Posted by My Paleo Life on April 26th, 2012
I was at my local Asian grocery the other day and lo-and-behold there was a whole bunch of fresh cut sections of Jackfruit staring me in the face. You’ve probably never heard of this fruit, and if you haven’t, you are missing out. The Jackfruit is the largest cultivated fruit in the world, getting from 15lbs to over 70lbs each (yeah, that’s right… 70lbs!!!). There is a bit of work involved in getting the edible portion out, but it is well worth the effort. The fruit itself is like a cross between a pineapple, peach and banana in flavor and has a rubbery texture. To the North American palette, it is somewhat odd, but don’t let that discourage you from enjoying this delicacy. It also can be found prepared in cans, but it is rare to find it not packed in a sugary syrup.
Posted by My Paleo Life on April 19th, 2012
Yesterday, I noticed someone on twitter refer to “being hungry” so they ate “old hummus” and proceeded this with the #paleo hashtag. Now hummus, as you may or may not know, is made primarily from garbanzo beans (commonly referred to as chick peas) which by all Paleo standard is a no no. Legumes a definitely permitted. However, hummus is fracking delicious!! After I saw that I thought back to the last time I had the scrumptious condiment. It had been over 2 years!!
Now I wanted some. How to make a paleo version of this Middle Eastern delicacy?
Posted by My Paleo Life on March 20th, 2012
Whenever I make Beef Jerky from an ‘eye of the round’ roast, there are invariably lots of end bits left over (OK, I always make sure there are leftover bits…). So on days that I make beef jerky, we have some kind of beefy bits meal. Yesterday it happened to be paleo sesame mango beef and vegetable stir fry. I had these awesome Aldolfo Mangoes from the Asian market and some veggie remnants in the crisper.
Normally I would use some fresh ginger and Thai basil leaves, but seeing as I didn’t have any on hand, I substituted with cilantro, extra garlic and green onions. The beauty of making a stir fry is that you can use whatever you damn well please, and it always turns out great.
Posted by My Paleo Life on March 20th, 2012
I’m going to let you in on a little secret about me… I have a cookbook fetish! There I said it. This may stem from my being a chef for so many years or the fact that I have been interested in cooking from the age of 7 (my father started teaching me once my arm could reach across the stove without the chance of burning to turn on and off the elements).
If you were to come over to my house, you’d notice that there are always a few cookbooks scattered here and there, a ‘cupboard’ in the kitchen dedicated to about 30 of my favorites and an antique bookshelf in the family room packed with the others. From where I’m sitting typing this post into my computer I can see 8 cookbooks out and about: French Feasts, Meat a Kitchen Education, Everyday Paleo, Paleo Comfort Foods, Make it Paleo and Odd Bits – How to Cook the Rest of the Animal.
Posted by My Paleo Life on March 12th, 2012
I made Paleosagna a few days ago and someone commented on my recipe post that a good idea for noodles was using blanched cabbage leaves. This got me thinking… Paleo Cabbage Rolls!!!
I haven’t had cabbage rolls for years. They used to be a special treat that my dad (the cook in the family) made every once in a while. All I really had to do was sub in cauliflower rice for real rice and we would be good to go.
Posted by My Paleo Life on March 9th, 2012
I am the first one to say that I love me my meat and veggies… Grilled, slow roasted, fried, whatever, But after a while you just want something else. There are only so many grilled steaks and salad or roast chicken and cauliflower that you can take without yearning for something a little different.
I was racking my brain for just such an idea and Lasagna kept trying to rear its ugly head in there. I could totally make it using eggplant or zucchini as the noodles, but really, that would not be the same. It would be more like a vegetable and beef stew, which I didn’t want.
Posted by My Paleo Life on March 6th, 2012
Not many people know this about me, but I am a “barefooter”. What does this mean? Well, I like go barefoot all of time, summer, spring, fall and winter. One of my favorite pastimes, aside from walking my dog along the Ajax lake shore, is to go barefoot trail running and hiking. And I mean barefoot, shoeless, without foot protection, not even minimalist footwear!
During three of seasons here in Canada, I can enjoy the freedom of barefooting just about anywhere, but when it comes to our cold and snowy winters, well that’s another story. With the cold and snow comes essential minimalist footwear.
Posted by My Paleo Life on March 5th, 2012
Yesterday I published a post on how I have been squatting to go for a poop and how it has helped me speed things up tremendously in the bathroom.
I don’t know if you know this, but squatting is the correct position to be in when eliminating waste from our bowels. If you watch other animals take a #2, you will notice they get into a position that allows them to open their sphincter and drop their waste cleanly: dogs, cats, birds, whatever, they all eliminate in a way best suited to their physiology. Rarely do they have any mess to clean up from their bodies.
Posted by My Paleo Life on March 4th, 2012
I know, that is kind of an odd title to a post about living a paleo lifestyle… Or is it??
Some people might know this, but part of my paleo adventure started right after I came back from a trip of a lifetime trekking through the mountains of Nepal. This is when I realized that something had to change in my life to get me healthy and strong. But that is another topic altogether.
It was on this trip that I was first exposed to squatting when going to the bathroom. Once off the plane in India and then throughout Nepal, only once did we have access to a western toilette. The idea of eliminating my waste this way almost overpowered me culturally and physically. It made me feel really exposed for some reason and physically I found it hard to get into a good squat position and keep it while going for a poop. In essence, it made me feel uncomfortable.
Posted by My Paleo Life on March 3rd, 2012
I don’t normally go in for bad “food” items that are reminiscent of how I formerly ate. I tend to stay away from paleo baked goods like breads, cakes and bars. As a follower of an ancestral diet, I eat meats, healthy fats, vegetables and starchy tubers. If I’m feeling the need to eat a sweet, I normally go for some fruit and coconut milk.
Mostly I make these paleo desserts for my kids who, over the past 2 years, we have been converting over to a paleo diet. We have made some great strides in the last 6-8 months.