Quote Originally Posted by Melalvai View Post
This is a topic I've grown curious about recently. Other people's food choices seem to generate so much defensiveness and antagonism in us. What we eat is about so much more than fuel and nutrition. It defines us as a group. Like the clothes we wear, the words we say, the language we speak, our entertainment. So when someone tries to break away from that it's like you're wearing your jeans around your knees and you just got a bunch of tattoos and piercings. You thought you were just selecting different food, but everyone acts like you're making a statement, like you're trying to break away.
It's true. I'm just doing something better for me, for my health, and you guys are right - it's none of their business unless I want to tell them about it. And yet they treat me like I've got some kind of weird "problem". Apparently you're not a normal human being if you don't eat flour or dairy. Nutrition has always fascinated me - first in my patients, now in my own body - and it's surprising to see the social aspects of it, both good and bad, first hand. It's tough too when there are only 11 people in your entire workplace.

And, for those of you who want to try it:

Smoked Paprika Chicken Thighs (modified for how I made it):

Ingredients:
8 bone-in, skin on, organic chicken thighs
2 tsp smoked paprika (McCormick's makes a nice one)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp red palm oil (virgin, unrefined, from Africa. I got mine at http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/red_palm_oil.htm and it came in about a week)
Salt and pepper to taste

Process:
1. Preheat oven to 425˚F
2. Rinse chicken thighs, pat dry with a paper towel, and place in a large ziploc bag.
3. in a small mixing bowl, combine spices & red palm oil (the oil is solid at room temp, so I found that if you stuck the mix in the microwave for about 30 seconds, it melted enough to make a liquid spice mix)
4. Pour seasoning over chicken, seal bag, and toss until chicken is fully coated.
5. Place chicken thighs on a broiling pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper (skin side up). For this, I used my cast iron skillet on the middle oven rack and it worked perfectly.
6. Bake at 425˚F for 40-45 minutes.

I paired the thighs with this recipe:

Oven roasted Okra:

Ingredients:
1 pound okra (whole), washed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Process:
1. Preheat oven to 400˚F (I used the 425 oven from the chicken thighs just fine)
2. Toss okra in olive oil to coat and place on to a sheet pan in a single layer
3. Combine all dry spices and sprinkle over okra, mixing well (after making this, I think the oil + okra + spices in a ziploc would work better)
4. Bake for 5-7 minutes then turn over onto the other side, cooking for another 3-5 minutes (took 5 minutes on each side in my 425 oven)