Primal Meals questions: Are these primal? page

[danmerk23]

Ok, following the PB and really making sure not to use processed foods at all. As mentioned in my journal, really trying hard.


I see lots of recipes posted here and other primal lifestyle sites and most are simple meats and veggies for most dinners. Ok, got it. Keep spices simple, keep flavorings to a minimum. Understood.


However I love to cook. I mean really love to cook. I've made cheese, beer, wine, butter, vinegars, curry pastes, jerkeys, grow my own herbs, etc. I really get into the origins of real cuisine. So, going primal has caused a huge monkey wrench in my cooking. What used to take me hours of love in the kitchen, is now like 20 minutes tops.


So I ask, is making an all out curry dish using no grains, and very little starches primal?


Last night I made a Thai red curry using my own paste and some chicken. There were a ton of ingredients so I was just curious.

[hannahc]

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/clean-your-pantry-for-health/


That's Mark's reference to spices, and I couldn't imagine cooking without fresh garlic/parsley/cilantro/thyme/oregano/pepper/etc...food would be so boring! Most people aren't used to cooking on a regular basis, or so it seems, so simple meat and vegetable dishes are all many people care to do. There are a lot of us that really enjoy cooking, and I think we would agree that there's no need to keep down the natural spices and flavorings, especially those that you make or grow yourself.

[FlyNavyWife]

Pretty much as long as you keep the grains out, processed sugars out, and dairy out most of the time, I'd say you're safe to play in the kitchen.


I love cooking too... primal doesn't have to mean boring. In fact, I've actually experimented a lot MORE than before in the kitchen since starting to eat this way.

[grandma]

why not? Curry rocks, I especially love coconut ones. The only thing that comes to mind is soy sauce could be considered non-primal. But curries tend not to be heavy on that anyway, sub salt for soy sauce if you must.


I never have a concern with the number of ingredients in homemade food. It is boxed foods where I examine the ingredient list and as a rule of thumb avoid long lists because the longer the list the more likely that it contains crap (grains and chemicals).


Why do you say "keep flavorings to a minimum"? Unless I am missing something, I didn't think spices were forbidden.

[karlin]

I really think the "keep it simple" thing is for people who don't really cook very much. It keeps the transition from being so overwhelming. Very few people would switch to primal if it required hours and hours of cooking everyday. If that's what you want to do though, go for it! In fact, come over to my house and cook for me.

[grandma]

thanks hanna (your post came after mine due to the link)


I was worried for a minute there. If I had to give up spices I was out of here and about to write my own book called the "Matriarchal Guidepost"

[FlyNavyWife]

HAHA Grandma... what a great name "Matriarchal Guidepost."

[danmerk23]

Thanks all of you! I really appreciate it! My understanding of most Paleo diets are super primitive. I know PB is not Paleo, but I got the impression that using canned coconut milk (organic) or using a blend of spices was not following this mantra.


I absolutely love to cook. I've been making curries forever and recently brought out the masala dibba to begin cooking it again since I feel comfortable using home made ghee.


Most of the recipes here seem to be very light on the ingredients so I just made the assumption I was supposed to eat just veggies and some meat. Now I know that I can really have fun with it. We have not purchased anything in a package except coconut oil, olive oil, almond milk, greek yogurt. I buy all my spices from an Middle Eastern grocery nearby so I get them in bulk. Much less expensive that way. All my herbs are dried from my garden. wow. I guess I've already adapted to this lifestyle. The only thing that has been hard for me is sometimes I miss making home made bread. But I remind myself how I felt all bloated I used to feel.

[darienx19]

I love experimenting in the kitchen and going primal has only amplified that. It's become kind of a hobby to see what I can replace in recipe books to make healthy, primal food. Often times trying to emulate something non-primal ends up making something wonderful and new. Case in point, several weeks ago, I tried changing a sweet and sour chicken recipe into something primal... change some ingredients and forget that you left it on the stove an hour ago and voila, you have primal pulled chicken!


If you're up for sharing some of your creations, I would be game! I can work on typing up some of mine as well