World O’ Hurt

Alright, after a letdown of a previous week, where I petulantly ate like crap in reaction to my injury, and happily ate like crap, in reaction to several festivities, I’ve decided to get on track this week. Even for a fervent and dedicated Paleo adherent such as myself, resisting pasta is pretty god-damned difficult! At least I have more margin for error than the average American!

Iced Tea of the Day: Spring Thunder. It puts the lime in the coconut and drinks them both up.

Breakfast:

• Three cups of amazing Anderson’s Coffee:
  • Ethiopian Yergacheffe
  • Mexican Fair Trade Organic
  • Panamanian
• Four eggs scrambled “Huevos Locos” style.
• Bacon (cooked on my Big Green Egg last night)
• One large Hass avocado

Lunch/Snack:

• 1/2cup of mixed nuts.
• One succulent nectarine

Dinner:

• Return of the Big-Ass Salad™:
  • Mixed field greens
  • Baby spinach
  • Thinly-sliced ribeye steak
  • Orange bell pepper
  • One large Hass avocado, diced
  • 4 celery stalks, sliced
  • Feta cheese
  • Pine nuts
  • walnut-balsamic dressing

So it turns out I have a sprained ACJ Ligament. It isn’t too serious, but a couple of weeks of ice and rest are in my future. It’s the perfect time, then, to cut back on my food intake and continue my regime of intermittent fasting!

I do believe that after reading about the zone diet, as well as observing some of Art Devany’s meals, that I am, on average, overnourishing myself.

I don’t buy into the concept of weighing and measuring my food to obtain precise ratios or blocks of nutrients (the Zone) to obtain a good lifestyle. That is not to say that it is not the way to achieve optimum performance (it makes sense from that perspective) but seems like what Art DeVany would term “Soviet-style, top-down command-and-control).

Iced Tea of the Day: Japan Bancha Organic. Once again, I slum it with the Bancha. It’s rotgut compared to the Sencha, but still light0years beyond say, Lipton!

Breakfast:

• Three eggs scrambled in coconut oil and sauteed garlic with caramelized onions
• Three nice ripe Kiwifruit
• Three cups of fantastic Anderson’s Coffee (Costa Rica)

Lunch:

• Thin-sliced ribeye
• Celery with almond butter
• A nectarine

Snack:

• One large Hass avocado with Salt and Pepper

Dinner:

• Thinly-sliced top sirloin steak, marinated in cornstarch and fish sauce, stir fried with minced garlic, and shaken in a lemon-pepper sauce. Not bad but I went a little heavy on the black pepper.

I had a fairly calm weekend this week. The weather has been gorgeous, and I need to make more time to get out there. My mountain bike, neglected in my garage, beckons to me to mount up and get out on the trails. I need to anyway, since I’m running Muddy Buddy again with Eric!

Lately, my appetite hasn’t been what it usually is. I’m getting full with less quantity of food. I think I’m recognizing that I actually eat a lot more food than I require to keep healthy and nourished. This week, I’m going to experiment with keeping the portions down and the food more diverse. Of course, it could also be trying to eat my normal portion size on days I’m not working out!

Iced Tea of the Day: Kukicha Roasted. This is one of my very favorites. This is a leftover jug from last night (Kukicha has very low caffeine so it’s good for nighttime chuggin’) that I’m polishing off. I’ll probably brew something else later…

Other Iced Tea of the Day: Moroccan Mint, the Miles Davis of teas.

Late, Late Breakfast, or Early, Early Lunch, Depending on How You Look at Things:

• Three cups of delectible Anderson’s Coffee (Costa Rica)
• Four eggs scrambled in coconut oil with sauteed garlic and caramelized onions.
• Cup o’ Mixed Nuts
  • This is a combination of a bag o’ raw walnuts and a plastic jug o’ macadamias, cashews, pecans, brazil nuts, all from Costco. While the walnuts are fantastic, I’m less than thrilled with the mixed nut jug. The nuts are heavily salted (gross) and contain cashews, which I’m on the fence about. The walnuts I’ll buy again, but I’ll finish out the jug and consider it a failed experiment…

Snack:

• Celery and Almond Butter

Dinner:

• Medium-Ass Salad™ with mixed field greens, spinach, red bell pepper, sliced USDA prime Ribeye, and Feta and Gorgonzola cheeses
• Smallish fruit bowl: Cantaloupe (perfect, by the way), blackberries, blueberries.

A lovely day in Austin, TX. I feel sorry for those who work from office buildings all day. I would have to say that the biggest perk of my job is the fact that I can work from home, especially this time of year. An open window and cool breeze take the sting out of sitting in front of a computer all day.

Iced Tea of the Day: Green Tea Berry Burst. I didn’t feel as embarrassed drinking this tea as I do typing its name.

Breakfast:

• Huevos Locos
• One large Hass Avocado with salt and pepper
• Three cups of delicious Anderson’s Ethiopian Sulawesi coffee

Lunch/Snack:

• Celery with Almond Butter (this is so good it’s almost a dessert!)

Dinner:

• Grilled Lamb Loin Chops with Mediterranian Rub/Marinade (olive oil, garlic, oregano, thyme, sage, parsley, rosemary)
• Kiwi, blackberries, Pluots
• Various cheeses (Derby, Wensleydale)

Another lovely day here in Austin; not a cloud to be seen, brisk temperatures, and cool breezes.

Iced Tea of the Day: Japan Bancha Organic. A bit rough compared to the Sencha, but not bad…

Breakfast:

• Four cups of superb Anderson’s coffee (New Guinea Sigri)
• One large Hass avocado

Lunch:

• Bowl of Island-Braised Spare Ribs (Braised in mango nectar, beef broth, tequila, chipolte adobo puree, caramelized leeks)
• 4 Celery Stalks with Almond Butter (so good)

Dinner:

• Big-Ass Salad™ with Field Greens, Spinach, Celery, Avocado, Feta Cheese, and Grilled Ribeye
• Mixed Fruit (Kiwi, Blueberry, Blackberries, Pluot)

The middle of the work week! I can make it though to Friday! I think I can I think I can I think I can…

Ice Tea of the Day: Sencha Fine. It is tasty. It reminds me of freshly-mowed lawns in the summer.

Breakfast:

• No food, intermittent fasting day.
• Three cups of tasty Anderson’s coffee (Indonesian Sulawesi). Mmmm now that’s a fine cuppa joe!

Lunch:

• No food, intermittent fasting day.

Dinner:

• I was planning braised short ribs. The smell of leeks caramelizing in a pan is just intoxicating.
• Unfortunately, I underestimated the time the braising the short ribs would take. They are in the oven now and smell amazing, but I had to eat something sooner. So:
• Big-Ass Salad™ Featuring mixed field greens, spinach, celery, red bell pepper. Topped with ample fresh-cracked black pepper, thinly-sliced ribeye steak, and garlic-herb feta cheese. Absolutely wonderful and fit for a king.
• One large Hass avocado

Another dreary day. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 80′, so I am definitely looking forward to that! Sometimes it seems like I’m solar powered. I just don’t have as much energy on these cloudy days.

Iced Tea of the Day: None. Sticking with water today, as a little change-up.

Breakfast:

• Four eggs, “Huevos Locos” style.
• One large Hass avocado with salt and pepper
• One bell pepper, sliced
• Three cups fabulous Andersons coffee (Costa Rica blend)

Post-Crossfit Lunch:

• Big-Ass Salad™ with mixed field greens, spinach, bell pepper, celery, steak, Gorgonzola cheese, walnut-balsamic vinaigrette.
• One cup Andersons coffee (Costa Rica)

Valentine’s Day, time to treat myself to some lovin’ with some delicious, healthy food!

Iced Tea of the Day: Green Tea Tropical Cyclone. Any tea named after a raging storm that regularly kills thousands or even tens of thousands in southeast Asia every year has got to be pretty darn good. And it is.

Breakfast/Early Lunch. I started cooking my usual breakfast of eggs, but them paused to reflect and did something a little different, which is when my breakfast turned into an early lunch:

• 1/2 Yellow Onion, sliced thinly and caramelized over low heat for ~90 minutes in ~2tbsp of butter.
• 4 Garlic cloves, minced and sauteed over high heat with the caramelized onions
• 1 medium Red Bell Pepper, diced and briefly sauteed in the above
• 4 Eggs with ample fresh-cracked black pepper, scrambled in the above.
• Let’s call it, shall we say, huevos muchos locos, or Paleo Migas. The onions were by far the star player in this little food drama. A good way to make caramelized onions is with 3-4 whole, sliced onions, and 2-3 sticks of butter in a slow cooker overnight. The only problem with this method is that the onions often come out soggy. Over low heat in an open skillet (particularly cast iron) results in crispier onions, albeit ones that require more supervision.
• Oh, I also had one large Hass avocado with Salt and Pepper.

Lunch (snack):

• One large Hass avocado with salt and pepper

Dinner:

• A huge amount of food at Kenobi. Happy Valentine’s Day! My wallet hurts
  • Rib-eye Maki
  • A shitload of rolls:
    • seven and a half
      yellowfin tuna, salmon, yellowtail, masago, avocado,
      tempura crisped, unagi sauce, spicy pepper paste, jap. mayo
    • millennium
      spicy tuna, peppercorn seared tuna, avocado, ponzu, sesame oil
    • scuba diver
      soft shell crab, cucumber, masago, fresh salmon, yellowfin tuna, avocado, spicy pepper paste
    • watch your butt
      tuna katsu, smoked salmon, cream cheese, jalapeno, spicy pepper paste
    • kobe tataki
      seared kobe beef, crisped shiitakes & onions, kanikama, garlic dust, with ginger yakitori
    • shaggy dog
      shrimp tempura, cucumber, kanikama, spicy mayo, spicy pepper paste
    • caterpillar
      unagi, avocado, unagi sauce, toasted sesame

Yes, another perfect day here in Austin. I’m working (a bit much this week, but in every life…) and watching my cat sun herself in the window. The only way this could be any better is if I was the one sunning myself.

Iced Tea of the Day: Green Tea Apple. It’s almost as good as it sounds.

Breakfast:

• Four eggs w/ cracked pepper scrambled in ample coconut oil
• Blueberries
• Three cups Anderson’s New Guinea coffee

Lunch:

• Big-Ass Salad™ with macadamia-walnut-balsamic dressing. Ample cracked pepper.
• Celery to crunch on
• Blackberries

Post-Crossfit Snack:

• 1 Scoop (about 20-some grams of protein) Cytosport EvoPro in water
• Blueberries.

Dinner. A post-Andrew-Bird-concert meal at Magnolia Cafe. Not paleo in the least:

• 1 Bowl Mag Mud (queso with black beans, pico, avocado) and corn (I think) tortilla chips
• Love Migas (Migas made in garlic butter. Migas are a delicious concoction of scrambled eggs, tortilla chip strips, bell peppers, onion, garlic)
• like half of a Trex omlette (Turkey and Avocado, among other things)

A fantastic day in Austin TX. The sun is shining and the temperature is just about perfect. I have to say, the best thing about working at home is being near a window and being able to open the window. The cool breeze really helps keep the work doldrums away. It’s almost enough to make me forget that in just a few short months, Austin will be hotter than a blast furnace.

Iced Tea of the Day: Moroccan Mint. This is the green tea that made me love green tea and make it every day. Better for the summer, but good anytime!

Breakfast:

• Skipped, not really hungry.
• Three cups of aromatic Anderson’s Coffee: Costa Rica

Lunch:

• Half of a leftover New York Strip (I cooked four), sliced thinly, eaten cold.
• One large Hass Avocado

Post-Crossfit Snack

• One scoop Cytosport EvoPro Protein (Vanilla flavor, about 28g protein)
• About a cup or so of blackberries. I have to say these were the best blackberries I’ve ever had. Huge, plump, bursting with flavor. The texture was almost like puddin’. Simple incredible.

Dinner:

• The other half of that New York Strip. Sliced thinly, eaten cold
• One large Hass avocado
• Yeah it was the same as lunch, but I’mve been very very busy at work. It just goes to show you that healthy meals are very feasible even on the run.