Tag Archives: Practical Paleo

Paleo Book Signing (s)

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Large cities = awesome for book signings. Go San Diego.

This past Sunday, I was fortunate enough to attend a book signing for The 21 Day Sugar Detox with Diane Sanfilippo from Balanced Bites, and Bill and Haley from Primal Palate (aka, paleo tour). I’ve met Diane before, but was thrilled to have her sign her newest book (for my collection of real food cookbooks-her Practical Paleo was my first signed Paleo book), and hear her talk. I’d never met Bill and Haley, but am a BIG fan. So down to earth and just genuine people spreading the health. I had three books for them to sign – Make it Paleo (their first book, and a must for new to Paleo, easy, minimal ingredient recipes), Gather, The Art of Paleo Entertaining (probably one of the most beautiful cookbooks I’ve seen), and their newest book, The 30 Day Guide to Paleo Cooking. They signed each one differently with a nice message (okay, maybe Hayley did that 😉 ), and it was fun to just talk with them.

Also in the crowd-George from Civilized Caveman, Tonja from Flame to Fork, Diane’s fiance, and I spied a few others too 🙂 Such a fun afternoon!

IMG_2921Bill and Hayley!IMG_2948

Diane!IMG_2949Last fall I was fortunate enough to attend Danielle Walker’s book signing for her first book, Against All Grain. Her story is absolutely so inspiring. She’s fabulous and if you have the chance, go meet her!

Danielle! A little blurry, but that’s okay 🙂IMG_1589Next up, Chris Kresser in a couple weeks in La Jolla! OMG. Your Personal Paleo Code.

My Current “No” Tally and Impending AIP

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I’m on the journey of eliminating more and more things from my lifestyle, in an attempt to heal my gut. “Modern medicine” has failed to help me, therefore, through what I’ve learned in the last year and a half I’m going to heal myself (sure wish I would’ve found this path sooner, but alas, better late than never)!

So far, I’ve eliminated nightshades (7 days), I have had no dairy (other than grass-fed butter) for 9 days and no soda for 9 days (I rarely drink soda anyway). We have family visiting now, so it’s a little more difficult to be as strict with schedules, eating, and experimenting with new things, etc.

Next Monday I’ll start the Auto-Immune Protocol (AIP), something I learned about through Paleo. It helps people with auto-immune diseases that continue to struggle with digestive issues and/or leaky gut, heal themselves (if you don’t know what leaky gut is, google it, as I bet you have some form of it, or again, buy Practical Paleo!!). The majority of a person’s immune system is in their gut, and considering how messed up mine is, that’s alarming, ha. Plus, it isn’t good for anyone to constantly be in a state of stress from discomfort, pain, and chronic inflammation.

So, my “no” tally is about to get real long. If anyone wants to join me, we can hold each other accountable-the first step is 30 days.

So long, Nightshades

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve had digestive issues. I’ve gone through every diagnostic test available, tried every OTC and prescription medication possible and not one thing has helped. Where does that leave me? Food (because what else is there and why didn’t I realize all this sooner? Aaahhh well.).

I’m getting more and more into Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo, which might be the best book ever. Her approach to healing through food is absolutely fascinating. The book is extremely user-friendly and not overwhelming at all (P.S. I’m attending her workshop with a friend here in San Diego, this coming Sunday and I am beside myself!).

Anyway, back to nightshades, this is how she explains them: “Nightshades are a family of plants that contain specific alkaloid compounds that can be irritating to those suffering from joint pain and inflammation. Tomatoes, white potatoes, peppers (all kinds, bell and hot), and eggplants are the most commonly consumed nightshades. Black pepper and sweet potatoes are not nightshades, however…some other, less frequently consumed nightshades include tomatillos, tobacco, goji berries, cape gooseberries (not normal gooseberries), ground cherries (not regular bing or rainier cherries), garden huckleberries (not blueberries), and ashwagandha (an herb)…if you suffer from joint pain, joint inflammation, arthritis, cracking, or any other joint-related issues, eliminate nightshades from your diet for at least thirty days.” She goes on later in her book to talk about how you should avoid nightshades if you’re trying to heal your gut, which is exactly what I’m setting out to do.

I begin the journey to healing my gut (with the added benefit of helping my joints), by eliminating nightshades today (surprised with my consumption of tomatoes from the garden, I haven’t turned into one yet…). Why did I pick nightshades? Because there are a handful and it seems less overwhelming to me than say, FODMAPS. Baby steps. It isn’t about deprivation; it’s about health and feeling good.

Reference: Practical Paleo, Diane Sanfilippo, BS, NC, Victory Belt Publishing, 2012.