paleo hamburger buns

We've been slowly trying to cut out grains in our diet: I  generally feel better when I'm not eating them, and Mr. Bama, who was introduced to Crossfit last year, has been learning more and more about Paleo.  My Sugar detox last year also helped kickstart an interest in a grain & dairy free diet.  So began the voyage of finding alternatives, and while it's been slow and gradual, it's been full of more surprises than disappointments.

One big thing I had a hard time with was hamburger buns. The only American version of buns available to us are the nasty Wonderbread psuedo-"wheat" buns that are pretty gross and filled with a lot of mystery ingredients. So I set off to find a good alternative that nixed wheat, tasted good and could handle the task of taking a hamburger from my plate to my mouth without crumbling. After wading through recipe after recipe of cauliflower and meat based bun recipes (come on now...)  I finally found this gem, which did the trick and turned out to be super tasty.

So without further ado, I present:

Paleo Hamburger Buns 

(original recipe found here)

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 4 tbs almond flour
• 4 tbs coconut flour
• 4 tbs coconut oil (melted)
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl, mix coconut flour, almond flour, baking powder and sea salt together with a fork.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and coconut oil.
4. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and combine completely.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and grease the paper lightly with coconut oil.
6. Pour the batter onto the oiled parchment paper to make eight (3-inch diameter) pools.
7. Bake for 10 minutes.

Each "biscuit" if you will, serves as a top or bottom for the burger.
Serves: 4

(please don't) pour some sugar on me

Mr Bama and I have been MIA, but it's been because this month has been a little hectic. Adding to the craziness, we decided September would be "Sugar-Free September."  This means:

• no carbs
• no sugar-based anything
• no sweeteners (ie, honey, molasses, maple syrup, etc)
• no fruit (!)
• no starches
• no alcohol (unhappy face)
• lots of meat and happy, healthy fats
• I can still drink coffee!!

Thanks to the 21 Day Sugar Free Detox, via Balanced Bites my eyes have been opened to just how much sugar most Americans eat.  Even if you're like me, someone who doesn't drink soft drinks, really doesn't have a sweet tooth, and isn't a fan of baking, you eat amazing amounts of sugar in your bread, your fruits, and even in some of your veggies.

image via

I thought this would be a breeze, but boy was I wrong. I can't find a ton of the ingredients used for many of the 21- Day recipes either at our tiny commissary or on the German economy (apparently Germans don't like coconut flour?) so it's been particularly frustrating.  We've ordered coconut and almond flour from Amazon, but their estimated delivery times are in October, after the detox is over. And I really didn't think this through before dedicating September as THE month to do this.  Because our anniversary falls during the detox and I MAY have to break it to have the customary celebratory champagne.

image via

14 days in and here are my pros/cons list

Pros:

• I'm eating more veggies than I ever have before.  I actually like squash and avocados!
• Bacon is not your enemy, it's your friend
• coconut butter smells so much better than olive oil.
• most 21-day detox approved recipes are insanely simple, 5 ingredients MAYBE.  My kind of cooking.

Cons:

• no real weight loss, but no weight gain. 
• total lack of energy.  I have no desire to work out.  AT ALL. I'm exhausted, un-enthused and find that any energy I do I tend to think about my chocolate or popcorn cravings and how much i miss them.
• Going out with friends can be uber- frustrating, as in Germany most stuff is breaded and fried or potato-based.  When I ask for items without "brot" or "kartoffolen"I get the oddest looks.

Here's hoping that as I start my third and final week of the detox I get a little kick in energy and the benefits start to show up.  Otherwise I'm afraid that come day 21 I will just bury my head in a mound of croissants and never look back.

UPDATE (9/17):  So this weekend I went to Ramstein and bought the commissary out of their coconut and almonds flours just to tide us over until the Amazon orders arrived.  Then I go to the mail room this morning and what do I find?

Thats 5lbs of almond flour there baby, bringing truth to the saying of "it's either a feast or a famine."  That should make crust for oh, about 10 paleo pizzas.

feel better 2012

There has kind of been a lull in posting recently, because well, not much has been going on of late.  Germany's been a bit dreary (think lots of grey and lots of damp-ness. And no, not in the form of snow.)  Christmas was a low-key event, where I mozy-ed downstairs at 10am, made my coffee, sat on the couch, opened  my one gift (this fantastic book), sat on the couch to read said gift, and then went and got ready for dinner at a friend's house that night.  New Year's was almost an exact carbon copy - where last year hubs and I traipsed around The Roosevelt Hotel and then watched the fireworks from Jackson Square, this year I took my life in my hands and drove to Würzburg for dinner and watching the fireworks from the bridge.  No, I didn't get any pictures, because:

• my old-school iPhone 3G is in no way up for the challenge of trying to take pictures of fireworks,
• I lost the battery charger to my real camera and have been too lazy to shell out $50 (!) for a new one.  
• the smoke and haze for the self fired-fireworks makes it nearly impossible to see anything.  Germans are given 24 hours to set off fireworks legally and wow they go crazy.   

My friend Charlie took the lone picture from the night:

2012 from the bridge in Wurzburg.  Thanks Charlie

So after ringing in the new year, I made the trek to Frankfurt to collect my dad for his visit to Germany. But of course, the gross and cold weather really hindered our plans to do much sightseeing.  So essentially, for my dad, Germany consisted of lots of Pilsner, a migraine, 30 degree temps with just rain, an afternoon of snow that didn't stick and lots of rumpsteak, potatoes and schnitzel.  Now, he's back in the US and I'm fighting a terrible cold with strong hot toddies, episodes of Portlandia (how have I never seen that show before!?) and hot soup.  Thank heavens me and the Bear are off to the US at the end of this month, so we need to hang in there until then.  Just like my cold, I hope 2012 gets better soon.

clean and simple potato and leek soup

As a pre-Christmas / post-Thanksgiving gift, my mom bought me the Clean Eating 2 cookbook along with the "Clean Eating: Classic Comfort Foods" special edition magazine.  The recipes are absolutely amazing and I'm planning on working my way through each of them in coming months.  Since its been snowing here a bit lately, its been perfect soup and stew weather - and since I also have a huge bag of potatoes lying around (don't ask...) I decided to dive in and whip up some potato and leek soup to last me a few chilly nights!

my cornucopia of ingredients with the strategically
placed original recipe in the background.

Potato & Leek Soup with Cheddar Topping (via  "Clean Eating: Classic Comfort Foods")
serves: 6 | Hands on time: 10 mins | Total Time: 30 mins
 Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 3 lrg leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and finely sliced into semicircles
• pinch each of sea salt & fresh ground blk pepper
• 3 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (veggie broth works too, for our vegetarian friends)
• 2 cups low-fat milk
• pinch ground nutmeg or allspice
• 1/2 cup grated low-fat sharp cheddar cheese

Method:

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high.  Add leeks, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until very soft - about 5 mins.

Add potatoes, and broth and bring to a boil.    Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes simmer, 8 to 10 mins.

Using a ladle or a large spoon, carefully remove 2 cups soup and transfer to an upright blender; puree til smooth, about 2 minutes.

its so pretty and bright green

Return puree to saucepan and then add cheese and stir until cheese melts.  

Ladle into serving bowls, dividing evenly.  You can garnish with some Italian parsley and/or additional nutmeg.  

I had a hearty loaf of Volkorn (whole wheat) Baguette lying around, so I used that to accompany my soup.  The outcome?  It's not as thick or creamy as I've had in the past, but thats kind of what made it great.  It's really light tasting, but also pretty filling.  All-in-all I would have to rate this a 3 on a scale of  1-10, with 1 being "pop-in-microwave-and-watch-easy" and 10 being "lock-yourself-in-the-kitchen-w/ a-bottle-of-wine-because-you-ain't-going-anywhere-for-a-few-hours" easy.

if you do decide to make this, please comment below and let us know how it turns out!

Quick and Easy Salmon

I've been cooking for one a lot lately (sadness...) so I have to admit I haven't been too terribly creative with my cooking -- it's far more fun to try new and exciting recipes when you have someone else who will enjoy it as much as you do.  So I've been falling back on some of the tried and true favorite recipes that are easy and have never failed.  It means I can have a meal within 20 mins (only 5 of which are for prep), which is great at the end of a long day.

So today I share with you the easiest and tastiest Salmon recipe I have found (courtesy of Real Simple mag).  All you need is the following  to serve 4:

• 4 wild Alaskan coho salmon filets
• 4 tomatoes on the vine, cut in half
• olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, removed from stems and chopped (dried thyme can be substituted, but it's not as tastey in my honest opinion)

- Set your oven to broiler (or if you're like me and don't have a broiler, just turn it up as high as possible).  Start with a broiler-proof pan (something with a rim) and drizzle a little olive oil on the bottom (approx 1 tsp).  Take a paper towel and spread oil to cover bottom of the pan.  Place each filet, as well as the tomatoes, cut side up, on the pan.  Very lightly use salt and pepper to season the filets and the tomatoes.

- Dust just the salmon filets with the paprika.  Then place the slices of garlic and sprinkle the thyme all over the salmon and tomatoes.  Finish with drizzling a little olive oil over the top of everything.  Then pop into the oven and broil for 8-10 minutes

- While the salmon & tomatoes were cooking, I decided I needed to add some color to my meal. So I pulled some kale out of the freezer (haven't found fresh kale yet over here) and started sauteing up some of that as I waited (just add olive oil, garlic and some red pepper flakes to your kale as you steam / saute for 10-ish minutes.  Couldn't get easier.).

- 8-10 minutes later, pull out your pan - note: It will be insanely hot, but the aroma will be mouthwatering.

 - Then plate your food and voila!  Incredibly easy, healthy and tasty meal with minimal work!

can you tell I've been watching a lot of episodes of Kitchen Nightmares
recently?  Too much emphasis on presentation.

I think the best part of this meal is that you get your Omega-3s from your Salmon, your Lycopene / beta-carotene (among other nutrients) from the Tomatoes, manganese and vitamin B-6 from Garlic, and if you add Kale like I did, you get valuable antioxidants, as well as Vitamins K, A & C.  I may not be a nutritionist  but basic research shows that this is a tasty, healthy, low calorie meal loaded with nutrients that is also EASY!  So happy cooking!

Daily Challenge

Check out my office "refreshment table"

Really its just the top of a short bookshelf, but I figured that since I'm challenging myself to drink at least 2 of those pitchers of water a day, I'd have fun with it.  Since I'm in the office the majority of the day, this makes it easier than running up and down two flights of stairs to the kitchen every time i need to fill up a glass (because who am I kidding? I'm not going to drink that much if it's not readily accessible.)  I'm also challenging myself to

•  work out at least 20 mins a day, with Yoga in the morning and evening - bring it Jillian Michaels and Tara Stiles
• reserve the wine drinking to the weekends.  I read an article titled "Does drinking more than 6 drinks a week make you an alcoholic?"  I'm teetering dangerously close to that, with 1 glass at least a night and more on weekends.  Talk about a wake-up call.  Time to step back and re-evaluate.

I'm realizing it's the little things that make a big impact, and I really don't want to have a year fly by with no changes having been made.  So let's go with baby steps!

What simple measures have you implemented in your life that you're hoping add up big?  

Ginger & Berries Never Tasted So Good

I've been a huge fan of Kombucha recently, but it wasn't until today I was truly grateful for it.  I've been spending all day unloading our storage unit (New Orleans + no garage = no storage) in preparation for our move.  Exhausted from the tons of boxes of books and Rubbermaid containers, I arrived home craving one thing and one thing alone:

source

It has it doubters.  It has its faithful followers.  You can debate all day long, (and read about it here) but all I know is that this one of the tastiest drinks I've ever sampled.  My old boss let me try a little of the Gingerade 100% G.T. Kombucha version a few months ago.  I liked it, as the ginger flavor balanced the natural flavor of kombucha, so I bought a whole bottle.  I quickly realized that with every Gingerade kombucha I drank, without fail I developed a raging headache within an hour.  So I tried the strawberry version (95% kombucha, 5% fruit juice).  No headache, but the tartness of the strawberry needed something to balance it out.  So then I tried ginger berry with the hopes that the ginger would balance the strawberry.  And it does perfectly.  I now crave this stuff.  And since its ohsoclose to hitting the 90 degree mark on the thermostat down here, I'm discovering it may just be the perfect summer drink.  yum yum

Have you tried kombucha yet?  If so, what are your thoughts?

RAW-rrrrrr

That's my healthy food growl.  We actually, its my "hey, I'm sick of feeling puffy, out of shape, and oh my gosh is that ME in the mirror!?" statement.  Its a funny thing that happens when you get married (or when you live in New Orleans...), you kind of let your nutrition go to the birds.  The food here is SOOO good (an understatement), so its hard not to pick up the phone and order something when you're exhausted from a long day & don't feel like cooking.  I hardly ever ate out growing up, so I consider New Orleans a treat - we're not going to live here forever, right?  So enjoy the food while you can!  Then that leads to also drinking, which also leads to sleeping in, being lazy and forgoing that whole working-out thing.  Bah, I played sports in college and I've worked out almost every day since I was a wee summer swim team-leaguer back in Virginia, I'm in great shape, so surely a few days not working out won't matter....

...a few days, that turn in to weeks, which turn into, well you get it.

It wasn't until I saw myself in the mirror the other day and almost screamed outloud "What the!? Is that cellulite!????"  Yeah, no good.  That plus I'd been feeling insanely sluggish, tired and just all-around BLAH.  It wasn't till my little mirror revelation that I examined my options:

1. workout and still eat what I'm eating.  Gross in, gross out, but at least I'll be maintaining my weight
2. clean my diet up, work out and kick in the butt once and for all those stupid last 20 lbs that I have never ever been able to get rid of.
3. do nothing and just balloon, becoming the larger version of an oompa loompa

source

I choose option 2.  Yeah, in the middle of wrapping up my design projects (oh.ver.welm.ing) and planning a move to another continent, I'm going to squeeze cleaning up my diet into the mix.  Oye vey.

So this past weekend I had one of my best friends visit NOLA with her husband.  During her stay, she mentioned that she had been trying out a raw food diet for the past few weeks.  My friend has two kids, so if it takes too long to make or if it's too difficult, then its a no go recipe wise.  She explained how everything is in smoothie form or very simplified, so in a sense it's actually almost an easier diet than a western diet.  There's a whole science behind it (I'm sparing you the details) but essentially its a diet that cleanses and tries to balance the acidity and alkalinity in a body .  Now, I'm not one to go whole-hog raw, because I'm way to much of a carnivore.

collageOrama Cow Cuts of Beef Diagram on etsy

But what's nice about the raw diet is you can choose to go 50%, 75% or 100% raw. I'm placing my bets low and aiming for 50% - so I can still slip in my sauted chicken and grilled beef Filets into my diet.

So last night I planned my first raw meal:  Lettuce Wraps.

Strike one: WFM didnt have hemp seeds.  I subbed golden flax seeds.
Strike two: I love spinach, but its hard for me to eat it raw.  I also noticed there was no lettuce in the recipe (even though it's a recipe for Lettuce Wraps) So I swapped that part for Romaine Lettuce.
Strike three: do you know how hard it is to cut a mango?  Yeah...... I didn't either until last night

So long and short if it, here's my bounty:

A little bit of mango (finally figured out how to slice that one), some cabbage, some ginger, basil, cilantro and a carrot cut down into matchsticks.

Then you make your sauce, which i didn't snap a picture of, but its essentially lemon juice, ginger, red chili powder, almond butter and honey.  After blending that, it goes with shredded cabbage in a bowl

Then, you take your cabbage mix, put it on your lettuce leaf, then add mango, basil, cilantro, and sprinkle some flax seeds on top.  Then voila!

my lettuce wrap unwrapped

Result?  actually really yummy!  It was very very light, but after two wraps both Mr. Bama and I were comfortably full.  I usually find myself an hour after I eat back in the kitchen trying to find something else to eat, but not last night.  I think Mr. Bama retracted his statement of "yes, please make those again someday!" after he was stuck cleaning almond butter off of all the dishes, but otherwise, a lovely home run on day one of raw foods!  Next up, my new raw drink find.....

Could be one of the best things since sliced bread...

Okay, so maybe I won't go that far, BUT, this is an insanely useful website.

Case in point, if you're anything like me, you're a person who reads ingredient labels in the shower.  Shh... yes, it's an embarrassing quirk, BUT this site it does prove to be informative when you have no idea what the heck such ingredients like "P-Phenylenediamine" and "Proplyparaben" are (note: if anything you own in your bathroom contains proplyparaben, do some research.)

Maybe I've become hyper sensitive lately, with my aunt receiving a "congrats, you have breast cancer... again.  And by the way, it's inoperable and un-treatable" diagnosis and my super-active godmother's re-diagnosis of stage 3 pancreatic cancer.  However, I refuse to believe you're at the mercy of your genetics when it comes to cancer.  My dad's mother and father died from it, my mom's sister died from it; my mom's best friend and my dad's sister are in the fights of their lives right now -- damning evidence if there ever was.  But I refuse to think it's just genetics.

I tend to come from the world of:  Look at what you eat, examine at what you put on your face and skin every single day.  What the heck does it contain?  A few chemicals here and there are okay.  Your body is built to process toxins whenever you come into contact w/ them every once in a while.  But imagine if its every single day, multiple times a day, in so many different forms.  Our bodies are amazing, adaptable instruments, but can it adapt to years of a typical American women's morning routine?

You wake up, wash your face-- If you're like me and had terrible acne-prone skin, you used something to fight the acne (Clearasil Ultra Daily Face Wash ), jump in the shower and start to shampoo and condition (John Freida Sheer Blonde Highlighting Shampoo and Conditioner - which I DID use for years), rinse and then start using body wash (Nature's Gate Cucumber & Mint Body Wash -- tricky b/c it is labelled 'all natural' and sold at health food stores.   Check out the facts though).  Then you move onto shaving (Skintimate Moisturizing Shave Gel, Soothing Lavender) and then wash your face again.  Then you put on lotion ( Nature's Gate Organics Chamomile and Lemon Verbana Lotion.  What's not safe about something that says Organic?).  Then you sweep some on some deodorant ( Secret Platinum Antiperspirant & Deodorant Clear Gel )and you're done.

Now onto hair and makeup.  Before drying your hair, you move some styling mousse through your hair (Aveeno Nourish + Style Soft Hold Gel-Creme)  Then you dry, clip back your hair and begin your makeup regime.  Now I could go through everything you may have used in your makeup, but I challenge you to look up the ingredients yourself. You will be shocked, I promise.  I used to think my mom was crazy for being a health nut, but her concerns have led me to examine and choose amazing products that are incredibly low-toxicity level cosmetics.  A few minutes of research may open your eyes.

I also saw this "cute,"  yet incredibly informative video that gives a side of the whole cosmetics industry story.  Now I don't agree with all of the regulation suggestions (I'm all for consumer education and fighting back with your pocketbook... capitalism TRULY at work) but it brings up some awesome points.

Now hopefully you don't think I'm trying to be all preachy or paranoid, I just urge you to take another look at your everyday routine and the products that you use. You may be surprised just what you find (Education is a crazy and powerful thing!)

Have you found anything eye-opening in your everyday products? Please share!

My "Naked" Obsession

Confession -- I love junk food.  Well, not technically junk food, but delivery.  I try to eat organic and clean most of the time and I adore cooking.  But, then theres the undeniable fact that at times I can be mind numbingly lazy.  Major meal-creating hurdle.  It's made worse that whenever someone suggests to get food delivered, my guard shrinks and I'm all in, no holds barred.  I ignore the grease, the MSG, the fattiness and I become a normal, non-health conscious American.  Then, after the damage is done and my Chicken chow mein has been devoured, I feel this sense of fullness (physical) and shame in the fact that I strive so hard to eat well, and then with one moment of weakness and a phone call, it all goes down the drain.  I'd always wondered why someone couldn't muster up the idea of creating healthy, tastey, guilt-free and affordable delivery.  It felt like it was a wish that would never come true

Until about 2 months ago, when Naked Pizza came into my life.

(source)

I'd received some fliers from this New Orleans-based company in the past and didn't think much about them - they were in a shady part of town (yes, I'm an Uptown NOLA snob...so what) and it just didn't seem appealing.  That was until right before the Superbowl I got another flier from them toting their SuperBiotic Pizza.  While the toppings on the pizza weren't appealing to me (I'm a cheese pizza kinda girl), the fact that it toted its presence of probiotics was intriguing.  While I know probiotics are a buzzword of sorts now, it still tickled my interest that pizza company would make a point to advertise that fact.  So I sat down and did some research on the company -- and I was surprisingly thrilled by what I read.  Fun facts:

• New Orleans owned and operated.  They currently have 13 franchised locations all over the country (and in Dubai!!) and are expanding with 19 more locations by year's end.  An additional 8 locations have been awarded, meaning they will be opening within the next few years.  Check to see if you live near one here!
• started by an anthropologist, the idea of the pizza is to get to the root of human digestion.  Apparently grain has been absent from our diet for a huge chunk of humanity, so its a shock to our bodies when we eat highly processed, single grain breads high in sugar.  The amount of insulin released to deal with and flush out basic dough (and most highly processed bread) is unnatural and unhealthy.  Naked Pizza uses dough, called their "Ancestral Blend" that has 10 grains, plus prebiotic agave fiber and probiotics.  They don't use sugar to season their dough, just agave (yup, same stuff used to make tequila.).  The simple ingredients and heft of the bread Naked Pizza uses makes it tougher for our bodies to digest, which is actually a good thing.  

(source)

• All of the ingredients used as toppings are all-natural.  Now theres a huge debate about using organic vs all-natural in the company, but thats for another blog post.  The basics are that their tomato sauce has no added sugar or citric acid. Their cheese is 100% natural, rGBH-free, real Wisconsin mozzarella. Their vegetables are all-natural, no additives and their meats are real pork, chicken and beef—free of growth hormones and antibiotics.  Nice and simple.
• How can they expand with the speed they're moving without a national presence?  Well, it helps to have the backing of Mark Cuban (of Dallas Mav's fame) and the Kraft Group (No relation to the cheese).  
• They are the nicest company to order pizza from - the guys on the phone seem insanely happy to be working for their company and the delivery guys are incredibly sweet.  Plus, I've never had a pizza be delivered in over 20 mins.  Lightening fast, I tell yah.
• $5.99 for a 12" cheese pizza!? yes - Yummy and affordable!
• Their social media is amazing.  I love following them on twitter (the deals rock and the links to great health conscious articles are awesome).  They joke about how they're a social media company that happens to sell pizza.  Hey, anything to get the word out about eating cleaner and having a healthier lifestyle is cool in my book.

So it's official -- my new food crush is a pizza company with a cute smiley face as their logo.  Love at first guilt-free bite.


check out more about this game-changing company here: http://www.nakedpizza.biz/