Confession & Eating

The morning following my Cheetos obsession post, I received an e-mail...a confession e-mail. It was from none other than Nanny herself. She actually titled the e-mail "Confessions of a Nanny"!! In this e-mail she explained how she has bought Finn some cheeseballs before. Haha of course! No worries, I forgive you.

We, well I, am still struggling to find a happy balance with eating here at our house. I've briefly mentioned words like Paleo and Whole30 on the blog in the past few months, but just haven't had the time to sit down and blog in full detail like I wanted to. Paleo is basically the consumption of whole foods without grains and legumes -- no processed foods (like Cheetos), no refined sugars. Some people eating Paleo will also cut out dairy as well. Below is a guideline that basically sums up what you can eat. Source

Okay, so if we cut out the grains, almost all processed foods, and dairy, you’re left with only things that occur naturally:

• Meat - GRASS-FED, not grain-fed. Grain causes the same problem in animals as they do in humans.
• Fowl - Chicken, duck, hen, turkey…things with wings that (try to) fly.
• Fish - Wild fish, as mercury and other toxins can be an issue in farmed fish
• Eggs - Look for Omega-3 enriched eggs.
• Vegetables - As long as they’re not deep-fried, eat as many as you want.
• Oils - Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil – think natural.
• Fruits - Have natural sugar, and can be higher in calories, so limit if you’re trying to lose weight.
• Nuts - High in calories, so they’re good for a snack, but don’t eat bags and bags of them.
• Tubers - Sweet potatoes and yams.  Higher in calories and carbs, so these are good for right after a workout to replenish your glycogen levels.

Whole30 is basically an eating program for 30 days that follows the Paleo eating format. Shawn and I did Whole30 from Dec 28, 2013 - Jan 26, 2014 and we followed these program rules and used this shopping list. It was pretty straight forward on what to buy. Now, we did have some cheese from time to time, but we did cut out milk and I bought almond milk during that period and even made a batch once- it was a little watery, but a neat experience and I got some almond crumbs out of the deal. I also made our own mayo (which I hope to continue to make), dairy-free ranch dressing (all of us loved it), and paleo-friendly chocolate syrup (mainly for Jase- he loves it and I hope to never buy processed chocolate syrup again). There were several other items that we made that were healthier alternatives.

While I was super busy in the kitchen that month, I loved it because I knew exactly what we were putting into our bodies. No chemicals from the processed food or mystery ingredients. Usually whatever we had for dinner, I would have for lunch the following day. We may have went out to eat 2-3 times in total during that 30 day time frame, which was nice.

I did keep a journal of all of my meals for those 30 days, which helped me meal plan as well. I did not limit myself on fruit either, whenever I was hungry, I ate. I found myself snacking less since I was eating heartier meals. We did not take any measurements before or after, but I could definitely feel a difference in my arms, thighs and waist. I lost 7 lbs and Shawn lost 11. We did not purchase any additional supplements, we simply followed the eating guidelines from Whole30. And I did not workout any during those 30 days either.

After typing all of that I am wondering why in the world I am still not doing it. Ha! It was a great cleanse for us and I hope we can get back on track and continue to eat more whole foods. {Some pregnancy cravings may have entered the picture and that's ok.} I have incorporated whole wheat bread back into our normal routine (and mainly for convenience if I'm being honest), but from everything I have read on gluten, I am not a fan. And I have been buying organic whole milk (or 2% when they are out). Now, my brother-in-law just dropped off a few gallons of Grade A Raw milk, unpasteurized, straight from the cow. It is honestly not much more than the organic milk I was buying and nutrients have not "cooked" out of it during the pasteurization process. Here is a good article to read when comparing raw vs. pasteurized milk. Call me crazy, but the closer to nature I can get products, I'll take it. And some people following the Paleo lifestyle will have continue to have dairy, if it raw, pastured, grass-fed and full-fat.

With all that said and after doing the Whole30, it has been a huge eye opener on food for us. At the end of the day, we want to eat what's best for our bodies! We are not perfect by any means and are not in the best physical condition whatsoever, but we can definitely attest to the Paleo lifestyle...that it works and can be done.

Some resources that I love:

Pinterest - Paleo recipes

Wellness Mama - Great all-around resource for natural living

Whole30 - How to execute a Whole30 day challenge

100 Days of Real Food - Really where I first started reading about cutting out processed food last year. She does not eat Paleo, but only buys "real food".