Supplements That Are Good

I am a huge fan of green superfood powders. I use them at least once a day and I like to mix it up. I use five-ten different ones in any given week. I don't like my body get used to anything and with a very veggie-dense diet I do not need to take a multi. I see countless people however buy the wrong supplements and supplement the wrong way. One-A-Day vitamins are obviously total garbage that wind up at the bottom of the toilet, but there are some other things people really need to pay attention to.

Here are my top products that I think everyone should look into for different reasons. I am not including protein powders because that is a separate post.

1. Green Superfood Supplements  Rock

- Green Vibrance by Vibrant Health

This is by far one of the best Green Superfood products on the market. The taste isn't fantastic, but I don't care about that. It mixes great and I like to mix it into Vega electrolyte packets or Ultima electrolyte drink with filtered water because it hides the taste and makes a delicious treat. I drink this at least five times per week. I also add Bragg's apple cider vinegar to make it really alkaline. The version you want of Green Vibrance is 10.3 not 10.1, the older version has 80% of you DV of iron and for men especially this is not a good thing.

- Macro Life Naturals Macro Greens and Junior Coco Greens

Both of these have superb taste and mix easily. I love the chocolate one mixed into some grass-fed whey protein powder and a tiny bit of canned coconut milk for a protein pudding. Delicious.

-Food Science of Vermont Superior Greens

The taste of this greens is amazing. I absolutely adore the taste, I could drink this straight without any issues.

- Amazing Grass

I love Amazing Grass products, they are fantastic in taste and I believe this a brand of greens that works for everyone because it is very palatable, yet still has a lot of nutrition. The Chocolate Superfood is my favorite, followed by the Creamsicle.

-Tonic Alchemy

I feel so good when I drink Tonic Alchemy. Tonic Alchemy has 71 amazing ingredients and all natural. It is one of the best supplements I have ever tried.

- Sun Warrior Greens

-Green Magma

-Barleans Greens Powder (not the capsules)

Best Green Drink Recipe for restoring nutrients

Ingredients:

-1 serving of your preferred green superfood powder

-1 packet of electrolyte mix, i.e. Vega or Ultima, NOT Emergen-C, please never use Emergen-C or for a higher protein beverage use 1 scoop of protein powder

-1-2TBSP raw apple cider vinegar

-1 TBSP bee pollen

-1TBSP chia seeds, I use Bob's Red Mill

-1 TBSP aloe vera juice, I like Lily of the Desert

-1 raw egg yolk

Shake and enjoy

2. Bee Pollen

3. Gelatinized Maca Powder

I like Navitas Naturals Gelatinized Maca powder, it absorbs more easily.

4. Calm Plus Calcium or just Calm

I take the Calm Plus Calcium every night before bed to help me sleep and helps reduce muscle soreness.

This is by far the best supplement ever

5. Fish oil/Krill Oil

 

6. Grass-fed Beef Gelatin

Beef Gelatin, My New Favorite Cooking Ingredient

Since no longer being vegan or a vegetarian, I have forgotten how much I used to love Jell-O and all things jiggly, except for abdominal obesity, that's the only jiggle I don't like. If you look at the ingredients of standard Jell-O, it is junk and then you look at the sugar free version and it gets even worse. That's where pure gelatin powder comes in.

Gelatin also has numerous benefits when it is consumed in a clean way and not a sugar-laden fat producing way. Gelatin can improve metabolism, joints and skin. I know since I've added gelatin to my dit I have had a ton more energy. I eat gelatin everyday.

I started off buying Knox gelatin, but then I switched to Now's Beef Gelatin because it comes in a bigger bottle, it's more cost-effective and it is from beef. I usually avoid anything and everything pig-derived, except for the occasional greasy strip of bacon, mmm. Another great brand of gelatin is Great Lakes because their gelatin is from grass-fed cows, even better. Below are some great recipes I have come up with for gelatin. One I use as a snack, one as my post weightlifting meal and the other is something I eat for breakfast.

Chocolate Protein Gelatin

Ingredients:

-5 g cocoa powder

-10g beef or pork-derived gelatin or one envelope Knox gelatin

-2-3cups boiling water

-1 TBSP coconut flour

-5 drops liquid stevia or 1 packet stevia

-1 TBSP protein powder of your choice, I use this one

Directions:

1. Boil 2-3 cups water

2. Once boiled, pour into a bowl and mix in the gelatin. Stir until completely dissolved.

3. Stir in the cocoa powder, stevia, coconut flour, and protein powder.

4. (optional), I like to drop in a tsp of nut butter, so after it chills I have a surprise when I'm eating it!

 5. Put in the refrigerator and refrigerate until the desired consistency is reached.

Makes 1 serving

Nutrition: 114 calories, 16g protein (depending on protein powder),  8g carbs, 2g fat, 3.5g fiber, .5-1g sugar

Pumpkin Gelatin

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup serving canned pumpkin

-10g beef or pork-derived gelatin or one envelope Knox gelatin

-1 TBSP coconut flour, I only use Bob's Red Mill

-2-3 cups boiling water

-5-6 drops liquid stevia

-1 tsp ground cinnamon and/or pumpkin pie spice

 

Directions:

1. Boil 2-3 cups water

2. Once boiled, pour into a bowl and mix in gelatin. Stir until completely dissolved.

3. Mix in the canned pumpkin until it fully assimilates into the water and is no longer clumpy

4. Mix in the rest of the ingredients

5. Put in the refrigerator and refrigerate until the desired consistency is reached. 

Makes 1 serving

Nutrition:  93 calories, 10.5g protein, 10.5g carbs,  1g fat, 5.5 g fiber, 2.5g sugar

Tea Gelatin

Ingredients:

-2-3 cups boiling water

-10g beef or pork-derived gelatin or one envelope Knox gelatin

-2 bags of your favorite tea or more if you desire

-5-6 drops of liquid stevia

Directions:

1. Boil 2-3 cups water

2. Once boiled, pour into a bowl add the tea bags

3. Let the tea steep for 5 minutes

4. Mix in the gelatin until it is completely dissolved

5. Mix in the stevia

6. Put in the refrigerator

 Makes 1 serving

Nutrition:  8-9g protein, 0g carbs, 0g fat, 0g sugar = 32-36 calories per serving

For the Tea Gelatin I usually make a hibiscus/green tea or rooibos flavored gelatin, it is really great. I add coconut flour to the others because it adds another dimension to the texture. The coconut flour tends to sink to the bottom, so the bottom layer has a nice mousse texture where as the top layer is more like standard Jell-O. 

Vegan Cheese, Why Buy It?

Four years ago when I was a raw vegan I discovered an addictive condiment with very few ingredients. It was Parma. A raw, vegan parmesan cheese substitute. Very expensive, at about $7.99 per container, I looked at the ingredients and decided to make my own. So simple, so much more cost effective. The ingredients are Paleo-friendly and I make the original version, not the spicier variety. 

"Parmesan" "Cheese"

-3 oz raw organic Walnuts

-1 1/2-2 TBSP  nutritional, or brewers yeast flakes ( the Parma uses Red Star)

-ground pepper

-Celtic sea salt

In a food processor combine all ingredients and chop/grind until it looks like this.


I'm going to try to make this with black walnuts and see how it turns out.

The Better Roasted Seaweed Option

Just as I have been eating shirataki noodles since before it became a trend. Honestly The Hungry Girl thinks she is fucking Christopher Columbus when it comes to low-cal food, kind of annoying. Also none of her recipes qualify for the food category since she regularly bakes with diet soda.  I have also been eating roasted Nori packets for awhile. When I first started eating them the only place you could buy them was an Asian supermarket and the unfortunate thing about the kind you find in an Asian supermarket is they tend to be made with soy oil or corn oil. Gross.

A year ago I discovered that they sell packages of roasted seaweed at Trader Joe's, but after mulling over the ingredients they too have a bad ingredient. Canola oil, which to me is as disgusting as corn or soy oil. I only eat the ones from Trader Joe's once in a while, like once a month or if I go on vacation. I found an alternative brand, SeaSnax that is so much healthier and tastes so much better. I discovered them at the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Chicago last May.  They are by far the best brand I have ever tasted and they use olive oil. At the show they gave me a deal and I was able to buy two cases of their snack packs in Onion and Classic and then a case of their packages of big sheets. This product is far superior to any other brand I have ever tried. They were so nice they also gave me a lot of packs for free, some were Chipotle, etc. Great company and a great product.

Next best thing would be Nori roasted in lard, lol.

Game Meat Spaghetti

One of the things I dearly miss since being on a healthier diet is my mama's spaghetti. Yeah I'm a Jew, yet I miss an Italian dish. My mama's spaghetti is by far the best spaghetti on the planet. It is so fucking delicious, it is orgasmic.

Well the moment I turned Paleo-esque I asked my mama for her recipe and she gave me the rundown. Super simple, I doctored it, made it way more fibrous. Swapped out some ingredients. Instead of canned tomato paste that contains citric acid and comes in a BPA-laden can, I use Bionaturae tomato paste that comes in a glass jar, the only ingredient tomatoes. Instead of using beef, I use bison, elk, ostrich, venison goat, or pasture-raised veal. Any ruminant meat will do. I would never use turkey or poultry of any kind. Of course grass-fed beef is great too.

I batch cook veggies for the week, so of course I include some of these as well. This recipe makes one small serving

Game Meat Spaghetti

-1.5oz pastured game ruminant meat of your choice

-60g cooked finely chopped veggies (I use bell peppers, rapini a.k.a. broccoli rabe, broccoli, zucchini, red onion, whole garlic cloves, portabella mushrooms, celery, artichoke hearts)

-35g tomato paste ( a big tablespoon)

-fresh basil

-garlic powder

-water as needed

Basically I stick all the ingredients in a small pot, turn onto low heat, add enough water to make it just the right consistency and stir until soft, but not so brown that the meat is over- cooked.

I serve this over shirataki yam noodles and eat it with my own butternut squash muffin, a package of roasted Nori seaweed, additional veggies (like curry roasted cauliflower), and perhaps some of my own vegan "cheese" or these kale chips crumbled on top.

Just so you know, I started eating shirataki noodles ten years ago, before anyone other than Asians were eating them. So all of those companies that think that they discovered something and now are overcharging people up the whazoo, think again. You can buy them here or here for cheap. 

Recipe for vegan cheese is here

Turkey Necks

For some reason I felt like eating the meat out of turkey necks, which look disgusting. When I used to buy the roasted chickens from Whole Foods, before I decided it was a bad idea. Side note, it is a bad idea because they are sitting in plastic containers under heat lamps for hours on end and I would binge on them and suck everything off the carcass in one sitting. Anyhow my favorite part of the chicken was always the neck and the tail. They were always the most crispy and delish, so I decided to buy straight up turkey necks. 

I roasted the turkey necks with sage and thyme and some sea salt, but the meat wasn't as great as I would have liked. It was tough to get off the bone, so I through them in a crock pot, with a stock I had frozen from a bison crock pot meal and I cooked them with some chicken. That was truly amazing and the stock from that meal was the best poultry broth I have ever eaten.

This Is How Latkes Should Be

I sometimes really miss Jewish food. There are times when I yearn for my grandma's potato latkes, but alas I will not eat white potatoes or the canola oil I'm sure she uses to cook them in. So in the spirit of Chanukah, I chose to make my own, in a better way. And they are gluten free, where as most latkes use regular flour, bleh.

Sweet Potato Jicama Chestnut Latkes

-90g purple sweet potatos, grated with a cheese grater

-50g graded Jicama (Yambean)

-1TBSP coconut flour

-1 tsp artichoke flour (can substitute with whatever you like)

-2 roasted chestnuts chopped

-1 jumbo egg, beaten

In a medium bowl soak the shredded ingredients for 10 minutes. Drain the water and then mix in the jumbo egg, flour, and chopped chestnuts. Mix thoroughly and then heat some coconut oil in a pan. Drop some of the mixture in the pan to form a small patty and cook until browned on both sides and no longer wet in the middle. 

I'm kvetching for these latkes. 

I will say that artichoke flour is a great gluten free flour, it is incredibly expensive and hard to find. I found it at an Italian store in the suburbs of Chicago. It also is tricky because it has to be combined with other flours when baking. 

I don't do apple sauce, but I like to dip them in a parboiled egg, with the yolk being raw. Yummy and maybe some homemade catsup/ketchup.

The Only Meal I Will Ever Eat On a Tuesday Morning

 

This is by far the most amazing, ORGASTRONOMIC meal I have ever eaten for breakfast. I eat this every Tuesday. I would probably eat this every day of my life, for every meal, but then it would not be as special. I look forward to this. FYI I have "Last Supper" place mats bought at a dollar store in the suburbs six years ago.

I'm not a strictly Paleo or Primal person, but I am strictly gluten free and I don't do crappy substitutes. Truth be told I have not eaten McDonald's in over ten years, I have not eaten pizza in four years and I have not eaten yeast containing products in over three years. I have been eating this way long before it was a trend. I do realize that Paleo/Primal eating is a lifestyle, but for some people just like any other dietary modification it is a trend. I miss pizza, the concept of pizza is genius because it allows the devourer to layer flavors. There is the yeasty crust, with the sweetness of the tomato sauce and the bitterness of the vegetables. There are various textures at play as well and this is what I miss the most. The layers. 

I set out to bring back the layers into my life in the form of a breakfast dish that in my opinion is unparalleled. Now for the purpose of my recipe I use an egg white instead of a whole egg because I eat a whole egg with the meal as well as a bunch of other things. 

Things you need:

-food processor

-Baking Sheet lined with parchment paper

-medium size bowl

-some knives

-Measuring spoons, or a kitchen scale

Paleo Breakfast Veggie "Pizza" Crust

-85 g raw cauliflower, four big florets

-20g raw beet, one thick slice

-1/2 a yam flour cake (optional, can be bought at any Asian supermarket)

-7g/1TBSP coconut flour

-Water (as much as needed)

-1 jumbo egg white

-olive tapenade (optional)

-1 pinch Celtic Sea Salt

-1/4 tsp garlic powder

-1 tsp curry powder (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a food processor combine raw cauliflower, raw beet, 1/2 yam cake and chop/shred to fine pieces. Transfer to a medium size mixing bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients, and add water as necessary to make it into a spreadable mixture. Bake until crust hardens a bit and browns. Put on whatever toppings you like and slide back into the oven until the toppings are crispy and brown.

What I put on mine:

 -tomato paste, black bean dip, hummus (I know not Paleo, but tastes amazing), arugula, radichhio,  basil, garlic cloves, shitake, chanterelle, oyster, and portabella mushroom slices. Cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, artichoke hearts, rapini, red onions, and some small pieces of grilled octopus

This is what I eat it with:

-1/2 of one of my butternut squash muffins

-1 jumbo par boiled egg (the yolk is fully raw)

-1/2 cup coconut milk (watered down)

-1 tsp coconut butter

-1 TBSP of leftover spaghetti meat sauce from the day before

-small slice avocado

-15 g purple sweet potato

-1 sheet of nori seaweed

-1/4 serving of these kale chips, the best on earth

-1/2 slice bacon

-piece of curry roasted cauliflower (from Whole Foods salad bar)

This is how I eat it:

I take the sheet of nori seaweed and lay it out flat. I crack open my egg and break off some of the "pizza" and dip it into the warm, liquid egg yolk. I only eat organic cage free, pastured, jumbo eggs, because they are more satisfying. I break off a huge piece of the "pizza" and put it in the center of the nori seaweed. I layer on the leftover spaghetti, avocado, sweet potato, coconut butter, bacon, curry cauliflower and butternut squash muffin. I pour the yolk over that and scoop on some of the white to layer on top and then I drizzle on the kale chips. 

 

 

I roll it up in the nori and chow down. 

That is how to properly eat this and achieve maximum layering of flavors.

I Had a Dream About A Purple Sweet Potato

I am obsessed with Okinawa Purple Sweet Potatoes and I have been ever since I discovered them two years ago. All of their starchy goodness makes me have oralgasms (orgasms of the salivary glands). If I could I would be buried with cooked purple sweet potatoes in a bath tub and eat my out. Not only are they visually exquisite, but so much sweeter than any other potato.

I use the these potatoes for everything, I make muffins, I make popsicles, and I eat them as they are. Here are some of my favorite recipes I have come up with using purple sweet potatoes. I actually have never made hash browns or french fries or mashed potatoes out of them because that to me is boring.

Purple Sweet Potato Protein Muffins

-40 g cooked purple sweet potatoes, mashed

-3 TBSP coconut milk

-1 whole egg ( I use jumbos, they are more satisfying)

-7g/1 TBSP coconut flour

-5 g protein powder (I use Lifetime's Basics with Greens)

-1/4 tsp non-aluminum baking powder

optional: vanilla or maple extract

Makes 3 small muffins. Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and then pour into a muffin pan that is lined with muffin cups. Bake until slightly brown.

Purple Sweet Potato Protein FuckMe-sicles

-30 g cooked purple sweet potato, mashed

-1/3 c coconut milk

-10 g Lifetime's Basics Plant Protein With Greens

-10 g Chocolate egg white Protein

-1 tsp cocoa powder

Mix all ingredients and put into freezer pop molds. Freeze for at least 24 hours. I like to drop things in right before putting the stick in, such as dark chocolate, or these or this. So yummy. Sometimes I even put in my own "pumpkin pie" filling muffins

Purple Sweet Potato Bagels

-40g purple sweet potato, mashed

-28g coconut flour

-3g guar gum

-1 egg white

-1/2 tsp non-aluminum baking powder

Makes 2 small bagels. Preheat oven to 400 F and bring some water to a boil in a pot. Mix all ingredients, add water as needed to make a dough. Separate into two even portions, roll into balls, flatten and poke a hole in the center. Boil for 35 sec per side in water and then place on a greased baking sheet and slide into the oven. Bake until slightly browned.

Per bagel: 99 calories, 4.7g protein, 15.3g carbs, 2.1g fat, 6.6 g fiber, 2.7g sugar

Paleo/Primal Jew, I'm Kvetching, What to Do? Paleo/Primal Challah/Bagels

So listen up, I am pretty much Paleo/ Primal. There is one vice that is holding me back, which I won’t go into detail about right now. I am extremely active and so I freely enjoy eating Okinawa purple sweet potatoes and pumpkin. One thing I miss being a gluten free, primal Jew is all the food. I sometimes long for the days when I freely enjoyed Challah bread with honey, along with Matzoh at Passover and so forth. I have hypothyroidism and I avoid gluten because of this, my under active thyroid is the main reason why I turned to the paleo/primal diet in the first place. I also don’t think grains are essential, but when I want a bagel with lox or some matzoh ball soup, grains start looking a lot more essential.

Naturally I had to come up with an alternative. A way to have my bagel and eat it too. A way to have some challah. Most of the baked goods I make are visually unappealing. They look like something you would build a house out of (aka a brick), not something edible by any means, but they still taste good. I often look at traditional Jewish recipes and try and find a different way and a better way. Below are my recipes for Challah style bagels and Everything Bagels, which are perfect substitutes. The Challah style bagel is pretty much Paleo friendly, but the Everything Bagels do contain Millet and Garbanzo bean flour. I live alone so all of my recipes yield 2-3 servings at the most.

As far as categorizing myself as Paleo or Primal, I really don't care much for doing that either. I think there a lot of people out there that feel their way of eating is the only way and is the most right way and I disagree. I feel that putting grains in my body is like putting poison in my body, but I will never expect anyone to feel the same way. Everything in life is about balance and I too am beginning to learn that. 

Mock Challah (In Bagel Form), makes two small bagels

-1 jumbo egg

-31g (1/4c)  coconut flour

-1 tsp guar gum

-1 tsp chia seeds

-1 1/2 packets stevia

-1 tsp sesame and poppy seeds

-3 TBSP coconut milk

-2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

-1/2 tsp non aluminum baking powder

-water (as needed)

-Coconut oil spray

-Foil

Preheat oven to 400 F and boil a large pot of water with salt. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with coconut oil cooking spray. In a bowl mix all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl combine the egg and coconut milk. Combine with the dry ingredients, add the apple cider vinegar and water as needed. If the mixture is too dry add more water. The consistency should be doughy. Spray your hands with the coconut oil cooking spray and separate the dough into two even balls. Roll the dough into balls, put them on the pan and insert finger to make a hole. Drop the bagels into the boiling water, boiling for 15-30 sec per side. Put them back on the pan, sprinkle each bagel with sesame and poppy seeds. Bake until hard on the outside and slightly browned.

Sun dried Tomato Everything Bagels

-1 TBSP coconut flour

-35g millet flour

-2 TBSP garbanzo bean flour

-1 TBSP artichoke flour (optional)

-1 tsp guar gum

-3 TBSP coconut milk

-1 tsp golden flaxseed meal

-1 jumbo egg white

-1 packet stevia

-1tsp each sesame, poppy seeds, caraway seeds

-1 tsp each garlic and onion powder

-2 pcs sun dried tomatoes, sliced into small pcs

-1/2 ounce artichoke hearts (optional)

-2 roasted garlic cloves, diced

-Water, as needed

Same exact directions as the Mock Challah, except mix in the caraway seeds and leave the sesame and poppy seeds for the end