It’s all very well sticking strictly to your Paleo or Primal diet, but there are times when you just want things to be how they used to. Glutenous sandwiches piled high with questionable deli meats and delicious vegetable oil-based mayo. Pizza, stacked with cheese and faux-meat to your heart’s content. A fresh glass of diabetes-inducing coca-cola, clinking merrily with cubes of ice and beading invitingly in the late afternoon sun.
Sorry, I lost my train of thought for a moment there. Sure, these things were delicious at the time, but the days (perhaps weeks) of post-dietary meltdown recovery really wasn’t worth it.
Luckily, this isn’t a black or white scenario. You can still revisit those gluttonous times of old while maintaining your impressive clean-eating record. We’ve already churned out heaps of recipes that have done just that, including Primal pancakes, Paleo banana-choc-chia cakelets, gluten-free Oreo cookie sandwiches, and a whole lot more. But there’s something super important missing from that list: chicken wings!
Just because you’ve gone Paleo, Primal or ancestral doesn’t mean you don’t watch the Superbowl every year. It doesn’t mean you pass on the opportunity to sit out on the patio with your mates and have a few “cold ones”. It doesn’t mean you’ve moved on from game nights or movie nights with your friends or loved ones. And what do all these things have in common? Why, they all go swimmingly with a big bowl of crispy, zesty, saucy chicken wings.
So, without further ado, here’s an awesome Paleo- and Primal-friendly wing recipe that will have you thinking you’d died and gone to heaven. Chicken wing heaven, that is.
Paleo recipe: BBQ chicken wings
What would a wing platter be without the quintessential BBQ sauce smothering those meaty chunks of glory? Personally, barbecue wings are my favorite, so I was more than happy to give this recipe a shot! If you don’t have all the ingredients available in your kitchen, feel free to mix and match – getting creative is half the fun!
1. BBQ Rub ingredients and instructions
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp rosemary (dried or fresh and finely diced)
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until evenly distributed. This will form your chicken rub in step three!
In a saucepan, melt the coconut oil over low-medium heat. Add in the diced onion, and cook until the onion has turned transparent or soft, around 5 minutes or so.
Add the minced or diced garlic to the saucepan, cook for a minute, then throw in the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low and allow to simmer for at least 10 minutes.
Once the sauce has reduced down to your desired thickness, remove from heat and set aside.
3. BBQ chicken wing ingredients and instructions
Finally, it’s time to create your culinary masterpiece!
18 free-range/pastured chicken wings
BBQ rub (step 1)
BBQ sauce (step 2)
Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C. While the oven warms up, put some baking paper down on a couple of cookie sheets. Next, apply the BBQ rub to all the wings as evenly as possible. Don’t stress too much if thing’s are a bit uneven though – you’re going to smother them in BBQ sauce, after all!
Place the wings in the oven and leave for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn all the wings onto their opposite side, and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove the wings from the oven again. Coat each wing liberally with the BBQ sauce you made in step two. A silicon brush makes applying the sauce easier, but you can always just use a spoon or anything handy. Once all the wings are coated, place them back in the oven for 3 minutes.
One last time, remove the wings from the oven, turn them all onto their opposite side, and return to the oven for 3 minutes. Keep an eye on the wings – if it looks like they’re starting to blacken or burn, whip them out of there ASAP! You can also leave them in for longer if you like your wings a bit crispier or charred. I’m not judging.
If you can resist, allow the wings to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a platter. If you’ve got any BBQ sauce left, put it in a small bowl for dipping. In lieu of blue cheese, which often has some of the nastiest ingredients imaginable, why not opt for some grass-fed sour cream? It tastes just as good, in my opinion, and soothes the mouth when things get a little on the spicy side. Also feel free to throw in a few celery sticks for good measure. Enjoy!
Tell us how your wings turned out! Did you make any slight adjustments, or did those BBQ wings taste dang near perfect? We’d also love to hear what your own favorite Paleo wing recipes are!
You’ve replaced your household cleaners with non-toxic products. You use alternative health remedies. You eat whole foods, avoid refined sugars, and exercise regularly.
And yet, you still feel like something’s missing when it comes to your health…but what on earth could it be?
I’ve had many of the same thoughts myself. I feel pretty good, but why don’t I feel great?
Is it possible that one of the most unglamorous organs is behind all of your health problems?
I’m talking about your intestines. Or gut. Or digestive system. Whatever you want to call it, its function is NOT glamorous.
But here’s the thing: poor gut health isn’t pretty, especially if you’re fighting leaky gut syndrome, allergies, or fuzzy brain – all symptoms of a gut that isn’t doing what it’s designed to do.
It can already feel a bit daunting to work on healing your digestive issues, but then to spend time searching for practical solutions at a price you can afford? Forget about it.
But what if everything you need (and then some) came together in one magical package, for the most affordable price ever? Well, you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what’s happening and I’m telling you, this bundle is just what you need.
The Gut Health Super Bundle includes 16 ebooks, 5 eCourses, 3 videos, and 1 massive summit full of expert videos. One of those ebooks is our very own bestselling Paleo Guide to Beating Candida Naturally. So if you’ve been holding off on buying this essential guide to getting rid of your Candida overgrowth, now might just be the time to make your move!
These top-quality resources cover everything you need to heal your gut…tummy-soothing recipes, meal plans, quick-start guides, in-depth education, and so much more.
For less than the cost of some high-quality probiotics, you’ll get a complete library to help you:
End your digestive complaints (you know what they are)
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and finally get your health back.
Plus, it comes with $40 worth of bonus offers for tummy-friendly, real food products.
You sort of need to see it to believe it, but the package includes 25 digital products and it’s worth over $695!
Besides being so incredibly helpful, one of the things I like best about the bundle is the price. By offering it for a short time only, they’re able to give you access to over $695 worth of amazing products for a whopping 93% off!
Here’s how it works:
Visit their website, take a quick look at all the goodness that comes in this package, then click the “Get my copy now!” button to go through their simple and secure 3-step checkout process.
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No one should put up with poor digestive health because it costs too much or they can’t get the help they need.
Embracing a healthy lifestyle is an important first step. But to really experience holistic health, you need to get your digestive system back on track.
Learn more or get your bundle HERE. If you’ve got any specific questions, feel free to get in touch with us at inquiry@thriveprimal.com. I’ve already purchased the bundle myself, so I can definitely help you out!
It’s a question I’ve been asked time and again since becoming something of a health authority: is fruit paleo? An excellent question, and one which I usually don’t have enough hours in the day to answer in sufficient detail. This, in case you’re wondering, is not one of those times.
Can you eat fruit on a Paleo diet?
The short answer is: yes! While many “hardcore” Paleo punters wouldn’t be caught dead beside a bowl of fruit, it’s totally unreasonable, and in many cases unhealthy, to completely remove fruit from your life. Phew! Am I right?
But that affirmative isn’t your one-way ticket to a daily fruit binge. We know that our Paleolithic ancestors certainly ate fruit – the berries or drupes that they came across in the wild would have provided valuable nutrients and minerals to fill in the nutritional gaps of their predominantly protein-based diets. But what we also know is that those fruits were not the same as those we find on our supermarket shelves today.
If you’ve ever walked through a forest glade and noticed a patch of wild strawberries growing in the sunshine, you’ll know what I mean. Wild strawberries have almost no resemblance to their monstrous cultivated counterparts, and this is due to thousands of years of genetic selection. Some time after the agricultural revolution, around 10,000 years ago, humans began to alter those “wild” fruit species that our Paleolithic forebears foraged. People realized that by only selecting and growing those fruit variants that were larger, sweeter, or more edible, they could develop a whole new “species” of superfruit. This selective style of cultivation continued throughout the millennia, to give us the fruits we are sold today. Yes, even the organic, non-GMO fruit!
In many cases, this was an essential part of allowing humans to eat and enjoy a certain kind of fruit in the first place. For example, the uncultivated, wild version of bananas are actually virtually inedible. Their seed to flesh ratio is so high that it’s almost not worth bothering to eat them, but every now and then a sterile banana is produced that doesn’t have any seeds. It was those sterile bananas that people loved to eat, and they therefore started taking cuttings of the sterile plants and reproducing banana trees without all the seeds. Because they’re all sterile, the only way these trees can be reproduced is by vegetative propagation – taking part of the original tree to create an exact genetic copy of it.
I happen to love bananas, so I’m not going to begrudge those enterprising farmers for playing around with nature. But what these genetic selections means is that cultivated fruit is completely different to the wild fruit our ancestors ate. It’s generally sweeter (so far higher in fructose), less nutritionally dense…and there’s a whole lot more available today than there was 10,000+ years ago!
With this in mind, for the Paleo eater, fruit should become less of a “health food” and more of a nutritious treat. That orange juice with breakfast or fruit smoothie for lunch, by the way, is not what the doctor ordered.
Not all fruits were created equal, however, so if you’re going to get your daily dose of fruit, which is best for your health?
Which fruit is best to eat on a Paleo diet?
There’s a few ways you can approach the healthiest fruit:
how much sugar does it contain?
how nutritious is it?
how much chemical residue does it contain?
Ideally, you’d only eat those fruits that are low in sugar, high in beneficial nutrients, and low in pesticides and herbicides. Often it’s hard to tick all three boxes, but here’s a short overview to get you heading in the right direction.
Sugar content of popular fruit
Generally speaking, your berries and sour citrus fruits have the lowest fructose content, while things like apples, grapes and mangoes have the most. Probably no great surprise – fruit that makes your face pucker up is generally low in sugar!
Avocado (yup, it’s a fruit!): 1 g sugar/cup
Lime: 1 g sugar/medium
Lemon: 2 g sugar/medium
Raspberries: 5 g sugar/cup
Kiwi: 6 g sugar/medium
Strawberries: 7 g sugar/cup
Grapefruit: 9 g sugar/medium
Watermelon: 9 g sugar/cup
Orange: 13 g sugar/medium
Banana: 14 g sugar/medium
Blueberries: 15 g sugar/cup
Dates: 16 g sugar/medium
Apple: 19 g sugar/medium
Mango: 23 g sugar/cup
Grapes: 23 g sugar/cup
Raisins: 86 g sugar/cup
This is just to give you an idea of which fruits are better than others on the fructose scale. On any given day, you’re better off sticking to berries like raspberries, strawberries, cranberries and blackberries, citrus fruit, and maybe the odd kiwi, plum, or watermelon. Fructose is highly inflammatory, and can contribute to conditions like fatty liver disease and diabetes. Generally the less fructose you consume per day, the better.
How nutritious is your fruit?
This is probably the most difficult aspect of prioritizing your fruit. Different fruits contain different ratios of various nutrients, making direct comparison rather difficult. If you’re suffering from cramps or headaches, you could be lacking in potassium, meaning from a nutrient standpoint a potassium-rich banana might be a good choice. If you’re worried about cancer, however, dark-colored fruits like blueberries or strawberries might be a better choice as they have more antioxidants. It really comes down to what your body is lacking. For fruit-specific nutritional content, you might want to check out this database.
Otherwise, a very committed researcher from William Paterson University ranked 47 fruits and vegetables based on 17 different nutrients considered critical for fighting heart disease and cancer. You can check out their handy ranking system in this article. You’ll notice that there’s far more vegetables on the list than fruit. That’s not a coincidence. I’ve stressed time and again that vegetables should form the backbone of produce in your diet, as they’re generally more nutritionally dense and lower in sugar than most fruit.
Those fruit that did make the nutritional cut are tomato (yep, also a fruit!), lemon, strawberry, orange, lime, grapefruit and blackberry. I’d also be inclined to add avocado to that list – it’s certainly a nutritional powerhouse.
All these fruits also happen to have relatively low sugar content. How convenient!
Is your fruit doused in chemicals?
I’ve written about this very topic in my guide to shopping for fruit and vegetables. Based on comprehensive data compiled by the Environmental Working Group, the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen lists tell you which produce is best to buy based on potential for chemical residue, and which is worst. Based on their findings, avocados, pineapples, mangoes, papayas, kiwi, honeydew melon, grapefruit and cantaloupe have the lowest risk of chemical pesticide, herbicide or insecticide residue. Unfortunately, lots of your favorite fruits didn’t make the cut, including strawberries, cherries, apples, nectarines, peaches, grapes and tomatoes.
You’ll notice that those fruits which made the Clean 15 all have thick skins which you don’t typically eat. Those that were included in the Dirty Dozen have thin skins that blemish easily and are almost always consumed (except for the oddballs who don’t like apple skin!). With this in mind, I have three recommendations: firstly, always buy organic when you can, as this sidesteps any risk of chemical residue. Secondly, if you can’t buy organic, go for those fruits with the thicker (inedible) skins. And finally, if you must eat your non-organic strawberries and other Dirty Dozen fruit, be sure to give them a good soak first.
Recipe: Paleo fruit salad
Personally, I take great pleasure in eating fruit. It adds a whole lot more flavor and color to my day, so I’m not willing to completely throw in the fructose towel! And when you take into consideration the above factors, there’s no reason why you should give up fruit either.
To rekindle your love of fruit, here’s a great recipe for a Paleo fruit salad I’ve honed over the years. Its filled with fruits that have lower fructose content and higher nutritional value, so it’s not only a tasty treat, but a healthy one too! Just be sure to limit your fruit intake to around 2 servings (a couple of handfuls) per day.
Ingredients:
3 plums, cut into wedges
1 peach, cut into wedges (organic or soaked is best)
1 orange, cut or pulled apart into segments
1/2 cup strawberries, chopped in half (organic or soaked is best)
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1 banana, sliced
3 limes, squeezed
1 sprig mint, finely diced
Instructions:
Using a lemon squeezer or your own trusty hands, squeeze the juice from your 3 limes into a small bowl. Remove the mint leaves from the stem, and dice the leaves relatively finely. Add to the bowl of lime juice, and allow to sit for at least 2 hours so that the mint infuses the lime juice.
Next, cut your plums, peach and oranges into wedges, adding to a large serving bowl. Chop up your banana and throw it in, along with your halved strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Peel the orange and add in the segments – if it’s a particularly big orange, you can cut each segment in half to ensure it doesn’t “steal the show”.
When you’re ready to serve, drizzle your lime and mint dressing over the salad, give it a gentle toss to ensure all the fruit is covered and well-mixed, and sprinkle over a garnish of mint leaves if you have any left over. The lime and mint dressing provides a refreshing counterpoint to the sweetness of the other fruits, and has the added benefit of helping to preserve your fruit salad for longer.
Thanks for reading, everyone! Let me know whether you’ve tried the recipe, or if you have your own Paleo-tastic fruit salad to share with the world!
In our previous post, we explored what exactly it is that makes a good essential oil and why they’re so darn fantastic. We also took a walk through the doTERRA wellness advocate and LRP programs, and how to go about getting the most from your oils.
In this article, I’m going to examine some of the many uses for essential oils, from joint pain to eczema. By the end of the article, you’ll have dramatically improved your knowledge of how to use different essential oils to solve everyday illnesses and ailments, and you’ll be that much more excited to get your hands on these wondrous elixirs of health!
Remember, however, that we’re not doctors – if you’re ever in doubt about something, consult a professional first!
Using essential oils to treat coughs
Coughs are a common enough occurrence around the home, especially during the winter months. But rather than knocking back nasty chemical-laden cough syrups or formulas, why not make up your own anti-cough essential oil formula? Here’s some of the most effective essential oils proven to treat coughs and other respiratory problems:
Frankincense – a strong anti-inflammatory oil that helps to clear the lungs and nasal passages and regulate breathing
Eucalyptus – helps to break down mucus in the lungs and alleviate inflammation in the respiratory system
Tea tree – can treat bacterial and viral infection associated with coughs
Lemon – long used as a potent weapon against colds and flu, lemon essential oil can fight the cause of your cough and boost your immune system
Peppermint – this essential oil is dynamite against dry coughs, and is a decongestant as well
Because the cause of your problem is located in your respiratory tract, the best way to use these essential oils to treat the cough is to use a diffuser. doTERRA has an excellent petal diffuser which you can buy through our store that we use every day, or you can grab a well-regarded diffuser on Amazon. Otherwise, make up a balm by adding a few drops of one or a few of the above essential oils to 1/4 cup of coconut oil. Rub the balm on the neck and chest (wherever the cough is bothering you) a few times a day.
Using essential oils to treat cramps
I’ve been known to wake up in the night with a teeth-grinding, often shriek-emitting cramp in one of both of my calves. Added to that regular feet and jaw cramps, and that’s a whole trifecta of pain right there! Do you suffer from these sorts of muscle cramps as well, or perhaps even menstrual cramps? Either way, you’ll agree that they’re not nice. Here’s a few easy solutions, essential oil styles:
If it’s general muscle cramps that you suffer from, mix up some coconut oil with a few drops of eucalyptus, lavender or helichrysum essential oil. Rub it on as soon as the cramp hits, or in advance if you have a sneaking suspicion that there’s cramps in your future.
If you regularly have problems with menstrual cramps, clary sage, cypress, lavender and ylang ylang are all effective ways to naturally balance hormones, increase circulation, reduce stress, and ultimately alleviate cramping. Use a carrier oil (such as coconut or castor) to rub in 2-3 drops of these essential oils onto your lower abdomen and groin. For even better results, use a warm compress after applying the oils to really get them working deep into your lady bits.
Using essential oils to treat diarrhea
You’d be surprised by how often this comes up! And rather than rushing to the drug store to stock up on Immodium if you’ve got a bad case of the runs, do your health a favor and give these essential oils a try first:
Peppermint essential oil – this can lower bowel inflammation and prevent the formation of loose poop
Ginger essential oil – in addition to it’s anti-fart (not the scientific term!) and anti-inflammatory properties, ginger is also a great natural anti-diarrhetic.
Geranium essential oil – this is an age-old natural remedy for diarrhea and other issues of the gastrointestinal tract, and by all accounts it works wonders!
While it might seem logical, ingesting essential oils is generally considered rather dangerous. Instead, apply them topically by mixing with a carrier oil and rubbing directly onto your abdomen – with the aid of the carrier oils, the essential oils will still be able to penetrate your GI tract and work their wonders.
Using essential oils to treat earaches
Earaches can quickly make your day a whole lot less enjoyable. Essential oils make a convenient, effective way to treat earaches, but only when they’re used correctly. Because the ears are so sensitive, make sure you don’t let any essential oil get inside your ear canal. I’ll talk about how to use essential oils safely around the ears, but first here’s some of the more popular essential oils for treating earache:
lavender essential oil
chamomile essential oil
tea tree essential oil
eucalyptus essential oil
rosemary essential oil
Probably my favorite way of treating earaches with essential oils, and one of the safer methods, is to use a hot compress. Simply soak a cloth in hot water for a minute or two, wring out the excess water, then place 2-4 drops of essential oil (lavender and chamomile are a great mix) onto the cloth and hold it against your ear for 10 minutes, or until the cloth cools. Another way to treat earache is to place a small amount of carrier oil in your hand, mix in 2-3 drops of one or several of the above essential oils, and gently apply to the backs of your ears.
Using essential oils to treat infections
If there’s one area that essential oils particularly excel in, it’s infections. They have long been used to treat both external (i.e. superficial) and internal infections – ranging from grazes to bacterial overgrowth and yeast infections. In this section, I’ll talk specifically about treating external infections, as things like yeast infection are a whole different ball game. Here’s my top picks for anti-microbial essential oils:
Tea tree (melaleuca) essential oil – this is my go-to for anything infection-related. Tea tree oil has potent antibacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties, making it a great all-rounder for treating almost any infection under the sun. I prefer to mix a couple of drops of tea tree with a small amount of coconut oil to dilute it and ensure it doesn’t irritate the area of application. If I ever get a graze, cut or surface wound that looks like it has the potential to get infected, I clean the area with water then immediately apply tea tree and coconut oil. You can also use tea tree to effectively treat fungal infections like athlete’s foot.
Lavender essential oil – second only to tea tree, lavender oil is another great treatment for infection. It not only has good antibacterial and anti-viral properties, but also smells amazing and helps to alleviate stress and anxiety, which often come hand in hand with an injury. Because it’s a bit more mellow, you can apply lavender directly to the area of concern, however I still generally mix it with a carrier oil.
Oregano essential oil – this stuff is seriously potent, and is the sworn enemy of any unwanted visitors to your body. It has been shown to effectively treat staph infections, along with a wide range of bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens. Remember that oregano is a hot oil, meaning it can easily irritate the skin if you don’t dilute it with a carrier oil. It’s also good to remember that a little oregano essential oil goes a long way!
Using essential oils to treat yeast infections
I’ve talked at length about treating bacterial overgrowths and yeast infections like Candida in my book The Paleo Guide to Beating Candida Naturally. It goes through changes you can make to your diet, lifestyle, and outlook to kick Candida and keep it where it belongs – including using essential oils to give it the boot. If you’re looking for some quick tips on how to use essential oils to improve your yeast infection woes, however, this may be of use:
Oregano essential oil – as discussed, this is a potent anti-microbial oil, and can work wonders against Candida and other yeast infections.
Thyme essential oil – the volatile oils in thyme have been repeatedly shown by studies to provide an effective anti-parasitic and anti-fungal treatment.
Tea tree essential oil – as above, tea tree works just as well against internal infection as it does against external infection.
I’ve taken oregano and thyme essential oils internally to treat parasites without any ill effect, but I wouldn’t recommend that anyone else do this without expert guidance. Your best bet is to mix together 2-3 drops of all these oils and a carrier oil like coconut, and rub it onto your lower abdomen and around (not in!) your lady area at least twice a day – once in the morning and once in the evening. Again, you can use a hot compress to allow the oils to penetrate deeper and give that pesky yeast infection the old heave ho.
Using essential oils to treat joint pain
Here at Thrive Primal, we always advocate using diet and lifestyle as your first defense against sickness and ill health…including joint pain. If you’re suffering from chronic joint pain, osteoarthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis, chances are your body is responding poorly to something you’re eating or excess stress you’re exposing yourself two. Often both.
But often there are times when that just isn’t enough. Or perhaps you’ve just come off your bike at high speed, kneed the corner of a cupboard, or literally fell out of bed and landed on your hip. Whatever the reasons, here’s the essential oil solutions:
Ginger essential oil – contains active natural compounds that have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, making it a great oil for alleviating the pain and symptoms of joint inflammation.
Frankincense essential oil – no surprise to see this versatile oil here – it’s ridiculously anti-inflammatory and helps to prevent the breakdown of cartilage.
Myrrh essential oil – combined with it’s old friend frankincense, myrrh makes an effective and time-tested treatment for arthritis and other forms of joint inflammation.
As usual, the two best methods to use these oils safely and effectively is either topical application or aromatically. If you suffer from chronic joint pain, diffusing a mix of frankincense, myrrh and lavender essential oil will help to soothe your mind and ease the inflammation in your joints. If you’re seeking to ease intense or localized pain in your joints, however, your best bet is to rub a few drops of any or all of these oils into the affected area along with a carrier oil like coconut or castor oil.
Using essential oils to treat skin problems
This topic actually merits it’s own post, as there’s just so many skin conditions out there and so many essential oil-based solutions! But to get you started, here’s a few of the more popular essential oils and their uses for maintaining healthy skin and healing unhealthy skin:
Lavender essential oil – surprise, surprise, it’s lavender again! Just as this essential oil can soothe your mind and disinfect your cuts and scrapes, it can also soothe irritated skin. Mixing it with a moisturizing oil like coconut or argan oil can provide an excellent soothing ointment to apply to irritated skin and rashes.
Geranium essential oil – geranium helps to regulate your skin’s oil production. This means that if you’re suffering from acne or even dry skin, geranium essential oil might be a good addition to your daily moisturizer.
Chamomile essential oil – this oil is kind of like a jack of all trades – it can be used to treat acne, eczema, cracked skin, inflammation, and overly sensitive skin.
Frankincense essential oil – forget anti-aging creams: frankincense contains high concentrations of free radical-fighting compounds that help to maintain skin elasticity and prevent pigmentation – two of the leading signs of aging in the skin.
Getting your hands on these essential oils
If you’re serious about making essential oils a part of your life, your best bet is to sign up with a company like doTERRA or Young Living. We use doTERRA, and are always really happy with the quality of the oils. You can read more about doTERRA here. To sign up, or simply to buy oils through the regular online retail store, we’ve provided a series of easy steps in this post.
Did I miss anything out? Do you have a go-to essential oil that you can’t be without? Have you noticed whether they’ve made a big difference in your life, or helped you recover from something monumental? Comment away, people!
You’d need to have been living under a rock to not have heard about essential oils. They’re sweeping the world by storm, and it’s fair to say that this is one health craze that isn’t a fad.
But while essential oils can be a powerful health tool in the right hands, they can also pose their own risks when used incorrectly. Because essential oils provide a super-concentrated elixir of any given therapeutic plant, you really need to do your homework before using them on yourself and your loved ones.
With this in mind, I’ve constructed a series of FAQs that will hopefully answer all the burning questions you have about essential oils. If you’re already feeling confident about them and want to take the next step, we’ve drawn up a series of easy steps to get started with doTERRA essential oils. We’ve been using these oils for years, and continue to love the crap out of them!
Section 1 – all about essential oils
You may have heard about essential oils and perhaps even used them from time to time, but have you ever thought about what an essential oil really is? Here’s the quick and dirty.
What are essential oils?
The giveaway here is “essential” – which literally means the essence of a particular thing. Essential oils are the essence of certain therapeutic plants and herbs, and embody a highly potent form of that plant. For example, when you use lavender essential oil, each drop contains all the therapeutic oils that have been extracted from the physical lavender flowers. It takes 30 pounds of lavender flowers to make one 15 ml bottle of doTERRA lavender essential oil!
How are essential oils made?
There are two main ways in which essential oils are produced: steam distillation and expression. Steam distillation is by far the most common of the two methods, and simply involves passing steam through the plant to extract it’s essential oils from protective microscopic sacs. As the steam vapor, which now carries a dilute form of essential oil, rises, it cools and condenses. The oil is then separated from the water, and the pure essential oil is ready to go. Expression, otherwise known as “cold pressing”, is often used to extract oils from citrus fruits and certain other plants. Mechanical pressure is exerted on the citrus rind to “expel” the essential oil contained within. Pretty straightforward, really!
What’s with all the fuss over essential oils?
In a world filled to bursting with artificial compounds, harmful chemicals, side-effect ridden drugs and questionable prescriptions, many people are beginning to make a shift back towards a simpler existence. Essential oils provide an excellent way of doing this, as they’re the same oils that are found in nature, conveniently concentrated and put into bottles for your use! With essential oils, you can get rid of a lot of things in and around your home that are doing you harm – things like nasty cleaning products, air fresheners, prescription meds, antibacterial creams and lotions, chemical-based shampoos and conditioners, deodorants…the list goes on. Essential oils are amazingly versatile, and provide natural solutions to many of life’s problems.
Section 2 – all about doTERRA
doTERRA is perhaps the fastest-growing essential oil company in the world. Mostly, this is due to the excellent quality of their therapeutic-grade essential oils. We’ve shopped around and tried different companies, but in our opinion doTERRA continues to produce some of the best oils we’ve come across.
Some of doTERRA’s growth, however, is due to their marketing strategy, and it’s this which confuses many people. Here’s a few things you need to know about how doTERRA works.
What kind of company is doTERRA?
doTERRA is a multi-level marketing company. What this means is that they rely on different levels of affiliates (non-company members who promote their products in exchange for a commission) to market their essential oils for them. It sounds perhaps a bit more “pyramid-schemeish” than it is – it’s simply a commission-based system. doTERRA rewards those people who successfully promote their products, but there’s nothing backhand about it! One thing that doTERRA does to ensure this is to require it’s affiliates to spend a certain amount on their oils each month – this ensures that the products affiliates promote are something that they’d be happy to use themselves, and that their knowledge of those oils is sufficient.
What is a doTERRA wellness advocate?
This is where it starts to get a little head-scratching. doTERRA offers a wholesale membership to all new customers, in which they pay an initial fee of $35 in the initial year, and $25 for every year thereafter. In return, they become a wellness advocate, which means they can purchase essential oils and other doTERRA products at wholesale (25 percent below retail) prices. So if you buy $150 worth of essential oils, you’ll only have to pay $112.50. This way, you’ve already paid off your membership fee and stand to save a whole lot more over the course of the year. If they spend a certain amount each month, this new wellness advocate also gets the chance to earn commissions under the LRP. More on that below.
What is the doTERRA LRP and how do I earn commissions?
LRP literally means “loyalty rewards program.” Anyone who is a wellness advocate can be part of the loyalty rewards program, provided they spend at least $50 per month. But to really get all of the different forms of commission under the LRP, you need to spend at least $100 per month.
Here’s all of the different forms of commissions under the doTERRA LRP:
Unilevel bonus: this is a monthly bonus that is determined by the number of wellness advocates who sign up using your “Wellness ID”. If you spend $50 PV (personal volume) on doTERRA products each month, you earn 2 percent on every amount spent each month by those signed up directly below you. If you spend $100/month, you can earn as much as 7 percent commission on ALL the wellness advocates below you (even those you don’t directly sign up). It’s super confusing, I know! All you really need to know is that the more wellness advocates you help to sign up, the larger your monthly commission will be (provided they themselves buy products each month). If you need to visualize this, I’d advise checking out this infographic and scrolling to the second page.
Retail profit: this one is fairly simple, at least. If someone buys oils through your retail page (you provide a link to the page, they save and you earn), you earn 25 percent profit on anything they buy. Considering the likes of Amazon only pays up to 7 percent commission on affiliate products, this is waaayyyy better. You get this commission whether you spend $100/month or not, and it’s paid monthly.
Fast start bonus: This commission is essentially the same as the Unilevel bonus, but only counts for the first 60 days of each enrollee’s membership. If a first level (direct) enrollee spends $100 in their first 60 days of being a wellness advocate, you earn $20 (20 percent) of that spend. If a second level enrollee (enrolled by someone directly under you) spends $100 in their first 60 days, you earn $10 (10 percent). And so on. You need to be spending $100 PV per month yourself to qualify for this bonus.
Power of 3 bonus: this is where it gets super tricky, and you’re best to check out this explanation page. Essentially, this bonus supports groups of 3 in your enrollees. If you enroll 3 wellness advocates, and you all spend at least $100 PV per month, and your collective team spend adds up to $600 (it usually does), you personally can earn $50. If each of the 3 directly under you enroll another team of 3 that also spend $100 PV/month, you’ll get $250 per month. This organizational structure can continue until you get as much as $1500 per month. This bonus requires you to think about your enrollees, talk to them, and arrange your “organization” so that the Power of 3 layout is maximized for profit.
Confused? I’m not surprised. Suffice to say that the best approach is simply to get promoting, and you’ll see the commissions start to rack up. Once you get more members enrolled, you can start thinking about approaching your signups in a more organized fashion.
How do I get paid?
This depends on where you live. If you live in the US, you can choose to either get paid by check or direct to your bank account (direct debit). If you live in Canada, payment is by check only. If you live in Australia, you can also get paid by direct debit, but if you’re like me, and live in New Zealand, you can only get paid via something called ProPay (similar to PayPal). You pay a $20 yearly fee, doTERRA transfers your earnings into your ProPay account on a weekly basis, and you can then transfer it to your bank account.
How do I sign up as a wellness advocate?
We’ve compiled a series of easy-to-follow steps for signing up with doTERRA in this article. But, if you’re like me and like to minimize effort, here’s what you need to do:
Simply sign up here with my Sponsor ID, 3182115, and choose ‘Wholesale’.
Next, decide whether you want to buy a starter kit (I bought the Home Essentials Kit, as it has a good range of oils and their excellent petal diffuser), which waives the $35 membership fee, or simply pay the $35 fee and begin buying oils at your own pace.
Contact us at inquiry@thriveprimal.com for guidance and to talk about next steps as a wellness advocate! Only if you want, of course.
Easy as that! Otherwise, if you just want to buy a few essential oils at regular prices, click here to go straight to the store.
Be sure to check out Part 2 of this two-part series here.
That’s it for now! I’ll be posting another article soon on all the different uses for essential oils…it’ll be pretty mind-blowing! If you’ve got any questions, please get in contact or leave a comment below and I’ll get to it when I can. Thanks for stopping by, folks.
Up until now, we’ve largely focused on using paleo, primal and ancestral teachings to clean up our diet and lifestyle. Admittedly, these are two of the 3 key pillars of true health and happiness…but what about the third? That third pillar, in case you’re wondering, is exercise, and it’s arguably the biggest element of health that people are most confused over.
Throw your conventional view of exercise out the window
Think of exercise, and your mind turns into an infomercial. State-of-the-art treadmills, high-tech ellipticals, snazzy rowers, bouncy things, multi-purpose things, ab-tightening devices and, if you’re getting a bit racy, perhaps a rack of ultra-polished dumbbells. It’s ok – my mind conjures up much the same images as well, despite the fact that I’ve completely retrained how I approach exercise. That being said, what you need to do before we progress is metaphorically (and perhaps literally, if there’s no-one directly below) throw that cheesy infomercial-style gym equipment out the window.
This equipment is designed to provide a “quick fix” in your quest for a better body. But really all it’s doing is introducing convenience into the mix: with the exception of dumbells, you don’t have to think about the exercise you’re doing. Just jump on the treadmill, tap a few buttons, and you’re free to think about all of life’s other troubles. I still do a double take when I see someone hop onto the stationary bike, pick up a magazine, and just cruise for half an hour. Those same people invariably wonder why they’re not losing weight, when they’re hardly even getting their heart rate up!
Next, stop pounding the pavement and wondering why you’ve got injuries coming out your ears and the weight refuses to budge. Repetitive movements like this put the body under extreme stress, due to repeated impact with hard surfaces and physically jarring the bones and ligaments of your legs and feet. And when the body is under stress, it holds on to all the fat it can – thinking that there are hard times ahead. Do you really want to look like a long-distance runner, anyway? They’re all stringy and unhealthy looking…typically because they are unhealthy!
Finally, stop finding excuses to NOT exercise! You literally don’t need anything to get a good workout – just a few square feet of empty floor space. Abandoning this reliance on fancy gym equipment or even a nice spot to go running will ensure you don’t ever miss a workout opportunity.
High intensity training for weight loss
High intensity interval training, or HIIT, is all the rage in the alternative fitness circles these days. And it’s with good reason – HIIT offers vast quantities of calorie destruction with just a fraction of the time (and money) investment compared to the average gym or cardio workout. It’s now a well-accepted fact that our bodies respond better to short, focused periods of exercise. A 10 to 15 minute HIIT workout does that – elevating your heart rate, jump-starting your aerobic system, and fatiguing your muscles in a concentrated time slot, which minimizes the amount of stress you’re putting your body under. Remember, less stress means more weight loss, and achieving higher intensity means more calories burned faster. It’s a win-win, really.
In my opinion, if you’re looking to kick that jiggly belly or Beyonce butt fat quickly, ditching the elliptical or long runs and adopting HIIT 2 to 3 times a week is the far better option. If you’re searching for inspiration, a good starting point is to get your hands on a proven workout program. Dr Josh Axe’s “Burstfit” program provides super-intense workouts that’ll get you sweating and probably swearing a bit as well. But it’s not for the faint of heart. Otherwise, if you’re not looking to make quite as much of an investment, this DVD series comes well reviewed and for a fraction of the price.
Heavy lifting and bodyweight for muscle gain
If you’re looking to simply stay toned and slim, a few high intensity workouts per week is probably sufficient. But if you’re looking to bulk up, develop those biceps, broaden those shoulders or chisel those abs, you’re going to have to introduce something else into your life: heavy lifting.
Lifting heavy weights, otherwise known as resistance training, is an excellent way to shock your muscles, which signals to your brain that you need an increase in muscle mass in that region in order to prevent muscle damage. The heavier the weight, the greater the mass added – in theory, anyway. But this doesn’t mean that you should jump in the deep end and start doing 80-pound dumbbell bench presses when all you’ve been doing before is 10 lb bicep curls. Start by performing a 8-10 rep set of the exercise with a given weight. If you perform that set too easily with the weight, increase the weight until it becomes difficult. If you only manage to do 7 reps with that weight, use the next lightest weight. And so on.
Next, focus on key areas for your resistance training. Don’t be fooled by those buffoons who stand in the gym doing bicep curls for what seems like hours – if they’re looking like the Hulk, it’s probably because of all the nasty protein shakes and freaky supplements they’ve been taking. You don’t want to be that guy or gal – they might look good, but they’re not healthy!
Key areas are those that work out a full range of muscles at one time – these include squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses, kettlebell swings, and maybe the odd bench press. Compound exercises with heavy weights are better than specific movements with lighter weights.
Finally, keep it short and simple. As explained above, spending too long on a workout can stress the body and curtail your results. 20 minutes max of resistance training, only 2 to 3 times per week, and ideally only 3-5 exercises per workout. It’s quality that we’re looking for, not quantity.
Getting creative with workouts is key
Two of the biggest reasons why many people fail to stick to their exercise goals are:
They get bored of their workout routine
They use lack of access to “equipment” or the gym as an excuse not to exercise
Regarding the first point, it’s super important to mix things up on a regular basis. Changing up your workout at least every 2 months, if not more regularly, will ensure your brain doesn’t get bored and, more importantly, your body doesn’t get bored of the same repetitive movements. Performing the same series of exercises week after week can cause your body to plateau, meaning your muscles become accustomed to the movements and stop growing and/or burning fat. Besides, you want to look forward to your workouts, right? Not dread them. And if you find you can let your mind wander during a workout, you need to change it up, fast.
Regarding the second reason people fail to reach their exercise goals – this is where it can get super fun! When I travel or find myself in a new place, I take great pleasure in hunting around for things that I can use to formulate a workout. People seem to think that you need to have designated exercise equipment in order to exercise. Wrong!!! So wrong. If anything, that equipment makes it too easy to perform exercises, and the whole point is to challenge your body, not take shortcuts.
Even at home, I prefer to use unconventional tools and items to pizazz up my workouts and challenge my muscles and coordination in different ways. At the moment, I’m using a 10 liter container of filtered water as a dumbbell/kettlebell replacement (10 liters = 10 kg, which is a good weight for many exercises – just make sure it has a handle!), and a yoga mat. That’s it. And between the two of them, I can do a huge range of exercises.
Here’s a few other things that you can use when you’re away from home or the gym to get a good workout:
Strong lateral branches on trees, for chin-ups, wide-grip pull-ups, leg raises (abs), or simply hanging
round, heavy rocks (these are great for things like weighted squats, swings, lunges, and deadlifts – just make sure you have your shoes on!)
open fields or parks, for sprints and bodyweight exercises
sledge hammers/log splitters – these two provide some of the best workouts on the planet. Provided you have something solid to hit (like a tyre for the sledgehammer or a log – duh! – for the axe), they work a wide range of muscles throughout your body. Ten minutes with these bad boys and you’ll be hurting! Be very mindful of your form, though, and of your own safety.
The point is, get creative – the world is your oyster when it comes to exercise! If nothing else, investing in a kettlebell is a very wise thing to do, as there’s such a wide array of exercises you can do with them and they’re easy to transport. For men, I’d recommend starting with a 20 lb kettlebell, and for women, 15 lb or less should be effective initially.
Diet can make or break a weight-loss regime
Ok, so you’ve integrated all of the above considerations into your workout routine and you’re still not getting results. What the heck is going on? If you’re not losing weight or putting on muscle as desired, look to your diet.
With regards to weight loss, probably the number one dietary roadblock is carbohydrates. Whether they come in simple sugar form, or complex form, an overload of carbs can provide excess energy that you’ll struggle to burn off, even with those high intensity workouts. Here’s a few weight-loss pointers regarding carbs:
cut your fruit intake back to one or two servings a day. Sure, they’re nutritious, but they also contain a heap of fructose that elevates your blood sugar and is easily converted into fat in your body. If you must partake in some fruity goodness, stick to low sugar-fruits like raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, lemons and the occasional orange.
abolish all processed foods – these invariably contain a truckload of sugar. That includes “gluten-free” products as well.
stick to complex carbs like sweet potato, squash, and green plantains. Don’t go overboard on these either!
Streamlining your diet for maximum muscle gain
Next, if you’re like me and struggle to put on muscle mass, you need more protein!! I can’t stress this enough. There seems to be some notion amongst many people that it’s easy to get too much protein in a given diet – newsflash: it’s not easy at all! You have to eat a LOT of protein to even come close to exceeding your daily maximum, and the truth is that most people aren’t getting enough.
According to Tim Ferriss in The 4 Hour Body (an excellent read, by the way!), you should aim for 1.25 grams of protein per pound of lean bodyweight, which means you subtract your bodyfat first. I’m 167 pounds and, last time I checked, I had a bodyfat of 14 %, so I aim to eat 143 grams of protein per day. It’s not easy, but it makes a real difference to building muscle mass. Chris Kresser largely agrees with Ferriss, and in some respects advocated even more protein. For more information on the subject, check out this article.
Ultimately, everyone can benefit from more protein in their lives. And I find one of the best ways to increase protein intake is to add in a high-quality protein powder. We’ve talked before about how awesome this grass-fed, organic whey protein powder is, but if you can’t stomach dairy then Chris Kresser recommends this hydrolyzed beef protein – arguably the best source of protein on the planet.
Top tips for success
Scrolled through all of the above but still confused? Here’s my recommendations in a nutshell.
Weight loss:
replace low-intensity cardio workouts with high intensity (HIIT) workouts, 2-3 times/week
mix up your exercise routine at least every 2 months, and get creative!
tone down on the carbs, especially simple sugars.
continue to eat a paleo-style diet
Muscle-gain:
lift heavy stuff! Ensure you factor in 2 to 3 resistance training workouts each week. Limit workouts to 3-5 exercises (e.g. squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press) and less than 20 minutes in duration.
ensure at least 2 rest days between workouts to allow muscle recovery.
get lots of protein. Lots. Consider introducing a high quality protein into your diet.
stick to a paleo-style diet, but considering introducing grass-fed, organic milk for extra protein and fat.
Good luck on your quest to a better body, and let us know how you get on!
As health-savvy humans, we have the ability to take our digestive wellness into our own hands. We can consciously think about what we eat, knowing the choices we make will affect not only our digestion, but our overall health. Unfortunately, your dog is not so lucky. As utterly loyal and trusting companions, they’ll eat almost any food you give them, whether it’s good for them or not.
I’ve lost count of the amount of people I’ve met who are in tip-top shape themselves, but who own dogs that appear to have serious health issues. While those people might have made a commitment to stay away from the doctor by eating well and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, they don’t think twice about taking their pet into the vet whenever their beloved pooch falls ill.
The fact is, you are responsible for ensuring that your dog receives the best possible food you can get your hands on. Combined with a suitable exercise routine and plenty of TLC, cleaning up their diet will ensure they can achieve optimum health, and you’ll ultimately save big on vet bills and worries. Not a bad tradeoff, when you think about it!
Your dog’s ancestors hold the key
Today’s everyday pooch has had about as much time as we humans to adapt to the typical “modern” diet. For most people (and most dogs), that means lots of grains, lots processed foods, and all manner of additives, coloring agents, and synthetic who-knows what. And like us, all of these ingredients are doing them far more harm than good.
Most canine experts now believe that humans began to domesticate dogs around 30,000 years ago. Around the same time that the agricultural revolution was taking place, as it happens. From this point on, the diet of your dog’s ancestors began to slowly but surely change, as those dogs began to eat whatever was available in and around human settlements. Dogs are opportunistic foragers, after all – they’ll eat almost anything, especially if they’re hungry.
The problem is, the digestive systems of domesticated dogs haven’t been able to evolve at the same rate that their diets have changed. Evolution just doesn’t work that quickly, unfortunately! If it did, gluten wouldn’t be an issue for our gut (which would make an estimated 18 million gluten-sensitive Americans very happy), and we could chow down on sugary treats without any ill-effects. The point is, the digestive system of your dog is still designed to process the foods it’s ancestors ate in the wild, rather than the humanized diet he or she receives today.
How to simulate a wild diet for your dog
Obviously, short of removing your dog’s collar, giving it a slap on the rump and watching it grudgingly trot into the mountains, it’d be rather difficult to exactly simulate the diet that your dog’s ancestors ate. There’s plenty of other factors to consider as well, such as different lineages, cross-breeding, and slight digestive adaptations that are bound to have occurred over 30 millennia or so. With that in mind, you need to work with the tools you’ve got, and as usual paleo is definitely best.
Before we dive in, I’d still advise discussing any planned major dietary changes with your vet. They’ll at least be able to tell you whether any of the foods you plan to give your dog are recognized as unsafe for their digestive systems. Best to play it safe, people!
After doing a whole heap of research and examining the eating habits and responses of my own family’s border collie, I was able to get a good idea of what a modern version of that ancestral wild dog diet might look like. Here’s some of the foods that make up the staples of our pup’s paleo diet:
raw meat (beef, lamb, venison, chicken…basically whatever. Grass fed/pastured and organic is best. This should comprise the bulk of your dog’s diet)
bone broth (usually around 1/4 to 1/2 cup per day, to maintain healthy bones, joints and skin)
raw, uncooked bones (beef, lamb and venison bones are best, as they provide a lot more chewing capacity and don’t run the risk of breaking off into sharp pieces like chicken bones tend to do)
organ meats (liver, kidney, heart, brain, etc. Similar to us humans, eating organ meats once or twice a week can make a big difference to your dog’s health)
eggs (only occasionally, however. Dogs are foragers, and there’s no doubt that they would have wolfed down the occasional egg when it fell out of a tree. Again, make sure the egg is at least free range, if not organic)
certain vegetables and fruit (this one is a little controversial, and experts continue to argue about whether dogs should eat vegetables or not. We occasionally give our pooch the ends of carrots, the odd blueberry, and the odd apple core (seeds removed!). She loves vegetables and fruit, and has never had any digestive issues from eating them)
probiotics (this is purely optional, but it may make a big difference to your pooch’s digestive health – especially if they’ve ever been put on antibiotics)
Keep in mind that the digestive system of your dog is designed to thrive on meat, organs and bones – basically everything they could tear off an animal they hunted down or carrion they came across in the wild. They would, however, have supplemented this primarily meat-based diet with other things, which is where your vegetables, fruit and eggs come in. Once again, put anything wacky past your vet before you give it to your furry friend!
Another thing to remember is that your dog’s stomach might get a little bit upset if you suddenly switch it from a lifetime of processed kibble to just raw food. Start slowly, introducing raw meat into his or her diet a few times a week, then daily, then make the full transition when you think they’re ready. Don’t rush, unless you want to have your carpet ruined!
For more information on this, I’ve examined the issue in further detail on our sister blog, Healthy Paleo Pets. Check out the post here!
When in doubt, observe
While we may not be able to ever really know EXACTLY what it was that your dog’s ancestors ate in the wild, we have a fairly good idea. And for any grey areas, there is always the power of observation! I make a point of closely monitoring my dog when she’s sniffing around outside, how she acts in the kitchen when I’m preparing food for myself, and how she reacts to the food I give her. If she runs outside with violent diarrhea after eating something, it’s obviously not good for her to eat. And if she actively seeks a certain type of food out, and makes considerable effort to eat it, that food should probably make an appearance on her weekly food rotation.
A couple of examples:
we took our dog around to a friend’s place a couple of weeks ago, and she was off like a rocket in the back yard. I followed her over and she’d found a large walnut tree. She then proceeded to sniff out walnuts that had fallen on the ground, artfully crack the shells and eat the walnut flesh inside. Clearly, this was a desirable food for her, and she didn’t seem to react badly to eating them.
my parents have something of a rabbit infestation on their property. Our dog occasionally manages to catch a rabbit (or find a dead one) and wastes no time in chewing it to smithereens. The only parts she seems to leave are the legs and the ears….she even eats the guts! This to give you an idea of just how much of an animal your dog’s digestive system is designed to eat. Each different part (organ, muscle, bone, skin, etc) would provide different vitamins and nutrients essential to the dog’s health.
Keep a notepad handy, and start watching your dog’s every move when it comes to food. He or she won’t get creeped out, I promise.
Foods your dog should stay away from
Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list…once again, if you’re unsure of anything, run it past your vet!
Here’s a list of some of the more common foods that your dog shouldn’t eat. The thing to remember is that their digestive system is very different to ours, so what is safe for us to eat may not be safe for them.
chocolate (everyone knows that one!)
caffeine
onions
garlic
avocado (I’m on the fence about this one. Some experts say dogs should stay away from avocados altogether, and others say the flesh might be fine for them to eat. For more on the matter, check out this article.)
macadamia nuts
milk and dairy products
xylitol
grapes and anything containing grapes (including raisins!)
salt (apparently they get all the sodium they need from raw meat etc)
yeast
Do your research, and know the limitations of your dog’s stomach. It just might save you a costly emergency visit to the vet.
Making your own dog food at home
There’s two ways you can go about ensuring your dog gets the best nutrition: thoroughly researching each manufacturer to determine whether their products cuts the mustard, or making it yourself. For buying dog food, we’ve compiled a selection of paleo-friendly dog foods and treats here. For making your own, it’s up to you what you put in their food – just make sure it is primarily meat-based.
You can also throw a whole lot of ingredients in a blender, then pour the mixture into molds and freeze for later use. Doing it this way, you can prepare as much as a whole month of meals for your dog, and just take them out of the freezer the night before. Here’s a few of the things you could consider throwing in the mix, ordered from most to least:
raw meat – try to get a mix of at least one red meat (i.e. beef) and one white (i.e. chicken). Don’t be afraid to buy the cheapest, weirdest cuts of meat at the supermarket or butcher – they’re often healthier than the typical steak, breast and ground meat you get for yourself anyway!
organ meats – again, raw. A little goes a long way here, and try to put a range of different organs in, as each contains different levels of vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
bone broth
raw eggs
Each time you feed your dog, observe how they react – and if necessary, change up the ingredients to better suit their digestion. Good luck!
Do you have a super-healthy dog food recipe that you’d like to share? Are there any foods your dog has eaten that didn’t go down so smooth? Comment away, we’d love to hear from you!
Bone broth has recently taken the paleo, primal, and ancestral dieting worlds by storm, and thats no coincidence. Not only is bone broth an excellent way to make use of all those leftover bones and carcasses you’d otherwise throw out post-roast, it’s also one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet.
Bone broth benefits
If you’ve arrived at this article looking for a quick, easy recipe: you’ve come to the right place! So if you’re keen to just get stuck in and make some fine-ass broth, scroll down to the next section. But if you’d like to amp yourself up with some fun facts about why bone broth is just so darn good, lets dive right in.
As we explained in yet another ultra-informative Thrive Primal article, bone broth is a must-eat for just about anyone. It’s loaded with a wide range of essential minerals, many of which the typical Western diet is seriously lacking in. These include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. Our friend bone broth, also known in certain circles as stock, is chocka block with glycine and proline, two amino acids which are just the bees knees for your overall health and, well…your knees!
Bone broth also contains plenty of collagen, condroitin and glucosamine, all of which you need to maintain a healthy, fully-functioning body. Put together, all of these minerals and nutrients mean bone broth is an excellent way to improve your bone and tissue healing rates, keep your skin looking young and firm, revitalize your hair and nails, keep your joints supple, heal your gut lining, and improve detoxification.
Excited yet? You should be. Well, without further ado, let’s get broth making!
How to make bone broth the paleo way
There’s two ways you can make bone broth: the slow way, and the fast way. Because the fast way requires a pressure cooker, and we haven’t yet invested in one of those, we stick to the slow way. It’s no less effective, but it just take a few hours longer.
Equipment:
Slow cooker or crock pot (they’re essentially the same thing)
large glass jar or multiple smaller jars
Instructions:
Whenever you cook up a roast, lamb chops, or any meat with bones, set the bones aside and store them in a container in your freezer.
Once the pones have piled up to about two thirds the size of your slow cooker (less is fine, too!), you’re ready to go.
Throw the bones in your slow cooker, completely cover with cold water, and set the temperature to a low heat. The mixture should remain at a simmer the whole time, and should never boil over.
Add one to two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar to the bone and water mixture. This helps to draw the nutrients out of the bones.
Leave the bones to do their thing, topping up water as necessary to ensure they remain submerged the whole time. We leave beef and lamb bones simmering for 18 to 24 hours to ensure all the nutrients are extracted into the water, and chicken bones for around 12 to 16 hours. The longer you cook them, the more nutrient-dense your broth will be.
After the allotted time, remove from heat, cover, and leave to cool down. Before the mixture cools completely, remove the bones from the bottom of the mixture and pour the rest into a large glass jar and keep in the fridge. It will keep for around 1 to 2 weeks – if you don’t think you’ll use it all within this timeframe, just place some of it in an appropriate container and freeze it!
Note that if you don’t have a slow-cooker or crockpot, you can also just use a large stock pot. Just make sure it’s big enough, and that it’s ok to leave simmering unattended for a long period of time.
Paleo bone broth recipe using pressure cooker
As we explained earlier, there’s a much faster way to fulfill your bone broth needs: the pressure cooker! If you’ve got one of these bad boys, you can whip out a decent batch of bone broth in 2-3 hours. Impressive!
Large glass jar or collection of smaller widemouth jars
Instructions:
Place your bones in the bottom of your pressure cooker. Make sure the bones don’t reach past the two thirds mark of the cooker, otherwise you’ll be dealing with a pressure cooker overload!
Cover with water, and add in 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar. Any old vinegar will do, really.
Set your cooker to high pressure and leave for three hours. After this time, turn off the heat and leave to depressurize naturally.
Allow the mixture to cool to just above room temperature, then strain the liquid from the bones. Store in glass mason jars in the fridge, or place in the freezer for longer term storage.
That’s it! Pretty easy, right? You can also get snazzy by doing things like roasting the bones first (to give your broth a darker, more intense flavor) or adding in vegetables like leaks and carrots. But I like to keep things nice and simple, and knock back half a cup or so of broth each day to reap the health rewards. Enjoy!
And p.s. if you’re worried about lead toxicity issues, don’t be: according to Chris Kresser, the lead found in bone broth is nothing to be worried about.
