This is long overdue, but I wanted to write a little bit about the significant changes we have made to our diet over the past 9 months. Brent and I have been doing a variation of the Paleo diet since last summer. Actually, I hesitate to say that we follow a diet, since we never restrict ourselves and have certainly not been militant about it. So I guess I should really say that we have tried to eat in accordance with the principles of the Paleo diet. Over time, we have really come to love and crave the way real food tastes and how a diet low in processed food makes us feel. I have enjoyed learning how to prepare various cuts of meat and a relatively minimalist approach to food preparation.
One of the things I like the most about our diet is that I get a source of pride from being able to prepare things from scratch. We have learned to roast a ham, make mayonnaise, salsa, beef stock, BBQ sauce and ketchup. It is amazing how different homemade food really tastes without all of the additives; I never realized that sugar is in everything! And even though I have such a huge sweet tooth, I can honestly say that I am beginning to prefer food that it is sweetened naturally with honey or maple syrup or dates. Now, I'll never be one of those people who says that fruit is a dessert for them (ha!), but a date stuffed with natural peanut butter is an amazing,, wonderful, decadent snack, as good as candy or a cookie. (How did I never know about dates?!) I love to cook and bake and in the past when I have been on diets, I have not been able to reconcile my love for food/baking with the diet lifestyle - that's why it never worked. With our new way of eating, I don't have to sacrifice my love for good food, cooking and learning new recipes & techniques in the kitchen.
We have definitely realized health benefits from changing our diet, like weight loss (over 80 pounds between me & Brent), which was the primary motivation for the change. But we also just feel better, physically AND mentally/emotionally - just knowing that we are taking care of ourselves. In fact, sometimes I look back at old journals and I can't believe how bad I used to feel and didn't even (seem to) know it! Hands-down, the two best things about our way of eating includes being full (rarely hungry after meals), the food tastes so good (no bland diet food) - and I mean, really, that's all you need to be able to change to your diet. And again, the lack of diet mentality has been helpful. We eat whatever we want, but most of the time we try to adhere to the aforementioned principles. I am very happy that we found something that works for us and I can see us continuing to eat this way for years to come.
Some of our "staples" and go-to favorites include:
- Coconut oil - we use this in everything; a massive tub at Costco is ~$15; I have a tub in the bathroom that I use on my skin every day and in my hair occasionally - it makes it so soft!
- Ghee (clarified butter)
- raw sharp cheddar cheese
- Mission Carb Control tortillas - so, okay, this is technically highly processed & not Paleo - but it is better than bread & tastes awesome. We use these for everything! Love making wraps, tacos, enchiladas, chili dogs, pb & banana, pinwheels, etc
- Peanut butter/almond butter - on everything, all the time - one of my favorites is putting it on a microwaved sweet potato!
- Eggs
- Bacon! The best bacon is from US Wellness Meats (sugar free) & Maverick Ranch
- Almond flour baked goods - amazing; I love the density & flavor of baked goods made with almond flour
- Coconut flour
- Salmon patties made with almond flour - Brent makes these & they are amazing!
- BBQ pork in the crock pot
- Homemade fries!
- Homemade Larabars = Christenbars!
