Ahhhhh, the "Paleo Diet" is for me!

[strawberryblonde]

Okies, time to go for a totally non-discus thread where I talk about myself. (Good lord it feels weird to even think about posting something non-discus on these forums)

I was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder back in 2009. It's nearly always fatal, but on the plus side, if it progresses slowly enough I could outlive all of you. LOL

The key, for me, to slowing down the progression of the disease was to find some homeopathic ways to change how my body produces red blood cells. I figured out very quickly that red meats probably weren't a good idea, and that I needed MORE sleep, exercise that didn't over stress my body and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. For awhile those things helped, but I still found myself experiencing a lot of nausea and dizziness. It wasn't until my daughter convinced me to try the Paleo diet that I found out that certain foods were actually causing most of the nausea!

The Paleo, or Paleolithic diet is pretty simple in its concept. Paleo man didn't have agriculture and therefore didn't eat grains, legumes, sugar or dairy products other than what could be found naturally in the wild.

That means that, for modern purposes, you eat a lot of meats, natural oils, fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. The thought of never having my favorite cheeses and breads bummed me out at first, but once I cleaned out the fridge and pantry, stocked it with only paleo approved foods and ate them for 2 weeks I found myself feeling SO good that suddenly cheeses, junk food and bread didn't sound so appetizing anymore.

Oh and don't for a second imagine that you'll never be able to enjoy a good pancake again! I've found plenty of non-grain, no gluten flours and have reworked recipes so that I can have the occasional pancake, waffle, biscuit and muffin.

So what's on the actual list of foods that you can eat?

1) All meats - how much fat you leave on them depends on whether you want to lose weight or just maintain your weight.
2) All veggies - and again, choose which ones you eat according to what your goal is.
3) All fruits
4) Natural sweeteners - Honey, real maple syrup, etc.
5) Oils - you know the drill, be sure they are good for you!
6) Nuts - no peanuts since they are a legume, not an actual nut
7) Flours that do not contain any grains (coconut flour, almond flour, cornstarch and tapioca just to name a few)
8) Eggs - my BEST friend these days

What not on the eating plan?

1) Dairy products - I sneak in butter now and then though, cuz I just love the stuff
2) Legumes - No beans, no peanuts
3) Processed Sugars
4) Grains and products made with grains - no breads, muffins, etc unless you make them yourselves with approved ingredients

So here's what my pantry and fridge looked like the first day I filled it with good stuff:
Pantry.jpg
Fridge.jpg

Tons of really good foods that made me feel like I was doing something new and exciting. Oh and yep, there are still a couple of not so Paleo foods in that pantry. They are my husband's faves and he sulked when I pulled them out and put them in a box to go to the local food pantry. LOL

Important Notes:
I substituted nut butters for Peanut Butter, use ALL fruit jams instead of sugar filled jams and have a pantry full of all sorts of vegetable chips for snacks rather than potato chips and doritos.

Almond Milk and Coconut Milk are great substitutes for regular milk. I use lots of seasonings to spice up my salads and meats and breakfast these days looks like this:


Sausage-Egg-Muffins.jpg

Breakfast-Casserole.jpg

I'll cover lunches and dinners in another post, for now, this post is long enough. =)

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Wow Toni, You pantry and fridge scared me being a foodie. But hey, if it makes you healthy, good going!

I always feel bad for people with allergies or blood disorders as they have to change their eating habits while people like me can eat anything I want when I want. Not rubbing it in, just making a point.

As you said though you managed to get use to your new way of eating and who says food has to be healthy and not taste good? Just "spice" em up.

Good luck!

[strawberryblonde]

I'm a foodie too Jeff, and I've managed to create some mouth watering dishes on this plan. Hard to believe?

Carnitas.jpg

General-Sortas-Chicken.jpg

Mediterranean-Chicken-with-Slaw.jpg

I like to think of myself as a fairly creative cook in the kitchen, so this diet just meant stretching myself in order to create foods that were satisfying to the eye and palate. Don't mind the huge portions on the plates... I just loaded them up for the pics. LOL

I do miss the days when I could eat anything, but oh my goodness do I feel awesome on this eating plan. Tons of energy and I haven't had a headache since January.

[Second Hand Pat]

Oh man Toni, looks so good. So basically a return to a natural diet and no more refined foods. Love it.
Pat

[DiscusLoverJeff]

I'm a foodie too Jeff, and I've managed to create some mouth watering dishes on this plan. Hard to believe?

I like to think of myself as a fairly creative cook in the kitchen, so this diet just meant stretching myself in order to create foods that were satisfying to the eye and palate. Don't mind the huge portions on the plates... I just loaded them up for the pics. LOL

I do miss the days when I could eat anything, but oh my goodness do I feel awesome on this eating plan. Tons of energy and I haven't had a headache since January.

Hmm, you might have to teach all of us, Lol. I like those dishes Toni. Looking good and healthy too.

Nothing wrong with treating your body to some good healthy food, it won't kill us?

[magewynd]

Thank you Toni. I'm so glad you are back and doing well. I ALWAYS learn so much when you post. I have been trying to learn more about the Paleolithic Diet. I am a meat cutter by trade and I finding more and more of my customers are becoming gluten intolerant. Especially the younger ones, the teens and kids. And they are very aware of what they can and can not eat. I've loved the recipes you posted. Please keep sharing because no matter where you stand on this type of diet there are ideas here that can make you healthier. Your cooking ideas and recipes make them sound so much better, tastier and palatable.

[joanstone]

I've looked into going Paleo myself and tried it for a while recently. I found out that I really can't eat nuts, especially almonds/almond flour which was a problem. I was sick the whole time I tried it. What's frustrating to me is that for whatever research/school of thought nutrition-wise you study you will find research or experts telling you the exact opposite is true. It makes it very hard to sort through and make the right choices in some areas. When I read about lectins and wheat, I think yikes, must avoid. Then I read about beef and inflammation and I think the same. I've yet to find a source for grass fed beef that I like. I'm still figuring it all out. My goals are to reduce inflammation, not become diabetic (big family history for it), etc. I do buy into some of what the paleo people are saying, but I also agree that it really comes down to eating REAL food, the right fats, and avoiding sugar and processed food.

[Skip]

I have looked at this also..

Meat fruit veggies..

Sounds good to me

[LizStreithorst]

What is this blood disease called? I'm always curious about medical stuff.

Please post some recipes. I also like good food. With what you have to work with should be able to make some tasty stuff.

[stac545]

It is definitely for me too!
I have been eating Paleo since last November and don't want to go back to my old ways of eating. I chose to eat this way not out of necessity but as a way to eat healthier and it works for me. I don't have the cravings for any of the junk that I used to eat which feels good because I was a carb-o-holic. Your recipes look great. I know for me I am not getting shorted on my carbs (healthy ones) since I make sure that I get them thru sweet potatoes and winter squash every day. Coconut oil is also necessity for me. I cook with it a lot. Getting all of the processed foods and sugars out of my body has really opened my eyes to how my body reacts if I choose to eat it again.
When did you start eating this way? I am really glad you found something that makes you feel better (mentally and physically) and healthier inside at the same time.

Like joanstone, when I cut all the sugar out of my diet I felt sick too and had headaches but only lasted for the first week or two until it was all out of my system. I have also done a Whole30 and will do another one just not during the holidays.

[joanstone]

What I found was that it was nuts, especially baking with almond flour that was making me ill. Some of my reading indicated that when you bake with almond flour, the you're creating a fat rancidity situation. My doctor also just told me to avoid nuts as he has detected a sensitivity. He told me that eating a food that causes a negative reaction like that can also influence insulin resistance. That sure got my attention. Cutting sugar out can cause temporary headaches for sure, it's tough to do. Nothing like the headaches I got when cutting out caffeine though. Those were debilitating.

[strawberryblonde]

What is this blood disease called? I'm always curious about medical stuff.

Please post some recipes. I also like good food. With what you have to work with should be able to make some tasty stuff.

I have Polycythemia Vera. It causes my red blood cells to look like figure 8's instead of nice round cells. Those oddly shaped cells can't carry enough oxygen to my body, so my bone marrow produces even more red blood cells...and those don't fix it, so they make more, and more. My blood ends up overloaded with weird looking red cells and my bone marrow will eventually stop being able to produce enough red blood cells to support my body. It literally will wear out my bone marrow's ability to function.

Since the problem, for me, is a gene mutation, it can't be cured, only can be helped along by eating properly to support my immune and circulatory systems. I also can no longer fly in planes or head as high up into the mountains to hunt for gems as I used to.

Beyond that, it really doesn't limit me too badly, and most days I don't think about it too much.

I'll definitely post some recipes over the next few days. I love creating dishes that everyone can enjoy. Oh and so far my kids haven't even noticed that I only cook Paleo when they visit! I haven't told them that their mashed potatoes are actually mashed cauliflower. Yep, it tastes THAT good! LOL

[LizStreithorst]

Found it. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001615/ Good for you that you are able to alleviate your symptoms with diet rather than having to resort to blood letting. I will look forward to your recipes.

[strawberryblonde]

Found it. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001615/ Good for you that you are able to alleviate your symptoms with diet rather than having to resort to blood letting. I will look forward to your recipes.

I've done the blood letting thing. After 6 months of that every week I was ready to try to find other things. So far the diet is really helping to slow things down and I've been in a nice stable pattern for a year now. Hoping the Paleo plan will make it even more stable. Results at last blood test were really good.

[GlennR]

My wife's been on the Paleo diet for a while and has lost a lot of weight & has been able to keep with it. I think the main thing that's helped is cutting out the bread,pasta, and beer. I still can't believe she was able to give up beer!