Paleo/Primal Bacon Peach Recipes

With the summer bounty of peaches nearly over with, as well as it being National Peach Month, I've thought about some peach-related recipes that are delicious and can be eaten by Paleos and Primals with ease.

First up: a Peach Salad w/ Bacon, Walnuts, and Gorgonzola

Paleo Ice Cream, Lactose-Free

So I've tried the banana ice cream method and it rather failed for me, and I am rather non-picky when it comes to cold treats.

My wife then tried to make ice cream in our old-style ice cream maker with coconut milk for me, since I am lactose intolerant. Didn't work. In fact, the coconut milk caused it to freeze up around the sides way too fast, forcing us to try to make it set up in the freezer. Turned out to be more like ice, without the cream. I ate it, because I wasn't going to waste it, but I wouldn't ask my wife to make it again. Also, no one else would even touch the stuff.

I've tried the ice cream from the stores that are lactose-free, but it seems my body cannot be fooled, so there goes that option (as does using the lactose-free pills).

Strangely, while just a nibble of lactose will send me to hell for the next few hours, I can eat butter from the stick all day long, safely. Well, beyond the fact that the taste would cause me to upchuck rather early on.

Luckily, I hit upon the following recipe that I tried and even my wife thought was the same consistency and flavor as ice cream, just not quite sweet enough for her while I thought it was perfect.

Carbing it Up

I was told by another Paleo-er (which, we really need a better term to call one another now that I think about it. Unfortunately, since this lifestyle is still a bit too niche, it might actually do us a disservice though) that:

eating a crapload of carbs (complex) and low fat low pro... every 10 daya or so. Keeps your leptin up.

Now, I have been eating Paleo for the past 4 and a half months, with the only cheating I have done being small, very small, amounts. Even when cheating, I never do it enough in one day to even get down to the 80/20 principle that Mark from MarksDailyApple.com suggests for his followers and readers.

What is leptin? According to wikipedia, leptin is:

Leptin (Greek leptos meaning thin) is a 16 kDa protein hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including appetite and metabolism. 

and:

The absence of a leptin (or its receptor) leads to uncontrolled food intake and resulting obesity. Several studies have shown that fasting or following a very-low-calorie diet (VLCD) lowers leptin levels.

Two Paleo/Primal Recipes

I took the both of these from the Fitness magazine, July/August issue from 2009 and modified them to make them more Paleo friendly. Basically because the food porn pictures looked very good. Also due to my wife getting a bit tired of meat lately, so I felt that I could try to spice things up in the kitchen instead of the usual burgers and other grilled meat that I am perfectly okay with eating daily. Especially the berry-mango salsa in the second recipe, I am very interested in trying that.

Update of the Feta-Stuffed Celery

Made the Feta-Stuffed Celery today as per the recipe for my kids. My youngest did not want anything to do with them but the other two loved the flavors and ate a few stalks each. My wife decided that they were decent and filling, but not her favorite thing ever. Then again, she isn't all that much of a fan of feta when  it is not in a salad.

Anyways, pictures are now up on the original post since my wife was kind enough to showcase us with her l33t photography skills.

Bacon Fruit Cups

These are perfect for buffets, picnics, and other single-serving, no-utensils eating extravaganzas.

Feta-Stuffed Celery

My wife and kids seem to get tired of meat as a large part of every meal, so I am looking for items that I can make for them that does not have meat, like the following Primal recipe:

6 stalks of celery
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted
1/4 t. dried dill

Rather simple, clean the celery and cut off the ends as normal. Mix all of the above ingredients with each other, though only use half the almonds. Fill the celery with the mixture and top it with the remaining almonds, sprinkled lightly. Cut into 4 inch pieces and serve.

While this will not be edible by myself due to the fact that dairy and I are incompatable, my wife and kids love dairy and this would make a quick and easy snack for them.

Should have 4g carbs and 3g protein per serving, which is perfect for those of us who are eating this way.

The Art of Smoking... food that is

The modern method of smoking foods evolved from its roots as a process for preserving. Long before refrigeration and chemical preservatives, smoke was used to extend the shelf life of most foods, especially meat. Wood smoke contains many of the chemicals (formaldehyde and acetic acid, among others) that slow the growth of microbes. In addition, the pH level of smoke is a very low 2.5, which is extremely friendly to microbes.

Today, smoking has become much more than an age-old technique for preserving, tenderizing, and adding flavor to food. Smoking has become an institution to festivals, clubs, organizations and above all, competitions. People are smoking cheeses, fruits, nuts, vegetables, salts, and anything else they can get their hands on.

This post, however, is about smoking meats. C'mon, its a Paleo blog, did you expect nothing less?

Meat to Use

Water and Dehydration

When I first decided to go Paleo, one thing was topmost in my mind: What am I to drink? I lived off of green tea of the Arizona brand, I drank copious amounts of the cranberry flavoured Sierra Mist, and the best drink in the world for me was Canada Dry Ginger Ale. But, they all contained one form of sugar or another, and depending on the different brands they might contain more than one type of sugar.

I tried regular teas but I'm not one to drink green tea or english tea. I do like herbal teas, but as of yet I have not made myself any due to my preference for sugar in one form or another to make said teas palatable.

Friariello Barese Pepper Snacks

A delicious snack, Pimientos de Padrón is a Spanish dish of fried peppers with sea salt. Most of the peppers are sweet, but occasionally you come across a hot one. However, Padrón peppers are not all that easy to find in the States, so for this, use Friariello Barese peppers especially since they are all sweet and you never get one that is very hot.

PaleoChat

If anyone doesn't know, every Wednesday, a bunch of Paleo/Primalers get on twitter and, while using the hashtag #primalchat, they attempt to have a conversation about whatever crosses their minds. It works, well, it works as much as twitter allows.

So after another person (FlyNavyWife) commented about how twitter sucks for chat, I set up a little primalchat at the link below. Who knows, if enough people use it, other sites might put it up as well, especially Mark from MarksDailyApple.

So go ahead, use it, abuse it, see what you think about it, and don't hesitate to give me a piece of your mind about it.

PaleoChat

Coconut Flour Banana Pancakes

Confession: our kids are still cereal junkies.  We buy the 'good' stuff: whole grains, no corn syrup.  But let's be honest: it's all sugar.  However, there is one breakfast food i can manage to get them to eat, and that i can make completely healthy with no added sugar or grains--Pancakes!

2 bananas, mashed
7 eggs
3 tsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
6 Tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients, and fry each large spoonful in about 1 tsp coconut oil or butter over medium heat.  If you don't like the dark color, a different oil would probably fix that.

Eggs

Image via Wikipedia

From the Hobbit:

Riddle: A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.

Answer: An egg.

Most of us who have chosen to live our lives under the banner of "Paleo" consume eggs. And why not? Eggs have been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird eggs (including chicken and turkey eggs) consist of a protective eggshell, albumen (egg white), and vitellus (egg yolk), contained within various thin membranes. Every part of an egg is edible,although the eggshell is generally discarded. Roe and caviar are edible eggs produced by fish, but this post is about eggs from birds.

The largest concern over eggs is how to tell if they are fresh or not.

Assuming the eggs have been bought when they were very fresh, they will last 30-40 days in a refrigerator. The best way to tell if an egg is still fresh, meaning edible, is to crack it open. Very fresh eggs tend to have a loose, light yolk and a clear white. The thick, whitish strings that attach the yolk to the white, called the chalazae, will be very prominent in a fresh egg. As the egg ages, the chalazae will slacken, the yolk gets darker and tougher, and the white becomes dingy. Even then, these eggs are still safe to use. A rotten egg, however, is immediately recognizable, as the smell is powerfully offensive.

We Watched FatHead

About the Film

Have you seen the news stories about the obesity epidemic? Did you see Super Size Me? Then guess what? … You’ve been fed a load of bologna.



Comedian (and former health writer) Tom Naughton replies to the blame-McDonald’s crowd by losing weight on a fat-laden fast-food diet while demonstrating that nearly everything we’ve been told about obesity and healthy eating is wrong. Along with some delicious parody of Super Size Me, Naughton serves up plenty of no-bologna facts that will stun most viewers, such as: The obesity “epidemic” has been wildly exaggerated by the CDC. People the government classifies as “overweight” have longer lifespans than people classified as “normal weight.” Having low cholesterol is unhealthy. Lowfat diets can lead to depression and type II diabetes. Saturated fat doesn’t cause heart disease — but sugars, starches and processed vegetable oils do.

This movie should be required watching for everyone out there. That is all that there is really to say about it. Okay, I suppose I could talk some more...

You Can't Trust Restaurants

Restaurant Foods Contain More Calories Than Restaurants Claim! | Homeschool-Articles.com: Articles by Homeschoolers for Homeschoolers:

"You can’t trust everything you read, especially if it is a nutrition label! In a disheartening study from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers found that many dietetic frozen food entrees had many more calories than their nutrition labels claimed; on average, the frozen foods, including items from Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, and South Beach, contained 8% more calories than their boxes suggested. They also found many discrepancies between the number of calories in food items at many popular chain restaurants and the number of calories these restaurants claim their food contains. On average, restaurant foods contained 18% more calories than listed."

If you can't trust restaurants about the calories that are in their foods, how can we who eat Paleo/Primal trust them when they say their food is gluten-free or sugar-free?

Fried Ham and Veggies

Tonight's dinner was ham (fried in coconut oil), carrots, and zucchini (both fried on coconut oil, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar), with fresh strawberries.  It's simple, but that's pretty much how we roll.

Wonderful Primal Brownies

2/3 cup Almond flour (found out later that I was using meal, not flour, which could have been the source for the textural problems)
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp coco powder

Mix.

Preheat oven to 350.

Spread mixture into a pan, 8x8 or whatever.

Bake 25-30 minutes.

It will be soft when first out of the oven, though the toothpick will be dry. Waiting for it to cool will let it harden up a bit.

According to my wife and kids, the texture takes some getting used to. However, I freaking loved them... 2 small squares was my dinner and it was nice and filling. Also due to the high almond content (and high Omegea 6 content due to that) we have tried using coconut flour.

Coconut flour needs a LOT of liquid to make it work, and he have not found the correct amount yet. They have came out extremely dry, so we reduced some berries with a little honey to pour on top of the brownies which counteracted their dryness. My wife and kids also said that the texture was perfect, for which I am glad.

I'm not big on using Primal/Paleo-friendly foods to recreate Standard American Diet edible items, but I do love brownies (even when my wife used to make them using tofu) and this recipe is the closest thing to a "cheat" food that I have.