A Paleo Dream

A big part of why I strive for a diet free of Neolithic foods is because of the lifestyle that accompanies it. Before I get all hippie crazy on you (heh, I did go to the University of Oregon) a lot of the things I enjoy are rather old-fashioned. I'll list them to further embarrass myself...baking (from scratch), nature, knitting, house work (both remodeling and cleaning), gardening/yardwork, going to bed at a reasonable hour, and Murder She Wrote. Ok, not the last one. And to keep my street cred...I will swim in any water body, taste random white powders with my tongue like the police do on TV (story for another day), and still make an ass of myself at any friends wedding.

My perfect vision of my food life includes growing a garden of vegetables to eat during the summer months and can/freeze for the winter months, raising chickens for eggs, eating as clean as possible by purchasing humanely raised meats. I like food. I really, really like food, and I want my food to taste the best it can. I feel in a lot of ways we as a society, have put too much separation between ourselves and where our food comes from. For me, a true Paleo diet connects me back to my foods and inspires me to take action. See below:






My perfect vision of my body life includes being stellar at functional movements. Or as the CrossFit unofficial motto says- "specialize in not specializing." I want to be able to lift heavy things, throw heavy things, run out my back door for a quick 6 miles, sprint 100's of meters fast, do pull-ups, jump on stuff...basically anything I might need to do if I'm hanging out with Bear Grylls. Or running from a bear.

What can I say? My old fashioned interests set me up for a true appreciation of eating Paleo and creating a more "Paleo" lifestyle. It just makes sense to me, how it all ties in together. In trying to simplify everything, we have made our worlds just the opposite. Thousands of miles for our food to travel. Complicated ingredients in processed foods. Crazy exercise machines that teach the body no functionality what so ever (elliptical, ah-hem). Shoes that are supposed to shape us up. Oh, and my new favorite ridiculous Neo-lithic example (don't get me wrong, I've done 1,000's in the past) bicep curls! When on earth do you EVER pick something up with that movement (besides maybe and apple off your desk to put in your mouth, and apples aren't heavy!)? Sometimes the irony is just too much for me.

This is still a learning process for me, but as I clean my body of toxins, my mind seems to free up with grand ideas of how to live out my Paleo dreams with a modern spin. You'll still find me shopping at the GAP and glued to my iPhone, but just as you've never known me to make a cake from a box, I won't be wasting my time trying to "simplify" anymore.