This experiment reminds of a section in "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose where he describes the diet of the Lewis and Clark expedition. These folks were canoeing/hiking through rough terrain for several hours every day and living off wild game. Got to go back and read it again, can't remember any negative health impacts except they had trouble consuming enough calories for their high level of activity.
BTW - I'm going to pass on the meat-only diet. I like my veggies, fruit, and nuts too much!
Doug Heifetzon March 12 2010 - 2:47 PM
You eat salad. I eat salad. Let's share some tips!
OK, maybe Justin doesn't eat salad. But wouldn't he be better off if he did? I gotta suspect that he would've avoided that stupid snowboarding injury if only he'd eaten the green a bit more. Don't you think?
A couple of folks at the gym have asked for some of my ideas for sugar-free salad dressings. Sorry I'm late in finally writing this up, but here goes...
In general, the dressing helps me to add tons of flavor and absolutely delicious fat to what might otherwise be a bland concoction. I use a few basic recipes depending on what flavor range I want (Mexican, Asian, Mediterranean). The protein that I'm eating in the salad often determines the desired flavor range. For example, if I'm including tomato-parsley chicken sausage, I'll want a Mediterranean style dressing. Sometimes I mix the dressing separately, but often I'll just throw the ingredients all on top of the veggies & protein, and mix it up as I chow down. Anyhow, here's a basic approach for each of the flavor ranges:
A. Mexican, Southwestern, Tex-Mex, etc:
Three words: avocado, avocado, avocado. Dice it, mash it, or just scoop it out from the peel in big chunks. Instead of fresh avocado I also often use Wholly Guacamole, which includes just mashed avocado and spices (no sugar or other garbage). I buy Wholly Guacamole in large quantity from Costco and always keep some in the freezer.
Then I add at least a few of these other ingredients: hot sauce (I use tons of this), olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon or lime juice, sea salt, salsa, canned diced chili peppers, and Ro-Tel (canned combo of diced tomatoes and chili peppers). Hello, Delicious!
B. Asian sesame dressing: sesame oil, black sesame seeds, rice vinegar, and a dash of soy. It occurs to me now that a bit of wasabi would be a welcome addition to this dressing.
C. Thai (Asian) coconut curry dressing: coconut milk, curry paste or powder (red, green, yellow, panang, or whatever), fish sauce, and occasionally rice vinegar. Sriracha chili sauce is a delicious addition to just about anything Asian, but beware that it has some sugar in it.
D. Mediterranean dressing, use any combo of: fresh avocado (sound familiar?), olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, canned tomatoes, garlic powder or (better yet!) roasted garlic, vinegars (balsamic, wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, etc), mediterranean seasonings and herbs.
E. Middle Eastern (ie The Original Mediterranean), use any combo of: tahini, olive oil, za'atar (spice mix), paprika, cumin, mint, canned tomato, sun-dried tomato, sesame seeds, nuts, etc.
Want other suggestions? Mark Sisson, of Mark's Daily Apple blog, frequently mentions the 'Big-Ass Salad', and gives some nice suggestions here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/two-minute-salad/
So, what about you? Do you have any interesting salad & dressing ideas?
Have a great weekend, everyone.
P.S. Great work on that handstand, Galena!
Justin Baconon March 12 2010 - 3:57 PM
Wow! Thanks Doug. Those sound pretty appetizing....maybe I will start eating more salad now. Although I am very intrigued about this meat-only diet. Could you imagine a meat sandwich. A double bacon burger between two pieces of sausage. Now that's what I'm talking about. Maybe some filet's for dessert.
Linda Aon March 13 2010 - 5:47 PM
Thanks Doug - I'm going to try some of these ideas!
Temptation just knocked on my door and I'm going to stay strong. My order of girl scout cookies were just delivered.
BTW - I'm going to pass on the meat-only diet. I like my veggies, fruit, and nuts too much!
OK, maybe Justin doesn't eat salad. But wouldn't he be better off if he did? I gotta suspect that he would've avoided that stupid snowboarding injury if only he'd eaten the green a bit more. Don't you think?
A couple of folks at the gym have asked for some of my ideas for sugar-free salad dressings. Sorry I'm late in finally writing this up, but here goes...
In general, the dressing helps me to add tons of flavor and absolutely delicious fat to what might otherwise be a bland concoction. I use a few basic recipes depending on what flavor range I want (Mexican, Asian, Mediterranean). The protein that I'm eating in the salad often determines the desired flavor range. For example, if I'm including tomato-parsley chicken sausage, I'll want a Mediterranean style dressing. Sometimes I mix the dressing separately, but often I'll just throw the ingredients all on top of the veggies & protein, and mix it up as I chow down. Anyhow, here's a basic approach for each of the flavor ranges:
A. Mexican, Southwestern, Tex-Mex, etc:
Three words: avocado, avocado, avocado. Dice it, mash it, or just scoop it out from the peel in big chunks. Instead of fresh avocado I also often use Wholly Guacamole, which includes just mashed avocado and spices (no sugar or other garbage). I buy Wholly Guacamole in large quantity from Costco and always keep some in the freezer.
Then I add at least a few of these other ingredients: hot sauce (I use tons of this), olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon or lime juice, sea salt, salsa, canned diced chili peppers, and Ro-Tel (canned combo of diced tomatoes and chili peppers). Hello, Delicious!
B. Asian sesame dressing: sesame oil, black sesame seeds, rice vinegar, and a dash of soy. It occurs to me now that a bit of wasabi would be a welcome addition to this dressing.
C. Thai (Asian) coconut curry dressing: coconut milk, curry paste or powder (red, green, yellow, panang, or whatever), fish sauce, and occasionally rice vinegar. Sriracha chili sauce is a delicious addition to just about anything Asian, but beware that it has some sugar in it.
D. Mediterranean dressing, use any combo of: fresh avocado (sound familiar?), olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, canned tomatoes, garlic powder or (better yet!) roasted garlic, vinegars (balsamic, wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, etc), mediterranean seasonings and herbs.
E. Middle Eastern (ie The Original Mediterranean), use any combo of: tahini, olive oil, za'atar (spice mix), paprika, cumin, mint, canned tomato, sun-dried tomato, sesame seeds, nuts, etc.
Want other suggestions? Mark Sisson, of Mark's Daily Apple blog, frequently mentions the 'Big-Ass Salad', and gives some nice suggestions here:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/two-minute-salad/
So, what about you? Do you have any interesting salad & dressing ideas?
Have a great weekend, everyone.
P.S. Great work on that handstand, Galena!
Temptation just knocked on my door and I'm going to stay strong. My order of girl scout cookies were just delivered.