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Don and Rachel Matesz <[log in to unmask]>
Next Generation Nutrition. (419) 476-2967


Subject: Cecilia in Sweden

If you felt awful and were hungry all the time when you cut out grain, the
problem is probably that you weren't eating enough.  In my experience, most
people way underestimate how much food they need to eat when they cut out
the agricultural stuff--grain products, sugar, soda, dairy foods, etc....
Women typically way underestimate how much they need to eat.  Fibrous
vegetables and fruits aren't very calorie dense, nor are fish and lean
meats.  You probably need to eat more protein, more fat, and more often.

I had a client (I'm a cooking coach and cooking instructor) who breast fed
both of her kids and went paleo after the first.  Her second child is much
healthier, stronger, more coordinated, has better development, etc.
She doesn't keep foods in the house that aren't nourishing.  She found that
on a Paleo diet she was happier, lost her cravings for starches and most
sweets, no longer binged, even lost 30-35 pounds of excess flab while eating
5x a day (3 meals and 2 intentional snacks).  Her kids love the food--even
ask for seconds of vegetables.  Her youngest loves foods many adults turn
their noses up at (sardines included).

I suggest eating 4x a day--- 3 meals and 1 intentional snack (as opposed to
a snacking grazing habit that rarely focuses on nouishing foods).  Btw,
nursing women do better and so do their kids if they eat more protein.  I
eat 4x a day (No I'm not pregnant or nursing but it helps keep my energy and
blood sugar stable.)

I don't know how much you weigh--whether you are skinny as a rail, very
over-fat, or what...  I suggest that at each meal you eat about 5-6 oz. of
fish, poultry, or red meat or 2-3 whole eggs + 2-3 oz. of (leftover) fish,
fowl, or meat + a large (verging on obscenely large if you like) green salad
(with other colorful veggies; be creative) or a generous portion of steamed
or parboiled vegetables and enough friendly fat to satisfy.  By friendly
fat, I mean homemade (olive oil) mayonnaise, olive oil vinaigrette, cod
liver oil vinaigrette, avocado + dressing, nuts or a nut butter or tahini
dressing, or the fats and cooking juices from a rich cut of meat such as
lamb.  For a fourth feeding (intentional snack)---you might try deviled
eggs, egg salad, or chicken or tuna salad with an apple or some veggie
sticks, or a smoothie made from raw eggs and/or raw nut butter, frozen
fruit, ice, and a dash of stevia extract powder and vanilla or maple extract
in a non-alcohol base.... or apples or bananas (fresh or frozen--the
bananas, not the apple) with almond, cashew or other butter.....

It's also helpful to "cook once eat twice" (whether or not you have kids or
are nursing) so that you always have plenty of leftover meat foods on hand
and ready to eat for meals or snacks.  Don't wait till you're hungry to
start cooking; it'll never work.  Shop, plan, chop, prep, even cook foods
ahead, with two or three (at most) meals in mind.  I'll say more about this
in my boook (a lot more) when it's out.

I've not seen any kids turn their noses up at fruit smoothies, bananas
slathered in nut butter, rolled in coconut flakes or carob powder and
frozen, dates or "coconut date rolls" stuffed with pecans, walnuts, or
macadamia nuts, nor juicy pieces of fish or poultry prepared with herbs.....
I know of some little kids who love raw meat (prepared as steak tartare).
Personally, I loved eating raw meat right out of the package when I was a
kid.....sometimes I couldn't wait till we got home so I just dug in!  (That
was in third and fourth grade!)  My mom let me since she liked steak tartare
and bought hormone and antibiotic-free beef or got wild game from friends
who hunted or lamb from friends who raised it. (I wish I'd continued the
practice on into my teens..... ) Ground, raw meat is easy to chew, very
tender, and soooooooo delicious.   We enjoy steak tartare often and many raw
fish dishes.  Even the leanest cuts of meat taste tender and delicious.

If you start them on fish when they are young, kids will devour that with
gusto too.  Try tuna salad, then salmon salad, try the Salmon Lomi-Lomi and
Ceviche (minus the hot peppers) in Charles Hunt's book (from the Paleo diet
recipe collection)...Also, many people find that the addition of sea salt
adds a lot of flavor (such as Celtic sea salt which is radically different
from commercial sea salt and table salt) with some dried herbs.   Steamed or
parboiled veggies may be more appealing to young kids, with the exception of
raw carrots, cherry tomatoes, etc... which kids often like to nosh on.  (Raw
cruciferous veggies can cause extreme pain--colic--for nursing babies, so
you might want to cook those or avoid them if they cause problems even when
cooked.)  Coconut butter can replace butter at the table--on steamed
veggies.  Dressings are really helpful for kids (and adults!)  They'll often
ask for seconds if you make great dressings and keep them on hand in
sufficient amount.  Btw coconut butter is mild and most won't complain or
know the difference.   (Try Omega Nutrition Coconut Butter, it's unrefined
and organic.)  Kids often like jerky--it's easy to make beef, bison, lamb
jerky..... great snack  alone or with an apple, and  nuts if you need more
calories and fat.

Try a banana smoothie for your daughter before bed..... or apples and nut
butter.. or a frozen banana with nut butter on a stick.  Frozen blueberries
or grapes, right out of the freezer (you can freeze them yourself) are often
a hit with young kids.  One of my friends, who went Paloe with her kids,
swears by them.  If your kids see you enjoying the foods, they'll take note.
 One caution:  if dad is resistant to change and very picky, that can hinder
your ability to get the kids excited about eating new foods.  I've seen and
helped some families make the transition very quickly and the kids follow
suit if they see the parents doing it... If all you have is good Paleo food
in the house, that's what the have to select form.  One more thing, you
might keep a bowl of mixed fruits on the dining table within reach.  If they
want a sweet treat, you can say:  Which one of these fruits would you like?
They get to be autonomous, they can pick, they just have to pick from what
is right there in front of them.  You can also keep jars of various dried
(unsulphured fruits) in the fridge--apricots, dates, raisins, prunes,
figs.... and do the same with raw nuts.... They can nosh on those too... You
might find these helpful for yourself.

Some families find that a once a week "free meal" or "free day" helps kids
ease into it.... allowing them to eat the foods they miss once a week (for
ex. on Sunday)..... In many cases, people feel like do-do after a day or
binge meal on junk foods so they become very compliant..... they just notice
the difference when they eat foods out of line with their bodily needs, once
they experience some semblance of vitality.

Okay, enough said.  I can't give away the house.... this is what I do for a
LIVING..... (well, it's one of the things....writing is another. ) I need to
get to work.  (This is soooooo much fun... but I need to bring home some
more bacon.... eggs, salmon....) So, I best get back to the editing block.

I hope this helps you and others too!

Good food and good fun and good health to you,

Rachel Matesz