The Anti-Primal Primal Diet (Primal Nutrisystem?) page

[Mamchibi]

A friend of mine (overworked, overstressed, overovered) said she'd do primal (for weight loss) if there was an option for it through Nutrisystem or Jenny Craig or one of those horrible "this stuff ain't food" places. She says she just needs a month to get her through until her life settles down and she can start cooking again.

I told her that external controls like that set her up for failure, that the food isn't "real" or "clean" and that she needs to learn how to cook, eat, move and sleep like a person instead of like a robot looking for a quick fix. We talked for over an hour, and I said I'd do some research.

I haven't found anything that would help her, even Menu Mailers has quit their primal option. I figure if there's a group out there who'd have the knowledge she needs, it's you guys and gals!

So, any help for her?

[Theresa92]

Hmmm... I believe that there is one small company near where I live that sells bulk Paleo frozen meals. I'm not sure if there are many in general, though.

Maybe you could get together with your friend and take one day out of the week and show her some basic recipes? Show her how to hard boil some eggs, how to fry some ground beef, how to steam/boil some veggies, etc. If she doesn't know how to cook, then maybe she feels a bit overwhelmed by the thought of having to cook 100% of her meals from now on. Show her just a few basic recipes.

If she knows how to cook, then she can make her food for the week and just freeze it. It's pretty easy to make a large batch of chicken wings and freeze them. I think sweet potatoes might also do well in the freezer. Pretty much any veggie that doesn't contain a lot of water will probably do good in the freezer. Also, hard boiled eggs stay good for up to a week in the fridge.

If your friend just doesn't like cooking at all or has no time to cook, then for the time being I think it's perfectly okay to buy some healthy packaged food. Canned fish such as tuna, salmon, and sardines taste really yummy. And you don't even need to cook them. Smoked salmon is also yummy. Canned veggies are also a decent option. They also sell frozen vegetables in bags that you stick in the microwave and it steams the vegetables. That's a really quick option as well.

Hope I helped!

[teach2183]

Like Theresa suggests, but could you take it even further and do once a month cooking? If she has a big enough freezer, she could do the prep work for all her meals on one day, then just pull them out as the month progresses. It takes some planning, but it can be done.

[Mamchibi]

From what I was able to gather, it was more a stress than a time problem. I did offer to meet with her and help, but it's more than that. She said she needs it laid out for her with no decisions to make. I would offer to cook for her, but I'm running a bit busy in this season right now, too.

[teach2183]

From what I was able to gather, it was more a stress than a time problem. I did offer to meet with her and help, but it's more than that. She said she needs it laid out for her with no decisions to make. I would offer to cook for her, but I'm running a bit busy in this season right now, too.

Then sit with her and plan meals, help her make lists of what is needed for each meal. If she has time to cook, then a plan of what to eat for each meal should be good. It can be a bit overwhelming at first. But heck, I like having my dinners planned each week. It eliminates the "what do you want tonight?" debacle that often can end with ordering out. Do you have time to meet with her each week and plan out meals? Does she have a family she's also responsible for feeding?

[Mamchibi]

I've done that, teach. She has a very large family with small children at home and she's not comfortable with feeding them primal. She was worried that she'd have to cook twice, once for the family once for her, but I showed her how she could just skip the rice or bread on her own plate if she really wanted to serve it to the kids. Her dishes are usually elaborate casseroles or skillet dishes though, long on carbs and short on protein (for financial reasons) so it would really require her to learn a new method of cooking entirely. I got the impression she was looking for something simple for herself while she creates her elaborate family meals that doesn't require her to "cook twice."

[RaeVynn]

The cookbook "Well Fed" is based upon spending one day a week to prep most food, then just assemble for meals. Really basic recipes, too, nothing elaborate or complex.

[sbhikes]

Seriously if that is her excuse then she's not willing. Don't bother trying to help her. I mean come on, it has to take way more time and effort to drive to some place like Jenny Craig and sit through the bullshit sales pitches, then purchase all the food and open all the boxes and deal with the instructions and the trash only to have a bad-tasting, small meal to eat. If that is more appealing than putting a chuck roast in the crockpot over night, then there's really nothing you can do.

[AuroraB]

Don't take this the wrong way but maybe she needs 'Paleo, for Dummies'. My mom bought something like it and really liked it. It lays everything out step by step. But, then again, it sounds like she's a bit on the lazy side and so it wouldn't matter what you did for her, she'd have some kind of excuse.

[JudyCr]

Plus it's way cheaper to plan, purchase and quickly prepare meals for yourself than to buy that horrible food full of chemicals and preservatives.