Paleo and primal

[Daughteroughter]

I have been reading about paleo and primal diets has anyone tried them?

My favourite example of that is the rows of vending machines in the lobby of the Metabolic Disorders section of our hospital. Insanity. .

Mr Money Mustache has a good blog post on his blog about paleo. can't link, sorry. Great blog in general, mostly about personal finance but writes about food sometimes.

Tea, yy to your recent post. And every coffee shop is as bad... I always make sure I have an emergency meal in my handbag (small bag of almonds, some seeds or similar that will keep for months in my bag until needed!). Something like that, and a coffee can hold me for a couple of hours.

Yup. Our hospitals are the same. Our local has a Tim Horton's (fast food donut shop) in the lobby . Sigh.

Just made something really nice for dinner; marinated and roast pork tenderloin with steamed green beans and mashed cauliflower/carrots (steamed then added some onion, garlic, rosemary sautéed in butter). Two thirds of my children claimed them to be 'yummy' so will definitely make again .

maca your dinner sounds lovely.

Hospital's pretty much the same here too, last time we were stuck in a&e we couldn't even buy water from the vending machine!

Am making a German apple pancake for the dcs breakfast this morning. Packed lunch will be - sweet potato, carrot and coconut soup, some preservative free chorizo and a home made gluten free choc chip cookie - the cookie has an awful lot of sugar in it, but they were desperate for some and they are really chocolatey, definitely no complaints - will be tweaking the recipe to add some almond flour. Tonight I'm making a massive pot of korma sauce for the freezer - will add lamb for tonight's food, we have a child coming around who is rumoured to like curry, fingers crossed!

Sounds good snow!

Well, yesterday ended up being a bit more faileo than paleo but heyholeo!

The hospital debacle meant an egg and cress sandwich, and really paying for it later with bloating and discomfort! I used to be sooooo cynical about the idea of wheat intolerance etc until I took a look at my own diet and my own reactions. Now I know better.

Dinner was aubergine 'meatballs' from the Abel and Cole freebie cookbook that came with our veg box (along with a kohlrabi which still has me mystified!) accompanied by mushrooms baked with garlic and blue cheese, and plenty of salad. A bit of a mishmash but delicious. And a bit of 85% Aldi choc - the stuff that comes in the little individually wrapped bars, brilliant stuff!

I did finish off ds's vanilla yoghurt with frozen raspberries - thought it might soothe his sore throat but he left half of it and I couldn't just throw it away! Bad sign though - he's off school today with tonsillitis poor thing!

Hope you ds feels better soon tea, I bought some kohl rabi in the local fancy Morrisons on Saruraday - it's in the fridge calling to me - I've read that it's taste and texture is like the stalk of broccoli - which is my favourite part, I'm thinking a salad - or maybe I'll just much my way through it raw.

The German apple pancake was just ok, I got comments like not enough apple, too eggy and funny texture - ds drown his in thick double cream and still managed to consume a massive portion. It will all get eaten but probably not made again.

Has anyone found anything you can buy when out and about for lunch that's whole30/paleo friendly? Maybe like an M&S salad or something? Will be aiming to make packed lunches every day but bound to fail sometimes

M&S have cooked meats, washed raw carrots and other veg, fruit, pork scratching, nuts, coconuts - I don't know how "pure" these products are but when you are stuck and you don't wish to fast, then you still have options.

Read the ingredients on M&S (and other) cooked meats though, they often contain added sugar!

What a great thread! I have finally read through it ;)

I have been working towards Paleo/Primal since August last year. I have read and reread Mark Sissons book and Robb Wolfs book and read on many websites. As a former vegetarian/nearly vegan it was quite difficult for me to start eating so much meat ;) But I have been toying with the idea of going gluten free and dairy free for some time and that is just so hard as a vegetarian/nearly vegan - there wouldn't be much left that I could eat!

I am only now beginning to stop "replacing" baked goods and for me that is the key. I am working very hard on avoiding processed foods, including my own processing, so to speak.

I have experienced clearer skin, dandruff disappeared, better results from workouts (weights) and consistent energy levels. I have gained a little weight, but according to my husband I was underweight when I was vegetarian/vegan. I am doing IF once or twice a week to lose a little weight.

A few hints that have helped me:

Almonds. Almost no carbs and an acceptable substitute for a biscuit when having a cup of tea.

Liver pate - liver is cheap and liver pate is so easy to make. Kids love it. Happy to post recipe (few ingredients), if anyone is interested.

Grass fed meat: Try athleat.co.uk. Their meat is amazing and prices are similar or lower than supermarket organic meat. We get a big box of mince, steaks, bones for broth and liver for pate twice a month.

Tinned fish. Cheap and easy. Get tuna and sardines in olive oil and mackerel in tomato. I find that Sainsbury's taste the best.

Cabbage. Any kind of cabbage. A versatile, cheap and healthy vegetable. Salad: Finely shredded with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Gently fry with nutmeg and butter with any meat.

Make your own mayonnaise with mild olive oil. My kids go trough one jar per week. They need the fat as do we!

So you get your omega 3 from fish and grass fed meat, but get even more from Intelligent Eggs - from hens that have been fed a diet rich in omega 3. From Waitrise/Ocado.

Coconut oil is great, but too expensive in the long run. I use it raw and as a moisturiser.

Make your own dairy free kefir with kefir grains from ebay and a can of coconut milk. Easy, tasty and so healthy.

I have an amazing recipe for almond flour and coconut pan cakes if anyone is interested.

Great tips misscp would love your pancake recipe.

I don't mind a bit of natural sugar in a dish - I mean if the carbs are less than 5g/100g it can't be a huge amount, so I figure that for an occasional snack on the run, it's not so bad but i appreciate everyone has their own limits and rules on these things.

snoworneahva, here it goes:

10-15 pancakes:

10 eggs
1 can coconut milk
300 g almond flour
2 tbsp arrowroot powder

(I found almond flour fairly cheap in my local Asian grocer)

Mix everything well and leave overnight in fridge (or 1 hour if having on the same day), it thickens nicely.

You need to make the pancakes fairly thick, my soup ladle is the perfect for 1. Cook on medium heat and do not attempt to turn them before they are quite golden, as the split easily. I fry in oil/butter.

I serve them with puréed blueberries (thawed from frozen) and bacon. They are very filling! We have them for breakfast once a week and we all have 2-3 each.

Hi - may I join you? I'm on day 3 of attempting to eat primal. I've signed up for the Primal Blueprint Daily Apple email and have been eagerly scouring their articles.
Even though I've only just started, I am noticing a massive difference in my appetite! I'm not craving snacks between meals and already having less trouble resisting carbs and sweet things. I'm sure I'll have many pitfalls to come, but so far so good!
Do many of you follow the primal exercise regime as well as the eating?

holmessweethomes, I also got the primal Blueprint e-mails, very inspiring, aren't they?

I do to a certain extent follow the exercise regime. I have stopped "chronic cardio" and am selling my Concept 2 rower and keeping my weights + my pull-up bar. I am walking (even) more and I am making sure I have rest between exercise. I did try sprinting, but it nearly killed me ;)

I took up running a few years ago, having been terribly unfit, so I'm a bit twitchy about the idea of dropping 'chronic cardio' altogether. However, I've just had a month off running, with an injury caused by over-training, so maybe a re-think is a good idea. Maybe slow my (already pretty slow! ) long runs to a barely-jog and do sprints instead of my shorter runs... Tried the 'lift heavy things' the other day and am still hurting!

Oh and yes, misscph1973 - the emails are great! Trouble is, I click on ever more links from them, and end up sitting on my bum looking at Web pages instead of 'moving around slowly'!

Welcome holmes I don't follow primal exercises as such - but I walk as much as possible, run 3 times a week and do a bootcamp thing in the park twice a week.

I am not strictly primal but I try to follow it as best I can. I try to cut out sugar (including honey), grains and potatoes.

Grass-fed beef and butter is not only better for you but tastes a million times better.

It is great for me because I don't feel deprived. You can make things taste rich with oils, butter, cream and cheese. After all plain bread, rice and pasta isn't exactly something to look forward to is it, it's the sauces you put on it. I just put those sauces on my meat and veg instead.

I also allow myself a recommended amount of 3 squares or 30g of 85% or higher dark chocolate a day and a large glass of good red. The one I drink is 13% and an "allowable" daily serving is apparently 273ml. They both have health benefits and they are a nice treat to look forward to.

If you have a coffee machine put dry ingredients (cinnamon, cocoa powder) on top of the coffee in the filter rather than adding it into the liquid coffee. It's much more flavorful than adding it after the coffee's brewed. In my coffee I now have some vanilla extract, a dollop of extra thick double cream with a teaspoon of cocoa and a teaspoon of cinnamon sprinkled on top instead of milk and sugar.

Some good snacks are:

Berries with cream
A few squares of dark chocolate - 85% plus
Hard boiled eggs
Sticks of cheese
Nuts
Nut butters
Strips of chicken, smoked salmon, ham
Canned tuna
Prawns
Lettuce wraps with sandwich fillings, left over chilli/bolognese, curry etc
Pork scratchings
Avocado
Yoghurt
Beetroot
Pickled onions
Olives
Sundried tomatoes
Those stuffed peppers and cubes of cheese you can get in jars of flavoured oil
Veggie/salad sticks and dips

Thanks, for the snack tips, nappyaddict, and I love the idea about the flavoured coffee, will have to try that in my coffee press ;)

I try to avoid dairy but I do allow myself some fermented dairy like cheese and sour cream (always get the French, it's fattier).

Another great (ie. quick, easy,. cheap) idea that is good hot and cold is frittattas (omelet that isn't folded). I make my kids one out of mixed eggs, grated boiled potato and cheese on the top and adults version has spinach (buy the frozen cubes, great value) and onion in (nutmeg is nice in this too).

And of course, egg muffins, a hit with kids! Mix eggs (1 per serving) with bacon bits, ham bits and/or mushrooms/onion) and pour into silicone muffin cases. Sprinkle with cheese and cook for 20 min. They come out looking like soufflés! Also nice cold.

Great tip about the coffee, I love mocha, so will add a bit of cocoa. I have a small Italian stovetop coffemaker which is brilliant. Great tip also about the Intelligent Eggs. I haven't quite cracked the Omega 3/6 thing yet, but struggle with inflammation so want to work on upping my Omega 3s. Also, DP is a strict veggie and I do wonder about him getting what he needs.

I do Iyengar yoga twice a week which is quite physical, where you use your full body weight a lot. However it's a 30 minute walk there and back plus an hour and a half per class, so it's a bit of a time commitment. I'm starting teacher training in September, and am not sure how realistic it will be.

Has anyone done Crossfit? It sounds really interesting, and when I googled it, there is one less than five minutes from my house. I've struggled with my health in the last few years (possible autoimmune condition), and have been signed off a couple of times with exhaustion. I guess I'm a bit apprehensive of wearing myself out.

Hi, can I jump in on this thread? I've been reading a lot about Primal/paleo the last few days and thinking of giving it a go. I know my Dp won't be interested though. I'm trying to reduce how much bread I eat at the very least as I know I rely on it way too much. 3 stone overweight as a result :(

Oh and QueenofWhatever I'd love to try crossfit, but don't think I can right now as I'm having physio for pelvic ligament damage.

misscph I'd love the liver pâté recipe. What do you eat it with given no bread etc?
Getting quite inspired about this, just waiting a couple of weeks til after our holiday to start. Thanks for all the tips!

misscph, what is kefir? I always presumed it was like yoghurt, but can't imagine a dairyfree one. I try to avoid dairy but do miss having yoghurt so that might be ideal for me. What are kefir grains?

Also, where do you buy your coconut milk? I bought some Blue Dragon coconut milk and coconut cream also, they seem to have lots of chemicals added?