Eating Paleo in Summertime

The Stone Age man foraged and hunted for seafood, meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, roots and seeds 10,000 to 2.5 million years ago. This was all before the development of agriculture in a time known as the Paleolithic era, hence the term “Paleo Diet”. 

The most obvious advantage of the Paleo diet is the lack of processed foods. The lower your diet is in sugar, refined carbohydrates, trans fats, and excess refined salt, the healthier you will be. These ingredients cause inflammation which is at the root of most diseases, and we all know that if you want a weed to disappear you have to pull up the root!

It can be very easy to cook paleo soups and stews in the wintertime as most people are alright with turning on their stoves, however it can be more of a head scratcher in the warmer seasons. You don’t always want to eat soups and stews in the summertime… well maybe sometimes, but those are typical winter foods, right? So what are your options for eating paleo in the summer?

Even though you may not be able to fathom turning on the stove, oven, or even toaster oven when it’s hot, there are ways around this because you probably won’t always want to eat raw just because it’s summertime. 

First of all, BBQing is an obvious summertime method used to cook your meat and veggies, and hey even pineapple is yummy grilled on the Q. Second of all, your slow cooker and/or instant pot are great time savers that can be moved to an outdoor area and eliminate any extra heat in your kitchen altogether. 

Blending cooked and raw ingredients is a great solution to this dilemma. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Fresh Garden Salad

• Raw: leafy greens, shredded beets and carrots, cherry tomatoes, spiralized cucumber, (coodles), berries and pumpkin seeds.

• Cooked: grilled steak, chicken, fish, or prawns. Roasted red pepper and zucchini.

• Dressing: lemon tahini

Steak Fajita Salad

• Raw: leafy greens, avocado, tomatoes

• Cooked: grilled steak, roasted bell peppers, sauteed sweet onions

• Dressing: Cilantro lime

Zucchini Boats with Veggies & Dip

• Raw: Veggie sticks (carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, tomato)

• Cooked: Zucchini boats stuffed with sausage, sweet onion, red pepper, spinach, basil, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese.

• Dip: instead of chickpeas, use sweet potato to make a spicy hummus-like dip

When you bring your potluck dishes to your loved ones homes this summer, most of them won’t have a single clue that the dish you’ve brought to share is “paleo”, “healthy” or even “clean”. They will just dig in and enjoy it, and you can sit back knowing that you’re taking care of yourself (and sneakily taking care of your loved ones) while participating in a great tradition of sharing food.

Where To Find Ingredients and Recipes

Farmers markets are rich with local fruits and vegetables that provide a simple way to double your benefits: you can get a large variety of delicious produce in your diet that has more nutrition since it’s been picked closer to when it’s vine-ripened, AND save money since you aren’t paying to have your food trucked in from across the border. 

There is an abundance of paleo recipes available on the internet. What I suggest you do is start a Pinterest board. This is an excellent platform for recipes and you can have many different boards for many different things: recipes, home design, eco-friendly practices… whatever it is that you want! Simply type in paleo recipes on Pinterest and start pinning to a board, you can have hundreds of ideas in a matter of minutes.