Why do a 30 Day Paleo Reset?
Many of you have written me wondering why I am doing a 30 Day Reset. Chris Kresser’s book, Your Personal Paleo Code is dedicated to helping you find your personalized approach to Paleo, a balance of feeling your best and enjoying your life without obsessively following a certain way of eating. He helps us to identify a way of eating that works for us as individuals. For some of us with more severe health conditions, this might mean an even stricter approach, but for others it might mean a looser approach. Maybe one that even includes some white rice or some dairy.
I have worked with Chris personally and he has helped me identify my personal paleo code. And I have found that I feel better when I eat more carbs. I include white rice in my diet regularly. I also tolerate dairy now that my digestive system has improved.
But, I am really feeling like it is time for a Reset. The last year has been a really exciting one, but it has also been a really tough one. My stress levels have been through the roof! I wrote a 2nd cookbook, while I worked full-time, commuted 90 miles a day, started a health coach training and took care of one amazing little toddler. This left me eating WAY too many dried mangoes and indulging in a few too many bowls of Organic Honey’d Corn Flakes (which I actually don’t tolerate very well). The lack of sleep and the high stress levels, left me craving sugar and carbs constantly.
I am happy to announce that a few months ago, I had an opportunity to trade in the commute and the corporate job to work from home doing what I love – blogging and developing healthy recipes for you all! This has been a dream come true and something I never imagined could have happened, although I daydreamed about it all the time. I am so grateful that I get to be home to watch Indyanna grow up because I missed a lot that first year. It’s also so nice to feel so connected to my work. Right now, I work all weekend and most evenings, but it just doesn’t feel like work because I love what I do!
I have you to thank for this. We couldn’t have done this without you visiting my little corner of the internet, following me on social media and cooking from my cookbook. Thank you so much for your support, it means more than you know! The last few months have been unbelievable. As I like to tell me friends, I now work way more, make way less money, but I am so much happier! So, thank you, thank you, thank you!
To sum of it up, I am doing a 30 Day Reset because I really need one. I am not feeling my best lately. I am feeling run down, stressed and tired. My diet could also use a little clean up. I choose this program because it takes a sensible and holistic approach to health. The program doesn’t only focus on food. It teaches us how to improve stress levels, sleep better and add more pleasure to our lives. Which honestly I need, I am a bit of a workaholic. For me, the poor eating choices lately are a result of the aforementioned things. For any reset to have lasting effects, I know that I have to deal with stress, sleep and making time for more fun!
I also wanted to do it, so I could encourage you to join me! I know many of you that read my blog are new to Paleo or just considering it, I think this program is the perfect introduction.
How do you do a 30 Day Reset?
Many of you have been asking me exactly what a 30 Day Reset is. Chris Kresser has been kind enough to let me share some details with you about the program. I highly recommend not just following the list that I am going to provide below, but actually reading the book for best results. If you don’t have a copy of Your Personal Paleo Code yet, you can grab one HERE.
The book will answer all of your frequently asked questions. It will guide you through modifications. It will teach you how to effectively reintroduce foods, so you can learn which foods your body tolerates well and which it doesn’t. Your Personal Paleo Code also covers many other aspects of health, such as exercise, stress, sleep, how to improve digestion, and how to personalize your paleo code for specific health conditions. You get the gist, it goes way beyond the list of yes and no foods that we are going to discuss here. The book actually gives many more details about each of these foods too!
Remember this is the protocol for the 30 Day Reset. When you move on to Phase 2, you will get a chance to reintroduce some of these foods like chocolate and alcohol! Phew!
Eat Liberally:
- Meat and Poultry – organic and free-range is preferable
- Organ meats (especially liver)
- Bone-broth soups
- Fish
- Eggs
- Starchy plants – yams, sweet potatoes, tapioca, yuca, taro, lotus root, plantains and breadfruit
- Nonstarchy vegetables
- Fermented vegetables and fruits
- Traditional fats – ghee, coconut oil, red palm oil, palm kernel oil, macadamia oil, lard (renderered from free-range pigs if possible), duck fat, beef tallow (from free-range cows if possible) and olive oil (preferably extra virgin)
- Olives, avocados, and coconuts (including coconut milk)
- Sea salt and spices
Eat in Moderation:
- Processed meat- sausage, bacon, salami, etc. Make sure they are gluten, sugar and soy-free. Organic/free-range/grass-fed is preferable. Two to four servings a week is fine.
- Whole fruit – up to four servings per day, depending on your blood sugar balance and type of fruit. Choose a wide variety of colors. All fruit is permitted, but favor low sugar fruits.
- Nuts and seeds – limit yourself to a handful per day.
- Green beans, sugar peas, and snap peas – Though technically legumes, they are usually well tolerated. 4 -6 servings per a week are allowed.
- Coffee and black tea – limit to 1 8 ounce cup a day.
- Vinegar – may be used in small amounts everyday as part of a salad dressing or sauce.
Avoid Completely:
- Dairy – including butter, cheese, yogurt, milk, etc. Ghee is permitted because it contains only trace amounts of dairy proteins and lactose.
- Grains -including wheat, rice, oats, pseudograins and nongluten grains like sorghum, quinoa, buckwheat and so on.
- Legumes – including beans of all kinds (soy, black, pinto, etc.)
- Sweeteners, real and artificial – including paleo friendly sweeteners, such as honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc.
- Chocolate – including dark chocolate. Although dark chocolate is a nutrient-dense food, many people who are intolerant of gluten are (unfortunately!) also intolerant of proteins in chocolate. Don’t worry! You can reintroduce it during Step 2.
- Processed or refined foods
- Industrial seed and vegetable oils – Soybean, corn, safflower, sunflower, rapeseed, peanut, cottonseed, canola, etc
- Sodas, including diet sodas and fruit juice – Coconut water is fine, but limit yourself to half a cup a day. Plain soda water or mineral water is fine.
- Alcohol – In any form
- Processed sauces and seasonings
Week 1 Meal Plan
If you want to see what I am eating during this 30 Day Reset, I encourage you to follow me on Instagram, as I tend to post a lot of our daily eats there!
Breakfast – I eat the same few things for breakfast usually.
- Eggs scrambled, fried, poached or soft-boiled
- Nutrient-rich berry smoothie
- Yam, celery root and bacon hash
Snacks – I haven’t been snacking much this week, but these nori wraps with fresh or smoked salmon are my go-to!
Monday
- Breakfast – scrambled eggs, avocado, Farmhouse jalapeno kraut
- Lunch – Slow Cooker Pork with Kraut, sauteed cabbage, avocado and this super clean hot sauce. (recipe for pork will be available soon)
- Dinner – Same as lunch, but with half of a roasted sweet potato (I eat a lot of leftovers!)
Tuesday
- Breakfast – scrambled eggs, avocado, Farmhouse jalapeno kraut
- Lunch – 1 whole sweet potato roasted and stuffed with all of the leftovers: kale, ghee, pork, cilantro and more of my new hot sauce!
- Dinner – Sole Meunière made with the fresh sole we got from our seafood CSA! (recipe coming soon), parsnips spears roasted with ghee, roasted broccoli
Wednesday
- Breakfast – scrambled eggs, avocado, Farmhouse jalapeno kraut
- Lunch – Leftover sole, roasted broccoli, half a roasted yam
- Dinner – Bangkok Meatballs (omit the honey) from The Paleo Foodie Cookbook, roasted broccoli with ghee
Thursday
- Breakfast – scrambled eggs, avocado, Farmhouse jalapeno kraut
- Lunch – Leftover Bangkok Meatballs, salad
- Dinner – The Best Carnitas Ever with plantain tortillas and cabbage slaw
Friday
- Breakfast – scrambled eggs, avocado, Farmhouse jalapeno kraut
- Lunch – Leftover carnitas
- Dinner – Beef Rendang from Your Personal Paleo Code (p.373)
Saturday
- Brunch– We like to be lazy and sip our tea/coffee on Saturday mornings, while we all hang out as a family. We have a later brunch of eggs, bacon and fruit salad.
- Lunch/Dinner – We’ll finish up all the leftovers from the week!
Sunday
- Breakfast – Yam, celery root and bacon hash
- Lunch – Slow Cooker Paleo Teriyaki Chicken (omit the honey) with sauteed kale (recipe for chicken teriyaki is from my brand new eBook, Easy Paleo Slow Cooker Meals. You can download it HERE for only $2.99!)
- Dinner – More Slow Cooker Paleo Teriyaki Chicken and whatever vegetables we have left in the fridge.
Are you doing a 30 Day Reset? Tell us about it in the comments!
