Have you heard of the Perfect Health Diet? No? Well, I’m sure you’ve heard of its sister diet, the Paleo Diet that seems to be all the rage right now. The Perfect Health Diet is basically the Paleo Diet (i.e. lots of organic grass-fed protein, eggs, vegetables, no dairy and legumes, very minimal starches, no gluten) but with the addition of a small amounts of potatoes and rice. My husband and I decided to start the Perfect Health Diet in an effort to combat his worsening allergies and eczema, figuring we’ve got nothing to lose. I’ll be honest – at first it was hard adjusting to a) eating more meat than I’m used to eating and b) finding the time (and money) to cook fresh everyday – this is a major part of either diet. Organic grass-fed, free-range anything is definitely not cheap, and since we weren’t major meal planners prior to this, it’s hard to just think of something to make after a full day at work. To add to the confusion was a toddler we were trying to feed who I didn’t necessarily want on this specific diet.

Lunches at work were tough too. I’m lucky that I have an amazing cafeteria on my campus that does provide hot meals at reasonable prices, but a lot of people – myself included – don’t necessarily want to have steak and vegetables for lunch everyday. Leftovers became key here. We’d cook a ton for dinner the night before and just take our leftovers for lunch (while admittedly staring jealously at the co-working eating their sandwich and chips). After a few weeks of getting in the rhythm of our new lifestyle, it got much easier. It’s really wasn’t so bad since we could still eat “safe starches” like white rice and sweet potatoes. We invested in some key cooking staples like coconut oil, almond meal, and coconut flour (I know, what are these?!) and discovered some delicious new recipes we still make after the diet (like this amazing grain-free Paleo granola!)

And the most amazing part of this diet – it seemed to really work! I don’t know if I lost any weight (the hubby did,) but I do know that during this diet my stomach NEVER hurt, I never felt bloated or gassy, and I had more energy. As for the husband, his eczema decreased significantly and allergies appeared to have abated as well. I don’t know if it was cutting out gluten, starch, or what, but something did work.

So did we stick with this diet? Not really. After three full months of committing to it, we definitely eat more vegetables and protein,  but no longer restrict ourselves to only cooking with ghee or coconut oil and eat a sandwich happily when we’re out and about. But would I do it again? Absolutely.