Common Foods Mistaken as Primal? page

[Adam.Dehnel]

Today is the day, after 2 week of educating myself, that I plan to begin a new, primal, lifestyle. I just got back from the grocery store a couple of hours ago with bags containing items like apples and grapes, unsalted almonds (and more almonds), almond butter in a jar with the word "Organic" plastered across the top (is there anyone out there that uses "organic" in a way that might trip us primal eaters up?) I also got a pot roast and sausage (I'm betting that generic grocery store sausage is not primal) and my mom got the makings for spaghetti and pasta (which I will not partake, at least not the spaghetti, lol) and cold cuts (probably not 100% primal).

Anyways while I was walking around the store I was assaulted by tons of different choices and as I made my decisions I tried to stick to the painfully obvious fruits and veggies (duh) and straight meat, nuts and berries. Yet there are a few things that I looked at and said "Is it primal???" for instance the a fore mentioned sausage and bacon? I got pistachios and I know they are roasted with salt (Is that bad? I'd grab the unsalted ones but I couldn't find any) I'm tempted to do all my shopping at an all organic health food store but I know that will slash my wallet hard.
So what common grocery store foods are often (or perhaps you had) mistaken for primal?

[Mike Gager]

well it can be tough but for packaged store items like sausage you really got to read the labels and learn what the stuff listed actually is.

you want to avoid sugar for sure and most people avoid wheat and soy. unfortunately youll find just about every prepackaged food item includes some form of sugar wheat and soy

primal means different things to different people so you kind of got to figure out what your definition is. i just stick to the basics and try to do the best i can with whats out there

[jhc]

I wouldn't stress out too much over your meat; buying organic grass-fed meats is for "extra credit". Alot of store sausages will contain sweeteners and wheat crumbs, however most stores will have some kind of "100% beef/pork" or at least a gluten-free sausage option.

Salt in and of itself is not verboten.

A good rule of thumb: can you see yourself collecting it in the wild, preparing it, and eating it? (Not literally though; for example olive oil is permitted because you could "eat" the oil by eating a boatload of olives).

Generally so long as you avoid grains and sugar, and spend as little time in the aisles as possible, you will do well.

Generally you can cherry pick quite a bit with the primal diet; on spaghetti night why not steal some meat sauce and eat it over some steamed broccoli and carrots with cheese? Sounds tasty to me!

Good luck!

[Hedonist]

Fruit and almonds are fine. Just go kinda easy on them.

Generic sausage may have fillers and other stuff you don't particularly want. For future reference.

Salt isn't a huge deal for most people. Shouldn't be a problem if you mainly eat fresh meat and produce.

[ElaineC]

I'm a fan of sausage. Its inexpensive, tasty, cooks easily and keeps. I just make sure I buy ones without fillers or sugars. If you're buying them at a butchers counter, they should be able to tell you whats in them or not, and most fresh, hand made sausage doesn't contain nasties. I never buy chain brand, just fresh.

[Glamorama]

I needed to buy cream last week and it took 5 brands before I found one without vegetable gum as thickener!

[wiltondeportes]

I needed to buy cream last week and it took 5 brands before I found one without vegetable gum as thickener!

What's wrong with vegetable gum?

[peril]

I needed to buy cream last week and it took 5 brands before I found one without vegetable gum as thickener!

Why were you buying thickened cream? You can add gelatine to fresh cream to thicken it

[Adrianag]

Watch out for beans, peanut butter and " organic beef" that does not specify that it is grass fed. You might as well eat cheaper conventional beef since both are corn fed.

[belinda]

This is what I use my (less than) 20% for - not ice cream, pizza, or beer - but for things that are out of my control (for the most part) due to budgetary or other reasons.

I don't sweat a bit of sugar in a bbq sauce, a splash of soya sauce here or there, or that my sausage or bacon are conventional.

I'm still doing wonderful things for my body by cutting out 99% of the crap I used to eat and obsessing or going broke because I feel that I have to do this 100% would not be beneficial in the least.

Find out what you are and aren't willing to settle on and make that part of your 20% but get that 20% down to 5% or less and you'll be doing just fine