The Rules

When my chiropractor told me to start the Paleo diet, I did some research. As I’ve said before, I had some misgivings about the premises of the paleo diet. On top of that, I’m a schoolteacher who is NOT a morning person. That means that breakfast has to be quick and easy, and dinner needs to be about the same.

The basic premise of a paleo diet, as I’ve discovered it, is this: eat only meat, fowl, fish, eggs, vegetables, nuts, and fruits. After talking with my sister, who lives with me and will have to eat this too, I decided to make the following exceptions (in moderation):

1. Allow condiments like soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, etc.
2. Eat quinoa (it is a more complete protein and is a higher-fat grain than most, and it has mild anti-inflammatory properties).
3. Allow sugar substitutes like splenda or aspartame.^
4. Allow dairy and fruits of all kinds.*
5. Allow legumes on occasion, at least for me. I’ll be getting natural peanut butter that doesn’t have all the added sugar, but peanut butter and beans can both round out a packed lunch nicely. 
6. Allow alcohol. 
7. All bets are off on Sunday. 

^Because I like sugar-free hazelnut syrup in my coffee every now and then. And since I don’t buy the premise, the occasional manufactured sweetener is fine by me.
*There are a host of opinions out there about how much dairy and fruit you should consume on a paleo diet, but I just wanted to blanket-allow anything from those categories. Anything is better than how I’m eating right now.