Paleo

I went on a really intense 3 week commitment to Paleo. (insert sarcasm font). However, it was so intense that I made Crawford's birthday cake paleo-friendly. I'm sorry, wth is wrong with me?

Happy birthday, honey! Here's a delicious gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, all-organic chocolate cake! mmmmmmmmm. 

It scares me how much of a freak I am sometimes. Anyway, as selfish as this birthday experiment was, it actually tasted reallyyy good. In case you're interested in making someone special's birthday about you:

Recipe and pic via  

Ok back to my point. Paleo. I think there is definite merit to the principles behind it. The basis being you eat as if the agricultural revolution never happened. i.e. no wheat, dairy, gluten, oats, legumes (meaning no beans or garbanzos, lauren :), or anything processed because these foods spike insulin levels and lead to that I can't stop eating this! feeling. (I know nothing about that feeling). There are several other arguments to this lifestyle, but I pretty much tune out whenever anything remotely scientific enters the picture. My sister is a nurse, and I am Charlie Brown listening to adults when she uses even the simplest medical terminolgy. I digress. The bulk of your diet is heavy on meat, a little less on veggies, much less on fruit, and varying degrees of natural fats (i.e. avocado, coconut oil, evoo, nuts- except peanuts) dependent on your weight loss goal. However, the Paleo community gets a little wary of those seeking the "lifestlye" as a diet... because it's not a diet... it's a way of life. Anyway. I read Robb Wolfe's A Paleo Solution, and I got a lot out of it. For 3 whole weeks. I'm ridiculous. One noteworthy tidbit I did learn is to cook with coconut oil- amazinnng. Apparently it's less toxic than evoo when you're cooking at high stovetop temps. (Still use evoo for the oven though, it works much better). Also, Crawford strongly dislikes coconut, and he can't even tell when I cook with it. muahaha. Long of the short, I realized that while eating like this DOES make you feel really good, and I definitely felt myself de-bloat quite a bit, it's just plain not fun.

Oh, thanks for having us over for dinner! Oooh... that meat was cooked near the buns? Eh, sorry, I'll have to pass. Just give me the celery. No hummus either, but thanks!

Call me weak, call me crazy, but I can't live like that. Not fun for me, not fun for the people around me. This is my personal opinion, and I truly respect anyone's ability to adhere to Paleo... but I simply love eating late night and drinking real beers entirely too much for it. Said the 20 year old frat boy.