Grain-Free Susbstitues For An Ongoing Healthy Lifestyle

Bob Garon's Portion:

Lately I've been asked by quite a few people about me no longer eating grains and if I'm not eating grains what in the world DO I eat since grains are in everything. Well yes grains are in a lot of things, but definitely not everything. If you are a processed foods eater or consume meats that are not grassfed then yes grains will be in everything that you eat. But if you look beyond foods purchased in the middle of any grocery store to that of around the peripheries as well as more closer to nature itself you will find that grains are not that hard to NOT eat and/or replace. That is the exact nature of this article and one that Mark Sisson recently blogged about himself. So instead of reiterating what he did so very well listing in the first place I will simply redigest his great wealth of information for you to enjoy all the very healthy yummy goodness.

I am always asked the question and read among the Paleo community: "If you do not eat grains then what about bread/rice/pasta/mashed potatoes/pizza/sweets, etc? What they're really wanting to know is what type of healthy foods can be eaten that will satisfy any lingering comfort food cravings? Ultimately in a world and lifestyle that is fully adapted to eating enough of the very necessary and essential fat, these "comfort food" urges would honestly not even be existent. If we ate this way ongoing our bellies and brains would be so satiated because of the constant consumption of food quality such as in grassfed(higher CLA content and grain free) organic(chemical & hormone free) meat, healthy fat, wild caught fish, vegetables, and bits of fruit. In fact the more we eat that way the more our bodies will actually crave what we truly need instead of what we think we want.

It is important that when we make any changes in our lives that we do so with very small increments. If we do this our success rate jumps and then chance of new habits sticking will be much, much higher. I have an upcoming intensive Fit Body Challenge, one that centers around making small (but definitely doable) positive changes that will not only give you a truly amazing and very fast physical transformation, but also one that will stretch you mentally as well.

Mark Sisson's Portion:

Finding alternate low-carb versions of the classic high-carb foods can be just the ticket to maintaining your personal health commitments under duress – and for that reason, I rounded up every low-carb food alternative source I could find. Strict Primal Blueprint pros and Primal stalwarts, forgive me, but I’m doing it for everyone’s collective good. Consider this my 80/20 moment. (wink) [You remember Pareto's Law right?]

Breads/Muffins/Cakes

Primal Spinach Bread
Carrot Walnut Bread
Primal Pumpkin Loaf
Flax Bread (Thanks for both of these, Get Primal!)
Coconut Flour Rolls (Thanks, Tim!)
Medicine Woman’s Roots: Golden Flax Bread
Gluten-Free Bread
Focaccia-Style Flax Bread
Oopsie Rolls (Gluten-Free Buns)
Low-Carb Meatloaf (Hey, it’s technically in loaf form. Thanks, Richard!)

Mashed Potatoes

Broccoli-Carrot Mash
Mashed Cauliflower (Steam, then into the food processor with salt, butter, and pepper – super easy)
Mashed Butternut Squash

Dairy

Coconut milk (Smoothie)
Almond milk

Flours

Almond Meal
Coconut Flour

Breaded Fried Stuff

Coconut Chicken Fingers with Spicy Fruit Chutney
Coconut Encrusted Chicken Salad
Almond and Parmesan Baked Tilapia

Thickeners

Low-Carb Thickener

Pancakes

Almond Pancakes
Coconut Pancakes
Rick’s Primal Pancakes
Paleo Pancakes
Low-Carb Almond Meal Pancakes
New Almond Meal Pancake Variant

Snacks

Primal Alternatives to Non-Primal Snacks
Primal Energy Bar
Make Your Own Jerky
Make Your Own Dried Fruit
Spicy Almonds
SoG’s Primal Poppers
SoG’s Dinosaur Droppings

Desserts

Low-Carb Dessert Recipes (Almond Macaroons, Fruit and Nut Crumble etc.)
Primal Pie Filling
Flourless Pie Crust
SoG’s Gorilla Cake
Raw Walnut Cupcakes
Dairy-Free Custard

Whew. That should about do it. Thanks to everyone who graciously made their recipes available online, and thanks to the entire Primal community. [If you feel you might falter and need a quick fix or cheat], consider this low-carb roundup an instant support system for those times of weakness. Oh, and let me know if I missed anything.

Grok on!

Mark Sisson is the author of The Primal Blueprint and an avid practitioner of the Paleo Eating Lifestyle. You can subscribe to Mark’s Daily Apple feeds here.