Part of my daily routine is to see what is new with the Paleo blogs I follow - about a dozen of them. They all have a different focus and style, but they all provide recipes. When I first found Paleo one of the things I thought was great was all the recipes for "normal" foods, like Paleo muffins, Paleo pancakes, Paleo brownies, Paleo ice cream - you get the idea. So the first several months of eating Paleo included a lot of Paleo treats. A couple of pumpkin muffins a day, and a sweet Paleo treat after dinner every night. One of our favourite after dinner treats was full-fat Greek yogurt with a splash of maple syrup and a sprinkle of slivered almonds - so tasty - but so not good for us.
Paleo Grandad is is extremely lactose intolerant, but the yogurt didn't seem to have the usual lactose reaction for him. The combination bothered me, but not all the time, and my eczema seemed to get worse so I decided for both of us that we should eliminate dairy but, unfortunately, that just meant we upped the number of Paleo treats we were having.
Then, the big decision to do my first Whole30 - bye-bye any Paleo treats! It also meant that even though the Dairy Queen is only 900 feet away, it was definitely off limits for the next 30 days. The first couple of weeks were tough - I really wanted something sweet after dinner, but I stuck to it and my sugar monster has gone dormant.
The other night Paleo Grandad brought home the new Magnum bars because he thought I would like a treat. I thought about it for two seconds and said "No, thanks." - I was feeling so good after my Whole30 I didn't want to go there. It doesn't mean I never will have a Magnum bar ever again, or never make another Paleo muffin, but I am going to have them as a once-in-awhile-I-really-really-want-it treat. Long story short (to late, I know), I think for Paleo to succeed for me (and maybe for you), I need to not try to reproduce my old favourite foods with sugary Paleo versions very often - special occasions only. If you search "Paleo desserts" on Pinterest, you will get 100's of recipes that you can make - I've pinned more than a few myself - but I am going to do us all a favour and not pin or post sweet treat recipes.
Speaking of treats, the Beyond Bacon cookbook is great for all the pork lovers, soups to desserts all using something from a pig. They even teach you how to render your own lard - a good Paleo fat if made from pastured pigs not factory farmed pigs, and to make your own bacon and sausage. They have actually created a Paleo pie crust using lard the way my mother and grandmother did when I was a child.
Paleo Grandad also picked up a bike for me, and we have started going for (short) rides when I get home from work and before I make dinner. I'm a little wobbly and a little nervous about falling on my damaged arm, but I'm going to keep going. There is the exercise That has been missing from the Paleo lifestyle.
Dinner tonight was quick, tasty and filling. http://instagram.com/p/bpSVOHQhbs/
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