A Quick and Easy Breakfast, and Some Good Listening

“What others think of us would be of little moment did it not, when known, so deeply tinge what we think of ourselves.”

– Seneca

Not much at all to this number, just a little ripe avocado and some diced tomato to dress up an old standby.

An Oldie but Goodie

But it’s oh so simple, fast, and Paleo-nutritious.  And just look at how big and orange those free-range egg yokes are!  And the bacon?  Applewood smoked, and taken from a pasture-raised pig.  What you don’t see is the small glass of raw, unpasteurized milk and small helping of raw goat cheese.

And speaking of “Paleo”, “free-range”, “pasture-raised”, “raw, unpasteurized dairy” and your continued, unimpeded access to all of these wonderful things, here are a few links for you you to check out over the weekend:

Carl Lanore, of Super Human Radio, has produced a fantastic run of very interesting interviews as of late.  Check ’em out:

First up, here’s a show that covers probably one of the most contentious and controversial topics within the Paleo community — dairy consumption.  My own take on the issue is that if you do consume dairy (1) make sure that it is only in the raw, unpasteurized form, and (2) let your own body and tolerance levels be your guide as to ingestion amounts.  Lactose intolerant?  Some people find that they can tolerate raw, unpasteurized dairy due to the fact that the host of natural good enzymes have not been destroyed in the pasteurization process.  Paleo purists will, of course, eschew dairy completely — and hey, that’s fine by me.  Yes, raw, unpasteurized dairy was never a calorie source for our Paleolithic ancestors.  However, the results of my research on the subject lead me to conclude that the positives of dairy consumption (protein bioavailability, good fats source, good enzyme source) far outweigh the negatives (small associated insulin surge), and so I add it, in small amounts, to my own diet.  I must re-emphasize, though, that I am speaking of raw, unpasteurized dairy here — leave the pasteurized stuff alone, as it’s no more than a nutrient and enzyme-dead food full of empty calories.

Next up, Carl interviews Judith McGeary, Executive Director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA), about the sham that is the proposed NAIS (National Animal Identification System) legislation.  This legislation, folks, will effectively eliminate your access to small-farm-raised livestock and poultry.  Listen to this show, and please, take heed…and take a stand!

And finally, last but certainly not least, Carl hosts Dr. Loren Cordain on the Super Human radio show.  Now I don’t necessarily agree with all of Dr. Cordain’s ideas — his being totally adverse to dairy consumption comes first to mind — but I’ve never been one to hold an intellectual grudge, or to toss the proverbial baby with the bathwater.  In my mind, the Paleo tent is big enough to cast shade over a whole host of Paleo themes, and I have no problem cherry-picking what I like and leaving behind what I don’t.

Enjoy!  And enjoy the weekend.

In health,

Keith

Ribeyes, Fresh Herb Gremolata, Eggplant Neopolitans, Grilled Nectarines…& a Brush with Fame

“The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.”

– Mark Twain

The fresh, raw ingredients for a soon-to-be dish of gustatory delight

Medium-rare ribeyes, hot off the grill and topped with fresh herb gremolata, eggplant Neopolitans, and a dessert of grilled nectarines; what could be more Paleo — and so damn good to boot?  Meesus TTP has the recipe write-ups covered here, along with a little story of her brush with Grill It fame and fortune.  For my part, I can report that the meal was absolutely fabulous, and in full-on keeping with my Paleo sensibilities.

Yeah, let me just rush right on back to the normal, healthy, western diet.  Off the top of my little, pointed Paleo head, I can think of just a few places to shove that worthless USDA food pyramid.

And I’d like to close this quickie-post with a public service announcement.  This meal in large part was the end result of the efforts of local, organic farmers.  Please do your part to lobby against pending legislative bills HR 875 and HR 759, the passing of either of which would place undue and prohibitive burdens on these farmers.   See this prior post for more information on this proposed legislation.

In health,

Keith

Pork Chops and Brussels Sprouts

“You know what charm is: a way of getting the answer yes without having asked any clear question.”

~ Albert Camus

Here’s a look at a surprisingly simple-to-prepare meal that Meesus TTP and I (ok, mostly her) put together a few nights back.  She  soaked these babies in a brine marinade overnight the night before we put them in the broiler.  Meesus is ramping-up her foodie blog at the moment, and once she’s done, she’ll post the recipe (and I’ll post the link).  For now, though, just take a look at how these things turned out.

Pork Chops, Brined and Broiled

She braised a good sized bunch of Brussels sprouts as a side.  The topping you see on them here is bacon, which she fried-up before hand, using the rendered grease, then (along with some other added ingredients) as the braising medium.  She’ll have this recipe up on her blog as well.

Ready to Eat!

Add a smattering of fruit, and you’ve got a fabulous and, really, pretty damn easy meal to put together.

In Health,

Keith

A Special, Stay-at-Home, Friday Night Dinner

“Love one another and you will be happy. It’s as simple and as difficult as that.”

~ Michael Leunig

Something Meesus TTP and I enjoy doing from time to time is picking up already “prepped” dishes (of the Paleo variety, of course) from the Fresh Market grocery store here in Greenville, NC.  We find this to be a good compromise between dropping a pretty big chunk of cash for a dinner out, and having something a little special.  Plus, we retain control as to the cooking method.  We’ve never been disappointed in Fresh Market’s product quality or variety, and the prices for that quality and variety are quite reasonable.  Here’s what we had on Friday night:

First Course

What you see here is coconut encrusted and fried shrimp, lobster and shrimp stuffed tilapia, avocado and a lemon wedge for the fish.

Second Course; "Black and Bleu" Sirloin

This is a bacon wrapped, bleu cheese stuffed, cracked black pepper encrusted sirloin, broiled to a medium-rare perfection on a bacon greased, cast iron comal.  Add to this a smattering of fruit and a glass of Shiraz Cabernet and you’ve got yourself quite a meal.  Bon appetit!

In Health,

Keith

A Sprint Workout, 12/2/08

Ahhh, the rain and wind finally blew out of Eastern NC today, and I found myself afforded the perfect opportunity to get in a good bout of sprints.  It was a tad bit cold, though, at the onset — nothing that dressing properly for (i.e., layering) wouldn’t combat, though.  I might not win any awards from the fashion conscious (Meesus TTP: are you actually going out in that?), but I can effectively keep myself warm and peel down as need be when I heat up.

I fasted from about 8 PM last night, not taking in a meal (or anything other than coffee, for that matter), until after today’s workout, which ended up being about 3 PM today.  I left the house at approximately 1 PM and hit about 2 miles worth of interval, fixed-speed bike sprints, up to the ECU track/soccer field.  From here, I did a series of 10, 100 meter sprints, barefoot (yeah, it’s not as bad-cold as you’d think it’d be), structured thusly:

• explosive, standing start & full acceleration to 40 meters
• maintain speed, 40 — 85 meters
• “cool the jets” 85 — 100 meters
• at the 100 meter mark — decelerate to a full stop
• full recovery (a full minute or so.  Shorter at the on-set, a bit longer toward the end), with dynamic stretching (especially of the hamstrings and hip flexors), between each sprint

At the completion of every-other sprint, I did a set of 10, feet elevated, ballistic push-ups, sticking each landing just a fraction prior to “chin planting” into the ground.  My feet were elevated approximately 18 inches.  I finished with another 2 mile fixie interval, back to the house.  About an hour elapsed from the time I walked out of the door, until the time I walked back in after the workout.  Roughly an hour later, I chowed down on this:

Baked eggs, fruit & leftover rib-eye

I just picked here and there at the fruit.  Most of it will be divvied-up between tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast, unless Meesus TTP dives in to finish it off tonight.  You can check out the baked egg recipe, here.  In this one, I used three eggs.  Following this meal, I took a tablespoon of Carlson’s lemon flavored cod liver oil along with my daily vitamin pack.

It’s been a nice, week-long break.  Tomorrow, though, it’s back to the work-a-day grind.  I’ll be at the  Rocky Mount YMCA, 6:15 AM, sharp.  C’mon by and say “hey” — or jump in for a set or two.

In Health,

Keith

Costillas des res (Crosssection of Beef Ribs)

“Edible, adj.:  Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm.”

~Ambrose Bierce

I don’t know that I’ve ever found this particular cut of ribs outside of those little mom & pop Mexican stores.  You know — those places that thrive in areas that are lucky enough to have a large enough Mexican immigrant population to support them.  If you have such a place near you, frequent it — you won’t be sorry.  The best butcher shop in my town is located in just such a place.  And language (and culture, for that matter) is no barrier when it comes to good food at fantastic prices.

Below is a shot of the ribs just before I put them on the grill.  The night before, I prepped the ribs by slathering them liberally with olive oil, then coating them with fresh cracked pepper and brisket rub.  I stored them in the refrigerator, in a plastic freezer bag, turning them over whenever I thought to.

Prepped and ready to go

You’ve got to cook the ribs over a very, very low heat.  It takes quite a while, but the end product is phenomenal.  Also, I like to smoke-in a little applewood flavor via use of pre-soaked wood chips.

On the grill

Unfortunately, getting an all done, “plated” picture slipped my mind.  We did have avocado and steamed & buttered brocolli for sides.  Good stuff.

In Other News…

According to Mark Sisson, over at Mark’s Daily Apple, I suppose I am actually more “Primal” than I am “Paleo” since (among a few other details) I don’t eschew fat.  I’m actually a fat-lover, truth be told.  Ah well, I’ve never been one to easily label.  Much like my workout philosophy, I pick and choose across the spectrum to form my own, “TTP” guidelines.  I actually think I’m closer in diet and workout “beliefs” to Art DeVany’s Evolutionary Fitness — but that’s just splitting hairs, in my opinion.  To cop a line from Popeye, “I yam what I yam.”

In Health,

Keith