“I take Vitamin D (I live in Maine), Vitamin K2, Magnesium and Bilberry. I started taking Bilberry 4.5 years ago when the eye doctor told me that I was developing cataracts. On my last visit 6 months ago, the doctor said that the progression of my cataracts has slowed and I will not need surgery for at least 10 years. I also started wearing sunglasses when out on snow and water, something I neglected to do all my life until being told of the cataracts.“
The core does not only exist to contract or bend over and over again, to twist and rotate, but also to resist rotational force. We need strong cores in order to maintain a stable torso while putting in work, whether it’s lifting heavy things, carrying a heavy load, or transferring power from our hips while throwing a punch or a ball. Having that stable, strong core with the capacity to resist the influence of outside forces working to make it rotate or twist or bend is just as important as having the capacity to perform a million situps.
Enter the plank. The key to success with it is right there in the name: you’re forming an immovable, stiff plank with your entire body. From toes to head, you must be firm, not flaccid.
Proper Plank Form
Planks seem like the simplest exercise imaginable, and while they aren’t that complicated, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Get in the pushup position, only put your forearms on the ground instead of your hands. Your elbows should line up directly underneath your shoulders. Toes on the ground.
Squeeze your glutes and tighten your abdominals. Imagine you’re pinching a quarter between your butt cheeks.
Look at the ground to keep a neutral neck and spine. You may feel like your chin is tucked a bit.
Tuck your pelvis. Instead of arching your back, do a slight pelvic tuck to really engage your abs. The pelvic tuck also allows you to use your quads and push against the ground with your feet.
Push against the ground. Shoulder blades should protract.
Create a straight, strong line from head to toes. A single cohesive piece. In other words, a plank.
Hold that position.
What Muscles Do Planks Work?
The plank is a total body effort. When you’re in the plank position, every fiber of your being is resisting the pull of gravity. You must engage and tighten every inch of musculature in your body to resist collapse and maintain coherence throughout the line your body forms. During a plank, you are quite literally holding the line against the most omnipresent force in the known universe.
Your abs are working to keep the spine from collapsing.
Your glutes are contracting to support your lower back.
Your erector spinae muscles are engaged to keep your spine cohesive and neutral.
Your quads are contracting to stabilize your legs.
Your hip flexors are activated to prevent your hips from breaking.
Your serratus anterior is working to stabilize your shoulders.
And on and on and on. You’re placing your spinal column in the most disadvantageous position imaginable, exposed along every inch to the pull of gravity. You’re working everything during a plank.
Plank Benefits
Research shows that planks make you stronger, particularly in the trunk muscle. They can even increase the thickness of your abdominal muscles. In people who are fairly untrained, simply doing nothing but planks for a few weeks will increase their overall fitness levels. Not just trunk strength, that is, but general fitness.1
Studies show that incorporating planks into the training of athletes can reduce injury rates by making their bodies more resilient. It turns out that having strong, stable trunk muscles makes you more resistant to all the various forces acting on you during athletic activity.2
In short, planks are exercise, and exercise improves almost every health marker you can imagine. The thing about planks is that they appear to be a low intensity, easy exercise that most people never even consider doing. To the uninitiated, a plank might look like doing nothing at all.
Plank Variations
If you get bored of the traditional plank, there are other versions you can try.
Long Lever Plank
Instead of placing your elbows directly underneath your shoulders, place them several inches in front of your shoulders, thereby lengthening the lever and increasing the difficulty. Research shows that this increases activation of various trunk muscles.3 The more your elbows stray ahead of your shoulders, the harder it gets.
Side Plank
Do the plank on your side, supporting yourself with one hand placed on the ground and one edge of your foot wedged against the ground. Switch sides.
Contralateral Plank
Get in the traditional plank position, only support yourself contra laterally—either your left elbow and right foot touching or your right elbow and left foot touching.
Things to Remember
Don’t let your hips sag down to the ground. Sagging hips makes the exercise initially easier, but it’s not a plank and it defeats the purpose of the exercise.
Don’t look up! Look down at the ground. This is a good prompt for maintaining a neutral neck position.
Don’t go to failure. When your form begins to suffer, pull the plug. You’re only benefiting from the plank by actually doing the plank with proper technique.
Don’t overly arch your back. Keep that pelvis tucked.
Even if you never progress (or choose to progress) to the other plank variations, the basic plank, performed properly, will be sufficient for developing good core stability, strength, and overall resilience.
Got any more questions about planks? Drop them down below.
“My ‘favorite’ quotes in media reports about pseudoscientific studies are: ‘People who eat/do [something] are more likely to die than those who do not.’
There is a likelihood of death other than 100%?“
A little appreciated (but important) fact: for most of human history, the average person would have been regularly exposed to ketosis. This was mostly light and transient, sometimes more protracted, but they were never far from a mildly ketogenic state. Food wasn’t always a sure thing, after all, and carbs weren’t necessarily readily available year-round. Ketosis was normal, it was frequent, and it was beneficial, even life-saving.
Today, few people achieve ketosis without intentionally fasting or following a ketogenic diet. The latterrefers to any very low-carb diet—low enough that your liver churns out ketones that your cells can use for energy in place of glucose.It may feel like keto exploded into popularity out of nowhere, but doctors have actually been prescribing therapeutic keto diets to treat epilepsy for more than a century. Today, keto is popular mostly as a weight-loss diet, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits a keto diet has to offer.
That’s because keto diets have two things going for them: the carbohydrate restriction and the resulting ketones. Each profoundly affects health and longevity, beyond halting seizures and helping people fit into smaller jeans. I’ve been talking about keto since the early days of the Primal Blueprint because I firmly believe that everyone should spendtime in a state of ketosis.
Here are some of the reasons why.
Why Go Keto? The Big Picture
The number one reason I recommend that everyone try keto is formetabolic flexibility. To put it bluntly, if you want to be metabolically healthy, you must be metabolically flexible. Metabolic flexibility, you may recall, is your cells’ ability to use any available substrate—glucose, fat, or ketones—for energy on an on-demand basis. It’s the opposite of carbohydrate dependency, the metabolic state that characterizes the vast majority of the population today.
Keto diets upregulate your cells’ ability to burn ketones, obviously, but they also make you morefat-adapted. And being able to metabolize fatty acids efficiently is important whether you’re keto or eating a “regular Primal” pattern.
There are other things that keto does uniquely well compared to other types of diets, namelylowering blood glucose, insulin, and inflammation. Hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and chronic inflammation are the triumvirate of doom when it comes to chronic disease. I can’t think of a single chronic disease of any kind—metabolic, autoimmune, neurodegenerative, cancer—that doesn’t have one, if not all three, as a contributing factor.
It’s obvious why seriously restricting carb intake would reduce blood sugar and insulin secretion, in turn reducing inflammatory markers.1 Keto diets also trigger more complex downstream biochemical processes that account for many of their beneficial effects. For example, keto modulates the action of a critical enzyme calledAMPKthat is involved in cellular energy regulation—improving glucose uptake by cells, improving insulin sensitivity, and decreasing inflammation.2 The ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate has direct anti-inflammatory effects.3
In short, with keto diets, you reap the benefits of NOT eating too many carbs plus a host of other benefits that are specifically due to being ketotic.
Benefits of the Keto Diet
The Keto Diet for Treatment of Major Disease States
The ketogenic diet remains the only thing with the consistent ability to prevent epileptic seizures. We have better medicines than doctors did a hundred years ago, but not everyone responds to them. Whether it’s Thai kids with intractable epilepsy,4 Scandinavian kids with therapy-resistant epilepsy,5 or adults with refractory epilepsy,6 ketogenic diets just work.
Ketosis improves epilepsy via several mechanisms.
It increases conversion of glutamate into glutamine into GABA, reducing neuronal excitability.7
It increases antioxidant status in the neuronal mitochondria, improving their function.
It reduces free radical formation in neurons, a likely cause of seizures.8
It provides an alternate fuel to brain neurons that may be dysfunctionally metabolizing glucose.9
These effects on neuronal function and health, along with the ability of aging or degenerating brains to accept and utilize ketone bodies, also have implications for other brain conditions, like Parkinson’s,10Alzheimer’s,11and bipolar disorder.12Ketogenic diets aren’t just beneficial for brain disorders, though. People with mild cognitive impairment and even generally healthy folks can enjoycognitive benefitslike improved memory, mental clarity, increased focus, and positive mood, to name a few.
And the impact of keto extends well beyond the brain. For example…
A Spanish ketogenic diet (keto with wine, basically) reversed metabolic syndrome and improved health markers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Over 92 percent of subjects improved their liver health; 21 percent resolved liver disease entirely.13
Keto diets are poised to be the next big tool inpreventing and treating cancer.Keto diets significantly reduce circulating glucose—the preferred fuel of most types of cancer—inhibiting the ability of cancer cells to proliferate. Although research results are still very preliminary, it is suggestive that keto diets can be used to augment (not replace) traditional cancer therapies in many cases. In cancer patients, a keto diet also preserves lean mass and causes fat loss.14
Ketogenic diets may improve symptoms ofPCOS, which is strongly related to insulin resistance.15
The Keto Diet for Physical Performance
Being keto-adapted has several advantages for anyone interested in physical performance.
It increases energy efficiency.At any given intensity, a keto-adapted athlete burns more fat and less glycogen than a sugar-burning athlete. Long-term elite keto athletes can burnup to 2.3 times more fat at peak oxidation and 59 percent more fat overall than non-keto athletes, and they do it at higher intensities. They remain in the predominantly fat-burning zone at 70 percent (or higher!16) of VO2max, whereas non-keto athletes switch over from primarily fat burning to a spike in sugar-burning at 55 percent VO2max.17
It spares glycogen.Glycogen is high-octane fuel for intense efforts. We store it in the muscles and liver, but only about 2400 calories worth—enough for a couple hours of intense activity at most. Once it’s gone, we have to carb up to replenish it, lest we hit the dreaded wall. Keto-adaptation allows us to do more work using fat and ketones for fuel, thereby saving glycogen for when we really need it. Since even the leanest among us carry tens of thousands of calories of body fat, our energy stores become virtually limitless on a ketogenic diet.
It builds mitochondria.Mitochondria are the power plants of our cells, transforming incoming nutrients into ATP. The more mitochondria we have, the more energy we can utilize and extract from the food we eat—and the more performance we can wring out of our bodies. Ketosis places new demands on our mitochondria, who adapt to the new energy environment by increasing in number.
The Keto Diet for Fat Loss
Ketosis isn’t “magic”—it doesn’t melt body fat away. Instead, it works for many of the same reasons a standard low-carb Primal way of eating works: by reducing insulin, increasing mobilization of stored body fat, and decreasing appetite.
Ketosis suppressing appetitemay be the most important feature. The overriding drive to eat more food is the biggest impediment to weight loss, and it’s the reason why most diets fail. When people attempt to eat less food despite wanting more, they butt up against their own physiology. Few win that battle.Ketogenic dieting avoids this issue altogether, suppressing the increase in hunger hormones that normally occurs after weight loss.18
Many diets work in the short term and fail in the long run. Weight loss isn’t worth anything if you can’t keep it off. Ketogenic diets appear to be good for long-term maintenance of weight loss, at least compared to low-fat diets.19
How to Go Keto the Right Way
The real benefits of keto come from doing keto the right way. Almost no one reading this needs to follow a strict therapeutic diet of the type usually prescribed to epileptic patients, typically involve exceedingly high fat and low protein.
For most of us, keto works best when weprioritize nutrient density, healthy fats, and a good amount of protein—a Primal way of eating but with fewer carbs.My booksThe Keto Reset DietandKeto for Lifego into detail about how to implement this way of eating, or start with myDefinitive Guide to Keto.
The point I want to make clear is thatketo diets are beneficial in ways that other diets aren’t by virtue of the ketones and the carb restriction, butyou don’t need to be keto foreverto reap the rewards.Dipping into ketosis for four to six weeks at a time, a few times a year, is sufficient. If you discover that you feel best in ketosis, then you can absolutely stay there. For everyone else, it can be a periodic thing.
Just don’t pass up the opportunity to achieve ultimate metabolic flexibility!
“Great article Mark. I would boil down my approach to life and fitness by saying I don’t let anything stop me from trying to do the things I want to do. At 54 years old I’m taking up mountain biking for the first time. A lot of people would call me crazy but my answer is why? I also race drones, a hobby I didn’t start until 48 years old. If there is something you want to do why would you let anything, even age, stop you? Sure there are risks but it’s more risky in my opinion not to take the risks. I take a very similar approach to eating but it’s a bit more nuanced. I eat low carb and only eat when I feel the need to eat. I’ve found that my health and level of fitness is best when I follow those guidelines I’ve set for myself. Again, thanks for the article and all the inspiration.“
The purpose of this meal plan is to show what a week’s worth of keto-friendly (and totally Primal) meals could look like.
This is how I eat day in and day out. Since I’ve been eating Primally for many years now, it’s second nature for me. But for folks who are new to this way of eating, I realize this might seem like a lot of work, or just completely foreign. Rest assured, planning and preparing a keto menu becomes simple once you’re in the habit of preparing healthy recipes like the ones provided here.
Don’t fret if these specific meals don’t appeal to you. By no means are you required to follow this plan to a T. It is meant to serve as an example—a “week in the life of Primal/keto.” If you want to try it, feel free to swap out meals that don’t appeal to you. I have said before that I usually keep things pretty simple—lots of Big-Ass Omelettes and Big-Ass Salads for me. You can do the same. I know plenty of people who prefer cycling through the same three to five favorite meals over and over, and there’s nothing wrong with that. As long as the meals are well-balanced and contain adequate nutrients, there’s no reason to complicate things.
However, if you’re a person who enjoys cooking more elaborate meals, you can absolutely do that, too. There are basically limitless options for delicious, enticing, Primal- and keto-friendly dishes. Look for meat, egg, and veggie dishes with interesting preparations, seasonings, and sauces.
Remember, real food tastes better!
Keto Meal Prep Tips
A good meal plan starts with good preparation. Spend some time perusing keto-focused blogs and cookbooks that appeal to you. Whether you’re a keep-it-simple kind of home cook or a culinary wizard, food should be enjoyable. Eating healthy, nourishing fare is one of the great pleasures in life. Don’t shortchange yourself here.
Once you have a plan in place, make a shopping list and hit the store and/or farmer’s market. I also like to shop online for pantry staples.
You can make busy weeknights less stressful by doing some meal prep on the weekends. Look ahead to the recipes you’ll be cooking that week. See if there are steps you can do on Sunday that will save you time during the week, such as:
Washing and chopping raw veggies
Pre-cooking meat that you can warm up and toss into recipes
Hard-boiling eggs
Thawing anything that needs thawing
This is totally optional but can make your life a little easier, especially if your mornings or evenings tend to be a little hectic.
It’s better to eat enough food during your meals than to snack throughout the day. However, I’ve always suggested people listen to their bodies. Especially when you’re transitioning to a new way of eating, you might find yourself getting hungry between meals. If you do snack, make it count by choosing nutrient-dense foods.
Start with at least 3 eggs if you’re on the smaller side or 4 eggs (or more) if you’re on the bigger side. Remember, one large egg has about 6 grams of protein (plus 5 grams of fat and less than one gram of carbohydrate), so eat plenty!
Choose your mix-ins. I’ll list some of my favorite options below, but the sky’s the limit here. If your favorite ingredient isn’t on this list but it’s Primal-approved, by all means add it! And, of course, everything is optional. For example, you don’t have to add dairy if you don’t tolerate it.
Cook (see my cooking video here). If you have trouble nailing the traditional omelette shape, never fear—scrambles are just as good.
Here are some keto-friendly protein options to mix into your omelettes:
Here are some keto-friendly vegetables (and veggie-like fruits) to mix into your omelets:
Asparagus
Avocado
Beet greens
Bell pepper
Broccoli
Chard
Kale
Mushrooms
Onion
Olives
Scallions
Spinach
Tomatoes
Yellow squash
Zucchini
Don’t forget herbs and spices:
Salt
Pepper
Basil
Cilantro
Cumin
Garlic
Oregano
Paprika
Parsley
Turmeric
Hot pepper sauce
Pesto
Chimichurri
And dairy products (optional):
Heavy cream
Half and half
Sour cream
Cheddar cheese
Cottage cheese
Feta cheese
Goat cheese
Monterey Jack cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Swiss cheese
How to Put Together a Big-Ass Salad
Step 1: Start with a very generous serving of fresh greens. I usually combine a few different types, and I
mix in fresh chopped herbs whenever I have them on hand. My favorites are:
Lettuce (any type)
Kale
Arugula
Chard
Spinach
Green cabbage
Red cabbage
Beet greens
Dandelion greens
Basil
Cilantro
Chives
Mint
Parsley
Step 2: Choose your dressing. No surprise, I usually use one of the dressings from my Primal Kitchen line of products. I formulated these specifically because I couldn’t find salad dressings that weren’t made with health-compromising polyunsaturated oils. You can also make your own dressings with approved oils. Here are some DIY salad recipes if you’d like ideas.
Toss your salad greens with about half the amount of dressing you intend to use.
Step 3: Layer on as many mix-ins as your heart desires. As with the Big-Ass Omelets, this list is meant to get your creative juices flowing (and your mouth-watering). Feel free to include things that aren’t on these lists as long as they’re Primal-approved.
Here are some mix-in fruit and veggie ideas:
Artichoke hearts
Asparagus
Avocado
Bell peppers
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Fennel
Mushrooms
Onion
Olives
Radish
Tomatoes
Scallions
Sprouts
Yellow squash
Zucchini
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Protein ideas:
Chicken
Salmon
Sardines
Shrimp
Tuna
White fish
Steak
Ground beef
Shredded beef or pork
Roast turkey
Ground turkey
Eggs
Ham
Sugar-free bacon or sausage
Nuts and seeds:
Almonds
Pecans
Walnuts
Macadamias
Pistachios
Brazil nuts
Hazelnuts
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Flaxseeds
Hemp seeds
Here are some cheeses (opt for full-fat) you can mix in:
Cheddar
Cottage
Feta
Goat
Gruyere
Monterey Jack
Mozzarella
Parmesan
Swiss
Step 4: Drizzle with the remaining dressing and chow down!
For more keto meal plan ideas, you might like to read:
Every once in a while, you run into a toddler who enthusiastically chows down on ahuge dinner salador side ofratatouille. Most parents, though, struggle to get their kids to eat more vegetables. If you’re raising apicky eater, join the club. That can be frustrating for you as a parent, but it’s not a sign that you’re doing something wrong.
Young kids, especially, are supposed to be picky. They are hard-wired to reject new foods and foods that taste bitter or otherwise “icky” to them, a phenomenon known as “neophobia.”1 Experts believe this is an innate survival mechanism designed to keep dangerous plants out of their mouths. Your child doesn’t know that Brussels sprouts and mustard greens aren’t trying to kill them. Although kids start to outgrow neophobia as they hit school age, most parents of older kids and teens will tell you that it’s still not easy to get them to enjoy vegetables.
So what are parents to do?
On the one hand, we want our kids to eat diverse, colorful meals that deliver the full spectrum of vitamins, minerals, and other phytochemicals that promote strong, healthy bodies. On the other hand, the constant rejection of our hard work in the kitchen is exhausting and demoralizing. Mostly, we don’t want mealtimes to be miserable.
It’s not easy to expand your kids’ palettes, and it might take longer than you’d like, but it can be done.It boils down to two things: getting the kids’ buy-in and making veggies as appealing as possible. Here are some creative ideas to help kids develop a taste for vegetables.
Tips for Getting Kids (And Picky Eaters of All Ages) To Enjoy Vegetables
Give them choices.
Your kids will never truly enjoy vegetables if you force the issue. Kids respond better when they feel like they have some control and agency in any situation. Give them some choice in the matter… but constrain them.
Instead of, “What do you want for dinner?” ask, “Should we have broccoli or asparagus with our dinner tonight?”
Instead of, “You need to eat your vegetables before you can leave the table,” try, “Would you rather have three bites of cauliflower or two bites of cauliflower and one baby carrot?”
Serve lots of options.
Everyone loves buffet-style food. Try:
Taco or nacho bar, burrito bowls (tomatoes, salsa, onions, green onions, various peppers, cilantro, avocado—which yes, is technically a fruit)
Baked potatoor sweet potato bar (chopped broccoli or cauliflower, onions, tomatoes, chives)
Poke bowls (shredded carrots and cabbage, diced cucumber, diced or shredded radish, edamame, seaweed, avocado)
Salad bar (anything!)
This also gives kids choice, and it’s more fun than a pile of vegetables plopped on their plates. As they assemble their meals, encourage them to take one bite of something new.
Sure, it’s a little more work up front to chop up a bunch of vegetables, but just think of it asmeal prep. You can use leftovers to make omelets or salads the next day.
Explain why it’s important.
We adults don’t always love all the “healthy foods” we choose to eat. (Does anyone like zucchini as much as dessert?) We eat them because we know they are good for us, and we appreciate how they make us feel. Even young kids can understand that different foods provide different building blocks that help our bodies grow strong. Just like their Lego sets have blocks of different shapes, sizes, and colors, vegetables of different colors serve slightly different functions.
Keep it simple and age-appropriate, but give kids credit for being smart (if not always rational or cooperative!)
Involve them in the preparation.
Again, this taps into their desire for control. Even young kids canhelp in the kitchenwith washing, chopping, seasoning, stirring, plating, etc. Let them pick out a vegetable at the grocery store or farmer’s market—something familiar or novel. Get slightly older kids involved in finding easy vegetable recipes they might enjoy. Encourage them topack their own lunchboxes(with options you approve of, including at least one vegetable).
Make eating vegetables fun.
Don’t take mealtime too seriously. Let your kids play with their food. Cut veggies into fun shapes and let them arrange them on their plate to make food art.
Ask them questions about the food that encourage them to engage with it. Which food on their plate is the crunchiest, softest, shiniest, saltiest? Pretend you’re on a cooking show and come up with fun or creative ways to describe the dinner like you’re contestants or judges.
Make a color chart and have kids put stickers in different columns to show the variety of vegetables they have tried.
Experiment with different textures.
Kids’ aversion to vegetables often has as much to do with the texture as it does with the taste.2 Your kids might prefer certain foods raw, roasted, steamed, or air-fried. Maybe you can’t get them to eat a side of broccoli, but they’ll eat a bowl of blended broccoli soup. Blended soups can also serve as dipping sauces for sandwiches, wraps, crackers, or other vegetables they like more.
Make them taste better.
But let’s be honest: it’s usually the taste of vegetables that’s turning kids—and lots of adults—off. We all want toeat foods that taste good, and trying to force kids to like foods that simply don’t taste good to them will always be a losing proposition. That said, there are ways to enhance (and, to some degree, cover up) the flavor.
Generally speaking,roasted vegetablestaste better than steamed or boiled. Salt and other seasonings make a big difference, as does adding some fat. Other tried-and-true ideas are
Kids don’t need to eat huge servings of vegetables. One to one-and-a-half cups over the course of the whole day is enough for young kids, two to three cups for older kids and teens.3 You’ll probably have better luck serving small portions at each meal and snack. Toddlers can get what they need with just a few bites each time spread out across the day.
Bento boxescan be a great way to serve smaller portions of a variety of foods in a way that appeals to kiddos.
When All Else Fails, Hide Them
This strategy is somewhat controversial. Yes, the ultimate goal is to help our kids make self-supportive food choices. The “hide them” strategy shouldn’t supersede your efforts to get your kids on board with vegetables, but sometimes you need to bite the bullet and get those nutrients in. In other words, keep trying, even if you’re sneaking in vegetables by
Blending them into smoothies
Baking them into muffins, pancakes, or brownies
Sneaking them into pasta sauce
Mixing them into ground meat
Lead By Example
If you want your kids to willingly “eat the rainbow,” you must model that behavior. Watch how you talk about vegetables, too. If your attitude is, “Yeah, cauliflower is gross, but it’s good for you, so eat up,” chances are your kid will never embrace it.
Don’t Give Up
Your kids might not ever love vegetables despite your best efforts. Some people just like certain foods more than others. You aren’t a bad parent, and your kid isn’t a bad kid, if they don’t like vegetables. That doesn’t mean you should stop offering them, though. Research shows that it typically takes 6 to 15 exposures before a kid will start to accept a new food, and it could be many more. 4
They’ll probably never like vegetables as much as sweeter foods like fruit or ice cream. This is another innate preference, and you can’t fight nature. That’s why getting their buy-in is important. Hopefully, they’ll choose to eat vegetables even if they aren’t their favorite because they understand why it matters.
If they are eating a variety of foods—even if it’s not as wide a variety as you’d like—that includes some protein sources, a few different vegetables, some fruits, and maybe yogurt and other dairy products, that’s a good start. If you’re concerned about their nutritional status, talk to their pediatrician about adding a multivitamin. Otherwise, give it time.
The big thing to remember is that you don’t want to become locked in a power struggle with your kids over food. When mealtime becomes a battleground, everyone loses. I know it’s hard when it feels like your kids are being stubborn and uncooperative, but their aversions have a real biological basis (and also, kids push buttons like it’s their job). Chances are, your kid will grow into a good eater with a more diverse palette as they get older if you keep providing opportunities and encouragement without forcing it. Hang in there!
A little appreciated (but important) fact: for most of human history, the average person would have been regularly exposed to ketosis. This was mostly light and transient, sometimes more protracted, but they were never far from a mildly ketogenic state. Food wasn’t always a sure thing, after all, and carbs weren’t necessarily readily available year-round. Ketosis was normal, it was frequent, and it was beneficial, even life-saving. 
The purpose of this meal plan is to show what a week’s worth of keto-friendly (and totally Primal) meals could look like.
Every once in a while, you run into a toddler who enthusiastically chows down on a