Primal Nut

One of the main hesitations about going primal/paleo is how difficult it is to plan and prepare meals. Well, let me tell you first hand, that is a myth, a big fat myth! Yes, you have to think ahead a little bit more and eat at home most of the time, but it is easier to cook for Paleo than the S.A.D. (Standard American Diet). And when you go out to eat, there’s usually always a modified option or something the cook can prepare. Eventually you’ll settle in to a few staple dinner items and a couple restaurants that fit the Paleo bill.

Here’s our number one go-to meal. Taco-less Salad. We have it at least once a week and keep a stash in the fridge to reheat when we need a snack. It is so easy, you can’t screw it up.  The main ingredients get cooked up in one giant pan:

• Ground Beef
• Mexican Seasoning (I use an organic mix from Culinaria)
• Onions (diced)
• Peppers (diced)

Then the rest is up to your tastes.  I like to mix it with lettuce or broccoli slaw, then throw in some cherry tomatoes & organic salsa (make sure there’s nothing processed in there).  If I have it on hand, I’ll add cilantro or wrap them up in some Bibb lettuce.

The possibilities with this are really endless.  Plus, it tastes great reheated.

For more daily photos of what I eat, check out my food blog – http://abbyeats.tumblr.com

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When we go out to eat, I normally get a salad, steak or sandwich with no bread.  However, it’s kind of hard to get full on half a tiny chicken breast and it’s hard justifying the $8 price tag.  We’ve narrowed down our restaurant options to those that provide the most meat, veggies, and fat for the money.  Barbecue joints are usually great options for primal eaters because the have plenty of meat, a la carte side items, and let you control the sauce.  One of our favorites is Southtown Pub.  They have 12oz meat platters with two sides for $10-11.  They also have charbroiled wings (with no breading) for $.65 each!  I usually get those with a side of vinegar coleslaw (which probably has a little sugar in it).

Another great place is The Wicked Lady.  They have a 12oz. Ribeye for $16 and a 20oz. Porterhouse (stuffed with onions, mushrooms, & jalapenos) for $24.  And whoa is the steak good!  Their cook knows a thing or two about a medium steak.  They also have a sausage plate for $5 and their grilled vegetables are delicious.

What are your go-to Paleo meals?

*posted on primaltoad.com*

Big Ass Salad. This is the easiest and healthiest thing to whip together on Paleo. If you think living primal is hard, or time consuming, think again. It’s easier to shop (check out my grocery list) and it’s easier to prepare. You don’t have to worry about making super complicated recipes, although you can, it’s as simple as throwing together some veggies and grilling some protein. My B.A.S. usually includes lots of cucumber, red or orange pepper, cherry tomatoes, onion, hard boiled eggs, bacon, and Creta Farms deli meat. Sometimes I don’t need dressing, but if I do I use Newman’s Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette (I know it’s not 100% Paleo…I need to make my own dressings). Another great ingredient for B.A.S is broccoli slaw and carrot strips. The combinations are really endless.

Check out this video about Big Ass Salads from Mark Sisson where he explains how easy it is to throw together a great primal lunch.

2 Minute Salad from Mark Sisson on Vimeo.

Here are some of my B.A.S. creations:

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I don’t expect you to believe everything I say without some backup.  Here is a list of some of the information that helped me change my view of nutrition and the food industry.  Not all of this is entirely Paleo, but all roads lead to the same destination (*yay* natural fat/meat/veggies/whole food, *boo* carbs/sugar/corn/processed).

Fat Head -  In addition to chronicling writer Tom Naughton’s weight drop while on a diet of burgers and fries, the film provides interviews with doctors, nutritionists and others to drive home his thesis that most of what we know about “healthy eating” is wrong. Watch it FREE on Hulu, right now! He also frequently blogs here about current issues in nutrition.

If you want straight facts, check out his speech on the Big Fat Fiasco.  Broken out into 5 parts here -

• Part 1 – http://www.youtube.com/user/FatHeadMovie#p/u/6/exi7O1li_wA
• Part 2 – http://www.youtube.com/user/FatHeadMovie#p/u/5/cmwNpUJUjPg
• Part 3 – http://www.youtube.com/user/FatHeadMovie#p/u/3/TuxDuLKz39c
• Part 4 – http://www.youtube.com/user/FatHeadMovie#p/u/2/Z9mQ-QZkZpk
• Part 5 – http://www.youtube.com/user/FatHeadMovie#p/u/4/cEayi6IBjZw

Check out Mark’s Daily Apple. There is a TON of information on this site.  Read Primal Blueprint 101 to get started.  Be careful though! You might get sucked in to his site for days! Here’s another article on Why Grains are Unhealthy.

If you prefer listening to reading, subscribe to Robb Wolf’s podcast – The Paleo Solution

Here’s Paleo in a Nutshell! A perfect video to show others when they start questioning your crazy new eating habits.

Here it is, five weeks later and I’m finally starting this blog. I’ve already learned so much about the Paleo diet and living primal. But before I jump into this head first, let’s back up and understand how I got here.

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with carbohydrates. Even as a kid, “bread” was my favorite food. Luckily, I was always active and played sports all the way through college. I didn’t really see a harmful effect until after I graduated. Minus a few drops in weight due to strict diet phases, I gained an average of 10lbs a year from 2004-2010. That doesn’t seem like a lot until you add it up. 60lbs.

With the popularity of food industry documentaries like Food, Inc. and diet documentaries like Fat Head, I was gradually exposed to contradicting science. I kept digging deeper to uncover the truth about nutrition and choose my side. Initially, it didn’t make sense to question the USDA and their simple pyramid that promotes low fat and whole grains.  But once you examine the studies and really dive into the meat of the issue (pun intended), you’ll find huge gaping holes and bad science.  Plus, I remembered my own experiences with low carb and calorie counting diets. I finally dropped all my preconceived notions about what was healthy and used my common sense.  I know carbs and sugar are bad, so the biggest mental hurdle for me was befriending natural fats.  After researching hours on the internet over winter break, I finally started to believe what I was reading.  It makes more sense that human beings are meant to live on meat, vegetables, and natural fat.  Nothing processed.

Soon after this revelation I found Paleo and have been following it as a way of life since 1/1/2011.