Part of being a good dietitian is to research and trial the diets that trend around town. And then apply a scientific eye to the diet design and claims, plus check out the food and recipes. We’ve already brought you the background on caveman or paleo diets in this guest post by Ash Jones APD. And now it’s time to get down to the noms. Are there any keepers that will stick, long after homo sapien has further evolved?
About our expert:
Brett Parker is a passionate Nutrition and Dietetics student at Griffith University. He is also the Head Cook of his own catering business, “The Food Pyramid Catering”. A big believer in Culinary Nutrition; the marriage of cooking with the science of nutrition; he is always looking for creative ways to present healthy food to customers, friends and family. Follow him on twitter @dietitiantobe
Ok, now my wife might disagree, but whether it’s my ability to put the toilet seat down after use or by mere default of not being born in Paleolithic times, I think I qualify as a regular modern man. I do however find many aspects of the Paleo diet intriguing. I particularly like that there is an emphasis on using fresh ingredients and incorporating lots of fruits and vegetables (although low carbohydrate varieties) into the diet. For these reasons, I thought it might be fun to eat like a caveman for a day.
Breakfast: Paleo Banana Pancakes
I kicked off with Banana Pancakes made with coconut flour and almond butter. Oh yeah! Super easy and a nutritional powerhouse with 2 serves of fruit, plus a good amount of protein in the eggs and almonds. So far, so good. I really enjoyed the pancakes and although full at the end of the meal, my stomach did not feel at all heavy like with traditional pancakes made with flour and a serve of whipped butter and maple syrup (definite Paleo no-no’s).
Snack: Brussels sprout and kale “chips”
By late morning, it was snack time and time to prepare some kale and brussel sprout “chips”. These are actually ridiculously easy to make, and unlike regular potato chips they are very low in carbohydrate, fat and salt (when made at home).
Recipe keeper 1: Brussels sprout and Kale Chips
Ingredients:
1 cup brussel sprouts with leaves removed; 1 cup Kale with stems removed; Spinkle sea salt and pepper; 1 table spoon olive oil
Method:
Pre-heat an oven to 175 degrees C. Tear off leaves from brussel sprouts and throw the inner core (although you could use it for a stir fry). Next tear away the leaves from the stem of the kale leaves. Make sure you wash the leaves of your vegetables, but just as importantly, make sure they are totally dry before the next stage.
Next throw them in a mixing bowl, add olive oil and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and lay leaves on a tray lined with baking paper (you may need two trays).
Bake for around 10 minutes till leaves curl and crisp. Don’t let them burn! Cooking times will vary a little depending on the oven you use.
Lunch: Kale, chorizo & mixed vegetable frittata.
Imagining my fridge was the open plain whereby I might stumble across any type of random vegetable, I russled through my crisper drawer and came up with a rainbow of coloured vegetables including: kale, purple cabbage, red capsicum, tomatoes, onion and some oregano that I figured I may as well throw in as well. Being that this was a Paleo meal, it had to include some kind of meat, and luckily I had a chorizo on hand. But does that count?
Post workout snack: Paleo Protein Balls
After a trip to the gym and the supermarket (I tried to convince myself that this was the equivalent of modern hunting) I returned home feeling I needed a protein hit, so I decided to knock up some Paleo protein balls. What an amazing snack made from mixed raw nuts, coconut oil, cacao powder, dates and pepitas. Packed with protein, fiber, plant sterols, antioxidants including vitamin E, and just plain delicious…these were a real winner. But be warned, as they are very high in kilojoules. You would really want to be a hunter gather to work off all that energy. Stick with 1-2 only!
Dinner: Neanderthalese (Chinese Paleo) style chicken with cauliflower “rice”.
This meal was a caveman’s and a foodies dream. Tender poached chicken, loads of veg and another hero, cauliflower “rice”. It’s light and fluffy and absorbed the flavours of the shallots and garlic beautifully. Definitely a keeper.
Recipe keeper 2: Cauliflower rice
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower; 2 tablespoons coconut oil; 3 French minced eschallots; 2 cloves minced garlic; salt and pepper to taste.
Method:
Process the cauliflower in a food processor in until the texture is rice like. Depending on the size of your processor, you may need to do this in a few batches.
Heat coconut oil in a large fry pan. Once hot, add shallots and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant and soft. Add cauliflower rice and stir-fry another 3 to 4 minutes. Add salt and about 3 cups of the reserved chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until the liquid evaporates to the level of the rice and steam holes appear. Turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
As my day as a modern Neanderthal was drawing to a close, it was time to take stock and compare my day against The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommendations. By my estimations I had smashed my vegetable recommendations, easily achieved my fruit and just exceeded my lean meat / nut requirements. There were two big holes, however…..DAIRY and GRAINS. Now, there are a whole lot of arguments for and against including these two groups, and I am not going to go into the details of whether this is or is not a problem as I have 2 more years before I am qualified to do so. However, as a cook, and food lover, restricting food groups brings up issues.
The things I do like about Paleo though are: keeping your food simple (that is unprocessed), having lots of low starch vegetables and lean meats, and being creative with your cooking. And the keepers, kale chips and cauliflower rice are amazing! Enjoy!
Editor’s comment:
Thanks Brett, I love your foodie diary and your dabble with paleo. I’ve made kale chips a few times too and do like the way they turn cellophane like. A non-fried version of cauli rice also works a treat. What about you lovely readers? Do you have any keepers from trying different eating styles? And I’m working on my Google+ followers so just across and add me to your circles
