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.

In Search Of A Game

I wrote the following for a college writing class. Names have been changed to ensure their safety, but the events described are very much so true no matter how many times I have wished the opposite.

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

My 4 Month Update on Paleo

What have I learned/found out about myself since going Paleo back in January? First off, I have found that eating Paleo suits me perfectly. Too perfect, in fact. From my understanding, the adage to "Eat only when you are hungry" is an important one in going about the Paleo lifestyle. Hell, even the youngest child with a slim understanding of cavemen knows that cavemen probably went without food regularly due to hunting issues. Which means that I lived by it.

I ate only when I was hungry... which was mostly 24 hours to 36 hours between meals. Between you and me, I could have even gone longer but it felt weird not to be eating at least once a day, even though I was wanting to work up to not eating for at least 4 days due to many Native American "manhood' fasting practices. Did you notice I said "was"? Good job, gold star for you.

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.

Ban on Sunny-Side Up?

I love my eggs, as anyone could guess with my previous post on them. But my favorite way to eat them is with a runny yolk. I've even been trying to find the perfect time needed to hard boil their whites while leaving their yolks still runny in the center. So far, success has not been achieved.

On the way home from work in the mornings, there are two restaurants that serve breakfasts at 7am and I decided that since it was Saturday and due to hunger, I would stop in for some eggs and bacon. First place I went to was full of vehicles all around the parking lot as well as boats. I live near a lake and we have fishing tournaments every weekend, or so it seems. Walked in, got a glass of water, asked how they cooked their eggs (with butter or vegetable oil, I of course chose the butter) and orders 3 eggs, sunny-side up and a side of bacon.

Imagine my surprise when the waitress told me that due to new food-saftey regulations, she couldn't serve me eggs that were sunny-side up.

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.