For those who didn’t see, there is a very special event this coming Sunday. We’ve convinced an already gluten / dairy free friendly restaurant to be 100% Paleo for the night. Getting restaurants on board isn’t easy and a successful night this weekend could be the start of a big movement.

To do this though, we need your support. There are still 25 slots left that we’d love to see go. If you have the time, please consider attending to help show the culinary world there is a demand for this type of food.

Thanks and see you all there!

RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/paleoseattle/events/41310402/

“Are you a health minded cook? Enjoy a good culinary challenge? If so, you are invited to witness a cooking challenge with a healthy twist! Our experienced chefs will compete against local chefs to see who can come up with the best tasting, health conscious dish using the provided ingredients and within the allowed time limit. Your $20 entry fee will get you a admission to view the competition and the possibility to win one of four fabulous door prizes! All proceeds will be donated to the Whole Planet Foundation to help end global poverty.

Plus we’ll have a very special guest, author Robb Wolf, will join us to talk about his New York Times bestselling book “The Paleo Solution.” The ingredients for the challenge will be inspired by the recipes included in his book. The judges will be comprised of members of the “Western Washington Paleo Enthusiasts” group, chefs, and community members.

Just for attending you’ll be enter to win one of the following door prizes:
-5 personal fitness or boxing training sessions donated by Ballard Barbell & Boxing Club ($375 value!)
-A $50 gift card to Whole Foods
-A signed copy of “The Paleo Solution,” by Robb Wolf
Or -A seat at the judges table

Register in store or call (206) 985-1500. Seating is limited to 25 so RSVP today! Payment is due at the time of registration to hold your spot.”

So there we go. The vegan centered grocery store will finally be there to spread our cause. Hopefully this may be the start of something as people worldwide compete to earn the title of “Primal Chef.” Who knows, if this does catch on, maybe someone with some Food Network ties could get us a show (nudge nudge wink wink).

See you all there!

Beef : 100% grass-fed & grass-finished

With the quality of beef being so important, it might make sense that this is one to get at the farmers market. It actually isn’t. With the exception of ground beef, the beef at farmers markets is a good 40+% more expensive than at grocery stores that stocks good meat. The high price you are paying doesn’t get you any additional quality, in fact since it is almost all frozen, you are losing quality. In both settings the cows are raised on open grassland, living optimal lives. Unlike poultry (see below) the farmers market really offers no advantage other than carbon footprint of less travel time.

Instead, buy your 100% grass-fed meat at stores such as PCC, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Ballard Market. From what I have found, PCC is typically the least expensive. Another options is to order directly from Thundering Hooves. The absolute cheapest option? Buy a whole cow and split it amongst friends. This typically gets you 100% grass-fed beef for around $4 per pound.

If fully grass-fed meat is still just plain too expensive, look for Country Natural Beef which is 90% grass-fed (yes the last 10% does make a huge difference) and antibiotic and hormone free. Country Natural Beef is sold at many stores including PCC, Whole Foods, Madison Market to name a few. This is still far better than conventional, cheaper meat.

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Lamb: 100% grass-fed & grass-finished

Very similar to the beef issue, only fewer grocery stores sell it. The cheapest, highest quality lamb is again through Thundering Hooves. As far as retail stores go, PCC and Whole Foods are the places to go. At the farmers market, expect to pay a lot more for the same quality stuff. If you are concerned about buying only local however, Whole Foods lamb is very far from it…but remember we are trying to save money here and do our best.
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Poultry: 100% pasture-rased

Chicken and turkey are one of the best indicators of the quality differences you receive at different grocery stores. Allow me to break it down for you:

QFC/ Safeway/ Fred Meyer/ Albertsons: (CONVENTIONAL) Birds raised in cages, zero room to move. Beaks and wings clipped to prevent conflict. Birds pumped full of antibiotics to make up for cramped conditions. Feed is entirely corn, wheat, and soy.
PCC / Whole Foods / Other Natural Stores (FREE-RANGED): Birds raised in large hen houses without cages with a door that is open if the birds choose to go outside. Crammed together. No antibiotics are administered. When inside, they eat corn, wheat, and soy. When outside, they eat grass, bugs, worms, etc. They are usually inside, so their feed is usually corn, wheat, and soy.
All Stores (ORGANIC). Same as conventional raising in the natural food stores, however the corn, wheat, and soy they are given have to be certified organic. Big whoop. Not worth the money.
Farmers Markets: Birds raised primarily outside, eating optimal amounts of grass, bugs, insects, etc while still receiving some corn, soy, wheat, and various vegetables from the farm. The extra bugs and grass they are eating significantly increases the nutritional content of the meat. Farmers markets are definitely something to look into when buying poultry.

Out of all food items, poultry is the biggest one that buying from the farmers market will benefit you.
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Eggs 100% pasture-raised, golden yolks

Eggs can follow the exact same guide as the poultry above, however there’s one more variation I’d like to touch on

Omega 3 Enriched: Still fed corn, soy & wheat, however also fed flaxseeds which increase the omega 3 content. If you can’t buy farmers market eggs, I would go for these. They are eating less of the bad stuff and give you a little extra omega 3 to enjoy.

Depending on the weather, the chickens will be inside or outside on varying levels. I would say there is definitely a potential argument for getting better value buying during the dryer months from farmers markets since if the weather is bad, they will be raised indoors regardless. Some farmers though will feed the chickens bugs and grass still inside, so talk to your farmer! If your yolk is yellow, they haven’t been outside much. All supermarket eggs have yellow yolks!

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Side Note: So is organic meat worth it? No. The reason I buy only organic beef at Whole Foods is simply because their 100% grass-fed meat happens to be organic. There is plenty of organic meat that is completely corn fed, just organic corn. Any farm that is going the effort of producing 100% grass-fed meat is going to be raising to organic standards, just without the extremely expensive certification. Thundering Hooves for example has some of the best quality meats in this area. They are not certified organic, which is why it is still affordable.

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Seafood: Wild Caught

The biggest thing here is to make sure you are getting wild fish and not farmed fish. If the product says “Atlantic,” it is farmed. Buy from a source with a knowledgeable employee who can guarantee you the fish is not farmed. Just like with beef, some fish starts wild and then is farmed for the last portion of their life. Really make sure the fish you are getting is 100% wild.

Fresh or frozen? Whatever is cheapest. Fresh will taste better, but if you can get a good deal on frozen, go for it as long as it is wild. I honestly don’t have a suggestion for where to shop to save on fish, just not the farmers market. Today I saw the same type of salmon at QFC for $2 more per pound than at Whole Foods. Go figure.

In reality however if money is a concern, you might be better off skipping the seafood. Grass-fed meat has the same healthful fatty acid profile as wild caught fish and is significantly cheaper. With the money you save, buy some fish oil!

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Produce: Your money saver

Organic produce often does taste better and can be quite expensive. With this in mind, I feel it is the main area you should spend less on when faced with a tight budget. Unlike cheap meat where you are consuming antibiotics and hormones as a byproduct, eating cheap vegetables really only results in lower vitamins and mineral contents, which even that topic is debatable. Pesticides are another potential issue, which most who buy organic assume they are avoiding. The reality though is that organic pesticides exsist and they are often used in organic farming. Simple solution? Wash your veggies, and wash them well! The last reasonable concern is that of genetic modification, which there is no solid research saying it is good or bad. I’m personally concerned, but not concerned enough to let my meat quality suffer when having to spend more on produce.

When cost is a concern, your best bets are shopping at places like QFC, Safeway, etc. Also surprisingly, if you find a produce market on the side of the road such as Rising Sun, it is significantly cheaper than grocery stores. At these cheaper places, if you can afford their organic produce, then go for it. Also occasionally checking Whole Foods and PCC for produce sale items can prove beneficial as well.

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Conclusion: Don’t Hate Me!

I am by no means anti-farmers market. I fully support local farmers and the difference they make. If I had an endless budget, I’d buy all my food from the farmers market to get the most optimal choices available. However, in a realistic world, as you can see, some things just aren’t worth it while on a tight budget. If you have the money, then go for it! If not, don’t worry…there are many other ways to shop.

Everyone can read about nutrition and lifestyle, but there is no one size fits all approach to health. This site gives a pretty good example of what to eat, but only in the general sense. If you are someone who is trying to get healthy, that is something I would love to help with. We work with your personal goals to make your path to health as realistic as possible for you.

So, my gift to you. Simplistic Nutrition.

NutritionofSeattle.com

Seattle seems to be leading the board with the most interest, but we want to make it even bigger.

You are all invited to the official Seattle Paleo Meet-up party at 6:00pm at Golden Gardens.

More information and RSVP here:

http://www.meetup.com/PaleoDiet/10969/

On another note, it is time to get this blog back up and running. Expect more frequent posts from here on out.

My diet mainly consists of meat, fruit, vegetables, seeds, and nuts, so it would be safe to assume that any menu that says served with “seasonal or fresh vegetables” would be good to go for myself and everyone else trying to up their vegetable intake. So what causes my extreme sadness when I get my entree? What do I see when I look for my vegetables? I see this:

Corn

Corn is not a vegetable. Corn on the cob is still not a vegetable. Regardless of how you prepare corn, it is not a vegetable. Corn is a grain. Corn grows like a grain, is used like a grain (corn flour) and has the same high glycemic starchy inflammatory properties as all other grains do. Please, stop serving us corn as a vegetable.

Beans

So many forms of beans are served as the “vegetable” side everywhere. Whether it be green beans, snap peas, pea pods, loose peas, or anything else with the word “pea” or “bean” in it, it is not a vegetable. It is a legume and contains all the negative health attributes that legumes have.

Soy

It is much less common to get a side of soybeans as the vegetable, but it is still possible. Also, a lot of times meats will say they are fed a “vegetable diet” consisting of soybeans as a main staple (along with corn of course). Soy”beans” are not vegetables, and as they sound, they are legumes.

Potatoes

Ok yes technically potatoes are vegetables but honestly who thinks of them as such? If you order a side of vegetables are you really wanting potatoes? Most people wouldn’t think getting mashed potatoes or french fries counts as eating vegetables. I know when I order, I definitely don’t want potatoes as my vegetable. Do you?

Hopefully this cleared up some confusions about what is a vegetable and what isn’t. I can only hope that someday I don’t have to question the restaurant staff of what vegetables come with it to see if they actually are vegetables as stated.

Have any of you had this happen to you as many times as I have?

Let me know.

Right now, oil used in fryers must contain no more than 0.5grams of trans fat per serving.

We must wait until next April before the 0.5gram restriction is broadened to all items, not just oil.

While restaurants may claim they are trans fat free by being under the 0.5 limit, on this blog, the restaurants that we say are trans fat free, are actually completely free.

Gil,

The nutritional information for most of our items can be found at their respective manufacturers’ websites. Our hot dogs are Oscar Mayer, our tortilla chips are Tostitos, our cheese is FunNacho, and all of our candy is name-brand.

Our popcorn is Orville Redenbacher brand popcorn seed. It is popped in a mixture of 100% coconut oil and butteral (a salt & butter blend which contains milk and soy). There are no additional ingredients in our popcorn besides what I have mentioned here.

Please let me know if I can be of any more assistance!

While milk and soy are debated non-paleo ingredients, for a fun time at the movies, this seems like very good news.

Dear Gil,

Thank you for contacting AMC Theatres. I have attached a copy of the nutritional information for our small, medium, and large sized popcorns. Our popcorn is prepared with coconut oil, which is not hydrogenated and contains no trans fats. Additionally, I wanted to let you know that we do not offer any products at our concession stand which contain trans fat.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me directly at (800) xxx-xxxx.

Sincerely,

Nick LaBruzzo
Coordinator, Operations Excellence
AMC Theatres
Ph: (800) xxx-xxxx
Fax: (816) xxx-xxxx

I am still going to try to find an ingredients list and will post it once I have it.

The attached nutritional guide showed that there are still pretty high levels of sodium and saturated fats, but at least transfats are at a zero.