Happy Monday from the great state of North Carolina! I just got back from Wyoming yesterday and although it is FREEZING here - I am loving it! Minus a hand-weight security breach at the Denver Airport (more on that later) traveling yesterday was quite smooth.But today isn't about the airport or North Carolina. Today, I'm giving the spotlight to a wonderful friend of mine, see Sam run. Sam has taken a dive into the world of paleo dieting and I e-mailed her last week to ask if she would guest post for Healthy Little Me. And she said yes! So here goes..
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Adventures in Paleo Dieting
It was a mystery. One I tried to figure out for years. After
nearly every meal it would begin, first the indigestion, then the bloating, and
sometimes even facial swelling. I became a vegetarian for about 4 months. I
eliminated milk and actually that helped! But it didn't solve everything. The doctor prescribed an antacid, it didn't
work. I figured I was just one of those people who had a weird digestive system
and I was forever doomed to live with these now infamous “stomach issues.” Then,
by chance it seems, I overheard a professor talking about his intestinal issues
(that once left him bed ridden, on New Year’s Eve no-less) and how he’d been to
doctors and finally taken matters into his own hands. Enter the Paleo Diet. The
concept is simple. For hundreds of thousands of years humans have eaten a diet
that consisted of items that were either hunted or gathered: fruits,
vegetables, roots, fungi, nuts, and meat. And it’s only in relatively modern
times that we've added items like refined sugar, grains, processed oils, and
dairy. Evolutionary processes have not had time to alter human digestive
development enough to handle these types of post-agricultural food items. In
short, these hunted and gathered foods are what humans have evolved to eat and most
of our digestive ailments and the obesity epidemic are directly related to
processed foods and grains.
You can read more here (http://thepaleodiet.com/published-research-about-the-paleo-diet/) if you’re interested in the science behind the Paleo Diet.
You can read more here (http://thepaleodiet.com/published-research-about-the-paleo-diet/) if you’re interested in the science behind the Paleo Diet.
Being a paleontologist, this made a whole lot of sense to me. But how on earth can someone like me, on the edge of thirtyhood, live without grains?! I ate cereal every single morning. I had bread at least once a day most days! And don't even get me started on potatoes! But if it made me feel better, I would try it. I tried it for about a month and a half while my better half was away. I lost about 15lbs, I felt great! I had a ton of energy, I ran two 5k races with Ms. Healthy Little Me (she totally pushed me and I’m soooo glad she did, but that's a part of my own weird journey and maybe I'll get to tell you about that someday…) Amazingly, I found I wasn't actually starving to death. Then my husband came home from geology field course and my diet gradually shifted back to including grains, sugars, and processed food. It all came back. The stomach issues came back and so did the weight. I was feeling sluggish, bloated, and uncomfortable. Was it worth it? Hell no! Back to the diet I went and so did my husband, though I'd say his effort is around 85% most days, but I'm not complaining! I've been on the diet pretty consistently for almost two months (with Christmas in between. Oy vey, lets not even discuss that). I've lost around 8lbs, I'm back to the gym pretty regular, and most importantly, I feel comfortable and more in tune with my body . I have a few friends that are trying it out for the first time and they're struggling. They find it difficult to maintain. They've altered what they eat, but they haven’t altered the way they shop. And to me, this is the key to being truly successful at the diet (I hate calling it a diet because it has such a negative connotation and it’s so much more than just a “diet”). The most helpful thing I've discovered with Paleo is planning. My husband and I pick six recipes per week, either online or out of our cookbook, “The Food Lovers Make it Paleo,”and we shop on Sunday or Monday for the ingredients. It's almost become a friendly contest to see whose recipe pick is the tastiest that week (lame you may say, but it helps us keep at it.) We leave one day open for going out, which sometimes ends up being a cheat day if I'm seriously craving something. Ah, the cheat day. Much controversy surrounds this one. Some people swear against a cheat day and some say it’s absolutely necessary to be overall successful. If I cheat on the “off” day it’s usually in the form of sugar. Even though there are some really great recipes for Paleo desserts, sugar is my Achilles heel. Hey, I'm human and I'm working on it! Below are some of my favorite recipes, I hope you enjoy if you decide the Paleo Diet is for you!
Coconut Flour Pancakes: http://www.nourishingdays.com/2010/07/fluffy-coconut-flour-pancakes/
Mashed Cauliflower: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/mashed-cauliflower (we add fresh rosemary to ours; and I was super skeptical on this one, but I could probably eat this with every meal)
Bison Taco Salad: http://beta.primal-palate.com/recipe/taco-salad/
Jamaican Jerk Salmon: http://beta.primal-palate.com/recipe/jamaican-jerk-salmon/
Some pantry essentials:
Coconut Oil
Coconut or Almond Flour
Almond or Coconut Milk
And just FYI, you can roast most veggies with either olive
oil or coconut oil with salt and pepper in a 375 degree oven and they're
AMAZING!
I have to say The Food Lovers are my saving grace. They make
all sorts of delicious Paleo recipes and they make them so simply that you just
can’t fail.
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