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8 ways to party and keep it paleo socalising christmas

8 Ways to Party – and Keep it Paleo

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It’s that time of year again where the party season is in full flow. It’s a time where everyone should be in good spirits, surrounding themselves with great food, music, and most importantly, great company. It can sometimes be a bit of a challenge to stay on track with your Paleo lifestyle at this time of the year, especially if your family and friends aren’t as conscious about their health as you are. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways that you can stay on your path to better health, whilst not missing out on any of the enjoyment of the holiday season.

8 ways to party and keep it paleo socalising christmas

1. Be careful at the buffet

This one is self explanatory, but if you’re at a social event hosted by a non Paleo friend or family, the chances are the buffet table will be laden with gluten, sugar, and countless additives. If you’re hungry and don’t want to miss out on the social connection of eating with friends, head straight for the crudités. Filling your plate with crunchy raw vegetables will help you stay sociable and have a full plate at the same time. You may be lucky and find some nice meats, hardboiled eggs, and maybe even some salted nuts. Just watch out for anything swimming in sauce, as its most probably ‘enhanced’ with sugar and some kind of thickening agent.

Sometimes it can come across rude asking ‘can you check the ingredients in that?’ or ‘are those sausages gluten free?’ – so it’s best to stick to the food you know will be safe. If you’re really concerned there will be nothing for you to eat, tip number 2 is something worth bearing in mind.

2.    Eat before you leave

If you don’t want to risk being gluten bombed at the buffet, I’d recommend eating a good meal before you leave. It might mean changing around your meal times slightly, but it’s much better to leave the house knowing you have eaten well, rather than fret about the lack of healthy options when you arrive. If there is anything suitable for you, then hey, it’s a bonus!

3.    Experiment with IF

If you’ve never tried Intermittent Fasting before, now could be as good a time as ever. If you’re going to be travelling to visit relatives, or at long events where there may be a lack of good food options, why not try incorporating a 12 – 24 hour fast into your day?

4.    Paleo cocktails

If you’re at a social event where the drinks are flowing, you may be presented with a lack of options. If you want to stay alcohol free, there are plenty of great non alcoholic cocktails you can make. Equally, a sparkling water with some ice and a wedge of lime is refreshing and looks sociable.

If you want to treat yourself to a drink or two, do so. You deserve it. Just stay away from the beer and high sugar mixers if you can. Your best choices would be red or white wine, but if you’re in the mood for spirits, look towards cocktails made with tequila or rum. Try and mix them with low sugar options like sparkling water or vegetable based juices to avoid blood sugar crashes. Dark rum and coconut water is incredibly refreshing, and the electrolytes in the coconut water will counteract the dehydrating effect of the alcohol.

5.    Throw your own

If you really can’t face a non Paleo party, why not throw your own instead? You don’t have to make a big fuss about the health benefits of your food – simply serve up lots of tasty meat, veggies, and Paleo friendly drinks and nibbles. You’ll be able to spend good quality time with your friends and family, whilst being able to enjoy clean, wholesome food at the same time. Chances are, they’ll be none the wiser either!

6.    Take advantage of the extra free time with long walks

We know how important it is to move often, so try and incorporate a good amount of movement into your day where you can. If you can’t get to a gym, you can’t beat a long walk with friends or family. Alternatively, head to your local park in the morning for a few sprints and pull ups using tree branches. You’ll have some extra free time (hopefully!) so put it to good use with a bit of exercise every day.

7.    Sleep well

Again, take advantage of the extra free time and focus on getting some good quality sleep. Aim for at least 8 hours a night, and as you have no work to set an alarm for, wake up when the sun wakes up to reset your circadian rhythm.

8.    Don’t worry too much!

Last but not least, if you do fall off track, don’t beat yourself up about it. Wake up the next morning, and get back on the Paleo wagon. After all, you have eaten healthily for the other 364 days of the year – we’re all entitled to ‘off’ days every now and then. Simply put it to the back of your mind and move on. The most important thing about this time of the year is the people you spend it with, and a bit of a slip up every now and then won’t hurt you.

Happy Thanksgiving paleo recipes turkey healthy

Happy Thanksgiving

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With a lot of my readers being American, I couldn’t ignore the fact that today is Thanksgiving in the USA. So if you’re American – Happy Thanksgiving – and if not – how about having your own international Thanksgiving day? It’s often quite hard to get hold of Turkey where I live in Australia, but I find it a little easier to obtain at this time of year, thanks to the American Expats who live here!

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving, how can you accommodate your guests while still keeping it Paleo? Fortunately there are several options out there that will be great for everyone, using a few substitutions to the traditional Thanksgiving menu.
Happy Thanksgiving paleo recipes turkey healthy

Substitution Ideas For Traditional (Non Paleo!) Thanksgiving Recipes:

  • Substituting bread crumbs. A lot of recipes will ask for bread crumbs when you are cooking. A good alternative to bread crumbs is crushed up pork crackling/ pork rinds. Just crush them to the same consistency as you would bread crumbs – or alternatively try ground nuts.
  • Instead of sugar, if you can, try to omit entirely. If you can’t, try a more natural sweetener, like raw honey.
  • Substitute starch with spaghetti squash, butternut squash, or acorn squash.
  • If you are planning on making a salad use a natural dressing like olive oil and lemon or lime.
  • If you’re making a dessert, a recipe may call for whipped cream. An alternative to whipped cream is chilled coconut milk – both healthy and delicious.
  • Instead of making a traditional desert, keep it simple with berries in coconut milk.

Cooking for a group of family and friends is a great chance to show case your Paleo diet – and show that eating healthy food does not sacrifice amazing tasting food.

Thanksgiving is a time to share thanks for the blessings in your life – a worth while thing to do if you’re American or not. Are you celebrating Thanksgiving this year?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween healthy paleo recipes

Happy Halloween

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Do you celebrate Halloween? Like so many festivals, Halloween is heavily linked with trashy food. If you are interested in ways to have a great Halloween while still following a healthy Paleo lifestyle then read on, because I have some great ideas to help you have a fun holiday.

Halloween healthy paleo recipes

One of the things to keep in mind with Halloween is that it’s all about spending time with family and friends and having a good time – rather than the treats you can and cannot eat. I know that Halloween is a big “treat” holiday, but there are plenty of other things you can focus on to have a good time.

As far as trick-or-treating goes, you can still have fun and do that; however you want to focus on the social fun traditional aspect of it, rather than the end result of candy. Take your family out and have fun. You can have a lot of fun creating unique costumes and so this is your chance to go out and show them off. At the end of the night you can spend time with your family and make your own tasty paleo treats. Some parents offer their kids a buy back scheme – to offer cash or another reward in exchange for the junk they collected.

I was really impressed to see how one father enabled his son to join in the fun – whilst avoiding the sugar filled junk normally given to trick or treaters – see the photo below. Would you try something like this?

Paleo Diet Halloween Trick or Treat Alternative
You can make some great Paleo friendly treats to enjoy. Try spiced nuts, jerky and kale chips instead of sweets and candy.

When you buy pumpkins to carve, make sure you save the inners to make a huge batch of pumpkin soup. You can use the carved pumpkins to serve dips for veggies, instead of plain bowls.

Well there you have it! Here are some ideas for you to make the most out of your Halloween. Just remember to not focus on what the world tends to focus on, which is the sweets, lollies and candy. Focus on having a fun time with friends and family and prepare some Paleo friendly snacks in advance.

Do you do anything for Halloween? How do you keep it Paleo?

How To Recover From An Un Paleo Christmas diet unhealthy-min

How To Recover From An Un Paleo Christmas

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How's your Paleo diet going this Christmas?

Did you keep it Paleo, or did all the SAD traditional food get the better of you this Christmas?

No matter what your intentions or plans, at this time of year it can be easy to get swept along with family and friends – and find yourself eating all the foods you'd normally avoid. Be it tradition, peer pressure or a one off – at this time of year above all others – it's easy to fall off the Paleo wagon.

So what now if your Paleo diet has gone by the wayside?

How does it make you feel? Chances are a rare gluten exposure will make you feel far worse than it would have before you went gluten-free. Once you get gluten out of your system, a one off exposure often seems to have a far bigger impact that it did when you regularly ate gluten-laced food. If you're used to a relatively low carb diet a sudden influx of sugar can leave you feeling moody, tired and lacking in energy – and above all crave another sugar hit. A vicious circle you don't want to get into!

 

Perhaps you're thinking that as you've been eating un-Paleo, you might as well continue until the weekend? Or New Year? Or until those cakes and chocolates the neighbours brought have finished?

But the best course of action is to get straight back onto your Paleo diet. If you can't bear to throw away the remaining non-Paleo food – give it away to your non-Paleo friends or neighbours! Remove the temptation.

Bone broths are a great nourishing way to get back into a good dietary routine – particularly if you've had a bad reaction to a gluten exposure.

How was your Christmas? Did you keep it Paleo? I'd love to hear your comments below.

How To Recover From An Un Paleo Christmas diet unhealthy-min

12 Gifts For The Health Conscious Foodie paleo diet christmas present ideas kitchen cooking gadgets wish list-min

12 Gifts For The Health Conscious Foodie

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Whilst you can follow a healthy Paleo Diet with little more than a chopping board and a few pans, there are some great kitchen gadget and tools that surely any foodie would love in their kitchen.

Here’s my list. What’s on yours?

1. Dehydrator

I've had good results making jerky and kale chips in my oven, but I would love to try a dehydrator

2. Vitamix Blender

The Rolls Royce of blenders, able to grind nuts into nut butters and even cook soup. I want one!

paleo diet network christmas gift present wish list-min

3. A Good Set Of Knives

I really miss a good knife set, but have yet to find a good brand available in Australia (without needing a small mortgage). Any recommendations gratefully received!

4. Pressure Cooker

I've seen so many recipes that use a pressure cooker to make exceptionally tender meat – and I’d love to try it out for myself.

5. An Old School Mincer/ Meat Grinder

Even though I have a good butcher, I’d love to be able to make my own minced/ ground meat

6. A Big Slow Cooker/ Crockpot

I didn't realise how much I’d love this method of cooking, when I bought my small slow cooker. I wish I’d bough a much bigger one, as whenever I cook I always like to make enough for lots of future meals at the same time.

7. A Heavy Hardwood Chopping Board

A good chopping board last for years and is so much more hygienic than those nasty plastic chopping boards.

8. Mandoline Slicer

A great way to cut up vegetables evenly

9. Meat Thermometer

The best way to cook a perfect roast is using science after all!

10. Sausage Stuffer

Once I have my meat grinder, I’d love to make my own Paleo Sausages.

11. Water Filter

I have a Brita water filter jug in the fridge – but what I’d really like is a water filter on my tap, to ensure all the water is filtered before it leaves the tap.

12. Salad Spinner

This would be great for summer and making sure the kale is dried properly before making kale chips.

Do you have any of these items? How do you find using them?

What would be on your Paleo diet kitchen wish list?

12 Gifts For The Health Conscious Foodie paleo diet christmas present ideas kitchen cooking gadgets wish list-min