In my previous endurance post, I promised to post the DIY paleo sport drink recipes my team captain and I came up with, as we were sick of drinking diluted sugary sports drinks from the shelf. My standard go-to drink was diluted yellow Gatorade while my team captain drank diluted Pocari Sweat. Both brands were easily available everywhere aka 7Eleven. I have a bias towards Pocari Sweat though... actually towards any beverage which labels itself as Sweat. Hands up if you're even a little weirded out by such branding.

Anyway, so the following drinks recipes have been tested and approved by my team captain and me, two female runners of Asian descent, who tend to have a sensitive stomach and enjoy Studio Ghibli animes. And if those are not top notch credentials, well then Games of Thrones is nothing but a swords and sandals study. Now carry on.... please.

"Hun... what are you doing?" The husband sounded alarmed while watching me rummaging through the fridge.
"Oh... nothing. Just feeling a bit peckish." I said in my best received pronunciation keep-calm-and-carry-on voice. 
Truth was I wanted a dessert. Something so sinful it would count as a double cheat. 

It was December 2014. I just came back from my 1 month highly charged carb trip in India and I wanted something creamy sweet like ice cream or berry cheese cake. My higher brain region defeated was just shaking its metaphorical head and was about to surrender to the urge of immediate gratification until something from my long-term memory signalled for my immediate attention. I remembered a cranberry parfait recipe a female fitness model came up with and she posted it on a body-building website sometime in 2012. 

Now professional body-builders need to be good in loosing body fat before competition which they call the cutting phase. She was able to eat that dessert almost every day during her cutting phase and it helped her to endure a very plain calorie restricted diet. So I decided to come up with a primal version. She used low-fat cream cheese and stevia for her creamy dessert. I decided to use Italian ricotta cheese from Marks and Spencer. Ricotta is usually made from whey from sheep's, goat's or buffalo's milk and therefore most likely grass-fed. It has a naturally light sweet flavour is low in fat in comparison to other cheeses. 

If you do not know me personally the following fact might be new to you since it's not mentioned in the About section of this website: Yours truly is an older Asian sibling. And you might know about the phenomenon of Asian older siblings having this compulsion to indulge their younger siblings because we have been conditioned by our parents to do so as we had the privilege to wreak havoc on a fresh new uterus while every sibling following us would only a second hand uterus to develop in. 

Moving on more than 30 years later to today: My only and younger sister forwarded this pizza recipe from a German paleo website in the hope that I would make it for her when she visits me in Hong Kong. Now this is a great recipe if you like your pizza crispy. Took the liberty to translate the recipe into English and post it here. 

Quick remark: Since many Hongkis only have small ovens or use turbos I've reduced the original quantities to half. 

Jo, a friend of mine, whatsapped me and asked for simple veggie based recipes and, as the Hong Kong lifestyle demands, ideally quick and easy. Funny enough I stumbled over many simple recipes during my internet browsing sessions while commuting from the dark side. And I always wanted to post a compilation of the best recipes I've found. So thanks to Jo I finally got going. Enjoy:

Two-ingredient pancake have become my evening staple for carb backloading. Light, easy and satifying.

This is my version of the two-ingredient pancake:

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 large banana

Optional

• another 1/2 banana for more carbs OR
• 10-12 g of protein powder for more protein OR
• matcha green tea powder 

For the pan

• 2 tbs of coconut oil OR
• 28 g of grass-fed/ raw butter

Serves: 1
Nutritional value without the optional extras:

kcal: 387 (with butter) to 447 (with coconut oil), 
Fat: 30 g (butter), 38 g (coconut oil), Carbs: 16 g, Protein: 13 g

Throw all ingredients in a blender. For fluffier pancake use pre-frozen banana (already peeled of course) and then blend, blend away. 

Now this is important: Do not skimp on the oil. Otherwise the pancakes will stick. 

Flip once a rich golden ring forms around the edges of the pancake. Now that's usually the tricky bit. This paleo pancake is lighter than normal pancakes and can therefore break easier. 

You can also make smaller batches in which case I suggest to use 1bs oil for each pancake. 

Top with:

• Berries
  
• Full fat yoghurt
• Almond butter
• A generous yet sensible dollop of cream

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Another great Pinoy Paleo appetizer/ snack. The good thing about fried shredded sweet potatoes is that it retains its crispiness even when cooled after frying

Yields: 16 fritters

100 g or 80 pc of smaller peeled shrimp
200 g of sweet potato
1 egg white
2 cloves garlic
2 tsb almond flour or coconut flour
1 tsp cold water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
coconut oil for frying

Prep

1. Place shrimp in a bowl. If frozen defrost and rub dry with paper towel.
2. Peel sweet potato. Cut into julienne strips. I'm lazy and use a julienne slicer. Strips will not look as nice but it'll save you some time. 
3. Crush, peel and mince garlic
4. Place sweet potatoes, egg white and garlic in bowl with the shrimp
5. Mix almond/ coconut flour with cold water and add to shrimp mixture. 
6. Season misture with salt and pepper. Mix well. Drain to remove excess liquid

Cooking

1. Heat a 26 cm / 10" frying pan and fill with oil until 2 cm / 3/4" in deep. Temperature of oil for frying should be 175 °C/ 350°F
2. Sccop up tablesppon of the mixture. Make sure that there are ca. 5 pieces of shrimp in it. Drop mixture into the hot oil and press with spatula to flatten into fritters of 8 cm/ 3" diameter. Fry until golden brown and crsip. 
3. Drain on paper towel
4. Repeat process with the remaining mixture, frying a FEW pieces at the time. 

Place your fritters on a platter. Serve with vinegar infused with crushed garlic and chilli. 

Many Paleo food blogs have already pointed out that just with a few modifications heaps of Filipino dishes can be easily made Paleo. One dish you do not have to modify at all is kaldereta, a Filipino stew. 

This is my express version which I cook in large batches for the upcoming working week. The good thing about this dish that it can bes stored in the freezer for future use. Ideally let it thaw and heat over very low flame. 

The super quick version is to nuke it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes at highest setting. stir, heat it for an additional 2 minutes and let it rest for 1 minute. Done. 

Serves 6 Prep and Cooking time: ca. 1 hour

1/2 kg beef brisket or short ribs
(I like to use NZ grass-fed cubed beef from tenderloin.hk.com)
15 g (2 cloves) garlic 
160 g ( 2 smallish) onion
440 g (5 medium) tomatoes
400 g sweet potatoes
200 g carrots
40 g bacon
100 g red bell pepper
100 g green bell pepper
2 tbs coconut oil

Spices:
garlic powder
sea salt
turmeric
pepper

When I told my friends that I have started eating meat again I got a range of different reactions. A friend asked me won't I become "addicted to meat" as if I had just been released from prison and now having to catch up on all carnal pleasures. Other friends were more accepting and would have been more excited if I had gotten a new hair cut. 

One of my best friends in Germany only commented: "Once a Filipina, always a Filpina." I wanted to object but then realised that that he was on to something. Filipinos loooove meat and the Filipino cuisine is very Paleo compatible. 

Animal protein such as beef, pork, goat and seafood is a pretty much a constant physical condition for a Filipino meal. If there wasn't any meat or seafood it was not ulam, not the main component of a meal. It would just be a side dish almost like rice. I remember sometime in the 90's being at a Filipino birthday party and a suckling pig was delivered. By that time I was probably the only Vegetarian in the entire barrio.