Give your body some credit...

Sure, taking in less calories than you burn will probably help you lose weight, but lets give our bodies some credit. We are much more sophisticated than that! Are we losing water weight? Muscle mass? Fat is obviously what we are hoping for and aiming for right? Problem is, your body loves to burn sugar and protein. This means (in a carbohydrate heavy diet, like the Standard American Diet) quick energy, burned very fast, and then what? It starts using up your muscles, that's what. Like I said, a complicated and sophisticated process that we need to understand in order to utilize. It's time to re-program.

Become a fat burner.



I'm a logical person. I love to know the 'whys' and 'hows' of things- especially ones to do with my health and my body. I've read a lot of "research" in the past, most of which, upon further "research" (and usually after I've argued shallowly, yet passionately on it's behalf) is thoroughly debunked. (ahem.. China Study *cough* lipid hypothesis *sneeze*)

I've come to love scientific voices that are objective, thorough, and make sense. Mark Sisson is that. He presents the science, understands the interpretations, and never dodges a tough question. His Primal Blueprint education is brilliant.
It's hard to argue with feeling better, stronger, more comfortable, and more in control than you ever have- and interacting with thousands of others on the same journey. Marks Daily Apple has an awesomely supportive community!

Primal Day 10- Precious Moments and Primal Pancakes

I'm going to be honest, it hasn't been an easy past few days. So much life has been happening- juicy life, the kind you remember forever- finding the deliciousness within the struggle and the trying times. Those tiny moments you reach to glean and savor so that you aren't crushed by stress, worry... pain. Just so much life- to accept, to adjust to, to truly and fully experience before it's gone.

That said, I'm an emotional eater and I always have been. I stuff people full of my most delicious adoration to show my love, and when I need a crutch myself, I savor... food.
I know it isn't the greatest crutch, but I'm working on it. I have actually been pretty darn good. A little extra dark chocolate, a drizzle of raw honey, one too many apples, but nothing that throws me off track. I've been awful at exercise the past few days. I probably need it more right now. I'll get on that today I think. I need a break from the abundant cortisol!

Okay, enough about me. You want to hear about the food I've made?? Of course you do.
I've taken up this beautiful primal habit of using food up until there's nothing left in it. Animals especially. I've been reading some great stuff over on Mark's Daily Apple (because it's chalk full of great stuff!), and I just can't throw away a carcass anymore! We've been trying to get more meats that aren't chopped, trimmed and scoured down to presentable bits. Our very first official primal day, after a nice long primal shopping trip and with no time to cook before the ravenous tiny new cave people began throwing fits, we brought home a rotisserie chicken. That night I started my first homemade stock. I stuck the carcass- bones, fat, skin and all in a pot with some celery and garlic, covered it in water and boiled it for about 4 hours. It was my first time, and it was delicious, but I could do better. Since then I've made 4 or 5 batches of good chicken and beef stock- fat and mineral rich. And it's as easy as sticking the bones or carcass in the crockpot (sometimes just back in the same crockpot it was cooked in with all the fat and drippings), covering it with water and a touch of apple cider vinegar (to leach out more minerals) and letting it cook for hours. Usually at least 10 hours, sometimes up to 24 hours. It's SO good!! I've taken to freezing some of it in muffin tins and then transferring the 1/3 cup "pucks" of stock into a gallon ziploc to keep in the freezer for future use.

This morning my oldest son asked, "Mom, when is this challenge going to be over? I miss sandwiches and treats." I told him we'd be eating this way for a long time and that treats every once in a while will be okay after our bodies have fully adjusted.
It made me realize I needed to try to make some paleo "breads" and other substitutes now and then to keep things fresh- especially for my kids. So I went upstairs and made some awesome Primal Pancakes and allowed the kids some fresh local raw honey on them.
That brought a lot of smiles!
I've talked about these before, but I feel like little changes have made a big difference!

Primal Pancakes

6 large eggs
6 heaping tablespoons almond butter (about 2.5-3 oz)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla (or scrape out a bean)
a dash of sea salt

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Preheat griddle or pan to about 350˚ melt down a pat of butter and pour your batter on in whatever shapes or circles you deem necessary. Flip once bubble surface in the center of the pancakes and cook for another minute or so. Serve with melted butter and cinnamon, apple butter, sliced pears warmed in melted butter and vanilla or yogurt with a drizzle of raw honey. They also taste pretty great on their own and the texture is awesome!

Primal Day 2

We had a great time adventuring out to find our primal fare and re-stock our pantry and fridge last night. Well, until the kids got too rowdy and yelled everything very excitedly in public until I snapped at them and we headed home. That wasn't fun.

It is awesome to have good food and snacks in the house and it really wasn't much more expensive than a regular shopping trip- even as we stocked up on meat!
I'm reading Mark's Daily Apple and learning so much! At first when we tried to explain what was going to happen to our 4 kids, there was a LOT of moaning and groaning. But as we emphasized what we can have rather than what we can't, they hopped on the wagon really quickly. They went back to school today- which usually results in candy and treats, so we'll see how they do with it. We are allowing them a little more leniency with carbs and calories since they are growing rapidly, but we've set the ground rules! Yesterday we started with an awesome egg, veggie and turkey frittata. We sat down to a rotisserie chicken and loads of steamed broccoli with butter last night. I then proceeded to make my own chicken stock from the carcass and some veg and spices (my first time ever doing so!). We are already seeing an effect on the "eat constantly and then eat some more" habits of my ravenous little ones. It seems like they are snacking less and feeling more satiated. Today we breakfasted on scrambled eggs and smoothies. I've adjusted our smoothies to contain less fruit and much more veg- including spinach, celery, carrot, cucumber, avocado, chia and flax seeds along with the fruit. My boys were pretty excited to have almond butter to dip their celery and bananas in for lunch at school, along with carrots, cheese sticks and turkey.


The littlest little has really gotten into her primal snacks- she loves almond butter!
I've noticed that despite chowing on broccoli last night, she didn't wake with painful gas like she usually does. She slept 'til 7:30 this morning!
I crashed early (for me) last night at 10:30. I had a rough night and didn't feel well- we've had a tummy bug going through our house, so it may have been that, but I think I also overdid it on the pistachios! With some essential oils and taking it easy on breakfast, I'm already feeling much much better. The hubs stayed up late last night (a no no), so we're going to keep our screen curfew tonight for sure!
I'm thinking some country ribs might be din tonight- with a salad and maybe some brussels sprouts or asparagus. Breakfast tomorrow I may do primal pancakes- I've got apples baking down to a sugarless sauce in the crockpot to top them with since we can't do honey or syrup.
I think maybe I'll take the kids for a walk today.