Okay, so three of us have decided to practice what we preach as far as our nutrition goes this entire month. For the most part we try to stick to the Paleo Diet guidelines but today we are going all in. Read on to see if you're up for the challenge. Those of you out there doing the same, post your experiences and let's do this together. Off to the market to load up on lean meats, veggies, little fruit, some fat, nuts and seeds and NO SUGAR :-)
"Basic Paleo Recipe Principles
When you make Stone Age recipes with modern foods, remember you want to insure that all of the ingredients are free of (1) grains, (2) legumes including peanuts, beans, peas, soybeans, tofu, soy milk and flour, (3) dairy products, (4) salt, (5) yeast including baked goods, pickled foods, vinegar, fermented foods and fermented beverages (all contain yeast), (6) processed sugars, (7) starchy root vegetables including potatoes, yams, and sweet potatoes, and (8) excessive added fats except for permitted oils. You should try to choose the leanest cuts of domestic meats and trim away any visible fat. Remember, the mainstays of The Paleo Diet are fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and seafood.
Stone Age Food Substitutions
Salt: Powdered garlic, powdered onion, lemon juice, lime juice, lemon crystals, lemon pepper free of salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder, commercially available salt-free spice mixes, black pepper, cumin, turmeric, ground cloves, oregano, ground allspice, celery seeds, coriander seeds, ground cardamom seeds, or any spice or combination of spices can be used to replace salt. I do not recommend using any of the so-called "lite" salts or potassium chloride salts because chloride, like sodium, is undesirable when it comes to your health.
Vinegar: Substitute small amounts of vinegar with lemon or lime juice (fresh or reconstituted from fresh).
Butter/Fat: Replace butter, margarine, shortening, lard etc. with olive oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, canola oil, or avocado oil. Olive oil has a wonderful flavor and is high in the health promoting monounsaturated fats but generally has a poor omega-6 to omega-3 fat ratio (~13). The same situation exists for avocado oil, and these two oils should be frequently complemented by or blended together with other oils containing better (lower) omega-6 to omega-3 ratios such as flaxseed (0.24), canola (2.0) or walnut (5.1) oils.
Sugars: Concentrated sugars of any kind even natural sugars (honey, maple sugar, date sugar), really were not a staple component in most pre-agricultural diets. Sugars should be obtained primarily from fruits and vegetables and not from concentrated sources. That being said, fruit purees, flavored with lemon juice and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, mint leaves, ginger, vanilla, and other spices), can be used in recipes to add sweetness to sauces, condiments, and desserts.
Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages were clearly not a component of true Stone Age diets, and should be limited to an occasional glass of wine, beer or spirits as a part of your "open meals." Wine, as long as it does not contain salt (as most cooking wines do), can be used to marinate meats and add flavor to many cooked dishes. When wine is used in this context, the amount of added alcohol and sugar is negligible – furthermore, wine contains a number of health promoting phytochemicals and antioxidants.
Cereals: Nut flours (almond, pecan, walnut, hazelnut, etc.) can be made in food processors or can be purchased at some health food or specialty stores and can be used to thicken sauces or to add flavor to condiments. Again, these products need to be used sparingly, as they have the potential to unbalance diet and disrupt health when they are used excessively or in combination with oils, honey, dried fruit or fruit purees."
--http://www.thepaleodiet.com/nutritional_tools/recipes.shtml
FREE CrossFit class every Sunday at noon! One mother's mission to spread the word about fitness and raise a healthy family.
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BIO
I discovered at an early age that being active and fit feels great, so health and fitness have always played a major role in my life. When I was younger I was into dancing, track and field, rollerblading and bicycling. I enjoyed running and skiing all through my teens and twenties, and ran on the cross country team at CSU, Chico. After college, I trained for and ran several competitive races including the Silver Strand Half Marathon. Later I joined a big cookie-cutter gym, heavy on machines, where I designed my own workouts based on out-of-date methods I learned in college.
After my daughter, Marlie was born in early 2009, I really turned up the heat on my workouts to get back in shape. I followed my usual old routine including a moderate diet but was never able to quite get back to my original shape. A friend who was also a new mom invited me to her home a few times where they had a CrossFit garage gym. I was hooked after the first workout! It was different, intense, and best of all, not monotonous or boring. They were constantly doing something new. In only a few months, I had my pre-pregnancy body back and it was even better than before—this time I was stronger than ever, despite my previous attempts on the weight machines. Another great motivator is that the workouts are generally 30 - 45 minutes including warm-up and cool down, NOT 90 minutes like my old workouts. As a new busy mom, this is very important to me. It didn’t take long to realize this is the best thing I have ever done for my health.
I made more gains and improvements in my level of fitness during my first year of CrossFit than I had in the past 15 years of working out. I am now in my mid 30s and can easily say I am in the best shape of my life. I owe it all to two things, CrossFit and good nutrition. A healthy, well balanced diet that provides adequate sources of high quality protein, low glycemic index foods and the proper fats and oils will dramatically change your overall well-being and improve your workouts tremendously.
My successes inspire me to want to share this lifestyle with others. Health and nutrition have always been frontrunners in my life and those who value the same are invited to join us. I believe that if you’re going to do something, you should do it right; and when it comes to fitness training, that means CrossFit. CrossFit has been proven to work by measurable, observable, repeatable facts that we call “evidence-based fitness” so it's only a matter of time before you can see the results if you put the time in.
One of my mentors once told me I was training to “not suck at life.” I challenge you to do the same! Come by or email me and let’s get started!
Certifications/ Education-
- CrossFit Level I Trainer certification - 2009
- B.A: Journalism with an Option in Public Relations from CSU, Chico
- Minor: Health Sciences from CSU, Chico
- Basic Life Support (BLS) certified
- PADI Open Water Diver certified
Email: stacie@crossfitelysium.com
After my daughter, Marlie was born in early 2009, I really turned up the heat on my workouts to get back in shape. I followed my usual old routine including a moderate diet but was never able to quite get back to my original shape. A friend who was also a new mom invited me to her home a few times where they had a CrossFit garage gym. I was hooked after the first workout! It was different, intense, and best of all, not monotonous or boring. They were constantly doing something new. In only a few months, I had my pre-pregnancy body back and it was even better than before—this time I was stronger than ever, despite my previous attempts on the weight machines. Another great motivator is that the workouts are generally 30 - 45 minutes including warm-up and cool down, NOT 90 minutes like my old workouts. As a new busy mom, this is very important to me. It didn’t take long to realize this is the best thing I have ever done for my health.
I made more gains and improvements in my level of fitness during my first year of CrossFit than I had in the past 15 years of working out. I am now in my mid 30s and can easily say I am in the best shape of my life. I owe it all to two things, CrossFit and good nutrition. A healthy, well balanced diet that provides adequate sources of high quality protein, low glycemic index foods and the proper fats and oils will dramatically change your overall well-being and improve your workouts tremendously.
My successes inspire me to want to share this lifestyle with others. Health and nutrition have always been frontrunners in my life and those who value the same are invited to join us. I believe that if you’re going to do something, you should do it right; and when it comes to fitness training, that means CrossFit. CrossFit has been proven to work by measurable, observable, repeatable facts that we call “evidence-based fitness” so it's only a matter of time before you can see the results if you put the time in.
One of my mentors once told me I was training to “not suck at life.” I challenge you to do the same! Come by or email me and let’s get started!
Certifications/ Education-
- CrossFit Level I Trainer certification - 2009
- B.A: Journalism with an Option in Public Relations from CSU, Chico
- Minor: Health Sciences from CSU, Chico
- Basic Life Support (BLS) certified
- PADI Open Water Diver certified
Email: stacie@crossfitelysium.com
personally, and since I am the one who started this April thing, I want you all to know that I will be using salt, and I will be using very small amounts of butter in my cooking. I am also allowing myself wine as my one real cheat. I am doing this for health, for commitment, and I am realistic about what is going to make a real difference and what is not. Having said that, this is a potential slippery slope if the discipline is not there.
ReplyDeleteI agree w/ your entire plan. I usually dont cook w/ butter so my "sub" cheat is milk in my coffee (and coffee). Thanks for the realism and so far so good. I'm at the end of day two and feeling pretty optimistic.
ReplyDelete