My plates look like colorful master pieces filled to the brim with vegetables alongside a decent size piece of protein. Where normally there would have been a serving of some type of grain, there now is an extra helping of vegetables.
I feel good, have no cravings and meals are uplifting and energizing. A little bit of creativity will make up for the lack of certain staples such as roti (with my Indian meals) or rice (with curry) or even tortillas (for tacos). And yes, I couldn’t help myself and made an awesome grain-, and dairy-free Paleo bread. Just for variety. But more on that later.
It is not always easy to follow a Paleo type diet, however. Like when you eat out. Most restaurant food revolves around protein and grains. Fish served on a bed of rice. Chicken risotto, shrimp pasta. And when you order the fish without the rice, it turns out that it is coated with flour. Vegetable servings in restaurants are often so small that you want to hold on to them before the air-conditioning breeze blows them off your plate. So eating out is not the best option at the moment.
Finding a variety of protein sources for me was a bit of a challenge. I can’t do chicken, beef, and shrimp because of food sensitivities and all three of these were favorites before this journey began. Processed meats are avoidable and pork is hard to find so that leaves me with goat meat and different kinds of fish and seafood options. But I must admit that experimenting with different recipes has been fun. We have done roasted goat tacos, fish curry on a bed of cauliflower rice, and mutton mince stuffed capsicum topped with spring onions and pine nuts.
Last, there is the time spent in the kitchen. Not in the least because the rest of the family expects “regular” meals. And chicken. And beef. And shrimp. So I am mastering the art of cooking in bulk, warming up left overs and freezing for later. And I remind myself of why I am doing this when I find myself in the kitchen for what seems to be the largest part of the day…
All in all, despite the occasional hick-up, I like where this is going. Cutting out grains, legumes, and dairy is making a difference, just like I was hoping it would.
Will share more as this journey unfolds.
X
Monique
The grain-free, dairy-free Paleo bread I was talking about is by The Spunky Coconut and you can find it here.
Previous posts on my Paleo journey in India:
Paleo Lesson 1: Pancakes have to go…
Guide to Eating Paleo: Bio-Individuality
