Inherent Appetite

var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-22011566-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Inherent - existing in something as a permanent, essential or characteristic attribute. Appetite - the desire to eat food felt as hunger. The Paleo Diet is based on what our ancestors ate millions of years ago and therefore what our genes have evolved around. Believe it or not, it's inherent in your genes. It's a simple prescription: eat meat, nuts, seeds, and oils, vegetables, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. When asked to eliminate grains and sugar from their diets many people feel like food has to become boring. Inherent Appetite is a place for me to prove that untrue. Enjoy.

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We've MOVED!!!

Thank you to everyone who has followed, tried recipes, left comments, recommended me to friends and family, and anyone who is just a good person in general!

I just opened my own sports massage clinic, Boulder Performance Therapy, and associated with my website I will have a blog.  I plan to combine cool info about massage and it's benefits as well as Paleo recipes and anything else I find interesting, all into that one blog.

So I hope you'll keep following keep me bookmarked.  Catch you on the flip side!

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Paleo-Mex Portabellos

What do you do when you're fresh out of ideas for a new recipe?  Take an old one and tweak it a little bit.  A few different spices, different kind of meat and voila, a fresh new Paleo meal.

Meals: 2

Prep Time: 10min

Cook Time: 30min

Ingredients:

1lb spicy chicken sausage

4-6 portabello mushroom caps

1/2 gold bell pepper

1/2 red bell pepper

olive oil

spices (cumin, chili powder, s&p)

Preheat the oven to 400F and heat a skillet to medium heat.  Wash and dry the shroom caps and then rub down with olive oil.  Dust the caps with cumin on one side and chili powder on the other and then place in the oven.

While those are cooking dice up your peppers and toss in the pan with some olive oil.  Cook until they begin to soften and then throw in the meat.  Do not completely cook the meat through.  Once the meat begins to slightly brown remove from the heat.

Take out the shroom caps and cover with the meat pepper mixture.  Sprinkle on some s&p and place back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the meat is cooked through.  Done!

I didn't make these for myself so or I would finish them off with a hefty dose of mexican cheese.  A few slices of avocado on the side work really nicely as well.  Enjoy!

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Steak-N-Veggie Bake

Remember the old Hungry-Man Meals?  This is my Paleo version.  Lots of wholesome vegetables mixed in with some grass-fed beef and of course, bacon.

Prep Time: 10min

Cook Time: 30min

Meals: 3-4

Ingredients:

1lb grass-fed stew meat

2 slices bacon

8-10 brussel sprouts, quartered

1/4 sweet onion, diced

1 sweet potato, cubed

3 cloves garlic, sliced

spices (carne asada seasoning, smoked paprika, s&p)

Heat a skillet to med-high heat and the oven to 400F.  Coat the stew meat with olive oil and then a generous dusting of carne asada seasoning.  When the pan is up to heat toss in the steak pieces and sear.  Do not even come close to cooking the steak through, just sear it and get it off the heat.

Throw your veggies in a baking dish and coat with olive oil and some salt and pepper.  Cut up the bacon and toss this along with the garlic into the veggie mixture.  Throw this in the oven for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, toss the veggies with a spoon and then toss in the stew meat.  Place this back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

When it is done remove it from the oven and dust with smoked paprika seasoning.  Serve it up with an episode of The Walking Dead and you're all set!

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Beef Enchilada Cabbage Rolls

Hot plate amigo!  This is not an original recipe of my own (this is my pic though) but one I have to share.  I found this on Healthy Living How to.  She has some other really good looking recipes on her site as well so check it out.

I followed her recipe pretty much how it was written minus actually measuring stuff.  It took me about an hour from start to finish and cleanup.  I served mine over a bed of sauteed peppers AND a Paleo Margarita to wash it down of course.

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Test-Tube Burgers

Okay, you will get a new recipe soon, I promise, but I've seen two different articles on this now and had to finally share.

Post's aim is to invent an efficient way to produce skeletal muscle tissue in a laboratory that exactly mimics meat, and eventually replace the entire meat-animal industry.

Forget about not being a scientist or a nutritionist and just use some good old fashioned logic here and hopefully you will agree that this is going to be BAD news.  You cannot recreate nature and pretty much every time that mankind has tried we have created an even bigger problem than the one we were trying to fix.

Post spoke at a symposium titled "The Next Agricultural Revolution" at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Vancouver.

You know what happened after the last Agricultural Revolution?  Gluten.  Awesome.  

The scientists claim that their goal is to overcome the "ongoing global catastrophe" with animal farming.  They should say more specifically, factory farming.  Animals have been around as long if not longer than humans and yet the world has survived.  The problem is not raising animals to be eaten, it is cramming as many animals as possible onto a small plot of land, feeding them shit, not letting them live a normal life, and then pumping them full of antibiotics to keep them alive just long enough to get fat.

The article claims that no companies in the meat industry have expressed interest but once this technology becomes aged enough to where it can produce meat cheaper than factory farms you can bet they will, so keep an eye out.

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I know, I know, where are the recipes?  Well, honestly, I haven't made anything to terribly new lately and I think it's just as important that you are informed about why eating this way works.

It's a bit long but INCREDIBLY informative.  Watch it tonight instead of tv.  Post thoughts to comments!

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Ahi Tuna over Crimini Mushroom "Pasta"

I came across two nice wild caught Ahi Tuna steaks on sale at the grocery store and had to think up something delicious.  Some Crimini Mushrooms, a spaghetti squash and some spices later and I had the making of something BIG.

Prep Time: 15min

Cook Time: 15min

Meals: 2

Ingredients:

1lb Ahi Tuna steaks

1 spaghetti squash

1/2lb sliced crimini mushrooms

1/2 sweet onion sliced thin

4 cloves crushed garlic

olive oil

butter (not super strict paleo)

spices(sesame seeds, sea salt, crushed black peppercorns)

Heat a pan to low heat and pour in enough olive oil to just coat the bottom of the pan.  Throw in the crushed garlic for 2min and then the onions for 1min and then the sliced mushrooms.  Let this all sautee until the mushrooms begin to soften.

As that is going down take your squash and stab it a few times.  Here's your chance to take out the days aggression.  Throw it in the microwave and cook it for 10min or until it gives a little if you push on it.  Slice it in half, remove the seeds and then scrape out the "spaghetti" with a fork.  Toss the "noodles" into a pot on low heat with a healthy amount of butter (yes, I used butter and the word healthy in the same sentence...because it is silly!).  Lastly toss in the mushroom and onion mixture and mix all together.  Throw in some salt.

Using the same pan turn the heat up to med-high.  Coat the tuna steaks with olive oil and a liberal amount of all your spices.  Toss on the pan to sear.  Tuna is best cooked med to med-rare so don't get carried away.  Depending on the thickness this will only take 2-3min per side.

Plate your noodles and top it off with one of the tuna steaks.  I would pair this with the nicest bottle of white wine $4 can get you and call it a night.  Enjoy!

[inherentappetite-blog]

Meaty Italian over Kale

Yes, I am still alive!  Sorry for the long hiatus but life took over there for a bit.  I loved spaghetti as a kid and I've posted Paleo spaghetti on here already but this is a different spin and I did the sauce differently this time.  Enough so that you need this new recipe.

Prep Time: 10min

Cook Time: 20min

Meals: 3

Ingredients:

1lb ground italian sausage

2 vine ripe tomatoes

2 bunches of kale

1/2 large sweet onion

4 cloves garlic

1 small can tomato paste

olive oil

spices (italian seasoning, s&p)

Heat a pot to med-low and a skillet to med.  Toss in the sausage and while that is browning begin chopping the tomatoes, garlic, and onion.  Throw the tomatoes and garlic into the pot to cook along with a healthy dose of italian seasoning.  The tomatoes will cook down into more of a "soup" which is fine.  Once the sausage is brown remove it from the pan and place it in a strainer to drip off the excess fat.

Keep the pan at med heat and add some olive oil and then the onions.  Once they become translucent add the tomato paste and mix in with the onions.  Next add the tomato mixture from the pot and mix everything together evenly.  Add in the sausage, move everything back to the pot, turn the heat to low and let this simmer.

Lastly, add some more olive oil to the pan at med heat and then toss in the torn bits of kale.  Throw in some salt and better and cook until kale becomes soft.  Remove, plate, and add a large portion of the tomato and meat mixture on top.  Combine that with a delicious glass of red wine and a hot date and you have yourself one happy night.  Enjoy!

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Roasted Red Pepper Sauce Tenders

There are two things that I've found that make Paleo food WAY better and you WAY more likely to stick with it: texture and sauces.  I'll talk about texture some other time but today's focus is sauce!  Sauces take a little time and prep to make but they can make ANY recipe better.  Let me know what you think about this one.

Prep Time: 10min

Cook Time: 45min

Meals: 2-3

Ingredients:

1-1.5lbs chicken tenders

3 red bell peppers

1 jalapeno

2 cloves garlic

1 can coconut milk

1 egg

almond flour

lard

olive oil

s&p

Preheat the oven to broiler on high and heat a skillet to med-high heat with the lard.  Rub the peppers, bell and jalapeno, with olive oil and place under the broiler.  While that's going on whisk the egg and pour some almond flour onto a plate.  Begin battering the tenders by first dipping them in egg and then rolling them in the almond flour and finally placing in the hot skillet to pan-fry.

As the peppers begin to burn keep turning them so they're burnt evenly then remove from the oven.  Place the peppers in a bowl and cover for 30min to cool.  The steam will help make it easier to peel the skin later.  Finish up with the tenders, clean the skillet, turn the heat to med-low and pour in some olive oil, about 3 tbsp.

Peel the pepper skins off, remove the stems and seeds, cut into bite-size pieces and toss in the skillet.  Break up the garlic and throw it in as well.  Let this all cook to blend the flavors, about 10min.  Transfer this mixture to a food processor and blend to your desired consistency and then transfer back to the skillet.  Bring the sauce back to a boil and begin adding coconut milk until the sauce is to your desired consistency.  I used 1/2-2/3 of the can.  Add in the salt and pepper and any other spices you'd like and let cook for 5min.  Pour this mixture over the tenders and serve.

This will probably be a lot more sauce than you need but I like to use it all to make it almost like a soup with chicken tenders.  Afterall, the pepper sauce is the only vegetable to this meal.  I'll be experimenting a lot more with sauces but this was a good start.

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Bomb Bacon Broccoli Salad

I saw this recipe somewhere on Facebook so it is not an "Upchurch" original and I'm not exactly sure who's page I saw it on or I'd gladly give credit but it is BOMB.  I'll probably never eat broccoli any other way again.  I think it was originally made as a side but I just added more bacon and made it a full-blown meal.  Enjoy!

Prep Time: 10min

Cook Time: 25min

Meals: 1

Ingredients:

2-3 heads of broccoli (really just depends on how much you want to eat)

4 slices thick bacon

3 cloves garlic

olive oil

lemon juice

s&p

Preheat the oven to 375 F and begin breaking up the broccoli into bite-size florets, then wash it.  Cut the bacon into bite-size pieces and place in a bowl with the broccoli bits.  Peel the garlic and break up into smaller bits using just your hands and toss that in the bowl as well.  Sprinkle on some olive oil to coat everything along with some salt and pepper and toss everything together.

Spread the mixture onto a baking dish and place in the oven.  Cook until the broccoli begins to turn brown then remove and immediately squirt some lemon juice over the salad.  You can eat this hot, and I did the first time I made it, but the next time I let it chill in the fridge first and I honestly liked it better cold.  Try both and let me know what you think.

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I just finished a really good book by Wilhelm Reich called "Listen, LIttle Man!".  From the preface:

"Listen, Little Man!" reflects the inner turmoil of a scientist and physician who had observed the little man for many years and seen, first with astonishment, then with horror, what he does to himself; how he suffers, rebels, honors his enemies and murders his friends; how, wherever he acquires power "in the name of the people," he misuses it and transforms it into something more cruel than the tyranny he had previously suffered at the hands of upperclass sadists. 

[...] 

It was felt that the "common man" must learn what a scientist and psychiatrist actually is and what he, the little man, looks like to his experienced eye. He must be acquainted with the reality which alone can counteract his ruinous craving for authority and be told very clearly what a grave responsibility he bears in everything he does, whether he is working, loving, hating, or just talking. 

It's a great book that really strikes a nerve with me especially with our current economic situation and everyone wanting to point fingers at who is responsible rather than taking responsibility for themselves…but this blog isn't about that, so what am I talking about, you ask?

It's important that we come to realize our responsibility to everything we do in our lives INCLUDING what we stuff in our mouths.  Hopefully by now you have realized how clueless (or maybe just maliciously greedy) the "experts" on food in our country really are.  It is not enough to rely on them to tell us what is good and bad.  It is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to make EDUCATED decisions on what we put into our bodies.

But I don't have a degree in nutrition!  So what!  Logic is what separates humans from other animals, so do humanity a favor and use it!  Keep it simple: meat, veggies, nuts seeds and oils, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.  If you can't look at the ingredients label of pop-tarts and see what is wrong then you have other issues, and it's accepting whatever the "experts" say that has gotten you to that exact point.

Pretend you're a farmer.  Would you feed the cow that was going to eventually feed your family a diet of grain and stale candy?  Would you pump it full of steroids and antibiotics?  Would you pack chickens in a coupe so tight that they couldn't move around?  Hopefully you said no to all of the above and to that I would respond then DON'T SUPPORT THOSE THAT DO by buying their shit!

People complain in this country but take no action and it's time we realize that we have made the world we live in and we can change it to whatever we like.  That's a nice feeling isn't it?  Don't take it for granted and start using the freedom that you have to make conscious decisions about the food that you buy and the "experts" that you trust.  Every revolution in history began with one person deciding to make change.  One person.

[inherentappetite-blog]

Bacon and Kale Salad

This one was inspired by a friend of mine who made a similar version sans bacon...and it was DELICIOUS!  So here's my version with A LOT of bacon and a few other different ingredients.

Prep Time: 10min

Cook Time: 10min

Meals: 2

Ingredients:

10 slices thick BACON

1 bunch of kale

1/3 large red onion

2 handfuls walnuts

1.5 handfuls dried cranberries

1/4 cup olive oil

2.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar

salt

Heat a pan to medium heat and get to frying that bacon.  The secret to a delicious salad that doesn't make you feel like you're eating a salad is to chop up everything very small.  Let's start by tearing the kale apart into smaller than bite size pieces and place it in a bowl.  Toss in some salt and massage the kale.  Massaging kale with salt helps tame the bitter taste without losing any of the nutrients.  Do this until you notice an even more vibrant green color in the leaves.  No longer than 5min.

Mince the onion and throw it in with the kale.  Next add the dried cranberries...KEEP FLIPPING THAT BACON!  When the bacon is crispy break it up into small pieces and add to the bowl.  Get rid of the grease in the pan and turn the heat to low.  Grab a handful of walnuts and using your hand break the walnuts into smaller pieces by squeezing them all together and dropping them into the pan to toast.  Do this with all the walnuts and toast until you see the color begin to turn brown.  Dump those on top of the salad.

Lastly, the dressing.  Combine the olive oil and apple cider vinegar and mix.  Dump on top of the salad and mix everything together.  You can eat this right-away but if you have time let it chill in the fridge for a while first.  Also, if you're not being super strict Paleo you could add some chunks of feta cheese to finish it all off.  Enjoy!

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Jamaican Jerk Pork with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Coffee Sauce

Last weekend we had a crockpot competition, Crocktoberfest, at our gym where several members entered their best crockpot recipes and were judged based on certain criteria including taste, presentation, and creativity.  It wasn't easy being a judge but it was VERY  full-filling (see what I did there?).  Anyway, here is the winners recipe which ROCKED.  I don't have an actual picture of the recipe because it was eaten so fast.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Pork

3-3.5lbs boneless pork loin roast

fat of your choice

2 sweet potatoes

Dry Rub

garlic, black pepper, all spice, ground ginger, salt, onion powder, dry mustard, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, cinnamon, finely ground coffee

This is pretty easy really.  Mix all the spices together and rub down the pork loin.  Sear both sides in a pan at medium heat with your fat and then place in the crockpot with the peeled and chopped sweet pots.  Top off the crockpot with 1/2 cup of coffee and the juice of one orange.  Cook on low until the pork is cooked through.  Gotta love the ease of the crockpot!

[inherentappetite-blog]

Sausage stuffed Chicken

Many of you will see this and immediately think, "that's just too much work."  I know, I did too but I was wrong.  This is easy, kinda fun even, and comes out REALLY tasty.  

Prep Time: 10min (boo-ya!)

Cook Time: 25min

Meals: 2

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

1/2lb sausage

1 onion

1 package sliced mushrooms

1/2 can of coconut milk

4 cloves garlic

spices (oregano, basil, sea salt)

Turn the oven to 400F and heat a skillet with the fat of your choice to medium heat.  While those are getting hot take your chicken breasts and cut a pocket into them along their lengths.  Take your time here and try not to poke through the other side but create the biggest pocket you can.  Next, start stuffing sausage into the chicken breasts until they are completely full.  Coat both sides with a liberal amount of your spices and then place in the pan to sear for 3 minutes on each side.

Once seared, you can place the breasts in a baking dish and toss in the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until done.  While that is going on, mince the garlic and dice the onion and throw into the still hot skillet.  Once the onions are translucent throw in the mushrooms, the coconut milk, some salt and turn the heat to medium-low.  Let this mixture begin to reduce and when the chicken is done in the oven place the breasts in with the mixture, cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 5 minutes to let all the flavors mix.  Plate, serve and enjoy!

[inherentappetite-blog]

Mini Paleo Corndogs with Sweet Potato Wedges

It had to be done!  Who could possibly go on living without ever eating a corndog again?!  So it's not quite the same but their pretty damn tasty just the same.  They did come out a bit chewier than normal but again, who can turn down a bite-size corndog?

Prep Time: 10min

Cook Time: 30min (sweet pots take a while)

Meals: 2-3

Ingredients:

1 package Applegate 100% grass-fed all beef hotdogs

1 sweet potato

1 egg

almond flour

spices (sea salt, dry mustard, cayenne pepper)

Turn the oven to 400F and heat a pan with the fat of your choice (I used lard) to medium heat. Cut the sweet potatoes into wedges and coat with olive oil, sea salt, and cayenne pepper.  Toss the wedges into the oven and cook until done, turning once about half-way through.

Cut the hot dogs into 1in. pieces, whisk the egg into a bowl and spread some almond flour out onto a plate.  Mix some salt and dry mustard into the almond flour.  Coat each hotdog with egg, roll in the almond flour to coat completely then toss into the hot pan.  Keep in mind that these hotdogs are pre-cooked so you're really just trying to brown the almond flour which does not take long so keep them moving!  Once they're done remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to soak up the grease.

Put it all together and you got corndogs and fries!  This Paleo thing ain't so hard...

[inherentappetite-blog]

This is NOT Rocket Science

I was speaking with a friend the other night about Paleo recipes and she made a really good point that many of the recipes that are already out there are Paleo or are really close.  There is no magic trick in calling something Paleo that suddenly makes it nutritionally healthier.

By now you all should have a good idea of what ingredients are Paleo and which ones are not.  All that is left is finding a recipe that sounds good, remove the non-Paleo items, substitute in some Paleo friendly items and you're good to go!  It's that simple.  Stop trying to reinvent the wheel or worse still, convincing yourself that this Paleo thing is just too hard and giving up.

You can spend the $20-$30 on a Paleo recipe book OR you can just google what you're looking for and use your knowledge of Paleo to come up with something that works for you.  The majority of my recipes come from eating out at a restaurant and seeing or even eating something delicious and then going home and trying to recreate it in a Paleo friendly manner.

Cookbooks are great but they are going to grow old fast.  The older I get the more I realize that the "experts" are really just kind of winging it themselves, so don't be afraid to try something of your own.  If you're not sure about an ingredient.....GOOGLE it, learn about it and make a call.

If you want this lifestyle to work over the long-haul you have to start getting creative and making cooking a fun and enjoyable part of your life.  Remember when families used to sit around the dinner table, eat and have conversation?  Lets get back to that.