03072009

Food Sources on the Net

There are almost too many sources on the net these days for just about any topic. For me, I look for empirical evidence based sources (.edu or based on research) or I like reading the opposite end of the spectrum, blogs (people real life explanations). I think I get a good mix of science and real life examples of the Paleo diet that way.

The first site I love is Nikkisblogspot.com. Nikki is a trainer living in Australia who the author of The Paleo Cookbook. What I like about her site besides the information is the menu samples she offers.

Paleo Breakfast Recipes
Quinoa recipes
Foccacia, Sandwiches and Cake Recipes

These are just a few of her downloadable PDF's. Take a look at her site for more nikisblospot.com

Anothe great source for recipes (although the site is very minimal in design) is the paleofood.com

Basicly its an ongoing archive of user generated recipes. Check it out at paleofood.com

Finaly a great research site with links to many known reserches is paleodiet.com. Here you will find everything you need to know about the Paleo diet followed by emperical research to back it up.

No go out and try somthing new for dinner tonight!

ROB CAN COOK

Dinner last night was a beef and vegtables goulash
Ingredients
- 1 lb stewing beef cut to inch thickness
- 3 carrots cut to bite size
- 3 cellery stalks cut to bite size
- 2 cups of quartered mushrooms
- 1.5 onions medium diced
- 2 tsps of garlic powder
- 1 tsp of pepper
- 1 tsp of thyme leaves
- 1 tsp of rosmarry leaves chopped
- 2 cups of beef broth (I like to substitute one cup with water due to salt content)
- 1 cup of dry red wine

Season the meat a little before browning it in a medium size pot. Remove beef then add onions, cellery and carrots and cook until onions are translucent (3 min.). Add the rest of the vegtables and seasoning and cook for an additional minutes. Finally at the liquids and bring to a boil, then set on low heat for 45-55 minutes.

Then grab a spoon and a bowl and go to town!
Enjoy!

03042009

Disturbing Counsel (courtesy of againfaster.com)

If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the United States Department of Agriculture is an asphalt factory.

The USDA is responsible for providing Americans with dietary recommendations. Unfortunately, they’re also responsible for creating national and international markets for American crops, a money-driven mission that makes a mockery of diet and health.

The United States’ primary agricultural products—wheat, corn, and milk—are all carbohydrate-rich. This is not a problem in and of itself, were the USDA to recommend their consumption in moderation. They do not. The USDA asks Americans to consume over of 70% of their calories from these sources.

Carbohydrate consumption, in the form of wheat, milk, and high fructose corn syrup, subsidizes American crops and keeps the USDA in business.

The financial incentive for this request, embodied by the Food Pyramid, is easy to ascertain. More carbohydrate consumption, in the form of wheat, milk, and high fructose corn syrup, subsidizes American crops and keeps the USDA in business. It benefits the economy and the American farmer, a worthy endpoint.

Regrettably, it also prescribes hyperinsulinemia to 300 million trusting souls.

Hyperinsulinemia is a state of chronically elevated blood sugar, brought about by the incessant overconsumption of carbohydrates. It is linked to diabetes, heart disease, and obesity through a very simple and undeniable causal chain.

Insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas, removes sugar from the bloodstream, putting it into cellular storage for later energy production. When blood sugar is chronically elevated, insulin is unable to remove the bulk, and the pancreas ramps production back, recognizing the futility of rampant insulin release. Sugar remains in the blood stream, where it oxidizes with LDL cholesterol and creates arterial plaques.

Artery walls harden, and people die.

Clearly, money and health are at odds at the USDA, yet the conflict of interest goes unaddressed. As their mission statement illustrates, the organization is more interested in the economic benefits of high carbohydrate consumption than they are in health of the American people:

“USDA has created a strategic plan to implement its vision. The framework of this plan depends on these key activities: expanding markets for agricultural products and support(ing) international economic development, further developing alternative markets for agricultural products and activities, providing financing needed to help expand job opportunities and improve housing, utilities and infrastructure in rural America, enhancing food safety by taking steps to reduce the prevalence of foodborne hazards from farm to table, improving nutrition and health by providing food assistance and nutrition education and promotion, and managing and protecting America's public and private lands working cooperatively with other levels of government and the private sector.”

Nutrition warrants a brief mention, but actions speak louder than words. Visiting mypyramid.gov, I plugged in my statistics to get a dietary recommendation. As a 5’9”, 170-pound male with less than a half-hour of physical activity per day, the site recommended I eat 2600 calories per day, including a whopping 9 ounces of grains and 24 ounces of milk, while consuming only 6.5 ounces of meat.

Per the Zone Diet, my recommendations amounted to 27 blocks of carbohydrates, 9.5 blocks of protein, and 24 blocks of fat, a short path to hyperinsulinemia and more than enough to induce obesity.

Seemingly unaware that they’d just doomed me to poor health, the USDA left me this little gem:

“The weight you entered is above the healthy range for your height. This may increase your risk for health problems. Some people who are overweight should consider weight loss. Click here for more information about health risks and whether you should try to lose weight, or talk with your health care provider.”

The irony is palpable.

Given the USDA’s (colossally laughable) position as America’s foremost authority on nutrition, this ignorance is unforgivable, and worth fighting. The power to dictate diet needs to be removed from the hands of an organization with so much skin in the game, and transferred to individuals with the knowledge and freedom to act in the best interests of the American people.

This will not happen at the top level. Billions of dollars and an extraordinarily powerful farming lobby dictate that grassroots education and individual change are the only tenable way to affect a diet revolution in America.

American farmer or no, this will not stand. We will bring the USDA’s elemental flaw to light, one person at a time. The road to hell is still under construction, but we’re bringing the jackhammers, and the asphalt will crumble.

02282009

Baby steps



So today marks the first month of a year on the Paleo! Ok, ok I said a 6 months at the beginning of the month, but I've starting to come over to the Paleo side.

I feel great, better then great, I feel amazing, more then I thought I would be on such a "drastic" change in consumption. I think most people would call change from popular demand "drastic". But sometimes the road less traveled results in greater discoveries.

So the change of food did lead to withdraw symptoms from the cold turkey stoppage of modern crack = starches/grains. Just tonight I walked past a bakery in Irvine with the line stretching out around the corner of the building, I'm talking at least a hundred people in line to buy bread and sweats at 9:00 at night! So I'm glad to say the cravings have subsided and the vice like grip that pasta/rice/breads/grains had on me no longer is as tight (believe me every now and then cake is very tempting). I feel like the guy on 40 days and 40 nights, except instead of boobs its french fries.

Another great effect of eating cleaner and more vegetables is my pallet has slowly changed. I feel like I can taste food for the first time. Instead of being cow fed food ala the fast food drive through window, I have more controll of what goes into my mouth, thus causing my taste buds to rejoice.
I mean vegtables actually have tastes of their own. I used to catagorize all vegtables as "vegtables" as in I don't eat "vegtables". They all tasted the same to me, I used to say "Oh, I don't like that it tastes to green for me". What I ment by that was it wasn't cooked for more then 10 minutes, killing off every vitamin possible and making it soft enough for babbies to enjoy it. Now carrots taste as sweet as chocolate, and I actually look forward to the various vegtable dishes out there.


Food in general just tastes better. I wonder if food conisours taste the same food I taste now with my new taste buds, because if they do, I would love that job.

My energy levels are back to full, and with the help of our friend Coffee they are at a all time high when it comes time for the WODs. I'm looking forward to setting some new PR's in the next couple of weeks. The weight started at 225 in December and as of today I'm at 210, with no sacrafice in strength or energy level.

More then anything, I'm changing, and I believe it for the better. If you are what you eat is true, then I'm looking forward to a stronger, healthier me!

ROB CAN COOK

I never drank coffee until this year, for many reasons, but now I appreciate the effect of the caffine, but I'm still struggling with the taste, since I don't put sugar or milk in mine.

So another example of a "Fridge" Paleo meal is the following.
Breakfest was a cup of joe, plus 2 hard boiled egges, half a bannana, and half a pear
Lunch was a cup of cantalope and pears, followed by mixed greens and left over rotisery chicken. (if your wondering where is the photo of the Veg's, well I ate them before the camera came out)

02192009

I VANT TO SUCK YOUR SUGAR

Ok so Its been 3 weeks so far, and I feel great, but this little thing called "Addiction" is one tough cookie to beat. My body is going crazy for sugar and starch, I mean every where I turn there's Sugar or some form of starch, and I WANT SOME SOOO BAD!

But thanks to Nikki at nikkisblogspot.com I know what to eat in order to kick what I'm craving at the time!

FOOD CRAVINGS

There are different reasons as to why people will crave certain foods; this all depends on the individual. The reason behind food cravings can be as simple as not eating the right balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates which your body needs in order to function optimally. Cravings can also be a sign of vitamin or mineral deficiency.

A person who is a protein type (whose body functions optimally on a high protein low carbohydrate diet) can often crave salty or fatty foods. But if a protein type consumes too many carbohydrates in their diet they will find themselves craving sugar. A person who is a mixed-type (whose body functions optimally on a balance of protein and carbohydrates) generally won’t have cravings for sweet or salty foods; but if their diet is out of balance and they consume either too much protein or too much carbohydrates they can find themselves suffering from cravings. A person who is a carbohydrate type (whose body functions optimally on a higher balance of carbohydrates) can crave sugary foods when not enough protein is consumed in their diets.

Another reason craving for certain foods can start could be a sign that the body is deficient in a certain vitamin or mineral. Here is a list of a few common cravings and what nutrients the body may need.

Craving…	What your body may really need…	Healthy food options that have it…
Chocolate	Magnesium	Raw nuts and seeds, fruits, legumes
Bread, toast	Nitrogen	High protein foods, fish, meat, nuts, beans
Sweets	Chromium Carbon Phosphorus Sulfur Tryptophan	Broccoli, grapes, dried beans, calves liver, chicken Fruits Chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts Cranberries, horseradish, cruciferous vegetables, kale, cabbage Liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach, cheese
Fatty/oily foods	Calcium	Broccoli, kale, sesame seeds. turnip greens, cheese
Alcohol	Protein Avenin Calcium Glutamine Potassium	Meat, poultry, seafood, nuts Oatmeal Broccoli, kale, sesame seeds. turnip greens Meat, chicken, fish, eggs Bitter greens, seaweed, apricots, bananas, fish, meat
Coffee / tea	Phosphorus Sodium Chloride (salt) Iron	Chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts Sea salt, apple cider vinegar Red meat, seaweed, greens, black cherries
Carbonated drinks (ie. Coke)	Calcium	Broccoli, kale, sesame seeds. turnip greens, cheese
Salty foods	Chloride	Raw goats milk, fish, sea salt
General overeating	Zinc Silicon Tryptophan Tyrosine	Red meat, seafood, leafy vegetables Nuts and seeds Liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach, cheese Oranges, green vegetables, red fruits

02152009

ME MYSELF AND PALEO

Its been 2 and half weeks on the Paleo and here are some updates:
- I started at 216lb and I currently am at 209 (plus or minus 2 pounds during the day)
- I have more energy during the day then I did prior to this system of nutrition
- The meals have gotten better both in the taste department and the variety
- My sleep is no longer disturbed by a gurgling stomach
- I've notice progressive gains in energy during WOD's although not at 100% yet
- My immune system seems to be in tack and in most cases stellar (given everyone else at work is sick)
- My wife has began to eat more of a Paleo system during the week along with me which makes cooking and planning easier. Plus she likes it and is feeling good on it
- My grocery bill has gone up marginally due to the fresh produce ever 2 days
- I never thought I would like protein for breakfast other then bacon

ROB CAN COOK

This recipe actually is a modification done by Maureen on a fish dish for dinner

02072009

IF YOU COOK IT THEY WILL COME

I find that half my battle is defending my food choices, especially when I'm out eating with family and friends. Its mostly:

Why are you eating that
Why don't you eat this
Why can't you eat this
Why are you doing that

I just shrug it off as being misinformed or the lack of knowledge and exposure to other systems. You see like many of my friends I grew up eating just about anything that was put on my plate by my parents, no if, then's, or buts. My parents grew up with the typical American food pyramid

So rice, pasta, noodles, potato's, breads, etc, were a staple of my adolescent eating habits. That carried over to elementary school. You stood in the lunch line waiting to choose from pizza, pasta, hamburgers, tacos, sloppy joes and many other poor choice food items.

So I can't get frustrated at them or angry since most people don't know "better" or alternatives. I feel that if you know more then others its your responsibility to inform and educate. If we are all crabs in a barrel, might as well be the crab helping others out of it then the one keeping them in!

This leads me to if you make it they will come. I know through a little education and example many eyes can be opened to a healthier means of dieting and food consumption. A little education goes a long way. The way I do this is by answering all types of questions when we eat out about my reasons for eating what I eat and why its better then the deep fried twinkie your eating. Not good or bad, but what works for me and what doesn't. Heck if I could eat twinkies all day, and pass a fitness and health test, then I'd go to town.

I also share my knowledge by cooking home cooked meals and inviting people over. Half the time the comments are "Wow this is really good". For the most part they don't even know what goes into preparing a meal, but most of us know when something tastes good and when it doesn't. I feel if you educate and show that food can be healthy, nutritious and taste amazing, people are more willing to try new things.

A by product of cooking my own meals is when I bring food to work, people can smell it in the office and are naturally drawn to me, with questions of "What is that, how did you make it, can i have some".

If at the end of dinner/lunch one other person at the table tried something new, and liked en ought to incorporate it in their food system, then good work has been done, and the fight against obesity and bad food habits in America continues on.


ROB CAN COOK

White Chicken Chili Stew

Cook time: 27 min. & makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion, sliced or diced (3/4 to a cup)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 tbs chili powder
6 cups of low-sodium chicken broth (you could also make your own chicken broth)
1 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (if you cooking for yourself take these out, if you cooking for friends and family leave them in, but take them out of your own serving bowl)
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2-3 carrots, cut bias into 1 inch pieces (1 cup)
2-3 celery stalks cut into 1/2 inch pieces (1 cup)
1 or 2 chipotle in adobo sauce, sliced
1/2 rotisserie chicken, skinned and shredded into large pieces
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro, chopped
1 avocado
salt to taste

Directions
Hat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder and 2 teaspoons salt and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, potato, corn, carrots, celery, and chipotle and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until the potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir to break up the potato and thicken the broth slightly.

Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, to heat and thicken, about 10 minutes. Cut up the avocado (place on top) and stir in the cilantro before serving.

Not only does this taste amazing, its filling, and holds just about everything you need to keep you engine running strong! Enjoy

-Rob

02042009

KEEPING STRONG


Both in the physical and mental sense, will power plays an important roll in fighting all the negative possibilities flagging you down on a day to day basis. Will power fuels determination, and through determination goals are achieved.

It is definitely a test of my will power when I see co-workers eating a plethora of fried sweets known to the natives as Do-Nuts, and yet there is no sign of any healthy nut product.

It is definitely a test of my will power when you go out to eat dinner with friends, and they order food that not only looks amazing, smells amazing, but is amazing in the number of additives and starchy products used to batter, fry, and encase some form of meat or vegetable.

It is definitely a test of my will power to get up an hour and a half early each day to prepare food for my family that will last the day knowing that its just as easy to buy lunch at work, or eat left overs from an executive meeting.

The great thing about all these tests, is that they make you stronger, they give you fuel when the times are tough saying " Ha, you said no to sweets and grains before, you can do it again, and again"

So when some one offers you a Do-Nut or your buddies are going out to eat a lasagna lunch, just say "thanks but no thanks, I brought FOOD"

ROB CAN COOK
Here is a a great lunch that you can either put in the slow cooker the night before or cook it over a flame the day of.

Chicken Cacciatore
1 whole skinned chickens, cut up and trimmed of visible fat ( I use chicken breasts, and thighs)
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, sliced
1 c sliced mushrooms
4 celery stalks, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 c water (or vegtable broth)
8 tomatoes, diced
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1 tbs olive oil

Cut the chicken into bite size pieaces season to taste and place on the side. Place all other ingrediants in a slow cooker or a pot and medium-high heat. If you use the slow cooker put on low for 8 hours ( you will need to increae the water/broth you put in by 1.5 cups). Cook the mixture on medium-high heat for 20 minutes then add chicken and continue to cook for 2-4 minutes or until chicken is done.

For the slow cooker put the chicken in along with the vegetables over night.

01302009

Soup and Salad a Mans lunch! Grunt!

Now most places for lunch offer soup and half a sandwich or salad and half a sandwich but I haven't come across many that offer soup and salad. Now the choice of soup are usually chicken noodle (which is mostly noodle and chicken broth), french onion ( basically one whole onion sliced and mixed with olive oil and vegetable broth, and don't forget the pound of cheese they lay on top), or some combination of a vegetable and starch (cream of mushroom, broccoli and cheese, minestrone, etc).

This is where preparing your own food pays dividends. I realized that when done right, soup and salad is a great lunch, hearty and fulfilling. So for today I had a spinach, mushroom, and onion salad along with left over chicken minus the tortilla soup. Now the soups I make are thick and full of vegetables and meats, so in some sense it reminds me of eating chili, thus my brain computes being full.

I bring up the heartiness because I get hassled at work for bringing in soup for lunch. For the most part my fellow lunch enthusiasts expect soup to be an appetizer, a wetting of the palate if you may. Where as in today's' lunchroom, soup is merely skipped over for a piece of bread and butter, since it is deemed "more filling", I am leading the way to make soup a lunch treat that won't cause you to crash in 20 minutes.

Here is a key note about cooking with chili peppers, especially the spicy kind: dry cracked skin + spicy chili oils = very painful stinging sensation. No matter how much milk I drink the burning sensation won't subside (that was a joke, I don't drink milk, and the drinking milk thing is suppose to help if you eat spicy food).


Spinach, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and some olive oil, and lemon juice

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Karney Hatch's Paleo short documentary

01302009

PALEO AND MY BODY

Now I know the title sounds like we are going to talk about the birds and bees and how the body works (well in some sense, yes), but we are not, instead we will be talking about my bodies reaction to a cleaner diet.

Over the last five days I've noticed interesting side effects of the Paleo diet and I'm sure there will be more to come. Here are just a few:
- first off I'm not as hungry as I thought I would be eating mainly vegetables and meats
- Regular visits to the water closet are scheduled almost as if my colon was my personal secretary and for some reason didn't update me on all of my "meetings" for the day.
- I am a guy, and I think farts are hilarious, except when they are from me and can keep a beat
- I've been waking up in the morning without a problem, where as days of old it was a struggle to get up in the morning (I even have time to make breakfast!)

ROB CAN COOK
Speaking of food here is the recipe for dinner last night "Chicken minus the tortilla soup (with vegetables)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped, or 1 pasilla or green bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 6 cups chicken stock or canned, low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 pound cooked chicken, shredded
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped, optional garnish
• 1 yellow squash
• hand full of baby carrots
• hand full of mushrooms
  

Directions

In a Dutch oven or large heavy pot, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, peppers, salt, cumin, and coriander for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro and lime juice, and stir well. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Slice up the Squash and place in a baking pan, then layer carrots and mushrooms on top. Season with salt and pepper and place in oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Once the vegatables are done serve on the side or put them in the soup.

Soup serves 4-6 or two hungry people!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

01292008

THE NEW (old) FRONTIER
Paleo diet, also known as the hunter gather diet, is my current experiment. And up to this point in my life the only hunting I did was for deals on a new flat screen TV online. As for gathering, I'm not a pack rat, so it has never been a finer point in my dietary need.

So today is day four on the Paleo diet. For the last three nights sleep hasn't come easy as my body comes to terms with the new fuel.

I have noticed a little fatigue and weakness during workouts, but that will pass in a week or two.

The food parameters are simple guidelines to follow: lean meats, vegetables, some fruits, and good fats.

Plain and simple, and I stress the "simple". At first with limited knowledge of cooking rules, meals were bland and rough. I think I got the hang of it now.

More interesting to me us the "not" section of the Paleo diet, such as no dairy. I love cheese and milk (well I loved cheese and milk four days ago) and up to last week I could count some sort of dairy in just about every meal I had during the day (cheese, yogurt, butter, milk, sour cream, etc).

Another no-no is starchy vegetables and carbohydrates. So being a gym rat in my past life this meant getting rid of everything I knew about carbs and sports (eat oatmeal to burn longer, carb loading, potatoes and yams for post work out meals, etc). Not only that, bread just tastes great!

From eating some kind of bread/pasta/rice at every meal for the last 29 years, it's definitely a lot to take in when you stop cold turkey.

All in all, I've read the research, and I've seen the results of the Paleo and no matter how much time and preparation goes into this, I'm worth it!

LIGHT READING


The book that started this adventure is " The Paleo Diet" by Dr. Loren Cordian. Over all it was a great read. I am partial to research and evidence backed claims, and this book packs plenty.

The book is broken up into three parts: Paleolithic man, scientific discoveries, sample recipes.

From Library Journal

Like Ray Audette's Neanderthin (St. Martin's, 1999), this is another "if you can't find it in the wild, don't eat it" diet that takes the germ of a useful idea and runs with it. According to Cordain (health and exercise science, Colorado State Univ.), Paleolithic humans were fit and lean because, as hunter-gatherers, they ate what was available: meats low in saturated fats, fresh fruits, and nonstarchy vegetables. Nor did they suffer from heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, the byproducts of our poor eating habits and lack of exercise. Then again, the average Paleolithic life span was about 30 years, not long enough to develop most chronic illnesses. Still, the author asserts that by eliminating grains, dairy, refined sugars, and processed foods from our diets, we, too, can thrive as our ancestors did. Three levels of diet and six weeks of sample menus, with recipes, are included.

I would recommend this book as an introduction to the Paleo diet, but I would recommend further research and reading if you were to incorporate Paleo into your eating habits.

01282009

Food Education

So here is the first post of many on my experiences with researching and "trying" to stick to what I think were/are great "life styles" of eating.

Through out my many years of interest in fitness the cumbersome counter point to my hours in the gym was diet.

That's me, the cute one in the middle, all 220 lbs of me.

I researched diet/nutrition religiously, and used my self as a guinea pig when it came time to test a "theory" out.

This blog will be a place where I can talk about old methods (which according to my body fat index didn't work) and new theories that I read up on and deem appropriate to share (I'm either testing it out myself or will do in the future).

Don't get me wrong I believe that many methods can get you to the promised land, but 90% of the weight is on "your" shoulders to stick to the plan. You see plans don't work unless you stick to them. Now I must admit, many of times in the past a method would fall short not because of the science but because of my lack of will power to fight of the dancing Hershey kisses in my head (and I'm not talking about just one, think Pringles)


fighting the good fight

I hope this blog gives you insight on systems you might try but also give you a partner in the battle of the bulge.

My eating habits are not perfect and I do have a tendency to shoot out of the gates quick (go strict to the parameters of the system, then fade away into grease bliss). So this would be considered a real life study in one mans eating habits and systems.

-Rob