What I Ate in January

What I Ate in January

0 Comments

Welcome back to my ‘What I Ate’ series and to 2018!

 

What will you find in this article?

What’s in Season in January?

Apples, Beetroot, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Celeriac, Celery, Chicory, Jerusalem Artichokes, Kale, Leeks, Mushrooms, Onions, Parsnips, Pears, Spring Greens, Spring Onions, Squash, Swedes, Turnips.

 

As you can see, January is a bit of a leaner month for seasonal UK grown fruit and vegetables but it is a bumper month for kale. So this month we’ve been eating a LOT of kale chips!

Core Product Snacks & Desserts 1

Kale Chips

Makes 1 medium bowl

Ingredients:

  • 200g kale
  • 1/4 tsp. flaky salt
  • 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Method:

  1. Heat the oven to 120C.
  2. Strip the kale from its stems in large pieces, and wash well, then dry thoroughly with clean tea towels or a salad spinner.
  3. Put the kale in a large bowl and add the oil. Massage it into every dimple in the leaves, then toss with the salt.
  4. Spread out in a single layer on two large baking trays lined with baking parchment and bake for about 30 minutes, turning the trays round half way through cooking.
  5. Turn the oven off and use a metal spatula to detach the leaves from the trays.
  6. Taste for seasoning and add a little more if necessary, then put them back in the oven and leave in there for at least 15 minutes to cool and crisp up further before serving.

 

Here’s another nice kale recipe:

8 Kale Apple Lime Smoothie

Kale, Apple & Lime Smoothie

Makes 1 large smoothie or 2 small

Ingredients:

  • 1 granny smith apple, roughly chopped
  • 2 handfuls of kale (pull leaves from stalks) – you could substitute 2 handfuls of spinach
  • 1 lime (peel and remove the seeds) – you could substitute lemon
  • 1 small handful of coriander or parsley (pull the leaves from the stalks)
  • ½ cup coconut water or filtered water
  • 1 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Method:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

 

Every year in January I do a strict 30 Day Paleo Reset and this year was no exception. It always makes me feel a hundred times better, especially after all the eating and drinking in December.

 

Now at the end of the month I have lost half a stone, have loads more energy, my skin looks better and I’m sleeping more deeply.

 

We’re currently having a sale – you can purchase our 30 Day Paleo Plan (which actually has 60 days of paleo recipes) for £10 instead of the usual £30. If you are interested you can purchase it using the button below:

 


Choose Course



 

This year I took on the 30 Day No Alcohol Challenge too!

4100eMEJLwL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_

I appreciate you don’t need a book to tell you how to quit alcohol for 30 days, but I thought I might need all the help I could get as the last time I did this was in January 2014!

 

I have used a fair few recipes from Jamie Oliver’s latest book 5 Ingredients. A surprising number of the recipes are suitable for a paleo diet and others can be very easily adapted.

 

51F7OlX3M-L._SX387_BO1,204,203,200_

 

We made Sausage & Apple Bake, the Gnarly Nut Chicken (with cashew butter instead of peanut butter), Quick Asian Fishcakes, Seared Sesame Tuna and the Meltin’ Mustardy Beef and I’ve bookmarked lots of the other recipes to try too.

 

Immune Boosting Ginger Tea

I started every day in January with an immune boosting ginger tea. Fresh ginger juice is immune stimulating, antibacterial and antiviral.

 

I buy 1kg of organic ginger and juice it, freezing the juice in ice cube trays. Then in the mornings I place one frozen ice cube of the ginger juice into a mug with 1 tsp. raw heather honey, which is also antibacterial, and then top up with hot water.

81YBnn5+hiL._SL1500_

I also added a tablespoon of either coconut oil or MCT oil for additional immune benefits.

71KYv+QYAKL._SY679_91uXt2YiWjL._SL1500_

 

Breakfast 

I generally stick to the same breakfasts most days – eggs – either fried or scrambled, avocado and then some combination of pan-fried vegetables. I like to cook onions, mushrooms and greens, sometimes with grated carrot or sweet potato too.

 

When I get bored of eggs I occasionally have stewed apples with coconut yogurt, simple banana & blueberry pancakes or a coconut milk smoothie. But it’s rare that I get bored of eggs!

18984894186_eec79fe926_k

 

Lunch 

I bought a soup maker recently which is brilliant. It takes less than 30 minutes to make a delicious soup, perfect for lunch at this time of year with a salad on the side.

81NUVFFh-3L._SL1500_

I am also in love with Abel & Cole’s additive-free pate by Pyman Pates. The ingredients are: Organic Chicken Liver 60%, Butter, Chestnut Mushrooms 13%, Chestnut Mushroom Stock (Chestnut Mushroom, Butter, Salt, Onions, Garlic, Black Pepper). So it does contain butter, which was my one deviation from a 100% strict paleo diet in January.

6868_17678_z

I eat this pate spread on Raw Health Flax Crackers which Abel & Cole now stock as well.

6194_17968_z

Snacks

The snacks that have got me through this month are Rebel Kitchen’s coconut yogurts and Urban Fruit’s Straight Up Coconut Chips. Both really handy to have in for when you need something quick and filling.

818o+DVzscL._SL1500_

 

Other than that my snack of choice is a good old boiled egg or some olives.

Supplements

I’ve been taking garlic in the form of Allicin Max through the Winter this year. Garlic (containing 180mg of the active constituent, allicin, in stabilised form) has been shown to reduce the frequency of colds by 60-70%.

815GwqQ2z8L._SL1500_

This is the first Winter I can remember where I haven’t caught a single cough or cold so I think the combination of these Allicin Max tablets, homemade elderberry syrup and ginger tea is working! I last had a cold in December 2016, and managed to stay well for the whole of 2017.

 

I used to get frequent colds and sinusitis, and when I caught a cough it would last for weeks.

 

I give my kids homemade elderberry syrup daily and they have been very resilient this Winter too. They have caught the odd cold but they shake them off within a day or two.

 

Books

I got a LOT of new books for Christmas.

Book-Humor-Too-Many-Books_FB-Image-3

Of those I’ve read so far my favourite is Stephen Buhner’s Herbal Antibiotics.

51ff6qOMRaL._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_

This book is terrifying and fascinating in equal measure! The start of the book describes the dangers we face from the ever-growing problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The second part of the book is an incredibly comprehensive reference to the most reliably effective herbs that we can use instead of antibiotics.

 

The book contains hundreds of scientific references and is incredibly thorough and well researched. After reading this book I feel convinced that plant medicines, with their complex mix of multiple antibiotic, systemic, and synergistic compounds, should be our first line of defence against resistant infections.

 

I was also given Chris Kresser’s new book Unconventional Medicine but I haven’t had chance to read it yet so I will update next month once I have.

516iP2sFd7L._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_

 

Live Smarter Course

Live Smarter Course Image

On the 1st of January we finally launched our Live Smarter online course! This is an 8 week online course that will help you optimise all aspects of your health & wellbeing.

20171218_195623

Inside the site you get lots of free resources such as:

  • Health Questionnaire
  • Life Coaching Tools
  • 4 Week Real-Food Meal Plan
  • Over 100 Recipes
  • 28 Day Sleep Challenge
  • Mindfulness Activities
  • Toxic Free Home Guide

 

We’re currently having a sale – you can purchase our new Live Smarter Course for £25 instead of the usual £69.99. (Or for £30 you can buy both the Paleo Plan and the Live Smarter Course). If you are interested you can purchase using the button below:

 


Choose Course



That’s it from me. Now I’d love to hear from you. Let me know in the comments below if you did a reset in January?

 

Disclaimer: Paleo Britain is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. Buying through our affiliate links does not cost you anything but helps us keep this website up and running. Thank you!

All information provided within this blog post is for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your GP or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing or on any opinions expressed within this blog post. The information provided in this blog post is believed to be accurate based on the best judgment of the author. However, you as the reader must be responsible for consulting with your own GP or other health professional on matters raised within. Paleo Britain will not accept responsibility for the actions or consequential results of any action taken by any reader.

The material in this blog post may include information, products or services by third parties. Third Party Materials comprise of the products and opinions expressed by their owners. As such, Paleo Britain does not assume responsibility or liability for any Third Party material or opinions. The publication of such Third Party Materials does not constitute our guarantee of any information, instruction, opinion, products or services contained within the Third Party Material. Publication of such Third Party Material is simply a recommendation and an expression of our own opinion of that material.