The new Paleo/Primal thread - please reintroduce yourself, newcomers welcome!

[misscph1973]

Wow, we got to 1000 messages!

Welcome back from the previous thread and welcome to all new!

I have been Paleo since September last year, I started as an ex-vegetarian/vegan, I wanted to give up gluten and I had been doing 5:2/IF, which lead me to Paleo/primal. I am 40, I have 2 kids age 8 and 6. I have no major health issues, but I would like it to stay that way. I have bad skin, which has improved since starting Paleo and my dandruff has disappeared. I have gained some weight since starting Paleo, but I was not overweight before, although I would like to get back on my pre Paleo weight - I just love Paleo mayonnaise too much ;) I still practice IF and I lift weights 2-3 times per week. My family is also Paleo.

I have just come back from a camping weekend where I was not strict Paleo as I was camping with other families and I just didn't want to spend my entire weekend telling my kids "no, you cant have it". I do think that Paleo camping is entirely possible, think tinned fish, nuts, sausages, eggs etc.

[misscph1973]

Thanks for ideas for biscuit substitutions, I tried making a version of the sweet potato crisps today, I didn't have the time they needed, so I cut them slightly thicker and added olive oil and salt, cooked them at 200 C and they were lovely with dinner! Not all of them went crispy, as it is too difficult to turn each of them over individually. I also made kale crisps as I wanted to make the most out of the oven being on, and the kids ate all of it! Not sure how many nutrients are left in the poor kale, but now I can say my kids love kale ;)

On another note, my DH gave up AIP today, he had a cup of coffee and eggs. He just had enough, he was thinking about coffee constantly. I am obviously not very impressed, as he has a lot of health issues, but people can only do what they are ready to do. He is going to stay off the dairy, though, as he is quite sure it is upsetting his gut. And I think he is going to take it easy on the nuts, sugar and alcohol.

[GiraffesEatPineapples]

misscph what is it with coffee - I am finding it harder than anything else to give up. Have seen mention that kale chips are nice - will have to give it a try :)

Have snacked on a lot of grapes today - justififed by the fact they are £1.50 in tesco for organic. Made a tabboleh with cauliflower rice dry fried and some marniated lamb and lemon and corriander was pretty good.

[Salbertina]

Evening! Waves to Giraffe! Love flaxseed crisps but not been able to make them successfully and pricey to buy. Made almond loaf earlier to have with soup, okay actually and lower carb, less dry and more palatable than many esp those horrible, overpriced GF loaves one can buy. Got the pmt munchies though, paleo doesn't always hit the spot!

[Salbertina]

Kale crisps... Nicer than they sound?!
I cannot give up coffee, i have it w tiny bit of cream. Low carb at least!

[snoworneahva]

AIP is so tough, I'm trying to stay off a few things - nightshades, nuts, diary, chocolate and eggs, i think my mouth is improving....it's so hard to tell.

[snoworneahva]

I'm down to one cup of black coffee a day, I really crave it first thing....it's such an ingrained habit. Had some green tea today and was pleasantly surprised, I really wanted something hot and wet.

[Salbertina]

Gosh, eggs too? hard with paleo

[pigleychez]

Hi,

Just dipping my toe in the Paleo waters. A friend has had a great weight loss result doing paleo for the past month which has made me look into it. Id never heard it before.

Any kind soles care to explain about paleo to me and how realistic/easy it is to stick to! I have zippo will power and do enjoy too much naughty foods! I dont really want to be making completely different foods every night as we like to eat as a family. Us all eating more healthily sounds more appealing although we dont do too bad.

Im 32 on Friday and really cant keep blaming my spare tyre on baby weight now the girls are 3 and 4. Having them close together really hasnt done my body any favours though!

Anyway, any info or websites to read, rules on what foods are allowed etc would be great. :)

[GiraffesEatPineapples]

Hi salbertina {waves back}

I think its actually quite useful to cut out eggs for a bit of a challenge ;)

Had tinned sardines today it was hard work, tbh squeamish factor set in when I suspected the pink dotty stuff was eggs

Hi pigley there are so many good blogs! Here is a list of the top 50 with a description psychologyofeating.com/top-50-paleo-blogs/ I also like paleomom, paleomg ...

[GiraffesEatPineapples]

oh salbertina try coconut milk in your coffee if you haven't already - I really enjoyed mine earlier, much prefer it to cream. keep meaning to try it with oil but not quite there yet!

Hope it all helps snow

[hopefulgum]

Have you been to NomNom Paleo? I love her website, so many great recipes. I have the Ap on my ipad, and I use it alot.

Today I plan to make some paleo pancakes for breakfast : microwave a sweet potato and mash, add eggs (probably about 4), some coconut cream (maybe half a cup) and almond meal until it resembles a batter. I cook them in coconut oil. It makes a lovely breakfast with sliced banana, but it does take a little time.

The suggestions of leftovers is a good one, but I do find that I don't have enough, as I am feeding a family of six to start with, then DH and I like the leftovers for our lunch.

I think I have just become lazy to be honest, so it is time to get on with being proactive as I know how good this way of eating is for me.

Paleo cured my Carpel tunnel syndrome, got rid of painful periods,joint pain went away and it sorted out the irritable bowel syndrome I had my entire adult life, which no doctor could help me with. I used to get so bloated and have terrible wind pains and diarreah, but it has disappeared since going Paleo.

My Dh did the Whole 30 too and it made such a difference to his health. He stopped snoring (alleluia!), slept better and woke everyday without the snotty nose he has always had. And he lost 6kgs too. When I did it I lost about that too.

[GiraffesEatPineapples]

Pygley this is from paleo mom on what you can eat: Whole foods, including meat {ideally grass fed}, poultry, fish, eggs, vegetables of all kinds, fruits, nuts and seeds {coconuts are a paleo superfood}. A paleolithic diet avoids all grains, legumes (including soy and peanuts), dairy (except butter, ghee and heavy cream), modern vegetable oils (like safflower and canola), and processed foods

If you want a more gentle start Briffa from escape the diet trap says cheese and organic full fat cows milk are ok in moderation as are quinoa and wild rice which are basically grasses rather than grains.

Some people eating paleo also eat white potatoes and or rice - these are seen as more 'benign' choices and a good option for children. There is also an attitude of aim for paleo 80 % of the time the odd slip doesn't matter.

[hopefulgum]

I have also been enjoying coconut cream in hot chocolate. I bought a hot chocolate chia powder (no sugar) and have that with coconut cream (whisked in with a mini whisk). It really hits the spot when I am craving chocolate - with no sugar! It isn't sweet, but the coconut cream and spices make it sweet enough.

The stuff I've bought is Australian, but I bet there would be something similar in the UK?

[GiraffesEatPineapples]

Wow hopefulgum you have had amazing results!

[EMUZ]

Just seen there's a documentary on next Wednesday, channel 4 I think at 8pm. Not paleo but its the "fat, sick and nearly dead" one which I've been wanting to watch for ages

[EMUZ]

A quick question too. What do you eat when
A) you aren't hungry but should really eat
B) you are hungry but forming any kind of meal is a huge effort

[FavadiCacao]

Saw this and thought of you Giraffe (different chai recipes)

snow don't envy your task but I'm pleased for you that it's starting to work.

EMUZ, if I'm not hungry I don't eat, unless is dinner time when we sit together. In which case, I just pick at dinner and save the rest for when I'm hungry. In case of B), I either cook quick familiar dishes or find what leftover sauces/stocks I've frozen. I try to have portions, sauces and stock cubes in the freezer for the very reason of 'no-clue-days'.
Last night I was so tired, when I got in...I open the freezer stared at it, found a langoustine stock jar, a piece of salmon, some prawns and with the aid of a couple green thai paste stock cubes, some courgettes, mushrooms and a tin of coconut milk it turned into a lovely soup in 20 mins. Served with rice noodles for ds and extra coconut mik for me. I was tempted buy the turkey broth but I couldn't be bothered to go harvest herbs from the garden.

hopefulgum Great, isn't it?! For me Paleo cured asthma, ulcer, hayfever, anaemia and few other niggly things.

Hi Pygley. Paleo is incredibly easy at home (and suitable for all) but a little trickier when out and about. It can take sometimes adjusting to the no cereal for breakfast concept and getting used to your handbag looking like Mary Poppins' with emergy knife (swiss one is great), fork and spoon, so you can cut cheese, avocados; a packet or two of nuts, dried fruit; and on the odd occasions bottles of dressings or coconut milk, so you can buy a bag of salad on the go!

[FavadiCacao]

Saw this and thought of you Giraffe (different chai recipes)
Apologies: should read hopefulgum. {waves at Giraffe}

[GiraffesEatPineapples]

Ok I think I have it (salbertina and misscph and anyone still having chocolate) the solution to pms and crunch munchies

HI Fava I was wondering - something I have wanted to try though ;)

Coffee is so confusing, articles like this make it even harder to give it up www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20120607/coffee-may-help-turn-tide-on-alzheimers-disease

[GiraffesEatPineapples]

Obv leave sugar out of above recipe :)

[RawCoconutMacaroon]

If you are not hungry - don't eat! Or have something light.

The top 50 paleo blogs had most of the ones I'd recommend but 1 missing - dietdoctor.com it's very good, more "British" (ok Swedish but I mean its not American). Possibly not on list as it it's low-carb-high-fat but essentially it is paleo/primal.

[snoworneahva]

I think if my condition continues to improve and I uncover the cause of my dodgy skin conditions - i have a few and they are all autoimmune disorders, then at the very least I'll be in control of the flare ups...a life without chocolate and chilli would be too sad to contemplate, I'd put up with the occasional discomfort for the odd edible pleasure, knowing I could flick the switch and improve my skin condition by restricting a few foods for a while....that's how we manage ds's citrus sensitivity.

I'm developing a bit of a thing for smoked mackerel which is great because I can't have chipotles at the moment and I'm craving a smoked flavour and part of the AIP is feeding yourself highly nutritious foods, so I'm attempting oily fish three times a week - which is a challenge because I'm not a big fish eater. Salmon wrapped in Parma ham and baked disguises the fishy flavour.


Finally to answer the 2 questions posed -
If I'm not hungry, I'll still eat dinner with the family as long as it's something tasty, if I haven't eaten recently...if I'm not hungry in the sense that I don't feel like food I won't eat.
If I can't be bothered cooking - I'll do something simple like fried steak, roast chicken, sausages and mash or leftovers from the freezer. And if I'm completely fed up with cooking I'll order salt and pepper ribs from the local Chinese take away or I'll have a selection of cheeses with almond crackers, Parma ham and raw veg - not sure what I'd do now I've temporarily given up so many foods.

[EMUZ]

Thank you for answering! Basically after the shit time I've had recently ive defaulted back to just not eating. If I only ate when I was hungry I wouldn't eat at all so I need to force myself a bit with some easy food

[GiraffesEatPineapples]

emuz Maybe you should take the easy route for a while and stock up on some not too processed convenience foods - so ready made soup with as few ingredients as possible, bagged salad, parma ham (in lidyl this only has salt added), tinned mackerel or any other fish you like, bananas, apples, nuts, natural yoghurt if you can have dairy, maybe some meat based ready meals in the fridge or freezer for emergencies and just don't eat too much of the sauce. If you cook a chicken then strip off all the meat you can make a stock from the bones and have a pyrex full of chicken in the fridge to dip into. Maybe do an online order of quick and easy things?

snow I think your plan makes total sense - AIP for 2 years does not appeal to me but just watching out for signs that you need to step back into it. I think the no nightshades has helped me but it would be sad not to eat italian food for two years! By the way the recipe thread is brill

[EMUZ]

I have some mince that needs cooking so going to make chilli and sweet potato mash tomorrow and just do smaller portions.
Gone completely off paleo today and just thought "what do I want?" This is how not hungry I am, out of an entire supermarket I ended up with a microwave burger