Crispy Living: Welcome 2013!

Hey all! It's been a long while since my last post. Except for a few posts in 2012, I put the blog on hold last year mostly due to time constraints. But I also felt I was constantly writing to try and change people's thinking about food. I was essentially selling something from which I made zero profit, but gained a lot of frustration. I'll admit the negative feedback from friends and some family about our choice to eat primal/paleo took a toll on me. It didn't alter our health decisions, but it did erode my desire to be so public about it.

But lately I've been inspired by people I know making strides in the right direction when it comes to their health. I met a family in our neighborhood whose daughter is Paleo without knowing it due to her food allergies. It was awesome because I FINALLY found someone in real life that is sending their Paleo kid to our public school and facing the same struggles we do.

I've seen a lot of Facebook friends post things about Paleo, Whole30, Crossfit, and Primal eating in the past few months who didn't do so before. That's awesome! I have had friends message me asking Paleo questions and if I still wrote this blog. What a confidence booster it is for me to see people come around, start to question CW (conventional wisdom) about SAD (Standard American Diets), and begin to make changes to better their health and the health of their families!

As for us, we're doing great. We've been Paleo/Primal for 1.5 years now without fail. Sometimes we lean a bit more Primal than Paleo due to busy schedules, etc., but I'm a-okay with that. Kids are thriving, fit, and strong. Jon and I continue to feel great. Health wise, everything is going really well. We've found the bodies we were meant to have and continue to see how our physical health permeates every other aspect of our lives - mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually by feeling connected and grounded.

Winter is a tough time up here in the tundra to get outside and be active. If we have an area of improvement to make, that's it. We know it and now that the busy holidays are over, we're ready to attack it. I recently bought an Indo Board to do some indoor balance training. It's a lot of fun, though I'm far from graceful and have a long way to go!

Anyway, I wanted to jump start the blog again to share things I find and learn on our continuing health journey. Tips, tricks, frustrations, struggles, recipes etc. will be the goal. I hope you will find it useful as well as help educate me on your findings about eating and living a real food lifestyle.

To start:

For me, one of the biggest challenges when I started P/P (Paleo/Primal) was where to shop, what to buy, and how to afford it! It's not easy, so I'll share little gems I find now and again. Like this one: Costco Turkey.

Costco turkey breast - conventional meat, but decent alternative for the budget conscious.

Cage-free, bug and grub eating turkey that spent its life pecking out in nature is best. I know. But it is expensive as heck and hard to find/afford in the quantities needed to feed my family of six. At this point, half of our meat is grass-fed, free range, etc. But I'm still 1/2 conventional due to budget constraints. I hope to get to 100%, but this is what I can do at this point.

So for conventional meat, this is a good find. I usually spend $8.99+/lb. for sugar free, nitrate/trite free, preservative free deli meat and buy several pounds a week to put into our PlanetBox lunches. This turkey is just $3.99/lb and meets all of the above criteria. It isn't processed at all. It is genuine turkey breast that slices just like the kind you make on Thanksgiving. The catch is you buy it in 2.5+ lb. cuts and have to slice it yourself. Since we don't put it on sandwiches, no one cares if it is cut thick. I cut it into cubes or strips and throw it on salads or mix with different veggies/fruit for a turkey salad. It keeps well and is tasty. Anyway, I wish it weren't conventional turkey, but was excited about this find as a way to ease the food budget.