Grain Free/Primal/Paleo in September!!! - Page 3

[crunchy_mama]

Originally Posted by FairyRae

The slow carb thing is interesting to me--it's part of what the Potatoes Not Prozac idea is all about. Meals are supposed to be meat/protein + veg + starchy 'brown' foods--think potatoes, whole grains, legumes, etc.

That said, I feel awesome w/out eating carbs for most of the day, then eating more in the evening. I don't personally need any kind of slow carbs to make my food last. I can go for hours and hours w/out food, thanks to primal eating (if I'm not in PMS time ). Eating lots of meat and fat and veggies is satiating to me, w/out eating complex carbs. Although I crave them more in the evening...

So, I don't think I liked the 'eat a potato b/4 bed w/out protein' thing from PNP. It's all about doing an insulin spike to raise serotonin, but it just didn't set right w/ me and my stomach felt yucky going to bed so full. I think tonight I might just add some more starchy veggies (not sure it will be a potato) to dinner and see how that works. My sleep was honestly better--not as vivid of dreams and felt more rested, after doing the potato thing, but I don't think I'm greatly seratonin depleted--according to what I've read if I was I would have had ultra vivid dreams at first by doing the potato thing.
!

I don't feel the need for much carbs through the day either. Had eggs and bacon for bfast yesterday and wasn't hardly hungry and had a late lunch. But in the evenings I do like some carbs and have noticed some before bed help w/ the sleep. Interesting I didn't know the reason. But certainly don't feel the need for grains or beans, although I do consume them here and there I think I feel the best entirely away. Considering my great energy and mood I don't feel the need to change it.

[dancebaraka]

I also don't really crave carbs until late in the day... hmmmmm. Fascinating. Can someone direct me to the primal challenge info?

[NatrlCatholicMama]

On Droid, sorry for typos. gout is not from meat can't get links right now but it,e out there. more mag to balance calcium iirc. see Ben Franklin, classic got case and vegetarian. grains are usually the cause of the.gout problem and other things cam keep it
r going.

[mommathea]

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Edited by mommathea - 5/11/11 at 4:26pm

[FairyRae]

mommathea, I think of green beans as veggies, as they are fresh. Everyone nitpicks differently, but I don't worry about it. Also, I believe they are in the PB cookbook recipe for Morrocan Chicken, although I could be wrong.

Yeah, the serotonin thing is interesting to me, CM. I'm going to keep experimenting. I did really low carb yesterday all day (mostly green veg during the day) then added potatoes to dinner. Didn't sleep *as* well as the night before, but I don't know if its that....I'll keep playing around w/ it!

The primal challenge is on MDA. I'm not even sure *what* it is--seems like folks just recommiting to primal however they want to, w/ lots of contests and stuff throughout the rest of Sept./beg. of October. It's supposed to start on the 7th, so watch this site for info: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ For me, I'm just going to think of it as another motivator to stick to being super primal...

[_ktg_]

Argh - had a terrible day yesterday and against my better judgement at a birthday party I had 3 small slices of pizza, along with a small (6oz) glass of soda. Ewwwwwww - this morning as rough as was yesterday afternoon.

Right now I'm trying my hand at making kale chips and mmmm they are soo good. A perfect blend of saltness, a bit of crunch which I've been missing lately.

[FairyRae]

ktg, can you share a bit about how you make the kale chips, esp temp and for how long you cook them? I've burned them b/4 or had them mushy--haven't found the right balance. I'd love to make them more...(What a great snack they would be!)

TIA!

[_ktg_]

Originally Posted by FairyRae

ktg, can you share a bit about how you make the kale chips, esp temp and for how long you cook them? I've burned them b/4 or had them mushy--haven't found the right balance. I'd love to make them more...(What a great snack they would be!)

TIA!

Not a problem! I set the oven at 375F and baked them for 3 to 4 minutes.
Kale Chips:

1 lb of Kale
2 cap-fuls of Olive oil
A sprinkle of Sea Salt
Parmesan cheese -shredded

Clean/wash the kale and pat dry throughly. rip up into bite size pieces or you can use the whole leaf and just remove the stem. Toss in a bowl with OO and salt, and the cheese. Lay out on a baking sheet and bake. I used a pizza pan with little holes in the bottom and it got them quite crispy.

Next time I do this I'm going to keep the leaves whole as possible. The bites were nice, but I loss several from sticking to the pan and just crumbling.

[FairyRae]

Thanks! I'll try it soon. Maybe I'll get some nutritional yeast to use in place of the parm... I'm excited!

And, speaking of dairy, crunchy_mama, how is your dairy addition experiment going? I hope well!!! I've been thinking recently of trying to do some sort of rotation of some of the foods ds reacts to (prob adding in very slowly.) He's been doing really really well on this probiotic--the d-lactate free one from http://customprobiotics.com--and I just really want to be more active in trying to possibly more foods...I just think he is coming so far w/ gut healing...I was thinking of starting w/ something he hasn't had often and had unclear reactions to. Like maybe making cookies w/ pecan meal (he clearly reacts to almonds, but has a more ambiguous reaction to seeds and some nuts. I've not even tried pecans w/ him b/4 but have avoided b/c the nut reaction stuff freaked me out.) I've read pecans are easier to digest than almonds, and work well in recipes for almond flour stuff...We'll see!

Sorry to ramble allergy forum style mamas--just thinking about this stuff and getting excited about the possibilities...

[dancebaraka]

Thanks FairyRae... great site!

[Lauren82]

Hi Ladies!!!

I have been following The Primal Blueprint since January and I have lost 40 pounds. Most of that was in the first 3 months. I was about 20 pounds from my goal weight and found out I am pregnant with #4. Right now I can't really stomach any of my usual food, not even berries look appetizing. So after the morning sickness passes, I am getting back on the wagon and I plan on blogging about my primal pregnancy. Because I am pregnant I will be staying out of ketosis by adding more carby fruits and veggies to my diet but otherwise keeping everything else the same.

I am not 100% primal as I sometimes have stuff that may contain refined oils such as ranch dressing but I use the tiniest amount possible. I also have small amounts of dairy.

I'll post a blog link once I get started. But for now I'd love to stick around and chat. Here is my before and after if anyone is interested:

Before size 18/20:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

After size 12:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

This was a typical days menu for me:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with avocado and salsa and bacon or sausage

Lunch: Huge salad with lunch meat, avocado, egg and a teeny bit of cheese. Dressing is usually oil and vinegar or a little bit of ranch.

Dinner: Roasted meat and green veggies with butter or a Coconut milk based curry.

Snacks: Berries with heavy cream, deviled eggs, lunch meat, 91% dark chocolate square.

Drinks are water with lemon and herbal tea and for supplements I take a multivitamin with no iron, cod liver oil and B vitamins.

Now if only this morning sickness would pass!!!!!
In previous pregnancies I have gained a ton of weight because I ate junk food and carbs galore. It will be interesting to see what happens on a healthy, primal diet.

[mommathea]

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Edited by mommathea - 5/11/11 at 4:26pm

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by Lauren82

Now if only this morning sickness would pass!!!!!

Have you looked into milk thistle for morning sickness? There is a big thread on it that I think I posted in the last primal thread (August). If you are interested and can't find it searching archives lmk and I'll find it and post it. Might be helpful!

Your b/4 and after pics are so inspiring! Those are fast results! Congrats!

[geekgolightly]

have you guys talked about lunch ideas for kids?i mean lunchbox lunch ideas. although we have been encouraging our 6yo DS to make healthy choices, we still allowed bread for sandwiches and such. he has finally said he wants to go paleo for his lunches, too. i only have a few ideas though

nuts
peanut butter in a tiny container with sliced apples with a bit of lemon on them to keep color (this works, right? he wont eat browned apples)
fruits
cucumbers, carrots raw
slices meats
cheeses
hardboiled eggs

help needed for more ideas!

[Feb2003]

I am too tired to figure out how to post a link, but check the TF forum for a thread called "Holy School Lunches!!" (it's currently on page one)

I posted in there a few times and I think a few other grain-free mamas did, too

HTH

[Toolip]

I'm going to hang around here a bit, if that's ok?

I was pretty primal for june/july then things fell apart in august. My belly is flabbier than it has ever been! (btw, those pictures are very inspiring, Lauren)

I didn't really lose weight when I was eating primal before, but maybe I wasn't strict enough.

I'm starting the primal challenge tomorrow so hopefully that will help. I was so excited to see that is starts tomorrow, I thought it started on the first and I missed it, lucky me! I hope I win the cow!!

I'm also going to try and keep a really good food journal and EXERCISE!! I've been so lazy lately. Starting school really kicked my butt!

I'm excited to be here

[_ktg_]

Lauren - those pic (b4 and after) are amazing!! Your diet looks very similar to mine, and I'm sooooo encouraged. I've lost 15# since June when I started, and I'm starting to hit a tough spot. Your success though is inspiring!!

Yay for healthy lunch ideas... I'm stumped not just for DS but me too!! Now to go and check out that thread

FR - did you get a chance to do the Kale Chips? I should check out nutrional yeast... I never thought of it before. Is it kind of salty?

I'm storing a bit of water from this weekend's eats (ugh a pizza & bread) :eyeroll it was terrible, and I didn't plan ahead. I feel like I just want bread right now, despite knowing full well what it does to my body.

What does everyone have for fall like meals planned? I'm thinking I might need a stew soon, over.... roasted cauliflower instead of potatoes or rice?

[Feb2003]

I do the kale chips in my dehydrator and make a coating for them that includes nutritional yeast. I usually throw a bunch of things in my blendtec and keep tasting until it's good, but it's a combo of zucchini (and or crookneck), avocado, carrot, jalapeno, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, sea salt, pepper. I add water if needed and sometimes include cashews (although we don't eat them much) or sunflower seeds.

I have also just done oil and sea salt, but I got this 'dressing' idea (which, btw makes a great dip for veg) from the ingredients on some kale chips I bought.

I resisted nutritional yeast for a while (not sure why...it's a great source of folate), but now I'll throw it into things for just a hit of cheesy flavor. Be careful not to use too much

[Lauren82]

_ktg_, thanks! It's not always easy to stick to and believe me, I had my days and weeks where I really strayed from the eating plan. I just dusted myself off and got back to it. I'd like to share some tips and ideas that really help.

1: Get a lunch box and use it even if you don't work out of your home. Laptop Lunches are awesome since they have several compartments to store food in. These are great for road trips, picnics, etc... I would even pack mine and take it with me to potluck dinners so I'd have plenty of primal safe foods to eat.

2: Don't deprive yourself of enjoying restaurant food. Make it a point to research where you are eating ahead of time. Almost all restaurants provide an online menu. What worked good for me was looking at the menu while at home and then writing down what I planned on eating on a little notebook so I wouldn't forget when I got there. Yes, restaurants do use ingredients that are not exactly Primal legal, but I considered it part of my 20% off plan. Some good things to look for when eating out: Baked/grilled salmon and steamed veggies, Caesar salad, steak and veggies and shrimp cocktail.

3: Know your emergency meal. This is a meal that you can throw together fast when you're hungry, stressed and feeling tempted to grab something off plan. For me this was as simple as grabbing a Rotisserie chicken from Kroger and a bag of steam fresh veggies and making some steamed rice or mac-n-cheese for the rest of the family.

4: Planning weekly food menus is always a good idea.

5: Make it a point to try something new each week. Perhaps you've never had brussels sprout before. Search for a recipe on food.com or recipezaar.com to learn a way to prepare. This helps stave off food boredom and you may discover something awesome. Delicious brussels sprout recipe: Rinse sprouts and discard any loose outer leaves. Cut into fourths. Saute with olive oil and butter until they are tender and start to get brown and caramelized. Add some salt and pepper and grated fresh parmesan if you eat dairy. Yum.

I'll write more when I have time!

[stilllearning85]

So finally back on MDC after a 9 month hiatus after having my baby girl! So glad to see this thread! Been grain-free (with some slips) since my daughter was born. I am still nursing though and seem to have no energy! What is up!? Because I have no energy, I don't exercise... and how does one exercise anyway with a 9 month old?

Also, after reading through this thread, I found it interesting that most people seem to crave the carbs at night... I definitely crave them in the morning... like if I eat eggs and avocado and cheese for breakfast, I need a date afterward to feel satiated. And the potatoes thing is weird! I actually stopped eating white potatoes at night a long time ago because they gave me terrible nightmares!! Does that mean I am low on seratonin? I have that book somewhere, now to find time to read it.

Daily menu looks something like this:
Breakfast: Smoothie-coconut milk, chia seeds, banana, avocado, blueberries, green powder, gynostemma, and sometimes yogurt.

Lunch- 2 pieces organic sliced turkey lunch meat (organic prairie), avocado, sprouts, lettuce, dubliner cheese, tomatoes or really whatever we have laying around.

Dinner- Usually a big salad with sausage or other meat.

I have to snack a lot to keep up the energy and that usually consists of coconut bread and peanut butter, nuts, dates, fruit, grain-free baked good etc.

am i eating enough for a nursing mama? where is my energy??