This is one of my favorite recipes, because it’s super easy and makes chicken strips for days. I’ve found that while coconut flour gives these fried chicken tenders a nice, fluffy texture, the tend to be very dry. Meanwhile, using purely almond flour gives the recipe an excellent moisture, but the fried crust tends to be extremely crumbly. A 1:1 mixture of both coconut and almond flour makes for a perfect batter. Avocado oil works well for frying because of the high temperature smoke point, something that olive oil and coconut oil just can’t match. As for vegetable oil, well, you should know better! Grapeseed oil and bacon grease, however, will both work in a pinch.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt (or seasalt)
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 eggs, cage free, vegetarian fed
• 1 lb cage free, vegetarian fed chicken tenders, or breasts cut into 1″ strips
• Avocado oil

It’s a fact that there aren’t many diners in the District, something that’s by and far relegated to the suburbs of MD and VA. It’s also a fact that I love greasy spoons and diners because of the fact that you can get breakfast orders in just about as late as you’d like during the day. So Jen took me off on an adventure to explore the city, navigating the streets of Capitol Hill until we reached our destination…Pete’s Diner.

Pete has long since come and gone both in ownership and in life, but the two little Asian ladies that run it these days aren’t short in character or energy. The diner is strange hodgepodge of eclectic decorations, from fake fir trees, spray-painted bamboo decorations, Chinese calendars, police badge collections, even a Buddha shrine, this is everything I’d think of putting together in a strange culture clash of a restaurant and calling it the Chinese American Diner. Even the coffee here, albeit a bit on the weak side, is served in giant Chinese tea cups.

The diner does offer traditional American breakfast favorites, including a variety of omelets. Jen had a Spinach Omelet with Swiss Cheese, while I opted for the Western – whipped up with bacon, snausage, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, and cheese. It’s served with a hefty serving of home fries, toast, and topped with a ‘this little piggy’ sprig of bacon.

Pancakes are also on deck- I ordered a side of Sweet Potato Pancakes to share with Jen. Fluffy, moist pancakes that unfortunately aren’t gluten free, but for most people, that’ll work out just fine.

While nothing about the food or this diner stands out as extraordinary, it does serve as a nice little anchor of dining space to give Capitol Hill a bit more color. The owners are vocal, jovial, and aren’t afraid to get a little friendly- one of the owners started to touch and coo over my bicep, while the other admonished her.

“HEY! NO TOUCH CUSTOMERS! LOOK ONLY!”

As it turns out, the one thing I can’t count on my girlfriend for is to save me from being molested from tiny Asian ladies. Thanks for the help, babe.

All in all, a tiny greasy spoon like this isn’t the type of place Jen and I would go to again and again, but it’s a nice little neighborhood spot, crucially placed right next to the Library of Congress. They also offer a number of sammiches, milkshakes, soups, subs, salads, and amazing meal deals to keep a little extra scratch in your wallet.

Make sure you’ve loaded up on hard currency though, this place runs strictly on cash.

See Pete’s Diner on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Frugalistas
• Paleoheads
• Vegetarians
• Zone Dieters
• Greasy Spoon Gorging

Not Recommended For:

• Black Tie Brunches
• Organic Omelets
• Five Fork Placesetting Feasts

The rich bass heavy sounds of dub pour out into the streets from this dimly lit restaurant, with vibrations so deep, you can feel ‘dem in Jamaica. Spur Tree Lounge emphasizes its Jamaican roots both in music and cuisine, of which the latter is paired with typical Asian fare for a mix that actually turns it out rather nicely.

Jen’s Fried Vegetable Dumplings with Scallion Aioli were good, but nothing extraordinary. That being said, it’s certainly difficult to outdo the dumplings you could have at a number of restaurants in Chinatown not more than a few blocks away.

I ordered the Grilled Jamaican Jerk Wings with the Spicy Balsamic Sauce. I’m not sure if it’s been a long while since I’ve had chicken wings, but these were about as good of an order of them as I can remember. Just thinking about the perfectly seared, tender wings with just a hint of spiciness has me watering at the mouth all over again. It’s nice that the wings are no skimp on the proportion of meat here, either.

Jen’s main course, Organic Veggie Burger, fell a little flat both in presentation and taste. The patty seems lilliputian in comparison to it’s bun, something that’s a disappointment in knowing that the organic cheese comes as an extra. The spicy coco bread bun does live up to its name, giving a slight tingle to your tongue with every bite. The two spoons and small side salad are a nice touch to raise the bar of this order to something that’s just barely respectable. The portion size was just about right for Jen, but if it were me eating this, I’d be pretty upset with the burger to bun ratio here.

The June Plum Glazed Baby Back Pork Ribs, thankfully, take the table to a turn for the better. Succulent, thick cut baby back ribs coated in a deliciously sweet and sticky sauce and then thoughtfully topped with chopped fresh green onions that will have tearing through each piece after you’re eaten them all in search for another bite. I considered ordering another plate for myself and getting a cab to cart my fat, belly-filled ass home, but thought better of it. What good is NYC if you can’t pound out a couple of miles on foot? Served with a side salad, this is a good for either just one person or shared between two.

Desserts here are, graciously, no slouch either. The Warm Banana Bread Pudding is topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, covered with a rum mango caramel sauce and sprinkled with fresh blueberries. The ice cream melts fast, so your spoonwork will just have to be a bit faster in devouring this plate before it turns into a bowl of soup over the warm bread pudding.

The food here isn’t exactly consistent. There are some very well thought out dishes that excel for a casual meal out, and then there are some that are in some serious rework to balance out the available offerings. The restaurant does take extra steps to distinguish itself through higher quality ingredients and thoughtful preparation, which did not go unnoticed by either Jen or me.

The service here is by and far some of the best service we experienced all weekend, at any restaurant. My water glass was never once completely drained, and Sean John, the restaurateur, is a gregarious tall fellow who’ll come by and chat with you to talk about your day’s travels and city exploits. The staff is very friendly and we were served by a number of people, despite the table space being at a premium at this smaller establishment. The lights are turned down low, and the dub plays high throughout your meal, so if you’re a fan of kicking back with a bottle of Red Stripe and getting down with the riddims, you’ll feel right at home here at Spur Tree Lounge on any given night of the year.

See Spur Tree Lounge on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Drinks ‘n’ Dub
• Dreadlock Rastafasians
• Lowkey Lunches & Brunches
• Spliff Politics

Not Recommended For:

• Your Baby’s Sixth Berfday
• Broadway Dinners
• Karma Karma Chameleons
• Voracious Vegans

With a name like the Flying Pan in the heart of Hong Kong, the now ancient joke of “flied rice, you plick!” from Lethal Weapon 4 comes swimming up back from the depths of my mind. But all ridiculous jokes aside, it is incredibly difficult to find a good breakfast in Hong Kong. For all intents and purposes, it seems to be the one meal that the city would rather forget. There’s certainly a wide array to cafes willing to accommodate your money in exchange for meats of questionable origins, half-cooked, runny eggs, and all the congee you can eat, but after several frustrating days of disappointing meals, Jen and I turned to the Googles for help.

The one place that came up time and time again as the best place for a more traditional Western breakfast was the Flying Plan. Deep in the heart of ex-pat district in Central, it’s easy enough to find once you board the travelator- a seemingly endless stretch of inclined moving walkways that snake their way over the bustling commerce of the streets below.

The sign for the Flying Pan can be seen as you take the travelator (yes, that’s the official name of it) up the hill, and being situated in the ex-pat community is the perfect location for the restaurant.

Stepping inside past the sliding door (which you have to manually slide open and closed yourself), the familiar diner decor, large plastic covered menus and tiled tables all seem to beckon a comforting feeling of a greasy spoon back home, and being the only greasy spoon in the city that we could find, the restaurant already had a lot going for it.

There are some anomalies here- but all for the better. Copies of various publications are plentiful at the door, including a local version of the Wall Street Journal if you’re into catching up on current events. Omelettes and the house specials come with your choice of an array of freshly squeezed juices such as orange, grapefruit, apple, cranberry, tomato, pineapple, or lemonade. You also get your choice of two sides, including spiced apples (highly recommended), fresh fruit, grilled tomatoes (another favorite between Jen and me), potatoes, baked beans, grits, or a small garden salad, and THEN your selection of white or wheat toast, an english muffin, a biscuit or a bagel to boot.

There’s a copious selection of omelettes to choose from, and I’m a little upset that I never got around to ordering the Kitchen Sink – an omelette stuffed with veggies, meat, and cheese, something that’s quite obviously designed for my inner fat kid. That’s not to say you can’t get by with the other choices, like my selection of the Three Little Pigs, with bacon, snausage,  and ham. You also have the option of ordering an egg white omelette if yolks make you scurred.

Which they shouldn’t, you ninny.

Jen dove right in with the Eggs Sardou – an eggs benedict version sans the meaty awesomeness, but with the addition of artichoke, tomatoes and spimmach. I guess I can give her a pass, being my girlfriend and all.

The food isn’t the most amazing diner food I’ve ever had, but it’s the best breakfast you’ll find in the city at a reasonable price. Service is very good, the space is clean, and you can’t go wrong with any of the options of pancakes, waffles, french toast, or blintzes on the menu. If you’re up for a challenge, there’s always the 4x4x4 Monster Pan – a large platoon of 4 eggs, 4 strips of bacon, and 4 sausage links, served with 4 slices of toast, 4 sides, and your choice of either a large glass or 2 small glasses of juice.

Just enough to fuel a paleohead until lunch.

See the Flying Pan on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Paleoheads
• Zone Dieters
• Vegetarians
• Frugalistas
• Late Night Breakfasts

Not Recommended For:

• Claustrophobics
• Vegans
• First Dates
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Hanging Out, Plotting World Domination

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This recipe is a little bit different in that it doesn’t fall into my normal categorization or Paleo or Zone, but Primal. There’s a lot of writing on the Primal Diet out there on the interwebs, but it’s very similar to the Paleo Diet, with the inclusion of some dairy back in.

And guess what? Mozzarella is one of those dairy products. That opens up some interesting cooking techniques, one of which is a grainless pizza dough. I made a few batches of these, testing each one on Jen.

Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I got the recipe from, but I’ll provide my adapted version for you to enjoy.

Ingredients for Crust:

• 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 cup Cooked Cauliflower
• 1/4 cup Coconut Flour
• 1 Cage Free Egg
• 1 tsp Garlic Salt, Kosher Salt, or Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1/2 tsp Fennel
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Ingredients for Base Toppings:

• 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/2 cup Diced or Chopped Tomatoes

Directions for Crust:

1. Turn on the oven and set to 350°F.
2. Bring 5-6 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt to a boil over high heat.
3. Add 2 cups of cauliflower to boiling water, cover, and let cook for 10-15 minutes, until cauliflower becomes slightly translucent and soft.
4. Remove cauliflower from water and drain well.  Move the cauliflower to a large mixing bowl, and proceed to mash cauliflower to smithereens with whatever you’d like.  Potato masher, beer bottle, Playstation 3, or in my case, a large fork will do.  The cauliflower doesn’t have to be mashed smooth like potatoes, but you want it to be mashed to where it’s slightly larger than the size of rice.  Set aside.
5. Add in the egg, coconut flour, and mozzarella cheese.  Mix well.  I found mixing it with my hands was easiest.  Add in fresh basil, garlic salt, oregano, black pepper, and continue to mix.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and flatten the dough on the sheet to about a 1/2″ to 3/4″ crust.  If you don’t have parchment paper, well, better stop here, because this recipe just won’t work.  Just kidding.  You can lightly spray or coat the pan with some olive oil, but parchment paper makes it a lot easier to transfer off the pan later on.
7. Place your flattened crust into the oven, and let it cook for about 17-20 minutes.  The crust should start to have some brown, crispy spots, but not completely cook all the way through.  Remove the baking pan and place it on an oven-safe surface.

Directions for Toppings:

1. While waiting for your crust to cook, you can prep your toppings for your pizza.  Most pizza sauces are loaded with sugar, so I prefer taking crushed tomatoes and mixing in about a tablespoon of coconut flour to give it some thickness.  I also add more oregano and chopped basil to the tomato sauce for that Italian kick (well, after watching the World Cup games this week, I’m not sure the Italians can kick…I kid, I kid!)
2. Top your crust with your tomato sauce, and add a layer of mozzarella.
3. Add any additional toppings you normally like on your pizza.  A couple cloves of fresh chopped garlic, mushrooms, onions, sausage, go nuts!  Just remember if you are adding meat to your pizza to use pre-cooked meat.
4. Place your pizza back into the oven for 5 minutes.
5. Remove pizza and slice.

Makes 1 10″ pizza.

While this doesn’t wholly fit into being Paleo, I’d say the breakout is about 4 blocks of protein, 3 blocks of carbs, and 8 blocks of fat.

While out and about in the area of Kailua on the east coast of Oahu, we were lucky enough to have a friend who’s very familiar with the local places to eat and grab a drink. Our guide took us over to Buzz’s Original Steakhouse, which doesn’t look like much more than a crab shack from the outside.

In fact, it doesn’t look like much more than a crab shack on the inside, either.  What does a crab shack even look like?  Imagine dim lights, wooden walls, wood tables, and an emphasis on the seafood and drinks.  BOOM.  To be fair, this place is a very nice lookin’ shack.  The outdoor seating has a view of the Pacific just within eyesight but not within earshot, about a quarter of a mile away.  The interior is decorated with lots of branded merchandise, etched glass of an Aloha Friday shirt.

Wait, what?

Let’s get something straight.  If I were the owner of a restaurant, and I was thinking to myself, “Man, you know I’ve got a glut of cash in the bank, and I’d really like to blow it one BADASS etched glass panel to class up the place a bit.  What should I get?”

Acceptable Answers:

• Two dragons, breathing fire and ‘melting’ a corner of the glass
• A ninja and a pirate, with swords at each others throats, suspended on a wire over a lagoon full of alligators with laser sights attached to their heads
• Bea Arthur, all nude, but tastefully done

Upon reviewing my list, it is clear this is why I am not allowed to be the owner of a restaurant.

Back to Buzz’s. Let’s get to the brass tacks.

The menu’s come out on giant fraternity like paddles of wood.  Totally random, but a little bit awesome.  Making up for the Aloha Friday etched glass shirt, I’m liking this place a bit more.  People, famous people, visiting Hawaii, would approve of these very manly menus.  Tom Selleck would approve of these menus.

While Jen and our friends were busy ordering drinks and anticipating the carnage from some of the strongest drinks in Oahu, I ordered the food to go with it.  Sauteed Mushrooms, Tuna Sashimi, Artichoke Surprise, and the Calamari Steak.  Unfortunately, the restaurant is a dark cabin on the beach, so the indoor lighting was at a minimum here.  The Artichoke Surprise was ………astonishingly* good.  A bit of manual labor is needed, as the whole artichoke comes out, but the dish itself is good, and not too heavy on the sauce.  This is a great dish if you’re looking for something slightly on the healthier side.  The sauteed mushrooms came in a small bowl, and weren’t really too discernible from something you’d see on top of a burger with some swiss cheese and bacon.

The calamari steak was…well, to put it without hyperbole, LITERALLY THE BEST CALAMARI I’VE EVER HAD.

I stand by that claim.  If you enjoy calamari, you know what to expect.  Rubbery deep fried rings.  Chewy, vaguely seafood tasting dishes you get at a sushi restaurant.  Giant, girthy, shafts of rubber nonsense.  We’re still talking about calamari here, so let’s stay focused, okay?

The Calamari Steak here, however, is none of the above.  It’s a flavorful, ubertender and amazing dish.  This calamari has changed the way I think of fresh calamari being, and in retrospect, wish I had put in an order for a second dish.  Let me say this one more time.  If you think you love calamari, you must come here and order it.

The tuna sashimi, despite being oddly served on a small mountain of lettuce, is also very, very good.  The thinly sliced fish melts in your mouth.  It’s a shame there wasn’t a greater assortment of sashimi available, as I would have no doubt that the kitchen can do just as well of a job with it.

Make sure you have a cab company’s number on hand, or that you can walk back to wherever you’re going, if you’re going to get a little wet with the mixed drinks.

Overall, my opinion of this place is neither good or bad.  It’s got some really nice selections of seafood, although I didn’t try the steak, and for a steakhouse, would like to make the hypothesis that the steaks are pretty good, too.  The drinks will flip your wig, not for their creativity or display,but for the amount of alcohol they dump into these treats for you to imbibe.  Service is average, and while I normally say that this isn’t the greatest place you could take a girl on a first date but, if you don’t live on Oahu already and you fly a girl over to Hawaii for a dinner here, well, damn, go on with your bad self.

Buzz’s has two locations, one in Kailua and one in Pearl city. See Buzz’s Original Steakhouse in Kailua on a map here.

*You thought I was going to say surprise again, didn’t you?  HA!

Recommeded For:

• Calamariphiles
• Drinks at the Beach
• Hanging out with the locals, but with the ones that don’t want you dead
• Zone Dieters
• Paleo Heads

Not Recommended For:

• First Dates (exclusions apply, see above)
• Claustrophobics
• People with Traumatic Fraternity Experiences
• People Who Don’t Appreciate Tom Selleck

I’ve been looking for a good recipe to introduce you to one of my best friends as of late, and this time, it’s not one that’ll get me put away for indecent exposure.  No, I’m talking about the crockpot.  How did I go so long without having one of these things?  I’ve likely had more days with this thing on and cooking away in the past month than not.  These things aren’t terribly expensive, either;  you can pick up one from any number of places for under $50.

Here’s a recipe that I’ve made a slight change upon from the original.

Adapted from Mark’s Daily Apple’s Garlic Pulled Pork:

Ingredients:

• 1 pork shoulder cut (butt or picnic), approximately 3-4 pounds
  
• 2 tablespoons habanero sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• 6 fresh garlic cloves, diced
• The juice of two limes
• 1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 dried chipotle peppers

Directions:

1. Combine the sea salt, black pepper, cumin, and diced garlic in a bowl.  Set aside.
2. Add the chopped onions, chipotle peppers, and bay leaf to the crock pot.
3. Place the pork shoulder on top of the onions in the crock pot, and juice one lime as evenly as you can over the pork.  Turn the pork over in the crockpot, and juice the second lime over the other side of the pork.  Season the pork with half of the salt/pepper/cumin/garlic mixture, rubbing it into the meat as best as you can.  Flip the pork shoulder over one more time in the crock pot, and use the remaining mixture to rub into the meat.
   
4. Cover the crock pot, and let cook for 6-8 hours.

I swear to you, it does not get any easier than this.  You’ll have a delicious pulled pork waiting for you when you get home from work if you can set this going in the morning.  Don’t worry about overcooking this, because, well, you can’t, really.  Just trust me.

The most tedious part of this was removing the fat because I don’t particularly care for it, but you can feel free to eat that, too.  Works wonders if you’ve refrigerated this and want to fry the pulled pork with some vegetables later.  There’s enough pork here for a few days, and that should help get you get a solid source of protein for any meal of the day!

The La Provence in South Beach doesn’t particularly stand out among the various storefronts it finds itself shouldered between along Collins Avenue.  In fact, one could overlook this restaurant altogether, as I almost did, if it weren’t for Jen. We stopped into the sparsely decorated restaurant for breakfast on a sunny Miami morning, eagerly ready for our first meal of the day.

The front half the restaurant is filled with small tables for dining, while the other half holds a long display case of fresh baked goods and samples of the dishes offered.  The line forms just to the left of the display case with the register at the very back, giving you plenty of time to ogle and salivate over croissants, brioches, quiches, and fruit pastries.  I was intent on staying focused with my diet for this meal, so I quickly eyed the omelets on the menu.  They also offer to cook your eggs any way you want, but they omelets here are huge.  Coupled with the fact that prices are very reasonable, and gratuity is completely optional rather than automatically ratcheting up your bill an additional 17%, it’s hard not to declare this one of the better options for a daily zone or paleo breakfast.

All breakfast and brunch options come with a small salad and a chunk of house made french bread, but  tossing the bread and adding a generously portioned fruit salad to your order will have you good to go for hours until lunchtime.  The omelets here aren’t as unique or exotic as some places in Miami, but realistically, sometimes you just want a simple breakfast that is still well prepared and served to your table post haste.  La Provence accomplishes just that.

The salads here great, too.  I had the Chef Salad with no dressing and a side of oil & vinegar for lunch on a separate occasion, and was equally satisfied with my choice.  Not award winning, but still, easily a good value and something for those who are trying to keep their diet on the rails.

If you’re in South Beach looking for an alternative to the hundreds of pizza parlors and sandwich shoppes, this is it.

See La Provence on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Vegetarians
• Vegans
• Paleo heads
• Zone Dieters
• Frugalistas
• Cheese Eatin’ Surrender Monkeys

Not Recommended For:

• First Dates
• Screaming Children
• Screaming Adults

I’ve been having some discussion with one of the guys at my gym who already adheres to the Zone, but is interested in incorporating some of the Paleo principles into his diet, especially for breakfast. There was a glut of random bits of information, and too good for me not to share. So here’s some of the things we had gone over:

Q: I was wondering what I could replace my daily 2 block oatmeal fix with if I were to head more toward the zone/paleo approach? I will need to axe PB, bread etc, but not sure having an apple instead of the oatmeal will do the trick. Coffee will stay!

A: For protein, I’d suggest eggs- you can make a large batch and have some hardboiled and peeled ones on hand, or some having some scrambled and reheat that as you want it. You can also do (reheated) bangers ‘n’ (sweet) mash, sausages served with a side of sweet potato. Smoked salmon with capers (and dill, you have it on hand) is also great.

Salsa (added right before consumption) is a perfect complement to go with eggs, just make sure there’s no added sugar in the ingredients. Half a cup of salsa equals one block, and you can find single one cup servings in four packs at most grocery stores.

If you’re fond of kale, I love taking a TON of kale and roasting it until it gets a nice crisp, and stuffing leftovers in the fridge. About 1.5 cups is a block, and since it’s particularly cheap and easy to make a large batch, you could almost make a “chip bag’s worth”, seasoning it however you want. Salt and vinegar is nice, spicy sesame with sesame oil, or you can do whatever flavor you like. Bag them in 1.5 or 3 cup portions for 1 or 2 blocks that are quick and easy to go.

You can roast a lot of kale using as many cookie/non-stick pans as you can fit into an oven.  The recipe is here.

In order to make kale chips, just up the cooking time to the neighborhood of 35-45 minutes. Keep an eye out towards the end. You’ll want the kale to get that nice crisp and turn brown, which is perfectly acceptable.

You can get individual servings of Justin’s Nut Butter at Whole Foods. They equate to about 12 blocks of fat, and are a dollar each.

I’ve replaced my pb entirely with almond butter, which is paleo friendly. It’s cheapest at Trader Joe’s, so I pick up two bottles at a time. Creamy with Sea Salt is the business, but the Justin’s Nut Butter are perfect to throw a few in a bag on the go when you can’t take a whole jar with you.

Light coconut milk (cheapest at Trader Joe’s) is a good creamer substitute for your coffee, and doesn’t have a strong coconut taste. Plenty of good fats there, and at around a dollar a can, you can’t go wrong. Make sure you properly store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container and it’ll last for a good couple of weeks.

Again at TJ’s, you can get mini-bell peppers. They are sweeter than green bell peppers, and a container of them is about 2 blocks of carbs you can just eat after a quick rinse.

Fruits are a quick and easy staple. Taking a whole pineapple, cubing it, and storing it in individual ziploc containers means for grab-n-go carbs. Two cups of cubed pineapple is great for four blocks, although you can always mix in any other fruit of your choice for variety. Throw in half a cup of blueberries for one block of carbs, and a cup of strawberries also adds in a block of carbs. Half a cup of grapes, and you’re well on your way to have any number of combinations of grab-n-go individually contained fruit salads.

If you have the time, you can also take fresh mint and spend a few minutes making mint strips. Simply pick them off the stems, roll the leaves, and cut. Make sure they’re very try and store them in a small ziploc bag, and they’re a nice addition to toss onto your fruit salad for a slightly mintier taste.

Q: Any particular sausages? Are pork sausages ok to eat? Do you count fat from them or add more?

A: Sausages are great. I tend to try and get higher quality ones like they have a TJ or WF, but pay attention to the ingredients. Sugar is always bad, although I’ll be a tiny bit more lenient with they use evaporated cane juice. No sugars at all would be best. You can also pre-make a batch of turkey/pork sausage patties on the weekend in bulk. I usually add thyme, rosemary, cumin, chili powder, fresh chopped garlic, shallots, fresh ground pepper, sea salt, and a cage free beaten egg. Mix it well, let it hang out for half an hour in the fridge, and start making patties. A 1 lb package is usually good for at least 8-12 patties, and depending on how much you make them, you can get pretty close to 1 oz patties when you’ve figured out how much meat to use for each patty. A heaping tablespoon per patty will get you pretty close to that.

I don’t really pay the attention to the fat in sausage. It’s not terrible for you if there’s some fat in there. I do loosely weigh and measure everything. I try to get meats in 1 oz increments, but I’m not going to be terribly upset if I have 3.25oz of chicken for a 3 block meal. Same with carbs. A little bit over or under is okay. If you’re concerned with the amount of fat, you can always store the cooked sausages in a plastic container that is lined with a paper towel to collect the extra fat.

I’m not sure if I mentioned that you can remove carb blocks for fat blocks, as well. That has a bit of a more dramatic effect in forcing your body to get its fuel from fats and less so from carbs. It also makes things much easier when you don’t have the opportunity to WAM (weight and measure) everything at the office.

With my measurements, I’m supposed to be at 15 blocks of protein, 15 blocks of carbs, and 15 blocks of fat. With my activity level, I’ve tripled my intake of fat, which puts me at 45 blocks of fat daily. You can remove up to 50% of your daily allotment of carbs, replacing each single block of carb with three blocks of fat. That would put me in around 8 blocks of carbs a day, but I do like some wiggle room for carbs, so I only cut it down to 10 blocks of carbs a day. Since I cut out five blocks of carbs, 5 x 3 = 15 blocks of fat added.

That turns my diet into this:

15 blocks of protein (p)
10 blocks of carbs (c)
60 blocks of fat (f)

Here’s a sample of my diet on a given day, at 3x fat (samples included):

0515 (pre WOD)

1p (1oz sausage or 1 hard boiled egg)
1c (1/2 c of fruit)
3f (1 tsp almond butter)

0700 (post WOD)

3p (3 1oz sausages, or 3 eggs, or 3 oz of meat, your choice)
4c (1 medium sized sweet potato, tossed in the microwave & 1/2 c fruit)
0f

1030 (lunch 1)

3p (3 oz meat)
1c (1 cup of mini sweet peppers)
21f (63 almonds)

1500 (lunch 2)

3p (3 oz meat)
1c (12 asparagus spears, prebroken and washed and microwaved)
21f (avocado, pitted and skinned with salt, pepper, lemon, or alternately, lime and sriacha)

1830 (dinner)

3p (3 oz meat)
2c (3 cups of cauliflower, boiled, chopped, and sauteed in grapeseed oil and 3/4 cup of puttanesca sauce)
9f (1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil, used above)

2130 (pre sleep/fast snack)

2p (2 oz meat)
1c (1/2 cup of fruit)
6f (1 heaping teaspoon of almond butter)

The post-WOD meal is deprived of fat to help restore glycogen levels and allow quick absorption of the proteins. I make up for it with large amounts of fat intake during my lunches that carry me through the day. Meals are fairly equally spaced out every three to four hours, so I’m never hungry or full.

Anatolia is a Mediterranean restaurant just off of Restaurant Row in Orlando.  The menu boasts a variety of dishes, with plentiful vegan and vegetarian options, which is a rare treat for non-meat eaters and omnivores alike.  Lunch specials appear on the menu there, but not online-  which is a shame, because these really are a fantastic deal.  You can get a four course meal for under $20, including soup, salad, an entree, and a dessert.  My Dad took up the offer, ordering the Lentil Soup, Shepherd’s Salad, Gyro, and Sutlac (Rice Pudding).  I went with Dana Sote (Beef Saute), which was a perfect Paleo pick without an ounce of bulgur wheat, couscous, or bread.

Every seated guest also is treated to a complimentary dishes of kalamata olives soaked in olive oil and herbs, and a sour cabbage that I can only describe as ‘yuck’.

The Lentil Soup and Shepherd’s Salad came out next, with my Dad taking the former and giving me the latter.  The Lentils were actually blended rather kept in their bean form, which gave it a very exotic and rich consistency.  However, it still fell a bit short of expectations, so this is another dish where I’d suggest giving it a miss.

The Shepherd’s pie doesn’t come with any surprises, just a really good salad.  Tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and onions in a lemon and olive oil vinaigrette.  This dish is full of great tasting fresh vegetables, and seemed perfectly proportioned throughout.

The Gyro (at least I remember it as being a gyro, so if it’s not, boo on you) that my Dad ordered seemed a little…flat.  And non-substantial.  After a closer inspection of the contents, it appeared that the majority of the contents were potato wedges rather than meat, which was really disappointing.  All filler and no substance, and I give this one a big thumbs down.  My Dad liked it well enough, but he agreed that it was definitely more potato and bread than meat.

My Keyser Sote dish looked pretty enough, and definitely tasted great.  Lots of spices in the sauce, and well decorated with paprika garnished around the plate  as well as fresh cilantro on top.  But again, where’s the actual meat of this dish?  For the price, the substance is really lacking.

Then onto dessert.  The Sutlac is unquestionably just rice pudding, despite the fancy description provided by the restaurant.  They give you a good size of it here, though, what would amount to probably a pint of what’d you’d pick up at the store.  I remember the days when I used to pick up pints of Kozyshack Rice Pudding and Tapioca Pudding and absolutely decimate it in a single sitting.  It’s prepared with lots of sugar here, and definitely a dessert that that’s easily shared between two people.

Overall, Anatolia is a great place to eat…if you’re a vegetarian or vegan.  From either of those two perspectives, this place is a nice find, tucked away in Orlando, with a large variety of dishes to choose from.  However, the meat dishes do not come close to satisfying or making you feel as if you’ve really gotten a good meal at a good value.  The tend to be very light on what you’re actually ordering.  The presentation remains excellent on everything served here, but just not what I was hoping to get out eating here.

Recommended for:

• Vegan
• Vegetarians
• Mediterranean Aficionados
• Zone Zealots
• Paleoheads

Not Recommended for:

• Raptors
• Carbophobes
• Carnivores

See Anatolia Mediterranean Cuisine on a map here.