Andy has gone on a smoking frenzy! Meat, that is. Ribs. Pork loin. Chicken! Turkey burgers!!! Oh my!!
We realized that our success on this new lifestyle depended upon us cooking food for the week all at once and freezing it. This works because our daughter, who is 3, and our son, who will be one any minute now, team up against cavemommy all day with adorable or destructive and distracting forces. It was totally reasonable for the original cavemommies to gather and cook all day; life was simply set up so much differently. There was a community. A village in which to raise the babies. I'll go make soup for both our families if you herd and corral the children all day. Things like that. And grandmas were just a tent away, waiting to rear the children if you'd do her foraging.
I've done a lot of thinking about cave people and the cave life lately.
I don't know why everyone doesn't smoke meats all the time. Why would you want to eat meat any other way?? And why have I ever?! The meats are all full of flavor, juicy, tender, melt in your mouth... Every other meat is inferior. Plain and simple. We will be eating good all week.
I brought up a strange and unexpected side effect of the Paleo lifestyle to Andy today. It made sense as I was talking about it and let's see if I can get it to make sense again. I've noticed a change in myself of being happy with less. We've been eating Paleo for just over a week now. I used to want and want and want - this, that, anything. Material items. I NEED new shoes. I NEED that book. Genie bra? Yes, I need one. I don't know what it is but yes I need it (if it grants wishes, I'm in). Eating the Paleo way is almost a discipline - overindulgence is clear to me now and how unnecessary it is. Not just in eating but in all things. I'm suddenly fine with getting by with as little as possible. We have plenty of what is most important in survival - healthy, life-giving, energizing foods. Everything else is just details.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Cave Days
Written on June 2, 2012
I am a cavemommy.
I am a cavemommy.
Yes, my children are doing the Paleo diet too. I could not have a loaf of bread sitting in the pantry, staring at me, willing me to make pb&j out of it. And since I didn't "believe" in grains anymore, I would not be feeding prepackaged ravioli squares that look like plastic, to my infant. Or the cracker "wheels". I may feel a little bad now for stooping so low and feeding my baby and preschooler crud that actually isn't really food at all. But that has all changed.
I know my children feel better for it too. I just imagine that as much as I feel better just in general, and my well being has improved immensely and I have tons of energy now and how I don't feel weighed down by my food anymore, my kids are feeling it too. I have noticed improvements in my children that speak for themselves. My daughter's blocked and compacted bowels and one and a half year struggle with constipation are over. Gone. She is talking like crazy, saying things that blow me away, she's sharp as a tack. Her mood and irritability have improved. She is much more affectionate and just happier in general. There are more smiles coming from that girl than before, perhaps a mirror of my own new actions and feelings. And Anderson is eating like a king at every meal and that is making for one happy baby. He will never remember how things used to be, pre-paleo. He'll never remember us being fat or lazy, or moody from months of calorie restriction. He'll never remember evenings of carb and sugar cravings. Parents who couldn't keep up. A mommy who was constantly in a haze of brain fog from not eating enough fats. He'll never have to remember these things.
I would like to say "what were you smoking?!" to the creators of the food pyramid. It's a perfect example of how NOT to eat. So far, eating this way has scared the hoo hoo out of me because it goes against everything I was taught, well, forever. Unlimited fat? Cook with bacon grease?! Ok? Ummm, are we sure that's ok? Eat nuts until you're not starving anymore? Eat delicious foods when you're hungry and eat until you're satisfied.....excuse me, what? I love this diet and so far it is working amazingly. We have stepped into the "Forever Paleo" category, and quite early on might I say. We have decided that this is going to be a lifelong lifestyle for my family and I. I imagine when my kids are older and teenagers, we will all eat this way. And they will take it along with them when they start their own little families and build health and longevity for their loved ones the Paleo way.
I ate cake yesterday. I went to a graduation party. It was the best cake I ever had and I enjoyed every single morsel and when it was gone I was happy and done and didn't need more like a monster. I was glad I had that experience. I didn't regret it one bit and if I could do yesterday over again, I'd certainly do that the same. It was a hiccup and we will have them along the way. But after that, I returned back to my roots, which is cavewoman, cavewifey and cavemommy. This is where I truly belong.
The Sweet Side of Paleo
Written on May 28, 2012
"Will you just sit down and have cake with me alreadeeeeeee?" I said to Andy the other night. I was staring at my plate which had a totally Paleo cake topped with berries and my little cup of almond/coconut milk sitting next to it. Andy was running around portioning out strips of grilled chicken in little baggies for the week.
Cake is probably the last thing you'd think of when you hear "Paleo diet" (also known as the caveman diet eg, you don't eat anything a caveman wouldn't have). Our diet consists of tons of vegetables, hearty amounts of lean protein, generous portions of plant-based fats and some fruits. We were scheduled to start the diet on June 1st for a 30-day challenge but were lured and sucked into the diet early by research - the recipes were irresistible. Our birthdays happened to be right around the time we decided to start and you simply can't have a birthday without cake so we found a cake that fit all the requirements and gave it a go. It was better than any conventional cake I'd ever had in taste and the reactions my body would have to it were ones of health and longevity instead of sickness and disease. Wow. Yes please!
So far I feel like we have eaten like royalty. The food is delicious and I'm not missing out on anything; in fact I'm finding out that I was actually missing out before! We have eggs or omelets for breakfast in the morning with lots of veggies. Snacks are nuts and fruits. Lunch is tons of vegetables, meat of some sort and baked sweet potato with cinnamon, chopped pecans and a little coconut oil (this tastes like dessert). Dinner is meat and tons of veggies and berries. We've had bacon, lots of avocado, apples and pears galore, nuts nuts more nuts, vegetables out the wazoo, amazing broccoli turkey burgers that Andy created, some coconut water here and there and little dollops and sprinkles of dairy. I have eaten a rainbow a day in fruits and veggies. This diet is simply delicious.
We decided to try the diet after Andy saw a video about a woman who had debilitating Multiple Sclerosis and dramatically improved her situation by switching to a Paleo diet. She could not walk and could not even sit upright - she had to lie back in a reclined position. Nine months later, she went for an 18 mile bike ride. All from diet.
At the time of starting our Paleo lifestyle, Andy has lost 50 pounds and I have lost 30 pounds. We hope to lose the remainder of our unnecessary fat with this diet but that part is sort of an afterthought. Our main goal is health...and the ability to pass this on to our children. Is a Paleo lifestyle the key? Is it how we were intended to live (and eat)? Are industrialized grains and processed foods as taxing on the body as they say? Well I'm sure 30 days is long enough to find out and we'll definitely let you know. I am sure of 2 things: it sure does taste good. And it sure does make me feel good.
"Will you just sit down and have cake with me alreadeeeeeee?" I said to Andy the other night. I was staring at my plate which had a totally Paleo cake topped with berries and my little cup of almond/coconut milk sitting next to it. Andy was running around portioning out strips of grilled chicken in little baggies for the week.
Cake is probably the last thing you'd think of when you hear "Paleo diet" (also known as the caveman diet eg, you don't eat anything a caveman wouldn't have). Our diet consists of tons of vegetables, hearty amounts of lean protein, generous portions of plant-based fats and some fruits. We were scheduled to start the diet on June 1st for a 30-day challenge but were lured and sucked into the diet early by research - the recipes were irresistible. Our birthdays happened to be right around the time we decided to start and you simply can't have a birthday without cake so we found a cake that fit all the requirements and gave it a go. It was better than any conventional cake I'd ever had in taste and the reactions my body would have to it were ones of health and longevity instead of sickness and disease. Wow. Yes please!
So far I feel like we have eaten like royalty. The food is delicious and I'm not missing out on anything; in fact I'm finding out that I was actually missing out before! We have eggs or omelets for breakfast in the morning with lots of veggies. Snacks are nuts and fruits. Lunch is tons of vegetables, meat of some sort and baked sweet potato with cinnamon, chopped pecans and a little coconut oil (this tastes like dessert). Dinner is meat and tons of veggies and berries. We've had bacon, lots of avocado, apples and pears galore, nuts nuts more nuts, vegetables out the wazoo, amazing broccoli turkey burgers that Andy created, some coconut water here and there and little dollops and sprinkles of dairy. I have eaten a rainbow a day in fruits and veggies. This diet is simply delicious.
We decided to try the diet after Andy saw a video about a woman who had debilitating Multiple Sclerosis and dramatically improved her situation by switching to a Paleo diet. She could not walk and could not even sit upright - she had to lie back in a reclined position. Nine months later, she went for an 18 mile bike ride. All from diet.
At the time of starting our Paleo lifestyle, Andy has lost 50 pounds and I have lost 30 pounds. We hope to lose the remainder of our unnecessary fat with this diet but that part is sort of an afterthought. Our main goal is health...and the ability to pass this on to our children. Is a Paleo lifestyle the key? Is it how we were intended to live (and eat)? Are industrialized grains and processed foods as taxing on the body as they say? Well I'm sure 30 days is long enough to find out and we'll definitely let you know. I am sure of 2 things: it sure does taste good. And it sure does make me feel good.
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