FAQ

FAQ:

What do the kids eat?

Everything we do. They’ve loved learning about food, helping with dinner and Cole especially has taken to understanding the health of his food. The older boys specifically ask for “bones” and almost always have 2nds of the dinners we serve – even salad.  All boys love the farmer’s market and our local farms (Great Country Farm and Fields of Athenry).  Here’s more specifics, if that’s what you’re looking for.

The boys now have learned on their own what they can and can’t eat and why. We strive, all of us, to never slip up, even when out of the house. Both Cole and Finn have begun to ask “does this have dairy or wheat” and avoid it on their own – it’s been awesome to watch them make their own choices and be proud of them!

What DO we eat?

An example week for dinner we’ve had stuffed peppers with lamb sausage,  pork loin with apples, roast chicken, curried chicken and beef kabobs. We aim to have a green leafy salad (spinach, romaine, etc.) as well as another vegetable on the table for every dinner.

For lunch I take a lot of salads. Leftover meat is great on top or sometimes I just put a can of tuna on. I try to take advantage of being able to have a giant T-bone or a whole avocado if I want it – it makes my lunch feel “special” rather than constrained.  The key is to have protein, fat and a vegetable with every meal you eat.

For breakfast we eat eggs and bacon or sausage with greens like spinach or kale, mostly. We’ve done some alternative recipes (fritatta, bacon cups, hard boiled eggs, etc.) to keep it feeling fresh.  Occasionally, I like to have smoothies with coconut and almond milks, ground flax seed and frozen fruit.

And for snacks we almost always have fresh fruit, jerky, veggies with guacamole or dried fruit. The kids LOVE applesauce and beg for jerky.  Matt and I still enjoy alcohol, usually wine, but it’s very seldom these days. We have completely stopped having beer.

Honestly, I’m surprised at how easy it’s been. I have several blogs I read for good, creative ideas and it’s been fun (see Blog roll).

Where do you get your fantastic monster bowls and lunchboxes?

We often get asked about the various bowls and plates and utensils that feature in our photos. We’ve compiled a list of the most frequently featured items here and you can always check out our Amazon store as well!

What is palm shortening and where can I get it?

Living a grain-free lifestyle often means trying different replacement ingredients that can be a little tricky to find. We do recommend using these ingredients since they are what we made these recipes with. When you’re first starting, though, you may not know how to acquire them, so we’ve compiled a little tutorial on each one and included links to where to purchase them!

Can I substitute ingredients if I don’t have what you recommend?

Maybe. We don’t know! If you ask, we’ll try to give you our best guess, but we can’t guarantee your results. But, just as we had to experiment ourselves to get our recipe just right, you’ll probably have to experiment in your kitchen to get your just right. If you do, let us know! This kind of information is important! Entire blogs are out there that simply catalog attempts to substitute ingredients!

What are your favorite brands of the products you recommend?

Every time we recommend something, we try to link to it as well as add it to our Amazon store. Want to know what our favorite coconut milk is? It’s there. Want to know what our favorite dehydrator is? It’s there! Hopefully that will help you out! Be sure to also check out our Resources Guide for more of our favorites!

Do I miss the old food? Do I cheat?

You’ll see a lot of people in the paleo community advocating an 80% paleo, 20% non-paleo split. We advocate striving as much as possible to be 100%. Trust me when I say that once you’ve gotten past the initial few months of “shock”, you’ll completely change how you look at food. Old foods I used to enjoy don’t even appeal to me anymore. If they do for some reason and I really want them, I’ll have something (most often this is natural ice cream made from good quality cream).  Of course I miss being able to attend parties and eat the same as everyone, but I’ve tried popping in and out of Paleo foods and I get gut wrenching ill.  No thank you!  It is NOT worth it to me anymore.  Plus, after not having gluten or cane sugar for months now, it tastes funny and never is as good as I remember it having been.  Usually, our solution is a “Paleo” version of an item we miss.  Sometimes we’ll make chocolate chip cookies with almond flour or candies with dark chocolate and almond butter or coconut – then I’m able to relish knowing I’m giving myself a touch of protein that also satisfies a craving.

Wait, isn’t paleo necessarily low-carb, no sugar? What’s with all your cupcakes?

Generally speaking, you ought to keep your carb intake fairly low and we do! But for those times when you want a treat, even the most hardcore paleo advocates will eat a cookie. It is so hard to figure out HOW to make a paleo(ish) treat that we try to share our recipes so that you, too, can make them. We don’t eat them everyday (and, probably, neither should you), but we love to cook and bake and love to eat, so sometimes, we’ll make a cake! We go into our use of sweeteners here.

How do I KNOW its working and I won’t rebound again?

My office is right in front of a very well-stocked, company supplied kitchen. I can tell you, that from my vantage point, my office location validates the assertation that most people are addicted to carbs and completely unaware. I watch them, like clockwork, enter the kitchen and grab a snack, 95% of the snacks in there have refined flour and sugar, if not HFCS.  So, when their bodies crash 3 hours later, they come back to the kitchen. And Again. And Again. They think the nutri-grain bar and other “whole grain, low-fat” products are what’s good for them and that they’re making a good choice – but they come back for coffee (they’re tired) and more snacks (unsatisfied) within hours. I can’t blame them, I thought the exact same thing. I was eating the “FDA Pyramid” too.  And it wreaked some serious havoc on me.

Not everyone is as sensitive as I, and I realize this. But the location of my office has really helped me see that the “proof is in the pudding.”  Weight Watchers and other low-fat diets required me to spend exhaustive hours in the gym (not that I shouldn’t be exercising more, just that it obviously wasn’t enough of a catalyst).  But almost a year in and I’m still losing and really starting to drop significant inches. I know from the way my body is operating that it feels healthy and now that I’ve learned what to give it and how to succeed I never want to stop. I can’t know for sure, but if my future self isn’t Paleo I’m gonna be mighty upset!

Let me know if this causes more questions – I’m happy to answer them, because I honestly LOVE this diet and want to spread the word.

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