Fall Necessities, Part II

I posted a while back about my brain associating "Fall" with (1) college football, (2) chili, and (3) beer.  I had found a pretty good solution to the chili issue before but was still searching for that perfect replacement for beer in my fall routine.

Well, friends, after lots of strenuous research, I think I have some answers!

Option 1:  Cider

Turns out hard ciders are naturally gluten free so they are a natural choice.  Plus they are pretty popular right now so it's not terribly difficult to find a cider option just about anywhere you go.  But (there's always a but, isn't there), ciders are generally loaded with sugar.

Angry Orchard and Woodchuck both have something like 32g of sugar per bottle.  Might as well drink a Coke.

Strongbow Cider only has 9g per bottle, giving it a drier, more ale like taste and making it the most acceptable beer replacement I have found thus far.  That said, it is still sweeter than beer and sweet things usually mean hangovers for me.

Option 2:  Gluten Free Beer

There are a surprising number of gluten free beers out there.  I was even more surprised to find that some of the bigger liquor stores right here in Lawrence carry multiple gluten free options.

I tried New Planet's Pale Ale first.  It was ok.  Not really very pale ale-y I thought, but it was drinkable.  Don't know that I'd recommend to a Pale Ale fan.

I also tried New Grist's Pilsner style.  It was pretty tasty.  Definitely no worse than Bud Light or Miller Lite or Coors or whatever other Pilsners you would normally drink. 

I found a list of recommendations put together by Men's Fitness and most are available here so we'll just call this my list of beers to try.

Option 3:  Wine

Wine is always a nice option when you need a drink, but lets be honest here, wine and college football do not mix so well.  And it's hard to tailgate with wine.

Option 4:  Liquor

Most liquors are Paleo approved (not Gin) and this works out great if you're a liquor drinker.  I'm not really, especially when you consider that most mixers - soda, fruit juice - are completely non-Paleo.  But if you're willing to fudge on the mixers part, there is no dispute that a mimosa, screwdriver or bloody mary is a pretty excellent addition to any morning tailgate.


Now if only my team could find a way to pull things together, I might be able to fully enjoy Fall!

Organic v. All Natural

Since starting Paleo I have become a label reading Nazi.  I read labels everywhere, for everything, and if there is something in there that I don't recognize or doesn't seem possible without processing, I usually put it back.

Obviously this means I spend a fair amount of time in the little health market part of Dillons (as well in the actual health market, Natural Grocers, across the street).  And this also means that I spend a fair amount of time distinguishing between "organic" and "all natural".

My husband has, on a few occasions, brought home groceries very proud of himself because he thought he'd stayed within paleo, only to find that I can't eat all of it afterall.  Why?  Because "organic" is not necessarily Paleo.

Here's an example:  One night we were at Dillons looking for some stewed tomatoes.  We looked at lots of options, including Dillons' Simple Truth brand of organic products but most all of them had calcium carbonide in there as a preservative.  So, being the compliant Paleo participant that I am, they were out.  And the husband was really surprised because he had assumed that organic meant they were good.

So what's the difference?  Organic refers to the cultivation process.  For something to be "organic" it has to be grown or raised without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, etc.  Organic does not refer to what happens to the food after it leaves the farm.

"All natural" on the other hand generally refers to food which not only does not have the synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, etc., but also has been minimally processed - which is what Paleo is all about.

For the record, organic has a legal definition.  However, "all natural" doesn't have a legal definition so it can mean a lot of things.   Organic is a good thing, but it doesn't always automatically translate into Paleo.  And this is why I am an obsessive label reader. 

30 Days Come and Gone

Holy busy couple of weeks, Batman!  I've been busy at work, busy with charity stuff, and now busy with this awesome Leadership Lawrence program!  I've been so busy, in fact, that my I passed right on by my first 30 days of Paleo and didn't have time to comment. 

I can't remember what I put in my very first post but when I started this grand adventure, I implemented an arbitrary 30 day "trial period."  I would dive in head first to Paleo, no cheats, no 80/20 balance, full compliance with Paleo for 30 days to get used to this new life style and see if I could keep it up.  I also swore not to get on the scale for 30 days (other an a pre-Paleo weigh in). 

Well Day 30 was last week.  It was pretty uneventful in terms of Paleo (though I did make a pretty tasty spin off of this eggplant mushroom curry).  And I didn't have time to get to the gym for a weigh in until the weekend.

So, after 30 days, how's it going?

AWESOME!

I feel so much better.  I sleep better.  I have more energy.  I eat less at meal times and I almost never snack anymore.  I stay fuller longer.  I don't get that sleepy 2:30 in the afternoon thing anymore.  I've only had two migraines since I started.  In short, AWESOME.

And, what did the scale say?

I'm down 10 pounds since starting.  Honestly, when I look in the mirror, I don't really see it.  But I can feel it in how my pants fit.  And several very kind souls at work have commented that they can see the weight loss. 

So, needless to say, I'm going to stick with it.  The hard part now will be allowing myself the 80/20 balance.  I'll probably continue sticking to it pretty closely but I need to learn how to relax a little bit and not feel the need to read every label all the time.  One organic corn chip won't derail this train. 

Cookie Bars...Mmmm.....

I love my job.  We have a beer fridge.  We have a chili competition.  We have monthly treat days.  The September Treat Day was last week and you know what people brought?  Donuts, chocolate cookies with powdered sugar, queso dip with chips.  Basically all the awesomeness that I can't have anymore.  Le sigh.

I was signed up to bring treats in September.  I spent a considerable amount of time debating whether to bother bringing something paleo or whether to just do something easy, or even easier, just buy something pre-made at the grocery store.  Ultimately, I decided to be true to my new paleo lifestyle - and give myself a treat I could eat - and make something paleo.

So I made these chocolate chip cookies.  The recipe is for actual cookies, but there is a comment at the bottom about making cookie bars instead.  Being lazy, that's what i did and it turned out pretty good.  So next, the question was do I include a note with the cookies about them being gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, preservative-free?  Or should I just let people try them and then tell them "surprise! they are paleo!" 

I didn't include a note, but again that had more to do with being lazy than anything.  But I had several people try them and tell me they were really good.  And most people seemed genuinely impressed when I explained swapping out almond flour for wheat flour and organic raw honey for refined sugar.  Definitely a successful treat!

I made another batch a couple nights ago and between me and the husband, they are almost gone!  Nothing says success like an empty pan. 

Here's the recipe:

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 C dairy-free, soy-free chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)
1/2 C coconut oil
1/2 C maple syrup
2 eggs
3 C almond flour

Mix all ingredients.  Spoon into cookies (or be lazy like me and smooth into 11 X 7 dish) and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.  A toothpick should come out clean but the cookies will still be super super moist. 

Fall Necessities, Part I

When I say "fall," what comes to mind?  I'll tell you what comes to my mind:

College Football
Chili
Oktoberfest/Pumpkin Beer

Fortunately Paleo has no official position on college football so I am consuming as much as possible.  Unfortunately, the other two are greatly impacted so I've been sorting out how I am going to make it through fall without giving up these staples.  Tonight, I tackled the chili. (How's that for a pun?)

I looked at a lot of different chili recipes.  I think the biggest difference between paleo chili and regular ol chili is the lack of beans.  But the recipe I went with included sweet potato, and it turned out to be a pretty solid substitute.

My Paleo chili recipe:
1 lb Ground Bison (Ground Beef)
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1/2 yellow onion
28 oz crushed tomatos
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 1/2 C beef stock
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 jalapeno
2 tbsp hot sauce

Here is the original recipe.  Obviously we switched it up with the ground bison.  That was mostly because we saw it at the store and thought we'd take the being healthy up a notch.

A few thoughts about this chili:
(1)  It was incredibly filling.  While I would normally gorge on multiple bowls of chili loaded up with cheese and fritos, I ate one bowl of this stuff and was completely full.
(2)  It had a sweetness to it that was a nice change of pace, but it needs more heat.  The next time I make this, I will probably throw another jalapeno and maybe some cayenne pepper or something else to spice it up some.
(3)  It was a little thin for chili.  I simmered it for about 2 hours before eating and it was still too thin.  I'd suggest adding tapioca paste or something to thick it up a bit.

That said, this chili was good.  The husband even liked it so I suspect we'll be experimenting with this recipe several times this fall/winter. 

Of course, what is chili without corn bread?  This poses the biggest problem as really none of the ingredients of a good cornbread are allowed on paleo.  So I found this recipe for a not-really-corn corn muffin.

It's coconut flour, eggs, honey, sea salt, apple cider vinegar, unsweetened applesauce and coconut oil.  It turns into an incredible moist little muffin with a sweetness that is pretty comparable to a good corn muffin.  It has a substantially different texture.  Corn muffins tend to always be a little dry.  These were anything but dry.  If anything, I feel like I could have baked them longer and not lost any moisture. 

So another fall staple is under control.  Next up will be tackling this beer issue.  And if my calendar for the coming week is any indication, I am going to require some resolution to this beer issue asap. 

Friday Night Chinese

It's Friday and for most of my life Friday has, more often than not, meant Chinese food for dinner.  And does this girl love her some chinese.  Egg rolls, crab rangoon, fried rice, beef and broccoli, chicken and shrimp hunan style, I like it all.  But my all time favorite, always have to have it, is hot and sour soup.  Boy do I love me some hot and sour soup.

One time, my friend Paul, in describing his love for Chipotle, told me that he wished he could make a burrito big enough to swim in.  This is how I feel about hot and sour soup. 

But of course, this new Paleo lifestyle that I've embarked on frowns on things like gluten, too much salt, soy and the ol Chinese stand-by, msg.  Everything I've read talks about an 80/20 balance and the necessity of deviating from Paleo sometimes to keep it up.  But today is day 12 and I'm not ready to cheat yet.  When I started this, I told myself I'd go a solid 30 days of Paleo before I'd cheat. 

So what to do on a Friday when take out is pretty much out of question?

I found a Paleo hot and sour soup recipe so I decided despite it being more than 90 degrees outside, tonight is as good a time as ever to try out some soup.  Here is the recipe I used:  Yum Yum Hot and Sour Soup

Right off the bat, I changed up some things:
-  I used chicken instead of pork.  Nothing against pork, I just had some chicken in the fridge that needed to be used.
-  I didn't marinate the chicken.  I was hungry and soup takes a little while anyway to let flavors develop so I didn't want to waste anymore time.
-  I used a ginger paste instead of fresh ginger root.  First of all, ginger root is expensive.  Second, I don't really have any idea what to do with ginger root.  But the ginger paste I used was paleo friendly so fair cheat.
-  I added some celery and onion to the soup.  The onion for flavor, the celery for a crunch element.  Texture is important.
-  I added about an extra tbsp of aminos and added red pepper for a little heat

Other than those things, I followed the recipe pretty closely.  And it was awesome!!  It had the right amount of tart, just a hint of sweet, and plenty of spice.  I thought about nixing the tapioca flour paste but I'm glad I didn't.  It gave the soup a perfect thickness for hot and sour soup. 

This is a great recipe and I recommend it for Paleo and non-Paleo alike.  And now I know I can survive this crazy diet without giving up at least one of my favorites!

The Beginning...

Every now and then I have a "great idea" about how to make improvements in my health and general well being.  As a point of reference, past ideas have included (1) no drinking, except that turned into limiting myself to no more than 2 drinks per week, which turned into "it's basketball season!"  (2) eating no processed white stuff, except I bake a lot and refined sugar is sort of a staple; (3) running a marathon, except that shit is hard and I am both asthmatic and miserably out of shape.  Needless to say, my grand schemes often last a week or so before I have a bad day and give up.  My newest great idea:  Paleo. 

For those who don't know, paleo is based on the premise that for most of history our ancestors were hunter/gatherers and only recently (relatively, of course) became farmers.  As a result, we are programmed to operate on a high protein, high fiber diet of meat, vegetables and some fruits.  This means no gluten (wheat and grain products), no dairy, and none of the processed junk that gets passed off as food in the grocery store.  So you may be thinking, "but Dani, you love cheese, firmly believe ranch makes everything better, spend most Saturdays from September through April drinking beer and watching college sports, and you bake all the time...how can this possibly work?"  Well, that's an excellent question, and that's what I'm going to try to capture here.

I will note, that I didn't really intend for this to be a public venture.  I decided to try paleo because I'm hovering at a weight much greater than I want to be at and I've had several friends try it with great success.  Today is Day 8 and I'm only starting a blog now because today has been my first real struggle day and I'm sure my wonderful husband is getting tired of hearing me complain about all the stuff I can't have so I'm turning to another outlet.  Plus, my meals on paleo have been colorful and wonderful and this will give me a place to share some of the pictures and the recipes I find. 

So as I said, today is Day 8.  For 8 days I have had no rice, pasta, cheese, milk, crackers, ice cream, cookies, or any of the generally delicious stuff one finds in the center aisles of the grocery store.  But it really hasn't been bad so far.  As luck would have it, we have a freezer full of cow and pig that was local butchered so it isn't full of preservatives; we get a big bag of seasonal vegetables every week from Pendleton's Farm through their CSA program and I've been able to fill in some gaps with goodies from the Lawrence Farmer's Market.  My meals have been colorful, incredibly filling and I get energy from my food instead of that heavy, sleepy feeling. 

Today was the first struggle.  Maybe it was just because it was Labor Day and I didn't have work to distract me.  Maybe it was because I'm all sunburned and miserable and just wanted to dive head first into a Dairy Queen Blizzard.  Maybe it was because I didn't go to the gym today (it's hard to run with painfully sunburned legs).  Whatever it was, today I found myself wanting to chug a gallon of diet coke, eat a block of cheese with a sleeve of crackers, then a bag of chips and french onion dip and then polish it all off with a chocolate cake and a tall glass of milk.  And then our neighbor brought over a 12 pack of beer as a thank you for an earlier favor.  Le sigh. 

But I didn't give in.  I ate my dinner of baked cod and sauteed okra.  I opened a bottle of local (Eudora) wine.  And I made a paleo brownie.  And you know what?  It was good!  And I feel good about it because I managed to indulge in a dessert without abandoning the parameters of this new lifestyle.  I know its going to be tough, especially once I hit The Hill for the KU football next weekend, but we'll see what happens.  And if anyone wants to try this strange trip with me, companions are welcome!