Hi!

If you don't know already, let me introduce myself. I'm Alex, owner and writer of Thunder Island. I wrote this article to amuse rather than inform, but I share with you a little of my medical history in case someone reading this might find some relief themselves.

As I entered adulthood many years ago, I faced a long battle with ill health. For over 25 years, I had a long and complex history of health problems that the medical profession could not help me with. These problems have been essentially cured by the paleo diet.

I discovered the wonderful benefits of the paleo diet by accident. My decision to go on the paleo diet at the time had nothing at all to do with digestive health and everything to do with weight loss.

Why The Paleo Diet?

So… how did this paleo thing happen? Two children and a husband.

I had my first child, and like many women, there was a certain' roundedness', shall we say, involved in the happy occasion that I was not quite so delighted with. The weight had to go!

Believe it or not, I had never dieted previously - ill health had kept me thin - sometimes skeletally so. However, over our 19 years together, I had seen my husband struggle through various diets and ultimately fail on each one. Some of these had more of an effect before failure than others.

His best and fastest weight loss record came from the Atkins diet, which, for those unaware, was a strict low-carb diet that was quite trendy a few years ago. But, I had also seen him fail because of the strictness of the diet and knew I had to find an alternative.

An hour of research later, I made a proclamation. 'I am going on the paleo diet.'

This was, I felt at the time, a significant statement. It was met with 'okay'. A man of many a prophetic word, my husband.

My choice of the paleo diet was primarily concerned with the 80/20 rule. If I was 80% good, I could be 20% bad, thus allowing the leeway that caused my husband's failure on the Atkins diet. Or, it meant that I could still have an occasional snickers bar!

What Are These?

Filled with joy over my soon-to-arrive success, I looked for my first meal; another hour later, I was, I admit, a bit huffy! Almond flour? Coconut flour? Amino acids? Ghee? Who has these? Or, more appropriately, what are these? (I actually did have to look them up on the internet!) While the descriptions made things a bit clearer, hope remained elusive. I live on a small island called Malta - we get basic items. These ingredients were, at the time anyway, highly specialised culinary ingredients.

Wading through a mountainous number of recipes, some a bit more 'paleo' than others, I found a few I knew I could get the ingredients for and hopefully make with my limited cooking expertise. It was a beginning.

Cooking With A NewBorn

Over the following weeks, I managed to arrange some sort of schedule.

The baby slept. I found a recipe.

The baby woke. We went to the shop armed with a shopping list.

The baby slept. I cut vegetables.

The baby woke. I stopped.

The baby slept. I prepared a bit more.

The baby woke. I stopped.

The baby slept, the baby woke, the baby slept, the baby woke, the baby slept…

The meal was ready, and… yes, the baby woke…

We had a lot of burnt or cold meals – that was the baby. We had a lot of lousy-tasting meals – that was me.

Success And Added Health Benefits!

As time progressed, the baby gained more of a routine, the meals improved, and I lost weight.

My husband, at some point, joined me. Whether this was the result of having to cook his own meals otherwise, or because he reached a point of being overweight that was just 'too much' and decided to take advantage of having diet meals cooked for him, I'm not sure. Still, the paleo diet worked for him as well.

I reached my goal weight… Yay, go me!!!

Even after reaching my goal weight, I continued with the paleo diet. The health benefits I felt while on it I just couldn't ignore. If you are interested, visit thepaleodiet.com for more scientific information.

The Start Of My Recipe Collection

Good And Bad

Over time we had good meals and bad. 'The good' found their way into a rollerdex I bought for the purpose. 'The bad' got cleared from my browser history, and the 'okay but could do with something more' got scribbled down to be worked on. Anything with an alternative flour or amino acids got passed over as soon as I saw them in the ingredient list. At the time, I didn't have those ingredients, nor could I get them.

Beware The Recipes!

I discovered that a paleo diet recipe doesn't mean it will help with weight loss but that it roughly follows the 'lifestyle' guidelines. Those who need to lose weight, beware!

How To Sub!

I learned how to substitute things; most 'normal' recipes can be made paleo with a bit of a chop and change.

My husband plateaued before reaching his goal weight.

On further research, we substituted fennel for onions in recipes due to the carb content of onions. Any recipe can be altered this way at a ratio of 1:1. It is worth noting that onions come with their own health problems, and, for many, fennel is a better alternative. I dropped carrots from most recipes, also for their higher carb count and limited recipes with honey to one every other week.

His weight loss restarted, and he attained his goal weight. Yay to hubby!

Pregnant Again!

Fast forward a couple of years to another pregnancy, baby number two, and the second occurrence of 'roundedness'. It had to go! The time to spend at a kitchen counter… Well, that also… went…

And Now...

A few years later, I have a list of easy-to-make, paleo-inspired recipes with easy-to-acquire ingredients, and I made a website!