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. 

Natural Expo West

One of the myriad of benefits of working in the natural food industry is getting to attend Natural Expo West, which is a mecca for health food fanatics like myself. My favorite companies are there such as Bob's Red Mill, Tanka, and Rhythm Superfoods, as well as some companies I had never heard of before. There is an opportunity to try every type of health food and supplement product under the sun. I think I probably ate my own weight in nut butter and chocolate over the entire weekend. 

I also discovered that Fabio makes his own protein powder and I also recently found out that Montel Williams makes one as well. Here are my images from expo west and it was without a doubt the best food show I have ever been to, I was in heaven, lol!

Fabio has his own protein powder

David Wolfe, raw food guru

With Bob, the founder of Bob's Red Mill

Tuesday's Workout

I unfortunately cannot afford to join a Crossfit gym, I already have two gym memberships and then there is the fitness center in my building. I also don't drive and there are no Crossfit gyms around me. Taking some of their principles and mixing it with my own style of working out, well I have come up with some pretty bad-ass, hard to complete workouts. I perform this workout right after leg day and do this workout the same day that I do my shoulder training or on back day.

This workout can be done anywhere. The only thing needed is the body, an exercise band and a Kettlebell. I use a 15-lb Kettlebell because of the high amount of reps I wind up doing.

Pyramid Style, done in a circuit

25 burpees

25 one-arm KB rows

25 upright KB rows

25 exercise band pull-aparts

Repeat the sequence and do 24 reps of each exercise, then 23, then 22, then 21, then 20, then 19 and so on until one rep is left.

Doing Things You Hate Can Be Better Than Doing What You Love

When people avoid certain training protocols because they hate them, that is a shitty reason. I understand that when adhering to a diet, it would not be wise to eat food that you cannot stand, but not doing HIIT when physically able just because you hate it is a stupid excuse.

During the summer I decided to do burpees every week, twice a week for five minutes straight. The first time I could only do two minutes of burpees, then I had to rest. I hate burpees and I began to dread my workout. I dreaded my workout so much on Tuesdays and Saturdays because I knew I had to do my burpees before the rest of my workout. I would delay an hour and then finally do them. I decided that I was then going to do burpees everyday. 

Why would I do something I hated so much everyday? Because I hate them that's why. I adjusted the time I spent doing them and now I do 100 burpees everyday in four 25 rep chunks and now I love burpees. Twice a week I do a circuit that incorporates burpees in a descending pyramid fashion and it is a bitch, but after I'm done, I have clocked in a total of 325 burpees and 325 reps of all other moves and that feels fantastic. 

So if you avoid an exercise just because you hate it, well make yourself do it, it will develop mental strength, but if you avoid an exercise because you are physically unable, then that is another matter.

My burpee routine:

Equipment needed, a kettlebell and your body

Start out with 25 reps of each exercise doing them in a circuit fashion, then do 24, 23, 22, and so on until one rep is left

-Burpees (with a jump at the top, pushup at the bottom is optional)

- One arm kettlebell row

-Kettlebell Bicep curl (holding Kettlebell with both hands)

Then go cry because you are so happy it is over and collapse

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