Thursday, March 03, 2011

Eating the paleo way

About a month ago Matt and I decided we would experiment with paleo eating. Paleo eating adheres to the idea that our distant hunter-gatherer ancestors were exhibited greater overall health than we do in our modern society because of the food they ate and lifestyle they lived. That being said, the idea is to eat more like they did.

Curious about this idea, we ordered the book The Paleo Solution, and I read up on the nitty-gritty how's and why's of the concept. The eating plan limits the eater to meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, oils, and small amounts of natural sugars (no dairy, grains, or legumes!). The evidence was pretty convincing and we decided giving it a shot couldn't hurt, but would also be the only way to see for ourselves if it delivered the health benefits it promised.

After trying it, we agreed with others that 100% paleo eating is both unneccessary and extremely difficult. We did not want our food and its paleo-ness to act as some kind of idol in our lives. We've since switched to approximately an 80% paleo diet, and are loving it! The book comes with 30 days of recipes. Not all of them resembled food (as we're used to) and some of them contained food combinations I would hardly recommend, but many of the recipes were delicious!! I've uploaded lots of pictures of these recipes, so over the coming weeks I will continue to post them for your viewing pleasure.

Chicken Apple Hash



Ingredients:
2 tsp. olive oil
6 oz. chicken (we used left over rotisserie chicken)
1 medium to large apple
2 tsp. cinnamon or allspice (choose your favorite...we chose cinnamon)

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over mediumheat. Shred and add the chicken. Grate the apple, then add to the pot with your spice of choice. Cover and cook on medium-low, stirring frequently. Once the apple has cooked down and become soft, it is ready to serve.

By the way, this is intended to be a breakfast.

Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookies



This recipe is paleo, but not from our book. It was created by a couple in Pennsylvania who eat paleo and write a blog called The Food Lovers' Primal Palate with their amazing recipes.

When we tried these, Matt and I agreed they taste almost like an Almond Joy candy bar! I guess it's the combination of almond flour and coconut oil.

Enjoy!

2 comments:

  1. good morning Brooke - trying this (with your help) AGAIN. Forgot where I was - I think the cookies -- oh yes, how good is that (almond milk and other ingredient -some kind of special flour?) ........for you. I've heard coconut oil etc. etc. is fattening. Always trying to fight the battle of the bulge..

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  2. hey gramma! i'm glad this worked for you!

    the almond milk has roughly the same fat and calories as 2% milk, but note that in the flavored varieties, some of those calories are coming from sugar. still, it makes for a great snack or dessert substitute.

    the almond flour does have more fat and calories than wheat flour, but also more protein, i think. it also has a tasty nutty flavor:) coconut oil is definitely very fatty, but -if i remember right from my reading- has more of the good omega 3 fats than some other oils. the flavor is so unique. i think i'm going to try it in some other desserts, too.

    all of these things should of course be used in moderation. i still can't find any good way to allow us treats 24/7:)

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