Neanderthin

Some of you may be aware that we have changed our feeding habits at Casa de Goddess since Monday. Over the last month or so, I was growing increasingly dissatisfied with my general appearance, or rather the space it occupied and so I started reading up on nutrition again.
In the past, I had achieved stellar results with the Atkins diet. Another diet that worked really well for me was the diet I followed in preparation of my pregnancy: it consisted of eating extremely healthily, and enjoying everything in moderation.
Then, at some point, I hit on the site of Arthur De Vany and I was hooked.

To put it briefly, De Vany believes that we should all revisit our Neanderthal selves and adhere to a more protein and fat-based diet, which also relies heavily on fruit and vegetables. Nix the bread and the dairy (unless you are growing child) and eat as much as you can. Exercise 2 x 45 minutes a week and you can look like the man himself.

For your info, he's 69 in this photo...

I have been reading madly, discovering neanderthin and paleo diets, and basically familiarizing myself with things that I have always known. Feed me heaps of carbohydrates and the scale will skyrocket. Which has always puzzled my SO, as she never understood how I could eat what I did and not gain (too much) weight. In retrospect, I realize it's the bread and dairy that's done me in.

Since Monday, I have had anything from bacon and eggs, fruit salads, roast beef, huge salad with scampi and salmon, Cuban pork chops, etc. I have scrounged on nuts. This afternoon, I slipped momentarily as I ordered a cafe latte, but then I remembered the golden rule: loosen up occasionally. Did I eat the bread that came with the salad this evening? No! Did I want to? Yes, in all fairness; but then I remembered that in the past I would have eaten all 3 pieces of the French roll provided.

How do I feel? This morning I felt like crap, but I wondered if it had to do with detoxing. My body is mildly confused. No bread and no dairy means I am depriving it of two of the staples of my diet. But my body also feels better for it. I haven't weighed myself yet.

This diet has also made us laugh hysterically. Foods that get the go-ahead include grass-fed bison... (I can just imagine how happy the zoo will be with that... ) Or such corny jokes as: how do you like the cow that I hunted from the butcher this morning?

I promise to keep you updated on my progress and I leave you with the recipe for the Cuban pork chops (4):

season 4 pork chops with pepper.
Take 2 cloves of garlic, 1/8 tsp each of oregano and cumin and crush it together. You will have something that resembles a paste. Rub the pork chops with it.
Place the pork chops in a bowl and pour over 1/4 cup of orange juice. Slice up one onion and add to the marinade. We didn't have the time to refrigerate so we just left it out of the fridge for half an hour. If you choose to refrigerate, then do so for up to 3 hours.
Heat some oil in a skillet and flash-fry the chops on both sides. Then bake in the oven for 20 minutes or so at 180°C. You can also just fry them in the pan if you want to. In either case, you use the marinade. We ate this with sugar snaps and sweet potato mash.