The Crossfit Greensboro 30 day paleo challenge Food list

                                                               DO!

Meat - Grass fed/Pastured (farmers market) is ideal. Grainfed (supermarket) meat is ok but eat grassfed when affordable. Don't be scared of dark meat and fatty cuts. Over-achievers eat organ meats once or twice a week, grassfed liver = superfood.

Beef - Pastured, grass-fed/finished cows are the best source. Real farmers raise their animals on the foods they were meant to eat so they dont need antibiotics or hormones. For cows that's fields full of grass, weeds and herbs. The corn/soy/wheat fed supermarket beef is definitely inferior but favorable to no beef at all. All cuts are good, eat head to tail. 

Chicken - See Beef. Chickens evolved to eat insects, plant and animal scraps and run around outside a lot. Supermarket chickens do not have that quality of life but you have to eat what you can afford. The dark meat is the good stuff. 

Turkey - Just like chickens, pretty tough to find naturally raised birds in some places.  

Pork - Pastured, scrap fed, happy hogs. Or the buy 2 get 3 free supermarket packs of bacon if money is tight. I don't see any harm in eating up to a few pounds of bacon a week (and I have) especially of the farmers market variety. Fatty pork is good pork.

Lamb - Seem to be fairly naturally raised, good to go.

Bison/Buffalo - More often than not grass-fed and pastured raised since they're aren't many Buffalo farms. Good choice but pricey.

Venison - Two-words. Jer key.

Eggs - extremely nutritious, especially the ones from properly pastured chickens. Remember, dietary cholesterol has never been linked to any type of disease and is seen by many as an essential nutrient in the human diet.

                                                               DO!

Seafood - Wild caught is preferable to Atlantic caught or farmed seafood.

Salmon - Wild caught > farmed. Always and for every type of seafood. Salmon is all the good kind of fatty and delicious.

Tuna - Stick to a few cans or less a week, the worries about mercury and BPA are warranted according to the research.

Trout/Bass/Catfish/Tilapia - Catch it and cook it yourself. Or buy it stuffed with crab meat at the store. Either way, you win.

Sardines - Cheap, good source of Omega-3's and much needed minerals.

Scallops - Packed with protein, not much fat but just cook in some good pastured butter or eat raw in a ceviche. Mmm.

Clams/Mussels/Snails - Steamed, fried in butter, grilled.

Crab - Expensive but full of good nutrients, eat whenever you get the chance.

Lobster - See Crab.

Oysters - See Lobster.

Octopus/Calamari - See Oysters.

Shrimp - Wild caught > farmed. Don't worry about the cholesterol content. Seeing a trend yet?

                                                               DO!

Vegetables - Frozen veggies are convenient and possibly more nutritious than fresh. Eat lots of veggies. Cook with colors.

Lettuce - Tupperware + Lettuce + Veggies + Protein = Lunch. Use a healthy oil and raw apple cider vinegar as a dressing for bonus points.

Onions - Possibly anti-carcinogenic, good for beneficial bacteria, heart-healthy, cheap and delicious. 

Celery - Not a superfood but is packed with water and makes for a great snack. I get most of my celery in the form of chili and sautees.

Garlic - Antiviral, Antibiotic, should be in bed with pastured butter for just about every meal (if I had my way...)

Sweet Potatoes - Cheap, super nutritious, versatile. I should buy stock in sweet taters. Great for post-workout meals. Very safe source of good carbohydrate should be a staple in the diet of any type of athlete.

Carrots - Root vegetables tend to be pretty awesome, the more colorful, the better.

Cabbage - Super cheap and homemade sauerkraut is a very important prebiotic for feeding all those hungry beneficial bacteria in your gut.

Cucumbers/Pickles - Bonus points if your source is a garden in your neighborhood, very easy to grow outside.

Olives - We know the oil made from them is fairly healthy as long as it's not overcooked and we know it's best to get nutrients from the whole food. Go olives.

White Potatoes - Stick to sweet potatoes if you're trying to lose weight. If you're fairly active, white potatoes are a good source of glucose to refuel glycogen stores.

Peppers - A member of the nightshade family, have been problematic for people with autoimmune issues (achey joints, IBS) but have also been shown to be good for the cardiovascular system. 

Eggplant - Also a nightshade, like peppers, problematic for people with digestion issues and allergies but just fine most of the time.

Spinach - Fresh, frozen, in salads, in smoothies, in omeletes, in stews. Spinach is full of goodies and should be a frequent passenger in your shopping cart.

Radishes - Tasty addition to salad. Root vegetables as a whole seem to be pretty awesome.

Artichokes - Delicious and nutritious.

Asparagus - Asparagus + Butter + Pepper + Salt + Oven = Heaven. I love roasted asparagus.

Brussel Sprouts - Cruciferous veggies are always a good choice. Slice and roast under the broiler with bacon fat.

Pumpkin - Save the almond crusted pumpkin pie for holidays but have at pumpkin all year round.

Squash - Spaghetti squash for a pasta substitute, all squash is nutritious and fair game.

Zucchini - Very versatile, good to go.

Greens - Collard, Mustard, Kale or any other type - Sautee in lots of healthy fat or bake slower and make chips. Kale chips are the bomb.

Seaweed - Interesting source of iodine, could be useful for thyroid problems. Go out to sushi as much as possible, just bring your own coconut aminos. You'll never need soy sauce again.

                                                               DO! 

Fruit - Berries are your best bet, the fruits higher in fructose like melon might cause problems in some people. Limit fruit intake if weight loss is your goal. Like veggies, frozen fruits are usually very nutritious.

Berries (Straw, Blue, Cran, Black, Rasp, etc.) - Make for an amazing snack when mixed in a bowl with full fat coconut milk. Buy the frozen gigantaur packs from Costco for a good deal and plentiful supply. Eat frequently.

Avocado - Full of good fiber and healthy fat, make lots of fresh guacamole and other avocado snacks.

Coconut - From what I can tell, with the few people that are unfortunate enough to be allergic to it, humans thrive when using coconut for everything from a dietary staple to an antiviral skin moisturizer. I dig coconut.

Tomatoes - Amazing orbs of nutrition, especially for us man folk. Both sexes can benefit from eating tomatoes daily.

Bananas - Fairly sugary, eat in moderation if weight loss is a goal.

Plantains - Less sugary than bananas, smashed and fried in coconut oil = heaven

Mango - Same as bananas, very sugary. Use occasionally in salsas, ceviches, salads and smoothies but not every day.

Apples - The apple a day adage looks to hold true. As with most fruits and veggies, they taste great fried in coconut oil.

Cherries - Supposedly good for boosting moods by increasing levels of serotonin in the brain. Dark cherries on a hot summer day = winning.

Apricots/Peaches/Nectarines - Sugary but still good for you. Peaches fried in coconut oil...nuff said.

Citrus (Lemons, Limes, Oranges, Grapefruit) - Great acid source for dressings, marinades and ceviches. Possibly a powerful digestion aid and great with some carbonated water and tequila (thank you Robb Wolf.)

Grapes - Sugary but good, there's something behind the resveratrol in red grapes but more work needs to be done. Taste best when fermented.

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Fats/Acids: Natural saturated fat is good for you. If paleo teaches you anything, let it be that fat from actual food sources is incredibly healthy and is essential for mental health, hormone balance and energy. Saturated > Polyunsaturated (O6+O3's) > Trans Fat.

Coconut Oil - The best stuff is raw, cold-pressed and overpriced with coconut as the sole ingredient but so worth the money. You can use this stuff anywhere you need any type of cooking fat, skin moisturizer, energy boost, sun-tan lotion and ahem...lube. Among sooo many other uses.

Raw Apple Cider Vinegar - Impressive stuff, gets points for aiding digestion, improving insulin sensitivity and even a kick ass hair conditioner. A must for proper bone broth. I try to never run out of this or coconut oil.

Coconut Aminos - Use in place of soy sauce (which contains gluten and soy.) Found in health food stores, I get mine at Earth Fare. Perfect for stir fries, marinades and sauces.

Olive Oil - Use for salads, homemade mayo, maybe grilling veggies. High in Omega-3's that are beneficial but easily altered into harmful compounds by high heat. I only cook with saturated fat these days. See below.

Animal Fat (bacon fat, beef tallow, lard) - Saturated fat in all it's goodness. Yes, this stuff is good for you. Great for frying, sautees, sauces, whatever. Here's a cool fact, the healthiest thing McDonalds could probably do to make their french fries healthier, is frying the potatoes in pastured beef lard. Ask your grandparents about lard, all their stuff was cooked with it and tastes wayyy better than anything made with low fat oil crap.

                                                 Foods OK in moderation:

Nuts and seeds - Most paleo diets emphasize nuts and seeds but they have a lot of the same properties as grains and I'm not huge on the almond flour craze. If you have autoimmune issues (allergies, joint pain, acne) or want to lose weight, limit nut intake. Everyone could do their bodies a favor and avoid almond/coconut flour for 30 days, you can make it 30 days without fake muffins and pancakes.

                                                                DON'T

Grains: Processed, high-calorie, low-nutrient and unnecessary in the human diet. Grains contain lectins that cause leaky gut and phytates that render nutrients unusable. Gluten intolerance is extremely common and grain free diets are proven to be beneficial for mental disorders.

Wheat/Rye/Barley/Oats/Rice/Corn - Do not touch wheat of any kind for the entire challenge. See how well your body works without gluten, this includes Beer. Cake, Pasta, Pizza, Cereal, mostly anything processed and even Twizzlers. I'm sorry but just do it for 30 days. Learn to look at ingredient labels, everything has wheat or wheat flour in it.

Quinoa - Yes quinoa. Even though it's sent from the heavens to "cure" the protein deficiencies most vegans have. Get your protein from meat, eggs and seafood. Quinoa is NOT a health food.

                                                                DON'T

Legumes: See Grains.

Beans - Lectins + Phytates + Carbs. Totally unnecessary in the human diet. Beans are basically seeds, plants protect their seeds and make us hurt when we we eat them. 

Peanuts - All the fun of beans wrapped up with a huge amount of pro-inflammatory Omega-6's. No peanuts.

Chickpeas - No hummus. There are good non-chick pea hummus recipes on The Google.

Soy - sold as a "health" food but soy has been linked to increased estrogen levels in both men and women (both very bad.) I'm fairly terrified of soy at this point. 

Lentils - Are Beans. Peas are beans too.

                                                                DON'T

Dairy: Low/No fat means high/higher carb. Humans don't process pasteurized dairy well at all and many people are lactose intolerant. Ditch the dairy for 30.

Milk - Use almond milk or coconut milk where you used to use cow's milk. Humans don't process pasteurized dairy well due to the lack of enzymes and beneficial bacteria, anything not marked as "raw" is pasteurized and off-limits.

Whey Protein - It's extremely processed, from factory cows, usually packaged with sweeteners, unnecessary when you have beef, expensive and will most certainly hinder weight loss. No whey.

Powdered Milk - See Milk.

Cheese - Less problematic than actual milk and tolerated well by some people but take a break from it then see if it bothers you when you reintroduce it.

(Greek/Yoplait/Activia) Yogurt - Very high in sugar and other fake crap, there are better sources of probiotics.

Ice cream - If healthier brands start coming out I might move this to moderation but it's sugary, lactose-filled and addictive. Cut it out for 30 days.

Creamers - High in sugar and other fake crap. Give full-fat coconut milk a try in its place.

                                                                DON'T

Sweeteners: EVERYTHING is sweetened, learn to read nutrition labels. Drop all types of sweeteners whether they be organic, natural, calorie free, "sugar"-free or all of the above.

Chocolate of any color is out for 30 days. Do yourself a favor and see what food really tastes like when you eliminate all the fake sources of sugar in your diet.

Honey - is more healthy than other sources of sugar but still very sweet and out for 30 days. Once again, loing your sweet tooth feels incredible.

Sugar - Ask anyone that's ever been through a paleo challenge, you're going to lose your sweet tooth, and it hurts. The sugar addiction withdrawal sucks just like other drug withdrawals. Get through the tough part and you'll be surprised how sweet most of the food we eat is. Do not sweeten any of your food with anything but raw honey or fruit juice.

High Fructose Corn Syrup - HFCS is sugar...kinda. We already know sugar is bad for us but this "corn sugar" is treated with alpha-amylase to break down the sugar. Then that's treated with Glucoamylase (which is produced in mold) breaks down the sugar even more. That's treated by Xylose Isomerase which converts glucose to the much sweeter fructose. Numerous mechanical, boiling, cooling and chemical steps accompany this process. High Fructose Corn Syrup is not natural and is making people unhealthy through physical and mental points of entry. 

Aspartame - Research is sketchy about this, mostly because politics are involved and I'm sure giant bags of money are probably hiding something pretty terrible regarding Aspartame. There's fear of it being linked to mental disorders and was involved in a lot controversy at the time of it's passing into law. The stuff scares me, don't drink soda, most other drinks and watch your whey protein, like HFCS, this stuff is everywhere.

Sugar Alcohols/Substitutes - Splenda, Stevia, Truvia, Erythritol, Maltitol, Mannitol - Don't seem to be super bad but a lot of people are intolerant of them and they mimic the effect of actual sugar, even though some "contain no actual calories" (which they still do.)

Agave - is processed pure sugar. No agave.

                                                                DON'T

Fake Crap: Which includes just about everything you buy in a store these days.

Snack Food - This includes just about everything that comes in a box, bag, bottle or wrapper. It's safe to assume most everything you buy in a store that's on an inside isle has gluten, excess sugar, grain oils or questionable preservatives in it. Eat food that has an expiration date in this decade.

Restaurant Food - It's almost impossible to find a place to eat that's gluten free, uses fresh whole foods, doesn't cook in vegetable oil and isn't insanely overpriced. Make it easy on yourself and just don't eat out during a paleo challenge.

Vegetable Oils are in everything, I'd say look at ingredient labels but the whole point of this thing is to buy foods that come with labels. Do not eat anything made with or fried in any type of vegetable oils. Common vegetable oils to avoid are canola, soy, peanut and sunflower oil.

Partially/Fully Hydrogenated Oils (Trans Fats) - All kinds of bad, avoid entirely.

Ingredients You Can't Pronounce - If you can't say it, it's probably not good for you.

Follow these guidelines for 30 days and you'll be included in the full 60 day competition for prizes and will get a Paleo Challenge T-shirt.