You know you're fully immersed in a Paleo lifestyle when...

...you question what's in your shampoo.  Then you look up all those chemicals in your shampoo.  Then you wonder why in the world companies put chemicals that harsh in your shampoo.  So you buy shampoo that consists of probably 95% organic, natural oils with only 1 slightly bad chemical in it.  And even that bothers you.

...you feel guilty about wearing eye makeup - have you ever looked up all the junk they put in those tubes?!  Petroleum, really?  As in, if I had a ton of this, I could possibly run my car with it?!

...you feel guilty about wearing any kind of make up, moisturizer, or sunscreen.  Seriously, if I'm not putting crap into my body, why would I want to smear crap onto my body?  Enough said.

...you stop using your Bath and Body Works products because they're just as creepy as your old shampoo.  Sad days...

...you stop buying nasty chemical cleaners and start buying locally made "yuppie" soaps which you have to dilute with water and pour into reusable spray bottles.  And then you have no idea what to do with the chemical cleaners you have left over...ugh.

...you throw out all your plastic wear (it didn't say BPA free on the package), and you purchase Pyrex bowls, etc.  BPA is of the devil, and it's EVERYWHERE!

...you realize that since you've stop putting crap in your body and onto your body, it's probably time to stop bringing unnecessary crap into the house.  So you decide to be more frugal and get rid of things in life that you never use.  You buy things when you need them.  You stop impulse shopping (except for today when I found an awesome shirt at Ross.  Yeaaaah).

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A Paleo diet has not only helped me lose weight, but it's also led me to new ways of thinking.  It's taught me to question the "norm" and seek out, for myself, what I feel is best for my body and my life.  I don't need the media to tell me what works for me.  I don't need big agriculture telling me that my health will suffer if I don't eat their GMO grains.  I don't need the government to tell me what proper nutrition is.  I don't need to buy into all those fad diets.

I need to consume the fuel my body was meant to process - you don't put helium in the gas tank of your car, do you?  I would hope not (I wonder what liquid helium would do in a gas tank/engine...I'm guessing it would just freeze it).  The same goes with your body - processed foods, pesticides and preservatives don't grow on trees.  And they ain't meant to fuel your body (definitely wouldn't try liquid helium here - just sayin').

I'm starting to feel like the same concept can be applied to the outside of my body as well as my environment.  You're not only what you eat.  You're how you act and interact with your world.  I choose to be as naturally me as possible, inside and out.  One step at a time.

Sasha and the Great White Potato

So while on vacation last week, I decided that it might be time to allow a food back in my life which I had abstained from eating for 6 months, and one that used to be among my favorite foods - the Great White Potato.

Yes, it deserves to be capitalized.

I reintroduced it back into my diet with style (style meaning about 3 heaping tablespoons of real butter and 3 tablespoons of whole-fat sour cream atop the great baked beast).  Man, was it freakin' good! 

Which brings me to my next point - last night, I convinced Josh that since he's in the clear, he should try nightshades again (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, etc).  So we bought red potatoes, and I sliced them up to look like McDonald's french fries.  They were pretty darn good - even the slightly burnt ones had a great taste, especially smothered in ketchup.

Only one small problem with all this.  I've started getting heartburn symptoms (which for me means I'm not producing enough acid oddly enough), and I can't help but wonder if it might be the potatoes.  Okay, I lied.  There's another problem - I'm also VERY scared that I might get on a potato kick and gain all my weight back (This was not encouraging to see on googlenews today "Pound for Pound, Worst Foods for Weight Gain").

What's the plan, then?  I'm thinking for now, I'll limit my white potatoes to a max of 2 times a week and only on days I exercise a decent amount (moderate cardio for around 30 min should be good).  I also need to take my Betaine HCL on a more regular basis...ugh.

Do you have heartburn problems?  Have you ever tried taking Betaine HCL to see if it helps with heartburn symptoms?  You might give it a try - you'd be surprised how many people inhibit their stomach acid thinking it'll help, when in turn it actually hurts the stomach/gut. 

(Note - I'm not a doctor; I'm just sharing what I know. Below are some informational links on low stomach acid and Betaine.  If you're not sure, ask a doctor.)

http://www.modernherbalist.com/betaine.html
http://www.leakygut.co.uk/Hypochlorhydria.htm
http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?libid=13388

Paleo eating while...traveling. Good times...

I don't know how many of you are seasoned Paleo enthusiasts, but I'm a mere 6 months into this commitment, and I haven't yet had the extreme joy of having to figure out how the heck I'm gonna eat while flying 9 hours across the country.  No more stopping at airport restaurants!

Needless to say, the very idea of having to meal plan for a trip to TN sent my head spinning and my eyes bonking out of my head like a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

Then I took a breath, remembered that the Paleo blogging community is swimming with oodles of ideas, and started searching.  That's when I came across this idea:

http://www.primal-palate.com/2011/01/beef-jerky.html

It's so simple, so perfect for a long plane ride.  I was a bit intimidated when I saw that it called for Coconut Aminos, but our local health food store, PCC, came to the rescue.  And, the best part of all??  It's not a liquid food, so I don't have to worry about TSA examining it and deeming it unfit or more than 3 oz or whatever.  Hurray!

Another thought, which looking back, I can't help but wonder why it didn't immediately come to mind... 

TRAIL MIX!

Here's my plan:

1/2 cup organic raisins
3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
3/4 cup dried apples
1/2 cup dried banana chips
1/2 cup dried strawberries

We have a food dehydrator, so whatever else I can think of tossing in it will probably also end up in our trail mix.  (By the way, I totally just made up the numbers on the fly - you can put in whatever you want however you want, but I think this will be a good ratio of nuts to fruits to coconut.)

I also plan on bringing some Larabars - they're fantastic.  The only draw back is, they're loaded with sugar, and while it's natural sugar from the dates and fruits they use in the bars, it's still a bit much.  Especially when you're strapped to a plane seat for 4 hours at a time and your only exercise is climbing over people and seats to get to the bathroom.

I could kinda use a veggie to round out Friday's day of snacking, so I'm thinking I might bake some kale chips.  Surely between the jerky, trail mix and kale chips, we'll have enough chow to get us through until we get to my mother's house at 11pm Friday night. 

What snacks do you take with you on trips?  Anyone have any Paleo traveling tips you'd like to share?