Comments on: Why Your Excuses Are Crap: St. Patrick’s Day

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:39:00 +0000

Reindeer is caribou here in Canada – and it is, without question, the best-tasting meat on the planet*.

In reference to “what to use instead of rice/pasta” – I use thinly sliced cabbage, lightly boiled. It’s a perfect spaghetti substitute, takes only a few minutes and I actually prefer it.

*I haven’t actually eaten every animal protein on the planet, so there’s every chance that wildebeest or tapir are just as good as caribou. But of the ones I’ve tried, it’s the best – and there seems to be a pretty good consensus on this amongst caribou-eaters. Why else would the Inuit live where they do? Caribou – it makes life on the tundra worthwhile.

By: Ingrid

Ingrid — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 01:52:58 +0000

Venison is delicious… just spent 3 weeks in Finland where we ate reindeer, often. Filetted, sauteed, chops, and stew – just fantastic. Kangaroo is just as good – lean, tasty meat, very good on the type of eating plan you describe!

By: Lieke

Lieke — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:59:05 +0000

Venison like deer is also great to eat grilled like you would a steak, provided it’s from a young animal and well filleted. The taste usually gets stronger as the animal gets older.

By: John

John — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:00:29 +0000

That’s exactly what I ended up doing last night. I sauted some leeks that I sliced lengthwise. Thanks for the other suggestions.

By: Mistress Krista

Mistress Krista — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:53:43 +0000

You can try going without rice/pasta altogether — not every dish needs it. It’s just sort of a habit to have them there. The dish thus becomes more like a stew than a sauce sitting atop a starch.

But other nice options include:
-pureed roasted veggies such as squash, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, celery root, cauliflower, etc.
-”noodles” made with a vegetable peeler (keep peeling a carrot, sweet potato, or zucchini till it’s all gone, then quickly saute)
-spaghetti squash — this is great when used as a pasta substitute

By: John

John — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:52:40 +0000

What do you recommend using in place of rice or pasta for serving a saucy dish like a curry?

By: Mistress Krista

Mistress Krista — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:18:28 +0000

With venison the trick is to slow cook it for a loooong time and use a strongly flavoured sauce. It’s lean, so it needs to be braised or otherwise simmered in liquid, and it can’t be overdone. But in a crockpot on low for 8-10 hours… awesome.

By: Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach

Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:55:55 +0000

Did you say ‘venison’? Since feeding my dogs on the raw diet, I’ve had the opportunity to try venison – it’s definitely an acquired taste but most yummy in soup. I will point out that you neglected the most important soup-ingredients, habanero peppers, but it still sounded good.

By: Mistress Krista

Mistress Krista — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:34:25 +0000

Yeah, I normally eat more or less Paleo style. I read the research and the evidence in favour of it was pretty compelling, but more than that I’m sensitive to grains and intolerant to cow dairy. I discovered that my allergy symptoms just went away when I cut out grains. I figure animal protein + fruit/veg is a pretty good way to eat, regardless of what you want to call it.

By: Terry Gibbs

Terry Gibbs — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:05:21 +0000

Was lucky enough to train in a gym with the 72 Olympic WL coach, Bruce Walsh and he had a chart with a long list of unaccepatble excuses, for people missing training, some very funny.

I trained a young thrower once whose mother was not as keen as here son. After many missed training sessions for flu, colds, sore throats, tiredness etc., I bluntly replied
“George Frenn once benched 400 in a bodycast,” ….he never missed a workout after that, became a good thrower..

looking forward to your list, done with your unique wit (and now the pressure is on)