These Paleo-friendly pumpkins muffins are gluten-free, refined sugar-free (sweetened with maple syrup), and delicious. They are great additions to your Holiday dessert menu. (Photo credit: leelalicious.com)

By Dagmar Alayash, e-Management

As the holiday season approaches, the e-Management Foodie Blog Team welcomes you in joining us in taking a look at an increasingly popular eating lifestyle called Paleo—add this to the endless list of eating lifestyles such as Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, the South Beach Diet, Macrobiotic Diet, and the DASH Diet, to name a few, all of which help to fuel the $60.5 billion weight loss industry in the USA. Call them fads or simply an increased interest in different eating lifestyles, we have so much to choose from now and as our eating habits evolve, we begin by looking at Paleo.

What Is This New Caveman Diet Anyway?
The Paleo lifestyle, also known as the “caveman” diet, emphasizes eating vegetables, a lot of grass-fed meat, and no grain, beans, or gluten, which means no cakes, rice, bread, or pasta. Did we hear a sigh or two? Our ancestors ate food that was not processed, refined, cooked with oils, or loaded with sugar. The Paleo lifestyle is intended to primarily be a healthier way to eat and not a weight-loss program.

No Coffee? Really?
Removing gluten from our diet has been reported time and time again to make many feel really good and have much more energy. Paleo experts and advocates talk about the “caveman” diet supporting many of its benefits with scientific studies. Though it’s hard to digest the fact that legumes and grains really are not good for us, and the biggest challenge of all for many,  is perhaps the fact that Paleo expert Dr. Lorain Cordain states that coffee should be excluded by anyone seeking to achieve the most out of their Paleo lifestyle.

Food for Humans?
On the other end of the spectrum, authors Melanie Tam and Henry Fong portray the Paleo lifestyle in a fun relaxed way that also help to demystify the concept of the diet.  In other words, it’s not an attempt to replicate a Caveman diet, and the Paleo style doesn’t mean you become an insufferable bacon-eating carnivore. Check out their best-selling book Nom Nom Paleo – Food for Humans for recipes and tips.

Will I Stay Hungry Eating the Paleo Way?
Not at all. Check out these recipe ideas.

1. Paleo Friendly Cookies – coconut flour, oil, butter, and sugar make great cookies. Coconut flour is rich in protein, fiber, and fat; is a source of good saturated fat, vitamins, and minerals; and is gluten-free. Find tips on cooking with coconut flour and oil at Nourished Kitchen. Just a note here,  coconut flour cookies don’t always rise, and some of them come out of the oven looking like caveman cookies, but still tasting really good …and healthy.
2. Chocolate Truffles – one word, DE-LI-CIOUS!
3. Pumpkin Muffins – easy to make and good.
4. Chili – a tasty vegetarian chili dish, bursting with flavor. The addition of sweet potatoes is a nice balance to the heat of the chilies. Recommend adding ½ the quantity of sweet potatoes in recipe.

What Are Your Foodie Thoughts?
We welcome your feedback and comments. (1) What are your thoughts on the Paleo or other diets/lifestyles?  (2) Are we becoming more aware of the foods we eat, where they come from, and how they make us feel? (3) With Thanksgiving approaching, do you have any amazing holiday recipes to share?