Maybe this one is better . . .

Angela just showed me this article. Its actually better because it lays out a lot of the "why's" and "whats" to Paleo. Here's a little excerpt. www.paleotreats.com/paleodiet.pdf

"Why Paleolithic eating?
Briefly, a Paleolithic diet is the diet we evolved on as a species. Experts estimate the time we spent eating a Paleolithic or “Paleo” diet to be around 2,000,000 years. In contrast, there are the foods that result from agriculture – foods that have only been available to us for the last 10,000 years or so – like grains and dairy products. Finally, we have so called “modern foods” – highly processed foods that have only been available for the last 100 years or less – like packaged foods, white sugar, canned foods, white flour and pasteurized dairy.
Even more recently, “foods” and substances have appeared that are nothing like anything our bodies have ever been exposed to – things like genetically modified foods, pesticides, factory raised meats, irradiated foods, pharmaceuticals and food additives and preservatives.
Our bodies have had only a few generations to adapt to agriculture based foods like grain and dairy. Not surprisingly, gluten and dairy allergies are the most common food allergies in the world. Our bodies have had virtually no time to adapt to modern and highly processed foods. Prominent authors throughout the years have correlated a decline in human health and the proliferation of “modern diseases” like cancer, intestinal disorders, heart disease and diabetes with the increased consumption of agricultural, modern and highly processed foods.
Eating a Paleolithic diet is an effort to provide the body with the foods and nutrients it is most ideally suited for and is adapted to by the power of millions of years of evolution."

Why Paleo?

So I'd love to be able to say that I eat healthy all the time, but that just isn't the case. I think that every once in a while you should indulge in the things we all love! ie: fast food, dessert and perhaps some nachos and margaritas. I have a friend that eats healthy 6 days out of the week, and on Sundays, she buys herself a Taco Bell meal or something horrendously amazingly greasy. I agree with this! I know that the longer I go without unhealthy food, the more I want it. So I suggest eating Paleo 80%-90% of the time, and go buy yourself a cheese burger on Sunday!

Now to answer the question, "Why Paleo?" Below is an article I found from thepaleodiet.com. It briefly talks about the benefits of eating whole foods, and low grains. No, I don't agree with calling this "low-carb." That sounds so lame doesn't it? Basically I try to cook from scratch with everything. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE EATING. I suggest checking everything you are buying for sodium and sugar levels. Even "fat free" salad dressings have high fructose corn syrups! Crazy right?! So try to stick with foods that are green and brown. Easy enough. I know that when I started eating this way, my stomach never felt too full or that weird "yucky" feeling after eating too much. it was pretty sweet.

Here's the article:

"

The Paleo Diet is a way of eating in the modern age that best mimics diets of our hunter-gatherer ancestors - combinations of lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. By eating the foods that we are genetically adapted to eat, followers of the Paleo Diet are naturally lean, have acne-free skin, improved athletic performance, and are experiencing relief from numerous metabolic-related and autoimmune diseases.

If you are ready to be lean and healthy, then look around and subscribe to our newsletter. Learn how to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, arthritis, acne, gastrointestinal disease, autoimmune diseases, and more. On this website, and in our books and newsletter, you’ll learn the latest science and practical scientific tips that will lead to optimum health and performance. This truly is the world’s healthiest diet."

The Paleo Diet is a way of eating in the modern age that best mimics diets of our hunter-gatherer ancestors - combinations of lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. By eating the foods that we are genetically adapted to eat, followers of the Paleo Diet are naturally lean, have acne-free skin, improved athletic performance, and are experiencing relief from numerous metabolic-related and autoimmune diseases.

If you are ready to be lean and healthy, then look around and subscribe to our newsletter. Learn how to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, arthritis, acne, gastrointestinal disease, autoimmune diseases, and more. On this website, and in our books and newsletter, you’ll learn the latest science and practical scientific tips that will lead to optimum health and performance. This truly is the world’s healthiest diet.

Most important meal of the day: Dessert!

So this recipe SHOULD make you weak in the knees.

Amazing Apple Almond Surprise:
Take a red apple and cut in half. Spoon out about half of the fruit inside so you have 2 bowl-like apple halves. Sprinkle the apples with cinnamon, then spoon almond butter into the bowl. Place a square of dark chocolate on top of the almond butter. Bake at 350* for 10-15 min. Enjoy this flavorful and messy dessert.

Paleo Ice Creeeeeaaaam:

Pour some mixed frozen berries into a blender. Add dark chocolate chips (70% cocoa or higher) to the blender. Add coconut milk, vanilla and blue agave sweetener if needed. Blend.

Its going to be tough to blend unless you have a food processor, so you may have to stop and stir a few times. Once blended, freeze. Blend, Freeze, Blend, Freeze, Blend. Repeat this process as many times as necessary until it has an ice cream consistency!

Serve with coconut flakes, dark choc chips, or chopped pecans. or all three! Yummy!

Lunchtime!

So I can totally take credit for these two recipes.

Spinach- Chicken Tahini thingy:
Begin with minced garlic, olive oil, and onion (hah, of course) and sautee. Chop some tomatoes, and put into sautee pan. Take some cubed, cooked chicken breast and put in a bowl. Pour tahini over chicken and then sprinkle with pepper. Stir to cover chicken with tahini. When tomato has cooked down, add chicken to pan and let flavors mix. After about 1-2 min, put uncooked spinach on top of mixture (maybe 2 handfuls) and let spinach cook down. Once spinach is at desired softness, remove mixture from pan. It should be gorgeous and colorful! I sprinkle with walnuts and feta cheese and put a spoonful or two of plain yogurt on the side!

YUMMMMMYYYY!

So I never thought I'd be able to combine coconut, cinnamon and garlic and have it taste good. So that's why I affectionately call this recipe:

Trust me, its awesome:

Sautee garlic, onion and tomato in olive oil. Let the tomato cook down a bit and the onion get soft. While this is cooking, either bake or microwave acorn squash. (You can cut it in half and drizzle olive oil on it and microwave for maybe 15 min or bake it face down on a cookie sheet.)

Throw in come cooked, cubed chicken breast, coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds and chopped pecans into the tomato mix. Pour some tahini over the mixture and let flavors mix. Sprinkle salt over it.

While that is cooking on medium heat, cube the acorn squash and chop up a small red apple. Add both to the chicken mixture. Sprinkle squash and apples with cinnamon and nutmeg.

mix slightly. Then serve with coconut flakes and chopped pecans on top!

:-)

So I invented this one yesterday out of boredom. Ate it twice in one day! Shamus and Colleen loved it too! I call it

My Big Fat Greek Fritatta -
Start with sauteeing minced garlic, 2 small minced tomatoes, some red bell pepper and if you want, some asparagus. Let this get happy for maybe 3-5 minutes. Once the tomatoes have cooked down, cover this with an even layer of fresh spinach leaves. Cover and let spinach start to cook down. This should only take 1-2 min.

When spinach is darker, you can sprinkle with any kind of cooked meat (or not). I used ground turkey, but boiled or grilled chicken pieces would be good too! On top of the meat, sprinkle sliced Greek olives (Kalamata), then feta cheese.

On top of this you are going to pour the following batter. Take 3-4 eggs (depending on how big and meaty your fritatta is) and mix with garlic powder, a little salt, pepper, sprinkled red pepper flakes, a little chicken buillon, a handfull of coconut flour and a blob or 2 of coconut milk. Mix this really well. If it looks too thick to pour, add a little water and mix. Continue to do this until it can be poured. (You don't want to add too much water though, rather add a little more coconut milk.)

Once you have mixed the batter, pour evenly over contents in pan. Spread to cover all areas. place pan under broiler until batter is cooked. Cut into pizza-like pieces and place onto plate veggie side up!

Sprinkle with more feta if desired.

Would LOVE feedback on this one --- <3

Breakfast

Another Angela creation:

Sweet Omlets!
Throw some chopped walnuts, or almonds, and a chopped small red apple into a sautee pan. Once the apple is starting to brown a bit, sprinkle cinnamon, and then pour a mixture of a couple eggs, a little milk, and a few drops of vanilla on top of it. Scramble the way you like. Once you are done, you can add a little Feta cheese if you want, or just keep it sweet!

Paleo Pancake Awesomeness:
Mix about a handfull amount of coconut flour, 4 eggs, and a smallish amount of coconut milk in a bowl. You can add nutmeg, cinnamon and a little vanilla if you want. Makes it EXTRA yummy. Use it like any other pancake mix! I normally pour it in the pan and sprinkle on berries, or cook it without berries and eat it with almond butter or applesauce on top. These are great because they FILL YOU UP.

Dinner Ideas

Pasta alternatives:

So for all of you pasta lovers out there, stop worrying about counting carbs!! Angela showed me an alternative. Make Spaghetti Squash your new best friend. ANY pasta dish you used to love, remove the pasta and replace with squash cooked like this:

Take a spaghetti squash and cut in half the long way. Place the two halves face down on a cookie sheet greased with olive oil. Cook in a 375* oven for 30-45 min, or until the squash will bend. Once the squash had cooled, take a spoon and pull the squash, and you will see that it will string like spaghetti! pull all of the meat of the squash until you are down to the skin, and then cover with your favorite sauce! Make sure if you are buying pre-made sauce that you check the ingredients and can read what everything is! Also, make sure that the sugar and sodium content isn't too high!

Its pretty easy to make your own sauce too!

Sauce:
Begin with sauteing garlic and onions in olive oil (how I start almost EVERY recipe), and add whatever meat (or tofu, yes its good in sauce). Sautee until the meat is brown. Sprinkle basil, and any other seasonings you like over the meat. Add a can of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and chopped tomatoes. Let simmer for 15-20 min.

Here's another one that Angela and I tried the other night.

No Way You'll Have Leftover Lasagna:

Take a Spaghetti Squash and cook the same way as above. While this bakes, sautee some garlic and red onion in olive oil. If you are feeling really dicey that day, add some fresh basil leaves. Once the onion is browned, add 2 cans of stewed tomatoes and let it all get happy. Salt and pepper to taste ;-)

Once the squash is cooked, string like above and save empty shells. You will bake the lasagna in those! Take shells and spoon the sauce you made into the bottom. The next layer is the spaghetti squash noodles that you pulled out of the shells. Then use cottage cheese as the next layer (yes, it tastes amazing), a little Parmesan cheese on top of that. Then sliced black olives, then a layer of cooked chicken breast, or ground turkey! Keep layering until the shell is full! Make sure cheese is your last layer! Bake at 350* for 20 minutes.

nom. nom. nom.