Nuts Meet Flour (the kind from trees)

Alright, here's the deal.  Peanuts are not a nut.  Yes, they have NUT in the name.  No they are not a nut.  I'm a science teacher, trust me on this one.  They are a legume.  What's a legume you ask?  WELL.  I could go into the long history of classification, genetics, and the evolution of plants, but to keep it short (and some of my readers from leaving now)... A legume is any of the thousands of plant species having seed pods that, when ripe, split along both sides.  Beans, lentils, peanuts, peas, and soybeans are some common legumes.  Generally they come from the ground, not from a tree.  Not enough?  Then look it up yourself.  And don't even try to point out that technically trees come from the ground too.  I am not in the mood.

According to Mark Sisson (primal guru) and many others, legumes are on the "eat with care" list when going primal.  This means there are better options out there for high protein intake and low carbs.  You can eat them, but they are not as efficient for your body and create more stored fat than other "nut" options.  Most of you just read that and thought blah blah blah... enter almonds.  Sure, there are other nuts I love (pistachios being top on the list), but almonds were my first love.  They have a pleasant taste, travel well, and go great with chocolate (mmmm chocolate).

While on the search for breads, cakes, and other items that I could make using primal alternatives I came across almonds, but not whole almonds.  Almond flour.  You have no idea how amazing this stuff is until you try it.  The first time Eric and I bought it we were skeptical.  Would it be a sponge like coconut flour?  Have a strange aftertaste like gluten free mixes?  Be grainy and sandy in your mouth?  Nevermind the fact that I almost returned it when I realized that almond flour = almond meal = finely ground almonds.  That's it.  Finely.  Ground.  Almonds.  How can a nut be a flour?  I still don't know, but it is proving to be both versatile, delicious, and guilt free (imagine gorging yourself on biscuits that are purely made of omegas and proteins).

Alright, time for the recipe, Almond Flour Biscuits.  Don't worry, there are more coming related to almond flour, but the biscuits must come first.  I recommend eating these with our primal salad.  Or for breakfast with jam.  Or honey.  Or cinnamon and butter.  The possibilities are endless and these take approximately 5 minutes to mix up and pop in the oven.  I usually halve this recipe for just Eric and I, but we each eat two with dinner because they are so good... Eric never complains when these are in the oven!

Almond Flour Biscuits

(makes about 8)

• 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a cookie sheet well, or line with wax paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, eggs, and lemon.  Add to wet ingredients the almond flour, salt, and baking soda and stir until well combined.

Drop biscuits on prepared baking sheet in whatever size you want them to be when you eat them... they don't rise or spread out very much.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of one.  Technically you should let them cool, but I slice them and butter them right away!

recipe modified from http://edibleventures.blogspot.com

Primal Salad (It's All About the Thighs)

Sometimes you are just hungry and need to eat lots of food.  You know what I mean... that gnawing, angry beast in the pit of your stomach making you drool over anything and everything you just can't have?  Yeah, that kind of hungry.  So, you ask, what happens to a primal cave-couple like us when that intense hunger strikes?  To the salad mobile!

Now don't stop reading, be reasonable.  Salads CAN be filling.  To be honest I never thought they were either until I stumbled across one magical ingredient; chicken.  Or to be more exact, chicken thighs!

Again, keep reading.  For the primal person (or really anyone) chicken thighs are much healthier than you think.  We have been taught they aren't, that if you eat meats high in fat it doesn't get used and instead gets stored as, well, fat.  There is truth to this if you are eating lots of inefficient-in-creating-energy but easy-to-access carbohydrates such as rice, bread, etc.  But when you are on the primal diet (or active and not eating loads of crap), your body instead learns how to break apart fats for the same energy-creating purposes that carbs usually serve.  Plus it's much more efficient and does not spike your blood sugar.  I could go on, but long story short, thighs are fine, and as Eric and I have discovered so much better than breasts (we are talking about chickens here, get your mind out of the gutter!)

The first time we used thighs was after a long debacle at the grocery store.  As I mentioned before I had always leaned towards the primal lifestyle without knowing it.  The major different for me was my training.  By training I mean years of being told that high fat content in meats was bad.  Eric wanted bacon.  I wanted turkey bacon.  Eric wanted thighs.  I wanted breasts (you heard it here first).  Finally I gave in.  The chicken thighs came home, got chopped into itty bitty little pieces, cooked, and devoured very very quickly.  It was melt in your mouth.  It was heaven.  The bacon was too, but more on that later.

So, without further ado... the one and only primal salad!

Primal Salad

Sidenote: The best part of this meal is that it is quick. 

• 4-5 slices cut into bits
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (2 inch pieces, salt and pepper)
• 1 avocado – peeled, pitted and cut into 1-inch chunks
• salad mix of your choice (we like baby spinach and arugula)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (again, you choose)
• 1/4 cup Trader Joe's goat cheese crumbles

In a pan over medium heat, cook the bacon “bits” until crisp.  Remove and set aside, but save the bacon grease in the pan. Next, add the chopped and seasoned chicken thighs to the pan and sauté in the bacon grease (just do it, my next blog is all about this bacon crazyness). Cook the chicken and turn so that every side is browned.

When done, let cool for 5 minutes while you toss the salad mix, avocado, cheese, and bacon together.  Drizzle the dressing your choice.  Ours is 1 part balsamic vinegar, 2 parts olive oil, and a dash of mustard.

Now, everyone likes different things in their salads, and who am I to judge?  Eric likes raw chopped red pepper, myself I prefer everything straight up without a lot of veggie mess.  But I love cheese (yea yea I know), nuts (no jokes), and avocados... I guess that's one of the great things about salads, everyone can have what they want with minimal prep!  I am giving you the basics here, the rest is up to you... I trust you, as long as you don't throw bread on the top.  Maybe try an almond biscuit instead :)

modified from http://www.marksdailyapple.com