Tasty Tuesday (Paleo Rx Week 2)

Mini-Challenge #2 is easy. I'm at the gym by 7am somedays and stay until 8:30-9pm. Sometimes I'll have plans for lunch after the 12pm class, sometimes I'll find a bunch of work to do until the 4:30pm bunch comes along. When I'm strapped for time, I want to be able to grab something quick, healthy and, of course, "paleo". Helping me not break the bank would be helpful, too!

What recommendations for an awesome lunch would you give me? I'm going to judge by trying out what you guys provide!

See all Challenge details here.

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Entry #1 - As seen on Paleo Rx, by Suzi!

Larb Gai @ Naam Seattle

When you think of Thai food, the first dishes to come to mind are likely the highly popular and Westernized pad thai and sweet coconut curries. Perhaps if you’re in the know, you might even think about papaya salad or larb gai, the latter of which which I’m going to propose as being totally paleo-friendly and very easy to find in most Thai restaurants. Larb gai is also on the cheaper side, or at least it should be. If they’re asking for more than $10, then it better be a heaping portion or ultra amazing in some other way. At Naam Thai Cuisine in Madrona, larb gai goes for about $7.95 before tax/tip.

Larb is a meat salad that uses ground meat (usually chicken or pork) as a base, with veggies serving as supplemental condiments of sorts. While many larb dishes usually include peanuts (legumes!), these can usually be excluded upon request. Other than that, larb is pretty paleo-friendly, although the use of fish sauce to season the meat may be questionable (I’m pretty sure fish sauce is free of soy products). Although served primarily in Thai restaurants, larb originated from Laos, and is actually considered the national dish of the country.

Order larb gai at any Thai restaurant, or even make it yourself, striving to use locally-grown condiments obtained at your friendly neighborhood farmer’s market (ie. grass-fed ground beef or organic chicken, local heads of cabbage/lettuce). Below is a basic recipe for larb gai, courtesy of The Skinny Gourmet.

Basic Larb gai recipe


Chicken Mixture
Combine ingredients and cook until chicken is thoroughly done:

• 1.5 cups (10 oz) minced chicken breast
• 4 shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 slices of fresh ginger, finely grated or minced (or Thai ginza)
• 3 Tablespoons of fish sauce
• 2 Tablespoons of lime juice
• 1-2 tsp red pepper flakes

Serve with: ... an assortment of raw vegetables. We always use finely shredded green or red cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers. Sometimes we add julienned red pepper, sprouts, or green beans.

Mix together with the chicken mixture in a bowl, or serve separately and allow individual eaters top to their taste:

• 1-2 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1-2 green onion, chopped
• 1-2 Tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped
• extra wedges of lime juice

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WOD

2010 NW Regionals - Individual WOD #1

3 rounds for time:
10 overhead squats, 60/45kg
50 double unders

compare to 13DEC2010.

Post results to comments!

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