s just that mastering the art of the “throw together” meal will go a long way in sustaining your healthy lifestyle.

So, here I found myself on a Saturday afternoon with a hungry self and a hungry husband and no particular plans on what to make.  That’s not atypical.  I usually plan a few dinner meals for the week but other than that I just cook on the fly.  That’s how I roll, peeps.  The best tip I can give you is let the ingredients inspire…once you learn your way around the kitchen (and that CAN be learned) it will become easier and easier to throw together a delicious and healthy meal.

My Steps for Mastering the Throw Together…

Step #1 – Find a protein.  Today, I found an unused chicken breast leftover from some coconut fried chicken I made for dinner the other night.  Normally I would have just fried this baby up for leftovers, but for whatever reason (I think I was time crunched), I didn’t.  So, now it’s sitting there waiting to be turned into something delicious and nutritious.  Bonus.

Step #2 – Find a vegetable.  Take a look around.  What do you got?  If it’s the beginning of the week, I’m loaded to the hilt with fresh veg but if it’s getting thin in my supply things can get interesting.  Don’t be afraid of this – some of the best discoveries can be made when you’re down to the dregs and limited supplies force you into creativity.  Necessity is the mother of inventions, as they say.

Step #3 – Decide on a general flavor palate.  Asian?  Indian?  Mediterranean? South West? California Fresh?  Balance your flavors, throw in a hit of sweet or savory or briny. Make a general plan and then get to work.  Don’t worry too much about having it all planned out.  When you’re cooking on the fly, things have a way of coming together.

Step #4 – Get to work.  Nough said.  Go cook.

So, first I butterflied and pounded my chicken to make two servings out of it.  Throw on some S&P and then pop it in a pan.

I’m using a cast iron pan, which is a standby for me.  I’ll have to do a post about why cast iron rocks so hard, but for now just grab a pan and we’ll talk later about the beauties of cast iron.  Throw in some olive oil.  Since we’re sauteing in olive oil, remember to keep your temp lower (don’t go over medium) so the oil doesn’t hydrogenate and get nasty.  That’s bad for you on a lot of levels.  We’ll talk about that more later.

Throw in the chicken and put a top on.  This will allow the juices from the chicken to stay in the pan and keep things moist and happy.  This is a top to my 3 quart sauce pan – anything will do.  You could even throw a baking sheet on top – anything that will keep the juices from evaporating into the air.

Give the chicken about 5 minutes on each side, depending on how thick your chicken is.  When you take the top off and flip, hopefully it will look like this.

While your chicken is cooking, get your veggies ready.

First, put some salad greens – any that you choose – in a huge bowl.  Fill it up!  When your chicken is done you can pop it right out of the pan and on top.  The greens will wilt slightly, so it is best to use actual greens (not lettuce).  Greens (spinach, frisse, arugula, etc) taste good wilted.  Lettuce (red/green leaf lettuce, romaine, iceburg)  doesn’t.  If all you have on hand is lettuce, just let your chicken cool and add it in right before serving.

Second, cut up the veggies that you will saute after the chicken is done.  Originally I was going to stuff the chicken breast, so I started by chopping up some spinach, yellow cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and sun dried tomatoes.  But then I realized that, since I have just moved and my kitchen is not totally unpacked, I didn’t have any butchers twine.  That won’t work.  Adapt and overcome.  Instead, I chose to add some leeks to the mix and saute everything separately and just threw it on top.

See, it’s all coming together.

Once your chicken is done, you should have some nice juices in the pan along with some leftover oil.  If the pan is, for whatever reason, totally dry, throw in some extra olive oil and some chicken broth if you have it on hand.  Now toss your veggies in there and let them all play for a minute.  Give them a little stir every couple of minutes.  Leave the top off so that the liquid can reduce and make a nice sauce.  You want to keep your heat medium to medium low.  If things start drying out before the veg has time to cook to your likeness, turn down the heat.  You want to keep it moist.

It will start like this…

And after a couple of minutes be this…

You want some liquid in the pan, but not too much.

Now, you are ready to plate it up.  If your chicken isn’t already in the bowl with your greens put it in now.  Throw all that nice briny saute we just made right on top.

Now you need some salad dressing.  This will mix up the flavors and give you some levels and dimension.  I always use homemade salad dressing.  I never buy store bought because it is usually filled with all kinds of ingredients that cause inflammation in the body and lead to disease…soybean oil/canola oil/safflower oil, sulfites, sugar…no thanks.  To make a basic dressing just add 1 cup of vinegar to 2 cups of olive oil in a food processor.  Blend and serve   It’s seriously that easy.  I’ll do a more thorough post on that in the future but for now you can just throw on some oil and vinegar if you want.

Now, here comes the good part – you eat it!!  I served it up with a slice of cantaloupe and, for me, I threw in some Raw Sauerkraut.  My husband took a pass on that because he hates Kraut…I think he’s nuts.  It’s so good for your belly, how can you not eat it.  I’ll have to do a post on that too…  Oh it’s so good…

Oh wait, there’s a bonus!  My father in law happened to be over and I didn’t realize he was staying for lunch.  I was out of chicken, so I grabbed a salmon filet from the fridge (because I always have that on hand and so should you!) and threw it in the pan.  It soaked up all the leftover juices and came out just as yum.

Now – go get cooking!

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Briny Chicken/Salmon Salad

Serves: 2

1 Large Chicken Breast, butterflied OR 2 Smaller Chicken Breasts OR 2 Salmon Filets

2 cups Mixed Greens

5 yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

1/3 c Sliced leeks

1/3 c sliced marinated artichoke hearts (from a jar)

1/2 c sliced spinach

1/4 c julienne sundried tomatoes

1/4 c broth, optional

Any additional sliced vegetables of your choice

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Add 2 Tbsp Olive Oil to a pan, place over medium heat.  Allow to fully pre-heat and then add protein of choice.  Cover and Cook to desired doneness.

Remove protein from pan and place over a bed of mixed greens.  Add ingredients from cherry tomatoes through sundried tomatoes to pan, adding additional oil if needed.  Add broth if none is left from sauteeing your meat.  Keep over medium low to medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Remove when leeks are soft and cooked through and the broth has reduced down – about 3 minutes.  Place over top of chicken. 

Serve with dressing of choice or oil and vinegar.  Add any additional vegetables to salad as you desire. 

Enjoy!

As you go through the process of transforming from an unhealthy person to a healthy person, one of the biggest things that has to change is your mind frame.  You learn new things about yourself, you see the world in different ways, you find new solutions to problems, you create new ways of coping.  You become more empowered and you take ownership of your behavior.  All of this is learned along the way, one lesson at a time.  It’s an invaluable process and there are no short cuts.

That said, we also know that a wise man learns from his life, but a wiser man learns form the lives of others.  Allow me, if you will, to share the top four  attitude changes that will change your health…adopt them as your own…

Make Wellness the Goal.  When people first start on the road to health, it is easy for the focus to be only on one thing: losing weight.  This is such an important and valuable goal – but only if it is part of a bigger goal: Pursuing Wellness.  If your only goal is to lose weight it is easy to do things that work against Health and Wellness.  Crash diets, diet pills, and starvation are all ways to lose weight but will not move you closer to sustained Health and Wellness!  When losing weight is part of a bigger goal to be healthy, you will pay attention to other factors as well – quality of sleep, energy levels, stress levels, quality of life, etc.  And here’s the secret – when you do this, your weight loss will be easier and will last!  It’s win-win!

Make Quality Food Top Priority. Food is the #1 determinant of good health.  Sleep regulation, recovery after a workout, quality of digestion to absorb nutrients, stress levels, and even mood are all strongly linked to the food we eat.  Why?  Because our body is a machine that is constantly manufacturing new parts – cells, neurotransmitters, tissues, fluids, hormones, etc.  The material and the energy to be constantly remanufacturing US comes ONLY from the food we eat.  The old saying is true – you are what you eat!   We feel tired and worn out because our food is trash.  Even if you lose excess weight and become more active, poor health will stick around until you clean up your nutrition.  Until we put quality in, we cannot get quality out!

Learn to Listen. The pace of life in our culture today pushes us to the max!  We grab food as quickly as possible, eat on the run, deprive our bodies of rest – and then wonder why our stress levels are so high!  In order to become truly well, we must go beyond following simple rules and someone else’s diet plan.  We must learn to listen – to our bodies and to our lives.  Are you chronically tired?  Maybe the answer is changing the rhythm of life so you can get more downtime.  Are you unable to lose weight, no matter how hard you try?  Perhaps it’s time to learn how to nourish your body instead of starve it.  Constantly sore and achy?  Listen to your body’s signals and find the root of the problem.  Learn to listen to your body!

Accept Who You Are. We’ve all heard it – not everyone is made to be a super skinny model or a ripped MMA star.  We all have our own unique DNA that determines our height, frame, build, how quickly we gain muscle – we are all different.  We want your focus to be on being the best YOU that you can be – not on pining away for a body you will never have.      How much faster can you run your mile?  How many more sit ups can you do?  How much improvement can you see in health issues?  To become well, you must put your focus in the right place – and that will always be on improving what you can control and letting go of what you cannot.  Learn to accept yourself and be the best YOU that is possible!

Positive.

Mental.

Attitude.

It is the #1 determinant of achieving success – and not just with weight loss and health goals, either!  One of the things we hear over and over again from Campers is how much they love our emphasis on cultivating a PMA because it’s benefits extend far beyond looking better naked!  It will help you in every area of life!

That said, most people have a lot of ground to cover in developing a PMA, especially when it comes to health and wellness.  Our attitude towards health flat out stinks in the U.S. Before I talk to you about the 4 Attitude Changes I think most Americans need to embrace, let’s first talk about the top Four that need to GO!

We want it yesterday.  Look people, how many years did it take you to screw up your body?  It sure isn’t going to turn around in a month.  Get it in your head that, to be healthy, you will have to slowly and consistently chip away at this.  And once you are there, you have to keep going.  It’s not about GETTING healthy, it’s about LIVING healthy.  It’s not about achieving a goal, it’s changing your way of life.  Stop thinking about the time you wasted and the “If I’d have only…” – put your energy into the present and focus on what you can do RIGHT NOW.

We want it easy.  Even though we all know health doesn’t actually come in a bottle, we still keep looking for it there.  We’re still looking for the shortcut, the easy way out, the free lunch.  Word of advice?  Stop looking.  It doesn’t exist.  The only thing that moves you closer to health is slowly and consistently chipping away it. 

We get extreme. What do out-of-shape Americans do every January?  Ask L.A. Fitness, they’ll tell you…  The answer to that spare tire hanging around your waist is not an all out gym spree.  You don’t need to get extreme – you need to get consistent.  This is where participating in a program like BBC can help – accountability and consistency are hallmarks of the program.   Whatever program you decide to do, you have to do it in smaller bites over a longer period of time.  As in, slowly and consistently chipping away at it.      

We want to be skinny, not healthy.  I know you say “It’s not about being a super model for me” but I’ve seen one too many people complain about their (healthy fit amazing) bodies because it wasn’t big enough in one place or small enough in another.  I’ve also seen one too many unhealthy, overweight people take drastic, damaging, and unsustainable measures to “get healthy” (which is often a code word for “get skinny”) because they don’t understand that skinny doesn’t always equal healthy.  Skinny is just skinny, no matter how you got there.  But the lean, strong, healthy body that is built by – you guessed it – slowly and consistently chipping away at it has way more going for it than just lower than average body fat.  It has energy, it has recovery capacity, it has endurance, longevity, agility, strength, balance, and functionality.  I’ll take that over skinny any day.

Offsite Links You Might Like

http://whole9life.com/2011/07/the-400000-hour-body/

http://fitnessblackbook.com/life-outside-of-the-gym/avoid-a-gym-body-aim-for-an-athletic-body-instead/