Paleo: What The Heck Is It?

Wondering what a Paleo diet entails?  Let's discuss.

Hi there!  So, you must be here to find out about what a Paleo diet/lifestyle entails. Good for you!  Let me just remind you again that I am in NO WAY an authority on this topic.  I just started my Paleo journey on June 30, 2013. That makes me all of 10-days wise about this.  I do, however, have an incredible support system of people who are quite Paleo-savvy.  If I get it wrong, I apologize, but I'll do my best not to have that happen.  After all, you stopped here to learn a thing or two.  The least I can do is make sure it's accurate. 
Paleo is short for Paleolithic...as in the Paleolithic era.  Roaming this great earth back in those days were our friends the cavemen and cavewomen.  Put yourself in that mindset - you're a caveperson.  So what's available to you?  Pasta?  No.  Bread?  No.  Cheese and other assorted dairy products?  No.  Sounds like a barbaric time.  What is available to you are all the animals you can hunt, and anything growing in the ground.  You're drooling now, I bet.  

Ok, so it was a barbaric time.  Let's face it - the cavepeople didn't have their stuff together like we do.  But if we just stop to think about it for a second, there is one thing they didn't have to even think about...how they were eating.  There weren't any processed foods, added sugars, nothing unnatural. They ate the way nature intended.  The cool thing about us though is that we have awesome gizmos and gadgets - like ovens, crock pots, and julienne slicers (not that I have any idea how to julienne a thing, but I could if I wanted to). Over the years, we've also been given the gift of supermarkets, cookbooks, and the internet.  We don't have to head out hunting and gathering - epic win if you ask me.  I'm very content picking up a package of organic chicken cutlets in the freezer section. And with cookbooks and the internet, we've got people posting recipes!  People who really know what they're talking about!  We can cook healthy, flavorful, and even good looking meals...and then eat them at a table...with utensils!  Life is good, no? 

By going Paleo, you're going to want to eliminate certain things from your diet completely.  These things include:

• No added sugar of any kind - real or artificial.  This includes Splenda and the like.  If it's not naturally occurring sugar, don't consume it.
• No grains.  Even quinoa.  None of them.  Grains are not welcome here.
• No legumes.  No beans of any kind.  No hummus.  No peanuts or peanut butter. 
• No dairy.  None.  At all.  Ever. 
• No white potatoes. Being Irish, this hurts. 

That feels like quite a blow, doesn't it?  I know.  I felt the same way.  I mean, even Fred Flintstone could get a brontosaurus burger on a bun.  It's not that I ate a ton of any of those things, but I did eat them.  Now, I don't.  Why don't we get to what we CAN have?  Yeah, that's a better idea. 

• Meat.  All the meat you want.  Meat, meat, and more meat.  This made me want to gag.  I'm not a meat-lover at all, but I'm learning to love it a little. 
• Vegetables.  Go crazy, basically.  Whatever.  Whenever.  Go right ahead.
• Fruits.  You can have a lot.  But eat more vegetables than you do fruit.  Fruit is still a sugar source.  
• Nuts and seeds.  Just remember that a peanut is not a nut.  No peanuts.  It's a legume.  It's not welcome here. 
• Healthy Fats.  Yes, there are such things.  Fat gets a bad rap.  Well, healthy fat, anyway.  We'll talk about that another time.  For now, just trust me.  Some healthy fats you can have are: coconut oil, coconuts, coconut milk, avocados, avocado oil, butter (grass-fed is best), clarified butter (ghee), olive oil, lard, tallow, duck fat, fatty fishes (sardines,   mackerel, salmon), nut butters and nut oils.  Eat these.  A lot of them.  

That's it in a nutshell.  Now, with this as a guideline, you can go online and search some fabulous Paleo recipes.  It's incredible what you can make.  I'm no chef, but even I have been successful.  Again, let's discuss, share, and help each other.  If you know of a great site for Paleo recipes, post the link.  Let's be a support system for each other.  I'm far from an expert, but I can tell you that I have been doing my research, asking questions, eating strictly this way, and after only 10 days I feel a difference!  I feel good!  There are many different reasons people decide to go Paleo.  If you've tried other ways and you're still struggling with weight or health issues, why not give it a try?  I mean, if a caveman could do it....
Peace.  Paleo.  Progress.
Kerry