KrisNeely, Author at Ant & Anise • Page 12 of 15

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 15

I should have added a fourth item to the not-so-good things about the Paleo challenge: Finding blanched almond flour.

Before a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have known this was any different from plain old ground almonds. But in checking out some online resources for Paleo baking, I ran across Elana’s Pantry. She’s quick to point out that not almond flours are the same. And, in fact, that blanched almond flour is what you need if you’re looking for lighter textured baked goods. Almond meal is much coarser and leads to a denser texture, which isn’t a problem if you’re making muffins or quick breads. For bread to eat as in a sandwich (or that toast I’ve been on about…) though, you need something finer.

Now you would think that in an urban centre like Vancouver, sourcing blanched almond flour would be a fairly simple task. Unfortunately, none of the stores I tried — including Whole Foods, Galloway’s or a few health food stores — had it.

The one place I did find some was Choices, and it was an astronomical price. I couldn’t bring myself to pay so much for such a little box of almond flour, even if was very fine looking.

I took Elana’s advice, and ordered some online. And so my Paleo baking quest, beyond muffins, will have to wait a little longer.

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days

Image courtesy of Elena’s Pantry.

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 14

Two whole weeks — day 14 of the Paleo Diet Challenge. I’m almost halfway through the challenge, and thought it would be a good time to reflect on the good and no-so-good parts so far. First, the good news.

I’m not hungry at all between meals. I’ve noticed that, in particular, my breakfasts (either eggs and ham, a bowl of fresh fruit, a couple mini Paleo muffins or a few slices of Paleo banana bread) are satisfying and keep me going for hours. And although the lunches I’m eating seem light (as in salad greens with some chicken or tuna), they’re substantial enough to stave off my usual mid-afternoon craving for something sweet. I’ll still maybe have a cup of tea in the late afternoon, but no cookies to go with it. What, no cookies?
I’m sleeping slightly better, and feeling better rested. This is with a regular 3:30am wake-up call from my cat, who likes to start his day outside once the birds start chirping. These days, I’m able to fall right back asleep after letting him out, and when I wake up a few hours later, I feel refreshed instead of my groggy can’t-I-have-just-another-half-hour-in-bed? state.
I feel a little healthier. This is a little more difficult to describe. Perhaps it’s feeling less puffy or bloated, which is probably from the lack of bread in my system. But the skeptic in me is wondering whether this all springs from a confirmation bias — as in, I believe eating a Paleo diet will make me feel healthier, so I feel healthier. Is this all just psychological? Maybe. My weight is exactly the same as it was on day 1. And I haven’t noticed a real change in symptoms of Hashimoto’s that I’m on the lookout for, like increased energy or less sensitivity to cold. My energy is about the same and my feet are still cold. Hmm.

For the most difficult aspects of the challenge, a couple things come to mind:

First, undoubtedly, is thinking constantly about what foods are in- or out-of-bounds. I am getting a better handle on this, but still finding it takes a lot of mental energy to figure out what I’m going to do for dinner so that we forget all about bread, potatoes and pasta.
The next most challenging thing is incorporating protein into every meal, especially when that protein can’t be cheese. It feels like I’m shopping much more often just to keep the house stocked with enough meat and fish.
Finally, eating out can be a drag. It’s striking how pervasive breads and grains are in restaurant menus and avoiding them takes some creativity, especially if you don’t want to have a salad, again.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salsa

Serving Size: 2

I love fruit salsas with grilled fish, chicken or pork. It adds a punch of color and flavor to your plate, and it's super simple to make.

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin (1 to 1-1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon sea salt (we use Maldon salt)

For the salsa:

2 ripe mangoes, chopped
1 orange or red bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

First, make the salsa: Place mango, bell pepper, garlic (if using), and onion in a medium bowl and mix well to combine. Squeeze the lime juice in, then the olive oil and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Can be made a few hours ahead of time -- keep covered in the refrigerator.
Preheat your barbecue to high, around 500F.
In a shallow dish, rub the tenderloin with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then sprinkle with the salt. Let this stand while you make the salsa.
Place the tenderloin on the grill and sear the first side (about 4-5 minutes), then turn it over and sear the other side (another 3-4 minutes). Move the tenderloin to the top rack (or turn off the burner directly under the tenderloin), close the lid and let it continue cooking with the indirect heat for about 10 minutes.
When the tenderloin is done, remove it from the barbecue, wrap in foil, and let it sit for another 5-8 minutes. Slice crosswise and serve with a few tablespoons of the salsa.

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 13

I’m not sure of it, but I think my taste buds are sharpening up. I feel like they’ve become a little more sensitive, now that I’ve been eating only real, nutrient-dense foods for (almost) two weeks.

Or it could be that I’m just imagining it. What started me down this path was thinking about how dependent I’d become, pre-challenge, on bread and pasta in my diet. These two were ever-present in the house, ready to be called on for fast and simple dishes: toast for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, pasta for dinner. And they both involve pretty minimal thinking to work them into meals.

But seeing bread and pasta in a different, Paleo-tinted light, I thought when it comes right down to it, aren’t these really just fillers? I mean, we don’t eat pasta on its own, ever, even if it’s a filled pasta like ravioli. The thought of a plain bowl of pasta is almost puzzling. Of course it needs a sauce of some kind.

And bread is much the same. It also needs something, like butter, jam, a slice of tomato or cheese or something to go with it. (Peanut butter perhaps? Oh yes, please, that would do nicely.) The one exception I have is for a fragrant, tangy, sourdough bread with a substantial crust, like ones from Terra Breads. But otherwise, bread is pretty bland too, a vehicle for delivering other flavors.

So in the last few weeks, eating a Paleo diet where every ingredient counts, the tastes are so much more flavorful than I noticed before, with no fillers to get in the way. Maybe, post-challenge, the dependence I had on bread and pasta won’t be nearly so pronounced as it once was. A few weeks ago I couldn’t have imagined such a thing.

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days

Image courtesy of MyPaleoDietBlog, via Google Images.

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 12

And just like that, the miracle 3 pound loss has come back. All at once. Geesh! Maybe this isn’t a miracle diet after all. Now I’m just back where I started, which I’m fine with.

You know a few days back I was feeling a little stressed? Some of that is due to being in charge of what to eat, every single night. Bob and I both cook, and usually alternate the dinner part: Sometimes he does it all or I do it all, and sometimes we just work on separate components that come together on the plate. (And sometimes we do order take out, but that’s a pretty rare event these days.)

But now I’m getting a few blank looks and the what can we eat for dinner question. It’s true, it’s not as easy as just yanking out a (homemade) meat sauce from the freezer and boiling up some pasta. It does require a little more thought. So there it is, that extra pressure for me to lead this thing, since it was my idea in the first place.

Luckily, with a few guidelines I’m able to set Bob up to make dinner tonight: Cottage pie, a proper English dish, using mashed cauliflower on top instead of mashed potatoes. He completely takes over dinner, and I’m relieved. With a side dish of some peas, sauteed with some onion in bacon fat (kept in the fridge for such occasions), we’re set.

(I used to really despise peas for several years, and wouldn’t go near them. Too many memories of overdone, bland boiled peas when I was younger, I think. Once I discovered the onion and bacon fat trick, I was sold. Just a little jazzing up was all the peas really needed.)

It really helped my anxiety level to not worry about dinner, after almost two solid weeks of every day thinking what to make. The bonus is, of course, that the cottage pie was big enough to have plenty of leftovers. Why didn’t I think of doing something like this earlier in the challenge?

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 11

The answer to my question yesterday seems to be a definite maybe. Like a lot of things, it’s tough to nail it on your first try.

I’ve done a fair amount of searching for Paleo bread recipes in the past week and a half. The first thing that struck me is the amount of eggs involved. There are typically many, many eggs in Paleo bread. I guess it makes sense, really, because without any gluten to give some structure and help it rise, the bread needs something to achieve a texture that is lighter than, say, a door stop. With cakes and other baked goods, eggs are definitely the go-to ingredient when you want light and fluffy, particularly when you beat the whites separately and fold them in to a batter. (Just like we do with our waffles.)

When I came across a recipe for a grain-free sandwich bread that uses coconut flour and flax meal, and the accompanying picture looked great, I thought fabulous! Here I go, with the promise of enjoying a nice slice of Paleo toast in the morning.

Unfortunately, the result was less than stellar.

The loaf actually looked pretty nice, especially with the sesame seeds sprinkled on top. The texture was pretty good as well, denser than a regular bread but I was expecting that anyway. No, it was the eggs that sunk this one. It smelled quite eggy when I sliced it but when I toasted it up, the eggy smell really intensified and was, for me anyway, pretty off-putting. Instead of enjoying the toast I almost gagged. Yuck.

Note to self: When a bread recipe calls for 7 eggs in one loaf (7!), you will not like it.

To help erase my first Paleo baking disaster I consoled myself by making some banana bread, which was delicious, nutty and dense. Maybe I’ll just stick with quick breads for now.

Paleo Banana Bread

Adapted from Comfy Belly's banana bread -- I left out the oil, cut back on the honey, and ended up with a very enjoyable, very moist (but not greasy) loaf. One thing I enjoy with baking without wheat flour is not having to worry about over mixing the batter (and therefore ending up with a tough quick bread). Mix away to your heart's content! Within reason, of course.

Ingredients

3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
Blend the dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. In a stand mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs together for 2 minutes, then mix in the mashed banana.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well to ensure the batter is well blended. Stir in the pecans.
Add the batter to your loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until browned and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool before slicing.

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 10

Day 10 and I feel noticeably more energetic when I wake up. I think partly it’s because the dinner last night was so satisfying. It really gave me a boost, and helped take me away from the what-kind-of-bread-can-I-eat thoughts that have been with me, pretty constantly, since I started this challenge.

Another thing that played a role in my mood, no doubt, was another slight drop in weight. 1 whole pound less, so 3 pounds lighter in 10 days. How ironic is that, when I wasn’t even looking to lose any weight? I think about all those times over the years I desperately wanted to lose some weight, just a couple of pounds. If only I had realized it could be done effortlessly, as if by magic, by giving up grains. Very cool.

I figure I’m on a roll, so today I’m starting my quest to find a good Paleo bread recipe. I’m hoping this isn’t an oxymoron. It’s been over a week of either eggs or fruit for breakfast, and while the (very much needed) break in my breakfast routine is refreshing, there must be a way to work some toast in with my morning americano. Right?

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days