A Paleo diet (or Palaeolithic diet or caveman diet) is all about eating natural foods to help achieve optimal health – anything we could hunt or gather – meats, fish, leafy greens, nuts, veggies, seeds, eggs. So no pasta, cereal, rice, bread, cakes, biscuits, bugger!

I have been eating mostly paleo for a long time, but it wasn’t until about 5-6 months ago I was a little more ‘strict’, like a bit of an experiment! And what have I found?

Over the last 5-6 years I have been eating very healthy (as most of you know, as I like to practice what I preach), but I decided to try this paleo way of eating, as it seemed like something that made sense to me, something I can agree with. I tend to follow this way of eating about 90% of the time. I have found energy levels are higher, no bloating, I am not hungry, blood sugar levels are stable, I don’t crave sweet things – fruit is sweet for me. When I was injured last year and couldn’t exercise, my clothes still fitted, even though I wasn’t exercising as much as I did when not injured – assuming my weight stayed about the same (don’t weigh myself!)

Some will say Paleo is pretty restrictive, and others will want to give it a try and see. If you are following my eating plans/recipes you are pretty much there anyway! Majority of my recipes in my eBooks can be paleo – just by taking out the brown rice, or wheat free pasta, taking out sourdough bread and oats.  Replace them with lots of salad/greens and sweet potato and quinoa in moderation.

There is SO much information, research, points of view on this subject and I don’t like to get all sciencey, cause you might fall asleep! But if you are interested in reading more, here are a few links that I have found interesting

http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz2JLttZWFV

http://thepaleodiet.com/paleo-diet-faq/

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-101/

Research suggests that eating a paleo lifestyle could

• Reduce your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and most chronic degenerative diseases that affect people in the western world
• Stabilise blood sugar
• Burn off stored fat
• Help you lose weight if you are overweight
• Improve your athletic performance
• Reduce allergies
• Slow or reverse progression of an autoimmune disease
• Improve or eliminate acne
• Sleep better and have more energy throughout the day
• Enjoy an increased libido
• Improve your mental outlook and clarity
• Enjoy a longer, healthier, more active life

What can you eat:

• Vegetables – as much as you want!
• Fruit – minimise this if you want to lose weight, as fruit can be high in sugar – berries are best!
• Protein – seafood, poultry, meat (I tend not to eat a lot of red meat). It is better to eat grass fed, not grain fed – as the hormones can mess with you
• Eggs
• Oils – coconut oil, avocado, olive oil
• Nuts – if you can find them in nature, they are OK to eat – brazils, almonds, walnuts. Just don’t overeat them – no more than a handful a day

What you can’t eat:

• Dairy – milk, butter, cream, yoghurt, ice cream, cheese etc
• Starches – no potatoes, no rice, no breads
• Processed foods – anything in a box, or in the freezer (apart from fruit & veg), is most likely a no go!
• Grains – rice, pasta, flours, oats
• Legumes -beans, peas, peanuts
• Sugars – fake and real sugars!
• Soft drinks
• Caffeine

Foods I eat in moderation, but if you follow a strict paleo lifestyle, you would add to the can’t eat column

• Quinoa (it is technically not a grain or a seed!)
• Corn (some consider it a grain)
• Oat milk – only because almond milk is too sweet for me
• Alcohol – there is discussion about wine being grapes etc

So if you want to try it, you can start slow – if you want recipe ideas, check out my ebooks or sign up for Mummy Bootcamp @ home!