Hi! I’m so happy you stopped by!
My name is Michele and I’m the creator of Paleo Running Momma – a website dedicated to bringing you the most delicious paleo friendly meals and desserts.
When I changed my diet in 2013, I started searching the internet for tips, recipes, and other people’s stories that resonated with my own. The amount of resources and incredible people I found inspired me to create this blog. It was time for me to give back and share experiences, mistakes, successes and failures as I learned to cook and eat real, whole, delicious food and make it work for me as a runner, too.
I started eating paleo for some really unoriginal reasons – to address longstanding digestive problems (IBS), help myself heal from a painful running injury, and finally drop my diet coke and cereal habits (trust me – it was time!)
When I started getting serious about healing my body, I began by going “gluten free”, but quickly realized there was more than just gluten that could be in my way. I learned that by eliminating processed foods, grains and refined sugar from my diet, I could potentially improve not only my IBS and tendinitis, but my overall health – physical and mental – as well as become a stronger athlete.
After I completed my first Whole30, I was hooked!
I was able to figure out what foods I tolerated best and which ones I struggled with.
While I don’t eat 100% paleo (I get asked this a lot!) it’s more of a guideline for how I cook and eat generally.
Now, I’m here to share what I’ve learned about food, specifically, how to create truly delicious paleo and Whole30 meals, grain free baked goods and real-food desserts that you and your families will legitimately crave and want to eat on the regular! You’ll find loads of real-life recipes for all occasions that your brain will love as much as your body does!
Fun Facts About Me
1.) When I started this blog I was obsessed with long distance running (to put it mildly!) and (secretly) wanted paleo to turn me into a superwoman-style runner.
While I DID qualify for and run the Boston Marathon twice (2014 and 2016) it wasn’t thanks to a paleo diet – in fact, I qualified for Boston the first time while eating a SAD diet and the second time on Paleo.
That said, I believe you can absolutely run well (and long distances) while eating a paleo diet! I did this for about 2 years before scaling back on my training and getting into yoga, which is what I do the most now!
2.) I have 3 kids – Diana, Emily, and Drew. I’ve always gotten lots of questions about whether or not the kids eat paleo – the answer is yes and no! They eat the dinners I cook for them, but, aside from that I don’t put restrictions on them since I found it wasn’t mentally healthy for any of us! Truthfully, my kids do not have medical conditions that require them to eat strictly paleo, so, I take a moderate approach to what they eat and we’re all pretty happy this way.
3.) The first thing I ever tried to “cook” by myself was peanut butter at the age of 4. My “recipe” involved peanuts, some aluminum foil and a hammer. Needless to say, it didn’t work, but little did I know I was actually on the right track! If only I’d had a food processor – my nut butter dreams could’ve come true!
4.) The first thing I ever cooked on the stovetop was bacon. I almost get emotional when I think about it 😉 Oh if only I’d known how that moment would shape my future! Now, I’m about my bacon and basically only eat the sugar-free Whole30 friendly variety from U.S. Wellness Meats. This stuff is AMAZING! My family goes wild over it.
5.) Comfort food is my jam. Seriously, I don’t really think “emotional eating” is such a bad thing, especially if you’re eating delicious REAL food that makes your body, mind and soul happy!
All the recipes I post are ones that I’m EXCITED to eat and genuinely make me happy. I cover everything from breakfast to dessert (in fact, those two are my favorites!) including lots of Whole30 friendly family favorites. My goal for this website is to introduce you all to new favorites that truly make you happy to eat Paleo style! Paleo comfort food for life!
6.) I have a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University and worked as a social worker for 3 years before deciding to stay home full time to raise my kids. I had NO idea what a blog was at that time, and always planned to head back to work when my youngest started kindergarten.
I started this site 100% as an outlet, not with a business in mind, but when the time rolled around, I realized I felt so much more passion for creating recipes for Paleo Running Momma than for returning to my old career. I gave it a shot and put all my efforts into growing this blog, which meant learning a lot from scratch. The decision did not come easy, but I couldn’t be happier with where I am now!
If you have a question or would like to personally contact me, you can email me at the following address:
paleorunningmomma @ gmail . com
I just wanted to say I really enjoy your recipes. They are real, tasty and blend into every day life eating! I always look forward to your recipes in your emails you send out. Thank you so much for devoting your life to creating new recipes for paleo eaters!
Thank you for such amazing recipes! My question is: can I make this, or any bread recipe without tapioca starch or arrowroot ? It is still too much sugar for me.I am on a candida cleanse diet and cannot have starch of any kind.
I am so glad I stumbled across your blog while looking for a grain free banana bread. I changed my diet to about 90% grain free a year ago and the results both in losing weight and feeling better have been amazing for this previous carb addict lol
Thanks for being so real about your recipes and not preaching about being 100% all the time.
PS the banana bread was awesome!
Michele,
I have been following your blog for a couple years now and my family and I LOVE your recipes. One of our family favorites is your BBQ chicken Pizza Recipe! The BBQ sauce is delish!!!! For Christmas I made your “Corbread” stuffing and your paleo pumpkin Pie and they were both hits! First year we did not have any left overs lol. How can I get a copy of your cook book?
Thanks so much for your recipes. I ran my first Chicago marathon this past year. After, my husband and I decided to try whole 30 to help my aches and his potential rheumatoid improve. I love following a fellow runner so I can relate.
Hi, Michelle
I too started off just gluten-free eating, but soon also realized that other grains and carbs weren’t for me, I also have to eat low-fodmap sometimes, too. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you why I went lower-carb, and grain-free… though I sometimes will eat rice, just a lesser portion, or if I make gluten-free cookies for everyone of my family, though they still eat gluten, it is less stressful than worrying about what they’re eating, but I really wish they would get with the program, they might be able to sleep better, not fall asleep while watching TV because of high carb overload nor be in such pain… which is why I limit my carbs, less pain, and I feel more capable of running marathons compared to when I eat higher carb foods. Also, I can focus. Maybe if I was the dinner cooker in this house, they wouldn’t mind eating paleo and would see how easy paleo meals are thrown together, and how much better they feel. However, my eldest brother is kinda allergic to nuts, he gets migraines, but he also gets them from wheat… which should tell him that he’s allergic to wheat as well… yet he avoids eating nuts… (figure that one out)
I truly think everyone would benefit from a lower-carb diet, but nobody wants to listen, so I’ve kinda grown to accept it, yet, I want them to experience the same.
Just want to say good on you! I enjoy visiting your site for ideas. I also have 3 children and run. I home school my kids and one of them just loves to work in the kitchen so I like to visit your site and look up recipes he can do. Thank you for all your work in the kitchen it’s a real life saver to some of us who just don’t know where to start.
Hi Michelle, I have been doing my own research on the paleo which i started but I am a bit confused. some cite says to avoid starch and legumes completely but some use potatoes in the recipes. what are your thoughts on this?
I have no real diet concerns and have, for all of my cooking years, made casseroles. With cream of mushroom soup. Or other french inspired cream sauce based recipes. Think Julia Child. I’m retired, in my late 60s so you understand why I cook this way. However my daughter, who is much more cognizant than I am, introduced me to your site. These are wonderfully delicious, easy to prepare, recipes!
Your site is the first place we go to find recipes when we are looking for something healthy and yummy! Your recipes do not disappoint!! Thank you for putting them out there for the rest of us!!