Gone Paleo

The paleo diet is having a frenzied popularity spurt it seems. Half the people we know seem to either be doing paleo, or have done it, or at least know about it and understand the principles. Chris, being the unofficial Crossfit machine that he is, couldn't pass up this intriguing new facet of whole-life fitness, so, we've gone paleo.

No carbs (almond flour/coconut flour are OK.) No sugar (except honey and maple syrup.) Tons of veggies and fresh fruit. Almond butter, not peanut butter. Almonds everywhere actually. Lots of meat - but in appropriate portion sizes. No dairy - almond milk is our substitute of choice. Sweet potatoes, but no white potatoes. Lots and lots of bacon and eggs. That's the gist of how Chris has been eating for the past 30+ days. And, after a week to ten days of serious sugar/carb withdrawal, he, the man who would eat a dozen cookies in a single sitting without batting an eye, has loved every minute of the "diet" and has lost 20lbs in 30 days to boot.

I haven't completely joined Chris in his pursuit of paleo, mostly because I'm growing a person and along with that, I've grown a sweet tooth of monumental proportions that I don't really care to get rid of yet. Plus, I've only got 14 days to go. Might as well enjoy a last hurrah of sugar. But afterwards, I'm going to go half paleo. I'll keep some dairy and some carbs in my diet, but limit it like crazy, and continue to cook only paleo for our main meals. As much as I'll miss chocolate chip cookies, I'm excited about this. For one, it will help me lose baby weight (which I'm very interested in) and for another, I know that it will fuel my body and make sure that both me and baby B are getting the nutrition we need. I'll feel better and have more energy than I would on a carb-filled, processed snacking diet. I'm also partially doing it in reaction to articles like this which just make me angry. I don't like being a victim of product marketing/manipulation, and I don't like the idea that I'm addicted to anything (except caffeine. Mmmm coffee....) There's lots of scientific evidence out there that sugar, fat and salt are addicting, especially in processed foods. So buh-bye processed foods!

Anyway. In our quest for good nutrition that still tastes good I've stumbled upon this recipe. Want to satisfy a bread craving without breaking paleo, and get lots of protein and other goodness out of it? Bake these.

Almond Flour Biscuits

(photo and recipe discovered on Roost Blog via Pinterest. roostblog.com) 

Ingredients:                                                        Method:

2 1/2 cups almond flour                                     Combine almond flour, salt, baking soda.

1/2 teaspoon salt                                               Whisk together the oil and honey. Microwave for 30

1/2 teaspoon baking soda                                          seconds on high to thin the honey.

2 eggs                                                               Beat together the honey/oil mixture and eggs. Add to dry.

1/4 cup oil                                                         Drop 1/4 cup dollops of batter onto greased baking sheet.

1/4 cup honey                                                   Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

I also usually drizzle the biscuits with honey before baking them (to give a little extra sweetness) and have found that 17 minutes is the perfect baking time. Yumm!