I Am Not A "Carbophobe"

"So you don't eat carbs?"

It's a question I hear way too often after I explain that I don't eat grain and gluten products. People seem to immediately assume that I belong with a small group of crazies that limit their carbohydrate intake to some 50g each day (or even less). I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid. If you have a significant amount of pounds you aim to lose, then I do support some sort of carbohydrate control. However, as a lifestyle, it just doesn't work. It is similar to the "lipophobia" (an extreme avoidance of dietary fat) that most Americans suffer from these days. That's certainly no way to live your life either.

If you take a look at the posts of my meals from last week, you'll notice plenty of carbs. Heck. There's probably 50g or more in my breakfast alone. What you won't notice is an excessive consumption of carbs. What you won't notice is cereal and bagels. There's plenty of fruit, plenty of vegetables, and plenty of nuts that offer the same kind of fuel crackers, bread, and rice give you, but with a myriad of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that grains simply can't match. There's just not the 300g of sugar.

The USDA commonly recommends that people eat a "balanced diet." Does getting 60% or more of your calories from carbohydrates sound balanced to you? There's an issue here, a dichotomy rather.

I know cutting out grains isn't always convenient, cheap, practical, etc. for most people. My goal with this website is not to completely convert you to my way of eating, but rather inform you so you can make one better choice regarding food each day. If you skip the cereal and eat the eggs for breakfast, then I've done my job. If you skip the sandwich and eat the salad for lunch, then I've done my job. If you skip the pasta and go with the steak or tuna for dinner, then I've done my job.

A Day In Food - Wednesday

Here we are. Today is the last installment of the "A Day In Food" mini series. I hope you've enjoyed seeing how easy and great meals can be without all that other junk you are used to. I've had more hits than I ever have before while doing this little segment, so hopefully we can do it again really soon. Until then, keep checking back for more posts about anything and everything eating.

Breakfast


Here we've got two poppy seed muffins, about 4 oz. of sausage, a whole cantaloupe, and some black coffee. The poppy seed muffins are made using coconut flour and the sausage is all natural (just pork and some red pepper flakes). Worried about time? The sausage took about 6 minutes in the cast iron skillet and the muffins took about 35 seconds to reheat in the microwave. Heck, the coffee took longer to finish brewing!

Lunch


You should recognize this salad. It's the bacon and avocado salad I described last month in the "What's For Lunch?" post. Of course, I used my homemade balsamic salad dressing from that same post.

Snack


I'm big on not making things any more complicated than they have to be. Here you've got sliced banana and a handful of blueberries. I topped it with pecans, walnuts, and almonds.

Dinner


I have to admit. This was my first time preparing brussel sprouts. I coated them in olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then I baked them at 400F for about 35 minutes. They came out pretty well I think. The carrots I steamed on high for about 5 minutes then on medium for another 12 minutes or so. I poured out all the water and added just a tiny bit of honey and some dill. The chicken I sliced and reheated in a saute pan with a little olive oil, rosemary, and balsamic. That's regular old iced tea to drink. How about well under $5 for everything?

A Day In Food - Tuesday

Today I'll continue with my mini series "A Day In Food." As promised, here is everything I have eaten today. Don't forget to click the pictures for full sized versions.


Breakfast



Talk about quick. This thing took 10 minutes to make. Today we have an omelet with three eggs filled with half an avocado and about 4 oz. of salmon I had leftover from dinner on Saturday. Unfortunately, you can't really see what's on the inside, but trust when I say it was quite good. I also had a banana and some black coffee.

Lunch



For lunch I made a curry chicken salad sandwich. You might remember my curry chicken salad recipe from last month. I also added a bit of cumin and cayenne to the curry. All these spices exhibit wonderful antimicrobial properties. The bread is the flax seed focaccia bread as featured on many of the paleo/primal/gluten-free websites across the net, however I substituted an equal amount of unsweetened, organic applesauce for the oil. You'll also notice two strips of bacon and some mixed greens. All the chicken salad I made didn't quite fit on the sandwich so I just ended up eating it straight out of the mixing bowl.

Snack


Here's a handful of strawberries and blueberries and some roasted, unsalted pistachios. I imagine I probably ate around 2.5 oz. of pistachios (about 120 nuts).

Dinner


More leftovers! Here's a porkchop from Sunday night that I covered in paprika, garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, and black pepper. I seared it in my cast iron skillet about 5 minutes on each side then put in the oven for around 15 more minutes to get the inside done. Tonight, I just reheated it in the skillet for a few minutes on each side and covered it in an apple cider vinegar based sauce. The side dish is kale sauteed in butter with 1/2 clove of minced garlic, baby bella mushrooms, chopped sweet onion, and a strip of bacon torn into small pieces. Kale is similar to spinach, but with a meatier stem. Before sauteeing, I blanched it for about 8 minutes.

Enjoy!

A Day In Food - Monday

You asked for it and now you are getting it. What do I actually eat in a typical day? Most people can't imagine what typical meals looks like for someone who chooses not to eat grains, legumes, and dairy. I'm here to show you exactly how easy and great food can be without all the processed junk you are used to. Over the next three days I'll be documenting everything I eat to show you that you can do it too. Click the images to see them in full size!


Breakfast



Here is the spicy frittata I showed you back in August. I also cut a cantaloupe in half and ate it with a spoon. I washed it all down with some black coffee. Notice the lack of toast, cereal, snack bars, and milk?

Lunch



Here's my second favorite salad. Baby spinach and mixed greens with red onion, strawberries, fresh pineapple, grapes, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, and about 5 oz. of chicken. I sauteed the chicken in butter and bacon fat with some rosemary, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper. I used my homemade balsamic vinegar dressing I showed you here. No sandwiches, chips, or soda here.

Snack



Pretty simple here. I sliced an apple and dipped it in almond butter and then in dried unsweetened coconut. Need a snack under $2? Here it is.

Dinner



This is easily one of my favorite meals ever. This is about a 9 oz. sirloin and the biggest sweet potato you have ever seen in your life (local of course). Can you say under $5 for the whole meal?? I marinated the sirloin in some cold black coffee left over from this morning, sea salt, and pepper. Then I grilled it in my beloved cast iron skillet. The sweet potato I sprinkled with some cinnamon. Don't be afraid to eat the whole thing either! You won't even miss the pasta and garlic bread.


Dessert




This is all it takes y'all. A handful of strawberries and blueberries topped with some pecans, walnuts, and almonds.

Still not convinced? Check back tomorrow for more.

"Sugar: The Bitter Truth"

Silly Studies

I rant and tangent an awful lot on my little internet soap box about biased studies and the significant role they play in our food industry. Today, I want to show you exactly what I mean.

Let's begin with lycopene. Lycopene is a carotenoid (a type of plant chemical contributing to color) and antioxidant found in many red fruits and vegetables. It has been in the news quite a bit lately regarding a weak link to the prevention of prostate cancer. Lycopene has also been said to help prevent diabetes, heart disease, osteoperosis, and all that other stuff. (I say just eat vegetables and quit worrying about this or that antioxidant. Unfortunately, the "experts" didn't ask my opinion. Anyway.)

Tomatoes seem to have become the newest trend in health for this lycopene content. There's articles and studies and websites dedicated to showing how the lycopene in tomatoes will prevent disease in 9 out of 10 patients studied or whatever.

Where am I going with all this?

Tomatoes are one of the few vegetables (er... fruit) that actually has an industry. Heinz uses them to make their ketchup and steak sauces. Prego uses them to make their whole line of pasta sauces. Frito Lay uses them to make their Tostitos salsas. These gigantic corporations have a great financial interest in showing the consumer how their products are healthy. They are happy to pay scientists to tell the public that tomatoes are good for you so that then you'll buy more of their processed products.

Come on now. Do you really think a tablespoon of ketchup with your french fries makes it better for you? They certainly hope you think it is.

Did you know that a slice of watermelon has just as much lycopene in it as a tomato (and sometimes more depending on the season)? Chances are you did not. Why? Watermelon doesn't have an industry out to convince you that it is healthy. Heck, all watermelon has going for it is a bunch of broke farmers that can't hardly afford to put food on the table (not to mention a million dollar study).

A corny story, Pt. II

So how did corn get to be the king crop in America anyway? What about it makes it so valuable?

First of all, corn is easily manipulated. It's male and female parts are far enough away from each other that humans (ehh... scientists) can create entire new breeds by crossing plants to select for certain traits and characteristics that have been deemed desirable. Some of these traits include the ability to be grown much closer together and a mechanism to produce its own pesticide. Both of these traits (produced by scientists and corporations) have dramactically increased crops yields (which also means a lower price).

Corn is a C4 plant (whereas most plants are C3). Without getting into a whole mess of details, C4 plants are much less picky when it comes to the carbon isotopes it utilizes in photosynthesis. More carbon equals more carbohydrates. Those kernels on the corn pack a whole lot of starch (and also a whole lot of calories) compared to other crops.

Basically, we can grow a whole lot of corn and a whole lot of calories.

What most people don't realize is that this isn't the corn you get at your farmer's market to take home and eat. No. This isn't food. This stuff is a product. Michael Pollan even calls it a commodity.

This stuff gets ground up into corn oil (for margarine), high fructose corn syrup (for soda), xanthan gum (for processed foods), citric acid (for keeping things "fresh"), ethanol (for beer and cars), and also the stuff we feed our livestock. That's probably the most disturbing part. We have so much corn, we've started looking for new and inventive ways to use it.