Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apples

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apples

1-2 lb pork tenderloin

2 Tbls olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbls Dijon mustard

1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp pepper

2 apples (I used Gala), cored and thickly sliced

1/2 onion, sliced (you can use more than this, but I'm not much of an onion person, so I only use a little)

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Trim pork to remove the silver skin. Rub the tenderloin with 1 Tbls olive oil, then rub all over with salt.
3. Heat 1 Tbls olive oil over medium-high heat in a cast-iron skillet. Once hot, place the tenderloin in the pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side (there's four sides in case you were wondering).
4. Remove tenderloin from the pan and set aside. Add the apples and onions to the pan and cook for 4-5  minutes
5. While the apples and onions cook, rub the tenderloin with the mustard, thyme, and pepper.
6. Place the tenderloin on top of the apples and onions and transfer to the oven. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 145-150°F.
7. Transfer the pork to a plate and cover with aluminum. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Happy Easter!

Yeah, I'm a day late, but I hope you all had a fantastic Easter.. if you celebrate it. If you don't, you can at least enjoy all of the candy that's now on sale. Except if you're hard-core Paleo that is. In which case, go buy yourself a high-quality dark chocolate, like this bar of 75% Cacao Fearless Chocolate that I found on sale at Whole Foods. The two (yes, only two) ingredients in this bar of chocolate are organic cacao and organic cane sugar. Sure, we try to stay away from added sugar, but if you're going to have a bar of chocolate, aim for the stuff with the least amount of sugar, and go for organic. They also have a 85% cacao bar.

Anyways, in honor of Easter, I decided to cook myself a yummy breakfast. Because what's Sunday morning without brunch?

Veal Chorizo and Artichoke Scrambled Eggs

1/4 lb chorizo-flavored ground veal (Click here to find a chorizo seasoning recipe)

1/4 cup artichoke hearts, chopped (you can use frozen or marinated artichokes)

1/4 cup frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed

2 eggs, whisked

1. Heat a pan over medium heat. Break the ground veal into small bites and add to the pan. Heat until thoroughly cooked.

2. Toss in the artichokes and spinach, then add the eggs. Cook for a few minutes until the eggs are done.

Serve with a side of sweet potato hash browns and a small glass of blueberry kombucha. Happy Easter!

And in exciting news for today, I convinced myself to do the Chest and Back P90X workout today after work. I also have finally managed a headstand. I got myself up and held it for 20 seconds without using the wall for support. Huzzah! I'm super excited about it! I never knew I had a goal to do that, but after practicing inversions with my Krav Maga yoga class, that goal just developed. And today was a good start on my way to doing a handstand. I feel productive. And enthused. But now, I'm going to go to bed and get my eight hours of sleep. Sweet dreams, y'all!

W30D17

Hey, guess what? I just realized that we're over halfway through with this Whole 30. Rock on! It hasn't been too bad so far, if you exclude my Saturday Irish stew consumption, but that was a brief hiccup. I have to admit that I've been fighting off the urge to sneak a piece of dark chocolate. Notice that I used the word "sneak," because I know that I shouldn't be eating it so I feel like I'd need to hide it. I've fought off the urge for the past two nights. Want to know my motivation for saying no? Of course you do... It's the fact that I'd have to call up Jay and confess that I ate dark chocolate during a Whole 30. That's a definite no-no. And after I called him, I'd post it on here. For all of you to read. Yeah, it's good to be held accountable by someone other than just yourself.

I really need to start going to bed earlier. I'm not sure how exactly to make this happen, because I keep finding myself writing these posts and finally replying to emails at the end of each day. Because I stayed up till 11:30 last night, it took me a while to get moving this morning. I snoozed my 5:00 a.m., 5:15 a.m., and 5:30 a.m. alarms, and finally got up at 5:50 to shuffle over to my rowing machine and get a morning workout in. Note to self: Don't get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom... There is a 7' long rowing machine in your way.

Now on to the yummy stuff.

Rosemary Lamb Chop

1 lb lamb chop

4 Tbls olive oil

2 Tbls chopped rosemary

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

1. Mix 2 Tbls olive oil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper together. Rub mixture into the meat, cover, and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes or more.

2. Heat the remaining two Tbls olive oil over high heat in an cast iron pan (or something capable of going into the oven). Once hot, add the lamb chop and sear on each side for 3-4 minutes.

3. Transfer to 400 F oven and cook for 4-5 minutes. (optional)

4. Move the lamb chops to a plate or cutting board and cover with tin foil. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Then eat up.

ECD9: 45 minutes rowing + 15 minutes practicing inversions (a.k.a. head stands). I'm getting closer to being able to hold it for more than 5 seconds.

W30D13-14

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned... That's how it goes, right? Or at least that's what I've seen in the movies. Anyways, I have a confession... I did not stick with Whole 30 on Saturday. "Why?" you ask. Well here we go. Yesterday I volunteered at an Irish Stew Cook-off and Music Festival, which went from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. I stood at the entrance booth selling tickets from 10:30 until around 4:00, at which point I started to enjoy the festival a bit. I didn't have time in the morning to prep snacks for the day, so I eventually caved and ate some of the samples of Irish stew and chili that the various teams were making. Each stew was different, but I can guarantee that I ended up consuming wheat (flour used as a thickener for the stew) and dairy. So that's it. That's my confession. I didn't stick to the Whole 30. But let me tell you about the rest of my day.

After working for five and a half hours, I took a break to watch a group of Irish dancers (think Lord of the Dance) and then a performance by The Dead Rabbits, an Irish punk rock band. We then rounded up the voting jars from each booth and counted votes to see which team the festival attendees liked the best, and started taking down signs and tables, etc. We reached a lull where there wasn't much left to do so most of us just hung around drinking and chatting. As the sun set, and some of the folks continued to consume the beer that was free for volunteers (don't worry, I didn't drink any beer), the group got a bit louder and a bit more rowdy, which proved for a very entertaining evening. The band started an impromptu acoustic session, which was fantastic. There's something about drunk Irishmen singing that just warms my soul and makes me smile. Sure, that may be a bit odd, but I don't see how you wouldn't enjoy watching a group of men singing in harmony.

We started to disperse so two of the the volunteers and I headed into the bar that hosted our festival to hang out with some other lovers of Irish culture. While we were inside, I made some new friends. These new friends happened to be some guys from a MC. Yep, that's right... a motorcycle club. You're probably like me and immediately thought of Sons of Anarchy, but they assured me that they're really just a group of guys that like to ride motorcycles. The reason why we started talking was because I got involved in their discussion of health insurance costs. It got rather political for a while, but it still remained a great day overall.

The greatness continued today with a Paleo Meetup. We went to a restaurant that specializes in wild game, such as elk, antelope, yak, camel, kangaroo, etc. And yes, I tried ALL of those today! The restaurant gave us a couple sampler platters for our group of 25. What a turnout!

I decided on the yak burger, bunless and cheeseless, of course. It had a different flavor than beef, but wasn't so wildly different that I had a hard time believing it was a burger. Yummy. To be honest, my favorite meat was camel. It's a bit fattier and it tasted great. Try it out if you have the chance!

ECD5: 1 hour walk (+6 hours of standing/running errands at the festival)

ECD6: 1 hour walk (to/from the grocery store - 3 miles total)

W30D4

I'm admitting a slip-up when it comes to the Whole 30. I had alcohol tonight with some of my current and former co-workers. I started Whole 30 with the knowledge that I already had plans to consume alcohol during the 30 days. I totally understand the reasons why I shouldn't consume alcohol and I know how alcohol affects my bodily functions. I also firmly believe that our ancestors did not have easy access to fermented beverages. So while I believe that they probably had irregular access to some sort of alcoholic beverages/materials, I don't believe that it would be a commonly consumed product. However, I also recognize the fact that while I do follow a Paleo lifestyle, the foods, whether they be meat or vegetables, that I eat now are not the same foods as what my Paleolithic ancestors eat. Food products have evolved (or been genetically engineered) to be different from what humanoids ate 10,000 years ago. The cow meat that I buy at a store now, is not the same as what would have been hunted and killed by our ancestors. Just accept that fact. I do recommend that you should aim for grass-fed meat whenever possible. And speaking of grass-fed meat...

Spinach Meatballs
1 lb grass-fed ground beef
3/4 cup frozen spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Combine all of the ingredients together using your hands.
3. Roll into 1" diameter balls and spread across broiler pan.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

5. Serve with spaghetti squash and pasta sauce or pesto sauce.

Sweet and Spicy Cabbage Tacos

The sweet potatoes, carrots, and cherry/grape tomatoes adds some sweetness to the heat from the ground beef seasoning. If you like dishes that give you a little kick while also providing you with soothing sweetness (thanks to the sweet potatoes in particular), give this a try.

Sweet and Spicy Cabbage Tacos

1 lb grass-fed ground beef

6 leaves of green cabbage, carefully removed from the head of cabbage (you don't want any tears in your taco "shell")

1/2 sweet potato, diced

1/4 onion, chopped (I'm not a huge fan of onion, so feel free to add more if you like it)

1/2 cup carrots, chopped

1 cup broccoli florets,

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half

1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped

Taco Seasoning (http://adventurepaleo.blogspot.com/2012/05/guacamole.html)

1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (add another 1-1 1/2 tsp if you really like spice)

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp pepper, freshly ground - See more at: http://adventurepaleo.blogspot.com/2012/05/guacamole.html#sthash.Nekjm48U.dpuf

1. Mix the taco seasoning and raw beef together in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for an hour or so.

2. Remove the seasoned beef from the fridge, and toss into a pan on medium heat. Once the meat is thoroughly cooked, drain the fat and transfer the beef to a paper towel-lined plate.

3. With what fat remains in the pan, throw in the sweet potato, onions, carrots, and broccoli, but don't add the mushrooms, red bell pepper, or tomatoes yet. Sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper for a bit more flavor. Cook for 5 minutes. (I know that I'd usually cook the onions until they turn translucent before adding other veggies, but I figured that that these veggies all could do with roughly the same amount of cooking time and I didn't feel like doing this is too many stages).

4. Add in the mushrooms and tomatoes, cooking for a couple minutes.

5. Then return the ground beef to the pan. Heat for a couple more minutes or until the beef is thoroughly warmed.

6. Add a couple spoonfuls of the ground beef mixture to one of the cabbage leaves, curl up the edges, and dig in.

Bolognese Sauce

Bolognese sauce refers to a meat-based red sauce generally used on broad/flat pasta (e.g. tagliatelle or fettuccine) or shorter tube shapes (e.g. penne). It typically consists of onion, carrots, and celery, as well as meat like ground beef or pancetta, a bit of tomato, and some wine. I cooked mine without the wine, but it still tastes delicious. The carrots give it a bit of sweetness. Enjoy!

Bolognese Sauce

1 Tbls olive oil
1 1/4 lb grass-fed ground beef
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 cup carrots, finely diced
1/4 cup celery, finely diced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 6-oz can tomato puree

1. Heat 1 Tbls olive oil over medium heat on the stove.
2. Break up the beef into small pieces and cook until thoroughly brown.
3. Once cooked, remove the beef from the heat and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Drain some of the fat from the pan, then add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until veggies start to soften.
5. Mix the beef back in and stir in the tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20-30 minutes to thicken.
6. Serve with zucchini noodles. If you don't have a mandoline, use a peeler to cut the zucchini thin and wide.

Meatloaf Muffins

I have no recollection of ever eating meatloaf growing up. I asked my mom and she insists that we she did make it a few times, and I guess I can't remember every meal my family ever ate, so if I forgot a a few servings of meatloaf... oh well. If I go with my memory though, these "muffins" are the first meatloaf I've ever had. For some reason I had this preconceived notion that I didn't like meatloaf... that it was gross. It appears that I was wrong, because I thoroughly enjoyed these.

Meatloaf Muffins

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup shredded cabbage

2 Tbls tomato paste

3 Tbls almond flour

1 egg

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Mix all ingredients together and distribute into muffin tin, filling to the brim. (The mix makes roughly 8 muffins)

3. Bake for 30 minutes. Then transfer to paper-towel lined plate.

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.

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.

Whole 30 - Day 29

I'm almost done... Except I'm adding a couple more days to make up for my cheat days. I'm obviously the type of person that can be really good about following something until I have one slip up, and then it's a lot harder to stick with it. So, I'm going to keep up the Whole 30 until Friday (day 33), even though I know that the 30 days have been blown by the fact that I had those cheats. Once you put that in your system, you can't "make it up" by extending it. I know this, but I'm doing it anyways. Kind of as penance I guess. The only things that I intend to change come Saturday are:

1. I will allow alcohol for some social situations.

2. I will allow myself to make foods that contain Whole 30-approved ingredients, but could be labeled as Sex With Your Pants On (SWYPO). I see Paleo pumpkin concoctions and crackers in my future.

3. I will restrict the amount of nuts and fruits I'm consuming.

Reasoning behind number 3: I've noticed that I seem to be eating a lot more nuts and fruits which I guess I'm viewing as "treats" since I'm not letting myself have "sweets" or cheats, like gluten-free crackers. I think that my face might be breaking out because of the increased nuts and sugars, so I'm going to give it a try. One of my weaknesses lately has been dried fruit, in particular dried mango, which is vaguely hilarious to me, since I used to hate mango. My how Paleo has changed my taste buds.

This will coincide nicely with a day excursion for Highland games. I love all things Celtic, so I'll be in heaven surrounded by kilts, dancing, men in kilts, bagpipes, men in kilts throwing trees, turkey legs, men in kilts throwing trees and giant stones, Celtic jewelry... need I continue? I may even go for mead. We'll see what the day brings. I promise to provide photos!

Now to what I ate for lunch today...

Ground Beef Salad

1/2 lb grass-fed ground beef

salt and pepper, roughly 1/4 tsp each

2 shakes tabasco sauce

1/4 orange bell pepper, sliced (chopped is better if you're not feeling lazy like I was)

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes

2 cups mixed greens

1. Heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat on the stove.

2. Once the pan is hot, add the ground beef, crumbling as you toss into the pan. Add the salt and pepper and stir.

3. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until all of the ground beef has turned brown.

4. Serve with the remaining ingredients. Easy peasy.

Whole 30 - Day 24

Taco Salad

1 lb grass-fed ground beef

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 red pepper, roughly chopped

1/2 green pepper, roughly chopped

1/4 onion, roughly chopped

1. Heat 1 Tbls oil oil in pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook for a few minutes.

2. Once the onions are just starting to get soft, crumble the meat into pan. Sprinkle the seasonings on top, and stir to combine.

3. When roughly half-way cooked, add the peppers.

4. Once the meat is completely cooked, throw some together with shredded green cabbage and baby kale and spinach (or use whatever leafy greens you have on hand. Add a handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, and 1 avocado (or half of one if you feel like sharing the other half with a friend).

Whole 30 - Day 11

I'm really cutting this close with getting a post out today, aren't I? Well, my reasoning is simple. I had crew practice after work, where I took out a single and gouged some more skin off of the knuckles of my right hand. Then I rushed home to shower and grab a bite to eat before meeting up with my out-of-town friend J. I figured nobody at the bar would appreciate me showing up sweaty, and I didn't really want to sit in my sweat-drenched clothes (Boy, was it warm today, so I didn't exactly have time to sit down and type up a post, but I'm doing it now. So there.

Despite being up and out so late on a weekday, I'm still pretty energetic, probably because I was so excited to see J again. We had interned together up in Pennsylvania five years ago, then had both lived in Texas for a while, before he returned to the North. Work brought him back to the grand state of Texas, so I abandoned my 9 pm bed time and caught up with him and his wildly ridiculous stories. He is the BEST storyteller. I always have a blast with him!

Anyways, I'm going to share with you a way of steaming asparagus in the microwave... without any dishware. Say what? Keep reading.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus

1/4 cup water

1 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

1 packet of Proscuitto

1. Grab 3 papertowels. Use the 1/4 cup of water and lemon juice to wet the entire papertowel. Lay flat.

2. Rinse the asparagus and trim off the bottom inch to inch and a half of the stem.

3. Spread the asparagus on the papertowels, sprinkle with salt and peppa, and roll that sucker up. Proceed carefully so you don't tear the sheets apart.

4. Place in the microwave and nuke it for 4 minutes. And your asparagus is ready.

5. Wrap up 5-6 stems in each piece of Prosciutto and serve... with some chicken and wilted spinach and baby kale.

Whole 30 - Day 6

Today a few friends and I went kayaking. I loved it. More and more lately I've discovered that I like spending my friend time doing something active. Probably has something to do with the fact that I'm not drinking alcohol and it's tough going out to eat at certain places and finding something on the menu that's Paleo-friendly that I don't mind paying for. I have serious issues with paying $30 for a dish when I ask them to hold 75% of the dish.

Anyways, you're here for food, right? So here's what I made for myself after 3 hours of kayaking.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Egg

1 slice Prosciutto
1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Use olive oil or coconut oil to grease the inside of one muffin tin.
3. Place the Prosciutto into the tin, arranging it so that it covers the bottom and sides.
4. Place in oven and bake for 8 minutes, until starting to get crispy.
5. Remove pan and crack an egg into the Prosciutto bowl and return to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes or until egg is cooked through.
6. Use a large spoon to carefully remove the Prosciutto from the pan. Then eat.

Whole 30 - Day 5

So there's a concept to be avoided in the Whole 30 called "Sex With Your Pants On" (SWYPO). This term refers to paleo-ifying junk food, such as pizza, pancakes, etc. So even though I can make a paleo pizza with all paleo-friendly and even Whole 30-friendly ingredients, I shouldn't. By substituting ingredients, I'm just giving myself a way of continuing my cravings for non-paleo foods, because just like SWYPO, it's just not as good; you always end up wanting the real thing. Am I right? I'm right.

Anyways, I find this concept somewhat difficult to understand. I mean, what is really considered SWYPO? Is my zucchini pasta with meatballs considered SWYPO? I mean, it's veggies and meat with some almond meal mixed in. Where does that line get drawn? Because technically, I'm taking a traditional non-Paleo meal of spaghetti and meatballs and making zucchini and meatballs. Does that count as SWYPO? I vote no. I'm choosing to believe that SWYPO refers to junk foods that contain significantly more grains, such as cakes and brownies, and Paleo-ified versions of things like ice cream or pizza.

Buffalo Meatballs

1 lb ground buffalo
3 Tbls almond meal
1 1/2 tsp parsley
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Use your hands; they work best.

2. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for an hour or so.
3. Preheat oven to 350 F.
4. Separate into heaping tablespoon-sized pieces. Shape into spheres.

5. Spread on an oiled baking pan.
6. Bake for roughly 20 minutes, until there's no pink in the middle.

Serve with ribbons of zucchini and pasta sauce. YUMMMM!

I ate mine with a side of heirloom tomato salad... And boy was it good.

I was starving by the time I finished crew practice last night (and my stomach was grumbling while I was rowing), but this is so filling that I had to make myself keep eating. I've been using PaleoTrack to check my protein, fat, carbs, omega 6:omega 3, and potassium:sodium intake, and yesterday's grand total of food came out to be 1053 calories, including this dinner. Factor in a moderately intense crew practice for an hour and half, where I burned around 600 calories, and that would mean my calorie balance for the day is 500-600. You may think that's awesome if you're trying to lose weight, but it could also trigger your body into thinking it's in starvation mode. So I sat and at all of my zucchini and meatballs, and 3 tomato slices, because I just couldn't force myself to eat more at 10 at night. Oh well. It was yummy, so I suffered through.

In exciting news, I got the "Optimal Primal" designation yesterday.

My fish oil supplements and flax seeds (0.3:1 omega-6:omega-3) on my lunch salad helped significantly in bumping up the omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acids ratio. It's believed that our paleo ancestors had a 1:1 ratio of omega 6:omega 3, though the PaleoTrack website says to aim for a 2.3:1 ratio, whereas most people today have a 10:1 or 20:1 ratio. Also, the potassium to sodium ratio should be at least 5:1, while most of today's society gets about a 1:1. The zucchini, tomato sauce, and freshly sliced heirloom tomatoes helped with the potassium to sodium ratio. I've basically decided that you can't add salt to your food at all to try to meet this last ratio. It's rather difficult to achieve, but fruits are a good source of this. Kind of makes me wonder how to get my potassium when doing a 21DSD.

Also, I've noticed that foods that have a good fatty acids ratio, tend to do poorly on the potassium:sodium front, or vice versa. For example, an avocado has a 69.3:1 potassium to sodium ratio, but also has 15.2:1 omega-6 to omega-3. Sad. At least flaxseeds have a decent ratio for both, even though the 27.1:1 potassium:sodium isn't a lot of potassium when compared to the sodium intake.

Whole 30 - Day 4

Steak Fajitas

1 lb flank steak

1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 green pepper, cut into strips
1/2 red pepper, cut into strips
1/2 onion, cut into quarters and then into strips

1. Mix spices together and rub over the steak.

2. Place steak in a Ziploc bag in the fridge for at least an hour.
3. Heat 2 Tbls olive oil in a cast iron pan (or any pan) over medium-high heat. The pan is hot when a few drops of water sizzles when sprinkled onto the pan.
4. Place the peppers and onion into the pan and cook for a couple minutes, then clear out a space in the center and add the steak.

5. Cook for a few minutes on each side. Transfer steak to a plate and cover with tin foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Then serve with your veggies.

Asian Beef Marinade

Asian Beef Marinade

1/4 cup + 2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbls coconut aminos (similar in taste to soy sauce, minus the soy)
1 tsp sesame seeds
pinch of sea salt
a few twists of my pepper grinder

Mix the ingredients in a quart- or gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Place the beef (cubes in my case) into the Ziploc bag and squeeze out as much of the air as possible before sealing. Put the Ziploc bag in the fridge and let sit for at least 2 hours (I let mine marinade overnight).

After marinading, remove the beef from the bag and cook over medium-low heat on a skillet. Dispose of the excess marinade. Once your meat is done cooking, serve and enjoy. I used the sauce left in the skillet to cook up some mushrooms as well.

Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork

5-6 lb pork butt roast - bone-in
1 yellow onion, sliced
3 Tbls chili powder
1 Tbls parsley
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix the spices together in a large bowl (large enough to hold your pork roast).

Use your hands to rub the dry spices onto the pork roast.

Put one layer of onion slices at the bottom of the crock pot. Then put in the roast and cover with more onion.

Set the slow cooker on high for 4 hours, then change setting to low and cook for 4 hours.

Remove from crock-pot and transfer to a bowl/plate to let cool for a bit. Then grab a couple forks and start shredding.