I refuse to call Paleo a diet. But then I’m probably not as hard core as Pete Evans would want me to be.
For me, eating paleo style is about eating whole food that is not processed and foods that are not packaged with extended expiry dates.
For the next 30 days, I’m doing a reset called The Whole30, to help my friend Lara get started on her Paleo lifestyle. I’ve recommended the Whole30 to Lara because I know first hand how damn good it is. Ken and I have completed three Whole30’s over the last few years and not only did we feel better but we learned a lot as well.
Thinking about, or starting to eat Paleo, might seem daunting at first, especially when you read some recommended shopping lists filled with grass fed this and organic that, however I believe that making a start towards Paleo doesn’t need to be that hard.
Go through your cupboards, the pantry and the fridge – and read your labels. How many of your meal ingredients have sugar (sucrose, maltodextrin, glucose, dextrose, barley malt, caramel, carob syrup, agave nectar, glucose solids, fruit juice concentrate, high fructose corn syrup, diatase …. ) as one of the first ingredients? There are close to 60 names for that one ingredient! Pop anything that has any sugar in a separate basket and lock it away or even better yet, give it away to someone else. In January 2014 when we did our first Whole 30, I did a massive kitchen clean out – here’s that post … Whole 30: The Kitchen Adventures Clean Out
What you should be left with is anything you have grown, bought from the fruit and vegetable shop or the butcher and the seafood market. Hehehe that seafood joke …
I’m on the seafood diet.
What’s that?
I see food, and I eat it!
And no joking, this is one of the other things I love about the Whole30/Paleo. I don’t have to count freaking calories! Who seriously has time for weighing out ½ a carrot, 4 cherry tomatoes and then trying to figure out the numbers from there? Well not this girl. Ken doesn’t even weigh out his food. Of course I need to be aware of my portion sizes but mainly so that I don’t waste a lot. Actually, who am I kidding – no food gets wasted in our house, either Nixie Lix gets it or Ken does!
The recommended food for bariatric patients (particularly gastric bypass patients) is very very similar to the foods that you are allowed to consume on Paleo.
Eat:
- Meat – beef, pork, chicken, turkey, duck
- Seafood – Fresh fish, canned tuna, canned salmon, sardines, prawns, scallops, kidney or liver (ewww)
- Eggs
- Vegetables – ALL the vegetables!
- Oils – olive, avocado, coconut
- Fruits – for bariatric patients, follow your dietician/nutritionists recommendations (for me that’s about half an apple a day). Contain natural sugars so just be aware of your servings.
- Nuts – can be high in fat but it is good fat.
- Tubers – sweet potato (kumara) and yams.
Avoid:
- Bread, pasta, couscous and rice!
- Alcohol
- Fruit Juice
- Grains – wheat, corn
There are a few differences;
- As a bypass patient, I avoid potatoes, kumara, pumpkin and yams. Also parsnip. Sad face – I make a damn fine parsnip mash.
- Legumes – I love black beans, red kidney beans and cannellini beans as a great source of protein. And yes, even though this discussion can be controversial, you can actually have legumes on Paleo.
So can you see why I find it so easy? I’m making protein at least half of what I eat each meal, adding in a little good fat and lots and lots of vegetables. I’m listening to my body and trying to fuel it instead of feeding my emotions. If I miss a morning poop, you’ll find me hunting down fibre – we definitely don’t want to end up back in THAT situation.
To get you started, I totally encourage you to take a look at the Whole 30 program. It’s only 30 days and I can promise you, you won’t regret it.
Follow along with Lara’s and my Whole 30 team effort starting this week:
Lara on Instagram – @lara_cool.j
Me on Instagram – @allergictosugar
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