Paleo Cookbook For Dummies (18 page)

Coconut butter

Unsweetened coconut flakes

Canned coconut milk

Coconut oil

Always double-check the label on pantry items just to be extra sure you aren't getting any nasty ingredient surprises.

Yellow Light: Approaching Some Foods with Caution

Some foods may fall into a bit of a gray area for Paleo aficionados. When your body is healthy and your gut is strong, you may make some food decisions that fall outside of the realm of strict Paleo. The following sections help you navigate those fuzzy areas while choosing the best, most superfood options available.

Doing dairy

Some people can handle dairy, and others can't. Personally, I can't touch it; it has almost an immediate reaction on my body. I can tolerate some grass-fed butter and ghee, but that's where it ends with me.

However, if you're one of those folks who feel like dairy is no issue with you, get only the highest-quality full-fat dairy and tune in to how dairy affects your body. Be sure you aren't experiencing any symptoms of dairy intolerance, such as earaches, acne, congestion, joint aches, yeast infections, premenstrual discomfort, fatigue, asthma, skin rashes, or intestinal issues.

When you eat the “gold standard” dairy products — raw, fermented, full-fat dairy such as cultured butter, yogurt, kefir, and cheese — you're getting a healthy fat, a fermented food, and
conjugated linoleic acid,
which has tremendous healing affects.

Making superfood produce work with intestinal issues

Raw foods are full of vitamins and make you super healthy. In fact, I love them so much I think it's a benefit to have some raw produce with every meal. However, when raw fruits and veggies become an intestinal irritant, they're no longer in your best interest to eat. You may have to just give your body a break for awhile until it heals. The great news is that when you eat Paleo foods, you're doing all you can to get as healthy as possible.

If you have minor intestinal issues (such as bloating, discomfort, and gas) or more-serious conditions (such as irritable bowel syndrome [IBS], Crohn's disease, colitis or ulcerative colitis, or celiac disease), you may want to pull back on the raw foods, cooking your vegetables thoroughly until you heal. Here are some ways to get your superfood produce during this time:

Predigest.
Predigest your vegetables as much as possible by chopping them into small pieces and chewing them thoroughly.

Slow cook.
For low-grade intestinal issues, slow cooking vegetables in dishes such as soups or stews makes them easier to digest.

Limit fruit.
Eat small quantities of fruit until your body has fully transitioned into its healing phase. Stay away from dried fruit for a few months until your intestines have the digestive strength. If you have one of the more-serious intestinal conditions, avoid any fruit you can't peel until the healing phase gains traction; that exterior of the fruit may be too much roughage for your body to handle.

 
Don't drink and eat.
If you have intestinal disorders, hold off on drinking while you eat. Instead, wait until 20 minutes after finishing before you take a swig. This strategy keeps your digestive juices from getting diluted; they stay as strong as possible so they can work at breaking your food down as fully as possible. The more they break raw foods down, the less likely those foods are to irritate your intestinal lining.