Monthly Archives: February 2014

Nicaraguan Cabbage Vinegar Salad

Cabbage Salad

I have been thinking on what recipes that I have been eating for years would be a really good treat or entree for my current eating plan.  My wife is Nicaraguan and their cuisine mainly consists of fried foods but there  are some  gems that are amazing in flavor and healthy.  This post today though is really about one dish that my mother-in-law makes that is absolutely amazing.  Nicaraguan Cabbage Salad!!!! Lately I have been pairing this salad with my lunch and it just makes the flavors pop and its absolutely delicious.

It is super easy to make and literally if you make a bowl of it will be good for days.

Nicaraguan Cabbage Vinegar Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 Head of Cabbage
  • 1 Tomato
  • 1/2 Onion
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Water
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. This is very simple to put together.
  2. Shred the cabbage to however thick you would like it.
  3. Dice the tomato
  4. Dice the Onion
  5. Now this is where it can get a bit tricky you need to start off with about 1 cup of the apple cider vinegar for a normal head of cabbage if your cabbage is bigger you will need to increase this
  6. Take how much ever vinegar you added and now add 1/2 of that in water. Essentially this is 1/2 part water to 1 part vinegar. So if you added 1 cup of the vinegar add 1/2 cup of water
  7. Mix well
  8. Enjoy
https://www.tiltedfork.com/2014/02/nicaraguan-cabbage-vinegar-salad/

Paleo Cookie Crisp Cereal

Paleo Cookie Crisp Cereal. (Gluten_Grain_Dairy Free)

It has been an awesome 2 weeks researching and planning out my next set of foods.  I know people think I am crazy but I say it’s awesome because I am amazed at how much information is out there.  A little background on my and my last 2-3 years will hopefully explain this.

Back in 2012 I was hospitalized for severe stomach pains after many tests the doctors stated that I should have my gallbladder removed (I did not have stones or anything they just said it wasn’t working).  So I had my gallbladder removed and since I work in Healthcare IT I really wanted a copy of my medical record just so I can go through it all.  I was excited to read the Operative Note since I wanted to see how the surgery actually went.  Then I read the words that changed my life:

The patient is a morbidly obese male.

Wow I knew I was over weight (5’10 270lbs back in 2012) but I had no idea, those words still haunt me to this day.  It was that statement that motivated me for the following year.  Through proper eating and exercise I was able to get myself down to 230lbs by the end of 2012.  I was happy with that progress but then work became overwhelming and I stopped.  It was single handily one of the worst decisions I have made in my life.  Not only did I stop eating correctly but I also stopped exercising .  This continued and then I had another really bad stomach attack in March of 2013.  I ended up in the hospital again for another week and this time the doctor told me he believed I had  SOD dysfunction (I talk about that more here).  At the time I went and got a second opinion and it was pretty much confirmed but I did not want the surgery that the doctor told me I should have.  During this time of not exercising and not eating clean I gained back some of the weight I lost, it was demotivating to me at the time and I just let it continue.  Fast forward to 2014, I still was not exercising and I cleaned up some of my eating habits but most of them were still poor.  Between January and February I had 2 minor stomach attacks and 1 major one.  It was at that last one that I was just sick and tired of being lazy and letting everything pass me by.  My son had just started Teeball and I am really enjoying sharing the coaching experience with him and I decided that if I want to be here to watch him graduate or my daughter get married I needed to change some big things in my life.  Hence I started reading and researching the best lifestyle changes for my stomach disorder and this is what led me to Paleo.  The more I read and research the stronger I believe that I am capable of doing this.  With people supporting me through this process I truly feel that I can succeed, in the end though the decision for failure or success will always be on my shoulders and no one else’s.

-Norm

Today I am using a recipe that I found on Brittany Angell’s blog for a paleo friendly homemade cereal.  If you have not ever seen her blog I would highly recommend it she has some amazing things!

The link to the original recipe can be found here but to keep things simple I have copied it here.

 

Paleo Cookie Crisp Cereal

Ingredients

  • 1 packed cup of blanched almond flour
  • 1 cup tapioca starch
  • 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon baking power (I use double acting)
  • 1 teaspoon oil or melted butter
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • Mini chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Mix together the cookie dough ingredients, leaving out the chocolate chips.
  3. Put the cookie dough into a piping bag. Squeeze rows of tiny "candy dots" sized cookies (about an 1/8 of a teaspoon) onto the cookie sheet, leaving a little space between each cookie. (Not much space though, as they will only spread a tiny bit!)
  4. Stick 1-2 chocolate chips into each mini cookie.
  5. Bake 6-7 minutes until firm and lightly golden.
  6. Repeat with two more trays (3 trays total).
https://www.tiltedfork.com/2014/02/paleo-cookie-crisp-cereal/

Egg Custard

egg custard - breakfast

On most days I tend to walk out the door and head to work and quickly eat a hard boiled egg.  Today was something new, my wife decided to make an Egg Custard.  The recipe was featured in a Paleo book that we have and I have to say it actually tasted really good.  One of the best things I found about this was that it made 4 servings so both her and I are able to eat this for 2 days with little effort.  In today’s hectic fast paced world any time you can save is a great benefit.  One thing I enjoyed about this actual flavor of everything coming together.  I really enjoyed the crunch the bacon offers with contrast to the texture of the mushrooms.  Overall this was very successful in my opinion and we will definitely make it again.

 

 

 

 

 

Egg Custard

Rating: 41

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4 ramekins

Serving Size: 1 ramekin

Ingredients

  • 5 - strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1 cup white mushrooms
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons chives, chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 f
  2. Fry the bacon in a cast iron skillet on medium high until crispy
  3. Remove the bacon from the skillet and reserve the excess bacon fat in a small glass dish
  4. Saute the mushrooms in a seasoned skillet until tender (about 3 minutes)
  5. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and coconut milk until fluffy
  6. Season the eggs with salt and pepper
  7. Crumble the bacon and add it to the egg mixture
  8. Add the mushrooms and the chives and stir until all are evenly combined
  9. Pour the egg mixture in to 4 6 ounce ramekins
  10. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and back for 30-40 minutes or until the eggs are set
https://www.tiltedfork.com/2014/02/egg-custard/

Just getting started

I am just getting started here and this will be a place that I can attempt to hold myself accountable for my choices.  You may be wondering why the name Tilted Fork well its simple if you piece it together with my title you get

Tilted Fork – I hope you weren’t planning on eating that

It runs together, if your fork is tilted chances are your food is going to fall off.  Ok that sounds like a lame explanation the truth is I just like it!

I am working on building this place up to be a place to publish things that I enjoy for friends and family to be able to see.  I plan on using a pretty strong support system backed by my wife and one of my sisters.  My wife is joining me on this journey of going to a paleo or paleo-ish life style.  My sister has been in and out of pretty good nutrition guidelines for some time and has some incredible recipes that she is going to share with me.  She has also been living a paleo life style in her own way I would say 80/20 or 90/10.

If you stick around and check back often I promise you will read some amazing recipes and see the challenges that a normal person goes through.

As of 2/17/2014 I am starting my journey  to a healthier me.  If you want to know why please read the about me section

-Norm