World O’ Hurt

More on this later, but I wanted to write a quick note while this was still fresh in my mind. Since I’m otherwise financially unencumbered, I am shifting my shopping over from Costco to the Farmer’s Market and Whole Paycheck as much as I can.

It’s no surprise that the food I got from the Farmer’s Market has been some of the best I’ve eaten. It’s all locally grown from local farms, and I get a kick out of talking to the people who grow my food. I got some cherry tomatoes that are absolutely wonderful (I hate tomatoes, BTW, so this is saying a lot), some pastured eggs, and some free-range bison steaks.

The eggs are more expensive, yes, but well over three times as nutritious in some respects as the supermarket eggs I was buying before. The yolks are huge, and a vibrant orange color. I’ve always thought that the ‘100% vegetarian feed’ bragged about on so many egg cartons was bullshit. Since birds are basically dinosaurs anyway (how the mighty fall) I figure the more diverse their diet the better. The guy from the booth assured me that the chickens run around and eat lots of grass and roaches and whatever other shit chickens eat when left more to their own devices than the typical feedlot bird.

Anyway, I also got some wonderful blackberries (not too sweet!) and the bison steaks were teriffic! This will be week 2 of the experiment, and I already like it. The only problem has been getting to the market in time; I go after my Wednesday Crossfit class, and by then the market is half over and the choice items have been bought. Luckily, the vendors have order forms, where you can have them bring whatever you want and pay for it there!

Today I slightly modified my breakfast cooking routine. As I have recently obtained a nice cast-iron skillet, I have started using it for eggs, with fantastic results. It definitely does not lose heat as well as my excellent Caphalon nonstick. Since I use ample oil when cooking, sticking is never really a problem for me. Score one for the 10 dollar skillet vs. the expensive omlette pan!

I started sauteeing my garlic on low heat, to warm the pan and to make the garlic less harsh. I am keeping the pan cooler overall and cooking the eggs more slowly. This has resulted in a creamier texture while still not being drippy. The irony is that cooking over very high heat can result in rubbery, dry eggs that are still runny!

I have also started warming the eggs up in a bowl of warm water. This also improves cooking time, texture and flavor. Note that I’m still cooking quickly – the eggs are in the pan no more than 30 seconds – but I have reduced the cooking heat significantly.

Breakfast:

• Four eggs scrambled in coconut oil, with slowly sauteed garlic
• Bacon
• One large Hass avocado with salt and pepper

Lunch:

• Cup o’ Walnuts

It was an intermitent fast day for me today; I am actually questioning whether I am going to continue fasting while I am resting my body. Without the hormonal drive to keep muscle, I may end up losing some during my rest period, or at least lose it faster, if I fast.

Breakfast:

• Cup o’ Coffee

Lunch:

• Fasting

Dinner:

• Big-Ass Salad: Bacon, Field Greens, Spinach, Feta Cheese, Celery, Red Bell Pepper
• 4 Scrambled eggs (was out of dinner meat and wanted to make up the protien)

It’s been a few days since I posted! I know, I know… I have been on a caffeine fast for almost one horrible week now, and I think it’s been affecting my moods more than I ever thought it would. I would wake up with pounding headaches and be grumpy all day. Being as stubborn as I am, I decided to conquer this limitation and so far have only had one pitcher of green tea, sticking to water, honeybush, and red tea the rest of the time!

I suppose that it’s better for all involved if I don’t mention my weekend meals. They tend to fall off the paleo wagon most of the time, even if they are wonderful and delicious

Saturday

Breakfast:

• Can’t remember but I think I skipped.

Lunch:

• Also skipped…

Dinner:

• At a friend’s house. Here’s why I skipped:
  • Ample bread with Chevre goat cheese
  • One Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
  • One glass Malbec (a very good one)
  • Various sausage, including polish kielbasa and English Bangers
  • Central Market marinated fajita meat
  • Heavily-spiced leg of lamb kebab
  • Delicious salmon fillet with citrus salt, cracked pepper, and olive oil
  • Top sirloin with roasted garlic salt, pepper, and olive oil
  • Marinated chicken

Quite the party, if imbalanced…

Sunday

• At North in the Domain:
  • Fried Calamari with Arugula
  • A fennel sausage and caramelized onion pizza. Very good.

Monday

Breakfast:

• Intermittent Fast

Lunch:

• Intermittent Fast

Dinner:

• Big-Ass Salad™ with field greens, spinach, orange bell pepper, celery, feta cheese, and walnut-balsamic vinegar.
• Large ribeye steak, medium rare.
• Fruit bowl

Tuesday

Late Breakfast/Early Lunch:

• Two eggs scrambled
• One large Hass avocado

Snack:

• Walnuts

Dinner:

• Leftover ribeye steak
• Kiwis and strawberries

Wednesday

Breakfast:

• Three eggs scrambled
• 5 slices of bacon
• One large Hass avocado

Lunch/Snack:

• Cup o’ Almonds

Dinner:

• Big-Ass Salad™: Ribeye, Spinach, Field Greens, Feta Cheese, Bacon Bits, Celery, yellow bell pepper.
• Strawberries and Blackberries

The perfect day outside. Hopefully it continues this way tomorrow, where I won’t have to be stuck inside doing work!

I’m laying off of caffeine for a few days. I’ve noticed that ever since I started brewing my coffee stronger. And Stronger. AND STRONGER, i’ve had headaches in the mornings of an almost hangover nature. I’m concentrating on caffeine-free beverages for a few days like say, water. Of course that won’t stop me from replenishing my stock of Anderson’s coffee soon (we are completely out)!

Iced Tea of the Day: Honeybush Vanilla

Breakfast:

• One large Hass avocado, with salt and pepper

Late Lunch:

• Big-Ass Salad™ with thinly sliced flank steak, field greens, spinach, bell pepper, celery, feta and goat cheese, and all in a walnut balsamic vinaigrette.

After-Class Apartief:

• One large protein shake (Cytosport EvoPro in water)
• Large bowl o’ fruit

My next Intermittent Fast day will be tomorrow, most likely. As I’ve said before, I try to make one of the days on a workout day, and the other one.. Not.

The spate of amazing weather conditions continues in Austin, a gift from God or Mother Nature following a shitty week leading up to this one. It’s getting hotter outside, which will add that little bit of Je ne sais quoi to Crossfit. But as Big Mike says, if you can work out in the heat, you can work out anywhere (personally I find the cold more dauting. I’m a tropical brother).

Iced Tea of the Day: Honeybush Vanilla. Apparently a close relative of the Rooibos plant, as well as a great name for a stripper or porn actress.

Breakfast (In style!):

• Four eggs with salt and fresh-cracked pepper, forced through a sieve (to obtain a creamy texture, as well as filter out the large pepper bits (leaving the oil and a lighter flavor), scrambled in a 1/2 1/2 mixture of bacon grease and coconut oil, with sauteed garlic.
• One large Hass avocado, with salt and freshly-cracked pepper
• Some slices of bacon. You know me, I never count.
• Three cups of coffee: Anderson’s Ethiopian Sulawesi

Snack

• 4 stalks of celery with almond butter (so good!)

The gorgeous weather continues. It’s a Crossfit day today. I hope to not repeat my performance of gassing and dehydration today. I’m going to brew my tea weaker and with a slightly less caffeinated blend, and make a conscious effort to keep better hydrated today. I will also put more ice in with the actual brewed tea.

Iced Tea of the Day: Moroccan Mint Rooibos Lemon Chiffon. I am going to avoid Green Tea for a bit to see if the extra caffeine is affecting me.

Breakfast:

• Shit, you gotta start the day off right!
• Four eggs scrambled in coconut oil and sauteed garlic.
• Five strips of oven-fried bacon
• One large Hass avocado with Salt and Pepper
• Three cups Indonesian Sulawesi coffee

Lunch/Snack:

• Cup o’ raw nuts: Almonds, Walnuts, Pecans.

Dinner:

• Big-Ass Salad™ with field greens, spinach, red bell pepper, celery, thinly sliced marinated/grilled flank steak, feta and goat cheese, all in walnut/balsamic vinaigrette
• Strawberries, kiwi, and cantaloupe as dessert.

I feel a little achy and sore/tired in a good way from Crossfit. Continuing to hop back on the good eats bandwagon!

Iced Tea of the Day: I combined Kuchika and Sencha in the teamaker today. I felt that the large amount of Sencha I made yesterday (it was a strong brew!) might have over-caffeinated me for Crossfit, resulting in mild dehydration. However, I mostly blame it on my diet from Wed-Sun of last week.

Breakfast:

• One Large Hass Avocado
• Two Cups of wonderful Anderson’s Coffee:
  • Ethiopian Yergacheffe
  • Indonesian Sulwesi

Lunch: At Andiamo. Inexpensive, yet very very good italian food. A good value. I notice that I don’t like eating out as much these days. I was determined, however, to eat as right as I could, and believe that anyone can make “good enough” choices under any circumstances. It’s just willpower, like NOT eating a whole box of donut holes ( )

• Glass iced tea (unsweetened, lemon)
• Shrimp stuffed with crabmeat and wrapped in prosciutto. How can you say no to a dish like that? The suspect part of the dish was the white wine and shallot sauce. I have no doubt it had sugar, and probably flour or cornstarch as a thickener. I should have asked for it on the side, but  at any rate I didn’t have too much of it.
• Still hungry when I got home (there were only 4-5 shrimp) so:
  • Remainder of a tenderloin fillet my roomate didn’t finish
  • One large Hass Avocado
  • Feel great!!

It’s important to eat when you’re hungry, as long as you’re hungry for the right reason. Yesterday’s Crossfit workout was very intensive, and left me work out. I’m not really sore, pre se, it’s a feeling of being drained. When you’re out of fuel, gas up, but for gods’ sake, use the right fuel.

Snack:

• 4 Stalks Celery with Almond Butter

Dinner:

• Big-Ass Salad™ with tenderloin, mixed field greens, spinach, bell pepper, celery, gorgonzola cheese, walnut-balsamic vinaigrette.
• Kiwi and Strawberries

My sister is in town! That means that the good diet is going to go out the window for a few weeks, but I think I’ve saved up enough karmic credit to let myself go for such a special occasion. I’m trying to balance out the caloric intake with some judicious fasting. So far, lots of restaurant food. I’m none the worse for wear though!

I watched a short movie at Crossfit Journal ($25 a year and amazing information) last night regarding implementation of the Zone diet in Crossfit. It struck me how little an elite athlete such as Pat Sherwood truly needs to maintain his body. Indeed, I recall a research scientist on a podcast saying that our body does not process more than 20g of protien at a time for hypertrophy, with the remainder being deaminated and used for fuel. In comparison to the austere meals of elite athletes, I overeat.

On the other hand, I truly enjoy cooking delicious, healthy fare and eating a lot of it at a sitting. I can’t say that it does me any harm. As much as I love working out, I do believe that there is a point, as Dr. McGuff says, that fitness diverges from health and wellness. I believe that there is an important emotional component for me in putting together beautiful meals. Slabs of turkey and gobs of mayo are sustainence (although I believe him wrong about the canola oil) for sure, but to me they do not a meal make.

Breakfast:

• Huevos Locos with Bacon
• Watermelon
• Three cups of amazing Anderson’s Coffee: Panama Boquette, with a few cups brewed double strength