A Paleo Conversation : From CST to PST, a bi-regional take on living paleo.

Elizabeth

 I have been interested in food and diet for as long as I can remember. But, not necessarily in a healthy way. I became an extreme athlete at a young age, cycling long distances, running marathons and ultramarathons, and playing a wide variety of sports from competitive volleyball to rugby. I looked at food as a necessary evil as opposed to the key to health and performance. I was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis when I was a resident in general surgery a bunch of years ago. I struggled with avoiding foods that I thought were triggers for EE and with finding foods that fueled my athletic endeavors and day-to-day activities. I stumbled on the paleo literature back in 2004, but never really embraced it until I felt frustrated with the crash and surge phenomenon of my carbohydrate based diet.
I’ve been flying high on the paleo diet since fully embracing it about 3 years ago. My energy levels are stable throughout the day whether it’s operating for 6 hours at the hospital, Crossfitting, or wrangling my two wild children. My husband, Ryan, gravitated to the paleo diet and serves as our primary cook in the house. I just write the commentary…

Joanne

I’ve been paleo since I discovered four years ago that it could help me manage my Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis among other things. The more I learn the more I want to learn and the less I feel that there is any one solution out there that will work for all of us. I try to advocate for paleo and lessons from paleo without being a crashing bore at parties, with perhaps only moderate success. I was born and raised in England, then Oklahoma, then Minnesota. I’m married to one of the world’s most patient men, and I’ve got two pretty nifty sons.

I’m solidly gluten intolerant, and I manage a suspected case of IBS by monitoring FODMAPS in my diet.  I aim for a gentle and tolerant form of paleo, and I steer clear of absolutes except when they’re necessary.  This means I’ll sometimes have nachos, but never baguette.

I’ve a background in science, design, and communications, and I’m an avid reader and cook.

Elizabeth and I met when as neighbors in Minnesota, and we bonded over our conversations in the street about our latest dietary discoveries.  Being kindred spirits, with sons (almost) the same age, the rest is, as they say, history.

Welcome!

Welcome to Stillwater Paleo, a bi-regional conversation about all things paleo, primal, and in-between.  From Minnesota to California.  From recipes to research and fitness to family, join us as we sort out what we know, how we know it, and most importantly, why we care.

We have both found that going Paleo is an intensely place-based endeavor.  The seasons, the foods, the local culture and resources, all have a distinct effect on one’s Paleo habits.

With one of us rooted in Stillwater, Minnesota, and the other adventuring off to Redlands, California, we found that the potential contrasts between the two places are likely to be fascinating.  From navigating the local shops, to meeting the local people and enjoying the vastly different climates, we are exploring Paleo experientially and locally.

PST to CST

This blog is a conversation between two friends, separated by most of a continent.  We are both Paleo, mothers, and career women.  We used to be neighbors and when an impending move by Elizabeth over to PST from CST threatened to end our frequent curbside conversations on all things Paleo, we decided that our correspondence deserved another format. Voila Stillwater Paleo.

We invite you to join us as we tell each other about what we are reading, trying, and thinking. We welcome all comers, from the purely Paleo, to interested foodies.  From Primal to GAPS.  From tourists to locals, and food producers to consumers.

Safe Harbour

This is a no-judgement zone.

We’re all doing our best with what we’ve got, and no one’s going to call anybody out for heading over to Nelson’s from time to time and eating an ice cream the size of their head.