I often hear people preach "I eat paleo 80/20" or "90/10" or "20/80". Well to me that doesn't even mean eating paleo. You do or don't. This translates to me: "I eat paleo Monday through Friday, but Saturday and Sunday I eat whatever I was wanting to eat throughout the week". Doesn't that defeat the purpose of eating quality to begin with? I'm not hating, I was there too.
I've been told I have strong convictions and even stronger opinions on how people eat and thats ok. I am pretty extreme about what I eat, but I'm also very passionate about it. I am no where near perfect when it comes to diet, but I try not to stray. I read and research, and learn something new everyday and love to share my opinions with people and most of all help people find what works best for them.
A year ago, during a Paleo seminar, the speaker, Josh Bunch, said he could count on his hands how many times he "cheated" throughout the year. That just blew my mind. He said that before they knew it he hadn't had anything but Paleo to eat for several weeks and then he had a couple cheat days throughout the year, and then Thanksgiving and I'm not sure when else because I'm pretty sure my mouth was wide open in amazement. I was probably thinking "Is this even possible or attainable?" I mean ponder that for a moment. Is it even possible to eat nothing but Paleo for life...Ahem Paleonly? After all it's just food. What's so hard about not eating crap and only eating what you need to live?
More people are addicted to food than they are willing to admit. I admit I am. It sucks sometimes going out to eat with people who are eating foods I know taste amazing, or knowing I'm going to a get together with what seems like endless amounts of baked goods. Ice cream is my absolute weakness. It could be -20 degrees and I would be eating my bodyweight in ice cream with a huge smile on my face. *cue creepy smile*
Compare sugar or any type of cheat food of choice to actual illegal drugs. I know this is me being extreme, but bear with me. "Oh it's ok to stay sober throughout the week and then go on a weekend heroin binge," said no one sober ever. Granted people who binge on drugs probably don't think about food, but you see where I'm going with this.
That being said, do I think it's possible to eat perfectly Paleo everyday. Sure, why not? But realistically, there are days when pizza and ice cream are all you can think about and in that case, I totally approve of making a paleo-friendly pizza crust and load it with all of your favorite toppings. It's a better choice than eating the real deal. Will I ever eat the "real deal" again? Well yeah, but my goal is to keep those choices few and far between. I am proud to say I haven't had any pizza this year, (granted it's February) and only legitimately "cheated" one time (damn you Graeter's ice cream). We even had a Paleonly Super Bowl menu which I will share as well! It's definitely possible to stick to whatever you're doing, it comes down to you choosing what you're going to eat.
I still haven't perfected my pizza crust, but it's getting better each time I try it. My company must have liked it too because there were no leftovers.
Paleo Pizza Crust :
For this recipe you will need:
1 can organic coconut milk
1/2 cup almond flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup coconut flour (Bob's Red Mill, its hard to find, but its usually available the cheapest on Amazon.com)
1/4 cup flaked unsweeted coconut (Bob's Red Mill again, or find good quality in bulk) this is for texture
1/4 cup flax meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg
Organic Pizza Sauce with no sugar, or make your own
Your favorite toppings. I used ground pork, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers and fresh mozzarella.
* I will eat dairy on rare occasions only because I can tolerate it, (I'm not lactose intolerant) and under certain exceptions.
1.) Its full fat, not part skim or low fat. (When they take out the fat, they add a bunch or crap.)
2.) The only ingredients should be Full fat whole milk, vinegar, salt, enzymes. Nothing else.
**Also milk from grassfed cows is optimal, but when it isn't available, buy the best quality organic whole milk.
* I will eat dairy on rare occasions only because I can tolerate it, (I'm not lactose intolerant) and under certain exceptions.
1.) Its full fat, not part skim or low fat. (When they take out the fat, they add a bunch or crap.)
2.) The only ingredients should be Full fat whole milk, vinegar, salt, enzymes. Nothing else.
**Also milk from grassfed cows is optimal, but when it isn't available, buy the best quality organic whole milk.
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl or KitchenAid bowl on speed 2 (which I prefer so I can multitask) until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
Once everything is mixed, slowly add in the egg and then some full fat coconut milk. Keep adding until the batter is runny, not quite the whole can. (We aren't making pizza dough remember.)
The batter is finished when it resembles runny oatmeal.
Pour batter onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (I attempted some better onto a greased baking dish and it didn't turn out as well so I recommend parchment only for this recipe)
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| This is the crust without parchment. It sticks. |
Smooth it out evenly with a spatula and toss it into the oven.
After 10-15 minutes take it out of the oven, carefully flip it over with 2 spatulas and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown. (I prefer a nice thin crispy crust and I need to improve this part, cause the egdes were nice and crisp, but towards the middle wasn't as crisp.)
Then remove the crust from the oven and spread a nice even layer of organic pizza sauce, or make your own.
Now turn the oven from bake to broil and crank it up. The broiler is going to brown your toppings and make everything nice and crispy. Add your favorite toppings and throw it back in the oven until the toppings start to brown. Maybe 3 minutes, just keep and eye on it. ( I actually added some fresh mozzarella and when it browned I knew it was good to go.
Let it cool for a couple minutes and cut it up and enjoy! This recipe fed 3 strong and hungry girls post workout, so just make sure you watch your portions.
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| Not as brown in the center :/ |
Then remove the crust from the oven and spread a nice even layer of organic pizza sauce, or make your own.
Now turn the oven from bake to broil and crank it up. The broiler is going to brown your toppings and make everything nice and crispy. Add your favorite toppings and throw it back in the oven until the toppings start to brown. Maybe 3 minutes, just keep and eye on it. ( I actually added some fresh mozzarella and when it browned I knew it was good to go.
Let it cool for a couple minutes and cut it up and enjoy! This recipe fed 3 strong and hungry girls post workout, so just make sure you watch your portions.
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| Ooey Gooey Goodness |
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| Still good, just had to dig out the crust. Use parchment people. |
Enjoying this recipe every once in awhile could satisfy your pizza cravings and still keep you on track. Eating good should not only taste good, it should satisfy you as well!
