Brit's Paleo Kitchen

Rather than going into the Fort, I decided to take a rest day yesterday and to spend some time in the kitchen.

I decided to look up some paleo recipes and stumbled upon the following:

Spicy Pecans

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons cinnamon


• 1-1/2 teaspoon ginger


• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne


• 2 egg whites


• 1/4 cup raw honey


• 5 cups pecan halves (or walnuts)

Directions:

In small bowl, combine cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cayenne. In large bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy; add honey, whisk again just until egg whites and honey are combined. Add nuts a cup at a time in the egg and honey mixture. Remove and toss in the spices. Repeat again until all the nuts have been coated. Spread on 2 lightly greased baking sheets; bake at 250-degrees for one hour, rotating sheets halfway through baking, or until coating is crisp and nuts are fragrant. Let cool.

Needless to say, I was excited. I heart pecans and spicy food. So I took myself to the kitchen and got working.

I didn't make the full batch yesterday because I was worried whether I would like them or not. Nuts are expensive, and I didn't want to ruin my delicious pecans without knowing how they were going to taste. As a result, I only did three cups instead of five. I also subsituted this ground three pepper seasoning for the cayenne pepper just because I couldn't find any.

The result? They were pretty darn good, although they were more sweet than spicy. There was a hint of spicy that went well with the honey, cinnamon and nutmeg, but I feel like the the recipe's title was a bit misleading. I don't know. I keep contemplating... I can't pinpoint the flavor. I will, however, throw myself under the bus and eat some more just so I can give you a better review. I'd do that for you.

Stay Puft? I Think Not.

Dr Ray Stantz: I tried to think of the most harmless thing. Something I loved from my childhood. Something that could never ever possibly destroy us: Mr. Stay Puft!

Dr. Peter Venkman: Nice thinkin', Ray.

If you've ever seen Ghostbusters (and if you haven't, you need to), you know that Venkman's response was dripping with sarcasm. Sure, in regards to context Venkman's sarcasm stemmed from a 100 year old demon's supernatural attempt to destroy New York City, however, based on early lines in the movie, Dr. Venkman was also fully aware of the dangers of sugar. Case and point:

[Inspecting Dana's refrigerator for paranormal activity]

Dr. Peter Venkman: Oh, my God. Look at all the junk food!

Dana Barrett: Oh, dammit. Look, this wasn't here...

Dr. Peter Venkman: You actually eat this?

You see? Miss Barrett's eating habits were less than spectacular. Venkman knew this, and I'm sure Miss Barrett knew it too; she was just too preoccupied with ghosts living in her refrigerator to notice or care, which is completely understandable considering the circumstances. My point though, is that I have been eating like Dana Barrett and thinking like Dr. Ray Stantz lately in that sugar can't hurt me (even though I know better). For example, I was a bad girl yesterday, and this was why:

1. Dark chocolate cake;
   
2. Sausage and mushroom pizza with ranch dressing;


3. Ice cream.

If there was ever a trifecta of evilness to put into your body, this may be it. I was fortunate enough to miss the smorgasbord of Paleo Hades (if you're unfamiliar with eating Paleo follow the link: http://www.paleodiet.com/) that went on at my house on Saturday because of work; however, there is this little thing, you have probably heard of them, they're called "leftovers," that brought down my weekend to a whole new level. If there is a Food Hell, I think I reached the Fifth Circle yesterday, since I seem to hate myself by eating this way (by the way, whoever can tell me what epic I am referring to gets ten points and a Paleo cookie).

If I wanted to, I could come up with a whole mess of excuses for my less than perfect eating habits. Sure, I don't have demons living in my fridge but it was a holiday weekend and I've had a lot going on – parties with friends, music festivals, boating trips, work, little sleep and so on and so forth. Regardless, I'm sick of making excuses for myself. I admit it. I haven't been as focused on my diet as I should be, and believe me, I'm already feeling it. See that picture of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man? Yeah. That's exactly how I feel right at the moment: Puffy and gooey - like someone just took an air pump to my body and filled me right up. I actually feel kind of sick. It's not pleasant.


To take care of my current puffiness though, I plan to get back on my diet – starting today. There's no reason for me to tell myself that I'll start tomorrow. If I start tomorrow, then I will tell myself that I will need to start the day after that, and if I tell myself that I'll start the day after tomorrow, it will become the day after that. For this situation, as for most situations, (and I apologize for the cliche) there is no better time than the present. It also comes at perfect timing because a "No Grains/No Sugar Challenge" was just recently posed at the Fort. Three weeks, just a measly (or incredibly long, depending on your perspective; I prefer the former - positive thinking, people) 21 days, without grains or sugar. I'll take that challenge. Heck, I'll even take some pictures and post them for people to see my progress after the three weeks (sorry if I scare anyone) because in the end it's your diet that is going to take you to the next level of fitness and is also what is going to bring about the best results. You don't need a CrossFit coach, a personal trainer or dietitian to tell you this. It's common sense. Eat junk - look and feel like junk; eat well - look and feel well (and dead sexy).

I'm starting my 21 days today, and I'll update you periodically throughout to let you know how it's going. However, I'll challenge you to do the same: Cut grains, dairy and unnaturally occurring sugars/processed foods (I'm still eating berries, but that's it) out of your diet and let me know how you feel three weeks later. I will commiserate with you if need be, but I promise, we will both feel better and be one step further from staying puft.