Posts: 1,072
4/19/12 12:47 A

The coconut wraps are still new enough to me that I haven't gotten tired of them yet. I actually like the idea that they aren't very strongly flavored - they don't overwhelm anything I put in them. I've used them for cold salad spread (egg salad, chicken salad), regular green-salad wraps, *hot* fillings like tacos and fajitas ... I haven't tried meatball "subs" yet, but that's on the agenda! And I've got a little bit of pulled pork that I think would be awesome in there with some cole slaw! I've been petitioning the local health food outlets to carry them here, too ... no luck so far.

Thanks for the info about immersion blender. I did see a warning in the instructions to not run it for more than a minute at a time ... and it's a nice unit; I wouldn't want to destroy it. But I've discovered a neat alternative: I found a peanut-butter maker for pretty cheap online! I haven't received it yet, but I'm eager! LOL

That pizza crust recipe looks incredible. I'm craving pizza now! I love chicken on pizza ... those BBQ ones with the bacon and stuff on them used to make me crazy. It looks like they will again! mmmmmmm

And pancakes are sounding like totally "right stuff" for breakfast just about now. I can't remember when I had a pancake last!

Thanks everybody!

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4/19/12 12:22 A

Posts: 282
4/18/12 12:30 P

Hi y'all! Here's my current fave Primal pancake recipe with the least amount of ingredients and hassle.

1 cup almond meal (flour)
2 eggs
1/4 cup water (or you can use sparkling water for more fluff)
2 Tbsp oil (I melt coconut oil but you can use olive oil)
1/2 tsp salt
1 T sweetener (I don't add any sweetener, instead I throw in a few "enjoy life" chocolate chips)

Mix ingredients together and cook as you would other pancakes. Melt a little coconut oil, olive oil or butter in a pan. I make 2 3inch pancakes at a time and the batter usually gives us about 8 pancakes. I slather butter (kerrygold) on them and a little pure maple syrup. But you could top them with whatever you like. To me they are sweet enough on their own!

Posts: 4,516
4/6/12 8:43 P

OH thank you!

I was going to ask you what you put on them. I was sort of getting over wanting a pancake when I looked at the carb count in syrup and realized I couldnt put anything on it anyways! haha. Then I searched and saw there were some low carb syrups, homemade.

So anyways, thank you for the info!!!

Edited by: GOPINTOS at: 4/6/2012 (20:44)

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Posts: 10
4/6/12 12:58 P

for your pankcake cravings www.nourishingdays.com/2011/11/grain-free-
and-dairy-free-fluffy-coconut-flour-pa
ncakes-revisited/

I have been eating Paleo/Primal off and on for the past few years. I learned about this diet while attending school in Florida - pancakes is one of my favorite and most missed dishes and when I came across this recipe i fell in LOVE!! I get the coconut flour from. www.amazon.com/Azukar-Organics-Natural-Org
anic-32-Ounce/dp/B0045TSUYK/ref=sr_1_1
0?ie=UTF8&qid=1333731398&sr=8-10

I use coconut milk from trader's joe's and I mix the eggs and milk with a little bit of agave syrup in a food processor. Then I cook them on a griddle with coconut oil! They come out PERFECT! Even my fiance who isn't the biggest fan of my paleo choices sometimes loves these! For me I also sprinkle cardamon on top of them :)

Edited by: FAERIE007 at: 4/6/2012 (12:59)

Posts: 10,550
4/2/12 8:34 P

You need to drain yogurt through a fine cotton cloth--see my post below. Making yogurt cheese is a regular part of my routine. VERY IMPORTANT: Only use pure yogurt, no additives (gelatin, sugars, flavors or anything) It should have only milk and probiotic cultures in the ingredients list. If it has anything else it won't work.

It might drain off some of the carbs but these aren't the carbs that we need to worry about. We really need to concern ourselves with the starchy carbs like the kind in grains and potatoes and, of course, sugar.

The liquid that drains from the yogurt is whey and it is very useful especially if you are soaking grains to improve their digestibility. You just add a tablespoon of whey to the soaking water. Put it together in the morning and the next morning (24 hrs. later) you've got your soaked cut oats. Personally I find that all grains, even soaked oats leave me very hungry in only 1 1/2 to 2 hours and frequently bloated. Now I understand that--it has to do with the glycemic load rush. I miss my soaked cut oats too--save them for once-in-a-while only.

Greek-style yogurt IS drained yogurt--really, that's all it is. But if you do it yourself you can vary the thickness any way you want. You can make a thick, smooth yogurt or you can keep draining it and make something like cream cheese (yogurt cheese)
Read my post below

Edited by: ANIDUCK at: 4/2/2012 (20:36)

Posts: 4,516
4/2/12 4:11 P

I tried straining my yogurt once, thought it might be like a Greek yogurt but my strainer wasnt fine enough. I just bought some more the other day to try. Is it correct that drains off most of the carbs, or some anyways?

Soaking grains. Like Steel Cut Oats? When I first started losing weight, I was eating that every morning for breakfast. I have had it a couple of occasions the past few weeks, like half a cup but I sort of miss it but I know it won't take me from breakfast to lunch :( And then there are the carbs....

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Posts: 10,550
4/2/12 12:59 P

Make your own coconut wraps
thecoconutmama.com/2011/03/coconut-wraps-r
ecipe/
By-the-way: Yogurt Cheese is just yogurt that has been left to drain through a fine, clean, lint-free cloth for up to 12 hours room temp or 24 hours in the fridge. Drain it until it reaches the consistency or thickness you desire. Save the whey for use in soaking grains, nuts and seeds. I use a large, man-sized cotton hanky for draining; works perfectly. You can buy them almost anywhere in packs of 6 or more.

I wash them along with dish towels and cheese-making muslin in my washing machine at VERY high temperature. I store them in a plastic bag to keep them clean.

Edited by: ANIDUCK at: 4/2/2012 (13:10)

Posts: 10,550
4/2/12 12:55 P

Coconut wraps can be purchased on-line. I've been pushing for my local health-food stores to carry them but that hasn't happened yet.
improveat.com/whatoffer.php
and
www.sunfood.com/pure-wraps-the-original-4-
wraps-1-98-oz-raw-alkaline-gluten-free
.html
Personally, I was excited about these things at first but after a while I got tired of them. They are just barely okay in flavor and texture; not like anything else. Some people make them themselves; maybe they are better homemade.

Posts: 3,485
4/2/12 10:06 A

Where might I find a coconut wrap recipe?

Kat

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4/2/12 7:48 A

Well.... much better start to my day than yesterday. See my shiny new ticker??!!! That is a new one for me. I havent crossed over to the 39's yet. :)

(don't tell anyone, but between you and me, I think I just needed to go... ummm you know... go)

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Posts: 10,550
4/1/12 9:58 P

Oh, and thanks for that pizza crust recipe; I hadn't seen that one before. Looks really interesting.

Posts: 10,550
4/1/12 9:46 P

An immersion blender isn't the right tool for making nut butters. You really need a strong motor that will keep on churning for about 10 minutes at a fast clip with a lot of power behind it. Save your immersion blender for eggnog, mayo and creamy soups. Maybe you don't do mayo. Oh well, that's okay. I make it mostly for other people. Yes, that sucker IS heavy. I finally decided to put some of the other junk that was on my counter in another place and just keep the processor out. Now I find I use it a lot more. Salmon spread anybody? Not made with mayo either; cream cheese makes it perfect. Same with ham spread, or...

whoops, maybe you are wondering why I would want a "spread". I have these nifty crackers that are made with seeds, veggies and herbs to put those spreads on.
livinspoonful.com/
I get them from my co-op (Azure Standard)
The spreads are also good for stuffing celery and making endive "boats". Makes for tasty snacking while watching a movie.

Edited by: ANIDUCK at: 4/1/2012 (21:57)

Posts: 4,516
4/1/12 8:13 P

The recipe I used was cup of chicken and cup of cheese, through the food processor. It was great!!!

Here I saved it. yourlighterside.com/easy-pizza-crust/

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Posts: 1,072
4/1/12 7:51 P

I do have a food processor, but I'd planned to see if my immersion blender could handle the task. It came with a couple mixing cups. I haven't used it for anything like that yet, but I have the .pdf instructions, and I'll see what it says. Otherwise I'll pull out the processor ... but man, that thing is HEAVY! haha

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4/1/12 7:43 P

Do you have a food processor? I can whip up nut butters in a very short time using my food processor. It comes out warm and yummy and very hard to keep my fingers out of! I gently roast the nuts at a low temp (about 315 degrees F.) just to where they give off a nice aroma. Then I let them cool and whenever I'm ready i process them into butter. Some nuts are great ground up raw. Almonds and hazelnuts I prefer a little roasty.

Posts: 1,072
4/1/12 7:31 P

I'm having those "up-and-down" times too. They're so frustrating! I got so mad yesterday I decided -ENOUGH- , so now I'm on a fast and when I restart tomorrow, I'm going back to my 30-50 carbs. I spent too much time hearing others say that 100 or more worked for them, and carb addict that I am, I just wanted it! But my body can't and won't tolerate it. I went totally nuts yesterday and zapped all my nutrient values through the roof. Well, for me, at least.

I have seen a couple very tempting recipes for pizza too! One of my recent finds is coconut wraps. They're awesome, and I can have sandwiches again! mmmm Another thing is nut butter cookies. The original recipe was for peanut butter, but I can't do legumes, so I made these with cashew butter, and they're great! I don't recall the nutrient values, but it was reasonable, so long as you don't eat the whole batch (they're good; it's tempting!). I bought some almond butter yesterday, and the next time I make these, I'm going to try that. If the almond butter lasts so long - LOL I've also got to find where I've stashed my grinder, because I desperately want some walnut and pecan butter, but haven't ever seen any in stores. How difficult can it be to make? I'm going to try, anyway.

And - back on the pizza - I saw another recipe somewhere that uses cheese for a crust. I don't remember now if it was JUST cheese, or some combination. It sounded tasty, too.

Meanwhile, feel free to vent to us. I'm the same way: I want to be upbeat for new folks, but there's slowdowns and pitfalls in all diets. I suppose, to be fair and honest with them, I really SHOULD be posting this stuff where they'll be most likely to see it's no cakewalk for any of us.

And I really want some pancakes, too!

current weight: 221.0

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4/1/12 6:16 P

Posts: 4,516
4/1/12 3:08 P

What a difference an hour can make. I spent some time looking at other's blogs, searching around, and Angelia R. mentioned a link to some low carb recipes, and I found a pizza crust one that was incredible. Sinfully incredible. It is just still hard to believe that one can lose weight eating like this. And since the scale wasnt being cooperative, it just makes you wonder. What is that definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? People talk about waiting months and months and over a year waiting for things to happen..... it just makes you wonder if you are doing the right thing and how long you should give it. I love the meat plan, so I hope it works because I could eat like this forever. It was an easy lifestyle change because we grew up this way. Then life (and lots of fast food) got in the way. It is just a whole new perspective now.

I had started to cut out meat, etc when I first started my journey. I would make DH things like Black Bean Burgers. He ate them, but he wasnt too hip on it. So today I told him there was a recipe I wanted to try - for pizza crust, and I asked, would you eat some pizza? And he said.... well can we have some meat on it? haha. I said well honey the crust is made with meat :)

So anyways, my perspective is much better. Thanks to all for that. I took some measurements and I think my waist has gone down some. And that pudgy little thing that took up residence over my elbow is all but gone, and see that is a place I don't measure.

I am just afraid of adding things back in, like I had laid off the cheese until I saw it was pretty much carb free. And I havent used much but a little, and I ate an apple here and there last week, so those things just make me wonder if I screwed up. I know not all carbs are the enemy, like it seems weird to worry about eating an apple - but for the time being while trying to lose weight and restrict carbs, I was afraid I added stuff back in too soon. I know I am always in a calorie deficit. And if 3500 calories makes a pound, I know it is not possible to be gaining weight. Period. Yesterday was 1037 calorie deficit, then 1866 then 1355, then 1570, then 765, 997, 655 - that is 8245 calorie deficit for the same period Sunday - Sunday - that I gained .2 pounds. Insane. Oh right. Insanity again :)

Just have me committed I guess

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4/1/12 12:05 P

Oh gosh, thank you for posting.

I should not have joined these challenges haha. OH well. Will suck it up and finish but not trip on the scale.

I love the motto, and that does help. There are times that I know I am in good shape for carbs and calories and I could have something if I really wanted it. Even like a pancake, I could just deal with the rest of the day. But I don't want to do that. I dont really feel deprived because I know it is a balancing act.

But sometimes I just feel like when I make good choices, I just wish the scale would reflect it :) Even my measuring tape hasnt been cooperating. But I only measure in 3 or 4 places and I know I am seeing changes in other places that I didnt take a measurement.

After I posted, I continued searching around, and did discover there are pancake recipes, and I just now found some kind of little bun recipe from eggs and cream of tartar and something else simple. OH, cream cheese. Whowouldofthunkit? Amazing.

I did have a half a cup of mashed potatoes this week, one evening. And I cant remember if this week or last, half a cup of mashed sweet potatoes. I havent had either in forever, so then I wonder if that was the wrong thing to do since I was up and down all week .... ugggghhhh

Also, I have been more physical this week, with nice weather & with garden preparation. That was very physical. And I did some pushmowing. Best exercise I had to date. So I know it could be water retention or whatever in muscles also. And I forget about those things when I feel like this.

And I try not to feel like this. I try to be upbeat and positive 100% of the time, and I say all those things to everybody else that feels down, but I just needed to babble this morning. Thanks for letting me babble :)

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Posts: 625
4/1/12 11:54 A

I can totally relate. I went back in my tracker to see what I was doing when I was consistently successful every week, and it was pre-Paleo when I was counting calories religiously and eating 150-225 carbs on average. I've since learned that I'm gluten intolerant so I couldn't go back to that anyway, but it did make me speculate that perhaps I've over complicated things. If I fixate on little things I tend to lose sight of the big picture. I still believe in the logic and health benefits of Paleo, but calories will be my bottom line again until I reach goal and probably beyond. I think we all have to adapt to what works for us as individuals. Maybe for you that means a real pancake every now and again if your body can handle it and it makes your heart happy. Even Grok would have eaten a bad berry or rotten piece of meat by accident once in a while. :-)

Posts: 10,550
4/1/12 11:46 A

I have a new motto that I will share with you...maybe I should put it in my signature. I say it out loud as many times as needed when I feel the slightest urge to eat what I know is bad for my health. "I can have it, but I don't WANT it!" This is the total opposite to "I want it but I CAN'T HAVE IT!"

It might not be simply "carbs that you are craving. It might just be starches. So have a bit of sweet potato, or some other root veggie. Sweet potato, gently cooked and drizzled with a little (real) maple syrup might just curb your starchy carb craving. Who knows, maybe your body needs a little starchy carb...just a little though 'cuz, of course any starch will raise blood sugar leading directly to fat storage. But you DON'T want bready things; those are the worst--Wheat Thins! OMG; don't do it--nasty little things. Okay, maybe not as bad as Cocoa Puffs ..LOL ;)

Maybe make yourself a pancake using almond flour and/or coconut flour if the visual thing is driving you crazy. Do you need a recipe?

You can do this and we ARE behind you all the way. We are all struggling at different levels with the same things.

Try not to think so much about pounds (I know that's asking a lot) but truly, try not to even think about losing weight as much as you want that. Instead think about what you want for your body coming from the inside. Perfect weight follows perfect health. Eat well and weigh yourself once a month. You might find you don't even need to do that 'cuz your clothes will become noticeably looser.

And yes, it's possible that you are trying to "adapt too many principles" all at once

Posts: 4,516
4/1/12 10:42 A

... just one little mountain of pancakes. I didnt want to Blog about it, because I am suppose to be the upbeat, dont watch the scale, keep on keeping on ambassador. So for those that think I have got it together, I didnt want them to know I am about to lose it!!! haha

Okay, so maybe not that bad. I am not making pancakes. But I still really want some.

And I am not tripping on the scale, but this past week was just awful scale wise. I am on two challenges, now three, but the 3rd one coincides with my Sunday weigh day, so I was on the scale alot this past week. Up down up down. Final result for my weigh day from Sunday to Sunday is UP .2 UP!! I can't remember going up on a Sunday weigh in day since January!!

When I started to try to go primal, I am not sure why. I was losing 1.5 - 2.5 most every single week prior. I dont know what made me search for more answers. But the whole carbs drives insulin drives fat fascinated me so I wanted to do what I could to optimize my efforts. And the first few weeks, I kept losing. I had already been eating 100 - 125 net carbs anyways, so after a few days of adjusting, I was able to get that down below 50 most days with lots of under 25 days. Calories stayed low also. I know not to trip on it, but hard to get the 1200 out of my mind and "starvation mode" thing, and can't help but wonder if I shot myself in the foot.

I am just babbling this morning. This would have been my blog babble but decided my Primal Pals would better understand than the masses :)

I think I am just trying to adapt too many principals. From some leptin reset, some from primal, some from paleo, and then I learned of some other guys this week. My mind is just always spinning and trying to absorb.

We hardly ate bread before, but I started buying wheat thins because I thought it was the right thing to do. Now that I can't have it, I want it. I have resisted. My flaxmuffin has been serving as bread, muffin, even pizza crust the other day, and it is tasty enough.

Maybe it can be my pancake also.

I know that primal and leptin reset, it all prepares your body for change and good health. Slow and steady, I know. It still is frustrating because February of staying it SP limits, I lost 10 pounds. So then I tried to shake it up and get better results, and when I did that, March is only 5 pounds. Well 4.6 if you add back in the .4 I gained since yesterday which then makes the week UP .2!!

I know 5 pounds a month is 60 pounds a year. If I lost 60 more pounds with alot of muscle, I would still look pretty good.

I am sorry to babble. I just get so confused and I want to understand. I am going to order the Primal book. I have just been piecing together here and there so I need to just read it. But then again, the leptin reset makes sense and not so sure how that fits into Primal. Seems like a match but the Apple forum isnt always to hip on other information provider & ideas, so it is hard for me to even tell. I am pretty sure I have been ketosis. Not sure if still because I made a decision to up some carbs but still I havent been over 60. I just wish someone would take me by the hand, maybe even come and just fix my meals just like I do for DH, and then just say... Here eat this.

And I wish they would make it a mountain of pancakes.

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