LAZY SUMMER CUCUMBER SALAD (GF)

This Lazy Cool Cucumber Salad is what I look most forward to during a bbq each summer. 

Chop the cucumber in 1 cm rings and then in quarters

PALEO BBQ (GF)

Hey peeps, I've been MIA since going Paleo this last month. I have a few pictures of the sort of thing I've been making and eating:

Grilled Vietnamese Pork Patties with Avocado on Organic Baby Kale Salad mix

Grilled Prawns, Vietnamese Pork Patties, Avocado on Organic Baby Kale Salad mix

Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini.

Since going GF, I thought I had it hard.  Then a few weeks ago when my GP said that I should avoid those simple carbs and suggested upping the cardio to 4 times a week because of my whacky hormone levels (due to Hashi's, cycling hyper and hypothyroidism)...to regulate my insulin levels, he cautioned me that my baking may have to be put on the back-burner for a while.  He told me to give it a go for a month.

Well, I've stuck to it.  I'm running (outside even!) and doing strength-training and I feel good.  Still GF primarily but the other day when the kids had roasted corn and were all telling me how sweet it was, I resisted!  It's certainly GF, but it isn't Paleo as it's a grain.  

The bbq is my friend...and so is olive oil and coconuts!  The Vietnamese Grilled Pork I made is an adaptation of my favourite meal:  Grilled meat and veggies on rice vermicelli (called "bun")...minus the vermicelli of course.  I just grabbed a bag of organic greens, chunked up an avocado and topped it with the grilled meats and seafood.  For the nuoc cham, I used freshly squeezed lime juice and fish sauce (diluted with water) and a touch of honey.  The veggies were grilled simply with olive oil.  The meal was very yummy and it'll be one I'll repeat again and again.  So this meal was delicious, GF and Paleo friendly! 

Working up my nerve to make a Paleo dessert with dried fruit, coconut and whatnot.  Still debating on what that would be like.  Thinking I need chocolate so maybe a brownie of some sort?  Will keep you posted!

MAKING THAT BBQ COMPLETE: STRAWBERRY MEYER'S LEMONADE, YOGURT CUCUMBER SALAD AND ROASTED PEPPERS (GF)

Strawberry Meyers Lemonade

Depending on your lemons, you should get about 1 cup from 5 juicy Meyer's Lemons.  The ones I had were huge and full of juice.   The lemons were also way sweeter than regular lemons, so I didn't need to add much sweetener.  The fresh strawberries also helped with sweetness and added a nice pink tinge to the lemonade.

PLJESKAVICA (GF) AND GIBANICA (CROATIAN MEAT PATTIES AND SAVOURY CHEESE STRUDEL)

Gibanica is sometimes called Burek (cheese pie).

Serve Gibanica (savoury cheese strudel) with roasted peppers, cucumber salad, tomatoes, raw onions if you like 'em and pljeskavica (grilled meat patties)

KAM GOK YUEN BBQ…AN INSTITUTION

More pork fat love, but this BBQ Pork (cha siu) is WAY better than any I’ve had from other Chinese BBQ joints. 

Hey Chinatown newbie, let me give you some advice…

When you enter a Chinatown institution like Kam Gok Yuen, with its yellowed linoleum floors and hole-in-the-wall booths, you remember a few things, ya hear?

BBQ MASTER, RICHMOND: PORK FAT LOVE

I must confess that I am guilty of not cutting off the fat of this bbq pork.  I ate it.

Ate it all, you hear?

Bebe, meanwhile, carefully carved out her fatty pieces and left them on the side of her plate…to be picked off one by one and eaten by her little 4 year old sister, Bib.