Old Orchard Beach

I spent the past 3 days at Old Orchard Beach in Maine. A very small honky-tonk town, just south of Portland. There were a number of members of my mother's family there, including distant cousins and my grandparents who made the trip up from Florida. I got a pretty viscious sunburn, as we spent a lot of time by the beach and pool, during the 100 degree heatwave! Important to me, I was able to drink a lot of great beers. First night I was there, I walked a mile up to the nearest location selling Baxter Brewing Co's Stowaway IPA. A very solid canned offering, available only in Maine, at 8.99 a 6er, it was a bargain. It reminded me very strongly of New England Brewing Co's Sea Hag IPA.

Thursday, we made our way up to Portland to tour the Allagash Brewery. I went with my father and uncle, who are curious about craft beer, but not very knowledgeable. We toured the facilities, which are very impressive, and since the tasting room/retail store was under construction, we had a tasting in the barrel room of the brewery. We had Allagash White, Tripel, Curieux (Tripel aged in Jim Beam bourbon barrels) , and 2011 Fluxus (Bier de Garde). I enjoyed all of the beers, as well as the very informational tour, best of all it was free. I did not pick up any beer there, but I regret not grabbing a piece of glassware.



After that, we stopped at Whole Foods Market, Portland, and I was able to grab 2 bottles of Maine Brewing Co. Lunch IPA ($5.99/500ml bottle), with a lot date of 7/21 which was the day we were in the store! Pretty crazy stuff! I enjoyed one bottle that night, and just had another one last night, after the restaurant. Incredibly hoppy, but still very drinkable and refreshing, one of the hoppiest "single" IPAs I have had in some time. Highly reccomend all of Maine Brewing Co's offerings!

Primal Breakfast

This is certainly my favorite part of the Primal/Paleo Diet: Breakfast!

Organic Omega 3 eggs x3
Small piece of steak
3 strips of nitrite free, uncured bacon
avocado
salsa

What more could you really want? Lots of protein, enough fat for energy and completely delicious!

Paleo Meal

Simple meal, but every day for lunch I am eating a "Big Ass Salad" bed of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, chicken and usually avocados with a homemade balsamic vinagrette

Paleo Diet

Have been fairly busy with life, as I am no longer working at my job, and working hard to find a new one. My wife, Marina, is going to be a Francis Perkins scholar at Mount Holyoke in Western Massachusetts, north of Springfield, starting in September, so we are looking to move from the Boston area out that way, roughly a 2 hour drive. Springfield and its neighbor to the south Hartford, CT are certainly not financial powerhouses, that Boston is, but I still have some hope in finding a new job in my chosen field. Hartford is an insurance hub, and where there is insurance, there is asset management, and CT is the home of hedge funds, so both of these industries offer a number of opportunities. As far as lodging, we are looking primarily in the RT 91 corridor, south of Springfield, ideally in Longmeadow or East Longmeadow, although the Forest Park neighborhood of Springfield would be agreeable as well. I will update with more information as I come across it!

Personally, I have been trying to stick to the Paleo Diet, which focuses on eating as our ancient hunter/gatherer ancestors did. A diet primarily of meat, regional vegetables, and the nuts and seeds that we could find. The main difficulty is that grains are uniformly prohibited, and fats are to be used as an energy source, rather than carbs. Conventional Wisdom here and everywhere in the modern world says that grains should make up the majority of one's diet, but the Paleo diet, and myself take offense with that. The gluten and lectins found in grains, as well as the high carbohydrate and sugar content found in the average American diet, is certainly fattening and at worst potentially dangerous to one's health. I don't mind giving up breads, pasta, and rice, but beer is something I love, and has gluten and is mostly carbs. I have decided to limit myself to a MAXIMUM of 3 craft beers, and preferably less on days when I drink. Fortunately, red wine is allowed in small quantities, so I may shift my consumption to the nectar of the grape.

There are a number of great resources on the Paleo diet, but my favorite is Mark's Daily Apple and Nerd Fitness, both great blogs that are easily readable and the authors are likable. Check them out for their free content, as well as the premium content they offer if you are so inclined (I DO NOT RECEIVE ANYTHING FROM THESE GUYS, I JUST DIG THEIR STUFF)

Look forward to some healthy meal updates, as well as more beer/wine reviews when I get an income again!