Free the Animal

Field to Table

Cousin Adam went bird hunting. Chukar and Pheasant.

And then on the table, same day. Says he: "Paprika, salt, pepper, cayanne; red and green bell peppers; onion; white wine, and chicken stock. Brown the bird, sauté the veggies, add stock, wine and simmer uncovered to reduce. Killed and eaten on the same day!"

Reader Food Pics

Time to see what some others out there are preparing.

First up is something I know a lot of you have seen around the general low-carb website Intertubes. It's The Bacon Explosion. This is a bit more involved than The Bacon and Cheese Roll. Frankly, I never had much interest in doing either of those. I'm not eating cheese except as a spice nowadays, and while I do eat bacon and quality made sausage (no Jimmy Dean), the thing just didn't appeal to me.

Now, reader Jessica has changed that for me and I do believe I'll give it a go. She made it much more palatable in my opinion.

She emails:

For my Paleo version, I mixed 1 lb course ground beef and 1 lb ground pork with some fennel, sage, oregano, S&P, and used that for the sausage layer. I put olives and cheese in the middle instead of more bacon, and I used a seasoning blend of jamaican jerk spices, chili powder, smoked pimento powder, and a poultry seasoning from Whole Foods that contains red pepper, lavender and mustard seeds. I was going for something spicy, garlicy, a little bit smoky, and salty...It was phenomenal!

Next up, reader Brigitte makes a delicious looking dish:

Flash fried spinach & mushrooms. Meatballs in a demiglase with green peppers and pineapple.

Richard, per your advice, I used a white plate. I flash fried the spinach in very hot grape seed oil for no more that 30 seconds, wonderful.

Reader Input, Results, Q&A

A bit busy right now, so let me just round up a bunch of things in one post. You know the drill.

• Reader Bud sends a link to an article along so that we know that diabetes in America is now costing $200 billion per year. Of course, if this and other similar blogs were "required reading," costs would drop to under a 10th of that in time. Well, at least we can be grateful that so many generous Americans are so anxiously clamoring to pay for everybody else's avoidable health problems via "universal healthcare." Good luck with that. Spending other people's money is so much fun.

• Reader Tex says: "As an occasional reader of your 'old' libertarian blog, I stumbled upon Free The Animal just a few weeks ago. I've found it utterly riveting so far. [...] what you're putting out there right now makes a lot more sense than most of the health-industry nonsense I've endured so far." Then he asks: "...is there some kind of omnibus post somewhere which offers an introduction/summary to/of your project thus far? Trawling through blog archives isn't an ideal way to grasp the essentials of what you're doing." Answer: In addition to a forthcoming book project, I should have up a brief summary post very shortly to serve as a reference and resource for just this sort of thing. The basics.

• Reader Jim objects to my 'Eggs are trying to kill you' post: "I take issue with the comment that Chickens in cages (regardless of how one feels about the quality of life) have a nutritionally different EGG. The egg is one complete system, it is either 100% functional for the creation of life, or it is a defective and fails. Eating bugs or whatnot should make no difference. Now the MEAT of the chicken could be impacted by being deficient diet, but I do not believe there is any measurable difference in wild, freerange, or caged chicken EGGS." Answer: Actually, the blog I linked two gave a pretty good and plausible references for nutritional differences. And, let's not conflate base reproductive viability with optimal nutrition. That said, he also makes a good point. Factory eggs are highly nutritious (I eat them often), though way not nearly as tasty as those with deep orange yolks. You're better off with eggs via any source than with no eggs.

• Reader Jeff says and asks: "My Dad has lost 20# doing it the "free the animal" way. His only complaint is that he is getting some loose skin as the fat melts away. He is almost 70 and is concerned that he might be stuck with the extra skin. [...] Your transformation is profound and I wonder if you have any experience with looser skin and what to do about it." Answer: Well, first congrats to you and your 70-yr-old dad. Skin or not, that has to be a real win. Unfortunately, it seems this is an area ripe for scams in the form of various lotions, creams, peels and such. I chased around some links concerning hydration, time, and exercise but nothing looked super real to me. The best advice I found was to keep losing body fat, i.e., leaning out, and/or putting on more lean mass. Otherwise, cosmetic surgery is probably the only solution.

• Reader Nicky asks: "I'm assuming you at least drink water on your fast day, but are you truly not hungry and do you have enough energy for your workouts? Do you have an 'extra big meal' last meal before you fast? [...] is fasting conducive to a really active lifestyle?" Answer: Yep, water when thirsty; also, unsweetened black coffee or tea. I sometimes have a preparatory large meal, but not usually. My favorite way is to fast in an unplanned way, i.e., just suddenly realizing that I'm just going to skip this meal, maybe even the next one. Skip dinner and go to bed early sometimes. Active lifestyle? Well, when you really get into fasting in an "evolutionary sense" as we advocate around here, I think it's very conducive to an active lifestyle. Always workout hungry.

• Reader Chris reports on progress: "Lost approx 4lb this week - 2 times previous average Feel less bloated- beginning to look less swollen Tastes or tastebuds beginning to change - have less deisre for sweets / my sweetened tea and soda (I have one per day) do not taste as good. I am no longer leaving any of my veggies and root veggies on the plate- I WANT to eat them / they are tasting better to me. As to workout- I am now at ZERO cardio - I have weened myself off of all aerobic classes, and machines - not easy to do after 20 plus years of "experience" - I do 2 trainings per week / 2 pillates or yoga for core / 2 boxing sessions for interval training / 2-3 days of 40 minutes walking / THAT IS IT / I am spending half of the time that I used to on a weekly basis and am making strides that I never thought possible." Way to go, Chris.

• My dad emails in: "Down 22# now at 185." It's probably because he fixes himself meals like this (that's cauliflower on the side, not potato):

• Reader Elliot asks: "Could you point me to any information concerning the negative nutritional aspects of legumes? I know they probably weren't easily accessible in the stone age, but I have a hard time thinking what harm a plate of fresh green beans would do to me." Answer: It seems that pretty much all legumes, including green beans contain some amount of phytohaemagglutinin, a toxic lectin (kidney and pinto beans are apparently the most toxic). Soaking and/or fermenting seems to help. I doubt it's a big issue when consumption is infrequent. I do have green beans sometimes (cooked with bacon), but those or any other beans are just not a common food choice for me, anymore.

Reader Food Pics

Adam sends this along. Meat & eggs, over some greens. Never thought of putting eggs with greens, but why not?

Do you sometimes want something light, different, and a little unconventional for breakfast? Brigitte emails this one.

From Hunt to Table

Last week I blogged about my brother's taking of a big mule-deer buck in Utah. Now, here's what it looks like on the table.

He writes:

I cooked the Venison in Ghee, instead of the traditional flour coating and bacon grease. I sautéed the shitake mushroom in the Ghee and the vegetables in the coconut oil. On a side note, I discovered that cauliflower is absolutely delicious in the coconut oil. The Tomatoes are Heirloom, with fresh mozzarella, onion, and little olive oil and balsamic. I added a little more Ghee to the pan after cooking to deglaze and then poured over the meat, and it was excellent.

Reader Food Pics

I'm going to try once per week (likely every Wednesday, here out) to post 1-3 food pics readers of this blog graciously send along to me in emails, provided they closely conform to being Real Food. Not interested in what anyone can do with Hot Pockets.

First up, my aunt Brigitte send along this very nice looking lunch salad.

Next is Adam, with his mini quiche. It's from a recipe off Mark's Daily Apple.

Guidelines for food pic submissions (at least for pics of stuff you take going forward): white plate, platter, or bowl, please. That works best for contrasting the food. Bonus for a nice white napkin place setting and a glass of red or white wine, or water, iced tea and such.

Reader Real Food

Reader Adam, who described himself as "skinny fat," and who began using some of my methods and those of other's I've pointed to, has dropped from 215 to 201, a loss of 14 pounds that equates to a body fat reduction of about 6.5%. "Skinny fat" is the term used to refer to being skinny, yet fat, i.e., an excessive body fat percentage.

Adam sends along a photo of a recent meal preparation consisting of real feed.

Spinach salad: feta, sunflower seeds, dried cranberry, shrimp, avocado, olive oil & balsamic. And melon for dessert.