6/14 Foodie Friday

Tammy worked hard for her pull-ups and she finally got them. Nice work Tammy!
Today's Foodie Friday blog post continues our exploration into foods we eliminate or reduce on our Paleo eating plan. Remember, our version of Paleo is to eat meat, vegetables, nuts & seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar and to eliminate grains, dairy, dried legumes and of course sugar. I have explored why we eliminate grains and dairy in previous posts. You'll recall we eliminate these food groups to control our insulin. Insulin is a hormone that controls carbohydrate and fat metabolism. Remember, Insulin is the hormone that regulates fat accumulation at the waist.
We eliminate or reduce dried legumes (beans, lentils, garbanzos, dried peas, soybeans, and peanuts) because they are hard to digest, cause GI distress for many people and some varieties contain anti-nutrients which bind to minerals in the legumes, rendering them unavailable to our bodies.
If you purchase dried beans (not in a can) it is common, and necessary to soak them overnight before cooking them. Soaking is a form of processing which reduces the anti-nutrient content and mitigates any potential GI distress. If you eat beans from a can, they are in water and preservatives to prevent spoiling, and the water can help process the phytates (the anti-nutrients.)
The two most important legumes to eliminate are soy and peanuts. Soybeans contain compounds called isoflavones, which are types of phytoestrogens.  Phytoestrogens are plant based forms of estrogen, and while could be beneficial for women in menopause, could be problematic for other folks. 
Peanuts contain a unique, disruptive protein called a lectin. Lectins are resistant to digestion and can cause inflammation for many people. Inflammation can be deleterious to our health because being inflamed increases the "wear and tear" on our joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and internal organs. Inflammation makes us feel like crap, reduces our ability to recover from the stress of CrossFit, and reduces our vitality and longevity. You want to reduce or eliminate inflammation. 
Eliminating legumes does not include fresh green beans, sugar snap peas or anything you can eat fresh from the garden. These fresh legumes have not yet developed the anti-nutrients contained in the dried seed (bean). So enjoy those fresh garden green beans and peas, and set the peanut butter, black, kidney, Navy and soybeans aside for a while. 

Want to dive deeper into why we eliminate dried legumes on a Paleo Diet? Check out the "Legume Manifesto" from the folks who created the Whole30 program. 

Click Here for the Whole30 Legume Manifesto.

Al Pastor, or adobada. is one my most favorite Mexican meats. When I travelled in Baja I got Al Pastor as often as possible, and when I lived in Reno, Nevada, adobada was widely available. However, I have not found these meats readily available in Montana. So, you can share in my delight in finding this Al Pastor recipe for the Instant Pot! WOOHOOOO! I've already order my guajillo pepper adobo sauce and when it arrives I'm making a GIANT batch of Al Pastor with local Almathea pork. I hope you make some, too. Let me know how it turns out. Click on the image for the recipe. Provecho!

Click Here for The WOD