Be Prepared for Paleo…
Last weekend we hosted our first Paleo seminar and share a number of great ideas on how to be a successful hunter and gatherer.
1. Build up your Paleo awareness – Attend a Paleo seminar, take part in a Paleo challenge. Do some online research and read up on the Paleo lifestyle. Some excellent websites to visit are:
- www.paleodiet.com
- www.marksdailyapple.com
- www.cavemanpower.com
- www.robbwolf.com
Buy some Paleo books and Paleo recipe books. You can find a list of some excellent resources on our Paleo nutrition page
Talk to other cavefolk who have been following a Paleo lifestyle. Members of your CrossFit box, coaches or Paleo bloggers are all worth chatting to for hints and tips. Everyone loves to share their experiences and will be only too happy to help
2. Remove all temptations from your food environment –Out of sight is out of mind! If you think you have the willpower to follow a strict Paleo eating plan without be tempted by the processed foods in the cupboards, you’re probably wrong. Why risk giving in to temptation?
The term “food environment” simply describes the range and quality of foods you’re exposed to on a daily basis. If you’re planning to start a Paleo diet, one of the best things you can do to prepare is clear all of the non-Paleo foods out of your kitchen and pantry. If there are only fruit, nuts or other Paleo-friendly foods available to snack on, you’ll be a lot less likely to fall off the wagon.
Its time to remove ALL non-Paleo foods from your house! If the product is unopened and still usable, donate it to the local charity or homeless person.
3. Plan your meals in advance – failing to plan is planning to fail. I’m sorry to say that it’s not easy to be a modern day hunter and gatherer so you need to be organised and plan your meals
- What will you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the next 7 days?
- Where will you get this food from?
These are both questions you need to answer confidently if you are going to be successful. This also links back to point 1 as you need to have an awareness of what exactly Paleo is. Its worth stocking up on all the Paleo essentials to make life easy. A good place to start is a Paleo shopping list
4. Take Paleo food with you. The best solution is to be prepared and make as many of your meals at home as possible. If you know you’re not going to have access to Paleo foods, you need to prepare some snacks in advance for the day/week. Beef jerky (Naked Ape), Coyo yogurt, UpRaw snacks, tinned fish, nuts, seeds, avocado, leftovers, fruit, olives, cooked meats are all good options.
5. Set aside an afternoon for cooking. If you work outside the home during the week, spend a half-day on the weekend preparing food for the week. Roast a chicken, cook a big stew in the slow cooker, make a pot roast and cook a few servings of your favourite side dish. You can even set them aside in individual portions using pyrex containers so you can just grab them as you head out the door.
6. Buy in bulk. Along the same lines, consider buying staples in bulk (check out www.mypaleobox.com). For example, you can buy a box of meat from organic farmers and store it in the freezer. You can simply defrost a few cuts each day for cooking. It’s not only more convenient to do it this way, but it’s much cheaper.
Buy meat in bulk from:
- http://www.eversfieldorganic.co.uk/
- http://www.riverford.co.uk/
- http://www.wildmeat.co.uk/
- https://www.osgrow.com/
- http://www.keziefoods.co.uk/
Buy Paleo essentials from:
Buy nuts in bulk from: http://www.naturalchoice.co.uk/
Shop at your local farmers’ markets:
Please let us know if you have any other Paleo friendly resource to share.
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