We have several friends who have suggested the Paleo diet as an alternative to our low-carb lifestyle. These folks have lost weight, gotten healthy and claim that going Paleo has helped with joint pain and other ailments. So I picked up The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. copyright 2002 at Goodwill for $1.99 and did some research.
It's an interesting read, and the diet makes a lot of sense. It's based on the principles of what our ancestors (Paleolithic Man and family) ate and what our bodies are designed to digest and use for energy. Lean meats, fruits, veggies and the occasional tree nut. Sounds good, and not too far from what we are doing now. But there are significant differences.
If the Paleo diet makes me look like this, I think I'll give it a shot!
First off, you get to eat fruit! Sweet, healthy, packed with vitamins and so juicy. I like the sound of that. Most vegetables are fair game for Paleo eaters, too, with the exception of all the potato varieties or legumes like peas and beans. Awesome. Jeff loves his veggies! Lots more beverages are allowed on the Paleo plan-diet sodas, coffee, tea, wine, beer and spirits. WHAT? Did the cavemen know the joy of a lovely pinot noir or a pale ale? I think not! But who am I to question the authority of a Ph.D.? A toast to Dr. Cordain!
Less popular (at least in this house) elements of Paleo include the "No Dairy" rule. Hold on there, doc! I love my cheeses! No butter, milk, ice cream, yogurt. No cream in my coffee! I understand the rule. Paleolithic man didn't eat any dairy foods. Would you want to try to milk a woolly mammoth? I'm thinking that's a "no" for you? I'm pretty sure none of us would try to milk any wild animals in this day and age, either. "Nice yak. Come here, girl. I won't hurt you. Hold still while I get this bucket under you and hope I don't get trampled to death by your herd of buddies." Yeah, not gonna happen.
Does this thing HAVE an udder? And how do I find it? Is it even a female?
Just like low-carb, there's no grains on this program. No sodas (except diet), no juices, no candy or sugars. There is a lot of meat, though. High-protein, low-fat meats. On low-carb, we can eat all meats. It's simple to shop and plan meals. Low-carb is the lazy-man's diet. Don't eat grains, fruits or sugars-BOOM, shopping done! For the Paleo dieter, not all meats are created equal. All fish and seafood are acceptable. Wouldn't you love to eat lobster and crab and salmon every day? Me too. Fat chance of that happening on our budget. So moving on.
Figuring out the rest of the proteins is really challenging. I bet there's an app for that. You can have lean poultry (breasts) but not dark meat (so long turkey legs). Lamb of any kind is out. Sirloin steak is good, T-Bone steak is bad. Pork chops must be lean, pork shoulder is off the menu. No eggs, no ground beef, no ribs and worst of all NO BACON! That's right, no processed meats-ham, sausage, hot dogs, lunch-meats or BACON! I get it-they are high in fat and sodium, they're highly processed and not the healthiest choice. But how do you sleep at night knowing there will be no bacon in your good morning? Ever? *It's worth noting this is where Jeff turned his back on the idea of Paleo. That's it. Game Over. The fat lady has sung.*
What you CAN have is all kinds of wacky game meats. The list includes bison (really tasty), wild boar (porky goodness), alligator, turtle, rattlesnake, emu, reindeer and kangaroo. I don't think I could bring myself to try Rudolph, and kangaroo is pretty far out there for me, too. But if you have some experience with these delicacies, let me know how they taste. Are they all like chicken? Or just the gators? In addition to hunting yourself up some opossum or squirrel for supper, you can serve up a whole mess of organ meats. Whatever innards you can fish out of the rear-end of your game meat is welcome on the table. Kidney, liver, heart, tongue, sweetbreads and gizzards (whatever those things are) and marrow, too. Mmmmmmmm-pile on the pieces that digested whatever that crocodile was chowing down and serve it up to me! Guts. It's what's for dinner.
They might be packed with nutrients, but I just gotta say no.
Another big no-no is salt. No salty foods like pickles, olives, canned meats and fish, cheeses and again, BACON. Also, the good doctor recommends tossing out your salt shaker so you don't add extra salt to your foods. This would be a good idea for Jeff. His blood pressure was a little high and reducing his sodium intake would be beneficial for his heart health. Jeff tends to salt his food before he even tastes it and it's a habit I can't seem to get him to break. I want to keep him around for a good long time, so I may have to just get tough with him and toss the salt out when he's not looking.
Tonight for dinner, Katie and I made pizza using a Paleo pizza crust mix, which used almond flour instead of wheat flour.
Wacky Paleo-crust Pizza!
So this is obviously not totally Paleo. We put pepperoni, salami and mozzarella all over it. I made a sauce with a can of low-sodium tomato sauce, tomato paste and some Italian seasonings and garlic. It tasted ok, but the texture was so weird. Not crispy like thin-crust pizza, not bready and chewy like a deep-dish or hand-tossed style. Kind of cookie-like and had a sweetness to it that I wasn't crazy about. It was low-carb, but I would rather have put all the toppings in a salad or low-carb wrap.
Katie takes the first bite, "Eh. It's ok".
So the verdict on Paleo? It contradicts itself in a few ways-allowing beverages that were definitely not in the caveman's diet and not allowing honey, which was. It is definitely a healthy way to go. It makes scientific sense. It's full of fiber, protein and healthy fats. It's what our bodies are designed to eat.
But there is no way we're giving up BACON!
3 comments:
Elmendorf was full of hunters and thus, more game meat than anyone could eat... Elk, caribu, venison, and reindeer are all awesome... gator, snake, lizard, frog, (and most other amphibions and reptiles) taste close enough to chicken that it doesn't matter... never had kangaroo...
But yeah... most (not all) people that I have known to be "paleo" have also been crossfit cultists... and a few tacos short of a combination platter.
Elmendorf was full of hunters and thus, more game meat than anyone could eat... Elk, caribu, venison, and reindeer are all awesome... gator, snake, lizard, frog, (and most other amphibions and reptiles) taste close enough to chicken that it doesn't matter... never had kangaroo...
But yeah... most (not all) people that I have known to be "paleo" have also been crossfit cultists... and a few tacos short of a combination platter.
I know that I'm nowhere near ready to do crossfit, and not sure that I would want to. But whatever works for other people is cool with me. After doing the research, though, I'm pretty sure Paleo is not for this family.
That said, you should come over for dinner sometime and we'll try some gator and snake meat. I'm still not eating reindeer. No way I could serve up Blitzen and Vixen next to the roasted asparagus :)
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