Diet, Diet, Diet...

Have any of you heard of the Paleo diet? It actually a pretty cool concept. Basically, think back to the age of cavemen and dinosaurs. What were our great ancestors eating? Lots of veggies, fruit, berries, nuts, and meat, right?? No sugar (unless it was from a natural source, like the fruit), no dairy, no wheat, and maybe beans (that is one of those "you decide" parts of this diet). Pretty much, if you can't eat it raw, it wasn't eaten.

A guy that I worked with introduced me to this very simple, but kind of revolutionary thought: Our bodies are made to digest some things, but not other things. Why do you think some people are gluten intolerant (or have celiac disease), can't have dairy, or are allergic to peanuts? Because our body wasn't made to digest those things! Most people are tolerant to these common household items, because we've adapted our bodies to be okay with it. Take gluten, or wheat, for example. Back in caveman days, it wasn't eaten because our bodies couldn't handle it. In order for us to eat grains, we need to pick it, grind it, mix it with stuff, and go through this whole process before we could finally make it something edible enough for our bodies to not reject it. And as far as dairy goes- did you know that goat's milk is actually closer in composition to that of a women's breast milk than milk from a cow? Pretty amazing stuff!

Okay, so you may be wondering why I'm throwing all this information at you... Well, I'm sad to say that since my 8% post, I have fallen into the majority category of failed New Year's Resolutions. Although I have backed down on the amount of Starbucks, it hasn't been to the extent I was hoping. And eating more healthfully, that just hasn't happened. So without further ado, I am here to announce that my roommate and I have decided to try the Paleo diet... CJ is one of those lucky gals that, while not allergic to peanuts, cannot eat dairy or gluten without sneezing her little British nose off!

When we started researching the Paleo, we came across this gal. Her suggestion when first starting off with this diet is to go through the cupboards and fridge, and give away or throw away everything that doesn't fit within the guidelines of Paleo. So, yesterday we took her advice and, with my boyfriend sitting on our couch, went through the house asking him "Do you want this one?". Funny thing about college guys- they will take whatever groceries you don't want! So we were able to get everything out pretty fast ;-) Needless to say, he won't have to go grocery shopping anytime soon!

We've made our meal plan for the week, consisting of a lot of chicken, fish, and stir frys, and almost have all of our shopping done! (Tonight's dinner is spaghetti squash with turkey meat sauce!) For breakfast we've made quiche "muffins" with an egg substitute (while egg are allowed in the diet, CJ doesn't do so well with those either...) that we can just pop in the microwave for a few seconds and eat on the run! Enough dinner will be made each night in order for us to have lunch the next day. We are SO excited about trying this! My new guilty pleasure is apple slices dipped in almond butter.

Now those of you that know me really well are probably wondering about the whole "lots of veggies" aspect of this diet when it comes to good old Emily and her vegetable preference... Well folks, I've decided that my lifelong hatred of the green monsters must come to an end, and it's time to grow up and grow out of my old eating habits! CJ is slowly (and graciously) entering me into the world of bell peppers and onions and other "monsters" I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole... God love her. :-)

Well guys, once again thank you for reading, and thanks for being so patient with my less-than-regular appearances on my blog! I hope to write more, but we all know that I've said that one before ;-)

Loving Thoughts,

JJ