Paleo Spice-Rubbed NY Strip with Avocado-Lime Salsa

In the Summer of 2008, I wanted to get back in shape for my middle sister’s wedding. I decided on a low-fat diet. I would eat a maximum of 20 grams of fat a day. Looking back I ate so much processed non-fat food, it grosses me out now that I am on Paleo. I also decided to cut red meat and pork from my diet. Honestly I can’t even remember my rational behind not eating red meat. Pork on the other hand, I just don’t like the taste of it. Without beef and pork, my paleo meat choices were a bit limited. I eat an excessive amount of chicken and ground turkey. After careful consideration, I decided to reintroduce small amounts of beef back into my diet. I knew I wanted my first “red meat” meal to be steak. I used to love a good steak before my red meat sabbatical. I was the strange kid who ordered their steak medium rare more on the rare side. After making this recipe, I can’t believe I haven’t had steak in almost 5 years. It was so good! The seasoning is spot on, and the flavor goes perfectly with the avocado lime salsa. I made a couple changes to the salsa because of my preferences and ingredients I had on hand. Whenever I make salsa or guacamole, I use my hand chopper. I am slightly obsessed with it because it makes the process of dicing all the vegetables take seconds. For medium rare, I cooked the meat for 5 minutes on the first side and cooked for three more minutes on the other side. I would decrease the initial cooking time to 4 minutes on the first side and then four minutes on the flip side for a more even sear.