Eat Like a Predator

Why eating like a predator is beneficial to your health, and why I chose to convert.

Remember there is no such thing as perfect, but we can still practice. Practice what you preach, practice what you eat, and practice who you want to be. Practicing results in Success! You are what you eat!

Check out this awesome article I found on simplifying a Paleo diet. Although I practice and follow Primal Blueprint,    I found this website article  GNOLLS.ORG to be insightful, and straight to the point.

Glycemic Index, and Why We Should Care About It

Glycemic index and glycemic load offer information about how foods affect blood sugar and insulin. The lower a food's glycemic index or glycemic load, the less it affects blood sugar and insulin levels. Here you'll find a list of the glycemic index and glycemic load for more than 100 common foods.

FOOD	Glycemic index (glucose = 100)	Serving size (grams)	Glycemic load per serving
BAKERY PRODUCTS AND BREADS
Banana cake, made with sugar	47	60	14
Banana cake, made without sugar	55	60	12
Sponge cake, plain	46	63	17
Vanilla cake made from packet mix with vanilla frosting (Betty Crocker)	42	111	24
Apple, made with sugar	44	60	13
Apple, made without sugar	48	60	9
Waffles, Aunt Jemima (Quaker Oats)	76	35	10
Bagel, white, frozen	72	70	25
Baguette, white, plain	95	30	15
Coarse barley bread, 75-80% kernels, average	34	30	7
Hamburger bun	61	30	9
Kaiser roll	73	30	12
Pumpernickel bread	56	30	7
50% cracked wheat kernel bread	58	30	12
White wheat flour bread	71	30	10
Wonder™ bread, average	73	30	10
Whole wheat bread, average	71	30	9
100% Whole Grain™ bread (Natural Ovens)	51	30	7
Pita bread, white	68	30	10
Corn tortilla	52	50	12
Wheat tortilla	30	50	8
BEVERAGES
Coca Cola®, average	63	250 mL	16
Fanta®, orange soft drink	68	250 mL	23
Lucozade®, original (sparkling glucose drink)	95±10	250 mL	40
Apple juice, unsweetened, average	44	250 mL	30
Cranberry juice cocktail (Ocean Spray®)	68	250 mL	24
Gatorade	78	250 mL	12
Orange juice, unsweetened	50	250 mL	12
Tomato juice, canned	38	250 mL	4
BREAKFAST CEREALS AND RELATED PRODUCTS
All-Bran™, average	55	30	12
Coco Pops™, average	77	30	20
Cornflakes™, average	93	30	23
Cream of Wheat™ (Nabisco)	66	250	17
Cream of Wheat™, Instant (Nabisco)	74	250	22
Grapenuts™, average	75	30	16
Muesli, average	66	30	16
Oatmeal, average	55	250	13
Instant oatmeal, average	83	250	30
Puffed wheat, average	80	30	17
Raisin Bran™ (Kellogg's)	61	30	12
Special K™ (Kellogg's)	69	30	14
GRAINS
Pearled barley, average	28	150	12
Sweet corn on the cob, average	60	150	20
Couscous, average	65	150	9
Quinoa	53	150	13
White rice, average	89	150	43
Quick cooking white basmati	67	150	28
Brown rice, average	50	150	16
Converted, white rice (Uncle Ben's®)	38	150	14
Whole wheat kernels, average	30	50	11
Bulgur, average	48	150	12
COOKIES AND CRACKERS
Graham crackers	74	25	14
Vanilla wafers	77	25	14
Shortbread	64	25	10
Rice cakes, average	82	25	17
Rye crisps, average	64	25	11
Soda crackers	74	25	12
DAIRY PRODUCTS AND ALTERNATIVES
Ice cream, regular	57	50	6
Ice cream, premium	38	50	3
Milk, full fat	41	250mL	5
Milk, skim	32	250 mL	4
Reduced-fat yogurt with fruit, average	33	200	11
FRUITS
Apple, average	39	120	6
Banana, ripe	62	120	16
Dates, dried	42	60	18
Grapefruit	25	120	3
Grapes, average	59	120	11
Orange, average	40	120	4
Peach, average	42	120	5
Peach, canned in light syrup	40	120	5
Pear, average	38	120	4
Pear, canned in pear juice	43	120	5
Prunes, pitted	29	60	10
Raisins	64	60	28
Watermelon	72	120	4
BEANS AND NUTS
Baked beans, average	40	150	6
Blackeye peas, average	33	150	10
Black beans	30	150	7
Chickpeas, average	10	150	3
Chickpeas, canned in brine	38	150	9
Navy beans, average	31	150	9
Kidney beans, average	29	150	7
Lentils, average	29	150	5
Soy beans, average	15	150	1
Cashews, salted	27	50	3
Peanuts, average	7	50	0
PASTA and NOODLES
Fettucini, average	32	180	15
Macaroni, average	47	180	23
Macaroni and Cheese (Kraft)	64	180	32
Spaghetti, white, boiled, average	46	180	22
Spaghetti, white, boiled 20 min, average	58	180	26
Spaghetti, wholemeal, boiled, average	42	180	17
SNACK FOODS
Corn chips, plain, salted, average	42	50	11
Fruit Roll-Ups®	99	30	24
M & M's®, peanut	33	30	6
Microwave popcorn, plain, average	55	20	6
Potato chips, average	51	50	12
Pretzels, oven-baked	83	30	16
Snickers Bar®	51	60	18
VEGETABLES
Green peas, average	51	80	4
Carrots, average	35	80	2
Parsnips	52	80	4
Baked russet potato, average	111	150	33
Boiled white potato, average	82	150	21
Instant mashed potato, average	87	150	17
Sweet potato, average	70	150	22
Yam, average	54	150	20
MISCELLANEOUS
Hummus (chickpea salad dip)	6	30	0
Chicken nuggets, frozen, reheated in microwave oven 5 min	46	100	7
Pizza, plain baked dough, served with parmesan cheese and tomato sauce	80	100	22
Pizza, Super Supreme (Pizza Hut)	36	100	9
Honey, average	61	25	12

The complete list of the glycemic index and glycemic load for more than 1,000 foods can be found in the article "International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2008" by Fiona S. Atkinson, Kaye Foster-Powell, and Jennie C. Brand-Miller in the December 2008 issue of Diabetes Care, Vol. 31, number 12, pages 2281-2283.
An earlier version of this table appeared here: "International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2002," by Kaye Foster-Powell, Susanna H.A. Holt, and Janette C. Brand-Miller in the July 2002 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 62, pages 5–56.

Breaking Bread Addiction

Breaking Our Bread Addiction

So how do we break our bread addiction?
There is good news! Most people attempting a paleo diet (which is ‘low-carb’, or low-sugar), can indeed regain your ability to burn body fat for energy—and once you’re ingesting enough protein and B vitamins, your serotonin levels won’t be completely dependent on eating sugar. (Eat more meat and eggs.) The relentless sugar cravings slowly dissipate over a couple weeks. You’ll find that not only do you not crave huge piles of empty sugar calories (bread, pasta, potatoes) with meals—as a bonus, you’ll find that it’s suddenly much easier to go without food entirely, because your body is learning how to burn fat again! You’ll be able to skip a meal without feeling like you’re going to die of hunger…and you’ll also discover that being a little bit hungry substantially boosts your mental capacities due to the action of Ghrelin (this is a hunger hormone. Your body secretes it when you haven’t eaten for some time. It makes you hungry, and blood levels plummet once you eat, once you’re no longer distracted by hunger pangs)

Info provided by GNOLLS.org (this website is a wealth of information)

Where Can I Save on my Grocery Bill?

Having a Paleo influenced lifestyle leads to many substitutions in your cooking; this however, can get pricey. With amazing stores like Whole Foods, and Good Earth ( Marin County) who provide fresh and local produce, and carry brands of odd ingredients you have never heard of, can be a special dieter's dream location. However, I have found that there are several ingredients that I use more often than others, and cost more to buy in smaller portions at your local health food store. With a little net surfing I discovered that Amazon.com can be my kitchen's main pantry supplier. Amazon.com has access to so many different distributors, which allows me to buy my favorite brands and foods in bulk, saving me both time and moolah.

Listed below are a few links to my pantry essentials:

Celtic Salt (1lb.) $9.20

Almond Flour (4lb. bag) $27.91

Arrowroot Powder (1lb.) $9.88

Spirulina Powder (2.2 lb.) $42.99

Maca Powder $18.28

Hemp Protein Shake Mix $18.33

Digestive Enzymes $16.50

Coconut Flour (4.4 lbs.) $19.99

Adobo Seasoning $9.76

Why I Use Celtic Salt

Celtic Sea Salt:  Refers to naturally moist salt harvested from the Atlantic seawater off the coast of Brittany, France.  This type of salt are harvested using the Celtic method of wooden rakes allowing no metal to touch the salt.

It is naturally air and sun-dried in clay ponds and gathered with wooden tools to preserve its living enzymes.  Because it is unrefined, it contains all of the 84 beneficial live elements found in sea water, with no chemical and preservatives nor any other additives

I personally use Selina Naturally Celtic Sea Salt. I buy in bulk from Amazon.com. Otherwise, it can get pricey from Whole Foods.

 

The Healing Virtues of Celtic Sea Salt

Celtic sea salt has tremendous healing virtues that have the exact opposite effects of refined salt.  It helps to balance out and nourish our body with minerals that our body lacks.  It is particularly helpful in helping with mucus elimination.  Here are some conditions that Celtic sea salt is also good for:

Sinus and bronchial congestion:  I have seen many times how Celtic sea salt when taken before sleep has helped the sufferer sleep through the night as it breaks up the irritating mucus, providing much relief.

Regulate blood pressure:  We are right to say that salt causes high blood pressure but it is the toxic table salt that is the culprit.  Celtic sea salt has been shown to actually normalize blood pressure.  It literally goes around your body and 'scrounges' for the harmful sodium deposits and completely eliminates it from your body.  If you have high blood pressure, pure salt will bring it down.  But if you have low blood pressure, pure salt will bring it up.  Only nature has been designed with the ability to do this.

Deeper and more restful sleep:  When Celtic sea salt is taken with warm water before bedtime, it promotes a deeper and longer sleep that is both restful and refreshing.  Nor does it cause you to wake up and wanting to urinate.

Water retention:  We often hear that salt causes water retention.  Again, this is only because the wrong salt was taken¾table/commercial salt.  Celtic sea salt does the opposite by helping our body properly balance out the electrolyte minerals and releasing the retained water.

Kidney stones:  Celtic sea salt has also been reported to actually dissolve kidney stones.

Building the immune system and aids healing:  Celtic sea salt provides the rich minerals directly to our cells to enhance resistance to infections and bacterial diseases.  It also helps our body heal quicker when there has been a surgery, sickness, burns, mental disorders, etc.

Prevent over-acidity in body:  The rich minerals effectively eliminates unwanted sodium from the body, extracting excess acidity in the body, especially in the brain.  The electrolytes are vital to the nerves for communication and information processing of the brain cells.

Helps control saliva:  If you drool in your sleep, it could mean that your body is deprived of the right kind of salt, and that you are not drinking enough water.  This condition may also lead to double chin as your saliva glands work doubly hard to lubricate your insides.  Drink more water with Celtic sea salt to stop this condition.  

Wound Healing:  Bathing wounds in sea salt water does not sting, and it helps wounds to heal faster. Also helpful for gargling or drinking to ease sore throats. 

Diabetics:  Helps balance out sugar in blood in diabetics. 

Muscle cramps:  Providing essential minerals to the muscles and preventing muscle cramps.

Strong alkalinizer:  Helps keep our body at the right pH.  This is important as an over-acidic body creates many health problems and an endless list of degenerative diseases.

Other Types of Salts:

Salt is essential for the survival of all living creatures, including human.  It is needed to regulate the water content in our body.  We often hear bad press about salt, and indeed table salt which is refined, is extremely unhealthy and toxic.  What our body really needs is natural pure salt.  Taking the wrong type of salt is detrimental to our health. 

In fact, without the right kind of salt, our body will encounter many kinds of problems.  Is it any wonder then, by taking table salt, our body is actually deprived of the real salt and minerals.  Here's only a small shocking list of what can happen when our body lacks proper salt:

• High blood pressure
• Accelerated aging cellular degeneration
• Respiratory and blood sugar problems
• Liver failure, kidney problems, adrenal exhaustion
• Heart muscles tire and lacerate, causing fatal heart attack

There are many types of salt but I want to talk here about three types of the more popular salt. 

Table Salt:  Also known as common salt, is commonly used by most people for cooking and for food preservation.  Table salt is refined (processed), removing 82 out of the 84 minerals in salt, leaving behind only sodium and chloride.

Over-consumption of table salt causes many untold health problems.

Table salt is composed of 40% sodium and 60% chloride.  The human body needs salt to function.  Salt is responsible to help carry nutrients into the cells.  It helps regulate other bodily functions, such as blood pressure and fluid volume.

It is now known that it is really table salt that is causing many untold health problems, regardless of its amount. Because it is refined and processed, what is left of table salt is only sodium and chloride which are toxic to our body. 

Sea Salt:  Sea salt is a general term that refers to salt derived directly from the sea.  And that is what it is, except that it is refined¾similar to table salt.

Sea salt is thought to be healthier and more flavorful than table salt, but in actual fact it is actually processed and minerals and trace elements are removed.

Now that you know that table salt is harmful, remove it from your kitchen shelf and replace it with Celtic sea salt.  Use Celtic sea salt for all flavoring just as you would in place of table salt. 

Generally, you would need only 2/3 of the amount you normally use.  For example, if the recipe calls for 1 tsp of salt, then just use 2/3 tsp and it would give your cooking sufficient (and better) taste and flavor.

Lemon Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves minced
Celtic salt

Instructions:

Finely chop garlic, sprinkle with salt. Take side of knife blade and press garlic into cutting board. Continue to chop and smooth until garlic is wet. Place garlic into olive oil. Add salt for taste. Let sit in fridge until chilled, remove majority of garlic with a fork. Shake and serve.

I drizzle this over mixed greens with sliced Heirloom tomatoes. This dressing is finger lickin' good!

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients:

 4-6 flattened chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/2 cup almond flour(season with salt and pepper, and 1 tsp. garlic powder)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers
1/2 cup chicken broth or 1/4 cup white wine and 1/4 cup chicken broth
1-2 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon butter (optional, add extra oil instead)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (you may use Wondra or flour if you are not gluten intolerant)

Instructions:

-Pound flat chicken breast so they are 1/8-1/4 inch thin, lightly salt and pepper both sides
-Lightly coat chicken with seasoned almond flour
-Heat skillet with butter and oil, brown chicken on both sides (5-8 minutes) Remove from heat and set aside and cover to keep warm
-Add finely chopped garlic (you made need to add 1 Tb. of olive oil) and cook until lightly browned
-Add wine and chicken brother, or just chicken broth, and lemon juice to de-glaze pan
-Add chicken back to pan and add capers
-Cook on medium to low heat until chicken is cooked through (5-10 minutes)
-Place 1/4 cup of liquid in cup and add arrowroot powder. Mix until dissolved. Add mixture to pan with chicken, reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened.

*I love capers so I always add more than what is called for. Also if you you prefer to use regular flour, make sure to only lightly dust the chicken. Shake remaining off. Too much flour = gooey mess.

Tortilla-less Fajitas with Fajita Dip

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts cut into tenders
2 green bell peppers sliced
1 orange bell pepper
1 large onion slices into half moon slices
1 roasted red pepper diced (optional, but mighty tasty)
Adobo seasoning
Salt and Pepper
1 can Fire roasted tomatoes

Instructions:
-Place chicken tenders in ziplock bag. Add garlic olive oil to coat, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 Tablespoon Adobo seasoning. Let stand 10-15 minutes
-Heat grilling pan to medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon or less garlic olive oil. Grill chicken tenders until brown on outside and slightly uncooked in the inside. Place in bowl.
-Grill onions alone until golden brown and tender. Season with salt and pepper, and a sprinkled layer of Adobo seasoning. Set aside.
-Grill bell peppers until there is a slight charred. Season with salt and pepper, and a sprinkled layer of Adobo seasoning.
-In a large pan heat can of fire roasted tomatoes. Season with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and Adobo. Add grilled peppers, chicken and it's juice, roasted red pepper, and sauteed onions. Heat until chicken is cooked.

Garnish with cilantro and Fajita Dip (recipe as follows)

Fajita Dip
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. finely chopped cilantro
Mix and serves