But seriously. I am eating beet leaves, dude. I didn't even know you could eat that **** before. And you are telling me I am being unhealthy? GTFO.
It was just bell peppers stuffed with grass fed beef. Cooked with coconut oil, onions, garlic, and tomatoes. 2 bell peppers (4 halves), 1 pound of ground beef, half an onion, and 4 cloves of garlic. Oh, and also some chopped basil. I can post the exact recipe later when I'm home.
Speaking of bell peppers and tomatoes, what are people's thoughts on nightshades? Your recipe sounds good and healthy, but I know certain strict paleo people who not only cut out dairy and legumes, but nightshades as well. http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/08/the-whys-behind-autoimmune-protocol.html
Why not just make a beef or pork roast? I season it with salt (or no salt if you want), pepper, thyme, and I had some rosemary from my yard. Get a good crust on it in the oven and then put it on top of the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Bay leaves are good to add or just add whatever you want. Slow cook it at 275 or so for a few hours and boom you have a nice tender piece of meat without much work. Salt, pepper, butter, whatever to your liking. It should last you a few days depending on how much you cook. I'm sure there are millions of things you can easily make on the "paleo" diet. It just seems like it is no starch, no processed food, minimal salt, and minimal sugar. My ex was just prescribed a similar diet because of her nephritis from psoriatic arthritis.
a few questions... - didn't early man actually eat like 90% vegetables/fruits/nuts and very little meat, much like chimps in the wild today? - is it difficult to avoid GMO contaminants in your diet if you're living in the states? - do you allow yourself to 'cheat', and for instance have a cheeseburger once in a while or indulge in some chocolate cake? - when embarking on such a diet, are you intending to 'do it for life' or does it have a finite exit strategy at some point? - if it is indeed 'for life', then from a social and even professional standpoint how do you avoid dining in restaurants or invited dinner events?
I can't answer all of your points because I don't have the any factual information handy, but to answer the points I can -- -it is not difficult to avoid GMO contaminants if you stick to organically grown food. - yes, I won't deprive myself of foods that I love for the rest of my life. however, I only eat them on occasion (read : once or twice a month) -i think for most, paleo is not a diet, but an adopted lifestyle. I don't necessarily see it as a diet, because I feel the premise of the paleo 'diet' is fairly sustainable -- lean meats, vegetables, some fruit, nuts, no grains or legumes. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to eliminate grains and legumes in favor of more vegetables and nuts.
Forgot to address your last question, but most of the time you can find items on the menu that are paleo-acceptable -- most places serve a meat/chicken and vegetable plate. It shouldn't be too different for invited dinner events, but if it is, you could do the 'polite' thing and eat, or stick to your lifestyle and hope the host respects your beliefs, and if not, oh well.
Can someone explain the no beans thing? I like to think my diet is pretty healthy and I love my beans. What's the rationale behind that?
None. Beans are great for you. They contain a good amount of protein and the carbs are complex. The paleo diet is excellent, but where it becomes problematic is where people assume that just because our anscestors did/didn't do something that it must be a good/bad idea. What the Paleo diet doesn't consider is that there are things our anscestors didn't know which may be good for them too. Also, our anscestors easily burned twice as many calories as we do. If done sensibly, I think the Paleo diet is probably one of the best out there.
This is a great point, and shows how ignorant our ancestors were about stuff like thinking a Pig was unclean. I mean, seriously, Bacon, unclean.....idiots ! DD
Paleo isn't a meat only diet, and you are encouraged to eat as much vegetables as you please along with some fruits and nuts. I think I would go insane if I avoided certain foods "for life". Definitely allow for cheats, but I don't schedule them where I am forced to cheat. It's more cheating when I feel like it, and try to keep that to a minimum. Lifestyle change. Steak and vegetables with a baked sweet potatoe on the side is Paleo friendly. Paleo dishes are fairly common.
Legumes, along with nightshades and dairy, contain high amounts of a protein called Lectin. It is disruptive to the intestinal wall and could be damaging to your immune system.