Paleo substitutions

kikih64

Hi all!

So I'm almost through my second week of paleo and haven't found it to be difficult yet. I'm loving the food! I was afraid I would have fewer choices, but if I just give a little thought to my meal plans, it's really interesting.

I found I was missing bread a little bit, so I tried a recipe using ground flax. Very delicious with almond butter! For missing cereal, I made a nut and seed granola with honey - also amazing. I am looking forward to trying paleo pancakes and no-oatmeal soon. (trying to limit sugar right now).

Someone recommended using chopped nuts instead of bread crumbs for dishes that need that. Are there any other good subsitutions? I used to eat a lot of pasta, so that's probably the next thing I'd like to find. I have so many recipes that just need a little tweak to become paleo.

Thanks for any advice!!

AllanMisner

I've heard of using zucchini for pasta and there is a special tool for it. I use almond flour and almond milk.

whatjesseats

For pasta, I use zucchini, yellow squash, and sometimes carrots. Use a julienne peeler if you want spaghetti-like zoodles, or a regular peeler to make wider strips for lasagne or fettucini depending on the size of your squash. My boyfriend now prefers zoodles to traditional pasta.

I have baked or pan-fried fish with a coating of crushed pecans or almond meal with good results.

TriLifter

I've also fried fish with coconut flour crust--yum!

kikih64

Thanks! Appreciate the help!

nickymaire

A good one I found is to use chia seeds because they absorb liquid in place of bread crumbs/flour in things like meatballs, meatloaf etc. And to have a gravy thickened without flour/cornstarch I made it with mushrooms (blended til smooth) butter and meat juices YUM!

thenance007

I use the Tofu Shiratake noodles, especially fettuccini and spaghetti. If you rinse them well, then pop them in a microwave for 2 minutes and drain them, or dry-fry them in a skillet to remove excess moisture, they are great for chicken curry and most anything else you'd use noodles in. They have 40 calories in an 8 oz. bag that can serve 2 people, and are made with healthy glucomannan flour, which is a soluble fiber. For me, they are the difference that allows me to give up pasta, my downfall.

MrsAbles

But tofu's not paleo!

Shadowknight137

Slice a sweet potato/kumara into little circles and microwave for ten minutes topped with cinammon.

Tried it yesterday trying to make chips... but legit tasted like cookies.

sallydurkin

Use rice cauliflower rice instead of rice love the cauliflower more.

homesweeths

My dd made flaxseed brownies once -- she mistook the ground flax for almond meal. The brownies were incredibly fudgy and rich. (Of course that was some months ago, before we went paleo, so it was definitely not "paleo" if you catch my drift, what with the sugar.)

Tophermak

For bread crumbs we found using good quality pork rinds (ingred. pork, lard, salt) when run thru the food processor work great. Just spice it up however you would like. Riced cauliflower is amazing, you would never know that is was cauliflower. There are so many recipes for so many things online. I swear almost everything has been paleofied one way or another. Good luck and stick with it. After a few weeks without grains/processed foods it pretty easy to push off any cravings anyhow.

Tophermak

Slice a sweet potato/kumara into little circles and microwave for ten minutes topped with cinammon.

Tried it yesterday trying to make chips... but legit tasted like cookies.

Ok, this I'm gonna have to try. . . I love sweet potato, i love cinnamon, but the two together could be just epic!!

Tophermak

I've heard of using zucchini for pasta and there is a special tool for it. I use almond flour and almond milk.

Tool is a mandolin maybe. . .that's what my wife uses for slicing zucchini into pasta strips for lasagna, she just lays it flat out on papertowels and salts it a bit to help remove some of the excess liquid before using but to each their own.

Kaelitr0n

I've heard of using zucchini for pasta and there is a special tool for it. I use almond flour and almond milk.

Tool is a mandolin maybe. . .that's what my wife uses for slicing zucchini into pasta strips for lasagna, she just lays it flat out on papertowels and salts it a bit to help remove some of the excess liquid before using but to each their own.

This is what I use to make veggie noodles: http://www.amazon.com/Paderno-World-Cuisine-A4982799-Tri-Blade/dp/B0007Y9WHQ/

I also use it to make sweet potato chips! Yum!

kikih64

I appreciate all the great suggestions. I'll have to look into cauliflower rice and "zoodles". I'm making meatballs and sauce tomorrow night and have decided to try spaghetti squash for the noodles.

I knew there had to be other uses for chia seeds! We bought a bag a while back, and the most I ever did with it was sprinkle in oatmeal or into muffins (pre-paleo!).

I don't know that I've ever seen pork rinds, but that sounds pretty good to me.

I've looked up some paleo desserts to try since I am missing my ice cream. I've been doing good about cravings, really haven't had any. I just know that if I'm going to try to stick with this I need to have some options available when I want a dessert.

Someone brought brownies to the office yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised that when I stopped to just smell them, they really didn't even smell good to me. Too heavy or something. I think that's definitely progress!

Dragonwolf

I appreciate all the great suggestions. I'll have to look into cauliflower rice and "zoodles". I'm making meatballs and sauce tomorrow night and have decided to try spaghetti squash for the noodles.

Spaghetti squash rocks. It's one of the few squashes that I love to eat. You can have quite a bit of fun with the spices in the sauce, too, since the squash has only a mild flavor of its own.

moewmoew

An easy 1 ingredient ice cream is to blend up a couple frozen chopped bananas until they're smooth and pop them back in the freezer to re-freeze. You can add strawberries to it for a different flavour.

leighn62

SPAGHETTI SQUASH! It's fun to eat and can take the place of spaghetti in anything. Also a bar of 86% chocolate melted with chopped macadamia nuts to make a bark. Really kills the sweet and the chocolate craving.

blynnblair

I appreciate all the great suggestions. I'll have to look into cauliflower rice and "zoodles". I'm making meatballs and sauce tomorrow night and have decided to try spaghetti squash for the noodles.

after roasting the spaghetti squash i like to saute it with some garlic and ghee then add a litte evoo right before serving, it really takes it to the next level!

StacyReneO

I use the Tofu Shiratake noodles, especially fettuccini and spaghetti. If you rinse them well, then pop them in a microwave for 2 minutes and drain them, or dry-fry them in a skillet to remove excess moisture, they are great for chicken curry and most anything else you'd use noodles in. They have 40 calories in an 8 oz. bag that can serve 2 people, and are made with healthy glucomannan flour, which is a soluble fiber. For me, they are the difference that allows me to give up pasta, my downfall.

Tofu isn't Paleo!

I haven't really come across anything I miss enough to find a substitution for. I have had to make my own BBQ sauce and kethcup though

stacyt83

Try spaghetti squash to sub for noodles. I cook with almond flour all the time. You might want to check out: http://www.paleoplan.com/recipes/ for some free recipe ideas.

justaspoonfulofsugar

just a note on almond meal/almond flour
here is one quote and there are others floating around on Mark Sisson's site as well as Chris Kresser

To some this won’t be new. There’s been a growing understanding recently that abusing nuts probably isn’t wise. Now, they do come with great micro-nutrition and are likely beneficial in moderate amounts. But in huge amounts and especially in a less-than-whole form, the omega-6 in almond flour is likely prone to oxidation and the increased omega-6 is inflammatory. Omega-6’s propensity to be inflammatory lies in the fact that inflammatory eicosanoids (bodily signaling molecules) are derived from it. Nuts (especially almonds) also contain phytic acid which blocks absorption of other dietary minerals. Phytic acid can be reduced by soaking/sprouting…but let’s be realistic here…that is a pain in the butt.

SirBonerFart

abusing nuts probably isn’t wise

Depends on the situation

justaspoonfulofsugar

abusing nuts probably isn’t wise

Depends on the situation

hardy har har!

meghanner

Miracle Noodles are like the tofu shirataki noodles but have no soy. I use them when I'm in a time crunch or don't have any zucchini on hand .

If you want an amazing occasional bread replacement, try this recipe: had it for breakfast today with some nitrate free turkey bacon and avocado. So good! I use hemp or pumpkin protein powder to keep in paleo.

http://purelytwins.com/2013/03/05/single-serving-vegan-english-muffin-recipe-glutenfree-protein-rich/

pandafoo

to add onto this, i recently tossed together an 'ice cream' with mashed bananas, unsweetened cocoa powder, cinnamon, and raw unsweetened coconut flakes. so yummy that i make it quite frequently! this would make for a great post workout snack because of the bananas with a high GI value

An easy 1 ingredient ice cream is to blend up a couple frozen chopped bananas until they're smooth and pop them back in the freezer to re-freeze. You can add strawberries to it for a different flavour.

Rei1988

Miracle Noodles are like the tofu shirataki noodles but have no soy. I use them when I'm in a time crunch or don't have any zucchini on hand .

If you want an amazing occasional bread replacement, try this recipe: had it for breakfast today with some nitrate free turkey bacon and avocado. So good! I use hemp or pumpkin protein powder to keep in paleo.

http://purelytwins.com/2013/03/05/single-serving-vegan-english-muffin-recipe-glutenfree-protein-rich/

Yes but they look so perfectly white... makes you wonder how they got them that way... :huh: