Pay-lay-Oh!

The paleolitic diet per wikipedia is "centered on commonly available modern foods, the "contemporary" Paleolithic diet consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.^"

This has been all over the internet. No idea who created it, but it's humorous and correct (minus the fact that legumes which aren't allowed aren't addressed beyond peanuts).

 So we are all about trying to eat healthy or sometimes healthier in this house. I had heard of the Paleo diet (more like lifestyle) a time or two, but randomly we caught a special on the local news about it and a study that UCSF was doing on it. I was fascinated by the results they were having from the study, specifically the cholesterol lowering results. I inherited high cholesterol from my Dad (Thanks Dad!) and being in decent shape, there hasn't been much I can do to lower it except eventually going on meds...for the rest of my life. Not fun. So I figured I'd give it a shot. For the most part, I have loved it. The food is delicious and it fits out lifestyle well considering I am home to cook most days and we don't eat out very often. It is VERY hard to keep it up when out and about or with company, so we tend to have cheat days, which I'm completely ok with. I figure if we eat paleo 90-95% of the time, that ain't bad! ;)

Check out some of our delicious meals. Excuse the awful pictures. It was just too yummy to waste time getting it all staged and getting out the nice camera, so instead I took a quick iPhone pic and dug right in.

Sirloin Dijon from Everyday Paleo

Spice Rubbed Burger w/ sweet potato fries

If you are interested, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend the cookbook Everyday Paleo. Her website it awesome too with lots of recipes. Even if you just want to add a few healthy recipes to the mix for your family, you should check it out. We love the Rockin' Moraccan Chicken, Spice Rubbed Slow Cooker Chicken, Salmon w/ belgian endive, Pecan Crusted Chicken (AMAZING!), Spice Rubbed Burger, Sirloin Dijon, Warm Arugula Salad...ok I could go on and on. Those are just a few favorites. Brussels sprouts are a new favorite in this house too. Crazy, I know!

A friend also has a new paleo blog, You Hunt, I Gather, which I love. She has some amazing recipes and some good information. I can't wait for her to add even more delicious paleo treats to try.

Health-bent is also a great website along with the cookbooks Make it Paleo and Paleo Comfort Foods.

Oh and I guess I almost forgot to write about the best part. I FEEL AMAZING! I have a few health issues (nothing major just annoying) like stomach issues, migraines and the like. Once I got over the caffeine withdrawals (which I must do again after a week of vacation and bad choices), I felt so good. I've never felt so thin and not once felt stuffed or bloated even at the end of the day. It's always nice when your jeans are a bit lose. ;)

I figure what do I have to lose? Eat some delicious, home cooked food and cut out the processed junk that consumes most of our diets...I'm in!