Sunday 22 February 2015

A Post About Paleo

I've been doing Paleo for a couple of weeks now and I am absolutely loving it so far. For anyone who has been living under a rock, The Paleolithic Diet consists of eating only things that our cavemen ancestors might have eaten. So sugar, processed crap, dairy, etc are all out and meat, eggs, nuts, berries, etc are all in. Sounds great in theory but not hugely easy to do. Which is why I don't stick to it rigidly. The truth is I wouldn't be able to do this diet if I did. So I still have milk in my coffee and occasionally cook with natural yoghurt. Both full fat as I believe low fat products to be evil and full of rubbish. I eat a wee bit of feta or goats cheese if I think it will enhance a recipe and allow a splash of soy sauce in Asian dishes. When I have a sweet craving I have a bit of dark chocolate. The darker the better. 

If you said the words carbs to me then I would automatically think rice, pasta, potatoes and bread. None of which are permitted on this diet. However I am learning that there are carbohydrates to be found in a variety of vegetables that I had no idea about and I am filling up so much on sweet potatoes (allowed) and other root veg that I'm not really missing my baked potatoes or linguine. 

Yet.

I also allow myself a day off each week. On the first week it was the Sunday. When I discovered that while following the Paleo diet can make you feel great - it can also cause the most killer hangovers when you over-indulge. I'm blaming the lack of potatoes. As this particular hangover from hell fell on what was to be my Paleo off day anyway, I went for it hell for leather and indulged in pretty much everything I'm not usually allowed. But by the Monday I was right back on it and didn't feel as crappy or as bloated as I usually would after one of my extreme blow outs. As I ended up cheating on Thursday night (the Lindt bunny met a grisly end), I have decided to stick to it today. So I fuelled up for my morning run with some bacon, eggs & mushrooms and for dinner I have roast lamb with loads of root veg planned. I even plan to be naughty and eat my body weight in sweet potato kettle chips later.

But this diet does make you feel fab. I feel healthy and lighter. My skin is clearer and I don't feel nearly as bloated as I usually do. I also seem to be sleeping great and am full of energy. I ran 3.5 miles this morning in the lashing rain. Usually I would have turned back in that weather after 1k.

I'm not saying that I will stick to this diet forever. We've all seen how long I lasted at yoga. But as long as I am enjoying it as much as I am and it's making me feel as good as it is then I intend to stick with it for as long as I can. With incorporated days off.

 Because brie. 

And burgers. 

And beer.

I have been using Pinterest to get some recipe ideas. As well as browsing through some of my online friend's Instagram feeds for inspiration. I say browsing but you'd probably call it stalking. If you see a familiar looking dish pop up on my Twitter feed now and again it's probably cause I stole the idea from you. 

Yeah you.

Salad leaves, baked aubergine & courgette, yogurt dressing, chicken, pomegranate seeds, garlic mushrooms and crispy broccoli fried in coconut oil and pink rock salt

Sweet potato frittata with spinach, red onion, anchovy and chorizo

Chicken tikka, curry roasted cauliflower, sweet Bombay potatoes & spicy onions

Cauliflower stir-fried in coconut oil with capers, anchovies, garlic & kale with pan fried trout

Chicken piccata with artichoke, kale and cauliflower

3 comments:

P said...

I'm starting the 5:2 diet tomorrow. Yours looks more fun. BTW, still waiting for the recipe for the chicken tiikka, Bombay potato dish, hint hint. :-) xx

last year's girl said...

Did I send you the link to my friend Jackie's blog? She's always posting great-looking paleo food on Instagram too.

http://kaleandavocado.com/

x

Dawn Young said...

On it! X