Going Paleo/Primal/Grain-free in MAY!! - Page 3

[witchygrrl]

I'm going to be spending the weekend with my ILs, who don't really get the whole no grain thing (although my FIL really really should try it!) But I was thinking about making some treats to bring up as a sort of intro. The cupcakes are on the list. But how about peanut butter cookies? The kind that are PB, egg, sugar, and baking powder? I was thinking I could halve the sugar, or use honey instead. Has anyone tried this?

[neverdoingitagain]

So, I'm finished one week of following the primal blueprint. I'm still muddling my way but I'm liking it so far. Lost 5lbs so far, a couple inches off my waist, hips and thighs. Have more energy, less allergy symptoms. I'm still not eating any organic foods, money being very tight atm. I'm am finding that I'm able to easily stay under 50g of carbs a day mainly because of virgin coconut oil(ok, so I do have a few organics )
I think I'm not getting enough calories though, I'm getting between 1200-1600 calories a day for the most part, though I had a couple of 2000 cal days. More carbs on those days though. Exercise is going well, love walking on the treadmill barefoot. Nice easy pace while watching a movie, since I can't really push myself to go walk outside right now. 2 inches of snow in May is JUST NOT RIGHT. Starting week 2 of the 100 push-up program.

On a lighter note, I work at a video store right now. This guy came in and wanted to rented "Supersize Me" We don't have it, so I directed him over to the movie "Fathead"

Oh, I noticed all over MDA and here the term "meatza" as in meat pizza? or something else? What is it, and how do you make it?And anyone know of a good butter in Alberta, Canada?


Still very about Primal

[Feb2003]

Originally Posted by cristeen

Anybody have any thoughts for a potluck dish?

Keeping in mind that main courses at a potluck can be expensive, I'm also including more tide-you-over type things:
- meatballs? you could make them small and totally savory and bring toothpicks (any meat eaters will be glad you did )
- deviled eggs
- nuts (not a huge contribution, but spiced nuts go over well!)
- veggie platter with full fat dips (this different baba ghanoush and this romesco both have almonds added which ups the protein and fats...plus more oil helps )
-

[geekgolightly]

today i only had 2 eggs cooked in coconut oil and 7 thin slices of bacon. i wasnt hungry after that.

[Laniemama]

I'm still here and we are doing great! We are grain free and low/no sugar during the week, but do have a cheat day once a week or once every other week. Its hard to stick to it, especially with eating at my parents house and eating on the go. I feel fantastic being no grain, my digestion system is great, my skin looks amazing (no acne!) and just an over all feeling of wellness and energy! I think that is what truly keeps me going. Even on the cheat days I try not to over do it, because I know I'm going to pay for it later, with feeling like crap (bloated, gas) and my skin will break out!!

Here is our dinner menu for this week:

Monday crock pot cabbage rolls, strawberries whipped cream
Tues bacon wrapped asparagus, stuffed bell peppers
WedCrock pot chicken, Broccoli Stir Fry with Ginger and Sesame
Thur leftovers
Fri cheddar bacon mini muffins, veggies
Sat Breakfast skillet, Roasted Zucchini with Garlic
Sun eat out

Everything has been good so far! Making chocolate chip cookies from Elana's Pantry recipe tonight, SO good!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Feb2003

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!

Ah - when I bake, it's by measurement. Cooking dinner is by taste. And there are certain things i would most definitely be eating raw or unable to resist once cooked - I don't make those things. Then there are certain things that just don't call my name like that, so those are the things I go for.

Well, a little good news. Even as inconsistent as I've been lately, I stepped on the scale tonight and I was down 6 pounds from my last weigh-in.

[lil_earthmomma]

Wow so many new mamas!!!

To attempt to answer some of the questions:

Good potluck dishes:

Chicken wings
shepherds pie (with whipped cauliflower topping if you're avoiding white potatoes)
Crustless quiche

Chicken caesar salad

Best pizza ever:

http://www.justinowings.com/b/index..../meatza-meatza

I used ground pork. This is so so so so so AWESOME. None of the gluten free crusts did it for us, but this is so great that we plan on making it on a regular basis!

Going primal has changed our life. I'm healthier and have more energy and my gut is healing. My type 1 diabetic husband has lost 80 lbs, doesn't have to take insulin (crazy, I know. His doctor is running every test imaginable on him! ) and feels like a new person.

[geekgolightly]

lil_earthmomma, what has the doctor said about his IDDM becoming non insulin dependent? Is is HBA1c normalizing? Has he run a fasting lipid panel, before and after?

Sorry if I am too nosy! I am truly curious about what a CW doc would do with this sort of information.

[Zenzero]

That's so fantastic about your DH little_em....I didn't know!

I am still doing ok but been feeling really tired (despite getting plenty of sleep this week) and so hungry today! Have felt pretty tired and a bit 'strange' all week, as well as a little nauseous on and off and today I was hungry but nothing sounded tempting...but I managed to only succumb to a square of dark chocolate, despite having lots of other worse things in the house...so I am feeling quite pleased with myself!

Breakfast was more leftover venison casserole (and I was starving this morning eventhough I had two hardboiled eggs before going to bed last night!).

Lunch was steak strips fried in tallow and coconut oil with some spices and topped with cheese, avocado, creme fraiche and jalapenos.

Snacks were a boiled egg mashed with butter and cheese and the chocolate.

Dinner was cheese and spinach (from the garden!! ) omelette with salad leaves (also from the garden), spring onions, avocado & bacon with a caesar dressing.

Also had a decaf coffee and a rooibos tea with cream.

[425lisamarie]

You get a lot of that credit lil em I'm sure you're the one keepin him going and making the healthful meals. What a good wife and mama.

I don't really have any new and exciting menus. I don't really eat low carb. I mean much lower than alot of ppl and i dont eat grains as a part of my every day but I do love carrots, sweet potatoes, fruit, enormous salad full of veggies, etc. Just from sheer volume of food sometimes I'm closer to 200 carbs a day but it's all fruit/veggies. I have lentils sometimes too i love them. I'm addicted to tomato soup and cauliflower, seriously addicted.

[cristeen]

I'm starting to think that I have PPD, and I'm sure that diet is contributing to it. So I've really got to buckle down and try harder with this. Getting on the scale and seeing it had already dropped 6 pounds was nice, but I really need to accept the fact that I cannot eat this stuff. At.all.

[my_baby_love]

I am mostly a lurker on this thread, but I just wanted to let all you ladies know that I am getting so many ideas from you and so much motivation. My DH was supposed to be going grain-free with me starting Monday, but that lasted about two days for him. I have been cheating a bit (going cold-turkey is HARD, my goodness) but overall doing really well and I mostly have you all to thank for it. I think I can really do this!

[crunchy_mama]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I'm starting to think that I have PPD, and I'm sure that diet is contributing to it. So I've really got to buckle down and try harder with this. Getting on the scale and seeing it had already dropped 6 pounds was nice, but I really need to accept the fact that I cannot eat this stuff. At.all.

I have figured out the gluten most definitely causes depression for me. After baby #1 I had pretty wicked depression. #2 wasn't as rough but I had lots of anxiety and stress. With #3 now I am gluten, dairy and soy free-grainfree and usually sugar free and the difference has been amazing. I had a bit of anxiety- like when she ended up in the hospital. For the most part though- no depression in the least great energy- I lost the weight the most easily this time. Tons more energy, mental clarity- just felt 200x better. I know I have said it before but I will say it again you are highly likely to be at least gluten intolerant w/ all your symptoms. I would be shocked if you are not. In that case mostly gf doesn't do- you still traces everywhere and contamination- which will hamper progress. Just a trace of accidental exposure and I am in a funk for a few days at least.

Forgive me if I am overbearing- gluten free has made such a difference in our lives I have a hardtime not being a cheerleader- I know taking the whole plunge is hard- been there- but it is soooo worth it. I think everyone should try it at least for a month. Anyway- I also understand that it hard to jump fully in- 90-95 gf is not too bad but to go that full 100% is a challenge- I fought it for a couple of yrs myself.

Anyway= as I said please forgive my zealousness I want everyone to feel great!

Eats here yesterday:
homemade sausage
salmon burgers and green beans-
kids and I split a 12 oz fruit juice spritzer
chicken curry w/ sweet pot, tomato and onion

I am still weaning off of sugar thus the fruit juice spritzer. Usually I don't hardly do fruit and rarely sugar- However- dd's bday party was this weekend and I made some gf cupcakes and tested them. The kids cannot tolerate all the sals or I would have made almond flour and I think the coco flour have a different taste(that we love) but I was also serving these to "normal" people anyway- grains(rice flour w/starch+sugar)== ick! Sugar is the devil for me. I will be glad when this week is over and I can get past the cravings. yet again....

[samy23]

Is grain free the same as low carb? because aren't grains high carb foods?

[OvenSeeksBun]

When you cut out grains, you do cut down on a lot of carbs. You're not truly "low-carb" unless you also limit sugar, including fruit.

[Sara Badger]

Originally Posted by 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.

They are just as bad if not worse. Mark writes about them in his book.

[FairyRae]

Crunchymama, I've found the bean cakes at healthy indulgences to be acceptable by multiple folks.

http://healthyindulgences.blogspot.c...th-secret.html
http://healthyindulgences.blogspot.c...-2-gluten.html

I think they are a pretty good grain free compromise (are beans high in sals though? I don't know...) Ds just can't to nut/seed based baked goods, so I've been using that as his comprimise. He seems to do fine w/ the beans though (where I eat beans and it's just bad news!) I use the honey/stevia combo (I'm comfortable using stevia--but not all TFers are).

Oh, as for fake sugars, on MDA they did a post about sugars--they may be discussed there. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-d...uide-to-sugar/

Stevia is pretty much the only 'alternative sweetener' I use. I feel b/c it's from an herb I'm just not too worried about it. (Many authors/chefs I respect and get info from are ok w/ it's use as well, which influences my choice to use it.) Someone posted something about the saftey of it on a recent sugar free baking thread too. (Sorry no link.) Ds has reactions to corn which is in many of the sugar alcohols so we basically avoid them. Not sure what I think about them though...I do still use honey in concert w/ stevia when baking for ds. I'm still learning about sugars though...

[Sara Badger]

I've been lurking for 2months now and I'm wondering how subing almond and/or coconut flour for sweets works for PB. I get that it can be hard to go grain free so are these "treats" more for feeling like your still "normal". Do you think that this is a good or bad thing?

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by Sara Badger

I've been lurking for 2months now and I'm wondering how subing almond and/or coconut flour for sweets works for PB. I get that it can be hard to go grain free so are these "treats" more for feeling like your still "normal". Do you think that this is a good or bad thing?

I think it just depends on *you*. If eating grainfree baked goods works for you and helps you stick to it (makes you feel like you are not deprived, etc.), go for it! If you feel better avoiding all that kind of stuff completely, go for that! I think if I lived alone, I might never make any (grain free or otherwise) baked goods, b/c my tendency is just to want to eat them all till they are gone. But I live w/ ds and dh, and my ds has multiple food intolerances so I'm cooking for him no matter what, and I never want him to feel deprived like he can't have cookies or cake etc....So I make them for him (in small quantities so *I* don't eat the whole big batch), and just indulge as well when I want.

Cutting out pretty big food groups (gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs for a bit, oranges, chocolate, nuts/seeds...) b/c of ds's sensitivities really opened my eyes/mind to the idea that I could make *anything* using alternative ingredients, so making substitutions for foods others around us eat (which we used to eat a lot of as well) has been a major part of my learning to cook process. It works for *us* to make coconut flour banana bread (um--yum!) or coconut milk ice cream (gosh I love coconut!) or zucchini pasta etc.... I also get just sticking to meat and veggies--I think just doing whatever works/feels best to *you* is more important than anything else when it comes to food. My body is my measurement, and because grain free FEELS amazing to me, I'm choosing to do it. (I also believe it is the healthiest option for humans in general, but I can only really know what feels healthiest to *me*.)

Anyway, hope that makes sense! If it feels good/right to you, I say go w/ it!

[geekgolightly]

Originally Posted by Sara Badger

They are just as bad if not worse. Mark writes about them in his book.

Can you explain? I do not have money for the book. I have been using truvia (stevia) and sucralose.