Paleo/Primal

Since the topic of diet has come up, I was wondering if anyone follows the Paleo/Primal way of eating to any degree, as there are a lot of dedicated meat eaters here. I have found it works best for us, but as we are a large family (8 during the week plus one more when son is home on weekends) I can't always avoid meal stretchers like beans and rice. Also, we are not quite ready to get rid of cheese yet. But it definitely works for most of us (husband is not on board, but has to eat what I prepare when at home ). I have quite enjoyed the creativeness of vegetable ideas, and the simplicity of shopping - meat and vegetables - a lot fewer isles to go up and down!

I have never heard of this diet. But when I read the post title I immediately thought of Paleolithic and primal man and visions of cavemen ripping raw meat off bison bones came to mind. THe name Paleo/Primal did not bring to mind one where humans were growing organized crops like beans and rice or corn.

Can you explain this a bit more?

I think if you skip the middle isles of the grocery store and just buy the meats/fish/poultry/eggs and then lots of vegies and some small amounts of whatever else, you pretty well have it. Some folks don't eat dairy or any grains. I suspect a cave man would have eaten any starchy tubers or wild grains he could get his hands on though, grin. Purists don't, and the rest of us, well, whatever floats your boat.

Take a little time and let us walk by your side by defining more clearly what this diet consists of. I know my youngest Sister has 6 children. As the children aged, of course many meals also consist of boyfriends and girlfriends. She is an adventuresome cooker. And there was and is a whole lotta rice and bean eating going on in that family. The kids are meat mongers and love to eat meat, every single one of them. And they are fanatics about different seafoods, like mussels (ich....don't like those one little bit). It think it would be just interesting if you would get down to definition deep and tell us a little about what you feed your enormous family. I always wondered how the Mamma with many would feed the kids, to fill those hungry little bellies. I know how to cook big, had lots of teenager boys when we were foster parents, most times four boys and us, big meals. Love to hear a little about this type of diet pleeeeeeze. Have a most wonderful day, CynthiaM.

To me, it conjures up visions of a diet consisting of unprocessed foods.

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Thanks for the interest! I didn't know it would be so new to people. I don't hold to the caveman reasoning that is behind the diet, but I do appreciate the science and how it has worked for us. In its simplest form it is a grain-free diet, and great for celiacs, diabetics, and others with digestive troubles. My youngest (age 3) and oldest (age 21) need to be wheat and milk free each for different reasons, so that is what started me on this road. At first it was the gluten-free way, but I wasn't thrilled to be replacing wheat flour with rice flour. Long story short, I discovered this Paleo/Primal way of eating, where no grains are eaten, which turned out to be better for my youngest, who has many allergies, and the rest of us. In time I also realized my 10 year old's chronic mouth rash was cause by eating wheat. No wheat, no rash. He's not thrilled by that! About the diet itself, it uses: healthy oils (olive, coconut, nuts, sesame, palm, grass-fed butter), nuts/seeds, almond and other nut flours, coconut flour, spices, coconut milk, honey and maple syrup in moderation as well as palm sugar, lots of vegetables (preferably seasonal), fruit, and all the meat you can eat, preferably the way we on this forum like it - grass/bug fed, home-grown or organically grown, etc. Dairy is a gray area - yogurt is good and milk if you have your own cow, but other forms (like cheese) are hard to get in a healthy form and not recommended.
So how does this translate to real life? Well, breakfast is eggs in many forms - scrambled with veggies and meat, fried, baked, omelets, crepes, quiches, boiled; or any meat and fruit, smoothies, butternut squash "porridge", sometimes real porridge for the kids (I'll have eggs), grated turnips or sweet potatoes as "hash browns", sausage, bacon, even steak and eggs! Lunch is often salad with lots of veggies, maybe walnuts, raisins or dried cranberries, and some kind of meat (chicken, tuna, leftover anything); salmon/beef/bison/yak patties covered with chopped vegetables, mustard, etc. and sometimes cheese (I can't resist); soup, and sometimes I will make buns out of brown rice flour, almond flour, and tapiocan starch (and wet ingredients). Snacks are harder - trail mix, protein balls using dates or almond flour or peanut butter with mixins like coconut and nuts. Supper is obvious - meat/fish and veggies raw and cooked, as well as soup/stew. Grated cauliflower makes good rice, and I have also grated brussel sprouts. There are some amazingly creative vegetable dishes out there. Other things that can be made are walnut/almond crackers, pancakes, muffins, and bread. Dessert is supposed to be occasional, something I have to work on because the kids still expect it. I have to watch the expense, as almond flour and palm sugar are not cheap, but that helps to limit its use. We eat quite unlike any large family I know, because I love to cook (except desserts), and I am blessed that my husband has a good-paying job (not that it keeps him out of debt ). Another thing we like to do is every Friday is international supper night, so that can mess up the grain-free thing, but I still try to keep wheat out. Usually rice or potatoes are the culprits. We choose a country and try to eat as authentic a meal from there as best as we can. My children are wonderfully adventureous eaters, having been raised from the time they could grab table food to eat a crazy array of recipes and foods. I only repeat favourites once in a while, and love to try new recipes on a daily basis. I do "fall off the wagon" all too often, but it now never involves wheat, just rice flour, rice, potatoes and gluten-free desserts. Reading Wheat Belly forever got me off wheat, though I am not religious about it. If out I will eat chicken fingers or whatever else that has the least wheat possible, and am thankful I am not celiac and have those options. However, for my youngest daughter, that is not possible, I have learned to take food with me everywhere.
Other favourite books are Practical Paleo (Diane Sanfilippo - great information on what grains do to you), Quick & Easy Meals (Mark Sisson), the wheat-free cook (Jacqueline Mallorca), Cooking for Isaiah (Silvana Nardone - for those off weeks), Everyday Grain-free Gourmet (Jodi Bager and Jenny Lass) and Wheat Belly (Dr. William Davis). I have more that I use occassionally. Did I mention that I collect recipe books?
To be clear, I am not a purist, but also like to enjoy food, not drive my self crazy by follwowing all the rules. The biggest change for me is that without wheat I no longer hunt for food or think about food all day long, one of the side effect of wheat consumption for me and many others. I can actually be hungry and be OK about it. With wheat in the system, that hunger HAD to be satisfied. I hope this more than answers any questions, but welcome any other thoughts and questions. I answered fairly fully because I, too, am curious how others eat. Appreciate your interest to learn something new, Uno and Cynthia . Sorry I couldn't make it more interesting with lots of pictures like Tara .

Reading this boggles my mind.

I am stunned and amazed that people put this much thought and energy, yes, ENERGY into purposeful and deliberate dietary choices. I know people do but I am still absolutely flabherghasted that anyone willingly gives over this much of their life to food. I bow to your determination and dedication.

Me, if forced to, I prepare a meal, often have no idea what it is, will tolerate no questions and certainly no complaints, and remind whiners that I signed no contracts saying I would provide sustenance for anyone! So shut up and eat.

I do NOT know what would happen if Hubby announced that he had become a bug-avour and would only eat insects that had recently dined on beetle killed pine and had been killed humanely by being hit on their teeny, tiny heads with a teeny tiny stick. Wait, I DO know. HUbby and his belongings would make a permanent trip home to his mother and SHE can deal with his dietary preferences, buh bye Mr. Picky Eater.

I don't know how you women do it. I really don't.

Chicken Team good for you This type of commitment is a big one! My mother follows this diet as well!

Ten years ago she was a very ill woman, nearly died and everything her doctors were trying was literally killing her! She has always ate healthy but after she had a kidney removed seven years ago and things got really bad she starting seeking more of a holistic healing approach and got going on this "diet". I thought she was nuts! Maybe it was all the nuts she had been eating!! LOL!

At one point they thought she was Celiac but after ten years they finally diagnosed her with Lyme disease. Her food choices were what saved her life so I guess spending all that time on her food choices in her case really was worth it, or she would not be with us now. Everything she eats feeds the bacteria inside her body! Even natural sugar from fruit can set it off.

We do eat a fairly balanced diet and have learned a lot from her but I am not prepare to give these delicious devil foods up yet! Being out of town has really helped us cut down on the take out and junk food so I am thankful for that.

Trying to commit that much time to food choices here would fail as I am already short on time lol! I do admire your commitment My mom spends hours searching out recipes, and preparing her meals. She is currently unable to work with such a low immune system, I suggested in the time she is off maybe she could work on making a cook book to benefit others with nutritional requirements like hers!

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The food list is pretty clear. Dairy would not have been allowed on a strict paleo diet since no cave man milked cows. Interesting to note...the Specific Carbohydrate Diet mirrors the Paleo and has many success stories of curing ill children and adults from various symptoms.
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The Paleo is a newer version of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I recommended the SCD to attention deficit disorder children and Asberger's children (to their parents for examination and discussion really) many times.


It is difficult to know which is best for the body and world. Meat or grains or no meat??? I have tried the SCD and found the elimination of dairy instantly relieved some symptoms of arthritis for ME. Wheat is a close second to being a culprit for problems for my body.

ChickenTeam, wow, never expected you to answer the question(s) in such depth, that was a very nice read. Your home must smell very good, with the amount of meal prep that I can see must go on for the meals, and you spend a whole lotta time cooking and prepping. That be what I see the image of Mamma as. Good on you, and good that you are keeping such good care of your family, that shines right through. I see you a very consumed with food woman, and that is a good thing. I think I could easily be on a diet of this sort, absolutely, although, really think that I pretty much am already, just not really knowing. I rarely, and I mean rarely eat any bread products. And basically that is wheat, right...flour...the only time I use flour is when I am making the base for gravy, certainly would go for veggie over a piece of bread any day. Wonder what makes some people to love bread stuffs and others that do not. I do not EVER have dessert, I again would prefer another setting of vegetables. There is a rare occasion wherein I might have a bit of dessert, especially if it is like a berry crumble, but again, that is mostly fruit. I remember once going for my birthday dinner with my Husband's Sister and Husband. There was a most delicious baby bok choi cooked for one of the vegetables (a very high, high end restaurant). They had dessert. For dessert I requested a very large serving of the specific vegetable, had never had bok choi so good and have no clue why it was so good, but it was. I could easily say that I am almost wheat free, cause not a bready type lover. I had to read your post several times, as I thought I MOST interesting. And boy oh boy. Still take my hat off to you for the food cookin' that must go on in your home. Wish I was a child and you were my Mommy. Wanna be my Mommy too . Thanks so much for taking the time to explain to us what this is all about.

Thank you as well Fat Ewe for giving the links that you provided. I will one day take the time and do further studying, cause I just, well, find it very interesting. Beautiful days to us all, CynthiaM.

Very interesting ChickenTeam. I find I am happiest and most stable when I eat like you describe. I have known I was wheat intolerant for a few years now. I can handle it if I have to eat it on the odd occasion, just not regularly. You would be amazed at how many things have wheat in them for a thickening agent. Some yoghurts for example.

Uno, you would put thought into meals and foods if you found out there was something really affecting you. For me it is always a choice about how I want to feel, even dairy is not always my friend. I just don't seem to digest it very well so do I want to feel good or yuck?

I do best on a high protein diet that stops me from being hungry all day. I have a lot of trouble with my thyroid and have been off medication since coming back to Canada, not a good thing as I get very FAT, but it is difficult to get the med and dosage right and I haven't made the effort here yet....

I am like a lot of you here and prefer whole, unprocessed foods. Usually just go the outer isles when shopping. My weakness is ice cream. Never have it in the house though! Hubby loves chocolate, I am not really a fan which surprises most people.

Anyways, I will enjoy looking into this lifestyle you have mentioned.

COopslave you are right. I would probably pay more attention to what I eat or make more conscientious food choices if it affected my health. Which is not to say my choices aren't affecting my health...but I'm not aware of it.

I was blessed/cursed with a cast iron stomach. I could eat shattered glass for breakfast and it wouldn't bother me. There are foods I avoid because I do not like them, but not because they upset me. Hubby has blood sugar issues and needs to eat constantly, (which drives me batty!) all he ever says is, it's been at least an hour since I've eaten. He does not understand how I can get up at 8 and sometimes not eat anything at all until 2. He would die.

BUt in truth, we eat a pretty plain diet. I do not use very many packaged foods, except for Kraft Dinner, which is my obligation as a Canadian. (I like mine with sugar on top). Meat and vegetables is pretty much how my mom did it and how I do it too. Maybe I'm mostly paleo/caveman and don't even know it!

It is like SCD, I have read about that, too. When feed 8-9 people, food prep just takes time due to the volume, even if simple like chopping up a few veggies for a salad. It is a lot easier than gluten-free, with all the time making all the copy-cat breads and muffins, etc., with more than twice the ingredients for many recipes, trying for a tolerable mouth-feel. But it does not consume my day; only 1/2 hour for breakfast, 1/2-1 hour for lunch, and 1 hour for supper prep work. International suppers usually take longer. We are doing Bhutan this Friday. For a family of 13 they spend $5 US a week, and raise $30 worth on their farm. Wow! But they only eat dried fish or pork twice a month (meat consumption is 6.6 pounds/person/year!), and 66 pounds of red rice, which is really, really cheap. Not so over here! I am a can't-sit-still type of person, multi-tasking is my middle name. I love to spend time caring for our chickens, read lots, garden, knit/crochet, sew, and of course spend time with family. Even with all the food issues in family members I have to work around, I still spend much less time on food preparation than women in other countries or our own (great) grandparents. For countless women through time and around the world their whole day is based around food preparation and chores, and that for maybe just one big meal, which suffices in many cultures. My mother was more like Uno, cook what's in the fridge, keep it simple, and cover all the food groups. Now that she is sensitive to salicylates and Dad has stage 4 colon cancer, that has all changed, and she is doing her best to learn and prepare foods to keep them healthy, but it is hard for her and she isn't so thrilled about the challenge. Everyone has things they excel at, and put energy into, and the variety is what makes us all so interesting to each other .

Just wanted to say I've loved reading about your approach to meals and the care you take in the preparation of food, ChickenTeam. I had never before heard of Paleo\primal, so this is all very interesting. I especially love that your kids are learning from a young age to experiment with and enjoy a variety of foods - ethnic and local. There is so much variety out there...a whole world of tates, textures and colors!
My kids are all teens now, and last year we took them on a family holiday to Mexico. We had some great opportunities to try many different foods we wouldn't normally have at home.
One of our excursions was to a little village in the jungle where the lunch was mostly grown, prepared and served right there by the women of the village. I, of course had to check out the nearby chicken pen after we enjoyed a meal of delicious, baked-in-sauce chicken pieces, soup, tortillas, rice, beans and some kind of fruit juice. It was so gratifying to see my family trying everything that was offered and absolutely loving it! I guess I've wandered off topic, but variety really is the spice of life!!

A few of my good friends have gone this route, they call it the hunter gatherer diet, but it\'s the same thing.
With my digestive related issues I have slowly been working my way towards this same concept.

I am so glad you posted this post. I am on an eating plan that for the moment and it is gluten free, although quite unintentionally. But I have felt surprisingly great...no indigestion, no 24 hour heartburn that wakes me up from my sleep with a mouthful of acid, headaches and that great side effect of weight loss - so many other benefits I won't list. So once I started looking at what I wasn't eating, carbs from grains were the obvious as is also milk products. And in searching for recipes, I came across Paleo, and I thought "hey, I've heard that somewhere".

Wow, I eat close to this plan already...lots of high quality meats and proteins, good carbs, and little junk food. And I started reading "Wheat Belly", I can't put it down. And I picked up a cookbook called Paleo comfort food. Those recipes look familiar and will be easy for me with minor changes.

I could keep writing about how happy I am right now to have discovered this. And to have already been familiar with this way of living so that when all the parts came together I had already heard of it and was able to put it together.

I have another 2 weeks on the strict part of my diet, and the I get to start playing with all these new recipes. Yum. Yum. Sheep meatballs. Chicken wings. Oh dear...mouth is watering.

Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!

Wheat Belly is what convinced me to drop wheat forever. Like yourself, it has been a process over time getting to this point, and I am sure glad for my and my family's sake that we are here. But people don't want to hear the message and be healthier; wheat is so addicting. Have fun with the reipces!

We've recently been following the Nourishing Traditions type diets. It's a lot of meat consumption and knowing which veggies to cook, which to eat raw, which to ferment. I'm a dairy person, especially raw, so it encompasses the parts of Paleo I enjoy and still lets me eat dairy