Paleo Vending Machine

Most vending machines are the antithesis of paleo, filled with carby snacks such as candy and chips.  A new type of vending machine in Alabama offering MEAT will be popular with the paleo set.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/08/meat-vending-machine_n_1082175.html?ref=food

Link Dump #4

Another week, another link dump.  Please feel free to check them out if they interest you, they represent my varied interests!

SartoriallyInclined's L.A.S. gives us the skinny on all things in the fashion world, and is more tuned in than I ever will be.  However, we are both fans of UNIS, especially their Gio chinos.  Based on his post, it looks like there will now be a "slim" version of the Gio this season.  Pretty appetizing for the skinny set, but I am not quite lean enough for that yet.
 

 
Mark at MDA is one of my daily reads as he is the master of the primal/paleo movement in my humble opinion.  The recipe is a little more in-depth than I typically like to go for cooking, but the seasonal ingredients and great photography really make me want to cook this up.
 

 
Food Renegade comments on Fried Chicken Skins as well as a recipe.  Sounds like a tasty snack, but not an everyday thing.
 
 
I work in finance, for my day job, and I really forsee Europe being the cause of the next economic downturn, which will be within 18 months.  Via Zero Hedge.
 
 

 
DrinkCraftBeer is a Boston based blogger, who celebrated Octoberfest on Saturday with 1 liter steins of American craft beer, right on.  He also posted a review of Backlash Brewing's Convergence Saison.  I touched on these guys in my New Boston Microbreweries post.
 

 
Giuseppe hosted his 4th semi-annual Affordable Flea at Somerville's Davis Square VFW.  Looks like it was a successful event, but man do I miss Boston.  Also check out his new Volvo! (I do not support leaving the Brown sticker on FYI)

Link Dump #3

Here is a collection of links I have observed since last week.  Please feel free to check them out if they interest you, and I apologize if they are not exactly to your taste.

American Beer Geek in Paris - Beer Tasting - Short post by a blogger that I like, I think the layout of his blog could be improved, but the beers all look great, and I am totally jealous of this guy's life!

The Local CBS affiliate in San Francisco ran a little series on the Paleo diet, very good set of videos, results for the lady are quite impressive!

Looks like there is more evidence proving that organic farming is extremely beneficial.

Mark Sisson's new book 21 Day Total Body Transformation is available, and he is running a promotion for those of us who decide to buy the book before Monday.

New Supreme x Clarks Desert Mali boots look great in leather, also available in suede.'

Awesome and incredibly inspirational post from NerdFitness.  We all need to take risks and fail more so that we can improve.

BS Report with Al Michaels on 10/14 is great too!

Stop Drinking Bottled Water

" In 1976 Americans drank an average of 1.6 gallons of bottled water every year. Roughly 30 years later consumption increased to 30 gallons per person, according to the Earth Policy Institute —- despite the fact that bottled water can cost anywhere from 240 to 10,000 times more than tap water, which is brought right to your home for pennies a gallon. " (link)

Solution: Buy a reuseable water bottle!

FitBomb: Common Ground

I enjoy this image a lot.  "Coffee binds us all."

Paleo Meal: Steak and Salad

Monday Night Football Dinner: Paleo/Primal Steak/Salad

Trader Joe's Boneless Beef Rib Eye, 3/4 lb

cooked in Kerrygold butter, with chopped up onions, 5 minutes per side 

 medium rare, delicious

side salad, with organic lettuce, bell pepper, and green heirloom tomatos (monotone swag) with home made vinaigrette 

Paleo Meal: Bunless Bacon Cheeseburgers

 I do not even miss having a bun with my burger, when I am using vibrant and healthy paleo ingredients.

 Organic Greens, CT grown heriloom tomatos, pickled jalapenos $2

Grass-fed New Zealand cheddar from Trader Joe's (cheap and delicious)  $1

 1 lb of Grass Fed on a "Madness Sale" at Whole Foods market for 4.99$

 1/3rd of a package of Trader Joe's Uncured Bacon End's and pieces $1

Fry up the bacon, keep the bacon grease in the pan (healthy fats!) and put on the side

Put the burgers on the pan, flip after a few minutes, and add the sliced cheese

Cut up a couple pickles and made my plate

 Letting the other two patties cool down for lunches later this week

FOOD PORN!

Total Cost for 3 meals was under $10 dollars, so $3.33 per 1/3 lb grass-fed beef burger with organic ingredients and excellent cheddar cheese.  You can definitely afford to eat like this!

Recipe: Garlic Shrimp

We love shrimp here at our house!  My wife is a huge shrimp fan, so we always buy in bulk when it goes on sale, and leave it in the freezer.  The particular 2lb bag we used today was only $12, from Stop and Shop.  If you are eating Paleo you probably shouldn't eat it with rice, but my wife is incredibly skinny and healthy, and she loves rice, so she usually makes some.  This dish is similar to scampi, but without a less heavy sauce and no pasta.

Ingredients:
A bunch of Garlic
2lb shrimps (peeled/deveined)
Olive Oil

1) Peel the garlic

2) Peel the shrimps, I usually save the bag and put the shells in it (RECYCLE!)

3) Crush the garlic and put it in a frying pan

4) Add the shrimp and some olive oil

5) Cook on medium for 10 minutes (make sure not to burn shrimp, theres nothing worse!)

6) Enjoy.  I like to eat a side of WFM Organic California Veggie mix.  Glass of wine is optional.

Yes, I am a Food Renegade!

Life goes on

Things are moving quickly here in my world. My wife just started her first semester at a new college which is the reason we originally left Boston. I am extremely proud of her and know that she will be successful. Her school is great and I know she will be able to take advantage of all the opportunities she has available. My new job is also progressing and I have made great strides, but there are still many things I am not confident with. This month-end reporting period has been extremely painful, but I do not want to get into all the details on this blog. Suffice it to say, the person who was servicing the account before me did not run a tight ship.

My other pursuits are coming along quite well. I have been following the primal/paleo plan closely and am going on my 5th day without beer which as readers of my blog know, is quite hard for me!. I have included some pictures of my meals

breakfast = TJ's Bacon Ends n Pieces + Cage Free Eggs + Guacamole + Black Coffee

pastured pork chop fried in bacon fat with onions garlic + WFM organic frozen california mix

cage-free chicken drumsticks + tiny bit of rice and veggies + big helping of guacamole + archeo nero d'avola (yes i drink table wine in a glass like this)

I have re-started my strength training program as well, which is Stronglifts 5x5 (link for those interested) which is simple and effective, with limited B/S. I am not a fan of any kind of machines and prefer free weights, so this plan is right up my alley. I am starting low, but am already feeling stronger, and the 5x5 program encourages constant progress. I totally relish the feeling of leaving the gym after completing a taxing session in which I made some kind of gain. The gym I am going to is part of a Gold's franchise, which are quite posh. Luckily I was able to take over the subscription of a guy at my job who is moving away from the area at the bargain price of $100 and there is still a year left! One of the gyms is located .7 miles and another is 2.5 miles from my office, very convenient.


Fantasy football draft hosted by commissioner ComedyDogg is tonight at 8:30. I will post a review of the draft and my outlook on the league in the next few days.

Great Beginner Paleo Reference

Hey yall, I wrote up a little article about the Paleo/Primal diet and added it to another blog. http://www.paleoprimal.blogspot.com/ is that address, feel free to check that out and spread it your friends who are interested in this way of eating!

Recent Paleo Eats + Cheats

I have been working hard on my Paleo Diet, and its been pretty successful. I recently related some of my staples, but here are a few of the things I have been eating recently.

This morning before work, I fried up some nitrate free bacon and made a 3 egg omelette filled with mushrooms, peppers, onions and a bit of cheese, and a cup of black organic coffee.

Over the weekend, I had some fried eggs (pastured, local chickens), nitrate free bacon, and some crimini mushrooms fried up in the bacon fat, with Sriracha on top (not paleo, but damn good)

Tonight, for dinner, I had a piece of salmon with some WFM Organic California Mix frozen veggies and a couple cherry tomatos

Now, I am relaxing with a State-Line IPA brewed right here in Connecticut, by Cottrell Brewing. It's a decent IPA, but certainly not ground-breaking, not wallet-breaking either at $6/sixer at TJs!

Over the weekend, I also enjoyed a High & Mighty Pas de Dieux Saison, brewed 20 miles north of where I sit, in Holyoke, MA. A great saison, and highly drinkable at 4.5%, I would say pick it up, but I don't think you will be able to find it without scouring the state of Massachusetts! There are only 3 reviews on BeerAdvocate currently. It also costs the same as the entire six pack of IPAs.

Paleo Favorites

Anyone who has looked into the Paleo Diet is immediately put off by the high cost of doing business. There is a reason why most of the world eats grain/carbs with almost every meal, they are cheap. Pre-paleo (neolithic? just kidding), a high percentage of my grocery bill and food spending in general would be on carbs. I am not rich, and this class of foods gives you the best caloric bang for your buck. Although in the long run, it is much more costly, but that's a matter for another post.

Another cost of paleo dieting is that items are recommended to be organic, high quality, grass-fed, pastured, and all natural. All of these adjectives are synonyms with expensive. For those of us who can't afford 9$ bags of macademia nuts every grocery trip, we must learn to make do with cheaper alternatives.

Obviously, a Big Ass Salad , as Mark Sisson puts it, is always a good fall back option, especially with a well-stocked paleo kitchen. I buy steak whenever its on sale, as its my favorite meat, but I simply can't afford the high cost of quality steak on a regular basis. Although I try to eat diversely, I have a number of staples that make up >50% of my diet.

1) Whole Foods Organic California Frozen Veggies: this is a mix of cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots, all organic, and flash frozen. I have had other versions of this mix Big Y (local market) calls it the Florentine Mix ($1.50) and Stop and Shop has it too ($1.50) but both of these versions are conventional. Another thing I like about the WFM version compared to others is that its almost all crowns, unlike the Big Y version which had a lot of random pieces of the broc thrown in. A bargain at $2.29 a bag. I throw this in my lunch with a pad of grassfed butter or just use the sauce of whatever protein source I have in there.

2) Trader Joes Sausage/Bacon: Trader Joes is a great stop for cheaper all-natural items that still maintain the high quality we all love. They offer a ton of different chicken sausages at 3.99/5 pack Hofbrau Brats for 3.99/lb and Bacon for 3.99 lb. Thats a lot of bargains for pork/chicken products. They also have ground beef for 2.49/lb but it is unfortunately not grass-fed, but my wife uses it for various things!

3) WFM Eggs: 18 pack/$3.19 cage/antibiotic free, tasty, large, brown - when I can't get eggs from a local source, this is my fall back

4) conventional Boneless/Skinless Breast from wherever is on sale. I like to get this for 2.99/lb or less and then I buy it in bulk! Obviously, I would prefer all natural/free range etc but for chicken breast, which has very little fat, this is less important. This is my most common form of protein and I sometimes dress it up with sriracha or tamari sauce for stirfrys or just grill it and throw it on top of my big ass salad.


5) Big Ass Salad: This comes in many different forms for me, but the basis of it is always lettuce, tomato, bell peppers and some form of protein, plus whatever other vegetables I have on hand. My wife loves blanched almonds, so they are always stocked in the pantry, and frequently get added on. I will make a dressing if I have time, or use Newman's Own Organic Dressing if I am feeling extra lazy.

Snacks: Beef/Bison Jerky is $5/bag at TJs and I usually have a selection of nuts, primarily almonds and pecans. Occasionally fresh fruit, especially if it is on sale or in season.

Treats: Red wine from Trader Joes, usually buy for under $6/bottle because I am poor, remember, Craft Beer: Usually buy a 22oz bomber of something very nice, I just love beer too much to give it up although it is full of grains (carbs/gluten).

Shrimp is often in the rotation as well as tilapia or another type of seafood, but not often enough to be considered a staple!