Posts Tagged ‘Recipe’

Rounding 3rd Base

Posted: August 7, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
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Just in case there are questions, the title is a baseball reference, meaning almost back to home plate for Ramadan. That’s the closest I will get to talking about baseball for the next couple of weeks until the Nationals start winning again. Anyways..the new moon that started Ramadan has officially been sighted (although scientific calculations told us well ahead of time), so that means Ramadan draws to an end. The best part is that Saudia Arabia has announced Eid for the 8th as well so most of the Muslims in the world will be having one big celebration!

This post is for the final 2 days of Ramadan! Not a lot of exciting stuff going food wise except that the universe did win as I slumped back into eating eggs for Sahoor. Aside from that, the last couple of days of Ramadan have been a time crunch as usual, hence the delayed postings.

For Sahoor

Like I said, universe won, got sucked into eating eggs again, except on the 6th where I was able to sneak in some sweet potatoes. I made a hashed sweet potato dish.

It was 1 sweet potato that I skinned and shredded using a grate. Just FYI, grating takes some effort and energy! I for some reason was up all night and had not slept at all. So since I didn’t wake up from REM sleep, I had the energy to do it. I then added the shreddings to a pan with coconut oil and heated it up. I added a pinch of salt and pepper to it and then when the sweet potato was nearly done, I made two holes and cracked two eggs into them. I let it cook for another minute and then placed the plate in the oven for about 5 minutes until the eggs were done. I added some cholula hot sauce on top and ate it.

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For the last Sahoor, I had only napped an hour or two in the past 24 hours so I was barely awake for it. I made a simple omelette, ate it, prayed, and went to sleep. I barely remember it haha. I was a little sad that I couldn’t make anything spectacular for the final day but oh well. I did sleep till noon so I didn’t have to worry about passing a long day with little food.

For Iftar

My sister, who I call my assistant chef, whipped this up while I got my first 2 hours of sleep after about 36 hours of being awake (stupid insomnia.) This was a recipe that I worked on last year for chicken fajitas and guacamole.

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For the final day of Ramadan, I was spending it with the family and as my sister and I went back and forth on what to make, we joked about pizza. That joke pulled some traction and we decided you know what, after we break our fast, Ramadan is technically over. So we did it; we ate pizza. Yeah I said it and now you know what my final cheat meal was. You should feel special. I also later had a slurpee and barely felt any guilt. Hey it’s been a long month, don’t judge me!

Workouts

I did a little bit of squat work on the final day of Ramadan but nothing crazy. I also did days 6 and 7 on the ad challenge calendar.

So this is it for the food/workout posts. InshAllah (God Willing), I will post a final piece tomorrow with some thoughts, reflections, and thanks. Enjoy the day, eat the traditional food with your family, but remember the day after life goes back to normal and that minute on the lips means a lifetime on the hips bahaha.

Eid Mubarak to you all!

Stir and Fry

Posted: August 7, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
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Yeah I know I said this post was coming right away but I forgot some of the recipe and took some time to remember exactly how I made the Iftar meal. Oh and then in the middle of it all I got distracted by the delivery of my new office furniture and started putting that together. ADD at its best.

If there is a recipe of mine you decide to try, I would say this is the one to do! It’s a little complicated and time consuming but it’s worth it. Enjoy!

For Sahoor

I hate myself for it but I went back to eggs. I’m out of egg whites so I fried up 2 eggs sunny side up in olive oil. I ate them with a fork. I had a protein shake and some pure orange juice. I had a few glasses of water after that.

For Iftar

For Iftar I made an Asian Stir Fry dish centered around zucchini. It takes some time to prepare and requires some room but it’s worth it. The recipe below is for 2-3 servings. Here is how it’s done:

  • 1 lb of bonless skinned chicken, diced
  • 1 large zucchini, sliced
  • 1 cup of broccoli
  • 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 tsp of curry paste, Mae Ploy brand
  • 1/2 tsp of sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp of chaat masala
  • 1/2 of a lemon juiced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 3 scallions, diced
  • coconut oil
  1. Heat up 2 large skillets with 2 tsp of coconut oil in each. Add the chicken to one and zucchini to the other.
  2. Add in the salt, chaat masala, lemon juice and curry paste to the chicken. Mix it all up until the curry paste spreads to all of the chicken pieces.
  3. Continue to stir the zucchini as well and flip so it doesn’t burn.
  4. Once the zucchini is done, remove it from the skillet and set aside.
  5. Add the broccoli and mushrooms to the skillet and stir around.
  6. Once they are tender, add the zucchini, broccoli, and mushrooms to the chicken mix.
  7. Add in the scallions and red pepper.
  8. Stir it all up and then lower the heat. Let it simmer with a top over it until the chicken is done.

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If you want, you can make some “fried rice” like I did a couple of weeks ago with cauliflower to eat with this. Otherwise, grab a fork and dig in!

Workout of the Day

Day 5 of the ab challenge. Yeah lazy day.

2 days left in the month of Ramadan, have you accomplished all of your goals that you set out to do??

Quick Win

Posted: August 6, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
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Alright so I really don’t have a great excuse for not posting this on time. This post is for the 4th. Although I’m off from work, I have another project that kept me busy all day. Well at least procrastinating about it kept me busy. I do feel myself dragging a lot more these days. It almost feels like the beginning of Ramadan even though I am much more rested these days, not to mention fully adjusted to the schedule. Maybe I’m resting too much? I’m not one to sit around idle so maybe being off work this long is making me lazy.

For Sahoor

This one is for you eva626. I tried your silly recipe of sweet potatoes and milk (I used almond milk). I boiled the potatoes, mashed them up and then added warm almond milk as well as some cinnamon. I don’t know if the excitement of the night and lack of sleep kept me unhungry (is that a word?) but I found it difficult to eat. It tasted good but maybe I just made too much since I used 2 sweet potatoes. I had been snacking on almonds and other things throughout the night as well. Where did I go wrong? Here is what it looked like:

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For Iftar

I had stopped procrastinating and gotten pretty busy around Iftar time so I had only a few minutes to throw something together. I had marinated salmon with sea salt and chili powder earlier. When it was almost Iftar time, I heated up a pan and cooked it with coconut oil. I added green peppers, scallions, and tomatoes to it. I cooked both sides of the fish and when it was nearly cooked, I added some raw honey to one side of the filet. I let it simmer on low heat and put a top on it.

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This was extremely easy to make as you can see. It took maybe 10 minutes with the exception of marinating the filets. Adding honey to one side of the filets left it with a great sweet/spicy combo. It was the perfect touch that made it taste like something I had put effort into.

Workout of the Day

The ab challenge has a rest day today so I did a body weight metcon workout;

5 Rounds
10 Push ups
15 Squats
10 Pull ups
15 Lunges
5 Handstand Push Ups
*Every 30 seconds do 5 burpees

I will be writing the post for the 5th right after this so I will be caught up. It’s almost over, not the time to start getting lazy!!

Expectations

Posted: August 3, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
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Alhumdulillah almost all of the recipes I’ve done this month have turned out as expected. However, not everything always goes to plan. Today’s stuff turned out fine but it just wasn’t perfect. I had craved sweet potatoes the night before and wanted to have a full meal out of it in the morning but that didn’t happen. Then I had orange chicken planned for the evening. It ended up tasting ok but no where near how I had imagined it. It could be possible that I had craved it for a few days now so my expectations were too high from the get go. Oh well, something too work on. If you are looking through my recipes to make something, I say go back a few days because this one won’t make the highlight reel of my dishes. Am I bothered? A little bit but I can’t lose focus of what this month really means. Here I am with an abundance of food annoyed that one dish didn’t turn out the way I had expected it to. What about those who are just looking for a way to find anything to call a meal? This month is about sacrifice so I’m reminding myself not to get carried away about these details but to focus on the big picture.

For Sahoor

Since sweet potatoes are working for me, I planned to stick with them. However, turns out I only had one left. Oops. So I skinned it and boiled it on hot water. If you cut it into smaller pieces, it cooks faster. I mashed them up, added some chaat masala and lemon juice to it. Since this wasn’t going to be enough food, I made a protein shake as well.

Workout of the Day

I did some random CrossFit stuff in the morning while we filmed a demo video. It wasn’t really a full workout but it did make me break a sweat. In the evening I did day 2 of the ab challenge. If you are interested in doing it, here it is:

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It starts off real slow but I’m looking at the higher 20s on the calendar. Should be interesting. Let me know if you decide to do it. I wish I had found this before Ramadan started!

For Iftar

I decided to make a challenging dish for Iftar. Making it does require some effort and time. Getting the ingredients right so it gets to be the right color and taste while keeping it Paleo is the hard part. I made a little extra for the next morning. Here is how I did it:

  • 1 lb of chicken
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup of almond flour
  • coconut oil

For the Sauce:

  • 3/4 cup of pure orange juice
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • 2 Tbsp of Paleo Starch
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp of ginger, minced
  • 1/4 tsp of crushed peppers
  • 1 tsp of organic soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp of sriracha sauce
  • 1/4 of a lime juice
  • 1 tsp of vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp of honey
  • 2 scallions, diced
  • coconut oil
  1. First make the sauce by preheating a couple of tsp of coconut oil in a pan and adding in the garlic, ginger, crushed red peppers, and half of the orange zest. Stir it around for a minute
  2. Once it’s golden, add in the honey, vinegar, lime juice, sriracha and soy sauce. Stir for a few seconds.
  3. Mix the orange juice and starch in a bowl. Whisk it until the starch dissolves and add the mixture to the pan.
  4. Keep stirring it for about a minute and then lower the heat. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes and move it to the back of the stove.
  5. Preheat another pan with about 2 Tbsps of coconut oil.
  6. Add the eggs to a bowl. Dunk each piece of chicken into it and then coat with the almond flour. Place the chicken into the pan.
  7. Cook each side until the chicken browns
  8. Add the sauce to the chicken and stir it up. Lower the heat and let it simmer with a top over the pan.
  9. Serve on a plate and garnish with the remaining zest and diced scallions

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Definitely didn’t look as appealing as I wanted it to but it actually tasted ok. I’ll have to go back and figure out how I can improve this recipe. It could be a lot better.

Next up will be Laylatul Qadr, aka Night of Power. I’ll talk more about that in the next post.

Hey Want a Date?

Posted: August 1, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
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I realized I have left out one of the most important things I eat for Iftar. Well maybe not important but traditional? I open every fast with a date or two… or three. They are delicious, naturally grown in Saudi, and despite being a little on the higher end of sugar content, carry tons of great vitamins. They are a great source of fiber, vitamin A, and magnesium. Some studies have linked them to health benefits for your brain and heart while reducing risk of stroke and high blood pressure. If you haven’t had some before, I encourage you to try them. Like I said though, they are high in sugar so just don’t go overboard (even though it’s natural).

For some comic relief, a video I ran across a couple of weeks ago by some goofy kids in NYC:

For Sahoor

I had chicken leftovers from the night before that I had intentionally made extra of. I keep forgetting how much of a challenge eating chicken is in the morning. It tastes good but requires effort for me. Any how I finished that up and then had a protein shake.

Workout of the Day

3 rounds
15 Ring dips*
Kettlebell swings 53lb – As many reps as possible without stopping
Rest 2 minutes
15 Sumo-deadlift high pulls with KB – 53lb*
Wall balls 20lb – As many reps as possible without stopping
Rest 2 minutes

Your score is the lowest amount of reps you were able to complete for each movement
*this must be done unbroken. If you stop/pause, you must start your reps from 0

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I think I might be done with metabolic conditioning workouts for the remainder of Ramadan. I don’t remember feeling like this last year but I definetly require a lot more rest after finishing the workout. I don’t think I’m going any harder than I was last year. Maybe the workouts are more challenging? Maybe I’m just that out of shape? I enjoy the workouts very much but I hate that feeling afterwards of not wanting to move. I think I will stick to strength training for the remainder and maybe throw in some short met-cons.

For Iftar

Thai spiced chicken

  • 1/2 lb of boneless chicken
  • sea salt
  • chili powder
  • about two fist-fulls of lettuce
  • 1 scallion
  • 2 tsp of thai curry paste, Mae Ploy brand
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 cup of broccoli, cut into pieces
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 Tbsp of coconut oil
  1. Heat up a skillet and add in coconut oil.
  2. Marinate the chicken with the desired amount of salt and chili powder.
  3. Place the chicken into the pan and let it brown. When it starts to brown, flip it.
  4. Cook both sides of the chicken on high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add in the curry paste and mix it around a little bit.
  6. Cut up the lettuce, carrot, broccoli, scallion and add it to the skillet. Squeeze the lime onto it as well.
  7. Stir everything up and then lower the heat to low-medium. Continue to stir until the vegetables are soft and the curry paste has mixed in with everything.

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I honestly was a little unsure how this would turn out, especially since I’ve never used curry paste without using coconut milk. It took a lot of mixing and some lemon juice but it spread out real well across all of the ingredients. I love Thai food so anything with that type of kick to it I will enjoy. Needless to say I finished it pretty quick. Feel free to add as much green to it; it will fill you up better and of course the nutrients don’t hurt.

With that said, less than a week left! Wow..

Breaking Away

Posted: July 31, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
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This post is for July 29th. Yeah I’ve gotten busy/lazy, take your pick. Actually I just blame my sister for dragging me out to Richmond to help her move into her new place after Sahoor. Luckily the weather was nice that early but by the time we finished, the sun was out full blast and it fatigued us all. Note to self, research why being in the sun brings induces narcolepsy.

I finally did it! I broke away from the egg trap. I woke up with just enough time to cook up some Paleo Pancakes (minus the syrup this time), and felt great about life. I then learned that evening that Paleo Pancakes are probably not something I should eat on a day I plan on working out. I’m not sure what it was but even warming up for the workout, my stomach didn’t feel right. Once I had finished the metabolic conditioning workout, I just laid on the floor. Of course I did run outside in the heat but I do think it also had something to do with the almond flour. Another note to self, check its expiration…

For Sahoor

I made Paleo Pancakes and they tasted just as good as last time. One addition I made this time was that I added a smashed up ripe banana to the mix. Changes the taste up a bit so the taste of almonds isn’t over abundant. That taste to me does get annoying after a while. I didn’t have time to make the syrup so instead I drizzled some raw honey on it. Like I said, it tasted great and I used the same recipe but I definitely felt different throughout the day. I’ll experiment some more with this another day.

Workout of the Day

Run 1/4 mile
15 Dead lifts at 275lb
20 hand release push ups
Run 1/4 mile
30 Dead lifts at 225lb
20 hand release pushups
Run 1/4 mile
45 Dead lifts at 135lb
20 hand release pushups

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This is a chipper style workout which means you have a task list that you accomplish in order one time through to complete the workout. As you can see I had to modify it a bit so I could do it without destroying myself. I was already pretty dehydrated from moving my sister’s stuff to the point where I had been craving slurpees (gasp, I know). I didn’t want to push it by running and dead lifting (which can make you dizzy pretty fast on a normal day).

For Iftar

Since I switched things up for Sahoor in the morning, I decided to shake things up for Iftar and step away from the chicken for a little bit. I ended up making some Chili Lime Salmon. It’s extremely easy to make and doesn’t take a lot of effort. It’s great for those days you are drained from helping your sister move and craving slurpees. There are a couple of ways to make it but I chose the quick and dirty way which was to fry it up in a skillet. If you have time and are sick of coconut oil, you can bake it as well.

  • about 1/2 lb of salmon (or tilapia)
  • 1 Tbsp of coconut oil
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp of chaat masala (optional)
  • 2 limes
  1. Heat up a skillet and add in coconut oil.
  2. Place the fish into a bowl and cover the filets with salt and chili powder.
  3. Squeeze both limes into the bowl. Make sure all of the filets are in the lime.
  4. Let it sit for about 5 minutes so the fish can soak up the lime and spices.
  5. Place the filets in the skillet and leave them for a few minutes, moving them around occasionally. Make sure you add all of the lime juice in the bowl as well.
  6. Flip them over and cook for another few minutes.
  7. Once it starts to brown, flip one more time, lower the heat and let it simmer with a top over the pan.
  8. It’s done when it flakes easily as you poke it with a fork.

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I served it with some green and red bell peppers to make it look pretty. I also had some more functional additions like the lettuce. I think it took me about 15-20 minutes to make this after I had worked out. Oh as you can see, I had a Kill Cliff with it. It’s a recovery/energy drink. I love that stuff and the ingredients are legit. I needed one after how I was feeling post workout.

So today I got away from eggs and chicken as well as got a workout in. That sounds like a successful day for me. I pick on my sister in this post but she has been my assistant chef on many of these meals so I actually owed her! I’ll count that as part of my workout and reminder that I still need to hydrate better.

Snoozed

Posted: July 29, 2013 in Food, Ramadan
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I’m off for the next two weeks from work so I plan on working on some cooler recipes. I get a lot of questions about Sahoor and I feel I’ve been a bit of a let down when it comes to recipes for the morning. Of course this means waking up on time. These days Sahoor is ending around 4:30 am on the East coast but it’s getting harder to wake up for some reason. I’m hoping with some time off I can adjust my schedule a bit so I can make better meals and as we head into the last 10 days of Ramadan, work more on Ibadah, or worship. I’m almost considering just staying up until Sahoor so if anyone else is up and wants to google chat me, hit me up haha.

For Sahoor

Ok I failed. I guess my other vow should have been that I shall wake up with enough time to cook something other than eggs. Well, you can guess what I had this morning.. Good news is I am out of egg whites and won’t be restocking anytime soon! This will force me to wake up and cook something better, God willing…

For Iftar

I realized I had a large supply of almond flour that I needed to start using so I made Almond Crusted Chicken that was spiced, given a hint of mustard, and glazed with honey. It’s very easy to prepare but leave your self some time to bake it. I found out the hard way and spent 10 minutes after Maghrib staring at the oven. Stupid oven timer was set to 10 minutes so it shut off before fully cooking the chicken while I stepped away to go pray. Here is how it’s done:

  • 1 chicken breast, diced
  • 3/4 cup of almond flour
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp of chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp of chaat masala
  • sprinkle of black pepper
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 tsp of mustard powder
  • raw honey
  • 1/4 of a red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1/4 of a green bell pepper tomato, sliced
  • 1/4 onion, sliced
  • coconut oil
  1. Preheat the oven to 380 degrees.
  2. Mix the almond flour, salt, paprika, chili powder, chaat masala, and black pepper into a bowl.
  3. Add the egg whites and mustard powder to a different bowl
  4. Heat up a skillet and add in the coconut oil.
  5. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture and then roll it around in the flour mixture.
  6. Place the chicken into the skillet and cook it for around 2 minutes, each side. I did a little bit at a time so it was manageable and didn’t over cook it on the skillet.
  7. As each batch finishes, transfer it to a baking sheet.
  8. Add the bell peppers and onions to the baking sheet.
  9. Place the baking sheet into the oven and cook for about 17 minutes.
  10. Once it’s done, serve it on a plate and drizzle some raw honey over the chicken. Add some greens on the side.

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The mustard taste was very subtle but made it taste right. Most people add the mustard to the flour mixture but I prefer to add it to the eggs. The honey is a perfect touch for me but if you aren’t a fan, it isn’t necessary.

For those keeping count, or who have lost count, the last 10 days of Ramadan are coming up! I’ll jump more into the importance of that period in the coming days for those who may not be familiar.

Keep pure and stay Paleo!

Restless

Posted: July 24, 2013 in Food, Ramadan
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Sorry I didn’t get a chance to post last night. I came down with a slight fever and the lack of sleep the night before didn’t help the fatigue. We are half way through and I still haven’t figured out a good sleeping pattern. I’m pretty sure there isn’t one that’s possible unless I skip out on things. On another note, more than half way through and everything (outside of sleep) has become a solid routine.

For Sahoor

Same 2 egg/4 egg white omelette. I had a large peach as well which helps with replenishing electrolytes. Also, since I found that protein powder the other day, I had another protein shake. I had about 32oz of additional water. This breakfast seems to hold me up real well throughout the day. I really don’t feel hungry at all now. If anything, the heat makes you thirsty, especially while working out but other than that it’s great. I’m still experimenting different ways to hydrate enough so I can make it to Iftar time without over doing it and having my body pass the water right through.

For Iftar

I made some Paleo Tacos by making some almond flour tortillas and ground chicken (beef can be used as well). It’s fairly easy to make with the challenge being in your flipmanship with the tortillas. Here is how it’s done:

  • 1/2 lb of ground chicken or beef
  • olive oil
  • 1 banana pepper
  • 1/4 tsp of sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp crushed ginger
  • 1/2 tsp of crushed garlic
  • 1/2 tsp of chili powder
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1/2 tsp paprika

For the tortillas, I used the same recipe as I did when I made the enchiladas.

  1. Add the olive oil to a hot pot.
  2. Once it’s warm, add in the beef, garlic, and giger. Stir it up occasionally until it starts to brown, about 10-15 minutes
  3. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir.
  4. Cook for another couple of minutes and then let it simmer for a few minutes after that on low heat.
  5. Serve on tortillas

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The third tortilla might have been a bit much. It was a lot of food but it tasted great. I sprinkled some lime juice on top of them and added a little bit of Cholula hot sauce. The tortillas were a little thick but other than it was fine. I had some fruit a little bit later in the evening and crashed early since the fever was kicking in stronger.

I guess I can complain about sleep but I stop when I think about the purpose of this month. It’s a month to sacrafice and to put yourself in the shoes of those who are less fortunate. I have a bed to sleep on and the ability to make any meal I want. That’s a lot more than what others around the world have. I’ll keep that in mind the next time I wake up fussy because I’m tired!

Hydration + Electrolytes

Posted: July 23, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
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A couple of days ago I talked about hydration and it’s importance, especially if you are working out in this heat. Today I wanted to touch a little bit on electrolytes. For those that are drinking high volumes of water and/or involved in lots of physical activity, replenishing your electrolyte levels are a must. They’re essentially minerals in your blood and other body fluids that carry an electric charge and affect things like the amount of water in your body, the acidity of your blood, your muscle functions, etc. You lose them when you sweat or in some cases are flushed out if you over-hydrate. Good news is that it’s not hard to replenish them. My favorite fruit, watermelon is extremely rich in electrolytes. I usually have a bowl every other night or so. While there are plenty of sources for replenishing electrolytes, like sports drinks, additives, etc, stick with natural sources like fruit, leafy greens, coconut water, and sodium. I say stay away from sports drinks because their sugar content negates a lot of their benefits.

For Sahoor

Today I fried 2 eggs in extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled a bit of a sea salt and chili powder on them and ate them with a fork. I also had a protein shake mixed with water. I don’t often drink shakes post/pre workout because I don’t find them to be that effective. However, I will sometimes drink one as a meal supplement or addition when I remember I still own some. It has plenty of protein and fills you up so it’s not a bad thing to have in the morning. Is it 100% paleo compliant…eehhh.

Workout of the Day

Since I had hydrated a lot in the morning, I decided to do a met con today. To step up the challenge, the whole met con took place outdoors. It sounded like a great idea since it was super hot inside the gym. Funny how the sun works, it wasn’t much better outside once I started the workout with the sun beating down on me. Oh well, I survived and it was a fun one:

4 rounds for time
Run 400 meters
15 Wall ball shots to a 10′ target with 20lb ball
15 Toes to Bar

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The first round went smooth but after I had run about 1/2 a mile, I started to feel the fatigue and hunger kick in. After that I ended up taking a break in between the runs and breaking up the toes to bar reps. I stuck with it though and got it done, slowly. It was a great workout that involved cardio, squats, coordination, and gymnastics.

For Iftar

I tapped into my chicken and beef patties that I have pre made and frozen for busy days and made a bunless burger. The patties consists of ground meat (chicken or beef), grounded with tomatoes, chaat masala, paprika, chili powder, salt, egg, and lemon juice. I grill them and then freeze them for days if I want a quick dinner. They last for a while so you can make a lot ahead of time. Of course they don’t taste as good as when they are fresh off the grill but they get the job done.

I ripped off a bunch of a lettuce and then laid down 2 chicken patties and 2 beef patties. I cut a little bit of tomato and cucumbers to dress it. I used some Tessemae’s ranch salad dressing to give it a nice zing. If you haven’t tried Tessemae’s dressing, I highly recommend you check it out. They have a whole lineup of healthy Paleo dressings that taste great.

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Later in the evening I filled up on some electrolytes through the means of watermelon and called it a night.

Also, I didn’t realize it until someone asked but we are half way done with Ramadan already! It’s become pretty routine now but it was a nice surprise to realize how far along we are already!

Technical Controversies

Posted: July 22, 2013 in Food, Ramadan
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Today’s Iftar meal consists of a much debated paleo food, green beans. Green beans have been long debated by the paleo nerds of whether it’s truly considered paleo or not. I’m here to tell you that there is no need to get so technical. If it tastes good and your body reacts well with it, just eat it. There is no perfect recipe or meal that covers everything each human body needs. Take Rich Froning for example, the worlds fittest person and CrossFit Games winner of 2011 and 2012. He has said many times that his diet consists of a lot of chocolate milk and PB&J. That obviously works for him but I don’t suggest you and I try that on a daily basis if we expect to get anywhere. The point is, do what feels right to you within the general guidelines of healthy eating.

For Sahoor

This morning I put a little more effort into Sahoor and made a shrimp frittata. This can be made with any leftover meat you may have. I had some cooked shrimp so I used that.

  • Shrimp or other leftover meat
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 2 Tbsp of coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup of broccoli
  • 1 Tbsp of coconut oil
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  2. Warm up a deep skillet with coconut oil and add in the broccoli.
  3. Once the broccoli starts to get tender, add in all of the ingredients and mix everything up.
  4. Cook for a few minutes on the skillet as everything starts to set (3-4 minutes).
  5. Place the skillet in the oven and cook for about 10 minutes.

The frittata should puff up and be cooked all the way through. You can serve it sliced, pizza style. I added some cholula hot sauce to it and ate with a fork. It’s a subtle way to eat meat in the morning without feeling sick. Of course, hydrate!

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For Iftar

Continuing on the seafood trend for the day, I cooked up a tilapia dish for Iftar with vegetables and (gasp) green beans. This requires marinating the fish beforehand so the spices can seep in.

  • A couple of slices of tilapia
  • 1/2 tsp Sea salt
  • 1 tsp of chili powder (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp of chaat masala (or to taste)
  • 1/4 cup broccoli
  • 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 small banana pepper, sliced
  • 1/2 cup of green beans
  • 1/2 tsp of olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp of coconut oil
  1. Marinate the fish with the salt and spices and let it sit for about 30 minutes to an hour.
  2. Warm up a pan and add in the coconut oil.
  3. Add in the fish and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes. Flip it.
  4. Put a cover over the pan and let it cook for another 4 minutes.
  5. When the fish is starting to look done, add in the broccoli, tomatoes and banana peppers.
  6. Place a cover on it, lower the heat, and let it simmer until all of the vegetables are tender.
  7. Place the greens in boiling water and place a top on it. Let it cook for about 7-10 minutes or until tender
  8. Drain the water and add in the olive oil to the pot of green beans. Mix it up.
  9. Add in a little bit sea salt and let it simmer for a few minutes on low heat.

Serve the fish with the green beans. If you want, cut up half a cucumber and dress the fish with it.

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So there you have it, a controversial paleo meal and I still feel great. Just remember, listen to your body and learn to give it what it needs, not what it wants. There is no need to dive into the technical details of what might work and what might not because truth be told, the chances of that fitting you are slim to none. At the end of the day, nutrition should be a fun thing so it doesn’t seem like a task but more of a lifestyle.

Lifestyle my friends. I hope everyone has a happy Monday!

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