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Book Review: Make It Paleo

October 25, 2011 By Yael Grauer Leave a Comment

Make It Paleo is the newest Paleo cookbook that landed in my mailbox for review, and I’m so glad it did! This is an awesome cookbook: visually appealing, tasty yet simple recipes and amazing variety.

The recipes are divided into the following categories: breakfast, appetizers, entrees (further subdivided into meat, poultry and seafood dishes), salads, soups, sauces and dressings, side dishes, and a treats & cheats section (including cookies, cakes, pies, baked fruits, candies, cupcakes/muffins, ice cream, and frostings/toppings.)

One of my favorite parts of the book is the Paleo kitchen section, which has cool diagrams showing you which parts of the animal various cuts of meat come from, have a list of seasonal produce (divided by season), describe various oils and fats as well as nuts and seeds, and list herbs, spices and seasonings by which types of meat they work well with.

The recipes are incredibly aesthetically pleasing–not  just the beautiful color photos, but also the font and color selection and formatting. Below the recipe title and information, There’s a box with a list of ingredients, difficulty scale (indicated by whisk icons), prep time, cooking time and servings. The process is on the right of the box, and below it are informative notes (if necessary).

The recipes themselves are fairly simple, but there is a wide variety–so it’s good both for tried and true favorites as well as some variety that isn’t too complex or time-consuming. I like that there are some pretty unique recipes, such as sushi, or those that use fun ingredients, like red wine, balsamic vinegar, etc., but that they don’t take hours to prepare. Aside from the great entrees, it is the salads and appetizers that to me really shine. I always want to add more side dishes to my meals, and these recipes make it quick and easy–especially since many recipes are not that complicated, so it’s not hard to find all the ingredients laying around. I have not yet delved into the deserts, but there’s some bacon cookies, coconut macaroons, raspberry torte, almond fudge brownies and pistachio bark with my name on them. Yum.

Lastly, I was really excited about the menus for special occasions, featuring 4-6 recipes (and the pages they’re located on in the cookbook), in the back. Myboyfriend and I were considering cooking a Paleo meal for Thanksgiving–and rosemary roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, roasted brussel sprouts, pumpkin chiffon pie, carrot souffle and garlic and herbed mashed cauliflower hit the spot! Even the Valentine’s Day meal is perfect–strawberry salad, oyster’s Rockefeller, balsamic and rosemary chicken, raspberry torte and roasted baby carrots. And who wouldn’t want a Sunday brunch consisting of coconut-nested eggs, coconut flour waffles, frittata and prosciutto e melone? Other special occassion menus include a birthday dinner, Easter or Passover dinner, New Year’s celebration meal, “the Big Game,” a winter holiday meal, a summer cookout, Tex-mex night, Far East flavors and an Island Laua. And, of course, a conversion table and list of resources (books and websites) in the back.

At $34.95 for over 200 recipes, the book is a steal. Highly recommended.

To see photos we took of some recipes from the cookbook, check out yesterday’s post!

Filed Under: food Tagged With: book review, paleo, recipes, seeds

Friday Musings: 16 Thoughts (5 Rants Included)

September 2, 2011 By Yael Grauer Leave a Comment

1. Apparently our downstairs neighbor almost had her house broken into. Or maybe it was just some drunk guy pounding on her door. It is hard to say, but I was glad to hear that she is okay, had her shotgun loaded, and the POS got caught!

2. Fights + rum & diet = win.

3. Next morning = not win.

4. *Shameless self-promotion alert* I am lining up projects for 2012! Hit me up!

5. *Shameless self-promotion alert* I’ll be attending Growing Power’s Sacred Soil: Cultivating Seeds of Community Transformation gathering. I’d love to blog about it, if anyone’s interested in guest posts or articles!

6. *Rant alert* I don’t mind bagging my own groceries, but it’s kind of rude of the people at Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson to not at least help a little bit. Don’t you think?! I’ll be shopping at Trader Joe’s from now on.

7. I looked at last year’s spreadsheets and compared it with this year’s income and, even though I have to choose between an MGInaction subscription and the new sneakers I want, I felt SO much better about my business.

8. I think the universe is conspiring against me by making everything get scheduled on 9/24. Body Tribe seminar at Athlete’s Lab, Muay Thai fights at Minnesota Top Team, Chris Haueter seminar at McCune’s, Bellator in OH, the WIlderness Survival Weekend in Cornuciopia… the list goes on. If I get one more invite to something on 9/24 I will have even worse decision fatigue and will just watch bad movies that day.

9. This is a recurring theme in my blog… Not sure why I’m missing Tucson so much this week, since it’s still summer and I’m sure it’s unbearably hot. I guess I just miss that wide open sky, and the cactus…and cafes that stay open past 10pm.

10. *Rant alert* Things I’m really sick of right now: 1. getting bad news 2. my friends getting *really* bad news 3. being totally helpless to do anything about the bad news 4. being diplomatic

11. *Rant alert* I hate that the guys who change my oil try to get me to buy things I don’t need by trying to tell me that my car will explode otherwise.

12.*Rant alert* Maybe I should put a disclaimer on my site saying that I expressly refuse to: 1. ghostwrite articles without an editor’s express permission 2. trade contact information for money 3. write college papers for people 4. write college/grad school admission essays for people 5. do any work for you that would get you fired, sued or in deep doo doo if people knew about it.

13. If you know in your bones that something is the right thing to do, threats shouldn’t get you to change your behavior. Never back down.

14. Great quote from Danielle LaPorte this week: ‎”Don’t make it worse by trying to make do with something that was wrong to begin with.”

15. *Rant alert* Dear guy who tried to sell me stuff I was very upfront about not wanting to buy before you conned me into meeting with you by pretending you wanted tips on starting a blog: the least you could’ve done was pay for my chai.

16. Yesterday marks 4 years since I started dating my man. That is 1/8 of my life! 4 more years! Woot woot!

Filed Under: musings Tagged With: danielle laporte, Minnesota Top Team, seeds, star

What You Can Learn from the Tarahumara

July 8, 2011 By Yael Grauer 2 Comments

Nestled in the high plateaus of the Sierra Madre Mountains in Northern Mexico, there’s a tribe of exceptional endurance runners known as the Tarahumara. They call themselves the Rarámuri, or “running people,” and, in fact, long distance running is a part of who they are. The widely dispersed settlements and mountainous terrain they inhabit makes endurance running a necessity, but the Tarahumara have taken it to a whole new level, often running up to 500 miles a week.

Tarahumara runners competed in the Leadville 100, an ultramarathon which is so challenging that less than half of its participants even complete the race. Tarahumara runners not only completed the race in 1992 and 1994, but won the event both times. In fact, the first place winner in 1992 was Victoriano Churro, a Tarahumara man who was 52 years old!

In addition to their running prowess, the Tarahumara are also known for their good health. In fact, a relatively recent National Geographic study found nearly nonexistent levels of diabetes, vascular disease and colorectal cancer in tribe members tested. Similarly, a 1991 study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows stunningly low levels of high blood pressure and heart disease in those tested, as well as low total cholesterol and LDL.

Naturally, one would wonder what the Tarahumara Indians eat. Their diet is largely plant-based, supplemented with small amounts of sheep, beef, goat and freshwater fish. It is not surprising that the Tarahumara eat this way. In fact, some of the benefits of a plant-rich diet include higher levels of certain vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, anti-oxidants, and essential fatty acids. But it’s important to note that although some people choose a vegetarian or vegan diet for various reasons, it is not necessary to avoid meat completely to receive the health benefits of a plant- based diet. Simply increasing the amount of vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and fruits should do the trick.

Although the Tarahumara do not eat a lot of meat, a 1979 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that their diet exceeded the UN’s recommended daily protein intake by more than 50%. This can be accomplished by focusing on protein-rich plant foods. Indeed, the Tarahumara eat plenty of beans, squash, chili peppers and wild greens, all foods with optimal amounts of protein (over 20%.) Here are some plant-based protein-rich options.

Spinach (39% protein)
Asparagus (34% protein)
Broccoli (27% protein)
Squash (24% protein)
Artichokes (22% protein)

Perhaps because of their massively high volume of exercise, the Tarahumara can handle higher amounts of whole grain carbohydrates (such as pinole, made out of corn) than I would typically recommend. Remember, the Tarahumara need to fuel their long distance running–often 70 miles a day!

Running such long distances year-round is rare in our culture. For those of us that are clocking in less than 500 miles a week, research indicates that high-carbohydrate diets used long-term can negatively affect both body fat percentage and insulin levels–especially if the carbohydrate sources are starchy, sugary and high on the glycemic index. However, properly timed higher carbohydrate meals can help maintain muscle and liver glycogen during periods of intense training, while still keeping insulin levels and body composition in check. Higher carbohydrate diets rich in starchy carbs (or maybe even unprocessed whole grains, if you must) three or four days before a long-duration endurance competition (such as a marathon) can improve performance by increasing stores of muscle and liver glycogen, leading to better athletic performance and preventing an energy crash when glycogen stores are depleted.

So what can you learn from the Tarahumara? Bottom line:

• Plant foods provide vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, antioxidants and essential fatty acids.

• If you do eat meat, supplement your diet with plenty of vegetables, nuts, seeds and fruits.

• If you eat a plant-based diet, make sure you are eating protein-rich plant foods, especially green vegetables.

• Training for long-duration endurance competitions (such as marathons) may require a higher carb intake for a short period of time.

• For more information on balancing a plant-based diet with Paleo principles, I’d recommend keeping an eye on the Whole9 website, as they sometimes host virtual classes on “good food for the conflicted eater.”

Filed Under: food Tagged With: food, paleo, seeds, star, tarahumara

Words Are Seeds

March 28, 2011 By Yael Grauer Leave a Comment

It really is the little things that count. Those few sentences spoken in hushed tones at just the right moment can make all the difference in the world.

As a big talker who could probably benefit from listening more sometimes, it’s easy for me to forget sometimes that what I say can have an enormous effect on others. And yet I can recall conversations from decades ago which helped me find strength–so victory was born, as they say, even in the darkest hour.

I’ve been thinking about it as I momentarily reflect on things just this week… said at the right moment were a soothing balm to my frazzled nerves. I don’t know if I’ll remember them in a week or a year or a decade–but I wouldn’t be too surprised if I pulled them out of the reserves of my memory right when I need them most.

I think Emily Dickinson said it best:

“A WORD is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.”

What seeds will you sow?

Filed Under: writing Tagged With: seeds, words are seeds, writing

Moving Past Crazy Bosses; Finding Work You Love

February 24, 2011 By Yael Grauer 2 Comments

I got an unsolicited and unwanted e-mail from a former boss this week.

A boss who would consistently call me out for following the same practices she’d compliment many of my colleagues for.

A boss who would barely allow me to talk, and would discount all of my thoughts, ideas and suggestions.

A boss who would randomly lash out on employees she did not like.

A boss who posted my position without ever letting me know there was a problem–and then lied about it when I confronted her.

A boss who I suspect got a secret thrill from leaving people completely disoriented and disempowered.

A boss who was amazing when she was in a good mood but an absolute monster once the flip switched.

She got along well with people who would blame themselves for her erratic behavior.

She has always reminded me of what writer Julia Cameron called a crazymaker in her book, the Artist’s Way.

“Crazymakers are those personalities that create storm centers.  They are often charismatic, frequently charming, highly inventive, and powerfully persuasive.  And, for the creative person in their vicinity, they are enormously destructive.  You know the type:  charismatic but out of control, long on problems and short on solutions. Crazymakers are the kind of people who can take over your whole life.  To fixer-uppers, they are irresistible:  so much to change, so many distractions….”

Cameron then goes on to list techniques crazymakers use to get by in there lives… break deals, destroy schedules, expect special treatment, discount your reality, triangulate those they deal with, act as expert blamers, hate schedules (except their own), hate order, and, of course,  deny that they are crazymakers.

She also pointed out that blocked creatives are attracted to crazymakers.“Very often, we fear that if we let ourselves be creative, we will become crazymakers ourselves and abuse those around us.  Using this fear as an excuse we  continue to allow others to abuse us,” she explains.

Losing my job and getting caught up in a smokescreen of lies was devastating at the time, but ultimately a huge relief. Although I don’t want to be buddies with my former boss (and simply asked her to remove me from her list in response to her seemingly well-meaning message), it reminded me of how much happier I am now. I love my job. I leave you with some words by Kahlil Gibran:

“And what is it to work with love? It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth. It is to build a house with affection even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house. It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit. It is to charge all things you fashion with the breath of your own spirit…”

Today, I send you the best wishes for finding this kind of magic, if you don’t already have it.

And with love.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: seeds, work

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