The Paleo Diet

Joel and I started a new 'diet'. Buuut I don't like the word diet, I prefer a change of lifestyle instead. I know a lot of people have probably heard about it, but this diet honestly just makes sense to me. The Paleo diet in a nutshell: Eating a ton of veggies and fruits, nuts, meat, eggs, bacon (YES PLEASE), sweet potatoes. cutting out dairy, wheat, refined sugar and processed foods. And we eat when we're hungry. We started it on and off a few months ago, but since June 23rd, we decided to really go for it. Ohhhh my goodness can we tell a difference in how we feel. The hard part is there is a lot of food that isn't 100% Paleo, so we aim to eat Paleo "100% but 80% of the time."

A few months ago we were eating pasta and rice. And dairy. Constantly. When Joel mentioned he was reading this blog post is about making an effort to eat like we used to back in the day (like waaaay back in the days of hunters and cavemen) and looking into this diet and wanting to try it out... I was SUPER hesitant because I thought it would be hard to cut out the things that were 'easy' to cook. Once I read the same article as Joel: The Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet, I was sold. I also found a website where a lady calls herself The Paleo Mom, and she posts tons of success stories where people completely change their lives around, just by eating Paleo. This girl is a great example of being diagnosed with MS, anxiety, depression, and headaches... and she completely changed her life and healed her body. The Paleo Mom also posts lots of recipes, and has her own cookbook. Basically I was very inspired to eat healthier and feed my body good fuel.

The past couple months we've been transitioning all of our food to Paleo friendly food! Like buying almond flour instead of white flour. Of course it is more expensive, but we've really decided we want to start taking better care of ourselves, and our health is worth it. I saw this quote on instagram the other day: "Your body is the only place you have to live in. Nurture it, honor it, love it, and respect it." That quote really hit me how I really want to take better care of my body, since it is the only place I have to 'live' I guess you could say. I am excited to get to that point where eating Paleo will come more naturally. Like I said, it is hard to go all out 100%, so we are aiming for 80% :)

Joel is obsessed with everything about crossfit, and that is how he heard about the Paleo diet since a lot of the crossfit community believe and eat Paleo.

Also... can I just say I have never really been into cooking. Joel has always loved to cook, thus resulting in me not learning. Sure he will give me tips here and there, but I feel like he is the one who is 'picky' and has always wanted to eat certain things... and I haven't really cared too much so I just ate what he ate.

The other day I knew Joel was working late and we had ground beef that had to be cooked that day! I suddenly got the idea to cook and surprise him, which I never do. Since I am so detail oriented, I wanted all the food chopped perfectly before I started cooking so I wouldn't be stressed trying to cut and chop while I was cooking. Let's just say something that should have taken an hour took two ;) BUT. I surprised Joel and it was worth all the stress and mess to see how happy he was to come home to new food! I took a picture after I was finished cooking, if you are interested to see my oh so messy ways:

It was basically a disaster. I felt so stressed because we had so much meat, I had to split it up into two pans. THEN one pan was bigger than the other and cooked faster... the whole process was stressful and I wish Joel was there to help me. BUT I DID IT!!!!! I am so proud of myself.. cooking something completely new all on my own! I just googled: Paleo ground beef recipes, and found THIS RECIPE where we had all the ingredients! (I altered it a little bit too, and added some of my own fun ingredients!) Since then cooking sounds a little more enjoyable, and I am excited to learn more recipes and cook along side Joel and be healthy!! :)

Joel and I sat down and found 10 new Paleo recipes! We've been rotating the same 4 or 5 and that got tiring after awhile. We went out and bought all the ingredients, so don't be surprised if I start posting more healthy food we're making and experimenting with ;) Our favorite is Thai food with chicken and curry paste, and it is super easy. I LOVE CURRY. I could die happy with a lifetime supply of curry ;)