I hate labels. Whether it be ones we put on ourselves or ones that we let other people define us by, they are ridiculous.   The diagnosis of ADD / ADHD is just another label that is being put on our children at alarming rates.  Conservatively, CDC estimates about 3.5 million or 9% of our school-aged children are being prescribed some form of medication for ADD/ADHD.  This is a terrifying epidemic bordering on the pandemic, especially when you consider the French only diagnose and label about .5% of their school-aged children.  The main reason for this difference is the criteria for diagnosis.  It’s not that the French have ridiculously restrictive symptoms with complex tests to be diagnosed, they just look at the cause of the disease.

What is ADD / ADHD?Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder in the US are classified as a neurological disorder where the patient or child has learning, focus, and attention problems with no underlying pathological cause.  In...

I have to admit; I don’t like mayo, not even a little bit.  Years ago a patient was talking about baking a piece of fish covered in mayo.  The thought of it grossed me out. 

Well, I had mayo leftover from the paleo approved sides post so I thought I would finally give it a try.  This was a quick paleo garlic mayo baked cod that I whipped together one afternoon for lunch.  The paleo mayo I made with Macadamia nut oil, so it had a great nutty flavor.  That nutty flavor added a great taste to the cod.  While I am still not a fan of mayo as a side, it did an excellent job of keeping the cod moist and tender!  The great part was that the kids loved it for lunch!  You can also add a crust to the Mayo by turning the broiler on and moving the cod closer to the broiler for about 3-5 min.

• 4 Cod filets
• Pepper and Salt to taste
• 5 cloves Garlic minced and turned into paste
• 2/3 cup Paleo Mayonnaise
• ½ Tbs Butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. 
2. Place Cod on a buttered baking dish.
3. To prepare th
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There are so many ways that intestine health is important, especially considering that 80% of our immune system is in our intestines.  Autoimmune diseases are now such a common and devastating problem, and they are strongly linked to unhealthy, 'leaky' guts.  These occur when your immune system becomes hypersensitive to a protein or foreign compound because it sees that substance way too often.  The problem comes when you have increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut), you absorb too big of proteins, and these proteins look a lot like your tissue.  So your immune system starts attacking.  This would be a great thing except for the fact that it is attacking you!

Here is the best analogy I have come up with for an autoimmune disease.  Think of how annoyed you get when you see that in-law or relative that just gets on your nerves.  If they are around enough, then you start to get inflamed, irritated and might just take it out of family members that you like.  So basically your immune...

US News has recently rated the Paleo diet low on its list of healthy and acceptable diets.  I get so upset reading articles about how bad eating a Paleo diet is for you.  It's always backed up by misinformation, misrepresentation, and blatant attempts to protect their advertisers.  I’m not saying the editors or panel polled were unduly influenced.  However, how can it be that Weight Watchers was rated as one of the best overall diets for weight loss, but something that encourages you to eat whole, unprocessed food, can be the worst?  I also find it a coincidence that Weight Watchers has an advertisement on every page of US News’ diet section, which makes it even harder for me to take this 'study' seriously.

So let's look at these so-called flaws they've found with the Paleo diet.

Will you lose weight?

US News Stated: “No way to tell. Paleo diets haven’t yet drawn the attention of many researchers.”

This is a ridiculous statement! No way to tell?   Seriously, if you own a scale, and...

I get asked all the time what about Paleo Condiments.  While we could argue if our ancestors would have made mayo. I tend to have the mindset that if it doesn't have any extra chemicals, isn't genetically modified, and is minimally processed it probably pretty safe to eat! So here are a few of the Paleo condiments that people have wanted to see.  I have to admit the ketchup needs to be perfected but I like the garlic in this one.

Paleo Mayonnaise

I have to confess that I don’t like mayonnaise, not even a little bit.  I think it’s a texture thing. That being said the flavors that the macadamia nut oil added makes it palatable, especially if you mix it into things.  While it is a bit of a pain to make your paleo mayonnaise, if you love mayonnaise it is well worth it to make your own. This one is so much better than store bought.  I seriously have to wonder about something that can be stored at room temperature or hotter before it's opened.  What kind of chemicals do they have to put ...

I am sure that you all have seen the news this week, but here's a quick recap if you haven't.  A science teacher in Iowa gave his students an assignment to change his diet.  He challenged them to plan three meals a day, that totaled 2000 calories.  The tricky part was that all these meals had to come from McDonald's.  They also were to keep the macronutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrate) somewhat balanced.  He followed this diet for 90 days while adding in 45 minutes of walking every day.  He ended the 90 days losing 37 pounds and having a significant improvement in his total cholesterol, dropping it from 249 to 170.  I have to admit I was a bit shocked by these numbers, so let's look in detail to see how this could happen.

A science teacher in Iowa gave his students an assignment to change his diet.  He challenged them to plan three meals a day, that totaled 2000 calories.  The tricky part was that all these meals had to come from McDonald's.  They also were to keep the macronutr...

Whew! We made it through the holidays alive and healthy!  Now its time to get all of our diets back on track and do a bit of a sugar detox.  So I thought it might be a good idea to lay out my top 5 Paleo meals of 2013.  These recipes will help you get your diet back on track and give you a great start into the New Year.  Hope you enjoy them!

Paleo Asian Flank Steak

This is honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever made.  It started my love affair with coconut aminos.  The marinade was fantastic and is still one of my favorite meals of all time.    

Balsamic Chicken Drumsticks & Butternut Squash Slaw

This was one of my most viewed recipes of the year.  This is one of the best marinades I’ve ever used!  The combination of the balsamic, honey and coconut oil surprisingly marries well.  It was a close second to the flank steak marinade.  It is well worth a try again!    

Paleo Chicken Thai See Ew

The kids loved this one!  We usually use the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next...

Here we are again on January 1^st, the start of a new year.  It's a time to reflect on last twelve months and look forward to the coming year.  It's also a time to analyze what we did last year and make resolutions to do better.  Some people love this time of year, and others hate it.   I'm one who gets really excited about it, as I like decide how my year is going to turn out.   I prefer to 'decide' rather than 'plan' because when you make a decision, all other possibilities are cut off.   I love creating my goals, and removing the doubt doesn't allow my subconscious to steer me in a bad direction.

Only about half of Americans make any new year resolutions or goals for the year.  What's really sad is that only 8% of those people actually keep up those resolutions within the first 30 days.  So here are some of the things I'm using to achieve my goals so I will be in that 8%.

Set big goals and plan to act just as big - Conventional wisdom tells you to make your goals attainable, not un...

I don't often post or make dessert dishes and I always leave them up to Erin.  This was an amazing holiday treat that Erin whipped up last night.  This Paleo Toffee was absolutely amazing.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup almond butter
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• ½ cup coconut nectar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup dark chocolate pieces (chocolate chips or chopped bars)
• 3 oz. square unsweetened dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp. butter or palm shortening

Directions:

1. Have your vanilla and almond butter measured and ready to go on the side
2. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with either parchment paper or a Slat
3. Mix and heat the coconut sugar, coconut, nectar, and water in a small saucepan over medium/medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.  Bring it to a boil, and continue to boil and stir until it reaches 285 degrees.
4. Remove from the heat and immediately mix in the almond butter and vanilla
5. Spread the mixture in your baking pan. covering the bottom of the pan.
6. Cool completely for about 2 or
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Apparently, paleo ketchup is pretty easy to over spice.  If you like big garlic flavor in your ketchup, then this one will be perfect for you.  If not you may want to think about cutting back on the garlic or using a small amount of garlic powder.  Also, I put a bunch of the other spices that you might want to try in future recipes.  Otherwise, this makes a good ketchup, but you also need to be careful not to overdo the honey as it may become too sweet.

Ingredients 

• 1/2 cup organic tomato paste
• 1/4 cup organic honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 2 garlic clove
• 1/4 small onion

Optional:

• ½ tsp clove
• ½ tsp allspice
• ½ tsp Ground mustard

Directions

1. Puree the garlic and onion in a food processor. 
   1. This is important because you don't want any bits in your ketchup; it has to be very smooth. 
2. In a saucepan over medium heat combine tomato paste, honey, water, apple cider vinegar, salt, garlic, and onion.
3. Whisk until ve
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