What do we eat?

When people hear about the list of foods that came back on our intolerance testing, I am often asked.  What do you eat?  When people learn that we can't eat wheat/gluten, dairy or egg products, the thought can be very overwhelming.  And I understand it was overwhelming to me as well.  (Let me just note here that unless you are following the Autoimmune Protocol, eggs are fine for people living a Paleo lifestyle.  Paleo Parents do a great job of explaining what Autoimmunity is in a normal "people speak.")

In addition to eating Paleo, we are Kosher as well.  This means that we do not eat pork products or shellfish.  I am excited to have found beef bacon and sausages that we can eat.  We eat fish several times a week, chicken, lamb and beef.  PaleoGirl is very happy when "meat" is served.  PaleoGirl is especially happy when she gets to eat "meat on a stick." We eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.  These are favorites in this house.  We haven't found a fruit that PaleoGirl doesn't like, and PaleoBoy loves his fruit too.  He doesn't have many words that he says clearly, but "grapes" can be understood easily.  The PaleoKidz love winter squashes, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers and zucchini (especially when eaten in pasta form).  Greens, like kale and chard, are a favorite with the grown ups, but PaleoGirl likes them too.  PaleoBoy is a little more hesitant to eat them, but I keep trying.

I do make Paleo Waffles and baked goods, but am trying to limit these in our diet.  I have found that for us these help with breakfast as eggs are not an option and the PaleoKidz are still not accustomed to eating leftovers for breakfast.  This might be more my problem than theirs as a vegetarian diet would not consist of the typical items that would be eaten for a Paleo breakfast, especially without eggs.  I have always preferred atypical breakfast foods, so eating last night's dinner for breakfast is not unusual for me.

Be sure to check out the blogs in the sidebar to get some ideas for recipes.  The Paleo Mom, Paleo Parents, Everyday Paleo, Nom Nom Paleo and Civilized Caveman have been great resources for us.

I also love following books and strongly recommend anyone interested in living a Paleo lifestyle check out these books.  Eat Like a Dinosaur, Make It Paleo, Practical Paleo, Everyday Paleo, Paleo Comfort Foods and Paleo Indulgences.

Who are the Paleo Kidz?

Clipart courtesy of iclipart.com

Our family is still in the early phases of changing to a Paleo lifestyle.  We have been eating Paleo since early September.  This was a big change for our family as for most of my life I was a vegetarian.  So how did we get here?

Look at PaleoBoy go!

 In June, we had intolerance testing done on PaleoBoy.  He came back with a list of about 15-20 foods.  At first, this caused a bit of a panic for me, as it did mean pretty big changes for our diet.  He came back with intolerances to vanilla, yeast, egg yolk, gluten, cow's milk, white potato, corn and peanuts.  I knew that his intolerances came from somewhere and thought that I would follow along his dietary guidelines as well.  As I was still a vegetarian at this time, I was left to look for new recipes and replacements for so many of our normal go-to meals.  While doing searches for gluten free, potato free, corn free foods, I started to find some recipes that were labeled as "Paleo."  I pinned some of these recipes and didn't really think about it too much further.  At the time, PaleoBoy was drinking Goat's milk, and after a short period, I realized that this wasn't helping his stomach anymore than cow's milk did.  At this time, I decided to take dairy out of our diet too.

Around this time, I decided that I needed to have my own intolerance testing done.  While I was waiting for the test results to come back, those "Paleo" recipes just kept popping up.  I started looking at in more detail as I was trying to find the best way to feed our family.  A couple days before my test results came back, we took the jump and started to eat Paleo.  At this time, I ended my 17 years of being a pescitarian (a vegetarian who ate fish) and began eating chicken, beef and lamb again.  When my results did come back, the doctor who performed the test mentioned that he found my list of intolerances to be longer than most that he has seen.  My list of 39 items, was not overly different from my sons, though longer.  Keep in mind that my test also used more foods than PaleoBoy's did.  The benefit to the testing was that it confirmed my decision to change to a Paleo lifestyle.  The only roadblock on the test was that I also tested positive for an intolerance to beef and lamb.

PaleoGirl, the pirate, lost in a corn maze.

PaleoGirl has not had any testing done, but she does have eczema on her arms and has had digestive issues (though not like her brother or I).  When my testing came back, I told her that I wanted thought we had to change the foods she ate too.  Though this was tough for her in the beginning.  Stacy and Matt at Paleo Parents helped me a great deal with their book Eat Like a Dinosaur.  This book has a great story in the beginning to help kids who are trying to make the transition for dairy and gluten filled life to living without.  This was a big help for her, and now we eat "dino" everything!

PaleoDad has been incredibly supportive of the change, and I think it goes beyond the fact that he does get to eat more meat at home.  He has been sticking to Paleo at home, but when out has been eating as he chooses.  We are going through a major transition right now, as he just started a new job and is living away from the family.  He has mentioned that he is not as happy with his current diet, so I think he will be more serious about this once things settle down again.

We have all been feeling a lot better living this lifestyle.  The grown ups have lost some weight, without really trying.  Everyone seems to been enjoying better digestive health and it is rare that we really feel like we are missing out on something.  I am so proud of PaleoGirl who is very quick to tell us (and everyone else, including complete strangers) what she can and cannot eat.  She has adapted to this huge change like a champ and I love seeing her being so excited about what I serve for dinner and understanding why we are eating like we used to.  I know that our new lifestyle choices are not always easy or popular, but for right now I'm going to enjoy the ride.