Happy Wednesday Love Muffins!

It occurred to me that I hadn't written a post on the basics of the Paleo lifestyle lately.  Sometimes, we get so caught up in yummy recipes (which is of course, my focus) it's good to circle back and ask WHY are we eating like this?  What are the basics of healthy living and why? So instead of resurfacing an older post I thought I'd come with some fresh information, especially given all the research I've been doing for us!

Alright, if I were stranded on a deserted island and I could have these 11 items with me to live the healthiest life possible-here's what I would want and why (in no particular order):

1. Meat from the healthiest animals on the planet.  Grass fed beef, free range NON-vegetarian fed chickens, pasture raised pork, wild caught fish and seafood.

  • Why? We were designed to eat meat, plain and simple.  If you want me to go into details of why this is a FACT I'd be happy to but for this post, just trust me.  Now the meat that we typically buy at the grocery store has it's faults.  Anyone can agree that factory farmed meat and poultry is bad on a lot of levels.  I want meat from animals that throughout their happy lives of frolicking through fields of green they ate exactly what they were DESIGNED to eat.  This means cows ate grass because they have the internal workings to properly digest cellulose and not corn or soy.  Chickens ate bugs and worms and some grass and each other for that matter (yes chickens tend to be cannibals!), they were certainly not "vegetarian fed" with soy and marigold.  The list goes on but you get the picture, I want animal meat with me from the animals that lived a healthy life.  By these animals eating what they were designed to eat and by me eating what I was designed to eat we've got a beautiful pattern going on people, see it!?

2. A plethora of organic veggies- loads of leafy greens in particular but I mean loads of veggies, give me some sweet potatoes too (I know I'm a bad girl but if you haven't noticed I'm pretty sweet potato friendly, we eat them every few weeks in moderation).  I'm also a sucker for artichokes, I've been eating them since I had 2 teeth.  If I were a vegetable, I'd be an artichoke.  I'd like a truckload of avocados and beets too.

  • Why? Veggies are a vital source of nutrients for humans, just like meat.  Especially pesticide free veggies.  Let's circle back things "eating" what they're supposed to.  A bunch of kale growing in the ground is not designed to "eat" chemicals from the soil and absorb pesticides through water on it's leaves.  So again, by being organic these little babies are absorbing natural elements from the earth and in turn, giving us quality nutrition.  I used Kale for my example because it's my fave :)

3. Fruits, Nuts and Seeds

  • Why? Fruits, nuts and seeds are also a vital part of a healthy diet.  I typically eat these in moderation because I'm watching my sugar in take across the board and nuts are very high in lectins (an anti nutrient that is also ever present in grains).  Nonetheless they are a part of any healthy lifestyle.  They're packed with good fat and other nutrients as well.  On a deserted island- bring it all on, I'll be so hungry!

4. A Crossfit trainer for continued FUNCTIONAL FITNESS.  We could find all kinds of heavy trees to pull down the beach etc. (thanks Casey :))

  • Why? Exercise is vital, everyone knows that.  Crossfit focuses on functional fitness, which means we do things that make us exceptional at everyday tasks and beyond.  It's intense and has the reputation to go with it, but once you go you'll be hooked.  The encouragement and attention to form makes this by far the most incredible fitness lifestyle I've found.

5. A Chiropractor

  • Why? Regular chiropractic care is VITAL to any person living to thrive.  Chiropractic care is not just to take care of an injury or pain.  Regular, preventative care from the day we are born would be a good bet. Yep, even babies need Chiropractic care! Over time, we suffer from subluxations which are areas where are vertebrae has collapsed and is inhibiting our nervous system from "talking" properly to the rest of our body.  You probably have a subluxation (or 3 like me) that doesn't cause you any pain but can become very serious over time.  Ever wonder why that ache or pain exists? Or that soreness in your wrist?   It probably doesn't have much to do with your actual wrist unless you had an injury, it's a subluxation that is preventing the nerves in your neck and arm from "talking" properly to your wrist.  Think about it, how would our central nervous system (in our spine) be able to communicate to make everything work properly if one of our vertebrae is squishing it!?  Over time, it starts to speak a different language which equals PAIN.  I've been regularly adjusted for close to 2 years now.  Stay tuned for my post on how chiropractic care changed my life and if you're in the Santa Barbara area check out Santa Barbara Family Chiropractic!

6. A good quality Omega 3 supplement with EPA/DHA around 500mg

  • Why? Too much of out diet is unbalanced in Omega land.  Processed foods, PUFA's, sugars and trans fats are very high in Omega 6.  When we don't have a proper balance of Omega 6 to Omega 3 (2 to 1 is ideal) fatty acids our body gets mad at us.  I highly recommend everyone take a good Omega 3 supplement!

7. A good quality Probiotic

  • Restoring the natural flora to our guts.  This stuff adds good bacteria to our system to help us digest well and absorb the proper nutrients.  All of this Paleo stuff has a common thread.  It's to have a healthy gut.  All of our nutrients and healthy fats are absorbed through our digestive tract and the microorganisms in a probiotic supplement help with this and keep things moving.

8. WATER- good clean water.  Enough so I could drink half my body weight in ounces every day.

  • Why? I don't need to splain water right?

9. A whole foods green supplement

  • Why? Because we rarely eat enough veggies each day.  This supplement usually comes in a powder form.  It's great in smoothies but I usually just mix it with water.  This is your veggies and other vital nutrients' insurance policy.

10. Coconut oil

  • Why? Coconut oil can be used for pretty much anything.  From cooking to a hair treatment to skin lotion.  This stuff is magic.  Check out this site and see some of the white gold's amazing uses.

11. A net to keep all the jellyfish away from me.

  • Why? Because I hate jellyfish, period.

These are things that I would want with me on a deserted island but these are the things that should be incorporated into your healthy lifestyle. Maybe we can build a Lululemon, bring an iPod with all my favorite songs and all my friends, family and readers can come too.  Think of how healthy and happy we would be! A super tribe :)

What I'll never bring:
1. Processed food of ANY kind (read your labels friends, if you can't pronounce it DON'T EAT IT!! It was made in a lab and is not what we were designed to eat).
2. Grains, legumes or sugar!
3. A Rod Steward CD or Rod Stewart for that matter

Live to Thrive,
Lauren

 

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