The paleo lifestyle is one that is hard to follow especially if you live in a concrete jungle! Luckily for me, I have farms about hour away from my home and I am able to pick up farm fresh and pesticide free fruits, vegetables and meat at super low prices. Not only do I benefit from the savings but my body is benefiting from it too. The paleo diet is truly a life style change and here is my journey.
A Few Keys
What’s paleo mean: No gluten, no oat, no legumes, no sugars, no grains. EAT NATURAL. LIVE NATURAL
Don’t obsesses over calories, just count your water intake
If it’s in BOX...don’t eat it
Buy Local, Buy fresh
Don’t over exercise: Short and Intense
Eliminate External Stress
Eat when you are hungry: be natural
First, if you have decided to go paleo you must go home and clean out that refrigerator! Get rid of all of those condiments that have high fructose corn syrup and anything processed. If you can’t make out the ingredients, why are you eating it? This is also a good time to throw away old items that may have been in there for months. Get rid of that milk and that yogurt… you don’t need them. Throw it out or give it away.
The pantry: say good bye to the Grains! Remember no bread, no pita, no rice, and no pasta… not even gluten free pasta. It’s all got to go.
Sugar and Flour: You will need to convert your flour to almond flour, grounded flax seed and coconut flour. There are others you can pick from. As for sugar, you don’t need it. You can use all natural organic honey(laxpaleo) and agave nectar for sweetness
Oils: Cut out all hydrogenated and partly hydrogenated oils. Margarines, soybean oil, corn oil, Crisco, peanut oil, canola oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil .
If you’re cooking with oils try Coconut oils
as for Olive oil and avocado oils use them for dressings or to drizzle over food… try not to cook with them as much
Things to stock up on:
Nuts:
Almonds – all natural unsalted
Cashews – all natural unsalted, but watch these are high in calorie so not too much
pecans
hazelnuts
brazil nuts – high in selenium
walnuts
pine nut
macadamia nuts – one of your best options High in Omega 3, low in omega 6 and low in polyunsaturated fat
***NO PEANUT*** why? Because it is considered a bean… Yes, no peanut butter.
A Note on Nuts: Nuts have a lot of polyunsaturated fat especially omega-6 polyunsaturated fat. They also have a lot of Phytic acid and anti-nutrients. Phytic aside in our system acts as a binding property that binds to minerals such as calcium, iron, and magnesium and zinc, which are in your gut and removes them. Now your body is not absorbing those good nutrients. A great way to get rid of the phytic acid is to soak the nuts in salty water. You must have them soaking for numerous hour so maybe over night or during a movie or two. After they are done soaking be sure to dry them so they do not go bad. You can do this by popping them in the oven on the lowest setting or placing them in the sun.
Question: If almonds are paleo and coconut is paleo why isn’t almond or coconut milk paleo?
A: We call these “laxpaleo”, simply because they are processed, there are recipes where you can make your own
Sunflower Seed Sesame Seeds
Pumpkin Seed Flax Seed
Fruits: Your key with fruit is this. Eat fruit with LOW SUGARS.
Lowest: Lemons, Lime, Rhubarb, Raspberries, Blackberries, Cranberries
Low to medium: Strawberries, Casaba Melon, Papaya, Watermelon, Peaches, Nectarines, Cantaloupes, Honeydew, Apples, Guavas, Apricots (fresh) Grapefruit.
Medium to High- Plums, oranges, Kiwi, Pears, Pineapples
HIGHEST- Tangerines, cherries, grapes, Pomegranates, Mangoes, Figs, bananas, Dried fruit
be sure to watch you intake on the fruits in italics
As for you meats: Try local, farm fresh, organic and grass feed. Remember lean cuts of meat. Try eating organ meats (yuck!) Eat fats from pastured animals and seafood. Beef Jerky is a great after work out snack and loaded with protein! (Steve’s paleo kits have the best beef jerky) Remember, the basics… make sure its grass feed antibiotic free, no additives and simply dried.. NO GAS STAITON JERKY!
Here in PA! We have tons of options since we have a lot of farms in our area. Buying organic and grass feed beef is expensive. I have discovered that you can use freshdirect.com and they have decently priced meats. If you are new customer they have some amazing coupon codes so stock up!
Keeps these in moderation: Fatty Meats: Bacon, Chicken/Turkey legs and skins, lamb/pork chops
Vegetables: Avoid the legumes. ALL BEANS Chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, snow peas, peas, sugar snap peas, green beans and all soy beans. Why no legumes, because once again they have anti-nutrients in them like the phytic acid and lectins. They bind to the minerals and absorb the nutrients. Lectins are carbohydrate binding protein in simple terms they will just line you gut and are not good!
Keeps in moderation: Sweet Potatoes and Yams, anything really starchy, if possible just stay away.
Remember: the key is not to go crazy and quit in a few months. Even if you are 90% percent paleo you will be able to see a difference in your mood, you’ll have more clarity, you’ll see you body changing and adapting, better skin, muscle gain, more energy, less stress, smoother skin, better sleep, healthier teeth, stronger bones, better digestion, stronger immune system, among many other benefits. Start gradual, one week at time. Follow me as I start my week one with no dairy and no oats. My lifestyle is ON THE GO, I try and do most of my cooking on a Sunday and have the food prepared to grab and go. I’ll post recipes and tips as I go along. I would love to hear from anyone else who is paleo or thinking of going paleo
