Paleo schmaleo

[Note: I carefully composed the first part of this blog entry in four neat paragraphs, but when I went to publish it the software blended them all together. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how to get my paragraphs back! I have tried to edit the text dozens of times, and each time it won't save into distinct paragraphs. So frustrating! If anyone has experience with formatting on blogger, I would love advice on this issue. For now, just pretend there are breaks in the narrative where they sould be.] Since January of this year, Scott has adopted the Paleo diet. For those of you not familiar with Paleo, the theme of the diet is "hunter/gatherer", a throwback to the cavemen of generations past. In other words, the diet is heavy on animal-based protein sources, nuts, vegetables, fruits, and not much else. Even within the vegetable category not everything is approved of (e.g., green vegetables are good but more starchy vegetables like corn and potatoes are to be used in limited quantities). Needless to say, I have found it challenging to nurture my creative cooking side under the restrictive guidelines of Paleo. There are just so many delicious recipes waiting to be tackeled out there in the universe that contain ingredients that the Paleo diet does not approve of. My philosophy towards healthy living is more about moderation and trying to avoid processed foods as much as possible. I love vegetables the most of all food categories, and with the exception of seafood I like the animal proteins the least. I have no problem with enjoying bread and better-for-you grains like brown rice and quinoa. Plus, I have a major sweet tooth, so ice cream and cakes are on my mind all.the.time. Eating in moderation and regular exercise work for me. However, to be supportive of Scott's endeavors I am trying to adapt. Due to Scott's work schedule and his social habits, the only time he eats with us as a family is on weekends. So on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings I am trying to plan meals that are as Paleo-esque as possible to meet both of our dietary needs. One of the better Paleo-friendly meals I have made lately is Pepper Steak with sauteed vegetables. The glaze on the meat and vegetables in this dish was excellent (ingredients below), and I can forsee adapting the glaze for use in other stir-fried dishes. First, saute sliced onion, bell pepper, and garlic in some olive oil over medium-high heat. The pretty colors of all of the vegetables in the pan below are quite attractive.

After the vegetables are tender, remove them from the pan and replace them with sliced flank steak. Season the steak with salt, pepper, freshly grated ginger (you can see the tiny pieces of yellow ginger in the photo below), garlic, and red pepper flakes. Saute the steak in a bit of olive oil until the inside of the meat is barely pink. When the meat is just about finished, remove it from the pan, and pour 2/3 cups soy sauce, 4 T. honey, and 4 T. red wine vinegar into the same pan to make the glaze. Add cornstarch to thicken the glaze if desired. Once the glaze is mixed well and to the desired consistency, return the vegetables and steak back to the pan and mix together so that the vegetables and steak are coated with the glaze. This dish was quite flavorful and hopefully much healthier than something similar you could order from an asian restaurant. I served the pepper steak with a side of broccoli. I steamed the broccoli for about 5 minutes to get it barely tender, then sauteed it with some fresh musrooms in sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, and topped with slivered almonds. Delicious, and makes living Paleo look good.