Later last year, in an effort to become more healthy, by giving my body the food that it needs to fuel itself properly, and succumbing to the "if you Crossfit, you must eat Paleo" way of thinking, I decided to check it out. I didn't know much at all about this style of eating. This huge push to eat more bacon. And I be honest here: I don't really like bacon. GASP! Once in a great while, I'll find the perfect piece of bacon that is cooked just crispy enough and has the perfect fat/meat ratio that gives it the crunch, without being tough or chewy. The hubs, bless his heart, tries to cook bacon for us perfectly, but he's just never quite hit the mark.
In my Paleo research, I was noticing ingredients like arrowroot powder, coconut oil, almond and coconut flour, and coconut aminos. Who knew the coconut was so versatile??? Sweet potatoes were everywhere. Lean meats were in the majority of the recipes. But none of the typical "carbs" that I'd seen with other diet plans or healthy foods. Rice, white or brown, beans and legumes, corn, and grains had always been acceptable carbs in my mind. Just in moderation, right? And now this caveman diet is telling me that I can't eat them?? More on this in a minute.
One day at work, when I was wasting way too much time on Pinterest, pinning crochet patterns that I'll never start, sewing projects that look fun and easy but that I'll never do because I don't own a sewing machine, decorated cupcakes that I'll never replicate, funny Crossfit memes, and freezer meals that will most likely never get made, I stumbled across a pin that said "10 Signs of Gluten Intolerance." Hmmm, interesting, let me check this out. Having heard about gluten intolerance and allergy from family members, I never thought that I would be affected by it. Turns out, in my self-diagnosis, I had seven out of the ten symptoms. Let me add that I still haven't been to a doctor to be professionally diagnosed because that may mean a blood test and well, we just won't go there... I am a carb LOVER and to cut out the things that brought me so much happiness and comfort was just too hard. Right? RIGHT?? Wrong! Once I cut out the gluten (breads, anything with soy, rice, grains, etc), I started to feel so much better. I had more energy. I wasn't getting as many migraines. The skin on my arms was clearing up. I'm thinking "huh, maybe there's something to this after all".
In January, the hubs and I undertook the Whole30 challenge - which is just Paleo eating, ramped up a notch. The no dairy part was hard for me but not as much as the no caffeine. How can I not have my morning soda?!?! Duh, switch to coffee. But wait, I can't have any sweeteners either?? Quick, check Pinterest for an idea! Whaddya know, there was actually something there. So for my morning pick me up, I started to drink coffee sweetened with coconut milk. More uses for a coconut!
We fell off of the wagon about 15 days in and biiinged on junk food. And then felt horrible for the next few days. Once we got back on track again, we felt so much better and asked ourselves why we even did that.
Now that the challenge has been long over, we're definitely looking more at food labels and what we're stuffing in our faces. Anything that we can't pronouce, doesn't come in the house. For the most part... I can't say that we're suuuuper strict on the Paleo way of eating. That we don't splurge and eat out now and then. That we only buy organic fruits, veggies, and meats. That we don't have diet sodas, candy, and the occasional chemical in our food. We're trying to eat better and for the most part, we are. Just that month on the Whole30 program really opened up our eyes to what we were putting in our bodies, how it was affecting our health and well-being, and how it will affect us in the future.
So back to the carbs: one huge change that the hubs has experienced is his insulin intake. He's been insulin-dependant Type-1 diabetic for over 20 years. By cutting out processed and refined carbs, he was able to significantly decrease his insulin dosage after meals. And I mean sig-nif-i-cantly. Don't get me wrong, it was definitely a feeling out period and there were some scary lows until he got it all sorted out. But ulitimately, he was taking in enough healthy carbs from the gobs of healthy foods he was eating.
This past weekend, I bought food to do a month's worth of Paleo freezer cooking from Once a Month Meals. The plan is to highlight each of the recipes for the month. There will be four servings of three breakfasts, four lunches, and eight dinners. Which actually breaks down to more for me when the hubs isn't home.
Stay tuned for more cooking day info!
