Tag Archives: paleo solution

May 6, 2013 · 7:30 am

Paleo Blueberry Souffle and Banana Ice-cream

Hi All,

To back up my last post on fermenting foods I thought I’d give you a sweet treat to have afterwards. So without any further ado I give you…

souffle1Paleo Blueberry Souffle and Banana Ice-cream

Ice-cream recipe

6 egg yolks

540ml coconut milk (I use 2 x 270ml cans AYAM brand)

2 ½ small ripe banana

2 Tbs raw organic honey

!/4 tsp Upgraded Bulletproof Vanilla

1 Tbs Upgraded Bulletproof MCT oil

1 Tbs Extra Virgin coconut oil

In a jug blender, puree the banana, vanilla honey and coconut milk. Pour this into a saucepan and bring to scalding point.

Whisk this liquid onto the yolks in a large bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and stir the mix continually, turning the bowl every 30 seconds.

After 10 minutes the mixture should be very hot and thick but not have scrambled egg through it. Take it off the heat and whisk in the 2 oils until thoroughly mixed. Allow to cool and churn in an ice-cream machine.

Alternatively leave in the bowl and place in the freezer. Take out every half hour and run a whisk through the mix to prevent ice crystals forming. Using this method you should let it freeze hard and take out 5-10 minutes before serving.

Souffle2Blueberry Souffle recipe

3 egg yolks

3 Tbs raw organic honey

280ml Coconut water (I use green drinking coconuts for this)

2 Tbs coconut flour

200g organic blueberries

Egg whites

Cream the egg yolks and honey until pale and creamy. Sift the coconut flour onto the yolks and mix thoroughly.

Bring the coconut water to the boil and whisk onto the yolk mix. Return to a clean saucepan, bring to the simmer and while stirring cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and in a jug blender, puree with the blueberries. Set aside to cool.

Per 3tbs soufflé mix whisk 1 ½ egg whites stiff. Stir ½ the stiff whites into the mix then carefully fold in the remaining whites. Spoon into a ramekin and with a wet finger wipe around the inside of the ramekin to a depth of 1cm.

Place into a 190’c preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes.

Serve with the ice-cream and some extra blueberries.

 

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May 1, 2013 · 7:30 am

Fermenting foods

kim chiHi All,

Sorry it has been a while. I have been busy getting my eldest daughter enrolled in High School for 2014, attending Open days and nights and also trying to give my Aussie Paleo Chef profile a bit of a caveman kick in the butt.

Anyhow, this rattle is about my new found favourite accompaniment for meat dishes, (in particular, steak) fermented vegetables. Don’t be deterred by the name, your Paleo palettes will love the sour, salty, crunchiness of this pile of absolute goodness.

There are a great range of raw fermented vegetables these days available from good Health food stores.  German sauerkraut (which is simply fermented cabbage) is the most famous and common of all the varieties and compliments homemade curried beef patties like nothing else. Korean Kim Chi, which is usually a spicy blend of cabbage, carrot, apple, pear, ginger and chilli, is my personal favourite with a juicy steak.  Kim Chi can take some working up to as it can be very spicy but once you are used to it, you will be addicted.

A natural probiotic, fermented foods improve digestion. Fermenting foods is essentially partially digesting them before we eat them. They also restore proper bacteria in the gut and are rich in enzymes. These enzymes enable us to properly digest, absorb and make use of our food. Put simply, we can ingest a huge amount of nutrients but unless we are actually absorbing them they are of no use.

Aside from the health benefits, fermenting foods preserves them, is cheap to do (once you know how) and adds a whole lot of flavour to your meals.

The process of fermenting vegetables (also called lacto-fermentation) isn’t difficult; however I would suggest using a culture starter to achieve a more consistent product. There are natural bacteria in the air and on vegetables at any given time and with a little salt and water fermentation can be achieved (this is how it has been done for thousands of years) but this can be a bit of a hit and miss affair. Most culture starters will include a basic recipe/instruction for the process but as you become more experienced with fermentation try experimenting with different spices, vegetables and even fruits. The products sold at stores are quite expensive considering they are really so cheap to make, it just requires a little time and some loving care, however once you have mastered the art you will save yourself a fortune, greatly increase your stomach health and really bring your food to life.

I would highly recommend you explore the world of fermented vegetables, get an idea of what suits your palette and then try and incorporate these type of vegetables into your diet on a regular basis. There are a host of reasons to be eating fermented vegetables, and in terms of ‘superfoods’ this truly is one.

 

kim chi steakHere is a basic recipe for Sauerkraut, I’ve added a few extra ingredients, I love the extra flavour.

Ingredients

1 x head of cabbage (red or white/ or half of each)

2 x medium carrots

5 cloves garlic

1tbs juniper berries

1tsp each of dill and caraway seeds

2 bay leaves

1 tbs peppercorns

1 pkt culture starter mix

Method:

In 1 cup of water warm dissolve 1tbs honey and the culture starter mix. Cover this and allow to begin to ferment. Don’t worry about the honey, the bacteria will feed on this and by the time your vegetables are ready for consumption there will be no sweetness, the bacteria would have already consumed and utilised the honey for reproduction.

Shred/slice the cabbage, carrots and garlic (if the vegetables are too fine the finished product will be like mush. 1cm slices of the cabbage, 3mm x 3mm sticks of carrot and garlic slices2-3mm thick). In a large bowl mix the vegetables with the spices until well combined.

Firmly press the vegetables into an airtight (sunlight free jar/ ideally a fermenting crock). Pour your starter mix onto the vegetables and continue to press down and add more water unti the vegetables are fully submerged and atleast 5cm from the top of your jar/container. Using a small plate or something similar weigh the vegetables down to ensure they remain submerged the entire fermentation.

Leave the crockpot/ jar at room temperature for 7 days (ideally about 20-22’C). Do not open the crockpot during this time. After the week, harvest (or jar) your vegetables. At this time I stir through some dried seaweed flakes, usually dulse or nori. This will assist creating a nice saltiness in the creation. Your vegetables will keep in the fridge indefinitely.

Enjoy in good health

Daniel Barrett

Aussie Paleo Chef

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February 19, 2013 · 7:19 pm

The New Australian Dietary Guidelines – My thoughts

6688989961_3a74da45edThe Australian Government released it’s new Dietary Guidelines recently (following a 3 year review) and some of the new guidelines seem to be causing a bit of a stir. A friend of mine asked for my thoughts on the matter so I thought I’d post my views up here.

I was studying nutrition when they were drafting this so it’s something that I have been waiting on with interest. Being of the Paleo persuasion, I am never going to feel that they go far enough with their recommendations, but at least it’s a (sort of) step in the right direction (albeit via omission rather than admission). Here’s my views on a few of the key changes:

Limiting Sugar

Finally, there is a recommendation to limit sugar. As good of a step as that is, it’s also an admission that they have the evidence of how bad sugar can be in our diets, so why not say that? Well one reason is probably because of the uproar that this small change has already caused (check out this article on the matter from abc news).

Low Fat Foods

I’m super happy that they took out “Aim for low fat versions of foods” as these things are invariably a chemical cocktail. The new recommendation of aiming for good fats instead of bad fats is fine, but I feel they are still basing the saturated fat bashing off one old study that showed correlation not causation between sat fats and heart disease.

The Food Pyramid

Thank Odin they have eradicated the pyramid, which, in my opinion, is one of the worst things to happen to nutrition. Also grains have slipped down the list to be replaced by fruit and veggies. It’s not a win, but it’s a start.

Exercise

The recommendation for exercise has gone from 30 mins a day to 60, and in the case of formerly obese people, 90 mins a day. Unsurprisingly I think this recommendation is awesome, however a little more detail into the types of exercise and into what actually constitutes exercise would be better.

 

At the end of they day they (the Government) are dealing with a bell curve of statistics, and they have to do the best for the most whilst bringing no harm (or as little as possible) to the few, so although I feel the recommendations are a little weak, they are still miles better than what they used to be.

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August 27, 2012 · 5:37 pm

Eat fat, get thin – The fat myth

Eating fat will make you fat, right? Wrong. There is a massive perception that consuming dietary fats will automatically lead to you being overweight, but the truth is we not only need fat in our diets to survive, but we want them in order to thrive.

Looking at the Paleo diet from an outsiders perspective, it can seem like a high protein high fat diet. In fact the first comment I usually get from people when I describe what I typically eat in a day is “That sounds like you’re eating a lot of fat”. My answer: “Yes, I do”, which is usually followed by a lengthy explanation on why eating fat is not as bad as you think.

Our bodies need fats for many essential processes. Fat plays an essential role in brain activity and function of the entire nervous system by insulating nerves (in the form of myelin sheaths), it insulates and cushions vital internal organs and is integral to all cells in the body. But more pertinently for us now, it can be used as a source of energy.

Fat adaptation

The easiest macronutrient for the body to use as energy is carbohydrates, but with a restricted amount of carbohydrates available on the Paleo diet, the energy needs to come from somewhere. And that somewhere is from fats, which are generally a high energy density food. The problem being that for most people their bodies are geared toward burning carbohydrates for fuel and are thus pretty sluggish when it comes to utilising fats as an energy source.

In order to burn fat efficiently the body needs to become good at it, or ‘fat adapted’. Lets use the analogy of running on different surfaces to illustrate. Running your body on carbs is like running on a flat hard path, its easy and everyone can do it. However if you put that same runner on sand they would find it rather difficult to run and would not run efficiently at all. If the runner continues to train on sand though they would become more efficient and would end up running better on the sand.  Likewise if you feed the body fats and restrict carbs, it will get better at utilising fats as the predominant energy source.

Without carbs our body needs to rely on something else to create that energy so it converts protein to glucose in what’s known as ‘gluconeogenisis’ (don’t worry you won’t be tested on this). To make this conversion the body breaks down fat, which in turn creates a by-product called ketones. The ketones provide a replacement for the glucose needed in the body, thus reducing the need to convert protein to glucose in the first place. Perfect!

The Lag

There is a period that many (or most) people go through on their way to becoming fat adapted. It’s a period usually defined by feeling sluggish, under performing and just generally feeling like crap. It’s The Lag. Because the body doesn’t just instantly switch gears to being fat adapted there is a period where the energy from fats is less than the energy that would have been there from carbs – a lag. This is usually felt keenly by those who enjoy punishing themselves with frequent bouts of ‘high intensity, multi modular, functional fitness’ (you know who you are). Needless to say pushing to the limit is not advised during this stage but remaining active on some level is.

Good fats Vs Bad Fats

Not all fats were created equal, there are fats that we should lean towards and those that we should restrict. Rather than launch into a full blown science lesson (which if you are interested you could find here),I will just point you towards a quick guide to what oils you should be using – check it out at Paleo Diet Lifestyle’s blog on the subject, or for a really handy resource for shopping purposes check out Robb Wolf’s guides.

Hopefully that helps straighten out things and possibly opens up some eyes to the difference between what you are being told and what is actually good you. So now go and clear out your cupboards and go fat shopping.

Happy eating,

Stuart.

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June 25, 2012 · 5:00 pm

Milk in paleo – glass half full?

Within the Paleo community, few things seem to create more division as milk. Milk can cause some people some fairly serious problems, but should milk be cut out for everyone?

Let’s start with talking about why it is that milk can cause problems in the first place? Here’s my Laymen’s understanding of the process. Milk contains a sugar called lactose. This lactose is broken down and used by the body by an enzyme within us called lactase. The only problem with that is that lactase stops being produced by the body after infancy, and so usually only exists in us when we are babies. This, in theory, makes every adult on the face of the planet unable to digest lactose (in other words lactose intolerant) and can cause some fairly serious (and embarrassing) consequences for those who consume it.

And now for the ‘But’. Clearly some people can consume milk with no problems and the benefits of consuming milk are very advantageous for those who can (good source of usable protein and calcium). Why is this so? The theory is that about 7000-8000 years ago, the people living in the Northern European/Scandinavian region developed a genetic mutation that allowed them to tolerate milk consumption. This added source of nutrients gave them an evolutionary advantage and thus the gene was passed down.

This is reflected in the fact that today approximately 90% of people with a northern European background are considered to be tolerant to lactose, as opposed to only 10% in equatorial populations (although the news is not all bad for people of equatorial heritage where almost the opposite can be said for their ability to tolerate fructose, the sugar found in fruit).

Not all in the paleo community think that milk should even be off the menu. Notably Mark Sisson, author of ‘The Primal Blueprint’ has stated (on Robb Wolf’s ‘The Paleo Solition Podcast) that he believes that milk should be part of the modern diet, as it was probably introduced into the human diet long before the onset of agriculture. He reasons that Paleolithic cavemen would have used as much of an animal they had killed as possible, including the udders of milk bearing mammals.

So the question is to consume milk or not to consume milk. I still believe that the best protocol to follow for this situation is Robb Wolf’s 30 day exclusion diet, where you take diary, grains and legumes out of the diet for 30 days (after which you can begin to reintroduce them). Most of us don’t have genealogical records or DNA analysis telling us what exact lineage we have, so the safest way is exclude all potentially problematic foods and then reintroduce them (one at a time) after the 30 days to see the effect.

At the end of the day lactose tolerance is not a black and white thing. There is a small percentage of the population that are totally intolerant and a small percentage who are super tolerant. The rest of the population sit on scale from fairly intolerant to fairly tolerant. Knowing what foods you can and can’t tolerate is really an essential part of tailoring your eating habits. We are all different, so why should our gastrointestinal tracts be any different.

In the interest of full disclosure I should divulge that I am a milk drinker, so I am a bias towards having it in the diet. However I have gone without it and I found that benefits of having it in my diet far outweigh any possible problems (although for me there are none. Good Viking heritage I guess). as I was alluding to before though, your diet is exactly that – Yours, so you should take the time and effort to see if things like milk work for you.

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March 12, 2012 · 5:14 pm

Online Paleo Resources – My Blog Roll

After receiving an email last week asking what, if any, resources are online to get information on paleo/primal health and fitness I decided to put together a list of some of the blogs and websites that I regularly go to for information or inspiration. Hopefully you’ll find this helpful:

Paleo Community/Information

- General information and news about what’s going on in the primal world

Naturally Engineered (naturallyengineered.com) – This blog by David Csonka, a writer and natural health enthusiast. A grat way to keep in touch with current events in Paleo fitness and health, as well as get some handy information on different training techniques

Arthur De Vany’s Evolutionary Fitness (www.arthurdevany.com) – Arthur De Vany could be described as the godfather of the Paleo movement. He’s been preaching this for a long time now and has a wealth of information behind him, although this doesn’t stop him from being very up to date on happening at the coal face of health and fitness.

Hunter-Gatherer (hunter-gatherer.com) – This blog by John Durant shares his transition from ‘normal’ office worker to professional caveman. The blog now follows his sometimes random musing and tips on how to live wild in the modern world.

Diet

- specifically on the Paleo diet

Robb Wolf, The Paleo Solution (www.robbwolf.com) Robb Wolf is arguable the biggest name in the Paleo diet game, with his bestselling book “The Paleo Solution” propelling him into

Mark’s Daily Apple (www.marksdailyapple.com) Mark Sisson is one of the big names when it comes to the Paleo diet and lifestyle with several books to his name, but if you want get back to where it all started for him check out his frequently updated blog

Olliemoves (www.facebook.com/pages/Olliemoves/180421172027695) Created by Brad Osborn –  Decathlete, volleyballer and naturally movement enthusiast – this facebook page tracks his diet and weekly physical activity summary with daily status updates (on diet) and video content. Well worth a look.

Workouts

- although the nature of Natural Fitness doesn’t lend itself towards formalised workouts, it’s still good to keep in touch with what the rest of them are up to

Zombiefit (www.zombiefit.org) O.K. it’s a bit of a strange concept for some to get their heads around but bear with me. Zombiefit basically asks the question if the world was taken over by Zombies tomorrow would you be able to survive? So by preparing for this impossible scenario we can become ready for improbable scenarios. That aside the workouts on this site are usually quite good though they definitely tend towards parkour skills

Crossfit Football (www.crossfitfootball.com) Those of you who know me know that I don’t have a lot of love for the Crossfit concept as a whole, but there are still some who can actually do a decent program, and this is one of them. The basis of having an actual performance outcome grounds CF football and makes its workouts a little more structured and realistic.

Exercise Science

- for when I need to ‘geek out’ on exercise

Gray Cook, Physical Therapist (www.graycook.com) Gray Cook is the creator of the Functional Movement Screen  (FMS) and author of several books. His insights into movement specifically and fitness generally, especially with performance in mind, are well worth a read.

Michael Boyle’s Strength Coach (www.strengthcoach.com) Michael Boyle has long been known as not only one of the most experienced trainers of Strength and Conditioning for athletes, but also one of the best trainers of other Strength and Conditioning coaches. His ideas are always well thought out and add a valuable voice in what is becoming a crowded area of training.

Sweat Science (sweatscience.runnersworld.com) Although this has recently moved to the Runner’s World website it doesn’t appear to have affected Alex Hutchinson’s skill at collecting and concisely presenting information on the science of all exercise, not just running. His ability to quickly summarise studies and present it in laymen’s terms makes this a very informative and easy to read blog.

Inspiration

- Because sometimes we all need that extra motivation to get out the door

Movnat (www.movnat.com) Movnat founder Erwan Le Corre has an amazing ability to convey what natural movement is all about and why it is important for us, not only as individuals but as a species. This is the site that really ignited my passion for natural fitness as an actual system. I highly recommend checking out the videos on this site and the testimonials are always helpful for motivation.

Strengthbox (www.strengthbox.ca) This site is dedicated to Greg Carver’s gym in Toronto and his fitness philosophy, one that is closely aligned with Movnat. Great video content and photos to help inspire and motivate.

Well hopefully you’ve found at least some of these pages useful. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but is a good snapshot of what’s out there. It should be enough to get you started at least. So happy reading and hopefully happy training!

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