Why Paleo??

This seems to be a pretty standard question I get when I tell people that we are going to try a Paleo lifestyle for the month of October.  I mean besides the obvious health reasons I think?  Andy has Type 1 Diabetes, Tannin has a milk allergy and all 6 of struggle with stomach issues and achy bodies too often.  We as a nation are obese and sick and I'm tired of being tired.  I want to feel good and I want my family to enjoy health.

I mean it's pretty obvious that we weren't made for the processed junk we consume daily.  How often do we really stop and read the ingredients.  And if we do stop and read the ingredients how many of those ingredients would you say you recognize as a food or even know what they are?  Better yet would your Grandma or Grandpa recognize them as a food?  My former Dr. advised me to follow 2 simple guidelines when it comes to what we put in our bodies:

1. If your Grandparents wouldn't recognize it as food don't consume it.
2. If it has more than 5 ingredients don't consume it.

That seems simple enough right?  So why don't we follow these rules?  I know for my family it has come down to convenience.  Convenience both in ease of buying & cooking and convenience in not listening to whiney kids who prefer pizza over stuffed green peppers.  It takes more time to meal plan and shop and cook.  I think I'll be living in the kitchen but I'm hopeful I'll learn ways to prep and save time.

I know my kids will whine and complain...but my hope is that after 30 days they will feel better and if not they can't complain forever right?  Tomorrow the journey begins.  Here's to tears and complaints over how I am going to kill them!  =)

Kids we are going to be like Cavemen

Kat asks like The Flintstones?? Kinda I tell her and she smiles and says she needs a club.  This could be fun I think and then as I clean out the cabinets and the refrigerator to remove all the food we won't be eating for the next 30 days the excitement wears off her face.

No noodles she asks?  Nope

No oatmeal?  Nope

No milk?  Nope

No ice cream?  Nope

No bread?  Nope

No peanut butter?  Nope I say. 

What will we eat?  Her poor face says she is getting worried.  

I have a feeling the excitement of living like The Flintstones just lost its appeal.  I have a feeling my kids are going to revolt when their pizza and macaroni and cheese are replaced with bok choy soup and mahi mahi with roasted vegetables.  

I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.  Excited at eliminating so much processed food from their precious little bodies.  Excited at the thought of feeling better and having more energy.  Excited at years of good health I'm giving my children if they learn these eating habits now.  I know that we weren't created to feel this way.  I know that the zingers and muffins and Doritos we put in our bodies aren't good for us.  Having been a vegetarian for 4 years I know I can feel great and look great if I treat my body the way God created me to treat it.  

However, I'm nervous because I know that my children (and my husband) are not fans of vegetables unless you count corn.  Did I mention that corn isn't allowed in our Paleo lifestyle?  And all that pasta we LOVE, no more pasta either.  And potatoes, we will miss you in your various forms.  I'm holding onto the words of my Pediatrician many years ago...A hungry child will eat raw broccoli he told me, they won't starve themselves.  

Here's to better health both physically and emotionally.