My eats this week...

I was going to write a post about my best friend today (you will find out soon enough), but since it is the end of the week, I shall go easy with the content and post my eats instead. I must say, I am quite proud of myself this week as all the dinners were 100% paleo! *give myself a pat on the back* Not to mention, they were all prepared in a haste after coming home late from working out. I also did not eat any crappy carbs before the workouts and chose to snack on apples and sweet potatoes. Well, pau did not want me eating crappy carbs, so he packed the sweet potatoes every morning for me to bring them into work. I know, he is the sweetest man and I am a lucky woman. 

If you have liked my photos, thank you for your support! If you need any recipes, give a shoutout, I'll be more than happy to do a recipe post. It is the beer-fest this weekend and a birthday dim sum celebration, there will definitely be a series of #paleofail uploads.

-Mrs Paleoporean

From zero to paleo

Growing up, I was ingrained with the mindset that if I did not eat rice/noodles/carbs, I would have no energy to do anything. And like most kids in Singapore, I was looked after by my granny, who would feed me anything I want! Happy meal everyday, no problem! Kway chap with pig intestines and 2 eggs, no problem! White bread with peanut butter or butter and sugar, no problem! I was such an easy grand-kid and she was pleased! For 25 years, I had terrible eating habits, even when Pau and I were dating, I continued to eat my usual fare while Pau enjoyed his healthier alternatives. We seldom have arguments but if so, it would be about where to dine. I remembered 1.5 years ago, I was recommended the Scarsdale diet by a no-longer friend. It had a 2-week meal plan to follow and wah piang, it was difficult and frustrating. (I included a link for any desperate people, dying to lose some weight. But I hold NO responsibility should you decide to try it out!) First, the meals were unappetizing, blend and totally unsuitable for the Asian eater. One will need iron will to get through the day, less mention finish the 2 week course. Second, I had to prepare the meals at home as there weren't close substitutes at the food court and I would get dirty stares from people for bringing packed lunch to a food court and occupying a space during peak lunch hour. Then, I had to endure the smell (and sounds!) of the lunches my coworkers were happily chowing down on. Worst of all, I was perpetually hungry. Honestly, I did know what spurred me to do that, perhaps it was my desire to lose some weight or just wanting to impress the no-longer friend. I was definitely scarred by the Scarsdale diet. 

                                         Graphic Source: http://www.joyofkosher.com/2012/04/what-is-the-paleo-diet/
                                         The same link happen to have a good explanation on Paleo Diet too :)

When Pau decided to try out the Paleo diet earlier this year, I thought it was another diet fad. One day, out of curiosity, I decided to read on it and chanced upon many websites dedicated to it. Let's just put it this way, it didn't take much to convince me that, if there was any chance left in me to try another diet out, this will be it. Honestly, I am too lazy to write down the entire basis of the Paleo Diet and there are just so so so many other writers who introduce and describe it so well, there is really no point for me to re-write it here. Minus the fact I suck at writing. So, if any one is interested, HERE is a website that explains the Paleo Diet in GREAT detail, like turbo jammed packed with information, accompanied by tons of supporting references. In fact, I still read it several times a week to remind myself on certain information, in case any friend/ coworker would question. There is also Mark's Daily Apple- its writer, Mark Sisson is actually one of the pioneer advocates of eating Primal (aka Paleo) and in his 60s, he will put many 20 year olds in Singapore to great shame. Ok, even if you have absolute no interest, just click on the website and check out his body laa! My favourite part of his website is, every friday, he will feature true and successful stories of people who started eating Paleo and how it changed their lives completely- definitely a source of inspiration!. 

So if you may ask, so what if Grace is reading all these websites and eating Paleo (part-time) and inundating our instagram feed (username: glinrt. Add me add me!) with all her dinner photos, how is she benefitting? Well, ever since I started eating Paleo (part-time!!! emphasize emphasize!!!) around Febuary/March 2012, I have lose 2KG! For the first time since May 2008, I am actually less than 60kg. (FYI, even during my wedding, I was hovering around the 60s.) It is not very significant and even though I did not drop any dress size, I feel less bloated (aka look hotter in my dresses), more energised and more importantly, fulfilling my daily #2s (I used to be quite constipated). Hopefully, somewhere in the near future, I will gather more courage and inspiration and embark on Whole 30! It will be the day Pau will never dream of coming. We'll see!

-Mrs Paleoporean

Red Boat Fish Sauce

Ever since Pau started eating paleo at the beginning of the year, I have been looking for paleo-friendly recipes online. Nom Nom Paleo is my favourite go-to website as her recipes are creative and easy to follow. Not to mention, the drool-worthy food photos that she takes! It also helped that we already have most of the condiments she commonly uses and I could just read about a recipe at work and replicate it in the same evening, without a trip to the supermarket. However, there is always that one ingredient we would miss out and could NEVER find in Singapore: THE RED BOAT FISH SAUCE.

Pau and I had the misconception that fish sauce tastes super salty and fishy! So I was rather surprised to see Nom Nom Paleo uses it in almost all her recipes, whether it is beef sliders, stir-fried kale or damn fine chicken. It is everywhere! So we thought, how difficult it is to find the Red Boat Fish Sauce, it must be in Cold Storage/ Market Place. Boy we were wrong. We couldn't find it in any supermarket, we emailed several specialty stores and no avail. I was thinking, dammit, what is so special about this f**king fish sauce?
Unlike the regular fish sauce that you find here in Singapore, IT DOES NOT CONTAIN SUGAR! The Red Boat fish sauce contains only TWO ingredients: fresh wild caught anchovies and sea salt. slowly fermented in large tropical wood barrels and only the pure first press "extra virgin" fish sauce is bottled. 


Long story short, I ordered 2 x 250mL bottles from amazon.com. 2 weeks later and S$50 poorer, these bad boys arrived at the Paleoporean household. Can't wait to use it and share amazing recipes soon! 

- Mrs Paleoporean

Chops, Sausages, Steak and Hearts!

Last night we had Mo and Ah Boo over. Boo had made a big pot of clam chowder, featuring my old enemy, cream. Since I'm afraid of dairy, and it's potential to make me feel like I've been repeatedly kicked in the gut, followed up by a good raping, I decided to BBQ up a bunch of meat.

The meat-stravaganza going on here is pork chops, 100% meat sausages, sirloin steak and chicken hearts, all from Huber's. If you want to try cooking up those little nuggets of love known as grilled chicken hearts, stay tuned. I should be posting the recipe soon!

- Mr. Paleoporean

This photo totally depict how I was in prep. advance class earlier today. A massive failure.  

After class, I decided to ran my fustrations away on the treadmill, 5K in 28:50mins. Now. I'm all set for Boo's delicious clam chowder and some grass-fed sirloin steak for dinner. Not entire paleo, but I need it.

Here's my 2 cents

Although I'm not a huge fan of Lady Gaga's brand of campy, fashioncentric disco-pop, it was a genuinely entertaining show, and well worth going, even if you're not into meat dresses and oil stained spandex...and I'm not judging you if you are.

Most of the show involves gay, S&M Blackshirts (although to be truthful, they were mostly shirtless) varying between goosestepping and twitchy dancing all over the stage for two hours. Gaga is born from a from a giant turkey, and it all takes place Castle Greyskull.

Imagine if the cast of Glee went completely batshit insane and started singing and dancing and worshiping Satan, who happens to be a giant, disembodied Lady Gaga head. Did I mention Castle Grayskull?

Lady Gaga is strange, yet familiar, in that she combines painfully cliched elements of dance, pop music, fashion etc. and takes them to their logical, sometimes horrible conclusions. People seem to think she's a genius. She certainly is a spectacle. Not a spectacle like a bloody car crash or Snookie, but a contrived and highly polished piece of deeply ironic theatre. At least, I think she's being ironic, or not. Fuck, I don't know.

 - The Paleoporean

Today, we digress from paleo and talk gaga!

I read online that the 'Born This Way Ball Tour' (TBTWBT) is good, but how good is good? When tickets to her 2 days concert in Singapore sold out in mere hours of release, it was a sign of goodness and I was secretly kicking myself inside. Hence, when Lady Gaga decided to add a 3rd show, we, of course went for it.
Where do I even begin... First and most importantly, Lady Gaga can sing Live and really well! Her voice was crystal-clear, she hit crazy notes and when she spoke to the audience, her voice was so enchanting, inspite of being in between heavy pants from those intense dance moves.

                                                                                                          Source: Terry Richardson

And speaking of dancing, her backup dancers were super hawt! Rock hard abs, oiled-up and shiny, seductive and in spandex most of the time. Ok, I know they are all gay, but I'm very hum sup one and always ready for a visual feast! Did I mention, they point their freaking toes all the time. Totally put me to shame.

                                                                                                  Source: XINMSN

What is Lady Gaga without her outrageous costumes. In her first song, she came out in this costume, which I guess was inspired by the Alien franchise (maybe it is, I'm not too sure). The rest of her costume changes did not disappoint, I mean, she is Gaga after all, 50% of the controversy that surrounds her hails from her outfits. Anyways, they are an eccentric mix of futuristic, meets avant garde, meets haute coutour. Which is not surprising, since she worked with an impressive line of designers, such as Giorgio Armani and Christian Dada for TBTWBT. My favourite is the one she wore for Bad Romance, with laser cuts, designed by Void of Course. I have no idea about this designer since I am not really an avid fashion follower. However, my first impression was that I could totally wear the dress out to one of the girlies' wedding! Haa! I'll be Lady Gragra!  

                      Check out those sexy bums! I likey likey!
                                               Source: XINMSN

 
By saying the concert was "good", it is definitely an understatement (quoted from my friend BOO). It was awesome, entertaining, shocking and provocative, the BEST I have seen in recent years!. I don't think there is another performer who can supercede Lady Gaga's supremacy, maybe Madonna, but that's about it. Pau and I were very satisified with being seated the whole time and just watching the concert in awe. It was $222 well spent.