Richard and I are embarking on a new life-changing diet. We're starting a slowly because we've found that if we jump in 100%, we abandon the effort within two months.

We are transitioning to a paleolithic eating lifestyle. Here's the overall view of it:

We started using coconut oil in December and use very little of the non-stick sprays. Eventually we won't use anything but coconut oil. By the way, coconut oil is solid until heated then it becomes liquid so if you see it in a store, don't be surprised if it's solid. Coconut oil is a heathy oil. Olive oil is okay but only buy organic without a bunch of additives.

This is going to take time but we already feel better. I find that if I don't eat bad carbs (processed), I have more energy in the morning and I'm not bloated. Sorry if that's TMI but I exult in holding my weight or even losing a little!

This is going to involve cooking and baking, two things that aren't on my top ten list of things I like to do. However, this is really going to help us and since we have to severely decrease bad carbs (due to our health issues), we kind of don't have a choice. This also means that I may have to haul food with us when we travel. Such is life.

We'll eat only lean meat and less of it because it's more expensive. We decided that we only need 1/2 pound of ground turkey or beef in anything we cook except meatloaf. I will attempt in the future to make all our sauces but, like I said, we're starting slowly. My mom used to make our spaghetti sauce so I know I can do it. (Spaghetti = spaghetti squash, not pasta.)

This is a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, starch-free, processed food-free diet so imagine what you'd have to cut out if you were on this. Yep, kind of sad thinking about it. However, we're keeping our eyes on the future, knowing we're going to feel better very soon.

Starch-free means no rice or other grain flour. We're beginning to use almond and coconut flour. Expensive but you don't have to use a lot. I ordered some on Amazon because it was the cheapest.

Below is a recipe for some Banana Almond Flour muffins I made on January 1, 2013. I tweaked the recipe and these are pretty good. They're filling (yay!) and aren't overly sweet. 

Paleo Banana Bread Muffins (12 cupcake-size muffins)

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 heaping tablespoon organic applesauce
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, plus more for topping

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place cupcake cups in cupcake tin and set aside. If you have a muffin tin, place muffin cups in the tin.

In a large bowl, sift together almond flour, flaxseed, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt.

In a separate bowl, add the mashed bananas, eggs, honey, vanilla, oil and applesauce -- mix well.

With your hands, make a slight well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Add in chopped walnuts. Stir until combined.

Fill the baking cups about 3/4 full. Sprinkle a few chopped walnuts over each cup.

Bake muffins for 20-23 minutes or insert a toothpick into the center and if comes out clean, it's time to remove them. Depending on your oven, start checking after about 15 minutes.

Let cool for 5 - 10 minutes and enjoy!

(The muffins will probably stick to the cups but I think that's normal.)

You can buy almond and coconut flour on Amazon or at Whole Foods, Raley's and other stores that have a good size gluten-free section.

I want to post entries as we continue along this path. I know we're going to make permanent changes (i.e., coconut oil) and we'll see how we do with the rest of it. The people I know that have embraced this diet have lots more energy and feel much better than they did before eating like this. That's my goal -- more energy and feeling better. Losing weight would be a bonus!!