From the Paleo Parent’s new book Eat Like a Dinosaur
What gives with all this awesome Paleo stuff coming out all over the place? Just a few years ago you couldn’t find any more than Cordain’s and Sisson’s books and websites, a few years before that even less, and now there are hundreds of Paleo websites, books, and other cool junk all over the place.
I’m going to turn you on to just a few of them today.
Eat Like a Dinosaur
Only a short while ago Sarah Fragoso’s book, Paleo Pals, came out. Evelyn and I love that book. We’ve read it countless times. We sure were looking forward to a kids Paleo cookbook though. Oh well, Sarah decided to take on another adult project instead. Can’t blame her.
Not to worry, the Paleo Parents stepped in and rose to the challenge by putting together a new kid’s cookbook called Eat Like a Dinosaur.
We got our review copy a few days ago and Evelyn couldn’t be happier with the 100 or so recipes in the bright green book.
These kid’s books are filling a much needed Paleo gap in Evelyn’s life… umm, new recipes. I am not all that into food. I eat everything with fewer than 5 ingredients, usually more like 2 or 3. Give me a chicken thigh, sauteed in its own fat with salt and some zucchini and carrots and I’ll be happy come 6pm any day of the week. Evelyn is pretty simple too but she’s also enthralled by these new and exciting “Paleo” options.
As you probably know, I am pretty hardcore about my diet. I don’t think foods like the one shown above are the ticket to health and so, as a result, Evelyn has never seen “Paleo friendly” breads and desserts. I’ve never made them. Poor thing right? Well, the game is changing a bit as she’s starting to grow up. I mean, it’s her life and for goodness sakes, she’s six! She can do whatever she wants. So, I’ll be making a few of these grain free recipes for her now. 
(The awesome thing about giving this particular six year old the power to make her own decisions is that I can trust her to make them responsibly. She loves feeling good just about as much as I do and I’ve taught her everything I know. So she eats her salads and chicken broth willingly and doesn’t overeat the muffins. Man I love that kid.)
The first recipe we decided to make is called Nut Butter Cups which came out of the ample dessert section of the book. Ours didn’t exactly turn out like theirs, but we weren’t exactly unhappy about it either. The cups turned out tasting just like banana bread! The flavor and texture were amazing.
The Cave Kids CD
The next and equally awesome new kid’s Paleo product I have to tell you about is music. Finally, kid’s music that doesn’t mention pizza and popcorn.
When Ryan emailed me to review his CD, I immediately downloaded the promo and turned it on while Evelyn and I were drawing. I didn’t tell her it was a Paleo thing. Just some kid’s music thing.
The music kind of has a surf, punk feel so we were getting into the energy of it and suddenly Evelyn exclaims, “Man, this guy is healthy! He eats vegetables and meat just like me!” It was great.
Evelyn absolutely loves his collection of songs and wants to listen to them all the time. The music is very adult friendly so I don’t mind too much. Just yesterday we were rockin out to “I Need Food!” in the car. It’s good stuff. You really should head over to his site to buy the album. Not only will your kids enjoy it but it will help them along in what is, unfortunately, a pretty lonely journey to health.
Between his CD and the two new kid’s books, Evelyn is starting to see that there are actually other people in the world who are into health. I am thankful for this beyond words.
Paleo Infographic
A couple of people have contacted me with infographics lately too. One is a Paleo how-to infographic (deleted by the creator) and the other is an infographic showing the fat future of America with some cool statistics about the state of fatness in our country today.
Obesity Infographic:
Created by: MedicalCodingCareerGuide.com
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March 26, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Did you notice that in the last infographic the amount of money spent on healthcare for obese people is the same as the amount of money americans spend on fast food each year?!
March 26, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Good eye! I didn’t notice that. The whole thing is disturbing isn’t it?
April 1, 2012 at 11:34 pm
It is. :/
March 26, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Hi Peggy
I read your blog from ‘cover to cover’ last week and I have loved reading all of it! I have been paleo for 1.5 years now (for health reasons & symptoms much like your own), but I have been paleo like you described above: still making paleo breads & other mainstream meals by simply subbing paleo-allowed foods. I went to the store on Saturday morning and am on my 3rd day of doing a 7 day (at least) trial of your lifestyle. Would you post another few days of your daily meals? The one post you wrote was SO helpful. But after your post on: the necessity of low carb lifestyles, I am curious if you have changed anything.
Thank you!
March 26, 2012 at 3:42 pm
Thanks Ellie, I’m glad it’s helped you. My diet has definitely changed, in fact, it’s always changing! I have been promising a new post about my current eating habits soon, but it just keeps getting pushed back on the schedule. You should see my list of blog posts in progress. It’s huge!
March 27, 2012 at 2:22 am
That second infographic – I don’t know. A lot of it is spot on, but is it really likely that fatness will cause women to be incarcerated? Isn’t it more likely that social inequalities lead to both obesity and incarceration, and the changes to those inequalities are not predictable based on past medical costs? Also that excess calories as a calculable weight gain business is dodgy.
Here’s a question: does obesity cause gall bladder disease, or vice versa, or is a diet full of allergens (or something else) the confounder? I’m interested; I’ve been casually reading up on gall bladder disease since discovering that I know 2 people IRL who’ve had theirs chopped out. Now we’re hearing that tonsils are a site of T-cell production and I have to wonder if removing them is just shooting the messenger (like taking statins), and if the same principle would apply to gall bladders. Thoughts? Resources?
March 27, 2012 at 10:28 am
Long ago, back when I was a wreck and suffered of all sorts of undiagnosed maladies, I had what seemed to be symptoms of gallbladder problems. So, I read about it a lot. Of course I wasn’t obese. Like Sofie mentioned, it doesn’t take obesity to screw up a body, but like I said, obesity definitely can speed up the process.
Tonsils are a site of T-cell production. The appendix might contain the organisms used to inoculate and re-inoculate the bowel. The gallbladder expels bile when we eat fatty foods so as to help us absorb fat soluble vitamins. Yeah, our organs are actually necessary. Doctors shouldn’t be taking them out. They should be whipping their patients into shape and making them change their habits.
People who have their gallbladders removed have impaired ability to digest fat and often resort to taking bile supplements to digest their meals. Without a gallbladder, a person doesn’t digest fat soluble vitamins well and doesn’t eliminate toxins well either. This inevitably leads to more problems.
March 31, 2012 at 7:17 am
Given today’s job market and the propensity for companies NOT to hire people who are fat, tattooed, body pierced, dyed in bizarre hair color or irregular cut, or even smokers, I’d say that yes, obese women (and men) are going to remain the tough-to-employ, since all employers can see coming from them is needed time off and $$$ from health care insurance expenses.
Pregnant women have been enduring this prejudice for decades, and this is why most women have the 30% gender discount in wages compared to me doing the same job.
At the hiring desk, it’s always going to be a question of perceived productivity vs. costs. If a person looks like he/she would cost more to keep around than they would offset through productivity, it’s a no-brainer for the employer.
March 31, 2012 at 7:23 am
As a result of all this non-employment, obese people (as well as other socially-unacceptables) are probably going to join the ranks of the underground economy: stealing, ID theft, scams, and other illegal ways to make money just to survive.
This is what happens when you become unemployable. When the immediate benefits run out (welfare, unemployment checks, food stamps, etc.), the only safety net left is incarceration–there, you at least get a place to sleep, food (?) to eat, and clothes to wear for a set amount of time.
March 27, 2012 at 4:00 am
Yeah, the second one is pretty bad.
- The increased rate of obesity is part due to changing to using BMI only for measuring that (bodybuilders counted as obese), and an older & less white population. People have gotten fatter, but it’s not as bad as they say it is.
- Obesity is a symptom, not a cause. Sugar causes diabetes and obesity; obesity does not cause diabetes. Obesity does not kill. There are a lot of deaths due to bad diet and lifestyle, but you don’t need to be fat for that and you can be fat without it.
- Blaming fast food is plain wrong, see Fathead. A silver lining here is that McDonalds etc give people what they want – they changed from tallow to vegetable oils for frying because people wanted it, they could go back. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made a McPaleo.
- As for extrapolation, http://xkcd.com/605/
March 27, 2012 at 10:11 am
Sofie,
No, you don’t need to be fat to develop heart disease and insulin resistance and countless other diseases but being obese certainly contributes to many of these diseases.
Excess fat itself is inflammatory. Obese people are little inflammation producing machines and inflammation is at the root of lots of disease, both physical and mental. Obesity is a real serious problem. Of course, it does not just come about from bad weather. You’ve got to make bad choices to get there. Unfortunately, though, once a person starts to get fat it can really go all down hill from there because fat itself is so destructive.
March 27, 2012 at 4:42 am
Peggy, one of the things I love about you is how true you stay to yourself. In the weird zone of the mighty Internet, I see people pander to what they think is their audience. I love not only your relationship to Evelyn and how you can see her need to expand a bit, but it’s so refreshing and rare to see the person who can say…Yuck. Not for me…but hey! Great product nonetheless.
And yeah…another great post! Thanks!
March 27, 2012 at 10:16 am
Thanks Jamie! I guess it pays in a way then to have no real clue who your freakin audience is…
March 27, 2012 at 10:29 am
I think your audience holds your bad-assery up as an ideal.
At least I do
March 28, 2012 at 2:08 pm
Can you tell us what you’re eating now that you are pregnant? I was honestly hoping you would stay almost zero carb to hear your perspective. I’m pregnant currently and trying to stick to LC, but I still eat veggies/fruits, etc. I’m trying to cut out dairy, and I only eat grains when they’re attached to fried chicken. Can’t help it…my pregnancy weakness right now lol. But I think I read in your other post that you did add veggies back in…did you add a lot or just a few on occasion? Why? Thanks!
March 29, 2012 at 10:02 am
I’m getting there Ashley.
So many other posts just keep taking priority for various reasons but i promise, the post is coming.
May 16, 2012 at 1:53 pm
You have the same issue I have. I can (and do) eat very simply. Unfortunately, my son finds that “bland”. Well… that’s a guess anyway. He’s only 2.5 and couldn’t tell you that himself. But I’m always looking for good resources for paleo recipes for him. I have to get that book for sure.
September 9, 2012 at 11:12 am
Wow, that infographic is scary. It frustrates me so much sometimes when people judge me for eating Paleo with my family. Yes, it’s not what’s considered “normal” but I don’t want my loved ones ending up as a statistic in another one of these infographics!