Braised Lamb Shanks

On Sunday evening at 6pm I was running around, trying to get some work done before meeting my friend for drinks at 7:00. My boyfriend Chris called and said he was on his way home so he could pick up something quick to make for dinner- perfect! Well, half an hour later Chris comes in with four pounds of lamb shanks...NOT something that we could really whip up in twenty minutes! He had really good intentions though :)

Fast forward to Tuesday night. I get home from working at the Athletic Club at 6:30. Now it's time to cook! I start off by slicing pockets in the shanks and stuffing some rosemary and garlic butter into the pockets.


Next I seasoned and browned them in my Le Creuset with some olive oil.



Once they were browned I roughly chopped the only other veggies we had in the house- shallots (I wish we had more), a couple carrots, and a couple handfuls of crimini mushrooms- and threw them in the pot. I let them cook a couple minutes then deglazed the pan with some chardonnay.




I put the shanks back in, and found a can of crushed tomatoes and poured that in too, along with enough chardonnay so that the shanks were halfway submerged.

I let it come to a boil and then left it on the stove to simmer partially covered for almost two hours. Rotated the shanks halfway through.




It was a late dinner, but definitely worth it! The mushrooms had absorbed all of the yummy shallot and lamb flavor. The tomato sauce was rich and velvety. And the lamb was falling off the bone. I need to make this more often. It just takes a little planning ahead, but once it's in the pot you can leave it and get some work done!

Fast Dinner Solutions

I apologize for the poor photo quality, that was taken from my blackberry (or my pinkberry, as I call it)! But what you're looking at is slices of chicken cordon bleu, baked brussel sprouts, and green beans sauteed with chopped almonds. Sounds like it took a while, right? Wrong! Here's how it went down:

6:30pm: returned home from making deliveries for the business
6:45pm: Interval Sprints in the rain (so refreshing!)
7:05pm: Enter kitchen, take chicken and veggies out of fridge (they are vacuum sealed)
7:06pm: Heat skillet, add a tbsp olive oil, cut open vacuum packs, empty contents into pan
7:09pm:After some stirring and a few flips of the pan, DONE!!
7:10pm: yummm

How convenient, right?

Well, this is where I can get on my soapbox and advocate ordering all of your meals from Evolution Catering. But I know that all of my readers are not local, so I will teach a man to fish instead.

My tip of advice for the day: Buy a vacuum sealer. Whenever you have leftover say, chicken cordon bleu, just vacuum seal it and keep it in your freezer for those desperate nights when you have had a monster of a day, and realllly need an easy quick meal.

Problem solved, and you are still in caveman shape!

CaveWoman Kat's Before and After Pics

Why do I advocate the Caveman Diet so much? To promote my business and become a millionaire? Well sure that is a good point, but here are some pics to prove the Caveman Diet worked for me:

This one was taken in Spring 2003 when I was a senior in high school. I was at my heaviest here. I ate fast food at least twice a week, enjoyed freshly baked cookies from our school's cafeteria at least a couple days a week, and had a diet heavily based on pasta and bread.

Weight: 127 lbs.
Pants Size: 5/6
Height: 5'0"



The second pic is in college. I had been practicing a diet of low fat foods including Slimfast bars every morning, and a well-rounded diet that followed the Food Pyramid. I worked out moderately at least 5 days a week for a minimum of 1 hour per workout. I couldn't lose the extra chub around my face, arms, tummy, love-handles or thighs.

Weight: 118 lbs.
Pants Size: 3/4
Height: 5'0"




This was taken Summer 2008 (age 24). I was 4 months into the Caveman diet, and felt more alive than ever! I worked out 2-3 times a week, following the Evolutionary Fitness workouts as described by Art Devany. (arthurdevany.com) My arms were toned, my tummy flat, and my face finally had a jawline.

Weight: 105 lbs.
Pants Size: 0
Height: 5'0"

Has this been hard to maintain? Honestly it hasn't. My current weight is 102.5 lbs, and I have more muscle tone thatn ever! I never feel deprived. I always look forward to my next yummy EF meal, and I just have a ton more confidence and pride in my health. I can't remember the last time I was sick or took a nap. EF has truly been a miracle for me, and I feel so lucky to have discovered it at a young age.