Monday, August 18, 2014

Paleo: Day 1


So today begins the journey of something I thought I would never do: the Paleo diet. If you are unaware of what this is then you have been living under a rock. I am only joking, but seriously where have you been? When you think of Paleo, or at least when I think of it, I think of the paleolithic era, and that's exactly where this diet gets its structure. Basically if a caveman could not eat it, neither can you! Which, turns out, the cavemen actually ate a variety of food. As the website NerdFitness states the Homo Sapien back then was much more athletic, tall, muscular, agile, and versatile than the average Homo Sapien today and our genetics have not changed much since then. As stated, this diet allows for you to eat just about anything you want.

So what does this mean? Well, it means no grains, no sugars, and no processed foods. Pretty simple if you ask me. What is allowed in this diet? meat and fowl (grass fed), fish, eggs, vegetables, oils (natural ones), nuts, and tubers (sweet potato, etc.).

Now, why have I decided to take on this diet? Well, I am fairly happy with the way I look. Of course, like any woman I have my insecurities and would not mind losing a few pounds. However, the main reason I am doing this is for my health. My family has a long history of diabetes and heart problems among many other things. My mom died from a heart attack and my grandmother and grandfather had similar problems. Even I as a young 23 year old woman have begun to show signs of sugar problems. So, I thought it was about time I took charge of my life and did what I could to prolong it. I want to live the longest, healthiest life I can so that I can serve God to my fullest potential and find and help lost souls hopefully get to Heaven. I want to follow I Corinthians 10:31 (ESV):

 "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

I believe as well that there are many verses that support healthy eating and as I Corinthians 9:19-20 says my body is a temple of God and I was bought with a price and I should glorify Him with my body. 

Of course, that is not to say that I cannot indulge every now and then. As well, you will notice in the following blogs I am not following the Paleo diet fully. I know my body and my self-control and if I went cold turkey then I would soon fail at this lifestyle. So, I will be eating oatmeal in the morning some days and maybe a few other items here and there.

I wanted to blog this experience more for myself than anything so that I can keep myself on track and that I have a goal to set each day or week. I also hope that maybe this can show some people that it is not that hard or inspire someone to change a bad habit they may have. I am not sure how consistently I will be blogging, but I do want to catalog as many of my meals as I can. So, here it goes:

Paleo: Day 1

Breakfast: Overnight Oatmeal with cinnamon and dried tropical fruit and raisins
             What you need:
            - 1 cup oats
            - 1 cup almond milk
            -dried fruit
            -raisins
            -cinnamon to taste
Take your oats, milk (or water), and cinnamon and mix together in bowl. Put half of the mixture in Tupperware or mason jar. Sprinkle the dried fruit and raisins over the mixture. Repeat and layer as such. Keep in the fridge overnight for a yummy breakfast in the morning.

Lunch: Spinach salad with raisins, almonds, raspberries, and olive oil
            What you need:
           -1/2 cup spinach
           -almonds slivers
           - raspberries
           -raisins
           -olive oil to taste
Mix the spinach, almonds, raspberries, and raisins together in bowl. Drizzle with olive oil.



Dinner: Chicken with broccoli and eggplant fries
             What you need:
             - 1 boneless skinless harvest fed chicken
             - Handful of broccoli
             -eggplant
             -coconut oil
             -olive oil
             -salt
             -pepper
Cut your chicken into small pieces. Place in skillet with coconut oil. Brown the chicken, the add in broccoli. Salt to taste. Saute until broccoli is clear and tender. 

Cut the eggplant into medallions then cut into strips. Place on cooking sheet. Cover in olive and salt and pepper. Put in the over for about 20-25 minutes.

Drink: Water with white cherry flavor packet