Simon Says

Simon sent me an intriguing email I thought I'd share with all of you...

Take a crack at the picture attached. It looks like a genuine chef cooked it. Nope, that is my creation. Its a sous-vide chicken breast with a sun-dried tomato vinaigrette, cooked to absolute perfection. I'm not a bad cook, but they way I cooked it yielding amazing results - the chicken literally melted in your mouth and was perfectly moist. Note: Haha... he said "moist"
Sous vide is what is important here - it is a better way to cook, and it works especially well for paleo style diets. The idea is that you vacuum seal the food and cook it in a temperature controlled water bath. It allows you to get perfect cooking every time because you control the water temperature very precisely.

A sous vide can be pricey to set up, my setup cost just south of $600. I bought a sous vide supreme (449) and a Foodsaver vacuum sealer (130). There are cheaper ways to do it though, mainly by taking a crock pot and rigging up a $100 temperature controller. You don't need the vacuum sealer as well, there is a clever way of using a plastic bag and a water to remove the air from the bag (see this video: http://vimeo.com/11317493). I have a crock pot if you want it.

I'll keep experimenting, but I'm going to invite the crew in the next 2-3 weeks for a sous vide dinner.

Simon sets a great example here. While eating better is paramount, at times, one can feel limited by their options - "No bread?! But what about that sweet deal at Olive Garden!?!" First of all, when it comes to cooking, you're only limited by one thing: your imagination. Seriously, anyone who thinks Paleo is unreasonable because of a lack of options is really just goddamn lazy. At Robb Wolf's seminar, we did the following exercise:

1) Make three columns.
2) In Column 1, write down a bunch of meat options. In Column 2, vegetables. In Column 3, fat sources. And in Column 4, spices and such.
3) Start mixing that shit up!

Do the math on how many potential meals this list could make. Pretty substantial, ain't it? And this list only scratches the surface of what can be done. I'm not saying you have to go as far as Nils, who's enjoyment of cooking even exceeds my love of YouTube, but make an effort. If you can make cooking an enjoyable endeavor rather than an annoying chore, the results will astound you. You'll eat better, perform better, look better, feel better, and all potential mates are impressed by someone with cooking prowess. How else could you explain Nate Nash having a girlfriend?

In a short while, I'll be posting a list of excellent Paleo resources filled with recipes, tips, and ideas. Stay tuned...