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

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!

Exo Savory Bars Review

What would you do if you got an email from your favorite cricket bar company telling you that they’ve made some new flavors that have less sugar, are more savory and still have tons of crickets? You order a whole box of course. Well, I’m not sure you would do that but that’s what I did. Now I’ve already written a bunch about these bars in the past and even compared them to other protein bars so this review won’t be as in depth because these bars still contain all the goodness of their original flavors, nutritionally speaking, but have slightly different ingredients. You can read my other review here.

I do love that Exo went down this road because it really was the only way to improve an already amazing protein bar. In the past we already discovered that they had a good amount of fat, which is great, a good amount of protein, which is also great, but they still had about as much carbs as a banana – which isn’t bad but if you’re looking for a low carb protein bar solution for your morning, their existing flavors might of not suited you. Well, these new savory flavors should suit any person following a Paleo low carb diet. With only 5g–6g of sugar, these bars fit the bill perfectly. Now let’s get into the 3 categories: Nutritional Profile, Affordability and Taste.

Exo Savory Bars Review

Nutritional Profile

Let’s just take a look at my favorite of their new flavors: Mango Curry. All of their new flavors only have 5g–6g of sugar and 11g of protein. They are all more or less the same fat/carb/protein ratios.

Exo Mango Curry
Total Fat: 17g
Total Carbohydrate: 22g (Dietary Fiber 12g, Sugars 6g)
Protein: 11g
Ingredients: Almonds, Chicory Root Fiber, Cricket Flour (Acheta Domestics, Gryllodes sigillatus), Tahini, Coconut, Mango, Prunes, Puffed Rice, Coconut Milk Powder, Tamarind, Sea Salt, Natural Mango Flavor, Spices.

As we can see there is still a good amount of fat and protein and they slimmed down the sugar from 13g (Cocoa Nut) to 6g. This is great especially if you’re trying to avoid a glucose spike after one of these bars, though I doubt the alternative of 16g sugar will give that to you. Nevertheless it’s nice to have an option of less sugar in one of these bars especially when their competitor Chapul has 25g sugar!

This bar is the only one of their new flavors that has puffed rice, which isn’t a problem for me digestive wise. I occasionally eat white rice so rice isn’t a problem. The puffed rice does add a slight crunch to the bar which is a nice texture addition.

Affordability

Right now you can get a variety pack for $36 that contains 12 bars, 4 of each new flavor.

Exo Savory Variety Box
Price per bar: $3
Price per 12 bar box: $36.00

These bars are still brand new and they may be refining the flavors before they put these in their regular store. So there is no subscription option yet. I’m sure there will be a subscription option when they nail these down as final flavors. But even at $3 a bar, that’s not that bad for a whole food bar that’s low in sugar and high in fat. Perfect for sustaining you through a day at Disneyland or picking you up in the morning after or before a workout.

Taste

Now this is where things went a little south for me. I wanted to love every one of these bars because by nature I love salty things over sweet things. So the idea of these bars sounded really good. As I kept trying each flavor though, I began to dislike each one and always compared it to the one I actually did like which was the Mango Curry. Let me explain.

Exo Mango Curry
Mango Curry
This was the first one I tried and I loved it. The texture was great and the saltiness and slight sweetness was spot on. It had a very distinct meaty flavor. I don’t know how else to describe it other than that. It was just a taste that was almost beef jerky like in taste. This bar was a win in my book.

Exo Mediterranean
Mediterranean
This was the next bar I tried and I didn’t love it as much as the Mango Curry. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad tasting or anything – It just wasn’t as good as the Mango Curry. It was almost too subtle in flavor. Still contained that meaty flavor but lacked the texture and slight spiciness of the Mango Curry.

Exo Barbecue
Barbecue
This was the last one I ate, and I have to be honest – It was terrible. Not because of the crickets, but because of the actual barbecue flavor. It was almost overwhelmingly barbecued flavored. It was a nice flavor of barbecue but it was just too much of it. I literally had a hard time finishing the bar, which was a bummer because this was the one bar that I wanted to love. It just sounded so perfect – barbecue crickets. Hopefully they can dial in this flavor before it hits prime time.

Conclusion

So I know I didn’t love all the bars, but that’s ok because all I needed to love was just one flavor, like how I love the Cocoa Nut one so much. Now I have the perfect low sugar companion to my Cocoa Nut bar – Mango Curry. Once again, thank you Exo for making great protein bars with real food.

Buy some for yourself:
Exo Savory Variety Box

That’s So Primal 2015 Christmas Gift Guide

That's So Primal 2015 Christmas Gift Guide

Christmas is just around the corner, and I thought it was about time I compiled a list of things you can ask for or get for that Primal person in your life. I know, Christmas isn’t about consumerism and gifts, but we can’t escape the fact that people will still be buying gifts, so why not point people in the right direction of some gifts we can give and receive that will improve our lives and the lives of those around us?

The list is developed so that you can think of the kind of people in your life that you’ll be getting gifts for. There’s that person in your life that you know needs better sleep or hates waking up or maybe you just want to help someone out on their Paleo journey and get them started with a simple Paleo cookbook. The items below are to spark ideas and most of them I already own and can attest to their ability to help with the things I point out. Enjoy!

For those who have a hard time waking up

Phillips Wake-Up Light – Amazon

I have the older version of this, but the concept is the same. It emulates the sunrise so that you can wake up naturally as your circadian rhythm is designed to wake you up. This wake light will start to emulate light 30 minutes before you set your designated wake up time, and will gradually increase brightness over the next 30 minutes. No joke, this has helped me wake up better and deters you from that cycle of your phone going off and hitting snooze over and over – which has been proved to not improve the quantity or quality of your sleep.

For those who wanna do something fun in the backyard

Slackline – Amazon

Maybe getting home from work and plopping down in front of the TV or computer is your thing, but maybe you should change what your thing is – or maybe you know someone and that’s their thing. Slacklines are a fun thing to do right in your backyard. I’ve been begging my wife to get one for me for a couple years, but our problem is we don’t have big trees and our ground is really tough to put an anchor in the ground – but I have hope that maybe this is the year I look out the backyard Christmas morning and I see a beautiful taught slackline spanning my grass…

For those who love water

Nalgene – Amazon

I hate going to a restaurant and asking for water and they end up bringing a tiny dixie cup full of water. I’m not sure what part of “I’d like water to drink” means “I want a smaller quantity of liquid to drink than somebody who orders a Coke to drink”. As you can tell I’m passionate about bringing my own water to everything: restaurants, movies, weddings, Disneyland – just about everything. I like to drink water and I hate when I get handed a tiny cup when I forget my Nalgene and have to ask for water.

For those who don’t want to wait all day for pulled pork

Instant Pot – Amazon

Here’s another thing I don’t have yet but I would love one. Nom Nom Paleo always touts their ability and I would love to have one so I don’t have to wait 24+ hours for her Kalua Pig recipe. These would even be great for speeding up bone broth a little bit. A definite must for those of us who are always pressed for time in the kitchen but want the benefits of a slow cooked meal. It’s like a cooking time machine (except it doesn’t contain a flux capacitor).

For those who want to make homemade chips

Mandolin Slicer – Amazon

No matter how great of a cook you are, slicing a sweet potato with a Chef’s Knife thin enough to make chips is a little difficult. You might end up hurting yourself. Having a mandolin slicer in the kitchen is always a nice thing to have, especially if you’re trying to make some homemade sweet potato chips fried up in coconut oil.

For those who love to poop

Squatty Potty – Amazon

This thing is no joke. You need to watch this commercial then come back to reading this.

Ok now that you watched that I want to let you know that this thing really works. My poops get done in less than 30 seconds. I got one last year for my birthday from my brother and sister in law. At the time they made fun of me but bought it for me anyway. They ended up breaking down and bought one for themselves and now they swear by it. If you don’t buy anything else on this list but this, your poop life will be revolutionized. I promise. Money back guarantee.

For those who love to track everything

Moov Now – Amazon

There are a bunch of fitness trackers out there and there will continue to be more as the years go on but this one is one of the best ones out right now. It doesn’t need to be charged, it runs on a watch battery. Also, it seems to be the only tracker other than the Misfit Shine Speedo that tracks swimming, down to speed of flip turns! Pretty amazing tech in this fitness tracker other than just tracking steps, it also has a built in fitness coach. If you’re in the market for a fitness tracker for either you or someone else I suggest getting them a Moov Now or the Misfit Shine Speedo.

For those who want their everyday carry to open cans

Swiss Army Knife – Amazon

Everyone should carry around a pocket knife. I use it for all sorts of things but primarily opening cans of tuna at lunch. Early on going Primal I didn’t have a pocket knife and I forgot can openers when I would bring my lunch to work. It led to afternoons where I was starving! Now that I bring this with me everywhere I go I no longer worry about not having a way to open my protein at lunch.

For those starting out on Primal

Quick & Easy Meals – Amazon

This is the book my wife bought a few years back that got me hooked on Primal, but it also got me hooked on cooking in general. The meals are so easy to prepare and cook that even if you’re new or someone you know is new to the kitchen, will help them feel comfortable preparing tasty and nutritious meals for them and their family.

For those who start diets in January

21 Day Challenge – Amazon

Everyone starts a new diet in January. It’s the thing to do, but it rarely sticks. That’s why the gyms are packed in January and eventually taper off near February – because people start a diet but don’t follow through. This book will help those who normally fail at a diet – follow through. This book helped me lose 30 lbs 3 years ago and I still keep off the weight, all the while eating copious amounts of fat, meat, veggies, fruit, dark chocolate and nuts.

There it is folks. The first That’s So Primal Christmas Guide. Hopefully some of these ideas can jumpstart your gift giving and point you in the right direction of how to spend your hard earned cash on things that will help you live a healthier and more Primal lifestyle.

Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak

This balsamic marinated skirt steak was actually one of the first things I started barbecuing consistently. It was another one of those recipes that my wife made when we first got married, pre-primal, and we still make it today because it’s just so good and still a totally primal meal. My wife learned to make this recipe a long time ago and I always asked her what the actual recipe was where she just responded that it’s some Martha Stewart recipe or something. So I did some hunting and found it was actually pretty much this recipe. Nevertheless we’ve been making it for a few years now and we have Martha to thank for the exact ratios. We do use quite a bit more Rosemary than she calls for in the recipe though and we use extra virgin olive oil from Costco and balsamic vinegar from Costco as well. We’ve tried it with different vinegars and the Costco one is our favorite. So just use whatever vinegar you love the most and one that you’re willing to use 1/2 cup of for the marinade.

Also, don’t let the fact that this time of year it’s pretty much dark by the time you get home from work deter you from wanting to use the BBQ. This skirt steak is so good that you’ll want to throw on a head lamp and head to the grill despite it being pitch black at 5:30pm now. Also it only takes about 6 minutes on the grill anyways, so you won’t be outside long.

Fresh Rosemary
It’s always good to use fresh herbs.

Get the marinade going for 30min-3hours.

Salt and peppered and ready for the grill.

Salt and pepper the other side while searing for 3min.

Flip and cook to desired doneness (3 min more for medium rare).

After BBQ
Pull it off the BBQ.

Slice it up and it’s ready to eat!

Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak

2015-11-17 09:51:37

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Ingredients

1.5lb skirt steak or flap meat
1/4c olive oil
1/2c balsamic vinegar
3 diced garlic cloves
2T chopped fresh rosemary
Kosher Salt and pepper

Instructions

Marinate the meat with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and rosemary for ideally 3 hours. Less time will result in less vinegar taste to the meat. If you’re pressed for time still marinate for at least 30min.
Once marinating is done heat the BBQ on high. While the BBQ is warming, put the meat on a baking sheet flat and apply kosher salt and pepper liberally to one side. Once the BBQ is hot throw on the meat with the salted side down. While the meat is searing add more salt and pepper to the other side of the meat while on the grill. Allow the meat to sear on one side for about 3 minutes. Flip meat and cook for another 3 minutes. This will be about medium rare. Adjust time accordingly to your desired doneness.

Adapted from Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak

That's So Primal https://www.thatssoprimal.com/

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