Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 99

Paleoista & HU Kitchen Present Tonight: Paleo and Women- It’s Not Just for the Guys

It doesn’t matter if you’re new to Paleo, someone who’s been following it for years or someone who’s simply interested in hearing a little about this healthy way of eating, be sure to stop by HU Kitchen tonight at 7:00 PM.

HU Kitchen is located at 78 5th Avenue in Union Square.

There’s no cover charge, nor any need to RSVP, but you should definitely plan on arriving hungry as their food is absolutely to die for.  Yesterday at lunch, for example, I had some delicious grass-fed oxtail soup, some free range chicken and a lovely assortment of fresh veggies.

All are welcome!

See you tonight for an evening filled with Paleo information, implementation ideas and again, delicious Paleo goodness.

Seaweed & Sulfur

Yes, you read it correctly!  

Both are parts of a healthy, Paleo Diet.   One is a food, obviously, and one is a mineral, but the alliteration got the better of me.

Yet another example of why we need to balance our all our lovely fruits and veggies is to make sure we don’t let ourselves overdo foods that could potentially impair thyroid function, especially if you are already dealing with any sort of auto immune condition.

Some raw foods, such as too large portion sizes of sea vegetables and cruciferous vegetables, can overstimulate or slow down your thyroid.

The raw vegetables and fruits that can affect your thyroid include:

Brussels sprouts
cabbage of all kinds
cauliflower
kale
kohlrabi
peaches
pears
rapini
spinach
strawberries
radishes
rutabagas
turnips

Does that mean you should nix all the lovely produce? Not in a million!  By adding a good source of iodine, like seaweed, you can create a better balance; in addition, consider that the following foods can also help stimulate the thyroid:

caffeine (coffee, tea, cola, and chocolate)
avocado
coconut
saturated fat

Of course, this is a general post and not meant to come across as a medical directive suggesting that all anyone who is dealing with thyroid issues needs to do is balance their veggies. Yes, that’s part of it, but certainly be sure and check with your doctor (functional med doc, hopefully) for a collaborative approach.

The one message that does apply to all, however, is eat a lot of colorful veggies, keep them varied and keep ‘em comin’ at all meals during the day.

 

 

Something Everyone Should Know About- Functional Medicine

At last week’s Paleo Fx, I was really happy to see a good representation of practitioners who are not only advocates of the Paleo diet but of Functional Medicine.

What is that exactly?

From their site, http://www.functionalmedicine.org/ :

“Functional medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach and engaging both patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership. It is an evolution in the practice of medicine that better addresses the healthcare needs of the 21st century. By shifting the traditional disease-centered focus of medical practice to a more patient-centered approach, functional medicine addresses the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. Functional medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease. In this way, functional medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual.”

Imagine a visit to a doctor where one of the first things they asked you about was what you were eating (gasp!?)!   One that actually wanted to make your visit their main priority and genuinely wanted to help you, with a food as medicine approach first rather than shooing you out with a prescription for drugs after you asked your three questions and exceeded your ten minute office visit!

In some cases, we can cure our own symptoms and health issues independently by shifting our diets to that of the Paleo regime, but in other cases, sometimes we need to dig a little deeper.   The power of food paired with the science and technology that this type of approach has to offer can be life changing.

It’s a must-go-to page for all of us, even if we’re feeling great and simply need to have a doc to call our own to keep us functioning optimally!

 

Coming Tomorrow, for One Week Only: The Primal Life Kit

What better time than right after Paleo Fx for  a collaboration  of many of the names, people and services you’ve likely seen floating around in the Paleosphere?

PaleoPlan has created what they’re calling a “Primal Life Kit” consisting of 30 Products and 8 Discounts for only $39.  From Paleoista, you’ll receive a code for a free 6 wk download plan from my online store of your choosing.

The sale begins tomorrow, April 2nd and will last one week.

*Please be sure to click here to purchase from Paleo Plan’s online store directly, after April 2nd.

The Primal Life Kit includes $485 worth of the most popular and life-changing Primal and Paleo products.

These educational and potentially life-changing Primal and Paleo products are being sold at more than 90% off their original retail value for one week only – April 2 through April 9.

12 Recipe and Meal Planning eBooks

Paleo Crock Pot: 25+ Beef, Pork, & Chicken Recipes by George Bryant and Abel James of CivilizedCavemanCooking.com ($2.99)
30-Day Intro to Paleo by Hayley Mason and Bill Staley of PrimalPalate.com (authors of Make It Paleo) ($15)
Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat by Melissa Joulwan of TheClothesMakeTheGirl.com ($14.95)
Fast Paleo Top 100: The Top 100 Paleo and Primal Recipes Shared with FastPaleo in 2012 + 4 bonus ebooks (below) by James Gregory and Ute Mitchell of FastPaleo.com ($14.97)
Fast Paleo Top 100: The Top 10 Muffins of 2012 by James Gregory and Ute Mitchell of FastPaleo.com (free bonus ebook)
Fast Paleo Top 100: The Top 10 Beverages and Smoothies of 2012 + 4 bonus ebooks by James Gregory and Ute Mitchell of FastPaleo.com (free bonus ebook)
Fast Paleo Top 100: The Top 10 Cookies of 2012 by James Gregory and Ute Mitchell of FastPaleo.com (free bonus ebook)
Fast Paleo Top 100: The Top 10 Ice Creams of 2012 by James Gregory and Ute Mitchell of FastPaleo.com (free bonus ebook)
Toadally Primal Smoothies by Primal Toad of PrimalToad.com ($5)
Paleo Power Lunch: Easy, Filling, & Delicious Workday Meal Strategies by Stormy Sweitzer of maoomba.com ($27.50)
The Paleo Breakfast Recipe Book: Over 100 Pages of Recipes  by Suzanne Crawt of paleo.com.au ($17)
Sow: Planting the Seeds for Health, Well Being, and a Superhero Life! by Joe Rignola of wellnesspunks.com

 4 Autoimmune and PCOS eBooks

21-Day Paleo Cleanse: 3 Week Autoimmune Protocol Meal Plan by Neely Quinn of PaleoPlan.com ($25)
Awaken: 30+ Egg-Free and Grain-Free Breakfasts by Karen Sorenson of lowcarboneday.com ($9.99)
The Autoimmune Paleo Plan: A Revolutionary Protocol to Rapidly Decrease Inflammation and Balance Your Immune System by Anne Angelone of expandingqi.com ($4.99)
PCOS Unlocked: The Manual  by Stefani Ruper of paleoforwomen.com (special abridged 53 pages for this sale includes discount on remainder of her ebook) ($19)

 5 Informational and How-To eBooks

The Wild Diet by Abel James of FatBurningMan.com ($17)
21 Life Lessons from Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb by Jimmy Moore of livinlavidalowcarb.com ($15)
Primal Deliverance: How Paleo Saved My Life From Addiction by James Gregory of fastpaleo.com ($14.97)
Primal Tightwad: Maximizing Your Health on a Minimal Budget by Carolyn Rush of PrimalTightwad.com ($14.95)
Free The Animal: How to Lose Weight and Fat on the Paleo Diet by Richard Nikoley of FreeTheAnimal.com ($7.95)

 2 Meal Plans

Primal Blueprint Primal Meal Plan - 1 month subscription to weekly Primal meal plans, grocery shopping lists, and the accompanying recipes for just $.01 from Mark Sisson and primalblueprint.com ($9.99)
6-week Paleo Meal Plan - 1 free 6-Week Paleo Meal Plan from Paleoista, by Nell Stephenson (author of Paleoista: Gain Energy, Get Lean and Feel Fabulous with the Diet You Were Born to Eat and co-author of The Paleo Diet Cookbook) at paleoista.com ($59)

 2 Fitness Programs

Sarah Fragoso’s Everyday Paleo LifeFit fitness and nutrition training program – 1 month for $.01 from the author of Everyday Paleo and everydaypaleo.com ($20)
The Obstacle Course Race Training Program ebook by Stew Smith, CSCS and former Navy SEAL at stewsmith.com ($16.99)

 3 Magazines (Online Subscriptions)

The Performance Menu: Journal of Health & Athletic Excellence - Free 1 year subscription (12 issues) and 1 year of back issues from catalystathletics.com ($70)
Paleo Magazine - Free 6-month online subscription (3 issues) and access to all back issues ($29)
Paleo Living Magazine  - Free 3-month (4 issues) iPad subscription (no expiration) ($15.96)

 2 Bonuses

Primal Moms Look Good Naked by Peggy Emch (theprimalparent.com) - Audio recording of a portion of this new paperback book spoken by the author (Free)
The Modern No-Nonsense Guide to Paleo ebook by Alison Golden of (paleononpaleo.com) - Three ebook chapters on Paleo shopping, kitchens, & lunches from her new book (Free)

 8 Discounts

Kasandrinos Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 30% off Greek extra virgin olive oil from Tony Kasandrinos’ family farm until December 31st, 2013
Bulletproof Coffee Kit - 20% off Monthly Bulletproof Coffee Kit (24 oz. of coffee and a 32-ounce bottle of MCT oil) from BulletProofExec.com (no expiration date) ($9.80 value)
Primal Life Organics - 20% off organic, Paleo, gluten-free, vegan skincare products, hair care products, and deodorant until May 1st, 2013
Amrap Nutrition Refuel Bars  - Buy one 8-Count box of Refuel Bars on Amazon and get 1 box free until April 30, 2013 ($23.95 value)
Optimum Performance Training - 15% off apparel, supplements, and online fitness training course until Dec 31, 2013
Paleo On The Go - 10% off Paleo food delivered to your home from paleoonthego.com until May 1
Squatty Potty – 15% off all products through April and 10% for the rest of 2013.
Sport Journals  – 20% off WODbooks (for recording your workouts) until May 11, 2013

 

BUY IT HERE

 

That’s normally the price of just one or two of these products! After you purchase the kit, you’ll be sent an email with a link to all of the downloadable products, as well as the coupon codes for all of the discounted products.

NOTE: Due to the short duration of this sale, there will be no refunds. These products are downloadable ebooks, online magazine subscriptions, and discount codes. You will not be shipped any physical goods with your purchase of the Primal Life Kit.  Please contact neely@paleoplan.com with any questions about the Primal Life Kit.

 

Happy Paleo Easter!

 

What comes to mind when you think of a traditional Easter Meal?  For me, not having grown up in a particularly religious family, I don’t recall there being much of any special meal in particular, until I started cooking it, that is! We had Easter Baskets, and one year a neighbor even gave me a chocolate bunny but alas, when I woke from my nap, it was gone… and my mom explained it had hopped away to its mommy.  (I’ve shared before about how my mom did her best to keep her daughter sugar-free, preservative-free and only eating organically, to the best of her ability!).

Because of my love of all things culinary, I recall one Easter when I was about fifteen when I sifted through several cooking mags in order to prepare a meal that was definitely all about Easter, and definitely far from Paleo (again, this was over ten years prior to me even knowing what Paleo living was!).  That particular meal included asparagus with hollandaise, a scored, roast ham with chunks of pineapple stuck into the side and some kind of lemon cake for dessert, if memory serves.

Traditional Easter foods around the world include:

Hot Cross Buns, whose cross shape on top serves to represent…the cross.
Eastern block countries serve their traditional pastries of Czech babobka and Polish baba, while Greeks and Portugese serve round, flat loaves marked with a cross and decorated with Easter eggs. Syrian and Jordanian Christians have honey pastries.
The shape of a pretzels indicate the torso of a person with arms folded, praying.
The roast lamb dinner that many eat on Easter Sunday represents the sacrificial lamb.
And here, in the states, ham is a traditional Easter food, with its history stemming from the simple fact that before refrigeration, a cured meat made sense.

So what, then, can we serve for a Paleo Easter?

Nix the pastries!
Pastured pork or naturally raised lamb will do a perfectly Paleo job as the piece de resistance.
While copious amounts of leafy greens might not be something that we see as an Easter tradition, there’s certainly no good reason not to include them.   I’d suggest kale, of course as well as some blanched asparagus and a mixed green salad, or whatever veggies you fancy!
For the kids, you can keep the focus of the Easter Egg Hunt on items other than sweets and treats. Perhaps you can create an obstacle course with (non-candy) prizes for all the kids who complete it, rather than having them focus on who finds the most candy.
If eggs are part of your family’s diet, here’s a great opportunity to make eating hard-boiled eggs fun for the little ones. Spend the afternoon coloring the eggs with a food-based egg coloring kit (so they’re safe to handle and eat) found at your local health food store.

Happy Easter!

Wow, OMG and Brilliant!

Just three of the phrases and adjectives that come to mind after a jam packed full day at day two of Paleo Fx.

It just so happened that the way the schedule panned out was such that I had my own Paleoista presentation, my cooking demo and three time slots in Paleo expert Panel Discussions and I will be honest and share that the way I felt last night before going to sleep as well as how I felt getting up this morning was not all that different from the way I feel on race day:  I’ve got to perform!

Above and beyond the feeling of wanting to be completely on my A game, though, was the excitement of being amongst fellow Paleo professionals who are practicing what they preach and educating their clients, patients and, sometimes by default, all those around them about the benefits of eating real food and moving.

Sure, there are varying approaches to how one should go about approaching training, modality of exercise, intensity and frequency as well as different approaches to what Paleo really is – dairy or not?   100 % or not?  Treats or not?

Ultimately, if we look at the big picture, what we all share is a common goal to share what we’ve each learned on a personal level with others.  And to  do this, it really doesn’t matter if we’re a doctor, a registered dietician, a coach or… a parent, a friend or a teammate.

Maybe it’s starting with small steps- reaching one person at a time, or perhaps it’s addressing large groups, and the number and size of the groups can grow as momentum builds and each person’s platform builds.

The key take away from me from this fantastic event has been hope of positive change and a reinforcement that we’re all doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing and, even better, beginning to be heard!

Keep on keepin’ on, everyone!!  Honored to be a part of this incredible movement!

 

Surrounded by Paleo and It’s Rather Cool

It’s not too often that one happens upon a place where they can pop into the back stage area for a cup of free range chicken bone broth and wild salmon, or peruse an expo and sample grass fed bison jerky, stone ground raw chocolate or coconut oil!

Yes, I’m referring to Paleo Fx.  And, yes, it’s fantastic.

Today was the first day of this event of a meeting of the Paleo minds and it was so inspiring to hear the speakers, listen to the guests’ questions, reconnect with some of the prominent people in Paleo I’ve had a chance to meet with before as well as to network, putting names to faces for others I’ve known only online or from their written work.

For me, the most significant take away from today was a reassurance that it’s growing, that Paleo is becoming something people are starting to take heed to and that there’s hope for the masses to begin to adopt this healthy way of eating, moving (living!) into their own regimes; regardless of why someone goes Paleo in the first place, the positive effect on all of our well being and the health of our society as a whole could be ground breaking.

Events such as this that serve to further educate anyone who’s interested in learning are crucial in the progression of this movement, if we want to call it that.

If you’re not here live, stream it, listen, learn…and keep in mind that if you’re the ‘odd one ‘ in your community who ‘eats that funny diet’ or ‘cut out all those ‘heatlhy’ foods (not so much: )’, that it’s looking rather promising that you won’t be the only one for much longer!

Go, Paleo, Go!

Paleo Fx Begins Today!

It was over a year ago that I literally ran into the organizers of PaleoFx at a health expo close to home in Los Angeles.   For anyone new to the Paleosphere, here’s a nice little summary of what it’s all about, courtesy of their homepage, www.therealpaleofx.com : 

“PaleoFX is a collaborative symposium energized by professionals dedicated to turning the esoteric theory of primal health and fitness into actual real world practice. Currently hosted each spring in Austin, TX, PaleoFX is a powerful three-day community of cutting-edge trainers, gym owners, health care professionals, bloggers, and scientists who work in a wide variety of fields, but who all focus on translating primal ideas into everyday, sustainable, effective realities.”

I’m honored to have a place on the stage there, where I’ll be giving a talk about Paleo and Endurance Training, doing a Paleoista Culinary Demo and participate on three panel discussions.

I’ll have both my books, The Paleo Diet Cookbook as well as Paleoista: Gain Energy, Get Lean and Feel Fabulous with the Diet You Were Born to Eat for sale in the Paleo Fx store, as well as some limited edition Paleosita visors (in black, of course).

So looking forward to networking with Paleo devotees from all over the place and who’ve found Paleo for all sorts of reasons but with one commonality- we’re all human and we’re all meant to be moving and eating the same thing- food! 

Click here for more info on how to stream live from the event if you’re unable to be there in person!

4PM Crash? Veggies, Protein and Fat to the Rescue!

While I don’t have a statistic as to the number of people who have a 4PM, or thereabout, blood sugar crash, resulting in a trip to the local cafe for a milkshake (aka ‘blended, iced coffee drink) and a piece of cake (the seemingly benign little muffin), I’d  be willing to bet it’s more common than not.

When a client tells me they’re experiencing this, I feel the need to troubleshoot.  When did they last eat?  What did they last eat?  Was it balanced in terms of macro nutrients?

All too often, I see this as a typical pattern for any given day:

No breakfast, or a small one that is almost completely made of processed carbohydrate.  (Gotta keep it low-fat, right?  Argh…)
Hunger begins around 9 or 10 am, but it’s deemed ‘too soon’, so the person ‘powers through’ until lunch with coffee
Lunch arrives and the person is ravenous, and eats far too much
Person heads back to office and feels sleepy and sluggish and would like a nap
A few hours elapse and then the blood sugar crash they experience sends them to the coffee shop as described above
Blood sugar spike, then crash, and by the time they get home, they’re way too hungry again, eat too much and go to bed full
Day two: repeat

Stop it!  Break that cycle!  Prepare your meals.  All meals, even breakfast, should be as follows (*with the exception of what you eat before or after a workout):

Start with local, seasonal veggies
Add some lean protein
And a dollop of fat – avocado, olive oil or coconut oil
And sometimes a bit of fruit

That’s it.  Pretty simple, isn’t it?    A meal is a meal, and a snack is a meal, too.  A snack is not a 100- calorie item in a package, people!  Further, food is food, or it’s not food.  No such thing as ‘breakfast food’ or ‘lunch food’… just food!

So, eat food, keep it balanced and Paleo, and say good bye to that horrible 4pm sugar crash once and for all.

Should Pregnant Women Exercise?

Hmm… that’s a toughy.

Let’s get this straight off the  bat- this is not, under any uncertain terms, meant to be taken as medical advise; just my point of view on the topic.   Further, I’m addressing the state of mind of how we approach fitness during pregnancy and not implying that a woman with a high risk pregnancy should be doing sprint sets at the track.  This is a ‘generally speaking’ post aimed at healthy women with uncomplicated pregnancies.

Alright then!   An article published last week in the American College of Sports Medicine’s Bulletin address this sometimes controversial topic.  Controversial in the sense that some docs recommend little to no activity, while others tell their expecting mom clients to go ahead, full stop.

Here are some current findings on the topic from the article:

Research conducted over the past 18 years indicates that the woman who laces up her sneakers instead of lying around resting and watching television can expect a healthier pregnancy and a healthier baby.


How much exercise a pregnant woman can get must factor in what their state of fitness was before they became pregnant. The first physical activity guideline, published by ACOG in 1985, encouraged women to limit vigorous physical activity and keep their exercise heart rates below140 beats per minute. Unfortunately, while hundreds of studies have since shown benefits of physical activity during pregnancy and the guidelines have been subsequently updated many women and healthcare providers cling to this 140 limit. The most recent U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services guidelines for physical activity during pregnancy state that women who are not already active should get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity aerobic activity, and that those who are habitually more active may continue their normal routines provided they communicate openly with their healthcare provider. 

(Must interject here to point out that the mere fact that anyone needs to be told to get a mere two and a half hours of activity per week is astonishing, and not in a good way.)

Current evidence suggests that women who are active either before or during pregnancy have a lower risk of developing gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, they are more likely to stay within the recommended weight gain range and, compared to inactive women, active women are less likely to deliver big babies (more than nine pounds) and a few small studies suggest that their children are less likely to be obese at two to five years of age.

 

Let’s stop using this magical time in a woman’s life as an excuse to gain a ton of weight, keep it packed on for eight years, ‘eat for two’ and not get moving.  So, of course, check with your doctor, make sure you’re listening to your own body and better yet, get fit before you get pregnant in the first place!   You, and your baby will be far better off!

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