Pumpkin Hot Chocolate

Yum! Pumpkin Hot Chocolate. How can you have Paleo hot chocolate? you ask. Well, I'm happy to help you there. And to incorporate one of my favorite foods: pumpkin. Here goes...

Pumpkin Hot Chocolate

1/2 cup + 2 Tbls coconut milk

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp pumpkin spice

2-3 Tbls cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

3 Tbls maple syrup

1 pinch of salt

1. Combine the coconut milk and pumpkin puree in a small saucepan over medium heat.

2. Once the milk and puree are completely combined and warm, stir in the remaining ingredients.

3. Serve immediately. It's really thick.

If you don't drink it all immediately, then you can put the rest in the fridge and use it as pudding.  Yeah, that's what I did.

Pumpkin Sausage Soup

In honor of the first week of October happening this week, I've decided to do a week of pumpkin recipes. Someone forgot to tell Texas weather that it's fall, but the spirit of fall is in the air. Grocery stores are displaying tons of pumpkin desserts, Halloween stores are open, and Christmas decorations are already on sale. But then again, I've seen Christmas decorations in stores since June. Anyways, pumpkin recipes will be happening for the week. I'm pretty excited, but since I'm cooking for one, and apparently never cook small batches of anything, I'm going to be eating pumpkin at EVERY meal this week. I would say that I'm concerned about getting tired of pumpkin, but I LOVE pumpkin, so I think we're safe.

Pumpkin Sausage Soup

2 Tbls olive oil

1 pound sweet Italian sausage (bulk if you can find it)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1.5 Tbls sage leaves, chiffonade

3/4 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)

1 1/4 cup chicken broth, homemade if you have it

1 bay leaf

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper, to your taste

1. Heat 1 Tbls of olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Once the olive oil is hot, add the sausage. If you couldn't find mild (a.k.a. "sweet") Italian sausage, and instead have the sausage itself, make a light cut lengthwise along the sausage, then fold flip the sausage inside how, keeping hold of the casing. Use your hands to break up the sausage to smaller chunks.

2. Cook the sausage for a few minutes, until it's thoroughly cooked.

3. Transfer the sausage to paper towel, to allow the fat to be drained.

4. Heat another 1 Tbls of olive oil to a skillet and toss in the garlic and onions. Cook for 5 minutes until onions are soft.

5. Now add the sage, bay leaf, and wine to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes to allow the wine to reduce. (To chiffonade the sage, roll up the leaves, and then make small slices from the rolled edge.)

6. Mix in the chicken broth and pumpkin puree. Once the concoction starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low.

7. Stir in the coconut milk and the sausage, and cook for 5-10 minutes to allow the soup to thicken.

Steak with Swiss Chard

Well, it's a Friday evening and I just finished cleaning the heck out of my living room. I spent at least 4 hours vacuuming the rug, sweeping and mopping the floor, vacuuming the couches and giant bean bag, fluffing pillows, sweeping under the couches, wiping down the dining room table and chairs, and mopping the tile in the hallway. To say the least, I'm beat. On the bright side, I did spend the evening with two of my delightful friends, KAOS and PC, painting pottery. I was so engrossed in trying to decide what to do and then actually executing my plan, that I forgot to take photos. It seems like I can only remember to photograph food. Anywho, here's some of the food I remembered to take a photo of...

Steak with Swiss Chard and Roasted Peppers

1 top sirloin steak (other cuts work too)
salt and pepper, to taste

1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped into 1-2" pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pinch crushed red pepper
2 Tbls ghee

Roasted Peppers

1. Set oven to broil.

2. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over high heat on the stove. Once hot, add the steak and cook for 2 minutes on each side.

3. Place the steaks 3" away from the top of the oven. Cook for 13 minutes, flip, and cook for another 13 minutes (for medium-rare).

4. While the steaks are cooking, heat 2 Tbls ghee over medium heat. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and the minced garlic, and saute for a minute or so.

5. Add the Swiss chard, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

6. Flip over the leaves, cover, and cook for another 5 minutes. The chard should be soft and look like sauteed spinach leaves. If it's dry, add a tablespoon of water and cook for another couple minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

7. Once the steaks are done, remove pan from the oven, transfer steaks to a plate, and cover with tin foil. Let rest for 5 minutes. Then serve with Swiss chard and roasted red pepper.

How To: Roast Bell Peppers

Exciting news everyone! I now have a facebook page. Go check it out, and like me!

How To: Roast Bell Peppers

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and place the peppers on their side.

3. Bake for 20 minutes, then use tongs to flip the peppers.

4. Bake for another 20 minutes. The peppers should look charred and should be very soft. Roast for a few more minutes if they're not ready.

5. Once the peppers are out of the oven, you need to let them steam for a little bit longer. You can use the tin foil that you baked on, and wrap up the edges to make an enclosure for the peppers. Alternatively, you can place the peppers on a cutting board and place an upside-down bowl over the peppers. Let them sit for 10 minutes.

6. Now, make a single cut along the pepper and roll the pepper open, so you have one long strip. Pull the stem to remove some of the seeds, then use your hand or a paper towel to remove any remaining seeds.

7. Flip over the pepper and peel off the charred skin.

8. Slice the pepper. Serve, or store in an sealed container under olive oil.

BMI is BS

My company hosted a health fair on Monday. Various different insurance companies, eye doctors, dental providers, etc. came to one of our offices to tell us about how great their services are. I'm sure they're all great, but that's not why I'm telling you about this health fair. I'm sharing this not-so-juicy tidbit because of the comparison of Body Mass Index (BMI) against body fat percentage. BMI is calculated based on your height and weight. Your body fact percentage can be measured with the use of a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) - something like this. The long and short of it is that an electrical current is sent through your body via two conductors. The resistance of this circuit provides an indication of the amount of fat between the conductors. Fat is a poor conductor of electricity, whereas muscle is a good conductor due to the water and electrolytes found in the muscles. Okay, so you've got some of the theory now. And if you've used one of the hand-held or scale BIA monitors, you've seen your % body fat. What does this mean? Well, there's different standards, but here's the breakdown I received at the health fair.

Though I don't really want to share this value, I will... just to make a point. My percent body fat was 30.7%, which is within the healthy range. However, my BMI is 29.2, which is on the overweight/leaning toward obese side.

My conversation with the woman who gave me the BIA test went a bit like this:

Health Professional: Oh, 30.7% - that's good. You're healthy. Oh, but your BMI is 29.2, that's right at the edge of the critical range. You really need to watch that. You should make sure you're staying active.

Me: Well, I exercise 30-90 minutes almost every day, and I watch my food intake and follow clean eating guidelines. What else should I be doing?

Health Professional: Oh, um, just keep doing what you're doing. Once you hit 30 years old, your metabolism starts to decrease.

Me: Oh, thanks. So I'm great as I am, even though you told me I'm almost obese? (Okay. So, I didn't actually say that, but I thought it. There were probably some mean names thrown in there, too.)

Seriously though... I'd really like to know how I'm considered healthy with one standard, yet border-line obese with another. I feel healthy. I can handle 90 minutes of moderate to intense exercise on a fairly regular basis, and I seem to be able to move around just fine, minus some joint pain. Hey. I'm not perfect. I still have weight I think I should lose to reduce said joint pain. So I'm going with the decision that BMI is BS!

Still not convinced? I decided to play around with the numbers to see how the healthy range of each scale measured up to each other (at least for my fat-free body mass). The table below is what I calculated for my body. I've highlighted the cells in green that fall within the "healthy" range for each method.

Body fat percentage and BMI are completely exclusive of each other for me. To be considered healthy according to my BMI, I'd need to become a professional athlete... or completely starve myself, like seriously stop eating period, maybe throw in a daily laxative for good measure, and stop moving altogether. I obviously can't keep working or strengthening my muscles, because I would need to lose muscle mass to get to the low end of the BMI scale. I should also point out that essential fat for women is 10-13% (for men it's 2-5%), so if you take that into consideration, my 10-13% body fat range corresponds to 22.5-23.3 BMI. This leaves me with the BMI range of 23.4 to 24.9, that could maybe be achievable without completely disregarding the % body fat... that is if I were an athlete.

Anyways, I get really up-in-arms about this because I've had doctors fret about my BMI and tell me that I should aim for a weight that is unattainable for my body type/composition. I had a doctor in the past tell me that I could stop losing weight once I hit a weight that corresponded to roughly a BMI of 20. Hello 0% body fat, good-bye curves, but more importantly, good-bye health, energy, and exercise. I feel very grateful that my dad is an exercise physiologist and physical activity epidemiologist. Who knows how different I would have been if I blindly attempted such ridiculous weight-loss goals. I'd probably be constantly depressed and food-obsessed. I'd be constantly thinking about food and how hungry I am because I'd be practically starving myself, yet I'd be depressed because I would never be able to reach these goals.

In summary... I'm choosing to ignore BMI from here on out. Instead I will listen to my body and use my eyes to assess how I think I look. I may supplement this with sporadic body fat percentage measurements if I feel like it. BMI is BS! Thanks for listening.

Note: Please remember that the numbers I provided here apply to me and my body. If you're truly serious about weight loss and your percent body fat, I suggest talking to a health professional and/or a nutritionist. While the BIAs that you can buy on Amazon or at fitness stores can give you an estimate of your body fat, it is not the most accurate method of measurement out there. For example, underwater weighing (hydrostatic weighing) measures the displacement of water volume when your body is submerged in water and measures the change in weight. This method is more accurate than the hand-held monitor. Just so you know...

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

I think this may be one of the dishes that I was most excited about making. It's been on my list of foods to Paleo-ify for over a year, but I just never got around to it. I think I was a bit intimidated of attempting an Indian dish, which I've never ever tried before. And there's a large number of ingredients, but it's all pretty easy to throw together, especially when you do a slow-cooker version. Win! It tastes delicious. And if you're like me and don't eat a ton of meat at each meal, this concoction can last you for a while. I made this last Thursday. So far, I've had it for breakfast on Friday, breakfast and dinner on Saturday, breakfast and dinner on Sunday, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner today. And I've still got enough left for another 4-5 meals. That's a total of 12-13 meals, that I got out of one crock pot. Double win!

Anyways, I hope you LOVE this as much as I do! And did I mention that this is Whole 30 and 21DSD-friendly? Well, now I have...

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

3 lb chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbls grated ginger

2 small jalapeños, stemmed, sliced in half, and seeded

1 - 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, salt-free

1 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, whole

3 Tbls tomato paste

2 Tbls coconut oil

2 Tbls lemon juice

2 Tbls Garam Masala

1 Tbls cumin

1/2 Tbls paprika

2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper (for extra spice, add an extra 1-2 tsp)

2 bay leaves

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 can coconut milk (shake well before opening)

cilantro, chopped for serving

1. Mix all of the ingredients, excluding the chicken in a large bowl.

2. Pour half of the tomato mixture and half of the can of coconut milk into the slow-cooker. Add the chicken, then cover with the remaining ingredients.

3. Set on low for 8 hours.

4. Remove bay leaves and jalapeño.

5. Serve by itself or over cauliflower rice.

My Next Challenge

For those of you unaware, Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple started a 21-day primal challenge. It started on the 16th, and I found out about it on the 19th. So, though I'm starting a bit late for the challenge, I'm going to do it for the next 21 days, starting tomorrow, September 23 (ending October 13). See the infographic and learn more at Mark’s Daily Apple.

Here's a summary of what this challenge entails, copied directly from Mark's Daily Apple:

• Eat real food.
• Avoid sugar, grains, unhealthy fats, beans/legumes.
• Align your carb intake with your weight goals and activity levels.
• Move frequently at a slow pace: Get between 2-5 hours per week of moderate aerobic exercise.
• Lift heavy things: Conduct 1-3 brief, intense sessions of full-body functional movements.
• Sprint: Go “all out” once a week.
• Get 8 hours of sleep every night.
• Get 15 minutes of direct sun exposure each day.
• Play! Find time to let go, disconnect, unwind and have fun each day.

Mark's Daily Apple is posting tips daily and is hosting various contests for awesome prizes, so go check it out.

What this challenge means for me is that I'm going to continue with Paleo as per usual, but I'm really going to try to get eight hours of sleep each night. It's hard to do, when there's so many things just a click away to keep us entertained into the late hours of the night. I was discussing my schedule with one of my co-workers on Friday and realized that when I take into account working (10), commuting (1.5-2.5), working out (1.5), eating (1.5), cooking (0.5-1.5), getting ready for work/bed (1.5), I don't have enough time for 8 hours of sleep. I'm left with 5.5-7.5 hours for sleep depending on how long it takes me to cook my meals and how long my commute takes (it's longer when I drive to crew practice). So, something had to give, and I'm not sure what it will be. Maybe I'll only be able to cook on certain days, or I'll have to revert back to only cooking on Sundays. And when will I fit in chores? Or trips to the grocery store? Yeah, I'm not sure. But I'll figure it out starting tomorrow.

An easy change that I'm going to make is to go outside during lunch every day. I take 30 minute lunch breaks, so I can spend half of that outside in the sun - that's manageable. And I'm going to try to go outside and play at least once during the weekend. I'll probably grab my soccer ball and head to the nearby park. At the very least, I'll get the chance to try to improve my soccer skills again.

What I'm going to have to work on is my carb intake. With the amount of fruit that I've been downing lately, I've definitely been going over the recommended grams of carbs per my physical activity level and weight-loss goals. So that'll be an adjustment. I'll continue using PaleoTrack.com to keep better tabs on that.

Anyways, wish me luck! And on that note, I need to hit the sheets now to get 8 hours of sleep before tomorrow morning's alarm. Good night!

Highland Games Celebration

I'm done with the Whole 30! Woo hoo! (Though I'll be telling you about something else tomorrow) To celebration, I went to the Sherwood Forest Faire Highland Games (a.k.a. Celtic Music Festival). One of the coolest things about this highland games is that anyone can participate in the events. You have to enter the competition in advance, but you can sign up to participate, even if you've never tried a caber toss or stone throw before. My friends MG and KAOS told me a couple years ago that I should try it. I considered it. I even looked online for the entry requirements, but decided I didn't want to invest in a kilt. While I do love kilts, they're intended for men... just in case you're unfamiliar with the concept of kilts. "It's only a skirt if you wear something under it."

Anywho, we watched men and women throw trees and stones for a little while... long enough for me to get a light sunburn.

We watched a musical performance...

I drank mead and tried on a suit of armor...

And best of all, I did ax throwing AND knife throwing. A-MAZ-ING!!!! I've got skills, yo!

I got TWO axes on the target. Thank you, Viking heritage!

I'm better at ax throwing than knife throwing. So if you see me coming with an ax, beware! Just kidding! It is fun to learn new (though old-school) skills.

I was then sorely disappointed by this Paleo Puffin sign... apparently Paleo stands for coffee. And did puffins exist in the Paleolithic era? Oh well. My hopes of finding grass-fed meat were brutally dashed. But my ax- and knife-throwing escapades kept my spirits up!

On the way home, I stopped at a Buc-ee's, and saw this cute little guy outside...

Hope you enjoyed the slideshow of my day!

Whole 30 - Day 33

Well, I lasted through the week. And I'm done with my Whole 33 (i.e. 33 days). I celebrated the end with drinks at a charity bar. I'm sure you're wondering what a charity bar is. Well, it's a bar that donates its proceeds to a different charity each month. The bar picks four charities for one month. For each drink that your buy, you get a token, which you get to put in the barrel that corresponds to the charity of your choice. I think that's a valid reason to start drinking again after a month's hiatus, right?The charity I supported was the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (for good reason if you remember my family's recent diagnosis of hairy cell leukemia). I managed to convince a few other patrons to donate to LLS. It's amazing what you can do by meeting new people.

Speaking of meeting new people... it's amusing what people think they can get away with at bars. For instance, there were a couple of guys whom I was talking to who had French accents, yet tried to convince me that they were Russian. Why? I have no clue. Is it more bad-ass to be Russian? But I do know that I'm not that bad at identifying accents. I'm pretty sure I can distinguish French vs. Russian. And what I didn't tell them is that I use to take some French classes, so I can still identify a few words. Really people? Americans aren't that dense.

How-To Cut a Mango

1. Use a peeler to remove the skin of the mango

2. Slice the mango length-wise 360 degrees. Push the knife into the mango until you hit the pit. You'll know it when you do.

3. Then insert the knife into one of the cuts that your made - as far in as you can. Turn the knife to the side, and pull sideways, against the pit.

Whole 30 - Day 32

My fingers are burning. The cuticles and the skin beneath my fingernails are burning. And even worse... the open blisters from last weekend's regatta. Seriously... OMG! It's not stopping... Why? Because I was cutting jalapenos. And apparently I didn't do a good job washing my hands. Sigh. I'm not sure how to make it stop. It's been burning for the last hour at least. Oh well. I guess something's bound to happen when you cook frequently. The other week my mom said that she used coconut oil to combat the burning. It doesn't seem to work for me. Tragic!

Yesterday I went to a Krav Maga class and Metamorphosis class. The Meta class is basically a boot camp/CrossFit/kettle bell class. Yesterday's class consisted of 1 minute of each exercise, with 15 seconds in between. Two rounds. I kind of wanted to die. I had to actively think about breathing to make sure I kept sucking in oxygen. And I was sweating like crazy. It was a great workout. Here's the list of the exercises:

1. Toe taps
2. Straight Punches
3. Knees/Kicks (with the punching bag)
4. Ground-and-pounds
5. Push-ups
6. Burpees
7. Jump Squats
8. Battle rope/high knees
9. Kettlebell Swings

And then I had an hour of Krav Maga. Good recovery meal is leftover sweet potato and ground beef. Great way to get some carbs and protein in for post-workout recovery.

Whole 30 - Day 31

Kind of doesn't make sense, right? Day 31 of 30. But we'll go with it.

The other day I bought some grass-fed ground beef. I used half of it as some back-up protein to just toss in with veggies for a salad or whatever else I needed it for. I used the other half for meatballs. And what do we eat meatballs with? Spaghetti. We don't eat spaghetti? What to do? What to do? Grab all of the veggies you have in your fridge and "make it work" (Thanks, Tim Gunn).

Spa-veggie and Meatballs (I don't know how I feel about this name)

Meatballs

1/2 lb grass-fed ground beef

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp oregano

3/4 tsp ground pepper

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbls olive oil

"Spaghetti"

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

10 stalks asparagus, steamed and cut into 1.5" pieces

1/2 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 leek, thinly sliced

2 Tbls ghee

Sauce

2 Tbls tomato paste

2 Tbls chicken/vegetable/beef broth

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1. Mix your Meatball ingredients together. Use your hands. Place in a Ziploc bag and let sit in the fridge for a couple hours if you have the time. If not, it'll be fine, just do step 2 first.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F.

3. Roll the meat + spices into 1" diameter meatballs. I made 7 out of 1/2 lb.

4. Cook in oven for 15 minutes.

5. While the meatballs are cooking, cut up all of your veggies for the Spa-veggie.

6. Heat ghee in large pan over medium heat (I used setting 4 on my stove). Once hot, add in the veggies and cook for 5 minutes, or until the veggies almost reach your desired softness.

7. Once the veggies are almost done, add in the Sauce ingredients, stirring until evenly coated.

8. Remove the meatballs from the oven, and toss in the pan. Serve, or store half in a glass jar for lunch tomorrow.