Foodie Fridays - Paleo Caldo

Fall is on the air with our crisp cool mornings of late - which means it is soup season!

Caldo de Res is a soup common to Hispanic cultures, especially Mexico. My grandmother made it for us often when we'd visit, and it was my favorite of her soups. Caldo de Res is a great "kitchen sink" or "stone soup" type recipe with a beefy bone broth base and a wide variety of cold hearty veggies thrown in. The traditional version is a bit different than this paleo-friendly adaptation using lots of green veggies, but the result is just as satisfying.

I make a large batch of this soup then divide it up into freezer safe glassware to keep until needed. Then I take it for lunches and such. The nutrients from the bone broth, meat and marrow and all those green veggies make this a super food soup.

Ingredients

• 2 quarts water
• Beef short ribs, bone in (Beef shank will work as well)
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 head cabbage, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 2 red potatoes, chopped (optional)
• 1 hatch or poblano green chili, de-seeded and chopped 
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 bunch cilantro (optional)
• Salt to taste (I use about 3 tbsp. of full-spectrum real sea salt)

Instructions

Pour water into a large stock pot, dutch oven or slow cooker on low heat. Add short ribs to water along with salt to begin broth. Allow this to cook for at least an hour before adding your veggies.

Chop your cabbage, onion, zucchini, and other vegetables into spoon-able sized bites. Then add to your broth pot. Add more salt to taste. Cook for another hour, stirring occasionally, then serve. Yields 8-10 servings.

I love to have this soup with a quesadilla or a couple tacos (the real kind, made with non-GMO corn tortillas pan fried in lard and filled with pulled chicken or pork). Corn tortillas are obviously not strictly paleo, but just the soup by itself is paleo friendly and can be modified for special diets such as GAPS or autoimmune paleo.

Enjoy!!

Paleo 101

When it comes to overall health I have not yet found a diet that yields the same results as real food, and especially a paleo diet. I admit I'm not the most faithful paleo lifestyle liver, but I can say from experience that the more faithful I am to paleo the better my health. My digestion is better, my skin is clearer, my allergies are less severe, my joint pain is practically non-existant and I am closer to my ideal weight range the stricter my paleo lifestyle. I've seen a lot of misinformation out there on the interwebs about paleo, so this is my attempt to cover the basics of what to eat, the most frequently asked questions, and to point you towards some excellent resources that have more and better information than I.

What Do You Eat on Paleo?
Lots of real good food! Meats (preferably pastured, organic, humanely raised sources - it's better for the animal and for you, I promise), fish, eggs, lots of vegetables, fruit (especially berries - yum!), nuts, seeds and healthy fats (like olive oil, pastured ghee and coconut oil).

What Do You Not Eat on Paleo?
No grains. (That means no wheat, oats, corn, yes corn counts as a grain, etc. No quinoa either). No legumes (No beans, no peanuts, technically no green beans or peas - but those are in a grey area). No dairy, unless you tolerate it well - and then you should aim for pastured, organic sources - even raw if possible.

Is all that fat bad for you?
Heck no! It's all that sugar, not the fat, not even the saturated kind, that is killing you. Some fat is bad for you - trans fats are good for no one. I repeat - No One. Omega-6 fats (the kind you get from seed oils like corn and canola) are bad for you if not in balance with your omega-3 fats. Saturated fat is also good for you when it is in balance. (No it won't raise your cholesterol and give you heart disease - but sugar will).

Is all the red meat bad for you?
No. But if you're concerned about it you can always stick with poultry, fowl and plenty of fish! Not to mention lots of fruits and vegetables.

Where do you get your carbs?
From all those lovely vegetables and fruits! Paleo is not necessarily low-carb. Yes, you can make it low carb. (And if you have metabolic syndrome that's probably wise). But no, it doesn't have to be. Sweet potatoes, bananas, mangos and papaya are just some of the higher-carb fare that you are free to eat on a paleo diet.

Where do you get your fiber?
From all those lovely vegetables and fruits! (Really - and they come packed with many more nutrients and far fewer anti-nutrients than those whole grains that the food pyramid wants you to get your fiber from).

Okay, I'm interested, where can I find more information?
The two best books I've read on the paleo diet are Practical Paleo and The Primal Blueprint. Some other good ones include The Paleo Solution, Your Personal Paleo Code, Eat The Yolks and Primal Body, Primal Mind. For more info see below or check out these resources.

Here are some great websites and blogs on the Paleo Diet and ancestral health:
Marks Daily Apple (author of Primal Blueprint)
Everyday Paleo
Whole 9 Life (authors of It Starts With Food)
Chowstalker
Balanced Bites (author of Practical Paleo)

Here are some more books for both the science and recipes:
Make it Paleo
Paleo Comfort Foods
The Paleo Diet Cookbook
Primal Blueprint Cookbook
Good Calories, Bad Calories
It Starts With Food
Well Fed



It should go without saying that I am not a doctor and while I am a strong proponent of the paleo diet because I've seen it work first hand, I do not know your unique situation or medical history. Always consult a trusted physician before undertaking a new diet or exercise program.

Foodie Fridays - Paleo Pollo Asado

Marinade Ingredients

Juice of 2 limes

Juice of 2 lemons

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup oil (I recommend olive or avocado)

1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. paprika

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 tsp. salt

Retain the limes and lemon after squeezing out the juice and cover the chicken with them if using a dish to marinate, or throw them in the bag with the chicken if using a bag. (I prefer to use a casserole dish because the acid in the citrus juice can cause chemicals to leech from plastic bags that I'd just prefer to avoid - plus a glass dish is reusable). This marinade will cover about half a chicken or 5-6 pieces of dark meat chicken. (I recommend using just dark meat, personally. Definitely use bone in and skin on cuts regardless though). Marinate for at least 30 minutes, but preferably over night.

Pollo asdo technically means grilled chicken, so if you have a grill or grill pan - cook them that way, if not then baking or cooking in a skillet will work just as well. Remove them from the marinade, but do not pat dry or otherwise try to remove any marinade that sticks to the chicken. Cook until cooked through and the citrus juices left on the skin form a crispy caramelized crust.

Simple Steps to Real Food

Simple steps? Yes, truly simple. Moving towards more real food has some hurdles, but I assure you most of them are psychological. Making the switch to real foods can be intimidating. Real food tends to be a little more expensive ("But I only have one income to feed a family of 4"), it may mean cooking more from scratch ("But I burn water"), and it may mean avoiding some foods you consider staples ("But I love ramen noodles and cheese puffs"). But it really needn't be as frightening as all that. You don't have to be perfect, just move in a positive direction, one simple step at a time. Taking just little steps towards real food is worth the effort!

If you're ready to take steps to improve you and your family's health - then you're ready to take some simple steps toward real food! And yes, I'm preaching this as much to myself as to any blog readers. I'm by no means an expert or perfect adherent to this crunchy lifestyle, but I'm working on it!