I’ve been reading up on the Paleo diet in an effort to get Charlie to eat better, so I asked Kristin (who blogged her home water birth story yesterday) to write this guest post. You can read more about her adventures as a paleo family on her blog Paleo Plus One!

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Sardines. Spinach. Salmon eggs. Bacon. Sweet potatoes. Seaweed.

These are a few of my toddler’s favorite foods. Typical toddler faves like Cheerios, fruit gummies, or mac n’ cheese didn’t make this list because she’s never had them before. I’m a passionate paleo mom, and Siena is a paleo baby. Since becoming paleo almost 2 years ago, I have learned to appreciate real food in all its colorful splendor. I’m delighted that my child appreciates real food, too.


Photo by Trista Lerit Photography

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What is the paleo diet, in laymen’s terms?

I’m no scientist, so I will keep this extremely simple. According to a 2005 paper written by Loren Cordain and others, dairy products, grains, refined sugars, refined vegetable oils, and alcohol make up 72.1%of the total daily food intake of people in the US. The huge proportion of grains, dairy and sugars we eat displaces the amount of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and seafood we eat. The problem is, even whole grains do not begin to compare with the nutrient density of foods like vegetables and meat.

Furthermore, grains, nuts, seeds and beans contain antinutrients (such as protease inhibitors, saponins, lectins and phytoestrogens), which can contribute to leaky gut syndrome*. Also, our polyunsaturated fat intake is way out of whack compared to our ancestors. Historically, the ratio of omega-6 fats (pro inflammatory) to omega-3 fats (anti inflammatory) was something like 2:1 and it came from whole foods. Nowadays it is estimated the typical ratio is 10:1 or higher, and a lot of it comes from highly processed cooking oils.


Salmon eggs – fun finger food!

The philosophy behind the paleo diet is that our bodies are not well adapted to handle this stuff. The paleo diet suggests we stop eating certain things that as a species our bodies doesn’t digest too easily, like grassy grains, legumes, processed foods, industrially processed oils, and most dairy (although some populations do handle dairy better than others), stop relying so much on supplements and crazy exercise programs to make up for poor eating, and start eating the things that our bodies have been genetically designed to thrive on, like quality meats, seafood and fresh produce. More sunshine, frequent activity, and stress management would do us a world of good in these fast-paced modern times.

For me, this diet has progressed far beyond an “eat or don’t eat” list, and is now about getting the most nutritional “bang for my bite.” Quite simply, if I’m going to eat a meal, I want it to be as nutritionally valuable and easy to digest as possible. Sure, I want it to taste yummy, but my definition of yummy is now fresh, flavorful, real. It no longer means sweet, binge-worthy and addictive. That kind of yummy is not worth the short term digestive hell and steady weight gain I’d incurred, or the long term health risks.


Lunch – hamburger patty, sweet potato, and gouda.

Why on Earth would I put my baby on a “diet”?

At first, for selfish reasons. I just wanted her to sleep well. As a neurotic new mama, I was convinced my baby was waking up at night because she was starving. Since 6 month old babies can only eat a spoonful or two of solid foods, I was determined to make them the most nutritious spoonfuls ever. For the sake of sleep, Sisi’s first foods were egg yolks, liver, and avocado mashed together with breastmilk. I totally expected her to gag, but she happily ate it. Alas, it didn’t improve her sleep.

Another partly selfish reason: I wanted to avoid the cheerio/goldfish/animal cracker tantrums my friends with toddlers are constantly complaining about. If I were a baby, I’d rather graze on cheerios and snacks all day than eat balanced meals. Duh! In fact, until I started the paleo diet, that’s pretty much exactly what I did! Those high carb, processed goodies are addictive, and I literally couldn’t get enough of them. To me, the easy answer was not to give her those goodies to begin with. It’s working so far. She’s 20 months now, and meal time is usually quite delightful.

But most importantly, I’m concerned for her health. Did you know that a majority of children under 2 years in the US are not meeting the US daily recommendations for Vitamin B-6, Vitamin A, Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc (source). Sounds dramatic, but our children are malnourished. Associations between zinc deficiency in infants and Autism spectrum disorders have been found. The huge amounts of grain, especially gluten, that makes up their diets have been associated with such diseases such as celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, ADHD, and insulin resistance.

Morning mush – 2 egg yolks (raw), kefir, cottage cheese, and berries or mushed banana with cinnamon


Our Game Plan

When Sisi was about 6 months, we ditched our pediatrician’s food recommendations (which suggested 2 measly servings of meat per day compared to 6 servings of grains!)

  • Instead, we followed the nutrition suggestions in Nourishing Traditions, slowly introducing certain meats, fruits and vegetables one at a time.
  • Her early staples were egg yolks (we didn’t give whites until 1 year because they are more allergenic), sweet potatoes, fruits and vegetables, coconut milk kefir or highly cultured yogurt, and sardines.
  • We embraced ground up meat very early on. It’s actually easily digestable and has very low risk of allergies, which is why many pediatricians are now suggesting meat as a first food instead of cereals. We also weren’t too afraid to introduce seafood to her early on. I think she first tried sardines at about 7 or 8 months. She didn’t try shellfish until 1 year though.
  • Quality of meat and seafood is super important! The Omega 3/Omega 6 ratio and nutrient density of grassfed beef is entirely different than typical grain fed beef. The same goes for wild fish versus farmed fish. We pay attention to what our food ate and how it lived, for both health and sentimental reasons. We even drove out to a ranch to meet the steer that would become our beef for the year. I almost cried with the rancher when he expressed his sadness that the steer would be butchered that day, but at least his cows only have 1 bad day.
  • We limit snacking, and stick to an eating schedule that allows enough time between meals so she’s actually hungry enough to eat well.
  • We don’t hover- if she’s hungry, we trust that she’ll eat what’s on her tray. Since the food she eats is so nutrient dense, we know even just 1/2 a sardine and a few bites of veggies will be enough to sustain her until the next meal.
  • We keep it simple. Who says every meal has to rock her world? Every day is pretty much the same staples. Breakfast is always morning mush. Lunch and dinner are some combination of meat, vegetable and sweet potato. We eat a lot of leftovers.
  • Her food is simple, but not bland. I want her to trust that the food on her tray is always yummy and full of flavor. A splash of lemon or vinegar, celtic sea salt, herbs and spices, and of course, high quality butter from grassfed cows makes all the difference. Butter seems to make it all better. She is super trusting and will usually try anything once or twice.
  • I wouldn’t say Sisi’s diet is low carb, it’s just “smart carb.” She gets plenty of carbs and fiber from sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and vegetables like carrots. Sweet potatoes are full of nutrients and are actually an anti-inflammatory food so they are our “go-to carb”. Baked for an hour in the oven at 400 degrees, served with cinnamon and butter, they are so freakin’ good!
  • I read the ingredient labels very carefully. Have you noticed how much sugar is in kids’ yogurt or even ketchup? Did you know soy sauce contains more wheat than soy? Did you know most packaged sweet potato fries contain wheat as well?
  • Fat is ok! Omega 3 fat, that is. Our babies’ brains need it desperately. That’s why we use coconut oil, avocado oil, duck fat, bacon grease, and butter to cook almost all of our meals instead of processed vegetable or canola oils.


Sisi helps pick the lettuce for our salads.

A typical day for Sisi:

Breakfast (7:30am): “Morning mush” consisting of 2 raw egg yolks mixed with cottage cheese, kefir, and wild blueberries or mushed banana.

Morning snack (9:30am): Four grapes, cut in half.

Lunch (11:30am): Sardines with guacamole, sweet potato fries, or leftovers from the previous dinner.

Afternoon snack (3:30pm): Chunk of cheese (hard, strong cheese like gouda has the most probiotic benefits), or small piece of seasonal, preferably local fruit, or handful of nuts (softer nuts, like cashews. No peanuts- they are legumes, not nuts.)

Dinner (5:30pm): She eats whatever we’re eating. A typical night might be grilled pork tenderloin or salmon, sauteed spinach with garlic, and a sweet potato with butter.

After Dinner Dessert: She gets an ice cube sized “paleo fudgsicle” made of coconut milk, egg yolks, cocoa powder or berries, and just a touch of honey or maple syrup.

Let’s be real here: Sisi isn’t a perfect eater who never throws food on the floor or demands more dessert. Nor do I stick to this diet perfectly. But for the most part, this diet has become our way of life, and now I can’t imagine eating or living any other way.


*Leaky Gut Syndrome is a condition still not fully researched, but it appears that all sorts of factors such as the antinutrients in certain foods, dieting, stress, alcohol and infections can increase permeability of the intestinal lining to a degree where undigested food compounds and toxins can gain access into the bloodstream. Since 70-80% of our immune system actually resides at the gut barrier, this can then lead to inflammatory responses over time negatively impacting our health.

Paleo! part 1 of 7

1. Paleo Baby! by Kristin @ Paleo Plus One
2. Whole30 Adventure - Part I by Mrs. Deer
3. My Whole30 Experience (So Far...) by Mrs. High Heels
4. The Whole30 Made Easy by Mrs. High Heels
5. Toddler Paleo Lunches by Kristin @ Paleo Plus One
6. The Wonderful Pressure Cooker by Kristin @ Paleo Plus One
7. Changing the Way We Eat by Mrs. Bee

Kristin of Paleo Plus One part 1 of 4

1. Paleo Baby! by Kristin @ Paleo Plus One
2. Toddler Paleo Lunches by Kristin @ Paleo Plus One
3. The Wonderful Pressure Cooker by Kristin @ Paleo Plus One
4. Destinations: Sayulita, Mexico by Kristin @ Paleo Plus One