That's So Primal

Simplifying Paleo So it Sticks in the New Year

Simplifying Paleo So it Sticks in the New Year

It’s a new year and the internets are rampant with new diets and exercise regimes to jump into in hopes of losing weight and getting healthier. Depending on where you’re at in your health journey you can start a whole30 today, or you can start a 21 day challenge or if you’re already a veteran Paleo check out these 10 lessons learned from Russ Crandall. Whatever you do starting this new year you have to start somewhere and that’s where I think it can be overwhelming for some. There is just so much out there and it can be difficult determining where to start so here is a template for simplifying Paleo so it sticks in the new year.

So I want to propose something easy to swallow. A foundation for eating. Basically providing a template on where you can base your meals for breakfast, lunch & dinner. The reason for this is because so many people start diets and sign up for gyms at the beginning of the new year and end up falling off the wagon shortly after. So my goal is to simplify Paleo so that it sticks. I don’t want to provide specific recipes because if you’re just starting Paleo or already a veteran; recipes can be overwhelming or not needed.

Why start with food and not a template for exercise? Well, while exercise is necessary for health, all health starts first with what you eat. Weight loss and health doesn’t start with exercise. Weight loss and health starts with what we eat and put in your body. So if you’re looking to lose weight or just be overall healthier – start here with what you should eat for breakfast, lunch & dinner. Remember this is just a starting point not an end point. You can start here for your meals and expand on them for what works best for you and your family. Starting out here is great for losing weight and seeing how you do then when you reach your ideal weight you can add in more starches like white potatoes and white rice.

Though it’s already the new year maybe plan your grocery trip before the start of the week and begin this template Monday. Review the basics of Primal here if this is all new to you and you’re trying to figure out what’s Paleo/Primal. But for now let’s check out a simple and easy template for your daily meals:

Breakfast – Bacon & Eggs

 

A photo posted by Kristi Creasey (@hikristi) on

Breakfast couldn’t be easier to figure out. It’s dead simple and it’s exactly what we need for the morning – protein. Get yourself some eggs and bacon from the store. Cook the bacon first then use the bacon fat for your eggs and boom – Primal breakfast done. Note: I started out this way on Primal a few years ago but now I normally fast for breakfast throughout the week and just eat lunch around 11:30am. So depending on if you’re hungry in the morning, you can always fast and just go straight to lunch.

Lunch – Salad

 

#lunch

A photo posted by That’s So Primal (@thatssoprimal) on

Get yourself some organic mixed greens or whatever salad mix you like and throw it in a bowl with olive oil and vinegar or some Tessemae’s dressing. Add in whatever veggies, seeds or nuts you like. Then add in some protein in the form of leftovers from the night before or cans of fish i.e. tuna, sardines or salmon.

Dinner – Meat & Roasted Veggies

 

I love this Cacao-Rubbed Steak recipe by @thedomesticman. Link to it in the profile. #dinner

A photo posted by That’s So Primal (@thatssoprimal) on

Dinner doesn’t have to be hard. Throw some protein on the grill or in a crockpot and use your oven and some baking trays to roast some veggies in the fat of your choice: lard, butter, coconut oil, olive oil, duck fat, tallow, etc… You don’t even need to follow a recipe for this really. Just make sure to use seasonings and fat to make the veggies tasty. This is a good post to check out if you’ve never roasted veggies before or check out my roasted broccoli that has become a staple in our house.

Remember these meals are just a template and a base to start from. Some days may look completely different. Don’t expect perfection. Expect that some days you might eat a doughnut or nachos but know that your foundation for eating 80% of the time should be based around these types of meals listed above. Then leave the 20% of things you eat for times that planning meals may be out of your control: office parties, birthdays, Disneyland or just because you’re craving ice cream. As Michelle from Nom Nom Paleo says think of Paleo as the main highway and expect to take slight detours every so often.

Cricket Noatmeal

Cricket Noatmeal

I’ve already hinted at this Cricket Noatmeal recipe on my post about quick on the go primal breakfast ideas. This recipe was inspired by the chia flax pudding by Kelly from Be Well by Kelly and was something I first saw on Mark’s Daily Apple. Since I first saw this recipe my wife and I have been making it constantly.

Ingredients

It’s a great quick go to meal that is full of fat and protein. But most of all it’s a really easy way to get our daughter to eat more protein. Protein in the form of whey that’s mixed into the pudding. As we’ve been feeding this to her and sending frozen batches of it with her when she stays with the grandparents, we’ve just been referring to it as no-oatmeal, hence the post title Noatmeal. It’s just easier for people to understand instead of saying well I know it kinda looks like oatmeal but we don’t really eat oatmeal, and this pudding is more nutritious than oatmeal and has a much much lower glycemic load than oatmeal… you see the dilemma. It’s easier to just say this is Noatmeal, our daughter loves it, she’ll ask for more. Now since this chia flax pudding is so loved by our daughter, we’ll be feeding it to her until she moves onto something else. But for myself I decided to see if we could switch up the recipe a little bit by playing with the protein source. Like say… Crickets.

Cricket Flour

I have nothing against whey. It works, tastes fine and has many additional benefits. So to change up the protein used in this recipe was basically just for fun. So I reached out to the people who provide the cricket flour to Exo for their protein bars and they were very generous and sent me a bunch of cricket flour and whole roasted crickets to experiment with. (More on the whole roasted crickets in a couple months). So all I had to do was replace the whey in the original recipe with the cricket flour and coconut sugar for sweetener. The only problem is if you try to match the amount of protein from the whey serving (20g) you’ll have to use about 5T of cricket flour. That’s almost too much cricket flour for the portion size so we ended up just using one serving of cricket flour (2T) which is about 8g of protein. Not bad for a quick breakfast that uses a protein that’s highly bio available, sustainable and high in omega 3s.

Close Up

So if you’re feeling adventurous head over to Entomo Farms and whip up a batch for yourself. It’ll definitely give you something to talk about with family around the Christmas dinner table.

Cricket Noatmeal
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 1T coconut oil
  2. 1 cup coconut milk
  3. 3T chia seeds
  4. 3T ground flax seed
  5. 2T cricket flour
  6. 1T coconut palm sugar
  7. 1/4t cinnamon
  8. Dash of tumeric
Toppings
  1. Paleonola
  2. Hemp Seeds
  3. Honey if you need it sweeter
Instructions
  1. Heat the coconut oil, coconut milk, chia seeds and ground flax seed in a pan. Continue stirring on medium/high for about 3 minutes until the texture becomes like oatmeal.
  2. Once the noatmeal is done, turn off the heat. Stir in the cricket flour, coconut palm sugar, cinnamon and numeric.
  3. Then put it all into a bowl and add your toppings and extra coconut milk to your preference. Enjoy!
Adapted from Chia Flax Hot Pudding
Adapted from Chia Flax Hot Pudding
That's So Primal https://www.thatssoprimal.com/

Slow Down

Slow Down

My daughter was about 8 months this time last year. Now she’s about 20 months (8+12 duh) with another baby due in February.

Birthday
Our daughter was born April 16, 2014

18 months
This is our daughter at 18 months

Everyone said it – time flies so fast – and it really does. But no matter how many photos or videos I take to try to document our daughter’s life – life is still flying by. This time of year especially it really seems like time is flying by. Everyone’s moving at a million miles an hour during the Holidays of Thanksgiving to Christmas to New years. Year after year the cycle repeats itself and can, over time, create what was supposed to be a very enjoyable time to be a very unenjoyable time of year. So what are we to do? Slow down. I know you’ve probably heard this before, but sometimes people need to hear things repeatedly before they finally take action. Hopefully this is the last time you need to hear it before you actually take action: Slow Down. Below I’ve listed a few areas in our life that definitely need slowing down this time of year.

1. Slow down the phone

We all get too wrapped up in our phones. They’re almost like the worst thing and best thing that have happened to our generation (slight exaggeration here). Just look around the next time you’re at a restaurant or at some other public place – everyone is on their phone. Look around at the Christmas gatherings you’ll probably be attending – again, everyone on their phones. So the other day I decided to put down my phone and be very intentional of the time I had with my daughter. I didn’t try to get the perfect photo of my daughter, or try take a video of her kissing a piece of bacon. We actually went outside and all I did was sit there and watched her as she explored our backyard. Sure she ate not one but two handfuls of dirt from our garden, but it was fun to just hang out with her, let time slow down and not be on my phone obsessed with trying to capture that perfect moment of her to post on instafacetwitter. Now you may be saying well Randall I don’t have kids so I have nothing to do other than hang out on my phone and look at Instagram or play a super addicting game. But I challenge you to try to actually do nothing still. Just sit there. Go outside and do nothing. Get a bon fire going and just hang out, look at the stars, watch the birds, just sit. The only way to actually slow down, is to do just that – slow down.

2. Slow down the TV

Now sitting around watching Christmas movies is something I love to do with my wife, so I’m not suggesting to do away with the TV all together. I’m suggesting to just not let it be the only thing you do with your free time this Christmas season, because before you know it 4 hours flew by and all you did was watch Home Alone 1 & 2. Now what else could you do with that 4 hours? A lot of things actually:

  1. Go on a walk with your loved ones to look at Christmas lights.
  2. Sit around and play old school Words With Friends, aka Scrabble.
  3. Read Christmas stories.
  4. Take your kids to a park.
  5. Sing Christmas songs.

Just try to do something that’s outside of the norm, doesn’t include your tv, phone or computer, and creates new memories for you and your kids to remember.

3. Slow down the cooking

There’s a reason fast food is called fast food. Because it’s… fast. Food shouldn’t be fast. Food should always be slow and this time of year we really need to harness that. Instead of being wrapped up on buying a million gifts that no one needs or trying to run around to different parties, how about you just stay home, order from Amazon and cook something slow. Look around for recipes that take all day to roast or maybe finally take the time to try out cooking that recipe you’ve been wanting to try like this one or this one, that you otherwise don’t have “time” to cook. And do this activity with a loved one or your kids. Make these really good cookies with your kids instead of just buying a box of fast made wheat and soy filled cookies from the store. Just make it fun and slow. Enjoy the extra time we have this time of year and really dive into the kitchen.

4. Slow down and sleep

Sleep is important. Not sure if you know that. We need 7–9 hours of sleep. It’s not really a suggestion, there’s good evidence showing that we need this much sleep. So what better time to actually practice this good habit other than Christmas and New Years break where we have a few extra days off, or maybe you (lucky) have 2 straight weeks off. Just be sure that if you’re still sucked into your phone and tv to wear blue blocking glasses or install f.lux on your computer so that you don’t throw off your circadian rhythm. I know it sounds hippy, but it’s a real thing. The more we keep looking at blue light when we’re trying to go to bed, the more we’re telling our brain it’s daytime when it’s actually 10pm.

Slowing down may look completely different for you and your family but these are just some ways I see my life being effected by not slowing down. If you have any other ideas on how you can slow down feel free to share them in the comments below. Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas!

Vitamins & Supplements

Vitamins & Supplements

Do hunter gatherers take supplements? Probably not. Why? Well, they don’t have access to amazon.com. Just kidding, that’s not why they don’t need supplements. A hunter gatherer lifestyle naturally consists of all the things a body needs: antioxidants, proper omega 3 to omega 6 ratio, good bacteria in the gut, mineral water, ample amounts of protein and plenty of sunlight.

Since I live in a box, drive in a box on wheels, to work in a box – all to just return to my box and to pay for my box. Getting all the things listed above is pretty difficult – even when you’re eating healthy and exercising. So, my family and I use certain staple supplements to offset the fact that I can’t hunt all day and eat local gathered fruits and vegetables all day. Below are the staples that we include in our diet and these are just suggestions so be sure to consult your doctor before taking any of these, especially if you’re pregnant (which my wife is but we chose to ignore the doctor regarding our 5000 IU intake of Vitamin D).

1. Multivitamin

There has been a lot of stuff in the news about how multivitamins have been shown to be useless or not that beneficial. The study they cite is normally using this data, but that same data was used in another study and found that multivitamins help to prevent cancer in men. Without going too much into it, I still take a high quality multivitamin and my wife takes a high quality prenatal vitamin. Sure, the best way to get all these vitamins is from real food which we try to do, but we can’t always get these in our diet daily – so for that reason we use a multivitamin.
Buy – Rainbow Light Multivitamin

2. Vitamin D

You’re probably Vitamin D deficient. That’s just the reality. We don’t spend as much time in the sun as we need to. If you’re unsure or want to check you can go to your doctor and ask for your 25(OH)D levels tested. The first time I got my test I was just barely in the range of not being deficient (36 ng/mL), and I was already making an attempt to get in the sun more. I then realized that I needed to supplement vitamin D orally to get my levels higher. Sure you can get vitamin D from fish, pastured eggs and raw milk – but it’s still not enough. You need sun to have your body synthesize the vitamin or you take a supplement. I now take 5000 IU daily, as does my pregnant wife, and my levels are now at 74 ng/mL. The Vitamin D Council recommends a range between 50 – 80 ng/ml, therefore I aim for that.
Buy – NOW Foods Vitamin D3 5000 IU

3. Fish Oil

This one isn’t really controversial. We all should be taking fish oil, it’s even one that my pregnant wife’s doctors are ok telling her to take in high doses. Fish oil is important because we should be shooting for an omega3/6 ratio of 1:1. That ratio gets thrown off from things like industrial seed oils and grain fed cattle. That’s why we should be cooking in butter, coconut oil, lard, olive oil, etc… and consuming grass fed meats. The standard american diet’s omega 3/6 ratio is about 1:30! Getting our ratio to 1:1 is pretty difficult but worth it as it reduces overall inflammation, reduces our risk of cancer, lowers our risk for heart disease and many other health benefits that you can google. How much do we need? Mark Sisson suggests that 1–3 grams of fish oil each day is a good way to restore balance.
Buy – Now Foods Ultra Omega 3

4. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is good for boosting your immune system, therefore when I feel like I’m getting sick I take a good amount of vitamin C (2000IU). To keep my immune system boosted, I normally take a slow release 1000IU every day. According to this cancer.gov site there have been lab studies that have shown that high doses of vitamin C may slow the growth and spread of prostate, pancreatic, liver, colon, and other types of cancer cells. Granted those higher doses of vitamin C are way beyond 2000 IU, they’re administered through IV and in the 100,000 IU range. Nevertheless vitamin c is a powerful vitamin that I find essential for my health.
Buy – NOW Foods Vitamin C-1000

5. Probiotics

Maintaining gut flora is essential for health. Now I could get the proper bacteria in my gut by eating dirt but that’s not really an option. I’m never really around dirt to get the benefits of good bacteria present in the dirt and I’m normally around Purell dispensers and antibacterial soap all day. For that reason I take a probiotic supplement daily. Sure you could get some good bacteria from some yogurt, kefir or kombucha but I like to get a good amount of bacteria in my gut from a probiotic supplement to counterbalance the 20 trillion colony forming units (CFU). The probiotic I take is about 25 billion CFU which is only a fraction of what’s already in the gut but it sure is better than the measly 1 billion CFU in the one you probably see on TV most often.
Buy – NOW Foods Probiotic-10 25 Billion

6. Mineral Drops

The purified water we drink typically has the minerals removed. Especially the water from the tap or refrigerator. Therefore I find it essential to add back in the minerals with these drops. I think it makes the water even taste better but you also get the benefit of adding back in the minerals that they normally take out. Things like calcium in drinking water have been associated with reduced risks of kidney cancer. Once again it would be ideal to get these trace minerals from inadvertently consuming dirt from foraging or something, but the produce in my grocery store is sparkling clean. However when I do use herbs from my garden I tend to leave some dirt on there just for good measure.
Buy – Trace Minerals

7. Protein Powder

This one is something the whole family uses and comes in real handy for our almost 2yr old daughter. She needs protein but she really only likes chicken and I can only eat so much chicken before I go crazy. Therefore we have been making this chia flax pudding for her that I wrote about here and we add in Primal Fuel. Primal Fuel is great because it has protein and fat. If you just pick up some other whey protein powder it’s most likely got a bunch of other junk in it and probably “low fat”. Whey protein is a great way to add extra protein in your diet and it’s animal based protein therefore it has a higher bioavailability than say pea protein or brown rice protein. If whey doesn’t work for you, you can always use cricket flour.
Buy – Primal Fuel

The 7 vitamins & supplements listed above are just some ways our family makes up for the fact that we can’t hunt and gather all day and be truly primal 24/7. These things help us get one step closer to living a more primal healthy life. What are some other vitamins and supplements you or your family use to close that primal/modern world gap?

10 On The Go Primal Breakfast Ideas

10 On The Go Primal Breakfast Ideas

Getting out the door quickly in the morning is already a challenge. Then if you try to add breakfast in the mix it becomes even more of a challenge. Then if you try to add a healthy breakfast in the morning it becomes even more more of a challenge. I think it’s important to understand what I mean by healthy breakfast. So often people think a muffin or pastry or some other glucose spiking carb fest is what we need for breakfast. Contrary to conventional wisdom, a whole grain muffin isn’t a healthy breakfast option. We need protein and fat to get us going in the morning, but we need something that we can whip up in a couple minutes, otherwise we will be grabbing for the doughnuts when we arrive at the office. Check out some quick on the go breakfast ideas below.

1. Bacon & Eggs

I know you may think that this takes longer than a few minutes but it can actually go pretty quickly. The key is to bake your bacon the night before or on Sunday and save it for using throughout the week. If you do this you can whip this up pretty quickly, especially if you follow Gordon Ramsey’s way of making scrambled eggs. Just throw some butter and eggs in a skillet, scramble for a couple minutes and toss the crumbled bacon in near the end. Once it’s done, throw it in a to go cup and eat it while you’re driving. Maybe not the safest option, but it’s better than getting type 2 diabetes from eating a muffin every morning.

2. Primal Fuel Shake

This is an even faster option. I like this whey protein because it contains fat in it as well as protein. Most whey proteins use some fake fat instead of a real fat like coconut. Toss a couple scoops in a shaker like this and you’re good to go.
Buy Primal Fuel.

3. Exo or RXBARs

I’ve already written about both of these here, here and here. These are both great options for breakfast on the go because they have a good amount of fat and protein. Pair this with some coffee and you’re ready to go all morning long.
Buy Exo Bars
Buy RXBARs

4. Primal Egg Coffee

I saw this on Mark’s Daily Apple awhile ago around the same time people were doing bullet proof coffee and I think the idea is genius. Basically you mix 3 egg yolks with your coffee and then add a little sweetener like stevia or honey. It’s like bulletproof coffee plus a little protein kick. Remember though if you do this to use pastured egg yolks for less of a risk of food born illness or salmonella.

5. Bulletproof Coffee

Speaking of bulletproof coffee… So you don’t always need protein to get going in the morning. Sometimes all you need is a good dose of fat and caffeine. You can read more about bullet proof coffee here.

6. Hard Boiled Egg

Prepare these Sunday and you’re good to go all week. You’d even be further ahead of the game if you pre peel them so you can eat them in the car.

7. Jerky

This is like the ultimate on the go meal. You can always make your own or pick up some good brands like Krave at your local gas station or Target.
Buy Food Dehydrator

8. Chia Flax Hot Pudding

My wife and I make this a lot for our daughter, but it’s perfect for you to whip up in less than 5 minutes and head out the door. I do have version of this recipe that I’m gonna post in the near future that has cricket flour as the protein source, but for now you can find the recipe I follow here.

9. Frozen Coconut Macadamia Bar

I’ve made this a few times and man are they good. They have a nice crunch and a good dose of fat. A little messy because they are frozen but I ended up eating these so quickly that it didn’t matter how messy they were. Find the full recipe here.

10. Your Own Body Fat

Now I’m not talking about cannibalism, I’m suggesting that you practice intermittent fasting from time to time. You don’t always have to eat breakfast. If you’re body is a fat adapted, your body can switch to using stored body fat for energy instead of relying on sugar (carbs). It’s a common misconception that we need breakfast and that it’s the most important meal of the day. It’s not the most important meal of the day.

There it is folks. Hopefully these 10 ideas will help you out in the morning to steer clear of the muffins or doughnuts at the office. If you arrive to work full and energized you’ve already won the battle!