Any Paleo-eaters on Mumsnet?

[megandraper]

Thinking about going (mainly) Paleo for our family (DH & I plus DCs age 5, 3 and 1). Two of our children are coeliac, so we're already gluten-free - main changes would be weaning ourselves off sugar, white flour, processed food etc. I see the biggest challenge as getting the kids to change what they eat (although we've already successfully managed one big change with the more to gf). Breakfast is the first target - the kids like g-f breakfast cereal, toast, pancakes etc. They do eat boiled eggs, so that's one alternative, but can't do that every day. Snacks will be the next on the list.

Would love to hear from anyone who is eating Paleo, especially with kids. Tips about good recipes would be great.

[TheYamiOfYawn]

My favourite primal/paleo recipe blogs:

nomnompaleo.com/

www.primalpalate.com/

www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/

www.paleoforwomen.com/

www.marksdailyapple.com/

Packed lunch ideas here: nomnompaleo.com/post/30267255011/a-week-of-paleo-school-lunches-part-1-of-5

[megandraper]

thanks wombat. i came across great lakes but thought they were only in the US. Will check Amazon.

[megandraper]

Thank you Yam - will try making the frittatas this weekend and freeze. I find that every time I introduce something new to my kids, I have to bribe them at first just to take a taste, and then (if I'm lucky) after a few repeats, they find they like it and don't need the bribe any more. They like boiled eggs but not omelettes - I think the muffin case size and cute look of these might swing it though.

And wombat - brilliant recipes thank you. Am going to try the gummy bears this weekend too.

Anyone know where to get grass-fed gelatin?!

[TheYamiOfYawn]

For the frittatas, I mixveggs with whatever else I want (last batch was chopped cherry tomatoes, rocket and olives), put them in silicone muffin cases (or a well-greased muffin tray) and bake for around 25 minutes on gas mark 5 or 6.

There ate loads of fantastic paleo/primal food blogs. I will post some links later, but if you want to have a google, my favourites are Nom Nom Paleo (by a woman who had 2 young children and a full time job with uncivilized shifts), The Clothes Make the Girl and Primal Palate. I also love the ethos of Whole 30 which is a 30 day intro to paleo eating.

There is also a good blog called Paleo for Women which isn't really about food but is good for health and learning to love your body if you don't already.

[snoworneahva]

Sleepywombat fantastic recipes - made the gummy stars this morning - the kids loved them and are taking the lemon hearts to school for lunch - off to make a bulk purchase of gelatin. Raspberry and orange planned for later.

[EMUZ]

I eat (loosely!) Paleo as I do eat dairy (doesnt seem to affect me or weight loss)
Breakfast I often have full fat total yoghurt with berries and find it pretty filling. Omelettes are good too

[megandraper]

Queen - I don't eat agave myself, or use it for cooking. DC1 adds it to things. I am going to switch to honey instead, having read about the concerns with agave. It would be nice to remove it altogether, but getting towards a good, varied diet has been a very tough journey with DC1, and I don't want to risk disrupting that by withdrawing things that make him happy to eat. He is extremely skinny, so weight is not an issue.

[QueenofWhatever]

This article on sugar and children is really interesting.

[QueenofWhatever]

Why do you need to use agave syrup? Fruit is naturally quite sweet anyway.

As you reduce the amount of processed food in your diet, there will be less and less sugar in your diets. Our appetite for sugar (natural or otherwise) has really decreased as our taste buds continue to adjust.

[snoworneahva]

Bed hopper you can use maple syrup on a Paleo diet - I buy mine in bulk from lidl it's about half the price of the supermarket version.

[snoworneahva]

It is a minefield but I think you have to see this as a journey, you're trying to improve your diet - it will never be perfect.....and the marketing people know which buttons to press.

Dh came back with a tub of Carte D'or last night, he thought because it said no artificial additives it was fine - one look at the long list of ingredients suggested it was expensive, cheap crap made from skimmed milk and veg fat, masquerading as a quality product - vanilla ice cream should only need cream, vanilla, eggs and sugar.

There's a blog Paleo Parents I think it's called, might be useful.

[megandraper]

The Yam - I love the sound of the mini-frittatas in muffin cases that you can freeze and reheat - that could work for us.

Can you give me a recipe for the frittatas? And how do you reheat? Oven or microwave - how long for? Sounds great.

[megandraper]

Snow/Queen - thank you for that link about agave. I did think that it was a 'more healthy' version of sugar and more healthy than honey. DC1 would be just as happy having honey, so I am going to swap over to that now.

It really is a minefield, isn't it, trying to provide healthy food.

[QueenofWhatever]

Here's a succinct link about agave. Doesn't look good!

www.marksdailyapple.com/is-it-primal-7-more-foods-scrutinized/

[TheYamiOfYawn]

I have been eating paleo for a couple of years now, and am so happy with my choice. The kids eat a standard diet, but I'm planning to start gradually switching over for meals at home, at least to a more Weston a Price tye diet. Good breakfasts are boiled eggs, mini fitattas baked in muffin cases, kept in the freezer and reheated, meatballs, tuna mayo scooped up on romaine leaves, all with fruit or veg sticks. Also leftovers.

[Willowisp]

Thanks - I'm interested in Weston A Price et Al, who are quoted & essentially anti agave. I think I will contact the manufacturers of the 2 x products I have & ask some questions.

[snoworneahva]

I'm not an expert but I know that fructose is not good!!!! And they have been very clever about how they have marketed it, just as the HFCS people initially pushed its lack of insulin raising qualities, till people saw what it actually did to the body.

"Because fructose is digested in your liver, it is immediately turned into triglycerides or stored body fat. Since it doesn?t get converted to blood glucose like other sugars, it doesn?t raise or crash your blood sugar levels. Hence the claim that it is safe for diabetics.

But it isn?t.

That?s because fructose inhibits leptin levels ? the hormone your body uses to tell you that you?re full. In other words, fructose makes you want to eat more. Besides contributing to weight gain, it also makes you gain the most dangerous kind of fat.

This has been verified in numerous studies. The most definitive one was released just this past year in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The full study is available online, but for the sake of space I?m including Stephan?s (of Whole Health Source fame) summary here:""

Try googling but here's a link to the quote above to get you started

agave good or bad

[Willowisp]

snoworneahva I use agave syrup & am interested in what you are saying. I avoid fructose, but understood that agave, depending on how 'pure' it is, is ok.

Can you tell me more ?

[snoworneahva]

Bed hopper I have heard v bad things about - agave syrup - it contains high levels of fructose which although don't affect blood sugar as much as sucrose they are not great for the liver - it's often compared to High Fructose Corn Syrup. Would your dc have honey, maple syrup or even sugar, I think these may be preferable from a health perspective. Apologises if you have considered all this already and have decided on agave anyway but many people are unaware of its health implications.

[megandraper]

DH and I, and DC2 and DC3 have Eat Natural muesli which is fairly paleo (it has a bit of buckwheat in but otherwise is just nuts, raisins and seeds) and the DCs and I have fruit with it. I may work on getting them to have it with coconut milk instead of cow's milk.

DC1 is an obstinate fruit-hater, and won't eat muesli either. He has a kids breakfast cereal with agave syrup and a slice of ham or a boiled egg on the side. That is the best I can do for the moment, but I am not satisfied with it. The cereal is too sugary and not nutritious enough. More work to be done!

[bigkidsdidit]

I do a halfway version, really; I like the idea and think it is healthy but can't do it all the time, I work FT and have a toddler and need to do him a packed lunch etc. So we eat lentils and peas and sweetcorn, and I bake the odd small loaf of bread so we can have avocado or boiled egg on toast if really rushed.

For breakfast we do the same as a pp and mostly have greek yogurt with chopped banana and chopped apple.

Off to read about primal which might be more suited to my life!

[megandraper]

I am new to paleo, Totem, but as I understand it, it's back to caveman days - so hunter gatherer stuff - meat, fish, nuts, fruit and veg. I guess if you go back far enough, we all came from Africa and migrated out from there!
Carbs are from fruit and veg.

No grains, legumes, dairy, or processed food.

Primal seems to be a more achievable version of paleo (some dairy allowed). I am looking at this website about it

www.primalbritain.co.uk/primal-britain-diet-guide/