Of all the self-imposed guinea pig antics I’ve subjected myself to for this column, this week’s might be regarded as my bravest. For it entailed eating, oh-glory-be-yes, fat.

In a fat-fearful world, my no holds barred consumption of chicken skin, the crackling and the 3cm of subcutaneous tissue on my pork belly, several teaspoons of butter on my veggies, whole cups of full cream milk, chunks of ghee and avocado each day has freaked the innards out of most in my culinary orbit. And yet (boldly! fearlessly!) I’ve persevered with this particular experiment for three whole months.

Turn to the person to your left, and the one to your right. I’m betting one of you is making friends with your egg yolks right now, having picked up on what’s been dubbed the “paleo” or “caveman” diet. Images of loin clothes and bone gnawing aside, the diet boils down to something pretty innocuous: not eating anything fiddled with.

So, no grains, no additives, no sugar, no grain-fed meat, no mucked-around-with fat-reduced dairy.

And instead the unadulterated foods of our ice-age forebears. The subsequent claim is that doing so makes us healthier, thinner and live longer, a claim I had to test for myself.

For the bulk of our 2.6 million years on the planet our diet consisted of fat, meat and fibrous vegetables. Put simply, fat determined our survival. Ten thousand short years ago we started eating grains, gradually changing from fat-burning creatures to sugar and starch-burning ones. Which would be fine. Except our bodies have never adjusted – 99.9 per cent of our genes are the same as our caveman ancestors.

Grains by nature contain toxins in their husks (their only defense in the evolutionary chain) that we struggle to digest (ergo, bloating, gluten sensitivity, etc). Further, a grain-based diet signals “famine” to our primitive bodies – why else would we be resorting to the most energy inefficient, toxic food possible? Which is said to set off a domino of “coping mechanisms”, such as insulin, cholesterol and triglyceride spikes, as our bodies try to deal with a substance it has not evolved to ingest. The spiraling consequences of living grain-based lives is extensive, and backed by a fast-growing number of studies that show it’s making us fat and sick.

Now. I know, I know. All this turns the pyramid and the way you eat your cornflakes on its head. And it makes people angry. What do you mean we’ve been eating all wrong? We’re not meant to eat fat! Really? Who says?

On Saturday night I found myself at dinner with a bunch of paleos – two dentists, two farmers, a GP, some academics and the pin-up girl of paleo Nora Gedgaudas (at 50, she’s as toned and glowy as a young bride) whose authoritative and hyper-referenced tome Primal Body Primal Mind was my first introduction to the topic.

[Listen to my earlier podcast with Nora here.]

We ate the fish or the duck, poured oil over our asparagus and said no to the bread. We all drilled Gedgaudus, in Australia to speak at a series of Nourishing Australia conferences, on the guff all paleos tend to get drilled on. But didn’t cavemen only live to 30 – how can their diet be good? That was the average age, skewed by high infant mortality and death-by-charging-rhino, not diet. But don’t we need carbs for energy? No, it’s in fact the only food molecule that’s unnecessary for survival. Geez, all that saturated fat – it causes heart disease and high cholesterol! Again, no. The original study in the 1950s by scientist Ancel Keys that claimed as such was seriously flawed.

[To watch a video that explains this, click here.]

Since then studies have shown in just two weeks a saturated fat/paleo diet reduced cholesterol and triglycerides 30 points (equivalent to taking statins for six months).

My cholesterol dropped and I lost 2 kilos “going paleo”. But the most remarkable benefit has been its stickability. Once I’d escaped my sugar rollercoaster of yore and started eating 2-3 meals a day (fat satiates and so I now eat less) it just didn’t occur to me to “relapse” (carbs are addictive, so without them my cravings disappeared). Indeed, everyone around the table on Saturday had been grain-free for years, effortlessly. Which, to me, makes this whole caper less a diet and simply, innocuously, something that just makes sense.

This is a massive topic to cover in one column. I’ll be writing more about it in weeks to come, so feel free to post any questions or suggestions on the whole paleo thing below. I’ll also post a directory of doctors, dentists, farmers etc who support this way of living.

I know some of you might find it a little contentious…share! It’s a good discussion to have.

Also, stay tuned tomorrow. I’m making a big announcement…

photo via pinterest

For those of you who haven’t read it yet, the main thrust of my 8-week program is replacing sugar with fat. It’s an approach I really find worked for me, and for many others. But I keep getting asked:

“is it really ok to eat fat?”

“how can you say saturated fat is OK?”

“how much fat do YOU eat?”

Alright. Let’s clear a few things up, then…

1. This short video sums up a fair bit of the misconception around saturated fat:

The gist is this: in the 1950s, a random scientist called Ancel Keys published a dodgy study that told us saturated fats were bad. The study was a total furphy. But we latched on to it. It’s important to realise that at that time the edible oil industry in the US seized the opportunity to promote its polyunsaturates. The industry did this by developing a health issue focusing on Key’s anti-saturated fat bias. With the help of the edible oil industry lobbying in the United States, federal government dietary goals and guidelines were adopted incorporating this mistaken idea that consumption of saturated fat was causing heart disease. This anti-saturated fat issue became the agenda of government and food industry groups around the world.

Me. I’m cool with saturated fat. I eat chicken skin. And butter. And coconut oil. All saturated. All good.

Now, a few thoughts that dictate my attitude to fat:

2. We aren’t what we eat, we are how we metabolise what we eat. The mantra we’ve been fed, though, is that fat must make us fat. Which is just not true. We are designed to metabolise fat efficiently. It’s sugars and starches we struggle with. Surely we can all accept our bodies are a little more sophisticated than this simple fat = fat equation??

3. Not all fats are equal. I outline the differences in my ebook. This much you need to know: trans fats are bad, so are most poly-unsaturated vegetable oils. Saturated fat is good! Seriously.

4. You can eat all the veggies in the world. But if you don’t eat them with fat, you’re not getting the full nutritional benefits. Many vitamins and minerals are fat soluble and need a knob of butter or drizzle of oil to be properly metabolised.

5. What about cholesterol? I’ll put it simply. Cholesterol (bad, good, HDL, LDL, whatever) is simply a bandaid (as well as being a critical molecule for hormone health and more). It circulates in our arteries patching up damage caused by the damage that sugar does. Yes sugar. So when we talk high cholesterol etc…cholesterol ain’t the problem. It’s the fix. Sugar and hypertension and toxins are the problem.

4. How much fat do I eat? I go through about 3 tbls of coconut oil a day (for cooking and also eating raw as a snack – I eat a tbl or two after lunch to satiate myself), a tbls of organic butter (on my vegetables), the fat and skin on all meat (and as a result I eat less meat overall…fat is what fills me up most efficiently) plus a good chunk of cheese, 1-2 eggs, 1/2 an avocado and a good drizzle of olive oil or macadamia oil most days.

My overall advice is to try eating more fat…and see what it does to cravings and appetite. For me, it’s totally curbed it. I think in part because when you let go of guilt and complicated rules, you can eat what you FEEL like. What do you think? Do you eat much fat? Have you got any ‘did you knows’ about fats?

photo via The Alkaline Sisters

In a nutshell, the premise of her thinking is this:

* our genealogy hasn’t changed since Paleolithic times when we ate fat, protein and low-starch veggies.

* our diet has changed to a high carb/sugar/starch diet, with the introduction of the agricultural period 10,000 years ago, which our bodies have not been able to adjust to…which makes us sick and tired.

Ergo:

We need to eat MORE FAT and ELIMINATE CARBS for optimal health and longevity.

Perhaps the most home-hitting point she makes is this:

Fat doesn’t make us fat, fat eaten with carbs does

and:

We aren’t what we eat, we’re how we metabolise what we eat

If you’re interested in all this, her book is seriously the go-to bible. I went crazy with my highlighter and post-it reading it last week. And for auto-immune/hashimoto sufferers…it almost caters directly to our conditions (Nora’s family all have hashimotos).

The great news is: Nora’s also out here in Australia in November speaking at universities in Sydney, Armidale and the Gold Coast. I’ll be at the Goldie to see her speak. It will be rad.

But in the meantime…our chat:

Some of you asked some questions via twitter on key points of the paleo diet. I thought I’d spell things out a little, because they’re themes that I’ve touched on a lot on this blog. My sugar quitting philosophy is similar, ditto my exercise approach.

But aren’t grains needed by our bodies?

It would appear not. They contain no essential nutrients we can’t get from elsewhere in more effective ways. They’ve traditionally been eaten when fat and protein haven’t been around (and, thus, signal to the body there’s a famine going on). Since we have the option not to eat them, why would we? Especially given the below…

* they contain antinutrients that interfere with mineral absorption, gluten being one such. Grains are defenceless little things so they contain poisons to ward off predators. Some animals, like birds, have adjusted to these poisons. Us? Nope.

* gluten-containging grains take things even further, causing bowel damage and then auto immune diseases and even cancer. I’ll discuss this more in another post.

* carbs cause our metabolism to become sugar burners instead of fat burners…and stuff up our metabolism in all kinds of ways…which makes us fat and sick.

What about quinoa…it’s a seed, right?

I’ve been a quinoa advocate in the past…but I’ve since learned it has similar properties to grains, including chemical defense systems that irritate the gut – soap-like molecules called saponins. Gluten attaches to a carrier molecule in the intestines, saponins  punch holes in the membranes of the microvilli cells.

What about legumes?

Well, they too contain poisons in their outer layers. I’ve written about this before – soaking and sprouting legumes does help. Nora’s take is that legumes are mostly starch and only a little protein, so why bother? Me, I like legumes (in small quantities), so will stick with them for now.

Do you have to cut all carbs?

I ask Nora this…her answer is…well, it’s best to. Our bodies will always metabolise carbs (sugars and starches) first (because it’s toxic), so whenever you eat carbs you remain a sugar burner not a fat burner.

I’m about to try the approach and will report back on the process. It’s said to take 3-6 weeks for the conversion to kick in and there are supplements I’ll take to deal with cravings. I’ll share my tips with you shortly. In the meantime be sure to check out Nora when she’s here in Australia.

Have you done the paleo switch? Any tips? Feedback?

I approached some of the food types who contribute on this blog and asked if they’d come clean with their on-the-run eating  tricks. We all do it. Eat crap and live to see another day!

Mine are thus,

* I avoid Thai (the coconut cream is great, but it’s full of palm sugar). Greek is great. Pubs are my favourite. Indian is OK (coconut cream with less sugar!)

* At food courts, I eat meat. Kebab joints – the straight up meat (with their salady stuff). The beef stew. etc. These stews are likely to have homely ingredients (my experience dating chefs is that Mum makes these dishes and keeps it pretty unadulterated). I avoid anything with sauce, or bready stuff and steer wellllllll clear of salad bars with dressing.

* If you eat sandwiches, ask for it to be made up with your ingredients – pre-made ones are full of gunky sauces. Ask for mustard. Full fat cheese and tuna, toasted, is pretty safe.

* At corner shops/ 7-elevens:  I like Kat’s advice below – just buy the dark chocolate and be done with it.

* Soup is always a good option. Again, often made simply and sometimes by a Mum.

* I’ve written about what I eat when I’m traveling here.

But over to the others now…do add your ideas below!

Thai

Lee Holmes is author of Supercharged Food: I usually order a chicken and cashew nut dish and ask for no sauce.  I say I’d just like to have it stir fried with garlic.  If you’re ordering a curry you can ask for it without sugar too and most Thai restaurants are happy to accommodate you.

Kat Eden is a nutritional coach, an author, and a motivational speaker: I eat chicken and cashew nut stirfry with vegetables as my main dish. I usually ask for sauce on the side and either avoid it altogether or use just a little bit. Most of these sort of sauces will contain gluten, so if you’re looking to remain gluten free it’s best to avoid them. I do occasionally order prawn spring rolls, and will usually pull off most of the pastry. For me, given that I rarely eat this sort of food out, I tend to treat it as a semi-treat meal.

When it comes to Vietnamese food, one of my favourite (and healthiest) dishes to enjoy is a mango and prawn salad. This usually comes with a fresh chili sauce, which you could also order on the side.

Nat Kringoudis is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncturist, natural fertility educator, writer and blogger: Salads are great although if you are sugar free, dressings can be chocked with sugar so asking for salad with a lemon wedge works for me (no dressing) and a steamed piece of fish.  I just try to keep it simple – the more complicated you make the order, the less likely you are to get what you ask for.

Zoe Bigley-Pulin is a nutritionist and chef:  Thai beef salad, beef or chicken satays, dry curries (without coconut milk) all served with jasmine rice and steamed vegetables.

Vanessa Rowe blogs at Low Flying Duck, sharing her experiences of living with coeliac disease: fresh rice paper rolls are a good option, but I check the dipping sauces, and ask about the use of soy sauce and thickeners. Soups can also be good – depending on how the stock and seasonings are done.

On the road at servos and 7-Elevens

Kat:  I don’t even bother trying to find good quality protein or fresh food – even if they do have fruit it’s probably been there a good week or two! Last week at 7/11 I bought an small bar of Lindt 70% dark chocolate, a small bag of Nobby’s raw nuts and seed mix, and a little block of cheddar cheese. This kept me going until I arrived home to ‘real’ food, and it didn’t give me that rapid spike followed by the crash that most snack foods will cause.

Nat: most servos stock natural yoghurt these days and many with fruits too – so I grab an apple or a banana and natural yoghurt to go, or a can of tuna and a salad – many also have salads in the fridge with the dressing separate.  My other fave is peanut butter and apple – if they have an ok small tub of peanut butter.  Nuts and dried fruit can also be available to grab for a snack on the run – oh and if I see an Emma and Tom’s fruit bar I know they are made with 3-4 ingredients and no sugar so I stock up!

Vanessa: No Chiko Rolls for me. Rice crackers, corn thins, yoghurt, nuts and fruit are usually my standards.

Pubs

Lee:  I order simple pub grub, usually steak and vegetables and I ask them to hold the sides.

Kat: I’ve found that allowing the fries to arrive and pretending you’ll have just one or two is a recipe for disaster! If if it’s served with sweet potato mash I  have some of that and order an additional side salad.  If we’re having a drink before ordering, and everyone else is snacking on bread, I’ll often order something like grilled prawns or calamari as a starter. It means spending more money, but I’d rather wake up the next day feeling great about having had a fun night out with good food choices, than have a bloated stomach and poor energy. As far as alcohol goes, my first choice is always red wine. Red wine is high in the antioxidant resveratrol, and choosing organic means no nasty toxins (which I believe are the main culprit when it comes to feeling hungover. White wine or champagne are the next best choice, also due to their antioxidant qualities. Pinot and merlot are best for helping to induce sleep, as they stimulate melatonin production. Shiraz tends to have the highest naturally occurring antioxidants.

Nat: If they have a slow cooked something on the menu I will often go for that also.

Vanessa: steak or seafood and salad are usually a possibility.

Sandwich bars/delis

Kat: This is probably one of my least favourite places to find myself needing food, as most of the options are heavy on starch and sugar and low on nutrition! If there is any sort of salad option I will choose that – definitely with sauce on the side. To be honest, most sandwich bars would have me just buying some nuts and maybe some fruit rather than try to make do with any of the foccacia/panini/past type options. I

Nat: make your own antipasto platter!  Yes they will look at you weird but they aren’t the ones who will regret it later if you don’t.  Sometimes they also have quiches.

Breakfast joints

Lee: Breakfast joints are fun cause you can order delicious omelettes and poached eggs and ask for it without toast. I try to order a green side with it too, so perhaps avocado or spinach so that the nutrients from the greens are delivered directly to my body with the combination of good fats.

Kat: This is an easy one! I’ll generally order an omelette or some poached eggs, with spinach/mushrooms/avocado, and no toast. Sometimes I’ll have avocado with that, or goats cheese if it’s available. Interestingly, one of the things I loved about travelling in the states was that all egg dishes come with potato – which they are happy to switch for fruit, and it was mostly berries. Berries are my favourite low GI carb to add to breaky; aside from that I prefer to start the day with protein and fat. This is optimal for slow-release energy and the minimisation of food cravings. You’ll also ‘program’ your body to burn fat when you start the day this day, rather than spiking insulin with so-called healthy cereals or even wholegrains, and programming your body to store fat.

Nat: Eggs!  I find breakfast quite easy to eat out for.  Many places offer GF bread which is a bonus – although often very high in sugar so weigh up your options.  I will do a big plate of eggs, spinach, tomato, mushrooms etc.  Or if there is a homemade muesli, I’ll grab some yoghurt (provided it’s without sugar) and eat that.  Beans work – just remember if beans get your pipes going, you can counteract the effects by chomping on any calming herbs that might appear with your dish – they are there for a reason!

Food courts

Lee: Felafal stores are good but if you have the works you could Felafal (feel awful) if you’ve over- indulged, so a good alternative is to order the felafal balls with salad, onion and hommus.

Kat: My go-to food court shop is Nandos or Grill’d. At Nandos I would order the chicken thighs with no sauce, and that’s it. And at Grill’d as you might no you can order a gluten free bun, but I prefer to save my carbs for less processed foods than bread, so I just go bunless. Usually they arrange it all nicely for you as a salad. If neither of those outlets are there, Japanese usually offers plenty of protein and veg options which can be ordered without sauce! If worst comes to worst it’s back to the salad bar.

Zoe: Lebanese/turkish meat on spit. This can be a good choice, as the fat drips away from the rotating spit roast and you get plenty of salad, tabouleh and hummus.

Nat: If there is Japanese, I often opt for that – many now use brown rice with their dishes, many do very basic curries etc and make it up in front of you rather than eating something that has been sitting there for 10+ hours (gross and as nutritional as CARDBOARD!). If I find Nando’s I can generally get a grilled something a rather with salad.  Fruit salad and suitable yoghurts are sometimes also available.

McDonalds/Burger King etc (when things are desperate)

Kat: Actually this did happen to me a year or so back on a road trip. We’d been stuck in traffic exiting Melbourne for over 2 hours and when we finally hit the freeway Maccas was the first thing we encountered. I was starving! I ordered an Angus burger and ate just the insides. My theory is that Angus beef is better quality … actually I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by this burger but it did still leave an oily taste. In theory going for a chicken salad is the healthier option but I find the salad ingredients to be very poor quality and you’re lucky to get a skerrick of chicken. Depending on the mix, some fast food outlet salads come in with a higher calorie and fat count than their burgers!

In seven words, Michael Pollan succinctly sums up the best way to eat. He’s famous for this mantra, from his superb book In Defense of Food. It sticks, hey!?

                            photo via Cannelle et Vanille

 Michael has just released his latest book Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual in which he lays out the most deadset simple rules for eating that don’t tax willpower and brainpower. And they work. For health and for the planet. Here’s some of his highlights:

some tips from Michael:

1. if it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.

2. when shopping in a supermarket, shop the periphery of the store and avoid the centre aisles laden with processed foods.

3. avoid sugar… (and) note, too, that refined flour is hardly different from sugar once it gets into the body.

4. avoid foods advertised on television…and food products that make health claims. No natural food is simply a collection of nutrients, and a processed food stripped of its natural goodness to which nutrients are then added is no bargain for your body.

5. cook. Cooking for yourself takes back control of your diet.

6. don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does. Don’t shop for your food at a petrol station.

7. “No snacks, no seconds, no sweets – except on days that start with S”.

8. eat at a table. Not at your work desk, or in front of the tv, or while you’re driving. If you’re not paying attention to what you’re eating, you’re likely to eat more.

9.  don’t eat anything that won’t eventually rot. “There are exceptions — honey — but as a rule, things like Twinkies that never go bad aren’t food,” Pollan says.

my tips:

10. choose the food with the least number of ingredients. when comparing, say, mayonnaise, in the supermarket, choose the one with the shortest ingredients panel.

11. eat the whole food. Don’t take out yolks or the fat. It’s the yolks and fat that contain the enzyme that breaks down the egg or the cafe latte in your stomach, providing for better metabolism.

12. for similar reasons, don’t drink fruit juice. It’s the fibre in fruit that enables us to handle the high sugar content. I’ve said this before, a glass of apple juice contains 10-12 teaspoons of sugar. So wrong.

13. eat food with less than about 6g/100g of sugar in it. I read the sugar content before I read the fat or calorie content.

14. crowd out. This is my personal mantra. Don’t say “don’t” (to “bad foods”), simply say “more please” to the good stuff. Eat as much good stuff as you can stomach and then allow yourself some crap…(if you can fit it in).

Do you have a favourite food rule that doesn’t use up too much brainpower?

To be honest, I’m kind of glad the debate has come to this. It’s a tangible concept. I’m hoping that as the discussion shifts to food and food warfare, we’ll care more. We’ll wake up. Because we won’t have a choice. We need to eat.

Personally, I'd prefer if she bought just the one. photo: Charlotte Abramow

In the US last week a report  found that eating healthy has become too expensive for most. It created much discussion over there. Soon it will be the same with junk food.

Anyway, in the meantime, what to do, both from an economic and an ecological POV?

It’s simple and elegant. Waste less.

I’m unashamedly militant about using every last bit of food. And I get incensed when I’m around people who don’t. It’s a pet issue of mine and I don’t hold back.

Some principles I personally live by:

* I don’t buy more until I’ve finished what I already have (in the fridge/pantry). I completely run out of yoghurt before I set out to buy another. That way I find myself then using up the last of the sour cream or cheese in the interim.

* I cook the leaves from beetroot bunches as I would silverbeet (and eat with oil and pepper and salt). Ditto the leaves from cauliflower and broccoli (just don’t do with rhubarb – the leaves are poisonous)

* I don’t peel anything. I eat the rind/skin on pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, beetroot. A lot of the nutrients are contained in the skin.

* Celery leaves – great in soup and salads. I use as I would parsley. I make a pistou using the leaves, too.

* I shop every few days, rather than do a weekly shop. And I shop with a plan for 2-3 meals at a time.

* I cook in batches, using up the whole onion, the whole tin of tomatoes, all the beans. And I freeze what I don’t eat (which is more environmentally sound than storing the stuff in the fridge, anyway).

* If it looks like I won’t be able to eat that whole bunch of silverbeet or the bag of beetroot, I cook the whole lot up as I’m making dinner that night and freeze in zip-lock bags (measured out into serving portions). PS. I always wash and resuse zip-lock bags.

* When my veggies are looking lack-lustre, I make a big soup with lentils and bacon thrown in for flavour and protein. I stab-mix the lot. I juice fruit and beetroots and carrots. Or I make mish-mash meals.

* When I go away, I clean out the fridge. I make my breakfast/lunch etc for the flight using dregs, rather than buy airline/airport food. Again, see my mish-mash meals post for ideas.

* I soak and cook my own beans and pulses (again, in batches and freeze in portions)…super cheap, no cans.

* I don’t put stuff in the fridge I know I won’t get to eating in the 2-3 days before it will go off. Again, I freeze it. Eg: if I open a carton of chicken stock, I pour any excess into icecube trays and use 1-2 cubes to saute vegetables, instead of oil.

That’s all I can think of for now…and I should stop before I sound like a sanctimonious twat.

All of this is timely as the NSW government launches their new Love Food Hate Waste program. Someone from the 1 Million Women campaign alerted me to it.

• NSW households waste about $1,000 of food per household, per year
• 40 per cent of the average household bin is discarded food making food waste the largest single component of our household garbage.
• scraping leftovers into the bin contributes directly to climate change. When food waste is thrown away and sent to landfill, together with other organic materials, it becomes the main contributor to the generation of methane – a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide in its impact on climate change. National greenhouse inventory data tells us landfills contribute to two per cent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of the the campaign they’re sharing recipes and a serving size calculator and 1 Million Women is encouraging us all to register – you will receive a free menu planner and shopping list notepad.

Their top five tips to help reduce food waste are:

1. Plan your weekly meals
2. Write a shopping list
3. Measure your serving sizes
4. Store your food correctly
5. Use your leftovers

2010 NSW Australian of the Year John Dee, founder & Managing Director of ‘Do Something!’ and founder of Planet Ark, has alerted me to FoodWise,  a national campaign organised by his action group Do Something! The aim of the campaign is to get Australians to reduce the environmental impact of their food consumption.

Now, if you’re ready to go the extra mile, The New York Times ran a story on how to use/eat more of your scraps. Some pretty clever ideas:

Photo: Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

CARROT, CELERY AND FENNEL LEAVES Mix small amounts, finely chopped, with parsley as a garnish or in salsa verde: all are in the Umbelliferae family of plants. Taste for bitterness when deciding how much to use.

CHARD OR COLLARD RIBS Simmer the thick stalks in white wine and water with a scrap of lemon peel until tender, then drain and dress with olive oil and coarse salt. Or bake them with cream, stock or both, under a blanket of cheese and buttery crumbs, for a gratin.

CITRUS PEEL Organic thin-skinned peels of tangerines or satsumas can be oven-dried at 200 degrees, then stored to season stews or tomato sauces.

CORN COBS Once the kernels are cut off, simmer the stripped cobs with onions and carrots for a simple stock. Or add them to the broth for corn or clam chowder.

MELON RINDS Cut off the hard outer peels and use crunchy rinds in place of cucumber in salads and cold soups. [I've also had candied watermelon rind at a restaurant at some stage...]

PEACH LEAVES Steep in red wine, sugar and Cognac to make a summery peach-bomb aperitif. (According to David Lebovitz’s recipe, the French serve it on ice.)

POTATO PEELS Deep-fry large pieces of peel in 350-degree oil and sprinkle with salt and paprika. This works best with starchy potatoes like russets.

YOUNG ONION TOPS Wash well, coarsely chop and cook briefly in creamy soups or stews, or mix into hot mashed potatoes.

TOMATO LEAVES AND STEMS Steep for 10 minutes in hot soup or tomato sauces to add a pungent garden-scented depth of tomato flavor. Discard leaves after steeping.

TOMATO SCRAPS Place in a sieve set over a bowl, salt well and collect the pale red juices for use in gazpacho, Bloody Marys or risotto.

TURNIP, CAULIFLOWER OR RADISH LEAVES Braise in the same way as (or along with) collards, chards, mustard greens or kale.

WATERMELON SEEDS Roast and salt like pumpkinseeds.

What do you do? What can you share?

zucchini ricotta cheesecake, via 101cookbooks

Not a sad predicament, but variety is required. Lately I’ve also been experimenting with cutting back on grains overall. I’m not wholly paleo (caveman diet follower); I tend to follow Weston A Price’s eating ideas (although not strictly). I can see merits in not eating so many carbs…doing so does curb my cravings…which I have problems with. I still eat carbs, just not as many.

So back to breakfast…no sugar, no gluten and… less grains. A challenge? Yes, but one I’m up for.

Tell me what you think of these ideas, and please add your own.

Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake

This one is fresh from 101 Cookbooks. They used a springform pan, but you could use an equivalent baking dish or deep tart pan as well. I did mine in a skillet with less ingredients.

serves 8

• 2 cups zucchini, unpeeled & grated
• 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
• zest of one lemon
• 2 large eggs, well beaten
• 1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
• drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 170C degrees. Butter/oil a 7-inch springform pan.

In a strainer, toss the grated zucchini with the salt and let sit for ten minutes. Now aggressively squeeze and press out as much moisture as you can. Set aside.

Combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan, shallots, garlic, dill and lemon zest. Stir in the eggs and mix. Now stir in the zucchini. Fill the pan with the mixture and place on a baking sheet and in the oven and for sixty minutes. Sprinkle with the goat cheese and return to the oven for another 20 -30 minutes or until the goat cheese is melted and the cake barely jiggles in the center (it will set up more as it cools).

Let cool five minutes, then release the cake from its pan. Serve at room temperature drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a few sprigs of dill.

Chia Omelette

I stumbled upon this idea when making an omelette where I’d put in too much milk by accident. I added chia seeds to soak up the liquid (I do the same with casseroles and soups…a few teaspoons get everything nice and thick again). Lee Holmes at Supercharged foods, it turns out, does the same, so I thought I’d post her instructions.

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• Basil and oven roasted tomatoes
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Beat eggs for one minute then add chia seeds.

Warm olive oil in omelette pan.

Pour mixture in and swirl until thinly covered.

Cook on medium heat and then fold.

Remove from pan and serve with basil and tomato.

Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Spinach “Bread”

Also from Supercharged Foods, this spinach bread recipe is delicious, and with a video to boot!

(Makes approximately 10 slices)

• 6 packets frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (no additives)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Grease baking tray or ceramic roasting pan.

Mix together spinach, eggs, and garlic in a bowl.

Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan and flatten, pressing down with fingers.

Bake for 15- 20 minutes or until set.

Allow to cool slightly then using a knife or pizza cutter slice into 10 rectangles.

Use a spatula to remove individual slices from pan.

Wrap slices in freezer wrap and freeze until ready to use.

Coconut granola

• 4-5 tbl butter or coconut oil
• 3 cups coconut flakes
• 1 cup chopped or ground almonds (pref activated ones…see my recipe here)
• 2-4 tbs stevia (or 4 tbs honey if you’re not doing the no-sugar thing)
• 1 cup each of crispy cashews and pecans or walnuts (see my recipe here)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, spread evenly on baking paper on a tray and bake in a preheated oven at 120 celsius. When golden, pull out and cool immediately (to get it crispy).

Homemade Socca

I’ve been making this recipe for a while. I sometimes make a similar pancake (with eggs and a little milk). Chickpea flour is also called besan flour and it’s not technically flour – you’ll find it at some supermarkets and it’s cheap.  Whole Living posted the recipe below and provided this little tip:

If you have the time and the foresight, I highly suggest mixing your socca batter well in advance to aid digestion. Much like soaking beans and legumes before cooking, soaking the flour (especially if it is raw) will undoubtedly help your body break down the complex starches in ground chickpeas, and will aid in mineral absorption.

(Makes about three seven-inch soccas.)

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ¼ cup lukewarm water
• 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• Ghee or coconut oil, for pan

In a large bowl, sift chickpea flour, salt, and pepper. Whisk in warm water and olive oil. Let sit, covered, for as many hours as possible (making this before you leave the house in the morning is perfect for making socca for dinner), but at least 30 minutes.

Place heavy (preferably cast-iron) skillet in oven and preheat to 230 C.

Remove skillet from oven. Add a knob of ghee or coconut oil to the hot pan, and pour batter in a steady stream until it reaches the edges of the pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the pancake is firm and the edges are set.

At this point, you can flip the socca, or set it a few inches below your broiler for a couple minutes, just long enough for it to brown. Cut into wedges and serve hot, with toppings of your choice.

Grain-free breakfast bars

• 1 1/4 cup almond flour
• big pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup coconut shredded
• 2 1/4 cups of nuts and seeds (pref activated ones… see my recipe here)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda (baking soda is always gluten-free, baking powder sometimes isn’t)
• 4 tbls of stevia (or 1/4 cup maple syrup)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet in another. Then pour the dry into the wet. Press into a greased baking dish and bake at 180 C for 20 mins. Cool and cut. To make a crispy version, place the “bars” back in the oven (once cut) for another 10 minutes.

Also see a great meffin (meat and veggie muffin) recipe here.

And my frozen spinach and egg creation here. I’m a little obsessed with this right now. I sometimes add mushroom as well (and pop in the microwave with the rest).

And some previous breakfast creations here and here.

Do you have any simple ideas to share?

Pic: Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

So I always have a few staples on hand that can stretch out the random fridge surprise ingredients. Eggs, tinned tuna, tinned sardines,  frozen spinach, peas and broccoli (I steam, bag and freeze myself, as explained here), capers and activated nuts and seeds (which I keep in the freezer…they keep longer and stay crisper).

Me, at the moment I’m loving these ideas:

* Freezer spinach, pea and parmesan surprise: Take two cubes of frozen spinach (I buy the one that comes in a pack of 6 cubes) and a handful of frozen peas in a bowl and microwave (I know, not ideal, but frozen spinach is dodgy in a pot and this meal works best in a microwave) for a minute or so. I drain a little water out and stir through one egg and some grated Parmesan (which I store in the freezer) and heat for another minute or so. Breakfast!

* Mushroom mush: I saute mushrooms in a pan and some shaved ham (I keep a container in the fridge for such moments) and swirl through some lightly forked eggs, a splash of milk and some chia seeds.

* Broccoli and ….: I steam broccoli cut up pretty fine (as mentioned I do this in advance – a head or two at a time – put in containers and freeze ready to grab) and add:  some shredded chicken (I buy 1/2 a chook and use it across 3-4 meals), a few anchovies and some garlic, a tin of tuna and an egg…I swirl it through the hot broccoli and it “cooks” into a cheesy bind. Sometimes I toss in some finely cut celery  and swirl through some whole-egg mayo (sugar-free). And some activated pepitas (again, which I keep in the freezer). And bang. Lunch. Or breakfast (the other day I took it on the plane with me on my way to Sydney at 9am).

* Meffins (meat, veggie and egg muffins): I came across this in a Westin A Price newsletter – brown 500g pork (or beef, but pork is milder) mince in a pan. Set aside. Then saute a cup of chopped leftover veggies – onion, carrot, pumpkin, peas – (using the fat in the pan from the pork). In another bowl beat 12 eggs and add meat, veggies, 1 cup cottage cheese, herbs and spices (I use fresh sage and thyme). Spoon into a 12-cup muffin tin, sprinkle with cheese and cook 15-20 minutes in a 180 degree oven.

This is what I ate yesterday for breakfast: chick peas (again, stored in freezer), spinach, chia, tinned corn and anchovies!

* handy tip: I toss chia seeds through many of these kind of meals…they soak up any excess liquid and make the meal seem weightier and goobier. They also add instant protein and fibre…a boon if you’re travelling a lot and need to make sure you’re getting enough of both.

My favourite new foodie blogger Lee Holmes has supplied this mish-mash recipe for Veggie Omelettes.

Lee says:

Vegie omelettes are boundary free, you can use any vegies that you have in your fridge, or even leftovers from the night before, as well as herbs to create a colourful, nutrient-rich and satisfying meal in minutes. If you’re low on veg then throw in some frozen spinach for added greens.

Chop the vegies into squares, along with two sliced garlic cloves, whisk two large eggs in a bowl add the vegies to the eggs with a pinch of celtic sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. Pour mixture into omelette pan and cook on medium heat until set. Turn onto a plate, sprinkle with nutritional yeast flakes and enjoy!

Oh, and a while back I posted seventeen of my best cooking tricks for wellness which prompted a bunch of you shared some fantastic mish-mash meals with me. Here’s a few:

Sarah shared this: I save the tough leek tops, broccoli stems, and any other random bits of veggies (that I would have thrown away) to make stock. When I buy cauliflower, radishes, carrots, beets, or otherwise, I always buy with the greens attached and add them to salads! I add spices to EVERYTHING.

A seriously quick lunch from Narelle Chenery (the chick behind Miessence):  I pour some water (1/2 cup) into a saucepan, stuff it full of whatever leafy greens I have on hand (beetroot greens, kale, spinach, collards, anything green and leafy from the markets, or chopped fennel or celery), lay a piece of raw chicken breast or thigh over the top, sprinkle with herbs and spices (ginger and turmeric powders are a great combo), put the lid on and steam on high for about 5 minutes, or just until the chicken is cooked through. Seriously quick and seriously delicious. Plus, low fat, low simple carbs, high protein, high complex carbs.

Lara said “I stick blend bio yoghurt, rice milk, whey powder, a handful of frozen berries (this time of year I add them first with a little hot water to defrost), chia seeds, coconut oil, and barley greens and blend them up to make a yummy smoothie daily – brilliant breaky or post-workout/recovery drink.’

Here’s a great savoury gluten-free scone recipe from Pip that uses up some mashed pumpkin:

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup buckweat
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vege salt
• 1 tbsp grated onion
• 1 beaten egg (or 1/2 cup cold pressed oil)
• 1/2 milk (i use rice milk)
• 1/2 cup mashed pumpkin

Combine, place spoonfuls onto baking tray and cook in hot oven for 10 mins

Tiff listed a few of her favourite tricks as well: To use up leftovers I grate the vegies that lurk in the fridge at the end of the week, and mix with eggs and almond meal to make quick and healthy veggie patties. Sometimes I mash in some lentils or chickpeas. (Can you tell I hate waste!?)  Black swan vanilla bean greek yoghurt is a godsend for the sugar free life. It is naturally sweet because lactase is added to break down the lactose in the milk, making it taste sweeter. Tonight I had some with grilled figs for dessert. Walnuts and goji berries mixed together as a snack, just cos it tastes ahh-mazing! Porridge made from homemade muesli (oats, linseeds, almond, pepitas, sunflower seeds, soya grits).

For more ’clean out the cupboard’ recipes go here.

Feel free to add your ideas too!

It found yoghurt was the best food to eat to lose weight.

Below I’ve outlined the gist of the study, and then shared my favourite ways to eat yoghurt.

via pinterest.com

The study was based on three trials over 20 years. It found

• The quality of food matters more than calorie count!!! So eating organic makes you lose weight.
• The top five most fattening foods were sugar-sweetened beverages, red meat and processed red meat, each associated with half a kilo of weight gain every four years.
• The most fattening food of them all? Potato chips, which led to more weight gain per serving than any other food, the study found.
• The best nosh for your waistline? Surprisingly, yogurt — each extra daily serving prevented half a kilo of weight gain

These studies always involved competing, intertwined factors. But there’s no escaping that eating yoghurt leads to good things.

So, some yoghurt sharing…

What yoghurt do I eat?

I swap between Meredith Farm Sheep’s Milk and the Baramba Organic (full-fat) Cow’s Milk one (this stuff is soooo decadently good). Not to be pious, per se. But because they have the best flavour and consistency. IMO.

Full-fat or low-fat?

I can not say this strongly enough – full-fat only! Three reasons: it tastes better (so you’ll be satiated and eat less of it); when fat is removed from dairy the particular enzymes contained in dairy that help you metabolise milk and milk fats are disrupted (thus you don’t process it as well…meaning, I’ve heard it argued, it winds up more fattening); low-fat dairy is often pumped with sugar. You can read more about that here.

How do I eat it?

I eat yoghurt every day. I mix it up. Feel free to try these ideas…

* A quick dessert snack: Pan-toasted walnuts or pepitas, cinnamon and a teaspoon of Miessence Berry Radical powder (this is a sugar-free chocolate powder) mushed through a big bowl of yoghurt. Just like a chocolate milkshake only crunchy.

* Another quick dessert: I mush frozen berries in a cup of yoghurt. Sometimes I add pure vanilla essence.

* A breakfast smoothie: check my recipes here and here. I often make these when I’m at the end of the container – I stickblend in the container, whack the lid on, put in the freezer for 15 minutes (to get well-chilled) and voila – a portable breakfast. Perfect when I have to head to the airport early, or to a job across town.

* A breakfast idea: I heat left-over polenta and wallop on a dallop of yoghurt with some pesto. And presto! Sometimes I swirl in some flaxseed oil into the yoghurt (I don’t put flaxseed directly onto hot stuff…)

* Another breakfast idea: make grainless pancakes using just eggs and yoghurt and some LSA.

* A Morrocon flavour hit: I blend preserved lemon (mushed up), cumin and yoghurt and add to a lamb dish or to a beetroot and lentil salad.

* Soup savior: I can’t eat soup without a big swirl of yoghurt. It sweetens any flavour.

OK. That’s enough. Over to you… any clever suggestions?

via pinterest.com

The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) have developed the first online sustainability guide for seafood consumers in Australia. It was developed in response to growing public concern about overfishing and its impact on our oceans and their wildlife, and is designed to help you make informed seafood choices and play a part in swelling the tide for sustainable seafood in Australia.

The guide lists fish according to ‘better’ option, ‘think twice’, or ‘no’- which basically means don’t eat it if you have a conscience.

According to the sustainability guide, some of the well-known ‘better’ options include

• sardines,
• whiting, calamari,
• oysters
• and mahi mahi.

We should be saying “no” to:

• tuna,
• salmon,
• gemfish
• and farmed barramundi

Some of the ‘think twice’ fish include prawns(farmed in Australia), dory, and wild barramundi. See the guide for a full list and explanation of all fish, and if you’re interested, I’ve posted before on which tinned tuna to buy.

Here’s some bullet-pointed things to share at the pub tonight:

• One research team assessing the relative sustainability of the top seafood producing nations ranked Australia 31st out of the 53 nations considered. We still have a long way to go.
• When you’re shopping for seafood, ask if the fish is a deep sea, slow-growing or long-lived species. Deep sea species are generally slow-growing and long-lived. This makes them particularly vulnerable to fishing pressure, and they take longer to recover from impacts on their populations. Give these species a break.
• The ‘dolphin friendly’ logos evident on most canned fish, particularly tuna, are not a measure of sustainability. While dolphin friendly seafood is caught in ways that minimise the number of dolphins killed, they may still catch threatened species such as sharks or turtles. The ‘dolphin friendly’ logo also does not give any indication of overfishing. Although some companies try to do the right thing, there is no independent regulation of the use of dolphin friendly labels.

There is a lot of helpful information on the website. You can also buy a guide for $9.95 here. Keep it with you and shop with a clear conscience.

Mark Bittman from the New York Times says he only eats white fillet. He shares some tips on cooking and eating sustainable fish here. I’ve pulled out some top tips for you:

• cook any white fillet the same way you cook any other white fillet: broiled, sautéed, roasted or poached, and teamed with just about any seasoning you can think of, from the obvious, like tomatoes and capers, to the semiexotic, like sugar and fish sauce.
• thicker pieces of fish will cook in 15 minutes or less, thinner pieces in under 10.
• you can tell that any fillet is done when it’s opaque and a thin-bladed knife meets little resistance when you use it to poke the thickest part of the fish.

I know a lot of eco-orientated nutritionists share on this blog…what are your thoughts? Anyone else got fish-buying tips?