Why Kashi isn't as "Heart-Healthy" as you Think

1-2 cups Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal
1-2 cups of Milk (usually 1%)
Handful of Walnuts
Mix and Enjoy

This is what my breakfast looked like nine times out of ten for the past decade or more. I grew up eating a lot of cereal as a kid, and I continued into adult hood. I remember having so many boxes of cereal that my brother and I would build cereal fortresses (even though we were sitting besides each other). Then we would spend the next half an hour or more reading the boxes, doing crossword puzzles and finishing mazes. We turned it cereal into an event!

For me, cereal at breakfast was as traditional as a lasagna on Thanksgiving (c'mon - were Italian). I didn't just eat it for breakfast though, because it was equally as good as a snack, post work out meal, or even dinner if I didn't feel like cooking. It's so easy to prepare, and you can feel good about eating it because it's healthy, right?

That's what I thought, until I read Robb Wolf's book "The Paleo Solution." His book is based on what our hunter/gatherer ancestors used to eat BEFORE the advent of agriculture. Numerous studies show the effect of grains, dairy, and legumes as being gut irritants, and that once these foods were adapted into our diet they had a profound effect on the health of our ancestors. I'd like to point you to a great article written by Robb who explains the idea much better than I can.

NorCal Nutrition: Are We Crazy?

All this to say that I haven't had a bowl of cereal for a month and a half (as long as I've been on the paleo diet). I don't really crave it anymore, but sometimes I do wish breakfast was easy again. No more cereal, and no more shakes. Cooking isn't hard; it's just time consuming. But, the positives definitely out way the negatives, and I know that I am putting excellent fuel into my body, so I can look, feel and perform at my best.

Also, here is a great review of Robb's book at the blog Modern Paleo.

Day 16 - Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Now that I got that out of the way... My family is very traditional usually cooking a lasagna for Thanksgiving. This year however, that was not going to fly for me so, I scrounged up some recipes from the web, and sent them to my mom in advanced. We used:

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Cranberry Sauce

Paleo Pumpkin pie

Recipes from EverdayPaleo.

And we did a roasted root vegetable.

We usually host thanksgiving at our house, but this year the relatives were going to be in San Fransisco (I don't blame them). So, it was just going to be my mom, dad, sister and I.

After watching the Patriots dismantle the Lion. C'mon! Didn't anyone see that coming? I can't even believe that the Lions had a lead at one point. Look at this nice, easy 79 yard td Deion Branch had today.

Like I said, after the dismantling, we had already put the turkey in the oven and were working on our other recipes. The paleo pie was so easy; the crust is only three ingredients (hazelnuts, pecans, and butter). The cranberry sauce was equally as easy. I tossed in the ingredients and let it boil down. I thought it tasted fantastic too, definitely tart, slightly sweet, and bursting with real cranberry flavor. Much tastier than that store bought crap. Eventually, my sister and dad walked in the kitchen and we had the whole family cooking. It was great.

I usually help my mom with a side dish every year, but this is the first year I had my hands on a bunch of dishes. I think everything turned out great. I owe a lot to Sarah at Everyday Paleo. Her recipes are simple, delicious, and paleo (grain, dairy, legume free).

This year my brother was still in San Diego working on more films. But that didn't stop him from making an appearance at our table. We propped him up at the head of the table while we ate dinner, and it was almost like he was with us.

Being home reminds me of how great family is.