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Incorporating Paleo into my diet, with a grain of rice
Paleo seems to be a pretty divisive way of eating.
Any diet that is remotely restrictive is certain to push people’s buttons, especially when you’re asking them to take away sugar, soy, dairy, legumes and grains, but I was surprised as how reasonable the Paleo diet seemed when I dug into it last week.
In today’s Statesman, you can find a much longer article about the tenets of Paleo, including the stories of Austinites Melissa Joulwan and Kim Semenov. Joulwan, a founding member of the Texas Rollergirls who has a popular Paleo blog, The Clothes Make the Girl, and new Paleo cookbook coming out in early December, and Semenov and her husband run CaveMan Cuisine, a meal delivery service that she hopes to expand to Austin’s first Paleo restaurant.
Ask anyone who has gone gluten-free or given up grains, and they’ll tell you that grains — and, let’s be honest, a sedentary lifestyle — are really the anchor that’s sinking Americans into a pit of obesity that we can’t seem to climb out of. “But bread!” we collectively shriek. “How can you ask me to give up grains when wheat and rice have been the basis of our diet since the beginning of civilization?!”
It’s a complicated subject that Joulwan and Semenov know far more about than I do, but they make a compelling case that our bodies just don’t digest grain as well as they do protein and fruits and vegetables and, in some cases, cause an inflammatory response that can lead to arthritis and a number of intestinal and skin problems.
I’m as skeptical of newfangled diets as anyone, however, if we’re going to continue to evolve as humans, it’s important to pay attention to new science that might debunk long-held beliefs about what is good for us and what isn’t.
One thing that’s hard to debate is that cooking food from whole ingredients (eg, foods that don’t come in a package with a label) is better for you than eating processed foods, and that no matter how quickly you can slice veggies, it’s going to take longer to cook your meals than just pull something out of the freezer and throw it in the microwave.
Cooking with Joulwan last week, I saw how easy she makes it on herself by precooking ingredients like meat and vegetables on the weekend so she can cook meals more quickly during the week. It didn’t take much time for us to make Paleo Pad Thai with a peanut-like sauce made from sunflower butter (you can find the recipes with the story online), and I’m excited to try this faux-rice made with cauliflower.
I’m still not quite ready to drop dairy and grains from my diet completely, but it’s a good reminder not to build my diet around bread/tortillas/rice/pasta and dairy products just because they are handy.
Cauliflower Rice Pilaf
1 large head fresh cauliflower 1 Tbsp. plus 1 Tbsp. coconut oil 8 dried apricot halves, minced (about 2 Tbsp.) 1 1/2 Tbsp. raisins 2 Tbsp. pine nuts 1/2 medium onion, diced (about 1/2 cup) 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 tsp.) 1/2 tsp. ground cumin 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon salt and black pepper, to taste
Break the cauliflower into florets, removing the stems. Place the florets in the food processor bowl and pulse until the cauliflower looks like rice. This takes about 10 to 15 one-second pulses. You may need to do this in two batches to avoid overcrowding (which leads to mush).
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp. of coconut oil and allow it to melt. Add the apricots, raisins, pine nuts, onion, and garlic. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine and cook until the onions are translucent and the nuts start to brown, about 5 minutes.
Push the onions to the side of the pan and add the remaining 1 Tbsp. of coconut oil. Add the cumin and cinnamon to the oil, then stir everything together—oil, spices, onions, nuts, fruit—so they all mingle in happy harmony. When you can smell the spices, about 30 seconds, toss in the riced cauliflower and saute until the cauliflower is tender, about 5 minutes. Try a bite, then season with salt and pepper. Serves 6.
Photos by Kelly West for the Austin American-Statesman.
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By Morten G
November 9, 2011 3:08 PM | Link to this
I like to compare the whole “basis of civilization” to beer. In my home country everybody drank beer all the time until about 200 years ago. Even the children though they got weak beer. There was probably some milk being drunk as well though most of that probably went to butter and cheese production. But no one drank water. Now is beer good for you? Well yes. When the alternative is the risk of gastrointestinal infection. Beer was boiled, all the vessels were scrupulously scolded and thereby disinfected, hops have an antibacterial effect, and beer contains lots of nutrients so if bacteria manages to establish itself it quickly turns the beer bad. Same for grains. They keep very long. Suboptimal food is way better than no food.
By a friendly voice
November 10, 2011 11:32 AM | Link to this
Yay paleo! My husband has been eating mostly paleo (still eating dairy) for a month or so, and his blood pressure is the lowest it has EVER been.