Hobbs - The Paleo Cafe Lifestyle and Cookbook

for Amy

I would like to dedicate this book to my dear friend Amy, who tragically lost her life to cancer at the tender age of 23, leaving behind her two-year-old son Ethan and loving husband, Leon. She was kind and fun-loving, and I miss her each and every day, even though I feel her near me always. Amy inspires me to be the best version of myself, to love, work and play hard, and take risks like today could be my last. When I find myself feeling exhausted, upset or generally sorry for myself, she is a constant reminder that we need to cherish every moment of our precious lives. We are the masters of our own destiny and anything truly is possible to a willing heart. She helped me build the courage to leave my profession and start Paleo Caf, and for that I will be forever grateful. At her wedding, only several weeks before she passed away, there were butterflies. She is now each and every butterfly I see.

Do not give up, the beginning is always the hardest.

Paleo Caf grew from our desire to share with others how the Paleo diet had completely changed our lives. We first discovered it through Jais CrossFit box in 2011 and the timing couldnt have been more perfect. Our son, Troy, who was two months old at the time, had severe acid reflux and had spent every day of his life screaming in pain. After many sleepless nights for all of us, we were becoming desperate. Finally, Troy was diagnosed as dairy intolerant. After just a few weeks of being dairy-free, he went from waking every hour, to sleeping through the night.

No parent wants to see their child in such agony and we needed to do whatever it took to stop Troys suffering. It was this experience that made us realise the profound effect food has on our bodies. If it was doing this to Troy, what was it doing to us? But it wasnt until we read The Paleo Diet by Dr Loren Cordain that things really clicked for us. From the first chapter, it all made perfect sense. It was hard to believe we hadnt learned about this sooner. We thought, why doesnt everyone eat this way? Wed all be much healthier and happier if we did, thats for sure.

We started introducing Paleo meals into our diet and almost immediately saw the benefits. We both lost weight, my ongoing skin and digestive problems went away and we were sleeping better than ever. No doubt about it: it was working for us and there was no turning back.

Our only frustration was finding Paleo-friendly foods. Between Jai running a busy finance business and me juggling my job as an environmental lawyer with being a new mum, we just didnt have time to scour town for Paleo food supplies and read every nutrition label in the supermarket.

Then came the light-bulb moment

I said to Jai, Wouldnt it be great if there was a Paleo-dedicated store, where we could buy everything we needed, without the temptation of unhealthy foods?

Jai immediately recognised the potential and, the very next day, Paleo Caf was registered as a business name. We opened our Cairns store on October 3, 2012, and we havent slowed down since. But when you find meaning in what you do for a living, it never feels like work.

The Paleo Caf brand represents the Paleo philosophy of clean eating, combined with fitness, a sense of identity, community and sophistication. Our customers see the caf as part of their daily routine and we consider them part of our family. Our chefs and staff are as enthusiastic about the business as we are, and have made it their mission to enrich peoples lives through showing them the Paleo way of living.

As youre about to find out, eating the way you were designed to not only makes you look good, itll make you feel good both physically and mentally. But dont take our word for it; discover it for yourself. We guarantee itll change your life, too. Marlies and Jai Hobbs

Paleo is about eating as Mother Nature intended its as simple as that.

Of course, there are no rules set in stone when it comes to your diet. Were all different, with our own dietary needs, so think of it as a framework that can be adapted to suit your lifestyle.

Paleo has benefited us in so many ways and were excited to share everything we know; however, were not doctors or scientists. If you want to know more about the research behind the movement, weve listed some excellent resources towards the back of this book.

Hopefully, our delicious recipes will make you feel excited about cooking and give you a great introduction to the Paleo lifestyle.

To eat and live the way humans are designed to, we need to turn back the clock 2 million years to the Palaeolithic Era (also spelled Paleolithic). During this period, our ancestors moved freely and fuelled their bodies with a variety of meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, seasonal fruit, nuts, seeds and berries. These were the only foods available until the Agricultural Revolution roughly 12,000 years ago. Since then, weve added dairy, grains, gluten, legumes, sugar and preservatives to our diets, which our bodies havent evolved to process in the large quantities we consume them in.

Eating too much of these foods can, in the short-term, make us unhealthy and gain weight and, in the long-term, contribute to serious illnesses. Instead, we eat modern-day versions of the nutritious foods that were available to hunter-gatherers.

As youre about to discover, eating like a caveman doesnt mean gnawing on big chunks of meat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The principles of Palaeolithic eating are still the same: if you couldnt hunt it, pick it from a tree or pull it from the ground, its not Paleo. Theyve just been adapted to suit the 21st centurys version of hunting and gathering: pushing a trolley around the supermarket.

Of course, eating perfectly at every meal is easier said than done. When youre working full-time, running around after kids, paying bills and trying to find some time for yourself, buying fresh produce and cooking every meal can be impossible. The great thing about Paleo is that its as easy or difficult as you make it. In fact, theres a good chance you probably already eat plenty of caveman-style meals but just dont realise it. Your standard weeknight fare of meat and veg? Thats perfectly Paleo. And if youre short on time, lots of the meals in this book can be made in advance and frozen, then thawed out for quick nutrition-packed feasts.