Cavey/Not Cavey

Hi, Donna here! I've been encouraging my husband to write the entries, but he has indicated that it is now my turn, and so I shall address "The Art of the Open Meal." Since I discovered this new way of eating because of my thyroid operation, I was very surprised that it had a name and many followers. If you are a strict "by the Paleo Diet Book" caveman, your diet would consist wholly of meats (non-wheat fed), vegetables, fruits, berries nuts, and seeds. This is almost impossible to follow, and I don't really think many people actually do. However, built into the diet is the fudge factor called "Open Meal" which gets you off the hook sometimes. We incorporate open mealatude several ways, i.e. a little pita bread to hold salad and salsa. But while we are not really cave people, we try to be as "cavey" as we can, especially in avoiding processed foods. Here is an example of a raw fish meal that is perfectly cavey. And here is an example of (eek) a breaded fish meal, that is decidedly uncavey. We ate and enjoyed them both!

Him: Week 10 Her: Week 24

Last weekend, we went to the city to see fireworks at a friend's high rise apartment on the West Side. It turned out that 9th Avenue and 25th Street was a fantastic viewing spot, as long as you also happened to be on the 19th floor. The day before the party, we asked what we could bring. She told us - a dessert. We did a double take because we don't eat desserts, but quickly remembered our lifeline. The specialty of the house is a blackberry and blueberry compote, made with minimal sugar. These used to have a light crust, but now we do them without. Donna had the further idea to make a strawberry topping to be added after generous doses of whipped cream - Red White and Blue! This turned out to be a huge hit at the gathering, and the dish came back nearly empty.
Last night, we went to Outback when Donna picked me up at the train station. Most of the choices here are in the zone, but when the waiter came by with bread and butter, we had to tell him to save it for someone who could eat bread. He may have served other paleo types, because he came back later and proposed a substitute serving of celery and two kinds of dip - very impressive. Donna was especially impressed with their tomato dip. Meantime, I'm trimming down just a little bit every day. However, on my birthday next month, I'm eating cake. It's in the plan as an "Open Meal," meaning that you make special exemptions now and then.

Here is the berry recipe:

Ingredients:

Two pints each of blackberries and blueberries

Two tablespoons butter

One tablespoon flour

Three tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 375

Mix all ingredients in an oven safe bowl. Bake for 40 minutes.

Strawberry topping

One quart strawberries

Cover with orange juice and confectioner's sugar to taste.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours

Capitol Punishment

We just came back from a conference in Washington DC - three intense days of library conference, while basking in record heat. This was my first conference on the Paleo plan, so it would be interesting how I could navigate the endless free breakfasts, lunches and parties put on by various vendors. WE had decided in advance that we would stick to plan for the most part, but try the Wolfgang Puck desserts at the Saturday night party. It wasn't terribly hard to stay on track because most parties have an array of vegetables and dip, fruits and meat skewers - all on the plan. The worst was one breakfast that served French toast with bacon and sausage - we ate the bacon and sausage. The previous breakfast was continental, but fortunately, it came with a fruit salad. The Saturday night party had no food beyond desserts, so we had to take the Metro to Dupont Circle and find a surprisingly good diner.

HIM: week 7, Her: week 22

It's been a challenging week for paleo eaters. On my Tuesday lunch, I headed to Duane Park, a Cajun/French restaurant only two blocks from my office. Had duck confit and calimari salad - both delicious. The hard part came when we went to a ball game Friday night in Staten Island. Our tickets said "Unlimited refreshments." Not quite - we stood in line for nearly an hour and then were told that we could get exactly one item and a bottled water. I ended up with a dry cheeseburger - took off the top bun and discarded half of the bottom. Dreadful. On a happier note, the family took me to brunch Father's day at Captain Bill's in Bay Shore. Many paleo choices - sausage, prime rib, salads, lox, roast lamb and poached eggs. At the end, I had some fruit from the dessert table. Left feeling pleasantly full. Afterwards, we posed for this picture (above) to show the week 7 progress, compared to the picture at left, taken 2 months ago.

Him:Week 6 Her:week 21

In February, my wife Donna underwent surgery to remove her right thyroid. She had been warned that this would lead to some sort of severe weight gain, so she was prepared for the worst. As she spent weeks recovering from surgery, there were some foods she could not eat because her throat was too constricted - any bread or pasta was out. She found fruits, vegetables and meats easier to swallow. As the weeks went by, something strange and unexpected happened - she started trimming down. She was eating more than ever of the foods she could handle, but going down two dress sizes. Reading the thyroid forums, she found that she had stumbled on something that had a name - the Paleo Diet. Six weeks ago, Donna sent me an article with the details of this plan (See The Article). I read it while eating a bagel with a generous dose of butter.



I finished the bagel, and immediately went on the plan. So far, I have not seen any dramatic weight loss, but I feel better. I have a healthy appetite at meal time, but don't feel like I'm starving myself. I'd had a problem in my left hip that had been troubling me for many months, and it went away on day one. I'm looking forward to seeing what the summer holds in store. See also Wheat Addiction To be continued.