a terrific life: paleo

Showing posts with label paleo. Show all posts

1/3/13

How I Cook Steaks

I enjoyed writing my last post on how I cook salmon, so I decided to follow up with how I cook steaks. As usual, you want to start with good ingredients. I prefer, but can't always afford grass fed beef. This is just a nice sirloin from Whole Foods. You will also need some frying oil, I generally use coconut, but olive works in a pinch. Mushrooms and onions were what I had on hand, but you can go with just one or the other, or add pepper into the mix.

Turn the burner to medium high and put the coconut oil in

5 minutes to a side

If it starts to brown, not a problem at all.

I started to take a couple of bites before snapping a pic. The other steak is in the fridge, packed with some more frozen vegetables. More kale and broccoli. Lunch tomorrow!

12/30/12

How I Cook Salmon

This is not really a recipe, as my method of cooking is far too simple to be called a recipe. The most important step is getting high quality salmon. I generally prefer Coho and Sockeye, both are delicious. Must be wild-caught. Watch out for when you see the sign says "color added," who wants color added to their food?

The other necessary ingredients are coconut oil, my preferred method of sauteeing, along with salt and pepper for seasoning.

I sliced the salmon into four pieces, as it was a rather large fillet

Put a couple scoops of coconut oil into the frying pan and turn it onto medium. I like non-stick, but its mostly because I am lazy.

Throw those steaks in there and let em cook

When one side looks like this, you flip em over. Usually takes about 5 minutes or less. You don't want to over cook salmon. I prefer to eat skin on, but thats your preference!

Warm up some veggies for a side, I went with kale and broccoli. A couple tabs of butter and some salt and pepper when they are cooked

Voila, healthy paleo-friendly dinner!

Pair with red wine, seltzer water, or an IPA

9/18/12

Momentum

Steve Kamb, the fantastic blogger and world-traveler behind Nerd Fitness, posted an article yesterday that really hit home with me. Titled "The Mario Kart Guide to Momentum," Steve talks about how lately he has been slacking on strength training. I can relate to that, as I have recently moved, continued studying for my CFA, helped house and cat sit for 2 weeks, and my gym membership expired. In addition to that, my eBay business has been doing quite well, all on top of my normal hectic work schedule!

For all that, I have continued to stay on track with my diet and eating habits, as the article says, this is the equivalent of capturing coins. Diet is responsible for 80-90% of your weight loss/gain, and like getting the coins consistently, it will get you most of the way there. However, to really get an edge, you need to hit the boxes and powerups, which he considers strength training. I have been trying to stay active by walking and being on my feet on the weekends, but that's really just like grabbing coins, or leaving banana peels (maintaining). I need to get back to my strength training routine to build muscle and burn up some extra calories.

I totally recommend you check out Nerd Fitness, as it is a great site, and this article in particular showcases the tone and content of the blog. My wife and I are also huge fans of Mario Kart, particularly the N64 and Wii versions!

Although I have been keeping up with my mostly paleo diet, my notable exception is good craft beer.

Green Flash Le Freak: a little heavy for a Belgian IPA at 9.2% ABV. Excellent beer, but a little too much for a weekday.

Green Flash Friendship Brew with St. Feullien: Interesting "Black Saison" seems a little hot, could maybe use a few more months of age. Don't know if it will last that long though!

Sixpoint Brownstone: Hoppy brown ale, fantastic beer. Good deal at $10/4pk

8/13/12

Moving...Again

I have been fairly quiet over the past month, and I apologize for my absence. I have been extremely busy in my private life, and both my eBay business and blogs have suffered.

There are a bunch of reasons. Most importantly, I moved from Enfield, CT to South Hadley, MA. We moved because it is closer to my wife's school and it is much cheaper than the location where we were before. In addition, it is quiet, in a great town, a different apartment. Hardwood floors, a large living room and kitchen are the benefits, while a small bathroom, smaller kitchen and old neighbors the downside. Second, I have been studying hard for my CFA exam that will be coming up in December. It requires a ton of hours on a daily basis, and both my healthy routine and the rest of my life has suffered. It should pay off in the end. Finally, work has been busy, so some of my spare time for blogging has dried up.

Moving was a pretty fun experience. Two of my good friends came, and although it was a rainy day, we were able to move all of the big furniture. It's great exercise as you are carrying, coming up and down stairs, and working as a team. I consider it extremely paleo style excercise, because it is quite primal in nature. It is remniscient of a barn-raising, as you get a group of people together doing physical activity for the good of one of your community members. I am definitely indebted to both of my friends!

I have drank a ton of great beers lately, although I have tried to keep that to just the weekend. My weight loss and body building have been at a moderate standstill, but I don't think I am gaining anything back. I will continue to try and make progress and meet my goal of 190lbs by the end of the year

7/20/12

ATL Essentials: Mid Summer Edition

Summer is in full swing, and has it been a hot one here in the northeastern United States. I have been loving getting out there and enjoying summer as best as possible. I decided to put together a short list of the things that I can't live without during the summer, and a short write up on each of them.

Loafers, no socks. This is my footwear of choice, although I occasionally go for sneakers or more formal options, loafers are the summer stand-by. They go great with both pants and shorts and sockless is the only way to go. I prefer the full strapped loafers, but penny loafers, driving shoes and many other variations work as well.

Seltzer. I used to be a big soda drinker, pre paleo, but now I get my carbonation fix from seltzer water. Zero calories, ice cold, and refreshing on a warm day. Many people prefer the imported Pelligrino, but I really like Poland Springs, especially the lime and mandarin orange flavors.

Vineyard Vines neckwear. Bright colors, summery motifs, these are my favorite summer ties.

Patagonia Standup shorts. I am a pretty big Patagonia fan in general, and the stand up shorts are possibly my favorite item. They are designed for climbing, with the big pockets, but I think they look great and the fabric is incredibly thick.

Leatherman Ltd Motif Belts. Leatherman makes affordable belts and are a product of Connecticut! I prefer the nautical, sport, or fishing patterns, these are great summer belts.

Tennis. I have recently picked up playing the sport, as a result of my wife taking classes. We both have improved dramatically, and it is really a great competitive past time for us now.

Fresh produce. Summers in New England are the best time for us to get fresh produce. Grocery stores, farm stands, and farmers markets are the places to pick it up. I love tomatos and really prefer the locally grown heirloom varieties, so I make sure to get my fill while available!

Duffle Bag. Duffle bags are essential for a weekend getaway to Cape Cod, Maine, the Hamptons, Narragansett or any of the other great summer getaway locations near by. Luckily Red Clay Soul, a blog I really like, written by a guy out of Charleston, gave a great rundown on duffle bags recently, and I urge you to check it out!

Check out other ATL Essentials posts.

11/11/11

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

10/26/11

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)

10/19/11

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!

10/13/11

FitBomb: Common Ground

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

10/12/11

Link Dump

It's not Tuesday, but hey, its my blog and I can do what I want!

I don't think that I will be watching the WNBA with my favorite league missing at least the first two weeks of the regular season, but this article presents the argument at least. In all seriousness, I will probably be watching a lot more college basketball and maybe some NHL hockey as well. I might need to pick up NBA 2k12 for the Xbox 360 as well!

Huffington Post put up an article on Craft Beer that is a great primer. Although it is a little basic for me, I think its definitely a great resource for those people who want to know a little more about their beer than the lowest common denominator (Budweiser/Coors/Miller)

I have been watching the Meltdown series on the financial crisis of 2008. This is especially relevant these days with the #OccupyWallStreet movement and the pending European sovereign default. Part 1, 2, 3, & 4.

This is not my style, but Giuseppe at AnAffordableWardrobe, got a classic piece of headgear repaired at shop in the Boston neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, which I have a personal affinity for. Enjoy.

Last, but certainly not least, is a guide to eating healthy on the cheap from NerdFitness. You have all scene some of my recent paleo meals and recipes, and this is a great compendium of tips.