Dairy test day update

Ice cream is out.

Light/heavy cream are out

Chedder cheese and sugarless yogurt may require more testing.  

Post- Whole 30 cleanse update

Hi!  

So, it's been more than my 30 days of "The Whole 30" "clean eating" cleanse.  

I'm adopting this phrase (clean eating) from paleo eaters because in some ways I really like it - that's how it feels, clean of things that don't have a ton of nutritional value or take a toll on our bodies to process.  I think it also emphasizes a lesson from this diet: although in the past I've thought that simply eating a lot of healthy foods constituted healthy eating, I think at this point I've noticed that all the other, less-healthy stuff was actually taking a toll on me.   So it's not just about trying to "eat more" of the healthy stuff and "less" of the unhealthy stuff - it's actually just rejecting ALL the foods that are stressful on our bodies.


But I digress.   I wanted to write an update about how my "Whole 30" went. 

Persephone Days

Elliot Coleman calls these days the "Persephone Days."    The Persephone Myth is the story of a mother who loses her daughter to the underworld, and a daughter that comes close to being trapped by death but escapes....but must return for three months each year.   Although our New England winter is longer than three months, these three months, from Nov. 15 to February 15, are the months when there is so little daylight plants literally cannot grow, no matter what the temperature.    They sort of freeze where they are and wait for the days to get longer.

So celebrate the Persephone Days by taking a walk during your lunch break on sunny days - your body will appreciate the extra vitamin D.  

Or eat a Pomegranate.   

Marrow bones

Soup bones for stock.   (saved 'em for a lucky dog!)

October! Habaneros w Chuck Berry

Summer Habeneros strung up to dry w Chuck Berry

Bok choi/Squash/Chicken / Paleo Lunch / Gratuitous Food Pics

Just my lunch.   That's all.

Steamed Bok Choi (with lemon and salt), baked butternut squash (with coconut oil) and "Damn Fine Chicken"  (from Nom Nom Paleo...see link.)

Also, I'm obsessed with my cast iron pans.   I'm liking the way they cook and the way they reheat food better than the microwave (although one more pan to clean).


http://nomnompaleo.com/post/4207543396/damn-fine-chicken

What do you eat on an anti-inflammation cleanse?

So....  this morning I made the most amazing scramble:  late-fall "found" green onions (i.e. I forgot to pick them this summer), garden jalapenos (de-seeded, cause I'm a wimp), and smoked salmon in scrambled eggs (with coconut milk).   Served with bacon, a big helping of greens, coffee, and a slice of avocado - lemon juice and evoo over all.   I would've taken a picture, but it was so good I ate it all before any pictures could be took.

Bone broth in slow cooker

And, I'm back experimenting with new recipes (my favorite!).  Today I'm using big beef femur bones to make bone broth in the slow cooker  (I'll put up a link to a website with a pretty good recipe).


I also made my own mayonnaise yesterday!   Not very hard, as it turns out....but I'll have to check out more recipes, because this one was too mustardy.

Homemade Mayo

And last, I'm making one frittata a week: meat, veggies, and eggs all cooked in a cast iron pan, slipped into the oven for 10 minutes, then broiled for 2.    It's a good "to go" breakfast.


The only downside - I'm kind of exhausted from all the shopping, prep, cooking, eating and cleaning I'm doing.   I know I cook more on the weekends to have leftovers for the week, but still....it's a lot to cook everything for every meal.  

Chorizo sausage, spinach, pepper n squash frittata

Peace!

A cool (local) Paleo food blog....

My new favorite!


http://nobeantown.tumblr.com/post/34592119622/homemade-tomato-sauce-spaghetti-meatballs


This post is about paleo spaghetti and meatballs - I want to try it.  I made amazing bolognaise and put it over grilled eggplant....in the end, it was too much meat for not enough...something to eat it on.


Maybe I'll try this next time.


(Although I'm not too thrilled about the "Paleo" label - like I'm too cool for the last 10,000 years.   I prefer the concept of Anti-Inflammatory instead.)