Caveman Salad

Here is how our Paleolithic/Caveman ancestors assembles their salads:

Spring greens, avocados, grape halves, olives, walnuts, diced red bell pepper, salmon, dab of mayo, dablets of Sriracha  hot chili sauce

And I'm pretty sure this is how
they made their pumpkin pie:

Notice that there is a rather large piece missing.  I tried to take a picture of the whole pie but I had to fight my way in there so by the time I could snap the photo this was all that remained.
As you might gather, no one in our household seems to be suffering with this adjustment to our diets.  Just to remind you what we are doing, we have removed processed food, grains, legumes, and dairy (for the most part, but more on that later).  So we eat meat, seafood, eggs, fruits, veggies, nuts (but not peanuts), seeds, and healthy oils.

It's easy to imagine a salad coming together under those guidelines, but the pie took some creativity.
For the crust, I spread about a cup of unsweetened shredded coconut on the bottom of the pie tin and up the sides as much as I could.  I made the pumpkin custard more or less the traditional way but with two main differences: no dairy, and no sugar.

Rather than milk, I substituted canned coconut milk (the really thick, rich kind).  Instead of sugar, I used about 3/4 cup Organic Blue Agave Syrup (this was for filling for two pies).  In addition to being an unprocessed plant product, Agave syrup has a really low glycemic index.  This means it doesn't spike your blood sugar like other sugars do.  It's that spike in blood sugar that releases insulin, and insulin that makes you pack on fat.

The pies, kind of surprisingly, tasted like heaven.  I suppose they would keep well when refrigerated, but they weren't around long enough to find out.

I'm having a lot of fun taking the "bad" stuff out of good recipes and finding out what happens.
Here is an experiment that went over as big as the pumpkin pie:

Seafood and sausage stuffed red bell peppers with mild Italian sausage, swai, celery, onions, minced garlic, cilantro, hemp hearts, shredded cheddar*, and seasoning

This recipe called for milk and breadcrumbs.  Instead, I used that same coconut milk and some delicious little hulled seeds called Hemp Hearts, which you can buy at Costco or health food stores:

They taste for all the world like ground pine nuts, and have a soft texture that melts in your mouth without crunch. I put them in or on everything within reason.  Here is how they look out of the bag:

Hemp Hearts--so yummy!

They're crazy high in Omega oils, so you can't eat too many.

Now about the dairy.  Here is why there is that asterisk* by the cheddar cheese listed under the stuffed peppers:

Dr. Oz has suggested that people trying to get rid of their belly fat eat an ounce of cheese at every meal.  I'm not entirely sure why, but it stands to reason that it would help balance insulin levels.  When I was in home healthcare, I know many of my diabetic patients were counseled to eat cheese as a snack to help keep their insulin levels stable.  Works for me, so that is the main way we are deviating from the hardcore, knuckle-dragging and club-wielding version of the Paleo diet. Plus, I will eat sausage or bacon now and then, which you could argue is a "processed" food.  But I wouldn't listen if you did ;0)

In addition, Dr. Oz recommends daily Garcinia Cambogia supplements,
(See Dr. Oz's video about Garcinia Cambogia here:
Dr. Oz Garcinia Cambogia)
which I have been taking faithfully for the past week while I have been eating the Paleo/Caveman way.

While implementing these changes, I have eaten exactly how much I have wanted, when I wanted, with no thought to counting calories or limiting portions.  I eat until I am satisfied, and stop before I'm stuffed.
The final verdict is how I feel, and how much weight I've lost.  I feel better than I have in months, and this past week I have lost a total of (drumroll)...

SEVEN AND A HALF POUNDS.

Just FYI, I am also doing very moderate cardio but just started adding free weights to the mix yesterday.

This may not be for everyone, but boy am I glad I got with the Paleo program!