Paleo Shitake Spinach Souffle

WOW - the competitive crossfit season is upon us! So cool to bump into people i've only known briefly or thru the virtual world. This is also causing me to reflect a bit on the past year or so... and i'll make it brief..i look around and i see so many people that are getting stronger and healthier as a result of crossfit and paleo lifestyle. This is NOT like watching gold fish grow - they literally transform before your eyes. Very stoked to be a part of it and a small contributor to the movement (should i be ashamed that the mention of gold fish got me thinking about recipes?? ;-)
Also, a quick shout-out to FrontRange Crossfit who ran the US North-Central Regional Crossfit Games just south of Denver. Great event, frackin AMAZING athletes, and the characteristic camaraderie. Skip Miller and his team did an outstanding job organizing a flawless event. My team, Flatirons Crossfit, qualified for THE GAMES in LA (!!) -Holy $hit! That is still sinking in! The best of the best will be there. I'm VERY excited!.... Well Krap! Better start fueling this hunt!
Spinach souffle has always been a comfort food for me but of course store bought has wheat flour, soybean oil, sugar, blah blah... screw that. This is REALLY good, easy to make, and WAY better than what you'll buy in the store - trust me! I will admit i'm going a little low-carb here... I want to be 100% optimized for the Games and from that carb-cycling thingy I did, I think i can tweak things down just a bit and get good results. It's a VERY fine line to gain muscle while minimizing bodyfat and I encourage everyone to experiment and find what works best for you.

Paleo Shitake Spinach Souffle
5 oz organic baby spinach - finely chopped (basically 2 big handfuls of leaves)
2 slices bacon - chopped
4 shitake mushrooms - chopped
1 Cup grated celery root (can leave it out if you can't find it...)
2 Scallions (green onions) chopped
4 Eggs and 10 egg whites (don't bitch.. they're cheap ;-) *
Celery salt - few shakes
1/2 Cup Coconut Milk (Thai Kitchen if you can find it)
1/4 Avocado - sliced (garnish)
10 Pecan halves - chopped (garnish)
1 tsp coconut oil (garnish)

* Tip.. i buy expensive eggs, high in omega 3, and really cheapo ones. If i'm including the yokes, i use the expensive one. For whites, i use the cheap ones (apologies to my dog Bear who has to eat cheap yokes ;-)

Nutrition: 1/2 this pie is about 4.3 blocks protein, 14 blocks fat, and 1.5 blocks carb for a total of 550 Calories [don't kid yourself - that pic above was for my daughter. I ate 1/2 easily!]. It's basically 3X fat and REAL low on the carbs. If that's too extreme for you, leave out 1 slice of bacon and the coconut oil and you'll be down to 2X fat. Want close to a 4 block PZ meal? Leave out 1 slice of bacon, use 18 egg whites, and skip the pecans and coconut oil.

Chop up the raw bacon and get it cooking in the pan. While it's cooking, grate celery root, chop onions and mushrooms. When the bacon is nearly done, add all that stuff (seriously, it needs to be almost done. Otherwise, it kinda stays too fatty). Let it saute on low heat while you chop the spinach and put it in a big bowl. Add eggs, coconut milk, and finally the saute ingredients. Add a few shakes of celery salt. Mix throughly and pour into a deep 9" glass pie pan (it will barely fit). Now lightly roast chopped pecans in the coconut oil - it's really more about coating them with the oil (umm pause here and take a big whiff - coconut oil in the pan smells better than your first date ;-). Spoon on top of souffle and keep towards the center. Cook 35-40 minutes at 350 - check the center with a knife. Should come out clean. Garnish with sliced avocado. Now don't laugh... if you're looking for about 35 gm protein, eat half of this baby! Serious! Now feel sorry for the poor sap eating microwaved Stouffer's out of a plastic baking dish!

Eat Well! Steve "Paleo"
PrimitiveFoods.com