I wanted to take a few minutes today to tell you about a podcast that I have been listening to lately... and by listening lately I mean that I have listed to all 200 and something episodes on my commutes over the past couple of months. Sooo... I like it. Obviously. If you like learning about health topics but also like talk radio and morning shows then this is the show for you. Diane and Liz are hilarious and don't take themselves too seriously but still offer great advise backed by research on health topics from prenatal care to eczema and everything in between. The show is called Balanced Bites. On some episodes the two hosts will bring on individuals to interview from the Paleo and/or Real Food community at large. There have been doctors of all kinds, chiropractors, nutritionists, chefs, medical researchers, other scientist, cookbook and other authors, as well as others over the years. The interviews typically consist of a conversation with the interviewee and one of the hosts about the main area they work in followed by listener questions that have been submitted online beforehand. Oftentimes they will also offer a coupon code if they have a business as well which is nice.
The non-interview podcasts have varied in organization over the years but they typically have listener questions, kitchen tips, updates on any books or appearances by the hosts as well as life updates (such as funny goat stories from Liz who has a homestead or Diane's wedding plans), health topic discussions, and right now pregnancy information as Liz just had a baby and is about to launch a new product about fertility 'and beyond'. They do have sponsors so you will listen to a few adds that they record themselves as well as mini-interviews with sponsors over the 4 years of episodes currently archived but those interviews are typically very interesting and they never stay completely related to the company's products rather the over-arching industry or problem they are trying to help with. Any podcast that has been going on for long will typically have sponsors though so that they can pay for hosting fees and recording equipment. I don't mind listening to a few 10 second ads mixed in with the hour of content that most episodes tend to be to be honest... and they only choose sponsors of products that they actually use themselves which is pretty awesome when you think about it. Now on to how to find the podcast... search iTunes for "Balanced Bites" or go to one of the hosts' pages where they have links for their blogs, podcasts, and products (books, seminars, etc.). Links: iTunes Liz Wolfe Diane Sanfilippo I regularly laugh out loud listening to these two chat on this free podcast and always learn something new so I give this podcast two thumbs up and suggest you check it out. Sorry for a short post today everyone, my dog was in the hospital for a day and a half this week so it's been a little hectic around here as you can imagine. Hectic days aren't particularly good for my health so this week has been especially difficult for both of my pups as well as myself. Thankfully she is back home and doing much better now so we can get back to normal around here. Thanks for being understanding. The Spork is basically a fork, spoon and knife in one. The original is
6.75 inches long and weighs 0.3 oz according to their website (I did not whip out the scale to test it but that feels about right... it is very lightweight). I like that, while it is plastic, they use a BPA free material so I am limiting that exposure. I literally take this with me every day to work in my lunchbox. I own two- both in pink- that I purchased in a little novelty store while traveling. I would suggest purchasing them online as they are cheaper online than I paid originally... I overpaid but they were still worth it! The Spork comes in original size as well as a medium and large size for you who like camping and need serving and cooking utensils. The website says that the medium is good for eating freeze dried food out of pouches if you backpack though I have not tried it out so can't speak to that... I don't really backpack with my medical issues all that often as you can likely imagine. Amazon has this item in a 4-pack for $9.99 but they also have it individually if you search for it. It may not be on Prime though so if you are like me and have Prime and don't want to pay additional shipping you may be more inclined to purchase the 4 pack and get a bit more for your money (plus have to wash dishes less often or have one for every lunchbox in the family!). This may seem a little more expensive than you want to pay right off the bat for plastic-ware. I agreed actually but then changed my mind after seeing how durable these sporks are. They aren't your typical cheap cutlery where the tines bend a bit in the wash or nicks gouge out of the plastic easily (at least not in the past few months for my sporks). They haven't stained or warped at all in the dishwasher either. One thing that I wasn't sure about was kids with a knife edge though, but they covered that as well... If you do not want your little ones to have a knife edge the company offers the Spork Little which is A- adorable, B- smaller than the original for little hands, and C- lacks a knife edge. They also have it in Titanium for those not wanting plastic! I think this company has pretty much covered all their bases when it comes to making a product that most people would be able to use. I love this nifty product as I don't really like taking my silverware to work in a lunchbox and I'm all about colors... we need more color in the world. Color=happiness. Yes... I taught kindergarten and love to color. I'm just one of those people. :) So, pros and cons time... PROS:
CONS:
I live in Texas. Texas is famous for a lot of things but BBQ and Tex Mex are the two big food things we are known for. BBQ was an easier fix when I went to a more Paleo/Primal lifestyle as the main part- meat- was still on the 'yes' list. I just had to make my own rubs and sauces without sugar which didn't take too long to work out and I was able to enjoy summer BBQ's without a problem. Tex Mex was another issue altogether. Chips, tortillas, rice, beans... all pretty much out or at least seriously limited. I have a couple different enchilada recipes I worked on for years to perfect that I can no longer eat since I don't eat tortillas any longer. It wasn't ok... I love enchiladas, enchiladas were something I was famous for in my little world. I needed enchiladas in my life. I tried Paleo Wraps and I tried making my own 'tortillas' at home (an epic failure). I tried so many recipes but I still haven't figured out a perfect replacement that holds up with enchiladas... I will keep trying though! This search led me to purchase some of Nikil's Roti at my local farmer's market when I saw them. While they didn't really work out as the perfect enchilada wrapper they were pretty tasty. I enjoyed them heated and used as scoops for dips and curries.
Pros:
Cons:
I will purchase these roti again most likely... I just won't use them to make enchiladas. On to new adventures! "Eating Paleo takes a bit of planning" A truer has never been made... but it is far from the crazy difficulty that I often am told it must be. One of the biggest planning tools that I use daily has been my lunch tote. It is very important that I am able to pack a substantial amount of food as most days I am bringing at least 2 meals with me- breakfast and lunch- and some days I am bringing as many as 4- breakfast, lunch, shake or snack, and dinner. Previously, I used a fairly traditional lunchbox... the type that tent up to the top. They look like they are large but there is a lot of unusable space due to the design. That is, if you want to zip the tote closed- a must to keep the food cold! My mother was at Sam's Club and found a really cute lunch kit for herself: the Nicole Miller of New York Insulated Lunch Cooler. I love it! Finally, no more wasted space! This lunch kit reminds me of the ones I took as a child in that it is a simple rectangular prism (nearly cube) with a zipper and handles. Nothing super fancy... but pretty stinkin' cute you'd have to agree. Immediately I needed one. I was tired of carrying a lunchbox AND food to put in the fridge at work for my second meal of the day. My wonderful mother picked one up for me that very weekend in an adorable pink polka dot pattern. Isn't it totes adorbs (I'm in a movie/TV/song quote mood right now... fair warning. Also, if you haven't watched the Lizzie Bennett Diaries you are seriously missing out. Get to it!)? There are both good and not so good qualities about this insulated tote but for the days when I need to pack only two meals this is a lunchbox I like very much The Good: 1. You can store a lot of food in here! If you are like, 'Whoa! that's enough for 5 meals!' hold up a second... not quite. It is enough for a salads (about 2 C), two entrees/proteins, a snack (if I don't add an extra cold pack), a fruit or veggie side and portioned dressing/condiments. I can't put all of this in there if I am carrying a container of dressing or any type of uncut fruit for instance. If I use the containers that came with the tote I have enough room for a larger salad, a protein, another veggie or fruit (or some nuts or etc) and breakfast plus my salad dressing, utensils, and cooling pack. If I pack it with all of the containers you saw above then I can't add extra cooling pouches. A must if I am going to need it to last till a late lunch or beyond unfortunately. 2. As I already mentioned... it comes with containers. From a little research online it looks like not all of the kits out there have the three pack that I received but getting some non-leak containers was certainly a plus for me. Perhaps it would be worth it to check out Sam's if you wanted the containers... the link I put above goes to Amazon and it appears from the tag that the containers are included, at least for the polka dot version. 3. It is easy to clean. Until you have had a green smoothie leak in your lunchbox you simply do not know the pain of deep cleaning a lunchbox... that stuff stains and gets into every crevice in a lunch kit... or backpack, as was my case. Exploding bottle of green juice... everywhere. It was not a pretty sight and took forever to clean... I'm still finding flakes! Ugg. So I was quite happy to put my shake in my new box for safekeeping instead of in my backpack. This was on a day that I ate breakfast at home (rare... I came in to work late) so I while I usually don't have room for my shake container I did this day. And boy was I glad when I got home and saw that it had leaked (that lid is going in the trash). Hurray for not having to clean a backpack! A little Thieves cleaning spray and it wiped out good as new. Yay! The Bad: 1. The cold pack that comes with it is not particularly good. Unfortunately, though it is a clever idea to make it thin enough to fit in the front zipper pouch the pack simply doesn't keep the box cold for long enough. I end up putting it in the fridge at work to keep it fresh all day instead. On a side note, anytime I say or hear the word clever now-a-days I always think "Run, my clever boy... and remember." Kudos to anyone who gets that reference... we can be friends. 2. There is no pouch for a drink. I know this won't be an issue for most people but I would really like to have a drink pouch for a water bottle or shake on the lunchbox somewhere. Just a personal preference. My last one didn't either though so it isn't a huge issue, just a want.
That's it... pretty much loving my two meal lunchbox. Now to figure out what to do for the days I am gone for all my meals. Hmm... until next time interwebs, have a great day! I was at Jason's Deli the other day and decided to try zucchini. I really enjoyed the addition to my salad! It was had great bite and the flavor wasn't overpowering. Since there has been so much buzz lately about zucchini noodles- or zoodles- I decided to give it a try. Everything seemed pretty simple but I didn't have a spiralizer in my kitchen. A little comparative shopping and one was on it's way to my doorstep- the Greenco Spiral Julienne Vegetable Slicer. It was a fairly inexpensive gadget that ended up being really easy to use. As you can see from the photo this product is constructed from a sturdy plastic as well as stainless steel. It is two sided and comes with a cap to attach to the vegetable you want to turn into strips. Each side contains a set of teeth that quickly and efficiently turn the veggies into noodle like strips. One thing that I like about this gizmo is that each side has a different width of blade. You can see that the zoodle on the left is about half the width of the one on the right.
I was able to turn two zucchini into zoodles in about two minutes from start to finish... super fast and simple. I'm not sure how long it would take to spiralize a more dense vegetable but based on the sharpness of these little teeth I would assume not much longer. Now on to things that I didn't really like about this model... The biggest issue I had with it was that it is not particularly ergonomic. Luckily, you only need to be using the gadget for a few minutes to have enough zoodles for several people so it isn't a huge deal breaker. Perhaps it is because I have tiny hands but the two metal pieces meant for holding were further apart than necessary so it hurt my hands a bit to use. The only other thing that I disliked was that the model did not come with a cleaning brush... easily solved with spare/new toothbrush! I was afraid to clean it with my hand or a cloth as the blades are quite sharp so I suggest that you pick up a cheap toothbrush to clean your spiralizer. Overall I would recommend the Greenco Spiral Julienne Vegetable Slicer I love pasta. It really is that simple. Lasagna, manicotti, spaghetti, linguini, mac 'n' cheese... the whole lot of them... love them. Before going Paleo I was working on perfecting my recipes for all things pasta related. I had some pretty awesome lasagna and manicotti recipes to be honest. When I stopped eating wheat literally the first thing I did was start searching the web for pasta replacements... nothing quite matches the texture of wheat-based pastas unfortunately. I still eat 'pasta' these days but it comes in a different form. There is a bigger emphasis on hearty sauces in my case... lots of chunky tomatoes, chopped mushrooms, meat, fresh garlic and herbs, a little olive oil. I don't do a lot of cream sauces myself simply because I'm not a huge fan of cream sauces. The 'noodles' are the secondary part of the meal these days, a small portion of the total meal. I will be talking about two types of noodles this week... shiratake noodles (Miracle Noodles are a branded version of these) and zoodles, or zucchini noodles.
Miracles Noodles come in several forms- angel hair, fettuccine, ziti, rice, spinach (angel hair), black (angel hair) and garlic and herb (fettuccine). I only tried three of these for the review... eventually even I get a little tired of pasta. I tried: angel hair, spinach and fettuccine. There were some good things and some bad things for each of the styles but overall I thought they were an replacement but not something I am going to be using all the time in my cooking. I would like to try the ziti and garlic and herb varieties at some point and will review those if I do try them as I think the texture might change somewhat. For all of these noodles there are some important tips you should know: 1. Rinse... rinse a lot. As soon as you open the pouch you will smell a fishy odor as shirataki are packed in brine. This isn't a huge deal in the scheme of things though as you simply dump them into a colander and run them under cold water for several minutes to remove the scent. 2. Cook them in the sauce. The good thing about these 'noodles' is that they absorb the flavors they are cooked in. I made a shrimp scampi with the angel hair... lots of lemon, parsley, garlic and butter. Guess what the noodles tasted of... lemon, parsley, garlic and butter. When I made a meaty tomato sauce they tasted of tomato and garlic. The key is to cook the noodles in some of the sauce so that they absorb the flavors. Toss a little of your sauce in the pan when you are heating the noodles for a better flavor. Angel Hair: This one was the first one I tried. I also tried an off brand of this variety that I found at the local Asian market near my house. I saw very little difference if between the off brand and the brand named angel hair shiratake. This was my favorite of the three simply because I am a texture person and there was less of a chewy consistency to these because they were thinner. I keep a pouch of these in my pantry just in case I get a craving for pasta so that I can grab some of my homemade sauce out of the freezer to cook up with these and be done in a few minutes with little planning. Spinach: I saw very little difference between the normal angel hair and the spinach variety of angel hair shirataki. There may have been a slight difference in the chew but overall they were still chewier than a wheat pasta so I tended to cut the pasta in my sauce rather than twirl the pasta... again, huge texture person and my focus on pasta nights is now the sauce with a little bit of 'pasta' on the side. Fettuccini: These were my least favorite... they are a lot chewier than the angel hair variety since they are thicker. I really did not enjoy the chew as it reminded me of sea food... like a calamari texture almost. My ex enjoyed these as part of a shrimp scampi dish though so it is all about the sauce. If you are a big texture person like me though I would steer clear of these thicker versions of the shirataki noodles. I do need to warn you to read the labels on shirataki you may purchase though (anything you purchase in a package actually) as some contain soy or other ingredients you may not want to eat now that '0-calorie' noodles have been around for a while. I would imagine the additions help the texture but I do not want those things in my body- especially the soy- so I have not tried them. |
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