No Yeast and No Bread Machine Paleo Bread Recipe

Anyone who is a recent convert from the carbohydrate ridden standard American diet can tel you one thing - carb cravings are very real. I would often hear of people who were just trying so and so fad diet and how hard it was not to eat bread. With that being said if there is anything paleo that my body physically craves it would have to be bread.


There are many ways to go about making paleo bread. However, most paleo bread recipes require something I am not too fond of myself; yeast. The end result is incredible and very satisfying, it is very rich almost to the point of tasting cake like. The solution is the 'No-Yeast and No-Bread-Machine Paleo Bread Recipe':


Ingredients:

• 3 Cups of blanched(skins removed) or unblanced Almond flour



• 1 Egg



• 1 Cup of Almond Milk



• 1 1/2 Tbsp. of Coconut Oil



• 2 Tsp. of Baking Powder



• 1/2 Tsp. of Baking Soda

Directions:

1. Combined egg, almond milk, coconut oil in a bowl.



2. Add flour, baking powder and soda and mix with hand mixer.



3. Pour into mini-loaf pan or baking pan if flat bread is desired.



4. Place in oven at 400 for 45 minutes.



5. Poke center with butter knife, if it comes out too moist allow five more minutes at 400.

Why My Car Keeps Me Broke

I decided numbers speak greater than words in some situations. After yesterdays post with IRS standard car deduction of 55.5 cents per mile, it got me thinking. How much was I really paying to drive my car.

In money:

17/mpg Oldsmobile Intrigue
23 miles round trip x 5 days a week = 115 miles week
115/17mpg = 6.77 gallons of gas.
6.77 * $3.50 = $23.68 min a week in gas

Oil every 2,000 miles(car runs a bit rough/low oil light comes on) plus extra jug= $25
$0.0125 per mile
$23.68 (gas) + $1.44(oil cost/wk)
New total: $25.12 a week

Car insurance once every four weeks ~$82.00
$82/4 weeks = $20.50 a week in insurance.
$25.12(gas/oil) + $20.50(insurance cost/wk)
New total: $45.62 a week

Car tires ~$400 every 30,000 miles
$400/30,000 mi = $.014 a mile * 115 mi = $1.61
$45.62(gas/oil/insurance) + $1.61(tires/wk)
New total: $47.23 a week

Car registration $50 every year.
$50/52 weeks = $.97
$47.23(gas/oil/insurance/tires) + $.97(registration/wk)
New total: $48.20 a week

Repairs of within last 2 years radiator($99) + starter($110) + Battery ($97) = $306
$306/2 yrs = $153/52 wks = $2.95/wk
$48.20(gas/oil/insurance/tires/registration) + $2.95(expected repair cost/wk)
New total: $51.15 a week

TOGETHER IN A MONTH: Cost of $204.60 if all prices remain constant. That is more than half of one of my pay checks spent to get a paycheck.
I always like to consider opportunity cost in addition. Being that I am a college student I probably wouldn't lock this away in something not too liquid but even
at 1% savings account I am missing out on $24.55 in interest after a years of saving gains interest.

+

In time:

After all paycheck deductions I make $9.351/hr.
$51.15/$9.351 =
Each week in time/expense it costs me 5.47 or roughly 5 and half hours of work to pay for driving JUST TO WORK ONE WEEK.
IN A MONTH: I work roughly 22 hours just to have a means of transportation to my job.

Each trip to work is 40ish mins round trip * 5 days = 200 mins
That is 3.33 hours of unpaid time sitting in a car with no ac.
At my after deduction rate it comes out to around $31.14 of unpaid time directly spent on work.
IN A MONTH: I would have wasted away 13.32, or 13 hours and 20 minutes.

TOGETHER: 33.32 hours gone to the mindless act of driving to work.

Thoughts on Driving

With less than a week left before I finally go on my cruise to the Bahamas(an experience I am really looking forward to!) I have been trying to keep my vacation mind from kicking in early. I am just taking work one day at a time, waiting for the moment I can punch out and return to my house, sleep, and repeat it the next day.

Today the girlfriend and I began repairing the bike we found yesterday that will eventually become my only means of transportation and I couldn't be more excited. The thought of saving $30-ish(don't drive much as is) on gas a week, car insurance/registration, and maintenance seems like a positive direction financially but also minimalistically as well. To me I see it as a cleansing of sorts, preparing me for better decisions in the future.

As I see it now I will save near $215 a month. Not bad at all .However, going by the IRS calculation of 55.5 cents per mile and my work commute being 23.8 miles five days a week, I am looking at a minimum savings of $66.05.

These savings definitely make me want to hurry and get this bike fixed, but it still needs a seat so I am holding off until I can spot a good deal or another broken bike with a seat in the garbage. So I have been attempting to accelerate less and use my brakes less while driving to stretch my gas budget. It has worked and have noticed takes about same time to get places as before. However I have noticed how aggressive some people drive when you are not zipping around the highway, even in the 'slow' lane.

Oh well, I have used these chances as opportunities to improve not caring about other peoples views of me. If it stresses them out so much to be behind someone consuming less gasoline than them, so be it. I'll just keep floating on like this until I get free of the cycle with my bike.

Bike Ambitions: Part 1

Today was overall a very gorgeous day here in sunny south Florida. We are experiencing a very rare and pleasant cold draft here, with a high of 76° during the afternoon. Needless to say, me and the girlfriend went on a walk (something we have started to do lately). It's a great way to get out and do something for free, save gas, and get some of that juicy vitamin D from the sun through your skin.

Quick Side Note: It has been on my mind lately that I would really like to "ditch" my car in favor of a handy bike. The cost savings are ridiculous and for the most part Mr. Money Mustache has been sold on it's benefits. I haven't been playing lacrosse lately so some exercise other than lifting weights would be nice. I plan to make it my only means of transportation when me and the girlfriend move away to finish up our last 2 years of education at a certain university (still waiting to get accepted!).

Well, during the walk my girlfriend had a feeling we should cut through to an apartment complex that we normally do not walk through, in fact we only have once and got chased by a duck or two. While walking past the dumpster she spotted a bike. However, there was one small obstacle.... well two really. Those obstacles were chain link fences. Apparently this apartment complex has some 'complexes' of it's own, as they felt it necessary to put their trash behind not one locked fence, but two locked fences.

My girlfriend was quick to notice there was tiny section under a bush in the back side that she could fit through. Once through she confirmed the bike was not in that good of condition and I told her we should probably get going once we get it as cars were starting to slow down to see what we were up to. Now we had to figure out how to get the thing out. Luckily another slot in the bush about three feet away was enough for us to hoist it out.

So I am not the proud owner of what looks like a circa 1980's "roadmaster". Overall it isn't to beat up, the chain just needs some oil and it is missing a bike seat. I've been searching craigslist for days and have seen very few bikes dip below $100, money I am not easily about to depart with. I was very pleased with this find and will be posting pictures of it soon, as well as posts on my repair of it!

So, how many of you ride a bike to work, school, or just enjoyment?

Paleo Reflections: Old Habits May Die But Let Us Not Forget

Being roughly six weeks into my new paleo lifestyle at this point, I have begun to reflect on how I used to approach food. I think everyone should take some time out every one in a while to really put thought into the changes they have made. We are living things, and whether we appreciate it or not, we grow, get old and become new people each day.

I am not too pleased with what can I recall. Food was never seen by me as the natural and most essential object it truly is. I use to have the mindset that because I wasn't overweight and no apparent health problems that I was eating right. Meanwhile, I was downing a loaf of Colombian cheese bread one minute and driving to Burger King for the most additive and processed meat one can get in exchange for a dollar and some change.

The physical toll of that way of living, the disregard of my health and nutrition, will be with me for the rest of my life. A physical reminder such as obesity or some sort of cardiac condition is not necessary. This paleo transformation will carry on in my thoughts because I take the time to make sure it does. What are some bad habits you have changed in your life?

Ditching Grains: A New Direction

I am starting to see a lot more page views as of late. I think it has a lot to do with the way the popular search engines rank sites based on the activity. It definitely motivates me to continue posting even more.

As some of you may have noticed, Ditching Grains has taken a new spin for the better. My first blog post why I chose to begin my paleo lifestyle has been floating around in my thoughts these last couple of days. I really liked the sense of deeper thought it had in favor of another paleo blog filled with endless recipes(although there will still be some!).

So with out further ado, the blog will now range from paleo, anti-consumerism, and self-improvement. These are topics that help me vent and express what I am thinking in a more concrete way. Writing things out helps because, as humans, I believe linear things to have much more impact on our thoughts.

Hawaiian Paleo Pizza Recipe

Pizza is one of those things that will make or break a paleo diet. The cravings are intense for a slice due to the cheese, wheat, and sugary tomato sauce that occurs in almost every pizza from here to the moon. However, there are ways to make a healthy and delicious paleo pizza without breaking your diet and lifestyle.

Hawaiian Paleo Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of almond flour



• 1 1/2 tbsp sea salt



• 1/4 cup of organic coconut oil



• 3/4 cup of water



• 1 Tsp. of basil



• Paleo tomato sauce(no added sugar and based off of olive oil)



• Slice of thick uncured ham



• Some fresh pineapple pieces

Directions:

1. Mix flour, salt, water together into a dough.



2. Knead the new formed dough on top of almond flour covered surface



3. Spread out crust on a pan covered evenly (and thickly!) with coconut oil



4. Cover lightly in tomato sauce and season with basil



5. Top with ham pieces and pineapple and place in over at 400 for 20-25 minutes