Adjusting to Paleo

Read why I decided to go Paleo here.

A week in and I'm feeling good.  


Here are some things I've made this week

Paleo Pancakes (Sooo good, even Peter loves them!)

Banana Bacon Frittata (The recipe was a little bland... next time I will add vanilla and cinnamon and will post the altered recipe here - also, it really needs some maple syrup, which, sadly, we don't have in Brazil)

Apple Paleo Muffins - I used almond meal instead of almond flour, but they still turned out good.  You can't really taste the apple, though.

Banana/Peach Smoothie - Ingredients: One frozen banana (I used two small ones), frozen peaches or peach puree, almond milk.  I just eyeballed the almond milk and kept adding more until it was a consistency I wanted.  Mix in a food processor or blender.

Roasted Chicken

Beet salad: Cooked beet root, cooked corn (not sure if corn is allowed or not, but we've been eating it), drizzle of olive oil, drizzle of lemon juice, sprinkle of salt

Fresh salads of various kinds

Zucchini Spaghetti - slice the zucchini into "noodles" (would help if I had this vegetable "spiralizer"), throw the "zoodles" into the simmering sauce for a few minutes to cook a little bit, then eat!


Here are some things I'm looking forward to making this coming week

Paleo Lemon Bars

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Asian Cauliflower "Fried Rice"

Carrot "Fries" - Cut carrots into sticks, drizzle with olive oil and salt, bake until browned


Some Observations

- I need to be careful about how many almonds I'm consuming.  I think I might be developing an allergy to them... :( :( :(

- It's going to be difficult to do Paleo while avoiding nuts (my body can not tolerate pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, or peanuts).  I have been doing ok with pistachios, but now that I'm starting to react to almonds, I might cut out all nuts just to be safe.

- Peter says, "Wow, you're baking a lot, making a lot of good food, I should have agreed to this sooner!"

- I feel like I am spending all my time in the kitchen - prepping, baking, cooking, cleaning up...  I DON'T have a mixer of any kind, NOR a blender, so I am using my one, small food processor for everything.  I find myself cleaning that thing at least 2 times for every meal I prepare.

- Our kitchen is HOT.  When it's in the 90s outside, the kitchen does not have air conditioning, and the stove and oven on all the time... I'm sweating all day!

- I will post pictures once I feel like I've made progress (on losing weight).  I haven't been able to exercise much because my asthma has been so bad.  :(


Conclusions

- This is doable, especially since I'm not working full time.  If I were working full time, it would be a lot more difficult!

- I'm excited to see what happens!

Going Paleo

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Yep, it's true.  Peter and I made the decision that we would start a Paleo diet.  Well, to be more accurate, I made the decision and then talked Peter into it.  I've never been "against" or "for" a paleo diet before.  I knew several people who did it and loved it, and I always thought, "Great for them, but I don't need it.  I'm already gluten-free and avoid processed foods, so I'm good."  So here's why I decided to go paleo...

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A couple of weeks ago I started having really bad asthma attacks.  Like, really, really bad.  I haven't had to go to the hospital yet, but several times I have wanted to.  Right now as I'm typing this, I am considering doing another nebulizer treatment (I've already taken my rescue inhaler and magnesium supplements, to no avail).  I have had asthma for as long as I can remember, but it has NEVER been this bad.  I don't know if it's something in the air, some sort of pollen, some weird plant that I'm not used to, smog, whatever...  But it has gotten so bad that I am having irrational thoughts of buying a ticket back to the States ASAP.

My brother has always bugged me about cutting out sugar to decrease asthma.  I thought it might work, but never really had the discipline to do it.  But, now that I've been eating more healthily, I realize it wouldn't be too far of a stretch.  I don't drink soda, I rarely eat sweets (exceptions made for Christmas-time, when Peter's mom made a ton of delicious, gluten-free desserts for me, which might have caused the asthma attacks since my body isn't used to so many sweets), and the only "processed" food that I eat is rice pasta or the very occasional salt and vinegar potato chips...  

As I've been doing more research, I've read a lot about asthma being an autoimmune response.  If your autoimmune system isn't healthy, then your asthma will be worse.  Many people claim that a paleo diet has "cured" them of their asthma.  So I'm going to try it!  I know it has also been beneficial for people suffering from other auto-immune disorders, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and more!

Here's what the paleo diet consists of (read more here):

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Allowed:

Meat (grass-fed, hormone-free)

Seafood

Veggies (fresh)

Fruit (fresh)

Eggs (hormone-free, free-range)

Nuts

Seeds

Healthful oils

Not Allowed:

Grains

Legumes

Dairy

Refined sugar

Potatoes

Processed foods

Refined vegetable oils

I think the only difficult part for me will be to cut out dairy and rice, because I do enjoy yogurt for breakfast and rice with my dinner meal.   I will have to get creative on how I prepare meals from now on, but I know Pinterest will have lots of ideas for me!  I think the only hard part will be finding grass-fed, hormone-free, and free-range meat and egg options.  So far I have found organic eggs, but I'm not sure if they're free-range.  Also, finding healthful oils might be expensive.  Not difficult to find, but expensive here in Brazil!  Organic fruits and vegetables are abundant here.  Salmon is kind of pricey, but worth it.

I am so desperate, I am going to try it.  Starting... NOW!

Are you interested in hearing about my progress?  

Should I post updates on the blog?  

Would you be interested in joining me in this challenge?  

(Also, on a side note - I'm not doing the diet to lose weight, but I do think that might be a side-effect.  Should I post before, in-progress, and after pictures?)

Let me know in the comments below.