Looking for some Paleo/primal/ or similar friends

Primal

I don't do paleo, but I do use some paleo recipes. Often for breakfast I do the following:

1/2 cup almond milk
15 grams of chia seed powder
3 grams of cacao powder
1/2 tbsp of agave nectar
1/2 cup blueberries of 1 cup strawberry halves

Mix everything but the fruit together and let stand for at least 10 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened into a pudding like consistency, add the fruit and enjoy. I really do think it tastes very good.

I also have a great recipe for coconut flour muffins.

3 eggs (room temperature, v important)
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar substitute (I use SugarLess, which is a blend of erythritol and stevia)
1/2 tsp baking powder
2-5 tbsp water
1/2 cup raspberries or blueberries

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Prepare pan with a generous amount of butter (I substitute Pam canola oil spray to cut down the calories). This recipe makes six "regular"-sized muffins.

2. Whisk or beat the eggs until whites and yolks are well-mixed. Stream in the butter while continuing to whisk. Add salt and vanilla and mix until combined. If using liquid sweetener (preferred, as it is zero carb), add at this point.

3. Mix the remaining dry ingredients -- coconut flour, baking soda, and sweetener if using powder.

4. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Now you will whisk in water, one tablespoon at a time. The coconut flour will absorb the liquid from the wet ingredients like crazy. You want to get it to a consistency that will hold up the berries, but not be too thick. I usually end up using about 4 Tablespoons of water.

5. Gently mix in the berries and divide among 6 muffin cups. Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until just turning golden on top.

Akima's right, a lot of health issues won't clear up until you eliminate the offending food(s) entirely. Even "little" cheats will perpetuate the cycle of harm that those foods do to your body (or in this case, your husband's).

That said, it does seem daunting at first, so it's not uncommon to phase into such eating. Even (especially?) the most strict, Autoimmune Protocol Paleo followers started out doing something more "mainstream" such as low carb or non-Paleo gluten free, before finding Paleo or a related concept and trying it, and eventually AIP.

Check out the Paleo/Primal Support Group here on MFP. The people on there are great and can answer any questions you may have, and there's a running list of things to read in the stickies. You're welcome to friend me, too, but I don't track very much anymore for sanity reasons. I generally eat Primal, though I'm starting to kick around the idea of nixing dairy and see if it makes any further difference.

I recommend checking out Whole 30 (http://whole9life.com/category/whole-30/), and since you mentioned health issues (and because of what I mentioned at the beginning of this response), check out the bio for the blogger behind Against All Grain (http://www.againstallgrain.com/about-me/ , she's got her health history laid out in it), and a good explanation of what Paleo and AIP are and the importance of elimination-first when dealing with health issues - http://www.alt-ternativeuniverse.blogspot.com/p/starting-point-paleo.html .

As for breakfast stuff, I'm usually a bacon and eggs person, but sometimes I'll have some full fat yogurt from a local creamery, or I'll make Paleo omelet muffins, which are a quick grab and go (but again, egg based). Bulletproof coffee is common among Paleo people (just Google it, it should be the first link). Against All Grain and The Paleo Mom have tons of recipes, as well, as do the many other Paleo sites out there.

If you aren't serious about it and don't follow it you also will not gain the full health benefits. Then you might be like my aunt who says "Paleo doesn't work" even though she didn't even follow the Paleo lifestyle. Not even 50%. That ticks me off.

I would suggest doing much research and if you think it is a sustainable lifestyle (it is NOT a temporary "diet" for me or most Paleo people) for you then join the Primal/Paleo support group to ask questions and seek support. It gets far too ridiculous in the general forums and many Paleo/Primal/ketogenic people don't even comment here anymore.

Again, if you just want to take little pieces of information but you don't adopt the lifestyle I think it may not be for you. We do guide each other in how to optimize health, but it's information, not personal attack. Of course if Paleo is not for you and you just choose to eliminate most processed foods, that is still a WIN. (I might not be a good friend to add-I am extremely passionate about this lifestyle and I am very opinionated and blunt. I refuse to walk on eggshells.)

I don't eat breakfast, I intermittent fast. I also have Bulletproof coffee. I only eat bacon and eggs about twice per week. There are lots of things to eat besides bacon... Honestly, I love what i eat or I wouldn't live this way. The health improvements that I have had from this lifestyle are too many too list here and they have been so life changing that I am never leaving the ketogenic/Paleo lifestyle.

You are right, I won't add you as a friend at this time. I am looking for people to encourage me to try this life style, not tell me that if I'm not going to do it their way I will fail so I shouldn't even bother. I too refuse to walk on eggshells, though I did try to word my initial request to try to weed out most of this type of conversation. I am glad that what you do works for you. I'm sure you were not always an expert and at some point you may have even needed someone to help you get started. Thank you for the assurance that eating that way works for you. I will take that much as a positive :-)

I don't think she's saying that you shouldn't bother if you don't do it her way. She's saying that if you're going to do it, don't do it half-assed for a month, not really see any results, then tell everyone that "Paleo doesn't work." Like everything else in life, you get out of it what you put in. This is true to the extreme when you start talking about health matters, because a lot of issues are caused by what's known as "leaky gut," or various proteins getting through the gut lining and into the rest of the body in "raw" form, causing the body to react ("foreign body in restricted area, must neutralize!"), and in some cases, start confusing the foreign stuff with the body's own "approved" proteins (resulting in autoimmune issues). The gut lining can't heal if it's still being exposed to those things that caused it to be permeable to begin with.

Think about it this way - you have a cut on your arm, and three times a day, you cut it more, keeping it from healing and keeping it open. Even if you drop your frequency down to once a day, and eventually every other day, you will still keep it from healing and will keep it open, even if it's comparatively better. It's not until you stop entirely that the cut has a chance to fully heal and close up.

The same principle applies to foods that are causing health responses. If you want the "cut" to completely heal, you have to stop cutting at it entirely.

The people that irritate Akima are the ones that just drop the frequency of cutting their arm to once a day or every other day, then complain that the wound isn't healing fully.

At the moment, just get started. If you don't see results after a month, evaluate your habits, tweak them, and try to be even more compliant along the lines of Paleo. In other words, give it a fair shake.

Oh yeah, and other ideas for lunch on the go? Did you used to do sandwiches? You can still largely do them, just replace the bread with lettuce and make lettuce wraps. You'll have to find a good lettuce that has large leaves and is tender enough to wrap, but not too tender as to be fragile. Hand-held lunches!

Also - veggie sticks with nut butter for dip = awesomeness.

I've been doing paleo for a while, sometimes I'll eat a slice of bread but it's about once a month.