Paleo and primal

[Daughteroughter]

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

I'm so sorry to hear that, marzipan, it must be hard with all the hormonal fluctuations in pregnancy to have to deal with cravings as well! How pregnant are you? Often these cravings change through pregnancy. Also, just get back on the wagon again, just because you slipped doesn't mean it's all over. Look at is as practising, just like none of us learned to ride a bike without falling off a few times ;)

Hi all. Tried some paleo baking this morning as DS wanted to make brownies. We made these and they are fab. Marzipan if you're craving sugar maybe some paleo baking could be a compromise? But don't be too hard on yourself. I craved raw food when I was pg and once ate so many raw peppers and carrots that I gave myself stomach cramps. I think we crave things our bodies need and it's just a case of finding something that meets your craving but still feels 'acceptable'.

Tbh I wouldn't attempt to start a whole 30 if I had pmt let alone being pg so really try not to stress. You'll need some carbs to keep you out of ketosis so just try to see how you go.

Nice lunch of kohlrabi and tuna 'salad' with tomato ad mayo. Feeling much better since I upped my fat and protein quotas - thanks Macaroon

Marzipan - my sugar cravings were off the scale during pregnancy, I used to keep medijool dates by my bed for early morning cravings. Try to not focus on feeling bad about the sugar you are eating, try to think about getting maximum nourishment into your body instead.

Thanks all :)
I'm 33-34 weeks and just want to lie in bed, but instead have to run aftery toddler! Will just try to stick to fairly healthy eating for now I think and try a whole30 again when life's a bit easier

I agree Paleo baking would be a great idea. Health Bent blog is good for baking, as are Elana's pantry, paleomg and primal palate blogs.

Fasting today till 8.00pm - thinking about dinner - pork chops with butternut squash and spring onions and maybe spring greens in coconut milk. Ended up running for an hour this morning - too far for a fasting day but it felt good at the time.

Made dehydrated kiwi in the oven - tasted really nice, kids liked it.....thinking about a dehydrater again, curses....thinking about the Excalibur but its price is eye watering.

marzipananimal

Do you have the recipe for your egg muffins please?

We had chicken cabbage enchiladas last night and DP and DS demolished them. Unusual for DP cos he usually moans if I don't provide him with a portion of potato/pasta/rice with his meal.

I pay £1.99 for 400g coconut flour. Is that cheap or expensive? misscph1973 How much is it in your local Asian grocery shop?

I fancy making this recipe www.paleobrownies.com/delicious-paleo-brownie/ Would ground almonds work instead of almond meal?

Tonight we're having roast pork with ratatouille and buttered carrots, possibly roast parsnips too (a bit carby but delicious!).

Ground almond and almond meal are the same thing! Almond flour is very fine - the texture of white flour.

Thanks snow think I will try out the brownie recipe this weekend.

I struggle to find time and energy for baking but these recipes are tempting so maybe I'll give it a go.
nappyaddict I mixed some chopped cooked bacon, chopped courgette, onion and red pepper with beaten eggs, a dash of water and some salt and pepper. Spooned/poured into into greased muffin cases and baked for maybe 30 mins ish. I used 5 eggs and made 6 muffins. They were a teeny bit bland- adding some cheddar would prob be nice if you eat dairy, but I are them with some olives on the side and they were nice

nappy, that's very cheap coconut flour, where did you get it and what brand? I have seen 250 g for nearly £8 in Holland & Barrets!

My local Asian shop charge £2.65 for 300 g almond flour. I use a whole bag for pancakes and half a bag for Italian "ugly" biscuits (so yummy, if you want a recipe).

snow, as far as I know, almond flour is made from blanched (peeled) almonds and almond meal from unpeeled almonds. I looked into this as my DH is allergic to almonds with peel but strangely enough not to blanched almonds.

Speaking of almonds, some Tesco's have Anton Berg marcipan, (Danish like me, I feel the need to promote it!) which have a much higher almond content and a lower sugar content than normal marzipan:

www.mysupermarket.co.uk/Shopping/FindProducts.aspx?Query=marzipan

www.mysupermarket.co.uk/tesco-price-comparison/home_baking/anthon_berg_raa_marzipan_270g.html

Admittedly it's double the price, but you get what you pay for. Try cutting out small bars and covering them with dark chocolate, delish!

Not exactly Paleo, but don't you feel that the weekend is getting nearer ;)

Now on a healthier note, marzipan, I make egg muffins as well, they are lovely! I make them in silicone muffin cases and the kids love it! I also make them with ham.

And healthy agian: Today I "invented" a lovely side out of quarter bag spinach that was too limp for salads and a pack of ditto flat leaf parsley. I simply put it in a pan with plenty of butter and stirred till it wilted. We had that with a tuna steak (which I unfortunately over cooked a bit), some steamed thinly sliced broccoli steams (kids had the broccoli florets smeared in butter + sausages with leftover home made chicken gravy from the weekend) and some left over roasted sweet potato. Really good simple dinner!

I looked into the almond thing too and I thought almonds were blanched or unbalanced and the fineness of the mill determined whether they were meal/ground or flour. But I've just looked again and lots of people think the terms are interchangeable - except for blanched and unblanched of course. Clear as mud!!

Dinner tonight was nearly a disaster as the chops were two days out of date. So I fried up some bacon, red onion, garlic, chipotle chillis, cherry tomatoes and butternut squash. When the sauce was done I cracked 4 eggs over the top and then covered till cooked, garnished with spring onions, it was very tasty, even the kids loved it and went very well with the coconut greens - which they didn't love even though conversion to greens was promised by the author!

Marzipan I do something similar and add some Roquefort, feta or goats cheese for flavour, herbs help too, or smoked paprika.

Urgh :(
Things are going badly! I was good all day, I even marinated the Ribs before I went out this morning so they'd be ready to throw in the oven tonight. They went in the oven and came out totally burnt, so we ended up having a Chinese takeaway. I could cry, I feel, fat and spotty. Then DH came out with lumps on chocolate.
We've a party on Saturday and I'd planned to wear a dress I'd not been able to fit into for 2 years but could at my slimmest a few weeks ago. Now I feel rubbish have put on loads of weight and also now have nothing to wear.

Sorry,I just can't get why I can't do it anymore :(

Karbea, sorry to hear that. Have had a frustrating week due to hormones and am going to a wedding Friday and am scared I won't fit in my dress, due to eating rubbish last week and hormonal bloating, so understand how you feel. I hope your dress fits.

I cooked little 97% sausages last night for my daughter to have in her packed lunch today then forgot about them until they were burnt and had to give her sandwiches instead. Felt like a real failure. On the plus side served a very healthy dinner tonight.

Karbea feels crap to have put on weight - I did after during my Easter holiday, I don't regret eating the local food, it was part of the adventure but looking in the mirror on return wasn't good.

The more pressure I put on myself to control my diet the less I seem able to do it, it has to feel like a determined positive mindset, i suppose in the zone rather than a beating myself up over a few pastries feeling rubbish about myself mindset - problem is I don't know how I switch on the determined me, it just happens, usually in time to save me from becoming too overweight. I haven't weighed myself from before Easter I'm too scared it will send me to the cakes again.

Most of your gain will be bloating - even now that's now impossible to shift if you eat clean foods till Saturday. The other thing is people apparently don't notice 1/2 stone gain, it's likely you will be the only one to notice, everyone else will think you look fab! Would a body stocking help hold things in - you know the miracle underwear stuff - the ladies on Style and Beauty could probably steer you in the right direction.

Thanks ladies! I had a chat with DH last night and we're going to really try.
I think what helped before was we were doing it in a group and shared what we were eating/cooking for every meal, so if you don't mind I'm going to try and do this here.

So for breakfast I've had a protein shake and my vits.
Off to bootcamp now.

Why on earth does anyone think that eating the "natural" diet of our long ago ancestors will be healthy?

Firstly, the genetic imperative is to reproduce one's genes. In human beings this tends to occur from age 13 to about age 35+/-. The life expectancy of the average paleolithic human being was probably (guessing here) mid 20s/early 30s, so what happened after that was entirely irrelevant genetically. Also, your average caveman was VERY active by necessity. So the optimal diet would have allowed someone to have lots of energy and develop lots of muscle mass. The risk of obesity was probably zero. The genetic damage done by this diet was also entirely irrelevant as your average caveman would have been long dead before this caused any kind of malignancy.

To use some bizarre logic to apply this diet to a modern sedentary 30-40 year old just seems very strange to me. The problem is that anyone can call themselves an expert on nutrition and use pseudo science to expound anything they want. There are REAL respected degrees in nutrition and dietetics and real nutritionists tend to just advise a sensible balanced diet.

Have a friend who eats like this and she has had some truly amazing health results

Thanks for your enlightening input, larry.

You do understand what 'average lifespan' actually means, don't you?

I guess the fact that we all feel much better when we eat this way proves it's the right way to eat.

larry, this thread is for people who have a positive attitude to Paleo. I suggest you start a new thread with the subject you want to discuss.

Karbea, good luck with the dress! I have a tight fitting dress and a pair of skinny jeans in my cupboard that I can't fit into and after years of trying to get into either, I am beginning to think that perhaps I should ditch them and focus on the clothes that fits me now!

I started to type a big response to larry but actually cba. Watching my own mother slowly dying with a combination of shitty diet, heavy smoking, obesity, mental health issues and medication with horrible side effects has made me realise I have better things to do with my life than justify my choices to ill informed, sanctimonious Internet **s. You make your choices, I'll make mine.