Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

8

Eat them? Compost them? Throw them away?

I would appreciate knowing why you make that decision too.

flag	asked Aug 25 2011 at 19:14 sherpamelissa 18.6k●1●21●69

4

compost........ – Don Aug 25 2011 at 19:19

4

I toss them. I'm a bad person. :( – NewEra Aug 25 2011 at 19:22

2

I toss the, as well... we are evil together – Erin H Aug 25 2011 at 19:40

We compost ours, as well. – JansSushiBar Aug 26 2011 at 15:10

No more. · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-25 19:16:47Z UTC

8

Boil them, dry them and then grind them and put them in my french press while I'm brewing coffee. Calcium is hard to come by while on Paleo!

answered Aug 25 2011 at 19:16

No more.
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Do they change the taste of your coffee at all? I french press my coffee too, so this would totally work for me! – sherpamelissa Aug 25 2011 at 19:17

3

I eat them too - when ground they are a fine powder. Except I just take a teaspoonful and chase with water. I doh't know if this is true, but I heard that 1 eggshell = 2,000 mg of calcium. – none Aug 25 2011 at 19:46

1

i heard eating them works. so why the french press? - are they strained out w/ the grounds? if so, what is the benefit? does the coffee do something? – g. Aug 25 2011 at 20:04

1

Calcium carbonate is water soluble in dilute acids (i.e. coffee). A number of the acids in coffee can bind to the calcium ion to form a salt which would increase bioavailability but the water solubility should be enough. – No more. Aug 25 2011 at 23:37

1

The carbonate being a Brønsted base will accept the hydrogen which causes the deprotonating of the acid allowing for the acid to form a calcium salt. This makes the calcium more bioavailable and also takes a little bit of the acidic edge off of the coffee. – No more. Aug 25 2011 at 23:47

show 5 more comments

janelle · Answer 2 · 2011-08-25 19:36:43Z UTC

4

I grind them and mix with lemon juice to make calcium citrate and then take 1/4 tsp a day. Store in refrigerator. I do this to make the calcium more available for absorption, its also dependent on stomach acidity so eat this when stomach acid is highest earlier in the day.

edited Aug 25 2011 at 19:36

answered Aug 25 2011 at 19:30

janelle
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The acidity of the coffee acts as an acid. But carbonate should have similar absorbability if taken with a meal. – No more. Aug 25 2011 at 20:00

Amanda · Answer 3 · 2011-08-25 19:51:53Z UTC

Ha, I peel the membrane away, dry them, crush them, and feed them in small doses to my raw-fed pride of kitties that don't like to eat bone as often as they should :-) I didn't even consider using them for myself! I'm curious to know what others do with them as well

Harry · Answer 4 · 2011-08-26 06:04:14Z UTC

2

For paleo gardeners: Crush them into small pieces and sprinkle around the base of plants that get ravished by slugs and snails. Coffee grounds also do the same.

answered Aug 26 2011 at 6:04

Harry
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AuH2Ogirl · Answer 5 · 2011-08-26 13:17:26Z UTC

2

Feed them to my turtle.

I'm going to try eating them myself.

answered Aug 26 2011 at 13:17

AuH2Ogirl
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	Ooh your turtle? I have a turtle! How do you prep them for him? – sherpamelissa Aug 26 2011 at 13:25
	If they're not from boiled eggs, just boil them and crunch them up. He doesn't eat many yet, but I'm hoping he will when he gets a bit older. I hear you can make an omelet for a turtle and include the eggshells, which I'm going to try. He's an Eastern Box Turtle. What kind do you have? – AuH2Ogirl Aug 26 2011 at 13:31
	I have no idea what kind of turtle he is! My husband knows though. I eat a lot of hard boiled eggs, so I can certainly save the shells for him and grind them up. – sherpamelissa Aug 26 2011 at 13:38

Rogue Nutritionist · Answer 6 · 2011-08-26 05:18:59Z UTC

1

I let them dry, grind to a fine powder in the vita-mix, and mix in with my chickens' food instead of oyster shells. It has to be really finely ground so they don't recognize it as their own egg shellls...otherwise, they may start eating their eggs.

answered Aug 26 2011 at 5:18

Rogue Nutritionist
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	I haven't had any problems with my chickens eating their eggs while feeding whole egg shells. – mth Aug 26 2011 at 14:55
	I did once, with a previous flock...not fun! – Rogue Nutritionist Aug 26 2011 at 17:20

Alicia · Answer 7 · 2011-08-26 14:17:07Z UTC

1

Dry and grind it up and put about 1 tsp. in my cats homemade raw food since they are to lazy to eat bones.

answered Aug 26 2011 at 14:17

Alicia
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Jack Kronk · Answer 8 · 2011-08-26 14:58:21Z UTC

1

I eat them like crackers, in my quest to become the ossified man.

answered Aug 26 2011 at 14:58

Jack Kronk
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Like crackers? Ew. Do you at least put cheese on them? ;) Everything is better with cheese. The texture grosses me out. I hate when I even get a little bit on my hard boiled egg. – sherpamelissa Aug 26 2011 at 15:03

CS · Answer 9 · 2011-08-26 15:05:57Z UTC

1

My mom saves them for putting in her garden. But don't use your blender to chop them up, they will destroy the plastic part of your blender giving it a "foggy" look.

answered Aug 26 2011 at 15:05

CS
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	Thanks for the tip! I totally would have used my blender! What do you use? – sherpamelissa Aug 26 2011 at 15:08
	Well since destroying our blender we haven't chopped more of them.. maybe double bag them and use a hammer? – CS Aug 26 2011 at 15:37
	I use my Vitamix, and the top is fine. – Rogue Nutritionist Aug 26 2011 at 17:23

What do you do with your egg shells?

9 Answers