The Paleo Diet

I know that my blog isn't about dieting but I have to make this diet an exception. Besides, it's not really any type of extreme diet. You don't have to skip any meals or have to follow one of those TV diet food meals. It's super easy.

My parents and I have been on this diet for about three months now and it's called "The Paleo Diet." Now, I've never been much of a diet person because since I swim, I usually eat everything. Pasta, salad, dumplings, chicken tandoori, you name it. But this diet requires you to eat mostly vegetables and meat, and less on the starch like pasta and potatoes. I'm not saying that you shouldn't eat starch at all, just less. The first few weeks of this diet, I was a bit annoyed because we used to have rice every night (it's an Asian thing) and now, there's no rice to be served anymore. I was not used to feeling so light and not full after dinner. I would ask my mom why we're on this diet, and she would just say, "It's good for you!!"

However as the weeks past and I continued swimming every day after school, I could actually feel myself getting stronger within each practice and less tired. I could actually be seen at swimming bouncing off the walls, filled with complete energy. I didn't know what was happening but I had to conclude that it must be the diet. The amount of protein in the vegetables and meat that I eat account for the amount of energy I have and it also helps when I'm working really hard in practice. The past 2 months of swimming, I've been dropping my swim times and have been getting personal best times. It's amazing how much the way you eat, in addition to a bunch of little things, can affect your physical abilities and confidence.

So I guess the moral of the story here is to try something new, but don't go to the extreme. If it works for you, GREAT! Keep going with it. If not, no one's making you. It's up to you to finding out what's best. It's just a simple process of trial and error into finding out what fits you.

For more information, please visit: http://thepaleodiet.com/ or check out this book!

Recent News

Check out some of these articles on the latest healthy eating news! :)

Michelle Obama's Agenda Includes Healthful Eating

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/dining/11lady.html?pagewanted=all

The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/the-11-best-foods-you-arent-eating/

Healthy Eating Tips for Teens

http://www.betterhealthusa.com/public/268.cfm

Recent Updates

It's already been about a month and a half since I last updated my blog... oops. I'm so sorry! Everything has been so busy with the start of junior year and the swim team season. Also, my parents and I are already looking into colleges... I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. Anyway, how bout I make it up to you? I'll give you a super long post! YAY! :)

Okay so just an update on my garden...

On August 19th, I had three other Girl Scout troops come help me harvest! They had a great time learning about gardening and healthy eating. I just want to give a big thank you to Mrs. Sotos and Troop 40147, Mrs. Gregory and Troop 40980, and Mrs. Metzger along with her two troops! I had about a total of about 22 girls come and help me harvest that afternoon. Thanks again and I couldn't have done it without you!

Troop 40147 and I after harvesting our herbs!

I've finished my garden as of September 5th. Yes, I went out on Labor Day to do some actual physical work. It only took about three hours. I cut the bottom of the stems and placed the remaining herbs in bags. And let me tell you, there were a TON of herbs left. My plan was to dry the rosemary, thyme, and oregano for later use. As for the basil, I wanted to make basil sauce and give them as gifts to my volunteers. Once I finished packing the herbs into the bags, I looked back and the beds were empty. It was sad to see all of it cleared away. :(

Once I got home, I washed the dirt off the rosemary, thyme, and oregano and soaked them in water two times. Then, I dried them by leaving them on the counter for several days. The house smelled so herby and fresh! :)

For the basil, I went home and plucked every single healthy leaf off the stems (that took a while). Then, I placed them in the fridge so they could stay fresh until we made some pesto sauce. Since my mom was going to be away during the week, my dad offered to help me make some pesto just to make sure that the kitchen wouldn't be destroyed or anything...

Two days later, my dad and I decided to make the pesto sauce using the recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (the recipes can be found under the "recipes" tab). We placed about 1/4 of the harvested basil leaves into the blender and added the other ingredients. Then we pressed the button, "blend". Suddenly, this weird whirring noise occurred making the both of us jump. So we tried another button, and another, and another... After trying several buttons we peered over the edge of the blender to see our creation. What we saw was what looked like green vomit. I tried some of it and it didn't taste very good either. So, we decided to add some more salt and olive oil, while also stirring the mix with a wooden spoon, while the blender was working. We kept stirring and stirring until... CLUNK. My dad and I both stared at each other with a scared look on our faces. Sure enough, once I pulled out the wooden spoon, a chunk of it was missing. That meant that there were wood strings in our pesto. Frustrated and sad at the same time, we said our good-byes to our sauce as we threw it away in the trash can and decided that we would make it once mom got back home. It's amazing how much you need your mother. And another lesson learned: never use wooden spoons when stirring things in a working blender.

Even though my pesto plan didn't work, I've decided to use the dried rosemary, oregano, and thyme as gifts for my volunteers. But don't tell them, it's a surprise!