Fuel Yor Body Right with Paleo Meals

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People are always looking for ways to improve their diets. They might want lose weight so they look better, but they also might have health concerns. Improving their diet is one of the best ways to make positive health changes and make a significant lifestyle difference. There are numerous different diets people can choose from, but some are more effective than others. If you are looking for a way to add whole, natural foods to your diet to improve your health, you might want to try the Paleo Diet. The diet features meals filled with foods that have been eaten since the Paleolithic era. These Paleo meals include eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean meats, and seafood.

In addition to health improvements and weight loss benefits, the Paleo diet also offers simple meal options. The easier food is to prepare, the quicker you can prepare meals. If you love to cook, you can still make sophisticated gourmet meals on this plan. If your concern is preparing food quickly for your busy family, that is an option, as well. Many of the meals even freeze well and can be defrosted at a later time and enjoyed with little effort.

Menus include whole, healthy foods like flax seeds, walnuts, fish that is high in Omega 3 acids like salmon, scallops and shrimp, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Basically, if it exists in nature, you are able to eat it. It focuses on keeping people healthy and providing foods that are high in vitamins and minerals. The diet is not a fad diet requiring dieters to count calories and restrict foods. Paleo meals are filled with quality foods and most people on the diet are not hungry. The difference is it lacks the saturated fat, preservatives, additives, and high sugar foods found in the Standard American Diet.

The Paleo Diet offers the variety many people need to stick to a healthy eating plan. You are able to enjoy ethnic foods, foods that are sufficiently spiced, and meals that include protein, healthy fats, and plenty of vitamins and nutrients. Your appetite is satisfied and you feel energetic and healthy. The cravings for the foods you once had are gone because you are nourishing your body.

There are plenty of resources for those who want to enjoy Paleo meals. Cookbooks offer advice on preparing meals, choosing the healthiest options, and feeding your family affordably. Many times the toughest part of committing to a new lifestyle is understanding what to do. You might want to eat healthier, but without a little guidance, you feel overwhelmed. There are plenty of people who shop for a supple of Paleo groceries, but know nothing about how to prepare them. Using a cookbook is a great way to help you navigate the unfamiliar territory of a new eating plan.

If you are struggling for a way to lose weight or you have been diagnosed with a disease or condition that is affected by your diet, you might feel confused and frustrated. Eliminating processed foods and chemicals is a great place to start. You might need to exercise or make additional changes, but your body will be healthier just eating whole, natural foods.

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Paleo Meals

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How do you keep prepared so that you can produce Paleo Meals quickly and easily.

One of the keys to success for following any type of eating plan is being prepared. If you aren’t prepared and you get hungry, you are much more likely to break the plan and start chomping on something that you shouldn’t be eating like bread, biscuits, cakes, soda drinks and all that stuff that sugar has.

Step 1 – Paleo Meals – Understand the diet

It’s important to understand why you are eating Paleo meals and are not just on another diet.

Step 2 – Paleo Meals – ingredients

Make sure you keep your freezer/cupboard/pantry stocked with Paleo ingredients.

  • Grass fed meats (beef, lamb, pork, chicken, fish)
  • Buy fresh vegetables regularly
  • Frozen vegetables as a backup
  • Tinned salmon / tuna / sardines
  • Berries

Step 3 – Paleo Meals – recipes

Having a series of paleo meals that you can easily cook is essential. It’s also important to have variety, otherwise you will start to get bored and be more tempted by grains and sugary food.

Check back on this blog for the recipes I cook or grab one of these books.

Step 4 – Paleo Meals – snacking in between

Having snacks with you at home and at work will allow you to eat well when you are starting to get hungry and avoid the temptation of bad foods. Here are some snacks that are easy to keep around

  • tinned fish (salmon, tuna, sardines)
  • tinned chicken and vegetable soup (check that there is no wheat, sugar added)
  • carrot sticks or celery sticks with hummus or baba ganoush

Step 5 – Paleo Meals – eating out strategies

So what do you do when you go out with friends. Try and stay paleo as much as possible without becoming one of those boring friends.

  • Drink red wine instead of beer
  • Skip the bread that comes to the table
  • At an Italian restaurant go for a caprese salad and a veal parmigiana rather than a big pasta dish

 

Primal Moussaka

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Inspired by the Primal Recipes at Marks Daily Apple this Lamb Moussaka has been modified for local ingredients and the way I make it.

4 servings
20-30 min preparation & cooking

Primal Ingredients:

2 large eggplants, peeled and cut into slices
2 400g cans diced tomatoes (no added sugar)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped
500g ground lamb (lamb mince)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
3 eggs
400g full-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
grated parmesan cheese
olive oil, for sautéing
salt and pepper, to taste

Primal Cooking

After peeling and slicing the eggplant, place the slices in a colander. Sprinkle the slices liberally with salt. Let the slices sit for 20-30 minutes until moisture appears on the surface. Rinse the eggplant thoroughly and blot dry.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add several slices of eggplant to the hot oil at a time and sauté the eggplant slices, turning as necessary, until soft and just lightly browned. Continue heating oil and cooking the eggplant until all the slices are cooked. Set the eggplant aside.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat and add onion and garlic. Sauté a few minutes then add meat, cinnamon and allspice. Stir, so the meat browns evenly. After five minutes add the dill and the cans of tomato.

Simmer until the sauce thickens. Salt and pepper to taste.

Whisk together eggs, yogurt and nutmeg.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 deg C)

In a lightly oiled square baking dish, place a thin layer of eggplant then cover with the meat. Layer the remaining eggplant on top, then the yogurt. Top with additional grate cheese if desired.

Bake 45 minutes, or until the top is set and golden brown. Let rest 20 minutes before cutting into the Moussaka.

Primal / Paleo / Low-Carb recipes

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The recipes that you’ll find here are all recipes that I’ve cooked and eat on a regular basis. They come from a number of sources from blogs, friends, magazines and recipe books. They have been modified to reflect the way I cook them and the changes I’ve made to use local ingredients. I would love to hear your feedback and any variations that you’ve made when you cook them.

Types of diets

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Low-fat diets

Low-fat diets involve the reduction of the percentage of fat in one’s diet. Calorie consumption is reduced because less fat is consumed. Diets of this type include NCEP Step I and II. A meta-analysis of 16 trials of 212 months’ duration found that low-fat diets without intentional restriction of caloric intake resulted in average weight loss of 3.2 kg 7.1 lb over habitual eating.

Low-carbohydrate diet

Low carbohydrate diets such as Atkins and Protein Power are relatively high in protein. Low-carbohydrate diets are sometimes ketogenic i.e. they restrict carbohydrate intake sufficiently to cause ketosis.

Low-calorie diets

Low-calorie diets usually produce an energy deficit of 5001000 calories per day which can result in a 0.5 kilogram 1.1 lb to 1 kilogram 2.2 lb weight loss per week. Amongst some of the most commonly used low-calorie diets include DASH diet Diet to Go and Weight Watchers. The National Institutes of Health reviewed 34 randomized controlled trials to determine the effectiveness of low-calorie diets. They found that these diets lowered total body mass by 8 in the short term over 312 months.

Very low calorie diet

Very low calorie diets provide 200800 calories per day maintaining protein intake but limiting calories from both fat and carbohydrates. They subject the body to starvation and produce an average weekly weight loss of 1.52.5 kilograms 3.35.5 lb.2-4-6-8 a popular diet of this variety follows a four-day cycle in which only 200 calories are consumed the first day 400 the second day 600 the third day 800 the fourth day and then the cycle repeats. These diets are not recommended for general use as they are associated with adverse side effects such as loss of lean muscle mass increased risks of gout and electrolyte imbalances. People attempting these diets must be monitored closely by a physician to prevent complications.

Detox diet

Detox diets claim to eliminate undesirable toxins from the human body rather than claiming to cause weight loss.