Paleo Thanksgiving

A few times today I was asked by coworkers, who know I'm Paleo, if I was planning to 'cheat' on my diet for tomorrow's Thanksgiving meal. I felt very triumphant to say that I didn't have to. Yay!  I feel very confident about my cooking abilities this year in regards to Thanksgiving, in fact I have a delicious menu planned, and will make (almost) everything from scratch. If I had to guess, I'd say it's somewhere between 95-98% Paleo. 

My planned menu is as follows:

      Appetizers:

           Stuffed Cherry Tomato's

           Spicy Deviled Eggs

           Meatballs

      Main Course :

           (Paper Bag) Turkey

           Ham

           Mashed Potatoes (I know... not quite Paleo, also the only thing I'm not making from scratch)

           Cooked Carrots

           Cranberry Sauce

      Dessert:

           Apple Pie

           Pumpkin Pie

           Coconut Macadamia Bark

I am very excited about the deliciousness of our feast, and knowing that everything I've made is from all natural (and simple) ingredients, makes me feel really pleased that I'm doing something good for myself. 

I have already prepared a few of these dishes and am impressed with the recipes that I've found that replace the modern-day sugars.  I used 100% pure maple syrup (this is the real thing, not the kind of thing that comes in a bottle shaped like a lady) to sweeten my cranberry sauce, and I used coconut milk and maple syrup granules (a possible Paleo gray area, but o.k. by my means) to make my pumpkin pie filling, which happens to be the best that I have ever personally tasted (literally!  Honestly, I wasn't expecting it to turn out half as good as it did!).  I'll gladly post any of these recipes by request, just know I can't take any credit for creating them; I'm just so thankful to have access to so many great Paleo websites (who all seem to be overflowing with yummy recipes this time of year!)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, (and even if you don't celebrate it) may your day be filled with good food, good people, and good health!

Just Splashin' Around

By the grace of (insert your preferred deity here), my work hours have been changed and I can now find constructive ways to fill my afternoon.  I think my hobby of choice for now will be swimming. Nebraska this time of year isn't favorable for pool activities, so luckily I have access to a gym with a heated pool (I use the term 'heated' very loosely mind you).  I plan to go at least 4 times a week, which I have to confess isn't very Paleo of me.  

Paleo recommends only 1 day of real, heart-pumping action a week (unless you are a hard-core athlete in training... um, yeah, that's not me). That's it. Fill the other days with none to less moderate exercise, and be sure to rest a lot. Cavemen didn't have treadmills, or ellipticals, they moved to survive. They walked places, lifted heavy items and ran like hell when they were being chased by bears. They stopped when they were tired, rested when they needed to, and only overly exerted themselves when it meant saving their own lives.  People who you might expect to be 'healthy' just based on what they can do might surprise you.  Sure a muscle man can lift a car off the ground, but do you think he can outrun some punk who took his wallet?  A marathon runner may be able to go the distance, but can they lift a branch that has fallen on a friend (or carry large amounts of freshly killed mammoth)? Probably not.

Our Paleolithic ancestors were the pictures of health, which every modern Paleo is trying to achieve, and it's not as hard as you think it would be.  I am not there, yet.... I'm still working on it. Hence my fat ass is going to the pool.  I choose the pool for a couple different reasons: Low impact, Water resistance (yes, I use water weights in the pool), Full body workout, and I just love smelling like chlorine.  Well, maybe not that last one.  I figure that it'll be the best way to work the most things in one shot.  Plus I figure Cavemen swam from time to time (right?).  Once I build enough stamina for swimming I'll probably cut back to just once or twice a week (and be a good little Paleo), but for now, I have to lose a bit more flab before my cruise next month.

My Paleoness 101

Since The middle of September I have been living a Paleo lifestyle; it's been the best thing I have ever done for myself.   I had heard some information, just bits and pieces really, about the Paleo Diet and decided to do some research to see what it was all about.  Being grossly overweight  at 28  I decided that a change was in order, and the Paleo Diet made perfect sense to me. The more I read about it, the more clear it became that this was something I needed to do, not just for my weight, but for my health.  I considered myself healthy, sure, I was a fatty fat, but I didn't have any health problems, not that I realized anyway.  Now that I'm living Paleo though, I can't believe how many problems I had due to my diet. 

For those of you who haven't heard of the Paleo Diet, it's actually very simple. It's not a "Diet" diet, it's more of a dietary change.  Also called the Caveman Diet, the Paleo Diet is designed to mimic the diet of our ancestors, not from just a few generations ago, but from 2.5 million years ago, before there was farming.  This is the diet we, as a species, have evolved to eat; the food nature intended for us to eat.  It's pretty basic really: Lean Meats, Veggies, Fruit, Nuts &  Berries, and Fish (sadly I'm not a fan of fish, I doubt you'll catch me ever eating one).  Of these things, you can eat as much as you want, I've never been hungry on this diet, and always have lots of energy to get through my day. 

I've created this Blog so people who are interested in it can learn about being Paleo, it's more than just changing what you eat. Please know that I'm not an expert in this field. All the information I have gathered, I have gotten from books and internet research. This is my medium for sharing my day-to-day Paleo life.

Since starting this diet I have lost 25 lbs and have had many positive physical changes.  For instance, before I switched to Paleo I would get very stiff in the evenings and wake up stiff in the mornings, I didn't think anything about it... "just getting older" I supposed.  Now, the stiffness is gone, hooray!  My typical day consists of eating protein for breakfast (usually an egg and some meat), nuts and berries for my snack. Lunch is generally a salad (not some wimpy side salad mind you, lots of different lettuces, spinach, meat, fruit, avocado, nuts, veggies, berries, whatever I can find, and I have an oil based dressing on the side).  Dinner is typically some sort of meat and veggie combination, and I like to follow up with a piece of fruit for dessert.  At no point during the day do I count calories, or use "portion control",  I eat as much as I want whenever I want, I just have to stick to the Paleo foods.  This means that Grains (including corn), Dairy, Legumes, and anything processed is off limits. Our bodies weren't designed to eat those Neolithic foods and they are slowly killing us.  Nevertheless, I feel much better since cutting out these foods and I know things will only get better from here on out :)