Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Eat like a Caveman

Patience is a virtue - one that I am still working on. When I've made up my mind to do something, I'm unstoppable. So although I put it out that the Paleo Challenge will begin on Monday - what are we waiting for? Let's start right now!

Here's what you need to know if you're joining this 30 Day Paleo Challenge

1. 30 Days of proper nutrition can Change Your Life
Stick to the plan and you will see dramatic differences in your body, energy, and even your sleep cycle

2. I AM NOT AN EXPERT
I am a CrossFitter who reads a lot about Paleo, nutrition, etc and am surrounded by experts on a daily basis, but I am not an expert. Go to Robb Wolf's site http://robbwolf.com/ or check out http://www.byersgetsdiesel.com/ for all expert advice & inquiries.

Melissa Byers posted up a Super strict, no cheat, by-the-book Paleo for the next 30 days. There are some great conversations and threads on her blog -- CHECK IT OUT!

The content coming from this blog on the 30 Day Paleo Challenge is more about people coming together to conquer a challenge and see what happens when you follow the Paleo way of eating for 30 days. We'll post recipes, get ideas, give advice, and keep each other motivated. And for those of you in the CrossFit Central Community --- we'll get to see each other throughout the week so we can definitely keep each other on track! I'll post my experience on being a non-certified CrossFitter who works behind the scenes at a CrossFit Gym and has decided to follow the rules and eat like a caveman.

3. The Rules
All good challenge have some Rules - Here are the Paleo Kind

This Comes Straight from Melissa Byer's Site
  1. Eat real food – meat*, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit, oils (like EVOO or coconut). Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they're fresh and natural.

  2. Do not eat dairy. This includes butter, cheese (hard and soft), yogurt (even Greek) and milk (including cream in your coffee**).

  3. Do not eat grains. This includes bread, rice, pasta, corn (I count corn as a grain), oatmeal, and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains. That's not real food, right?

  4. Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds, lentils, and peanuts. (No peanut butter, kids.)

  5. Do not eat sugars of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Truvia, Stevia, etc.

  6. Do not eat processed foods. This includes protein shakes, processed bars (like Zone bars), dairy-free creamers, etc.

  7. Do not drink alcohol, in any form.

  8. If you have serious inflammation issues like arthritis, you may want to consider avoiding nightshades for 30 days as well.
4. If you have a good recipe, idea, question, success, or failures - post them!

5. DO THE THING - What are you waiting for?


2 comments:

Susannah said...

Oh I already have a question! What is a good paleo sub for mustard? I make tuna almost every work day for lunch with celery, red onion, avocado, and mustard. It super easy and delicious. Any suggestions on how to make this work?

Nicole Hughes said...

Good Question! For my tuna fish lunches I usually put tuna, avocado, and onion on top of fresh spinach with some olive oil drizzled on top or freshly squeezed lemon juice.

I did come across a homemade version of mayo...still searching for a whole foods mustard substitute....

Mayonnaise
Adapted with slight modification From Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

1 Egg Yolk
A smidgin of Cayenne
1/2 teaspoon crushed mustard seeds
Small pinch of salt (optional)
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon water
1 cup high-quality extra virgin olive oil.