Get a Vitamix or DIE!

I’m sorry for the hyperbole within that title- ‘Get a Vitamix or die!’  You won’t really die- you will be just like the hordes of almost undead Americans that are gradually slipping into not only unhealthy, but into levels of diabesity.

If you are not sure by now what diabesity is, let me illuminate: diabesity is the precursor to all modern degenerative disease.  ALL.  

Once you are on this path, there is no good way out.  You will continue eating your processed carbs, blithely ignoring everything I say on a weekly basis, and gradually getting fatter and fatter, or at least more insulin resistant and diabetic.  As you ignore my recommendations to go lower carb, and higher vegetables in your diet, it will not go well with your health.  Sorry, but it is guaranteed!  

Higher carbs, processed (fast and boxed and packaged) foods will sicken you, slowly but surely.  Just as a high vegetable, with a modicum of low sugar fruits thrown in- (like citrus and berries)- diet will gradually make you healthier and healthier!  But most folks will not incorporate large amounts of vegetables into their diets!  This is the truth- they are acclimated to modern ideas, and those ideas say “Eat what you like!  Moderation in all things.  Keep calories in line, and you are fine!

The only good thing is that those who have been paying attention to actual modern science know that this is BS.  Calories, overall, mean very little.  Ratio of carbs to fat mean much more.  As does quality of meat, eggs, and seafood- pastured, free range, and wild caught, to point it out!  

QUALITY OF FOODS MATTER, HUGELY.  Most sources will tell you it makes no difference.  They are wrong- a calorie is not a calorie!  A Skittle is not the same as Kale.  

And, most importantly, the quality and nutrient density of foods are paramount to health!

And here is why you need a Vitamix, or you will die in squalor and pain in a back alley… just kidding!

Actually, why I say this is because, although you may not need a Vitamix or other high speed blender to stay alive: You do to stay healthy!

I kind of hate to “beat the same drum,” but the truth is that if you don’t have a blender to make yourself (and your family!) a  Green Paleo Smoothie that you can drink on a daily basis- you will not get the greens and other anti-oxidants, including spices that will give you optimal health.  You won’t- it’s almost impossible in this modern world.

Millenia ago, you and your tribe would have been foraging around, looking for anything viable to eat.  You would have grabbed any green matter that presented itself, and made a point of testing it out.  Over time, your tribe would have figured out which plants were good, and which weren’t.  Mainly, this would have been the women, while the men were off hunting mastodons!  But, the information would have been passed on, be sure of that.

The point now is this: we are in an era where calories are all too available, for the first time in history!   This explains our out-of-control obesity, pre-diabestity, and diabesity!  It has become endemic!  

There is a super simple solution.  We need a lot of green veggies in our diet, which we no longer get.  Also, berries and citrus, those low sugar fruits loaded with anti-oxidants.  The spices are also important, since spices like ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, clove and some others as well are more potent sources of medicinal properties than most actual drugs.  Spices are wonderful foods, superfoods really!  

So, fire up your Vitamix, or other high speed blender!  There is really no way to get a high amount of green vegetables into your diet- NONE!  And using your blender, you can mix up a huge amount of veggies and fruits in short order, put them into canning jars in the fridge (after drinking the most recent, and most loaded with nutrients), and thereby you can load up your diet with all that you really need, paleolithiocally.

Other Paleo folks will contest me to my dying day.  I don’t care- a blended smoothie will give you more nutrients than almost anything I can think of- especially on a regular basis!

Blend yourself to health! 

Beginning Paleo Diet on Paleo Quick Tip of the day podcast #47

Maybe you've just been hearing about this "paleo diet" thing, or maybe you have a friend or know someone who has had amazing results from eating and living according to this template...



Perhaps you have tried to ignore the whole thing, not wanting to change your life and mindset around after all these years of being brainwashed into the low fat high carb Standard American Diet LIE...


But, since the ancestral diet and it's benefits are very real, and the path we are on in the Western world is leading us into slow suicide by eating ourselves into diabesity,  accompanied by prescriptions of pharmaceutical drugs that compromise our health even more with all of the inevitable side effects, resulting in early disability and death- well, "going Paleo" starts to not sound that hard after all!

So, how do you finally get off the sidelines and start making meaningful, healing change??


Clean out your cupboards!  Ditch the grains- bread, pancake mixes, brownie mixes, cereals, vegetable and soy oils, Crisco, anything you have that is not real food.  If it's not in your house, you won't eat it.

Try a Paleo smoothie!  This is a pet project of mine- I have developed my smoothie into a drink that is continually evolving, since I want to maximize my nutrition optimally, but starting out, keep it simple:

Just get out your standard, $20 blender, and make a simple Paleo Smoothie:

1 can of coconut milk
handful of fresh strawberries

a big leaf of fresh kale
a banana
sprinkle of cinnamon

Blend it all together for about a minute or so- you're done!

Easy, right?  It's so easy, you will start to think as I did- "Hey, what if I add this ingredient, and that other super healthy food, and then that..."


You are on the slippery slope to health my friend, and trust me, that's where you want to be!  You'll start adding raw eggs, and then you'll want the convenience of using frozen vegetables, and the ability to mix just about anything, smoothly and easily into your smoothies- at that point you'll want to get a Vitamix blender, since it it the best tool for engineering the most amazingly healthy and filling and appetizing Paleo smoothies on the planet!

Interestingly, I just read a news story in Barron's, the business newspaper, detailing how the Starbucks chain has bought a smoothie making chain of restaurants, and plans to expand dramatically, doing for smoothies what they have already done for coffee!

While I'm sure it's better than the unhealthy coffee drink market they've been profiting from at the expense of the American people's health, I would suggest strongly that you make your own!  I guarantee that anything made by a corporate giant will be vastly inferior, since the bottom line for such a company is to cut costs wherever possible, to maximize profits. This means low quality ingredients, cheaper, faster, worser! (There, I invented a word!)

So, Go Paleo Young Man! (Or woman)!

At first, I would just make a smoothie each morning, and eat eggs and meat, salads, seafood, veggies and nuts with a little fruit sometimes.  For me, cheese and whole cream are fine- try them out, if you feel worse, maybe they aren't for you!  Some folks can handle dairy, some can't... raw dairy is vastly preferable, if available.

Believe it or not, at first I do not recommend any exercise!  Especially, if your are a "cardio-holic", used to doing lots of running, bicycling, aerobics, etc. just stop for awhile!  Getting your diet in order is far more important than exercise, and along with adequate sleep each night of 8 hours or better, will get you 90% where you want to go.  Just concentrate on those things for a month- learn to eat, and sleep like a paleolithic hunter-gatherer.    Next month we'll add in exercise- hey, I even have an eBook specifically about it...

A good idea, especially if you currently have health problems, would be to have a blood work up just before starting this at the Doctor's office.  Then, a month later, have it done again.  I guarantee the results will startle both you and your Doctor- and then, he'll probably try to talk you out of doing something so "crazy"...

The thing to remember is this- even if all you had read about nutrition was this one blog, you would already know more about nutrition than your Doctor learned in all of medical school.  So, take his or her opinions with more than a grain of good sea salt...

After your initial month, take a good look at how you look, how clearly you can think,and how you feel.  Perhaps you already have had some drastic changes; many people do.  And after actually sticking to the diet for one month, almost no one goes back to their standard diet!  The benefits are that compelling- you may even become like me, shouting the news from the rooftops, because you almost can't believe the benefits of eating real food like a real person!

Soon I will write Part 2- the Intermediate Paleo Diet!  But just do this for a month first- no need to rush things!

Check out this episode!

PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe Podcast #68 Don’t Just Eliminate Foods on the Paleo Diet- Add In Nutrient Dense Foods!

Let’s say you’ve been on the ancestral, paleo, or barbarian diet template for awhile, perhaps a year or longer!  You’ve probably improved your health and wellness quite a bit- lost fat, gained muscle, have improved digestion and health, and a new clarity in thinking.  But, perhaps not....

If this is the case, perhaps you have concentrated only on eliminating bad foods loaded with anti-nutrients; things like grains, sugar, vegetable or industrial seed oils made from grains and processed, margarine- those are all wonderful things to get rid of, and doing so enables your body to begin to heal all the damage they have caused to your body and brain over the years as they were damaging your intestinal villi, and otherwise tearing down your health.

But this is just Job #1!

The other half of the nutritional equation, which is every bit as important, it to add in those nutrient dense superfoods to give your body the raw materials it needs to actually BUILD excellent health!

So, just eating lots of gluten free goodies, while not as damaging as their grain-based counterparts, are still not giving your body what it needs to thrive and rebuild.  You need to add in those foods that are the most nutrient dense on the planet.

If you make a green, Paleo Smoothie and drink it pretty much every day, you are pretty much most of the way there, nutrient density-wise!  I go out of my way to have it include just about everything your body needs.  Think of the Smoothie as the Anti-S.A.D. diet- that diet of pizza, coke, fries, sick and abused and confined animal hamburger and chicken, noodles, fake fat, processed breakfast sugar cereals- you get the picture!

Those foods, while they are hyperpalatable, and are engineered to be that way just to sell- and they displace the foods that your body actually needs, and just give you loads of body fat and inflammation.

So, go with the Paleo Smoothie- great start!  You can include the vegetable sulphur rich foods with their organosulpher compounds, and do it in a raw form very efficiently and easily, but just blending them in!  Things like:


Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts...  These sulphurous category of vegetables have been pointed out by http://www.terrywahls.com/The-Wahls-Protocol as a very important category of nutrient dense foods, with which idea I completely agree with her!

Terry Wahls is and important figure in the ancestral, or nutrient dense style of eating, and is coming out with a new book which I think will be a must read.  Go ahead and sign up for the pre-order at the link above, watch her viral TED talk, and absorb the information she has to offer.

Back to sulphur-rich foods:  there are some other great organosulpher foods that are not really appropriate for the Paleo Smoothie, like:

Onions and Garlic, Shallots and Leeks

Garlic, in particular, is probably the most potent organosulpher foods you can take in!  What to do?  Simple- in addition to your smoothie, most days also have a giant salad- lettuce, spinach, meat or seafood,  lots of real olive oil and apple cider vinegar, and lots of garlic and onions!  Get yourself a good garlic press, like the ROSLE I have, and add in the anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, anti-microbial, and glutothione stimulation that this wonder food will provide- not to mention garlic tastes great!
Glutothione is particularly important, as it is the “the master anti-oxidant” that will enable your body to fight inflammation, raise energy levels, and slow down the aging process, among other wonderful properties.

Getting all of this through real foods in incredibly important.  I you use glutothione supplements, this could shut down the production of it by your own body over time... so, just get the nutrient dense, sulphur rich foods your body needs, and let it make it’s own!

Also include sulphur rich animal foods, like eggs yolks, grass fed beef liver, grass fed beef, and even high quality grass fed whey protein! (That last can go right into your Paleo Smoothie!)

And so, remember- eliminate the BAD, but also be sure to embrace the GOOD!

J

PaleoJay podcast #59 Add an Avocado a Day, to the Smoothie from Paleo Jay! A response to Thomas Hobbes... Also, add a good Paleo FIRE, and bond with an Animal!! And hey- beans aren’t THAT BAD!!

OK, I am really sold on the idea of ketogenic diets, meaning eat a high fat, low carb diet as a prescription for curing a LOT of problems.  If you have an auto-immune disease, meaning a disease where your body is attacking itself, like celiac disease (intolerance to gluten- which is just about ALL of us!), irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, arthritis, and EVERY disease that ends with ITIS- a ketogenic diet will really help all of these, and more!!

There are so many problems with our current, modern, processed Western diet that I can’t even start:  So, let’s just start over, shall we??  Reboot yourself!

If you don’t want to have a  “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short life” , to quote Thomas Hobbes, a 17th century philosopher of sorts who was a monarchist- he wanted us all to live under monarchies!- we were supposed, (according to Thomas Hobbes) to succumb to authority... and live in civilization.

“Au Contraire! “ says the Wisconsin Philosoper PaleoJay.

The solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short life that he was talking about was actually what was available to the average civilized person of Hobbe’s own era, which was 17th century Britain!

Hunter Gatherers, barbarians, and Paleo folks actually lived vital, long lives on average, once you took newborn mortality out of the equation...

Child mortality was VERY high in the old days- BUT, if you survived birthing, you would probably live 70-100 years, and in a very healthy state, barring death by wounds, animals eating you, or accidents.

Nowadays, however, modern people live solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short lives, shortened by Diabesity: diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and all the other “itis” diseases of civilization- All caused by our modern, processed, poor, nasty, brutish diet!!

What to do??

Well, for long time readers and listeners to PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe-

Just sidle up to a stool at the Cafe- and ORDER A TALL, COOL, PALEO SMOOTHIE!


That will take care of most of your modern ills... really!

That and eliminating grains, sugar and processed foods from your diet!

I know, it sounds crazy simple, but it really is that easy!!

AND- there has been a HUGE change to the Paleo Smoothie:

ADD IN AN AVOCADO!!

Go ahead, read my recipe for the Paleo Smoothie at Paleojay.com, or on my ebooks Paleo Quick Start and Perfectly Paleo Exercise...  and then just add in:

One AVOCADO, PEELED!

Put that in your Vitamix and blend it!

The thing is; you want a LOT of good, healthy FAT in your diet- you really, really do!  It is the key to being Ketogenic, which means triggering your body to burn FAT as fuel, rather than sugars and carbs...

Coconut milk and oil are GREAT- Avocado is the missing ingredient!

But Jay- how do I use an avocado in the Paleo Smoothie??

Good question, Mr. Hobbes:  Just cut the avocado lengthwise.  Take out the giant pit (the avocado is actually a FRUIT, Mr. Hobbes, just like YOU, you dummy!)-

Then, scoop out the insides with a spoon, and drop into your waiting Vitamix!!

That Vitamix will turn the veggies, avocado, raw pastured eggs, kefir, spices, berries, and everything else you have put into it into a nectar of the Gods:

The fount of life, if you will: ALL THE NUTRITION YOU CAN HANDLE, AND THAT WILL INSURE MAXIMUM HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND FITNESS!!

They say to never overpromise, and I assure you: I am not!

More FAT will make you LESS fat!  YES!!  It’s all too true...

Drink a Paleo Smoothie like this, each day- and you will be satisfied, healthy, and loaded with nutrients that your body has been craving forever!

Enough on that, Thomas Hobbes!  I have another point or two for you:

You know, beans ain’t that bad!  AND, go sit by a fire, and bond with an animal!

Yes, it’s true: the Paleo Canon has dictated that BEANS, aka LEGUMES are EVIL...

But, it turns out that, properly prepared, they are NOT.  They’re not that great, but they are also... not that BAD.  If they have been soaked for 12 hours in water, leaching off the toxins, they are, well alright in a pinch!

But they are NOT like wheat gluten!  Kind of innocuous, really.  So, if you want a few beans in your chili- go crazy my friend Tom!

Same goes for cashews- a legume- wow, are they tasty!  And, it turns out, not bad at all- go ahead, Mr. Thomas Hobbes- eat them- your life will be no less short or more nasty!  Just don’t go crazy; use moderation, you 17th century dude!

Just do NOT eat peanuts- they really are pretty darn bad- loaded with aflatoxins, which are a particularly nasty mold that is just about inevitable in this particular legume of the peanut... just avoid peanuts, entirely- go for almond butter, which tastes at LEAST as good, instead!

So, have some beans in you chili (once in a while, if properly prepared...);

And eat some cashews- YES!!

But, do it in front of a fire, preferably along with some FURRY ANIMALS!!

I think that the idea of a campfire is completely, viscerally... PALEO!

It’s also something that a Britisher like you, THOMAS HOBBES would find very appealing!!  For how many millennia do you think that our ancestors sat around campfires, under the stars, and gazed into the flames?   And, as they sat, you know they told stories, sang songs, and petted their furry friends as they drank fermented beverages and ate dried jerky...


Pets, like dogs and cats, were the camp followers of ancient days!  And so, if you want a totally fulfilled, Paleo life: here is what you need:

A life without grains, processed foods and sugars!

A life with LOTS of NUTRIENTS: Either a Paleo Smoothie, along with grass fed meats and dairy and fermented foods...

OR

BOTH OF THE ABOVE!

Sorry, Thomas my boy: I set that up!  But, for you, I would recommend:

Just get a cat or two, maybe a dog as well... Get a little London apartment with a fireplace (they all have them in your day!), and get a grate to roast meat on in the fireplace- I know, for you, the Paleo Smoothie is  problematic- so, just get a lot of veggies at the market in town, meats (I know they will ALL be grass fed!!), and throw the bread at Will Shakespeare’s head...

Pet your cats.  Throw stuff for your dogs to chase...

And then, just chill out!  Look into history- google it if you will!

Maximum nutrition ALWAYS trumps Maximum MEDICINE!

As Hippocrates, the founder of modern medicine says:

“Primum non nocerum. (First do no harm)”
― Hippocrates
THIS is the dictum that modern doctors should take to heart:  Do no HARM!

If this was taken to heart, STATIN DRUGS would be off the MAP!!!


Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.

The ultimate statement of true medicine!  FOOD is your MEDICINE!!

Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.
What a reinforcement of the Terrain Theory of Disease??

A healthy person will be IMMUNE to most diseases; an unhealthy terrain in an unhealthy person will not!!

Walking is man's best medicine.

I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion. With purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my Art.


I think that Hippocrates was WAY ahead of his time, and really really ahead of Thomas Hobbes, who lived just about 2 Thousand years later, and was less advanced in his thinking!!

I guess Hippocrates was just way, way more...

hip!

Sorry, couldn’t resist!

J

Green Paleo Smoothies are the ultimate key to HEALTH and lean-ness!

This is how you should make, and prepare, and all the info you need about smoothies!

There is so much mis-information out there, about "juicing" and smoothie making, so

LET'S CUT OUT THE CLUTTER!!

That's me, to your right- Paleo Jay...

Smoothies are kind of my trademark; my "thing", if you will...

I honestly believe that, if you start your day with a real, green Paleo Smoothie that you are more than halfway on your journey to lean-ness, and optimal HEALTH!

What you need to realize is that, for optimal health, and a lean and vital physique, the main thing to concentrate on is real, God Made foods!

Supplements won't cut it: real foods are what contain every single nutrient, and phytonutrient, and even all of the as-of-yet UNDISCOVERED components of real food that make us ultimately as healthy as we can be!

The real point is this:

We all need to eat as much real, God-Made foods as we can, each day of our lives, in the most accessible form available!

This means LOTS of greens, some fruits- primarily berries and citrus, and things like Greek yogurt, kefir, spices with health-giving properties, and enough vitamin D, iodine, and magnesium to totally maximize our health!

It sounds really hard, and it would be, in our overly processed-foods world of fast foods, crappy frozen meals, and all the rest of our modern JUNK!!

Like I say, it would be....BUT-

There is another component in our modern life- technology, that has leveled the nutritional playing field!

THE VITAMIX BLENDER!

Honestly, there is nothing, I repeat nothing that can improve your overall health and lean-ness more than a Vitamix. This is because DIET, much more than exercise, determines the outcome of our ultimate health, and lean-ness- DIET IS 95% OF OUR HEALTH!!

Exercise seems to be important; and it really IS: witness my e-Book Perfectly Paleo Exercise...

But, to tell the truth, exercise only puts the "frosting" on the cake of a perfectly healthy, perfectly slim body- Nutrition does 95% of the work!!

I know this is not what you have been hearing... I know the Mantra is "move more and eat less"!

I know ALL of this STUFF!!

And, I know it is all... really, really WRONG!

Really.  

Eat real foods, enough real foods, foods like broccolli, spinach, cauliflower, kale, berries, citrus: throw in some Greek Yogurt and kefir for protein, a selection of beneficial spices and herbs- 

You have the ultimate superfood to change your life, and physical structure!!

I'm not exaggerating  here- REAL FOOD, MADE BY GOD, WILL REJUVENATE YOU!!

That doesn't sound far-fetched, does it?

But, how best to incorporate the wonders of real foods into our diets?  That is the question...


Well, you could start to just eat more veggies!  And that's a good start, but... well, you'll be eating a LOT of veggies- like 4 or 5 cups per day!  You could cook all of that, and then cook up your protein in the form of meat and seafood, and also a couple of salads per day... pack them in your lunch to work, eat them all day long...

OR,

you could whip up a Smoothie in your Vitamix in a fraction of the time, and be totally satisfied and replete with ultimate nutrition in a couple of minutes per day!!

For me, I have long since gone the Vitamix route!  Extremely convenient, and it liberates the vital enzymes within the food completely, rendering them instantly absorbable.  

I make a smoothie in the morning, I drink some for breakfast, I put some more in jars or a thermos for lunch, and I am GOLDEN!

I'm NEVER hungry, and I am healthy and lean as a result- THAT IS THE ULTIMATE, UNAVOIDABLE OUTCOME!!

If this sounds good to you, and what you are looking for, I have no better solution for you than to order a Vitamix!

The link above offers free shipping, which is the best deal you will find, anywhere, on the best blender on the planet!  

I decided to eliminate any other "noise" about other blenders, juicers, and other "gadgets" you might be considering...

I am only interested in promoting the very, very best tools for obtaining maximum health, wellness, lean-ness, and ultimate FITNESS! 

And so, with that in mind: 

Nutrition is #1!!

The best, and easiest and most convenient and efficient way to acheive that goal is with...

A Vitamix Blender!

After you are really lean, and really healthy... (which you will be after drinking these smoothies for a couple of weeks!)...

THEN we can talk about the "small stuff"- 

Like EXERCISE!

SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE!!

J

Paleo Smoothie for the Taste Conscious- Amasi versus Kefir

Amasi from Beyond Organic

I have been using Kefir for quite some time in my Paleo Smoothies, and I love it for its health giving properties of super nutrition and the massive amount of probiotics it provides!  In fact, I use probably a cup and 1/2 or so in each smoothie, since I make my own from raw milk and have a lot on hand.  

I love it!   

However, I realize it has quite a tart sort of taste that not everyone appreciates!  Then, I discovered Amasi, a type of fermented beverage that is very similar to kefir in it's probiotic nutritional benefits of helping you to burn fat, improve digestion, and improve your immune system.  In addition, it tastes fantastic!

So, here is my  Paleo Smoothie for the Taste Conscious:

Paleo smoothie ingredient list

Just use the above, but substitute Amasi for the Kefir!  

The taste is just amazing, and the benefits are equivalent to that of Kefir!  

If you have small children, or women in your family (women, being the "gatherers" in traditional cultures have a much more sweet sensitive palate)- they are much more concerned with taste than a hunter type of male, who generally prefers strong flavors to sweet; well then get them Amasi!

It tastes just amazing, and if anything covers up the "ick" factor of veggies and other Paleo Smoothie ingredients better than Amasi, I don't know what it is.

And, in addition, Amasi is as healthy in and of itself as any of those "icky" ingredients that it covers up- and tastes wonderful all by itself- A Paleo smoothie just by opening the bottle, really!

So, anyway, when I use Amasi in a smoothie, I use about 1/3 of the 16 ounce bottle, which is plenty- a little goes a long way!  So, it is very price competitive as well...

For convenience, for taste, for traveling, and for price: 

I recommend Amasi.

J

PaleoJay podcast #32- Paleo Diet, Dairy, and make your own Kefir!

Add in the above kefir to smoothie maximum health...

Paleo Diet, Dairy, and make your own Kefir on PaleoJay podcast #32- 

iTunes podcast link

There is a lot of confusion in the Paleo sphere about dairy:  is it OK?  Sometimes?  Often?  WHAT!?

I have found that, at least in my case, dairy is a fine addition to my Paleo diet!  Granted, I rarely drink milk; the bulk of my intake is in the form of Kerrygold (i.e. pastured/grass fed butter), full-fat Greek style yogurt, and- ta da!-homemade Kefir.

I purchased some kefir "grains" via eBay, Culturesforhealth.com is a really reputable source,  and added them to a quart jar of whole, organic, raw local milk. This milk has to be tasted to be believed- kind of like what was available from the "milk man" when I was a wee lad...  And they also sell organic cream (in glass)- YES!

If you don’t have access to raw milk, goat’s milk, even if pasteurized is a close 2nd.  Now, I have two quart jars going of kefir, one of raw whole milk, the other of goat milk!  Actually, 1-3  days after adding about a Tablespoon of the grains to a jar filled with milk, the kefir is perfect!  I just let it sit on the counter at room temperature ( leave the lid jar loose- the effervescence of the fermenting could break the glass otherwise) - nothing could be easier!

When I purchased my kefir, (it's rather expensive), I would only use about 1/2 of a cup in my Paleo smoothie... Now, though, with fresh, active, cheap, really tangy and tasty kefir, I use about a cup and 1/2 in each smoothie!  

What a difference in the taste of the whole smoothie!!

Really, this is the way to go- get some grains, and make your own kefir.  Very easy, and the benefits of the fermented beverage are so good in terms of gut health and repair.  The probiotics, or intestinal bacteria that kefir affords your system are incredibly valuable, especially in this modern age of damaged intestines with permeable membranes, insulted by having been subjected to high levels of grains, legumes and sugars over a lifetime of poor, Big Ag eating.

And, these probiotics, or gut bacteria that we are putting back into our guts where they belong, help us in so many ways!  They help us to digest (we don't really do most of the digesting of our foods- our friendly bacteria do that for us).  They also are potent cancer fighters; we all have cancer and other "predator" agents within us at all times- the only thing that protects us is our ability to fight them off!  

Gut bacteria, or probiotics are one of our first, and most potent lines of defense.

If you are of Northern European descent, full-fat dairy will probably not be a problem for you at all to digest!  (Northern Europeans have been consuming dairy for many thousands of years as a mainstay of their diet).  And, even if you are not, by consuming kefir daily for a couple of weeks, you will colonize the bacteria within your intestines...

and you will become able to digest dairy!

Or, rather, the kefir bacteria that you have introduced into your system will

digest it for you!  

So, give kefir a try!  This is the first real change I've made to the Paleo Quick Start smoothie, tripling the amount of included Kefir, and it's a big improvement, both in taste and in nutritional value!!

Let’s say, though, that either YOU or some friends or relatives really, really want to get healthy, but they just aren’t motivated enough to actually follow through and prepare and make their own healthy kefir- actually, for them there is a solution that is even (gasp!) better!  Just costs a bit more, but is very, very convenient and accessible...

Amasi is the name of this beverage, and it is produced by Beyond Organic- Here is the link:

http://janebowers.mybeyondorganic.com/Default.aspx

This beverage is fermented from the milk of A1 dairy cattle, which is the ancient strain of cattle that our ancestors domesticated over 10,000 years ago!  So, it is completely digestible and natural for our systems, and since it is fermented as well, is a wonderful source of probiotics, which are the wonderful bacterial creatures that live in our guts, digesting things FOR us, and fighting back the BAD bacteria all around us that are always looking for things like SUGAR, and are our enemies...  

To have a healthy gut is paramount in our health!  You could even eat a perfect diet, and if your gut is inhabited by bad bacteria, it would do you no good at all- gut health is that important!

What about conventional dairy?

In a word, it’s horrible!  

Anything that is high heat processed (pasteurized) destroys the bulk of the nutrients in the milk- add in the antibiotics fed the cattle that produced the milk, the GMO feed loaded with pesticides that that cattle had to eat, and then is loaded into the milk, and then the fact that the FAT in the milk is almost always skimmed off- this same fat that contains all the fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients that make this dairy so valuable...

and you have a travesty.  Milk without fat is “sugar water” with pesticides and hormones that spikes your insulin like candy, and gives no satiety or nutrients as well...

Eat raw dairy when possible, NEVER drink skim or low fat milk (or anything else low fat for that matter!) - low fat means “high sugar”...

Get yourself some raw cheese, raw milk, raw free range eggs ( in your Paleo Smoothie!) and you are good-to-go!

PJ

Make Health Last!

I want you all to see, and internalize the message from this video!  A lot is said in a short time, and the message is very important: How we end up in our later years is entirely up to us!!

So, there it is.  Your choice!  Take charge of your health, or not...

I know that I am inspired to make a particularly green and uber-healthy Paleo Smoothie tomorrow!  

Also to do my morning round of Perfectly Paleo Exercise, which is necessary for total health as well!

J

PaleoJay Podcast 25- PaleoJay turns 61!

Flower Children!  PaleoJay and daughter Holly on PJ's 61st birthday...


PaleoJay Podcast 25- PaleoJay turns 61!  Click here to listen and subscribe via iTunes for free!

Yes, today is the day that I, the not-so-famous PaleoJay turned 61 years of age.  Not a big deal to me really, but my family and friends were very nice to me, which I appreciate!  My daughter Holly and her fiance Brandon made me some Paleo chocolate coconut bars- I think I’ll have to get the recipe to put on the website to share!  Very, very tasty...

The thing is, after you start eating Paleo, and pretty much put sugar out of your life, sweet things all start to taste-  way too sweet!  So, one was all I wanted...  The thing about turning another year on your personal odometer is that it makes you think more about making yourself last, like a well maintained classic vehicle.  If you are into old vehicles, like I am, you know that, if well kept up- oil changed and other fluids changed, scheduled maintenance done frequently and correctly, and actually over maintaining your vehicle in some ways... it will last virtually forever!  And, a well maintained old vehicle is actually much cooler and more remarkable than a well maintained modern one- so much rarer that it is almost startling!

This is what I think we want to do with our own bodies, minds and spirits, which are living vessels given us by God and nature to cherish and do the most we can with.  To ignore, poorly maintain, or otherwise degrade our precious bodies is a travesty- the problem is, we have been given the wrong information for the past 50 years or so on just HOW to maintain and improve our health!

That last is no exaggeration- Iatrogenesis is the technical term for “Death by Doctor”, which is now- get ready- the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States!    First is heart disease, next is Cancer...

This is death caused not only by bad surgeries or leaving things inside the patient after operations, but also simply by the many common drug side effects, that are actually expected to occur in a portion of patients that are prescribed pharmaceutical medications, even when taken correctly.  It also includes the many infections that are contracted within medical facilities, which are infected with many “super strains” of antibiotic resistant bacteria that we really can’t kill with more drugs- they have “evolved” to withstand our drugs, since we have overused them in the past, both in overprescribed medicines for conditions they aren’t needed for (viruses), and because we pump our confined, corn fed cattle so full of antibiotics to keep them alive long enough to slaughter, and then consume the drugs ourselves in the meat they provide!  So, to maintain yourself properly long-term:

PaleoJay rule #1- Stay out of the hospital!  I would add, for the most part stay away from the Doctor’s office!  The medical INDUSTRY is pretty darn corrupt these days- they treat disease, and so they do NOT concentrate on HEALTH- the best business model for this particular industry is to keep people SICK, but alive, so they can keep consuming the many DRUGS they are selling, and pay for the many SCREENINGS and TESTS that run into thousands of dollars, and then the OPERATIONS that run into many thousands more... Great business model- Horrible health model!
Forget the Germ theory- “kill all germs!  They are the enemy! “

 Instead, concentrate on the Terrain theory, which is to make your body so healthy that bad bugs can’t harm you.  This was the theory that ran against Louis Pasteur’s theory of KILLING all the bad bacteria- Antoine Bechamp was the champion of this theory, running against Pasteur, and long term, it appears he was right!

PaleoJay rule #2- Eat like a human animal!

Every animal under the sun has its own perfect diet.  Cows and other ruminants eat grass.  Cats and dogs eat meat.  Only Birds can thrive on grains- but they also love bugs, worms, you know the drill about the early bird...Humans basically have the short digestive system of carnivores, but can, like pigs, be pretty omniverous if we NEED TO- this is not ideal for health however.  We are talking bare survival, short term here.

Just like cattle CAN subsist on grains like corn, (and candy in wrappers, and on other COWS! (read: origin of mad cow disease!)- they can only do so in a vastly unhealthy, sick state for short periods, and even then couldn’t do so without huge injections of antibiotic drugs.

Back to humans: we need a diet of LOTS of green vegetables, some fruits, plenty of grass fed beef, seafood, pastured pork, fermented dairy from raw milk- really, common sense will tell you what you really need to eat, since your great grandparents aren’t alive to tell you...  We do NOT need ANYTHING that is advertised on television!  That last is a good rule of thumb for what to NEVER EAT.  Never eat fast food. Never eat grains- our modern “altered” wheat is not the wheat of olden days, and even that wheat wasn’t that great- it was “poor food”- what people ate when they could NOT procure meat, cheese, and fresh veggies.   So, eat like a real human!

PaleoJay rule #3- Movement is Life!

There are so many people now that sit all day long at their desks, drive to and from work and fast food lunch and home, and then sit in front of their televisions and computers... and that’s it!  They are the functional equivalents of Multiple Sclerosis patients, or voluntary cripples.  We’ve all hear the axiom “use it or lose it”, and that is so true.  We need to MOVE- just walk, preferably WITHOUT SHOES, around the house, around the yard.  Without shoes is the way we are meant to move- our feet are very complex, and without the stimulus of reacting with the ground without heavy pieces of leather and rubber cradling and insulating them, they... deteriorate!  They weaken, just like an arm in a cast!  So, ditch the shoes, and just... walk around!  The movement is “baked into” our very DNA- it works our blood circulation, it works our lymph system (which is our waste disposal system), and it just plain MAKES US FEEL HUMAN and GOOD!  HUMANS MOVE!

And I am not talking crazy cardio- running marathons or jogging, which just destroys your joints, and teaches your body to be slow and to rely on sugar for fuel...

And I am not talking super heavy weight lifting, which also destroys your joints, compresses your spine, and inspires unnatural bulk, particularly in the butt...

I mean walking (barefoot preferably), self-resisted exercises and calisthenics, occasionally barefoot sprinting or bike riding, virtual resistance and isometrics ala Perfectly Paleo Exercise-


PaleoJay rule #4- Have a Great Tribe!

By “tribe”, in the modern sense I mean Family- Neighbors-Church.  All are very, very important.  We humans are very social animals, and to neglect that aspect is so detrimental to our mental, spiritual, and also physical health!  This means interacting, on a face-to-face basis, with our “tribal” members on a regular, fulfilling basis.  This means treating all humans you interact with as potential tribe members- I mean, even Andy Griffith had Otis sleep in his jail each night!  We are all God’s children. (Thanks to my Mom for that quote!)

PaleoJay rule #5- Sleep! (and Meditate!)

This rule, although listed last, perhaps should be listed first!  We are living in such a fast-paced, hectic, and sleep deprived culture that it is destroying our health, especially our MENTAL health!  Just try sleeping for 8 hours- go to bed really early, like at 8:30 PM- get in touch with your natural circadian rhythms- get up at 5:30 or even 6...

YOU WON’T BELIEVE HOW GOOD YOU FEEL THAT DAY!

Eat a good, Paleo breakfast.  REPEAT.

THIS WAY LIES HEALTH!  Of mind, body, and spirit!

Go out and have a great life!  Not only for YOU, but for all of those around you!

I will see you all next week- God bless you, and have a great week!

J

PaleoJay Podcast 22- My Personal Vitamix Story!

Listen now, and subscribe for free on iTunes!

My Personal Vitamix Story- PaleoJay Podcast 22- NOW on iTunes!

I was a long time weight lifter, having been a really skinny kid in the 1960’s, I was determined to “bulk up”.  Health was always important to me as well, but I wanted to be BIGGER.  I started out with standard weightlifting protocol of 3X per week, and that really worked in my 20’s!  I rather rapidly put on 20-30-40 pounds of muscle- but that wasn’t enough!  I ate- all I could!  But indiscriminately: I ate lean meat, but I also ate pizza, and ice cream, and just about anything I wanted...  

And I started training MORE- I’d train for an hour or two, HARD, and then go out and RUN a few miles.  I stretched religiously as well (thank God), but my cortisol levels must have been through the roof!  I literally reached the point where, even in Church!, I would be thinking about my workout later that day...  

My priorities were WAY out of whack.  My bad diet had me top out at 220 pounds, on a very small boned frame!  I started having migraine headaches, my back hurt, my shoulders hurt, my feet hurt, and my knees hurt.  I had bony protruberances growing out of my elbows- this really irked me- what was this?  I was HEALTHY!

I did try to eat “low fat, high protein”, and I started having hemorrhoids too- 

“What was going on???” I asked myself.  I am all about HEALTH!!”

My wife was starting to have health problems too, and I wondered “what the heck- we are very health conscious!  How can this be?  I bake all of our own 100% whole wheat bread, and we eat it constantly- we should be super healthy!”

I was in my 50’s here, and knew I had to figure this out.  I didn’t want to be sick, something I had ALWAYS tried to avoid.  I had always revered the ancient Greeks, and their credo of “A healthy mind in a sound body”.  So, I went to the newest version of SCROLLS for learning, the rather newish INTERNET.

I found the Paleo Diet, via Loren Cordain!  

Immediately, I knew this guy was on to something.  It all made sense!  I had always hated the “low fat” mantra- I mean, old time bodybuilders that I had read for years always lauded butter, and cream, and steak, and eggs...  the difference was, the whole wheat thing, that I had swallowed hook line and sinker from Rodale Press and the mainstream was...BULL!  

For one thing, WHEAT had CHANGED!  Dr. Cordain never pointed that out- he just maintained that grains, especially wheat, were ALL bad!  What a mind changer!  I even sent him some questions, which he graciously answered- I knew this guy was a game changer as well.

I really thought about all of this, and wondered how I could implement it, as effectively as possible into my family.  I researched, I thought, I read Weston A. Price, and every Paleo guy there was at the time (not much!)...

I thought about what would be the MOST efficient, easy, effective, and just plain DO-able way to do this thing in the modern world- eat lots of GREEN vegetables, good FATS, and healthy PROTEIN, while eliminating most starchy carbohydrates and sugars and all grains??

First, I tried a juicer.  I thought it would be perfect- reducing fruits and vegetables to juice... but, it was a MESS!  And throwing away all the pulp seemed INSANE to me.

And then, finally, I found the Vitamix Blender!

Finally, I knew I had it all figured out.  I could add anything, I mean anything and it would be liquified; meaning ALL the cell walls of the vegetables, and fruits, and anything else I might want to include (Golf balls, anyone??)  would be broken down and ready for my body to assimilate readily.  ( I was kidding about the golf balls, but it probably would liquify them as well...)

So, I began assimilating every super healthy Paleo ingredient (meaning anything our ancient forebears would have revered as healthy foods!) into a wonderful drink that would nourish anyone that drank it as much as what Ponce de Leon was searching for in his Fountain of Youth- and I FOUND IT!  As near to the “fountain of Youth and Health” as there is allowed to us here on this mortal plane- 

The Paleo Smoothie!  

Basically, making a green vegetable, green tea and kefir based smoothie with loads of coconut milk, oil, butter, organic spices, and berries and citrus will revolutionize your total health.  It will literally reverse (I’m speaking personally here) : migraines will disappear, Fat will melt away, aches and pains in you joints and fingers and knees stop happening- I mean, this is all just personal experience, but Personal Experience is the most important determinant in all of our lives; and trust me: this experience seems to cure  just about everything.  And, I am not exaggerating!

Rosacea, crohn’s disease, acne, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome- I mean anything you can think of, up to and including cancers and heart disease- this is the best preventative I can think of.  That is how powerful the Vitamix is, in incorporating the foods, easily and effectively, into our bodies where they can do what they have through all of time to protect and nourish us to be incredibly healthy and disease free!

I mean, it would be enough to say the this simple machine could make us slim and healthy, wouldn’t it?

But the fact is: it will give us the capability, by maximizing our nutrient intake, to achieve our ultimate health and wellness, and reverse most modern diseases by the same avenue of maximizing our nutrient intake, making us replete with nutrients that our bodies are screaming for!

And that is what the Vitamix blender did for my family and myself. Paraphrasing the great John Wesley- 

“Be as healthy as you can, and as helpful as you can, for as long as you can!”

A Vitamix helps you to do just that, easily!

J

JUICE with a Vitamix Blender- NOT a Juicer!

The best "Juicer" you can have!

I know, you are intrigued with the idea of JUICING!  

I was too, years ago, and I researched the heck out of the whole subject!  I even bought a dedicated juicer- you know, it takes your veggies and fruits, "masticates" them (chews them up), and voila- a clear, shiny JUICE to drink!

Unfortunately, this dedicated type of juicer also spits out and wastes all the valuable fiber in the veg and fruit... 

In the old days, when that was all that there was, like before electricity when clinics would pound the vegetable matter into mush, and then strain it through muslin cloth to get the juice, well, that was the only option.   And it was great for its time, long ago...

But then, juicers were developed when electric power arrived.  Only trouble was, they did the same thing- pounded and/or ground up the vegetables and fruits into a mash, and then discarded the fiber.   This is a big mistake!

The fiber is one of the most valuable parts of the vegetables and fruits for your health!  It not only slows the absorption of the sucrose in the fruit, it fills you up, giving a feeling of satiety that lasts and lasts.  

It is not natural to eat fruits and vegetables

without the fiber they come "wrapped" in!

Not to mention the incredible mess and waste of discarding the fiber, and then having to clean out the juicer machine- yuck!

Forget the juicer- just get a Vitamix blender (with free shipping!)- it does it ALL!

With no messy cleanup, no waste, and FAST!  Besides, with a Vitamix you can incorporate so many more healthy ingredients, as outlined HERE, and in much more detail in my eBook Paleo Quick Start.   

But just get the Vitamix.  Don't waste your money on a juicer!

That, my friend, is the bottom line.

J

Introducing the Paleo Jay's Smoothie Cafe!

Here is is... (drumroll!) -  Paleo Jay's Smoothie Cafe!  One click and you are off to the land of PaleoJay, where green Paleo smoothies rule, and clothing, golf balls, aprons, drinking glasses and more are emblazoned with the Paleo Jay brand above, proclaiming to all the world your allegiance to good, healthy, natural ancestral eating and lifestyle!

What could be better than that??

Not a whole lot, to tell the truth!  

So, whenever you have a hankering for some great, inspirational Paleo products that proclaim to all the world your love of good health and nutritional living, not to mention the American Way!, travel on over to Paleo Jay's Smoothie Cafe- it's always just a click away, to Paleo Jay...

And, later today, I plan to do my podcast, so stay tuned!  Perhaps order a special Paleo Smoothie drinking glass to use each morning whilst you wait!

PJ

Paleo Quick Tips 3 out now!

Podcast under construction... but now, Paleo Quick Tips 3 is up and ready!  Don't miss it!  You can click on the orange square to the right, and you can listen right on your computer, or you can get it from paleojay.podbean.com/, or you can just get it from iTunes and listen to it on the go!

iTunes is a great place to get other paleo podcasts as well; also, while you're there, please take a moment to review my podcast.  This will enable me to reach more folks with this message about changing over to an ancestral diet... so, please please me, if I please you...

PaleoJay on iTunes

J

Easy "Bulletproof" Paleo Coffee- On the Cheap!

"Bulletproof/Paleo" Coffee, with coconut flour brownie...
And PLENTY of real whipped cream!!

I know, it's not the best picture, but it is still worth 1,000 words!  Every morning, I make a cup of this wonderful coffee, inspired by the impressive of Dave Asprey of the Bulletproof Executive.  I have a little different "take" on the way I do this, but Dave inspired me to start making my coffee "bulletproof", so hats off to him...

The Bulletproof version starts with coffee (Dave sells his own no toxin coffee, at a price- Bulletproof Coffee natch)!  Then, he adds pastured butter, coconut or MCT oil, and blends it with a hand-held blender... I've tried it, and it's pretty good!

The butter is a nice, healthy touch, but I prefer my butter in my Paleo Smoothie, which I'm already blending up in my Vitamix- I add the coconut oil, (or MCT oil if you have some handy), and top with real whipped cream, cinnamon and cloves!  It is really, really good, and loaded with healthy fats and beneficial spices as well.

My secret "weapon" is the Aeropress!

The Aeropress is a deceptively simple little item that, easily and quickly, (and with instant cleanup), takes any sort of coffee and make a wonderful tasting cup!  Most "micro-toxins" in coffee, I believe, are exacerbated by "steeping" the coffee in your standard drip coffee maker... this makes the coffee bitter, and concentrates the toxins in the cup as it ever-so-slowly drips out.

With the Aeropress, (which sells for a princely $26.00 or so!), hot water is added, the plunger is pressed down, and voila- the best coffee you've ever tasted!  REALLY!  Here's how it works:

Honestly, it really is that simple!

So, save the wonderful Kerrygold or other grass fed butter for the Smoothie- it really adds creaminess there, in addition to the coconut milk and coconut oil...

But do add the coconut oil, whipped cream, cinnamon and cloves to your coffee!

Paleo Coffee and a Paleo Smoothie!  Does life get any better?

OR EASIER??

J

And, since the caffeine is so much lower with the brief immersion of the coffee grounds in this brew, I can promise you that you won't feel (or look!) like:

THIS!

Is the Paleo Diet just our Grandparent's Diet?

More or less, I think it largely is!  Back in the 1800's, say: what did most people eat?  Besides what they could grow and prepare themselves, very little.

The average sugar consumption in the time of George Washington was 3 pounds per year, per person... Today it is 162 pounds, per person!

If you don't think this kind of change is unprecedented, and has everything to do with our current obesity and diabetes epidemic, you are delusional... or else just listening to your doctor and the Government and "common wisdom" via the mass media.  Check this out, if you haven't already, and really listen and pay attention- it may save your life.

Sugar the Bitter Truth!

We all need to try to get back to the way things were before!

We can keep our iPhones, our internet- no problem!  That is how I am spreading the word today!  A new Gutenberg type of press, available to all, with a built in free mail system!!

But, we have to remember that many other things were much better, more human scale, and reasonable in the old days...

And by old I mean the 1960's and before- when we had

MUCH less big Government!  Government subsidies have done more to destroy single family farms than anything else, ever!

A Tiny Pharmaceutical industry!  They mainly sold medicines that you went and got from the local Dr. when you were sick, not before.    You took them until your affliction went away, and then you stopped.  Now, somehow, through the miracles of modern marketing, all of us are supposed to be on multiple meds throughout our entire lives!

THIS AIN'T NATURAL!!

And, along with the immediate above: we had MUCH LESS OF BIG MEDICINE.

Short of getting shot, or stabbed, or something else traumatic, if all else was right (proper diet, some exercise, good sleep, good family connections and spiritual life), there should be little to no reason to even go to the doctor's office!

Did you know that there is a blood test that can replicate the results of a colonoscopy?  Has your Dr. told you of it??  It's quite inexpensive, compared to the about $8000 of a colonoscopy...

Did you know that diabetes is reversible?  It's actually a condition, not a disease...

(See Dr. Lustig's video, above)   Has your Dr., if you are diabetic, told you about that??

So, maybe the idea of the "Paleo Diet" just seems too "Crazy" for you.  You are basic.  Down to earth!  Meat and Potatoes- All American!!  

OK then- just go back to "real American values"!

We have strayed oh so far, and we are paying the price....with our health!

J