What is Paleo?

What is Paleo? I have gotten asked that a lot over the years. And in the past when I have started to get a lot of questions and had people (almost) scoff at it, not understanding how or why I would want to cut certain things out of my diet, I let it wear me down (because really, no one likes to be scoffed at or be told their way of eating is weird and unnatural). And eventually I would just revert back to the old way of eating.

Hmmm, just because I choose to cut sugar and pasta out of my diet, it's unnatural?!

Paleo in a nutshell is clean eating. By clean eating, I mean no processsed foods, no pasta, no grains, no dairy, no legumes, limited fruits, no sugar, no dairy and no alcohol (that's another I struggle with, I so enjoy a good glass of wine).

What to eat: grass fed/organic beef and chicken, fish seafood, fresh fruits and veggies, eggs, nuts and seeds, healthy fats/oils: olive oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, macadamia and avacodo oils.

What NOT to eat: cereal and grains, legumes (including peanuts), dairy, refined sugar, white potatoes, processed foods, salt, refined vegetable oil.

For more complete information and guidelines on Paleo, check out these links: Cordain: the Paleo Diet, Robb Wolf: what is the Paleo Diet,

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No processed foods - that's easy for me, not so much for others, as it is fast. My husband pretty much refuses to eat fast food, would rather eat cardboard than frozen dinners and so on. (I love him for that).

No Pasta - That's easy for me too, pasta makes me feel sick and bloated. The less I eat it, the less I like it. I think I eat it maybe 1-2 time a year now. My husband however, loves pasta. I will be working on how to incorporate more veggies in traditional pasta meals for me, yet keeping pasta for him.

No Dairy - easy for me, as I get older I have more and more of a lactose intolerence. I eat ice cream, I get sick. done. I have great options for dairy, ones I think taste far better than dairy ever did and I will be sharing those freely with tips and suggestions. Looking back to my childhood, I think I have always had intolerences to foods (and allergies - I'll cover that at a later date). I would often feel sick after meals and we pretty much had milk and a plate of (wonder) bread to go with each meal. Gotta love a good midwestern upbringing.

No Legumes - this one is a little harder. I LOVE peanut butter, it's my comfort food. (if I could eat peanut butter and a diet pop every day I'd be a happy Hilary-that's my name. Hi.) I also really enjoy green beans. But I do have alternates to both of those.

Limited fruits - this one is tricky. I am allergic to most fruits! (yes, if you must know it's awful to be allergic to most fruits). I do love the taste of fruit but since they make me sick it's easy. the hard part if finding fruit I can eat, because sometimes it smells so good that it makes me want it regardless of the consequences.

No refined sugar - sooooooo hard!! the body reacts the same way to sugar whether it's real or fake, my body in particular so I try to avoid it. but at work, I struggle. too many tempting sweets! I'll be working on finding a good alternate to sugar that I will actually stick to. I do have some good resources and research sites to share about this topic. It's very scientific, yet makes sense.

No alcohol - I don't drink often, but sometimes I just want to go home, sit in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine and visit with my husband. So giving it up is more like giving up the experience. I am going to have to try putting tea in a fancy glass, maybe that'll do the trick. I have to admit, once I get to my goal weight, I will add some wine back in to the mix, in moderation a couple times a month.

That's just an overview. I am not an expert, I just know what I have leaned and experienced for myself. There are great resources out there and I will share them as I go.

-Hilary