Going Paleo/Primal/Grain-free in MAY!! - Page 2

[nettlesoup]

I have 2 tsps of sugar in my tea, but I'm going to try and cut down to 1. But I have come a long way; when I was a teenager I had 7 tsps of sugar in my tea. I also used to eat bags of sugar and drink condensed milk.

[sahmmie]

Originally Posted by organicmidwestmama

my kids enjoy pizza we make using grain/gluten-free pizza crusts from a local bakery that uses almond meal and parmigianno cheese for the crust, which i top with canned organic pizza sauce (look for one with no added sugar), mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. i have seen some recipes online for a similar sounding crust. ours come frozen and it takes all of 10 minutes to make this meal. add a lot of green veggies (sauteed kale in olive oil and garlic and salt!) and you're set!

other kid friendly meals- a whole roast chicken roasted with veggies of almost any kind (cut up, pre-frozen butternut squash works well, as do potatoes, cauliflower, parsnips), basted with a bit of butter or coconut oil, lots of good fresh herbs (garlic, ginger, cilantro, whatever) stuffed inside the cavity. the prep for this is usualy 10-15 minutes and it bakes slowly for 1.5 hrs at 350 degrees. voila, a gourmet meal with not much fuss.

hamburgers, no bun, with or without melted cheese, with fresh, raw veggies and some sort of dipping sauce (homemade ranch, vinegrette etc.), homemade fries made from sweet or white potatoes fried or baked in a bit of duck fat.

Pizza is our weakness as well. If I could have (and serve my kids) pizza twice a week, I think I could probably do this grain-free thing!!! So thanks for posting this. I'm going to research the web for some grain free pizza recipes! Do you happen to have those online sites saved? Thanks.

[Kindermama]

I followed a Primal diet from Nov-March and lost 15+lbs. I caved in and had wheat for about 2 weeks and gained 8 back and I'm having the hardest time getting rid of the bloat! I know I have gluten sensitivities so that doesn't help either.

Anyway, I'm back to being grain-free (with the exception of a gluten-free pizza treat once in a while).

Can you guys share your favorite FATS???

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Kindermama

Can you guys share your favorite FATS???

Well, are you looking for food sources of fat, or oils used in cooking?

[geekgolightly]

Hi, my name is Kathy and I'm a sugar addict. It's been 18 days since I have been primal. No sugar, honey, maple syrup etc. No grains of any kind, no legumes, no beans. I am still struggling with this daily, but each day I go without these high carb items, is another day that I can say I haven;t fallen back into my addictive eating patterns.

Today I've only had 3 oz mixed nuts and a big mixed greens salad with fennel, red bell pepper, cucumber, bacon crumbles and chopped chicken topped with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

I'm hungry finally at 11:30 at night! I have been craving any sort of bready/sugary food. My husband just had a tonsilectomy today and we have ice cream, pudding and 7-up in the house. To counter the cravings, I purchased some cottage cheese with frozen strawberries with splenda as a topping. I;m about to go have some.

I use fake sugars to help, but I wonder if I should stop them, too. Maybe it's a trigger?

I was a smoker and a drug user many years ago. I quit using drugs in 1994. I quit smoking in 2002. But this addiction is my Goliath. It has been MUCH harder to gain control over this. I have to do it for my health as no other diet plan has worked. I am over 100 pounds overweight, and really want to gain control of my eating habits, so here I am.

My goal is to be 95% primal (sugar substitutes maybe, more fruits than they usually say is ok) until I am a reasonable weight and then maintain with an 80/20 lifestyle.

[momofmine]

Originally Posted by Millie Ivy

Plan today to fast a bit this morning, enjoying my coffee with heavy raw cream right now. May not eat until lunch depending on my hunger. I ate three full meals yesterday and I am finding that I go full then light in my eating, if I listen to my hunger.

I really want to try some of the coconut flour biscuit-y stuff recipes out there. I don't really miss bread so much now, but I miss the bread texture as a vehicle for other stuff. Like clotted cream, or almond butter.
Anyone grind their own almond meal?

In the GAPS book the author says something about the cycle of our day not really being ready for food until about 10 am, but for kids it may be a bit earlier. I find this to be true most days. The kids usually snack on fruit early in the morning and I don't cook breakfast (which is often more like brunch) until 10 or 11. If we have to be somewhere early, I just cannot make myself eat a big protein breakfast at 7 am.

As for almond flour, I get mine from Lucy's Kitchen Shop.

Originally Posted by nettlesoup

I hope you don't mind me joining in here. I tried going primal last month. I have a really sweet tooth and sweet tea is my weakness. Grain has been easy enough to avoid, but sugar has been the ultimate challenge. I managed to go two days without sugar and really felt the effects in a positive way. But then my daughter went through a very angry patch, and also had a bad night time cough which kept us up a lot. So all motivation went out the window and I went straight back to my sweet tea and snacks. I'm really feeling the effect of eating how I usually do. I've found that my diet affects my moods which is one of my main reasons for going primal. I'm also concerned about my teeth and want to make them healthier.

So I'm going to try again now that my daughter is back to normal. I've stocked up on lots of meat from the farmer's market, and we're going to the shops today to buy food for lunches and snacks. The problem is I do love baking, and there's a recipe I found that I really want to try. So maybe this time I'll make it more gradual. For dinner tonight it'll be roast beef and veg, so that's a good start! It'll be good feeling healthier and happier again.

For me, I have to go cold turkey to cut the cycle of craving the sugar/carbs. And once I haven't had it for about four to five days, then I don't want it anymore. I think THE number one key for me is having food already prepared. Otherwise, in times of stress or being too busy, I will grab whatever. I have to have meat ready to eat at all times.

I have also found myself trying to be sure I am drinking enough water, and if I am hungry at a time that I don't think I should be hungry yet, I will drink a big glass of water, and I feel satisfied a bit longer. It is easy to mistake thirst for hunger, for me at least.


As for pizza, we made an awesome pizza tonight! Almond flour crust, sausage and onions, and tomato paste mixed into the sausage. Oregano, basil, salt and pepper, yum!

On the nights you work and need dinner in a rush, I would put something in the crock pot. The best thing that can help really is planning a bit in advance so you aren't without dinner and have to choose something you don't want to.

We are eating this way to heal our guts, so we can't really go on and off, it's just not an option, so that actually makes it easier to stick to it. It's not an option to order a pizza. But I do have my standard fast stuff for when we are out of time and I need dinner now.

[witchygrrl]

I have mostly given up Splenda (though I did have some yesterday as I got coffee while out). I have been using TruVia in my coffee only, but as the processing of it from stevia seems unclear, I may give up on that when I'm done with the package and just use raw sugar, maple syrup or honey. Maple syrup in coffee is actually quite tasty, as is honey. Honestly, I think the dangers of honey are overstated because there is so much in favor it (and I mean raw honey--not overprocessed), as long as you aren't eating gobs of it. A spoonful in tea seems okay to me unless you're really reacting to it.

Now my DH asked me to make cupcakes for his work meeting yesterday, and those are a weakness of mine, particularly the batter. But I'm jumping back on the grain-free wagon!

[Mrs.aLifeofReilly]

Originally Posted by witchygrrl

Now my DH asked me to make cupcakes for his work meeting yesterday, and those are a weakness of mine, particularly the batter. But I'm jumping back on the grain-free wagon!

You can still have grain-free cupcakes! I love all the ones at Elana's Pantry http://www.elanaspantry.com/ The ones on her site are made with coconut flour (and there's one in her book with almond flour) and so tasty. I just sub honey for the agave.

I've brough the vanilla and chocolate ones to parties and everyone has loved them. She's making May cupcake month on her blog and is going to post new cupcake recipes all month. I can't wait!

[crunchy_mama]

I usually do coco flour cupcakes we like those a lot- the kids like chocolate and we all love Banana Bread ones from Tianna's coco flour recipes= those are high sugar though. The choco ones though I do the reduced sugar ones from Fife's book.

[Feb2003]

Hi, Everyone!

I'm about a month and a half into a primal diet (I'm also OFF dairy, caffeine, and eggs right now) and I feel great!

I've slimmed out in a few areas, digestion is improved (I didn't realize it needed improving, but I guess it did ), and I've lost ~10# (I still have ~15# to go). I haven't added exercise, but I'm actually feeling 'ramped' up to exercise just because I have so much energy. I'm going to start walking today...wait didn't I say that yesterday?

Also, for busy days: you can stick a FROZEN chicken in the crockpot on low for about 8 hours and it'll be very tender. I sprinkle with sea salt and it makes it's own juices/drippings to keep it moist. Then the liquid in the bottom is super-gel! Use it to start some stock or just eat it
(BTW, make sure your chickens don't have a bag of innards inside...hard to tell when frozen, but I just asked my farmer)

[samy23]

Hi, I just found this thread so hope it's okay if I ask a few questions here?

How did going grain free make you feel? has it improved your health at all?

Do you have to cut out oats too? We really enjoy oatmeal and have read how beneficial oats are for certain nutrients.

Also, why did you decide to try grain free in the first place?

[Feb2003]

Originally Posted by samy23

How did going grain free make you feel? has it improved your health at all?

Do you have to cut out oats too?
Also, why did you decide to try grain free in the first place?

I feel great...lighter, maybe? Not so tied to food or tempted by sugar. I did cut out oats, but that's b/c I'm not just gluten-free, I'm grain-free. My naturopath/holistic doctor was the push that got me to do this; both b/c my pancreas were stressed and b/c I am trying to get rid of a yeast overgrowth in my digestive tract so I am starving out the yeasts by avoiding all grain, sugar, fruit, starch and also trying to eat only alkaline-forming foods. BUT, now that I've read more about it (check out the info on marksdailyapple.com) I think I'll keep eating this way...I feel great and (for me) the extra 25# I've carried for years is melting off.

[witchygrrl]

Originally Posted by Mrs.aLifeofReilly

You can still have grain-free cupcakes! I love all the ones at Elana's Pantry http://www.elanaspantry.com/ The ones on her site are made with coconut flour (and there's one in her book with almond flour) and so tasty. I just sub honey for the agave.

I've brough the vanilla and chocolate ones to parties and everyone has loved them. She's making May cupcake month on her blog and is going to post new cupcake recipes all month. I can't wait!

Thanks Lia. I do have some coconut flour, so I will try them. I've been thinking about getting some almond flour too.

[witchygrrl]

Originally Posted by Feb2003

Also, for busy days: you can stick a FROZEN chicken in the crockpot on low for about 8 hours and it'll be very tender. I sprinkle with sea salt and it makes it's own juices/drippings to keep it moist. Then the liquid in the bottom is super-gel! Use it to start some stock or just eat it
(BTW, make sure your chickens don't have a bag of innards inside...hard to tell when frozen, but I just asked my farmer)

I've done that too....love the drippings! I've waiteduntil the chicken is defrosted, and I think I've left them in longer than 8 hours on occasion, but it's amazing regardless.

[Feb2003]

Originally Posted by witchygrrl

Thanks Lia. I do have some coconut flour, so I will try them. I've been thinking about getting some almond flour too.

Maybe I'm not very nice, but I'd probably make the cf ones as an occasional treat for myself and make the regular ones for the office...they won't 'appreciate' the ingredients, might not like them if they're used to super sweet, AND the ingredients are expensive so I use them to feed my family and our actual guests. I had to let go of feeding/helping the world (potlucks, large parties, etc) a while ago b/c it's just too expensive.

[Feb2003]

Originally Posted by witchygrrl

I've waited until the chicken is defrosted

you must be more patient

honestly, I love that if I'm running out the door in the morning (or headed into a busy day at home), BUT I totally forgot to defrost something...I can stick a chicken in frozen and it's yummy...adding side veggies at dinner time doesn't take too long, esp. raw or from the freezer

I personally find this faster, cheaper, and more delicious than pizza delivery, but we have plenty of emergency days where zero planning has been done...

I'd love other super fast/emergency meal ideas for my arsenal!

[Zenzero]

Yay! A lovely new thread!

Have had a couple of 'blips' this week due to being at other people's houses but have not gone over the top & for the first time ever, I think, it has not been the start of a downward spiral and I have got right back on track (which I am very proud of!).

Today I had leftover venison casserole for breakfast, leftover cauliflower & broccoli in cheese sauce for lunch, kefir & strawberry smoothie for a snack and have just eaten baked salmon with pesto, balsamic roasted tomatoes & pea puree for dinner. Also a decaf coffee and a rooibos tea, both with cream.

Am feeling very good!

Hi Feb2003 Congrats on weightloss & feeling better...that's fab!

[cristeen]

Anybody have any thoughts for a potluck dish? My midwife is having one and I'm going to need something safe to eat. In this area, chances are good that the rest of the dishes will be vegetarian and heavy on the grains. There will probably be at least 1 green salad and 1 fruit salad for me to eat from, but I need a more filling dish to take.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Feb2003

Maybe I'm not very nice, but I'd probably make the cf ones as an occasional treat for myself and make the regular ones for the office...they won't 'appreciate' the ingredients, might not like them if they're used to super sweet, AND the ingredients are expensive so I use them to feed my family and our actual guests. I had to let go of feeding/helping the world (potlucks, large parties, etc) a while ago b/c it's just too expensive.

That's how I deal with the desire to bake and try new (white flour/sugar) recipes... I use them and then pack them up and send them to the office w DH.

[Feb2003]

Originally Posted by Zenzero

& for the first time ever, I think, it has not been the start of a downward spiral and I have got right back on track (which I am very proud of!).

Hi Feb2003 Congrats on weightloss & feeling better...that's fab!

Hi, Zenzero! Thanks and congrats to *you* for getting right back 'on track'!! Sounds like everything is getting a little more moderate...I'm glad you're feeling great! I had two big blips in the last month...learning to let go of the guilt and move on is getting easier

Cristeen, I cook by taste and I'm not to the point where I could taste brownie batter without having serious talk-me-down-from-the-ledge cravings, but I'll keep that in mind for further down the road. I do so love to just cook for cookings' sake!