Hello!
Tom and I have tried to be (and thought we were) fairly healthy by the foods we ate for most of our nine years of marriage. Then, we stumbled across the Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson, and the lights turned on! After a lot of thinking and reading, we decided that this is the way to live. Our four girls, ages 8, (almost) 7, 5, and 2 aren't too sure though--they love bread!
Our whole family has had one food issue or another which never seems to go away. We've had issues that range from mild: a headache after eating bread. To moderate: complete meltdowns with the kids after eating dairy. To severe: A peanut allergy causing the 8 year old's throat to swell. Tom has had chronic trouble sleeping and keeping his energy up throughout the day. And Mom hasn't had much success with energy or weight loss. . . all in all, something had to be done, and we think it's the Primal Blueprint.
The Primal Blueprint focuses heavily on getting all processed foods out our your diet. Eliminating nitrates, stablizers, and any other chemicals that wouldn't naturally occur in food. Grains, starches, and sugars all gotta go. This means no wheat, corn, potatoes (sweet potatoes are okay), peas, and the like are out the window. Sounds really difficult, but look at what you can eat in almost any amount: Meats, hard cheeses, butter, coconut in many forms, vegetables, fruits, nuts, bacon (yum!) and different oils. In other words, just do the opposite of what the government issue food pyramid tells you to do, and you'll be all set!
There are so many combos to the "good to eat" foods, that it never really gets boring. So try going Primal for three weeks. See how you feel, and I'm told you'll never go back.
So we are taking the plunge, exploring new foods, and different ways to prepare old ones. We wanted to document the foods we eat, the changes we feel, and the way we sleep, so here we are... we hope you will join us in our journey, and even offer us a few tips or recipes that may have worked for your own family. Remember, it has to be kid-friendly!
Our family is also new to living primal. We have 3 kids... 16, 14, and 6. Both of our older kids are cool with the changes. Our oldest is a VERY fit long distance runner and our middle child is pretty easy-going so she's not upset. Our youngest is the toughest. I am beginning to be persuaded he's addicted to sugar and very affected by wheat. I've noticed big changes when he doesn't have either. I look forward to reading and following
ReplyDeleteI have been doing paleo/primal since last march and lost about 60 lbs so far. I keep a blog with lots of recipes and geeky articles on the subject. I am glad to see this diet spreading. Stay strong for at least a month and I think you'll be glad with everything you've learned.
ReplyDeletehttp://cavethought.blogspot.com/
Cool! My wife and I started on Jan 1st as well. Just read the 21 Day Primal Blueprint Challenge. Much like you, we thought we ate pretty healthy, but then that darned Mark Sisson up and refudiated ;) everything we thought. Kids 8, 5, 3 who also love bread (who doesn't!). Glad to be following along with your journey!
ReplyDeleteTerry N.
www.vogeljoy.com - our family band.