Stephanie Eva: Paleo-OH! | Whole, Clean Eats

I very often am educating myself on clean eating and the different sides to all nutritional choices. I have also had many a "trial" of dietary lifestyles. For example, almost three years ago I became a vegan. A year or so after eating almost solely as that lifestyle dictated, I discovered macrobiotics and gave that a run. I followed that up with going raw. More recently I have been researching paleo and have taken the plunge.

If you do not know what each of these lifestyles mean, have no fear! I will give you a super quick run-down;

Veganism; Excluding any and all animal products from your diet.

Macrobiotics; Excluding all animal products with the exception of fish, and making whole grains the center of every dish. Also exclude processed food. This is derived from a zen-buddhist lifestyle, which teaches that you must balance yin and yang in your food choices. Yin foods are cold and sweet. Yang foods are hot and spicy. "Eating for the greater life" is the diet's slogan, so to speak.

Raw Veganism; Excluding any and all animal products, grains and cooked foods. Also exclude processed food. Many who follow this lifestyle follow the "80-10-10" rule. This stands for the percentages of what they consume in their diet; 80% fruits, 10% vegetables and 10% plant fat/nuts.

Paleo; Excludes all grains, legumes (including peanuts) and processed foods. Encourages consumption of animal proteins and healthy fats with a higher intake of vegetables. Some fruit!

While reading up on paleo I discovered a book called "It Starts with Food" by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. Because their program guidelines are based directly from paleo ideals, I bought and read the book. I would say that the program's guidelines are stricter than the average paleo lifestyle. They give you the knowledge to create meals for a whole, clean-eating thirty days. This seemed to me to be a great spring board into paleo, and a fun challenge! If you are interested in learning more about Dallas and Melissa's challenge visit the website whole9life.

The challenge guidelines suggest building your meals around 1-2 servings of protein (eggs, meats, fish), filling the rest of your plate with all types of vegetables. In addition, they recommend 1 or more servings of healthy fats like olive/coconut oils, olives or avocados. There is also the difficulty of "no-added-sugars". However, I think the biggest difference with paleo from my previous dietary endeavors was the addition of "animal" in every dish. I am not opposed to eating animal meat, and am aware it is not the devil. I believe that you should eat however you would like to. I eat for my body, and stick with what feels best. What works for me may not work for someone else.

I thought I would share with you the way that I have been eating most recently. Vegans and vegetarians, beware! Yes, there is an "animal" in every meal.

There is no way I could eat the same breakfast every day, it's too boring for me! That being said, this is a favorite breakfast-dish of mine that I could probably eat for many days in a row. Pictured above is one egg, peppers, onions and avocado in a scramble of sorts with a side of sweet potato home fries. Sprinkled with a little salt and pepper.

This is another favorite dish that I've had interchangeably for lunch and dinner. Pictured above are two lean mini-beef patties drizzled with Sunshine Sauce (recipe/source here), smothered in caramelized onions atop a bed of lettuce and tomato.

My dinner dishes are normally smaller because I am either too lazy to cook or not hungry because of a satisfying meal enjoyed earlier in the day. Pictured above is a slow-cooked steak on top of onions and carrots. Sprinkled with garlic-salt and pepper.

The challenge expresses that you should not have much need to snack because your meals should fill you until the next eating time. However, I love honey-crisp apples and will cut one up for a late night snack or dessert. They are also great baked; drizzled with a little olive oil and sprinkled with cinnamon.