Paleo/Primal Eating with Denim & Dots

Hi everyone! My name is Amy and I blog fashion & food over at Denim & Dots. I’m so excited to be guest blogging for the fabulous Marion today while she is taking some maternity leave – isn’t that going to be an adorable baby?!

A little about me: I’m 30 years old and live in downtown Seattle with my techie husband, Michael, and our 3 spoiled cats, Lola, Coco, and the fat one, Oliver.  I work from home as an Executive Assistant, am totally somewhat obsessed with Kate Middleton’s style, and my favorite movie is “How to Lose Guy in 10 Days.” Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to convince the hubby of its amazing cinematic qualities yet…

What is the Paleo/Primal Lifestyle?

Michael and I follow a Paleo/Primal lifestyle that I want to share a little bit about today. It encompasses many of the same principles as the “4 Hour Body” way of eating that Marion and her husband follow. To sum it up in a sentence, I say our diet is high-quality, nutrient-dense food from nature that doesn’t require any processing to eat.

We personally like Mark Sisson at Mark’s Daily Apple’s approach to “Primal” living and it is a great place to start if you are interested in finding out more. For a basic overview we eat fish, meat, eggs, lots of veggies, fruit, fats from nature, nuts, and seeds, and also care about sourcing our food from high quality, natural sources.  We avoid eating grains, sugar, legumes, vegetable oils, and all processed food as much as possible. Some people also avoid dairy but we still eat a little.

It’s been well over 2 years since I lost about 12 pounds, 2 sizes, and the sluggish, constantly tired and hungry feeling I had while eating turkey bacon, butter spray, wheat bread and Lean Cuisines. I easily maintain my weight now, and the real bacon and butter tastes a whole lot better too!

Here are some of my favorite sites for finding more info/recipes:

Mark’s Daily Apple

Everyday Paleo

Nom Nom Paleo

Holly Would if She Could 

(Holly has a great inspirational story and shares her meal plans)

PaleOMG

My favorite cookbook – Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook: Real Food for Real Life

And because nothing is better than delicious, home-cooked food, here is one of my go-to easy recipes:

 Lettuce Wrapped Curry and Cumin Sliders:

(serves about 4 -6 people or 2 people with tasty leftovers)

Ingredients: 

-        2 lbs. of Ground Beef (preferably 100% grass-fed)

-        2 Tbsp. of Coconut Oil

-        1 Tbsp. Curry Powder

-        1 Tbsp. Ground Cumin

-        ¼ tsp. of Ground Cinnamon

-        ½ tsp. of Sea Salt

-        ½ tsp. of Ground Pepper

-        1 head of Butter Lettuce (you could use any other large leaf lettuce here too) with leaves separated and washed

-        For the toppings (optional) – Fresh Guacamole and Balsamic Caramelized Onions :

-        1 large or 2 small onions (double if more than 2 ppl.), sliced

-        2 Tbsp. or so of olive oil and 1 Tbsp. of a low sugar Balsamic Vinegar

-        2 Ripe Avocados

-        Favorite Salsa (just make sure it doesn’t have any sugar or other undesirable ingredients)

-        ¼ tsp. Ground Cumin

Directions:

-- In a large mixing bowl, mix together well the ground beef, cumin, curry powder, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.

- Form into small patties about 4 inches in diameter, I made 14 patties.

- Put your coconut oil into a skillet and heat up over medium-high heat.

- Once hot, place your patties into the skillet and cook about 5 minutes on each side or until desired doneness. (I did mine in 2 batches)

- While those are cooking get your toppings going. Lots of possibilities here – sliced tomatoes, a little cheese, bacon… but I went with guacamole and balsamic caramelized onions.

- For the onions, toss a few spins of olive oil into a skillet and get it heated over medium-high heat. Throw in your onions and let them caramelize, stirring every few minutes. Once they are done, add about a Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar and stir a few more minutes.

- To make the guacamole, I simply mash 2 avocados together with a few spoonfuls of my favorite salsa, about a ¼ tsp. of cumin, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Voile! Fresh guacamole!

- And now for the fun part, set everything out on the table and let everyone make their own burgers.

- Enjoy! (I would normally serve this with some roasted bell peppers or some other veggie, but we had a big lunch so just let the lettuce and onions be our vegetables for the night)

Soon after we embarked on our new lifestyle, my husband began doing Crossfit and 8 months later he finally convinced me to give it a shot. I started with 2 days a week and now am up to 4 days a week and loving it. Crossfit is great if you want a very effective workout in a short amount of time, and a constantly changing program that will challenge every part of your body. My favorite thing about it is that they focus on people being strong & fit, not just skinny, and I really appreciate that. If you are looking to mix up your work out routine (or just find one at all), give it a try!

I hope you will come on over for a visit to check out my style blogging and full recipe index. You can click here to follow me in Pinterest, and here to follow me on Facebook.

This “Primal” couple wishes you a very happy and healthy New Year, however it is you find it!

________________________________

Thanks so much for sharing your healthy lifestyle + way of eating with us Amy!  

I love Amy's blog for that perfect balance of style inspiration and healthy eating ideas.  As I take steps to lose the baby weight, she will certainly be one of my go-to sites for ideas!

Have you ever thought about a Paleo/Primal diet?  

Do you have any New Years resolutions related to eating?

xo - Marion