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Going primal/Paleo/Grain-free in JUNE!

20K views 377 replies 41 participants last post by  blueridgewoman 
#1 ·
Summertime is the time for primal eating goodness! Everything is growing nicely and lots of time to spend out-of-doors running about, playing in the sun.


I have had these tenderlions in the freezer for over a month and need to cook them. I also have some cherries and think that would make a lovely combination. I am cribbing from this recipe, but am subbing fresh cherries for dried, will increase the fat, and I definitely *do not* want to use flour. Would coconut flour be ok or would it ruin this flavor? I have never used coconut flour and don't know how it turns out. My husband bought some yesterday....

Would there be another "flour" that would be better?

Recipe as follows:

Ingredients

* 2/3 cup port or other sweet red wine
* 3/4 cup dried tart cherries
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
* 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

Preparation

Place port in a 1-cup glass measure. Microwave at high 20 seconds or until very warm. Combine port and cherries; cover and let stand 10 minutes or until soft. Drain cherries in a colander over a bowl, reserving port.

Combine flour, coriander, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge pork in flour mixture. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove pork; stir in reserved port, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add cherries and shallots. Reduce heat; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in broth; bring to a simmer.

Return pork to pan. Partially cover and cook 10 minutes. Uncover and cook 12 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 155° (slightly pink), turning pork occasionally. Cut into slices, and serve with sauce.
 
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#2 ·
I think the coconut flour would work. Probably wouldn't stick well, but it would help thicken the sauce, which seems like the more important role in the recipe anyway
. Just my two cents, though--someone else might have more insight.

Not having a stellar pregnant day here. I didn't sleep well last night and got up this morning for work feeling shaky and gaggy. Ended up eating two slices of sprouted grain toast to get rid of the barfy feeling.
Sigh. I'm not craving carbs, though, which is nice. I AM craving dairy like crazy. Any dairy-free mamas have suggestions for this?
 
#4 ·
Fasting today until dinner. I haven't decided what dinner shall be, I only know it will involve chicken thighs, left over pork ribs, and some spinach that really needs to be used up today. For the spinach I'm thinking of trying this spinach bake recipe I found:

container of cottage cheese
shredded cheese
fresh or frozen spinach
leeks
eggs

(You saute the leeks in butter and garlic, and then throw in the spinach to wilt. Stick it into a baking dish and then throw the cottage cheese and some of the shredded cheese, pour the eggs over everything and a bit more shredded cheese on top. Bake until golden and fluffy.)

I'm thinkin' maybe spicy chicken... we'll see how I feel tonight!
 
#5 ·
So far today, following my 4am slip:

Breakfast: Italian sausage link with mustard and leftover carmelized onions, coffee with almond milk and stevia, banana

Snack: Tbsp. almond butter, carrot sticks, and a cranberry cooler

Lunch: Turkey lettuce wraps with mayo, tomato, a little mustard + few more carrot sticks

Snack: small cup of coffee + almond butter/chocolate/stevia/coconut cream fudge concoction that is pulling me out of my afternoon sleepiness.

Dinner...we have just a TON of that bacon explosion leftover, and it is SO rich--and I'm really not one to say that very often. Anyway, that's what's on the menu, alongside a big pile of roasted broccoli, I'm thinking.
 
#6 ·
Today's food (since y'all are posting these yummy meal ideas) has been:

B: coconut flour pancakes topped w/ blueberry 'butter' (I took the idea from a blueberry butter balls recipe on MDA--just blended ghee w/ pureed blueberries and a bit of vanilla extract, cooled in the fridge then put on top of the hot pancakes--sooooo good!!)

L: some pepperoni (not pastured or organic or anything
) and a square of dark chocolate (Ok, not really a great lunch...I didn't feel like making much...)

D (plans): pastured pork ribs (I gotta get them in the oven) perhaps w/ a cherry chipotle BBQ sauce, or the 'better BBQ sauce' from _The Garden of Eating_, along w/ green smoothies

Green smoothies have been a major part of our days since it's gotten pretty hot around here. We've all been craving them quite a bit lately.
 
#7 ·
Today's food so far:

B: 2 egg omelette with zucchini, habanero chicken sausage and cheddar

S: a mini cinnamon roll


L: 6oz. leftover bbq chicken and a salad (romaine, carrot, zucchini, gouda, dressing was salsa mixed with yogurt)

S: a tj's creme brulee


D: plans... grassfed cheeseburger (bunless) and roasted zucchini (can you tell I have lots of zucchini and not much else right now?)

I'm tired and craving sugar. I wonder if I need more fat? I'm averaging 55-60% fat. Other than eating spoonfuls of coconut oil or butter, how can I get more fat in? I cook everything in generous amounts of butter or coconut oil. Maybe I'll fry tonights burger instead of grill it? And after I cook it, should I put a pat of butter on it?
 
#8 ·
subbing. Had a
day foodwise yesterday. I made some of those butter balls, started the day with one and basically didn't stop eating all day. Not happy. Also felt a bit ill when I went to bed. I think I don't tolerate that much butter very well.
 
#9 ·
just feeling ho-hum today. not sure why....maybe 'cause I stayed up too late


breakfast:
small piece of bread (tapioca and potato based) with sunbutter
1/2 avocado
big bowl of kimchi

snack:
slice of small peach (while feeding ds2)

lunch:
bacon
sauteed bok choy
sauteed onions and squash
roasted beets

snack:
spoon of sunbutter

dinner:
grilled baby back ribs
grilled veggie kabobs (portobella, red bell pepper, red onions, zucchini, yellow squash)
 
#11 ·
Nothing special food-wise here today
B: veggie & cheese omelet
S: couple of strawberries
L: slice of cheese, few spoonfuls of chicken salad, handful of marinated olives
D: big bunless cheeseburger, Bubbie's pickles, salad w/ homemade ranch

I'm working on a really yummy snack for as soon as DH gets our DS down to sleep! I'm doing bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers like this except my filling is 14 oz of cream cheese and 8 oz of grated pepper jack cheese, all blended together (from another recipe). I blanch the jalapenos for a couple of minutes to start with otherwise they don't seem to quite cook through and are waayyyy too spicy! I love that I can have the bowl of filling sitting in the fridge, and whenever I feel like, just prep a handful of jalapenos and pop them in the oven.

BTW, does anyone else blanch jalapenos? Seems to be something you need to do outdoors on a hot plate...? I can turn on the exhaust over the stove, open the window next to it, and aim a box fan into the kitchen to help keep it from the rest of the house. But as soon as those peppers hit the boiling water, jalapeno fumes permeate the house and irritate our throats so bad, we're coughing like crazy. Any tips?
 
#12 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ps4624 View Post
Am I the only one who had a total failure with those blueberry butter balls? Mine were a hot mess - I now have a HUGE bowl of blueberry goo in my fridge and NO idea what to do with it.
I haven't made the recipe, but didn't it firm up after being in the fridge for a while??
 
#13 ·
New to this, but curious and willing to give it a try.

Food today:

B- 1/2 banana
L- 6 oz. salmon w/ 1 whole apple
S- tortilla chips & salsa, baby carrots
D- salad: spinach, strawberries, pineapple, chicken

I take it the chips would have been a no-go? Am I ok other than that?
 
#14 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by phathui5 View Post
I take it the chips would have been a no-go? Am I ok other than that?
Welcome! Your question is hard to answer b/c we are all so different.
BUT I'll try: *I* would need some fat and protein with, or instead of, that sugary banana for breakfast (I know you only ate half, but that would make me feel sick). I'd skip the chips, but that's b/c I'm trying to loose, fight some intestinal yeast, and they make me feel off and too full. Also, I think you might need more veggies.

What I like about Primal Blueprint is that Mark suggests that you strive for 100%, but be happy with 80%. I try not to plan for that 20% non-primal, but it helps me be relaxed to know it's OK for life to 'happen'.
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by phathui5 View Post
New to this, but curious and willing to give it a try.

Food today:

B- 1/2 banana
L- 6 oz. salmon w/ 1 whole apple
S- tortilla chips & salsa, baby carrots
D- salad: spinach, strawberries, pineapple, chicken

I take it the chips would have been a no-go? Am I ok other than that?
I'm pretty new to this too (almost a month of primal eating here
)! As a PP said, we are all a bit different in how we approach our eating so do what feels right for you. I would also say you needed a bit more fat or protein with some of the things you ate. Maybe the banana with some nut butter or a few slice of bacon, and the baby carrots with some kind of dip? Also, I don't know if you are going for really low carb or not (I am, to lose weight), but fruits tend to have more carbs than veggies. I personally try to stick to one serving (but usually eat two
) of fruit. Honestly, your day of eating looks a lot like many of mine, but those are some of the things I have learned.

Food today for me:
B - coffee with lots of cream and a little bit of sugar (nothing else sounded good)
L - big salad with spinach, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber topped with egg salad made with homemade mayo (it was so good!)
S - some bites of DS's string cheese and a few bites of watermelon
D - pizza with zucchini/egg crust topped with homemade sauce, cheese, sausage, mushrooms and a few chunks of pineapple (it was my first time trying this crust and my whole family loved it
)
S - a big glass of red wine


I rendered my own tallow for the first time today. It turned out beautifully! Now, what do I use it for?
 
#16 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by FairyRae View Post
D (plans): pastured pork ribs (I gotta get them in the oven) perhaps w/ a cherry chipotle BBQ sauce, or the 'better BBQ sauce' from _The Garden of Eating_, along w/ green smoothies
Didn't do the ribs, but prepped them for tomorrow's dinner. Had 2 (grass-fed
) hot dogs w/ a bubbies pickle, a spinach and strawberry green smoothie, some guac and carrots, more pepperoni, and a couple of macaroons--way good--I used the garden of eating recipe--ds REALLY wanted cookies or I prob would have been fine w/ out them... I was really in a snacky mood tonight, and not a real cooking mood...Tomorrow I'll hopefully have more inspiration to do some real cooking!!!

Here is the macaroon recipe from _The Garden of Eating_--I used maple syrup in place of the honey/agave (and halved the recipe--for my own safety
).

Quote:
4 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
1/4 tsp stevia powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut, plus additional 1/2 cup as needed depending on how big your egg whites are
coconut oil for greasing the cookie sheet

Preheat the oven to 300 and grease a cookie sheet with coconut oil.

Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Reduce beater to low and add the honey or agave, stevia, and vanilla. Turn off the beater and fold in the coconut. If the batter is too wet, add extra coconut.

Drop batter by level tablespoons onto the cookie sheet. Bake in center of oven for 18-20 minutes. Store at room temp for up to 2 weeks or refrigerate for 4 weeks.
 
#18 ·
Disasterous day yesterday which included a handful of Cheetos and a two pump vanilla latte when I got to work.
It was decent beyond that, but too much sugar in general. I think I have some rough PMS right now. Today will be a better day!
 
#19 ·
I have a question that maybe you all can answer. So, on PB we're told to not eat potatoes right? Sweet potatoes are ok, but in moderation. I had sweet potatoes a couple days ago(mashed) and tracked it on sparkpeople(I know, I know! I was curious!) 1cup of mashed sweet potato=80g of carbs.
80 grams of carbs!!!!!


So I checked out potatoes because, obviously they would be soooo much higher, right?

1 cup mashed potatoes=40g of carbs.

Why sweet potatoes again? I mean what exactly is so great about them??
 
#20 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ps4624 View Post
Am I the only one who had a total failure with those blueberry butter balls? Mine were a hot mess - I now have a HUGE bowl of blueberry goo in my fridge and NO idea what to do with it.
I made the blueberry-butter-vanilla mix last night and smeared it on my coconut flour bread this morning, as per FairyRae's suggestion. It was really good.
 
#21 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by my_baby_love View Post

I rendered my own tallow for the first time today. It turned out beautifully! Now, what do I use it for?

Fry up some root veg chips! Tallow+potatoes= the awesomest french fries. And a really nicely seasoned cast iron skillet.


Yesterday was a little crapalicious. No grain still, but too much sugar.

TODAY though!!! today is day one of a 15 day personal challenge.

I will Daily-
Eat at least 60%from fat, 70 would be better
Eat no grains,
No sugar (may cave for a tsp of raw local honey at night, for my allergies)
No potatoes, limited starchy veg
No fruit- except berries. I serving daily
No alcohol (may have 1-2 glasses red wine TOTAL on the weekends. Not per night.
)
Much veggies, Meat, Eggs, Fat, and some dairy. Raw milk in my coffee- good! Raw cheese in moderation- good! Butter- yay!
Move a little more, sit on the computer a little less
Sleep more. I have been staying up too late, and not feeling well because of it. in bed by 11 is my goal.

Weekly
Walk 3-4 times
IF 2-3 times for 16+ hours (fat and coffee with cream are fine)
Lift heavy things 1-2 times (probly will do the playground thing with the kids for the most part. Also will work on my pullups again)
Go to one yoga class (1 a week is free at a local studio that has an awesome Karma program. There is no excuse for me not to go!)

Whew! That felt good to write out! This morning I am fasting to get it started, though I am having coffee with whole milk (coffee addiction is NOT something I want to tackle now. I like coffee.
) Will break it at about 1 pm, unless I really feel I need something before then. Probably have an omelet with ham and sharp cheddar for that.

Dinner is Roast chicken and green beans, salad. I'm going to experiment with some mineral water/lime mix for a "cocktail" to sip as I am a creature of habit and will want to sip something once dinner comes around.
 
#22 ·
Coming out of lurk mode for a minute. I'm interested in following the primal plan in tandem w/ doing weight watchers. I really need to lose some weight, and I truly believe that primal nutrition is the most healthy way to live and thrive and the weight watchers keeps me in control of portions.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here has tried miracle noodles? They're made from shiritaki and are soy free, calorie free, gluten free, etc. I'm just wondering if they're any good.
 
#23 ·
The miracle noodles that I love have tofu in them. So I am off of them.
The soy free ones imo, are disgusting.

I prefer zucchini "noodles" personally. Very satisfying. I just use a veg peeler to shave off "noodle" strips all around until I hit the seeds, toss the center seed section in my veg bowl for soups. Saute the zucchini strips in a little oil, salt and pepper, garlic, etc. til they are softened but not limp. serve with meat sauce and drool.
 
#24 ·
I'd like to join in here. I have been primal for the last week. The first 5 days or so I felt great but I think I am having some die off type symptoms. First my tongue was burning, then I got swollen lymph nodes and a bad sore throat and feel lethargic, brain foggy, seeing spots etc. Anyone else get this when starting? I think I am coming out on the other side now. I am starting to feel more energetic and my sore throat went away. I know I have some yeast and bad bacteria problems and this has happened every time Ive cut carbs. Taking vit c flushes and milk thistle to hopefully protect my nursling.

My lo has lots of sensitivities through my milk so my primal diet is basically most meats (all except beef and shellfish), all fruit, veg, and coconut stuff. I have been tracking on fitday and am averaging around 68% fat 15% protein and 17% carbs eating about 2300 cal/day. I can't wait to trial eggs and beef but I am going to wait to start some lamb pancreas enzyme supp after our vacation in a couple weeks.

I am having a hard time figuring out if I want to get my 19 month old on the diet 100%. My DH eats GF bread and the ds is really used to eating it so every time he sees it he wants some. He is probably eating about 1/4 slice a day so not a lot %age wise but I wonder if with all of his sensitivities if it would help to cut grains totally, scd style. My DH is not super supportive here. Ds is so limited already and fairly picky to boot.

Today's food:

B: grapefruit, green tea with coco milk, turkey burger fried in lard with kimchi
S: a bit of ds's smoothie, blueberries, coconut flakes
L: salad (lettuce, carrot) with canned salmon and lots of EVOO and lemon
D will be: chicken livers, onions, mushrooms, lard in a coconut cream sauce, probably some potato, and greens.
 
#25 ·
I like spaghetti squash for "noodles".

So I'm a day away from 2 weeks in and I'm doing GREAT! I have tons of energy today after a yoga session in the AM and lunching (shredded beef with tons of salt and salsa on greens with raw cheese) outside in the sun.

At about the 9 day mark I just had to have some more fruit and went a little crazy on the strawberries. And then these Chebe type tapioca rolls I make for DS called to me before I could think straight
but I only had a half of usual amount. I out of the blue craved a Coke of all things and I rarely have been a soda drinker all my life and could probably count the number of times I had Coke on one hand! Otherwise I have been so not hungry or craving my nemeses: maple syrup and honey. Had dark chocolate while going to see "Sex & The City: 2" and was able to eat small a amount. It's weird (and nice!) to seem to be over the hump.

However, sometimes I'm so not hungry I don't even want to eat and I don't know if that's good or bad.

In my mind I'm sad to give up some of my favorite foods, but physically it's easy not to eat them right now. Or just envision having a baked potato at a restaurant, slathering it in butter and sour cream and end up only eating 1/4 of the potato. (I'm such a planner!)

Found this amazing talk on insulin I want to xpost here. It really sums up everything I want to achieve with this diet as a life plan:

Ron Rosedale, M.D.
Insulin and It's Metabolic Effects

Presented at Designs for Health Institute's BoulderFest August 1999 Seminar

http://www.lowcarb.ca/articles/article149.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by lil_earthmomma View Post
I hate it that they get cereal at my mom`s house, but I figure if I can make something good then I might even eat it when it feels too hot to cook breakie.
There's a great soaked flour recipe in Eat Fat Lose Fat that can be adapted to almond flour. You bake it like a sheet cake, then crumble it up and dehydrate to crunchy in the oven. It's a lot of steps and two days but it makes a ton and comes out really good, like Grape Nuts cereal. Which means you can make hot cereal out of it (hot Grape Nuts was a long time breakfast staple for me!) If you are interested, I'll post recipe, it might be around here on MDC somewhere...

Quote:

Originally Posted by FairyRae View Post
Sorry to ramble on, your words just really touched me Jane. I hear you mama!
Ramble on sistah! At least here, we all understand completely.
 
#26 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by JaneS View Post
There's a great soaked flour recipe in Eat Fat Lose Fat that can be adapted to almond flour. You bake it like a sheet cake, then crumble it up and dehydrate to crunchy in the oven. It's a lot of steps and two days but it makes a ton and comes out really good, like Grape Nuts cereal. Which means you can make hot cereal out of it (hot Grape Nuts was a long time breakfast staple for me!) If you are interested, I'll post recipe, it might be around here on MDC somewhere...

Oooh yes please!!!
 
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