A Different Take on Food

I’ve always loved to cook and I’ve certainly always loved to eat! However, my interest and personal experience with food and nutrition has ventured far beyond the realm of simply eating good food and has expanded into a world where food is sacred, and perhaps even healing. To me, this blog is a representation of where I’ve been, what I’ve learned, and how I’m moving forward to live a healthier and happier existence while eating a diet many would call “unconventional.” It’s also a way for me to share all of this with friends and family and, of course, receive feedback from others!

To give you a point of reference, I do follow a primarily Paleo/Primal diet while also incorporating some elements of the Weston A. Price diet. As a result of these dietary changes - I don’t know any other way to say this - my body has literally started to heal itself because it is finally being nourished in the way it was intended to be. For those of you unfamiliar with the Paleolithic diet (or “Paleo”, as I’ll call it), the focus is on eating food as our ancestors did many years ago. This means that I’ve cut out virtually all gluten, grains (including corn), soy, refined sugars and processed foods. I’ve replaced these foods with meats, fats, vegetables, and fruits. Unlike many people on a Paleo diet, I do eat raw dairy products from pastured cows (as Weston A. Price recommended). This may sound like a lot of changes for many people who follow a standard American diet, but I promise it’s well worth it and still possible to eat fantastic meals!

As a person who was terrified of red meat and butter for the longest time, this was NOT an easy transition for me. I can even recall a year in college when I refused to eat any red meat. During my early 20s, I consider myself to have been quasi-vegetarian, avoiding meat most of the time except the occassional fish fillet or chicken breast. Never having been one to participate in fad dieting, changing my entire way of eating was a lot to ask. But, after fifteen years of dealing with polycystic ovarian syndrome and a host of other problems as a result of this serious hormonal imbalance, I began my quest for answers. After reading Nourishing Traditions, recommended by my brother-in-law, everything started to make sense. At that point, I started researching even more intensely and began to put together the pieces of my health puzzle. It took quite some time for me to internalize all of this new information that discredited nearly every nutritional certainty I had ever believed in. After months of researching on my own, I realized that while my personal health issues definitely had a genetic component to them, they were most likely being exacerbated by what I was putting inside of my body. Slowly, I began to eliminate all of the foods I mentioned above and focused more on whole protein and fat sources. I now regularly eat eggs, raw milk, coconut oil, pastured butter, nuts, homemade stock, lots of meat/poultry/fish (including red meat!), vegetables, and fruits and I’m not fat nor have I gained any weight since changing my diet! In fact, I've unintentionally lost about 20 pounds all while managing to maintain and strengthen my muscles. Since adopting this lifestyle six months ago, I feel healthier and, more importantly, I KNOW I’m healthier. The chronic headaches and migraines that I formerly accepted as "part of life" have now disappeared. I no longer catch every cold, flu, or virus that comes near me (acutally, I haven't been ill at all since changing my eating habits). My stress levels have decreased drastically and many of my friends and family have even noted how much more laid back I seem to be. I have more energy. I’m happier. And - the most significant sign of my improvement – I’m now having regular monthly cycles. As a woman who had always been told she was infertile, this is a major victory and quite an emotional turning point for me.

Just to clarify, I’m not advocating that this diet will “heal” your disease or make all of your problems go away. I’m simply stating that eating a Paleo diet will most likely make you feel better and help to eliminate many of the ailments we’ve come to accept as normal in today’s society. As your immune system is strengthened by eating nourishing foods, your body will begin to repair itself, become less susceptible to viruses, and will be better equipped to protect itself from future illness.

Obviously I'm a big fan of the Paleo diet, but I also believe there are so many advantages to eating local, organic, and pastured food whenever possible. If making the change to a Paleo diet is something that seems a little "out there" or you simply don't agree with the general principle of it all, then I'd strongly suggest that you look into replacing more conventionally grown/raised produce and meat with better quality food whenever possible. It makes such a big difference in terms of what your body is able to get out of the food and it also tastes lots better!

On a side note, I’d like to point out that I generally don’t like labels, particularly when referring to dietary habits. I think it creates unnecessary pressure to adhere to “the rules.” I refer to my diet as Paleo even though I choose to eat raw dairy products and a select amount other foods that aren’t normally considered "Paleo." I eat what I know is most beneficial for my body based on research and also take into consideration how my body reacts to certain foods. And, of course, I have personal taste preferences that also shape my eating habits. Since most people consider the Paleo diet to be a lifestyle as opposed to a fad diet, there is inevitably a lot of tailoring that happens. It’s important to stay in tune with your body and know which foods cause reactions and are generally lacking in nutrition, and then make a conscious effort to keep them out. When I do treat myself to something that may not be on my list of most nutritionally dense foods, I don’t beat myself up about it. This isn’t a diet to lose ten pounds in a month, so just because I ate some ice cream doesn’t mean I’ve totally strayed from the plan. Our culture today is so strikingly different than it was even one hundred years ago, so part of the challenge is adapting this lifestyle to modern living. Keeping that in mind, I usually don’t plan on eating cheat foods and when I do, I tend to eat way less than I did a year ago… Probably because I’m not addicted to them anymore!

I have acquired TONS of information from why gluten is so hard to digest to where to find grass-fed burgers in Denver and how to incorporate Paleo principles into everyday cooking. Honestly, with all of this information bouncing around in my head, I’m getting a little overwhelmed! While I’ve found most of my friends and family are interested in learning about nutrition to some degree, I get the impression that they don’t like hearing about it as much as I like talking about it :). I need a parking place for all of this information as well as a healthy outlet in which to express myself. I love cooking, I love researching, and I love writing, so this just makes sense. This is where I will let it all out and hopefully make some new friends along the way.

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this. I hope you'll join me on this journey and, of course, feel free to drop me a note anytime!

P.S. For all you “non-Paleo but still health conscious types” out there – you’re totally welcome on my blog! We don’t discriminate. I’ll have bunches of information about organic food, local restaurants, exercising, the environment, etc. Welcome :)