Take your mark. Get set......

GO!

And we're off! We have started our 60 days of Paleo journey. I spent the last few days making a menu for the week, planning shopping lists, shopping, and ordering some things online to get us started. I'm going to use this post to break down what I did for anyone interested.

Step 1 - How hardcore are we going to be about this? 
Jon and I both agreed we are going grain-free, sugar-free, and refined oil-free. But we are including dairy for the time being. Some diehard Paleo's will take issue with this, but there are other Paleo followers are a-ok with dairy. It's in the fuzzy gray area. It's true that cows were not domesticated in Paleolithic times to produce milk for dairy items. (However, there was no wine either and that's definitely Paleo approved - thank heaven!) But there are some serious benefits to dairy that, as modern humans, we can't disregard. Plus, sprinkled cheese or fresh whipped cream is a way to entice some reluctant children into trying new foods. So for us, for now, we are eating cheese and butter. No milk, though. We'll play it by ear and may eliminate it all in the future. So I guess you can call us eating a Paleo-template.

Step 2 - How do we implement?
Initially, Jon and I thought about slowly phasing over to Paleo - do mostly Paleo, but still make pasta, rice as side dishes or allow crackers with hummus, etc. We figured it would be easier on the kids to go slowly. But that method means you can never really start the clock looking for a change in our health - and that's the whole point. And some foods can really set back any results we see - specifically evil gluten. Gluten attacks the lining of our intestines - whether you are sensitive to it or not. And it takes a minimum of 14 days for your gut to heal which essentially resets the clock. Plus, it can take up to 3 weeks for foods to leave your system once they are eliminated. All things considered, it made sense to go full out Paleo from day #1.


Step 3 - What do we eat?
I read Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso. If you are at all toying with the idea of Paleo, get this book. There are others out there that are also recommended, but I was drawn to this book because it is especially geared to families. She has 3 boys - teen to toddler - and is very family oriented. I can relate to what she says so much better than an extreme health nut who has never heard the annoying, "I'm hungry! Can we have a snack?!" 15 minutes after a meal cry coming from young mouths. I get turned off by a mega-buff, personal chef-employing author dictating how easy this is, blah blah blah. Get real, man. This book, however, is energetic and realistic and convinced me this is possible. I highly recommend it! I breezed through reading her introductions and explanations and then started mapping out our week. I used a combination of recipes from her book and others I found online at sites like thespunkycoconut.com and wellnessmama.com among others.

What was key in my planning was to sit down with our calendar at the same time. We've got some busy nights and I knew that those meals would need to be either prepped early or done ahead of time. I'd like to take the kids on a picnic Friday with a friend and her kids so I needed to plan a lunch that could travel that did not involve bread. Things to consider.

Breakfasts take time and I have resolved to wake up earlier than normal this week to make sure breakfast is going before the kids come downstairs starving and looking for the cereal boxes. After I get the hang of this thing, I'm thinking I'll be able to prep ahead of time more.  But for now, I am planning on giving myself a cushion for breakfast prep and cook time.

The other thing I did was consider dinners and lunches together. There is no shame in leftovers. While Paleo means cooking, it does not mean I need to be a chef three meals a day. So if we're grilling chicken one night for dinner, I'll have Jon grill extra breasts for lunch the next day. Things like that.

Step 4 - Where to shop?
This was a whole new ballgame. My usual grocery schedule is to shop the circulars, cut my coupons, go to my coupon sites, and organize my coupon binder. I plan my weekly menu from that and hit the stores. Wow what a difference it is to Paleo shop! It was really easy and so refreshing to not have to bother with about 95% of the aisles. In general, I love simplifying life. Very crispy if you ask me. :) So Paleo scores on this count right away. You'll have to customize your shopping based on what's available in your area. But here is what I did. (NOTE: I know this seems like a lot, but remember this was my first go at it. I'm learning and know it will get less time intensive as I improve.)

1. I shopped for bulk staples online. Everyday Paleo maps exactly what you should have stocked, but basically I needed Paleo approved flours, nuts, oils, and spices. Being my usual deal-scouting self, I price compared for most of Friday. I ended up ordering from nuttyguys.com only because I had a Groupon to use. Their nuts are pricey as is their shipping. But they carry some hard to find dried fruits so I got those. I got a few items from Amazon marketplace and will look to shop there more. You can recieve 15% off if you set up a delivery schedule of which I may take advantage. Finally, I placed a big order on iherb.com. Awesome prices and orders over $40 ship free. Enter this code: JED751 and you'll get $5 your first order. All sites shipped within 2 hours of placing my order.  I expect everything Tuesday. Will report if there are any mishaps. 
2. I hit Costco. Hard. I discovered Costco is actually a very Paleo friendly place. I also brought along my calculator and notebook to do some more price comparing on items I haven't bought there before. I bought the majority of our meat and veggies there. From now on, I will buy nuts there as well - very cheap. Their organic extra virgin olive oil is award winning and a steal at the same time. Organic butter is cheapest there as well. Uncured bacon and hotdogs are also inexpensive. Veggies vary by location, but we had everything from sweet potatoes to organic romaine to portabello mushrooms in stock and the prices were the cheapest I've found.
3. Grocery store - I went to our regular grocery store for their sale items - split chicken breasts for .99 lb. and some misc. items like block cheese, veggies I didn't need a lot of, etc.
4. Our local natural grocery store co-op - I recently joined, though you can shop at most co-ops without membership. But I get returns on profits, am privy to special sales, and get 5% off. They also sell nitrate-free deli meat and all the specialty items I need. Check to see what is near you if you don't shop at one already. It's crispifying.
5. Farmer's market - our local markets are on Thursday and Saturday. They are my preferred resource for veggies during the summer. I planned my menu around when we would go to them. Actually, we went this last Thursday and let the kids each pick out and buy their own vegetable. They were thrilled. I think it will give them more ownership over their foods and get them interested. Plus, we were recently introduced to kohlrabi thanks to my oldest daughter's pick. We are using it in our menu this week!
6. My garden - It's still early and my farmer skills are shaky at best. But I've got herbs, lettuce, and swiss chard I'm using already. Should have zucchini by the end of the week, too!

I know this seems exhaustive, but again, I hope to cut it down to just 1-2 stores as I get better and better. I'm still exploring what is available here in our area and who has the best quality for the best price.

So there you have it. We started and so far so good! Below I've listed our menu for the week in case your interested. Everyday Paleo actually has a 30-day meal planner complete with shopping lists. I took some of those ideas and incorporated my own to accommodate our personal tastes. I'll update as I try out new recipes. 

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Sunday

Kids' cut up portabello chicken sandwich with yam fries

• Eggs & Bacon, melon
• Chef salads
• Grilled Portabello chicken sandwiches, homemade sweet potato fries- the portabello is the bun. We layered with spinach, red onion, avocado, and bacon leftover from the morning. The kids had theirs open faced and cut up. Drizzled some olive oil and cracked pepper on top. Jon made a tomato & basil salad from the farmer's market. The sweet potato fry recipe was unlike I've ever made before. Delicious! Made extra to have with lunch later in the week.

Monday

Egg Cupcakes

• Egg cupcakes - think mini quiche without cheese or crust. They were easy to make. I made a double batch for tomorrow as well. The kids were looking for their cheerios, but instead found these on their plates when they woke up. They were admittedly ambivalent at first - especially my veggie-phobic son. But I didn't nag. Instead I left them alone and let their hunger do the convincing. Everyone ate them up. Even my toddler ate two. These will be quick and easy once school starts.
• Apple slices & almond butter with cheese slices
• Paleo pizza  - grain-free crust piled high with whatever meat/veggies you can imagine.

Tuesday

• Leftover egg cupcakes (no cooking!)
• Leftover paleo pizza (no cooking again)
• Chicken with chimchurri sauce, broccoli & garlic, carrots & butter, salad. - We're cooking extra chicken breasts to use for Wednesday's lunch

Wednesday

• Coconut flour biscuits with eggs
• Chicken slaw - coleslaw minus the mayo but with chicken chunks and mango (or whatever else I have) and a vinaigrette.
• Pulled beef tacos salads - I make this in the crockpot. It's a cinch to pull together and is even better the next day.

Thursday

• Paleo friendly apple muffins and fruit
• Turkey roll-ups and leftover sweet potato fries- think taquitos with turkey and whatever you want inside (avocado, cucumber slices, carrot shredds, etc. etc.)
• Kohlrabi ham bake, salad - will get fresh kohlrabi at the farmer's market that afternoon

Friday

• Sausage hash, leftover apple muffins - hash made with sweet potatoes
• Apple slices & almond butter with cheese slices
• Grilled chicken, cabbage slaw, green beans & garlic - will grill extra chicken for tomorrow

Saturday

• Easy frittata
• Sliced chicken & raw veggies with walnut pepper dip
• Steak, salad, grilled red potatoes & onions

Snacks - I've made some of these ahead so I'll always ready. Some I haven't made yet

"Healthy" cookies ready for the oven

• "healthy" cookies - Finally! Cookies you don't have to feel guilty about! They are totally and completely healthy, but better yet -they were AWESOME! (Peanut free, too!)
• fruit of all kinds - fresh or dried (but if you do dried, beware of added sugars!)
• chocolate cashew milk
• avocado slices
• kale chips
• plantain chips & guacamole
• homemade granola balls
• berry smoothies - there is an endless variety of these. Use a can of unsweetened coconut milk as your liquid. Heaven.
• homemade trail mix
• Paleo friendly berry cobbler - we will end our week with this dessert on Saturday.

Sorry this post is so long, but there was a lot to get out there. Staying positive and feeling great about our changes!

Have questions? I'm happy to answer.
Have suggestions? I'm happy to hear!