We’ve been having so much fun with these giveaways celebrating our upcoming release of Paleo Pals Jimmy and The Carrot Rocket Ship!   Today we have another fantastic one: Paleo People Fruit & Nut Cluster Snacks : a variety 8-pack!Paleo People creates “Paleo Style” Granolas, meaning recipes designed with cave dweller ancestors in mind. Their paleo snack products are created using ingredients like nuts, seeds, berries, fruits, spices & natural sweeteners – the types of foods found and gathered by our ancestors!

So here’s how to enter:  Please send an email to contests@everydaypaleo.com with your order number or proof of purchase for pre-ordering Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  You can also enter to win by emailing me a link to where you have tweeted, Facebooked, or blogged about Paleo Pals.  Thank you so much for your support!  Winners will be picked by random drawing and announced on my Facebook page and on the blog, so hurry and enter for your chance to win!

Stay tuned to the blog for our winner announcement and our next big giveaway. Visit our contest page for more details!

Paleo People, Fruit & Nut Cluster Snacks Giveaway! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Steve’s Originals Giveaway Winner! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Only a Couple of Weeks until my Laguna Niguel, CA Half Day Workshop! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Be excited because today’s giveaway is awesome!  Steve’s Originals is generously giving away a sampler pack that includes:

Grassfed Just Jerky

GF PaleoKit

GF PaleoStix

Coconut PaleoKit

2 Dark Choc Espresso PaleoKrunch bar

1 Cinnamon Swirl PaleoKrunch Cereal

2 Buffalo Wing Chicken Jerky

If you’ve ever ordered Steve’s Originals snacks, you know how yummy they are!  I cannot believe how fast we chow through them at my house!

Another thing that makes Steve’s Originals great is their Buy A Kit, Help A Kid Program. 15% of proceeds from PaleoKits, PaleoKrunch, and other Steve’s Original products go to the Steve’s Club National Program to help bring CrossFit, nutrition, and personaldevelopment to youth across the country – one kid at a time.   So you can snack happy, knowing you’re giving valuable health and fitness to kids, too!

So here’s how to enter:  Please send an email to contests@everydaypaleo.com with your order number or proof of purchase for pre-ordering Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  You can also enter to win by emailing me a link to where you have tweeted, Facebooked, or blogged about Paleo Pals.  Thank you so much for your support!  Winners will be picked by random drawing and announced on my Facebook page and on the blog, so hurry and enter for your chance to win!

Stay tuned to the blog for our next big giveaway and visit our contest page!

New Paleo Pals Giveaway from Steve’s Originals! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

TXBar Organics Grass-Fed Beef Winner!! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Paleo and Autoimmune

What Works for you is what matters

I have been trying to figure out Paleo for a while now, figuring out what works for me and my health. Over the past few weeks this journey has been anything but smooth. I am not a one day wonder or two week success story and will not pretend to be. I will write this journey as it goes, the good, the bad, the truthful and ugly side of it all.

One of the things that drew me to Paleo was that there were no gimmicks, set rules or unrealistic promises, no counting points, or pre-boxed meals, just clean healthy foods to be eaten however YOU choose. Right from the beginning it just all made sense. For the first time ever, I wanted this food journey to work for a life time, not to just look good for an event or because summer was quickly approaching.

However; for some of us even starting the Paleo diet with the best intentions is not so cut and dry and it can throw us off. In an earlier post I touched on how emotional eating can derail us, today it is about autoimmune issues.  If you are like me and start out a little behind the eight ball, Paleo can be a little less straight forward.

I have been blessed with (2) autoimmune issues (I don’t like the word disease, it sounds so final).  I have what I like to think of as a beautiful dancing butterfly in my thyroid called Hashimotos and a little thing called celiac, that reminds me to stay on the straight and narrow every day.

Believe me, I am in no way trying to minimize either of these issues by giving them pretty visuals or calling them “little things” I have been deathly ill from both, suffered years of not knowing what was wrong, been from Dr to Dr and had every blood test possible until I finally got my answers, and I also have 2 children with celiac, so I know firsthand the struggles, but I do try to look at them and find some sort of peace and joy in living with them.

On my goods days, when I feel strong and well, I feel bless to have both. They say something good always comes from something bad. One I inherited from my father who has passed on, so every time it flairs, I find a little smile on my face somewhere beneath my abdominal pains, cause I know he is looking down on me holding my hand and gets it. I also found Sarah, the Paleo world, the wonderful community on Everyday Paleo, EPLifefit and the deep inner strength that autoimmune issues gives you to never give up, even on those day you really want to.

So in this situation one would think Paleo would be perfect, no grains, no gluten, no intestinal pain, no thyroid inflammation, right?….wrong! sometimes we can do everything we think is right and still innocently slip up or put trust in the wrong hands. I had not been feeling very well as of late, I knew the signs (swollen thyroid, IBS, fatigue so bad I could barely walk, nausea morning noon and night, loss of appetite, bloating, the list goes on). But could not figure out where they were coming from, and why after hearing all these great success stories on paleo was I still  not becoming one of them. I was eating clean whole foods, following the Paleo rules but actually feeling worse than before. What was going on??

Don’t get me wrong I was not an A+ student in the healthy eating department before Paleo, just a gluten free, vegan version of bad. Gobbling up lots of carbs and gluten free processed foods, hey there are really good vegan, gluten free cookies, cakes and muffins etc. out there and I found them all!!. But I had taught myself how to keep the lion in me tamed this way and it was working, it was keeping my autoimmune symptoms away, I still felt like crap, just in a different way.

Situation one which I had not dealt with while being vegan, where eggs and meats (there seems to be some controversy over this comment but here it goes) It seems that depending on your level of sensitivity to gluten, eating meat and eggs that have been grain feed as opposed to grass feed can set you off. For me this seems to be true. I was eating what Paleo told me, but was feeling my autoimmune symptoms come on worse than before; how could this be? I had eliminated all grains and was definitely not eating gluten; or was I? It seems for me the grains in the meats and eggs were enough to irritate my symptoms!  As soon as I switched to grass feed meat and took out the eggs, things seemed to improve for me.

Second setback came from a restaurant chain that has a gluten free menu, (again not something I dealt with being Vegan, I usually would have ordered salad with oil and vinegar on the side) this time I ordered a nice gluten free paleo dinner and within a few hours was so violently ill I could not move for days.  Mistake number two …cross contamination!! It may have been a gluten free menu, but certainly was not a gluten free meal…

So does Paleo still make sense, Yes.  Is this journey still amazing, yes, even with its ups and down. But in my opinion it is only amazing once you make it your journey and have figure out what is best for you and your situations. And there we are, back to the reason I loved the Paleo Plan in the first place, it is NOT a one size first all…..

Until next time, much peace and health

Lisa

Paleo and Autoimmune: What Works for You is What Matters is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

To start your journey into the land of RSS, click this : http://feeds.everydaypaleo.com/everydaypaleo
For users that still want emails of new content you can enter your address at the bottom of the site.

-Dain

is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

“Creamy” Chicken Tomato Soup
4 frozen skinless boneless chicken breast
Garlic salt to taste
2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 clove garlic
1 14 oz. can of coconut milk (full fat)
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes and juice
1 cup of chicken broth (I used homemade chicken broth but you can use store bought)
Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Put all the above ingredients into the crock-pot, cook for 9 hours on low. After 9 hours take two forks and shred the chicken, set the crock-pot on warm till ready to serve (making sure to taste it before serving to make sure there is enough salt and pepper)

Served: 6 (with left over’s for lunch the next day)

Total cost: 17.48 (this is the price if you had to go buy all the ingredients; chicken, chicken broth, spices, coconut milk and diced tomatoes.. if you are buying spices at Safeway they always have a buy two get one free deal going on if you buy their brand)

Total cost per person: 2.91

hope you all enjoy my pocket friendly college budget paleo meal

Another Budget Friendly Paleo Meal by Erika: “Creamy” Chicken Tomato Crockpot Soup is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Sounds like some lovely Spanish tapas, right?

Sorry folks, nothing delicious about this one.

You may have noticed that for a time, Everyday Paleo was completely offline with a strike message. We decided that we don’t want to be totally inaccessible so I have replaced the lockout with a landing page that allows regular site use (obviously, because you are here).

“But this is a recipe and life site and is not the appropriate platform for waging political battles”

I suggest to you that SOPA and PIPA are far FAR more important to you than you may realize. I can’t say anything that hasn’t already been written about SOPA and PIPA. I will suggest that you read up on the two bills and then think how would it affect your Internet habits. I have included a few links that do a good job at explaining it without too much fear-mongering and editorializing. It’s up to you, folks. Do you really think that the “bad guys” of the Internet will stop what they’re doing because of this? If I were a pirate, I’d just move my server, change addresses, use different DNS, use proxy servers etc. Intellectual property theft is a giant problem, a problem that we deal with at Everyday Paleo in fact. However, piracy is not going away with the passage of these two power grab pieces of legislation.

Read the actual bills here:
SOPA
PIPA

From Google:
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

How SOPA would affect you from CNET:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57329001-281/how-sopa-would-affect-you-faq/

The Oatmeal has a great bit (NSFW)
http://theoatmeal.com/

-Dain

SOPA and PIPA is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Emotional Changes…..and a Collar Bone!!

Before I began this blog I want to thank all of you for your wonderful support. It was more than I ever imagined and to be honest was one of the big parts of keeping me focused and on track this far.

I am excited to report that I have been going through many changes both physical and emotional over the last few weeks. So many changes that it took me a lot of time, writing and rewriting this blog to figure out what I wanted to talk about first. I decided on our emotional connection with food, I figured that was a topic many of us can relate to.

Is it common to have mixed emotions when transitioning into the Paleo lifestyle?  I am pretty sure most of you are going to say yes, and I did expect some emotions to come up, just not in the way they did.

My first few weeks transitioning to a Paleo lifestyle has been both hell and heaven combined. I was surprised to see from many of your post a lot of you also switched from a vegan/vegetarian diet, so you know that that transition in itself was a massive adjustment. Then Sarah (in her loving way) informs me, no sugar….NO SUAGR!!! Are you crazy, do I stand tall and not so proud and say I am a sugar addict? No question, I am not one of those salad loving, carrot chomping girls by nature. I want the chocolate, the cookies, the carbs (in my case gluten free) but really, when you are shoving them in as fast as I could, who cared if they tasted like cardboard or heaven, a cookie was a cookie. And for the record I am not the, “Oh how lovely a chocolate, why thank you”, No, No, I am the give me the whole box and step away.

By the end of Day 1, ok day 2, 3 and probably 4, I wanted to quit. I was feeling very much out of my comfort zone and did not like that, here is part of a great quote Jason Seib on EPLifefit posted to me (Jason hope you don’t mind) “The good news is  you realize your comfort zone was not the best place for you”.

Processed foods where no longer an option, I had to plan and think about what I was putting in my body, it was very overwhelming and as silly as it sounds, scary. I thought I would starve and to be completely honest for a few days I did, not because of Paleo,  but because I froze in fear. I decided I would just starve and feel sorry for myself like I had a million times before. Needless to say that did not last very long, I realized with Sarah holding my hand I had the power to change myself. My body had been whispering to me and now the choice became mine, and I was willing to listen.

I had to relearn how to eat, relearn my way around the super market, the middle isles where no longer my friend…I had to learn how to hunt and gather!!

Thankfully I am connecting with the wonderful people on EPLifeFit, they keep me strong, direct me, answer my questions, cheer me on, and openly share their stories, and they are not going to let me fail.

I began to think, others had done this Paleo thing, had success, and where feeling better so why not me. The facts and science where there, read Sarah’s book Everyday Paleo, check out the awesome testimonies on EPLifeFit or read anything written by Robb Wolf, or Dr.Loren Cordain.

I quickly realized, I like many of us eat like a robot, we have our go to foods, usually comfort foods, don’t think much about them, just buy, unwrap, heat and eat. They are lacking in nutrition, they are quick, easy and full of chemicals and fillers. My question quickly became what are we as humans really feeding? Not our body that is for sure, we are eating for all the wrong reason.

Following the Paleo lifestyle, I continue to discover what foods bother me personally and are setting off my thyroid. That’s one of the great pros of Paleo, it is a personal plan not a one size fits all… (Did you know eggs bother autoimmune issues)

As the weeks continue and I finally feel more in control of what is right and wrong for me and my health, and yet something odd is happening. I am missing the old me, the sugar binges, the feeling crappy, it defined me, it was comfortable, I knew my place, my go to foods.. Now those go to foods make me ill, bloated and nauseous (as they always did, now it is just really obvious), not that I crave them now physically (emotional cravings are a whole other story) , but I want to, I want that comfort in the form that I knew it.

When I find myself pacing the floor, going to the kitchen looking for old faithful, this little annoying question pops up. What do I really want? What am I really searching for? What am I really trying to feed?

We all know change is uncomfortable, even good change, but who knew bettering yourself and your health, could make you so uncomfortable

I continue to look forward to more changes that are to come, and am slowly realizing it is more my mind and its thoughts that I need to change. I am happy to report I no longer physically crave sugar or carb-y (is that a word!!) foods. But my brain has not yet caught up. Every day, every single day it is still telling me to go to the store buy the junk food and EAT IT!!!  Our brains are very powerful tools that like routine and my routine for many years has been JUNK.

WAIT!!! Is that a collar bone I see!!! YES!!

I wish you all much joy and happiness – untill next time, here is a quick recipe that I have been using for a quick and easy meal!

Paleo Lettuce Wraps

2 packs Canadian Bacon
8 Romaine lettuce leafs (you can also use boston, or iceberg)
Sweet onion
Mustard (Paleo)
1 whole avocado
Tomato

In one pan cook up bacon ( I steamed mine in pan with water) and chop and fry onion (again I steamed mine in pan with water, once transparent I added a touch of EVOO and quickly tossed around)
slice avocado length wise
chop tomato into small pieces
wash and dry lettuce leafs

Take lettuce leaf fill with 2 slices bacon, top with avocado, tomato and fried onion and touch of mustard to tastes…ENJOY
Serves 4

Update From Lisa – Emotional Changes….and a Collar Bone!! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Yesterday I received my advanced copy of Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship, and needless to say, it’s been an amazing and emotional experience…

I am so happy it’s complete, wishing my mom was here to share in my excitement, grateful for the love and support form my amazing family, and hopeful that this book will benefit other families striving to live a paleo lifestyle. You can pre-order now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble and the official release date is February 14th!

Paleo Pals Advanced Copy Arrived!!! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Thought you’d like to know that everything is under control and you’re not going crazy.

(UPDATE 2:41 GMT-8) OK that was a mess. Back to the old way until I can get things to work better.

-Dain

DON’T PANIC! Just a little cosmetic tweaking. is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Everyday Paleo Half Day Workshop in Laguna Niguel, CA! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

*Thanks you Katie of Wellness Mama for another informative and fun post!

Switching to natural laundry options can be a very easy transition. It doesn’t take much time or effort, and you can save a substantial amount of money.

Why switch?

Conventional laundry detergent typically contains a list of chemicals and many have not been proven safe. Most detergents contain sulfates, petroleum distillates and phenols, as well as artificial fragrances and dyes.

There are natural, homemade options for laundry detergent, stain treatment and even fabric softener. Most of the natural options work as well or better than the conventional alternatives and offer substantial savings.

For instance, when I switched to making my own laundry detergent, I noticed the following savings:

With the amount this mixture I use (1/4 cup) per load of laundry (powdered detergent), this recipe works out to $0.09 cents per load of laundry. This saves me almost $0.15 per load over using Arm and Hammer or Tide. With the liquid recipe, the saving are even more. A Five-Gallon batch costs $4.30 and washes at least 80 loads, costing about $0.05 per load.

The following are my favorite recipes for natural laundry products after several years of trying different formulas:

Powdered Laundry Detergent:

You need:

• 1 cup Washing Soda (available in the laundry section of most stores)
• 1 cup Borax (available in the laundry section of most stores)
• 1 bar of natural bar soap (I use homemade soap or Dr. Bronner’s bar soap, which is available in the natural/organic section at many grocery stores)

How to Make:

1. Using a fine cheese grater or a small food processor, grate the bar soap until it is a fine powder (make sure it is not an overly moisturizing soap, or this will just make a big clump of soap)
2. Mix the grated bar soap with 1 cup of Washing Soda, and 1 cup of borax until evenly mixed.
3. Store in a 1 quart mason jar or similar sized container and use 1-4 tablespoons per load, depending on how dirty the clothes are.

I typically use 1 tablespoon per load for most clothes, though I have used up to 4 tablespoons on clothes that were muddy or stained.

Liquid Laundry Detergent:

I use this laundry soap 90% of the time and it works really well. One batch lasts months and it is very simple to make.

You need:

• 1 cup Washing Soda (available in the laundry section of most stores)
• 1 cup Borax (available in the laundry section of most stores)
• 1 bar of natural bar soap (I use homemade soap or Dr. Bronner’s bar soap, which is available in the natural/organic section at many grocery stores)
• A large 5-gallon plastic bucket with lid (the bakery section of most stores have these from the icing they use and will usually give you one if you ask)
• Gallon jugs (or other container) for storing the laundry soap

How to Make:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 quarts of water over medium high heat.
2. While it is heating, grate in the bar soap using a cheese grater.
3. Stir until soap has dissolved completely.
4. In the 5-gallon bucket, put 4 gallons of hot (not boiling) water and add the 1 cup of washing soda and borax and stir until dissolved.
5. Pour the dissolved soap mixture into the bucket and stir well until soap is mixed in.
6. Put the lid on the bucket and leave overnight. This will allow the soap to cool and gel.
7. After 24 hours, remove the lid, stir well (I use an immersion blender to make sure it is well mixed) and pour into clean, gallon size jugs for use.
8. Use 1/2 cup per load.

I have used both of the above recipes on cloth diapers and delicate fabrics without a problem.

If you aren’t ready to tackle making your own laundry soap, the three top store bought natural brands that I’ve used that work really well are: Soapnuts (read about them… fascinating), Charlie’s Soap Powder, and Nellie’s Laundry Soda. All three are cloth diaper approved.

Homemade Oxy Clean

With 4 kids in the house, stains are a big issue and this is one of my go-to solutions. Oxy Clean is actually a pretty decent natural option, but the homemade version is easy to make and the ingredients are good to have on hand anyway.

I found the idea for this recipe on Pinterest (warning: it’s addictive!) and it works really well!

You Need:

• 2 parts water
• 1 part Hydrogen Peroxide
• 1 part baking soda

How to Make:

1. Pre-mix the ingredients and store in a dark colored opaque spray bottle for pre-treating stains (I just pour back into the hydrogen peroxide bottle and put a spray top on)
2. For entire loads that need extra cleaning or brightening, just add 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide and 1/4 cup of baking soda to the wash load and let soak for 30 minutes before running through the full cycle.

Stain Treatment:

For more specific stains, the type of treatment can make a big difference in how well the stain comes out.

With the right pre-treatment, most stains are removable, even paint and ink.

You can read my full article about how to treat different types of stains here.

For quick reference, I also created the infographic on the left for fast reference. I keep this sheet by the washer for reference.

Here is a printable version of the infographic: Click to download.

Do you use natural alternatives for your laundry? What are your favorite tips and tricks for keeping clothes clean naturally? Please share below!

Natural Laundry Solutions is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Someone asked me on my Facebook page to post more slow cooker recipes which was quite coincidental because yesterday, as I was reading that particular post, I was unpacking a giant pork roast that I intended to make into pulled pork.  This is about the easiest meal a person could make and so versatile.  This morning we ate the pulled pork with eggs and tonight I’ll make some Purple Cabbage Slaw to eat along with the pork and I’ll maybe even make a salad out of it for lunch tomorrow; if there is any left (which I doubt there will be….)

Beyond Easy Pulled Pork

4-5 lb pork butt roast

2 yellow onions, sliced

Dry Rub

3 tbsps chili powder

1 tsp coriander

2 tsps cumin

2 tsps onion powder

1 tablespoon dried parsley

¼ teaspoon chipotle powder

2 tsps sea salt

Mix all dry rub ingredients together.  Rub the entire roast with the dry rub (you should use it all.)  Place a layer of onions on the bottom of your slow cooker.  Place the roast on top.  Put the rest of the sliced onions on top of the slow cooker.  NO LIQUID NECESSARY!  Cook the roast on high for 5-6 hours and then turn down to low for another 3-4 hours or until the roast is literally falling apart and easy to shred.

Enjoy!

Beyond Easy Pulled Pork is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Sorry for the silence on my part lately.  EPLifeFit is booming and keeping me quite busy.   Excuses, excuses…

I often preach the merits of proper perspective (here, for example) and today I just want to give you a quick example of what can happen if your head is in the right place.  I would like you to meet Laura.  When Laura first came to me she was an avid runner, tried to “eat right”, and hadn’t ever really spent any time lifting weights.  All in all, she was very much the average person to walk through our door – her head was full of common exercise and nutrition myths and she was unhappy.

Yes, Laura seemed to be the typical client in the typical state of health and fitness, but she is the exception to the rule in one important way: she is not driven by aesthetic goals.  I first realized her true potential when she came to me and requested personal training.  She had been attending our group classes for a while, made some good progress, and now wanted to get on a faster track to her goals.  I asked her what she expected to get out of personal training and started to half way check out of the conversation because this is the part where most people start pointing at various parts of their bodies and pinching their chubby spots to emphasize their disgust with themselves.  (Frankly, it always makes me want to scream, “You can’t fix a body you hate!” but I usually refrain in the hopes that they will see the light over time.)  Laura’s reply: “I want to deadlift 300 lbs.”

What did she just say??  I went over the sentence in my head trying to figure out where she had hidden the words “fat”, “butt”, and “thighs”.  Did she really just tell me that she wanted to accomplish a massive feat of physical capacity, even though she was not yet built like a super model??  This woman gets it!  Count me in!

Where did her pursuits take her?  Heavy lifting and proper paleo nutrition got her a body that looks like this…

And it happened by accident.  The fact that she looks great was a nice little added bonus.  Laura constantly improves her physical appearance by focusing on her health and physical capacity, and she effortlessly maintains her gains in a world where yo-yo dieting is a household phrase that is actually defined on Wikipedia (but you don’t have to look it up because everyone already knows what it means).

Here is the moral of Laura’s story.  If you came to me with Laura’s perspective and asked me if I thought you were capable of dramatic change for the better, my answer would be a definitive Yes!  In fact, I would be anxious and excited to watch those magical changes happen right before our eyes, and absolutely confident that we would both end up better people for the experience.  But if you came to me in the typical self-loathing fashion of many people, I could only tell you that I am confident in the accuracy of my map to where you want to go.  I could by no means guarantee that you wouldn’t erect insurmountable obstacles in your own path.

It really is all up to you.

More on this subject coming soon.

Go forth and be awesome.

Proper Perspective at Work is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Believe In yourself, Believe In others.

Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe that people with kindness and compassion still exist?

I am here to say; believe! Sarah is my miracle, she is kind, compassionate and genuinely wants to share her knowledge.  With the help of Everyday Paleo and Everyday Paleo Lifestyle and Fitness, my journey to health has begun. But first, I’ll tell you what lead me here.

Like many, I want to live to be 105, dancing around and laughing, but with heart issues, high blood pressure and cholesterol issues in my family history, I figured I had better follow the “perfect healthy lifestyle” and so my vegan journey began.

 After a while (a very short while) I began struggling with weird symptoms and overtime the symptoms became too many to bear. I had quickly gained 25lbs, suffered bloating, gas, fatigue (so bad some days just the thought of crossing the street was unbearable), a thyroid that would visibly swell up, IBS, anxiety, tingling in my hands and feet, all sorts of food sensitivities (I went from being a creative cook to fearing foods and even bland foods like rice bothered me), joint and muscle pain, stiffness, and the list goes on and on.

After a million visits to the doctor as well as seeing every specialist, tons of blood work, ultrasounds and x-rays, every really serious test came back normal.

Through all of this some of the tests confirmed that I had a B12, iron and vitamin D deficiency and supplementing got rid of those, thankfully, along with the tingling and some of the fatigue. Further testing lead to gluten intolerance and I was later told it was actually celiac; well that explained the IBS, anxiety (yes a gluten intolerance symptom) vitamin  deficiency connection and why I was sudden struggling with so many food sensitivities (the gluten had caused leaky gut).

That was it; according to the doctor, nothing else was wrong, “Go home, the rest is in your head and by the way here is a prescription to calm your mental state,”…..what!!! Prescription? There was nothing wrong with my mental state except that I was following this “healthy vegan lifestyle” and feeling weaker and sicker by the day……I threw the Rx into the garbage and continued with my personal search.

The sad part was, no one could really seem to help, no one had the answers to my questions, everyone kept telling me these were detoxing signs, my body was healing.  Healing for 4 year??

I found an ND that told me I needed to add animal protein back into my diet and to get off the grains. No way, that was not true, that will make me sicker – and I ignored her advice (I have since told her I love her and that she is awesome). The search continued and I upped the grains, did more juicing, took wheatgrass shots; come on Lisa you can pull out of this! But I kept failing and feeling like a failure to my body, my body was crying for me to save it and I was crying for it to be saved.

Two yeas ago I ran across a new doctor who seemed to have some interest in actually listening to me, he would see me quickly when a symptom would pop up so he could physically see for himself what was happening….. Finally I was going to get my answers, someone believed me, someone saw what I felt. After reviewing all my symptoms over many months, he decide we needed to run some tests on my thyroid, ahha thyroid, remember how it would swell up and go down? Hashimoto reared its little head, there it was plain as day. This explained a lot of both past and present symptoms. (Not all in my head now was Dr X from the past? Ok, yes I’m still a little bitter). I sat up like a child on the first day of kindergarten awaiting my teacher to speak. Change your diet he told me, you can fix all of this with diet. I looked at him with a puzzled and confused look, diet – what do you mean diet? I eat very healthy, like a proud peacock I announced, “You know I am Vegan”, I know he said, change your diet……See a nutritionist, and get help to become healthy again.

I read everything I could get my hands on, interviewed nutrionist and I thought this is crazy no one knows what they are talking about.

Then one day in all my searching I found Robb Wolfs book, Hmm this guy’s seems pretty confident in what he is saying. Through his book I found Sarah’s website and book Everyday Paleo.  I read it and something clicked. I cannot explain what, something in her words, her energy coming through on the pages in her book, I don’t know, it was just her, I had never met her but I trusted her. As I was reading her book I felt she wanted the best for me and I found the courage to reached out to her.  ”Please help me.” I asked, “I can’t do this alone anymore, I am tired and I need more than a pat on the head, I need someone to hold my hand every step of the way. I am scared of what you will tell me to do and eat, I know what I am doing is not working, but what you are saying is going against all I have been convinced of.” Sarah agreed!!! OMG she agreed to guide me, to mentor me. For that I am forever thankful. I am very much afraid of where this road with her will go, it is against all I have convinced myself is good, but all I know right now is it has been about a week since following her advice, being ative and involved with Everyday Paleo Lifestyle and Fitness, and I feel good; unless I stray (come on you knew I had to test the theory).

My advice to all of you for 2012, never ever give up on yourself, hang strong to your instincts and never be afraid to ask…..Someone might just say YES!!!!  I’ll be back soon to give you an update on how I am doing.

Wishing you all much joy and love

Lisa

Believe In Yourself, Believe In Others: Introducing Lisa is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Wednesday at 9 AM Pacific, Noon Eastern Time on VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Channel

Beverly Meyer Beverly Meyer is a Holistic and Clinical Nutritionist, with an MBA from Emory University. She is a passionate advocate for the art of self-care. In practice since 1985, her Naturopathic approach encourages others to find their unique and personal solutions without following traditional thinking, or just settling for relief of symptoms. Until health challenges led her to a health make-over in the 1980’s, she owned and managed six small businesses, receiving national recognition in magazines such as Entrepreneur, Glamour and Money. She is currently the owner of the Diet and Health Center – her private practice for classes and clients, and Center for Life, the largest natural health center in San Antonio, Texas. Her philosophy in solving each person’s health puzzle is to first REMOVE those things causing stress and harm, such as intolerant foods, and poor choices in drugs, supplements, and lifestyle. Only then are supplements or therapies added. This approach has let Beverly help others who have been on the health path for years without success. Food First is her motto. It’s Health with a Dose of Humor. Learn More »     Missed the Live Shows? Past Episodes are available On Demand and Podcast Read Listen Live toVoiceAmerica Health & WellnessBe sure to tune into Primal Diet – Modern Health Log on to Listen:www.voiceamerica.com Questions? Comments? Call: 1-866-472-5792

I’ll be a guest on: Primal Diet – Modern Health! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Everyday Paleo Workshop this Saturday in Marysville, CA! is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

My latest labor of love, Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship is now off to print with a release date of February 14th!  I had so much fun writing this book and it was truly a family driven project with Jaden and Rowan patiently listening over and over again as  the story developed.  My little ones were always eager to give their important and wise feedback that only an 8 and 4 year old can give, while my oldest son Coby and my husband John were instrumental with the development of this book.  Thank you so much to my awesome little family for your undying support of my never ending ideas…

Now, check out this video that will give you a sneak peak of the Paleo Pals!!

You can now pre-order Paleo Pals from Amazon or Barnes & Noble and I’m also super excited to announce that I most likely will be going on a book tour during the release week of the Paleo Pals!  Exact dates and locations will be announced as I find out more details.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support and my hope is that the Paleo Pals will be the superheros that your family has been hoping for.

Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

I used to find myself feeling as if the hand that life had dealt to me was simply “what it was” and that I was destined somehow to be unhappy, to be unhealthy. But I have always been a fighter and there has always been that little spark that even after being dealt several hefty blows, that little spark had never entirely been put out.

So, I encourage you to fight.  You do not have to be stuck.  You do not have to be “ok” with the hand that life has dealt to you but it takes COURAGE!!  Are you brave enough to make those changes that you know need to be changed?  Are you confident in your ability to take those first steps out of your comfort zone, no matter how difficult those first steps  might be?  Have you finally decided to turn off those ugly little voices in your head that try to stop you from being exactly what you know you want to be?

The only time you have to face this journey all alone is when you are faced with the fact that sometimes YOU are the only force that makes you stuck. All the support in the world that you need is out there, but you and you alone have to take that first step. Ultimately, you can play a giant role in choosing your own destiny and you are the only one who decides weather or not you can succeed, no matter what the goal might be.  Yes, you might fall down, yes life is hard, yes change is difficult so you can plod along and just take it as it comes or you can make it; and I urge you to CHOOSE what happens next with your own life because otherwise you will find yourself another year down the road and still….. stuck.

When you open your mind, open your eyes, and open your life to opportunity, to change,  and to positive influences, the excuses start to dwindle and you will find yourself truly steering your life in a way that is meaningful more often than simply accepting “what has happened.”

I hope that 2012 is an amazing year for all of you and as I continue on my own journey I am excited to share what happens with the Fragoso family as we continue on this exciting ride.  I also can’t wait to hear back from you – what are you going to do this year to become “unstuck!!”

Are You Stuck?? is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Wow, I can’t believe it’s almost here.  Christmas again.  I really do love the holidays but  I always find myself feeling nostalgic and a bit emotional as we head towards the 25th of December.  I miss the simplicity of how it used to be when I was little; when my mom was still with us and the innocence of not knowing that someday we would have to face Christmas without her. I miss when my grandma’s house in Huntington Beach, CA would be our warm winter escape from our old and drafty farmhouse in cold Northern California.  I miss the wonderful feeling of when the two week break from school would seem to last forever. And finally, I miss being really super extremely excited about everything in the entire world and how great it feels to wake up on Christmas morning knowing that it was a SPECIAL DAY!

Although these memories make my heart ache for the familiar, I am also grateful for the new memories that we are creating.  I can’t wait to cook a giant paleo feast to share with my family who will soon be spilling into our house, making the kids laugh and scream and the dogs bark and spin in circles. I am beyond excited to spoil my precious little niece who is such a bright light in my life. I love it that we will hold true to our goofy family tradition of singing our favorite Christmas carols at the top of our lungs.  I can’t wait to hug close my dear brother and sweet sister.  I know I can count on my dad and uncle to tell us hilarious stories in extremely loud voices, and that my boys will stay up way too late and run around and drive me crazy while I try to cook for 15 people. More than anything else, I know that at the end of the day on Christmas, I’ll snuggle up with John and soak up the warmth and love that comes along with the holiday season, and once again I will realize that what I have right now is amazing and beautiful. Although things will never be like they used to, I don’t want to live in the past because it’s up to me to make the most of right now, this moment, this second…

With that being said, my hope to all of you is to have the Happiest, Healthiest, and most peaceful of Holidays and I send you my deepest appreciation for your continued support of this little blog along with our warmest wishes from my family to yours.  Hold your loved ones close, honor those who are no longer with us, give gratitude to the brave men and women who are protecting us from harm, and revel in the beauty of what we have in each other.

Here is what I plan to make for Christmas dinner.

Prime Rib,  Everyday Paleo Stuffing, Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Pear Salad, and Bacon Wrapped Asparagus, with Pumpkin Pie for dessert.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus is super easy.  Wrap your raw asparagus tightly with a piece of bacon, sprinkle with some black pepper and grill over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the bacon is crispy, turning once half way through the cooking time.

On Christmas Eve I’m making a giant pot of Albondigas Soup.

My Holiday Ramblings and Our Christmas Menu is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

*Note from Sarah: Coby.  My oldest son.  My teenage hero and the kid that keeps me sane when his little brothers are driving me crazy.  I wish I could explain to you what Coby means to me but how could I? It’s like trying to explain the vast expanse of the universe, so I won’t even try. Anyway,  I asked Coby a while ago if he would write a blog post and he totally went for it! Below is what he has written; from the heart of a 16 year old, he has shared with you his own personal paleo journey – short and sweet and to the point. Thank you Coby for your honesty and your willingness to put yourself out there in hopes to share with other kids that living this lifestyle can be your own unique experience.   

Coby’s Paleo Perspective

My name is Coby Fragoso, I am sixteen, and I am Sarah Fragoso’s first son. You probably don’t know much about me, but mom has wanted me to make a blog post for a while so here I am! The reason I’m not noticed much, I think, is because it’s my little brothers that look cute on the front cover of my mom’s book. I am still here though, and I have stuff to say too, like my story about being dragged along with this whole paleo thing…

I remember I never really liked bread anyways. I did not like sandwiches, and I didn’t like pizza that much. One thing I miss though is pasta. I loved pasta with all the different types of sauces. But anyways it was weird for the first couple months we started going paleo, and I’ll admit, I didn’t like it. I definitely noticed a change in what we ate and I did not enjoy eating the new food. I thought it was bland and it just did not taste right. I never complained about the food though and I eventually got used to it, or my mom became better at cooking. She never forced me to eat paleo, I just eventually stopped eating food that wasn’t paleo because I felt it was the right thing to do, and at home I didn’t have any other choice.

 A little over a year ago, I actually gave in and got a hamburger on a white bun, and it made me sick. Ever since than I have not touched any thing with gluten. I actually really like not eating things like breads and pastas; it’s something that separates me from everyone, especially at school. People will see me bring things like salami and grapes to school, or order a bun-less burger from Big Chico Burger during lunch, and they will ask me, “why don’t you eat bread?” and I say, “Because I don’t want to.”

For me it really is more of a choice, I could survive if we WERE eating bread and sugar and stuff, but I simply don’t want to. It’s something that makes me insanely different from all the people who think it’s weird to have something as simple as a different hairstyle. I guess it makes me feel rebellious or something. I don’t plan to stop eating paleo ever actually, it’s what feels right to me, and it’s what I want do gosh dangit!

I no longer break out with zits, I’m not as tired anymore during the day, and I never get stomachaches like I used to.  I have never felt better in my life.

My favorite paleo meals include:  My mom’s meatloaf, bacon, Brussels sprouts and bacon, sausage and eggs, omelets, Thai yellow curry, bun-less burgers, dry rub grilled ribeye, and really everything we eat is good.

My Teenagers Perspective on Paleo: Guest Blog by Coby Fragoso is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

I am not a blogger who typically blogs about products because otherwise, products would end up being the only thing I ever blogged about, BUT holy cow, Steve’s Original is not just another paleo product, it’s a phenomenal company making incredibly tasty food and giving back to children who need help, guidance, and hope for a solid future.

I was lucky enough to receive a sample pack of Steve’s Original goodies and we were not disappointed with any of their yummy offerings.  People are always asking me where to find jerky and paleo snacks that are not filled with gluten, sugar, or other unhealthy fillers and Steve’s Original Paleo Kits, dried fruits, Just Jerky, and Krunch Bars (to name just a few of their offerings) all fit the bill.

My kids LOVED everything we tried and Coby, my high school student, has made me promise to keep on ordering so that he can easily bring the Paleo Kits to school with him for lunch. He loved how convenient it was to drop a Paleo Kit into his already stuffed back pack and have a portable lunch ready to go that required no thought to prepare.

If you would like to give some of Steve’s Original food a try, Steve has been kind enough to offer a 10% discount on your first order by using discount code, “everydaypaleo” and Steve will have this discount available to you up until Tuesday, December 20th.

Here’s Rowan and Jaden enjoying the Paleo Krunch Cereal with coconut milk!

Steve was kind enough to send me samples of his products, however, I did not promise anything in return and I was not bribed, begged, or coerced into promoting Steve’s Original. I am happy to tell you all to check out this amazing companies products because we really love their food and what they are doing to help kiddos.  I hope you enjoy!

Steve’s Original is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Upcoming Workshop is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License