Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 54

P3? Unfortunately, it Doesn’t Mean Perfectly Paleo & Portable…

“Introducing the P3 Portable Protein Pack. It’s not rocket science. It’s not even Chemistry 101. It’s just 13 grams of protein from food, proven effective by thousands of years of human existence.”

Sound like a tag line for the latest, greatest, grassroots Paleo product, developed by a couple of people in their own kitchen, with the intention of creating a healthy, portable meal or snack?

That would make sense, given the reference to the ‘thousands of years of human existence’, right?

Wrong.

And I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw which company it is that is jumping on this bandwagon.

It was a TV spot, so clearly, it had to be a major corporation as, let’s face it, most of the Paleo companies wouldn’t likely have the budget for this type of media exposure.

It was Oscar Meyer.

Their new product, “P3″, according to their site,  consists of different variations of meats (if you consider what they sell to be meat and not a meat byproduct), nuts and cheeses.

With less than 1gram of sugar and 14grams of protein, it must be a great choice, correct?

Oh, dear, no.

Not by a long shot.

Do you suppose they’re careful about using only pastured pork & poultry, grass fed beef, and raw, organic nuts?

Why should they, when there is a much larger profit margin if the cheapest, lowest quality, most inhumane sources are used.

Check out fooducate.com’s site and you’ll see the following ingredients:

APPLEWOOD SMOKED HAM-Contains 18% of seasoning solution: ham, water, cultured dextrose, contains less than 2% of salt, brown sugar, cultured celery juice, vinegar, sodium phosphates, cherry powder. ingredient to preserve quality. reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese- reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese(pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto, [color], vitamim a palamitate); potato starch, cellulose powder and calcium sulfate added to prevent caking; natamycin (a natural mold inhibitor)

Perhaps a slightly better option than candy and soda due to the lower amount of sugar, but that’s about it.

You’re paying for packaging, too, so don’t forget to factor that in.

You’re far better off popping into a grocery store and buying that bag of pre washed, organic spinach, some raw walnuts and perhaps some sliced roasted turkey from the deli, if they offer a pastured, unsalted option. If not, and you’re in a real pinch, buy a can of water packed tuna, give it a rinse and as a once in a while protein, it’s still a far better option that this awful little snack pack.

 

 

Call for Action- Your Paleo Support is Needed

Next Wednesday, June 18th, I’m involved in something very significant.  You’ve read my posts about this before, but I want to make sure it goes in, so I’m posting again about the same topic.

How many times have you walked into a restaurant and wished you could just order anything off the menu without worrying about hidden gluten or soy?  How many times have you asked the server if a dish was free of flour and soy, and told it was, only to be presented with something doused in a breading or accompanied by a big chunk of bread?

More importantly, if there were such a place, or even if an established place had a menu you could order from, would you support it?   Imagine if there were a symbol on menus across the globe indicating something was Paleo approved, just as we all know the universal symbols now which show vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free!

You have the chance to do just that…at the grass roots level.

Paleo Chef Ali of Breeze at the Hyatt Regency was vegan for quite a while.  He was so talented and creative with his culinary training that he developed a vegan menu which was not only featured at his own restaurant, but he was invited to spend time at one of the London locations to show the chefs there how to prepare his dishes.

No one bats an eyelash at the small “V” on a menu next to one of these creations.  Those of us who are already Paleo know that for many kitchens, adding a “P” to the menu isn’t much of a hassle as many options are already Paleo.  Steak and Sauteed Spinach?   Roast chicken on a salad?  Grilled Salmon with Veggies?

All are very commonly found items in many restaurants and as such, not too much change would be needed by the kitchen staff.

Yes, it may be a long way off, but this is the type of thing that needs to grow organically at the beginning (pardon the pun) and for each and every one of us that has had the wish of being able to dine at a Paleo place, we really need to take action when the option to support our wishes coming true is there.

RSVPs are requested in advance; we need to show the Hyatt our support.  If we show up in numbers, they’ll see how much we’re serious and who knows?  Perhaps a global Paleo friendly menu could be in the future.

Sign up here; the cost is $55 and you have the option to purchase a wine pairing the evening of, for a mere $20.

Here’s what you’ll have the chance to enjoy:

Galia melon gazpacho, sour cherry sorbet

Nori roasted day boat sea scallop, compressed watermelon, haas avocado puree, gala apple, fresh chives

Honey lavender lacquered duck breast, thyme-roasted baby turnip,

Regier farms peach puree, petit watercress

Strauss grass-fed flat iron steak, heirloom tomato confit, cashew creamed spinach, toasted Marcona almond

McGrath farms strawberry shortcake, coconut whipped cream

I sincerely hope to see you there.

Please share this with friends, family and colleagues.

Holy Tomato, What The Heck’s Going On?

It happens with apples.  It happens with peaches and it certainly happens with many, many other types of produce but perhaps one of the fruits most affected by this terrible issue that personally bothers me the most is when it happens with tomatoes.

What’s the issue?

Having to chose between local and not organic, or organic but not local.

And why tomato in particular?

Because I’ve run into so many people over the years that comment that they don’t like tomatoes but the only type of tomato they’ve ever had the chance to try is the type that’s been conventionally grown far away, picked far too early, stored in a chilled container to prevent spoilage and then shipped to the grocery store.

If that’s the only type of tomato I’d ever had, I, too would not be a fan.  That product tends to be mealy, odorless and have a hint of an orangey-green color.  The taste?  Well, think of biting into a nice piece of…packing foam.  Exactly.

I was lucky enough to have a mom that would grow tomatoes in the garden during the summer and I will be the first to tell you that there is absolutely nothing like an organic tomato, fresh out of your own backyard.

If you don’t grow your own but have access to a farmer’s market which carries them in season, you absolutely must partake. With the exception of anyone following the autoimmune protocol in which case night shades are to be avoided, tomatoes are a lovely, summertime part of any True Paleo regime.

But what to do about the issue at hand?   Just yesterday I was at Whole Foods where I must say all the tomatoes looked lovely in color.  I picked up several types and they all felt firm and smelled fantastic…but then a quick peek at the label showed that the ones certified organic were imported, and the ones sourced locally were not.

After speaking with many farmers directly, and learning that some are organic but simply  haven’t had the budget to pay for the certification, I do tend to lean just a little bit toward going with local, not organic…if I must choose and if I can make the purchase at the farmer’s market directly.

I just can’t stomach the idea of supporting produce imported from far away when the very same thing is growing locally, naturally at the same time of year.

Yes, there are grey areas here, too.

One example is a banana.  Bananas do not grow near my home in Los Angeles and they certainly don’t grow near our NYC pied-à-terre.  But I purchase organic, fair trade bananas to enjoy after a long run.

Is one morally right or morally wrong?

I honestly cannot answer that.

My best approach is to be as local as you can, as organic as you can and balance it all out rather than being too black and white about it.

What’s your take?

 

Grab & Go?

What do you think of when you see the phrase ‘grab & go’?  

Perhaps it brings to mind something a grocery store might sell with the intention to pick up something quick on the go, such as a pre-made caesar salad or a sandwich, or a something a mini mart might have in neon lights outside, in order to bring patrons in for a hot dog or pizza off their conveyor belt.   Still yet, it could conjure images of something really quick, ‘muchies’ like potato chips or even candy bars.

When did ‘quick and easy’ or ‘grab and go’ ever start to be associated with junk

Compare how long it might take to park your car outside of a gas station while you’re filling up the tank (pardon the pun- y0u’re actually filling up you car’s tank as well as yours!), venture inside and have a look around, and purchase a package of chips, a candy bar and a piece of pizza to how long it might take to part your car outside of a grocery store and purchase a package of pre-washed spinach, an apple and a small bag of raw walnuts.

It’s not that different,

It simply comes down to your state of mind and what your choice is. 

You can choose to go with the uber salty, sugary, processed refined stuff in a bag, or you can opt for healthy concoction requiring zero preparation time in the same, very short period of time.

Don’t rely on the tired old excuse that you don’t have time to eat in a healthy manner.  

If it’s important to you to make following a True Paleo regime a priority, you can find a way to do so, just like you find time to do other things you like doing.

If you’re not making eating healthy foods and exercise a priority, that’s something you need to address first before whining about not having time and other similar excuses start becoming the norm.

Paleoista Approved…It’s About Thyme

NYC, you never fail to amaze me.  This past week I dined at yet another (unspoken) Paleoista approved place, with a great price point and easy to get to location.

And, pardon the pun, but it’s about thyme.

Local Thyme, a pop up on 40th & Madison offers menu options so true to Paleo, without saying as much, it makes it ridiculously easy to order a meal without having to think twice about what a dish contains or whether or not it has hidden gluten, soy or dairy.

It’s pretty straight forward.  Stand in line. Choose which protein you’d like (I went with the grass fed steak) and then whether you’d like one veggie side or two (I opted for asparagus and cauliflower), then pay a reasonable $13 or so for a perfectly balanced, freshly prepared, locally source Paleoista-Approved meal.

There are some non Paleo foods being served, but who cares?  The fact that most of the options are, indeed Paleo friendly, is huge so I’m not going to be one to nit pick about that!  It would be different if they marketed themselves as Paleo, but they’re not, so really, it’s a moot point.

It’s real, it’s fresh, it’s good and it’s not expensive.

Set your watch for the Local Thyme when you’re in NYC and you’ll be very happy you did!

Check out their Facebook page (I was unable to find a website), or simply stop in if you’re in the area. 

 

Juice Cleanse? Or Just Juice?

When one of my clients told me he’d lost 18 pounds in three weeks using a Juice Press Cleanse, I was a little skeptical.

Even more so after he told me that, not surprisingly, after he finished the trial, all the weight came back, and then some.

I’m sure he’s not the only one who’s experienced this.

However, that doesn’t mean that having one of the “ cold pressed, raw, organic juices” offered by this company, or any of the many others who use organic, local produce is a not an option.

It all comes down to choosing the right variety and timing it with regard to when you’re exercising and / or what other food you’re pairing it with.

Looking for a great, replenishing and refreshing option after a long, hard run or bike ride?  Chose one that contains some coconut water for electrolytes and high glycemic fruit for packing glycogen back into your liver and skeletal muscles.

Need something to balance out a morning snack at the office because you forgot to pack anything green to go with your leftover chicken cooked in coconut oil from last night?  Chose an all veggie option; you simply don’t need any sugar from fruit if you’re motionless at your desk, and fat and protein from the leftovers will balance out the complex carbs you’ll find in the juice.

The caveat is this:  do not rely exclusively on juices, even if they are all veggie and not fruit, to be your sole source source of getting your greens.

Juicing cuts out all the fibre and not getting it from this rich source (which provides about 7 -11 times what you’d get from processed, fortified grain products) can create issues similar to those found when one follows an all protein/fat diet with zero carbs.   (Read:  constipation is not normal, nor is it a typical result of following a True Paleo regime. If you’re blocked up, you’re not following True Paleo!)>

Take away:  yes, having an organic, cold pressed juice can be a part of your healthy Paleo regime… but they key word there is part.

Colonics and Enemas: A Healthy Way to Jump Start Weight Loss?

Let’s start off by stating the obvious: first of all, they’re definitely not pleasant (I’m assuming this, never having had either) and next, they’re definitely not Paleo (do you think cavemen were facilitating fluid up what is essentially meant to be a one-way street?  Not trying to be too graphic, but come on, now).

How many times have you heard a friend, colleague or relative mention doing a colonic to get a head start on their weight loss, to ‘clean out their system’ or to ‘give their digestive system a break’?   

I’ve heard it far too many times to think it’s an anomaly.

They’re promoted in magazines, by celebrities and by both real medical and pseudo-medinal professionals alike.   Does that mean they’re a good option… or even safe?  And what’s the difference between the two?

They’re both therapies that both involve introducing water into the colon through to rectum in order to cleanse the colon; but here’s how they differ:

Colonics

Cleanse the entire length of the colon. 
Involve mutiple infusions of water into the colon. 
Result in fecal matter leaves the body via a tube. The client does not see or smell the fecal matter during the session.
At the end of the session, the client usually sits on a toilet, and usually passes any residual water and stools.
Must be administered by a trained colon hydrotherapist and requires professional equipment.

Enemas

Cleanse the lower part of the colon, the sigmoid and part of the descending colon. involve a single infusion of water into the colon.
Involve the one-time infusion of water. It sits in the lower part of the colon for a period of time, and then the person sits on the toilet.
Do not have to be administered by a professional. Disposable enema kits are available in drugstores and online.

Incidentally, that last bullet point on the under the enema heading would be enough to send me running in the other direction; would you allow someone that is not a professional to do this procedure on  you?

Now, back to the question on hand- is the concept of ‘cleansing the colon’ healthy?

In my opinion, no.  At least, not with external assistance.  The idea that we need aid in cleansing anything inside our bodies is akin to the idea that we must douse ourselves with anti-bacterial soap, wear medical masks when we fly commercially and not let our kids play in the playground where they might get dirty.

The body cleanses itself.

What’s next?  A procedure to get our stomachs scrubbed clean or how about a nice brain polish?

Let’s let common sense dictate.

If we put only healthy, clean, real food into our bodies and drink a proper amount of water, we will naturally eliminate all the toxins and automatically have a ‘cleansed’ colon.  It’s only when we start putting things in our bodies that we simply cannot digest that we start running into a problem.

Compare it to a sink.  If you just run water down the drain, the sink will always work properly.  But as soon as you allow pieces of hair, dental floss and whatever else might fall in, to begin to clog it up, then you have an issue.

Unlike a sink, however, which must manually be snakes, our bodies have the unique ability to heal themselves, simply by discontinuing the ingestion of horrible non-foods and changing to a natural, alkaline Paleo regime.

It really comes down to common sense.  Just think about it.  We’re not supposed to be putting things into any orifice in our bodies.   Don’t shove q-tips into your ear canal;  you’ll simply push the wax further in.  We tell our kids not to shove crayons or chalk up their nostrils for the very same reasons.  

Equally, why not just not create a situation where you have a build up of sludge, constipation and colon cancer in the first place?   Follow the True Paleo regime which, by the way, is naturally high in fiber since veggies contain roughly 7 – 11 times the amount found in fortified grain products, and just keep it clean all along!

Dig Inn and Get Paleo

One of the best things about New York City is the strong Paleo scene.

And as much as I don’t typically take the cavie approach, I have to say I am rather happy about learning about the Dig Inn Seasonal Market.  I had the opportunity to dine at their location on Madison between 39th & 40th and I was extraordinarily happy with what I found.

While they don’t market themselves outwardly at being Paleo (which can be a good thing, as those who don’t understand what True Paleo really is would likely not give it a chance), anyone who is educated about how to eat Paleo style can see for themselves how easy it is to dine there.

The few dishes that have soy or gluten are marked accordingly, and the servers were very well educated on what the ingredients of each item offered on the menu were.

Take a peak at the philosophy on their website and you’ll see how much in keeping with real Paleo, the same as what I teach, they really are:

“Health food is so often about what it lacks: fat-free, sodium-free, joy-free. An all around sauce-on-the-side culinary purgatory. Dig Inn is about what real food has to offer – taste, nutrients, seasonality, and vitality. Bottom line – we believe that you don’t have to be a health food martyr to eat well. Quality, healthful food is about abundance, freshness, and flavor – not deprivation.”

The perfect example of how and why sometimes not using the “P-word”, as I call it when its inappropriate use is getting out of hand, is suitable.

Take away the word, tell people to eat seasonally, locally and in balance with what grows in the land or runs on it, and the take away is often, “that makes sense”.

When in New York City, this is a must-eat-at place to check out.

It’s Paleoista Approved!

Organic Avenue’s Coconut Mylk is The Real Deal

I love coconut.  Coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut water… and coconut milk.   The first three are relatively easy to come by, organically sourced, unrefined and overall a good option on all fronts.

But when it comes to coconut milk- the healthy choices are few and far between, unless you actually live in an area where you can pick your own coconut off a tree!

So when I randomly stopped into what I thought was just another juice bar and saw a product called Coconut Mylk, which contains 100% Organic Coconut Meat and 100% Organic Thai Coconut Water, I was thrilled!

Organic Avenue, you have made my day!

In addition to this deliciously Paleo product, they also offer a wide range of pressed juices, some of which would be great for after a long workout, and some other nut ‘mylks’, all of which are free from the junk you’ll see in nearly every other version, including the worst of all, canned coconut milk (nearly all brands have guar gum, other stabilizers and other unfavorable additives, none of which are Paleo).

Check out their website, check out their store when in NYC and you’ll be happy you did.   

 

The Joy of Simple Eating

A ripe banana after a long run.  A piece of wild salmon sashimi topped with avocado slices on a bed of greens as a summertime lunch.   Grass fed, local steak tartare with a quail egg.

What have all of the above got in common?   All are deliciously Paleo friendly, real, unadulterated food that simply taste good, all on their own.

No need to add sauces, toppings or anything that would actually take away from the taste of the actual foods themselves.     Imagine smothering a piece of wild black cod with butter or deep frying a filet mignon!    Downright wrong!

This, to me, is the essence of a True Paleo regime.    When we source local, seasonal produce and put it together with any type of wild or humanely raised local protein, we achieve the fundamental goal of Paleo, which is to mimic the foods and food groups our ancestors ate, with foods that are readily available to us in our farmer’s markets and local grocers.

Coconut whipped cream, banana-almond-flour pancakes and even my own Signature Paleoista Truffles all fall into the category of appropriate for the once in a while treat, but not for the every day, or more, meal/snack.

The next time you see one of the new products or recipes blaring ‘Paleo’ across its label, all you need to do is think about how many steps and how much refinement went into the process and that alone will allow you to judge whether or not it’s really, truly Paleo… or simply, not.