We often hear about how “Paleo” is about eating raw foods, but this is only part of the picture. I’m sure you’ve seen Paleo recipes online, and they’re loaded with meat, dairy, and veggies. However, there’s a lot more to Paleo than that. In fact, Paleo is a general term for a great many ways of eating and living that are considered healthy.
The original idea of the Paleo Diet was to eat mainly fresh, uncooked food that was hunted, gathered, and cooked by Paleo pioneers. The main types of meats that were eaten on this diet are Elk, Fish, and Poultry. If you’re interested in learning more about the different kinds of Paleo food that’s been eaten, here are a few examples:
Fish: The basic idea of the Paleo Diet is to eat lean meats, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and some starch. Some people have compared eating Paleo to the Eskimos, which might make sense to a few people. Actually, some first Paleo people didn’t actually eat seafood at all. Their main source of protein was a wild game, like Deer and Moose.
Fish has always been an important part of our diet. In fact, the Paleo Diet isn’t about “normal” or traditional fish. It’s about a fish that is not processed, dried, canned, or otherwise “prepared”. Fish that’s caught with special nets is best for eating. You should avoid most fish that is oily, but if you must eat fish that is “fishy”, go for the fish that are low in mercury (like tilapia) or have freshwater as a habitat.
Fish has one very important benefit that many traditional diets don’t have: its nutrient value. For example, salmon is very high in vitamin D, and grass-fed beef contains a high nutrient-to-weight ratio. Salmon is a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for the heart and the brain.
Chicken is another good place to get Paleo vitamins. Make sure you buy grass-fed, free-range, or at least pastured chickens, as this will ensure your chickens receive the best nutritional value possible. You can use the “shell” of the chicken for baking but don’t rub the outside of the chicken with olive oil. Remember, the skin of the chicken is where you’ll find the most nutrients.
Rice: There’s a reason the name “rice” comes from “Hittite”. Its staple diet was simply rice. Of course, this isn’t true any longer. Modern-day grains like wheat and oats have replaced rice as the staple grain of choice. It is still very healthy to eat a little rice every day.
Rice is a good food for your Paleo diet because it is a whole grain, which means that it’s very good for you. It’s also a cheap and healthy food, so it’s a good addition to your Paleo diet. Many Paleo meals include rice as a main dish, or it can be added to other foods.
Bread: One of the most common grains consumed in the western world is bread. We get bread from a variety of places, including homegrown, domesticated, or otherwise grown commercially. Paleo food dishes that contain bread are common among Paleo followers. So is a big piece of the problem for these Paleo followers; they eat a lot of bread.
Bread and grain can become a problem for the Paleo diet. In fact, some people have even been advised to completely eliminate wheat and flour from their diet. Grain products such as wheat flour, and refined carbohydrates like white flour and white sugar, can make you fat and sick or cause diabetes, and that’really not a good thing!
As with Paleo recipes in general, there are plenty of delicious Paleo dishes that do not use grain or bread. Just because you like the idea of eating Paleo doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself of other foods.
