Hello everybody!  First time poster.  I'm fairly new to this whole Paleolithic movement (just over a month in), so let me introduce myself:  I'm a thirty-something Alabama high school teacher who has always loved to cook.  Seriously, I remember learning how to make pancakes from scratch before I was tall enough to fully see over the counter.

I've assembled quite a collection of cookbooks over the years and about a year ago I realized that I couldn't keep track of what recipes I had and hadn't tried.  So to track these things I started a food journal.  I write entries in a notebook and then mark each recipe in the cookbook with a sticker.  That way I can flip through any given cookbook and see what recipes I'd used.

People were suggesting that I start photographing what I cook, so I recently started posting pictures of food on my Tumblr.  You can see that blog right here.

Well a little over a month ago a buddy of mine named Brett who has been doing the Paleo thing asked me to come over and show him some cooking basics.  We cooked up some deer and chicken and he showed me a copy of Dr. Cordain's The Paleo Diet. Just browsing through the book was really interesting.  I went out the next day and bought my own copy.  Only a week later I bought The Paleo Diet Cookbook.  I guess finally joining this Forum was inevitable.

The paleolithic movement really appeals to me for a number of reasons.  I already had a healthy distrust of processed food, I prefer to make things from scratch rather than buy anything prepackaged.  Also I read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma a few years ago and began to realize the flaws in the USDA food pyramid.  The fact that corn syrup goes in everything bothers me greatly. 

Anyhow I spent a few days lurking and have decide to take the plunge and start posting here.  I've been impressed with the breadth of knowledge that's I've found here (such as the whole lean vs fatty protein debate).  Glad to see a place like this exists!

Anyhow to start off this food journal, here's a photo of dinner from last night (Saturday, April 8th, 2011).  I used two recipes from The Paleo Diet: "Red Snapper in Snappy Sauce" and "Spinach Salad Dressing".   I used Yellowtail Snapper instead of Red Snapper, and used only red bell peppers (the recipe called for both red and green), but otherwise followed the recipes exactly.  I used the dressing to top a simple salad of spinach, red bell pepper slices, and kalamata olives.

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Sunday April 8th, 2011 dinner: Grilled Yellowtail with broiled mushrooms and spinach salad.  These recipes were from the Paleo Diet Cookbook.  The fish recipe was titled "Grilled Snapper" and called for Red Snapper (of course), but I substituted Yellowtail Snapper again.  The fish was seasoned with turmeric, paprika, black pepper, and oregano.  I cooked it in my cast iron grill pan.  The mushroom recipe was under the title "Wild Roasted Mushrooms."  It called for cremini, oyster, and enoki mushrooms... but I only had baby portobello and white mushrooms, so that's what I used.  The spinach salad had radishes, red bell pepper slices and was topped with the left-over dressing from the night before.  Not a bad meal to end the weekend.

Monday April 9th, 2011 dinner.  Mushroom meatloaf with a Waldorf Salad.  The salad recipe was from the Paleo Diet, while the meatloaf recipe was from the Paleo Diet Cookbook, found under the title "Shittake Meatloaf".  White mushrooms were what I had on hand, so I substituted those for the shiitakes.

 

Wednesday dinner, May 11th, 2011.  Pork chops stuffed with liver and a spinach salad.  Recipe from the Paleo Diet.   The stuffing for the pork chop was made with mushrooms, parsley, and chicken livers.  The salad was made with spinach, sliced tomatoes, and shaved almonds.

Dinner, Thursday, May 12th, 2011: Rainbow chard two ways with pork. This recipe was not from any particular cookbook, but was similar to several I’ve used in the past.  I took the chard and I separated the stems from the leaves.  Then I diced the stems and sautéed them with mushrooms and shallots in olive oil.  Next I sliced a pocket into the pork chops and stuffed them with the chard/mushroom/shallot filling.  I baked the pork chops in the toaster oven, then shredded the chard greens and simmered them on the stovetop with lemon.

Abbot - are you eating much fat? How much of this is sat fat?

Not too much.  I've been folowing recipes out of the Paleo Diet mostly, so with the exception of bacon for breakfast or occasional cuts of fatty beef, not much fat at all.  I would like to bring more fat into the diet.  I crave butter and cheese!

I may be off base here... but your portions seem really small....

Dinner: Thursday May 19th, 2011.  Ground sirloin burgers and walnut broccoli with carrots.  Recipe from the Paleo Diet.  I added a parsnip to the recipe, because I've got some to use up.