The caveman diet, revised?

I've thought about trying the so called caveman diet, or primal eating. Basically, this means eating only those foods which were available to man before the dawn of agriculature. This includes, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes and eggs and meat. No grains and no dairy. I had the ambition to start eating healthy meats again, but boy did that plan backfire. After nine years of vegetarianism I have a major inhibition towards eating the flesh of animals. I guess it's the texture that bothers me the most, which is interesting, because I remember thinking way back when that the texture of meat was the one thing synthetic products couldn't get right. Texturized vegetable protein just does not feel like muscle. But now I don't think I want it to!

So, the diet I am adhering to is basically vegetarianism minus the grain products. Which initially sounds really limiting, because meat and grain make up such an enormous portion of what the average American eats. Plenty of people have been telling me that limiting my diet too much will lead to deficiencies and that all sorts of terrible things will happen to me. Yet in the past week I've lost 2 pounds, and actually feel kind of wonderful.

The reason why is that I've been careful to build meals that contain the healthiest foods I can find. My diet is now heavily based on vegetables, legumes/beans and fruits, as well as some nuts, seeds, cheeses and eggs. No grain. No processed sugar. All of these things combined provide all the protein, carbohydrate and vitamins my body needs, with not too much extra fat and very very little sugar. That, my research tells me, is a good diabetes prevention diet, and I never would have thought I'd be enjoying it. The main reason why I am is because I've been trying so many new things and learning so much about nutrition. I'm finding it very interesting and tasty. Hopefully in the coming days and weeks I'll have the pictures and recipes posted to prove it.

Quinoa is making a beautiful substitute for rice-- it's actually a seed, not a grain, so it's not cheating. :) It has a texture similar to couscous, with a very slightly bitter taste that is easily concealed by whatever you add to it.

Sweet potatoes have helped me make some amazingly hardy and delicious stews-- and to think I used to hate sweet potatoes, having had little experience with them outside of sugary marshmallow topped casseroles. Served in savory dishes the sweetness is just perfect and so much more nutritious than a potato. Potatoes are a diabetic's nightmare with all their simple starches, but sweet potatoes actually have a lot of benefits for helping regulate diabetes.

Lentils and garbanzo beans have been my saving grace, but then I always loved them both, so not much has changed there. Lentil soups are awesome. Hummus is awesome. Great stuff.

Dehydrated vegetables and fruits have satisfied my desire for crunchy junk foods like chips and crackers. Dehydrated apple chips are like candy and with absolutely no sugar that wasn't already in the apple to begin with. They feel so indulgent to eat, but they're completely healthy.

Smoothies have helped me eat bananas and yogurt, two foods I hate, but which I know are wonderful for me. My normal morning smoothie contains coconut milk, yogurt, strawberries, bananas and a little bit of flaxseed meal just because. Delicious and nutritious!

Anyway, I guess the point of this first post is to show that this diet has been about a lot of very small changes and substitutions, instead of commitments to extreme change (however extreme a grain-free diet might sound). I look forward to documenting my journey here and delving in with a lot more specific details, recipes and pictures.