Eating a 'primal' diet doesn't have to be expensive. Cabbage can be the base ingredient for any number of tasty salads or 'slaws' and it's almost as cheap as dirt. Coleslaw can be a side-dish, a snack or a bed to serve fish or meat. It's a great summer food that requires no cooking, is quick and easy to make and goes great with almost everything. It keeps well in the refrigerator too. Start with this simple recipe and tinker with it. Add shredded carrots, red cabbage, bell peppers, broccoli or other vegetables, fruit- whatever you like. Dressings can be as simple as this one or as elaborate as you like.
Sweet and Simple Coleslaw
7 cups of shredded green cabbage
1 yellow onion (sliced thin and separated)
1/4 cup of white vinegar
2 tbs. honey
3 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. crushed garlic
Put the white Vinegar, honey, olive oil and crushed garlic in a jar or other container with a tight-fitting lid and shake until thoroughly blended. Place shredded cabbage and onion in a large bowl. Pour vinegar mixture over cabbage and onion and toss until dressing completely coats the vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving. Serves a whole buncha' people.
One of the ways to make a 'Primal' diet more interesting is the use of herbs and sauces. Tartar Sauce is a popular sauce for seafood but it goes well with a variety of foods ranging from raw vegetables to chicken breast. Commercial sauces are surprisingly expensive and often not very good. Here's my own recipe for
Tinker's Tasty Tartar Sauce
2 cups of mayonnaise
2 Green onions
1 Dill or Garlic Dill pickle
1 Pepperoncini (spicy italian pickled pepper)
1 tsp. of crushed garlic
2 Tbs. of 'pickle juice' from the pickle jar
Finely dice Green Onions and Pickle. Drain the pepperoncini into the mayonnaise then finely dice the pepper. Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly, refrigerate for at least two hours prior to serving.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
A friend in need and wetter water.
One of the beauties of 'primal' or 'paleo' dieting is that you don't need to explain it to your friends if you don't care to... most of the meals we eat are perfectly acceptable to our guests. Good thing, too as we have had unexpected house-guests this last week.
Some friends from Vancouver are moving to Hawaii and were coming through town, partly to arrange to ship his motorcycle; a trike actually, which is their only vehicle. Unfortunately the motor broke down rather spectacularly and they found themselves in need of a place to stay- but needed to save money to fix the trike and for their move.
Let me explain that our house is small... almost tiny. The 'master' bedroom is about 12'x12 and the second bedroom, our 'office' is even smaller. But needs must, so we removed the kennel from the office to the kitchen and relocated our computers to the dining table in the living room. We procured an air mattress and we were set. We were a bit concerned to have four adults sharing a bathroom but Aedan and Erika have been model house-guests. It's actually been quite pleasant having them here. Being good house guests of course they brought us Krispy Kreme doughnuts, sodas and other treats. Our diet has suffered. This was exacerbated by a joint birthday celebration for my two older brothers where salmon burgers, brots, potato salad and Chocolate cake were served. Sometimes you just have to shrug and roll with it.
In our turn we have been feeding them our diet and they have likely benefited more from the trade than we have... Naturally we told them about our diet, but had we not they might not have noticed. Serving a meal of meat, vegetables and salad with fruit for desert is hardly 'out there' after all. Here's what we had for dinner last night:
Slow-Cooked Pork Chops with Turnips and Carrots
1 pork chop per diner
Crushed Garlic
1 large Turnip per diner
1 cup of peeled baby carrots per diner
1/4 cup honey
Place a pork chop in the center of the slow cooker and cover generously with crushed garlic. Stack another on top of that and repeat. Obviously if you have a lot of guests you will need a bigger slow-cooker and multiple stacks. Wash turnips thoroughly and cut into pieces of roughly twice bite-sized and fill in around chops with turnip pieces. Cover the turnips and chops with baby carrots and drizzle the honey over everything in the pot. Cook on your slow cooker's High setting for four hours (five hours if chops are frozen.) The meat will be falling off of the bones, Remove the bones and serve immediately. The meat will be tender and flavorful and the turnips will have picked up the other flavors. Serve with a salad and/or fresh fruit. Easy and delicious!
I've mentioned washing your fruits and vegetables... let's talk that a bit. First off why wash produce? After all, modern supermarkets have misters spraying the veggies every five minutes, right? They ought to be clean, right? Nope. Why not? Because water isn't wet enough. Uh... come again?
Simple really; it's a matter of surface tension. Water on a smooth surface forms into drops because of surface tension. Bugs can run across water because of surface tension. Water doesn't easily saturate fine dust because of surface tension. Without going into the full science class suffice it to say that when something is small enough water goes over or around it rather than getting it wet.
While part of the reason for washing produce is to remove visible dirt it's more important function is to remove bacteria and pesticides which are so small that water simply won't wash them away unless we break the surface tension. Which is where soap comes in. The way that soap works is simply to make water wetter by breaking the surface tension, which allows it to wash away tiny particles like bacteria and pesticides. The good news is that it takes very little soap to accomplish this and nearly any soap will do. Depending on what you use 2 tablespoons of liquid soap will do for an average dish-tub of water (about a gallon) and you can wash all of your vegetables at once before stashing them in the fridge or whatever. Just gently wash your veggies and rinse thoroughly and dry them or allow them to dry on a rack. This simple process can prevent E.Coli, Salmonella and a variety of other noxious ailments- not to mention removing pesticides which let's face it just can't be good for you.
Some friends from Vancouver are moving to Hawaii and were coming through town, partly to arrange to ship his motorcycle; a trike actually, which is their only vehicle. Unfortunately the motor broke down rather spectacularly and they found themselves in need of a place to stay- but needed to save money to fix the trike and for their move.
Let me explain that our house is small... almost tiny. The 'master' bedroom is about 12'x12 and the second bedroom, our 'office' is even smaller. But needs must, so we removed the kennel from the office to the kitchen and relocated our computers to the dining table in the living room. We procured an air mattress and we were set. We were a bit concerned to have four adults sharing a bathroom but Aedan and Erika have been model house-guests. It's actually been quite pleasant having them here. Being good house guests of course they brought us Krispy Kreme doughnuts, sodas and other treats. Our diet has suffered. This was exacerbated by a joint birthday celebration for my two older brothers where salmon burgers, brots, potato salad and Chocolate cake were served. Sometimes you just have to shrug and roll with it.
In our turn we have been feeding them our diet and they have likely benefited more from the trade than we have... Naturally we told them about our diet, but had we not they might not have noticed. Serving a meal of meat, vegetables and salad with fruit for desert is hardly 'out there' after all. Here's what we had for dinner last night:
Slow-Cooked Pork Chops with Turnips and Carrots
1 pork chop per diner
Crushed Garlic
1 large Turnip per diner
1 cup of peeled baby carrots per diner
1/4 cup honey
Place a pork chop in the center of the slow cooker and cover generously with crushed garlic. Stack another on top of that and repeat. Obviously if you have a lot of guests you will need a bigger slow-cooker and multiple stacks. Wash turnips thoroughly and cut into pieces of roughly twice bite-sized and fill in around chops with turnip pieces. Cover the turnips and chops with baby carrots and drizzle the honey over everything in the pot. Cook on your slow cooker's High setting for four hours (five hours if chops are frozen.) The meat will be falling off of the bones, Remove the bones and serve immediately. The meat will be tender and flavorful and the turnips will have picked up the other flavors. Serve with a salad and/or fresh fruit. Easy and delicious!
I've mentioned washing your fruits and vegetables... let's talk that a bit. First off why wash produce? After all, modern supermarkets have misters spraying the veggies every five minutes, right? They ought to be clean, right? Nope. Why not? Because water isn't wet enough. Uh... come again?
Simple really; it's a matter of surface tension. Water on a smooth surface forms into drops because of surface tension. Bugs can run across water because of surface tension. Water doesn't easily saturate fine dust because of surface tension. Without going into the full science class suffice it to say that when something is small enough water goes over or around it rather than getting it wet.
While part of the reason for washing produce is to remove visible dirt it's more important function is to remove bacteria and pesticides which are so small that water simply won't wash them away unless we break the surface tension. Which is where soap comes in. The way that soap works is simply to make water wetter by breaking the surface tension, which allows it to wash away tiny particles like bacteria and pesticides. The good news is that it takes very little soap to accomplish this and nearly any soap will do. Depending on what you use 2 tablespoons of liquid soap will do for an average dish-tub of water (about a gallon) and you can wash all of your vegetables at once before stashing them in the fridge or whatever. Just gently wash your veggies and rinse thoroughly and dry them or allow them to dry on a rack. This simple process can prevent E.Coli, Salmonella and a variety of other noxious ailments- not to mention removing pesticides which let's face it just can't be good for you.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Modern Primitives...
Apparently I know a lot of primitive people... As things have progressed I have been getting in touch with a lot of old friends and a surprising number of them have adopted one variation or other of a Primal Diet. Maybe that's just the kind of friends I have; I was accused of being a cave-man long before I started dieting... But maybe it's a sign that people are starting to wake up and pay attention to what they eat? One can only hope; the more people insist on natural foods the better the supply will be and the easier it will become to maintain a healthy diet.
Last night we went to dinner at the house of an old friend that I hadn't visited with for a few years. She and her hubby served up roast beef with sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots and onions. Desert was blueberries with home-made organic whipped cream. Among their cookbooks was 'The Primal Solution.' They didn't make a big deal about it but the dinner was largely from natural and/or organic sources, was seasonally appropriate and a perfect fit with our diet.
Parsnips, which I have been meaning to try, are quite yummy when baked with a roast beef. One more thing to add to our own menu. We're on the lookout for turnips too... I'm told turnip greens are worthy as well as the bulb. I'm looking forward to finding out...
Last night we went to dinner at the house of an old friend that I hadn't visited with for a few years. She and her hubby served up roast beef with sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots and onions. Desert was blueberries with home-made organic whipped cream. Among their cookbooks was 'The Primal Solution.' They didn't make a big deal about it but the dinner was largely from natural and/or organic sources, was seasonally appropriate and a perfect fit with our diet.
Parsnips, which I have been meaning to try, are quite yummy when baked with a roast beef. One more thing to add to our own menu. We're on the lookout for turnips too... I'm told turnip greens are worthy as well as the bulb. I'm looking forward to finding out...
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Princely Pigs, Fancy Fat and Farmers
I've recommended Farmer's Markets and getting to know your local producers; not only do you get to know where your food is coming from but building relationships with the producers is invaluable. Not to mention that they are generally darn nice and often interesting people. As an example this week we got twenty pounds of premium naturally-grown Berkshire pork for $5 a pound. Plus he threw in about 5 lbs. of gourmet Mangalitsa pork fat for us to render into lard. Yes, there is 'gourmet' pork fat. If we could find this stuff in a store it would be $15-20 a pound. How? We met the producer at the West Seattle Farmer's market years ago and got to know about him and his business. When we had a few dollars to spare for meat we called him and asked for a deal.
Similarly we have gotten cheeses, vegetables, goat's milk, free-range eggs etc. by meeting the producers and getting to know them. Yes, we still have to pay for these things and yes some of them are more expensive than their supermarket equivalents but they taste better, are better for us and we're helping local small businesses. All good things.
We're loving the summertime; mining the Renton farmer's market has been a treat; we have a variety of fresh, pesticide-free produce, we try new things and for about $40 we have fruit and vegetables for a week. Fabu!
He also very generously included a 2 lb. slab Lardo- not to be confused with Lard. Lardo is a type of salume (Italian cured meats generally made from pork.) Lardo is made by curing strips of fatback with rosemary, herbs and spices in coffin-shaped basins of Carrerra Marble. The most famous lardo is from Colonnata in Tuscany where they have been making it since Roman times but this product is very difficult to import. The product that we were given is made in San Diego, California by Knight Salume Company. We tried it and the flavor is phenomenal... but the texture? It's fat and no matter how yummy it is super-rich and greasy; very much of it by itself would make us feel ill. Further research reveals that among the various ways it is served is sliced paper-thin as part of an anti-pasto, melted onto bread, stacked on crackers with assorted veggies etc. It is also used as an ingredient in various dishes. I am very excited over the potential for cooking with this stuff; imagine slow-cooking a pork roast covered in thin slices of lardo. Or mince the lardo, melt it and sautee spinach or other greens... *drool* I'm looking forward to exploring the possibilities.
Similarly we have gotten cheeses, vegetables, goat's milk, free-range eggs etc. by meeting the producers and getting to know them. Yes, we still have to pay for these things and yes some of them are more expensive than their supermarket equivalents but they taste better, are better for us and we're helping local small businesses. All good things.
We're loving the summertime; mining the Renton farmer's market has been a treat; we have a variety of fresh, pesticide-free produce, we try new things and for about $40 we have fruit and vegetables for a week. Fabu!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
A sudden feeling of loss...
So just the quickest of quick updates... We have not been weighing in regularly but tonight a scale presented itself to me so I weighed in. When I started this blog on March 23rd I weighed 300 pounds. I thought that I was down to about 290lbs despite the feeling that I have been stuffing myself with all of this good food. I was incorrect...
280lbs. I have lost twenty pounds! *does happy cave-man dance*
280lbs. I have lost twenty pounds! *does happy cave-man dance*
Sunday, July 8, 2012
It's a mystery...
I mentioned picking up a 'mystery vegetable' at the farmer's market on Tuesday. It's about the size of a softball, is quite dense and has leaves growing out of it. No one could agree on how to pronounce the name the same way twice and opinions varied as to how it should be cooked. So have a look- what is it?
Is it tasty? Is it nutritious? If I leave it in my basement will it grow into an alien-zombie doppelganger and secretly replace me?
Right, let's have a look then...
OK, that's not too weird. No alien fetuses... so far so good.
Hmmm... kind of like Jicama. I gingerly tasted a slice of the raw veggie and it wasn't bad. Crisp and sort of like a cross between a turnip and a carrot. Probably be good in a green salad. Next I heated a little oil in a saucepan and browned some.
The flavor was little affected and it became less crisp. A liberal application of sea-salt and a dusting of ground black pepper was a great benefit. Interesting. I sliced up some leftover beef from last night and started heating it in the saucepan with some crushed garlic. I added some leftover chopped cauliflower and the mystery veggie (Carrip? Turrot?) and some crumpled fresh goat cheese and voila! Breakfast.
Mmmmm... food! My Favorite!
The experiment was a success and we had a tasty breakfast. Linda was not a fan of the goat cheese and suggested that adding an Onion to the mix would be a benefit and I had to agree the Mystery Veggie would go well with onions.
Don't be afraid to experiment and try new things. Experiment, have some fun. And please...
Some one tell me what this thing is and what to do with the remaining bit.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Support your local farmers...
So we needed some groceries today and stopped by the local farmer's market which is just down the hill from us in downtown Renton, WA. Produce is coming in from the Yakima Valley; it's over the mountains about a 4 hour drive away but it's a hell of a lot more local than Chile... The weather warms up over there a lot faster than it does on this side of the mountains so things tend to be ripe sooner.
There were at least 8 produce vendors there but they all had pretty much the same stuff... fresh green and yellow string beans, snow peas, squash, zucchini and more... We got some very nice beets with nice, thick greens, fresh local honey, an enormous lettuce, some spicy white radishes, some yellow squash, the first of the Walla Walla Sweet onions, apricots ($1 a pound!) and Bing Cherries. We also scored 3 lbs. of pickling cucumbers for home-made pickles as well as a mystery vegetable that no one seemed to know how to pronounce and opinions varied as to how to prepare... Pics of that tomorrow and maybe some sort of prize for the first person to identify it.
Inspired by the fresh fruit and vegetables we put together an amazing dinner of pork-roast and fresh greens...
Slow-Cooked Pork Roast with Apricots and Bing Cherries
1 2-3lb Pork shoulder roast
1 lb. of apricots
1/4 cup honey
1/2 lbs. of Bing Cherries
Place the pork-roast fat-side up in a slow-cooker set on High. Pit and quarter Apricots and toss thoroughly with honey. Fill space surrounding roast with apricots. Drizzle remaining honey over roast. Half and pit cherries and cover the meat with cherries. Slow-cook for 3-4 hours or until internal temperature of the roast reaches 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove roast and slice, serve topped with fruit or with fruit on the side. The pork will be melt-in-your-mouth tender and sweet from the honey and fruit. Ambrosia! Serves 4-6
Sauteed Beet Greens
You paid for those greens; why throw them away? Beet greens have a 'hard' texture that almost demands cooking to soften the leaves. The raw leaves also have a slightly bitter finish that cooking and appropriate spicing diminishes. Under cooking the leaves become tender and generally these greens respond well to somewhat more thorough cooking than spinach.
1/2 lb. Beet Greens
4 Tbs. Olive oil
1 White Radish
1 Tbs. Crushed Garlic
1/2 Tsp. ground black pepper
Sea-salt
Finely dice the white radish and heat with the garlic and olive oil in a 12 inch saucepan over medium-low heat until oil begins to sizzle; this allows the flavors to permeate the oil. Chop Beet Greens into preferred size. Increase heat to medium and add stems to oil and cook until tender then add greens. Add pepper and sea-salt; the salt is important as it helps to cut the greens naturally slightly bitter aftertaste. Toss the greens until thoroughly coated then cook until leaves are fully wilted and tender and serve immediately. Serves 2.
Farmer's markets can be a great source when you are eating seasonally but beware- more than once at these things we have found non-farmers selling produce straight from wholesalers with some decidedly non-local stuff. Larger farmer's markets around here a great place to connect with local cheese-makers and organic meat and seafood suppliers too. Mine these markets carefully and keep in touch with the producers- they can alert you to upcoming special items and continue to supply you after the markets have closed for the season.
There were at least 8 produce vendors there but they all had pretty much the same stuff... fresh green and yellow string beans, snow peas, squash, zucchini and more... We got some very nice beets with nice, thick greens, fresh local honey, an enormous lettuce, some spicy white radishes, some yellow squash, the first of the Walla Walla Sweet onions, apricots ($1 a pound!) and Bing Cherries. We also scored 3 lbs. of pickling cucumbers for home-made pickles as well as a mystery vegetable that no one seemed to know how to pronounce and opinions varied as to how to prepare... Pics of that tomorrow and maybe some sort of prize for the first person to identify it.
Inspired by the fresh fruit and vegetables we put together an amazing dinner of pork-roast and fresh greens...
Slow-Cooked Pork Roast with Apricots and Bing Cherries
1 2-3lb Pork shoulder roast
1 lb. of apricots
1/4 cup honey
1/2 lbs. of Bing Cherries
Place the pork-roast fat-side up in a slow-cooker set on High. Pit and quarter Apricots and toss thoroughly with honey. Fill space surrounding roast with apricots. Drizzle remaining honey over roast. Half and pit cherries and cover the meat with cherries. Slow-cook for 3-4 hours or until internal temperature of the roast reaches 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove roast and slice, serve topped with fruit or with fruit on the side. The pork will be melt-in-your-mouth tender and sweet from the honey and fruit. Ambrosia! Serves 4-6
Sauteed Beet Greens
You paid for those greens; why throw them away? Beet greens have a 'hard' texture that almost demands cooking to soften the leaves. The raw leaves also have a slightly bitter finish that cooking and appropriate spicing diminishes. Under cooking the leaves become tender and generally these greens respond well to somewhat more thorough cooking than spinach.
1/2 lb. Beet Greens
4 Tbs. Olive oil
1 White Radish
1 Tbs. Crushed Garlic
1/2 Tsp. ground black pepper
Sea-salt
Finely dice the white radish and heat with the garlic and olive oil in a 12 inch saucepan over medium-low heat until oil begins to sizzle; this allows the flavors to permeate the oil. Chop Beet Greens into preferred size. Increase heat to medium and add stems to oil and cook until tender then add greens. Add pepper and sea-salt; the salt is important as it helps to cut the greens naturally slightly bitter aftertaste. Toss the greens until thoroughly coated then cook until leaves are fully wilted and tender and serve immediately. Serves 2.
Farmer's markets can be a great source when you are eating seasonally but beware- more than once at these things we have found non-farmers selling produce straight from wholesalers with some decidedly non-local stuff. Larger farmer's markets around here a great place to connect with local cheese-makers and organic meat and seafood suppliers too. Mine these markets carefully and keep in touch with the producers- they can alert you to upcoming special items and continue to supply you after the markets have closed for the season.
"So Tinker- how's that 'Caveman' diet going?"
Now that we've been at this for a bit let's look at the results. In my first post I said that I had already lost eight pounds but we'll not count that so I started this blog at 300lbs and 49 years old. I have since turned 50 years old and am down to 'around' 290 lbs (no reliable scale available ATM.) With my waist being measured across the belly-button and fully relaxed it measured an appalling 57 inches in late May. Yesterday it measured 52 inches so in 38 days of 'Primal Dieting' I have lost ten pounds and 5 inches off of my waist. Color me a happy camper.
Mind you- this is with only a microscopic increase in my levels of exercise and without ever going hungry; in fact I have felt like I was stuffing myself with good food. But there have been other less quantifiable benefits as well. We feel better, we have more energy and are taking fewer naps. We no longer have sugar-drops or 'afternoon doldrums.' I have fewer attacks of depression (I suffer from clinical depression related to PTSD) and am sleeping better. We used to suffer from upset stomachs frequently; we'd go through a large bottle of 'Extra-Strength' Tums at least every month. The bottle that we bought in early June is virtually untouched. Clothes that I haven't been able to wear in a year now fit. We usually eat two meals a day now- breakfast and dinner- with a snack of fruit and/or vegetables in the mid-to-late afternoon instead of a large lunch at midday.
So the Primal Diet seems to be working despite our best efforts to the contrary... I have to tattle on us a bit; we have been less faithful to our diet than we might be. We've been cheating on the diet about once a week to the tune of a couple doughnuts each or a candy-bar or two. Hey, we're only human... Last week we wound up getting hung-up with friends and got too hungry to wait for dinner so we went to McDonalds on the way home. After weeks of wholesome foods the results were quickly evident... the next morning I had diarrhea and was unusually hungry. I'm not a medical professional but there was a pretty direct causal link there.
Contrary to our expectations our grocery bill has not increased a great deal. We are still buying a lot of 'Big Agriculture' supermarket produce and meats but we are always on the look-out for local and natural outlets to replace these products. The transition is ongoing...
At this point I am quite happy with our progress and the results. Ook Ook!
Mind you- this is with only a microscopic increase in my levels of exercise and without ever going hungry; in fact I have felt like I was stuffing myself with good food. But there have been other less quantifiable benefits as well. We feel better, we have more energy and are taking fewer naps. We no longer have sugar-drops or 'afternoon doldrums.' I have fewer attacks of depression (I suffer from clinical depression related to PTSD) and am sleeping better. We used to suffer from upset stomachs frequently; we'd go through a large bottle of 'Extra-Strength' Tums at least every month. The bottle that we bought in early June is virtually untouched. Clothes that I haven't been able to wear in a year now fit. We usually eat two meals a day now- breakfast and dinner- with a snack of fruit and/or vegetables in the mid-to-late afternoon instead of a large lunch at midday.
So the Primal Diet seems to be working despite our best efforts to the contrary... I have to tattle on us a bit; we have been less faithful to our diet than we might be. We've been cheating on the diet about once a week to the tune of a couple doughnuts each or a candy-bar or two. Hey, we're only human... Last week we wound up getting hung-up with friends and got too hungry to wait for dinner so we went to McDonalds on the way home. After weeks of wholesome foods the results were quickly evident... the next morning I had diarrhea and was unusually hungry. I'm not a medical professional but there was a pretty direct causal link there.
Contrary to our expectations our grocery bill has not increased a great deal. We are still buying a lot of 'Big Agriculture' supermarket produce and meats but we are always on the look-out for local and natural outlets to replace these products. The transition is ongoing...
At this point I am quite happy with our progress and the results. Ook Ook!
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