Due to some very delicious sushi last night, I was compelled to utilize the seasoned fajita beef I had planned for dinner last night tonight. It wasn't bad, but it was seasoned with one of those el cheapo fajita seasoning packets that are loaded with dextrose and chemical binders. I also used some mayo from the fridge on my artichokes... I realized that I would have to give up store bought mayo when I reread the ingredients and found canola oil.
For those of you who do not know, canola oil is a heavily processed oil from the Chinese rapeseed plant. It has all sorts of health food claims all over the packaging, but the reality is that it is not fit for human consumption. The unprocessed oil is actually toxic and used in some places as an industrial solvent. Fun stuff.
Recipes: Mayonnaise
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
3/4-1 cup oil
a generous pinch of sea salt
I found this recipe online for a home-made mayo. It sounds decent. I have heard negative reviews about using Extra Virgin olive oil because of the overpowering taste. Alternatives include expeller-pressed sunflower oil and flax oil. Flax oil is just retarded. It is too expensive for some very bad tasting oil.
I would use coconut oil, but it just seems too firm at room temperature for mayo. I may just have to try it with Virgin olive oil or even cold pressed olive oil. I am not going to explain the differences, it is easily Google-able. Let's just say the flavor profile decreases with the amount of processing involved.
I am not a huge fan of the Dijon mustard. It has a rather strong flavor that does not lend itself to all foods.
~OR~
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 pinches of sugar (BAD)
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
1 cup of oil
Thank you Alten Brown. His recipe is good, except for the sugar. I imagine it is there to balance out the vinegar. He recomends safflower or corn oil. Um... no thank you.
"In a glass bowl, whisk together egg yolk and dry ingredients. Combine lemon juice and vinegar in a separate bowl then thoroughly whisk half into the yolk mixture. Start whisking briskly, then start adding the oil a few drops at a time until the liquid seems to thicken and lighten a bit, (which means you've got an emulsion on your hands). Once you reach that point you can relax your arm a little (but just a little) and increase the oil flow to a constant (albeit thin) stream. Once half of the oil is in add the rest of the lemon juice mixture.You have to add the oil a little at a time until the whole thing emulsifies. Yes, it uses raw eggs and yolks. I'm not really scared... since the egg itself represents a hermetically sealed environment suitable for sustaining life.
Continue whisking until all of the oil is incorporated. Leave at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours then refrigerate for up to 1 week."
My meals today:
12 oz. of Ground Beef w/ canned sloppy joe sauce.
2x Artichokes w/ store-bought mayo.
12 oz. of London Broil (cut fajita style) w/ dry fajita seasoning.
1/2 Green Bell Pepper, 1/4 White Onion sauteed in Coconut Oil.
1 tablespoon of Sour Cream.
Let's review how well I followed my five rules today:
- No sugar. I will give myself a B on this one. I had no overt sugar, but the fajita seasoning contained dextrose and the sloppy joe mix had all sorts of preseratives.
- No grains. I will also give myself a B on this one; see 1 above.
- Move around a little every day. I will give myself a B. My wife and I purchased a pre-owned couch on craigslist. We had to rent a U-Haul and move it ourselves, including moving our old couch out of the way. I will consider this outside of my normal sedentary routine.
- Move really fast every once in a while. I will give myself a pass on this one today. I don't have to sprint every day.
- Lift heavy things. I will give myself a C on this one. While I did lift the couch, twice, and move my old couch by myself, I did not do any body weight exercises like I had planned.
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