Dipping my toe in to Paleo ...

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My nephew is studying nutrition and is very much in to Paleo in its purest form. My sister is pretty much Paleo, although she does lapse a bit. But she has tried every diet there is over the last however many years ... and has now dropped several dress sizes because of Paleo. Which is the main reason I am dipping my toe in!

However I have a family who are not interested in cutting out bread, cakes, cereal, etc, which does make it harder. I am only on day two but have been very good so far, although I do feel a little bit light headed! I have been eating quite a lot of nuts and dried fruit - not sure if these are ok but my sister told me they were!

I would like two favours please - firstly to signpost me to any good websites for Paleo that are simple to understand for a beginner like me.

Secondly, does anyone manage to stick to Paleo and cook/prepare food for the rest of the family?

And thirdly (yes I know I said two favours, but I lied! :tongue: ) is it possible to do Paleo on a limited budget? Everything seems to be sooooooo expensive. :sad:

Thank you kind people!! :bigsmile:

Replies

  • AshleyPaleo
    AshleyPaleo Posts: 121
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    Hey!! welcome to the wonderful world of paleo lol. I consider myself "primal" I cook with butter. I am new(er) to paleo - amost 4 months, and I have never felt better!!
    1. I am also on a budget, and my fiancé does not eat paleo. I found out that a bag of apples (even organic sometimes) costs the same as a bag or Dorito's. Also, I used to live off of lean cuisines, that were around $2-4 a piece, now I make "real"food and freeze it in individual servings, its a lot cheaper.
    2.If you have a facebook, search the word "paleo" I found tons for recipes and support that way.
    Best of luck!!!
  • MikeFlyMike
    MikeFlyMike Posts: 639 Member
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    1. visit whole9life.com - they have great content. Visit MarksDailyapple.com almost every day ..
    2. yes - why would you eat something you don't want. let others eat whatever they want - and you eat what you want. simple.
    3. budget - you know what - boxes of food are much more expensive than you realize. don't buy ANY gluten free products - just buy real food. Its amazing how much cheaper my food budget is now. If you go all in with grass fed beef, then i recommend buying a share for the freezer.

    finally - I started his for weight loss - that happened, but that has been the least important side effect of eating this way. I just feel f-ing awesome. do it for well being and superhuman status.

    Live long - drop dead.
  • Needmorewillpower
    Needmorewillpower Posts: 11 Member
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    Thanks both! Am on FB so will have a root around on there. :) Funnily enough although feeling light headed slightly, I am less bloated after just 2 days! Amazing!! :bigsmile:
  • bikermike5094
    bikermike5094 Posts: 1,752 Member
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    marksdailyapple.com


    its my paleo/primal bible....
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    I've been going Primal for a little more than a month (Lean meats, lot's of fish, eggs, veggies, berries, apples, grapefruit, hard white cheese, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, olive oil (although I'm going to try coconut oil), whey protein, nuts and red wine). I will be phasing greek yogurt and cottage cheese out over the next couple of weeks (they seem to bloat me up when I eat them).

    1) http://www.jackkruse.com/paleo-diet-easy-start-guide/ and Mark's Daily Apple are two of the best resources I know of.


    2) My first tip is to know yourself. I have very good willpower, so I can cook different food for her, sit down with her eating things I won't, and deal with things sitting on the counter (available) and not go for it. I think I'm being fairly strict now, but I'm moving toward getting even more entrenched (organic, grass fed, etc.) phasing out things that don't make me feel satisfied and energized (like greek yogurt). If you have the willpower, then try to cook the bulk of the meal under your paleo rules and then prepare them a starch and/or bread. In most cases, they'll like what you've made and over time, you might be able to phase them out of the non-paleo foods (at least when you're cooking).

    3) Since you'll be sticking to real food, you'll find you aren't spending as much as you thought you would (as others have noted above). If you have farmer's markets in your area, they will often sell larger quantities of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables for the same price you're paying in the grocery. Buy meats, fish and eggs in bulk. The meat and fish can be broken up into serving sized packages and frozen. You're going to go through a lot of eggs on this eating plan. Also, you can prepare large amounts over the weekend and eat off of it over the week or freeze portions. For example, when I get back from my next business trip, I'm going to cook a full turkey and package it up for several meals for the month.

    Enjoy!
  • emtron500
    emtron500 Posts: 102 Member
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    Making non-paleo food for the rest of the family? You're too nice :P

    My husband is always eating non-paleo foods, but not in meals I cook. I cook one meal and if he wants to go seek out other stuff, that's his problem.

    Paleo is definitely doable on a budget. Try lots of ground beef-based skillet meals, eat more pork than beef in general (it's typically much cheaper), get lots of your daily protein from eggs. Make big batches of soups, chilis, etc and portion them out for easy convenient lunches of dinners. Eat fruit/veg that's in season as it typically costs much less than stuff that's imported.
  • shar140
    shar140 Posts: 1,158 Member
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    Mike created a thread for websites (these are mainly on FB, but a lot have their own websites as well):
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/978371-people-i-follow-on-facebook

    As for the cost, see NerdFitness's posts about that here:
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/12/27/cheap-and-healthy-food/
    and
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/10/11/how-to-eat-healthy-without-breaking-the-bank/

    And I second amisnercpa's comment about buying in bulk and cooking ahead. I never cook for just 1 meal, I always plan ahead to get at least 1 additional meal out of it (usually for lunch the next day). More efficient, to me. Then I pack up leftovers from dinner for lunch! I sometimes cook up an entire bag of frozen chicken on a Sunday, then I have it all week to do whatever with - top salads, make a stir fry or fajitas (no tortilla, I just eat with a fork!), etc. Mix up the spices and veggies with it. I find I don't get nearly as bored eating this way, as I did before! I'll cook an entire package of bacon or sausage at once (I make my own sausage so it's not full of crap), then just reheat it through the week for breakfasts.
  • hilliardjoe
    hilliardjoe Posts: 111 Member
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    Buy meats, fish and eggs in bulk. The meat and fish can be broken up into serving sized packages and frozen.

    This.

    Try to find a local butcher. I was pointed to one when I first joined MFP and I can't believe the quality and cost of the meat we get now compared to buying it from grocery stores.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    As someone who also went Primal with a resistant family - learn to be patient. It's easier if you're the one doing the grocery shopping and cooking, because then it's "eat what I buy, or get off your butt and buy your own" ;), but not everyone can do that, of course. If you want your family to go Paleo, you'll need to wean them off the non-Paleo stuff, probably by substituting for Paleo-friendly varieties.

    My husband was very much a "you can have my bread/pizza crust/pasta when you pry if from my cold, dead fingers" type of person. I started down the Primal path about a year ago, and he's since opened up to things like spaghetti squash (in place of pasta), lettuce-wrapped burgers, and gluten free pizza crusts (made with tapioca flour, mainly; not totally "real food", but if it gets him a little farther away from bread stuff, I'm willing to compromise). He's even willing to try noodle-free lasagna, made with zucchini "noodles". And this from the guy who would previously scoff at such "rabbit food"!

    It can be done, but it will take some time. :)
  • Needmorewillpower
    Needmorewillpower Posts: 11 Member
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    Thanks for the advice everyone. I think it's all about being organised as our grocery shopping arrived a bit late this evening, and we were all starving so I made pasta for supper. Ooops! Not sure I am going to be disciplined enough to stick to this, as it really is a whole new way of life, but will try my best.
  • Needmorewillpower
    Needmorewillpower Posts: 11 Member
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    Oooh one more question please! What do you all recommend for breakfast? My nephew recommends the paleo pancakes, but I don't have much time in the morning as I have a long drive to work and am always running late!! And also tried them once and am not crazy about them!

    So far I've been eating organic yogurt with a banana sliced in and some unsalted/unroasted nuts and raisins sprinkled over the top, but this will become a bit boring every day!
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    Oooh one more question please! What do you all recommend for breakfast? My nephew recommends the paleo pancakes, but I don't have much time in the morning as I have a long drive to work and am always running late!! And also tried them once and am not crazy about them!

    So far I've been eating organic yogurt with a banana sliced in and some unsalted/unroasted nuts and raisins sprinkled over the top, but this will become a bit boring every day!

    I recommend fixing your late to work problem, first, but I generally do bacon and eggs. On workout days, though, I do a protein shake after my workout - Jay Robb whey with whole milk (though you can use coconut or almond milk if you don't do dairy). It's not necessarily strictly Pale, but it's the best I've found so far.
  • zellagrrl
    zellagrrl Posts: 439
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    Realistically, I don't usually eat breakfast, and if I do, it's once I get to the office. I also hate leftovers, so this is what my husband has had and doesn't hate (he's Paleo, but I have a lot of cooking fails).

    I make a smoothie using Now Egg White protein powder (the plain egg white version), frozen berries, almond milk and some frozen kale (the husband uses tropical frozen fruit or whatever we have around). It goes down quickly enough.

    Sometimes I make an egg casserole or frittata ahead of time-- they reheat fine in the office microwave. Just saute onions, garlic or whatever combination of veggies you have on hand in a pan, throw in cooked bacon or sausage (or whatever you like) and then add a dozen or so beaten eggs on top and bake until the eggs are set. Trying this over sweet potatoes was a metric ton of fail, by the way-- the texture was awful.

    You can also make Paleo pancakes ahead of time and reheat them from frozen or refrigerated.

    Dragonwolf: The Jay Robb egg white protein powder is pretty good too-- we just switched to the Now brand because it's so much cheaper per serving.
  • shar140
    shar140 Posts: 1,158 Member
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    Oooh one more question please! What do you all recommend for breakfast? My nephew recommends the paleo pancakes, but I don't have much time in the morning as I have a long drive to work and am always running late!! And also tried them once and am not crazy about them!

    So far I've been eating organic yogurt with a banana sliced in and some unsalted/unroasted nuts and raisins sprinkled over the top, but this will become a bit boring every day!

    I do eggs and bacon or sausage, sometimes a side of sauteed veggies (in coconut oil, of course! :) and a side of plain greek (FULL FAT) yogurt with some berries or other lower sugar fruit. Eggs can be hard-boiled ahead, and the bacon or sausage can be cooked ahead and reheated. I've even just tossed those in a container and brought for breakfast after I get to work, when I'm running behind. I've been thinking of doing the egg casserole/frittata thing that zellagrrl mentioned, too. Or if I'm REALLY in a pinch, intermittent fast (if I haven't done a workout in the morning).

    I generally stay away from "paleo-izing" any conventional foods, like the pancakes, unless it's a special occasion. I stick with meat, veggies, nuts, and a little bit of fruit and dairy.
  • mandabrett
    mandabrett Posts: 139 Member
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    Scrambled eggs cook in about 3 minutes. You could boil eggs on the weekend and have them all week. I don't need breakfast most of the time if I've been making good choices. My body naturally phases it out.
  • JSheehy1965
    JSheehy1965 Posts: 404
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    1. visit whole9life.com - they have great content. Visit MarksDailyapple.com almost every day ..
    2. yes - why would you eat something you don't want. let others eat whatever they want - and you eat what you want. simple.
    3. budget - you know what - boxes of food are much more expensive than you realize. don't buy ANY gluten free products - just buy real food. Its amazing how much cheaper my food budget is now. If you go all in with grass fed beef, then i recommend buying a share for the freezer.

    finally - I started his for weight loss - that happened, but that has been the least important side effect of eating this way. I just feel f-ing awesome. do it for well being and superhuman status.

    Live long - drop dead.

    Definitely visit whole9life.com and perhaps buy/borrow their book "It Starts With Food" and also there's a great recipe book called "Well Fed" Paleo for people who love to eat! My husband still eats bread/yogurt etc, but is enjoying the meals I make and has actually been eating less junk during the day since I started making Paleo meals. I haven't forced it on him, but he loves how delicious everything is. Good luck with it!! :)
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
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    I'm new to this too. I started because while I do want to lose a few pounds (really, I don't care about weight, but I would like more definition and a slightly smaller butt), I'm also tired of being hungry all the time.

    I made some almond flour muffins with blueberries over the weekend. Super easy to make and grab on the go for a quick breakfast.