There are many things I swore I’d never be: anything but a stay-at-home mom, someone who likes to exercise at the crack of dawn, or a coffee snob. And yet, here I am. The things I used to think people were crazy for doing, I now do them.
The final realm of Crazy for me has always been the Paleo diet. I have a few friends who are really into the CrossFit/Paleo lifestyle and, no offense, their Facebook posts are basically all photographs of steak, an Instagammed plate full of broccoli with steak crumbled on top, or a picture of them jumping into a pool. Of steak. Enough with the MEAT photos and the posts about how many burpees you did! You crazy!
Enough with the MEAT photos and the posts about how many burpees you did! You crazy!
Or…are you?
Maybe not.
On a whim I bought a Paleo cookbook from the grocery store last week and have been reading it in earnest. I know that so much of what we eat most days is “filler” and not the optimal choices we could be making for our family. Our kids enjoy a wide variety of fruits and veggies, but also a hearty dose of bread, pasta and sugar-filled garbage, too. I have always held fast to the mantra of “everything in moderation” but there is so much crap in our food these days that I don’t know if I want it, even in moderation. There are many changes we can make and I am just in a state of wondering what the next step should be.
I am not ready to take the plunge just yet. But I am considering dipping my pinkie toe in the pool.
Of steak.
I have struggled with weight all my life. My mother fed me a very heathy diet but on came the weight any ways. When raising my children I tried my hardest to feed them healthy food as well. When I came home from work one day and found my daughter making a salad for her and her brother to enjoy for their after school snack I knew I had done a good job. DON’T FEED YOUR BABIES ANY GARBAGE they really don’t need any unhealthy food. Don’t have treat food in the house at all. If you really need that ice cream go to the store and buy a very small better quality one and enjoy. Then get back on the health train.
We’re generally low-carb due to Spouse’s diabeetus, but it’s not so restrictive – if I had to call it anything, I’d say we’re on the “MediterrAsian” diet. We mostly avoid processed foods and refined carbohydrates, sticking to whole foods (grains included). It’s not a huge transition if you’re already eating in a health-conscious way, and you still get to eat things you like; we just don’t get a lot of fluffy white carbs anymore. The breads are very hearty, the pastas are whole-grain and we only eat them once per month (so they’re a treat when we do get them). And you don’t have to give up cheese.
A pool of steak. That’s my dream.
Outside of my husband not consuming gluten for the past three years, we don’t have diet restrictions. That said, I think we’re very protein + veg, and lower on carbs, but I don’t have anything against any of that stuff. Nor refined sugar, or whatever… but cooking from scratch is probably the saving grace. I find I avoid a lot of processed foods that way, but I still love me a bag of ridiculous from the golden arches sometimes, or other such places of badness. But STEAK, yo. GIMME!!
I couldn’t do it with my family. I admire those who can, but I think it would be too hard and too time-consuming. Maybe if I was “just” a stay-at-home-mom and didn’t have to drive places or leave the house or do anything but prepare food, and if I didn’t have three jobs, maybe I’d consider it. I’ve tried it on my own, and it’s do-able-ish, but trying to do it for five people, one of them a SUPER picky eater? No, not for me. (Sorry to rain on your parade!! Reading paleo stuff did inspire me to cut down on processed stuff, so I guess that was a plus.) 🙂
On that note, I’m trying a vegan thing with my sister-in-law, though I’m not making the rest of the family do it, as I don’t think they’d be able to live without cheese/milk/chicken fingers.
We had Cuyler on a paleo diet for 11 days as part of his treatment protocol with our Naturopath. I actually posted about it and what was a nightmare it was – by far the most difficult thing we’ve done with him. I think in large part to his extreme self limited diet (mostly texture issues). Hence only 11 days.
He has been gluten and dairy free for 8 years. Going GRAIN free was something else!
Several of my friends are on a paleo diet and swear by it. I’ve often thought of revisiting it again and doing a trial for the entire family. There are even a few take out places cropping up around here that I’ve heard are amazing.
Good luck and keep us posted!