Paleoish Founder’s Story

Hi, I’m Dave

I feel like so many people are under the impression that healthy eating means having to eat cold broccoli and dry chicken every night. They also think that it’s hard to do and it’s boring. I have a strong belief that just isn’t the case and I know healthy food doesn’t have to taste like shit. I love to create paleo dishes that taste incredible and make you feel like you are being naughty when eating them.

I’ve been cooking most of my life. One of the best days ever was when I discovered the Food Network Channel at 7 years old. I’ve got to give a huge shout out to my first love Ina Garten and to my homie Bobby Flay! Watching cooking shows helped me develop my INSANE love of food. I remember watching these shows and writing down recipes so I could recreate them with my mom. I am very passionate about health and cooking. I cook from the heart and love creating flavor packed dishes that are also super healthy in return. Most of the recipes you’ll find on this site are Paleo, however, you’ll also find some ‘ISH’ recipes as well for when you’re trying to treat yo self.

For years and years I was your classic yo-yo dieter. I would always make these crazy unachievable goals and I’d push myself so hard that I would eventually give up on whatever diet I was doing at that time. Each time I’d lose weight, it wouldn’t take me long to get back to my junk food eating ways and I’d gain it all right back. Even after all of this dieting I still hit a point where I stepped on the scale and I was the heaviest I had ever been. I started to realize that this pattern of behavior wasn’t doing me any good. I was determined to find a better plan so I could finally put an end to this yo-yo dieting type of lifestyle.

I remember talking with my brother about how I wanted to make some changes to my diet. He suggested that I reach out to his friend Brandon who was eating paleo and really liking it. So I sent Brandon a message and he responded right away.

Brandon told me he eats paleo 90% of the time and he feels awesome.

He said he still eats non paleo foods but he just minimizes those choices because he feels so much better avoiding those kinds of foods on a regular basis. He suggested I read a book called, “The Paleo Cure” by Chris Kresser to learn more about the paleo way.

I was sold. I read the book and I loved learning that one of the main rules to being paleo is to focus on eating natural foods. I started eating paleo and I really noticed a difference. I started to see awesome results and I knew this was something I could do for the long haul. Making paleo meals also brought back my passion for cooking.

Even though I was loving paleo, I’m a HARDCORE FOODIE so I knew I’d still want to eat non paleo foods from time to time. However, whenever I would eat something that wasn’t paleo that’s when my friends and family would turn into the PALEO POLICE. They’d call me out and make sure to tell me that a caveman wouldn’t eat that. I started to feel guilty like I was doing something wrong. I also started to learn that this problem wasn’t just happening to me. This was a normal occurrence in the paleo community.

One day when I was exceptionally frustrated I had an AHA MOMENT. I realized that I was human and loved all kinds of foods and I couldn’t be perfectly paleo all the time.

I also realized that I was perfectly OK with that. The lightbulb went off inside my head and that’s when I decided to say screw it, I’ll be paleoish. I knew I would still eat paleo for most of my meals because I was feeling so good. I also knew that I wanted to fully enjoy my ‘ish’ meals without feeling guilty whenever I chose to have one.

I immediately had an idea to start an Instagram account called @mypaleoishlife. I wanted to have a platform to show my paleo side but I also wanted to keep it real and show my imperfect ‘ish’ side too. I thought this Instagram account might help other people as they watched me be real and be OK with it. I was so tired of the diet culture and I was ready to just start doing ME.

Paleoish became my way of life. The weight started coming off naturally when I wasn’t stressing about it every day. I spent my time focusing on eating natural foods and I found my cravings started to go away. Because I allowed myself to have my ‘ish’ meals without feeling bad about it the next day I didn’t deprive myself anymore. I finally started to find a balance in my eating routine that worked for me. I loved how I felt. I had more energy and my routine finally started to stick.

Soon my co-workers and friends started to notice the changes. They would ask lots of questions about what I was eating. That’s when the Paleoish Leap was born. I wanted to design a guide for all who were new to paleoish and wanted to give it a try. I was glad to hear that those who tried the leap were finding success with it and felt great. I always had a vision of what paleoish could be and how it could help others as well.

I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason. That’s exactly how I felt when I found out I was being laid off from my job that I had for 7 years. I knew this was my time to take a leap of faith and go all in on paleoish. I’m so glad I did!