SUGAR ~ not so sweet

I have a sweet tooth.  I'm a Carmel Macchiato, smores, fist full of chocolate chips in my mouth kind of girl.  Well, I used to be.....

Just a little bit of sugar in here!  Right?

You have to live a little, we can't take everything away that we enjoy BUT I've found with the Paleo lifestyle, there are at least substitutions you can make for most everything!

Why bother making a substitution? 

Sugar is not a health food.  Not so much.  It tastes like a little bit of heaven but it's actually been quoted as "toxic" in some articles I've read.  I'll explain this as simple as possible. 

Let's start with glucose.  Glucose is a fancy term for "sugar in the blood" or "blood sugar."  It's an important energy source that is needed by the body, all cells and organs.  Glucose comes from the food we eat.  Carbs such as pasta, bread and fruit are common sources of glucose.  These carbs are broken down into sugar and then absorbed into the bloodstream.

Then there's the pancreas.  The pancreas produces chemicals that regulate these blood sugar levels.  It must secrete insulin to mitigate the elevating glucose levels.

Insulin's job is to feed the glucose in your bloodstream to hungry cells and send the leftovers to the liver to be turned into triglycerides for storage in your fat cells.

YEP.  STORAGE IN YOUR FAT CELLS.

This can lead to insulin resistance in cells that use glucose as energy.  Insulin resistance is when insulin is always present so the pancreas must produce more insulin to get the job done.  Now we have too much insulin in our bodies.  The body can only store a small amount of glucose but it can store an infinite amount of fat.

Infinite!

When insulin is in the blood, you have insulin to take care of before you use your stored fat. 

Make sense?

Hyperinsulinsim (above normal level of insulin in the blood) is a problem.  It keeps you in fat storage mode, without the ability to access your stored fat for energy.  In other words, you can't lose that weight!  Those last few pounds won't budge.

Carbs and insulin are a normal part of human nutrition.  What isn't normal is the mass consumption of processed carbs.  We just have to choose our foods wisely!  With Paleo we would give back insulin sensitivity and help re-adapt to using the stored fat as energy. 

Here are some healthier sugar substitutes for you to try, all from nature:

honey

fresh fruit juice

molasses

coconut sugar

maple syrup

green leaf stevia/vanilla stevia drops

agave

The Paleo way is simple.  By eating natural whole foods such as nuts, meat, veggies, fruit, you'll be supporting your health and eliminating sugar and refined carbs at the same time.  Because these whole foods don't contain processed sugar or refined carbs, no additional effort is needed to avoid them!! 

Primal Pancakes

Good morning!!

I have the day off today so it's time to make the kids a special Paleo breakfast!!!

I like to make my youngest, Cashton, an egg scramble.  This consists of sauteed veggies in coconut oil (mushrooms, spinach, kale, chard, bell peppers) and egg.  He eats most everything so I'm trying to make the most of that now!!

The other two kiddos enjoy their "bomber eggs."  My husband nicknamed them as "bomber" so they think they are REALLY special, aka, the bomb!!  They have a few fried eggs.  We have 7 hens on our property so our eggs are AMAZING!!

Here is a recipe for my "go to" pancakes.  It's very simple and I typically use this mix for waffles, just because they are a little thicker.  The kids LOVE them!!!




My Cash man enjoying his Primal breakfast! 

PRIMAL PANCAKES:

1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup of coconut milk or whole milk
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp of vanilla or almond extract
1 tsp of baking powder (optional, I have made with and without seen no difference)
1 egg

Mix all ingredients together. Pour onto hot pancake griddle that has been glazed with
olive or coconut oil. Cook each pancake for about 3mins on each side.

I double the batch to feed my 3 kids and myself.  I also add flax to the batter to thicken it up a bit.  They are divine!!!!  Enjoy!

Kellen sure does!!!

What? No dairy????

Let's start by talking about what Paleo is.  Paleo is all about eating natural foods, just like our ancestors did years and years ago.  It's nothing more than ditching today's processed food habits and switching to high quality foods that our digestive system was meant to consume.  It's actually pretty simple!

Such a happy cave woman!

When my daughter Gracie was an infant, she had "colic."  She would cry for hours for no apparent reason.  This went on for months.  I then noticed her bowels had changed to a greenish color and then spots of blood appeared in her diaper.  I was panicked!  Her pediatrician diagnosed  her with an allergy to the cows milk protein, or casein.  I was nursing her at the time so once I stopped consuming dairy in my diet, her symptoms were no longer.  I had a happy baby!





My Gracie girl at 5 months!

 

Dairy causes inflammation in the body, hence the blood in Gracie's stools.  Her gut was irritated from the dairy that I was consuming.  I won't go on at this time about "leaky gut" but I'll direct you to a website that talks about it if you'd like to learn more!

http://paleoparents.com/featured/how-do-grains-legumes-and-dairy-cause-a-leaky-gut-part-2-saponins-and-protease-inhibitors/

What about calcium?  Most people believe milk is the main source of calcium in our diets.  Not true!  There are many seeds, nuts, fruits, veggies and even seafood that can provide this mineral.  Calcium needs a happy, calm alkaline environment to get absorbed in the body.  Dairy is very acidic.  When you consume dairy, the body leaches the calcium from the bones to digest your meal.  If we consume a balanced Paleo diet, we will have an adequate acid-base balance where calcium can be absorbed.

What to use instead of milk for cooking:

Coconut milk

Nut milk (almond)

no milk

The decision is up to you.  I'm not always 100% Paleo.  If I want some cheese, I go for the full fat, fresh mozzarella as a treat every now and then!

I would suggest cutting dairy out for a few weeks, maybe a month, and see how you feel and what type of results you get with your weight loss and heath.  Give it a try!

Paleo in BEND, Oregon!

Welcome to my Paleo blog!  This is my very first blog so here we gooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

My name is Deb.  I am lucky enough to live in Bend, OR.  If you have never been to central Oregon, it is neatly tucked beween high desert plateaus and snow-covered peaks.  It's known as a town of outdoor enthusiasts and vacationers in search of active healthy pursuits.  It's absolutely gorgeous!

I am a wife, mom and a MRI technologist.  I work three ten hour days a week.  On my two off days, I shuttle my littles to swim, soccer and dance:  Gracie (5), Kellen (3) and Cashton (1).  I am one busy mom but every minute I spend with my sweet kiddos is beyond precious to me. 

Feeding my family healthy meals and snacks is nothing but a MUST!

Paleo Bender is a blog dedicated to my personal quest to keep my family healthy from the inside out.   I have always been a health nut but after having a family, it became even more important.  I'm excited to post Paleo recipes that I have tried and that are actually delicous!!  This is one of my favorite cookbooks.....

My brother-in-law introduced me to Paleo last year.  At the time I thought he was a bit over the top (shhhhhh!) only because I was naive and uneducated on the topic.  I started doing some research and realized he was on to something!  I read more and more, went to a Paleo seminar and decided to give it a go.  Once on Paleo, I felt like I had more energy, my skin was clear and I could handle the daily stresses of being a mom to three kids age 5 and under AND work 30 hours a week even better!!

In August of 2011, I joined a Cross Fit gym.  My husband, Ryan, had been going to this gym 8 months prior.  I've always been the "dancer", never the fast runner, etc.  I felt intimidated just by the thought of going to Cross Fit.  After watching one of the Cross Fit Games last summer, I realized I CAN DO THIS!!!  From that point on I made it a goal, I'd give it a try! 

Cross Fit plus Paleo has equalled to be the perfect balance for me.

I feel very passionate about Paleo.  I believe that being in the medical profession and seeing patients with cancer, ms or any other autoimmune disease, has sealed the deal.  Paleo is a lifestyle, not a diet.  If people can prevent these diseases, amongst other issues, let's DO IT!!  :)