Category Archives: Recipes

Recipe: Sunny’s Super Salad

Posted on January 29, 2014 | Comments Off on Recipe: Sunny’s Super Salad
diabetic diet, Paleobetic diet, diabetes,

You won’t be able to eat this in one sitting if you’re small or sedentary

This huge salad is a full meal. It fills a 10-inch plate (25 cm). Since it contains five vegetables, you should feel virtuous eating it. Who says the paleo diet’s all about meat?

Ingredients:

8 oz (230 g) raw chicken breast tenderloin (it cooks down to 5 oz)

1/4 cup (60 ml) canned mandarin orange wedges (6-7 wedges) (if you can only find these packed in syrup or light syrup, add 3 g to the digestible carb count below)

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) lemon pepper seasoning

4 oz (110 g) hearts of romaine lettuce

1 oz (30 g) baby spinach

2.5 oz (1/4 cucumber or 70 g) cucumber, peeled and sliced into discs

2 oz (60 g) California avocado, peeled and seeded, cut into wedges (1/2 of standard-sized avocado)

3 oz (85 g) fresh tomato (a typical roma or small tomato)

1 oz (30 g) walnuts

6 tbsp (90 ml) extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp (30 ml) vinegar (we used balsamic)

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) salt

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) crushed dried rosemary

diabetic diet, Paleobetic diet, low-carb, seasoning

Like Deborah on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” my wife often makes lemon chicken

Instructions:

First cook the chicken breast over medium heat in a skillet. If you think the meat will stick to the pan, add a smidgen (1/2 tsp or 2.5 ml) of olive oil to the pan. Don’t overcook or the meat will get tough. It’ll take five or 10 minutes.

While that’s cooking, prepare your vinaigrette. In a jar with a lid, place the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and rosemary, then shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Not 21 or you’ll ruin it. You’re done.

If you use a commercial vinaigrette instead, use one that has no more than 2 g of carbohydrate per 2 tbsp. You may have trouble finding that since so many of the commercial guys add sugar.

Place the lettuce and spinach on a plate then add the cucumber, avocado, tomato, cooked chicken, walnuts, and mandarin orange wedges on top. Drizzle two or three tbsp of the vinaigrette over it (nutritional analysis assumes three). Enjoy.

Servings: 1

(Actually, you’ll have enough vinaigrette left over for one or two more salads or vegetable servings. Save it in the refrigerator.)

Nutritional Analysis:

57 % fat

12 % carbohydrate

31 % protein

710 calories

25 g carbohydrate

10 g fiber

15 g digestible carb

990 mg sodium

1,570 mg potassium

Prominent features: Rich in protein, vitamin A, B6, C, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, pantothenic acid, selenium, and phosphorus.

low-carb diet, diabetic diet, Paleobetic diet, balsamic vinaigrette,

I like this and use it. The lower left corner says “with EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.” In order, the listed ingredients are water, balsamic vinegar, soybean oil and extra virgin olive oil, sugar….  2 tbsp has 3 grams of carb. Which oil would you guess predominates? BTW, balsamic has the most carbs of all the vinegars.

Comments Off on Recipe: Sunny’s Super Salad

Posted in Low-Carb, Recipes

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Recipe: Beef Soup, Roasted Asparagus, and Blackberries

Posted on January 20, 2014 | Comments Off on Recipe: Beef Soup, Roasted Asparagus, and Blackberries
low-carb diet, paleobetic diet, diabetic diet

Dinner time!

The entree is a cross between stew and soup; stoup, if you will.

Ingredients:

2 lb (0.9 kg) stew meat, lean, bite-sized chunks (tenderized by the butcher if able)

1 garlic clove, finely minced

6 sprigs cilantro, de-stemmed, whole leaves

2 oz (58 g) sweet onion, diced (1/2 of a small onion)

1/4 of a medium-size green bell pepper, de-seeded, diced (medium bell pepper weighs about 5.5 oz or 155 g)

8 oz (227 g) canned tomato sauce

2.5 cups (590 ml) water

1.25 tsp (6.2 ml) table salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste (1/4 tsp or 1.2 ml?)

16 oz (454 g) fresh raw asparagus, no larger in diameter than your little finger, with any dry or woody stalk cut off and discarded

1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

7.5 oz (213 g) raw blackberries

Instructions:

Stoup first. In a frying pan or electric skillet, place the stew meat, cilantro, garlic, bell pepper, onion, and cook over medium heat (350º F or 177º C) until the meat is done. Then add the tomato sauce, two cups of the water, one tsp of the salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer for two hours, then add a half cup water to replace evaporation loss.

low-carb diet, paleobetic diet, diabetic diet

Cooking stew meat. NOTE: this is double the amount the recipe calls for.

paleobetic diet, low-carb diet, diabetic diet

Meat is done and the “gravy” has magically appeared

low-carb diet, diabetic diet, paleobetic diet

Appearance after addition of the tomato sauce and 2 cups water

Now the asparagus. Preheat oven to 400º F or 204º C. Place asparagus on a cooking sheet covered with foil, brush the asparagus with the olive oil, then lightly salt (1/4 tsp?) and pepper to taste. (If you don’t mind cleaning up, just use a baking dish without the foil.) Roast in oven for 8–15 minutes; thicker asparagus takes longer. It’s hard to tell when it’s done just by looking; if it’s still hard, it’s not done. Click for another post I wrote on cooking asparagus and brussels sprouts.

paleobetic diet, low-carb diet, diabetic diet

Asparagus roasted at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes

Enjoy the berries for desert.

low-carb diet, diabetic diet, paleobetic diet

2.5 oz or 1/2 cup of blackberries

Servings: 3 [one serving is 1.5 cups (355 ml) of soup, a third of the asparagus (5 oz (140 g), and 2.5 oz (70 g) berries]

Nutritional Analysis:

40 % fat

12 % carbohydrate

48 % protein

590 calories

19 g carbohydrate

8.5 g fiber

10.5 g digestible carb

1,557 mg sodium

1,778 mg potassium

Prominent features: Rich in protein, B6, B12, copper, iron, niacin, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc

low-carb diet, paleobetic diet, diabetic diet

The fresh cilantro is a nice touch

Comments Off on Recipe: Beef Soup, Roasted Asparagus, and Blackberries

Posted in Recipes

Tagged , , , , , ,

Paleobetic Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Posted on January 19, 2014 | Comments Off on Paleobetic Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Wait, what?

paleobetic diet, diabetic diet, low-carb diet, spaghetti squash, spaghetti

Meaty low-carb spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash

Yeah, I know. Spaghetti’s not paleo.

But this one is. Recently here we’ve looked at low-carb spaghetti sauce and cooking spaghetti squash. It’s not too much of a stretch to put them together and call it spaghetti. No grain-based pasta here!

paleobetic diet, spaghetti, squash, low-carb diet, diabetic diet, paleo diet

Cooked spaghetti squash partially teased apart with a fork

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (240 ml) low-carb spaghetti sauce

2 cups (480 ml) cooked spaghetti squash

Instructions:

Prepare the ingredients after clicking on links above. Assemble as in the photo. Enjoy.

Number of Servings: 1

Nutritional Analysis: 

52% fat

33% carbohydrate

15% protein

408 calories

36 g carbohydrate

7 g fiber

29 g digestible carbohydrate

1,398 mg sodium

1,201 mg potassium

Prominent features: Rich in B12, copper, iron, niacin, thiamin, B6

Discussion

With the Paleobetic Diet, I strive to limit mealtime digestible carbohydrates to 20 g or less. This meal has 29 g and the calories are on the low end (408) for larger and more active folks. What gives?

Making a wholesale switch from the Standard American Diet to the paleo diet ican be difficult for some under the best of circumstances. For those used to eating carb-heavy pasta, I thought it might be comforting to offer something similar but with a lower carb count. Hence, spaghetti pasta. The tomatoes in the sauce are an additional source of blood glucose-elevating carbohydrates. So I’ve tried to minimize them by creating a meat-heavy sauce. Nevertheless, a reasonable portion size tipped me over the 20 gram carb limit. In contrast, a single cup of cooked spaghetti pasta by itself has 40 grams of digestible carbohydrate and 220 calories.

I think you’ll find the two cups of spaghetti squash filling and satisfying. If that’s not enough calories for you, munch on some leftover high-protein food such as chicken or steak.

Comments Off on Paleobetic Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Posted in Recipes

Tagged , , ,

Recipes: Spaghetti Squash

Posted on January 14, 2014 | 14 comments
low-carb diet, spaghetti squash, paleobetic diet, diabetic diet

The smallish yellow spaghetti squash is at the top. It’s related to pumpkins and zucchini.

It’s hard to give up pasta. Many diabetics who don’t notice that their blood sugar levels spike too high when they eat pasta. What’s too high? In general, I’d say over 150 mg/dl (8.33 mmol/l) measured one hour after a meal, or over 130 mg/dl (7.22 mmol/l) two hours after the meal.

Other experts disagree and propose other numbers.

An alternative to spaghetti pasta that shouldn’t raise blood glucose levels as high is spaghetti squash. It’s all about the carbohydrates. A cup of cooked spaghetti squash has 10 g of carb; a cup of cooked spaghetti has 43 g. The fiber grams are about the same. Numbers are from FitDay.com.

Spaghetti squash is a classic low-carb vegetable. If you’ve never tried it, you should. As vegetables go, it’s one of the largest, heaviest, and most interesting to prepare. Easy, too. The spaghetti squash season is autumn and winter in the northern hemisphere. Purchasing in spring and summer may be iffy.

In my part of the world, supermarket spaghetti squashes weigh between two and five pounds. We cooked a three-pounder (1.4 kg) that yielded five cups; a five-pounder (2.3 kg) gave us 12 cups. A serving size is one, maybe two cups. What you don’t eat immediately stays fresh in the refrigerator for at least several days. Re-heat by microwaving or stir-frying.

Like pasta and potatoes, the squash by itself is bland. It’s a great substrate for sauces or seasonings.

low-carb diet, paleobetic diet, diabetic diet, spaghetti squash

Raw squash cut in half lengthwise

Here’s how we cook it at the Parker Compound. Preheat the oven to 375º F 0r 190º C. Very carefully slice the squash in half lengthwise. Spoon out and discard the guts (seeds and membranes like a pumpkin; it even smells like a pumpkin). Put the halves flat-side down in a pan, then add a half inch (1.3 cm) of water to the pan. Cover with foil and bake until the outer shell (rind) is fairly easily pierced with a paring knife. This will be about 45 minutes for a two-pound squash (0.9 kg); 90 minutes for a four-plus pounder (2.3+ kg). Then turn them over, re-cover with foil, and cook 15 minutes more, until very tender. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes. Then use a fork to pull the strands away from the rind.

Other cooks simplify the process and just place the squash halves flat-side down on a baking sheet and cook for 30-60 minutes. Some leave the seeds in while cooking and spoon them out just before the stranding step.

Now what?

You got options.

Our first experiment was with l0w-carb spaghetti sauce.

paleobetic diet, low-carb diet, diabetic diet, spaghetti squash

Low-carb spaghetti

Next we took three cups squash (710 ml) and mixed in 2 tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil, 2.5 tbsp (37 ml) chopped parsley, 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) minced fresh garlic, 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt, and 1/8 tsp (0.6 ml) black pepper.

low-carb diet, diabetic diet, paleobetic diet

Seasoned with parsley, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper

Finally, we took a cup (240 ml) of the squash and added minced celery (4 inches or 10 cm of stalk), 3 minced black olives, 5/8 oz (18 g) of minced sweet (bell) pepper, 1/2 clove of minced garlic, salt (a dash), and pepper to taste.

paleobetic diet, diabetic diet, low-carb diet, spaghetti squash

Seasoned with sweet peppers, black olives, garlic, celery, and salt

These last two options I consider side dishes. By the way, they taste good either cold or warm. They would go well with a number of entrees, such as steak or salmon.

I’ve read that this squash is good with pesto, or just with salt and (non-paleo) butter.

Nutrition facts from FitDay.com:

One cup of cooked spaghetti squash has 75 calories (I’ve seen 42 elsewhere), 10 g of carbohydrate, 2 g of fiber, 8 g of digestible carb, 4 g of fat (predominantly MUFA), minimal protein, and a fair amount of vitamins A, niacin, B6, and C. Plus 8% of your RDA for manganese.

 

14 Comments

Posted in Recipes

Tagged , , , ,

Recipe: Low-Carb Spaghetti Sauce

Posted on January 13, 2014 | 4 comments
paleobetic diet, low-carb spaghetti sauce

That’s a spaghetti squash in the background

My wife is Italian so we eat a lot of spaghetti at the Parker Compound.

A definitely non-paleo ingredient below is Truvia, a sweetener that’s a combination of stevia and erythritol. Stevia is supposedly “natural.” I don’t know where erythritol, a sugar alcohol, comes from. The purpose of a sweetener is to counteract the tartness or bitterness of the tomatoes. Honey would probably serve this purpose, but I’ve never tried it in this recipe. If you use the honey or table sugar option below, it will increase the digestible carb count in each cup by three grams. Whatever your favorite non-caloric sweetener, use the equivalent of two tablespoons of table sugar (sucrose).

Ingredients:

1 lb (454 g) sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing

3/4 lb (340 g kg) lean ground beef (lean = up to 10% fat by weight)

1/2 cup (118 ml) onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz or 793 g)

2 cans tomato paste (total of 12 oz or 340 g)

2 cans tomato sauce (total of 16 oz or 454 g)

1/2 cup water (118 ml)

2 tsp (10 ml) Truvia (combo of stevia and erythritol; optional substitutes are table sugar  (2 tbsp or 30 ml) or honey (1.5 tbsp or 22 ml), or leave out sweetener

1.5 tsp (7.4 ml) dried basil leaves

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) fennel seeds

1 tsp (5 ml) Italian seasoning

1/4 tbsp (3.7 ml) salt

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) ground black pepper

4 tbsp (60 ml) fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions:

Put the sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic in a pan and cook over medium heat until well browned. Drain off the excess liquid fat if that’s your preference (not mine). You’ll probably have to transfer that mix to a pot, then add all remaining ingredients and simmer on low heat for two or three hours. You may find the flavor even better tomorrow. If it gets too thick, just add water.

To avoid carbohydrate toxicity—high blood sugar—eat this over spaghetti squash rather than pasta. Here’s a post on cooking spaghetti squash. Small or inactive folks may find a half cup of sauce over one cup of cooked squash is a reasonable serving (about 250 calories). I prefer to double those portions, making it a whole meal.

Sometimes I just eat this sauce straight. But I’m weird. A cup of sauce with some veggies or fruit is a meal for me. If you have other uses for spaghetti sauce other than over spaghetti squash or grain products, please share in the Comments.

Number of Servings: 9 (1-cup each)

Nutritional Analysis: (assumes you retained all fat)

55% fat

23% carbohydrate

22% protein

345 calories

21 g carbohydrate

4 g fiber

17 g digestible carbohydrate

985 mg sodium

1,117 mg potassium

Prominent features: Rich in vitamin B12, iron, copper, niacin, sodium, and selenium

4 Comments

Posted in Recipes

Tagged , , , ,

Recipe: Steak, Avocado, Olives and Tomato

Posted on December 16, 2013 | 2 comments
Paleobetic diet

I ate mine for breakfast. Who needs bagels, cereal, and donuts?

This was super-easy to put together because I used leftover steak. But I’ll assume you’re cooking your steak fresh. We bought ours as thinly sliced round steak, about a 1/4-inch thick (0.6 cm). Some places might refer to this as a “minute steak” because it cooks so quickly. Minute steak also refers to a piece of beef, usually the round, that’s been pounded flat, about a 1/4-inch thick. Even if you start with raw meat, you can prepare today’s recipe in 10 minutes.

Paleobetic diet

It tastes as good as it looks

Ingredients:

4 oz (113 g) cooked thin round steak (start with 5 oz raw)

1 California (Hass) avocado, standard size (4.5 oz or 127 g), peeled, pitted, and chunked

14 black olives, pitted, medium size (Purist alert: probably highly processed)

1 tomato, medium-size (medium size or 2.5-inch diameter (6,4 cm), or a large roma tomato), cut into wedges

Salt and pepper to taste, or use commercial steak seasoning such as Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick (a favorite at the Parker Compound)

Instructions:

Sprinkle your steak with seasoning then cook over medium or medium-high heat in a skillet, about a minute on each side. Or heat your leftover steak in the microwave. If you overcook, it will be tough.

Place all ingredients artfully on a plate and enjoy.

Servings: 1

Nutritional Analysis (via Fitday):

60% fat

12% carbohydrate

28% protein

600 calories

20 g carbohydrate

12 g fiber

8 g digestible carbohydrate

587 mg sodium

1530 mg potassium

Prominent features: Lots of protein, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, copper, iron, niacin, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc

2 Comments

Posted in Recipes

Tagged , , , ,

Recipe: Turkey Tomato Bowl + Macadamia Nuts

Posted on December 7, 2013 | Comments Off on Recipe: Turkey Tomato Bowl + Macadamia Nuts
paleobetic diet, low-carb

This Turkey Tomato Bowl fits criteria for the Paleobetic Diet

This is what I did with some of our leftover Thanksgiving turkey. If you don’t have leftover turkey, I bet leftover chicken or steak would be  fine substitutes. Heck, I’m tempted to try it with salmon or canned tuna or chicken. In addition to the flavor, what I like about this meal is that it’s crazy quick.

Ingredients:

6 oz (170 g) cooked turkey chunks, light meat (or 8 oz (225 g) if you’re starting raw and planning to cook it)

5 oz (140 g) raw tomato (2 small roma tomatoes, for example), cut into chunks

2 tbsp (30 ml) balsamic vinaigrette

black pepper to taste

1 oz (30 g) roasted macadamia nuts

paleobetic diet, low-carb, diabetes, diabetic diet, paleo diet

These roma tomatoes were amazingly flavorful for late Fall in the northern hemisphere. Before cooking, my wife injected the bird with olive oil, massaged periodically over 30 minutes, then popped it in the oven.

Instructions:

Toss the turkey and tomato chunks in a bowl, splash on the vinaigrette, then microwave for 60-80 seconds. Pepper as desired. Drink the leftover juice right out of the bowl. Enjoy with macadamia nuts for dessert and you’ve got a full meal.

Discussion:

paleobetic diet, low-carb, diabetes, diabetic diet

Grok wouldn’t have access to this

I was lazy when I made this so I just used a commercial salad dressing rather than making my own vinaigrette. Wish-Bone Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing “with extra virgin olive oil.” Here are the top ingredients, in order: water, balsamic vinegar, soybean oil and extra virgin olive oil (sic), sugar, salt, spices, etc. So the oil could have been soybean oil (from a legume—the horror!!!) with one drop of EVOO for all I know. Olive oil is a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acid, so you might be able to calculate how much EVOO was in the dressing if I tell you there were five grams of fat per two tbsp (30 ml) serving, of which 1.5 grams were monounsaturated. That serving also has three grams of carbohydrate (all sugar) and only 60 calories. Right there on the bottle is says gluten-free and “no high fructose corn syrup.” I bet it had HFCS in it three years ago and there would be no mention of the trendy “gluten-free.”

I don’t know any home cooks who add water to vinaigrettes. They are essentially oil and vinegar (in a ratio of 3:1) and spices. The ones I make have quite a bit more than 60 calories per two tbsp (30 ml); more like 220 cals. All of the oils you would use have about 120 calories per tbsp all from fat. If you make this recipe with home-made vinaigrette, add 150 calories to the nutritional analysis below. It won’t affect the carb count.

Note that of the common vinegars, balsamic has the most carbohydrates—some vinegars have zero. If you use typical amounts of balsamic vinaigrette, you shouldn’t need to worry about the carbohydrates unless perhaps you’re on a strict ketogenic diet and limited to 20-30 grams of carb daily.

Servings: 1

Nutritional Analysis:

58% fat

7% carbohydrate

35% protein

620 calories

11.5 g carbohydrate

3.7 g fiber

8 g digestible carbohydrate

743 mg sodium

877 mg potassium

Prominent features: High in protein, vitamin B6, iron, manganese, niacin, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc.

paleobetic diet, low-carb, diabetic diet, paleo diet

Bonus pic! A new horse at the Parker Compound. He’s an old-style Morgan.

Comments Off on Recipe: Turkey Tomato Bowl + Macadamia Nuts

Posted in Recipes

Tagged , , , , , ,

Recipe: Waldorfian Salad

Posted on December 5, 2013 | 3 comments
paleobetic diet, low-carb diet

One cup of Waldorfian salad. I doubled the cinnamon in this batch, so yours won’t look quite like this.

Today’s meal is inspired by the classic Waldorf salad, made famous by New York’s Waldorf Hotel over a century ago. The hotel today is called the Waldorf-Astoria.

The primary ingredients are apples, walnuts, and celery.

The original salad was made with mayonnaise, which I’m leaving out since I don’t yet have a paleo-compliant formula. They’re out there, however. Do you have a favorite?

paleobetic diet

Good source of omega-3 fatty acids

Instead of mayonnaise, we use a dressing—a vinaigrette—made with walnut oil. Walnut oil is attractive in part because it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids: 1.77 grams per tbsp (15 ml). Compared with Paleolithic diets, modern Western diets are too low in omega-3s and too high in omega-6s. You can use your left-over walnut oil the way you’d use olive oil.

paleobetic diet, low-carb diet, ketogenic diet

I made my dressing in this BPA-laden plastic container

In composing the Paleobetic Diet, my biggest challenge is breakfast. I’m fine eating eggs almost daily, but that may not be your cup ‘o tea. Most of us in America are accustomed to grain-based options like cold cereal, porridge, bagels, donuts, pancakes, granola, and toast. Plus yogurt. Those aren’t paleo, and they have too many carbohydrates for many diabetics. I came up with Waldorfian salad as a low-carb paleo-style breakfast, reminiscent of Brian’s Berry Breakfast.

This recipe makes two large servings of 2 cups (480 ml) each. Small or sedentary folks may well be satisfied with a 1- or 1.5-cup serving.

paleobetic diet, low-carb diet, ketogenic diet

Apples are the primary source of carbohydrates in this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 apples, raw, medium size, skin on, diced (I used Red Delicious; consider Granny Smith, Fuji, or Gala)

3 celery stalks, 8-inches long (20 cm), diced

1 cup (240 ml) walnuts, broken by hand into small chunks (Option for ? more flavor: toast in a skillet over medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes or in oven (350 F or 175 C) on baking sheet for 10 minutes

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) black pepper, ground

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) salt

1.5 tbsp (22 ml) walnut oil

1 tbsp (15 ml) cider vinegar

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) cinnamon

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) nutmeg

Instructions:

First make a dressing with the bottom six ingredients. I put mine in a small container with a lid, then shook vigorously. Or you can put them in a small bowel and whisk them.

paleobetic diet, low-carb diet, ketogenic diet

Walnut pieces

Place the walnuts, apples and celery in a bowel, add the dressing and toss thoroughly. You’re done.

Serve as is, or chill first in the refrigerator. Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought it tasted better after it sat on the counter for 10 minutes. Consider serving on a bed of lettuce (1-2 oz), but if you do, increase your digestible carb count by 1-2 grams.

If you want more calories or protein than this recipe provides, chicken or steak should go well with Waldorfian salad and won’t increase your carb grams.

Number of Servings: 2 (2 cups each)

Nutritional Analysis:

73% fat

21% carbohydrate

6% protein

500 calories

27.5 g carbohydrate

7.6 g fiber

20 g digestible carbohydrate

341 mg sodium

529 mg potassium

Prominent features: High in copper and manganese, low in sodium. This is vegetarian (so much for the paleo diet being meat-centric). On a 2,000 calorie diet, this provides only 15% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein, so you’ll want to eat more protein at some point during the day.

3 Comments

Posted in Nuts, Recipes

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Recipe: BLT Avocado Wraps and Pecans

Posted on November 22, 2013 | 2 comments
paleobetic diet, paleo diet for diabetics

Ready to roll up and eat

BLT = bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

As I’ve written before, bacon isn’t a pure paleo food. Cavemen didn’t eat it. It’s too highly processed. You could make your own if you want. But bacon is convenient and no doubt better for you—at least if you have diabetes—than many of our traditional breakfast foods like cereal with milk, pancakes, instant oatmeal, bagels, or donuts. Those could shoot your blood sugar up to the moon.

Some studies link processed meats with cardiovascular disease and cancer, other studies don’t. If you want to be cautious with your health, don’t go hog-wild with bacon or other processed meats like hot dogs, bologna, and liverwurst.

Avocados come in hundreds of varieties. In the U.S., we mainly have California avocados (aka Hass) and Florida avocados. Californians are by far the market leader. They reign at the Parker Compound.

paleobetic diet

California or Hass avocado

paleobetic diet, paleo diet for diabetes

Florida avocado

California avocados are smaller dark green lumpy-skinned ones. Florida avocados are larger, smoother-skinned, and lighter green. Monica Reinagel has an article comparing the two, with notes on ripening and storage.

Oh, and by the way, avocados are fruits, not vegetables. But you knew that, you smartie.

Ingredients:

1 California (Hass) avocado, raw, medium size (about 4 x 2.5 inches or 10 x 6 cm), peeled and seeded, cut into long strips

6 bacon strips, medium thickness

4 oz (115 g) lettuce (e.g., iceberg, romaine, bibb, or broad-leaf lettuce you prefer)

4 oz (115 g) tomato, raw (this is about one-and-a half roma tomatoes or one medium regular tomato), cut into long strips

1 oz (30 g) pecans (option: substitute your favorite tree nut except for cashews—too many carbs)

Instructions:

Fry your bacon in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Next you’re gong to build two wraps. Lay out about two oz (  g) of lettuce and load it with three bacon strips, half your tomato, and half your avocado. Fold or wrap lettuce edges together and enjoy. Repeat with remaining ingredients. The pecans are for dessert.

paleobetic diet, paleo diet for diabetes

Our vicious guard dogs waiting for bacon

Number of Servings: 1 (that’s 2 wraps plus nuts)

Nutritional Analysis:

74% fat

12% carbohydrate

14% protein

720 calories

24 g carbohydrate

15 g fiber

9 g digestible carbohydrate

1137 mg sodium

1507 mg potassium

Prominent features: Good source of fiber, sodium, protein, vitamin B6, niacin, thiamine, pantothenic acid, copper, manganese, phosphorus, and selenium.

2 Comments

Posted in Recipes

Tagged , , , , ,

Recipe: Naked Chicken Fajitas with Walnuts and Pear

Posted on November 18, 2013 | 4 comments
paleobetic diet

It looks more appealing if you use green and red bell peppers

My earliest recollection of fajitas is from Austin, Texas, in 1981. I had just moved there from Oklahoma City to start my internship and residency in Internal Medicine. Back then fajitas were made with skirt steak, the diaphragm of a cow or steer. It was considered a cheap low-quality cut of meat. You can also make fajitas with chicken. The contents of a fajita are wrapped in a tortilla usually made with flour. Since we’re a paleo crowd, we’ll skip the tortilla. Use lettuce as a wrapper if you wish.

I wonder if the El Azteca Restaurant is still in business. Best Mexican food I ever had. I think it was on 6th Street or so, about 3/4 mile east of I-35. Good times.

By the way, the j in fajita is pronounced “h.” Accent on second syllable. “Fuh-HEET-uh.”

Today we’re using chicken and making four servings

paleobetic diet, paleo diet for diabetics

Pre-cut chicken breasts and sweet mini-peppers

Ingredients:

1 lb (454 kg) chicken breast, raw, boneless and skinless, cut in strips about 1/4-inch wide (you can often buy it this way)

7 oz onion, raw, cut in long crescent shapes about a 1/4-inch wide (0.6 cm)

6 oz (170 g) bell pepper, raw, cut in long strips roughly a 1/4-inch wide (these are also called sweet peppers; a combination of the red and green ones is eye-pleasing)

2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil

5 or 6 oz (155 g) tomato, raw, cut in long strips

1 tsp (5 ml) salt

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) pepper

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) chili powder

1 tsp (5 ml) parsley flakes

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) oregano leaves

1 pinch of cumin

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) paprika

(Optional: You could replace all these spices with a 1-oz (28 g) pack of Lawry’s Chicken Fajitas Spices & Seasoning. The sodium and potassium values below would be different.)

1/3 cup (80 ml) water

16 oz (454 g) lettuce (e.g., iceberg, romaine, or bibb)

4 oz (113 g) walnuts

4 pears, small (about 1/3 lb or 150 g each))

Instructions:

Add the onions, peppers, and 1 tbsp (15 ml)  olive oil to a 12-inch (30 cm) skillet and cook at medium-high heat until tender, stirring occasionally. This’ll take about 10 minutes. Set the skillet contents aside.

paleobetic diet, paleo diet for diabetes

This is double the recipe amount since there are six humanoids in my household

paleobetic diet, paleo diet for diabetics

The vegetables reduce volume by half while cooking

In the same pan, add 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil and the chicken and cook at medium to medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until chicken is thoroughly cooked. For me, this cooked quicker than the vegetables. But don’t overcook or the chicken will get tough. Then add the water and all the spices. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally, then simmer on low heat a few minutes. This is your fajita filling.

My original plan was to make “fajita wraps,” wrapping the cooked fajitas into a large leaf of iceberg lettuce. This was pretty messy, especially since I love the sauce in the bottom of the pan. I tried two leafs as a base: still messy. Finally I just made a bed of lettuce (4 oz) and loaded the fajita concoction right on top. Mess gone. Try a different lettuce? Skip the lettuce entirely and you can reduce digestible carb count in each serving by 2 grams.

Enjoy the walnuts and pear with your meal.

Leftovers taste just as good as fresh-cooked, perhaps even better.

I have another fajita recipe using skirt steak marinated in commercial Zesty Italian Dressing in the refrigerator overnight or for at least four hours. Grill it over coals outside. Yum! I don’t recall whether I added lemon juice to the marinade or squirted it on the meat just before serving. You would just cook the onions and peppers on a pan on the stove as above, with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with a margarita and I’ll make you an honorary Texan.

Number of servings: 4

Serving size: A cup (240 ml) of the fajita mixture, 4 oz (113 g) lettuce, 1 oz (28 g) walnuts, 1 small pear. One cup makes two lettuce wraps.

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving:

48% fat

26% carbohydrate

26% protein

Calories: 514

37 g carbohydrate

10 g fiber

27 g digestible carbohydrate (25 g if you skip the lettuce)

928 mg sodium

904 mg potassium

Prominent features: Rich in protein, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C,copper, iron, manganese, niacin, phosphorus, and selenium.

paleobetic diet

Another view, prior to rolling it up (wrapping)

4 Comments

Posted in Recipes

Tagged , , , , , , ,