Paleo Smoothie State of the Art! podcast on PJSC

OK.  Smoothies get a bad rap from paleo circles; always have.  Undeservedly, at least for the most part.  Carnivore is cool, and I will admit it has a place, as does Keto.  Both, in my mind, have a therapeutic use, meaning that in certain conditions and with certain autoimmune problems, they might be the perfect fit.

But, for a lifelong diet- no.  You want a diet heavy in plants, loaded with micronutrients, and above all- ancestral.  The easiest way to to that nowadays, with our depleted soils and nutrient lessened standard vegetables, is with a smoothie.  A drink made in a high speed blender (Vitamin is still the very best), where the nutrients within are thoroughly blended (chewed) by the machine to gain the maximum nutrient value from each stalk and leaf.  To me, this is so obvious as to not even be arguable!

For many years, I have followed the paleo or ancestral diet by this method- it seemed to me initially, upon reading about the paleo diet, that this would be the ideal way to achieve it in the modern world.  And it has worked out for me and mine admirably.

I make a smoothie on a roughly weekly basis, consisting of kefir, green tea, raw eggs, cinnamon and other spices, turmeric and ginger root.  I then add in broccoli and cauliflower (and carrot) in the ubiquitous ‘California Mix’ frozen veggie mix, along with citrus (grapefruit is a fave, since it enhances absorbability), or lemon and orange, along with mixed frozen berries and perhaps a cored apple or a handful of cranberries.  In other words, all the 30 or so food groups…

I mix this up, and put it into canning jars for my week or so, breakfast or breakfast adjunct daily.  Incredibly healthy, non matter what some naysayers might say!  A mainstay, really, to health and vibrancy.

But live and learn, as they say: I have determined that two additions are in order:  Spirulina and Natto.  

Now, spirulina is an algae, a blue-green sort that is, basically: pond scum.  The Aztecs cultivated it, long ago in South America, and it nourished them for hundreds of years.  I researched all of the algaes, and spirulina wins, hands down for assimilability (it breaks down quickly for digestion), and for its complete protein content, and high concentrations of Vitamin B12, chelated minerals, natural plant rhamnose sugars, enzymes and trace elements.  Tons of magnesium and other minerals as well.

Let it suffice to say that I compared, kelp and chlorella as well, and Spirulina wins hands down!  Put in a couple of teaspoons in your paleo smoothie…

The other is NATTO!  This is a traditional Japanese dish, made of fermented soybeans.  (Yum!)  Not.

Now, normally, I never eat soybeans.  Those in the US are GMO, estrogenic, and disgusting.  Avoid soy almost always!  

But, when it comes to getting vitamin K2 into your diet, fermented Japanese (non GMO) soybeans are wonderful!  They are the most concentrated form of vitamin K2 that you can find.  By far!  

K2 is so crucial, since it regulates the calcium in your body, and makes sure that it does not go into your blood vessels and heart (this causes heart disease largely) but instead where it should go, into your bones and teeth!  Almost everyone is deficient in it in America and Europe, since we have strayed so far from our ancestral diet.  Salami, egg yolks, pastured butter, and organ meats have it, but we have left those wonderful foods behind, thanks to our horrible sick care system!  (Low fat, vegetable oil, no red meat awful advice of fake science).

Now, no one eats natto.  Why?  It is the slimiest, foulest, most rancid food on the planet!  At least for those of us who never acquired a taste.  Like Limburger cheese for other cultures…

Oh- it is also loaded with omega 3 fats, and did I say that it is more effective than statins to keep your arteries clear?  Japanese have the longest life spans in the world- you need this food in your diet!  

But it tastes like death…  

Just get Natto powder, and put it in your smoothie!  Really, it is that simple: put in a teaspoon or two, and you are golden, a healthy Japanese sage, just a smoothie away!  

Sometimes, real health and wellness is just a sprinkle in a smoothie away!

PaleoJay podcast #59 Add an Avocado a Day, to the Smoothie from Paleo Jay! A response to Thomas Hobbes... Also, add a good Paleo FIRE, and bond with an Animal!! And hey- beans aren’t THAT BAD!!

OK, I am really sold on the idea of ketogenic diets, meaning eat a high fat, low carb diet as a prescription for curing a LOT of problems.  If you have an auto-immune disease, meaning a disease where your body is attacking itself, like celiac disease (intolerance to gluten- which is just about ALL of us!), irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, arthritis, and EVERY disease that ends with ITIS- a ketogenic diet will really help all of these, and more!!

There are so many problems with our current, modern, processed Western diet that I can’t even start:  So, let’s just start over, shall we??  Reboot yourself!

If you don’t want to have a  “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short life” , to quote Thomas Hobbes, a 17th century philosopher of sorts who was a monarchist- he wanted us all to live under monarchies!- we were supposed, (according to Thomas Hobbes) to succumb to authority... and live in civilization.

“Au Contraire! “ says the Wisconsin Philosoper PaleoJay.

The solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short life that he was talking about was actually what was available to the average civilized person of Hobbe’s own era, which was 17th century Britain!

Hunter Gatherers, barbarians, and Paleo folks actually lived vital, long lives on average, once you took newborn mortality out of the equation...

Child mortality was VERY high in the old days- BUT, if you survived birthing, you would probably live 70-100 years, and in a very healthy state, barring death by wounds, animals eating you, or accidents.

Nowadays, however, modern people live solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short lives, shortened by Diabesity: diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and all the other “itis” diseases of civilization- All caused by our modern, processed, poor, nasty, brutish diet!!

What to do??

Well, for long time readers and listeners to PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe-

Just sidle up to a stool at the Cafe- and ORDER A TALL, COOL, PALEO SMOOTHIE!


That will take care of most of your modern ills... really!

That and eliminating grains, sugar and processed foods from your diet!

I know, it sounds crazy simple, but it really is that easy!!

AND- there has been a HUGE change to the Paleo Smoothie:

ADD IN AN AVOCADO!!

Go ahead, read my recipe for the Paleo Smoothie at Paleojay.com, or on my ebooks Paleo Quick Start and Perfectly Paleo Exercise...  and then just add in:

One AVOCADO, PEELED!

Put that in your Vitamix and blend it!

The thing is; you want a LOT of good, healthy FAT in your diet- you really, really do!  It is the key to being Ketogenic, which means triggering your body to burn FAT as fuel, rather than sugars and carbs...

Coconut milk and oil are GREAT- Avocado is the missing ingredient!

But Jay- how do I use an avocado in the Paleo Smoothie??

Good question, Mr. Hobbes:  Just cut the avocado lengthwise.  Take out the giant pit (the avocado is actually a FRUIT, Mr. Hobbes, just like YOU, you dummy!)-

Then, scoop out the insides with a spoon, and drop into your waiting Vitamix!!

That Vitamix will turn the veggies, avocado, raw pastured eggs, kefir, spices, berries, and everything else you have put into it into a nectar of the Gods:

The fount of life, if you will: ALL THE NUTRITION YOU CAN HANDLE, AND THAT WILL INSURE MAXIMUM HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND FITNESS!!

They say to never overpromise, and I assure you: I am not!

More FAT will make you LESS fat!  YES!!  It’s all too true...

Drink a Paleo Smoothie like this, each day- and you will be satisfied, healthy, and loaded with nutrients that your body has been craving forever!

Enough on that, Thomas Hobbes!  I have another point or two for you:

You know, beans ain’t that bad!  AND, go sit by a fire, and bond with an animal!

Yes, it’s true: the Paleo Canon has dictated that BEANS, aka LEGUMES are EVIL...

But, it turns out that, properly prepared, they are NOT.  They’re not that great, but they are also... not that BAD.  If they have been soaked for 12 hours in water, leaching off the toxins, they are, well alright in a pinch!

But they are NOT like wheat gluten!  Kind of innocuous, really.  So, if you want a few beans in your chili- go crazy my friend Tom!

Same goes for cashews- a legume- wow, are they tasty!  And, it turns out, not bad at all- go ahead, Mr. Thomas Hobbes- eat them- your life will be no less short or more nasty!  Just don’t go crazy; use moderation, you 17th century dude!

Just do NOT eat peanuts- they really are pretty darn bad- loaded with aflatoxins, which are a particularly nasty mold that is just about inevitable in this particular legume of the peanut... just avoid peanuts, entirely- go for almond butter, which tastes at LEAST as good, instead!

So, have some beans in you chili (once in a while, if properly prepared...);

And eat some cashews- YES!!

But, do it in front of a fire, preferably along with some FURRY ANIMALS!!

I think that the idea of a campfire is completely, viscerally... PALEO!

It’s also something that a Britisher like you, THOMAS HOBBES would find very appealing!!  For how many millennia do you think that our ancestors sat around campfires, under the stars, and gazed into the flames?   And, as they sat, you know they told stories, sang songs, and petted their furry friends as they drank fermented beverages and ate dried jerky...


Pets, like dogs and cats, were the camp followers of ancient days!  And so, if you want a totally fulfilled, Paleo life: here is what you need:

A life without grains, processed foods and sugars!

A life with LOTS of NUTRIENTS: Either a Paleo Smoothie, along with grass fed meats and dairy and fermented foods...

OR

BOTH OF THE ABOVE!

Sorry, Thomas my boy: I set that up!  But, for you, I would recommend:

Just get a cat or two, maybe a dog as well... Get a little London apartment with a fireplace (they all have them in your day!), and get a grate to roast meat on in the fireplace- I know, for you, the Paleo Smoothie is  problematic- so, just get a lot of veggies at the market in town, meats (I know they will ALL be grass fed!!), and throw the bread at Will Shakespeare’s head...

Pet your cats.  Throw stuff for your dogs to chase...

And then, just chill out!  Look into history- google it if you will!

Maximum nutrition ALWAYS trumps Maximum MEDICINE!

As Hippocrates, the founder of modern medicine says:

“Primum non nocerum. (First do no harm)”
― Hippocrates
THIS is the dictum that modern doctors should take to heart:  Do no HARM!

If this was taken to heart, STATIN DRUGS would be off the MAP!!!


Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.

The ultimate statement of true medicine!  FOOD is your MEDICINE!!

Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.
What a reinforcement of the Terrain Theory of Disease??

A healthy person will be IMMUNE to most diseases; an unhealthy terrain in an unhealthy person will not!!

Walking is man's best medicine.

I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion. With purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my Art.


I think that Hippocrates was WAY ahead of his time, and really really ahead of Thomas Hobbes, who lived just about 2 Thousand years later, and was less advanced in his thinking!!

I guess Hippocrates was just way, way more...

hip!

Sorry, couldn’t resist!

J

PaleoJay podcast #32- Paleo Diet, Dairy, and make your own Kefir!

Add in the above kefir to smoothie maximum health...

Paleo Diet, Dairy, and make your own Kefir on PaleoJay podcast #32- 

iTunes podcast link

There is a lot of confusion in the Paleo sphere about dairy:  is it OK?  Sometimes?  Often?  WHAT!?

I have found that, at least in my case, dairy is a fine addition to my Paleo diet!  Granted, I rarely drink milk; the bulk of my intake is in the form of Kerrygold (i.e. pastured/grass fed butter), full-fat Greek style yogurt, and- ta da!-homemade Kefir.

I purchased some kefir "grains" via eBay, Culturesforhealth.com is a really reputable source,  and added them to a quart jar of whole, organic, raw local milk. This milk has to be tasted to be believed- kind of like what was available from the "milk man" when I was a wee lad...  And they also sell organic cream (in glass)- YES!

If you don’t have access to raw milk, goat’s milk, even if pasteurized is a close 2nd.  Now, I have two quart jars going of kefir, one of raw whole milk, the other of goat milk!  Actually, 1-3  days after adding about a Tablespoon of the grains to a jar filled with milk, the kefir is perfect!  I just let it sit on the counter at room temperature ( leave the lid jar loose- the effervescence of the fermenting could break the glass otherwise) - nothing could be easier!

When I purchased my kefir, (it's rather expensive), I would only use about 1/2 of a cup in my Paleo smoothie... Now, though, with fresh, active, cheap, really tangy and tasty kefir, I use about a cup and 1/2 in each smoothie!  

What a difference in the taste of the whole smoothie!!

Really, this is the way to go- get some grains, and make your own kefir.  Very easy, and the benefits of the fermented beverage are so good in terms of gut health and repair.  The probiotics, or intestinal bacteria that kefir affords your system are incredibly valuable, especially in this modern age of damaged intestines with permeable membranes, insulted by having been subjected to high levels of grains, legumes and sugars over a lifetime of poor, Big Ag eating.

And, these probiotics, or gut bacteria that we are putting back into our guts where they belong, help us in so many ways!  They help us to digest (we don't really do most of the digesting of our foods- our friendly bacteria do that for us).  They also are potent cancer fighters; we all have cancer and other "predator" agents within us at all times- the only thing that protects us is our ability to fight them off!  

Gut bacteria, or probiotics are one of our first, and most potent lines of defense.

If you are of Northern European descent, full-fat dairy will probably not be a problem for you at all to digest!  (Northern Europeans have been consuming dairy for many thousands of years as a mainstay of their diet).  And, even if you are not, by consuming kefir daily for a couple of weeks, you will colonize the bacteria within your intestines...

and you will become able to digest dairy!

Or, rather, the kefir bacteria that you have introduced into your system will

digest it for you!  

So, give kefir a try!  This is the first real change I've made to the Paleo Quick Start smoothie, tripling the amount of included Kefir, and it's a big improvement, both in taste and in nutritional value!!

Let’s say, though, that either YOU or some friends or relatives really, really want to get healthy, but they just aren’t motivated enough to actually follow through and prepare and make their own healthy kefir- actually, for them there is a solution that is even (gasp!) better!  Just costs a bit more, but is very, very convenient and accessible...

Amasi is the name of this beverage, and it is produced by Beyond Organic- Here is the link:

http://janebowers.mybeyondorganic.com/Default.aspx

This beverage is fermented from the milk of A1 dairy cattle, which is the ancient strain of cattle that our ancestors domesticated over 10,000 years ago!  So, it is completely digestible and natural for our systems, and since it is fermented as well, is a wonderful source of probiotics, which are the wonderful bacterial creatures that live in our guts, digesting things FOR us, and fighting back the BAD bacteria all around us that are always looking for things like SUGAR, and are our enemies...  

To have a healthy gut is paramount in our health!  You could even eat a perfect diet, and if your gut is inhabited by bad bacteria, it would do you no good at all- gut health is that important!

What about conventional dairy?

In a word, it’s horrible!  

Anything that is high heat processed (pasteurized) destroys the bulk of the nutrients in the milk- add in the antibiotics fed the cattle that produced the milk, the GMO feed loaded with pesticides that that cattle had to eat, and then is loaded into the milk, and then the fact that the FAT in the milk is almost always skimmed off- this same fat that contains all the fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients that make this dairy so valuable...

and you have a travesty.  Milk without fat is “sugar water” with pesticides and hormones that spikes your insulin like candy, and gives no satiety or nutrients as well...

Eat raw dairy when possible, NEVER drink skim or low fat milk (or anything else low fat for that matter!) - low fat means “high sugar”...

Get yourself some raw cheese, raw milk, raw free range eggs ( in your Paleo Smoothie!) and you are good-to-go!

PJ

100th blog! New addition to Paleo Smoothie!! Splendor from the grass!

Wow!  Here it is- my 100th blog post- who knew?  Not me; I just went to post and... it's number 100!

Let's celebrate with some Kerrygold grass-fed (pastured) butter!  

And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be satisfied. — Deut 11:15

But, how to eat this amazingly nutritious foodstuff, crammed with good fats, vitamin K, and loads of beneficial nutrients?  We can't spread it on bread, obviously, because that would be like slathering Kerrygold treasure on snake venom and eating it... so, besides melting it onto vegetables, or putting it onto (Genetically modified) popcorn/snake venom, what to do??


I have the answer, and as usual it has to do with your Paleo Quick Start Smoothie!  Last thing, I added spirulina, a half-vegetable/half animal protein loaded with just about every nutrient know to man...

I don't add new ingredients lightly, I only want the Smoothie to be your "go-to" source of ultimate nutrition- a golden dream of nutrition.


Well, now it is also a Kerrygold dream of nutrition, because I recommend you add a good Tablespoonful of grass-fed butter to each and every Paleo smoothie you produce!!

Here is how Dave Asprey of the BulletproofExecutive.com incorporates Kerrygold into his diet:

I like Dave, he knows his stuff, nutritionally!  And I like coffee too, but I like it even better with heavy whipping cream, topped with cinnamon and cloves (which are also really beneficial nutritionally!)

So what do I do?

I just add a healthy dollop of Kerrygold butter to the smoothie!


It just makes it really creamy when the Vitamix blends it up with all the other ingredients- it is worth it for the taste alone!  But it's really there for the nutrition- butter is not really a "hunter/gatherer" food; but hey- if they could have had it, they would have killed saber-tooth tigers for it!

I love coconut oil, but I think that deep yellow, grass fed butter has nutrients that a survival-oriented, paleo man or woman would gladly kill for.


Luckily, we don't have to!  Just go to the store, and buy Kerrygold butter, from Ireland.  Organic Valley also has a great butter, but the pastured version is only available in Springtime- and that is from my neck of the woods in Southwestern Wisconsin!  Their usual butter is grain finished, so go with Kerrygold-

I know you will be put off by the fact of putting butter, of all things, into your smoothie- I mean, isn't saturated FAT bad- evil- the worst thing ever??


In a word- NO.


Fats are crucial to your health, your sanity, and your longevity.  Every part of your body needs good fat!  We have been lied to by our government, and brainwashed, for years!


So, if someone questions you as to why you aren't eating healthy donuts and drinking Mr. Dew together with your co-workers, just remember what Steve Jobs said:

"It's more fun to be a Pirate,

Than to join the Navy!"

So, as they sip their wonderful Mountain Dew, and munch on their delectable donuts, you can respond by sipping butter and coconut oil drenched paleo smoothies, and biting off hunks of grass fed butter!

Oh, in closing, let me display the cover of my new book, Perfectly Paleo Exercise.  

I am very pleased with this ebook, and I think you will be too- finally, a real synthesis between proper Paleo diet and proper Paleo exercise- it has not been spelled out like this before!

It should be available within a couple of weeks, on Amazon, the iBookstore, and every other channel you can think of...  don't leave home without it!

Actually, I just thought: it's rather fitting, really- most of the paleolithic cave paintings are located in...

FRANCE!

Au revoir,

PaleoJay

Spirulina powder- the latest super-food addition to the Paleo Smoothie!

1. 
   

Just when you thought you'd seen everything that could be crammed into a Vitamix blender, well... you haven't!  Trust me, I don't make "changes for the sake of change". Only when I find something that is a real improvement to the Paleo Smoothie, (which I think is a lynchpin in the foundation of a truly Paleo-esque, nutrition packed lifestyle); only then to I change the "formula"!

Here is the latest addition to the Paleo Smoothie- about 1 Tablespoon per canister of spirulina powder.

See how happy I am about spirulina??


You will be too; just read a bit: spirulina super food (a Blog devoted entirely to... spirulina.

More to read, if you'd like: spirulina- just the basics, ma'am!

Suffice it to say, this blue/green algae called spirulina is not the same ingredient we use called Kelp.  Both are great additions; but kelp is a seaweed, and while loaded with micro-nutrients, it is a significant source of iodine.  A strict paleo diet can sometimes be lacking here, so I think including kelp is an excellent strategy!

Spirulina is, again, an algae, and has a different nutrient profile than kelp.  Both are great, but spirulina has the advantage of being a big helper in weight loss, and is also a super protein supplement- it is a complete protein, (like eggs or meat) which is very unusual in a plant source.

In other words, spirulina somehow manages to be "plant-animal-fresh-water seafood", all in one!

Here is an interesting tidbit:

Some scientists speculate that the "manna" of the wandering Israelites, which appeared miraculously on rocks following a devastating dry spell and was described as tasting "like wafers made with hone " may have been a form of dried, dormant Spirulina.

So, if it could keep the Israelites alive in their wanderings, just think what Spirulina can do for you!


"But Jay" I hear you shouting "Just where can I GET this miracle food??)


I get mine from the same place that I get my last Paleo Smoothie "addition" Coconut Milk Powder from:

bulkfoods.com- spirulina link

To save on shipping, order them both at the same time- they have $5.00 shipping on orders of $75 or more.   I have no affiliation with bulk foods.com, but find they have great products, at a great price.
(You don't have to buy their other bulk foods, like the various candies and flours- definitely not PaleoJay approved!)   Caveat emptor! (let the buyer beware)

J

The BEST way to get COCONUT MILK into your smoothie!

Perfect form of coconut milk??  Coconut milk powder:

For a long time, I believed in adding a can of coconut milk to my Paleo Smoothie each morning...
But now, for awhile now, I have substituted a few hefty scoops of coconut milk powder!


I just put the scoops of coconut milk powder into my 1 cup of so of green tea, add my spices of turmeric, ginger, kelp and cinnamon- and I have my smoothie "base"!  Good fats, anti-oxidants, and the liquid are all there to incorporate the fruits and veggies with their phytonutrients, not to mention the macronutrients that even mainstream medicine  admits are essential to human life, not to mention health.


"But PaleoJay", I hear you asking, "Where oh where can I get such a convenient, inexpensive, and just-plain-wonderful adjunct to my Paleo Quick Start Smoothie??"


Glad you asked, Grasshopper: bulk foods coconut milk powder!

Click above, order in bulk (wholesale!) and say goodbye to coconut milk in cans, full of water and Bisphenol A (BPA) and guar gum (legume based).

I now use my old flour canister to hold my coconut milk powder- talk about a positive repurposing of an erstwhile harmful part of my kitchen...

Enjoy this improvement to your Paleo Smoothie!  It may have been a "Quick Start", but it is ever-incrementally improving!  As I discover things, I will pass them on here, so check back often- I am rather obsessive about health and fitness.

J

Coconut! Does it do EVERYTHING??

Coconut!

Coconut oil...

And now- Coconut Charcoal!!

Is there any end to the miracles this nut/fruit supplies??!!  

The OIL has been shown to be beneficial to eat: it is anti-bacterial, and can actually help you to lose weight.  When I first started adding a can of coconut milk per day to my Paleo Smoothie, I was shocked to lose 4-5 pounds in a week- and I didn't even try, or even think I needed to lose weight!

I believe it was visceral fat; fat around my organs that I wasn't even aware of, but is the most unhealthy body fat of all.

I have always used canned coconut milk; which is always a good choice.  But lately, I have gotten...

Dry coconut milk powder!

I was able to buy it in bulk, from a wholesale provider, so it is quite economical.  Also, it is quite convenient, as you can just scoop out a few scoops of the powder to add to your paleo smoothie.  No opening of and disposing of a can, and the water weight of the canned milk is not added- leaving you with more room for even more nutrient dense foods in your drink!

The Smoothie becomes a bit smaller, with even more nutrients per cup.  And there is more room in the smoothie for kefir, green tea, whatever!  It is a sensible addition to your Paleo quick start strategy.

And coconut oil?

Each morning, before showering, I take a teaspoonful in my mouth, and just.. rinse it around my mouth while I shower!  So, maybe 10 minutes of this "oil pulling", and my mouth is de-acidified, all bacteria are flushed out, and I'm ready to:

Take some more coconut oil, and, after warming it in my hands (it is Winter!), I rub it over my body, and especially on my face for shaving.  This is the best thing ever you could shave with!  Very close, smooth shave... and amazingly, your blade will last almost forever!  (It's lubricated constantly, and so doesn't really rust of degrade).

So, after adding coconut oil and dried coconut milk to my morning paleo smoothie, how else do I use the coconut

After I come home from work, I fire up the grill with:  coconut charcoal!

Really, this is a big one!  The charcoal burns hotter than other charcoals, even hotter than natural, "Cowboy" types of charcoal.  It is made from coconut shells, and natural coconut by-products- no petroleum adjuncts ala "Kingsford" types of charcoal.  This means that, not only is the heat really HOT and even, but the ash production and smoke are substantially LESS.  

This really is a case of "Once you try it, you won't go back!"

So, spend your day with coconut products.  That's what our ancestors did!

J