KrisNeely, Author at Ant & Anise • Page 14 of 14

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 2

My first thought when I woke up was that I wasn’t very hungry at all. This is unusual. We did eat a little late last night, so maybe that’s part of it.

It could be that I’m just anxious about this challenge too. My breakfast routine has been pretty basic and, now that I write about it, downright boring for the past several months: Peanut butter on multigrain toast. That’s it, along with a coffee. Now that both of those are out of the question, I peeked into the fridge for some inspiration. What could I eat? Unfortunately the fridge was looking a little bare. I decided to go ahead and have my coffee, and flip through those borrowed cookbooks for some inspiration.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the breakfast choice quickly became clear: Eggs. Both books (that is, Make It Paleo and Paleo Comfort Foods) have an abundance of egg recipes, from scrambled to fried to atop beef hash to baked in muffin cups. Eggs in ways I hadn’t thought about, before now. The few ingredients I did have, in the fridge and the herb garden, were enough to turn out a Mediterranean inspired, very Paleo-friendly breakfast. And you know? I liked it. Maybe not as much as peanut butter toast, but it would do just fine.

I turned my attention to the Paleo cookbooks again. Turns out there are some interesting ways to avoid bread, potatoes and all grains. Raw cauliflower, pulsed in a food processor and sauteed with some onions, becomes “rice”. Almond meal subs in for all purpose flour in muffins. And what’s this? Coconut flour. Wow. And here I thought I had to give up all my beloved baked goods. All of a sudden I felt a new energy come over me and I started dreaming about bread. If I can bake, I can definitely make it through the challenge.

Mediterranean Eggs Paleo

Serving Size: 1

Adapted from Make It Paleo by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason

Ingredients

1 tomato, sliced in 1/4 inch thick slices
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar or glaze
2 free range eggs
5 Kalamata olives, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped fine
salt and fresh cracked pepper

Instructions

Preheat the broiler on high. Place the slices of tomato on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Broil for 2-3 minutes, or until the tomatoes are heated through.
While the tomatoes are broiling, heat the other 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Break the eggs into the pan and cook until the whites set up. Flip the eggs over and continue cooking until they’re done to your desired likeness. I like my eggs pretty well done.
Place the tomato slices on your plate. Sprinkle the olives over the tomatoes. Stack the 2 fried eggs over the tomatoes and sprinkle the oregano over the plate.

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30-day challenge

The Paleo Diet Challenge: Day 1

Am I ready for this?

I’m feeling a little anxious, not sure how this is going to go. I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on what I’m absolutely not allowed to eat. No bread, no rice, no corn, those are the big ones. Okay, got it. So lots of vegetables, no problem. And protein? Luckily I’m not a vegetarian — going to cooking school cured me of that — so all is well so far.

I haven’t got any real plan for meals and snacks yet. I figure I’ll just focus on the things I enjoy and try not to think too much about what I’m missing. Like, well, you know, the B word. Yes, bread.

One thing I thought would be interesting is to track my weight this month. It’s normally steady, stubbornly so, staying within a 2-3 pound range all the time. But if this is supposed to be a life changing diet, will my weight finally budge a little?

On the eating front, breakfast was a big bowl of mixed fruit and an americano from our gorgeous espresso machine. Here I admit a deviation from a strictly Paleo diet that doesn’t allow any dairy whatsoever: I must have coffee cream in my americano, the full 18% fat kind. Not negotiable.

Lunch was a tuna salad with loads of fresh lemon juice and herbs, like a grown-up version of the tuna salad my mom used to make, on top of salad greens. Delicious.

For dinner I went to my sister’s place, a very safe outing since she’s adopted a strictly gluten-free diet for the past few months. I brought some Terra Chips for a pre-dinner snack and tried not to feel too guilty about eating them. They’re deep fried yes, but they are vegetables right? Later we whipped up a mango salsa that went perfectly well with barbecued chicken breasts and sauteed spinach. Yum. Not missing the bread at all. Did I just say that?

The bonus of the day was my sister lending me a few cookbooks — Make It Paleo and Paleo Comfort Foods — so I’ll be busy for the next few days doing some research. My favorite kind. Cool!

More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the next 30 days

The Paleo Diet Challenge: My Plan

So when I say I’m following a Paleo diet, what exactly to I mean?

Good question. It is a diet that follows what caveman ate over 2 million years ago — meat and fish, vegetables, fruit and nuts. It doesn’t include any grains, legumes, dairy products, or refined sugar. But, like many things, it turns out there are several interpretations of what eating a Paleo diet really means.

To help figure this all out — and quickly, since I decided only a week ago to do this month-long challenge — I turned to a few sources. One was Mark Sisson’s blog Mark’s Daily Apple. Another was Robb Wolf, who sets some good boundaries around what a Paleo diet includes and excludes. A couple dozen more searches uncovered a number of basic guidelines on Paleo eating, and helped me determine my approach.

Giving up grains, for me, is huge. That will be my main focus, along with avoiding legumes (bye bye peanut butter..sob, wimper), processed food, and dairy. Avoiding dairy is actually a pretty big deal too, since cheese can be a key protein source for weeks on end if I’m feeling lazy about cooking.

Here’s what I’ll be eating:

Meats & Seafood: Fish, prawns, beef, chicken, pork, lamb, eggs
Fruits & Vegetables: All of them, including some dried fruits and coconut flour, as well as nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, the occasional white potato) which are frowned up on by more strict Paleo diets
Nuts & Seeds: Raw or ground (almond meal, flax seed meal), but not soaked
Healthy Fats: Olive oil, coconut oil, walnut oil, lard, and yes some regular butter
Herbs, spices and seasonings: Fresh from the garden parsley, thyme, tarragon, cilantro, chives, and definitely ginger and garlic
Dairy: A minimal amount of cheese, cream in my morning coffee

So there it is. It’s not a super strict Paleo diet by any stretch. I’m not completely cutting out dairy, alcohol or sugar but I’ll do my best to keep cheese to a minimum, but it will likely sneak its way in. And having a glass of wine or some chocolate? For goodness sakes, something has to keep me sane for the next month.

Check out what started this all off, why I’m doing this in the first place:
The Paleo Diet Challenge

The Paleo Diet Challenge

I wasn’t expecting to get quite so personal so early into the blog’s existence, but here goes. In the early 1990s I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease. I had no symptoms, aside from an inflamed thyroid gland. No explanation for why or how it happened, and no offer of any cure. The only thing the doctors did know is that it could be managed, by taking a pill every day to replace the thyroid hormone that my body couldn’t produce.

Since then I’ve been taking a little Synthroid pill every morning. And getting blood tests every 6 or 12 months to monitor the T4 and TSH levels in my blood.

Most of the time I don’t think too much about it, but when I do it bugs me. It’s a hassle. Yes, it’s very minor compared to all the possible diseases out there, but I still don’t like it one bit.

Fast forward to late 2011. It started with my dad, who told us about an article he’d read on the link between gluten and a number of diseases, like diabetes and Alzheimer’s, two of the demons in our family. Shortly after my sister instantly became a gluten-free convert after reading Wheat Belly. Me? I love bread — toast, pizza, crusty baguette with cheese — and I bake sweet treats on a regular basis. Very regular. I even used to be a baker of gorgeous artisanal breads too, in my early career days. The thought of giving up bread and baking seemed impossible to contemplate.

That is, until I stumbled upon the many articles linking autoimmune conditions, including Hashimoto’s, to gluten intolerance. I felt a little foolish for not checking this out earlier, since it seemed every Google search I did turned up more and more articles linking gluten consumption and autoimmune diseases like mine. Why had it taken me so long to look into this?

Now not everything you read on the internet is true, I know. But a lot of websites and blogs detail the dramatic effects of not just a gluten-free diet but a Paleo diet, free of grains entirely. Like Sarah Wilson who noticed “amazing differences” two weeks into the diet, or Ann Wendel who said a Paleo diet changed her life.

Wow. Life changing. Could I actually cure my Hashimoto’s by eating a Paleo diet? That clinched it — I would go Paleo for a month. Plenty of seafood and meat, vegetables and fruit, and some nuts and seeds. A minimal amount of dairy. What’s not to like?

Oh right, the bread part. Maybe I can just forget about bread for the next month. It’s not like I’m going to do this forever, right?

I’ve come up with three things I’m looking to test in this challenge:

I want to see if I can stick to a Paleo diet, especially the grain-free part
I want to see if I feel any different. More energy! More alertness!
I want to see if the Paleo diet makes any difference in my usual blood test results for thyroid levels

So I’m starting today.

What’s my plan for this anyway? Find out what I’ll be eating here.

Image courtesy of Lord Jim, via Flickr.

Roasted Tomato Pizza Sauce

There’s a saying that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. That’s kind of how it felt when you made the roasted tomatoes for that cheesy, puff pastry appetizer.

I recently found a new pizza dough recipe and was eager to try it, but was hesitating because I’d never been able to make a good, tomato-y sauce. Years ago I attempted it several times and ended up with nothing better than, well, red paste with not much flavor. Frustrated, I just gave up on making my own pizza – for good.

But that’s crazy, right? I tackle complicated new recipes often enough, and they almost always turn out great. And pizza is supposed to be easy to make. What was it about the sauce that had me defeated before I had even started?

The appetizer you made was delicious. (Aside from the roasted tomatoes, when there’s puff pastry and melted cheese involved, what’s not to love?) But it was when I tried one of the sweet, smoky tomatoes straight from your roasting pan that afternoon that I suddenly thought pizza sauce, I just might have found a way to conquer you for good.

So there I was a few days later, me and 5 pounds of ripe tomatoes in the kitchen.

I tried the same recipe you did and got the sweet-smoky complexity I was after. Yes! But a whole cup of oil seemed like a lot. Tomatoes are pretty juicy anyway, so I ended up with lots of extra liquid that I didn’t want.

So the next time around, I used the quicker-cooking variation: I took the seeds and other watery bits from the center of the tomato first, and reduced the oil by more than half. This reduced the roasting time to 2 hours (from 3) but – even better – produced tomatoes with much less liquid and an even more intense, smoky, tomato-y punch. Just what I needed to end my homemade pizza hiatus for good.

Roasted Tomato Pizza Sauce

Yield: 5 cups

You can find the Fine Cooking recipe for slow-roasted tomatoes here. This is the adjusting I did to arrive at my really ridiculously good pizza sauce.

Ingredients

5 pounds medium sized very ripe tomatoes, stemmed
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
sea salt
granulated sugar
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
2 tablespoons thyme leaves

Instructions

Heat oven to 350F. Line two 11x17" rimmed baking sheets with foil, then with parchment paper.
Cut the tomatoes crosswise. Scoop out the seeds and any pulp in the middle, and then arrange cut side up on the prepared baking sheets.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt, then sugar, over each tomato. Arrange a slice of garlic and sprinkle the thyme over the tomatoes. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over each tomato, and then drizzle the oil (sparingly, but believe me 1/2 cup is enough!) over the tomatoes and on the bottom of the baking sheets.
Roast in the middle of the oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and redistribute the juices by pressing down slightly on the tomatoes with a spatula and tilting the baking sheet around. (The aim here is ensure there's some liquid on the baking sheets so the bottoms of the tomatoes don't scorch.)
Roast for 1 more hour, until the tomatoes are browned, shrunken and concentrated. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets for 30 minutes.
In batches, place the tomatoes in a fine mesh strainer over the sink and press out any excess liquid. Transfer tomatoes to a food processor and pulse to a sauce-like consistency. Refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months. I portion out the sauce in small packages before I freeze it, so when I feel a craving for homemade pizza coming on -- which is fairly often these days -- I've got a perfectly-sized amount ready to go.

Aside from pizza sauce, these roasted tomatoes have worked their way in to a number of dishes I’ve been making lately. Here are some ideas to try:

Warm up a few roasted tomatoes and place whole on top of toasted baguette slices with goat cheese spread on them, for some amped-up goat cheese crostini. These are great on their own or as a hearty topping for a main course salad.
Slice and toss with shaved parmesan cheese and arugula for a substantial salad accompaniment to grilled meat or fish instead of your regular green veggie side dish.
Tuck inside a baguette with cheese and lettuce for an everyday gourmet kind of sandwich.
As a twist on the ‘full English’ – instead of a broiled tomato, warm a couple of roasted tomatoes in the oven and serve with eggs and bacon….and the baked beans of course.

Mini Gorgonzola and Caramelized Onion Crostini with Pear

Ant,
These were delicious. And festive too, a fitting complement to the bubbly we started the evening with.

One thing I particularly liked was that the gorgonzola, caramelized onion and pear crostini were impressive, yet simple. Once the onions are done, assembly is quick and (bonus points!) can be done ahead of time.

Something we talked about at Thanksgiving dinner (or was it before?) was that the ingredients in dishes we like best have two things in common: There are only a few of them, and they’re good quality. This crostini fits the bill on both counts.

If I were making these crostini, I’d make three changes to your recipe:

Thyme instead of rosemary in the onions (with some sprinkled on top just before serving).
A denser bread that’s cut in thinner pieces so you get a crispier base. The fig and anise demi-loaf from Terra Breads was a particularly good complement to the onions and cheese.
Finally, I’d use Gorgonzola rather than Gorgonzola Dolce. It’s firmer, so it can be sliced instead of spread.

For presentation, I’d make them bite-sized. Slices from the demi-loaf were perfect when cut in half. It’s true, I love small canapés! Makes for easier eating if you’re mingling with your cocktail too. So, mini gorgonzola and carmelized onion crostini with pear it is!

Mini Gorgonzola and Caramelized Onion Crostini with Pear

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch sugar
cracked black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoon thyme, divided
24 slices fig and anise bread, or a dense sourdough bread
3-1/2 to 4 ounces gorgonzola, sliced
1 pear, sliced

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add onions, salt, sugar and pepper and cook for 16-18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned. Remove from heat, stir in 1 teaspoon thyme and let cool. Makes about 1-1/2 cups. (This is a little more than you will need, but it keeps well and makes a delicious addition to sandwiches or flatbread. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.)
Preheat your broiler to high. Cut the bread into 24 pieces about 1/8” thick and 2” around. Place pieces on a baking sheet and toast each side until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
Set the oven to 350F. Slice the gorgonzola into 24 pieces about 1/8” thick. Top each crostini with about 1 tsp of caramelized onion and a slice of cheese, and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake for 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
While the crostini are in the oven, slice the pear into 24 pieces about 1/8” thick and 1 1/2” around. Once the crostini are out of the oven, top each one with a slice of pear and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp thyme. Serve immediately . . . and wait for the kudos to pour in.