Older Bolder Life

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the Older Bolder Life Salad Sunday 18 November: Our House Guacamole

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The Primal/Paleo crowd doesn’t need to be reminded that avocados happen to be one of those superfoods that not only support great health but just taste damn good.

Most avocado fans know that avocados are packed with Vitamin K, Folate, Vitamins C, B5, B6 and E, and offer a good dollop of potassium too, though their principle benefit is the 15 grams (on average) of monounsaturated fat, most of it the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid (high in good olive oil too).

I recently shared about this recipe on Chi Wulff (a fly fishing blog) –

…my lovely wife has been something of a guacamole ninja since we enjoyed four years in San Antonio years ago during my graduate training; we learned to enjoy authentic TexMex and Mexican guacamoles and still have a batch 2 or 3 times a week to this day.

There are a lot of fancied up recipes for all sorts of up-town guacamoles out there today, and you probably have a family favorite, but what follows is Our House Guacamole recipe we’ve evolved over the years. While I’m working on the rest of dinner, ME can have a batch of this done, ready to savor, in under five minutes.

Being good Texicans, we consider a big bowl of guacamole to be an all purpose condiment (try it slathered over your steak or grilled chicken tonight), or a super-vegetable / all purpose side for any meal. (Some nights a double recipe of guacamole is dinner with a pile of crunchy crudite to dip)…

We don’t measure any ingredient when putting this together anymore; she just drops things in “until it looks right” – give this one a spin if you don’t have a house favorite yet…

2 large, ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, mashed with a fork
3 – 4 tsp fresh lime juice, maybe more to taste
1/2 small red onion, minced
2-4 tbsp finely chopped, seeded roma tomato
1 medium garlic clove, minced, then mashed with salt to a paste
1/2 – 1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp good salt
Generous sprinkle of good paprika/smoked paprika

Consider adding
1-2 stemmed, seeded (membranes too) and diced serranos or jalapenos
3-4 tbsp chopped cilantro (fresh of course)

Start by mashing the minced garlic clove with the salt (you’re making a paste), then combine the remainder of the ingredients and fold roughly wth a fork (we like some texture in ours). Don’t forget the peppers and cilantro either…

While it’s best uber-fresh, if not eating immediately, drop one of the avocado pits in the bowl, spritz with fresh lime juice, then cover tightly with plastic wrap, and throw in the fridge (no more than 2 hours!).

Sprinkle with the paprika before serving.

Enjoy.

Keto Thursday: Pregame for Your Nutritional Ketosis Run

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By far and away the most common questions I’ve fielded this past summer and early fall have been related to folks wanting to jump on the keto bandwagon, most often in fact some version(s) of how do I get started, what’s the easiest way to get into keto, and do I really have to give up carbs?

My response typically focuses on review of several key points…

First Things First: Why Nutritional Ketosis?

First, I typically query why someone wants to give nutritional ketosis a spin. There are a host of great reasons to give NK a try – pursuit of greater metabolic flexibility, increased cognitive and/or physical performance, particularly in endurance-focused activities, or just overall improving your daily function (and quality of life).

Breaking through a weight loss stall is another worthy, and common, reason, as is dealing with a challenging health or metabolic issue (classically you might think of a seizure disorder here, though keto is commonly brought into the discussion for example when talking about T2DM, pre-dementia states, and even adjunctive treatment for some malignancies).

On the other hand, pursuit of “ketosis” to simply jump on the latest dietary fad bandwagon doesn’t seem to play well over the long haul, at least in my experience.

Pregame for Nutritional Ketosis: Take an Honest Snapshot of Where You Stand Metabolically

Honest self-appraisal, for most of us at least, isn’t the easiest task to accomplish, though this point is pretty straightforward. At the extremes, contrast the 40-year old, overweight, sedentary, desk-bound, over-stressed office worker, languishing on the standard American diet (SAD), crashing and burning multiple times a day, stumbling from one carbohydrate bomb to the next with the 40-year old who’s been eating primally or following a Paleo-ish eating plan, consuming moderate amounts of protein and less than 100 grams of carbs per day, walking 40 minutes 5 days a week, and getting enough sleep to truly rest and repair every day.

While anything is possible, I’d argue simply that the SAD guy above isn’t ready to launch a genuine nutritional ketosis run no matter how strongly he might want to; he could grind it out, but would likely suffer from the ‘keto flu’ (not a big fan of that term by the way) and would be at high risk to fail within the first three weeks. His road would be a danged bumpy one, and could be smoothed significantly with a pre-keto adjustment period (more below).

On the other hand, our guy eating Primally will likely make the transition into NK with relative ease…

Pregame for Nutritional Ketosis: Do a Bit of Housecleaning First

From a post on a similar topic I shared back in June –

Stepping into nutritional ketosis is a relative piece of cake if you’ve done some preliminary diet “housekeeping” to begin with. The most important dietary housekeeping is sorta’ve along the lines of cleaning the most obnoxious things out of your house – one, getting rid of grains and heavily processed carbs, including sugar in all its forms is one, and the second essential dumping the toxic, industrial-processed seed oils that are commonly stocked in pantry and restaurant around the world.

The other bit of housekeeping that I often recommend is to take a thoughtful, honest look at the amount and quality of protein one is eating prior to starting a nutritional ketosis run. Many of us are simply eating too much protein, and too much protein from less-desirable sources (i.e. CAFO beef, pork, and chicken).

Pregame for Nutritional Ketosis: Put on Your Thinking – and Listening – Cap

Two points here. One, be prepared to learn some new concepts. Nutritional ketosis is a fascinating tool (among many) to optimize your health and function, though as with all concepts that are swept to fad stardom, there is a tremendous amount of noise and misinformation in the keto arena these days.

Looking for a great read to kick off the learning process? Consider The Keto Reset Diet by Sisson and Kearns, or Primal Fat Burner by Nora Gedgaugdas to mention a couple. Find a mentor or trusted coach (and yes, we can help you with a customized coaching program here…).

Second, your physiology and metabolism are unique to you alone; your optimal path to and in nutritional ketosis will likely be different than any one you know or read, and will require some thoughtful attention to what your body is telling you. Listen well, and don’t hesitate to make rational, thoughtful adjustments along the way.

Pregame for Nutritional Ketosis: Commit to Give Nutritional Ketosis a Fair Trial

I’ve shared this before –

No matter how you’ve been eating before, truly starting nutritional ketosis will cause your body to make some adjustments as you preprogram your metabolic machinery. I agree wholeheartedly with those who suggest you make at minimum a 6 week commitment to the process, promising yourself you’ll wade through whatever adjustments come your way. And as your body adapts to fat-burning, there are several breakthrough windows that are exciting to watch and feel – though for most that’s territory that occurs in week three and beyond.

Frankly, I’m typically encouraging most of my clients to make a 12 week or more commitment to their NK trial, particularly if they’re over 40 and have been or are ‘metabolically challenged’. And, to be fair, NK doesn’t work for everybody.

There are several other minor points to consider when thinking about an NK run, we’ll come back and revisit on another day.

the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday 14 November: Quick Pickled Daikon Radishes

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Twice over the past few months I’ve shared recipes for quick pickles, something we tend to keep in the fridge year round, perfect for snacking and a quick, crispy, nutritious, and Primal/keto side for dinner.

If you missed the prior recipes, here’s the Quick Pickled Beets and Onions, and here’s the Tasty Quick Dills.

Radishes are one of my personal favorite snacks (even as we turn the corner to late fall/early winter, there’s still a container of trimmed radishes in water in the fridge this morning), not only for their satisfy crunch and burst of spicy, umami flavor, but also given the fact they contain almost no soluble carbs in a handful.

Radishes make a surprisingly tasty quick pickle, something Bahn Mi fans learned with their first one, and are a tasty snack/side to throw into your rotation. Bonus points for the quick, simple prep too…

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 tbsp fresh-squeezed lime juice
2 tbsp good honey (optional)
2-4 red Thai or serrano chiles, stemmed, split lengthwise
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp dill seeds

1 medium-large daikon radish, trimmed, peeled, thinly sliced
Consider using a watermelon radish as well…

To a medium saucepan add the vinegars, salt, lime juice, honey if using, chiles, and both seeds; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the salt and honey. Remove from heat and let cool for 15-20 minutes.

Prep the radishes, add to a large, flat-bottomed bowl, and pour the pickling liquid over. Stir well to separate the radish slices so that all are exposed to the liquid, cover, and chill for at least 4 hours before serving. These will stay crispy for 4-5 days, though ours never last that long.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday 5 September: Grilled Southwestern Cauliflower Steaks

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Even thought the calendar has turned to September, it’s still prime time grilling season for most of us around the country; if you’ve not tried grilling cauliflower, give these Grilled Southwestern Cauliflower Steaks a spin.

I know, I know, there are probably hundreds of recipes for grilled cauliflower floating around out there, but this is one of our favorites given the southwestern spice flavors.

This is another of those recipes that’s so ridiculously easy it’s almost child’s play (don’t tell anyone that) yet unique and tasty enough to serve when entertaining.

Don’t forget to save the cauliflower florets you trim away as you carve the “steaks”, the trim is perfect for a salad or stir fry. Some recipes out there call for microwaving the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes before grilling it, but we’ve never added that step and it turns out perfectly every time.

Inspired by several different recipes, include one from Serious Eats.

2 medium heads cauliflower, trimmed, cut as per below
3 tbsp EVOO or avocado oil

Spice rub
1 generous tbsp ground turmeric
2 tsp mild chile powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp good salt
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder

Garnish
2-3 tbsp fresh cilantro or parsley, finely chopped
Pickled red onions

Mix the spice rub ingredients well, set aside.

Remove the green leaves from the cauliflower and slice off the root/base so the cauliflower can sit flat on your cutting board.

Slicing vertically, trim several inches off one side of a cauliflower head, then slice as many 3/4-inch thick slices as you can obtain from each head. You want the slices to more or less remain intact, with the peripheral florets still “connected” to the core/stalk so they’ll stay together on the grill. (Save the trimmed florets for a salad or stir fry…)

Brush the “steaks” with your oil of choice, dust/coat well with the spice mixture, and set aside at room temp while you fire the grill. (Alternatively, shake the oiled steaks one at a time in a large resealable bag with the spice mix.)

Grill over direct head for 3-4 minutes per side; you’re looking to develop a bit of char here without burning the spices. Then move to an indirect heat zone and cook until as tender as you’d like, we like these will a bit of residual crunch (somewhere between 13-15 minutes typically).

Best served hot/warm, and garnish with the chopped cilantro or parsley and maybe those pickled red onions…

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast 17 August: Grilled Gochujang Skirt Steak

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When were up in Montana a few weeks ago, I brought along about five pounds of skirt steak for a celebratory fajita dinner. We have a family favorite, Texas-inspired version we’ve been making for years (recipe later perhaps), and ended up making the entire bundle of skirt using that old recipe.

I’d actually intended to do a pound or two using this Grilled Gochujang Skirt Steak recipe a friend shared with us a few months back, though didn’t grill this one up until we were back in Texas settled into our routine again.

We’re using gojuchang more and more in the kitchen these days. If you’re not familiar, it’s the umami-laden, thick, crimson red, Korean fermented chile paste that’s most often sold in the little red tubs in our neck of the woods. For those watching their soy intake, most brands include fermented soy in the mix. Note occasionally a bit of glutinous (sticky) rice has been ground in to thicken the mixture, and some even include additional sweeteners (an ingredient we prefer not be included).

This blistering summer we’ve typically been eating thinly-sliced, grilled skirt steak (both warm and cold) over a big-assed salad, but it makes for a great taco (tortilla or lettuce) along the lines of what we talked about in last Friday’s Grilled Southwestern Lamb Shoulder Tacos.

You’ll want to try this in your rotation next week…

2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed, cut into 8-ounce pieces

1/3 cup (generous) gochujang + more for the table
1/3 cup (generous) avocado oil (or EVOO)
1/3 cup (generous) rice vinegar (seasoned if you have it)
2-3 tbsp tamari, coconut aminos, or soy sauce
1/2 sweet onion, grated

To serve
Warm tortillas or lettuce leaves
Your favorite taco fixin’s

Trim your skirt steaks and cut into roughly 8-ounce pieces.

Combine the gojuchang, oil of choice, rice vinegar, tamari/aminos/soy sauce, and the grated onion in a small bowl and mix well. Pour into a large resealable bag, add the meat and goosh it around so every surface has been coated with the marinade.

Into the fridge it goes for at least an hour, overnight is better.

When ready to cook, drain the skirt steak, and grill over medium-high heat 2-3 minutes per side. Remember skirt cooks really quickly as it’s so thin, and we like ours medium rare…

Pull, let rest for 10 minutes or so while you’re getting the rest of the goods ready, then slice thinly across the grain and go to it.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Salsa Sunday 12 August: Jicama Radish Salsa

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We’re always on the lookout for unusual, interesting, and tasty salsas around our camp, and this Jicama Radish Salsa fits the bill on all counts.

A few weeks ago we were dining with friends, enjoying some of the best grass-fed ribeyes we’ve eaten (BuckCreek Meats) in a long time; they served the steaks (perfectly medium-rare I must say) with this tasty salsa and a wonderful salad.

The salsa offers a crunchy texture with the jicama and radishes, the cooling, melon-like flavor note of the cucumber, with a tart citrus burst of lime, finished with a little spice and interest from the ground chile.

Wow, this one is really good.

1 medium jicama, peeled and diced small (about a cup and a half)
10 medium radishes, trimmed and diced the same size as the jicama
1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
3-4 tbsp fresh lime juice (start with 3)
3 tbsp red onion, diced small
1-2 tsp ground arbol chile (start with one)
1 tsp good salt (or more to taste)
Optional: 1/4 tsp sugar of choice

Stir everything together within an hour of serving; adjust lime juice, ground chile, and salt to taste.

Hold in the fridge if not using immediately, but don’t forget to set it out to warm slightly (room temp) 15-20 minutes before spooning over your ribeye.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast 3 August: Grilled Southwestern Lamb Shoulder Tacos

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This recipe fell in my lap one September afternoon last year; I was attending an outdoor cooking demonstration put on by a gifted hunting and game chef (Killer Chefs) – he was cooking an amazing looking (and tasting) dove, pan-seared in butter, garlic, and thyme, before being finished on a grill to crisp it up a bit for serving.

I was chatting with several other interested cooks (and eaters) in the crowd and ended up trading recipes for leg of lamb with one gentleman who shared about a Grilled Southwestern Spiced Lamb Shoulder Taco he had recently prepared for a gathering.

Within a week I’d made up several versions of his recipe and we ended up liking this one the best; you need plan ahead a bit as it needs overnight time in the marinade, but it’s well worth it and makes a great primal/paleo centerpiece for your next shindig.

5-6 pound bone-in leg of lamb roast (about 3-4 pounds boneless), butterflied

Marinade
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded, minced
2 small shallots, chopped small
5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons good salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper

Taco fixin’s
Fresh corn tortillas if you’re using those now and again
Otherwise fresh lettuce leaves
A great salsa or two (consider this one or this one)
Cheese: crumbled cotija, feta, or even goat cheese
Avocado slices or dices
Freshly sliced red radishes
Maybe even uber fresh green onions sliced on the bias
Whatever the heck else goes in your tacos
Salt and pepper

Stir together the marinade ingredients, pour into a large resealable plastic bag, add the lamb shoulder, seal it up and goosh it around until the lamb is covered with liquid and spices. Throw it in the fridge overnight.

When ready to cook, fire the grill, and grill the butterflied lamb for 6-8 minutes per side (an internal temp of about 145) for medium-rare. Pull it and rest the meat for at least 10-15 minutes.

Now slice across the grain into taco-sized slices and start working on those taco masterpieces; you’ll have some great leftovers for the next few days too.

Enjoy.

My Keto Report Card 2 August 2018: Week 15

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Back on the Seventh of June I shared a quick post detailing my personal experience in a fairly diligent nutritional ketosis run; the week before I’d shared a short post explaining why I’d chosen to do the work (in retrospect, it’s been shockingly easy) to give keto a try.

Without rehashing all the why’s I laid out back then, I was interested in pushing through a weight loss stall first and foremost, though wanted to play a bit with seeing if being in NK would really improve mental clarity and my overall reserve of daily energy.

My Nutritional Keto Report Card at Week 15

For the most part, as summarized in the image to the right, overall I’m still pleased as can be with what life looks and feels like in nutritional ketosis.

My schedule hasn’t changed much; I’m still out of the sack between 530 and 6 (after 8 hours of sleep on average), still waking up without an alarm clock with the earliest light of the day. I typically still drink a cold-brewed coffee (still with a bit of cream and 10-11 grams of protein in the form of collagen powder), though due to the scorching heat during this Texas summer, almost every day I head out for a 2-3 mile walk while it’s cool.

Then it’s back to the desk for several hours of fairly intensive cognitive work, typically with very good energy and creative juices flowing, then I’m either doing a HIIT workout 3x/week, walking again or cycling again most days, with a sprint workout thrown in every 7-10 days as well.

Trying hard to eat WHEN (when hunger ensues naturally), typically lunch is somewhere between 1 and 2, with a family dinner then following (after the afternoon’s work) most often around 730 or 8.

We did make a run to Montana (to see a new grand-baby!) a few weeks ago, with a few days on the road challenging my keto compliance; interestingly my weight loss continued, though with a bit less satiety during travel and interestingly the week after.

A Closer Look at a Few Metrics

As noted 8 weeks ago, I have been tracking a fairly close estimation of my macronutrients –

Up until starting my NK run, I’d lost 100 lbs without tracking a single calorie consumed over the 15 months window we’d been eating a fairly compliant LC/MP/HF diet around our camp, though of note been in a weight loss stall for several months (Dec-Feb).

I did however, principally at first as a learning tool, and later in part due to my medical training induced affinity for objective data, track a fairly specific diary of my daily carb intake (net carbs), which from the get go were always under 100 per day, and most often under 60 gm/day.

Again, largely as a matter of intellectual curiosity, when starting my NK run, I decided to track, as closely as possible, daily intake of carbs, protein, and fat, and to calculate my total caloric intake and deficit against my estimated BMR (adjusted for activity), as well as the percentages of carb / protein / fat contributions to my total calories.

I still don’t recommend that most folks I work with track their intake as obsessively as I have been; it’s simply not necessary to make nutritional ketosis work for most. If you’re a data nut like me, go to it. Over the 15 weeks in NK thus far, the rolling averages of my intake and macronutrient accounting include –

Daily Carb Grams: 25.3 (101 calories)
Daily Protein Grams: 88.1 (352.3 calories)
Daily Fat Grams: 121.7 (1093.5 calories)

Average Total Calories per Day: 1552.5
Average Calorie Deficit per Day: –1537.3

Average Carbs as Percent of Total Calories per Day: 6.5%
Average Protein as Percent of Total Calories per Day: 22.6%
Average Fat as Percent of Total Calories per Day: 70.5%

Of note, without any conscious effort on my part, I’ve been gradually eating less per day overall over the 15 weeks (eating WHEN to satiety), with the percentage of carbs dropping over time, and fat increasing. Over the past 4 weeks, I’ve dropped carbs under 20 g/day just to make things interesting…

Weight loss during my 15 week run now totals 30.5 pounds, fairly consistent with what I noted during the first 7 weeks.

My Nutritional Ketosis Week Fifteen Bottom Line: Still Hot Damn!

All in all, I couldn’t be more pleased and feel better than I have since my late 20’s; at this point I’m guessing I might make this a 6-month run. We’ll see in a couple of months when I report again…