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Paleo is a hot topic these days, but what does it mean exactly, why do people do it, and what does it encompass? We are excited to offer these answers and more in today’s sponsored post by our friend Allison Stevens, who is a chef and nutritionist with her company Prep Dish and also lives the paleo(-ish, as she puts it) life. She offers her insight and story below.
My Story
by Allison Stevens
Paleo often gets a bad rap. And I have to admit, I used to think this diet trend (based on eating similar to our Paleolithic ancestors) was ridiculous because I didn’t truly understand it. Today, I am proud to say I am, what I call, Paleo-ish. Here is what I mean by this and why I choose to eat this way.
At the core, what most widely seems to be considered Paleo is eating real food—principles that are very similar to Lisa’s. Although Paleo goes a step farther, following the principle that if a food item wasn’t eaten thousands of years ago, pre-agriculture, don’t eat it. This not only eliminates processed foods from your diet, but also food such as grains and legumes. There are foods that are allowed and avoided when following a Paleo lifestyle, as outlined below.
The following are allowed on the traditional Paleo diet:
- Veggies – There are many veggies allowed, I never get bored or run out of options!
- Grass-fed & pastured meats
- Sustainable seafood
- Nuts & seeds
- Fruit
- Grass-fed dairy
The following are avoided on the Paleo diet:
- Grains
- Legumes
- Sugars
- Most processed foods
Why I Call Myself Paleo-ish
Four years ago I discovered I was gluten intolerant (believe me, as a dietitian, this came as a shock!). When I removed gluten from my diet, I had more energy. My occasional bouts of nausea or digestive problems disappeared. Better yet, I stopped getting sick as often as I used to! I used to think that getting sick a few times a year (colds and usually one episode of strep throat) was just the norm.
In addition, while I was never quite overweight when I was eating gluten, I certainly looked “puffy” in pictures taken prior to going gluten-free (likely inflammation from the gluten).
After removing gluten, I became much more aware of how food makes me feel. Sugar is not something I eat daily since it really impacts my energy levels. For example, I am aware of how much sugar I consume, and I limit it to an occasional piece of dark chocolate or a gluten-free brownie or cupcake on special occasions. I also found that other grains, especially oats, cause stomach pains, and thus I eliminated oats from my diet. Slowly but surely, I was unknowingly becoming Paleo.
I was eating a primarily Paleo diet without even realizing it and have since come to embrace a Paleo-ish lifestyle. Personally, I think Paleo’s strength is that it is based on following a healthy diet with real foods at its core. What I’ve come to realize is that, just as everyone has their own personal definition of real food, the definition of Paleo varies from person to person. Indeed, it has been said that there are as many definitions of Paleo as there are practitioners.
The Guidelines I Follow
There are a lot of gray areas in following the Paleo lifestyle; this is how I choose to handle them. Maybe you do the same?
Dairy
Some Paleo folks shun dairy. I find that as long as I stick to low-lactose cheeses and avoid heavy cream, I’m fine. I choose grass-fed dairy whenever possible.
Legumes
While I don’t actively add beans into my diet, I don’t avoid beans, either. I lump foods such as green beans and peanut butter into this category.
Gluten-Free Grains
I still eat rice and quinoa on occasion, and okay, gluten-free pizza as a treat (this is so not Paleo!).
Alcohol
I enjoy having a glass of red wine with dinner and include this as part of my regular diet most days of the week. Here I have a confession: when I met my fiancé, I was nervous when I learned he was Paleo because I was afraid this meant he didn’t drink!
Many of you reading this will recognize that I don’t follow Paleo precisely. Those of you with an auto-immune condition may follow a stricter version of a Paleo diet for health reasons. The overall goal, I believe, is to eat healthier, less processed foods in order to feel better. Everyone has a different definition of what that means for them, and that’s okay.
A Day in the Life
For example, here’s a day in the life of my Paleo-ish diet:
Breakfast: Caramelized onion, mushroom, potato, & chicken sausage frittata
Lunch: Butternut squash & bison chili
Dinner: Paprika roasted chicken leg with trio of roasted root veggies, side salad, & glass of old vine Zinfandel
I cook Paleo meals just like the ones above for my fiancé, friends, and clients, and I don’t feel the need to advertise it as Paleo. There’s a good chance that some of your favorite real food meals are Paleo already! I find Paleo to be very approachable and enjoyable and most of all – healthy!
I’m really lucky that I can use my personal experience in my working world as well. Here’s more on how that has evolved.
Prep Dish Meal Planning Service
I have run a successful personal chef company in Austin, Texas, for the past five years, preparing meals for my many clients – individuals, busy families, and even celebrities.
After a few years of owning and operating my business, I realized I could reach a much larger audience with my healthy foods by creating meal plans so that families and individuals everywhere could use my recipes and procedures for prepping meals ahead of time. I strongly believe that having prep work done in advance is the KEY to actually enjoying your meals.
So my company, PrepDish.com, was born. I provide subscribers with a weekly meal plan that includes a grocery list and instructions for spending 2 to 3 hours prepping meals ahead of time (on the weekend, if you prefer). All of the meals are gluten-free and based on real foods – my version of Paleo. I also have strict Paleo meal plans available, if desired.
With my meal plans, I aim to make healthy eating approachable. I also take care of the planning so that meal prep is as quick and efficient as possible.
I personally follow my own prep ahead method in order to have food on the table after my workday. What does this look like? Once a week I spend 2 to 3 hours prepping my food for the week. That way, at 5:00 pm I’m not scrambling to make dinner. Instead, I pre-heat the oven and pop in a delicious Chilean sea bass and an assortment of roasted veggies that I’ve pre-cut (how’s that for “convenience food?!”).
A Special Deal for You!
Does chipotle shrimp with asparagus and sweet potato wedges sound good to you? How about spinach pesto chicken with zucchini noodles? Do you want to add variety to your Paleo lifestyle or want to experiment with the diet for the first time, perhaps for your own personal health reasons or just to get more whole foods in your diet?
If you answered “yes” to any of the above, then please try a FREE week of PrepDish Paleo! Sign up for my newsletter on PrepDish.com. Plus use code “REALFOODB25″ to receive 25% off your subscription.*
For those of you that are Paleo-curious, this is a great way to get your feet wet! I’d love to hear your thoughts about the Paleo lifestyle in the comments.
*This is <$1.50/week for the annual subscription and <$3/week for a monthly subscription. Valid on the first month of a monthly subscription or a yearly subscription. Subscription renews automatically. Cancel at any time. Offer expires on March 1, 2015.
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I really disagree with the paleo lifestyle for those that are hardcore. Giving up a whole food group is unhealthy and the only reason that they see benefits is not from removing grains but from removing processed foods and sugars. For those that do have a gluten problems there are lots of grains that don’t contain gluten which should be eaten in their whole grain form.
I totally agree with you, John.
Absolutely agree!
So, you are giving an opinion based on something you haven’t done. Interestingly, some of us actually see benefits from removing certain foods. For me, wheat causes fatigue and IBS, and I am not celiacs. I still partake of junk foods, and as long as they aren’t wheat based, I do alright.
Furthermore, there absolutely no evidence that supports your claim that eliminating a food group is bad. Its just a tiresome meme that grain and sugar addicts use to support their lack of desire to experiment with their diets. You can’t learn about your body if you never experiment with it. Thats why paleo is at its core, a whole foods elimination diet.
But hey, you have obviously made up your mind.
Too many times I’ve tried sticking to a paleo-ish diet. Every time, after a month or 2, I found myself nibbling on a piece of leftover white bread I was using to make the kids’ lunches. I would tell myself that it was just this once. It didn’t work. At the beginning of the year, I dropped my pretenses. I realized that it was just unrealistic for me to eat different from the rest of my family. We are currently transitioning to “real food”. I still don’t eat as many grains as the rest of my family, but now I don’t feel guilty for having a piece of toast or pancake or cracker or pasta or rice. As long as it’s whole grain, I’m not breaking any rules here. And there is no more white bread around for me to cheat on. Everyone is eating healthier! I think Allison’s story is great because it leaves out all the pretentiousness. She described paleo and stated “I’m that most of the time, and the rest of the time it’s OK that I’m not” I wish people would take the time to read her whole story before responding to the post. Right now I’m grateful that I’m also somewhere in the middle of paleo-ish and “real food” and that it’s ok. :)
couldn’t agree more!
And switching over your whole family to a healthier lifestyle was the best decision you could have made. Real food vs./ food fads and diets will always win.
As a chef I am always interested to see what’s out there. Most of the diets however are nothing but fads, unrealistic for this century and sometimes outright dangerous. The trick here is to eat HEALTHY and just try to eliminate processed junk….WITHOUT feeling guilty when you do sneak a piece of that left over candy from your kid this Halloween/Chrismas/Easter/insert your own. You won’t die, nobody will hate you, you won’t have to call yourself a cheater. Just enjoy the moment that will quickly pass. (Of course there are restrictions for the serious allergy/sensitivity ridden folks among us) To much hype about food these days. Supermarket? >>just shop the perimeter….simple really! Do what you can and want to, but don’t overdo it, or you’ll just simply give up frustrated one day.
I think it’s important to remember everyone has their own journey. It takes time and experimenting to change your eating habits. I also think it’s important to realize you will have moments of slipping back from what you are trying to accomplish. Sometimes these moments come when we think we have made it to a new level and nothing can shake us. Just accept that it happens and pick yourself up and continue in the direction you have chosen. It took me years to give up eating bread. I realized that it was the cause of the heartburn and acid reflux that I was experiencing. I went through many steps: from wholewheat to sprouted wheat to gluten free and now no bread. This process had many slip backs but little by little I progressed to no bread…but wouldn’t you know it, last week I was toasting a bagel for my granddaughter(at her home) and there was 1/2 left, a white bagel yet, and I ate it. Why? Who knows maybe because I am human..anyway the world didn’t come to an end and I didn’t die so I’ll just accept it and carry on. Life is too short to become undone and it won’t cause me to fall of my chosen path so I just remind myself why I am doing what I am doing and carry on.
Thanks for sharing this story. It’s great that Allison was able to improve her health with these lifestyle changes. I follow a more flexitarian whole food lifestyle and never really got into Paleo for several reasons, but liked learning more about it. It seems like people who follow the Paleo lifestyle eat a lot of meat and her example included meat for all three meals. Lisa, I know you don’t focus your meals on meat either- Are most Paleo meals meat-based?
Hi Angela. Most paleo eaters do focus a lot on meat and animal proteins but there are many versions of “paleo-ish” floating around. I love this one and find it particularly healthful: http://drhyman.com/blog/2014/11/07/pegan-paleo-vegan/. :)
Thanks for the answer and taking the time to look up that article, Amy- it was really helpful. I think “Pegan” sounds ridiculous, but it’s a good concept :-)
:)
I’m definitely a little gluten intolerant…I can eat it without anything major, but my eczema flares up, my digestive system shuts down, and my body lacks energy. So, I would consider myself paleo-ish…I loved hearing your take on it, because I don’t follow it completely either…It’s interesting to get another viewpoint!
I love her story. It seems that people are “all or none” when it comes to healthy eating and I love to hear that it’s not the end of the world to eat any one particular food group! I did the whole30 (paleo on steroids) and began eating paleo after that, but found that introducing gluten and dairy and no effect on me. Then I became concerned about the amount of meat I was eating and decided to embark on whatever “balance” is for me. The point is that we all want to eat more whole foods but it’s okay if you’re not perfect according to any one particular person’s definition of perfect.
Yes! Yes! I think this is a realistic approach.
This is real life, with real food. If I say I’ll never eat “chosen food item” again, I’m probably lying. I’m doing the best I can each day. Some days better than others.
Thanks for the encouragement.
you want to go for a Paleo lift style… go over http://www.miummium.com to find the proper teacher for you.