Eat Like an Athlete (or eat Paleo)….1-16-11

Eat Like an Athlete (or eat Paleo)….1-16-11

Hey guys, I have been getting a lot of good feedback and questions, so keep em coming! Today I just wanted to talk some more about food. I did some shopping yesterday and decided to share some photos with you guys. Whether you are a fellow Paleo follower, competitive athlete or someone who is concerned about performance, below are some foods you may want to add to your list.

There a lot of cool things about eating Paleo. Not only are there mounds of evidence supporting the health benefits but it also is ideal for folks in the performance/competition realm…plus it helps ya feel better and live longer, which is always cool.

For athletes, it is important we supply adequate protein for tissue growth and repair but also the appropriate types of carbs and fats that supply fuel, regulate hormones and reduce inflammation. As far as specifics go about ratios or how to determine caloric intake, I will have to address that in another post.

So onto the groceries. For about $72 here is what I got yesterday. From a local health food store that carries farm raised eggs, organic grassfed dairy and beef I got:

• Gluten free flour
• Grassfed beef franks and stew meat
• Farm raised eggs
• Organic milk and butter
• Organic yogurt (high fat)
• Organic Whole Milk high in Omega-3

From Kroger, which has a great organic and health food section I got:

• Organic carrots
• Organic Swiss chard
• Organic celery
• Organic baby arugula (great stuff if you havn’t tried it)
• Organic potatoes and sweet potatoes
• Organic apples and bananas
• Organic bell peppers
• Organic gluten free cereal
• Couple of Organic milk drinks for the kids
• Coconut water for post workout drink for me (a friend of mine who competes in Iron Man and marathons turned me on to this, been hooked ever since)

Now we have four kids, so this isn’t gonna last very long. We usually go though about 50 eggs per week and about 10-12lbs of meat. I just wanted to show some examples of foods for those looking from new brands or options.

For anyone looking for grass fed beef products, here is a link that will show where to find grass fed meat products in your area: Eat Wild

So what’s with the grass fed met? Well, I’m sure I have mentioned it before and will certainly cover it in the future on another post, but in a nutshell here are some of the benefits:

• Balanced ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6
• High levels of beta carotenoids and phyto nutrients
• High levels of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)
• And overall, lower levels of fat, which really isn’t a concern regarding Paleo eating

Some may say that eating foods like this is more expensive, well they are right. But consider this. If we do the math and instead of buying a lot of supplements, paying for prescription meds to treat various conditions, future health care expenses then it is far cheaper to eat “healthy.” Not to mention we feel and look better and most likely will add a few more years on to our lives.

I haven’t mentioned it yet but I am also a big fan of raw, unpasteurized dairy products. Again that is something for another post. Feel free to email any specific questions or topics for posts you may have and I will address them sooner. But here are some cool links and that addresses some of the benefits of raw dairy products:  Where to find real milk  and Weston A. Price Foundation  check them out, great resource for knowledge.

　

In the mean time here are some photos of groceries and specific brands.

 

Table full of good stuff






Grass fed beef franks and stew meat from Burgundy beef, located about an hour south of the DFW area. They deliver to the DFW area on orders of 10lbs or more!

Burgundy Beef Website

Organic Valley has great milk and butter products! I highly recommend it. The Liberte yogurt is something I ran across. It is high fat, organic dairy. This one is coconut and is probably the best tasting yogurt I have ever had in my life! 17g of fat! Good stuff!



Red Mill has a wide variety of gluten free products, so there is hope! You can still bake.



Organic mashed sweet potatoes. I added some cream, butter, molasses and cinnamon. This bowl will last for about 4-5 days. Great source of carbs as post workout food.





Local farm raised eggs. Notice some of them are different sizes and colors.