Paleo Cookbooks

12 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in Paleo Cookbooks

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If you are a person concerned with physical fitness and optimum health, you have probably read the research on the Paleo Diet. I am sure you also recognize that cooking real food, rather than buying processed food, is critical to maintaining good health and supporting your fitness goals. So I appreciate any cookbooks that have already incorporated nutrition tenets that are important to me. It saves a lot of work searching through general cookbooks for the kind of meals I like to eat and serve my family

Here are some good cookbooks that you should add to your collection.

Paleo Cookbook

 

 

Paleo Food List

12 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in Paleo Diet Food List

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Paleo Diet PhilosophyThe Paleo diet is based in on fresh vegetables, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. The Caveman or Paleolithic Model for Nutrition assumes that modern diets are ill suited for our genetic composition. The belief is that evolution has not kept pace with advances in agriculture and food processing and that there are health consequences of eating processed foods. The health consequences include:

  • Coronary heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Cancer
  • Osteoporosis
  • Obesity
  • Psychological dysfunction

The claim is that these health issues have all been scientifically linked to a diet too high in refined or processed carbohydrate.

 

What Foods Should I Avoid?Excessive consumption of high-glycemic carbohydrates is the primary culprit in nutritionally caused, health problems. High glycemic carbohydrates are those that raise blood sugar too rapidly. They include most processed carbohydrates, like chips, candy and sodas, as well as anything that has been bleached, grinded or refined. It also includes:

  • Rice
  • Bread
  • Potato
Food ListThese are the foods you can eat
Meats Fruit Vegetables Nuts/Seeds
Lean Beef Flank Steak Apple Artichoke Almonds
Top Sirloin Steak Apricot Asparagus Brazil Nuts
London Broil Avocado Beets Cashews
Lean Veal Banana Bell peppers Chestnuts
Extra-lean Hamburger (less than 7% fat) Blackberries Broccoli Hazelnuts
Other lean cuts Blueberries Brussels Sprouts Macadamia Nuts
Lean Pork Pork Loin Boysenberries Cabbage Pecans
Pork Chop Cantaloupe Carrots Pine Nuts
Other lean cuts Cherries Cauliflower Pistachios (unsalted)
Lean Poultry(no skin) Chicken Breast Cranberries Celery Pumpkin Seeds
Turkey Breast Gooseberries Collards Sesame Seeds
Game Hen Breast Grapefruit Cucumber Sunflower Seeds
Other Lean Meat Rabbit Grapes Dandelion Walnuts
Goat Guava Eggplant
Organ Meat Beef, Lamb, Pork, Chicken Livers Honeydew melon Endive
Beef, Pork, Lamb Tongue Kiwi Green Onions
Beef, Lamb, Pork Marrow Lemon Greens
Beef, Lamb, Pork Sweetbreads Lime Greens Kale
Game Meat Alligator Lychee Kohlerabi
Bear Mango Lettuce
Bison Nectarine Mushrooms
Caribou Orange Onions
Duck Papaya Parsnip
Elk Passion Fruit Peppers (all kinds)
Emu Peaches Pumpkin
Kangaroo Pears Purslane
Ostrich Persimmon Radish
Pheasant Pineapple Rutabaga
Quail Plums Seaweed
Rattlesnake Pomegranate Spinach
Squab Raspberries Squash (all kinds)
Venison Rhubarb Swiss Chard
Wild Boar Tangerine Tomatillos
Fish Bass Watermelon Tomato
Blue Fish All other fruits Turnip
Branzini (Sea Bass) Turnips
Cod Watercress
Drum
Eel
Flatfish
Grouper
Haddock
Halibut
Herring
Mackeral
Monkfish
Mullet
Northern Pike
Orange Roughy
Perch
Red Snapper
Salmon
Sardines
Scrod
Shark
Striped Bass
Talapia
Trout
Tuna
Turbut
Walleye
Shell Fish Abalone
Clams
Crab
Crayfish
Lobster
Mussels
Oyster
Scallops
Shrimp

Paleo-Friendly Recipes

11 Saturday Feb 2012

Posted by in Paleo Friendly Recipes

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Thai Chicken Noodle Salad - Epicurious

I have made other Thai Noodle salads but this was actually less time intensive – although that’s not saying much – all Vietnamese and Thai dishes are a little time intensive. Not to mention they almost always involve some very special, hard to find ingredient. But, this one was really good and the ingredient list was reasonable. I did not have Thai Chili paste and substituted Srirachi and it was still very good.

 

 

Ingredients

  • 1 package (2 ounces) rice noodles
  • 2 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1 cup julienned carrots
  • 1/2 cucumber, peeled, quartered and sliced lengthwise
  • 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into thin strips
  • 1/4 cup chopped scallions
  • 2 cups chopped skinless roasted chicken
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
  • 3 tablespoon sugar
  • 4 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon Asian chile paste
  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil

Preparation

Bring lightly salted water to a boil in a medium pot; cook noodles 3 minutes. Place cabbage in a colander and drain noodles over cabbage; immediately rinse with cold water. Drain again. Toss cabbage and noodles in a bowl with carrots, cucumber, pepper, scallions and chicken. Whisk basil, mint, juice, vinegar, sugar, fish sauce, chile paste and oil in another bowl; drizzle over noodle mixture; toss and divide among 4 bowls.

Nutritional analysis per serving:

335 calories, 12.4 g fat (2.7 g saturated), 32.7 g carbs, 3.2 g fiber, 23.2 g protein

Paleo (sort-of) Nutrition Philosophy

02 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in Paleo Nutrition Philosophy (sort-of)

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Nutrition for Fitness Based on the Paleo Philosophy

The Paleo diet is based in on fresh vegetables, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. There is much to admire about this diet, and good ideas to consider when eating to optimize health and fitness.  Cooking your food yourself, mindfully and with as much knowledge as possible, is the best way to ensure good nutrition.  So to make this easier, I will show you great recipes and cookbooks that make healthy cooking easy and accessible and delicious.

The goal of this website is to use the Paleo Diet as a launching point, rather than to  persuade you that the Paleolithic diet philosophy is the absolute answer, and that you should abide strictly by the list of foods to eat, and, most importantly, avoid entirely the list of foods not to eat.

Here is what my personal, non-professional, research shows to be a more practical and theoretically sound approach to nutrition for optimum health and fitness.

  • Fruit is OK.  Berries are higher in antioxidants. Tree fruit is higher in soluble fiber.  Buy in season.  Juice – only sometimes and in moderation.
  • Vegetables are all OK.  Buy organic and local. Cut way back on white potatoes, but yams and sweet potatoes are okay in moderation.
  • If you eat beans, make sure you soak them before cooking, and then cook them well before eating.
  • Nuts are fine if you’re not allergic. Use whole fresh nuts that have been soaked/sprouted. Do not use pasteurized or “roasted” nuts — especially those roasted in oil.  Remember they are high in fat, so be conscious not to overdo.
  • If you eat meat, use only local, organic, grass-fed meat. And keep consumption to less than 4 oz a day. Don’t overcook it or undercook it.
  • Eat fish, but choose fish low in mercury.  Avoid these fish with very high mercury content:
    • Canned tuna
    • Marlin
    • Orange Roughy
    • Shark
    • Swordfish
    • Tilefish
  • Cut back on all grains. And if you eat grains, opt for hypoallergenic grains that have been soaked, sprouted, or well cooked.  So this includes pastas, cereals and pastries made from these foods.  Try to eat your grains before and/or after intense workouts as opposed to other times of the day.  Hypoallergenic grains include:
    • Rice
    • Brown Rice
    • Millet
    • Buckwheat
    • Quinoa
    • Tapioca
  • Avoid shortening, margarine and refined oils from your diet.  Oils that are good include:
    • Olive oil
    • Coconut oil
    • Avocado oil
    • Grape seed oil
    • Sunflower oil
    • Sesame oil
    • Flax oil
  • Cut way back on all added sugars.
  • Cut back somewhat, on commercial dairy from your diet. And if you do opt for some dairy, choose raw dairy or local, organic, grass-fed dairy.