Recently, I have been hearing a lot about how great this diet is, or how great that diet is. All these conflicting opinions and strict rules make me just want to give up and eat some ice cream. Take Paleo, for example.
Paleo, also called the "Caveman Diet," mandates that its adherents eat lots of meat and vegetables, while cutting out all dairy and gluten. It also recommends that you limit fruits to cut down on sugar. I tried to stick to it for a week, and by the middle of the week I drove to my local Co-Op and bought some Greek yogurt and two wedges of cheese. That first bite of dairy tasted like home, and I knew Paleo wasn't for me. People who can stick to that full time are robots, and probably soulless.
The logic behind Paleo is that most humans are lactose intolerant. Well, most humans may be, but I am not. I am a Norwegian who grew up in the Netherlands. Dairy is not just a component of my people's diets, it is a cultural icon.
But something about the Paleo diet stuck with me. Namely, it was the sheer amount of vegetables I was forced to eat to feel full without carbohydrates or dairy. I did some research into the benefits of eating a high volume of vegetables, and it left me - pardon the pun - hungry for more.
I will admit, I am not a green-and-leafy girl. I'm also not a fan of diets. But if there's one thing I can't resist, it's a challenge. And to me, cheese worshipper, a plant based diet is a serious challenge.
So, here are the guidelines.
Mountains of vegetables. Lots of fruit. Some dairy and meat. Limited gluten. Low sugar.
When possible, organic & local.
And of course, most of all... tasty.
Let me stress: this is not a diet. It's not about sticking to strict rules. It's not about seeing how few calories I can consume or how much weight I lose. It's about putting as much good stuff into my body as possible... stuff like spinach and strawberries.
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