Why we are on the Paleo Trend

The Paleo Leap

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Paleo was a popular trend a few years back, now the Keto diet seems to be taking over! However, the Paleo diet is still a big part of the healthy eating world and it’s a big part of our world.

A little background; John had Ulcerative Colitis which is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes long-lasting inflammation and ulcers (sores) in his digestive tract. Ulcerative colitis affects the innermost lining of your large intestine and rectum. He had suffered from this for most of his life.

So, in 2016 John and I finished building our house and began living on our own. Finally, we decided, this is a fresh start for us, for our health. and for our relationship. We started looking into diets that would accompany both of us. From Vegan to Vegetarian to Dairy-Free and then to a High Meat Diet (Before Keto was a big trend!). Some of the diets, we probably didn’t stick too long enough to reap the benefits- but they didn’t all suit John and I! Many countless hours of internet research, listening to well-known doctors and podcast and that’s when we started to look more into the Paleo diet.

Well, what the heck do you eat on the Paleo diet? I had no idea, my family still questions it. It’s actually really simple. And this is coming from a girl who thought she’d never cook anything other than pasta out of a box.

We want to help you!

We have created this blog to help others with living a healthier, more natural, beautiful life, while also ENJOYING life without feeling limited! From food to natural beauty products and household cleaners to health and fitness and traveling! All of our favorite things!

We hope to inspire you to be your very best self! Be Happy, Healthy, Adventurous. And be sure to be Yourself!

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What is the Paleo Diet?

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AKA: Caveman Diet

The Paleo diet is a dietary plan based on foods similar to what were eaten during the Paleolithic era (Old Stone Age).

Consisting of:	Excluding:
Meat (Grass-fed or Wild Game)	Grain
Fish	Refined Sugar
Vegetables	Dairy
Fruit	Processed Food
Nuts & Seeds (Not for everyone!)	Legumes

Is the Paleo Leap Right for You?

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Every individual is different! Sometimes things that work for me, might not work for John. Keto might be better for one person, but Paleo might be better for another. We have friends that do Paleo, and we have friends that do Keto, and both have had extreme success whether they suffer from IBS, Infertility or Weight!

You have to decide whats right for you!!

So why go Paleo?

Living a Paleo Lifestyle embraces real food! Not all the processed garbage that causes inflammation and a majority of other health issues in our bodies! Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of packaged food’s our there that are labeled Paleo, which people automatically assume its healthy because of the labeling. – Don’t fall into that!

After cutting out the grain and refined sugars, I would NEVER go back! It’s been a total game changer! My mood, my energy, my skin, my overall well being. We changed our diet strictly for John’s sake, but it has totally revamped my life!

I was ALWAYS sleeping! Always tired! Always felt sluggish! Don’t get me wrong I still LOVE my sleep, but I’m not crawling into bed at 7:30 pm anymore or struggling to get up for work anymore! In the past, it always seemed like we were sick! Nowadays it is extremely rare for us to be sick and if we start to feel a sickness coming on it doesn’t hang on for weeks! Our bodies fight right back!

Food is Medicine!!

Benefits of Paleo:

• Mood, Energy, Focus and Memory Booster
• It allows the mind and body to repair and heal itself
• Lose or Maintain Healthy Weight
• Improve blood sugar levels
• Better blood pressure control
• Better appetite management

Now, where to start?

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Take it from someone who didn’t have the resources and didn’t know who to ask for help! I’m giving you the resources and I’m here to help!

I would start off with following our Pinterest, where we share a lot of our grain-free recipes or even my personal Pinterest as that is where I started with my grain-free, natural lifestyle!

Against All Grain Cookbooks by Danielle Walker are the cookbooks we started off with and that have helped us tremendously!! She is amazing!

The Overwhelm!

When I first started shopping grain-free, I was overwhelmed. I would read the back of the ingredient list on everything in the stores, not knowing 100% of what I was looking at, but realizing gluten is in almost EVERYTHING we buy! I found that sticking to the outside perimeter of the store. The veggie/fruit aisle, the meat aisle (if you’re not buying locally) and then the tiny health food aisle if your grocery store has one! We stick to organic and local food, so I do 90% of our food shopping at the Cooperstown Farmers Market, or local farmers and the Cooperstown Health Food Store.

The cost was the biggest stressor for us, but after a while of feeling our absolute best, we became numb to it. After many years of missing out on things because of our health, we found that it was well worth it. Health is Wealth. And you learn so much about the locals you are supporting, making connections, knowing where your food comes from and how it was raised (which is extremely important to us!)

Changing your diet is never easy. Change, in general, isn’t always easy. It’s going to seem hard at first. Everything takes time. Stick with it. See how you feel in a couple of weeks. Let progress tell you it’s worth it!

Over time it will start to become natural to you. You’ll start to understand how to substitute ingredients! Your taste buds are going to eventually change and you’ll find yourself slowly tapering down the amount of added sugars to your foods thus reducing sugar cravings, balancing out the yeast and healthy bacteria in your gut and creating a more stable blood sugar level.

We believe in you!

Recommendations:

Start by changing a few things here and there, don’t feel like you have to just dive right! It’s going to feel overwhelming and harder to stick with!

Replace refined sugar with Local Honey or Maple Syrup.

Here are a couple of recommendations for treats we buy every now and then! – I don’t recommend buying these for every day, but a special treat every now and then. Simple Mills is a great grain-free brand to purchase, from bread to cakes, pancakes to pizza dough, crackers and much more! Primal Kitchen is another one! And we use Almond or Coconut Flour the most for baking!

We are also hikers and campers, so I like to have easy recipes to make ahead of time, throw them in the cooler and either eat them cold or warm them up over a campfire. This recipe I made last summer and everyone loved it!

Questions?

Please remember we are not doctors, nor are we nutritionists. All advice here comes from our own experiences.

We are here to hopefully guide you to a feel-good life! Feel free to leave a comment or ask questions or if you’re looking for recommendations or substitutes! I love to share recipes and being able to help and inspire people to feel their very best!

Let’s create a community of like-minded people to empower one another, to promote a life of vibrant health!

Replace the negativity with Gratitude!

With Love & Gratitude,
Ally

Recipes:

Check out some of my amazing recipes where I have gotten my inspiration from amazing people like Daniell Walker, Dr. Josh Axe, Bulletproof Radio, Dr. Mark Hyman, Hidden Brain podcasts and so many more! Here is one of my favourites!

Check out our other related post! Food | Hiking & Camping Food | Paleo

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