CUSTOMIZING

PALEO

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CUSTOMIZING PALEO SimpleHealthyEats

SO WHAT'S PALEO?

 Like
       I  said
       in
    this
       article,
            paleo is all about getting back to real food. Adopting a paleo
approach to eating is basically a peaceful rebellion against the Standard American Diet
(or SAD for short). Where the SAD is deeply rooted in processed foods created by food
manufacturers, the paleo diet is founded in whole, unprocessed foods.

Positives of the paleo approach:

1. Paleo is centered around real food

2. Paleo is mostly plant-based
3. Paleo focuses on food quality
4. Paleo is anti-inflammatory

Negatives of the paleo approach:

1. It gives you “food fear”

2. It makes you obsessive
3. It increases your chances of developing an eating disorder

The solution: customizing your approach to paleo.

Let’s get started!

PALEO "NO" FOODS

The paleo “no” foods are the trickiest part of eating paleo. That’s because if you’re not careful,
constantly saying “no” can easily turn from a conscious effort to eat healthier, into “food fear”
that turns into disordered eating habits.

The point of saying “no” is to be healthy, but you have to think deeper....

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CUSTOMIZING PALEO SimpleHealthyEats

Do you have to give up the “no” foods for good just because they aren’t paleo?

The answer is simple: it depends on YOU.

Whether you choose to eat the “no” foods or not depends on…

1. Having an allergy or sensitivity to the food.

2. Whether or not the food enhances your life.

While the “no” foods still aren’t the healthiest diet staples, there’s no need to eliminate the “no”
foods completely if you don’t have an allergy or sensitivity to them.

If you can handle them well, and if eating these foods enhances your life in some way, then
adding them in on occasion can be an absolute “yes” ;)

The most important thing to remember:

The paleo diet is a template - not a strict rule book that you must follow to be healthy.

The 4 Paleo “No” Foods are…

1. Sugar
2. Grains
3. Dairy
4. Legumes

Now let’s get to customizing!

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CUSTOMIZING PALEO SimpleHealthyEats

CUSTOMIZING SUGAR

You’re probably thinking that some types of sugar are paleo, and you’re right…. honey, maple
syrup, and a few others are “paleo” sources of sugar. Eating paleo doesn’t eliminate all
sources of sugar from your diet, but in general it’s still a “no” food.

There are great reasons to eat less sugar… because a healthy diet is always low in sugar.
But notice I said “low” sugar, not “no” sugar!

That’s because eating less sugar means less cravings, more stable energy, better sleep, and
much lower risk of chronic disease.

But the thing is… if you avoid sugar so much that you can’t be offered a cookie without
getting anxious, then we need to take a closer look at that “food fear” situation. If not knowing
how much sugar is in the cookie or what kind of sugar it’s made with stresses you out, then we
have to talk about being overly restrictive.

How do you know when you’re too sugar free?

I used to be so scared of eating non-paleo treats. I refused to eat them, even when I only
wanted a little taste! I was restricting myself from enjoying dessert at parties, going out for ice
cream with my friends, and even eating homemade “healthy” desserts with my mom because I
was so afraid of sugar.

It happens to the best of us because we want to be healthy and we also strive for perfection…
but an obsession with sugar can easily turn unhealthy, like it did for me.

We all have a different balance of what too much sugar is, so you’ll have to play around with
what works for YOU.

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CUSTOMIZING PALEO SimpleHealthyEats

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE SUGAR

1. Check in with the real reason you’re not treating yourself.

It’s okay to say no to sugar, but make sure it’s not holding you back from enjoying yourself.
Acknowledging signs of “food fear” is the first step to creating healthy AND happy habits. Trust
me - I was absolutely guilty of it myself!

2. To get over the food fear, experiment with adding a little more sweetness in
your life in the form of healthy, low sugar desserts.

If you have an allergy or sensitivity to the food, of course don’t eat it. But there are always
tons of options for healthy desserts, so you can easily find something that works for you.
There are tons of healthy dessert recipes on my blog that are grain free, gluten free, and low
sugar so you can feel good about enjoying the (balanced) sweet life ;) One of my favorites is 
this recipe for paleo chocolate chip cookies.

3. Lastly, if you want to go out for a special treat with your friends, do it!

I realized I was SO much happier when I made a point to go out for ice cream with my friends,
have dessert at family parties, and indulge in a cookie from a special bakery once in a while.
When I was allowed to be “imperfect”, it was so much easier for me to relax around food. I
eventually stopped getting so stressed out when stuck between the healthy choice and the
treat I really wanted to eat - and healthy became simple and fun again!

Lesson: You can absolutely include some more sweetness in your diet and STILL be
healthy :)

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CUSTOMIZING PALEO SimpleHealthyEats

CUSTOMIZING GRAINS

Grains are a paleo “no” food for a few reasons…

1. They’re very low in nutrients compared to other foods.

2. They’re a source of inflammation for a huge number of people.
3. They’re typically highly-processed and low-quality.

Paleo makes the point that grains aren’t the “healthy food” they’re played out to be. I mean
really, the healthy “whole grain” cereal? That’s just a joke - there’s nothing whole about it. But,
I also don’t believe you have to remove every single grain from your diet to be healthy.

How do you know when you’re too grain free?

I’ve seen so many people experience what I did when I went grain-free… You start getting so
caught up in being grain free that it makes you anxious and stressed when you’re stuck in a
situation where paleo food isn’t readily available. It especially happens when you don’t know
where you’re going to be eating.

I remember I would get so stressed thinking about going to my boyfriend’s house for dinner
because his family usually had pasta… I kept thinking, what was I going to eat?! I almost
didn’t want to go have dinner with his family because of it. But if I didn’t go, I would have
missed out on so much! (Turns out I just asked my boyfriend to make sure they had a side
dish that I could eat with some salad instead of the pasta - the food fear wasn’t even needed!)

Lesson: breathe, and don’t get so caught up in being nervous around food.

This anxiety I constantly experienced around food made me forget that the
purpose of living healthy is to enjoy yourself, not to be constantly restricted from
doing what you love because of your eating habit.

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CUSTOMIZING PALEO SimpleHealthyEats

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE GRAINS

1. Check your grain free habits to make sure they’re not holding you back from
enjoying yourself!

Of course, if you have underlying allergies, especially to gluten, there’s no reason for you to
 eat
     it.   I  even
        discovered
                   I  had
       a  gluten
           sensitivity
                 myself,
            which
           was
   a
   trigger
           of
    my
      IBS
symptoms.

2. Experiment with less-inflammatory, gluten free whole grains (like white rice,
quinoa, wild rice, and buckwheat) and see how you feel.

 If they don’t make you feel good, don’t eat them. But if they enhance your life, try
incorporating them on occasion.

3. If you want to go out for a grain-heavy meal (like pizza with your friends), don’t
be afraid to just because it’s “not paleo”.

If you don’t like the way it makes you feel, experiment with ordering a gluten free pizza or
suggest a pizza party at your place and have everyone try your paleo cauliflower pizza crust!

Lesson: You don't have to fear grains and you can absolutely include some grains if
they make you feel good!

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CUSTOMIZING PALEO SimpleHealthyEats

CUSTOMIZING DAIRY

Dairy is another tricky paleo “no” food because it works for some people, but doesn’t work for
others. Thankfully there are so many options for dairy free versions of the foods you love that
it can be easy to avoid it without feeling deprived (like almond milk cheese, cashew yogurt,
and coconut milk ice cream)…

But the same thing goes for dairy as it did for sugar and grains…

Are you avoiding it because it doesn’t work for you, or are you avoiding it because
it’s “not paleo”? And how do you know when you’re too dairy free?

I used to be so anxious about dairy. If it had cheese on it, nope I couldn’t even taste it. But
guess what… that restriction caused me so much more stress than it was worth!

So let me ask you, if your meal accidentally came with sour cream on top, what would you
do? Would you be stressed out and scrape off every bit of sour cream? Would you eat around
it? Would you be worried your whole meal was ruined?

Sometimes the “food fear” around “imperfect” foods is very real and very controlling. It can be
hard to get around the idea of eating non-paleo foods if you’ve been super strict paleo…

But that’s exactly why you have to listen to YOUR body. 

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CUSTOMIZING PALEO SimpleHealthyEats

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE DAIRY

1. Make sure your dairy-free habits aren’t holding you back from enjoying your
food.

Of course, if you have underlying allergies, especially lactose intolerance, there’s no reason for
you to eat it. It turns out that dairy triggers my  IBS
     symptoms
                 just like gluten does. But I
figured out that a little bit of dairy in small amounts actually makes me happier than none at
all!

2. Experiment with less-inflammatory forms of dairy, like grass-fed dairy,

fermented dairy like yogurt and kefir, and raw milk cheeses.

If they don’t make you feel good, don’t eat them. But if they enhance your life and you enjoy
your food more because of it, try incorporating them on occasion.

3. If you want to eat a dairy-heavy food… like ice cream - oh man I love ice cream! ;)
go for it!

It’s going to enhance your life and you’ll thoroughly enjoy it. But, if you don’t like the way it
makes you feel, try a different type of dessert or suggest a home made ice cream party with
your friends at your house! You can easily make  dairy free ice cream in your blender :)

Lesson: do what feels good for you and don’t avoid the foods you love just because
they’re “not paleo”.

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CUSTOMIZING PALEO SimpleHealthyEats

CUSTOMIZING LEGUMES

Legumes cover a wide range of foods including beans, soy, peanuts, split peas, and
lentils. These are avoided in the paleo diet for similar reasons as grains, but like all
foods… you have to figure out what works for YOU.

How do you know when you’re too legume free?

I remember always wanting to go out for sushi, but I would never allow myself to order a
miso soup or dip my fish in soy sauce. Why? Because it wasn’t paleo! Then I realized how
silly I was being… I wasn’t enjoying myself because all I could think about was what I
couldn’t eat… the moral of the story: check in with WHY you’re eating the way you are -
and make sure YOU are the boss of your food, not the other way around.  

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE LEGUMES

1. Check your legume free habits to make sure you’re eating what works for YOU.

Of course, if you have an allergy or sensitivity, there’s no reason for you to eat them. I
noticed too many beans is a trigger of my IBS symptoms.

2. Experiment with less-inflammatory legumes (like properly soaked and cooked beans,
lentils, and split peas) and see how you feel.

If they don’t make you feel good, don’t eat them. But if they enhance your life, try
incorporating them on occasion.

3. If you want to eat legumes and they work for you (like hummus and peanut butter),
don’t be afraid to eat them on occasion.

If you don’t like the way it makes you feel, these foods can easily be left out of any recipe
and swapped with another ingredient.

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CUSTOMIZING PALEO SimpleHealthyEats

WHAT WORKS FOR YOU?

Now that you know paleo is completely customizable….

You’re ready to “re-learn” what healthy means to you.

It can be challenging to break old habits, especially if they’re restrictive…. But it doesn’t
have to be! The key is to understand what works for you, and also what doesn’t.

You can absolutely love your food and your body.. and it all starts with figuring out
eating habits that work for YOU!

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