A lot of Paleo blogs seem to originate from people who were formerly very overweight, or ill with one or more chronic diseases, or both. By going Paleo they’ve miraculously changed their lives for the better, and now they’re blogging about their return to health (oh, and selling cookbooks, e-books, programs, t-shirts…..). Here are 3 examples of what I mean:
- The Paleo Mom blog reels off over 10 heath conditions that plagued her (10! Yikes!), until she turned to a Paleo diet. With life-changing results.
- Robb Wolf’s blog offers a wide variety of stories from Paleo converts: Elena conquers osteopenia! My rheumatoid arthritis is in remission! Paleo helps Suzanne get off thyroid medication! Wow!
- The Paleo Lifestyle blog lists no less than 30 health changes frequently seen on the diet, ahem, lifestyle, including effortless weight loss, better digestion, and getting a famous 6-pack stomach. Impressive.
So almost a week into the challenge, I’m thinking about any changes I’ve noticed: Am I more energetic? Maybe. I’m not sure. Maybe not, then. Is my digestion any better than it was before? Perhaps. A little. Have I effortlessly lost any weight? Well, 2 pounds so far. That’s good, right? More than dropping any pounds, I’m looking forward to the 6-pack abs that are surely in my future if I stick to this. Ha!
This might get in the way of that 6-pack, but I discovered a sweet treat that seems to be allowed on many Paleo diets, except for the very strict ones that don’t allow any chocolate. That I just could not do. Eve, it’s about time talked about chocolate anyway. This isn’t the chocolate recipe that I wanted to start with, but it’s quick and helped get me through day 6.
Adapted from FastPaleo.com. I made these after dinner and held myself to eating just two of them. That was hard.
Ingredients
- 7 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups unsweetened medium shred coconut
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently and -- importantly -- never letting it out of your sight so that it doesn’t scorch. (Alternatively, melt it in your microwave or over a double boiler.)
- Once the chocolate is melted, remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Stir in the coconut.
- Scoop out using a teaspoon and drop onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Leave them as is, or use your fingers to mold them into little pyramids. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and let the haystacks chill for about 30 minutes, or until they’re hardened. Try not to eat them all in one sitting.
More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days
Image courtesy of Whole9Life.com.
Seven ounces of chocolate and only 20 little treats? Actually, it sounds great. I might have to go buy myself some coconut.
Paleo living is a bit too restrictive for that rich, flourless chocolate cake we both like to make. Supposing that you don’t convert to a lifelong Paleo diet at the end of July, let’s plan to make that cake for a family get together – maybe a catchup on all the summer birthdays?
*sigh* oh I suppose we can wait for the (flourless) molten chocolate cakes. The ones I make don’t have much sugar in them but yes, probably best to wait until the end of July. I’ll have something to celebrate then, along with the summer birthdays.