Neely's New Paleo Cookbook and Guide

I recently wrote a Paleo cookbook that includes over 60 Paleo comfort food recipes and a complete guide to Paleo, and I wanted you to know about it. This is a brief overview of the cookbook, but if you want all the details, you can check it out on my nutrition site here.

I get a lot of questions about how to do Paleo as a climber, and I think the most important thing to know for us is that we need enough carbs to climb well. You have to be creative with Paleo carbohydrates in order to get the right amount, and this cookbook helps you do just that.

In case you don’t know what Paleo is, here’s a little primer.

Paleo Diet 101

Basically the Paleo (or Primal/Hunter Gatherer/Caveman diet) is a way of eating based on the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The theory is that we evolved over millions of years eating as hunter gatherers (meat, fish, eggs, veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds), and we’re not physiologically equipped to eat many of the foods we eat now (grains, beans, dairy, white sugar).

Why Paleo?

A lot of people have a hard time digesting grains like wheat, oats, and even rice, and they get digestive problems (gas, bloating), headaches, low energy, skin problems, achy joints, and a bunch of other symptoms that are caused by the immune system reacting to those foods.

Not only do people have issues with grains, but legumes like pinto beans and soy can also cause symptoms. Dairy, including milk, yogurt, and everything in between, is another big problem food for many people, and you might get symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, skin issues, fatigue, or constipation from eating it.

So the Paleo diet removes all of those foods. Hundreds of thousands of people have tried it at this point, and many of them, including myself and my husband, have had relief of uncomfortable symptoms. It also helps people lose weight.

Having optimal health and high energy levels is crucial to climbing well, and Paleo can help you get there.

What You Eat on Paleo

On Paleo, you eat things like eggs and veggies for breakfast, salad topped with meat for lunch, nuts and jerky for snacks, and salmon and squash for dinner.

I’ve been eating Paleo since about 2009 for health reasons, and I’ve done a lot of experimenting along the way. It didn’t work for me very well in the beginning because I equated Paleo with low carb (I was brainwashed by Loren Cordain).

Long story short, I wasn’t eating enough carbs and my energy levels were lower than I’d like. So I started experimenting with non-grain carbs like tapioca flour, almond flour, coconut flour, sweet potatoes, and honey.

I figured out how to incorporate enough carbs in my diet without eating gluten or grains, dairy or soy, or white sugar.