Grokfeast in North Carolina

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.

Welcome stumblers and all newcomers to the Windsor Oaks Band “WOB-ler” Grokfeast.

A rock and roll show, camping, relays, sprints, burpees, the “Caterpillar”, primal bounty roasted over the fire, all on the beach and barefoot… what a weekend it was!

The WOB-ler Grokfeast began in Cary, NC with the primal preparation. The Windsor Oaks Band and crew geared up for their performance at the r.Evolution Beach & Music at Carolina Beach, NC and were joined by the lovely Cay and Sarah who traveled all the way from Kentucky for the festivities. Upon their arrival, the plan was set to have an all out primal weekend.

Using our Grok-instincts, we gathered our supplies for the feast. Meat, veggies, fruit, nuts, coconut milk, dark chocolate, red wine and water. BOOM.

Our main dish for the feast was “Primal Beach Lumps of Bounty” and for dessert we devoured some “Fruity Choco-Coconut Mousse Delight.” Red Wine and plenty of water cleansed our primal palettes. (See below for recipes)

After preparing the feast in Cary, the WOB-lers got some much needed rest.

Fast-forward to 5 pm the next day. The crew traveled from central NC to the lovely Carolina shore, and although the sun wasn’t shining, we were still set to Seize The Day! We set up camp right on the beach, kicked off our shoes, and began to play!

Around 9 pm the Windsor Oaks Band took the stage and rocked it hard (barefoot, of course)! Grok-ers include Shane Smith (Vocals/guitar), Brandon Scott McLean (Vocals/Guitar), and Ryan Smith (Vocals/Bass). The rest of the WOB-ler crew danced their primal buns off for the entire set!

The remainder of the evening was spent dancing to more music, playing acoustic guitar by the fire, playing in the sand and eventually some late night/early morning swimming in the ocean!

After a glorious night of beautiful restful sleep, the WOB-lers awoke rejuvenated and ready for more primal endeavors.

Our first mission was to prepare our fire pit to cook the feast. We scoured the beach, found adequate firewood, and in no time had a glorious fire burning, nestled right in the sand. We placed our Primal Beach Lumps of Bounty on top of our fire and began to cook the feast!

In the meantime, we thought… what would Grok do? PLAY. We did just that… commence Barefoot Beach Bonanza!

We decided to test our strength and group skills by constructing a walking Human Caterpillar. 8 of us connected, arms down (a la plank), feet/ankles on the shoulders of the person behind and proceeded to “walk” as far as we could. It was hilarious and we received quite a few laughs and claps (check out the pics!).

Our teamwork continued as 4 of us Grok-ers configured the 4-man, “4-Square” push-up. It was tough, and definitely heavy. We did about 10 reps.

Main event of the afternoon: Ultra Primal Beach Relay Race!

We marched right on up to the water where captains Shane and Brandon picked teams… the competition was set to begin.

Team Brandon: Brandon, Ryan, Sarah, Zim, and Rachel.

Team Shane: Shane, Mark, Lenoir, and Cay.

Rules of the Race

3 Legs – Competitor completes a leg, tags next teammate, etc.

– Once all members have completed the leg, they begin the next leg.

NOTE: Team Shane had 1 less member, so someone completes each leg twice!

LEG 1 – Sprint 40 yards, do 5 push-ups, Sprint 40 yards

LEG 2 – Sprint 40 yards backwards, do 5 Grok Squats, Sprint 40 yards

LEG 3 – Sprint 40 yards, do 5 burpees, Sprint 40 yards

WOW! It was an amazing race! The pics and video detail the excitement for sure! And of course, we were barefoot. Teamwork and competition at it’s finest! And after all the craziness, it was practically a photo-finish! Ryan edged out Shane to give Team Brandon the win.

Finally… onto the FEAST! Nothing could have been better to refuel our primal bods than our gloriously delicious Primal Beach Lumps of Bounty! Which, as I mentioned, had been roasting on top of our beach fire pit.A heaping portion of beef, bell and jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, yellow squash, spices, and olive oil, all rolled up in aluminum foil… YUMMM!

What kind of feast would be complete without dessert?! Shane’s Fruity Choco-Coconut Mousse Delight was conquered in primal style…one bowl of mousse, one bowl of fruit, 8 hungry Groks!

After feasting, the WOB-ler crew played for the rest of the day and night on the beach, by the fire, by the stage, and as always… barefoot!

Thank you and GROK ON!

The Feast

Primal Beach Lumps of Bounty

  • 1½ lbs Stew Beef Chunks (seasoned with salt, black & cayenne pepper, cumin, curry powder)
  • 4 TBS Italian Olive Oil
  • Green/Red/Yellow Bell Peppers
  • 3 Red Onions
  • 5 Carrots Freshly Shredded
  • 1 lb Heirloom Tomatoes
  • 4 Yellow Squash
  • 1 bulb Garlic (finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup Dried Basil
  • 4 Jalepenos (chopped)
  • 8 oz Fresh Sliced Mushrooms

– Chop all veggies
– Heat large pot and coat with 3 TBS Olive Oil
– add onions (save some for meat), wait 5 minutes…
– add peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic and basil
– shred carrots into mix
– cook until glorious!

– heat a separate pot and coat with 1 TBS Olive Oil
– add Beef Chunks
– add onions
– season liberally salt, black & cayenne pepper, cumin, curry powder (or anything else you wanna add!)
– add squash
– cook until glorious (note: cook Stew meat a bit longer than veggies, about 20 min)

– Portion veggies and meat together in aluminum foil and head to the beach!

Fruity Choco-Coconut Mousse Delight

  • Coconut milk (3 cans, FULL FAT)
  • Dried, shredded coconut flakes
  • Dark Chocolate (72%)
  • Roasted Almonds
  • Blueberries
  • Bananas
  • Strawberries
  • Kiwis
  • Peaches

– Place coconut milk cans in freezer for about 30 minutes
– Cut up all fruit and place in a bowl
– Break apart chocolate and melt using microwave
– open Coconut milk using a spoon; take out the fatty goodness and place in a bowl (should be about half, the rest should be liquid)
– repeat for all 3 cans
– whip coconut using mixer
– add in dark chocolate and coconut flakes
– continue whipping and whipping
– cover and let it chill overnight

(note: I made 2 batches: 1 with Chocolate and 1 without, but eventually they were combined)

Enjoy the Mousse with fruit and almonds mixed in!

The Tribe

WOB-ler Crew is: Shane Smith, Brandon Scott McLean, Ryan Smith, Mark Brown, Zim, Cay Alheid, Sarah Branham, Rachel J, Lenoir


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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