Buy Fruits and Vegetables in Season

rootsofhealth.org

How are you doing with your new Paleo habits? Are you steadily eating away at that elephant? Remember you need to keep reminding yourself until it becomes automatic.

Here's you're next habit. When you feel comfortable, then it's time to work on the next step. But not before. Don't rush this. Remember Kaizen is about changing your life one tiny step at a time.

Check the list below. If you are still working on some of these habits then keep doing that until you no longer need to think about them.  Only then are you ready to move on.  Nobody is rushing you and nobody is keeping track.  This is YOUR plan and you decide when you're ready.

"A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step"

.... then another, and another.... Take your time, do it right, and you'll build a solid base for a lifetime of easy and healthy Paleo eating.

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1. I have bags in my freezer with bones and leftovers for stock, and I plan to make it regularly on my basics day.
2. I have a large salad for lunch most days, and I plan to make eggs, chicken etc. for my lunches on my basics day.
3. My freezers are organized and inventoried, and I make at least two extra meals a week for my freezer.
4. I have a regular weekly shopping day, and I never shop without a list.
5. I plan my menus and schedule cooking time each week, and I keep notes for future use.
6. I have set up and organized a storage pantry, and I put aside some money every week to stock up on specials. 
7. I have researched alternative food sources in my area and tried at least two.

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Habit # 8 - Buy Fruits and Vegetables in Season

Now that you've been looking into alternative sources of buying your food, and probably checked out farmer's markets, this is really the next step.  When you buy locally produced food you really can't help but buy in season because that's when it's available.

The nice thing about eating with the seasons is that you always have variety in your menus because each season brings something new and exciting to try.

In the spring the first asparagus is incredibly delicious ....

.....  and is there really anything better than juicy ripe strawberries straight from the field with the heat of the sun still in them?  (I'm lucky where I live.  I have a strawberry farm just up the road.)

In the summer the vegetable varieties are endless.  From green beans, broccoli and cauliflower to red peppers, zucchini and eggplants - there is something new ripening every week.

And of course the summer also brings juicy ripe tomatoes which with a few slices of Provolone or fresh Mozzarella cheese, some chopped basil, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil is a meal in itself. The Italians think so and even have a name for it - Insalate Caprese.

Then in the fall you have carrots, rutabagas, cabbages and all the other root vegetables that can be stored for the winter.

As well as all the fruit - plums, peaches, apricots and apples. And don't forget the pumpkins.

And finally in the winter there are the citrus fruits - oranges, lemons and limes and the avocados.  These used to be reserved for the lucky few who lived in the warm south but now we can all have these treats.  Not locally for most of us, but still in season somewhere.






 The whole point I am trying to make here is that eating with the seasons is not only more economical but also a lot better for your health.  Those tasteless tomatoes you get in the middle of winter have travelled who knows how many miles to your table, even if they are organic.  I think you're better off with organic canned ones, or better yet local ones you've frozen or canned yourself. (And I'll tell you how to do that in future posts as well.)

This week I want you to check out what's available to you now.  If it's a growing season check out a local farmer's market. These are available all over the world. (The one above is in England.)

If it's the winter and you just have your supermarket to buy from, ask your produce manager what root vegetables are available from local storage. Then just keep checking each week to see what's new and find at least one recipe that uses that vegetable so you can start incorporating it into your menus.

Here is a chart that will give you an idea of what's in season at different times of the year :

This particular chart is for North and South Carolina USA, but each area has something similar available if you google it.  Here are just a few to start you of:

http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/availability.html  (Canada)
http://www.sustainabletable.org/shop/seasonal/  (USA - general )
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/member-recipes/British%20Seasonal%20Fruit%20and%20Vegetable%20Calendar/132  (Britain)
http://na-nu.com/terfloth.org/Kitchen/Season_Cal.pdf (Western and Northern Europe)
http://www.vnv.org.au/site/files/seasonalfoodcalendar.pdf (Australia)
http://www.eastwestfoodproducts.com/charts.html  (India)

By buying local and in season you're also supporting all those small farmers out there who are doing their best to produce the best food for your table. And you're teaching your children that food doesn't just come from a box or a tin, or wrapped in plastic.

So go try those baby eggplants or that funny looking chinese cabbage, help your family to appreciate a wide variety of vegetables that will keep them healthy, and know ......

 “Life isn't about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.”   - George Bernard Shaw

2 Ingredient Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Now that I gave you the recipe for barbecue sauce yesterday barbecue sauce recipe, today I'm going to give you a great slow cooker recipe that only uses two ingredients.

Once you've made up a batch of sauce, you can put this together in 5 minutes before you go to work, and in the evening you will have a delicious meal plus lots of extras for your freezer.

Pulled pork is usually used as a sandwich filling, but there are many ways to eat this delicious dish that don't involve bread.

You can roll it up in crepes with some shredded lettuce and top it with a bit of  salsa.
egg crepe recipe

You can eat it with mashed cauliflower and some hot mixed vegetables as a main meal.
creamy cauliflower recipe

Or you can eat it with salad greens and make it into a warm salad.

However you decide to eat it, this is a great dish to add to your recipe file.








  Pulled Pork

Ingredients :

-  1 pork loin or butt roast
-  1 cup of barbecue sauce barbecue sauce recipe **

** You can use a sugar-free barbecue sauce instead if you really need to, but making your own sauce is so easy you really should try it.

Directions :

-  Place pork roast into slow cooker
-  Pour barbecue sauce over roast
-  Cook on low for 8 hours
-  Remove the meat, pull it into shreds, and then put back into the sauce.
-  Let cook for another hour.

"Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates

Burgundy Lamb Shanks

This is a recipe posted on allrecipes.com by Val Creutz of Southold, New York.  She says it's "for those who love fall-from-the-bone lamb. Burgundy wine adds a special touch to the sauce that's served alongside."


 Serves 4

Ingredients :

-  4 large lamb shanks
-  salt and pepper to taste
-  2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
-  2 teaspoons minced garlic
-  1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
-  1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
-  1/2 cup chopped onion
-  1 medium carrot, chopped
-  1 teaspoon olive oil
-  1 cup Burgundy wine or beef broth
-  1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules

Directions :

-  Sprinkle lamb withs salt and pepper. Place in a 5-qt slow cooker. Sprinkle with the parsley, garlic, oregano and lemon peel.
-  In a small saucepan, saute the onion and carrot in oil for 3 - 4 minutes or until tender.
-  Stir in wine or broth and bouillon.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Pour over lamb.
-  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat is tender.
-  Remove lamb and keep warm.  Strain cooking juices and skim fat.  In a small saucepan, bring juices to a boil.  Cook until liquid is reduced by half.
-  Serve with lamb.
 (will freeze)

"Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates

Basics : Barbecue Sauce

There are now many sugar free versions of barbecue sauce available on the market, and when you're in a hurry they are a much better choice than regular barbecue sauce which has tons of sugar.

 However making your own is very easy, and if you make up a jar on your basics day you will have it ready for the next time you need it.

Basic Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients :

-  1 tablespoon oil (Olive, coconut)

-  1 tablespoon of minced garlic (approx. 3 cloves)

-  1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

-  1/4 cup of finely minced onion - yellow or red

-  1 teaspoon smoked paprika (make sure you get smoked not regular paprika for this.)

-  1 teaspoon of chipotle seasoning (or just more paprika if you can't get this.)

-  1 teaspoon ground cumin

-  1 teaspoon salt

-  1 1/4 cup of chicken broth

-  juice of 2 small limes

-  1 tablespoon of maple syrup

-  1 (6 oz.) can of tomato paste

Directions :

-  In a medium saucepan brown the garlic and onion in the oil and continue cooking until they are soft.

-  Add the mustard, paprika, chipotle, cumin and salt and mix well.

-  Add the chicken broth, lime juice, maple syrup and mix well.

-  Add the tomato paste and using a whisk mix this into the mixture until it's evenly distributed.

-  Bring to boil, then immediately turn down to low and simmer for 45 minutes.  Cover with a lid but not completely so the steam can still escape.

-  Cool and then pour into a jar, cap it, and keep in the fridge. This will make about 2 cups of sauce.

"Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates

EAT  LIVE  GROW

a Quick, Simple and Easy way to a Healthy Primal Paleo Lifestyle

Welcome to my new site and new format.

I started out at plantoeatpaleo.com with just the idea of working on the food part of Primal Living, but gradually I expanded into other areas as well and now that website and that name no longer suit what I want to do in the future.

Now that I have given you some basic menus and a lot of basic recipes, I will be spending less time on cooking and more on gardening and other aspects.  Don't worry, I will still be posting menus and new recipes, just not at the pace I have in the past.

From now on you will see gardening posts on Tuesdays and Lifestyle posts on Saturday once the present series are finished.  I hope you will enjoy these as much if not more than what I have posted in the past.


Here's to eating, living and growing Primal ....   and making it quick, simple and easy.

 “Life isn't about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.”   - George Bernard Shaw

Sensible Indulgence - Wine

There is a lot that can be said about wine ... and some people who have their own private collection and are passionate about it .... will talk your ear off given half a chance.

But whereas they can speak eloquently about grape varieties, best years, and wine regions for hours on end, that isn't what I want to discuss here.

What we are really concerned about is Health  .......    and does drinking wine help or hinder it.


Happily for us, many researchers are now in agreement that drinking wine - in moderation - is a good thing.  Which is great for me because I have to say there are days when I can very much relate with  this lady.  I may not actually go to this extreme ...... but I've thought about it.

Anyway, going back to the benefits of wine......


Wine has long been a staple in the human diet. Scientists have documented red wine as far back as 5400 B.C. (I don't know about you, but that seems Primal enough for me.)

New research shows that red wine, especially Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, and Merlot, contains melatonin. Melatonin regulates the body clock, so drinking a glass of red wine before bed may help you sleep.

Melatonin is also an anti-oxident which means it also has anti-aging and cancer preventative properties. One of the most publicized over the last few years is the compound in red wine called Resveratrol which has been shown to increase lifespan in animal studies.

Resveratrol has also been shown to protect against Alzheimer's disease and dementia. And it has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, which helps overall physical health since many diseases and ailments (arthritis for one) can be attributed to inflammation.

It also has been found in studies to lower LDL cholesterol, while another ingredient in red wine, saponins, also has cholesterol lowering properties. As well, red wine has been shown to reduce the risk of heart and cardiovascular disease, thanks to the Reseveratrol and the other anti-oxidants it contains.

There have also been some very interesting studies done on the effect of drinking red wine on cancer.  Researchers at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain found that each glass of red wine drunk per day reduces the risk of lung cancer by 13%.

Four or more glasses of red wine per week has been shown to reduce men's overall risk of prostate cancer by 50% and the risk of the more aggressive forms of prostate cancer by 60%.  (So when your boyfriend tells you he drinks wine for medicinal purposes, I guess you'll have to believe him.)

And we women have not been left out either.  Moderate consumption of red wine is believed to lower the risk of breast cancer, however drinking more than 1 or 2 glasses per day will increase the risk, so moderation is definitely the key here.



Certainly the science does seem to support having that daily glass of red wine with dinner, and I have to say that I for one am very glad.

However it also makes me wonder  .... what about white wine?

As a Chardonnay and seafood lover, am I doomed to spending the rest of my life drinking red wine with my seafood?



Well according to latest research, seems I'm not.

In a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, when the antioxidant effects of resveratrol (from red) and tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol (from white) on rats were compared, the results suggested that white wine is just as powerful as red in improving heart function and preventing artery blockage.

But not all white wines pack the same antioxidant punch. Certain European white wines - those from Italy, France and Germany - were found to be the richest in these antioxidants.



The bottom line seems to be that you're best to drink red most of the time but substituting white when the meal calls for it will do no harm and has it's own health benefits.

So I think you can confidently add wine - both red and white - to your list of sensible indulgences, and know that in either case you are still getting some health benefits.

Check out other Simple Pleasures here .

 Image from hitnerwine.com

Mark's posts on wine :

www.marksdailyapple.com/wine-2/

www.marksdailyapple.com/resveratrol-red-wine/

www.marksdailyapple.com/wine/

For more information :

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/111/2/e10.full

http://taj.sagepub.com/content/3/2/87.abstract

http://www.clinchem.org/content/52/7/1373.abstract

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/111/5/e89.full

"Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates