Welcome to 2017! And welcome to Our Paleo Family. I’m glad you’re here.

Perhaps you’re reading this because you’ve been researching the Paleo diet, trying to decide if it’s right for you. Maybe you’re convinced it’s the way to go, but you’re not quite ready to pull the trigger. Maybe you’ve been following the Paleo diet for a while and are in need of new recipes. Whatever your reason for visiting, I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for.

I’ve been at this blogging thing for a little over a year now and have decided it’s time for some more structure. Whether or not I stick to this schedule long term remains to be seen, but my goal for 2017 is to post at least every Monday, Wednesday and Friday:

• Monday: science or news type article
• Wednesday: recipes
• Fridays: fun stuff – trip reports, Stitch Fix reviews, paleo birthday party ideas, etc.

Since this is Monday (news/science day) and it’s the first Monday of a new year, I thought some sort of Paleo reset article would be appropriate. So today I have for you my top 10 tips for starting the year off paleo. Without further adieu…

1. Ditch the Dairy – If the holidays brought you lots of cheesy dips, dairy laden coffee drinks and creamy fudgey desserts, now would be the perfect time to tame that diary beast. I speak from experience here. Dairy doesn’t cause real noticeable issues for me, as long as I keep my intake to a moderate level and almost entirely from grass-fed cows. However, when I completely cut dairy out of my diet, I do notice a positive difference. I feel better, my skin looks better and I quit craving all that dairy. Most all the recipes on my site are dairy free or can be modified as such, like this overnight egg casserole (recipe found in my book). See a full list of recipes here.

2. Read a Paleo Book – I’ve linked to my favorites in several posts previously (like What is Paleo and What is Autoimmune Paleo), but it bears repeating that a well written, comprehensive guide to the Paleo Diet is always a great place to start. Even if you’ve read them before. We all need a refresher from time to time.

• If you like no-nonsense, hard core rules, go for Loren Cordain’s The Paleo Diet
• If you want some humor mixed in with your guidelines, I recommend Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution
• If you want sound science, but a more gentle approach, Chris Kresser’s The Paleo Cure is the book for you
• If you need a little information but don’t want to be overwhelmed, you need some help planning meals and you want lots of recipes, go for Diane Sanfilippo’s Practical Paleo, 2nd Edition
• If you already know all you need to know about the Paleo Diet and just need new recipes, these are my favorites right now: Your Paleo Holiday, by Yours Truly, Gather by Bill and Haley Mason of Primal Palate, and Fed and Fit by Cassy Joy Garcia.

3. Head over to Pinterest and look at all the pretty pictures of Paleo Recipes and get inspired. You can find my Pinterest board here. I’ve just recently installed the “pin it” button on my pictures, so if you see a recipe that looks super yummy to you, please pin it and help spread the word that Paleo food is awesome!

4. Make a realistic meal plan. Sure, planning a pot roast on Monday, short ribs on Tuesday, chicken cacciatore on Wednesday, Asian Stir Fry on Thursday and Pork Carnitas on Friday is a great plan. But let’s be realistic. Are you going to prepare that many labor intensive meals each week? Not likely. Read this recent post I wrote on what constitutes dinner. Hint: it should take some of the pressure off. Scrambled eggs make a perfectly acceptable dinner!

5. Buy some bacon. Lots of bacon! If you’re trying to get your family on board with this paleo thing (and you should), you need to start with bacon. Everybody loves it. If you make two meals a week that include bacon, you will have them hooked! One of our favorites: pumpkin pancakes, a side of bacon and a few slices of orange or grapefruit. And if by chance someone in your house doesn’t absolutely love bacon, sausage is a good choice too!

6. Consider Bulletproof coffee for breakfast If you aren’t familiar with Bulletproof coffee, take a look at their website here. If you have a hard time with paleo breakfasts (ie. no cereal, toast, bagels, etc.), and a lot of people do, seriously consider giving Bulletproof Coffee a try. People following a paleo/ketogenic diet are often the biggest fans of this creamy breakfast drink. I tried it a couple years ago and just didn’t dig it. For some reason, I was too hungry in the morning and this coffee drink did not satisfy me. But I recently took it up again about two months ago, and am loving how it’s making me feel. I have plenty of energy for a morning workout and don’t ever have that too full feeling while exercising. But maybe the best part is that I get my coffee and breakfast all in one, perfect for anyone who needs or wants to streamline their morning routine. My morning involves coffee/Bible study/reading the news and if I throw breakfast in there too, it saves me lots of time!

7. Clean out your cupboards. If you think you can resist the chocolates and cookies that are hiding in the back corners, think again. They’re not good for your family either so just get them outta there!

8. Drink enough water. The experts can’t agree on exactly how much water we all need each day, but a good rule of thumb is about 2 liters per day. I think everyone can visualize those 2 liter bottles of soda. Yeah, you need that much. If it’s hot or you’re a competitive athlete, you likely need more. My trick to make sure I drink enough is to keep my favorite water bottle out and visible. I know that I need four of those bottles per day, so I keep it handy and keep drinking.

9. Pay attention to your protein intake. The health experts have a hard time agreeing on just about everything these days! But another good rule of thumb, for protein intake this time, is one ounce of protein for every pound of goal weight. So if you want to weight 130 pounds, you should aim for 130 ounces of protein per day. Warning: it can be hard to get that much. Just pay attention for a few days and see if you are hitting the mark or falling way under or way over then make adjustments as necessary. One of my favorite ways to get in more protein without any effort is a collagen supplement. I use Great Lakes Grass Fed Beef Collagen. There are 11 grams of protein in two tablespoons of this brand. I take it for gut and joint health and it has made a tremendous difference in the arthritis pain in my feet. Bonus: it has the added benefit of contributing to my protein intake. I have a hard time getting in the recommended amount otherwise. By the time I add collage to my coffee in the afternoon and in my tea in the evening, I’ve taken in an additional 22 grams of protein, roughly the same amount as in a 4 ounce serving of meat!

10. Try one new vegetable each week. Last but not least, expand your vegetable palate. I know there are people out there who can honestly say they just LOVE vegetables, but I don’t know many of them. This past year, I started buying asparagus every week. Every single week. I just wanted us to eat this somewhat weird tasting vegetable more regularly to see if we could develop a taste for it. We learned how we enjoy it best (grilled, kind of charred) and I love that it cooks up super fast. Then we moved on to cauliflower. I admit that I do not like this vegetable, but I am learning to appreciate it by using it in lots of different ways (cauliflower crust pizza and mashed “potatoes” – this recipe coming soon). So my advice is just to pick something that looks good or at least interesting to you and give it a try. And try it more than once. They say (those experts again) that you have to try something ten times before you know whether you really like it or not.

There you have it, my top 10 tips for a Paleo New Year. If you have any questions you’d like me to address or recipes you’d like for me to transform into a paleo friendly recipe, let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.

I hope this year is full of many blessings for you and your family.