We all know I have a sordid past with various shoe brands: Newton, Brooks, Altra, New Balance, Saucony…I got around.   After the AC Half, I chucked my Brooks.  I’m sorry, Brooks.  I gave you the good old college try.  I left them in New Jersey to be donated to someone who will hopefully be a better fit.

I’ve decided I’m going to go with what works.  I hopped online and chatted with Kyle from Skora, who also has flat feet.  He sent me some excellent ankle and strengthening exercises and this article which put things in perspective.  I am no longer going to battle my flat feet.  Instead, we’re joining forces!  I’m embracing my overpronation!  I will revel in my foot flatness!  And I will do this with the help of my Skora.  Because they’re comfortable.  They accept my feet, just as they are.  Skora, you complete me a la Jerry Maguire.  I’m sorry I doubted you, but you must have known you’ve been my sole mate all along.

Who needs an arch, anyway?  Suck it, insoles.  I’m free-ballin’.

In addition to my new, old shoes, I’ve adopted a new, old diet.  In researching methods for controlling ADHD, I ran into this book, “Eat Like a Dinosaur” and it turned me on to Paleo for families.  Basically, it eliminates all processed flours and sugars. If it comes in a bag or a box, it’s not allowed.  I recently read this book, Go Wild, which suggests that the demand and stress of modern civilization have created a breeding ground for disease; mental illness, ADHD, obesity, cancer, depression, anxiety…and so on.

The book claims one solution is to get back to basics: fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, real fat, and wild caught animal protein.  Sounds logical to me!  So I made the switch.  And so did my children, involuntarily.  They’re pretty pissed about it and I still can’t get them to drink almond milk.  I started making one meal a day that was completely paleo, usually dinner.  I’m having some difficulty coming up with creative lunchbox solutions, but our pantry is quickly thinning out.  Sites like paleoparents.com and cookeatpaleo.com help immensely.  A lot of the recipes use cauliflower, coconut oil and flour, and almond flour.  There’s a recipe for granola that uses coconut instead of oats and it is da bomb.  That’s right, D-A-Bomb.  And even though I love cake, it hasn’t been hard to give up the sugar and starch.  It’s been a month and my gut feels happy.  I even signed up with Farm Fresh to You, a produce delivery service.  Unfortunately, alcohol is a no-no.  But I just can’t.  Confession: I still drink wine.  Don’t tell the paleo police.

Almond flour cranberry muffins. My kids gobbled these up.

I don’t know if all the claims are true, but it can’t hurt, right?  And if nothing else, we are getting to try some new and interesting veggies.  I didn’t even know you could eat celery root!