Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Hey guys, I'm pretty much completely paleo, but on my salads I tend to use a lot of condiments.

I'll get a bucket-load of vegetables, then some fish, but for the dressing I use:

Balsamic Vinegar
Sriracha Hot Sauce
Yellow Mustard

Should I regulate my intake of those? Are any especially bad? Any advice on making paleo-friendly dressings/mayonnaise?

Thanks!

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edited May 30 2010 at 15:52

asked May 30 2010 at 14:51

memostotle
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Paleotron · Accepted Answer · 2010-05-30 15:33:27Z UTC

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Sriracha has some sugar in it. Having said that, I love the stuff and you use such a small amount that it's no different than eating an M&M or two. No it's not perfect, but I'm willing to trade a negligible amount of sugar for a really good spicy flavor. I will also use Sambal on occasion and that sauce has the same issues as Sriracha: a little sugar, but it is so flavorful, you'll only use about a tsp.

The hot sauce probably has some salt in it, so if you're being particularly strict, this may be another thing to be aware of. Again, a tablespoon of hotsauce to make buffalo wings is OK in my book.

There are a ton of resources for making Paleo mayo. Here is one I like and it uses mustard and vinegar, so you know these people would agree with us on comdiment usage.

Great question!

answered May 30 2010 at 15:33

Paleotron
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BTW, how do homemade mayo's keep? Do they need eaten same day, 2-3 days, week? I really miss it since giving up the soy-based store bought stuff. – PortlandAllan May 30 2010 at 20:33

Wth?! How on earth did you get your hands on sambal in the US? – spencer May 31 2010 at 5:50

@Portlandallan I've always used the mayo the same day. I'd imagine it would keep for a day or two, but not much longer, but I honestly don't know, so maybe someone else can give their 2 cents on that subject. @Spencer Sambal is at a lot of grocery stores around Chicago. Maybe we're just lucky. I used to eat a ton of the stuff when I lived in Asia. If nothing else, just get some from Amazon. amazon.com/s/… – Paleotron Jun 1 2010 at 4:04

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The trick to keeping mayo is to lacto ferment it. Basically add a small amount of active whey to it and leave it on the counter for several hours. It will keep for months after that (in the fridge), plus it adds a tasty zing to the flavor. Check out the book Nourishing Traditions for a recipe. – RS Jun 4 2010 at 10:24

@RS good info, I'll have to see if I can check out that book – Paleotron Jun 4 2010 at 14:20

Bread-Eating Beelzebub · Answer 2 · 2010-05-30 18:19:30Z UTC

Mayonnaise is a marginally paleo food. Is it like anything you can find in the wild? No. Is it delicious and possible to make with good fats? Yes. I make mine with a mixture of 2/3 macadamia oil (maybe with a tinge of olive oil), 1/3 either coconut oil/ghee/lard...or all of the above. Then I mix it with hot pepper and dip veggies in it! Yum!

Nightshade issue has been discussed here before. I think some people have problems with this family of plants, but it has everything to do with neolithic sensitivities to plant chemicals that are present to some degree in every plant and nothing to do with them not being paleo. Paleolithic people ingested plants all the time, some of those plants had large amounts of those chemicals...that's why we have a liver.

42 · Answer 3 · 2010-05-30 17:12:51Z UTC

Balsamic vinegar is pretty sweet, but it's excellent with this super-green/cloudy olive oil (Paesano brand, organic) on salads. I use about 1/3 balsamico and 2/3 of that oil. Life's too short to worry about a gram of sugar.

I don't see anything wrong with your prefs. Sriracha rocks!

Condiment Quibbles

3 Answers