Paleo…Is It For You?
Hi Everyone!
You may be asking what is “Paleo”?
I asked that same thing a few months ago.
Paleo is ….yes, another diet….and I am not endorsing it…but I will tell you what I have found out about it.
Unfortunately, I am not on a diet….this one or any other, however, I do try to watch my sugar intake…and I do jump in the pool for exercise daily.
And…. I do wear a FitBit bracelet that counts my steps, calories burned, sleep pattern, etc….see below for yesterday! (Not sure why my sleep hours were not logged)
Oh, yeah….I forgot to turn it on to “Sleep Pattern”
Well, in my defense, it is complicated.
You have to “tap” your FirBit twice to turn it on for sleep. 🙂
OK…it is not complicated, but I don’t know why it is not considered exercise….if you could see my tapping finger, you would see how thin it is! 😉
OK…that was a bad joke….. but I am smiling!
FitBit
So with my lifestyle of watching what I eat and regular exercise….do I look like I looked in my twenties?
Not hardly!
Nor in my thirties, forties or…..well, you get the picture! I don’t want to depress myself! 😉
But I digress…..;) (so what else is new?) 🙂
To quote the Paleo Creed…“The Paleo Diet is the healthiest way one can eat because it is the ONLY nutritional approach that works with your genetics to help you stay lean, strong and energetic.”
Wow! I am now listening. so what is the catch?
“Research in biology, biochemistry, Ophthalmology, Dermatology and many other disciplines indicate it is our modern diet, full of refined foods. trans fats and sugar, that is at the root of degenerative diseases such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, depression and infertility.”
Ok…makes sense….read on!
“The Paleolithic diet, also popularly referred to as the caveman diet, Stone Age diet and hunter-gatherer diet, is a modern nutritional diet designed to emulate, insofar as possible using modern foods, the diet of wild plants and animals eaten by humans during the Paleolithic era. Proponents of the diet therefore recommend avoiding any foods that are thought not to have been available to humans at that time, including dairy products, grains, legumes, processed oils, and refined sugar. The Paleolithic diet is a diet that became popular in the late 2000s.”
Popular in the late 2000’s……Now where have I been?….We will not go into the references to caveman and stone ages…I certainly was not around during those times! (Contrary to what my children may say!!!) 🙂
Critics of the Paleolithic diet have pointed out a number of flaws with its underlying logic, including the fact that humans are much more nutritionally flexible than previously thought, that the hypothesis that Paleolithic humans were genetically adapted to specific local diets remains to be proven, that the Palaeolithic period was extremely long and saw a variety of forms of human settlement and subsistence in a wide variety of changing nutritional landscapes, and that currently very little is known for certain about what Palaeolithic humans ate. Nutritionists have stated that the diet may be less effective than other popular diets in promoting good health.
Soooooo there you have it in a nutshell!
Wait! Were nuts around during that time period?
Let us see the foods below that the Paleo diet would include.
- Lean meat (should constitute about 45–65% of daily caloric intake)
- Non-starchy vegetables
- Fruits and berries
- Nuts
- No refined sugar (except honey)
- Very little or no dairy food (butter, milk, cheese, yogurt).
- Very little cereal grains (maize, wheat, barely, rice, etc.).
- Very little salt.
OK…..so a nutshell would be appropriate! 😉
AND I don’t think this particular diet would make one feel too deprived….or would it?
You know, I am going to think about this some more before I completely change my lifestyle.
I do believe a cup of hot green tea is in order and maybe one of those chocolate chip cookies I just made.
I need time to think this through and I certainly need nourishment. 🙂
And I will be posting my great chocolate chip cookie recipes, shortly.
Yes, I said plural chocolate chip cookie recipes.
Until then…Below is a printable recipe for Paleo Banana Cupcakes – No Frosting of course! 😉
Just in case anyone is wondering about the eggs in this recipe. Eggs are not dairy!
I looked it up and I quote the “EggTutor”! 🙂
“Everyone knows that chickens come from eggs. Chickens are meat, but what are eggs? Eggs are considered by most people to be a dairy product. However, they are not dairy in the traditional sense. A true dairy product is made by the mammary glads of a mammal. Eggs do not fit this definition, however they are an animal byproduct, which is why they are are lumped into the same group as dairy products.”
Have a great day! I hear the teapot whistling….;)
Me
- 4 very ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup smooth almond butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour/meal
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Mix together bananas, almond butter and eggs.
- In another bowl, mix together almond flour ,baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Gently add flour mixture to the banana mixture. Stir until mixed.
- Line muffin pan with baking cups.
- Divide batter between 12 baking cups.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.
- FYI: Eggs are lumped into the dairy category but they are not dairy. They are an animal byproduct which is why most people assume they are a dairy product.
It seems to me that everyone is “on a diet”; just some are different from others. A diet is what we eat. So, I figure that I am always on a diet….avoiding processed foods, especially sugar, and limiting fried fatty foods. Comfort food especially has to be served in small bowls. I like small nibbles of wonderful food rather than large portions of questionably healthy food. I was at the beach yesterday in Mallorca, Spain where clothing is minimal and for some optional. It is surely not just an American phenomenon that the average waistline has grown more than four inches in my lifetime. I actually am very partial to the Mediterranean diet, especially the wine!
Thanks Donna for your comments…
We have become an obese nation…whereas our forefathers kept busy outside….(or inside)…we have become couch potatoes! 🙁 But we can change that can’t we?
Me
Kari, you made me think of my grandparents and how hard they worked, but didn’t do exercise. Work was their exercise! They ate hardy and none of the food they ate would be considered healthy today. Smile! Most were skinny, but some were fat no matter how hard they worked.
In those days no one sat at a computer 8 hours a day, or 24/7. I’m not sure eating healthy is the total answer to being healthy. Interesting post, Kari.
I hear you Sandy…”Diets” can be so confusing! As kids we were outside all the time….I was going barefoot in the stickers and sandburs and if I stepped on a rusty nail….a little peroxide and Merthiolate got dabbed on the “injury” and I was off again for another adventure.
Me
You are such a clever girl, I just love you:)
Thank you Candis…I am sure that you know, you and Noel and Jennifer will always have a special place in my heart….I love you too! 🙂
Me