Natural Selection

For the love of Bacon.

The Girl — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 03:09:58 +0000

So ive been playing around with making a primal theme blog to replace this one. The purpose? To share my passion for the almighty bacon. Then my parents (knowing my obsession) gave me this link to a gift guide for bacon lovers. I really hope you check it out. I will be frying up some ideas while I finish up finals. Have a good one!

Priorities!

The Girl — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 03:06:04 +0000

Over the past few weeks of feeling bloated, miserable, etc. I decided to shift my prorities a bit. Yes, sure law school is definitely important, and I really want to make great grades on my finals. But why can’t I be happy and comfortable doing it? Why sacrifice my body and sanity for a number on a piece of paper?! So I shifted my mental state from negative to positive. Enjoying the little things (like Tommy with our dog happily in her dog food bag! (After we get new dog food and transfer it into our big plastic food container, she gets to play with the bag, and loves it!) And also placing a bigger priority on eating good for my body AND mind. We have short on cash lately (as im sure a lot of people can relate) so I have had to switch to corn-fed rather than grass-fed for the time being. This at first really bugged me. To the point where I would just for-go meat all together because I really honestly dont like the taste of corn-fed beef. But I realized that at least its better than bread and ice cream and I should just work with what I can. After about a solid week of eating primal again I de-bloated and started sleeping better. Not to mention getting my sun is making me feel like 200% better. So even if you are feeling stressed, bloated and just not how you want to….You can always turn it around quickly once you get back on the bandwagon. Have a good week y’all!!

Stress Hormones and Weight Gain

The Girl — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:31:20 +0000

Ugh. Its almost finals week, hence why I havent been posting. Around this time I tend to diverge from primal-eating due to time constraints and stress, I know, not an excuse but it does get really tough when I have absolutely zero time to cook and the ‘quick’ food choices are not great around me. I try to make do. However this coupled with lack of exercise (due to time and a foot injury) and stress hormones always cause me to bloat up. Happens every year. Ugh. My foot is finally getting to the point that I can actually walk though, so Ive been trying to get out for a couple miles a day to help with the stress. So frustrating, i just feel like a big ol’ fatty non-primal blob when its finals time. Constrained by both the guilt of not studying when I do try and get out to exercise/get sun and the mental exhaustion vs. physical exhaustion. As I sit here huddled in my school’s basement with papers strewn about and about a gallon of coffee in my system, I keep repeating, “This is not how humans were supposed to live! FREEDOM! I CRAVE FREEDOM!” Sorry for the dramatic tone of this post, just trying to convey my thought process at the moment. Im sure many people who are in super stressful and boring situations could relate. But the point is Im really not eating that horrible, yet my body feels absolutely horrid. I still IF, my main food is meat and veggies. Just some additional chocolate might slip in, perhaps a homemade tortilla or some Pho, but by western standards its not too bad. Just goes to show that food is only part of it. When you dont get enough sleep, too much stress and not enough sun can effect your weight as well. Take care of yourselves.

Thanksgiving + Black Friday 10 mile barefoot hike!

The Girl — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 01:02:45 +0000

Viola!! I made my first Thanksgiving turkey! I seriously impressed myself with how deliciously crispy the outside skin was and how juicy the inside was. Why don’t I make more turkey throughout the year? I will have to now. Whats better than 14 lbs of leftover meat?! So many possibilities! I can’t take all the credit. The method was recommended to me by foodnetwork.com’s “How to cook the perfect turkey”. I definitely hand it to them, the Turkey was pretty damn near perfect. I hope ya’ll had a lovely Thanksgiving full of great food and family. This was my first Thanksgiving away from mine, but I was sort of excited to cook my first entire meal for my future husband. I wanted to impress him and convince him hes getting a wife that CAN cook when I want to. My cooking has taken a back seat since starting law school. Most of the time we cook “primal food” which is just some sort of ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken) with broccoli slaw sauteed in coconut oil. So this thanksgiving feast was a treat we both really looked forward to.

We tried to incorporate primal/paleo into the meal since our friend who came over is also a paleo-convert. So we mainly had Turkey and this giant salad with some potatoes and sausage gravy made with heavy cream and squash casserole (made without bread or crackers). The only non-primal food that snuck in was some southern cornbread stuffing and an apple pie. Which i definitely felt the bloat on. Im glad the pie was

destroyed by the two boys. I had a modest piece but enjoyed every bite.

With all that glucose replenishment made me really want to burn some energy this morning. I had my fiance drop me 10 miles from the house and I decided to walk barefoot back home. It was a beautiful day, great weather (65 degrees and sunny) and I really enjoyed 8 miles of it. Around the end of the 8th mile

the terrain changed to really rocky and apparently that was a good place to break beer bottles (-___-;;) so my progress was slowed considerably to avoid stepping

on sharp glass. I guess I went a bit too far on the gravel and started developing blisters.

No fun! Im really glad I went, it helped clear my mind and put me in a great mood, but Im limping around for the next few days. It was really a test run to see if I can do a barefoot marathon next summer. I feel with another 6 months of training and strengthening my feet, It will be a possibility! I have some pretty nice calluses developing on the bottom of my feet. Love it! Well I hope all you guys had a great Thanksgiving and survived black Friday!!

How to Make a Primal/Paleo Friendly Thanksgiving

The Girl — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 23:42:23 +0000

Hey guys! Yeah, not a lot going on lately. Studying for finals, and doing the normal pre-final freak out. One thing more exciting I have been doing is putting together my primal Thanksgiving Menu!!!! A lot of people think that it would be hard, but honestly going through a lot of the CW recipes, they were easily turned primal with a few little changes. Ok so here is the menu just to give some ideas. No real recipes because honestly i just sort of guess and throw everything in or its pretty self-explanatory. I will however, give tips and the ingredients. And as promised, my paleo pumpkin pie recipe at the end

Roasted Turkey: The day before I rub garlic/rosemary/sage all over the turkey and let it sit overnight. Cover turkey in a light film of coconut oil then put into a VERY hot 500F oven for 30 mins. This will give the skin a nice browning. Then cover the top breast with foil, and place back in at 300F till cooked inside at the thigh at 160F (14 lbs is about 2.5 hours) During this time DO NOT open the oven, otherwise it will take forever.

Bacon Mashed Potatoes: If your one of those potato haters you can skip this one, but pretty much the trick here is to first bake your potatoes at 400F for an hour to get soft, then throw in a big bowl. Melt half a stick of butter, chop up as much applewood smoked thick cut bacon you want, throw in some chopped green onion (or leeks), some sautéed bell peppers and stir until smooth and delicious. The salt from the bacon/salted butter should be enough so be careful of over salting.

Italian Sausage Gravy: cut up sweet italian sausage into chunks, pan fry with some butter. Pour heavy cream in, throw in sage, rosemary and black pepper. Thicken slowly!!

Yellow Squash Casserole: Steam yellow squash, drain then smash in a bowl with 1/2 stick of butter and stir in a few eggs. pour in dish and bake at 350 till brown on top.

Big-Ass Salad: because…why not? I just throw a bit of everything in!!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST…..

Paleo Pumpkin Pie (without crust, if you want crust there are many good recipes out there using almond flour)

4 eggs
1 can pumpkin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Stevia extract
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut flour

Stir all together. Add nuts or raisins to taste
Bake at 350F for 30 mins.

I think also at Thanksgiving we remember to honor tradition and not lose it just because it’s not entirely Paleo. So invoking my 80/20 rule, I will also be making traditional corn bread stuffing. Its gluten free! Just exercising portion control, and managing to switch out some simple ingredients will make a huge difference in how you feel after your big meal. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Apologies- Law school makes you crazy

The Girl — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:38:20 +0000

So, I wanted to apologize for my previous post. I was having ‘one of those days’ in which I was bogged down with work and stress. I have never been one of those people who complain or whine but sometimes law school makes me just a little bit crazy. My updates will still happen because I do enjoy writing about something other than comparative fault or general damages. It feels nice to also communicate with real people who have similar interests and don’t think Im CRAZY for not eating grains. Just been super busy seeking a summer clerkship/internship. With the economy, apparently no one wants help, even free help (which sort of confuses me) but I digress…

I have been trying to IF in the mornings and just eat one giant meal when I get home at around 4pm. I hear that this is better for my metabolism, and I get to sleep in a bit more. Not to mention its cheaper, and my pocketbook is a bit empty now a days. But as the holidays peek around the corner, I can feel a lot of temptations for my favorite holiday treats. This is my first holiday being primal, but I feel fine with it. The occasional cheat is ok and I won’t feel guilty. But I will be attempting to make ‘grain free’ substitutions for my fav holiday meals. (grain-less pumpkin pie, squash casserole, stuffing) and im sort of exciting about trying out new recipes. Well off to class. Hope you guys have a good week.

Technical Difficulties! Grah!

The Girl — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:44:09 +0000

So I think I upload a post via my phone and it doesnt go through. So frustrating. Here is my fast-breaker last night:

Its a big salad with chopped brats, some super aged cheese and walnuts on top w/ a balsalmic dressing. I had a few sundried tomatos on the side as a snack while I cooked and may or may not have broken in a new dark chocolate bar !

This morning has been great! Amazing weather:

Although its a bit chilly, so it warrants a scarf!

My beagle posed for a slightly hilarious picture:

Well off to school for a meeting and then getting my first pedicure ever. They better not take off the calluses that I have worked up. Ill tell them specifically not to touch them! I worked hard for those suckers!!

How I feel about Wednesdays

The Girl — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:31:40 +0000

Early morning

The Girl — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:10:16 +0000

Good Morning Everyone! Ive been having some technical difficulties with uploading via my iphone. It keeps wanting to make it a scheduled post for way later, i have no idea why. Up early today! Amazing cold fall weather, the walk to school was amazing. Im trying to start fasting in the morning, so no breakfast! Ive heard for a lot of people that it helps with shedding the softness that I tend to hold onto in the winter (likely my newly found adoration for sweet potato and butter is to blame…to which Ive cut back a lot) but im trying to shift my mind to focus more on positiveness in the day and going to try to stand more. My back will thank me for this!

the beautiful weather today!!!!

Enjoying the weather

The Girl — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:36:20 +0000

Trying to make the most on the day by getting some vitamin D and studying. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone.