how to eat like paleolithic man and get more vegetables in your diet
[5 ingredients]

• I’ve been trialling paleo/primal-eating too, and absolutely loving it. The increase in energy and the lack of bloat and “icky feeling” is terrific!

  I’m eating some dairy though (since, being of English and Danish extraction, I have the gene to handle it), and following the 80/20 rule (Primal food 80% of the time). Interestingly, I find that fermented grain products like sourdough bread and beer don’t cause me problems, but I still prefer them as occasional accents rather than staples. As you say, it’s so much easier to get plenty of veggies – and also to avoid blowing out the calorie intake.

• Thanks so much for posting the menu, Jules! Planning meals is always a headache for me but this should give me lots of inspiration. :)

• Soy. A phytoestrogen not recommended for women nearing menopause. That’s in your 40s. Studies continue to clarify a possible breast cancer risk.

  Also not recommended for anyone with thyroid disease, diagnosed or undiagnosed. Thyroid disease is more common in women, and around menopause.

  A woman is in peri-menopause (approaching menopause) with dropping estrogen levels which is normal, and not to be medicated, for about 12 years prior to actual date of menopause. So if 52 is the average age, then peri-menopause begins around 40.

  http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/FactSheet/Diet/fs1.phyto.cfm

  One of the ways higher estrogen exposure may be linked to breast cancer risk is through its ability to increase growth of milk ducts in the breast. Most breast cancer arises from these ducts. Several but not all studies examining the effect of soy phytoestrogens on breast growth in women have suggested that phytoestrogens have a weak estrogen-like effect. The longest examination followed 28 women for a year. These women received a soy supplement for six months. While they were taking this supplement the women were found to have more growth of the milk ducts in their breasts. These studies are not conclusive, but such growth could increase breast cancer risk. More study is needed to evaluate the possible effects of soy phytoestrogens on growth within the breast and hormone levels in the body.

• This is seriously inspiring stuff- and I love the idea of the carrot noodles- had been doing ribbons of zucchini with pesto for a while as a pasta substitute- but this is brilliant!

• This is a really interesting diet! I think I might have to do a little research this time :]

• I like to eat tomato sauce on “spaghetti” squash or a bed of spinach. This is something I picked up from a friend who does Atkins. Mashed yams too.

  It’s so confusing. One source says eat lots of fruit, another, do not, because fruit is sugar. Yet another source, cut down on meat. Opposing that, eat lots of meat, it’s what our ancestors did. What to do what to do?

• You know, I read the same article and have been doing the same diet experiment… the results have surprised me! I feel 100 times better not eating grains, sugar, and legumes. I’m still eating some dairy.

  My acne totally disappeared, unless I cheat and have sugar, wheat, or lots of dairy and then I get a spot. I really missed my lentils and bread at first, but I’m eating so many more fruits and veggies, and it really simplifies my cooking — just like 5 ingredients does!

• Yargh, first you get me addicted to all these lentils and chickpeas* and couscous and stuff, and now you’re telling me I can’t eat them? ;)

  Jokes aside, this sounds like a interesting idea – if nothing else to get more vegs into ones diet.

  * Just had the Broccoli-Chickpea-Tahini dish – suprisingly good!

• I dunno, I think just cutting wheat (esp flour), sugar, and most dairy from a diet gives for the 100 times better feeling, no more bloat, thinner waist, more energy yadda yadda yadda or even just cutting the processed foods.

  I would like to find someone who eats very little of the above, and then stops grains and legumes and see if there is really a difference. I personally doubt it. Most scientists think agricultural groups are shorter because they are stationary/don’t travel much. Groups that have lived in one place for a long time are shorter. Nomadic groups have always been taller. And we are still getting taller. Anyway, I didn’t read the book so I can’t really argue.

• I struggle with this concept for a variety of reasons. First of all the planet cannot support such a meat heavy diet for all of us. We all know the statistics about how much water, fuel, land, etc. it takes to produce a calorie of animal protein compares to plants–including grains and legumes, since they do feed most of the less developed world now. Of course this was not an issue in paleolithic times since the population of the planet was tiny in comparison to today. There just isn’t enough tuna, salmon, beef. . . for most of us to eat this way and to afford it humanely, sustainable raised. . .

  And what happened to moderation? do we really need to cut out whole grains and beans? i just don’t quite buy it. I think the processed carbs and sugars claim is totally valid but I have my doubts about whole, unprocessed grains and legumes.
  Love to hear other’s thoughts on this.
  thanks for posting Jules. I do think it’s interesting but i really struggle with the feasibility of this for most of the world and i dislike the rarified, somewhat western preoccupation with fad diets.

  • I have the exact same issue with it. Hubby and I are not exactly doing paleo, but cutting out almost all white grains and eating whole grains in moderation (this includes crispbread, which is 24% fiber, but I don’t really like the stuff and therefore don’t eat much). We’ve got coconut flour and low-carb baking mix on their way in the mail. I’d say I’m naturally a flexitarian, but hubby likes his meat. I’d much rather do a mostly vegetarian diet with the occasional meat, but that doesn’t fit the paleo and low-carb profile. It troubles me, because this whole paleo method goes against all logic and common knowledge of healthy eating as established by the AHA and others.

    Besides all that, people now are living longer than ever before, due to changes in diet and medical advances. Malnutrition, though still a very big issue in many parts of the world, is no longer so rampant.

    We’re making something with lentils tonight after not being able to figure out a substitute. Not exactly paleo, I guess.

    The cost of meat almost all the time is enough to turn me off this one. I do want to eat more vegetables and I hate feeling bloated, but I am nowhere near convinced that this diet is necessarily healthy.

    • Hi Melinda
      If you’re struggling with the too much meat aspect… I’d recommend incorporating legumes (lentils beans chickpeas etc) into your diet – they fit the low-carb profile and are a great source of veggie protein… and they’re inexpensive too!

• The Ferris/Robb Wolf article was facinating! I plan on reading more about this topic. Another great post, as always.

• Your blog is one of the few blogs where every recipe I try is a success :-) I love the 5 ingredients recipes and have just made the broccoli pasta that tasted delicious.

  However I read a lot about paleo lately and was wondering if I should give it a try. If you come up with some delicious recipes that would be amazing :-)

  I am just wondering – are you really just eating an apple for breakfast? I would starve…

• katherine
  you’ve raised some excellent points about the sustainability aspect of the paleolithic diet – and something I don’t have an answer for.

  soni
  yes it would be inteteresting to see if it’s just the benefits of cutting out processed foods that makes the difference. Interesting about nomadic people always being taller.

  andersong
  yes I know….I should be more consistend;)
  and I’m about to start eating chickpeas again .. think I’ll be having that broccoli dish soon!

  amy
  thanks for sharing your eperience too

  sharon
  I need to track down some spaghetti squash – haven’t seen it here yet but sounds intriguing.

  jilla
  thanks for the detailed information on soy. interesting stuff

• In response to katherine: This is a book review of The Vegetarian Myth by Mark from Marks daily apple, a really popular “paleo” blogger. Basically the argument is that it’s large scale vegetable farming that is ruining our planet.
  http://www.marksdailyapple.com/vegetarian-myth-review/

  An interesting debate for sure.

• In our vego household – we do hit the grains pretty hard. So I am very grateful for the carrot (and zucchini) noodles idea! Guess what we will be having for dinner!

  Its very easy to be enamoured by these new ideas about paleo eating (the buzz of Tim Ferris name alone seems to get people in a lather), but with any diet that creates such good/bad divisions – it tends to be really hard to follow for the average muggins like myself. I guess as jules suggests – ultimately as individuals we do need to eat more vegies. And if a paleo idea like this inspires this kind of kitchen creativity, that is a good thing.

• I find the paleo diet difficult – because of the higher environmental cost of all the meat and all the fresh fruit and veggies. Think of the cost of moving all that fresh food. If you grow your own – great. Otherwise it seems very heavy on the refrigerated transportation.

  I’ll stick with organic, local, seasonal food. Grains, legumes, some diary, sprouts, canned, dehydrated and frozen home grown. And some “imported” fruit and veggies.

• i guess the paleo diet is about avoiding Western foods, so it doesn’t necessarily require eating meat at every meal or every day. I almost like what Staffan Lindeberg has written on the subject. However, it’s hard to believe that a home-made sourdough bread could be bad for you. I’m just waiting for a nice spelt loaf to rise third time.

• Hi again. I have read a bit about this approach and have been following it for a few months, but loosely. I like good quality bread and LOVE pasta but known they make me bloated. So I eat small amounts as a treat (a bit of bread with perfect tomatos and ricotta for lunch, an entree sized pasta now and again) and know there will be consequences. I don’t feel too deprived and feel great. No lentils and LF diary? Harder.

  Jules, your food diary is amazing. A month with no restaurants or wine! And very small breakies. I would be starving! But good on you.

• ariana
  yes I do just have an apple for breakfast but I tend not to eat until after I’ve been for a run so my breakfast is pretty late and then I have lunch at a normal time so I’m fine…although if I had to commute to work and sit in meetings all morning I’d need a much bigger breakfast!

  ville
  haven’t come across saffan lindeberg – thanks for the tip. good on you making your own sourdough – it is very rewarding.

  kristen
  don’t worry – there was no shortage of wine, didn’t even think to include it and there were quite a few restaurant meals, I didn’t cook everything. ;)

• “nomadic people taller.”

  I disagree. North American natives and Inuit were/are short people.
  Who were you thinking of?

• So, I haven’t read anything on the paleolithic diet, and I’m a vegetarian (biased), but how exactly does ground beef fit in here? Our ancestors couldn’t raise crops, but they could herd cattle? My understanding has always been that between hunting and gathering, the latter was the reliable one. But I ain’t got nothin’ to back that up :)

• actually lulu
  excellent point – the australian aborigines aren’t known for their height either.

  matt
  good point that paleolithic people probably didn’t have access to meat grinders. I think the thinking is that they didn’t raise the cattle or whatever other animals – they just hunted as they could.

• I haven’t read a lot about this, but to me this makes sense:
  the men ran ahead and did the hunting, while the women (and children and the rest of the community) followed behind, carrying the camp with them and gathering as they went along. When they arrived, they found a bunch of exhausted men and a dead wild animal, and proceeded to set up camp and slaughter (the beast!). Some people argue today that this is why the WR difference between men and women is smaller for a marathon than the 100m. Men are built for sprints (running after animals) while women are built for trekking hour after hour after hour.
  And PLEASE don’t jump at me – I’m sure there are plenty of examples to prove me dead wrong. Both men and women come in all shapes and sizes – and speeds!

  Jules – I love your blog. You are a constant source of inspiration in a hectic daily life. Simple as that!! Nuff said.

• I have a feeling a lot people are going to treat this like Atkins. An excuse to eat a ton of fat. (Not you of course, but other people who are use it specifically to lose weight without changing bad habits.)

  The thing that bothers me the most about this diet is the no beans thing. They are SO good for you. Which I guess is why you’re still eating them. :-)

  I also don’t buy the no-dairy thing. Lots of nomadic people have goats and drink the milk. I mean that’s not hunter gatherer anymore…but its still pretty ancient. And we are mammals. We’re built to drink milk!

  And as for no-grains, there is obviously a big difference between eating grains in their natural state a little at a time (whole wheat..brown rice ect.) and munching on French bread everyday for three meals.

  Agriculture was a wonderful thing! Not evil! People all over the world rely on grains to keep from starving. I understand that we eat to many of them in a lot of the first world, but I don’t like how this diet is demonizing them.

  Moderation and common sense won’t kill you even if they’re never in vogue.

  (please know that I think you’re taking a good, sensible, moderate version of the diet and if you don’t want to eat grains everyday, that’s fine. I’m just frustrated with the dieting world as a whole, knowing many very frustrated dieters, who are constantly being told different things!)

• hmmm…sorry, but sounds a bit iffy to me – and seems to sum up some very dubious notions the western world has constructed around the figure of the so-called ‘native’ …

• It also depends on who you are comparing this archetypal ‘paleo man’ with. For example, the average diet of many poor farming people in europe during the middle ages consisted of little more than dark bread and beer (for children as well adults). So it’s almost impossible to compare an ideal hunter-gatherer diet with an ideal agricultural-based diet given the breadth and circumstance of people throughout history. So sustainability aside (though I agree its a huge issue) I just can’t see the science stacking up….

• I find it funny that I stumbled on this particular post today…I just finished day 30 of the Whole30 food challenge and your ideas for meals would have been SO nice during those last 30 days…First thing I made this morning? Not-so-nutritious-yet-SO-delicious Bostock! Nice little treat, but now back to my grain-dairy-legume-free meals! LOVE your recipes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• I don’t think there’s any reason to cut anything out of my diet unless it is sustainable in the long term. Is eating no dairy, wheat, or legumes sustainable? Or even healthy? And what about eating food because it tastes good?

• Delish! As a Coeliac I don’t have the ‘normal’ grains of wheat, barley, oats etc, but still have other grains like amaranth, rice, quinoa and buckwheat. it’s certainly interesting to change it up and I do believe that we probably shouldn’t be eating grains but as I’m already Coeliac I decided a long time ago not to cut anything else out of my diet as it’s already restrictive! I’ve seen the idea of carrot or zucchini ‘pasta’ before and love the idea…. I’ll have to try it with the sauce you’ve made my Mum (who is vego) would love it!

• Jules – brilliant blog, great discussions.

  Personally, I think the biggest thing people overlook when discussing the ideal human diet is the time frame. We crave the easy-to-convert-to-fat foods like carbs because evolution places more importance in short-term survival and our bodies/minds are always preparing to us to starve in times of food scarcity (e.g., winter). In the short-term, the survival benefits of consuming grains/sugars outweighs the costs (i.e., inflammation, etc.). However, because we in the developed/western/first world rarely experience periods of starvation/scarcity any more, a short-term beneficial adaptation becomes a burden over the long-term as a result of too much fat and chronic inflammation, etc. Viewed this way, people who are considered “fat” (i.e., those who are very sensitive to insulin and store sugars as fat more easily) are actually better adapted for (short-term) survival than skinny people. Unfortunately evolution hasn’t come to terms (and likely never will because it can’t last) with the artificial conditions of a never-ending food supply so many/most people suffer in the long-term with diseases resulting from chronic exposure to foods that are meant to fulfil short-term dietary needs.

• sid
  excellent points about evolution and time frame – a great perspective. thanks for sharing

  jas
  As a coeliac, I can imagine it’s tough given that you need to be so vigilant. I’m keen to try some zucchini pasta as well. The tofu sauce is really lovely – hope your Mum enjoys it.

  erin
  I think you can live quite healthily without grains and legumes but it’s up to the individual. And thanks for raising the whole taste thing – I’m definietly not prepared to eat things that don’t taste good.

  glad you enjoyed leilani
  best of luck with the grain & dairy free path

  de
  you raise some interesting points – I have some friends who would consider the bread and dark beer diet perfect especially for children ;)

  amybeth
  At the end of the day you’re so right – moderation and common sense are always more important than fads.

  thanks for sharing your perspective and kind words kari – really appreciate it!

• I’d never heard of this diet until you mentioned it. Can’t say I’ll be trying it anytime soon, but the meals you’ve been having don’t sound too bad at all!

• limecake
  I’ve found it much easier than when I was vegetarian for a month in july… maybe I’m a meat & 3 veg girl afterall ;)

• Thanks Jules for this post.

  I mainly eat this way (even though I’m not super convinced by the just-so stories behind the diet) but mainly my focus is on eating more veggies and fruit and less processed food. of course, I still have chocolate and wine and pasta and bread and rice – just as occasional treats rather than everyday foods.

  Like you I still eat a lot of lentils and dairy as well because I don’t have issues with either and the evidence that these foods cause inflammation seems sketchy at best.

  And yes, the sustainability issue is a tricky one but it’s not only paleo which needs to address this problem.

  Anyway, there are some great ideas in your post. Sometimes it’s hard to think of paleo-ish meals after years of building every single dish around pasta or rice or bread!

• antipodean kate
  I agree, as long as you’re focusing on more veggies and less processed food you’re on the right track.
  I need to work on wine being only occasional though ;)

• Hi Jules

  Late to the party, but catching up on your fantastic recipes while making some Me Time.

  My wife and I went on the no grain diet (I called it the Slightly More Specific Atkins Diet, for the people who couldn’t handle something that started with “No Wheat”) and we had awesome results. More energy, less flash-point arguments between us and a general all over increase in visual appeal (the wobbly bits stopped wobbling).

  At the same time, I convinced a coeliac friend to try the diet too. He was interested because he already couldn’t eat wheat, so expanding to grains wasn’t a big deal. He lost 2 kilos in three days. His wife (not coeliac) also lost a similar amount in the same time frame. After a week, he got bored with friut for breakfast and changed to his old cereal, the 2 kilos found him while his wife, thinking differently, didn’t change back and continued to lose a bit more. He stopped having cereal and was back on track.

  Both couples finished out the month pretty much sticking to the changed diet and have decided to keep on with it (avoiding grain as much as possible). The most difficult thing: going out – it’s very hard to avoid wheat in social situations. Weird huh?

  Anyway, thank you for what you are doing here and many thanks for the meal plan, it’s so hard to break the food habits of 30+ years, but it gets easier with practice.

• hey ben
  thanks for sharing your stories.
  it’s great to hear what other people are experiencing.

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