Grokfeast in Florida

On September 13th I asked Mark’s Daily apple readers to host a Grokfeast (a picnic/party celebrating the Primal lifestyle) and to send me the results. The following is one of 13 amazing submissions, the best of which will win an entire cow courtesy of US Wellness.

This year’s GrokFeast Melbourne went off without a hitch. A few Groks rolled in on time and started setting up, firing up the grill and getting everything squared away while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive.

It was a beautiful day, perfect temperature but slightly overcast. The stage was set perfect for a day outside. The smell of the grill and the smell of the trees on the air set our scene as coolers were unloaded and gear was unpacked.

Slacklines where set up, indo boards were placed, but the real show stopper was a surprise by Russ. He just so happened to roll in with a few truck tires that really set the pace for today’s exercises.

As the fires bathed the primal spread a sort of tire Olympics was born out of spontaneity. First up was a tire throw. The rules were set. Throwing position, throwing stance, technique… people lined up to take a swing at it, developing the technique to really maximize distance while maintaining within the accepted techniques and the max distance was pushed farther and farther. After a number of warm up shots we all stepped up for one final go. After many great attempts Russ P. took the lead with a shot that left everyone speechless. Winning this event, of course, won him a 6 oz ostrich steak that we happened to get our hands on.

Next up, Tire Ring Toss!!! A sledgehammer was set up at the rough distance people could through too, dictated by the last event. The goal was to ring the hammer with the tire while staying behind a set mark. This one proved to be very challenging with only one participant successfully ringing the hammer. Heath P. took this ostrich steak home, much to his satisfaction.

The third and final event was a shuttle run. Each participant set up to run a distance. On the first time they must pick up either a tire or a 20 lbs sledge and run it back to the start before doing another lap to gather the other item.

The times for the shuttle run were:

Ken -18.4s
Jon -19.1s
Jeff    – 16.5
Russ   – 17.6
Heath – 17.4
Josh   – 15.7
Adam – 18.1
Katie  – 21.1

Josh T. took this one and got his ostrich steak.

The spread was picked at all day, Russ’ homemade mead was enjoyed. Friends caught up and everyone got a bit of sun… all in all one awesome day.

The Feast

Chicken with Greek Marinade, Flank steak wrapped Pesto, Sweet Potato Casserole, Smoked Pork Shoulder, Coconut Shrimp, Coconut Cake, Mead, Grilled Carrots, Banana Bar

Banana Bar

  • 1 Banana
  • A few cups of nuts of choice
  • Coconut oil
  • Chocolate (optional)

Put nuts in a food processer and spin for a second. Start adding in nuts slowly while processing to a “nutty dough” consistency. Should be a bit clumpy/dry at this point and not process very well. Start adding tablespoons of coconut oil while mixing it in. mix to a pastey consistency. Press mix into dish, I use a small squareish pyrex container.

**optional** Take chocolate and reduce to small chunks/powder/spreadable form.

Spread evenly across banana mix.

Take more coconut oil and spread across top of banana mix/chocolate.

Take large/whole nuts and press into top of oil for appearance.

Chill until cold and solid.

Serve cold, enjoy.

Note: As long as the bar stays cold the coconut oil stays solid and they are a joy to eat.  If they eat up the oil will melt, as most of us are aware, then things can get messy.

The Tribe

Adam Fatka (Fatkid), Katie N., Joshua W., Russ P. (Russ), Jon  M. (Jon M), Jeff J., Ken N., Heath P., Conrad D., Alexis B., Josh T. (jjtitus), Mandy M., Bella (dog)


About the Author

Mark Sisson is the founder of Mark’s Daily Apple, godfather to the Primal food and lifestyle movement, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Keto Reset Diet. His latest book is Keto for Life, where he discusses how he combines the keto diet with a Primal lifestyle for optimal health and longevity. Mark is the author of numerous other books as well, including The Primal Blueprint, which was credited with turbocharging the growth of the primal/paleo movement back in 2009. After spending three decades researching and educating folks on why food is the key component to achieving and maintaining optimal wellness, Mark launched Primal Kitchen, a real-food company that creates Primal/paleo, keto, and Whole30-friendly kitchen staples.

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