I am not a health nut. I’m also not a great cook.
But I can follow a recipe and I do like nuts (and have been called Nuts), so there’s that.
We decided a few weeks ago to give the Paleo Diet a shot. With my husband’s diabetes, we are constantly reevaluating food.
All that to say, food isn’t very fun in our house. The Paleo Diet has also been called the hunter-gatherer or Caveman diet. Appetizing, huh? Not really.
Basically, it’s cutting out carbs, dairy (except eggs), and processed food. While extreme diets aren’t for everyone (we were vegan for a year to help my husband’s health), they do promote extreme health. And honestly, there’s not much worse than going vegan. My kids still randomly ask if we are eating real or fake meat. Bless their little hearts.
There is NO way I could do Paleo cooking without Emeals. I’ve been a huge fan and user of Emeals for years now. Basically, with a click, I can print out a shopping list and recipes for 7 meals based on the menu of my choice (which is Paleo for now, but there are many other options.)
And y’all? We are really liking the food. It turns out I’m quite the hunter/gatherer (only not really). Crazy, I know. We are baby-stepping it: our evening family dinners are completely Paleo (thank you Emeals) and my kids really haven’t noticed we’re doing anything different. They aren’t asking for carbs at all and they loved parsnips and leeks this week! My husband and I are trying to cut out carbs at lunch and we usually eat an egg for breakfast. I’m also still drinking sweet tea. But y’all knew that.
Positives so far:
- We feel great, more energy
- We have each lost several pounds
- We love the family meals
- Emeals offers breakfast and lunch menus too
Negatives so far:
- It cost more since it’s a lot of fresh vegetables and meat
- Snacking is tough. I’m sick of carrots. Can of tuna, anyone?
So, healthy eating works for us! Who knew?
Paleo is great! But definitely expensive with the fresh produce – do you have a bountiful baskets in your area? It’s a great way to get a lot of produce for cheap!
In her book, Everyday Paleo, Sarah Fragoso has a recipe for a trail mix that is the best ever paleo snack. The whole book is worth a look, but be forewarned the photos don’t make the foods look all that appealing.
i read that book your right about the photos. great tips and insight though. although the recipes always had ingredients i didnt even know what were. i definitley am needing help with healthy snack options. we get such conflicting advice on healthy eating these days its hard to know what to feed your family
Sarah Fragoso actually has a new book out, the Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook. The pictures are MUCH more appetizing, and I find that I use it more often than the original book.
I’ve been following a Paleo diet for 5 months now thanks to a dietary issue, and I’ve lost 60 pounds. I feel so much better and I don’t really miss the carbs. Hope it helps your husband’s health!
I have never tried that! I think I would miss my carbs but I imagine once you get used to it, you probably don’t miss them as much! I’ve had to give up some favorite things due to my acid reflux, but I can have them occasionally. Some I don’t get to have at all. I haven’t had an orange in years and they were my favorite, lol!
Thanks for hosting today!
I have also never tried. As you have shared it has positive results, then definitely will try. Thanks for sharing.
The post I’m linking up shares how Letting Go of Food Rules has been something I’ve had to do. I was stressing so much about doing things perfectly that I wasn’t able to relax and listen to my body. So far I’ve lost nearly 20 pounds without counting a single calorie or following a specific diet.
Thanks for such a fab party – Alice @ Mums Make Lists
Good for you! We have been following grain free/paleo eating as well and feel so much better. Glad it’s working for you!
Megan
I second the recommendation for Sarah Fragoso’s cookbooks and website. The book Practical Paleo by Diane SanFilippo is my absolute favorite for recipes. And a note about cost: I have tracked this really specifically (I love a spreadsheet!!!) and yes, it costs more, but not as much as you’d think, especially if you’re cutting out processed foods and replacing them with produce. I found that chips, cereal and bread, etc took up a big part of my budget pre-paleo. I’m sure you know this, but stock up on meat when it’s on sale and buy produce in-season as much as possible to cut costs.
I’ve gone wheat free and mostly-Paleo (don’t you take my cheese!!) and feel much better. I’ve also lost 7 pounds since the first of the year. I usually snack on raw almonds and raisins.
Good luck on the Paleo lifestyle changes! I found for me that I grumbled for the few few weeks about what I couldn’t eawt – then grumbled for the next few weeks that my tiny forays into ‘cheating’ didn’t taste good anymore. Six months in, I love it and the processed stuff I gave up doesn’t even registeer as food anymore. You all will get there!
I’ve been following it for the last 5 months or so and have enjoyed it as well. I have some yummy recipes on my blog if you are looking for new ideas
I linked up the banana pancakes that I makes every morning!
I’m happy for your family that you’re finding something that works! We’re always trying to evaluate our diets, too… ensuring they’re healthy (mostly whole foods based) and affordable.
But I had to laugh, reading your post… A line in it (“Basically, it’s cutting out carbs, dairy (except eggs)”) reminded me of something I had written a few weeks ago on my blog, tongue in cheek, about my one year old’s dairy allergy. http://willinghandsforhisglory.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/public-service-announcement/
Glad it’s working for you! As a Certified Health Coach, I’ve done quite a bit of research into Paleo and I do think it’s great for some people – not everyone mind you! Personally I tend to follow a more “Whole Foods/ Traditional” type diet – 90% of the time, but my philosophy is that everyone needs to find the way of eating that is right for THEM, so great job taking control of your health!
okay ive thought about doing this before since we did atkins diet once and lost weight and since i truly want to be healthy and my family to be healthy but really after cutting out carbs, dairy (except eggs), and processed food what is there left to eat? and it seemed like the recipes are all stuff i dont know what even are. Ive never had parsnips or leeks before by the way lol.. so not to be negative nellie but if you can keep us updated on what you learn etc because im at a plateu and need to do something asap but im not sure i could hack it with this!
I just saw your comment. See my post below. I did this for about 3 months before my wedding. It feels amazing, but you have to get creative with your meals or you will get bored. For instance, if everyone wants burgers but you are on the low/no carb diet make the same burger with a few huge leaves of lettuce for you. I made turkey burgers while I was on this diet and loaded up my lettuce wrapped burger with avocado, onion, tomato, etc… In all honestly it tasted WAY better than it ever did on a bun. You can also substitute spaghetti squash for the pasta in your spaghetti or a cauliflower crust when making pizza. You really have to like veggies to do this, but it is SO worth it. The nice thing is that eating out is still an option if you eat at the right places because you just have to eat salads, fruit, veggies, and meat. Things like leeks are GREAT in chicken soup.
Good for you! Sounds like you guys are doing great so far! I must look into this diet. I have a late/hate relationship with food and really need to adjust my eating habits. Thanks for making me aware of this!
Sounds like a good diet! Thanks for the great post & for hosting & God bless!
Thanks for hosting! I just love the variety of topics here each week.
I actually did a version of this for about 3 months before I got married this past June. I loved it for the most part. My cousin is a personal trainer and I went by his no carb regimen. The only difference is that you get ONE cheat meal a week. This is good because it shocks your body, and it also helps you crave the carbs/sugars less. I would each one large pasta meal a week, or use my cheat for dessert once a week. His is very effective for health, fitness, and general well being. It is always a 2 egg omelet with veggies and meat for breakfast, bacon is okay. I mixed up my lunches with different types of salads that were completely different or steamed veggies in the microwave. Suppers get old fast unless you can really mix it up with how you make your meat and veggies. It helps that I love veggies. Water and unsweetened tea are about the only things you can drink on his, and you have to limit yourself to two pieces of fruit a day, avoid corn at all costs, and limit your carrot and sweet potato (good carb) intake. I cannot tell you how MUCH better I felt after just a few weeks. The carb free/low carb diet really does amazing things for your mind, body, and spirit. Good luck! You won’t regret it, but put at least 1 cheat meal in a week and it will be MUCH easier!
Thank you for hosting again, Kristen. It’s another wonderful linkfest!
I’d love if you’d come join my How To Tuesday link party, too.
http://housewifehowtos.com/link-party-2/how-to-tuesday-link-party-9/
Hmmm…I think this is something I am going to look at. I’ve cut nearly all processed foods out of our diet. I make most of the things that I would have bought processed now. We don’t buy meat (we truly are hunters and have a freezer full of venison, elk, moose, and salmon) except for bone-in chicken (I use the bones and trimmings to make chicken stock). So, I’m wondering if that would help at all with the cost….
Kristen – I’m so excited to hear your whole family is trying the Paleo diet. I hope you can report back on how it works for you. My husband and I have been doing paleo + dairy since last May, and we feel better in almost every way – have lost weight, sleep better, more regulated blood sugar, and never get that “oh my gosh why did I eat so much” feeling anymore. My little sister has been doing it since August, and she has lost over 70 pounds. I feel so happy knowing that there is a way to eat that is sustainable for us, that doesn’t make us feel hungry, that prevents weight gain, and that makes sense. I tried a Whole30 and didn’t find that giving up dairy helped me, so it’s something to consider for you after you’ve tried going hard core. Cheese is a nice option if you can tolerate it well.
But enough with the commercial – it is harder. I didn’t realize that pasta and rice were convenience foods until we stopped eating them. This process has involved a lot of learning, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of work. Here are some tips for how we have made it work cooking for five:
Have way more kinds of vegetables at every meal than you used to. We have cauliflower at least 4 times a week – roasted is easiest, mashed or riced are also good. It’s great with roasted meats and under things with sauces. Roasted peppers, or even raw. Salad with almost every meal. Sauteed spinach with raisins and pine nuts. roasted broccoli at least a couple of times a week. For those who are not trying to be low carb, sweet potato fries or mashed sweet potatoes. Roasted squash (butternut or acorn are our favorites). Spaghetti squash with your meatballs. (This is a lot easier than zucchini noodles but those are okay too.) Put things like chili on a bed of raw spinach or cooked cauliflower. There are almost always three and often four kinds of vegetables to go along with a roast chicken or broiled salmon.
Put vegetables in breakfast. We do this by either adding spinach or onions or mushrooms or peppers to eggs in the morning, or else cutting up raw peppers, tomatoes or avocados and eating them on the side of eggs or smoked salmon.
Baking can be done. If you want to try it, you’ll need to buy a lot of things you probably don’t have – almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca starch. It is usually a lot lower-carb than your regular versions of things, but especially with tapioca flour it will be a lot higher-carb than your other foods so if your husband is going super low carb, he might want to stay away from those things…