As with any of life’s beautiful milestones, it’s important to document and share with friends and strangers through the art of blog. Today’s chapter is devoted to sous vide. About five years ago, I had a client asking me if I ever tried to sous vide anything. After saying, “what??” three or four times, he finally spelled it for me. The spelling was less helpful than I imagined, but at least I had something to Google later. Back when my client was starting to sous vide, the circulators were big, taking up a lot of counter space, and were expensive. This type of novelty cooking was totally out of my budget, so I decided to just stick with the Weber grill and my trusty ol crockpot. But, times have changed, my friends. Thanks to Kickstarter funding, genius engineers, savvy app developers as well as inexpensive overseas manufacturing, we have sous vide for the masses. The new style sous vide immersion circulators are much smaller, use a separate water container (like a stock pot) and are full of cool tech. So, I’ve said sous vide 6 times now and haven’t explained what it is. I’ll be brief. Basically, sous vide is a cooking method where food is vacuum sealed and submerged in a temperature controlled water bath. Sounds relaxing! I spent a few weeks researching reviews of immersion circulators before I made a purchase decision. You can get a simple, low tech version with 800 watts of heating power and a digital readout for around 80 bucks. The next step up has a bluetooth connection with 900 watts of heating power and is Alexa enabled for around $125. The prices on these change all the time, so pop one in your Amazon cart and keep an eye it. I’m sure there will be crazy Black Friday deals if you give one as a gift (to yourself). Which one did I choose? Well, the Apple/ Telsa styled, techy cool version that kept catching my eye was the Chefsteps Joule. I liked it for the low profile design, 1100 watts of power, the user friendly app that communicates through bluetooth and wifi to your smartphone or even Alexa, it also sports magnet base as well as a clip to use with a variety of containers. Decision made and ordered!
Update… The Joule just arrived today. We were planning a Kitchfix dinner tonight, but I had some organic asparagus in the fridge. Rather than suffer an epic sous vide fail with an expensive cut of steak, I decided to give it a try with the asparagus. I bought some of the BPA-free sous vide vacuum bags on Amazon. It was a kit with 20 reusable bags and a hand pump for less than $20. Decent price and worked great. I added some salt, pepper, fresh garlic and a drizzle of olive oil to the trimmed asparagus before sealing up the bag. I gave Alexa the command for the Joule to cook asparagus and it started humming. Once the Joule was all warmed up as noted by an alert on my phone, I added the bag to the water 180 degree and watched it cook. After 10 min, we had perfectly snappy asparagus. Really, really delicious. This week, will will try out some chicken and maybe a steak. I’m excited!
Update 2… we did organic chicken breasts from Whole Foods. Simply seasoned with lemon pepper and salt. It was some of the most tender, juicy and delicious chicken I’ve ever had. Sous vide success story!
Update 3… we tried a Pre Beef grass-fed filet and a grass-fed top sirloin. I just seasoned with salt and pepper, then did a reverse sear in a cast iron pan. Just like the chicken, the steak was perfectly cooked and so delicious. I’m impressed how well sous vide cooking does. So good, it’s in my regular rotation!! In the future, I may add a second circulator so I can do meat and veg at the same time. Let me know if you have any sous vide dishes I should try or if you have any questions.
I decided to take a full month off of wines and ciders after hitting it hard during the holidays. Rene was kind enough to join me on the journey. It fits right into our Paleo habits, so why not? Well, 30 days are wrapping up and I’m not too parched. Since mealtime didn’t revolve around a glass of wine, we focused on cooking at home and we also supplemented the month with Whole 30 meals from Kitchfix 2-3 times per week. We have been eating delicious Kitchfix food for about 4 years and it’s cool Kitchfix does a specific Whole 30 meal plan to support all the New Years resolutions out there. I’m definitely thankful they are around!
The big question… will dry January lead to a wet February? Lots of celebration stuff going on in Feb, like the Cubs Spring Training opener, my birthday (hint, hint), Valentines Day, Cider Summit 2018, four potential Friday Happy Hours, you get the drift. So, we will see. But, more importantly, was it worth taking a month away from adult beverages? If you would have asked me a week ago, it may have been a different answer. Here is a snapshot of the month: Week 1 – no biggie. I had enough champagne at a New Years Day party to carry me easily into 2019. Quite frankly, I was done with it after that party! Week 2 – there are some cold Stem ciders in the refrigerator door. They look mighty refreshing, but I’m really just looking for something to drink besides water. Enjoying a Dr Gundry soda, kombucha or just a sparkling water is a fitting replacement. Week 3 – I wouldn’t mind a nice glass of red wine. We made a kick ass pot roast in the Instant Pot and a nice deep red California wine would pair very nicely with it. I’m not really missing it enough to give in to temptation. But, I am realizing that I really don’t feel much different. It has been 3 full weeks and I’m sleeping about the same, mental clarity is about the same, I have same sinus issues I’ve always had. I do feel extra tired and lethargic, so that sucks. Best case scenario is that I saved some money by not buying any bottles of wine this month. Week 4 – The first day was just a carry over from week 3. But… yesterday and today were bonkers! I was in the zone all day long, woke up early without an alarm, super productive, tons of energy, extra cheery mood that was borderline annoying, overall perfect days. Did the dry January magic just kick in at the last minute? Whatever it is, I like it and will see how long it lasts! Because of the last two days, I’m going to carry over a “dryish” practice into Feb. I’ll do some celebration and social imbibing, but will limit a lot more than before. Things I learned from the month… 1) I don’t need to have a glass of wine with dinner every night. That was just a bad habit I got into. I just needed to break the association between dinner and stemware. 2) I can still have fun without a bevie. I went to a Warren Zevon tribute concert and just drank sparkling water. It’s Zevon, so usually beverages are in order, but I still had a great time enjoying the music and felt pretty damn good the next day. 3) Give things like Whole 30 some time to see the true effects. I eat really clean anyway, so the food part didn’t make much difference. It took a full 30 days for me to see any benefit from the rest. So be patient, give it time and don’t give up!
I’ve lived with recurring sinus congestion for as long as I can remember. After some fancy web research, I discovered it is known as chronic sinusitis. I was really hoping that the cure of all my previous ills, the Paleo lifestyle, would take care of it. But, after two years of Paleo, I’ve found the one thing that a clean diet didn’t fix for me. Stupid nose. Anyway, my sinus congestion acts a lot like allergies, but it is a year round problem and most predominant at night. Basically, either one or both nostrils are totally blocked and it turns me into a mouth breathing, drooling mess. Sorry Rene.
On nights when it is really bad, I get all claustrophobic and end up sitting until I can nod off from sleep deprivation. An over the counter spray is a quick fix, but I’m nervous about warnings of a “rebound effect”. If the nasal spray is used for too many treatments in a row, it becomes ineffective at treating the problem and you end up with worse symptoms than when you started. That scenario makes me sweat just thinking about it. I found Afrin and Nostrilla to work equally well, but my preference is Nostrilla… strictly for the name. Unfortunately, it’s not a natural solution and isn’t a permanent fix.
I also tried a Neti pot for a couple months. Decent results, but the results were only temporary, sometimes not even lasting the night. Still there is something fun, and gross, about streaming warm water from one nostril to the other that I really enjoy. I even upgraded to a super cool looking stainless steel Neti pot. It’s really a beaut, I just wish it was the problem solver. I do think the Neti is a good way to clear out those seasonal allergies, so I will keep it in the arsenal.
Next up was the Breathe Right strips. These things didn’t stand a chance against my sinusitis. I tried the strips for a few nights and there was really no relief other than the comforting feeling of having a splint plastered across my nose. Look weird, feel weird, didn’t work. That got me thinking and researching some more. What if there was something like a Breathe Right for the inside of your nose? Lo and behold, there is! It’s called SleepRight. These expand your nostrils from the inside and provide better airflow. They kind of pinch a little in the middle, but they offered some good relief. Not perfect breathing, but at least these worked a bit. I did find myself inadvertently picking at them in the middle of the night, just as you might subconsciously pick at any foreign object jammed in your nostrils. These little gems worked well, but there was still congestion higher up in the sinuses that the SleepRight just couldn’t reach. I just thought of this, but I may have to try a SleepRight/ BreatheRight combo. Whoa… mind blown. I may have to give that a proper test!
Anyway, one evening at yoga, I overheard a classmate talking about her experience with acupuncture. She was saying how it released a lot of histamines and helped clear up her allergies. Hmmm… maybe this could work for my breathing. I did a few personal tests with acupressure points around my nose and decided to move forward with an acupuncture session. At my fellow yogi’s referral, I made an appointment to see Dr Nick Leroy from the Illinois Center for Progressive Health (www.drnick.net). He is a holistic physician and has been practicing acupuncture for over 15 years. He knows his stuff! Dr Nick asked a lot of good questions during the consult and we decided on a course of five acupuncture treatments. I just completed the fourth treatment. The treatments last about 30 minutes with 2 needles in each foot, 2 in each hand, 2 in each ear and 5 on my nose and face. The ear needles freaking hurt going in, the others you hardly know are there. At the end of the session, I feel really relaxed and my breathing is very clear. Results from the first couple of treatments only lasted a few days, but now they are lasting longer. So far, so good. No waking up in the middle of the night and having fairly free breathing has been a really nice change. I’m thinking this is a good solution for me, but I’ll update results after another month.
It was a perilous selfie to take with the needles sticking out of my hand
I’ve mentioned previously that we don’t go out to eat all that often anymore. It’s difficult to find restaurants with gluten free, paleo options that we trust. This weekend, though, we had an amazing dining experience at RPM Steak right here in Chicago. Winner, winner, grass fed meat dinner!
RPM Steak has been quite the hot spot since it opened last year. Co owners Bill and Guiliana Rancic have created a beautiful dining venue in the heart of River North that is attracting foodies, celebrities and even President Obama who dined there last October. If you want to get a table on a weekend, you can expect to wait months for a reservation. On a whim, I searched on open table Saturday afternoon. An 8:30pm table for 2 popped up – WHAT?! Before I knew it, we were dressed in our finest impromptu date night attire and an uber taxi was whisking us up Dearborn.
The restaurant itself is beautiful. It’s has an open concept, but the darker colors and wood tones keep it comfortable, yet swanky. If you’ve been to RPM Italian, it’s almost the inverse of their bright white, but just as sleek. They were running slightly behind, so we headed to the four-sided open bar. There are booths that flank three sides and people sitting and standing about 2 rows deep all around the bar. It was crowded, but does that matter when you’re there to be IN the scene? I didn’t think so. We ordered a glass each of the Sonoma County, CA Complicated Chardonnay to start. The bar area started to thin out a tiny bit when our table was ready around 9pm.
Find the Hidden Red Shoe – It’s Good Luck!
We sat down and were presented with the gluten free menus (which I requested in the reservation). There is really not that much difference with the regular menu as their gluten free menu is huge and impressive. We were then greeted by our AMAZING server, Chrissy (or Krissy? sorry!) who told us she is Celiac and we can rest assured that they take gluten free seriously. Chrissy then sent over one of their five sommeliers to help us navigate the extremely extensive wine list. Once that order of business was complete, we turned our attention back to the dinner menu. We decided on:
Appetizers
Oysters: Sourced from the west coast – you get 6 for $18. These were some of the best oysters I’ve had. They come topped with a very light sort of ceviche relish that included jalapeno, cucumber, lemon and lime juice. I would go back and just order these with a glass of champs!
Thick cut bacon: Chrissy told us this dish is life changing and she was right. It had a nice sweet maple glaze and in a way, it reminded me of french toast – it was that thick!
Apps from Heaven
Main Course
20 oz. Grass Fed Bone in Ribeye (sourced from Slagel Farms): Even though there is a bone in it, this steak is HUGE! I thought Chuck would definitely be bringing some home, but he powered through and ate the whole thing. I had a bite and it was seasoned perfectly and very juicy. He also ordered the butter and bone marrow sauce to complement it.
8 oz. Grass Fed Bison Filet (sourced from High Plains): I expect bison to be leaner than other meats and it was, but was still full of flavor and tender. This was a generous, thick cut portion and as much as I wanted to finish it, I did have to give Chuck my last few bites (which he ate on top of his 20 oz. without a problem 🙂 )
Sides
Hen of the Woods Mushrooms: You don’t often see these on a menu and they are Chuck’s favorite mushroom, so we had to get them. They had a delicious woody flavor, as you’d expect, and were just divine. The serving dish didn’t move far from Chuck’s setting and I had to strategically grab some while he was busy chewing.
Roasted Cauliflower: Sounds boring, but it’s one of our staple, cruciferous vegetables. This was like no cauli I’ve had before. The roasted florets were very soft and came in a very light tomato type of sauce with lime. Sounds odd, but it worked really well.
RPM Steak hit it out of the park for us on all counts: food (with bonafide paleo options), service and ambience. It is also a bonus that it is part of the Lettuce Entertain You group of restaurants. We had some gift cards that we were able to use which softens the blow when the check comes. It is spendy, but it is worth checking out. Don’t forget to request Chrissy as your server – she is the best! Thank you RPM Steak for an awesome date night!
Door to Door Organics Chicago challenged MePaleo to come up with a new recipe using the delicious ingredients from Door to Door’s online store. With such a great selection of organic food, it is a paleo wonderland and you want to cook with everything! It’s so tough to narrow down the options, hence the challenge. After a great deal of deliberation, we thought comfort food would hit the spot. With Winter just around the corner and brunch at the end of every weekend, a paleo hash recipe sounded perfect. We came up with a spicy little number that is packed with nutrients and full of flavor. Let us know what you think!
PS – get $10 off of your next order at Door to Door Organics Chicago with this exclusive MePaleo coupon code!
Chorizo Super Hash
Serves 2-4 Prep 15 min Cook 60 min
Ingredients
1 lb Chorizo
2 large Sweet Potatoes diced into 1/2″ cubes
1 1/2 cups Red Onion diced
1 1/2 cups chopped Kale
2 tbsp Cholula Hot Sauce
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Black Pepper
2-4 Eggs
Fresh chopped Cilantro for garnish (optional)
-Preheat Oven to 400
-Lightly brown the chorizo in a pan until crumbly and add to large mixing bowl (grease and all)
-Toss chorizo with potatoes, onions, kale and spices, throughly mixing ingredients together. Pour mixture into casserole dish
-Bake uncovered in oven for 45-50 min
-During the last 5 minutes of baking, pan fry eggs to your liking
-Spoon hash onto plate or bowl, top with fried egg, season with black pepper and cilantro
This is one of the things you never knew you needed. My particular story started in the Whole Foods produce area. I saw a girl comparing two of those white coconuts, one in each hand, and I couldn’t help but ask what she was doing. She nicely explained that they are young coconuts, full of coconut water. They are pricey at $2.99, so she was trying to figure out which was heavier to get the best value. Packaged coconut water is more expensive and there are always concerns with additives or BPA in the packaging. A fresh coconut seems like a great way to get coconut water directly from the source, right? Well, after trying to hack one open with a cleaver, I can see how the packaged stuff has its place and its price. Is fresh coconut water worth a trip to the emergency room? Hmmmm, I pondered this but still continued to open coconuts the only way I knew how… brute force. I must admit, there is something primal and fun about my method. But, there was an increasingly worried look on Rene’s face every time I assured her that I knew what I was doing. That encouraged me to scour YouTube for a better solution. That, friends, is the day I found Coco-Jack. I ordered one up for myself and also got one for my dad (makes a great gift!). The Coco-Jack is simply amazing. Why the heck didn’t I think of this? It’s cool, works perfectly and has made opening young coconuts a super fun spectacle of wonderment. The Coco-Jack is simple. Basically, it is a mallet and a leverage device. You hammer the circular part of the device into the top of the coconut and push down on the handle part. The leverage pops the top of the coconut into a little round lid. You can go Gilligan’s Island style and pop in a straw the top or, for you sophisticates, pour the coconut water into the wine glass of your choice. I’ve been getting about 2 cups of water out of each coconut. I saved the best part for last… They also came up with a little scooper tool that lets you get all the coconut meat out without smashing the shell open. Again, genius idea! I was pretty pumped about this, so I contacted Coco-Jack. They were nice enough to provide a Coco-Jack discount code for our readers.
Use code “MePaleo” at check out and get a whopping 10% off of your purchase!
Here are some technique videos for your viewing pleasure. This thing is great! Cheers!
Those of you that know me know I’m a sucker for celebrity gossip. To Chuck’s dismay, I love shows like The Real Housewives and The Bachelor. I like to catch up on my Hollywood friends by perusing entertainment sites online during my daily train commutes. Today, I came across an article from Harley Pasternak: Is It Good to Go Gluten Free? http://greatideas.people.com/2014/05/28/gluten-free-diet-harley-pasternak/
I’ve got to say that this article totally pissed me off. Now, I get it…it’s a short blurb of an article and it’s probably not meant to elicit thought-provoking, intellectual scientific discussion. I’m sure they’ve got to keep things fairly superficial for our small, entertainment focused minds. There’s my problem. You don’t introduce a topic that is both controversial and important like this one, fill it with mis-information and then end it with a flimsy sentence saying: “But before we throw money after potentially unnecessary gluten-free alternatives, let’s let the scientific community investigate further!”
I want my fellow celebrity stalkers to know this is not good advice!! Don’t wait for that – there is a ton of information out there already. There are so many things I disagree with in this short, shallow article. But, I’ll just cut to the chase. One sentence in the article said: “Researchers found that the subjects reported worsening of their symptoms with all of the diets, including the gluten-free diets.” You can’t eat gluten one day and then not eat it the next day expecting symptoms to go away. You also have to address other items that can be working against you (toxins, sleep patterns and a host of others that are topics for another blog). The best way to test for gluten (or any other food sensitivity) is through an elimination diet. You have to eliminate the food from your diet COMPLETELY for at least 30 days (many people do longer) and then re-introduce it again to see if it causes any symptoms. I would highly recommend cutting out gluten and never re-introducing it, though, as I believe it is the worst. Why? Keep reading for my references…..I just have a few more quick thoughts to get off my chest first!
I’m not a doctor or the world’s most prominent gluten expert, but Harley isn’t either. I don’t have a famous television show to carry my message, but I do have this blog and I do have first-hand experience. I think it would be awesome if everyone gave up gluten (and a host of other terrible foods) and went Paleo. The results for me have been nothing short of exceptional. Yes, I had a compelling reason to try it out. But, many others (some of whom we’ve featured on this blog) have done it and haven’t looked back because the change in the way you feel is so great! Do I expect that everyone will live this way – no. Do I hate my friends that eat gluten – of course not. Do I want you to stop reading People magazine? Don’t be silly. Do I hope you try it out and get educated on the topic from some place other than entertainment mags? Totes Magotes!!
Expo areas at conferences are the best way to accumulate a ton of useless swag that ends up in a landfill shortly after you get home. The expo at Paleo f(x) actually exceeded my expectations. The vendor area was full of mom & pop type vendors with some great Paleo friendly products. Paleo is still on the fringe, so it is still untainted by large corporations. Vendors were generous with their samples and it was all useable stuff. The vendor area was flanked by a cooking demo stage and two open stages for sessions. The middle of the room was the action area where you could learn to dead lift properly or even flip a tractor tire end over end. Our very favorite vendor was Kosmic Kombucha. These guys are awesome! I’ve tried to home brew my own booch quite unsuccessfully over the past few months. Kosmic definitely has the process down. Their kombucha has nice effervescence, organic ingredients and tasty flavor combos. I found myself buying a bottle every time we were out and about in Austin. Mint Julep, with organic white grape juice, fresh squeezed orange and lemon juices and fresh mint, is the stuff! What’s not to love? Well, the fact that I can’t buy it in Chicago. They are local to Austin, but maybe we can work on a distribution partnership in the future?? Seriously great booch with passionate owners that love what they do. It’s just another reason to visit Austin again. Ok, I’m done gushing.
Booch Master Omar and Me
Our next favorite, because it’s such an innovative product, was the Exo cricket flour booth. There are a whopping 40 nutrient dense crickets per bar. It’s only gross if you think about it. When I was a kid, we always had crickets in the basement and they freaked me out. I had no idea that they were snacks! Anyway, the bar we tried had a nice deep chocolate flavor but nary a crunch or a creak. The gross out factor is actually pretty fun. I’d be interested in buying some of the raw flour to cook with, but they aren’t selling it separately… yet.
Crikey!
Ever hear of pili nuts? Me either. So, Pili’s are grown in the Philipines. They are nutrient rich from the volcanic soil and super delicious. It’s kind of a mix between a macadamia and a cashew with buttery smoothness. The Amazon of Paleo goods and Pili nuts is Barefoot Provisions. They literally had half a ton of great food samples to try, but the Pili nuts were the standout. They are an exclusive distributor for many of their products and focus on Paleo foods. I’m going to order a few bags of Pilis as soon as I wrap up this blog.
Pili Nuts
Epic Bar has been one of my favorites since they came out last year. I actually rode my bike 40 miles just to stock up on Epics. They had a great booth and there was always a crowd gathered to check out their innovative meat bars. It’s kind of like jerky, but much easier on the jaw. They have bison, beef, turkey and lamb bars. I had an issue with a bar a couple months ago and spoke with Sarah about it. She promptly replaced the bar and told me how they had remedied some quality control issues. I’m a happy camper. They stand behind their bars and are passionate about it… very respectable.
Epic Deliciousness
This vendor just puts a smile on my face… Primal Pit Paste. They included a sample in our registration packs, but I went to the booth and bought some. I eliminated the typical antiperspirant with aluminum last year, but had yet to find a good replacement. Well, the triple P is it. Organic ingredients and no aluminum. I got the kind that you scoop out and rub in your pits all monkey like. Rene got the more civilized stick applicator. They use arrowroot powder and baking soda as drying agents, which my shirts appreciate. So far, so good!
Primal Pit Paste
Where would we be without The Dirt? More Paleo personal care products for us to enjoy. They say “100% Natural and 200% Kick Ass”. We got a couple samples of the tooth powder in our registration pack and tried the samples right away. It’s a very different brushing experience compared to your regular toothpaste. You run your toothbrush head through the water and then dip the tip into the powder. It leaves a clean taste in your mouth and smooth teeth, but looks like dirty water when you spit it into the sink. I guess that’s the point. Chemical free and gluten free.
Nick was generous with his sticks. Nick is a salt of the earth cattle farmer from Iowa. Take as many as you want, he said. And I did. Nick’s Sticks are delicious. Good job, Nick. I think The spicy versions of the free range turkey and grass fed beef were my favorite. I took a pack for the road and it got me through an afternoon hunger attack. I’ll buy these when I see em!
The Granilla Bar was another fave. The guy, Kevin, was asked to fill a booth space just a few weeks before the conference. They had to borrow a kitchen and were able to crank out enough bars to satisfy the crowds. The story is good. His wife, Denise, developed the Paleo granola snack recipe as a healthy snack for the kids. The bars are even better than the story. The Maple Fruit Bar was my favorite… moist, crunchy and mapley. One of the buyers for Whole Foods stopped by the Granilla booth and was interested, so they may really have to step up that production!
The Granilla Bar Photo Bomb
We had to wash all the great food samples down with something. I almost walked by this booth, but who can say no to free beer?? Gluten free beer hasn’t ever been my beverage of choice. I used to be a huge beer fan with a very discerning taste for microbrews. The GF beers just have a funk that I don’t care for, so I’ve been opting for hard ciders or red wine instead. Omission Beer has really changed my mind and pleased my taste buds. They have a legit IPA and a really good pale ale. Cheers guys!!
Today, I was really noticing the vast array of attendees at Paleo f(x). There are people with auto-immune diseases like Celiac, Hashimotos and MS, to peak performance athletes that are competing in triathalons and Spartan challenges, people with weight issues and others that just want to learn more about the Paleo lifestyle. There were medical doctors and natural doctors sitting on the same panels for frank discussions on the heath of our nation and how to talk to your physician effectively. Everyone seems to be here for a common purpose… to improve their minds, improve their bodies and help others do the same. It is a strong community of like minded people gathered together to become better versions of themselves. I was expecting Paleo f(x) to be a conference about food preparation and exercise, but this is so much more. Topics encompass everything from nutrition to healthcare to addiction to sexuality to poop. We have only made it to one cooking demo (thanks Marla, it was great!). The rest of the day was spent gathering a-ha moments and processing all of this new information.
Ask The Paleo Experts Master Mind – panel – (Dr. Terry Wahls, Kirk Parsley, M.D., Chris Kresser, Dallas Hartwig, Nora Gedgaudas)
This was just an open session where attendees could ask the experts any questions.
The first question was a lady asking why she has lost 40 lbs and her breasts stayed the same size. I suppose this could be a problem, I’m not sure. Anyway, she has been confused by it because diets from her past made her breasts smaller before anything else. The consensus from the panel was a post menopause hormonal issue. Makes sense to me.
AIP (Auto-immune Paleo) – question for Chris Kresser – His version of AIP doesn’t eliminate seeds and nuts. Why not? He sees more issues with nightshades and eggs and not really any problems with digestion of seeds and nuts.
One audience member isn’t losing fat around the gut – most likely high cortisol. Premebeability in the gut leading to inflammation. Undiagnosed food sensitivity issues. Strength and interval training will help rebuild hormone levels, but only of sleeping well.
Other random tidbits and thoughts that you can Google:
-After exposure to gluten, you can produce antibodies for 3 months
-Asthma is autoimmune. Correlation between the gut and asthma. Google Kresser and histamine.
-One of the best mood stabilizers for teens is to get good sleep. 80% of teens lack sleep and their circadian rhythms are off. (This is why kids be craaazy)
-Issues digesting kombucha and fermented foods? Possible cause is disbiotic flora in the gut. A test for SIBO was recommended.
-No immune reactivity to camel milk because it is so close to human milk (anybody have a camel?)
US Healthcare: In Crisis or Chaos? – panel – (Robb Wolf, Dr. Grayson Wheatley, Julie and Charles Mayfield, Dr. Richard Maurer, Darryl Edwards)
We all know the answer to this… our system is pretty f’d up. Think of yourself as your own healthcare system be proactive with your own health and wellness.
One panelist had a nice analogy with health insurance and car insurance analogy – you don’t expect your car insurance to pay for oil changes, fixing dings and car washes. If they did, the cost of insurance would be huge. Why do we expect our insurance companies to pay for everything?
Darryl Edwards… Doctor, author and Paleo athlete. On this trip from the UK for Paleo f(x), he got cut above his eye and needed stitches. He got first hand experience of our dis functional healthcare system. It’s not good, people. It would have been cheaper for him to fly back to the Uk first class and have an ambulance pick him up at the airport.
Personal Paleo Meatloaf Cooking Demo – Marla Sarris
Author of Pigskin Paleo, fellow member of the Chicago Paleo Meet-up and creator of Paleo Porn. Marla rocks!
She made some personal meatloaves shaped like little footballs – brussels sprouts, leeks, pork. Mmmmmm mmmm. I can’t wait to try these out at home. Marla made some good points about not needing fancy tools or kitchen gadgets to make good food. Keep it simple and minimal. Good stuff.
Paleo and Addiction – Panel – (Karly Randolph Pitman, Kaila Prins, Susan McCauley,Amy Kubal, Dr. Nicole Avena)
-Symptoms of addiction – Perfectionist, over exerciser, perfect food, prefect body, control
-One panelist is grateful for her addiction (drugs and alcohol) – without the addiction and hitting bottom, she wouldn’t be where she is today
-Root causes of addiction – born this way, root was there and there is a genetic component to it.
-Whatever the type of addiction, if there is a genetic disposition to it, it doesn’t mean that addiction is a destiny
-There is a vulnerability, tenderness and sensitivity with addicts that makes addictive substances much more powerful for them
How do you know if you are addicted vs a healthy habit?
-When your life is being disrupted by your behaviors, then it is time to seek some professional help.
-An addiction never brings what you are seeking no matter how much you do it. Never satiates or brings satiation
-Once you start and you can’t stop it
How do you know when you start to recover?
-Stimulus taken away
-You are able to nourish your body and mind and do things in a healthy way
What do you tell someone that you see struggling?
-It is ok to stop and life is better on the other side
-You are recovering what you lost
Using Paleo as a path to recovery
-In typically recovery programs, nutrition is not addressed (pills are)
-Food addiction is the last addiction
Last thoughts… Paleo is healing and hugs are Paleo
Navigating Your Non-Paleo Physician (What’s Up Doc?) – panel (Dr. Lauren Vigna, Dr. Michael Ruscio, Dr. Richard Maurer,Dr. Daniel Kalish, Dr. Rick Henriksen)
-Most MD’s have only had 2 weeks of nutritional training in 4 year of school
-Why is a Dr qualified to give dietary advice?
-Lack of education and its easier to write out a prescription and say to work on diet and exercise. They want to give good advice, but haven’t had the success. If the patients are on the insurance model and prefer the easy fix of a pill.
-You are your own best health advocate
How do we get over white coat and use dr as a consultant?
-Choose the provider with the skills for what you need. You may need several providers for whole health care.
-You can get all the information and do your research and then find a Dr that you trust to guide you through the steps.
-If you are talking to a Western trained MD, you need to communicate in the same language. Saying “leaky gut” may shut that Dr out. Drs went into the field to help people and genuinely want to help out. There is a give and take between the Dr and patient.
-Find someone that is fully trained and has 3-5 years in practice, it might be worth it to travel.
Where can you find a natural doctor? What questions can you ask a non Paleo physician to see if they would be good to work with?
-What do they do for fitness and what do they eat?
-Check out the cross fit gyms and ask the gym owners if there are any family doctors that workout there.
-Most likely Dr’s you find won’t be following Paleo, but they should know about it.
What do you do if your Dr wants to put you on an unnecessary medication?
-Have object measures so you and your physician can measure results and analyze them. Open to using the drug if the diet/ exercise program isn’t effective.
-Ask if there is anything that will be harmed if you don’t take the medication right away
-Tell your doctor that you don’t what to take a medication… and ask their thoughts
-Work together with the Dr and try to collaborate on the solution. They will be more open to alternatives.
-The right test and the wrong Dr = failure
-Natural Doctor is outside the insurance network and will spend significant time with you as a consultant
Are you Paleo Sexual? – Christopher Ryan
I had no idea what to expect from this session, but I knew I had to go. This ended up being one of my favorite sessions of the day. Christopher Ryan had an insightful and hilarious presentation about how we developed sexually. The opening quote is one of my favorites, “A fig leaf can hide many things, but an erection isn’t one of them” 🙂
We went into the social life and sexuality of the Bonobo. If I’m ever reborn as an animal, a Bonobo would be a great choice. I got to meet Christopher at the end of the conference. He is a really great guy and my kindred Bonobo brother. I’m looking forward to reading his book, “Sex at Dawn“, on the flight back to Chicago.
Other interesting facts:
-Human beings have sex around 1000 times per birth – sex isn’t about reproduction
-We are one of few species that have sex when the female is not able to conceive
-Female copulatory vocalization – more likely in species that are promiscuous.
So much new information and another huge day tomorrow!
We are sitting at the airport waiting for our flight to Austin, so I thought I’d take a minute and bring the blog back to present day. We are taking a type of vacation that I never would have predicted a couple years ago. After 14 months of a total lifestyle change, we are headed to the Paleo f(x) conference. It is the self-proclaimed “Superbowl of Paleo”. I seriously couldn’t be more excited!
Rene is “totes geeked out” with anticipation of meeting her “paleo mentor”, Dr Terry Wahls. Not to mention the other Paleo big wigs, Robb Wolf, Jonathan Bailor, Chris Kresser, Sarah Ballantyne.
It will also be awesome to see Paleo authors Michelle Tam, Danielle Walker, Diana Rodgers. We had the pleasure of meeting them on home turf in Chicago for their respective book signings. They are all great people and so rewarding to spend time with them. All we have to do is get there.
So, how do you pack for a Paleo vacation? Airport food is on par with hospital food, so our carry ons always have an ample supply of snacks. Various Larabars, Epic Bars, a couple bananas and apples, Steve’s Paleo Goods grass fed jerky and maple bacon granola (mmmmmm mmmm) are all along for the journey.
I filled a small prescription drug bottle with coconut oil to make it travel size. This is the best use for a drug bottle, in my opinion. And, of course, we now travel with our own castille soap.
To keep up the theme and get a little exercise during the day, we are going to be riding the Austin B Cycles to and from the convention center. Uh, yeah, we’re green? Like I said, a vacation I could have never predicted, but I’m so pumped that it is here!
Me Paleo. 