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I am slightly suspicious of the "nutrition facts" - the reference to Grass Fed Beef? the good news however is that it 'may contain fish' - – DudleyP Apr 3 2011 at 17:16
correction does contain fish - Paleo eating is not improving my eyesight despite plenty of carrots – DudleyP Apr 3 2011 at 17:53
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Soy oil? Paleo brands? feints – Stabby Apr 3 2011 at 18:00
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wow! thanks for all the answers, and the surprising thing is this is promoted by robb wolf, who i hear is one of the big guns in paleo stuff! – kevin Apr 4 2011 at 14:47
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The soybean oil is the big evil for me. How dare they?! – gilliebean Jul 28 2011 at 12:37

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This is why I ignore pretty much all requests to try "paleo" products for my blog. They are all garbage. I work with local farmers on infrastructure projects and I KNOW you can make convenient jarred/packaged things without crap!oil and other industrial junk. It's like they didn't even put in an effort. I know one of the cronies will probably find this thread and post "blah blah blah highest quality ingredient, most of which are blah blah blah free." Whatever, I suggest you avoid anything being advertised as paleo.

The soybean oil is inexcusable. If you don't have time to make your own mayo, Wilderness Family Naturals makes some good stuff.

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I agree. FrankenPaleo is evil. – Scott Apr 3 2011 at 20:45
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What in the world is wrong with olive oil? For a few extra pennies they just lost potential customers. Insanity! Faileo indeed. I don't want paleo to turn into a cash-cow and a trend. I also agree with being politely hostile towards these people. – Stabby Apr 3 2011 at 21:15
"This is why I ignore pretty much all requests to try "paleo" products for my blog". Those kind of actions remind me why I love this community. No bullshit "I'll give you thumbs up because your products are Paleo because we both want Paleo to rule the world" approach. Props. – Ikco Apr 4 2011 at 7:36
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Why on Earth would you put MAYO in a cauliflower leek puree?

This isn't that hard. Slap almonds on cod, cook. 5 minutes. Sautee some leeks and cauliflower in ghee or coconut oil or butter for about 10 minutes. Add your favorite bone broth and heavy cream. Take immersion blender to it. 1 more minute. Dinner is done. It probably takes 5 minutes to microwave that thing.

I mean we're all guilty of going for convenience sometimes, but something with an ingredient list that long is pretty much, even without the soybean oil, de facto not Paleo or even healthy.

That said, I was guilty of eating microwaved fish myself last night. Trader Joe's sells microwaveable tuna in thai coconut curry. The only ingredients are...tuna, coconut milk, and the curry spices (galangal, tumeric, kefir lime, salt, and sugar at the very end). I could recognize everything in the ingredient list (it is more or less what I'd put in the curry if I made it myself), there were no preservatives, PUFAs, it was gluten free, etc. So if you look, you might be able to find a few microwaveable meals out there that are not completely awful and comprised entirely of real ingredients. But as soon as they start adding soybean oil, run.

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olive/granola oil LOL Can't be paleo, they've got grains in there!

Misspellings aside, that is one disturbing label. I wouldn't touch it. I'm disappointed in RW.

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Unfortunately Paleo wasn't convenient or gourmet. It just WAS. So replicating is difficult in our world of convenience and adulterated foods. It is now a label as well as a movement for education, a true lifestyle is about execution of principle, conscious competent.

Right or wrong: microwave? cheats? tradition? integrity? social acceptance? business opportunity? Only small sampling of issues or concerns.

So finding the natural 'blend' of old world and modern is the challenge. Buyer beware and sharing of this information is vital. Many thanks for that. We are responsible for our personal choice. Also, please remember that intention is a part of the process. When movers and shakers of a movement set out to do the 'right thing', the process can become skewed and business takes over. Once involved in a company it is the responsibility of the participant to know what is going on, however, it is not always the case.

Changes can be made with out awareness and the original intent is no longer part of the vision. Hmmm, who is really in charge? It happens all the time and I feel that if I don't read labels each and every-time I buy a product (even one I have bought and trusted before) I can easily be duped.

Ultimately it is up to me (and you, the consumer). ~jgirl

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Looking through that site just made me ill."Natural Flavor?"If food is quality, it doesn't need flavor added to it.

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They also have canola oil in their marinara sauce (why?!) and sell delicious almond/raisin cookies with fructose (oops, I meant honey) as the first ingredient. This is a company Robb Wolf is part of too. Selling out for the $ is as paleo as it gets. – RG73 Apr 3 2011 at 22:11
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"Natural flavor" can also be a hidden source of gluten. I have such serious issues with celiac disease that I have to run from anything that isn't explicit, and even then I get burned on cross contamination. – Rock_Paper_Shirley Apr 4 2011 at 15:20
Rock,same here.I feel like I'm the only person on earth who gets glutened by a Hershey bar.. – bittykitty Apr 4 2011 at 18:27
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I consider myself to be 90% Paleo. I allow the occasional Ezeikel bread slice with Almond Butter, time to time I go to sushi and eat rice wrapped vegetables with fish from an unknown body of water. I have not had time to really dive into Paleo Brands as I figured whatever they are freezing, I can freeze. But to think that I sometimes have had to fend off a couple days of feeling like I went off course when I eat corn chips at a Mexician Resturant!! Compared to what I read on those labels, most of which I would need the Internet to decyhper, a slice of Ezekiel Bread, a few yummy rolls of sushi or the rare basket of Corn Chips with fresh salsa is not looking so evil anymore.

Paleo is a life style, not a diet. Paleo may not be able to go the way of Nutrisystems or Weight Watchers with a convenient frozen food line. If you have to add stuff to preserve flavor or elongate sheld life you are furthering your distance from what most people define as "Paleo."

As previously stated, Paleo is not a diet and therefore for me, in order to stay within my comfort zone of Paleo "Living," I perimeter shop the grocery stores, eat as much fresh food as possible. If something I want to eat comes in a can, box, bag or is frozen, I tend to not buy it if there a more then 5 ingredients. Of those 5 ingredients, none of them will be maltodextrin, dextrose, sodium or any of the multiude of thicking, preserving or flavoring products. Regardless of the fact that them my come from natural foods that were processed in a way to create a usable byproduct i.e maltodextrin and soy lecithin.

Be Cultural, Be Mindful, Be Paleo, but above all else be Healthy!!!

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I think it's supposed to be Cream of tartar, which is a by-product of the wine industry. A crystalline acid forms on the inside of wine barrels.

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Probably as paleo as you can get with packaged food.

The entire ingredient list:

Cauliflower Leek Puree (cauliflower, leeks, mayonnaise (soybean oil, egg yolks, whole egg, water, distilled vinegar, contains less than 2% of salt, sugar, lemon concentrate, calcium disodium edta added to protect flavor, natural flavors), spices, black pepper, xanthan gum) Almond Crusted Cod, (rockfish, blanched almonds, spices, cracked black pepper)l Spicy Vegetables, (onion, green bell peppers, tomato, olive/granola oil, jalapeno peppers, red bell peppers, fresh garlic, cilantro, salt substitute, [potassium chloride, contains less than 1% of cream tartar, silicon dioxide, natural flavor], paprika, garlic powder, celery seed, black pepper ) l CONTAINS EGGS, NUTS AND FISH.

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I buy packaged foods that have none of that.... – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Apr 3 2011 at 20:03
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There is no way I would eat that and I would LOVE to be able to buy convenience Paleo meals. I have Celiac & sensitivity to other grains and the main reason I eat Paleo is that it's the only diet I've found that doesn't have something in it that I can't eat. Soybean oil = very bad for me and I don't do Xanthan gum either because it's grown on corn. I also stay away from vinegar.

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well, i hate to promote it because they already raised the price considerably, and some people adore it and some people can't STAND the flavor (we here love it) but US Wellness meats sells some pretty awesome grass fed pemmican bars (grass fed beef jerky, beef tallow, water, sea salt)

nice option for camping hiking etc or to go snack.

i also like hard salami (must be a decent brand, like Creminelli, good meat and no corn syrup) for an outstanding easy to carry paleo meal.

Plus, true hard salami like that is a raw meat and fat, never heated, which i also like. (nitrates don't bother me personally)

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I can't discourage anyone enough from buying these products. I bought a pack of 12 and so far every one has been damaged and consequently inedible, or just plain underwhelming. I wish i could return these and get my money back :/

http://girlmeatspaleo.blogspot.com/2011/04/paleo-brands-product-review.html

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I have to say that this thread intrigues me. I didn't know/never looked for prepackaged paleo foods because I didn't think it was possible to make paleo frozen meals at an affordable price. However, since I have been living this lifestyle for a while and have learned to cook differently, I do wonder if we're really any sort of market at all for commercial foods of any sort.

Aside from pemmican and jerky, some fermented foods, dehydrated fruit and vegetables, dried brines and stocks, nuts, and perhaps the occasional sweet treat that can be shipped, are there really any meals that can be preserved and shipped with modern methods that are not either way too expensive or frankenpaleo? Granted, what I listed are generally snacks and ingredients. I wonder if we simply have to accept the fact that we're not part of the packaged meals demographic. I think that there is an inseparable DIY component that comes with this that yes, can scare people away who are kitchen-shy.

Maybe instead of parading paleo in SAD's clothing, it would be nobler for a company to promote this lifestyle through truly paleo products and supplies that encourage independence and self-reliance to feed one's self. Philosophically, that is truly paleo.

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'promote lifestyle' - truly~ – jgirl Sep 3 2011 at 19:30
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If it is not "paleo" it is pretty darn close, and it looks like it might be a decent thing to have on hand in a pinch. If you are seriously thinking about trying it-- just try it.

My mantra for eating is "Do your best. Don't sweat it. Enjoy it."

I wrote a little about this on a blog post about eating at an Italian restaurant -> http://notinmoderation.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/portland-paleo-la-buca-italian-cafe/

Cheers,

Ryan Wilder

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A lot of things are pretty darn close to being paleo. If a company is specifically marketing its product as paleo, I would expect it to be 100% paleo, just like I would expect a product labeled vegan to be 100% vegan, not just a close approximation. – harms.20 Jul 28 2011 at 15:02
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Have any of you tried this other brand, Nomad Foods, or know where it's available? How does it taste and whats the price like? Frozen meals would really convenient for lunch at the office but sounds like the other brand isn't great.

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This is just another reminder to always read the label every time you purchase something.

Even if it was what you wanted last time, formulations and recipes change, sometimes for the better, but all to often for the worse.

My pet peeve in this ares is worstshire sauce. Label claims that it is The Original, and the small print reveals HFCS. Damn their food adulterating ways.

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There are packaged foods you can get that aren't advertised as paleo that are cleaner than that. That just strikes me as odd that they would take the time to wrap it up in the paleo wrapping and have the ingredients list be paragraphs long

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