The Paleo Way

It seems every blogger and their daughter has posted a review on ‘The Paleo Way’ tour that was held nation wide a couple of weeks ago. I have been reading through all 26 pages of notes that I took wondering how I would summarise what I took in and learnt into a short, interesting blog post?! Let’s just say that there is no short answer to my review on the night. It went for over 5 hours, Nora Gedgoudas was A.MAZING (yes I am exaggerating that word) I have expressed my love for her and her book ‘primal body, primal mind’ before and recommend it to anyone who is looking for education on eating real food.

I think what I took out the night was that ‘Paleo’ is such a label and is interpreted mostly as a huge carnivore diet based on lots of protein and bacon. In fact…..well in primal fact the truth be told is that the presenters expressed that their ‘Paleo’ is a well balanced diet. Yes it is lower in carbohydrates than what most dietitians recommend and yes there is a strong push for fat, but in actual reality the main source of food is vegetables, good, organic vegetables, lots of wild caught fish, nuts, avocados, pasture raised AND FINISHED meats. ‘Know and grow’ was a great statement by Pete Evans. Know where your food comes from or grow it. Eat seasonally, sustainably and in healthy portions. There was no extremities in foods to avoid; if you really listened with an open mind that is, clearly avoid high inflammatory foods (especially if you have gut issues) they cause gut permeability and have little nutrient value in your diet that you can’t get from real food.

There is a new TV series coming to channel 7 (here in Australia) all self funded by Pete and his partner Nic. It will feature interviews of leading scientists, chefs, dietitians etc from all around the world supporting ‘The Paleo Way’ and what the principles of eating a real food diet are.

So in my re-cap I thought- why condense it to one post? Why not share what I learnt in topics from my scribble so that if you missed seeing Nora and are really interested in learning more about Paleo/Primal/Real Food/ Whole Foods then I will share my notes.

1. Why Paleo?

Chilli Beef Chow Mein

How many times do you leave the house in someone else’s hands and just ‘assume’ it’ll all be handled and those few hours your out won’t matter??? THEN you get home and the roast is still on the bench and there is a hungry little human greeting you ‘mummy I’m hungry’
GAH…..panic stations!!! I had meat thawing everywhere today, fillet on the bench, chuck mince in the sink, and lamb just hanging out for the day near the stove. Come 4.30pm there was only one thing I could do, grab the mince that was the closest to thawed and try to work something out. Filled the sink with cold water, immersed the meat and quickened the process while I gawked at the fridge and then at my daughter who looked like she was going to die of hunger, or hanger and that’s not cool in my house.
I had greens coming out my behind so asian inspired it was. I grabbed whatever fresh, dried and ground herbs and spices and set out to create something out of nothing…….

Panic no more,  a chilli chow mein (the totally healthy non nasty packet salt version) is here to save the day.

Chilli Beef Chow Mein

grainfree, dairyfree, sugarfree, lowfodmap

PREPARATION TIME          TOTAL TIME
10 MINUTES                20 - 40 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

• 500g pasture raised chuck beef steak minced or good quality minced beef
• 1tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1 tbsp Cumin
• 1 Carrot grated
• 1/4 Cauliflower riced
• 1/2 Chinese cabbage
• 1 Bok Choy
• 4 whole Silverbeet stalks
• 1 Zucchini Spiralized

Sauce

• 1 big hot Red chilli (leave out or reduce amount for kids)
• 1 tbsp Fish sauce
• 1 tbsp Coconut aminos/ tamari
• 1 and a bit heaped tbsp Tahini
• 400ml broth (homemade preferably)
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Brown meat ginger turmeric cumin
2. Whilst that’s going whip out food processor, grate carrot, empty, pulse cauliflower to ‘rice’
3. Add carrot and cauliflower, leave for a few minutes while you shred cabbage and silverbeet
4. Add cabbage and Silverbeet.
5. Mix sauce and add with cold broth
6. Pour over pan
7. Simmer for 5-10 and slice Bok Choy
8. Add Bok Choy
9. Turn off, cover and leave until needed. The long the better
10. Just before serving add zoodles and heat through.

Top with extra chilli, some tangy kraut and watercress.

Not in to Beef? Swap beef for chicken, pork, prawns, fish, tempeh or go vegetarian and serve with a fried egg

When you just feel OFF

A long post this week, sorry but when I get passionate you can’t shut me up.

Far too often foods sneak back into my diet. Sometimes from lack of knowledge, sometimes from lack of caring. Everyday I fill my brain with more and more knowledge of health and wellness so that I can be the best version of me., sometimes I win, sometimes I stumble.

As Christmas, camping and New Years flew by I was pretty damn happy with myself and avoiding allergens, however sometimes a bowl of pretzels or dark chocolate is a major roadblock. It has been a long time since I consumed anything commercial considering my track record of how my body reacts to these foods that contain numbers and ingredients that even Google pronunciation can’t figure out how to say them.
Everybody reacts differently to foods, some people don’t react to anything (that they’re aware of) and sometimes I curse and envy people that have iron guts and immune systems built of platinum. If however you have indulged over Christmas, looked and scales and are not happy, feel the pants a bit tighter, the bikini not looking as rocking as November 2013 I thought I’d share some knowledge on what might have and unfortunately still happening without you knowing.

My old mate Candida would have to be my least favourite experience to date. If you’re thinking vaginal thrush then no, go to a pharmacist and get some cream for that stuff. I’m talking about this little species of nasty that lays dormant feeds off sugars and is the cause of many an autoimmune disorder. It’s not about eating lollies, chocolates and all that confectionary. Sugars are in a lot of processed foods. Pretzels as salty as they are contain sugar. This last week alone I have mistakenly eating my way through so much more fruit than normal…..ALARM bells!!
Candida exists in the body, it’s a fungus that is a form of yeast. Everyone has it and it is present in our mouth and intestines. When this little sucker is overproduced it affects our intestines and releases toxins into our bloodstream. Heard of leaky gut syndrome? Yep, that little sucker is a contributor that! What I found the most important part of Candida and before you click next and dismiss the topic is what else it causes that you wouldn’t think it could. Candida is a major contributor to a lot of mood disorders, behavioural issues, digestive problems, seasonal allergies, mucous build up, colds and flu, skin changes and even snoring. Yes, what was once just a vaginal thing that was caused my antibiotics or sex or something the doctors have said now expands to a whole lot more…trust me, don’t dismiss this!
So you’re thinking great, you have Candida? Great! How the heck did you feed that little thing?!
• Carbohydrates=sugar feed yeast. Now don’t go cutting all Carbs, I’m talking refined carbohydrates (honey, sugar, maple syrup, flours, rice, refined cereals, all store bought gluten and gluten free products, sauces for more info check out diagnosisdiet.com/refined-carbohydrate-list/). There are still carbohydrates you can consume through vegetable form.
• Alcohol- yep that’s a yeast feeder right there. My nemesis to be honest. Alcohol is still something that I consume, not as regularly as I used to (*cough daily *cough) but it’s simple pleasure that I love. I’ve changed what I do drink though.
• The pill. Urgh the damn pill! It’s been all the news of late, it’s the number one contraception and in that an unavoidable candida feeder for some
• Fermented foods….really I know, it’s heartbreaking!
• Stress. Ha you’re thinking great stress will cause my gut to leak so I have to find a way to never be stressed again. Basically yes!
• Antibiotics. It’s not just a topical thrush problem. Repeated antibiotic use does a lot of damage to your gut, trust me I’ve been there!

So now you see what this thing feeds on let’s talk about what happens when it starts to grow way too much. I mentioned earlier that it’s a major contributor to a lot of issues and disorders, for me when I know that my Candida is getting out of control I notice mood swings, sugar cravings (to the point I don’t even realize that I am eating sugar until after), carb cravings (like wanting to sink my head into a cake) I bloat from nothing, my clothes are tight, I gain 3-4kgs quickly and my skin changes colour, my eyes change, dark circles, rashes, sinusitis, morning mucous (the biggest indictor right there), asthma flare up and of course my favourite toilet troubles. All signs of Christmas indulgence hey?! More like Candida indulgence!!!

But as there is a reaction for every action we can reverse and kill off the little sucker so it sticks to it’s real job and stops making us act, feel and look like something we don’t want to be fulltime!!
Firstly you’ve got to stop feeding it. Sugar has to go, flours, breads and pasta, beans, rice….just eliminate gluten ok. Replacing the bad bacteria with good bacteria. I still consume fermented foods, I cut back on ferments when I’m feeling a little dusty and change to coconut kefir and kombucha and sauerkraut. Getting stress under control is important. Our gut and brain are big talkers, they spend all day chatting about what we are putting in and how it nourishes our bodies. When your brains off, your guts off. Simple stress strategies help. Exercise, yoga, meditation (yes I meditate daily and trust me I would never have thought I could do it years ago). A diet that is rich in good meats, fresh organic wholesome vegetables is important. Coconut oil is a great candida fighter, taking supplements of Vitamin D3, oil of oregano in small doses help with killing of the fungus. Candida can be controlled but it’s important to know the triggers before it gets out of control. If you feel like you’ve upped your sugar, fruit and feel off and not sure why then really consider Candida before you go to the doctor and get given Candida.

Keep Eating Real Food

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