Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 56

Farm to…Bowl

You’ve heard of farm to table?  Well, how about farm to bowl?  As in, food for your pet?

I think it’s brilliant and, not surprisingly, I found it just around the corner at my favorite local butcher in Chelsea, Dickson’s Farmstand Meats.

I was stocking up on grass fed cow’s liver and pork kidney for our almost fifteen year old Weimaraner and began to chat with one of the butchers about making dog food.  

By the way, unless you do this yourself, or are fortunate enough to be in an area that offers raw food preparation and delivery, your pickings for quality pet food are few and far between.  Even the most premium, expensive dog food you buy at the vet is likely to have fillers that are simply not a good idea for your dog or cat to eat.  Who ever heard of a tiger eating corn or a wolf eating wheat?  

Anyway, we were having a chat about making dog food and the butcher casually mentioned they sell dog food!  Already made from a combination of their grass fed meats, offal and some produce (yam, apple).   The first pint was free and Daisy gobbled it up like there was no tomorrow!

When in New York, get thee to Dickson’s !  Not only will your family thank you, your pets will, too!

Get Your Grill On This Weekend, Seafood Style!

Grass-fed ribeye, squash, onion, mushrooms and even pineapple make great options for any Memorial Day BBQ.

But something’s missing.

Something a bit more…oceanic.

How about some Lobster?

If you’ve never tried it on the grill, you’re really missing out.  And what better time to try it than now?

The guys at Get Maine Lobster, from the rocky coast of Portland, Maine, are offering two special deals for Paleoista-inspired consumers: 

6 Easy Lobsters (shipping included): flash frozen, whole cooked, ready to eat in 3 mins
and
Buy 6, Get 6 FREE: 5-6 oz Maine lobster tails
 
Plan your menu and order in time for the holiday!

Paleo in the Workplace

You’re at work and you’re hungry.   You don’t have time to jump in the car and beeline to the nearest Whole Foods to make a salad so you head to the break room, where you’ll be sure to find several types of fresh, raw greens, a few wild protein options and a selection of olive oils from around the globe.

And then the alarm goes off.

But why does it have to be this way?

Of course, cost is the number one issue. It’s simply much more economical to purchase microwave popcorn and (non) foods worthy of life in a vending machine that will last for months on end than it would be to procure the makings of a salad bar every day.

But then the workers are more likely to be sick and  overweight and less likely to reach their optimal productivity level.

What’s the cost of that?

Working with corporations to help them integrate a healthier (I often avoid using the P word) eating approach in the workplace is something that needs to be done, immediately.

Reach out to your own company to ask what it would take to implement change, get your co workers on board or forge your own path.

It’s not until enough of us make some noise that change will begin to occur, so stop shrugging your shoulders and settling for microwave popcorn.  

Let that junk sit there and figure out a way to start something new, better and far healthier for yourself and your colleagues!

Contact me if you need help!  Corporate implementation of Paleo is something I happen to specialize in, incidentally!

Running Anywhere

If you take a glance at the pic above of a woman running amidst some killer scenery, it’s easy to see why one would fall in love with a sport so natural and so intuitive, it would simply have to become a part of one’s existence.

Flip it around, however, and what happens?

What happens when you take an avid runner, who thrives on endless miles of trail running, balanced out with some speedwork on the track or tread and sometimes, but never more than an in a pinch run on the road, or even worse (gasp) on the cement bike path, and put him (or her!) in an urban jungle?

Does she stop running?

Absolutely not.

What then?

Adaptation.

Case in point: yours truly. 

While I’d be telling a huge lie if I said I didn’t miss my trail runs in the Santa Monica Mountains during our present stint in NYC, the bottom line is that I simply have had to adapt.  Running along the West Side Highway along the Hudson is an option, as well as 10k repeats in Central park, or a weekend drive upstate or to nearby trails in New Jersey are all part and parcel of being a more versatile runner.

Having a brilliant body worker, ideal shoes and proper strength plan off season in place is crucial; no doubt the added pounding combined with more identical foot strike inherent to training in a city is less than idyllic when compared to trail running, but it’s still running nonetheless.

I’ve had the opportunity to run in many places around the world and all I needed to bring, apart from training clothing, depending on the climate, is a pair of running shoes.

And though I love my triathlon racing, running runs so deeply through my blood that I’d pick it in an instant if I were forced to choose between the three disciplines.

Whether you run, or jog or walk… they all achieve the same goal- a very natural, important motion that just makes perfect sense for any biped to engage in.

Now, get moving!

American Cheese

Today when I was about to order my typical bunless grass-fed burger, I couldn’t help but to overhear what the customer in front of me was asking for.

The cook asked if he’d like the works; lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon & cheese to which the customer responded, “I’d like cheese…cheddar, please”.   Alas, there was no cheddar as an option.  

Only “American Cheese”.

This really got me thinking.

Another perfect example of something we see all the time and never think twice about; an illustration of yet one more thing we’ve created here in the good old USA that is completely, for lack of a better word, rubbish.

What exactly is it?

A quick check with Wikipedia revealed:

American cheese is one type of processed cheese. It can be orange, yellow, or white in color; is mild and faintly sweet in flavor; has a medium-firm consistency; and, a very low melting point.
Because its ingredients differ so much from those of “unprocessed”/raw/natural cheeses, American cheese can not be legally sold under the name (authentic) “cheese” in the US. Instead, federal (and even some state) laws mandate that it be labeled as “processed cheese”, “cheese product”, “cheese food”, etc.

Oh, and here’s the best part:

Sometimes even the word “cheese” is absent, altogether, from the product’s labeling in favor of, e.g., “American slices” or “American singles” because cheese is not actually in the product.

Below are the ingredients to something even lower than American Cheese…. Imitation “Pasteurized Process Cheese Food.”

(A brand called “Always Save American Sandwich Slices”) contains: water, modified food starch, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, maltodextrin, whey, sodium caseinate, salt, enzyme-modified cheese (cultured milk, water, salt, sodium phosphate, cream, sodium citrate, enzymes, sorbic acid [preservative], artificial color), guar gum, sodium hexametaphosphate, sorbic acid [preservative], artificial color, and lactic acid.

Despite all this, all too often,  ’foods’ like Kraft Singles, Macaroni and Cheese or Ice Cream are viewed as ‘comfort foods’; things that can be consumed to provide a sense of…what? Being comfortable?  

How comfortable are you with a bloated belly and a congested nasal passage from all the dairy, a migraine headache from the gluten and extra pounds from all the refined foods that are completely devoid of anything remotely nourishing?

We’re in a really sad state of affairs.

Let’s read between the lines and think twice the next time the thought of reaching for one of these packaged items with unidentifiable ingredients.

Just as with many other aspects of following a True Paleo regime, once we open up the Pandora’s box of what the Standard American Diet looks like and realize that nearly everything we’re taught growing up about what healthy choices are, aren’t really all that healthy, we then create space to see thing the way they really are.

American Cheese (By) Products are really not a good thing to ingest.   Unless, of course, you feel you are not getting your RDA of guar gum, sodium hexametaphosphate.

 

 

#PaleoistaApproved

Have you come across that perfect little hole in the wall that just so happens to serve fresh, local, real food?   One that you’ve just got to share with others who might be traveling in any particular area, or perhaps people that live nearby and were simply not aware of this little gem?

Or, maybe you’ve dined at an upscale place and found it incredibly easy to order extra veg instead of the rice pilaf to accompany that grass-fed steak on the menu.

In any event, it’s becoming easier to order in a manner which is completely in keeping with a True Paleo regime…even if it is unspoken!

Could a symbol denoting Paleo-friendly (or perhaps I should say, Paleoista-friendly) on menus across the country be in the works? It is if I  have any say in the matter!

Until then, why not tweet about what your findings are and let the audience that’s developed over the past six or seven years organically keep growing and be informed.

How about creating a hashtag to trend?

Let the #PaleoistaApproved tweeting begin!

A Pound of Fruit in Every Bottle? And This Is Supposed to Be A Good Thing?

Yes, you read that correctly.  Naked brand juice has an ad campaign at the moment that touts this, as though it were a good idea.

First of all, the amount of sugar one would consume if they ate a pound of fruit is bad enough, let alone the even higher glycemic load one would get if they took away all the fiber on top of it.

Don’t think that simply because you choose a flavor that’s green in color, like their Green Machine, that it’s a good choice either.  One bottle has two servings, totaling a whopping 50 grams of sugar!

In addition, there is quite a bit of controversy over this claim, as to whether this brand is even really using nothing but fresh fruit to make its products; apparently, it’s not really all that naked.

Last year, there was a lawsuit agains its parent company, Pepsico (ugh; seeing this connection didn’t exactly end in a sigh of relief for me), over its misuse of phrases like “100% Natural” and “100 % Juice”, when, in fact, some of the flavors contain not only GMO produce, but GMO soy.

At an average of $4 per bottle, the cost is yet another reason to skip it.

Here’s the bottom line:

Yes, a juice can be a part of a True Paleo regime, but the key takeaway is ‘a part’.  If, for example, you juiced up some kale, celery, cucumber and ginger and had it on the go along with some leftover sliced turkey and a handful of raw walnuts, that would be a nicely balanced, easy to eat snack.   
Even better, throw the whole vegetables into your vitamix, or equally powerful blender and keep all the goodness of the fiber.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking any juice, even if it did come from 100% natural, fresh fruit, is a good substitute for a meal, all on its own.  It’s way too high in sugar (even natural sugar isn’t a good idea in excess), it’s costly and frankly, you’re better off simply grabbing a nice, fresh apple.

 

Double Chocolate Triple Bacon Date Honey Paleo Treats

Say what?
Ok, I made that one up.  But you can bet it’s not going to be long before you see a recipe with this title.

As if by inserting this one little word into a ridiculous concoction that is anything but representative of a True Paleo regime, it suddenly makes it a good option to consume regularly in place of meals comprised of fresh produce, natural fats and wild proteins.

It seems every day more and more products, books, magazine and websites are popping up out of the woodwork, confusing people, making people afraid of Paleo along with the misrepresentation of it and doing a great job and making it look like nothing more than another gimmicky, trendy, fad diet, which it simply, in reality, is not.

If you’re confused- check in with the experts, and start with Dr. Cordain’s The Paleo Diet.

I can’t even begin to  tell you how many people I’ve come across that haven’t even read that book yet!  It’s absolutely the number one must read for anyone who’s interested in adopting this healthy regime.

The basic premise is so, so common sense, it’s silly, almost.

Eat a lot of fresh veggies.  Eat some good fat and eat some natural protein. And don’t eat junk in packages….even if they are marked with the P-word (as in Paleo, miused!).

Do that, and move…try it for thirty days to see how your body responds and then see if you can still say you believe it when you read a recipe for something like the fabricated title above.

Eat more kale!

 

 

 

Rather than Whey or Soy Protein Powder….

Last January, I wrote a post about a product I’d read about in the NY Times; a bar made out of an interesting protein powder: crickets. 

The guys behind EXO, state on their site:

“Exo’s mission is to normalize the consumption of insects as a sustainable food source. We believe the way to accomplish this is through healthy, delicious food products that include insects as an ingredient. Our protein bars are formulated to be the perfect introductory vehicle to bring insect protein to the masses.”

Now, before you cringe or shudder at the idea of eating a cricket (isn’t it odd how we’re all so conditioned to think of some creatures as edible and others, untouchable?), think about these facts from Exo’s ‘why cricket‘ page:  

Crickets are high in protein, iron, calcium and B-vitamins. Crickets, for example, contain substantially more iron than beef.
They produce virtually no methane, reproduce extremely quickly, and require minimal feed, water and space.It is estimated that crickets are 20x more efficient to raise for protein than cattle.
 80% of the world still eats over 1,600 species of insects; it’s actually not that unusual, after all

Here in NYC, one of the coolest things about being in the Paleosphere is that there’s such an awesome concentration of many things Paleo in a very small radius, and I’ve been making it a point to network with as many entrepreneurs, educators, restauranteurs and other professionals who are doing what I do, or something complementary to it.

Yesterday, for example, I met with Gabi, one of the co-CEOs of the brand and learn more about the history… and try one of the bars.

The Cacao Nut bar was incredibly decadent, balanced in terms of macronutrients (I loved the 20 grams of fat from coconut!) and a really good fit for someone to have something on hand for those in a pinch times when you find yourself hungry with no fresh kale or raw salmon anywhere in sight (don’t you hate that?).

Highly recommend..Click here to try for yourself!

An Interesting Twist on an eMarket

An online farmer’s market?

Well, not quite…

Harvest Your Health has launched a new eMarket that is really worth checking out.  Unlike the bundle sale you’ve become quite familiar with, this is simply an online place to check out some cool things, such as Paleo recipes, tips on fertility and pregnancy, fitness and working/blogging from home.

Here’s a little background on the concept:

“Our mission is to change lives by providing a unique, unbiased, unconventional approach to health, including:

Real food
Sustainability
Simple living
Intuitive and critical thinking
Belief in oneself
Passion for life
Giving back
Fun fitness
Play
Understanding of your unique self

With dozens of different diet trends, conflicting studies, and continually changing research, it’s easy to get buried in a sea of confusion surrounding what’s right for us as unique people.

We’ve touched over 11,000 customers with our Harvest Your Health Bundle sale and we’re inspired to touch thousands more.

Additionally, we hope you like free things…because we LOVE giveaways!“

 Over the next few days, I’ll be highlighting some of my favorite products that stand out, but in the interim, click here to check it out!