Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Primal week that was


1-17-11 to 1-23-11

Today marks the end of the first week of  Poppabear going primal.  I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and learned a lot of valuable lessons this week.  But first, lets go to the stats!

Starting weight: 192 pounds
Ending weight: 187 pounds.

5 Pounds for the week!

Now I realize that most of this is probably just from stopping soda, chips and other assorted crap, that I’ve been putting into my body.  I’m sure it will even out to around 2 or so pounds per week.

Other effects:
My energy has gone through the roof!  I am ready to GO GO GO!  That means this coming week I can up my physical activity by way of more running, and weight training.

My mental clarity and focus has improved drastically.  I am more clearheaded at work, and ready to face the challenges head on there.  My accuracy has ramped up, as well as my attention to details.

This week I have also spent a ton of time in the kitchen.  In fact I have taken over most of the cooking for the week.  Which is good, as Jenn has been having a tough time with the flu the past few weeks.  I have learned more about cooking this week than I have my entire 40 years on this planet.  Most important thing I’ve learned, is that I LOVE cooking!  If you are going to embrace any type of nutritional change you have GOT to take charge of your own meal preparations!

I have taken the leap into barefoot running and ordered my first pair of Vibram 5 fingers today.  I will print a review along with my step by step start of running with them.



Much of my strength training will revolve around my friend Rasputin.  He is an angry angry chunk of iron.

All in all, a very productive week!

Poppabear.

Super Easy Home Made Jerky



Poppabear loves himself some Jerky!  
 But, the gas station mix sold in gas stations across the country leaves much to be desired.  (High sodium, questionable ingredients... etc.)  What’s a primal meat loving man to do?

Make your own.

It is super simple.

The cut of meat is the most important.  You want lean, lean, lean.  Cut that fat off.  We are looking at being able to store this for a period of time (3 Weeks in the fridge, longer in the freezer.)  The fat will turn rancid and we don’t want that.  So take your favorite working knife and trim it off.  As much as you can.

 This is my new favorite knife.  Ceramic Yoshi Blade my wife Jenn gave me for Xmas.  It is sharp sharp sharp!!!

For this batch we are using a grass fed/finished sirloin steak cut into strips ¼ inch thick.


Here is the marinade I used:
Marinade for a 2 pound cut of meat:
¼ cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. liquid smoke (or half to taste)
3 minced garlic cloves
2 ½ tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. hot chili powder
1 tsp. each of salt and black pepper
1tbsp honey (for a bit of sweetness)
Put everything in a gallon zip lock bag and store in fridge for 24 hours.  I stored mine for 48 on this batch as I was out of town.

There is a hot method where you boil the marinade and put your meat strips into it for a few minuets before putting them in the dehydrator or oven.

I picked up an Oster food dehydrator at my local Wal-Mart. 


There are many better ones on the market.  I picked this one up so I wouldn’t tie up the oven for 12 hours, and have the wife angry.

Place the strips on the tray, not touching each other.  We want good air flow.
Put the trays on the unit and click it on.  Now go away.  Don’t hover, it won’t make it go any faster.  Go take a walk or shovel snow, feed your chickens or some other such chore.
I rotated the trays every hour to let everything dry evenly.  I don’t know if this actually makes a difference, but it made me feel like I was doing something productive.
Also dab the meat with a paper towel to soak up the fat that is seeping through the meat.  Less fat means longer storage.


This batch ran 7.5 hours from start to end.  We took it out and laid it between paper towels for another hour to soak up more seepage.
If you have any left after the taste test, place in a zip lock bag or vacuum bag and freeze, or place in the fridge.
Simple as that.
Thanks so much to http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-make-your-own-jerky/ for all the help!!
Poppabear.