I apologize that I didn’t have time to post these prior to the end of the Paleo series, but life got a little hectic there toward the end of the month. Here are a couple of my favorite Paleo desserts and treats. Continue reading
Was I successful in losing weight? Yes. I lost 10 pounds this month. Did it make a difference in belly fat? OMG – yes! Was I 100% faithful to the tenants? No. Will I continue doing Paleo after this month? Hmmm. No. Read on to learn why.
Just as a quick recap here are links to all the previous posts in this series:
I have been reading the “Four Season Harvest” by Eliot Coleman and am becoming more intrigued about cold frames and greenhouses. The author promotes a laissez-faire method of protecting winter crops, working with nature, instead of against her. He builds simple, passive cold frames and uses low and high tunnels for protecting cold-hardy crops rather than forcing heat-loving plants to thrive in a heated greenhouse.
Instead of relying on hothouse tomatoes and citrus flown in from exotic climates down south, his family dines exclusively on the bounty nature provides in their own yard during the winter. Cold-hardy crops include such things as arugula, beets, carrots, celery, chard, chicory, cabbage, escarole, kale, leeks, lettuce, mache, parsley, radicchio, radishes, scallions, sorrel and spinach. Continue reading
This week, while having a relaxing lunch with one of my favorite girlfriends, I came upon an amazing discovery. I think I might have a gluten allergy. My friend was telling me all about her symptoms and diagnosis (while we enjoyed a fabulous gluten-free, dairy-free pizza together at one of my favorite restaurants nearby – OMG, I am so thankful for living here!) when I realized I hadn’t experienced any of those (formerly regular) symptoms since going Paleo.
So I did a test. A few days later I made a regular pizza crust for my family and had a couple of bites. The following evening I had all of these crazy (and previously unexplainable and unrelated) symptoms: upset stomach (which prior to going dairy-free, I attributed to the cheese on pizza), dizziness (which I usually just attributed to the wine I used to drink with my pizza), tingling in the arms and hands while sleeping, itchy scalp and hands, irritability, shortness of breath (which was so weird given how healthy I’ve gotten these past few years), severe abdominal bloating (I can’t wait to show you before and after photos) and excessive anemia (something I already struggle with because I don’t eat red meat.) All symptoms of a gluten allergy.
Then I noticed the symptoms in my baby son. His constant loose stools, eczema, (unexplained) mouth sores, severe abdominal bloating and general abdominal pain. All symptoms of a gluten allergy, or Celiac Disease, in children – often delayed by extended breastfeeding. Thank God I felt compelled to nurse him until he was 14 months old! I can’t imagine dealing with these symptoms in an infant. I would have been scared out of my mind. Continue reading
I feel fantastic! My belly seems a lot smaller, but I forgot to measure at the beginning so I can’t *prove* it to you. My pants fit way better, though. Some that were tight right after Christmas are now loose – W00t! I don’t get heartburn at night anymore and I have way more energy. Come to find out that on top of all my other allergies I might just have a gluten sensitivity, too. So this new diet – this new way of LIFE! – is perfect for me. I’ve learned so much. I can’t wait to share with you.
First, though, a recipe review. Here are a few of my favorites. Continue reading
Posted in Dairy-Free
Tagged dairy-free, diet, gluten sensitivity, paleo, primal, weight loss
As I am sure it is true of most families, life has been a little hectic lately. While I have done a pretty decent job of sticking with the Paleo Meal Plan, I’ve slipped up a couple of times with regards to lunches and snacks. Continue reading
New Year’s day I enjoyed a traditional Southern supper with my family and then Went Primal with this awesome Paleo Meal Plan.
The traditional Southern meal for New Year’s is pork, collard greens, black-eyed peas and cornbread but this year we changed it up by going with a coastal favorite and substituting shrimp and grits for the pork (which I don’t eat anyway).
I also made the traditional collard greens with bacon and hot sauce as well as black-eyed peas – rehydrated and boiled with more bacon! (My husband is loving this part of the Primal Plan 
)
And RockstarDad experimented with the and a bottle of Riesling to make an incredible homemade champagne! (The kids had bubbly apple juice – organic and homemade! They LOVED it.)
January 2nd we got into the Paleo thing full-swing, starting our morning with a chorizo/egg casserole made with leftover onions, greens and red peppers. Continue reading
New Year’s day I plan to enjoy a traditional Southern supper with my family and then Go Primal with this awesome Paleo Meal Plan.
(We decided to go low-country this year and have shrimp-n-grits instead of pork, but here’s a link to a great description (plus photos) of what the meal means and what it should look like.)
That’s exactly what I’m looking forward to as we Go Primal this January! Let’s learn something new, lose some weight, get healthy and save some money!
I have a bunch of great offers and giveaways so please tell all your friends! To start, here is a great offer from Plan To Eat: a free one-month trial of their software and then an automatic 20% off discount for all Cube2Farm readers! W00t!
Plan to Eat is a fantastic family-run business that doesn’t make you give up your credit card info before giving you the free month’s trial; it really is completely risk free, so please do yourself a favor and at least check them out!
I have planned out all my meals for the first half of January and if you sign up for Plan To Eat you can have access to all of the recipes! And, oh boy, have I searched and saved all sorts of delicious recipes for you all. Already I’ve prepared and frozen the following.
Continue reading
Our past week has been a little crazy with not much sleep and a lot of crying. Babies with ear infections cry. A lot. And sleep little. Sigh. Then it turned out that the whole family was struck with the real-deal influenza virus. Ugh. Have you ever had one of those weeks? Where being a mama just wears you out?
The whole family, including me, is down for the count. I guess that’s just one more reason preparing and contingency-planning is so important to me. You may have heard that I am preparing to “Go Primal” January 1st. Because I am a prepper-type of lady (not to mention completely OCD) I have been doing a ton of groundwork for that day. Hopefully all my research and planning will help out you, too!
Well, by “Primal” I actually mean the diet currently labeled as “Paleo” or “Primal.” While the textbook definition goes along the lines as “what cavemen used to eat,” I personally like the definition by Primal Toad best:
A style of eating that encompasses eating real foods that nourish your body leading to vibrant, thriving health.
The Paleo diet consists of mainly meat, vegetables, fats and oils and usually excludes grains, legumes and dairy (in addition to all processed foods and sugar, of course.) Different proponents of the diet differ on where fruit falls. PrimalToad advocates the idea that fruits and ancient grains fit in where the individual feels they do – depending upon how those foods affect *your* body and what your goals are. (For a more in depth look at his philosophy check out this post.)
Does a Paleo/Primal diet mean that I want to be a caveman? Um, no. I am not going to gnaw moose meat off the bone or forage for berries and seeds. Continue reading
