Caveman Living

So, as predicted, week 1 of living like a caveman has been tricky, jumbled, confusing and delicious. As I'm new to the caveman neighbourhood it was necessary for me to investigate other cave dweller recipe collections. 

It seems that every "expert" out there has a different idea about what exactly constitutes a paleo diet. Some gave sweet potatoes the thumbs up, others said NO to all tubers (....I also had to look up what a tuber was, is this an American word or am I just extremely ignorant about vegetables?). 

One very enthusiastic paleo displayed an array of muffins, pancakes and delicious baked goods created with many obscure and exciting types of flour (that were unable to be located at my meagre grocery store). Some cave people even claimed to enjoy luxuries such as sundried tomatoes and coffee! 


Here are some of my thoughts
1. Nobody really knows what cavemen ate. It was a long time ago. Very few cave people updated their statuses, "Just slaughtered wildebeest, enjoying coffee by the fire." Sure, mummified remains have been discovered to have grain fragments found in their gut and there's that whole "the real purpose of an appendix" conversation but, really, I don't feel anybody could accurately pinpoint the exact diet of paleo people.

2. Evidence indicates that in the time of cave dwellers, our plant and animal systems were exceptionally more diverse than that of modern day. Plants and animals were also much more plentiful so, surely a true paleo diet would have been far more diverse than we could ever imagine.

3. Enough people in general talk about the health benefits of fresh fruit and vegetables, meats, eggs, nuts. As these make up the staples (and practically everything else) of the paleo diet a lot of it seems to come down to just good choices and maybe actually being brave enough to cut out the certain sugars, carbs and other elements that are probably unnecessary in a "typical diet".

All opinions aside, the common elements in all paleo tips and tricks were meat and eggs. Add in some fruits and vegetables (tubers and/or non-tubers) and I think I'm more or less on the right track. With that in mind, here are some of the things that I have enjoyed creating and eating this week. 

Some hardcore paleos may shake their heads in disgust but I am trying and, short of actually dredging up my own Encinoman (who else loved that movie?! go 1990s Brendan Fraser), I can only work with the mismatched information I am given and the supplies at the grocery store.

Mockingbirds & Cavemen

The recruitment officer rang me during the week to ask about my teaching preferences for 2013 so ....fingerscrossed! I'm holding out for a nice little school on the Northside of Brisbane and a comfortable English & SOSE position in the lower secondary department.....is that so much to ask!?

I have received approval from my principal to teach the "To Kill A Mockingbird" unit instead of "Worldshaker". I am so thankful for this opportunity and amazed at the amount of faith my boss has in me to produce a unit from nothing that will align perfectly with the National Curriculum. 

Finally, in a bid to lose every centimetre of body fat to shift some excess weight, I am tentatively considering the paleo eating plan. I have spent several hours today looking through information and I feel it is something I could realistically do and would open up some new options in the kitchen which is always exciting. 

So that's my plans for the weekend. I'm actually very excited - hope you're doing something nice!