After learning and implementing the paleo basics into your life it's time to take the next steps.
The first crazy paleo thing to do, I'd say, is start making your own gut healing bone broth. We make bone broth almost once a week in the slow cooker. We collect our bones from the week plus buy some especially for our broth and then stick it in the slow cooker with some onions, garlic, celery, carrots, peppercorns, apple cider vinegar (to help release the minerals) and whatever else we have in the fridge to use up. I will know you are doing it right when you become obsessed with getting it more gelatinous each time you make it. And then you will start buying odd things like chicken backs, chicken feet, marrow bones and oxtails for your broth. We often drink our broth at night, it's very relaxing. Or we use it to make soups and stews or in any recipes that call for stock or broth. I give it to Max to drink in his sippy sometimes. We make sure to drink it like crazy if we start feeling sick or get a gluten exposure.
Then next thing to do start fermenting. We started by making homemade raw sauerkraut. It took ours about 3 weeks to finish. We try to eat it daily. I usually have it with my eggs for breakfast. We tried the traditional recipe with caraway seeds and the roasted jalapeno and garlic recipe first. We are just about to start our next batch of the fall recipe. I hope in the coming weeks to start some new fermenting projects including kimchi, pickles, water kefir and kombucha.
The next odd step that we plan to take is to eat liver and other organ meats. That's right we bought grass-fed beef liver. We plan to mix it with ground beef and make burgers. Liver is better for you then almost any other meat you can eat they say. It's better than taking a multivitamin. Of course it is something that I have never eaten before. But I'm excited to add more superfoods to our diet.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Where to start.
Many of our friends and family have seen our lives changed by this lifestyle and want to try it out. And I certainly want to be of help and for them to experience this too. But where do you begin?
I would say to get a book from the library or buy one depending on how committed you are. I would recommend Practical Paleo, the e-book we started with Paleo Plan or It Starts with Food. Now clean out your fridge of anything that will go bad in the next 30 days. Give it to someone who hasn't seen the light. Or wait until you use up everything first. Then you should probably pack up things in the cupboards that might be triggers. You don't have to get rid of it (yet). I'm just asking for 30+ days here. Just be sure to put it somewhere for later, if you decide that this isn't for you. Then you will need to get a meal plan together. You gotta know what you will be eating or you might just fall back on old standbys. Then go grocery shopping.
I would recommend this first 30+ days you treat as a Whole 30. Whole 30 is an idea from the book It Starts with Food. It's strictly Paleo. It includes only whole foods. This means no Paleo-ish things. This isn't the time when you figure out how to make paleo pizza or that there is paleo bread. It also means no sweeteners of any kind. It's a cleanse of sorts I suppose. As in It Starts with Food after 30 days you stay strict but have one day where you have dairy, to see if you have a reaction to it. If not then you know you can add it back if you choose or you know it will not cause a problem if you want a little cheese here and there. A day or two after trying dairy, do the same thing, while staying strict have a day that you add gluten and see if it causes a problem. You can also try this with legumes and non-gluten grains. Pay attention to your body to see how these things make you feel and decide what works best for your body.
Now if you are like us this 30 days will have you sold. And then you will clean out your pantry and start trying recipes for paleo treats and paleo bread. You will want to buy every paleo recipe book you can find. Or maybe you will decide it isn't for you and now you know.
I would say to get a book from the library or buy one depending on how committed you are. I would recommend Practical Paleo, the e-book we started with Paleo Plan or It Starts with Food. Now clean out your fridge of anything that will go bad in the next 30 days. Give it to someone who hasn't seen the light. Or wait until you use up everything first. Then you should probably pack up things in the cupboards that might be triggers. You don't have to get rid of it (yet). I'm just asking for 30+ days here. Just be sure to put it somewhere for later, if you decide that this isn't for you. Then you will need to get a meal plan together. You gotta know what you will be eating or you might just fall back on old standbys. Then go grocery shopping.
I would recommend this first 30+ days you treat as a Whole 30. Whole 30 is an idea from the book It Starts with Food. It's strictly Paleo. It includes only whole foods. This means no Paleo-ish things. This isn't the time when you figure out how to make paleo pizza or that there is paleo bread. It also means no sweeteners of any kind. It's a cleanse of sorts I suppose. As in It Starts with Food after 30 days you stay strict but have one day where you have dairy, to see if you have a reaction to it. If not then you know you can add it back if you choose or you know it will not cause a problem if you want a little cheese here and there. A day or two after trying dairy, do the same thing, while staying strict have a day that you add gluten and see if it causes a problem. You can also try this with legumes and non-gluten grains. Pay attention to your body to see how these things make you feel and decide what works best for your body.
Now if you are like us this 30 days will have you sold. And then you will clean out your pantry and start trying recipes for paleo treats and paleo bread. You will want to buy every paleo recipe book you can find. Or maybe you will decide it isn't for you and now you know.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Paleo Perks.
Everyday we talk about the amazing things that are different with this "diet", as opposed to the MANY others we have tried. And I do mean many diets. We had a habit (ok I had a habit) of reading diet books or finding something online and trying them out. We would do really well on any one diet for about 6 weeks. At 6 weeks we started getting a little lax when we were out or rewarding our self with a treat. Then would get on the slippery slope back to the way were eating with too much fast food and not planning our meals at home. Before long we were back to the standard american diet (SAD).
This time it has been completely different. We haven't had slips. We get annoyed when a situation comes up that we have to eat out, and we always make the best choice. There is not even a temptation to have a treat of ice cream or french fries. This is just how we live now.
Another odd thing about this is that on most other "diets" we would lose a bunch of weight the first week. Then less and less. We would find a plateau in there that would last for a while. This time there has been no plateau. We didn't drop a huge number and then wait for the weight loss again. We have just had a steady weight loss. And a good amount every week too.
Those are the two big ones. Some of the other things I have noticed are things like steady blood sugar. We can fast or go a long time without eating without getting crazy hungry or having spikes or dips of blood sugar. My hair is growing like crazy. Less body aches. Better skin.
I've already mentioned things like having more energy, filling satisfied, and not having cravings. I also love the idea of Paleo total health. Things like sleep are stressed. Playing and sunshine are so critical. And Paleo exercise doesn't mean slaving away at the gym all the time.
This time it has been completely different. We haven't had slips. We get annoyed when a situation comes up that we have to eat out, and we always make the best choice. There is not even a temptation to have a treat of ice cream or french fries. This is just how we live now.
Another odd thing about this is that on most other "diets" we would lose a bunch of weight the first week. Then less and less. We would find a plateau in there that would last for a while. This time there has been no plateau. We didn't drop a huge number and then wait for the weight loss again. We have just had a steady weight loss. And a good amount every week too.
Those are the two big ones. Some of the other things I have noticed are things like steady blood sugar. We can fast or go a long time without eating without getting crazy hungry or having spikes or dips of blood sugar. My hair is growing like crazy. Less body aches. Better skin.
I've already mentioned things like having more energy, filling satisfied, and not having cravings. I also love the idea of Paleo total health. Things like sleep are stressed. Playing and sunshine are so critical. And Paleo exercise doesn't mean slaving away at the gym all the time.
Friday, September 7, 2012
6 Weeks.
We are just about to finish up our first 6 weeks being "Paleo". I thought when we started this that we would just be doing this for 6 weeks to "jump-start" our weight loss and then go back to the "healthy" eating we have always known. However we are never turning back to that way of life that hadn't been working for us. It only took us probably 2 and a half weeks to figure out this was the way we wanted to live.
When I first looked into Paleo I thought it was so restrictive. I never imagined that why whole grains, Greek yogurt, low-fat cheese, beans and the like could be so bad as to restrict them forever. These are things we had been programmed to think are health foods. I was one of these people who had to eat some grains in my day or I got grumpy. If I had a salad for lunch then snack better be some Triscuits or I might go crazy. And I will be honest day 3 was my carb hell. I was jumping out of my skin with "withdrawl". But when I woke up day 4 it was gone, and I haven't had any problems with carb cravings or anything.
Once we figured out the science of this it really made perfect sense. But once we realized how much more energy we had, how satisfied we were and how easily the weight was falling off we were sold. And then came the day that Josh had some gluten. That was the light bulb moment of it all. Josh has a very large gluten problem. Very large. He feels like this has been a problem his whole life. Never feeling satisfied when he ate because he wasn't absorbing nutrients, so his body was calling for more all the time. I also have an insensitivity but not near as bad as he does. (I'm also convinced that most people have at least some degree of insensitivity.) Josh will be the first to tell you that he feels like a totally different person as far as energy levels and being satisfied when he eats.
All of this knowledge makes it such an easy choice to eat for health and energy for the rest of our lives. No more dieting. No more trying to figure out what works for us. We have found it. And losing an average of 4-5 lbs a week doesn't hurt either.
When I first looked into Paleo I thought it was so restrictive. I never imagined that why whole grains, Greek yogurt, low-fat cheese, beans and the like could be so bad as to restrict them forever. These are things we had been programmed to think are health foods. I was one of these people who had to eat some grains in my day or I got grumpy. If I had a salad for lunch then snack better be some Triscuits or I might go crazy. And I will be honest day 3 was my carb hell. I was jumping out of my skin with "withdrawl". But when I woke up day 4 it was gone, and I haven't had any problems with carb cravings or anything.
Once we figured out the science of this it really made perfect sense. But once we realized how much more energy we had, how satisfied we were and how easily the weight was falling off we were sold. And then came the day that Josh had some gluten. That was the light bulb moment of it all. Josh has a very large gluten problem. Very large. He feels like this has been a problem his whole life. Never feeling satisfied when he ate because he wasn't absorbing nutrients, so his body was calling for more all the time. I also have an insensitivity but not near as bad as he does. (I'm also convinced that most people have at least some degree of insensitivity.) Josh will be the first to tell you that he feels like a totally different person as far as energy levels and being satisfied when he eats.
All of this knowledge makes it such an easy choice to eat for health and energy for the rest of our lives. No more dieting. No more trying to figure out what works for us. We have found it. And losing an average of 4-5 lbs a week doesn't hurt either.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Our favorite resources, so far.
Many people are asking us about our new Paleo lifestyle, so I thought I'd put some of our favorite resources together to help you if you'd like to look into it.
We started with an ebook. It comes with a brief overview and 6 weeks of meal plans and grocery lists for 2 people. It's like $34.00 @ paleoplan.com. If you just want to jump into something this is a good way to go. The recipes have been fairly easy and good (except for the crepes, skip those).
Then once we started, we wanted to learn so much more so we got a these books from the library.
The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson (Primal vs Paleo basically comes down to dairy vs non-dariy)
It Starts with Food (Whole 30 plan)
It Starts with Food (Whole 30 plan)
We watched a few videos.
Fathead - available instantly on Netflix.
But, if I could recommend buying one thing it would be Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo. It's about $21 on Amazon. It's the best and newest book we have found. Very comprehensive, but easy to read and understand. It's about 100 pages of beautifully laid out information, do's and don'ts, and science behind this way of eating. Then there are several 30 day meal plans and information for weight loss, digestive health, auto-immune problems, and quite a few more. Then it has recipes. This book is well worth the money!
There are so many online resources too. There are so many good blogs, podcasts, forums, etc. Here are a few of our favorites.
Latestinpaleo.com
Didn't Our Primal Ancestors Only Live To Be 30?
So, Jenn and I have been eating "Paleo" for over a month now. I've lost 25 lbs. in 5 weeks! It's been amazing to say the least. This is sometimes called the "caveman diet". When we discuss this with people they keep bringing up the short average lifespan of primitive humans, so why would we want to look to them for lifestyle advice?
Understand that the average (being the keyword) shorter lifespan was due to many factors. Largely, child birth was not easy to survive for mother or child. Many died before their lives even began. In fact, if they lived to be 20, their life expectancy was closer to ours now. Also, the absence of modern medicine which these days keeps us safe from hundreds of ailments, diseases, viruses etc. was a huge cause of early deaths. A simple broken bone or cut could be life threatening, not to mention possible infection. They were more vulnerable to predatory animals, and lack of sufficient shelter often left them open to the elements.
The fact is that once agriculture was introduced (grains, dairy, legumes, etc.) many negative trends in human development started to occur. Smaller jaws, smaller sinus cavities, shorter, weaker bones, tooth decay, heart disease. We evolved over millions of years to eat the diet of a hunter/gatherer. Only the last 10,000 have we been eating the kinds of foods we eat so much of now. That's about .5% of our human evolution. Our bodies do not know what to do with this crap. And only over the last 50 have we been eating the refined, manufactured, engineered "foods" most of us live off of today! No wonder we are fatter and sicker than ever.
Understand that the average (being the keyword) shorter lifespan was due to many factors. Largely, child birth was not easy to survive for mother or child. Many died before their lives even began. In fact, if they lived to be 20, their life expectancy was closer to ours now. Also, the absence of modern medicine which these days keeps us safe from hundreds of ailments, diseases, viruses etc. was a huge cause of early deaths. A simple broken bone or cut could be life threatening, not to mention possible infection. They were more vulnerable to predatory animals, and lack of sufficient shelter often left them open to the elements.
The fact is that once agriculture was introduced (grains, dairy, legumes, etc.) many negative trends in human development started to occur. Smaller jaws, smaller sinus cavities, shorter, weaker bones, tooth decay, heart disease. We evolved over millions of years to eat the diet of a hunter/gatherer. Only the last 10,000 have we been eating the kinds of foods we eat so much of now. That's about .5% of our human evolution. Our bodies do not know what to do with this crap. And only over the last 50 have we been eating the refined, manufactured, engineered "foods" most of us live off of today! No wonder we are fatter and sicker than ever.
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