It's been very hot here in the NY/CT area and yesterday was no exception. I got up early with my friend, Sarah, and drove down to NYC to cheer on our friend, Warren, as he finished the NYC Triathlon. We were a little later than we'd hoped for and missed the beginning but did get to see a cool sight. As we drove down the West Side Hwy, we saw people biking both ways on the highway as well as a ton of swimmers still in the water.

We parked and headed over to Central Park to get a good cheering spot at the finish line. If you've never gone to cheer someone on at the end of a big race like that and have the opportunity, I strongly suggest that you do it. It's amazing to see people complete such an amazing feat. There were challenge athletes with all kinds of disabilities, people of all different sizes and even some celebrities. There was a doggy dash where people just did the run with their pooches. That was fun to watch as well. Another thing that some people do is grab their kids at the end so that they can go over the finish line with them in their arms or hand in hand. So cool!!!

Here is a pic of Warren as he rounded the last corner before the finish line. We are all so proud of you, W!!!

 After it was over, we headed over to the "Family Reunion" area to meet up with Warren and took this pic.

 The picture is a little deceiving as we all look pretty refreshed. We were all, however, dripping wtih sweat. Yuck! Notice the frizzy curls. I can't even think about doing anything else with my hair in this heat.

We all went to lunch and as we were walking, I discovered that Warren's friend, Josh (next to me all the way on the left) has a ton of food intolerances as well. Of course we talked all about it. His journey has been a little longer than mine (or at least he was diagnosed a few years before me). I still have more intolerances than he does but not many. I was kind of blown away when he told me that he still drinks beer even though he feels like crap for up to 24 hours afterwards. His reasoning was that he's still in college and it's too hard to say no to it. He also ordered french fries and ate them with no worries (I never trust fries to be gluten free).

It got me to thinking last night about how we are set up to fail in this society when trying to eat healthy and how we justify eating things because it feels like we are being punished when we are told that we can't. When I first went gluten free, I got sick whenever I ate it. I haven't had that feeling in a while (I do have other symptoms like bloating, but that comes from almost anything that I eat on my no-no list). So, if I didn't get any symptoms, would I still eat everything even though I know that it's wreaking havoc on my stomach? The answer is, probably. I eat the other foods that I'm not supposed to have in moderation. I never feel great afterwards but I put up with it.

How do we change this? How do we get the rest of the world to realize that these foods aren't really good for anyone? How do we get restaurants to offer different sides besides the ones that we can't have? Actually, most restaurants already do or will let you order a different side. I'm just always shocked at the ones that don't.

I was listening to the audio from the interview with Chris Kresser in last night's Real Food Summit (http://realfoodsummit.com/) and he was discussing the importance of seafood in a real food diet. I decided that I was going to make one of my favorite dishes from when I was a kid (and the only time I really ate seafood at that age) but make it Paleo. I normally like my Salmon Cakes with a Mexican coleslaw, but I had some fennel and no cabbage so that would have to do. I was extremely happy with the results.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you like with your fish cakes and what you think of these recipes.

xoxo

Crystal

Salmon Cakes with Fennel Salad

3 Tbsp Paleo Mayonnaise or mashed avocado

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp grainy mustard

1 tsp hot sauce

1/4 lb skinless salmon fillet, chopped

1/4 c almond flour

1/2 medium zucchini, coarsely grated (about 3/4 cup)

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1/2 fennel bulb, core removed and thinly sliced

Whisk together mayo or avocado, 1/2 of lemon juice, mustard, hot sauce and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium bowl.

Stir together salmon, 1/2 of the almond flour, zucchini and half of mayo mixture in another bowl. Add more almond flour until you can form patties that will hold together.

Form salmon into 2 (3-inch) patties. Heat coconut oil in small nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot, then cook salmon cakes, carefully turning once, until golden and salmon is just cooked through, about 6 minutes total.

Toss fennel with remaining lemon juice and mayo mixture.

Serve cakes on top of fennel salad.