Author Topic: why can't you "paleo-ify" foods?  (Read 540 times)

Offline thebaboo

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why can't you "paleo-ify" foods?
« on: January 30, 2012, 12:08:47 AM »
I started the paleo diet a couple weeks ago and so far I love it.........but I'm dying to try some paleo brownie and paleo pie recipes! I don't understand why "paleo-ifying" foods is so strongly advised against. If all of the ingredients are paleo-approved, I don't see what the problem is. Can anybody tell me?

Offline goodsamaritan

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Re: why can't you "paleo-ify" foods?
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2012, 12:31:02 AM »
I started the paleo diet a couple weeks ago and so far I love it.........but I'm dying to try some paleo brownie and paleo pie recipes! I don't understand why "paleo-ifying" foods is so strongly advised against. If all of the ingredients are paleo-approved, I don't see what the problem is. Can anybody tell me?

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Offline Jean

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Re: why can't you "paleo-ify" foods?
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2012, 12:54:26 AM »
There are a few drawbacks:
- it stops you moving on from your old way of eating and embracing all the new delicious foods you could be eating
- paleo substitutes never taste as good as the "real" thing
- it's a lot of work eating that way, buying special ingredients and baking stuff you used to just buy. Real paleo food is actually much quicker and easier to prepare. Ease of preparation is a real issue in transition! If it's all too hard you're more likely to quit.
- they usually have marginally-paleo ingredients in them (like maple syrup) and the proportions are all wrong eg too much almond, too high in omega-6 etc

Offline avelin

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Re: why can't you "paleo-ify" foods?
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2012, 03:45:39 AM »
Firstly, in order to make baked goods, and use paleo stuff as a substitute, you will be using large amounts of stuff you would normally have in small amounts. I'd like to add that if not just a very occasional treat, eating this way will lead to a crap and unbalanced diet. I'd think that the foods that you 'want' either are just a vehicle for sugar or an attempt to hang on to unhealthy food ratios in another guise. The idea is to eat lots of vegetables and meats with some fruits and nuts (if that floats your boat) and not masses of ground up nuts with sweetening agents with some fruits or maybe small quantities of vegetables and meats.

As Jean said, you won't move on.

Substituting new foods onto old ideas encourages the growth of bad habits or prolongs the bad habits with substitutes that will never be the same as the thing you are trying to recreate. These two ideas are beautifully summed up as Smoking Candy Cigarettes in the first case, or Sex With Your Pants On in the second.

I think that it's worth considering the rationale behind eating this way. This will lead you to make the right decision about where you might have crossed the line - rolling something up in egg, or making mini meat and vegetable frittatas, is way different from grinding up a whole coconut and adding a half cup of honey, and I bet that with the former appetite will dictate what you eat, but the latter will be driven by sugar or spices.

 Here's a snippet of Whole9′s Nutrition in 60 Seconds slightly changed by me (substitution of oils with fats):

"We eat real food – meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, fats, nuts and seeds. We choose foods that were raised, fed and grown naturally, and foods that are nutrient-dense, with lots of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals.

This is not a “diet” – we eat as much as we need to maintain strength, energy, activity levels and a healthy body weight. We aim for well-balanced nutrition, so we eat animals and a significant amount of plants.

Eating like this has helped us to look, feel, live and perform our best, and reduces our risk for a variety of lifestyle-related diseases and conditions."

NOTE: Archevore and Whole 9 follow, or used to follow, mostly paleo. I personally really like whole9 and (the majority of) their Whole30 program and I like Kurt Harris' article but not necessarily his current way of thinkingW
Ideology that fits biology

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Re: why can't you "paleo-ify" foods?
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2012, 03:45:39 AM »