Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I'm now taking extra time in the grocery store to read every label, and do my research, and evaluate all things anew, because you never know what is in the thing till you read the label...( deep breath )

The stores are full of things I would not eat... now that I have read the label information.

So, I want to flip my frustration around and ask a question!

Are there any foods that sort of surprised you with how clean and or Paleo they were? Maybe things you would not have eaten before the dietary changes?

I'm trying to broaden my gaze here, so I can 'see' foods that are not obvious to me now. Thanks!

flag	asked Oct 29 2010 at 17:30 Adam Crafter 11.4k●13●45

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I've always been a psychotic label reader...and have not really found anything new that I considered paleo beyond meat, veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and good fats. All I do know is that I love love love the foods considered paleo and they do my body good (yes stolen from the milk slogan!!! :p) I do love this organic fruit leather from Archer Farms at Target though. A nice treat every so often and an allowance for the kids. – PrimalStyle Oct 29 2010 at 17:43

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@ PrimalStyle: If you make this an answer instead of a comment, I'd be happy to uptick it and give you rep points. – Adam Crafter Oct 29 2010 at 18:35

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@Adam, you can vote up comments too! :) – Stephen-Aegis Oct 29 2010 at 18:40

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Thanks Adam =)... – PrimalStyle Oct 31 2010 at 19:01

stephthegeek · Accepted Answer · 2010-10-29 21:02:22Z UTC

Yes!! Great question. I've been trying to reduce the amount of packaged/processed foods too, but some things are just convenient and/or tasty :)

Pesto -- rare but sometimes you'll find fresh pestos that are only olive oil, or even no oil. Babaganouj too.

Trader Joe's salsa -- I ran out so I don't have the jar on hand, but they have one or two kinds in the jar that are paleo-perfect. They also rock for things like hot sauce, mustards, sundried tomatoes, etc.

Hooters extra hot wing sauce -- whodathunkit?

Sunset Valley Organics blueberry jam -- sweetened with erythritol

Zevia cola -- erythritol/stevia

Stock by Kitchen Basics -- the only paleo-friendly stock I've found in the grocery store

Deli meats -- if you look really hard for ones without extra crap in them

A bunch of stuff in the raw/vegan section, which is not one I would have veered anywhere near if not for my paleo-induced appetite for food information, like raw "seed crusts" (eg. http://www.maukfamilyfarms.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MFF&Product_Code=RMRC&Category_Code=) and similar cracker-ish things.

I also find I've been buying things that aren't exactly 1-ingredient items, but aren't really a finished product either -- like tamarind, chipotle, and anchovy pastes. Amazingly, I now have the ingredients to reconstruct worcestershire sauce without the junk in it :)

Not quite perfect but close enough to be treats/condiments to me:

Clemmy's sugar free ice cream at Safeway

Westbrae unsweetened ketchup (not even sure how bad maltodextrin is anyway, but from corn so I'm sure it's not good)

Stephen-Aegis · Answer 2 · 2010-10-29 17:59:27Z UTC

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Real Food Ingredient Lists are 1 item long.

That said: I love the freezer section. Whole foods frozen at the peak of freshness are wildly convenient.

answered Oct 29 2010 at 17:59

Stephen-Aegis
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rook · Answer 3 · 2010-10-31 14:08:28Z UTC

LÄRABARS; a yummy trail snack consisting mostly of dates, sometimes with nuts, some flavors with peanuts, and mostly having only a handful of ingredients with no preservatives or "flavorings". Aside from my homemade pemmican, it's become my standard hiking fuel.

PrimalStyle · Answer 4 · 2010-10-31 19:02:51Z UTC

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Costco has great premade salsa and guacamole when I'm feeling especially lazy

answered Oct 31 2010 at 19:02

PrimalStyle
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JJ · Answer 5 · 2010-10-29 17:40:53Z UTC

Salsa and some tomato sauces. The ingredients include things like tomatoes, onions, vinegar... nothing weird. There is a small amount of sugar or "organic evaporated cane juice" (so you know it's healthy, because it's organic! ha!) in the tomato sauce. But my local store even carries tomato sauce made "locally" in my state.

I generally don't buy anything with labels on them, though. It makes things SOOOO much easier. I don't have to spend time reading labels because... there are none.

Ruby · Answer 6 · 2010-10-29 18:46:00Z UTC

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No, and sorry to go off-topic but I had to share. The opposite of this happened to me yesterday. I was at my local seafood shop, saw a big display of salmon jerky and thought, "Great! A snack! I can eat that!"

Then I read the ingredients:

Salmon Sugar Wheat Soybeans

No joke, and no exaggeration, those were the first four ingredients. WHY?!?

answered Oct 29 2010 at 18:46

Ruby
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Just yesterday I noticed there was soy in most canned tuna. – Carl_Stawicki Oct 29 2010 at 18:48

I had the same thing happen with whole chickens..found out I was getting sick because they were injected with MSG – bittykitty Mar 10 2011 at 16:29

Soy in most canned tuna??? Where are you shopping? I buy tons of canned fish and read the labels and I don't think I've ever found soy in them. Mmmm. Switch to sardines, then? – Dan Jun 21 at 22:56

Eva · Answer 7 · 2010-10-29 22:06:52Z UTC

I was very happy to see that trader joes was carrying 100% grass fed hamburger. Score! Not much else has surprisingly pleased me though. Some tomato sauces are kinda OK but still sadly contain some sugar. Cheese can often be done well. But so far, no major pleasant surprises other than stuff I already heard about on paleohacks.

Rachel · Answer 8 · 2010-11-07 04:27:10Z UTC

Trader Joe's does have a canned spaghetti sauce that is primal. It also carries raw milk and grass fed hard cheeses, like New Zealand cheddar, as well as certain meats (the grass fed beef mentioned by Eva as well as New Zealand lamb, the frozen chicken lime and bison burgers, and nitrate/nitrite free and sugar free deli roast beef.)

For me, two big common foods now are olive oil packed sardines and olive oil packed sundried tomatoes. And baba ganoush-yes, I know tahini isn't the best, but in small doses it adds an excellent flavor punch. I have a hell of a time finding canned beets that are ONLY canned beets instead of beets+HCFS/other added sugar. WF store brand are a good option :)

Adam Crafter · Answer 9 · 2012-06-21 19:56:43Z UTC

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There do finally seem to be more meats appearing on the refrigerator shelves that has not been meddled with.

I've been eying the different meat terrines...

answered Jun 21 at 19:56

Adam Crafter
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Have you been pleasantly surprised in the Grocery Store? (Hey! I can eat this!)

Are there any foods that sort of surprised you with how clean and or Paleo they were? Maybe things you would not have eaten before the dietary changes?

9 Answers