My Paleo Blog

So many paleo enthusiasts are skipping the protein shakes in an effort to live a healthier life. The idea is that whey protein is not “paleo” and thus shouldn't be consumed.

While this is a good start, if you are avoiding whey protein you are missing a huge opportunity to not only build lean muscle, but also burn unwanted body fat.

Most chuck roast recipes call for a crock pot/slow cooker. Well I'm a guy and I like to BBQ. 

I had the day off and wanted to bust out the Traeger BBQ. If you don't know what that is, it's a pellet grill that allows for indirect heat at various temperatures, including smoke. It makes the best chicken in the world, hands down.

Anyway, I marinated the roast for 24 hours to try to get as much flavor as possible. Here is what I used for the marinade and how it turned out;

I made this for lunch today. Ground buffalo meat purchased at the local store (6.99/lbs). Since all buffalo is free range, buffalo meat is always going to be grass fed, meaning rich in Omega 3 fatty acid.

Red meat has gotten a bad reputation due to it's high fat content. Red meat that was fed with grain is high in omega 6 and bad for you, but grass fed beef has different fat content. The fat in grass fed meat is more balanced when it comes to omega 3 vs omega 6...the way it is in nature.

Ingredients;
-Buffalo (grass fed) (seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder)
-Avocado
-Pico De Gayo

Cooking;
-Heat pan over medium heat and coat pan with grass fed butter or Unrefined Coconut Oil. Cook over medium heat until desired.

Don't have Unrefined Coconut Oil. You Should! Here is some you can pick up from Amazon. Most stored carry regular coconut not --- NOT unrefined. This is like eating grain fed beef vs grass. Get the good stuff or you will not get the benefits!

Our bodies are programmed to adapt to different situations. Get attacked by a lion and hormones like adrenaline are released to provide extra abilities like strength or clearer thought processing. Likewise, Inflammation is a natural, healthy immune system response to our environment we put ourselves in. Let me say it again, Inflammation is a good thing, it is a natural response to a stimulous in an attempt to protect us.

There are two types of Inflammation; Acute and Chronic.

Pretend we are running down the street and suddenly trip and brace ourselves upon falling down. Pretend we land on our wrist wrong and suddenly it begins hurting and turning red. Next we notice it is swelling -- we know something is up. This is acute inflammation. Injuries like getting hit, burned, scraped, and sore neck are all types of acute inflammation.

The redness and swelling we see is extra blood being transported to the injury to clean and fix the problem. Our bodies have natural defense systems, and this is one of them. The loss of function and pain to the injured area is to remind us that we need to give that area a rest while our body naturally fixes the problem.

Clearly, acute inflammation is not a bad thing, but rather a good thing that keeps every one of us alive. We do something stupid, our body fixes our mistake, awesome. But what happens when these sort of things happen more regularly? When inflammation becomes a regular occurance is when Chronic Inflammation occurs. Diseases such as heart disease and obesity are associated with Inflammation. First lets look at other causes for inflammation.

-Chronic Stress
-Toxic Diet (unfamiliar foods we are not adapted to digest such as sugar and other processed food)
-Low Omega 3, High Omega 6
-Leaky Gut Syndrome
-Not Enough Down Time (Recovery)
-Lack of Exercise

After looking at this list, it is easy to see why many people today are dealing with Chronic Inflammation. The two that stick out the most are toxic diet and lack of exercise. Of course chronic stress is another huge issue.

Inflammation and Disease

So it makes sense how acute inflammation works to help us and that there are factors that can lead to chronic inflammation. But how does inflammation go from helping our wounds to causing a heart attack?

Like insulin resistance, it is not completely clear what causes Chronic Inflammation, but we do know what increases our chances at getting it. Whichever factor affects chronic inflammation the most, what we do know is that inflammation turns bad when our body thinks we have an injury when we really don't.
 
Chronic Inflammation occurs when our body thinks we have a damage in a blood vessel (example) and send proteins (TNFa, NFkB, IL-6, CRP) to observe, fight, replicate, and clean the area. We get a huge roadblock in our blood vessel for no reason. This eventually can completely block the pathway leading to a heart attack. In some cases these proteins actually eat away tissue such as arthiritis.

Fat and Inflammation

The adipose tissue (fat on our body) is more than merely energy storage. Fat releases hormones such as leptin (hunger control) and cytokines (which include TNFa and IL-6). This makes sense how a toxic diet (which makes us fat) can lead to chronic inflammation. By having more fat than the body wants, our body will be releasing too many of these hormones into our blood, leading to chronic inflammation. Another reason why lean people lead healthier lives.

Foods that Cause Inflammation

-Trans Fats and Saturated Fat- hydrogenated oil found in crackers, cookies, etc
-Meat with high omega 6 content (grain fed cows) (Mcdonalds)
-Fatty Meat with Nitrates (Cheap bacon)
-Seed Oils - The term vegetable oil is a lie altogether. "vegetable oils" are actual soy, corn, canola, sasame)
***It is important to note that while saturated fat in pro-inflammatory, saturates like Unrefined Coconut Oil or Red Palm Oil are filled with anti-oxidants that are also anti-inflammatory.

Carbohydrates and Inflammation

As we know, excess glucose in the blood can lead to insulin resistance. But extra glucose in the blood (from excess carbs) also releases the two messenger proteins TNFa and IL-6 which in excess can eventurally cause a roadblock. This is another reason to limit carbohydrates until you need them with exercise or other activity.

Conclusion

At this point it is clear how these 4 messenger/fighter/cleanup proteins work to help fix our cuts and bruises, even sickness. Obviously it is less clear how these proteins affect chronic inflammation, but we are getting close. We do know that diet and life choices greatly affect our bodies natural ability to fight off disease. This is another great reason to switch to the Paleo diet.

On the Paleo Diet, trans fats are a non-issue. On the Paleo Diet, omega 6 fatty acids are reduced and omega 3 is increased. Seed oils are avoided and replaced with Omega 3 Grass Fed Butter and Unrefined Coconut Oil. Green Vegetables eaten on the Paleo Diet also are proven to be anti-inflammatory.

They call Inflammation the Silent Killer. We don't see it coming until it is too late. Now that we are learning the importance of inflammation, it is clearer than ever the importance to reduce the damage it can cause. The Paleo Diet is a great place to start.

Mark's Daily Apple was one of the first few websites that opened my eyes to the benefits of the Paleo Diet. Mark's site is all about natural living in modern society. He covers topics from barefooting to how to handle stress. What I didn't know was that he created a Cookbook as well; The Primal Blueprint Cookbook.

Mark has some great recipes already on his site from readers for free, however there are different recipes in the cookbook that didn't make the website. It is also convenient having a cookbook in the kitchen as it is much more accessible that way. Check out the link if you want to learn more about the Primal Blueprint Cookbook.

Made these for lunch yesterday. So Good! I even ate the paleo meatballs for lunch the following day cold and these were really convenient to eat off the stick. Being cold was not even a factor!

Ingredients;
-Ground Buffalo Meat
-Uncured Bacon
-Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt

Preperations;
Create 1x1" to 2x2" inch meatballs and set aside until you have the bacon ready. Once you have your meatballs prepared, get bacon out. Wrap bacon around the buffalo meatball and stick the skewer through the meatball to keep the bacon in place. I prefer to do 3 Paleo Meatballs per skewer.

Preheat oven to 350*

Cooking;
Place on baking sheet and put into oven for about 20 mins.

Enjoy!

-Grassfed Flank Steak - Lightly seasoned

-2 Poached Eggs (Omega 3) - Lightly seasoned

-Kiwi Fruit - Sliced (can be eaten whole!)

As you can see, this is a relatively small looking breakfast. It is however packed with nutrients. Healthy omega 3 fats and high protein, plus the kiwi will provide tons of vitamins and minerals. They also have tons of anti-oxidants and more vitamin C than an orange!

I figured I should start posting some examples of full meals that can be put together that fit within the Paleo Diet Meal Plan. This meal was lunch on a workout day. On days I workout, I reduce fat intake and bump up carbohydrates more than usual. This is for the extra fuel for my workout and to bump up my calories a bit. 

Here you can see I added mashed sweet potatoes which some would argue this is not Paleo. What I would tell these people is "Hey, I am trying to add muscle, not lose weight -- worry about youself". I have a goal in mind (of adding more muscle) so I am fueling that to happen with carbs such as sweet potatoes and rice. That is what the Paleo Diet Evolved is all about; combining the Paleo Diet with our specific goals to gain the physique we want! It is a blueprint for success not the 10 Commandments.

Back to the point - the meat here is Grass Fed Flank Steak - the same meat used for the Paleo Pinwheels. Since the flank steak is grass fed, it has a good omega 3 to omega 6 ration.

I simply seasoned the meat and put it on the stove with some grass fed butter. The egg is poached (my favorite) and I topped it with a spinach salad. The dressing I created was Olive Oil, Basalmic Vinegar, Apple Cidar Vinegar, and a squeeze of Lemon - topped off with salt and pepper - then pour over salad.

Just like that - A Paleo Diet  Lunch Created!

Last time I showed how to make cauliflower crust pizza. Now it's time for Almond Flour Pizza Crust!

Ingredients;
-2 Cups Almond Flour/Meal
-2 Omega-3 Eggs
-3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
-1/4 Tsp. Baking Soda
-1 Tsp. Garlic Powder
-Italian Seasoning

Add ingredients into a large bowl, dig your hands in and mix it up into a "dough". Flatten out on pizza sheet and bake at 350* for about 15-20 mins.

While it is baking you can prepare your toppings. I like low sugar pizza sauce, spinach, onions, peppers, tomatoes, red onions, and turkey pepperoni. 

After crust is complete, add toppings and place in oven for another 10 minutes or so and enjoy!