Day 30: Time flies when you aren't blogging...

So, here it is. Day 30. The end of the inaugural event that inspired this crazy little blog.

To spell it out explicitly, My beautiful girlfriend and I have completed the Whole30 challenge (or will have at 12:00 am tomorrow). And the results? I feel like my whole body has been cleansed. I've noticed more gas in the tank when working out and I certainly recover more quickly afterwards. I feel like I have a constant level of energy throughout the day and don't really crave snacks. Even cheating only 2-3 times a week (fine, sometimes more than 3), I realize that there is a difference when eating 100% of my weekly meals under strict Paleo guidelines. I'd say that going 100% strict revealed the kind of discipline that I had. Also, my joy for cooking deepened because it forced me to get creative with altering favorite dishes and experimenting combinations of ingredients and spices that I wouldn't have tried otherwise.

After reading that how you have to be asking, "Everything was rainbows and sunshines, right?

In a word, nope. It was tough. There is a reason why it is the Whole30 Challenge. It requiredvigilance, discipline, and focus. And no, I'm not being dramatic. Going through my CrossFit workouts were cake in comparison. Especially when I ate out. Until doing this crazy exercise in seeming dietary masochism, I never realized how dependent we are on others for our health in our society. I had to get accustomed strange or annoyed or even angry looks after, seemingly, innocuous questions over food preparation. The best look I received after a simple question was from a waitress at Red's Porch. Who knew someone could get so annoyed by being asked, "What's in your guacamole?" But, asking such questions was crucial to succeeding in the challenge because there were certain times it would either be find something to eat when at a restaurant or eat nothing.

I have plenty of other anecdotes and observations I gathered through out this particular journey. The good news is I'll be able to give the more interesting items or random thoughts their own space in individual posts. The gooder news is that that space is not to be found in this post.

I'll leave you with a few quick thoughts to leave you with:

- Left-overs are amazing and a far superior alternative to going out for lunch.

- Don't ask a particular waitress at Red's Porch what is in their guacamole.

- The Buddy system is completely necessary when going through Whole30. There were certain points where I could feel my will breaking. A quick chat with my girlfriend (did I mention that she is beautiful AND amazing?) helped strengthen my resolve.

- Eat more than you think than you need to eat. This is more about preparation than actually eating. Eat to satiety. However, when preparing your meal, ensure that you make enough that there is food left for seconds and left-overs. There is a reason that Cordain talks about eating to satiety.

Day 12: Sorry about the gap...

Visiting this site for the past few days must have felt like an exercise in futility. Bang your head against a brick wall too many times and you might learn not to do it. So, for those of you that are harder of head than the rest, thanks for coming back.

It looks like I'm in a salad mood today, as I had one for lunch, and I plan on dining on another tonight for dinner. Just regular mixed salad with eggs, bacon, grilled chicken, and tomatoes.

Glad you came back for this entertaining/insightful post now?

All kidding and self-deprecation aside, this does bring me to a topic that I've been wanting to address. A HUGE part of diets are sticking to them (obvious guy left his job last week so I'm taking over his position). As such, the mental energy to stick with them is at a premium and probably is the cause for most people breaking their diet. Keeping enough mental energy becomes important because we all will reach a point where it's all used up and we reach for the easy meal.

(Side note: I hate to use the word diet here because I completely agree with Cordain. Eating Paleo foods offers the most optimum source of nutrition for us and doing so should not be seen as a crash diet but as a way of dietary life. You know, just as it was when we had no other choice than to run after our food on a daily basis. BUT, we don't have the luxury(?) of spending all of our time chasing after food because we are busy people. Exhibit A: the success of fast food restaurants. It's there and available so why waste time and effort fixing your dinner?)

Yes, yes, I know, this is an amazingly original post talking about how to make a diet work. You're welcome : ).

I digress and want to put the focus back on how you can conserve mental energy when planning out paleo meals for a week. Make it easy on yourself, as I do, by establishing a baseline of foods that can be thrown together to make quick meals (no, I'm not riffing on Rachel Ray).

Since starting to eat paleo, I've been in the habit of picking up a few items from the grocery store that, in a pinch, can make a suitable meal. My routine during a typical trip to the store is to pick up whatever fleshy fruit looks most delicious (nectarines have been amazing recently!) , pick up berries (strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries), pick up walnuts and almonds and macadamia nuts and pecans, and pick up romaine lettuce and baby spinach. Those foods will cover most of my hurried breakfasts, lunches, and/or dinners that aren't freshly prepared or left over. Also, I've been in the habit of picking up some deli meat (only smoked turkey or chicken, ensuring that they are very low sodium) to make sure that I'm getting enough protein in these quick meals.

So, moral of the story, establishing a baseline grocery list of foods, which you purchase each visit that can be eaten on the go or quickly thrown together for a healthy paleo meal, goes a long way to keeping you eating like a caveman.

Day 4: Paleo on the go

Quick post today.

Enjoyed some of the delicious sweet potato and turkey hash for my post-workout meal/lunch. Now, I'm packed up and ready to take a trip to hangout with with my girlfriend (who is amazing : ) and who is following me on the Whole30 challenge) and family.

One thing I've noticed with travelling is that it obviously presents challenges to the paleo inclined. First, you are only presented with the fruits of modern society which are obviously strictly forbidden as you're on the road. Also, it is likely that your family don't eat as you do, which makes meals at family gatherings interesting. My advice: pack a cooler with some of the fruits, nuts, and other snacks to sustain you while on the road and be as disciplined as you can be during meals with your family. As Cordain points out in The Paleo Diet, this is not a crash diet, where you only stick with it up to 2 months at a go. It is a lifelong way of eating and a conscientious departure from the way that we've been taught about what healthy eating means. Because it is a way of eating, you should make accommodations to help you stick with it over the span of your life. There is not enough time for me to delve into appropriate cheat meals here, but I'll make sure to post that in the future.

However, I'm going to be faithful to my challenge. If you are in the same boat as I am, where you're with family over this holiday weekend and doing Whole30, then go barebones with what you eat. Stick with the mantra, and if there is a question as to whether a certain dish is paleo or not, steer away from it and load up on what you know is good. If this leaves you with not enough choices, the supplement with the foods that you packed.

No meal plans until Tuesday because of the holiday weekend. Hope every one has a safe and fun Labor Day weekend.

Day 3: Meal plan

Hey there, reader. Thanks for checking in.

As I'm munching on some salad with leftover guacamole and paleo taco's goodness, I thought it would be valid to mention a simple idea that helps to keep to a paleo diet. Or, really, it helps to keep to any dietary plan. Leftovers. Taking advantage of fixing a little bit more and enjoying them for a meal a day or two down the road when you might not have the time or energy to fix something and would be completely vulnerable to cheating for that given meal. Along those same lines, I plan to write up a post of common foods that I use as quick-fix meals when I'm in that situation and there aren't any leftovers to enjoy.

"So," you ask, "what's for dinner?"

FISH

I'll prepare the fish very simply, by adding olive olive, pepper, some dried basil, and a squeeze of lemon juice. I'll go with some cod or salmon, depending on what looks good. I hope next week to get in at least two meals with seafood. Pair it with some steamed broccoli, zucchini, and squash, and you'll have a good meal.

I'll write up a post that will help illuminate why I'm keen on having fish and other seafood become more prominent in my meals.

So, yeah, about that meal plan... Or, Day 2:

It probably slipped under your radar. But, in only the second day that I've been running this blog, I broke my intended, albeit tacit, promise to you, the reader. I forgot to let you know what's on the menu for today. I'm sorry. How many Our Father's and Hail Mary's will it be this time, padre?

Again, with the digressions.

I hope you took this opportunity, completely untethered from the invisible tie binding you to my planned meals, to try out a paleo dish of your own. Also, I hope it went as well with yours as it did with mine, as I dined on another favorite creation of mine. It was my sweet potato and turkey hash, whose flavors draw inspiration from a Thanksgiving dinner.

Basically, you cook the turkey in a large skillet, cooking with some sauteed onions, garlic, and half a jalapeno pepper. After the turkey is thoroughly cooked, set it aside in a colander, letting it drain, while you set about cooking the shredded sweet potatoes. Clear out the skillet as best as you can, then add in the oil you'll use to pan fry the sweet potatoes. Let the oil heat to a high temperature but not to the point where it is burning. Lay out the shredded potato around the skillet, covering as much of the pan as possible to get as much of the potato frying as you can. Use a spatula to "flip" the sweet potato over once the potato starts to cook. Think near hashbrown-level of cooked, but just shy of burning. The point is not to fry to a crisp. Once the hash is completely cooked, add the turkey back in and mix with the hash. Finally, add the spices and heat for a few more minutes to let them evenly spread.

Sweet Potato and Turkey Hash

1-1.5 lb ground turkey meat

1 medium-to-large sweet potato, shredded

1/2 white onion, diced

1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced (deseed if spicy isn't your thing; if it really isn't your thing, cut pepper all together.)

1 tablespoon black pepper

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoons rosemary

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons crushed red peppers (again, 86 for those that aren't fans of fire in their bellies)

Dash of salt

Be back after a bit with tomorrow's planned menu.

Day 1: What's on the menu?

I hope you aren't starving because you were waiting on me to post what the meals for today are. If you are, then I'm sorry. On the brightside, consider it as an education in the paleo lifestyle, as hunger was a common occurrence when you ran around all over the place, chasing after food.

But, I digress.

I'm planning to kick this off with a "comfort" dish I've created, but whose main wrinkle to make it paleo was inspired by a blog posting from a local Crossfit affiliate, CrossFit Central. I'll be dining on Paleo tacos (recipe to be appended at the end of the post) with some guacamole (also included at the end of the post). It really turns out to be a yummy dish and fully adhering to paleo if you, obviously, cut the beans and rice and tortilla and cheese (so, basically, just leaving the meat). However, tacos wouldn't be tacos without having something wrapping up the inner taco-y goodness.

The answer: use large leaves of lettuce to replace the tortilla. My preference is to get a nice large head of Romaine lettuce and rip each individual leaf from the base. Most heads of Romaine lettuce will yield about 5-7 leaves big enough to be used in this way. Also, ensure that there aren't any tears in the middle of the leaf (duh) as the meal will get messy in a hurry, otherwise.

Recipes

Paleo Tacos

1.5 - 2 pounds of ground beef or chicken (going with chicken tonight)

1 large bell pepper, diced (I prefer red for the color)

1 medium sized jalapeno pepper, diced (86 if spicy isn't your thing)

1/2 large white onion, diced
juice from 1/2 a lime

2-3 medium to large cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, diced

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

3 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon red (cayenne) pepper

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (again, cut out if spicy isn't your thing)

Dash of salt

2 tablespoons of olive oil (substitute with your favorite oil, like coconut or canola)

Putting it together

In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté half of the garlic in the oil over medium-high heat. After the garlic is sufficiently sautéed, add the meat and cook thoroughly. Once the meat is cooked, remove and let drip a little in a colander while sauteeing the veggies. Add the other garlic, onions, bell pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once the veggies are completely sautéed, add the meat back in the skillet. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the skillet, but no more. Add the cumin, chipotle, black and red pepper, and salt. Mix and heat until all of the water has been cooked off. Add the cilantro and lime juice at the end and mix over low heat before serving.

Guacamole

3-4 large avocados, seeded and removed from peel

1 whole large tomato, diced

1/2 large white onion, diced or minced (depending on taste texture preference)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, diced

1-2 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of black pepper

1 tablespoon of ground cumin

Dash of salt
juice from 1/2 lime

Putting it together

chop the veggies. Deseed the avocados and mash to preferred consistency. Mix tomatoes, onions, garlic, cumin, pepper, cilantro, lime juice, and salt with avocados in a large mixing bowl and mix.


Hopefully, you all will find it as yummy as I do. Let me know if the recipe needs tweaking and I'll address it as I was going off the script.

Day 1 of Whole30 Challenge

I can't take the credit for the idea because Whole9 created the challenge. As the title suggests, I'm starting the first day of going strict paleo (no cheat meals) for the next 30 days. Consider it as a dietary reboot.

"Why," you ask, "would you put yourself through the pain of not enjoying a single bite of some of the foods that you love?" Simply, I've been too lax the past couple of months of summer to the point where eating 50% of my meals adhering to paleo seemed acceptable and logical. Too bad my stomach and my brain couldn't get on the same page because I would quickly reconsider the wisdom of each decision to cheat after the last bite. Trust me, your digestive system has the louder voice in the argument.

As I mentioned in my first post, grokcuisine will provide a space for testing out new recipes I might concoct or read about from other nuts like me. It will also provide a space for recording what I eat. Finally, because I'm such a great guy, I'll set out the night before what meals and snacks I plan to eat for the next day. I hope that, in the case that some people want to join me in my mania, grokcuisine can provide a path to follow to successfully make it through the next 30 days.

Be back later with today's meals ideas and recipes. Bare with me as I know they won't be all too formal.

... No, no you can't.

Let me first say, "Welcome!" And, let me say next, "No. No you can't eat cheese." At least, not if you are like me, wanting to eat in a way more appropriate for the way our digestive system evolved. There, I've thrown down the first white glove of challenge. Do with it what you will : ).

Now that I've riled a few feathers and, undoubtably, driven loads of readers away, let me explain. Food is important to me. Really important. Food and meals were always the nexus of family gatherings for me. They were always the topics of conversation during these gathers. And, they were always the things I remembered first and longest about any trip or family vacation I've ever taken. So, I hope I've made it excessively clear: food is kind of a big deal to me.

So, "what", you ask, "does this have to do with abstaining from cheese?"

Very astute question, reader. Very astute.

Repeat after me: All of the lean meats and fish, fruits and vegetables, some nuts and seeds, little starch, no sugar, no dairy, no grains (emphasis mine).

That is my dietary mantra. When hungrily reading over items on a menu, I review my mantra and judge the meal by it. When selecting ingredients to throw into a dinner or lunch, I choose those that abide by it. And, like any new convert, I've adopted this with the zeal of a fanatic (much to the chagrin and bemusement of some of my family members).

Yes, I am a new (read: less than 6 months) adopter of the Paleo diet. I draw from sources like Cordain, Polliquin, and Robb Wolf. Though, whenever I see conflict between my mentors, I generally side with Cordain, whether or not I'm correct in this approach.

I'll have more to say about me and general musings I've had while eating like a Paleolithic man in later posts. Also, look for daily updates about what I've eaten, with recipes. I want to provide a resource for those that might be on their first few steps down the path I've taken.