Paleo: How it's Going

So. Basically, I eat paleo at home. And I'm fine with that.

I figured out that, on average, 17 of the 21 of the meals I eat in a week are cooked by me, and those are paleo. The other 4 meals are cooked for me by others, and when it is a friend cooking I figure they work hard enough to make gluten-free meals for me that asking for paleo would be too much. So I don't. Plus, I don't mind eating grains in 20% of my meals -- as an endurance athlete (endurance in the sense that most of my workouts are between 1 1/2 to 2 hours long), that's probably the safest way to go.

I've had some pretty boring meals, but some really great ones too. I made a meat-only chili (just tomatoes, onion, red pepper, ground bison, chili, cumin, and ground red pepper) this weekend and recently ate it over "cauliflower rice," which is minced cauliflower sauted with onion. It was great and filling. And surprisingly, I'm not as hungry as I used to be. I think carbohydrates make me crave more carbohydrates. I'm sure there's some science to it.


In case you're interested in learning more about eating this way, here are a few links I've found really helpful:

http://liveprimal.com/LPrecipes.pdf

http://cavewomanrunner.wordpress.com

http://pureprimal.com/

http://pureprimal.com/links/

http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com

http://liveprimal.com/LPrecipes.pdf

Going Paleo

The paleo, or paleolithic way of eating has intrigued me for years. In a nutshell, it is a diet of meats, eggs, fish, vegetables, fruit and nuts -- that's it. *The theory is that humans have been eating this way -- this very simple way, for millions of years. If you compare that to how long we've been eating grains and processed foods (10,000 according to many anthropologists), it is literally a blink of the eye.

So, basically, we've had all of those millions of years to adapt to this way of eating, where we've only had a few thousand to adapt to eating grains.

Paleo-friendly stuffed mushrooms

Research in this field has shown that cutting out grains, legumes and sugars can slow the progression of autoimmune disorders, cure acne, and increase athletic performance. I have stake in all three of these: my mother has Multiple Sclerosis, I have skin problems, and as an athlete, I have always been interested in getting faster and stronger.

Paleo-friendly green smoothie

This re-interest in paleo comes from an experience that I had last week. I had a bit of a scare at
skate practice: during a time trial that I was leading my legs cramped up and I had to stand upright and glide for my last two laps. They cramped up in a way I hadn't ever experienced before. In fact, it seemed similar to the way my mother describes her MS-related leg pain. Because my mother has MS, there is a 30% chance I could get it too. That's not that high, but it's certainly an increased risk and that's awfully scary. If there's anything that I can do to possibly decrease my risk, I'll do it.

Paleo-friendly simple soup

I've told my mother about the diet before. I've bought her books on the subject and sent her

presentations about it in the past. But she's not budging. In fact, out of my sister, father and I -- she's the only one who is not gluten-free. That is her choice and I respect that. But I want my mother to be around to see my kids grow up.

A Paleo-friendly dinner

I know how difficult it can be. I've tried to following this diet before, but I failed when I was traveling and eating in social settings. I thought, "I can't eat gluten and that makes me enough of a misfit. Why make it more difficult?" I even once suggested a friend try it out to see if it helped an autoimmune disease she had -- it did and she lost a lot of weight. I saw her everyday at work, and I saw what a transformation she made, but I never made it more than a week for myself. The thing is, I was really strict about it when I tried it. And it seems like there are some people who are 100% paleo. However, it's not going to be all or nothing this time. I'll let myself eat grains on special occasions (in fact I'm sure I'll still make grain-based recipes). I'll have dessert if it's once-in-awhile. And I'm not planning on giving up coffee. There is also the idea that athletes who eat paleolithic should ingest some carbohydrates from grains, so I'll give myself that.

I'll end this with a few thoughts; I do not want to insult people who do not eat this way. Studies have shown that East-Asians are the healthiest people. I, in no way, discredit that. I also have a lot of respect for vegans and believe in that way of eating as well. However, with my own health issues and my family history, this seems to be the best choice for me.

In my next post I will be linking to some of my favorite paleo resources.

*I've only skimmed the surface of the history of, benefits from, and details of the paleo diet.

Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms

I really didn't know how these were going to go over. I like mushrooms, but I know they're one of those foods: the kind that people hate, avoid and dig out of dishes. I grew up with one of those people. My sister hates mushrooms (she dislikes bananas too in case you ever wanted to bake her something), so I was a little worried when I decided to make them for a party on Saturday night.

Fortunately, they were gobbled up. Even after explaining that they were vegan and gluten-free stuffed mushrooms. Phew.

These mushrooms are naturally vegan (no fake cheese used) and naturally gluten-free (no breadcrumbs of any sort are used -- I found they're just not necessary), so no strange ingredients to buy: just vegetables and spices (and a little fruit and nut).

Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms (gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo)

20 ounces (or about 18 total) stuffing mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 small yellow onion
1/2 red onion
1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)
1/4 cup pecans (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or fresh garlic)
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop. Then roughly chop the peppers and onions. Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat and add the mushroom stems, peppers and onions. Add the garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper and saute for at least thirty minutes until carmelized slightly. Meanwhile, chop to pecans. During the last five minutes of cooking, add the pecans and cranberries. Then, add the mixture to a food processor and pulse until the mixture has combined into a paste. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and stuff the mushrooms with the filling and place on a oiled cookie sheet. Bake for twenty minutes, or until the tops are slightly browned.

These are best served at room temperature.

A Fresh Start: Green Drink

It's a sunny day outside, the birds are chirping and the temperature is above thirty -- a good reason to celebrate around here during the winter. January was a big mess: between traveling, my Grandmother's passing and a major project coming to an end, my fitness and eating healthy routine has been on the back burner. I still got workouts in and I still ate decently, but the sporadic nature of it all has worn down my immune system. I wake up each morning with a sore throat and have been taking sudafed for three days straight. What I need is to get back to my routine and eat a load of vegetables, and I have.

I offer you: the Green Drink.

Don't let the, er, greenness, of it deter you. I was a bit weary myself as I was putting it together, but as soon as I tasted it the only word that came to mind was: fresh. Okay. And yum too. Talk about a drink that makes you feel good: it certainly has a lot of fiber, a few servings of vegetables and a whole load of vitamins in it. And really, it tastes good. And really, I drank it for breakfast along with a scrambeled egg and I'm not hungry at all right now (at 12:20pm). Fiber mixed with protein is an amazing thing.

Super Simple Green Drink (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo)

Serves one.

1 green apple, cored (and peeled: this is not needed if you are normal and can eat apple skins without having an allergic reaction like lucky me)
2 handfuls spinach
1 small cucumber
1 stalk of celery
6 ice cubes
1/2 cup of water

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend the heck out of it until it forms a liquid. I didn't have to chop any of my ingredients beforehand because I use a blender that sounds like a vacuum cleaner (vitamix), but for regular blenders, I would recommend doing so. Drink right away. If left alone the drink separates a bit, but just mix it again briefly before drinking.

Per your comments, and in attempt to feel my best on my wedding day (and really don't you want to feel your best at all times), I started to get back into yoga -- Bikram Yoga -- that hot kind of yoga. I took a ninety minute class on Sunday morning and I think I have a favorite new form of exercise. I was sweating buckets by the end of class and my muscles were sore this morning; I never get that from normal yoga and I think I like it.

Simple Soup

I unfortunately don't have a lot of time to write about this soup, so I will keep it simple: it's mighty good. For the time it makes to put it together and for simplicity of the ingredients, it's stellar. I used my Vitamix to "chop" the vegetables, but you can do it by hand, or with a food processor. It's quite good cold as well and taste very similar to gazpacho.

Simple Chunky Vegetable Soup (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, paleo)
serves 2 as a meal

1 8 oz can of diced tomatoes (or one large tomato if it's in season)
3 stalks of celery, leaves included
1/2 yellow onion
4 smallish carrots
1 heaping cup of fresh spinach
salt and pepper if needed

Place all of the ingredients in your vitamix or food processor and blend (on level 3 for about 30 seconds) or pulse (until food is chopped, but not pureed). Eat now cold. Or, place in a saucepan, add about a cup of water, bring to a boil and simmer for about ten minutes.

Paleo Friendly: Spaghetti Squash with Spinach Walnut Pesto

My friend and co-worker Carol has been following the elimination aka caveman aka paleo(lithic) diet for close to a month now. Her original intentions were to see if she had any trigger foods, or allergies, that were affecting an ailment of hers, but ended up losing weight and feeling significantly better as well. I've been interested in the paleo diet for quite some time too (please note, this isn't a diet in the sense that people go on it to lose weight), as I was the one that suggested it to her. After being on the diet for two days she approached me and said "how did you do this!?" to which my reply was "well, I haven't actually done it. I just heard about it." But after a few days of getting over cravings, she's stated it's actually really simple to stick to. So, I think someday I may dabble in it and see how it makes me feel. I agree with the research and theory behind it.

In fact, I'm really interested in the topic, but don't have time to write a lengthy post on it now, so I will just post a paleo-friendly recipe that I whipped up the other day. I'm kind of obsessed with it actually, as it mimics a linguine with pesto without the refined carbs and dairy. And inspired by Carol's journey, I plan on going through my recipes and labeling those appropriate with a "paleo" tag.

Spaghetti Squash with Spinach Walnut Pesto (gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo)

1 cup of "meat" from spaghetti squash (to bake, cut in half, scrape out seeds and place on cookie sheet at 375 for 35 minutes rind side up and scrape out meat after squash has cooled)
1 loosely packed cup of spinach
1/4 cup walnuts
2 small, or one large clove of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix the spinach, walnuts and garlic in a mini food processor until blended and add olive oil until a pesto forms (you may need more of less olive oil). In a skillet over medium heat, add the spaghetti squash and the pesto and cook for five minutes or so until the flavors are incorporated. Serve as a meal, or as a side dish.


I ate a completely paleo meal and didn't realize it until now! The meat is a turkey tenderloin with almond meal, cranberry and pecan stuffing (with some thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper -- though I don't know if that's paleo). I simply placed the "stuffing" on the flattened out tenderloin, wrapped, closed with toothpicks and baked for 25 minutes at 350. I think Henry's more interested in the turkey over the spaghetti squash.