I have been experimenting a little with pig skin.  These were my first attempt and I have to say they came out pretty good!

These candies are a delicious paleo friendly Valentine’s Day treat.

1 jar coconut butter

1 bag freeze dried strawberries

1 bag freeze dried bananas

1 Tbsp honey, local

1 4oz 100% Cacao bar

6 tsp honey, local

1 tsp palm shortening

Place the jar of coconut butter in a small bowl of hot water to soften.

Pour the strawberries and the bananas in a food processor and pulse until they are a fine powder.  Add the coconut butter and honey in the processor with the powder and blend until smooth.  Pour this mixture into a squeeze bottle and fill the heart candy molds.  Place the molds in the refrigerator for about fifteen minutes or until the candy is set.

Melt the chocolate bar in a small pan over low heat with the 6 tsp of honey and palm shortening.  Stir constantly until melted.  Remove the mixture from heat and allow to cool for fifteen minutes.  Dip the hearts in the chocolate mixture and place on parchment paper or drizzle the chocolate over the hearts.  Pace the candy in the refrigerator for fifteen to twenty minutes to set.  Store in the refrigerator.  Try not to eat all the delicious little buggers!

Happy Valentines Day 🙂

1 lb fingerling Potatoes
6 tbsp olive oil
2 heaping tbsp rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Chop fingerling Potatoes and put in a zip lock baggy.

Add the olive oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper.  Close the bag and shake well until all the potatoes are covered.  Dump the potatoes onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Roast in the oven for 1 hour.

These are not paleo but they came in our CSA box and we just couldn’t waste them!

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2014/11/21/5-health-tips-computer-workers.aspx

Dr. Mercola addresses the negative side affects from sitting for too long.  He even points out that vigorously working out for an hour or two and then sitting for most of the day may even cancel out the health benefits of the workout.

Marcelo came up with 5 health tips for those who have jobs that require them to sit for long periods of time while at work.  One philosophy to go by is standing is better than sitting, and walking is better than standing.  Check out the article above to find out more about the correlation between sitting and health.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/06/14/intermittent-fasting-longevity.aspx

If you are interested in fasting and are not sure how to go about implementing a regime that works best for you, Dr. Mercola lists a few options that you can choose from.

Some options include:

1. Alternate-day fast: fast one day and eat the next
2. Restrict eating to a 6-8 hour window by skipping breakfast or dinner
3. Fasting one day a week for 24-36 hours
4. Fasting twice a week by reducing calories to about 500 on the two “fast” days

Take a look and see if this might be something you’re interested in.  Dr. Mercola lists some health benefits associated with fasting, but remember that it might not work for everyone.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-wont-buy-simplots-gmo-potato-1416092004

McDonald’s has refused to buy Simplot’s new GMO potato!  Read the article at the online Wall Street Journal website!

Although McDonald’s has declined the GMO potato, they have used Monsanto GMO spuds in the past, so just be careful about what and where you eat.  And just know that the food industry is rapidly experimenting with Genetically Engineered cows, chickens, eggs, fish, vegetables, and fruits and does not have to acknowledge their use of GE products.  Choose wisely.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141202123735.htm

According to this study, it is not only about what you eat but the time that you eat it.  They experimented with several groups of mice, allowing them to eat all they wanted of certain foods within 9-, 12-, and 15- hour windows.  They also changed certain macronutrients that the mice had access to: just fat, fat and sugar, and just sugar.  They found that, regardless of macronutrients, the mice that ate in the time-restricted windows lost more weight and saw an improvement in body composition than those that did not.

This is significant for people who might have late night jobs or other life challenges that keep them up late.  The conductors of the study also used mice of all weights and sizes.  This is relevant because, “They found that the benefits of time-restricted feeding showed up regardless of the weight of the mouse, type of diet and length of the time restriction (to some degree).”  In addition to this, the researchers gave a group of mice two free respite days on the weekend in which they could consume however much fat they wanted.  These mice showed the same results and weight improvement as the mice that continued the time-restricted feeding seven days out of the week.  Although this study was done with mice, it is still worth calling attention to if the goal is weight loss or weight maintenance.

I hope everyone had as much fun as Rosie and I did!  We’ll post details about the next supper club when we get closer to the end of November.  I can’t wait to see everyone again at the next club meeting!