Foodpornography= Primal way of life

Many of you have noticed I have been posting several pictures of food on Instagram and Facebook lately and some of you have asked me why, while others just tell me how much I make them salivate.  So the real reason behind all the foodpornography photography, is because two years ago, my husband and I began working towards a primal way of life in regard to diet.  The primal diet aka paleo diet, is often described as the caveman's diet.  For us, and for most followers, the paleo diet looks at what our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have thrived on and sticks to that, avoiding grains, eating very minimal to no sugars or dairy.  So I often get the question, well what do you eat? And I think honestly that is what I find so appealing about cooking now, my cooking is more simplified, yet, for so many who see my foodporn photos, they say to me it is looks so good, but I could never make it.  It really isn't that complicated.  At first, we ate really blah and boring, sticking mostly to sweet potatoes and really simple meals.  Which if any of you have tried to do any sort of diet know, that once it gets boring you are over it. 

Well that is not an option for us, we embraced primal living and intend to keep it that way.  I know for my husband, Kyle this came from listening to Angelo Coppola's podcast Latest in Paleo and Mark Sisson's Mark's Daily Apple. For Kyle it clicked right away, made sense and he was working on living primal.  Myself, on the other hand am a researcher, in college I took a course on food and culture, so I am very aware of fad diets and latest crazes and how often they can hurt your body and health.  So I wanted too investigate, and I haven't stopped. I have jumped on board, because after reading Nora Gedgaudas' Primal Body, Primal Mind, so many things made sense.  I think certain things have clicked for me more because I had just been reading so many books on prepregnancy, pregnancy, and child development.  And what I am getting at here is so often we hear in the Western Diet to avoid fat, eat chicken, avoid butter, use margarine, eat egg whites, no bacon, etc.  Well let me share this quote with you from George Bernard Shaw, "No diet will remove all the fat from your body because the brain is entirely fat.  Without a brain, you might look good, but all you could do is run for public office".  Now, with that said, I will explain why this quote, which Gedgaudas uses in a chapter about dietary fats, got my wheels spinning in my head...you see, all those pregnancy books and child development books, not to mention, the OB-GYN and the pediatrician all stated how important breast milk was for a child's development. You see and this is the Ding, Ding, Ding or Ah-ha! moment...babies/toddlers need a high amount of dietary fat for proper brain development, now, "breast milk" is also said to help the child's immune system, but breast milk is also known for its' fat too. Then there is this thought, if our society has perfected this "low-fat Western diet" then why do we have the highest diabetes, obesity and heart disease.  Does the low-fat diet make sense? We could go on and on about this topic, I encourage you to read Gedgaudas' book, as well as, take a moment and look at the industrialization of food, you will start to make our own correlations. But in a nut shell this is what made me understand primal living. "The fact is that all natural fat has a role to play in our health, and what matters in the end is proper balance.  Artificial, overly processed, or rancid fats, however, are the ones that need be avoided altogether.  Those are the real bad guys"- Nora Gedgaudas.

So for our family, primal living makes sense.  Now, what I will say is that we are still working at it, it is not something that happens over night and it takes time, but we have discovered some amazing foods that until now, never even knew about like, spaghetti squash and celery root.  And once you try spaghetti squash, you will know, its much like the age old question which came first the chicken or the egg?  You will see that "spaghetti" grain noodles had to be inspired by this veggie.

So continue to enjoy the foodpornography photography and recipes and I hope that you are at least inspired to get a little creative in your own kitchen, there is a simple and pure joy in cooking!!! Embrace the journey!

"Your foods shall be your remedies, and your remedies shall be your foods"-Hippocrates

Sassy & Savory Short Ribs

Ingredients:

3 lbs. beef short ribs with bone-in
1 Tbsp Susie Q Seasoning (or Garlic Salt with Parsley)
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp rosemary (or 1 sprig of fresh rosemary)
1 tsp of sea salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp of coconut oil (or grassfed butter)
1- 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
                                                                           6 whole dried dates
                                                                           8-10 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

Directions:

Blend Susie Q/Garlic Salt seasoning, sage, rosemary, sea salt, paprika, black pepper, and roughly chopped garlic cloves. Rub this mixture into the short ribs, place in a ziploc bag and let the seasonings blend into the meat for at least 4 hours (I prefer to let it rest overnight).

Now you are ready to braise the ribs.  In a large skillet, melt the coconut oil on medium heat.  Add the short ribs to the skillet and sear the ribs on each side for 2 minutes.  When the ribs are slightly browned on each side, they are ready for the slow cooker.

Turn your slow cooker setting on low, add the tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar and dates, and then add the braised short ribs.  Cover and cook for 6-8 hours.  The meat should be tender and easily shred with a fork.

Avocado Bacon Deviled Eggs

 

 

Okay, so I came across this delightful little recipe via Instragram.    I saw a picture posted, but could not find the recipe.  I wanted to find the recipe as I thought this seemed perfect for an upcoming Cinco De Mayo themed birthday party, and not to mention it just seemed like a fun twist on deviled eggs for summer picnics. So I quickly "Googled" recipes for Avocado Deviled Eggs and found quite a few, so after looking through several recipes, I put together my own version (mind you always keeping in mind my regular deviled egg recipe).

 

Ingredients:

 

9 eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

1 ripe avocado, diced

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. yellow mustard

3 Tbsp. mayonnaise (*I prefer Olive Oil mayo)

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro (*if you are not a cilantro fan, substitute parsley)

1/4 tsp. salt

4-6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled into bits

 

Directions:

Slice hard boiled eggs in half, carefully separating the yolks into a bowl and setting the whites on a egg plate.  Mash the yolks with a fork.  In a separate bowl, mash together the avocado and lemon juice, this helps prevent the avocado from browning.  Then add, the mashed yolks, and add remaining ingredients, except the bacon crumbles, mixing them together well.  Then you are ready to fill the yolks, either with the old spoon method, or with a piping bag. Then top the eggs with the bacon crumbles and serve.

 

Special Notes to keep in mind with this recipe:

Unlike traditional deviled eggs, these lil devils should not be made too far in advance as the flavors of the ingredients change drastically over time (even overnight).  So I would only make these right before a picnic.  Now with that said, you could always cook the eggs ahead of time and then mix everything just before hand. I made a notation that you could substitute the cilantro with parsley. I made this notation because there are some people that find cilantro to have a "soapy" flavor, parsley has a more neutral flavor, so if you are not a fan of cilantro, go for parsley! Now why are you boiling 9 eggs, I prefer always when making deviled eggs to make a few extras, because if you are like me, I like to fast before a picnic or large meal gathering.  However, it never fails I always start to feel ravenous an hour before the event, so these are a great snack to help hold you over. Plus I am a firm believer in taste tasting the food you make before you serve it!

 

Meet Tart-tongued Badass Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan

     When my husband, Kyle came home to me and said, "I want to be paleo. I want us as a family to be paleo," I was a little apprehensive, not because I did not believe in paleo, but because I worried about getting bored with food.  Kyle had been listening to Angelo Coppola's podcast Latest In Paleo and reading Mark's Daily Apple by Mark Sisson.  I on the other hand, I am an avid reader and I wanted to explore paleo/primal diet on my own.  I firmly believe that to fully accept something one has to take the journey themselves (it is kind of like a grade school teacher telling you 2+2=4, but truly realizing what it means, not just an equation).  So I began reading, and quickly found myself wanting to make paleo not only a reality in our household, but also creative and enjoyable!   In my quest for more interesting paleo recipes, I discovered Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan when I happened upon her cookbook Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat.   What lured me to her book, was this  description, "The two essential tricks for happy, healthy eating are being prepared and avoiding boredom". 

     Once I had Well-Fed in hand and started reading it, I soon realized that, Melissa Joulwan was not only a talented cook but also a blogger, The Clothes Make the Girl. It was there that I learned just what an amazing woman, Joulwan is...I mean she helped start the Texas Roller girls, the original flat track roller derby which has since become a sport well-known for making girls confident and embrace style, sportiness and sexiness all at the same time (this is where "Melicious", Melissa's roller girl name comes in).  And do not even get me started on the posts she shares about her struggles and triumphs at the gym with all the heavy lifting! So I wrote Joulwan and asked if she would do me the honor of a Q &  A, get the lowdown on her inspirations in cooking and fashion and what music motivates her ambitiously bad ass workouts.

Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan standing against
the famous John Lennon Graffiti Wall in Prague

I love that the foreword to Well Fed begins with a quote from Julia Child, "You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces- just good food from fresh ingredients." How much of an inspiration has Julia Child been for you?

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I became a Julia Child fan fairly recently.  When I was growing up, my parents were my cooking heroes, but I fell hard for Julia Child in a very silly way.  First, I watched Julie and Julia and was smitten with Julia-Child-as-played-by-Meryl-Streep.  Then right around the time I was debating whether or not I could quit my day job, I read Julia's autobiography, My Life In France. She was a bold woman who ate up life with the same gusto that she tackled delicious food.  That book was tremendously inspiring, and shortly after I finished it, I took the leap from my corporate job to full-time writer.

As an avid reader, you share many of your favorite books with your readers/followers, where did your love of reading originate? Who encouraged you to hop on your skates and roller on down to the library? If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring one book with you, which would it be?

My dad was a big reader and my parents always encouraged my desire to be a writer- and being a writer means being a reader. I remember how excited I was when our little town got a branch of the library on the town square, and I'm pretty sure my mom took me the first day. I take full responsibility for the dorky activity of roller skating to the library. My poor parents! I was such a nerd--and they always let me be as weird as I wanted to be. They're awesome that way!

Jane Eyre is my all-time favorite book, and that would be my #1 choice for deserted island reading. Luckily, I have a copy on my phone, my Kindle, the trunk of my car, and about 18 different versions on my bookshelf. Just in case.

You grew up in rural Pennsylvania, did you ever indulge in Philly Cheesesteaks or Amish food growing up? And if so, have you been creatively thinking of a way to recreate any of those experiences? Like mmm...making a Philly Meatza Pie.

Honestly, my favorite Amish food is shoo-fly pie, and boy, oh boy! do I wish I could figure out how to make a paleo version of that! The other foods I love from Pennsylvania are the snacks I would get at the big farmer's market every weekend: crispy fried chicken livers, made-to-order french fries, juicy peaches. I guess I can still eat the peaches, at least!

In the paleo community you are someone who has been honest about growing up on savory foods like lasagna and meatballs. One of the questions I get asked when I share that I am living paleo is how do you live without pasta?  They always say I can't give up those grains. What I love in your book and on your blog is that you give readers a answer of substitution- spaghetti squash.  You are also deeply honest and do not hold back that although this is a substitute it does not have the same texture of pasta. Do you have any other suggestions on how to jump the hurdle on pastas? (Because like you said when you described Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...some days are not salvageable, but we most keep moving forward!)

This is going to sound very Pollyanna, but I honestly prefer the taste of zucchini noodles to flour pasta now. Regular pasta just tastes so bland and feels like a blob of wet sand in my mouth. But..it's taken me almost 5 years to make this transition. It's a slow process. For others trying to make the transition, I'd recommend eating spaghetti squash and zucchini noodles and then, if you really, really crave pasta, you can occasionally eat a gluten-free variety---or try kelp noodles. They're not my thing, but lots of people like them.

Cauliflower Rice Pilaf

 

What can we expect in your upcoming cookbook?

 

Like the original Well Fed, Well Fed 2 is packed with international recipes that are free of gluten, grains, dairy, added sugar, and legumes. Basically, it's a collection of delicious things I've been eating for the two years since the first book came out. I'm really excited about 15 new meatball recipes and a bunch of stuff that can be made in about an hour, so there are lots of great weeknight options, plus a few "project" recipes for fun. Total, there are about 150 new recipes and meal ideas. We're really excited about getting it out in the world.

 

 

Moroccan Meatballs (Swashbuckle those meatballs like a pirate)

 

 

You experienced and still are experiencing a very traumatic ordeal when you discovered a nodule on your thyroid. What advice can you give to anyone suffering with thyroid issues? 

 

My #1 piece of advice is to not give up. Everyone's thyroid experience is unique, so you have to read a lot to be informed, find a doctor that will LISTEN, and then be open to experimenting on yourself. I've found the only way to experiment wisely is to eat very clean paleo so I have that foundation. Then I can play around with exercise habits, medication, etc., one variable at a time, and analyze how I feel. It can be a long, annoying road, but every little bit of info and self-knowledge helps.



You are getting ready to go back to Prague on another holiday (vacation), have you ever tried a liquor there that is served as an aperitif? I believe it is Becherovka or Slivovice, but I can't recall exactly (a friend of mine spent a semester abroad in Prague and brought this drink back and said we must try it and it must be served chilled). It had a very distinct taste, very citrus like in flavor. And if not, are there any drinks or food that you would recommend other travelers to experience if they venture to Prague?

Becherovka is delicious! It's a liqueur made from something like 25 herbs. My husband Dave and I always say it tastes like Christmas! It's slightly sweet and spicy.  We also tried Slivovice, which is a plum brandy-- and we really, really, REALLY didn't care for it. The word "turpentine" came to mind.  There are three non-paleo treats that I love to enjoy in Prague: schnitzel in a pub, beer (!), and streudel from this tiny little bakery tucked away in a Soviet-era apartment complex in a residential area of the city. It's a trek to get there, and the reward for perseverance is the best apple, poppy, or cheese streudel I've ever eaten. On the paleo side, pork knuckle is a big hunk of roasted pork that's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside...plus lots of cabbage and sauerkraut!

What is your favorite Social Distortion song to listen to while working out? Are there any new artists you are following?

Social D's "Cold Feelings" is the perfect angry song for running, and "She's a Knockout" is also the perfect pace for a run.  My favorite current artist is Frank Turner. Check out the song, "Photosynthesis." The chorus is "I won't sit down/ I won't shut up/And most of all, I will not grow up".

The Clothes Make the Girl is your blog where you share recipes, triumphs and struggles @ the gym and stylish clothing, who has had the largest impact on you, in the fashion world?

My style is a mash up of '80s Madonna, Audrey Hepburn, the Ramones, and 1940s pinup girls....I love the bangs on Bettie Page, the boobs on Tura Satana, and the tasteful class of Audrey Hepburn. My favorite thing to wear is a little black dress and stompy black boots.

Melissa braving Prague's cold weather in a stylish faux fur hat

As you can see, Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan is a very unique, ambitious and determined  individual.  She definitely thinks out of the box, which is what makes her recipes so much fun (trust me, once you try one of her recipes, you too will find yourself getting a little more adventurous in the kitchen).  When you check out her blog, you will see a motto across the top of the page "Train hard. Eat Clean. Live Loud", it is simple and so true.  As someone who enjoys life and its many adventures, I really embrace the "Live Loud" part.  I am eagerly awaiting her next cookbook, Well Fed 2, which is due out October 2013! Until then, start training, get a copy of Well Fed and start living loud!!!



Discover more about Melissa:


Take a bite of her paleo cookbook.
http://www.clothesmakethegirl.com/wellfed


Read her blog.
http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com


Connect with Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/melicious11
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheClothesMakeTheGirl
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/melissajoulwan
Instagram: @melicious11

Meatza Pie



In honor of National Pi Day 3.14, I decided it is time for me to not only finally try this recipe out, but share it with anyone else who feels like being a little irrational in the kitchen.  I discovered this recipe in Melissa Joulwan's Well-fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat.  You can learn more about Joulwan by checking out her blog, The Clothes That Make the Girl. So have fun unleashing your irrational side, and discover what it is like to cook outside the pizza box. (If you notice the cooking time is the same as the wait time would be if you ordered a pizza). Have fun!

 
 

Meatza Pie: an irrational twist on traditional pizza

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 Tbsp. Penzeys Italian Sausage Seasoning

1 Cup Fresh Grape Tomatoes

2 tsps. Coconut Oil

1 Tbsp. Penzeys Pizza Seasoning

*Assorted Veggies for topping

*Shredded Cheese

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 400 F degrees

-Mix Meat with italian sausage seasonings. Divide in half.
-Press meat mix smooth and evenly into two 9" pie pans. Bake for 15 minutes.

-While meat bakes, cut grape tomatoes into halves.

-Heat coconut oil in a skillet, add tomatoes and pizza seasoning...this will thicken to become your sauce. Set aside.

-Prep veggies for topping (your choice steam or saute until tender).

-Take the meat pie out let cool for a few minutes. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Carefully with a large spatula lift the meat pies, tilting slightly to allow the grease drippings to run off into the pie pans before placing each pie on the parchment lined baking sheet. Spread sauce and arrange cheese and toppings, place back in oven and finish cooking for another 15 minutes.

-Remove let stand a few minutes, cut and serve.

*Note: Penzeys is a spice company, you can buy their spices in their stores, or online.  If you don't have Penzeys you can substitute with Italian Seasonings. Joulwan recommends Penzeys, as do I, a friend turned me onto Penzeys a few years ago.*

**Note #2: People who follow the paleo diet, debate whether cheese is an accepted food for the diet. Strict Paleo dieters avoid it, as they avoid all dairy. So it is up to you, embrace your creativity.

***Note #3: If you are in a pinch and want to speed this up you can also use canned or jarred pizza sauce, instead of making your own.

Sweet Potato Casserole

This recipe was originally created by my husband, Kyle, when he decided to take on the paleo diet. When I grabbed a hold of it I changed a few things and added a few ingredients.  Now it has become a weekly staple in our household.  This dish is great as a breakfast side dish, a snack, a side for dinner, or great as a dessert all by itself or with a yummy scoop of vanilla ice cream! :)  Kids love this dish!!!


Ingredients:
2-3 Tbsp. grassfed butter (Kerrigold), salted
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 1/2" pieces
2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced into 1" pieces
2 D'Anjou or Bartlett pears, peeled and either diced or sliced into moon slivers
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup of chopped pecans
sprinkle of Penzeys Cinnamon

Directions:

Grease the casserole dish with the butter, it will not take the entire 2-3 Tbsp. to grease, Leave the remaining butter in the bottom of the casserole dish. Personally I like to chop up the butter into smaller pieces around the dish. Then layer the ingredients starting with the sweet potatoes, all the way through to the sprinkling of Penzeys Cinnamon. Then cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven @ 350 for about 1 hour and 15 mins.