I will survive.

I'm in a slump. I thought I would feel great at this point, but I don't. I don't really even feel good. In the morning when I get out of bed my body feels like it is made out of lead and it takes a good hour for that feeling to go away. In addition, my digestive track is severely whacked and I hope it pulls itself back together soon. I'm not exactly sure how I expected to feel nearly half way though, but I can say I didn't expect this.

I will survive though. I'm going to keep going. While at the grocery store's deli counter I made sure those little ladies behind the counter looked up every ingredient of the turkey breast they were slicing thin for me. I scoured every egg container. I compared the organic almond butter to the natural. I'm a very good Paleo shopper. At the check out line the lady behind me commented on my purchases and said "you're doing it right! I never see anyone with as much produce as you have. I bet you don't even have to go down the middle isle...is that how you always shop?" Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am it is- I'm proud to say.

So even though I'm struggling on this day 13 I've got my weekly menu planned and it includes a Paleo Thanksgiving. We're going to friends house on Thursday so I'm sure there will be rules broken, but I plan to stick to it as best as I can under the circumstances. I will cook our own meal on Friday so we can enjoy the feeling of Thanksgiving leftovers. I also found some recipes on Everyday Paleo for some yummy nutty cookies and then one for apple crisp on The Label Says Paleo and they were helpful this weekend in curing my desire to bake and eat something sweet. It's nice to have some Paleo treats to get me through. And as my last sign I can survive over the next 16 days: I found a way to enjoy coffee again. Thank you coconut milk and unsweetened cocoa. You make my life better than black.

Decisions, decisions.

My mama always says honesty is the best policy so that's what I'm giving you today. Honesty. Thanksgiving is around the corner and the decision to stick to a strictly Paleo diet is looming over my head. I'm considering cheating....well, I prefer to call it a meal pardon. You know-how the President pardon's one turkey on Thanksgiving-it would be like giving my whole30 a one meal pardon. That's how I like to look at it anyhow.

I'll tell you why:
1. I am a woman and therefore am ruled by emotions and hormones and those are directly linked to Holiday memories.
2. I question whether sticking to Paleo for one meal is more important than enjoying those "little pleasures" in life with family and friends.

I mentioned in a previous post I do not think a piece of pumpkin pie or a batch of chocolate chip cookies every once in a while will cause harm. But I will add... if besides those occasions you eat a Paleo diet (yes, I realize the contradiction of that statement).

I think there are different types of Paleo people. My husband could have a complete Paleo Thanksgiving meal and think nothing of it. He doesn't seem to be bothered by what he's giving up in comparison to sticking to the diet. I, on the other hand, am already grieving over the loss of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and I truly believe it has nothing to do with sugar cravings. I do crave sugar, but it is easy for me to turn it down on a day to day basis. As a matter of fact, I turned down many delicious smelling pastries and breakfast casseroles at MOPS this morning for a plate of yummy fruit. But, there are occasions think a break from the strict diet is better for your mental and emotional health than sticking to the diet is for your physical health.

When there are opportunities to create memories or have sentimental times over a nice, sweet sugary treat I don't see why that is such a bad thing. When I bake chocolate chip cookies with my son I love to see him enjoy them. I love remembering how I did the same thing with my mom and grandmother. I love to bake pies and see people enjoy them. I don't live by my family anymore so sometimes baking those things takes me back to my grandmothers basement for the memories of the 50 people packed like sardines around the table every Holiday and family birthday and I love it. I love showing people I love them through baked goods...by showing people I care by taking time to bake something special simply because they are who they are. I like to eat Thanksgiving dinner filled with breads and sugar because I am thankful I am on this earth to be able to. I know, I know: you say "but you can do the same thing with Paleo recipes!" And to that I say, you're right. I have made lots of muffins with my boy and we have had a great time. But it's not the same and you know it.

Having said all that, I think the ability to do these things can only happen with the presence of restraint. There is a point where the negative physical side effects outweigh the mental and emotional benefits and it is slippery slope from that first bite of pumpkin pie to that point. Anyone who has seen The Biggest Loser can vouch for that. Heck, anyone who has fallen off the Paleo wagon before can vouch for that. It takes a lot of thought and preparation to stay on course, but just one bite to get off. So I realize this post is COMPLETELY against what the good people at Whole9 want me to post and even think, but it's where I am.

Holla!

My morning routine consists of groggily rolling out of bed straight to the coffee pot. Once that gets going I get my little man some breaky, turn on Disney channel and then head to the computer. I check my email, fulfill a little indulgence with people.com and facebook, and then look at the blogs and websites listed on the side. This morning I was ecstatic when I read the whole9 blog. The article was on butter....one ingredient I dearly miss. Just last night I made some Paleo apple muffins taken from Everyday Paleo and when I ate one fresh out of the oven I just wanted some butter melting on top of it! I have seen different recipes that call for Ghee, but wasn't really sure if that fell into the whole30 program or even the overall Paleo meal plan. There are many blogs and sites out there that feature "Paleo" recipes that include butter/ghee and honey or agave nectar and are therefore out for the next 22 days. Besides, I don't even know where I would get ghee even if I could eat it. Regardless, this mornings article outlined why butter does not fit into the plan in it's original form, but gave solutions so you CAN include it in your diet once your whole30 program is complete. This is good new friends, very good news. Here is the link to the blog entry: http://whole9life.com/2010/11/butter/

Here is a picture of the apple muffins from Everyday Paleo. They are yummy, but next time I think I might add some raisins or dates to give them a little bit of a sweeter taste.

Myth.

Since I have told people about my choice in doing the whole30 plan, many have been concerned about me eating and loosing weight. My favorite conversation was with a person who is semi-familiar with Paleo and it went like this:

Her- "What's new with you?"
Me- "Well, I've decided to do the whole30- a strict 30 days of pure Paleo."
Her- pause, pause, pause, pause "you're eventually going to eat again, right?"

I just laughed, but it made me wonder why people assume you can't eat and that you're doing something that is crazy or abnormal. Why does eating what is natural seem so outrageous?

Now I shouldn't judge too harshly on those people, because I was (still am a bit) one of those people. When you are the person preparing the meals and decide to cut out grains, sugar, dairy, etc....you begin to find how difficult it is to actually follow this plan and I think that's where the "crazy" comes in. When you go to Whole Foods to buy sauce for spaghetti squash spaghetti and you look at the label of every gluten free marinara and pasta sauce and can't buy a single one because the second to last ingredient is evaporated cane juice or agave nectar...you begin to consider the diet crazy. It's when you realize how much stuff contains the forbidden fruits of the whole30/true Paleo plan you think it's crazy-not because it's not healthy, but because you don't see how that little bit of ingredient in an overall healthy plan is going to ruin your life. I still struggle with that (maybe it's because the marinara incident was this morning while I had a 2 year old with no shoes screaming about being cold clinging to my neck). And, as long as we live in a world where food of convenience is priority I will continue to struggle with that. I could make my own spaghetti sauce, but the reason I wanted to make spaghetti squash spaghetti was for the ease of it and making my own sauce definitely takes out the ease. So in my opinion, that's where the crazy comes in. I also don't think you'll die an early death for having a delicious piece of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or for whipping up a batch of cookies with your kids for fun...but that's for another time.

When you think about the plan overall why do people think eating fruits, veggies, and lean meat is so weird? In a world of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes...the list could go on....why do people think we are nuts? When our grandparents were young everyone ate like this and that wasn't so long ago. It's sad how the view on food has changed in such a short amount of time. In fact, it was this thought that made me start thinking about all the things my grandmother did and does, that I don't know how to do: sew, can, bake sauces from scratch, keep a garden. All things that within one generation have gone by the wayside. Dare I say though, that people are becoming aware of that fact. With the back to the land movement people are beginning to see that the way we do things is maybe the fastest and most convinent, but it's not the best or healthiest way. I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend the last years of my life in a lazyboy with a walker parked next to it. So the concept that eating this way is weird is a myth. It's what is naturally right. It's how God created the earth- he provided plants and animals for us to rule over.

It is also a myth that there is not much to eat while on a strict Paleo plan. I have found I eat more...much more...than what I did before starting this plan. Before I was filling up on empty carbs and had very little to eat throughout the day. Now, I am munching on stuff all the time. I just happens to be fruits and veggies. If your calories come from good food why do you have to worry about how much you eat? That is, of course, if you're not looking to loose weight-in that case you want to watch fruit and nut intake. But as long as you're creative and you forget what your typical snacking looks like you can eat a ton...and I do!

The Paleo Diet is all about thinking outside the box and forgetting everything you did when it came to buying and eating food. You have to start from scratch and really read your stuff about the diet so when people ask you about it and come up with crazy questions you have an answer that makes you sound knowledgeable and you can help to dispel some of those myths out there about living a healthy lifestyle.

Paper Plate Special

The most difficult part of Paleo can be the desire for a "normal" meal; fast and casual enough to be served on paper plate. For me, one of those normal meals is a big, juicy burger on the grill...with lots of cheese, ketchup, and a nice big bun. Well, since Paleo has 86'd those from my diet I had to create a substitue. My paper plate special this week was still a burger, but instead of leaving it lonely I sauteed some mushrooms and onions to accompany the sliced avocado that perched atop the burger. It would have been better with some pepperjack cheese, but I can say it hit the spot. I did miss the cheese, but didn't even notice the missing bun. I paired the burger with a salad, some sweet potato chips and it felt like a great weekend dinner with easy clean-up. Next time I may throw some sun dried tomatoes in there for an added flavor.

Chim-Chimini-Chim-Chimini-Chim-Chim-Charuu...

Everytime I think about what I made for dinner the song from Mary Poppins goes floating through my mind. It was taken from Everyday Paleo and is butternut squash, thinly sliced sirloin steak, and chimichurri sauce thrown in the crockpot to be cooked on low for 6 hours.

It has the potential to be one of my favorite meals, but the steak cut I used was very oily and the coating it left in my mouth was enough to leave my meal half-eaten. (You'll learn I am particular about the origin of my meat, as well as the texture of food. Thank you to all those articles on mass produced meat/dairy farms. My mouth and my budget appreciate your impact on my life.) My husband, however, scarfed his down and then some.

The Beginning

So my husband, Adam, is nuts. It's okay, he knows it. In April 2009 we moved from Indianapolis, IN to Jupiter, FL and with the move came a new eating plan: The Paleo Diet. I was, lets say, less than thrilled about it. We have tried so many different types of meal planning (I shall steer clear from the word 'diet' since we are not looking to lose weight, but eat healthy) that when he mentioned yet another change I was pretty steamed. I felt like I could not win with his eating habits and as a stay at home mom it is my duty to cook, besides I really like it. I had recently read a life changing book entitled A Woman After God's Own Heart where the author, Elizabeth George, challenges her readers to follow in the footsteps of the Proverbs 31 woman. Now I don't know about you, but I have a certain amount of disdain for that woman. Talk about setting the bar high! Regardless, as a christian wife, mother, and woman...she is who I strive to be and therefore I began cooking Paleo meals with my mouth shut (though my husband would probably state otherwise).

I really struggled to find "Paleo friendly" meals and found myself extremely frustrated and confused. The recipes provided in The Paleo Diet and The Paleo Diet for Athletes were not exactly the type of food that appealed to me or my 1 year old. I tried my best, had many failures and many fights with the husband. Luckily, about 8 months ago Adam found Paleo Plan and my life was quickly turned around. With the help of their meal plans, shopping lists, and recipes I was finally able to cook food other than baked chicken sprinkled with almond meal and steamed veggies. Hallelujah! Life was good again.

Now, I should say that while Adam was working hard to follow a strict Paleo diet for breakfast, lunch and dinner I was happily chowing down on pancakes, waffles, sandwiches, frozen pizza's, etc... with our little boy for breaky and lunch. I did follow Paleo for dinner, but since (I apologize in advance for this next sentence) I am naturally very thin I did not feel the need to follow the plan and was afraid to lose weight (again, I'm sorry). It wasn't until a family vacation last weekend that I agreed to the Whole30 plan presented on the Whole9 website. I agreed to join with my sister-in-laws to take the challenge. And that's where I am. Day 4.

Day 1 was pretty much a day of fasting because we got home from the trip and if you know my husbands family, you know there is enough food to feed a third world country when we all get together. So I felt the need to detox, not to mention there was no food in the house. Day 2 was awful. I felt simply terrible. Plain horrible. Headaches, the shakes. It caught me off guard because I didn't think I ate that much sugar, but the way I felt on day 2 made it clear sugar was a bigger part of my everyday diet than I gave it credit for. Day 3 was much better. And today is day 4. I am going to attempt to update this with my journey, along with some additional stories from the completely new to Paleo four that I'm on this little eating adventure with: Allison, Kristen, Megan and Neil. I will post some recipes. Some I make up and some I take from other places. I will give credit where credit is due, but bare with me. I'm new to blogging this way.