I try to eat primal (I can tolerate dairy) and low carb. I basically cut out processed foods, sugar (including natural sugars in fruit, honey, maple syrup etc), potatoes and other starchy veg, legumes, grains, seeds. My aim is that everything I eat is under 7g carbs per 100g. You may feel worse for 3-4 days whilst you're body gets used to it but after that you'll feel amazing and the cravings will have gone. You actually start craving good stuff instead!
Grass-fed beef and butter if you can get it, is not only better for you but tastes a million times better. Ghee or clarified butter has less casein than normal butter so it is often tolerated better. Jersey cow and goat's products also have less casein in and can be tolerated better. A lot of people don't realise they have problems with dairy. Cut it out for 30 days and then reintroduce one at a time every 3 days so you can see if it makes you feel any different or not. More information on dairy here
It is a great way of eating 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. I use 2 tablespoons of ground (decaff if you prefer) coffee, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of cocoa per mug. It's much more flavorful than adding it after the coffee's brewed. After I have poured my coffee I add some vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons of extra thick double cream, 2 teaspoons of butter and 2 teaspoons of coconut oil and blend with hand blender. I sprinkle extra cocoa and cinnamon on top instead of milk and sugar. This is also known as a bulletproof coffee.
I also have tea (again you can have decaff) either black or with a teaspoon of milk. Green tea, rooibos tea, fruit tea and herbal teas are all OK to have as well. For cold drinks I like fruit infused sparkling water. I pour it into 1 litre bottles and try to have 3 a day. I carry it from room to room so I can sip it throughout the day.
I've got a long list of snacks that I can fall back on when hunger kicks in.
uncooked salad crudites served with homemade coleslaw, cream cheese, mayo or nut butter (brazils, walnuts, pistachios, macadamias, hazelnuts, almonds or pecans) or to dip in a soft boiled egg (avocado, carrot, pepper, celery, cucumber, cherry toms, baby spinach, baby corn, mange tout, green beans, courgette)
asparagus or green beans wrapped in parma ham (also good to dip in soft boiled egg)
omelette or frittata cut up (sometimes give cold leftovers out of fridge)
scrambled egg
egg muffins
hard boiled egg
egg mayonnaise
chunks of cheese
sweet peppers stuffed with cream cheese
sundried tomatoes/cubes of cheese in oil
olives
pickled shallots
chicken drumsticks
canned tuna in spring water
pieces of cold chicken, lamb, beef, parma ham, salmon, prawns
brazils, walnuts, pistachios, macadamias, hazelnuts, pecan, almonds
roasted swede, celeriac, turnip and carrot wedges (again sometimes give cold leftovers out of fridge)
lettuce wraps with sandwich fillings or left over chilli/bolognese, curry etc
pork scratchings
low sugar fruit so rhubarb, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackcurrants with natural yoghurt, cream or nut butters
1-3 squares of 85% or 90% dark choc
Our version of mini pancakes (make pancake batter by mixing a big spoonful of nut butter with a mashed up banana and two eggs. Place greased metal cookie cutter on frying pan and pour in batter)
Cream cheese pancakes
50g cream cheese
2 eggs
1tsp maple syrup (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon - ( I add 2tsp as we love cinnamon)
1tsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Mix together using a stick blender. You can make them without coconut flour and baking powder to make something more like a crepe.
Spoon a tablespoon of mixture onto an oiled heated non stick frying pan. Like all pancakes you need to play a bit to achieve the right heat and figure out when best to flip over.
Philly comes in small snack sized portions - it's perfect for this, they have a really long shelf life, so you'll always have the ingredients at hand.
Frozen blueberries with more cinnamon cooked in micro till they go jammy work well with these.
Some people think it will be expensive to eat like this but I find it cheaper because most things are cooked from scratch and I avoid the expensive snacky treaty things. I buy cheap cuts of meat and use my slow cooker a lot. Aldi is really cheap for fruit, veg and meat. Their smoked salmon is cheap too. These are the cheapest meat prices I have found.
Minced beef 3.59/kg aldi
Minced pork 2.98/kg aldi
Lamb breast 4.89/kg aldi
Lamb shoulder 6.49/kg aldi
Lamb blade 6.79/kg morrisons
Frozen lamb shanks 6/kg heron foods (these are a treat as they do come in a mint gravy although they are still low carb)
Beef brisket 6.79/kg aldi
Pork shoulder 3/kg asda
Gammon 3.76/kg aldi (I think this does have nitrates though)
Free range chicken 3.33/kg aldi
Chicken thighs 2.65/kg aldi
Boneless chicken thighs 4.99/kg aldi
Pork belly joint tesco 3/kg
Steak 10.73/kg aldi
Frozen basa 4.98/kg aldi
Frozen salmon 7.39/kg
Other people worry that young children shouldn't eat like this. My DS eats like this. I want him to grow thinking this WOE is normal and not struggle with the mindset of having bolognese without pasta, soup without bread, curry without rice etc. There are lots of websites about paleo kids.
[[http://everydaypaleo.com/paleo-kids/]]
[[http://paleoleap.com/paleo-kids/]]
[[http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/01/paleo-for-kids.html]]
[[http://paleoparents.com/]]