Mark Sisson’s newsletter the other week says:
It’s nice to have goals, but you have to have a plan of attack to succeed. Full health is achievable, certainly within a year. But break it down, start with a few specifics. Make this “the year I stop drinking soda!” or “the year I go camping once a month!” Let total health blossom as a result of achievable goals.
For me, this was the encouragement I needed to proceed with a plan that I had made for myself. A while ago, I blogged about the advice I gave my dad to start paleo gently. Recently, I have taken a page out of my own book and relaxed the requirements I had set for myself initially, focusing on the following principles:
-
- is a
high-fat high-protein diet
- . I tell my kids, “meat is what gives you energy to do the things you want.” For me, what I want is to be a successful parent who is not too exhausted for the patience, creativity and physical activity the job requires. I can also use the extra kick a good Paleo meal gives me for my after-hours personal and professional activities.
- Grain is not acceptable as a food group. However, I will use it as an herb, if you will: boy, does flour-based gravy taste good! And while Trader Joe’s sweet potato fries are far better than anything I can create, they contain gluten to give them the shape and crispiness.
- High sugar fruits should be avoided. But fruits, particularly the healthy variety, can be part of many quick and wonderful snacks. Better than bagels, eh?
- A little healthier is better. I just don’t sweat it so much any more. When we go to have sushi, I get some sashimi, but the sushi rolls are my favorites. I’ve quit torturing myself and eat the whole thing.
- There is such a thing as healthy desert: dark chocolate, fruits/berries with whipped cream, cheesecake, even meringues. I want just plain unabashed decadence to be part of my lifestyle.
- Adding butter into sauces at the table.
- Rendered (which I figured out means fried) salt pork fat, resulting in delicious bacon bits (only much better than bacon) sprinkled in with the food.
- When we bake chicken, we use a mix of low-fat white meat and high-fat dark.
- I sprinkle almond slices & shredded coconut on top of meat sauces
- Avocado is frequently a good side.
- My dad is going to buy me some Russian salt pork, called “salo”. I remember it from my childhood. It is intended to be eaten raw, on top of a sandwich, or fried up like bacon bits. The difference is, whether raw or rendered, it melts in your mouth, losing the stringiness of bacon due to a different salting process. I have to write about it once i have some!
- If all else fails, I round out the meal with a high-fat desert (see dessert listings above).
I feel good again. My kids are not aggravating me. Even my mother-in-law is pretty good company. Yesterday I was completely sleep-deprived, having stayed up half the night for no good reason. I was falling off my feet – but I never lost my temper, went shopping, cooked dinner and passed out cuddling with the babies. I will put this get-back-to-paleo operation as an unqualified success thus far.
This is a cross-post from cavekitchen.com. Come visit me there!