This section is to guide you to all of the things I’ve found helpful in my journey so far. I want to help you find your own path by providing you with tools and information that have made my progression easier. Please note that some of these items are linked to an Amazon.com affiliate page. If you choose to purchase one of these items through these links, you will be directly supporting You’re An Animal. Thanks!
Products
Ninja Master Prep Professional Blender: This is my pride and joy. I use it literally every day, usually more than once a day. I can’t emphasize enough how instrumental it has been in my journey to start eating cleaner (although you will note how often it comes up in my recipes). Powerful, SUPER easy to clean, and so versatile. Worth every penny and then some.
Redmond Earthpaste, Spearmint: If you’re looking to transition into a less processed lifestyle, a good place to start is your toothpaste. After all, it does go inside your body, and inevitably, inside your body. This toothpaste is a great replacement made out out whole, natural ingredients like clay (yes, clay). Try it out, you’ll be surprised! Read more about it in Andrew’s review here.
Kiss My Face Naked Pure Olive Oil Bar Soap: This soap is minimally processed with only three ingredients. If you’re looking to cut out the chemicals in your everyday life, this is a great step and an awesome product to replace your current body wash! Gets you clean without unknown chemicals sinking into your pores while you relax in the water. Read more about it in Andrew’s review here.
Practical Paleo: A Customized Approach to Health and a Whole-Foods Lifestyle by Diane Sanfilippo: While I don’t categorize this blog as a strictly “Paleo” blog, much of my attitude toward food corresponds with the Paleo way of life. If you want to know more about the physiology behind grain-free living, this is THE book. I bought it thinking it would be predominately new recipe ideas, but in reality it was the book that first opened my eyes to what is actually going on inside our bodies when we eat certain foods. As someone who really enjoys anatomy and physiology, not only did I find Diane’s writing interesting, but also very clean and clear and easily understood. I would recommend this book as one of your first steps!
Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great by Danielle Walker: Holy moly this girl is a genius. I want to be like her. After dealing with debilitating illness, she cleaned up her diet and went grain-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free. Her recipes have inspired me beyond belief, and are the basis of most of the meals we eat throughout the week. She has put so much time and effort into her recipes, and it definitely shows.
The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why by Jonny Boden, PhD, CNS: This book was one I got a while back, just wanting to be healthier in general. I didn’t know much about WHY foods were healthy, I just knew which ones had good reputations. I can’t say I agree with every food in this book based on my own research, but the majority are spot-on. Plus it’s really helpful if you’re looking to find out the macro and micro nutrient ins and outs of certain foods. Some will definitely surprise you (or at least surprised me at the time), like how for example strawberries are a better source of vitamin C than oranges, and kiwis are pretty much one of the best things on the planet that you can eat! I actually predominately use this book to figure out what I should put in my smoothies to make the greatest powerhouse green smoothie possible!
The pH Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health by Robert O. Young: It is gradually getting talked about in everyday conversation more and more that our current diets are too acidic. What are acids and why do we need them? Acids, very simply, break things down in this world. Why would you want to break down your body? The pH Miracle truly is a miracle and will make you think twice about every food you may want to consume in the future.
Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food by Catherine Shanahan: In her book Deep Nutrition, Catherine Shanahan describes in accurate detail what “healthy” truly means from a deep level that goes beyond the surface and well into the depths of proper human nutrition. Deep Nutrition will, at a minimum, get you thinking about how to eat to change your genes to yield their true potential. It may even lead you down a path that will ultimately change your life… Forever.
The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet by Robb Wolf: One of the first books I (Andrew) owned that helped me get an idea of the truth behind correct human nutrition. Written by a research biochemist, a strength and conditioning trainer, and one of the world’s leading gurus on Stone Age human nutrition, Robb Wolf truly understands what a healthy lifestyle is all about. Robb got his start as a student to whom most consider the founder of the Paleo movement, Loren Cordain.
Websites
The Paleo Mom: This website is incredibly helpful to easily understand the scientific Why?’s behind a lot of food choices, including the decision to go grain-free and sugar-free.
Pinch Of Yum: Lindsey and Bjork have created an empire, and it was 100% my inspiration to create and start monetizing a blog. Bjork writes up an income report every month, and opened my eyes to the fact that I could actually make a little (or a LOT… ahem $22,000 in one MONTH?!) money doing something that I enjoy and am passionate about. Lindsey’s recipes are often very different than mine in terms of the ingredients used, but some have still inspired my own versions. Plus her photography is bangin. They deserve a shout-out, thanks for inspiring me!
Videos
Is Gluten Bad for Non-Celiacs? : A great video discussion by a panel of nutrition experts about whether people without Celiacs disease are benefitted by going gluten-free.
From Farm to Table: A PBS show about the importance of buying and eating local. This video will make you want to check out your local farmers markets!
Spring Abundance: Another episode from the Farm to Table PBS show. This episode looks at spring farming, and also gives an in-depth look at how raw honey is made and harvested. This episode also gives you tips about container gardening for those of us who don’t have yard space to grow our own herbs and veggies.
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: This is my pride and joy. I use it literally every day, usually more than once a day. I can’t emphasize enough how instrumental it has been in my journey to start eating cleaner (although you will note how often it comes up in my recipes). Powerful, SUPER easy to clean, and so versatile. Worth every penny and then some.
: If you’re looking to transition into a less processed lifestyle, a good place to start is your toothpaste. After all, it does go inside your body, and inevitably, inside your body. This toothpaste is a great replacement made out out whole, natural ingredients like clay (yes, clay). Try it out, you’ll be surprised! Read more about it in Andrew’s review here.
: This soap is minimally processed with only three ingredients. If you’re looking to cut out the chemicals in your everyday life, this is a great step and an awesome product to replace your current body wash! Gets you clean without unknown chemicals sinking into your pores while you relax in the water. Read more about it in Andrew’s review here.
: Another one of Andrew’s favorite products, and also an essential for one cancer survivor named Cheryl. Read Andrew’s review and Cheryl’s testimonial here.
by Diane Sanfilippo: While I don’t categorize this blog as a strictly “Paleo” blog, much of my attitude toward food corresponds with the Paleo way of life. If you want to know more about the physiology behind grain-free living, this is THE book. I bought it thinking it would be predominately new recipe ideas, but in reality it was the book that first opened my eyes to what is actually going on inside our bodies when we eat certain foods. As someone who really enjoys anatomy and physiology, not only did I find Diane’s writing interesting, but also very clean and clear and easily understood. I would recommend this book as one of your first steps!
by Danielle Walker: Holy moly this girl is a genius. I want to be like her. After dealing with debilitating illness, she cleaned up her diet and went grain-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free. Her recipes have inspired me beyond belief, and are the basis of most of the meals we eat throughout the week. She has put so much time and effort into her recipes, and it definitely shows.
by Jonny Boden, PhD, CNS: This book was one I got a while back, just wanting to be healthier in general. I didn’t know much about WHY foods were healthy, I just knew which ones had good reputations. I can’t say I agree with every food in this book based on my own research, but the majority are spot-on. Plus it’s really helpful if you’re looking to find out the macro and micro nutrient ins and outs of certain foods. Some will definitely surprise you (or at least surprised me at the time), like how for example strawberries are a better source of vitamin C than oranges, and kiwis are pretty much one of the best things on the planet that you can eat! I actually predominately use this book to figure out what I should put in my smoothies to make the greatest powerhouse green smoothie possible!
by Robert O. Young: It is gradually getting talked about in everyday conversation more and more that our current diets are too acidic. What are acids and why do we need them? Acids, very simply, break things down in this world. Why would you want to break down your body? The pH Miracle truly is a miracle and will make you think twice about every food you may want to consume in the future.
by Catherine Shanahan: In her book Deep Nutrition, Catherine Shanahan describes in accurate detail what “healthy” truly means from a deep level that goes beyond the surface and well into the depths of proper human nutrition. Deep Nutrition will, at a minimum, get you thinking about how to eat to change your genes to yield their true potential. It may even lead you down a path that will ultimately change your life… Forever.
by Robb Wolf: One of the first books I (Andrew) owned that helped me get an idea of the truth behind correct human nutrition. Written by a research biochemist, a strength and conditioning trainer, and one of the world’s leading gurus on Stone Age human nutrition, Robb Wolf truly understands what a healthy lifestyle is all about. Robb got his start as a student to whom most consider the founder of the Paleo movement, Loren Cordain.
