New Resolve, New Goals, New Lifestyle - We're Going Paleo

It's been over two years since I've posted a new recipe, and I promise there are a million reasons why...some of them good reasons, others not so much.  But sometimes life just gets in the way and stuff happens.  With that said, we now have an 18-month-old creature (named Logan) wandering around the house and I feel it's okay to say he is the biggest reason why I have not managed to maintain my food blog.

  

With Logan came a lot of changes in our house and for our family.  We had to move kids into different bedrooms, start the remodel of adding another bedroom, putting in a backyard, etc., etc., etc.  The list goes on and on, and I'm ashamed to say the additional bedroom is still not finished and aside from a gate being put up on the fence, the backyard hasn't seen much progress either.  Kids tend to make you shift your priorities, but we're working on it.

The one good thing Logan has done for our family is renewed our attempt to get back on track to living a healthy lifestyle.  There are a lot of "conditions" that run in both sides of our family (Husband's family: hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, etc.  My family: various cancers, allergy and skin conditions, and possible behavioral disorders, some of which have probably not been diagnosed but I'm convinced they are there).  In our pursuit of jumping back on the bandwagon of healthy living, I came across a lot of information about the Paleo lifestyle and the overall health benefits associated with this way of living.  

For those who have never heard of Paleo, it is basically a lifestyle that reverts back to the days of paleolithic eating of our hunting-gathering ancestors.  It is a process of removing all processed and prepackaged foods from your diet and relying on whole, clean and nutrient dense foods to provide nourishment to your body.  This includes eating only grass-fed meats, free range poultry, wild fish, vegetables, fruit, berries, and some nuts and seeds.

Studies done over time have shown the Paleo Lifestyle to be associated with multiple health benefits that you just can't ignore:

Increased and more stable energy levels

Improved sleep quality

Healthier skin and hair

Improved mood and attitude

Sustained weight loss

Muscle growth / increased fitness

Lowered risk of heart disease

Lowered risk of diabetes

Lower risk of cancer

Higher immune function

Improved glucose tolerance

Decreased insulin secretion and increased insulin sensitivity

Improved lipid profiles

Healthier gut flora

Better absorption of nutrients from food

Reduced allergies

Reduction in pain associated with inflammation

Improvements in respiratory problems (asthma)

Info taken from: http://eatdrinkpaleo.com.au/

With our family histories, I think it is the least we can do to teach our kids how living a healthy lifestyle can benefit them now as children, and in the long run as adults and seniors.  A lot of people who haven't spent enough time or energy researching the Paleo Lifestyle have nothing but negative things to say about it, but I truly feel that you can't knock it 'til you try it!  So this is where our new journey starts.  I want to prove to those naysayers that you CAN enjoy delicious and nutritious foods without pumping your body full of overly processed, highly sugared and dangerously over preserved crap (Good Read: Pandora's Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took Over the American Meal by Melanie Warner).  

Please keep in mind that this is a new journey for us and not everything I attempt to make is going to turn out the first time.  I will post recipes that I have found to be successful for our family with the hopes that others will see the kinds of foods my family is enjoying and try it out themselves.  So without further ado...enjoy!