Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Carb it up, buttercup! - Day 2

Although it usually takes an extreme diet to severely affect your metabolism, I have heard of some people feeling unwell while following this diet because they weren't consuming enough carbohydrates.  Remembering my colleague's promise that this is not a low-carb diet if done properly, and also wanting to prevent hypoglycemia, I loaded up on root vegetables at dinner tonight.

The first half of the day's meals weren't too remarkable, aside from adding shredded coconut and sunflower seeds to my mixed fruit at breakfast, and as promised, leftover frittata for lunch - see yesterday's post for the recipe!

Then, working in my office toward the end of a long day, my body was asking for an early dinner (5pm is early for me!).  Although my original goal was to do all this Paleo cooking myself, as a busy clinic intern, you often have to adapt.  So, the special in our delicious CCNM cafeteria today?  'Gourmet Poutine'; which isn't really poutine at all, but rather a hearty and nutritious dish of roasted yams, sweet potatoes and beets, spinach, mushrooms, onions, salsa, homemade hot sauce, vegan gravy and a side of kale salad - I can feel my salivary glands perking up at the sheer memory of it!


'Gourmet Poutine' - in a box!

This dish is a perfect example of how to follow the Paleo Diet while ensuring you are consuming sufficient carbohydrates.  Root vegetables such as the ones featured in this dish are rich in complex (slow-digesting) carbohydrates as well as high quality fibre.  Yams and sweet potatoes have the added bonus of being rich sources of beta-carotene (plant source of vitamin A), while beets earn their nutritional stars from pigments called betalains, which give them their deep red colour.  Betalains are known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and liver detoxification properties.  Turnip, rutabaga, parsnips, radishes, celeriac and all varieties of squash are additional sources of paleo-friendly carbohydrates.


My dinner bears a striking resemblance to my computer...

I had to share this picture of because it made me laugh - the compostable to-go container is nearly the same size and shape as my MacBook.  Yes, I admit that I was multitasking; not the best thing for my Spleen Qi, but at least my meal was (mostly) cooked!  What is Spleen Qi, you ask?  I'll talk more about Traditional Chinese Medicine next time, including my views on raw vs. cooked foods.

Until then, stay tuned for the next chapter in my cavewoman adventure!

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Sources:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/RCP00221/roasted-root-vegetables.html

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