Foundations - Food II

Freezer full of meat

Of all of the information from the paleosphere that I was now immersing myself in, I think the most influential for me was the notion that, at best, grains do not offer us any nutrients that we cannot get from other places.  And far worse, that they are likely problematic for everybody in some scalar fashion.  The other thing that struck me was how pervasive seed oils are in the Standard American Diet.  They are literally everywhere you look.  And they, too, only have a downside as far as I can see.

As I transitioned into the Primal lifestyle I found myself eating less and less from these two big categories and then eventually eliminating them completely.  I don't have a date marked when total avoidance came, but it has been a few years by now.  Around this time I also began to do daily Intermittent Fasting and ditched breakfast.  I'll talk more about this in detail in a future foundations post.  So basically, I eat two large meals a day and have for quite some time.  It works well for me and my schedule.

I'm notorious for eating the same thing over and over.  While it's true I do have a few base foods for my two meals, they do in fact change over time.  Nonetheless, if you aren't actually me and just observe my foods for several weeks - things may look strange.  Like I've mentioned before, I like things simple and that's just how I roll.  Lots of people love trying out different recipes and various food combinations, and more power to them.

To break it down, I basically eat grass fed red meat, fish, sweet potatoes, veggies, eggs, yogurt, a few nuts and fruits, and dark chocolate.  I cook with coconut oil and butter, and use a bit of lemon juice now and again.  I think there is plenty of variety within these choices, especially when I mix in different spices and sea salt with my evening meal.

A couple of years ago I started to purchase meat from our Farmers Market in the summer and tried several different animals.  As Fall rolled around, I decided to purchase a quarter of a grass fed buffalo for my winter supply.  It worked out great.  If you can afford the up front cost and have the freezer space, this is a super deal.  In addition to getting a mix of cuts and ground meat, the Farmer will usually include livers, hearts, bones etc.  The buffalo guy threw in all of this stuff for free saying that they usually end up just feeding it to their dogs.  Lucky dogs!   This summer I purchased a quarter of a grass fed cow and topped it off with some ground buffalo and lamb to last me the winter. 

This pic on the left is what I had for lunch today.  I also had a banana and some dark chocolate later as I was still hungry.  My other lunch go to meal is sardines, a sweet potato, a couple of soft boiled eggs and some yogurt.  I almost always eat at noon.

Lunch

And the pic below was dinner.  That's a half pound of meat.  The cuts vary as I work my way through the quarter.  Usually I lightly fry the veggies in coconut oil and then add the meat.  Sometimes I use the slow cooker for tougher cuts.  I cook the eggs sunny side up and add them to the meat and veggie mix.  Copious amounts of grass fed butter always accompany the sweet potato.  The more the better.

Dinner

 
So that's the diet in a nutshell.  As I said, new things do get rotated in and out.  For awhile I was eating macadamia nuts a few times a week with lunch.  And before I was having so many sweet potatoes, I consumed more avocados.  I rarely go out to eat.  When I do, I usually go for a meat entree with either a potato or veggies.  If I have an appetizer or dessert that is not so much Paleo, I don't sweat it.  I think one of my secrets is that I really enjoy my meals and look forward to them everyday.  I don't have to think much about what I'm eating and consider my meals to be very nutrient dense.