Just eating Good Food: Paleo ish diets

[yumyumpoppycat]

Hi All

New thread for chat and recipes or links to good stuff for those doing whole 30/ Paleo/ Primal/ Clean and Lean or any other diets with a focus on eating good food mainly from scratch or as unprocessed as pos. This basically means fruit, veg, meat, fish eggs and nuts but lots of diets include different grey area foods such as quinoa, rice, dairy and legumes. It is just a case of experimenting to see what works.

Personally I am aiming to ditch the phrase 'fell off the wagon' this year and keep the 80:20 approach in mind, technically this adds up to 73 days or 10 and a half weeks a year of eating the other stuff or grey area foods if we choose too- more than enough to cover birthdays, holidays and lunch with Granny! Mindful eating at these times though.

Some links

whole30.com/
www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz3TARuKwtI
nomnompaleo.com/
theclothesmakethegirl.com/
www.goingpaleouk.co.uk/
paleomg.com/
robbwolf.com/category/paleo-low-carb/

...really want to. I'm fine with high fat dairy, so I don't really restrict that. I'm allergic to nuts, so it's handy to have another fat option.

Tootley, I'm not sure it's even possible to be totally paleo/primal!
I started with one rule at the time. :)

That is interesting Jasper, how did paleo lead to binge eating for you?
Binge eating will always be part of who I am but I am more in control of it on a primal diet. Still! The lack of certain food(s) can lead me to crave that particular food (eg lentils) and sometimes I cave in to the point of going out to specifically buy a packet of lentils. Also, the allure of permitted foods can lead to over-indulgence safe starches, here I come!

Hi jasper! Its funny isn't it, with binge eating. I think working out the diet that works, mainly based on unprocessed food is def what primal is about. Like favadi I tend to do best when certain things are restricted. For a moment I thought is there something about paleo that leads to binge eating as a few people seem to find this, then I realised no if you go on any of the diet threads, 5:2, low carb, calorie counting etc not that I peruse them looking for the missing link oh no you will find the theme of falling off the wagon or binge eating.

I think the trick for me is posting on here, looking for inspiring recipes like cauliflower bread, and avoiding the temptation to think foods are not allowed - they are but just in small amounts I can tolerate without thinking oh what the hell I will eat a baker's worth of food! Having a meal 'off' but not a whole day off has been a lightbulb for me I think...fingers crossed!

Dear god, baileys buttercream avoidance. That is hardcore yumyum. Didn't know such a substance had been invented good luck!

Actually as luck would have it I didn't like it that much so crisis avoided!

Just looking at Pinterest just now as can't seem to get motivated to have a good breakfast. There are some good ideas here - I am going to try the egg muffin one (which is mentioned in the muffins bit)

www.mynaturalfamily.com/recipes/paleo-recipes/20-quick-paleo-breakfast-ideas/

My spiraizer arrived today. So far, I really like it, although I won't get to test it out properly until tomorrow when I will be eating courgette pasta. It takes around 20 seconds per courgette which is bliss after doing it all by hand.

I would like to try one of those. I have just tried the banana and chia seed pudding mentioned in the link above - surprisingly tasty and very filling. Have made another one to try for breakfast tomorrow.

Hello all, I'm still here, was just v low energy for a few days in the run up to my period.

It's not paleo that causes binge eating, it's the relentless tsunami of processed-delicious SHIT that's shoved at us all day, every day. It's designed to be addictive! And then we take it on our own shoulders as some kind of moral and personal failing when we binge. When actually even being paleo-ish in the face of the onslaught is a fucking amazing achievement!

Sorry for the rant!

Gawd, and apologies for all the exclamation marks.

Prob a lot of truth in that Paloish, some food def sets off a chain reaction in me! Maybe we should stop beating ourselves up about it. I def think eating paleo even say 50 % of the time is better than the all day wheat fest I would be on otherwise! (I like exclamation marks me )

Chops your recipes look great.

Jasper hope you enjoyed the courgette pasta...app leaving it to dry in the fridge for a bit before using helps.

Paleoish I do agree that a lot of non paleo foods are entirely addictive and set us up to fail and are relentlessly marketed at us and criminally, targeted at children too . A really good book to read to understand sugar and how addictive it is is potatoes not Prozac by Kathleen Desmaisons. It explains very clearly the effect of the sugar on the brain on sugar sensitive people and how eating it leads to addiction. Also explains how no sugar is easier than eating a little sugar etc as eating some can then set us up for relapse apologies for going off on one but feel passionate about this

My experience is pretty much the opposite - eating a little bit of sugar (and bread and rice) has pretty much staved off the eating disorder that I was developing. I don't think that that is particularly typical - most people I know don't seem to react the way I did, but I went from a relationship with food that while not perfect was pretty much ok, to eating clean for months at a time and then hiding food and eating in secret binges until I was on the verge of vomiting. It was really scary. If I really did live in a place where there were no other food options, I would be fine, but I know my current limits, and "I'll eat it tomorrow if I still really want it" leads, for me, to a much more healthy diet and mind than "You can't eat that, it's deadly and addictive".

I think I have aspects of both responses, I think a lot of it is blood sugar related for me. Basically I do best to avoid ...but knowing I can have a small portion in a planned fashion if I really want to helps too. I am totally fine with rice, no cravings so far and have it once in a while, but generally it will be with something meaty and I think that stops the blood sugar thing, I am not bothered by the idea of not having it. Processed cakes are the worst ... I could eat a family pack of mini rolls and I get shaky if I have too much really sugary processed stuff. Mylocal cafe does a lovely mini home made carrot cake - I don't know whats in it, but it is lovely filling and no shaky cravings after.

Jasper and yumyum that was really interesting to read opposite experiences. That stopped me in my tracks actually as I wasn't aware at all that it can work in the opposite way sometimes. I am so used to looking at it one way it is very eye opening indeed . For once, post ranting I am actually glad I did . Maybe I need to really try different things myself. I aim for sugar abstinence (which when it works it really works for ages) but I wil think about this more. I can see clearly that different things work for different people. I hope I didn't say anything that would put anybody off anything they are doing that is working for them

No, absolutely - there are definitely psychological triggers as well as physiological ones and I don't want to deny anyone their own experience of what works for them!

However, I think that a lot of what we identify as psychological is actually not and is based very firmly in our body's physical response to the food we eat. For me sugar abstinence works very well for long periods of time, but reintroducing even a small amount sets me up for horrible cravings and self-sabotaging behaviours.

I had a very healthy relationship with food until my very demanding ds was born. It has been swing and roundabouts since, with a mixture of eating too little to bingeing. At my lowest emotionally (but highest in weight), I could easily finish in one session a full round tub of celebrations (the size sold at Christmas), when naturally I don't even have a sweet tooth!

the relentless tsunami of processed-delicious SHIT that's shoved at us all day, every day Couldn't I agree more, even more disturbing when people force you to accept by shoving these foods in your pocket or bag!
And in the supermarkets, it took months of being Paleoish before I stopped reacting to the enticing smells. A few years later, fresh bread, doughnuts and rosticceria smells make my stomach churn.

Now, periods of sustained stress lead me to seek what I perceive as calming, comforting foods (eg mashed potatoes or lentils) otherwise I have returned to be comfortable around food.

Today I'm going to break some rules.
Ds (gluten free) has a dinner event at one of his activities, where the children chose the menu of garlic bread, followed by pizza. Before resorting to the 'free from' freezer isle in Asda, I'm going to try to make a pizza base that vaguely resembles and taste of pizza but I'm not sure how paleo it will be.

Hope your son has a lovely time at the party fav... is the pizza going to use similar ingredients to the pasta by any chance...I think I have some chickpea flour lurking in my cupboard, it would prob be a good one to try for my sweet toothed, pizza loving dd!

I watched the truth about sugar on i player last night (dozed off for some of it ) at the end there was one man who had managed ok but replaced sugar with beer and not lost any weight, interestingly he made a comment that he needs to learn not to give into social pressure to eat certain foods. The whole thing is so complicated, mass produced money making 'shit' often aimed at children, emotional eating, pressure to conform, addictive ingredients!

Still 3 days to go before resorting to Asda! The pizza was edible (I only had a tiny slice to taste) but I have used to much flaxseed and it wasn't stiff enough.
I have made a sort of tortilla wrap with chickpea flour, which could lend to making a small pizza. I think I used 100g of flour, 1 tbs olive oil, 1/4-1/2 tsp and enough water (add a few drops at the time) to make a soft dough. Roll into a sausage shape cut into 4, then roll each piece flat. Using a hot skillet dry cook until it forms bubbles, turn and cook for a further few seconds. It's quite crispy...I wonder if I were to add some cooked and cooled potato to soften? (I tried tapioca but it gives a very bitter after taste, adding eggs makes it to eggy)

Wrap sounds good Favadi. My 4 year old daughter is addicted to wraps but she likes them with humus, cheese and cucumber so I guess I would need to leave out the humus. She also loves potatoes so if that is added it would be her ultimate lunch!

I have reserved some ottolenghi books from the library as I am hoping to find some inspiration, they have amazing reviews on Amazon (not gluten free but some recipes are hopefully)

I did try to make 1 wrap using potato and it did make a softer wrap. :)

I was very good and only had tasters of all the different batches of pizzas and breads, with the exception of the cauliflowers bread. It was so delicious, I made a second batch!

Hi Ladies, back from my jaunts - still can't believe ds is now a year old!
Really interesting reading how different people respond in different ways. For me sugar is an all or nothing thing - for some odd reason if I know I can't have it it doesn't bother me, whereas if I can I can't seem to limit myself.
Great sounding recipes too - not for now mind - day 2 of my whole 30 and so far so good :) (scary moment with the weigh in and waist etc measurements though!!)
Chickpea flour sounds all kinds of awesome and will look at in a months time lol - far too lethal beforehand. I've tried breads made with cocnut flour etc - and only one my OH would eat was the banana bread recipe :civilizedcavemancooking.com/recipes/desserts/paleo-banana-bread/

Hi tootley how are you going with whole 30 ....happy birthday to your little one, that is such a sweet age!

Favadi I am def going to try a wrap next time I cook spuds

I am having a not too inspiring dinner chicken in pesto and broccoli!

Well third day all good, not feeling ropey as yet, wierd sweet craving when I get in the car...perhaps that should tell me there was a smidge too much snacking going on in my commute .
Favadi could you make him a meatza? saves all the finangaling with diff flours...but then I'd always eat meat with cheese lol

A meatza would not have been practical for the event but ds would love it. :)
Ds wanted a pizza like everyone else, especially when he was in charge of cooking the garlic bread and the other various pizzas. The original plan had been that he and 2 other children would cook a full 3 course meal but the 'healthy options' were shot down by the rest of the group. (Teens!)
I resorted to Asda for convenience but I was successful in producing a thin crust pizza that holds together with air bubbles like the rustic Italian pizza croccante. A recipe, perhaps, as dangerous as the pasta one! Gluten free but not paleo...Thank goodness the aubergines make perfect pizza bases and I was able to keep my pizza-taste-buds happy!