Blog - Ancestral Nutrition

Blog December 13, 2013

An Open Letter To Jay-Z On Plant Based Diets

This is an open letter to one of my favorite artists, Jay-Z. I grew up listening to Jay-Z and can rap every word to Vol. 2…Hard Knock Life. I read this article in Rolling Stone about Jay-Z adopting a vegan diet until Christmas. And I get it. I’ve been there and done that. Like a lot of people, we’re led to believe that a plant based diet is healthier, it’s better for the environment, it’s SPIRITUAL. Except…it’s not and it isn’t. No one tells you that a vegan diet eliminates necessary fats and vitamins. No one tells you that grain and legume production is destroying American (and Brazilian) farmland. No one tells you that it’s more spiritual to buy local, organic animals that were raised on a nearby farm with love and sunshine; to know where your food comes from and develop a relationship with it. I don’t know about you,…

Blog December 12, 2013

The Best Fudgy Paleo Brownies

I have a confession: I like vanilla more than chocolate. I know, I’m one of those rare unicorns, because my friends and boyfriend constantly remind me how superior chocolate is over vanilla. I get it, chocolate is delicious. I really, really like it. But I’d take a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting over chocolate any day. Except for today. Because I made some seriously delicious brownies. And they’re paleo brownies, to boot. I’m not a fan of most brownie recipes because they just taste like boring old chocolate cake to me. “Why would I eat this, when I could be eating vanilla cake?” I wonder. But gooey, dense, dark chocolate brownies are a different ballpark. These are definitely more dense than the average brownie, and that’s exactly why I like them. It’s almost a cross between fudge and brownie, and I am really into that combo. Plus, like all of my…

Blog December 11, 2013

Spicy Mexican Shrimp

Simple food is the best food. There’s a Mexican restaurant in my neighborhood that’s really good. They are authentic, make most of their food from scratch, and are therefore a bit pricey. I always order their spicy Mexican shrimp, which burns my face off because it’s made with a habanero, but I don’t even care. I decided to recreate the recipe at home. There aren’t many ingredients, it took me actually less than 20 minutes to make the meal, and honestly I think my version was better due to the amount of butter I added. God I love butter. Spicy Mexican Shrimp This easy spicy Mexican shrimp tastes just like the fancy shrimp dish you can order at Mexican restaurants but is way cheaper and healthier made at home! Serve with rice or cauliflower rice. 3 tbsp butter2 cups wild shrimp1 onion (sliced)1-2 jalapenos (I of course used two,…

Blog December 10, 2013

Spicy Mixed Greens With Bacon

Listen, I know everyone loves to love. But I’ll be honest. I don’t like kale. The only way I could stomach kale was in my juices, covered up with a lot of carrots and lemon. Scott doesn’t even like kale (and refers to it as lizard foreskin…appetizing, right?). But I should actually say I never liked kale until last night, when I added bacon and garlic and jalapenos to it. I actually bought a giant bag or organic mixed greens that consisted of kale, collard and turnip greens from Trader Joe’s. The bag was surprisingly cheap, and now I plan on getting it during every trip to Trader J’s. Spicy Mixed Greens with Bacon These bacon fried spicy mixed greens are an easy side dish packed with vitamins! The bacon lends a wonderful smoky flavor to the greens! 2 pieces pastured bacon (chopped)2 cups mixed greens (roughly chopped)1-2 garlic…

Blog December 9, 2013

Spicy Cilantro Shrimp

I love Trader J’s. We don’t often go because there is only one in the entire city and I usually stick to my local organic market, but we went last Saturday and I was in heaven. If you are strapped for cash and generally want to save money while still eating organic, go to Trader Joe’s! We got a ton of stuff, including wine and food for guests for $100. If I had stuck to my grocery list, I would’ve spent even less than that. How does this have anything to do with shrimp? I was walking through the frozen section and spotted some really affordable and WILD shrimp. I never buy farmed, so I immediately threw it in my cart. That’s how this baby was born. Spicy Cilantro Shrimp This easy spicy Mexican-inspired sauteed shrimp with butter, jalapenos and cilantro is an easy healthy low carb dinner or lunch option…

Blog December 8, 2013

Poached Eggs Over Spicy Mexican Hash

Sometimes my best dishes are born from no recipe, no plan, and going into the kitchen just knowing it’s 11am and I haven’t eaten yet and I’m freaking starving. Everything in my fridge looked amazing (went grocery shopping yesterday) including the cranberry sauce that’s still in there from Thanksgiving. “Should I just eat the cranberry sauce by the spoonful?” I wondered. But then I had some leftover hash browns. And I had bacon. And I really like spicy foods. And I had a jalapeño. This sucker was being born. Mexican food is my favorite, so I decided to use those flavors. Coupled with the yolk porn you see above and below, it was pretty awesome. Poached Eggs over Mexican Hash Perfect soft poached eggs on a slightly spicy potato hash! Add a Mexican touch by throwing in some Jalapenos, onions and tomatoes. 1/2 cup potatoes (sliced or diced (I used…

Blog December 4, 2013

Travel Essentials

Yes, those are my beautiful feet in the above photo. It was taken on a little island off the coast of Mexico with no cars, called Holbox Island last year. At the end of the month Scott and I are going to Roatan (if you’ve ever been, make sure to comment below!). I’m beyond excited and thought I’d share some of my travel essentials because let’s be honest, I’m not going to eat 100% clean on this trip. Why would I? It’s vacation! That being said, I don’t eat terribly on vacation either. It’s easy for me to eat well when we travel because we both only ever want to go to the beach, so there is always fresh seafood, simply prepared. I could pretty much live off of grilled fish, vegetables and rice (and for the most part, do while I’m on vaca). But I also get down to…

Blog December 3, 2013

10 Ways To Spruce Up Your December

Go check out some holiday lights. Every year Scott and I go to nearby Annapolis to have an amazing dinner near the water, then to check out the boats. Local boat owners string lights on the boats, decorate like crazy and really go all out. My favorite boat every year is the A Christmas Story boat; complete with big, lit up leg lamp lights. We also live by the National Zoo so we usually walk over to their light display, aptly named Zoo Lights. Most towns have light displays, just check out your local newspaper or Google it. Even if you’re just cruising around your hood and looking at people’s holiday lights, it’s tough to NOT be in the holiday spirit. Volunteer! I plan on volunteering with the elderly this season. Consider how many elderly people are in nursing homes with either no family left, or just family that doesn’t…

Blog December 2, 2013

How To Naturally Overcome A Cold

I’m currently sick in bed as I write this. It’s that time of year – the weather has transitioned to basically freezing (okay, it’s only about 40 degrees in DC but I am not a fan of the cold), it’s the holidays and I’ve been busy preparing for everything that’s coming up in the next couple of months. Considering I rarely ever get sick, I thought I’d share some of my favorite remedies to prevent colds and eliminate them once you’ve already caught one. Bone Broth Bone broth is full of vitamins and minerals as well as healthy fats. It strengthens the lining of the stomach as well. Considering all of these benefits, it’s also make it an amazing immune booster. Coconut Oil Coconut oil is anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. It is rich in lauric acid and medium chain triglycerides. I aim to take at least 2 tbsps a day.…

Acne November 27, 2013

My Response To The Collective Sigh Over “Paleo Diet”

This article is ridiculous for a few reasons, one being that archaeologists widely agree on what our ancestors ate, though diet DID vary from throughout regions; the Eskimo ate a shit ton of whale, the Massai ate a low of raw blood and milk, the Aborigines ate the stomachs of kangaroo, etc. “You simply do not see specific, trans-regional trends in human subsistence in the archaeological record. People can live off everything from whale blubber to seeds and grasses. You want to know what the ideal human diet consists of? Everything. Humans can and will eat everything, and we are remarkably successful not in spite of this fact, but because of it. Our adaptability is the hallmark of the human species. We’re not called omnivores for nothing.” Hoyes misses the mark here. Yeah, people can live off of anything, we see people living off of McDonald’s and Burger King and…