Is Enjoy Life Foods primal friendly? page

[ErinS]

Are Enjoy Life Foods primal-friendly? Their website is enjoylifefoods.com

I'm sure not about all of the products but some must be okay, right?

They are all gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, soy-free, egg-free, and casein-free, which works for me since I am intolerant of all of those.

[Helen in Oz]

Chocolate Chip Cookies -

Sorghum Flour; Grape, Apple and Pear Juice Concentrates; Brown Pure Cane Sugar; Date Paste; Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liquor, Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter); Expeller Pressed-Vegetable Oil (Safflower Oil and/or Sunflower Oil); Water; Natural Rice Dextrin; Xanthan Gum; Baking Soda; Salt; Vanilla; Rosemary Extract

Sorghum - dunno but think it's a grain, so no
Apple and Pear juice concentrates - BIG NO (fructose)
Brown Pure Cane Sugar - NO
Date Paste - dates in theory ok but they are a high-sugar fruit so no
Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liquor, Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter) - gah, not even real chocolate

Expeller Pressed-Vegetable Oil (Safflower Oil and/or Sunflower Oil) - NO NO NO NO AAAGGH NOOOOOO

Water - oh yay! Finally a primal ingredient

Natural Rice Dextrin - don't know what it is, so chances are I don't want to eat it
Xanthan Gum - ditto
Baking Soda - that's okay
Salt - yep
Vanilla - yep
Rosemary Extract - yep

Not looking good, is it? Basically this is pre-packaged grain-based high-sugar high-sucrose stuff that isn't much better than conventional junk. Possibly in a dire emergency (like if my kitchen blew up) they would do as a gluten-free option for the kids lunchboxes. Otherwise, no.

Get thee to the kitchen, young grokkette, and cook thee some real bloody food!

[ErinS]

haha ok thanks, I was just wondering!
I'm just surrounded by non-primal goodies (cakes, cookies, cereals, snacks...mmm) all the time as no one else in my family is primal, and sometimes the temptation is extremely hard to resist!

[Stabby]

All refined grains are awash with antinutrients and lectins and thus devoid of nutrients, but rich in GI irritation. If you're intolerant to all of that (as am I save for eggs) you're probably going to want to just avoid grains, legumes, and anything processed all together. if you're really craving baked goods in your transition you'll find some pretty decent coconut flour recipes around here and maybe Jimmy Moore's site.

[ErinS]

Do you have any coconut flour recipes you could share? I have found one that was good (Lemon Poppyseed Muffins), but I've found all the others contain ingredients I can't eat. Even the muffins are a bit questionable because of the eggs, but I just deal with the slight indigestion and bloating that result.

[Stabby]

Ooer yikes that's a tough one. You're the perfect candidate for orthodox paleo. I find you can make some pretty ballin' pudding will all paleo ingredients like coconut milk, shredded coconut, fruit, cocoa powder, stevia, avocado, almond meal, etc. It wouldn't be baked or the texture of grains but it would be yummy as heck.

I sympathize, the transition is painful. I used to love to eat plain bread.

/shame

[ErinS]

Haha orthodox paleo? That's hilarious! And you're probably right. I guess I pretty much am paleo already since I avoid dairy, but I do include fats/oils in my diet.
As far as the pudding goes, I can't digest coconut milk or almond meal (any kind of nut product, actually)...but I might just have to experiment with the rest of those ingredients one of these days. Thanks for the idea and the sympathy!

[Helen in Oz]

oh that's a bummer not having eggs. Difficult.

I've had a bit of a google without anything fabulous showing up. You might need to do some experimental baking in small portions, substituting ingredients.

For a crunchy snack, nuts are good, and if you want sweet, have some along with a little dried or fresh fruit. I also like sweet potato chips and beetroot chips.

Tablespoon of almond butter+tablespoon of shredded coconut + chopped dried apricot. Yum!

Try to start regarding savory foods as a snack. Baked chicken legs eaten cold. YUUUUM.

If you're really desperate, one of those pre-packed foods you linked to would probably be a better choice than something standard and allergen-containing, at least you're not going to make yourself too ill. But try not to Good luck!

[Helen in Oz]

GAH no nut products either!!! heavens. That's cruel.

Baked chicken it is. And bacon. ...

[ErinS]

You are funny. This is going to sound ridiculous but I can't eat dried fruit for some reason, and red meats/fatty meats (like bacon) give me problems as well...but I am trying to eat more savory snacks. I recently discovered artichoke hearts which are delicious, and eating them with balsamic vinegar is great for my stomach.