Sunday, August 31, 2008

Bet you've never seen some of these marinades......

You probably have, but thought it would make for an interesting title. ;-)
I do suggest you try it though. You will be blown away with the flavors these create.

I've marinated some chicken breasts for 2 days in the following;
Olive oil, feta cheese, garlic, onion, pepper, lime juice and one egg.
Grill on high heat for just 2-3 minutes on each side and then move to non direct heat for about 12-15 minutes (depending on thickness of breasts)

Grouper; marinated for half a day in; olive oil, dijon mustard, white wine, fresh ground pepper
Shrimp; marinated for half a day in ; olive oil, garlic, chili pepper powder, white wine, lime juice.


And of course a nice big salad. Romaine, arugula, tomato, scallion, cucumber, field greens and grandma's dressing.


Workouts do leave me hungry

I wait to eat after a workout usually, but sometimes I'm just to hungry.
So here's what I ate after a hard 30 minute session this morning.
3 eggs, spinach, onion, tomato, bacon and a little bit a spicy pepper jack cheese. 2 strips of bacon. Not shown, were some blue berries and a bite of peach.
I could have eaten 2 of those plates ;-)


Dinner will be grilled grouper and grilled chicken.
Pictures and chicken marinade recipes to follow.
SMILE.....it's good for you.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Paleo Dinner for Kids

Some of my co workers ask me sometimes if my kids eat the same way I do.
The nights and days during the week that they are with me, mostly they eat paleo just like me.
But we do live in the real world, so don't think they don't enjoy a pizza from time to time.
But I try and balance it out with some wholesome real food meals.
Here's a look at dinner;

Tilapia, broccoli, orange pepper, carrots and cucumber.




Happy Labor Day weekend to all here in the U.S. I hope you have the day off Monday for a nice long weekend.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Lunch

Sorry guys, I forgot to take a picture. It wouldn't have been great anyway, as my phone does not take really good ones.
But lunch today was a treat. Had to live in the real world and go out with customers.
You want to know what I had?

A half pound kobe beef burger with BUN. Absolutely delicious.

The bun has approx. 30 grams of carbs, so make sure you eat clean for the rest of the day.
In my opinion a roll like that has zero nutritional value, but once in a blue moon it's like a little treat. For what it's worth, I do feel it. It makes me a little tired and fuzzy. It's interesting because I can eat different kinds of tubers with no ill effects. I've noticed over time that I really cheat less and less.

Have a wonderful day.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Real Foods

It's not my line, but I really like it and it's worth repeating.......a lot.
"Eat real food, real food doesn't come in a package"
So dinner for me last night consisted of real food.

Here's red cabbage, green cabbage, red onion and garlic. And below the rest of the ingredients; skinless chicken thighs, pepper, oregano and a beer.
Slice, dice and chop all, toss together in a large pan or crockpot, add a beer and let it simmer on low heat for about 4 hours. Simple right? Not shown was the salad I made with this which is again simple and tasty. Romaine lettuce, spinach and arugula. 2 scallions and half a cucumber. EVOO and a dash of balsamic.

Now to be perfectly honest...............the salad was DELICIOUS........however....... the chicken didn't come out the way I hoped. It's the reality of cooking, not everything comes out perfect, but hey, that's ok right?

Enjoy the day!!!!


Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Not enough?

Thank you all for your comments. I really look forward to getting them.

So you think my portions are small?
Keep in mind that I'm posting mostly "break-fast" meals.
If you check out some of Art Devany's break fast meals, you'll see that they share a lot of similarities.
To give you a look at some of my bigger meals of the day, I will post some lunch and dinner pictures for a while. Lunch is usually the biggest meal of the day for me.

Breakfast;
2 eggs, 3 strips of bacon, a few apples slices and champagne grapes

Make it a great day, if you slipped a little yesterday in regards to your eating or workouts.......don't sweat it. Today is a new day. Keep going.


Wednesday, August 20, 2008

"Don't worry be happy"

''Cause when you're worried, your face will frown And that will bring everybody down "


Smile, it's good for you!


Breakfast;

Again some steak strips quickly done in the cast iron. Doesn't take more then about 3 minutes.

Tossed them before cooking with a tiny bit of lime juice, bbq sauce and a scallion.

Over a bed of arugula with some evoo and fresh ground pepper. (not shown, a few blueberries and grapes)

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tropical Storm Fay

Well, the hurricane never came, just lots of rain and everyone locally is happy.
Sometimes things just work out when they need to.

Breakfast;
Eggs fried up in a little bacon grease, 4 small slices of salami and a few apple slices.


Now it's my birthday today, so for dinner I will make one of my favorite little treats in the whole world; "Pao de Queijo"
This is a Brazilian staple. Simple tapioca cheese balls. They are delicious. I will eat many ;-)
Have a great day everyone!!!!!

Monday, August 18, 2008

What's for breakfast?

Steak strips quickly marinated in evoo, dijon mustard, garlic, fresh ground pepper. Then quickly seared in the cast iron skillet. Also added a half a tomato.
Grapes and blueberries.


Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Use those left overs

Here's dinner.

Simple broccoli and cauliflower mash and some sauteed chicken. I pre-cooked the chicken in some water for about 15 minutes. (not boiling) This keeps it nice and moist and then you can saute it quickly for good flavor with out drying it out. Unless of course you like dried out chicken. ;-)


Well, had chicken left over, so for a quick lunch;

Tomato basil soup from the healthfood store with the rest of the chicken tossed in.


Thursday, August 7, 2008

"Uncomplicated stuff"

My aim for my blog has always been to show how uncomplicated it can be.
Exercising/moving your body and eating whole foods is not that hard.
For the majority of us, we don't make our living as a professional athlete or a super model.
So no need to go crazy and make it the end all and be all of your life.
Start simple, keep it simple and you'll be on your way, living a quality life that seems to elude the masses. Now once you're consistently doing the simple stuff, you can take it to the next levels and there are experts out there that have the know how to take you there.

So here's an example of the "Uncomplicated stuff";
This morning I went for a 45 minute early morning walk/workout.
I took my little ipod shuffle, turned on some tunes and started walking.
After 5-10 minutes or so, I dropped and did 30 pushups.
Walked some more, then sprinted some, walked, another 30 pushups, walked, sprinted a little, walked, jumped on and off a bench a few times, 30 pushups, walked, sprinted, laid in the grass and did some crunches, walked, sprinted, 30 more pushups, walked, sprinted and walked.
Easy enough right?

Then I came home and prepped my breakfast to eat at my desk at work.
Again, how easy is this one?

3/4 of a fresh peach. Blueberries, a few pecans, 2 boiled egss and 2 slices of salami. And thanks to Mark Sisson some vitamins. (they are truly the best).

How do you keep it simple and continues?

RIBS!!!!!!!!!!

Bill had left me a comment asking for a rib recipe.
Rib recipes are fiercely guarded secrets in many parts of the country.
People soak, smoke, roast, rub, marinate and even talk to their ribs for some unbelievable flavors. ;-)
I did not make it last night, so have no picture, but I will make it over the weekend and post some pics.
Here's the recipe for you all to try.

Preheat your oven between 275 and 300.

Use a large pan that will hold the ribs and will allow the ribs to pretty much be covered with liquid. Put the rack in the pan and add some onion powder and garlic powder. Now grab yourself a nice lager beer (no, not to drink...yet) pour it in the pan, add about 2-3 cups of water.

Like I said earlier the ribs should pretty much be covered. Now cover your pan TIGHTLY with tin foil. Oven poach the ribs for about 2.5-3 hours. Trust when I tell you the ribs will be fall off the bone tender. Check in the first hour that the liquid is NOT boiling, that means your oven is too hot and your ribs will get tough. I know it's not a quick recipe, but very easy none the less right?

After the oven, the ribs are ready for some sauce and to be finished off on the grill. If you don't have a grill stick them under the broiler, but monitor carefully that you don't char them.

What about sauce you ask?
Here's an easy one, call it whatever you like, as long as unbelievable is in the title ;-)

1/2 cup whiskey
2 tsp sea salt (optional)
5-8 cloves minced garlic (depends on size of cloves, or if you love garlic like me, 8)
1 cup very strong coffee
1 cup ketchup (I only use health food store variety with no funky ingredients)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp chili powder. Use more if you like it a more spicy
2 cups onion FINELY chopped
2 tbsps of honey. I use this instead of sugar (most bbq sauce recipes have sugar). The sugar helps make the beautiful crust on the ribs but the honey works the same way.
Are you tired of my scenery pictures yet?????
ere's a nice view to wake up to in the morning.


Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Good to be back!

Vacations make for some amazing memories and experiences don't they?
And like my dad always says "no matter what happens in your life, no-one can ever take away your memories and experiences."


I dropped some weight over the vacation. Partly due to the constant activities, but mostly because when I ate "on the road food" I followed it up with some IF.
Like I said earlier, it's a little more challenging to stick to your way of eating if you are not preparing it yourself, but by no means impossible.


Breakfast this morning;
Preheat oven to 375.
Pound flat 2 skinless chicken thighs. Sprinkle with; oregano, cilantro, paprika and garlic powder.
1/2 a tbsp of evoo drizzled on both.
Break out that cast iron skillet, place on burner, sear on both sides, add 2 cloves of garlic, and 4-5 olives on the side of the pan. Now add about 1/2 a cup of water (don't pour it directly on anything in the pan) and stick it in the oven for about 10-12 minutes.
I also had 2 large slices of a fresh Georgia peach with it.
Ahhhh.....like I said, it's good to be back ;-)




The Toccoa River. In the ASKA adventure area of Blue Ridge, Georgia.




That mountain mist thing is just way cool........





Great trails for hiking and running.......




Make it a great day everyone!





Friday, August 1, 2008

DSL

The cabin/log home where we are staying has DSL. I'm not however able to upload any pics.
Anyone know why perhaps?

After horseback riding through the mountains this morning we were all famished.
Stopped for lunch at a local BBQ restaurant.

Not always easy to stick with your regular diet while on the road, but the ribs were wonderful!!!
I did not eat my "garlic toast", but did eat a few pieces of fried okra.

Tomorrow we will be panning for some gold.