What is Paleo?
First off, I wanted to clarify that I am not paleo, but I do appreciate the style of eating. However, the reason I am sharing this post with you is because it’s great to be aware of all the different ways of eating that there are out there. The paleo diet focuses on eating natural, whole foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. It’s not one of those ‘fad’ diets, it’s just a way of eating that is very simplistic. Here are some things you should know about eating paleo.
The paleo diet is based on the idea that our bodies evolved to eat the foods most readily available in nature—in other words, “caveman” food. That means eating mostly lean proteins like fish and poultry, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and seeds, as well as healthy fats like olive oil and avocado. On the flip side, processed foods, sugars, grains, legumes, dairy products (except for ghee), vegetable oils (like canola oil), and artificial sweeteners are off-limits. While the specifics of the diet vary among different practitioners of the paleo lifestyle, those are some of its core principles.
The main benefit of following a paleo diet is that it eliminates many unhealthy processed ingredients from your daily meals. This can help reduce inflammation throughout your body from too much sugar or simple carbohydrates. It’s a bit challenging to eliminate processed foods from your diet, so if it’s something you want to experiment with, I suggest doing it incrementally to ween them out so that you don’t cut them out 100% and then bounce back into a binge of processed foods.
Additionally, since you’re focusing on eating natural whole foods like fruits and vegetables instead of refined carbs or sugary snacks like cookies or candy bars—you should start to see an improvement in your energy levels over time. Plus consuming more fiber will help support digestion so you stay ‘regular’, if you know what I mean. Lastly focusing on quality sources of protein can help keep blood sugar levels balanced throughout the day, which helps prevent cravings for unhealthy snacks in between meals.
Getting started with a paleo lifestyle doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming if it’s something you want to try. Start by adding more fresh produce into your meals each day—aim for at least five servings per day if possible of veggies. Also look for grass-fed meats instead of conventionally raised meats whenever possible. And lastly, make sure you read labels carefully when buying packaged foods; if they contain any processed ingredients then they’re not technically considered “paleo friendly”.
Here are a few examples of paleo friendly meals:
Breakfast- Eggs, breakfast meats, and butternut squash hash
Lunch- Avocado tuna salad, meatballs with zoodles, or a chipotle chicken fajita bowl
Dinner- Salmon cakes with asparagus, green beans and grilled chicken, or Thai beef with cauliflower rice
Snack- Almonds, fresh fruit or veggies, jerky, seaweed snacks, vegetable pops
Well, I hope you learned something about what the word ‘paleo’ means. If this sounds like something that would interest you, then give it a go! I like to incorporate a high amount of paleo foods in my diet, but also squeeze in some fun foods each day too to make sure I don’t feel deprived and to keep things fun!
