In the beginning…
My herbalist, Weeds of Eden, wants me to open a paleo bakery and sell my baked goods. I told them, “I am retired for a reason.” That reason is to not work. If I baked for money it would be work and, therefore, not fun. I cook for fun and to make sure we are eating the healthiest food available.
About 6 months ago said herbalist convinced me that I needed to at least try a grain and potato free diet. My blood sugar numbers are borderline andI really need to cut back on carbs. So, I said ok and quit eating potatoes, pasta, cereal, bread, corn, and soy.
This left me with meat, veggies, and fruit. Every meal, every day 7 days a week 3 meals a day. After a while, I simply could not face another lunch of chicken salad and tomatoes or another dinner of steak and green beans and a salad. It was all good, but it was boring as dirt. The only reason I kept doing it was because I was losing weight to the tune of about a pound a week. That kept me going.
Then my husband’s health care professional convinced him that he would have fewer colitis flare ups if he cut out grains. Since he seemed to be having flare ups every time we ate chinese (rice) or pasta, he agreed to give it a try. He was already dairy-free and had been for a couple of years.
Well, that was the inspiration I needed to get my creative culinary butt in gear and learn to cook actual food. It was daunting at first. I had no idea how to begin to think about making bread without flour or yeast. I could not even imagine pasta without semolina. Fried chicken without corn flakes? huh? Meatloaf? not even.
But after much research and many failed attempts, I have finally managed to make interesting, exciting meals that are delicious. I still on a rare occasion make something that we simply cannot eat, but not very often. (I won’t even post those recipes.) 9 out of 10 meals are delicious and we thoroughly enjoy eating them.
We are not completely 100% grain-free. I do use mayonnaise occasionally which contains soy. I found a recipe to make your own, but it only keeps for a few days in the fridge and the cost is prohibitive. Which reminds me, cooking grain-free can be costly. But when I look at the cost of diabetic medication, the cost of eating better seems minimal in comparison.
I cook a lot. I mean a lot. I cook 3 meals a day 7 days a week. It is very time consuming, but as I mentioned before, I’m retired. I will post recipes of whatever I’m making that day and will tell you what can be made in bulk and frozen or what needs to be eaten right away. For example: I make bread, donuts, muffins, crackers and cookies in bulk and put them in the freezer. That way we have treats on hand. But I make these delicious coconut chicken fingers that will not freeze well. The breading falls off when they thaw and the chicken is tough. They will keep overnight in the fridge and we can have them for lunch the next day. But two days is too long, they get “soggy.”
I don’t recommend this diet for everyone. But if you have diabetic, digestive, or blood pressure issues, you should check with your health care professional and see if the paleo diet is right for you.
Once you have decided to give it a try, do your research. Read anything and everything you can about the paleo diet and then dive right in. You can just google paleo diet, but until you get some basics, you won’t really know what you are looking for.
To get you started, try these:
Or if you want to talk to an expert, I recommend Myron Hardesty at Weeds of Eden
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