Eggs!

I love eggs. So tasty. I also love that they can be prepared quickly. Thing is — while you can prepare them quickly it’s not going to yield the tasty results of taking some time and doing it right. In fact, many a chef is judged on their ability to do eggs the right way.

Common mistakes:

• Getting the pan too hot.
• Adding milk for fluffiness when it’s water you need for fluffy and milk that you need for creamy
• Using room temperature eggs

Steps For Making Great Scrambled Eggs

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl. Beat with a fork or whisk the eggs until they turn a pale yellow color — but don’t go crazy! Less is more! Season to taste with a pinch of salt and fresh black pepper.
2. Water or milk?
   1. For fluffier scrambled eggs – add 1 to 1 1/2 tbs of water per egg.
   2. For creamy goodness — add 1 tablespoon of milk for each egg.
3. Warm a non-stick pan over medium-low heat.
4. Add some butter — it won’t kill you.
5. If the butter turns brown right away, you pan is too hot and you need to start anew with a clean pan. If you can feel the heat with your hand 6 inches away — good to go.
6. Pour your eggs into the pan and step away for 10 seconds. Just leave them be. Obviously, your pan cannot be sun level hot for this phase…
7. Start scrambling with a non-stick safe tool like a wooden spoon or plastic spatula. 2-5 minutes. Add in herbs here as well.
8. You’re going to want to get the eggs out of the pan while they still look a little wet. They will firm up on the plate.

Incidentally, I’ve also tried Tyler Florence’s method of turning off the heat after that initial 10 seconds and slowly creating big fluffy “clouds”. This takes a while and you can’t have a deep pool of eggs in a tiny pan…but it turns out really, really well. Considering that if you’re strict paleo you can only have six eggs per week — you might as well rock them. So rock them!

And… you guys have probably scoured Robb Wolff’s blog extensively, but I thought this article by LaLonde about CrossFitting on a Paleo style diet was detailed and presented a good anecdotal study about what happens when you CF on Paleo.

http://robbwolf.com/2009/10/08/crossfit-on-a-low-carb-paleo-diet-mat-lalonde-reporting/

Take a look at it — did any of you have similar experiences?

The Czech Republic is full of different cuts of pork roasted in different sorts of ways!  There’s also bacon everywhere!!!

Austria follow suit with plenty of ham/sausage and berries!!!  So much deliciousness has ensued.

I feel like i’m not eating enough though and that I’ve lost like 10 lbs already

(Maiya sorry for the pork talk)

Quick Update: Body weight up 3 lbs from last weigh in and measurements about 30 days ago. Body fat down 4.3%.

Anyone want to get pinched before the July 4th weekend? Let me know.

One thing I’ve realized over the course of this challenge is just how all over the place my diet is. I’ve always thought that I eat *fairly* healthy, as in healthy foods (which is mostly true), but I’m also all over the place on daily calorie intake, daily veggie intake, daily meals, etc. Now, reading info on IF makes me think I shouldn’t worry about it so much, but I think that overall it has a detrimental effect on my diet. I may make a stellar dinner one night, but earlier in the day all I’ve eaten was some fig bars, maybe a bowl of cereal with hemp milk, etc. Not a very balanced plan, and probably says a lot about why I struggle with sleepiness during the day.

I bought a Five Dot ranch flank steak at the Co-op, and made half of it on Friday night, and the other half on Sunday (last) night. I marinated it for about 30 minutes in olive oil, salt, pepper, and a powdered spiced rub I have. I bbq’d it (best purchase I’ve made in a while!), and then baked a potato in the microwave and put non-dairy, non-soy Earth Balance on it, and served steamed broccoli (Friday) or brussel sprouts sauteed with garlic and shallots (Sunday). I think if I just use a yam or a sweet potato instead of the potato, I’ll be good to go. Highly recommend!

Sleep, training volume and intensity and recovery are just a few factors. My sleep has been crap lately. I’m also a little beat up and really looking forward to a deloading week in 7 days.

I’m thinking I need to eat a little more overall (ramp up the fat) and down some more protein. In a calorie deficit you have to, I know. But how much more? Well, I guess it’s time to see.

http://paynowlivelater.blogspot.com/2010/06/paleoprimal-in-nutshell-part-3-sunshine.html

Hope everyone’s challenge is going well

tonight was a ny steak my dad got me this past weekend with some frozen blueberries. yummm

I’ve been making a real effort to find paleo/primal-friendly meals in our little burg. So far here are some of my favorites:

1. Pluto’s salads – if you haven’t been there, it is a “some assembly required” eatery. You pick your greens (I prefer a mix of farmer’s greens and spinach), point out the toppings you want (I like jicama, mushrooms, bean sprouts, apple slices, etc), and let them know what meat you want (I recommend the tri-tip) and what dressing (they have a great balsamic vinaigrette). The side salad usually equals 1-2 meals for me, and I’ve never tackled the whole salad. Decline the bread and you are paleo-golden!

2. 3rd and U Cafe – affordable, fast, and good. Their spinach salad comes with bacon, hardboiled egg and mushrooms, and I skip the feta and add their chicken, which is grilled on demand and really good.  If I want to cheat, I’ll have it on a Friday, when they have bottomless fries.

3. Bistro 33 – their spinach salad includes hardboiled eggs, red onions, bacon, mushrooms and slivered almonds (*I originally and incorrectly said candied walnuts, which are delicious but not as healthy), and is exceptionally good. Again, a sorta-cheat is the sweet potato fries, which are oh-so-good.

4. Buckhorn booth at the Farmers Market – Wednesday nights the Buckhorn sets up shop at Central Park. Their “Bunless Buck” is a pile of freshly-carved tri-tip with sauteed onions on top, and you can get your choice of slaw – apple slaw, asian cabbage slaw or broccoli slaw, all are fairly paleo-friendly.

5. Soon-to-open Queen Sheba Ethiopian restaurant (where Pita Pit used to be). Owned by the same people that operate Queen of Sheba on Broadway in Sacramento, this promises to be a great addition to the local cuisine. Ok, technically the injera bread (made with teff flour) isn’t paleo-legit, but I don’t care, it is worth it. And the stews, veggies and meat dishes are very paleo/primal-approved. You can skip the injera if you want.

I know this list is salad-heavy, but they are damn good, even for someone like me, who doesn’t consider themselves a big fan of salads. I’d love to hear other local suggestions – not just the restaurant, but the meal!

I would pre-order this book.  Anyone who’s tried Paleo/Primal/Protein Powder and is familiar with Crossfit or Strength Training will benefit from this book when Robb actually finishes writing this…haha

I think Kitch has been to his nutrition cert.  Thoughts?