Paleo Pals - Health, Weight Loss & Support

MAP - rooting for a 3’fer!!! WOOT! on the clear mammo & and stress!! I’m thankful to have had so many MRIs that now I take a magazine and coffee in the tin can. The last time the tech came over the sound system to ask “are you doing ok?”, and me being me, replied “can I get get an order of fries with that?” She later told me I was in first place within the most unexpected response category ))))))

Ksuze - maybe some CBT would help me with the PSTD...but I wonder if hanging out at the hospital a few hours a day would raise the suspicions of security ))))

FOODIE FRIDAY!!! The bestest day in the Cave!!

EGAD'S TEST KITCHEN - devoted to making life easier...while I endeavor to get a life!!! ))))))

My ongoing quest to find easy, quick and delicious meals kicked into high gear this week. I decided to make an all time classic…..Pulled Pork. As I'm sure y'all know pulled pork requires hours of slow cooking….oven or crockpot, in order to get that deep down delish flavour. Not what anyone has time for on week nights.

Suddenly, a light bulb flicked on over my head, and my thoughts quickly turned to my wannabe Instapot. Could I reproduce the same deep flavor in a pressure cooker as I could from hours of slow cooked goodness??

Let's try shall we?……

Ok, so the first pic shows us a new and unorthodox kitchen tool….the simple handsaw. Silly me, bought a cut of pork that had an enormous bone running through the bottom. This is where my caveman came in handy.Refusing to use his beloved DeWalt to split into equal portions, he went the old fashioned way and sawed through the roast easily.* me singing* it's so nice to have a man around the house!

Victim 1 – 4-5 lbs approx pork roast into a dutch oven, seared and plunked into the oven for 5 .5 hours (more liquid was added after pic)

Victim 2 – same weight as above into the electric pressure cooker set on high for 1.5 hours

Ingredients in both methods were exactly the same, and both seared before cooking.

Oven method in bowl, wannabe Instapot method on the plate. Extra Paleo bbq sauce added after

VERDICT: This SHOCKED me. I was convinced the pressure method would end with stringy somewhat tasteless pork, and that the oven method would produce a much more tender deep tasting yum. Nope….the pressure method yielded a more flavourful/tender meat. Who'da thunk it?

So, if you have a pressure cooker I encourage you to come home on a Tuesday night, rub spices into a hunk of pork, quickly braise in the cooker, set that sucker for just over an hour and walk away.This will give you time to yell at the kids, call your mother, sit and read or whatever needs done.After an hour you can confidently serve uppulled pork over any veg, cauli-rice or in lettuce wraps.

NOT OVER YET!!!!…..not by a long shot….

TEST 2 - ICE AGE

Leftover pulled pork (make extra ALWAYS)……add a whack of sauce or pan juices to the meat, flat pack in a ziplock and toss into the freezer, single, double or family sized.

VERDICT: It freezes beautifully (because the sauce protects the meat from freeze drying).Defrosts quickly in the microwave (or just leave in fridge while you're at work) which means getting a weeknight dinner on the table that much faster. That would leave you scads of time to yell at the kids :)))))

CURTAIN CALL

Herbs. We buy them because we love them. We also find them forgotten and rotted in the fridge occasionally. The familiar cry of "awwwww my basil melted into goop!" is common in Egad's cave. Dehydrating is fine, but I was looking for a faster method to preserving herbs.

So I froze em' in ice cube trays (1 tbsp approx per) Here is some dill that otherwise would have descended into goop.....half of the dill in water, half in olive oil, (water freeze for using whole, olive oil for using in sauces etc.)

VERDICT: SURPRISED AGAIN! The water frozen dill defrosted only a tad softer than a fresh plant, so it's texture wasn't totally soggy. The fresh dill taste came through like a trooper. The olive oil method was disappointing. The dill lost a lot of it's 'dilly-ness' and the olive oil was a tad on the bitter side. Not terrible, just not great. I'll use it up with lemon….hope it'll mask what I don't like. Next time I'll use lighter oil, like avocado and let y'all know.

So that's it for this edition of EGAD'S TEST KITCHEN, next time pizza crust will be under the microscope (take that SWYPO!!!)

Whazz up in your kitchen kids?

Morning Cave Peeps! Another Monday upon us......anyone up for the Vegas 'fessional? ))

JunieBee - Sheesh, if it's not one thing, it's another. I feel just awful for you! As the others have said you're in the best hands right now thankfully!...I'm crossing my fingers it's short lived and that you're comfortable. Gotta' get you home to the Kirbster, darling boy that he is! Big hugs, thank you so much for keeping us posted!

Ksuze - I felt a little like Bill Nye during the whole process....all that was missing was a Bunsen Burner & goggles. ))

Vamp - OMG PLEASE tell me you tried one of those!!! I would have bought one of each LOL!! What the heck is Replies? Good lawd I miss Ontario!!

Everyone - It looks as if plumbing & health issues are the order of the day lately around the cave. I ended up in Emerg over the weekend with what I thought was either a heart attack, gallstones, spleen or pancreas probs....and in the dark side of my mind, the dreaded mets possibility. Heart attack was first in my mind.....crushing chest pain. After being poked and prodded by everyone from the doctor to the parking lot attendant, I'm fine, turned out to be a nasty gastritis attack. I'll be posting info on the ins and outs soon. Until then watch out for pine nuts if you eat them....they'll steal your heart, literally!! ))))

JKL - crab cakes...such a deeee-light, they warm the cockles of my heart! Not a bad cheat actually, the seafood is more paleo than a dude named Grok ))) glad you enjoyed every crumb! Keep rockin’ that ellip & the abbey )

Vamp - it’s crazy how wheat (and pine nutslol) do a dance in the tummy eh? I didn’t realize you were on vakay..any pics? Get to marineland? Are those freaking goats still there?!?

Both of ya:

English muffins - quick method

https://www.wholesomeyum.com/recipes/two-minute-toasted-english-muffin/

Longer method (more nooks and crannies)

https://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/low-carb-paleo-english-muffins-grain-free-gluten-free/

Both ways freeze well, use within 6 months. Toast the heck out of them if you want crispier results

Zucchini Bread

https://againstallgrain.com/2012/04/24/almond-flour-zucchini-bread/

Oh, chocolate you say?

https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/double-chocolate-zucchini-bread-paleo/

Cinnamon you picky devil?

https://www.fitmittenkitchen.com/paleo-cinnamon-zucchini-bread/

Tip: get as much moisture out of the zucch before mixing. You can salt the shreds, gather into cheesecloth in colander over a bowl and let drain for a few hours (just remember not to add much more salt to the recipe) then squeeze the bundle as hard as you would Dierks!

Add 1-2 tablespoons of coconut flour to any ‘wet’ bread, helps to adsorb moisture and stop soggy centers in all paleo breads. Soggy centres...lol...sounds like my brain!

I’ll post all of these to my original post a little later...off to GI doc to review the weekend and possibly schedule a future ‘just in case scope’. I’m starting to know what those popcorn strings on Christmas trees feel like...strung from stem to stern ))))

JKL - Ouchies! Sorry hun! Consider it an ab workout for the day!

TwoH - What a stunning pic! Work of art....almost looks too pretty to eat....sounds yummy, and I just happen to have the ingredients on hand. I'll be making my cavedude and myself a couple of 'TwoH Smoothie Delight' tomorrow morning. We'll have it with half a cricket muffin each and I'll rub his nose in it if he refuses LOL!!

BACK AWAY FROM THE PIGNONS!!!

"I told ya homeboy, you can't touch this" - MC Hammer, 1990, and my stomach, on the weekend.

A few hours after consuming 4 truckloads of pine nuts, I was driving out of a parking lot when an elephant was dropped on my chest. Dumbo then proceeded to shank me, prison inmate style, up under my left ribcage. Ouch. I thought I'd overdone the gym so I tried to ignore it. That 5 minute drive home was some of the longest minutes of my life. At the halfway point the gripping pain grew, so I wiggled around in my seat, hoping to find a comfy position. The pain got so intense that it was hard to take a full breath……then the numb tingling sensation went down my left arm. That's when I pulled over and started to cry, more out of fear of heart attack than the pain. I made the 2 blocks home and called my cavedude. The rest is history….went to emerg, had an alien abduction like examination, declared fit to leave with a nasty bout of gastritis…..all because of the PIGNONS!

That wasn't a typo, pignons (the French word for pine nuts, the French, by Canadian law,must be on the label) is right there in black and white….see for yourself:

Pignons is the preferred term around our cave….a funny word we love "Hey! Gimme some of those pignons you greedy bugger!".

So why would such a Paleo compliant foodstuff have caused my intestinal world to rock? Because I completely over did it…….by a country mile!! Over indulged in a big bowl of toxins. Nuts are a great source of nutrition with health giving benefits, but like legumes they contain a few ingredients that, when over done,can leave you crying by the curb.

I urge you to familiarize yourself the following words (if you're not already):

NUTS CONTAIN HIGH LEVELS OF:

LECTIN – an anti-nutrient & inflammatory

Lectin is the pest control of the plant world. A plant has no other means of protection, so you can think of lectins as theplants' teeth and claws. Lectins ward off a plants natural enemies….and we are one of those enemies….we threaten a plants' existence with every harvest. Lectins are sticky, and will bind to the stomach lining which can lead to gut damage with impaired cellular repair function, and even cell death. Once lectins alter your natural gut flora a whole host of other GI woes come your way. A compromised gut can open the flood gates and offer a home to harmful bacterial strains (think E. coli and it's results) Over indulgence in any food high in lectins is akin to guzzling a bottle of Roundup weed killer. I've been there, and let me tell ya', it ain't no picnic!

PHYTIC ACID – another anti-nutrient & inflammatory

Plants store phosphorus via phytic acid, think self-fertilization. When you eat a food containing high levels of phytic acid, there is the side effect of the PA binding to several other minerals, like calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc, inhibiting their absorption. Diets based in high-phytate foods can lead to nutrient deficiencies. No wonder rickets and low B12 plague some peeps on a grain only based diet. Phytic acid also has a habit of inhibiting the absorption of protein……not good. Phytic acid, like lectin, also protects the plant from it's natural enemies. Bugs & birds aren't stupid. They learn pretty quickly (as I did) to give the offending plant a wide birth.

BTW, nuts are MUCH higher in these two anti-nutrients than legumes or wheat!!

So, again, this begs the question….why the hell are we eating nuts if they are high in lectins and phytic acid? How is this Paleo?

Short answers:

• Nuts don't contain gluten (king of bad health)
• Nuts are a powerhouse of nutrients, and full of health benefits
• Nuts aren't full of carbs and simple starch (grains & legumes have both along with the lectins & PA)
• Nuts aren't eaten by the plate full (like pasta, or a big bowl of lentils)

If you do want to go on a nut bender you can lessen the impact by soaking or roasting first. This cuts the PA & lectin levels. Yes ladies, SOAK YOUR NUTS!!

All this said, Phytic Acid & Lectins are a very necessary part of our diet, we need them, they DO have benefits. In small amounts they round out the body's nutritional processing. The key is balance and moderation….and I mean a small handful of nuts per day isn't going to harm you. It's when you eat nuts as a complete meal (or a bag in one sitting as I did *blush*).

So please allow my overdose of phytic acid & lectins to be your guinea pig example of what nut overindulgence can lead to. Be aware of your body and it's reactions to any type of nut. I have no problem with almonds, yet pine nuts and walnuts send my intestines to the loony bin. Be aware that even being good with a nut might be causing asymptomatic responses in your body, like inflammation, and that moderation, moderation, moderation must be practiced with ANY high level PA & lectin foodstuff.

In the words of my Paleo Guru Mark Sisson, nuts are an accessory, not the whole outfit.

If you're suffering GI issues and you want more info (there is a ton more) feel free to PM and I'll send. Just don't, please, pass the pignons, even if I beg )))))