:D

New Chapter

Over the past few weeks i've been somewhat obsessive over tracking what I eat and delving into research on food.

I haven't been eating badly, not at all, i've kept pretty much kept to the same eating habits for over 2 years, with a few odds and ends over certain periods, meals going in and out of favorability, phases of drinking hot chocolate and coffee regularly. I never eat take away food, nor buy my lunch when i'm at work.

When I moved out over 2 years ago I set a goal to lose 10kg and successfully did within 6 months, i've put on 2 kilograms since this period as I haven't been so strict with myself, 2kg is really nothing though.

If you've been reading this blog you are no doubt aware of my love for cooking and i'm sure not going to stop.

A few weeks ago I decided it was time for a new chapter in my life, i'm not unhealthy or overweight, no where near it, but I want to take a step back, re-evaluate what i'm eating and perhaps introduce some more variety and better quality food keeping my body in top condition.

This is all part of a bigger picture, which i'll be going into at some point - probably early next year, but for now I thought i'd share my thoughts on food.

I sought some advice both professionally, from friends, as well as blogs and other online resources and basing it off what i've been doing in the past. With this i've been constantly adjusting a weekly menu plan and sticking to it.

To help I completely cleaned out my cupboards, giving away things I hadn't used for months and years, that were just taking up space. Now I only buy what I really need and nothing more.

This plan has been in my head for a month or so, I hadn't written it down. But when I did, it's quite cool to see your meals in a spreadsheet with every detail documented, it's even better seeing every ingredient, making shopping a lot easier and to plan ahead.

Some might call this obsessive or just couldn't picture themselves living like this. However I don't do things by halves, I track quantity and weight, methods of cooking, whether the produce is organic or not, i've even kept a log of the changes since I began. Keeping everything organised is fun and something i've always enjoyed.

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Eating Plan

So what this post is centred around is the table below, it's my eating plan as of today (9/10/11). There is still room for improvement, however it as an ever-changing document with continual modifications.

Have a look and see how it compares to what you eat. Every ingredient used is listed.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	Muesli 250g natural yogurt* 60g un-toasted muesli 50g blueberries	Roast Lamb % 100g+ roast lamb* 1 tbsp tomato sauce* 1 apple	Tomato soup (2 1/2 cups) % Tomatoes Capsicums Onions Garlic Vegetable stock Tomato paste (salt reduced) 2 tbsp olive oil
Tuesday	Eggs 3 eggs* 2 slices bacon 1 tbsp tomato sauce* 1 tsp butter* 1 banana	Roast Lamb % 100g+ roast lamb* 1 tbsp tomato sauce* 1 apple	Stir fry 100g+ beef^ 2 tbsp soy sauce (low salt) 2 tbsp oyster sauce 2 cloves garlic 2 cups lightly steamed vegetables (broccoli, onions, snow peas, capsicum, carrots*, celery) 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp fresh ginger
Wednesday	Muesli 250g natural yogurt* 60g un-toasted muesli 50g blueberries	Meat Patties 100g+ mince^ 1/2 egg yolk 1/2 onion 1/2 tsp oil 1 tbsp tomato sauce* 1 apple	Tomato soup (2 1/2 cups) % Tomatoes Capsicums Onions Garlic Vegetable stock Tomato paste (salt reduced) 2 tbsp olive oil
Thursday	Eggs 3 eggs* 2 slices bacon 1 tbsp tomato sauce* 1 tsp butter* 1 banana	Meat Patties 100g+ mince^ 1/2 egg yolk 1/2 onion 1/2 tsp oil 1 tbsp tomato sauce* 1 apple	Roast Leg of Lamb % 100g+ roast lamb* 1 1/2 cups roasted vegetables (onions, pumpkin*, carrots*) 1/2 cup steamed vegetables (beans, peas) # 2 tbsp tomato sauce* 2 cloves garlic 1 tbsp olive oil
Friday	Muesli 250g natural yogurt* 60g un-toasted muesli 50g blueberries	Roast Lamb % 100g+ roast lamb* 1 tbsp tomato sauce* 1 apple	Tomato soup (2 1/2 cups) % Tomatoes Capsicums Onions Garlic Vegetable stock Tomato paste (salt reduced) 2 tbsp olive oil
Saturday	Eggs 3 eggs* 2 slices bacon 1 tbsp tomato sauce* 1 tsp butter* 1 banana	Roast Lamb % 100g+ roast lamb* 1 tbsp tomato sauce* 1 apple	Stir fry 100g+ beef^ 2 tbsp soy sauce (low salt) 2 tbsp oyster sauce 2 cloves garlic 2 cups lightly steamed vegetables (broccoli, onions, snow peas, capsicum, carrots*, celery) 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp fresh ginger
Sunday	Muesli 250g natural yogurt* 60g un-toasted muesli 50g blueberries	Tuna 1 can (95g) tuna in springwater 1 tablespoon mayonnaise (low fat) # 1 apple	Roast Leg of Lamb % 100g+ roast lamb* 1 1/2 cups roasted vegetables (onions, pumpkin*, carrots*) 1/2 cup steamed vegetables (beans, peas) # 2 tbsp tomato sauce* 2 cloves garlic 1 tbsp olive oil

* Organic produce, ^ Grass fed, # Pending to be changed, % Slow cooker

Beverages: Filtered water mainly, coconut water is great as well especially for hydration. I enjoy a regular coffee too, again just keeping the amount of milk and sugar in mind, beer and cider of course as well!

Snacks: For a snack I eat 50 grams of un-salted macadamia nuts every other day or so.

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Recent Changes

Over a month ago, this eating plan had quite a few differences to what you see above, here is a list of all the changes that contributed to the current version.

• Completely eliminated bread, I didn't really have much before, now it's nothing, grains are bad.
• I used to have 1 cup of milk every morning, not anymore, turns out it's not so good for you.
• I've stopped eating the All-Bran cereal the few times a week I had it, it's processed food.
• I'm buying more organic produce where possible, especially with meat, eggs, fruits and vegetables.
• Egg consumption has gone up, I only used to have 2 or so a week, now it's 10+.
• 7 days a week I used to have a banana, i've halved it now due to the fructose content (sugar).
• To replace the bananas, i've start eating more blueberries.
• I used to have tuna for lunch 7 days a week because it was simple and easy, my lunches are now far more varied and significant with lots of meat and a piece of fruit.
• I'm now cooking lots of lamb roasts in my slow cooker for dinners and lunches, very easy to do.
• Where possible i'm purchasing grass-fed instead of grain-fed meat.
• I've stopped eating almonds and instead replaced them with macadamia nuts, almonds are great, they just need to be prepared properly (soaked overnight).
• Butter instead of margarine, margarine really isn't good for you, it's so processed.

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Improvements

What else could I do to improve my eating plan?

• I could incorporate smoothies with coconut oil/water, raw eggs and so forth.
• The oats in my muesli should be soaked overnight to remove the phytic acid.
• Even though i'm buying some organic produce now, there is always room for improvement, sourcing it can be an issue though.
• More grass fed meat instead of grain fed, only half my meat is grass fed at the moment.
• Sourcing higher quality bacon without nitrates (what the bacon is treated with).
• Dropping the tuna and low fat mayonnaise even though its only one day a week now.
• Dropping peas and beans, they're legumes.

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Paleo

This eating plan is quite similar to the Palaeolithic diet, or Paleo for short, also known as the caveman diet.

"A nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that various human species habitually consumed during the Palaeolithic era-a period of about 2.5 million years duration that ended around 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture.

In common usage, such terms as the "Palaeolithic diet" also refer to the actual ancestral human diet. Centered on commonly available modern foods, the "contemporary" Paleolithic diet consists mainly of grass-fed pasture raised meats, fish, vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils."

This is an extremely realistic way of eating, it's not a fad diet. There is no one version, there are many varieties and views on what a Paleo diet is and you as a person need to decide what is best for you.

However the general consensus is:

• Non-starchy vegetables like carrots, onions, garlic, broccoli, celery.
• Eating good quality grass-fed meat and fish.
• Dairy is ok, like cream, butter, and fermented dairy (yogurt, some cheeses) but avoiding milk due to milk sugars (lactose), proteins and hormones.
• Fruit is also fine, but the type and quantity needs to be kept in check, berries are good. Choose nutrient rich and lower fructose varieties.
• Properly prepared nuts like almonds (soaked) or macadamia nuts.
• Starchy vegetables (like pumpkin or sweet potato) if you are an active person, but kept in moderation.
• No grains (like bread).
• No legumes (seeds like peas, beans, lentils).
• No processed foods (cereals, ready-made foods, take away) or sugars like candy, quality dark chocolate (85%) is fine.

There is a large Paleo community on the internet with hundreds of blogs and podcasts.

Of recent note i've been listening to a podcast called Latest in Paleo.

It goes for about an hour an episode. Every week there is news, analysis and discussion, interviews and all sorts of Paleo stuff.

There are also tons of links to explore if you want to know more about the topics you hear. I've been catching up on all the episodes from the past year.

I'm also reading The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet by Robb Wolf, a bestselling book on Paleo.

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Conclusion

Do I stick to the above all day every day? Hell no. I'm not going to be home for lunch or dinner every day, so I need to make smart choices.

Although every so often i'm going to have a meal and not give a fuck what's in it and just enjoy it, it's not worth worrying about it sometimes.

This is my core eating plan, something that i'll stick to 95% of the time.

I'm not saying people should follow this advice, everyones body and outlook is different, there are so many factors to take into account, whether you have a partner, kids, are on an extremely limited budget or just don't have time. You may have allergies, high cholesterol or diabetes that may restrict a lot of things.

A little bit more money for quality food is worth it in this day and age, it staggers me how much processed food there is in the world right now. I don't want to eat foods full of toxins, add unnecessary weight gain or consume anything that deprives me of what my body needs.

In the end living a healthy life with good quality food is my goal, i'm really enjoying it at the moment.