How To Create A Better Food List For Your Paleo Diet

Do you want to have a successful Paleo diet? Besides patience, dedication, and discipline, you also need a great food list!

Most diet plans have foods that are accepted and not. This depends on the principle or scientific basis of the diet meal. Having a list can help a person have a great start to any diet plan, including the Paleo diet plan. This diet is one of the simplest, if not the simplest of all diet plans you can follow. It requires you to eat like a caveman and enjoy an active lifestyle as our ancestors did during the Paleolithic era.

But even with this simple principle, creating the right food list for this diet can still confuse or be troublesome. But with the right guidelines, a person can slowly and definitely follow the principles of Paleo eating and choose food effectively that should appear on their Paleo shopping list in no time at all. Below we provide some simple guidelines along with a great list of foods you can include into your Paleo meal plans.

Paleo Diet In A Nutshell

For many years, people have slowly explored options for healthier diet plans. With a population that relies on high carb food for energy and too many processed foods on the menu, the number of people getting degenerative diseases increased dramatically. The idea that fats and protein are the culprits for such problems, people choose diets that used only small amounts of fat and protein in them.  This was because it is often thought protein-rich diets only suitable for use by bodybuilders and individuals involved in high-intensity sports who were looking to increase muscle mass. But when the Paleolithic diet came into play, it was a breath of fresh air.

They base the inspiration for this diet on the type of diet our ancestors had, thus the name. Scientists took a keen interest in how cavemen ate during the stone age.  This included looking at the kinds of foods that would be included in their meal plans. It turned out that cavemen were healthy and fit despite their high protein diet that was gained from the wild animals they hunted. These cavemen also foraged for plants to provide fiber in their diet and which is why some people refer to it as the hunter-gatherer diet. A high protein all-natural food diet fascinated scientists and the Paleo or caveman diet was born. The people who followed this diet were more satisfied and showed significant improvement in their weight and health.

What You Need To Consider

When making a checklist, there are many things you must consider. Although there are people who can go with the regular Paleo, Caveman or Paleolithic diet, others find it hard to do so because of certain circumstances and may need to follow a modified Paleo diet plan instead.

Individuals who have families are a great example of people who alter their food list. Here are a few things you should consider before you create your own list of foods before you go grocery shopping.

➢ Consider the people living with you and let them know you will follow a Paleo lifestyle. Walk them through the changes in relation to the food you will be eating. Their participation will then determine the next thing you need to consider

➢ Your budget is also a very important factor that can affect Paleo eating options. If you have kids, they may not be easily persuaded to participate in this new diet plan. This often leads to the need for separate foods for your kids and/or your spouse. Your budget will help you determine just how much you are willing and able to spend when it comes to grocery shopping for Paleo foods. This will also help you make adjustments to this new lifestyle.

➢ Consider your supermarket or farmers’ market. There are places where the farmers’ market are not available or do not take place often. There are many supermarkets around but only a few provide the kinds of foods you need for including in your meals.

➢ If you are into gardening, consider creating your own mini garden where you grow your own supply of fresh Paleo foods particularly vegetables and some fruit.

Basic Foods You Can Eat

Below is a list of the basic foods you should include as part of your Paleo shopping list when you decide that following a Paleo lifestyle is right for you.

Meat

You cannot go crazy over the meat, though. The Paleo diet is more into lean cuts of meat and animals fed with natural food such as grass.  Buying grass-fed meat might prove expensive, so choosing lean cuts is a much cheaper and better alternative. You can choose from more common forms of meat such as beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, and duck.  Or you could go for the wild game such as rabbit or deer, and if you want to you could go for even more exotic types of meat such as snake, crocodile, and wild boar.

Freshly Caught Fish And Shellfish

When we say fresh, we mean fish that is caught in the wild and not cultured. Going for fresh is ideal, but frozen can be an option too. Fish is rich in Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids and can be found in fish, such as salmon, halibut, tuna, mackerel, shark, sardines, trout, and bass. Crabs, shrimps, lobsters, clams, crayfish, oyster and crayfish are great choices for shellfish.

Vegetables

When it comes to vegetables, your Paleo food list will be a mix of colours and flavours. You can have greens like kale, spinach, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, asparagus, and broccoli. The more colourful ones are red onions, all kinds of pepper, eggplant, zucchini, carrot, and cauliflower. Although technically fruits, avocado, and tomatoes can also be part of your new Paleo shopping list as they class these as non-starchy vegetables.

Fruit

This diet is careful in terms of fruit you can eat and how much. Most of the carbs and sugar in this diet will come from fruit. Most fruits are fine but they must be consumed in moderation, so choose your fruits well. Lemon, blueberries, blackberries, apple, guava, and lime are great choices.

Oils, Nuts, And Seeds

Oils made by pressing are ideal for your food list. This includes olive, avocado, almond, and coconut oil, they class all of which as being healthy fats. The nuts and seeds you can consume are almonds, macadamia, pecans, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and cashews.  Unfortunately, you need to cut back or eliminate peanut butter from your grocery shopping as it isn’t actually a nut, but a legume.  As you know by now legumes are not part of this diet.

Other Important Foods

Although it’s technically not a food but a drink, water is very important especially when you are following a weight-loss diet plan. The kinds of drinks that are acceptable as part of this diet include tea, coffee, and coconut water. It is also acceptable to enjoy some dark chocolate or pure cocoa, especially when you have a craving for something sweet. Herbs and spices also play an important role when it comes to trying out various Paleo recipes, and natural flours that are made from almonds and coconut.

What Must You Avoid

When it comes to summing up the foods you must avoid, all you need to remember is to eliminate those with carbs, which means no bread, rice or pasta.  As for vegetables, those with a large starch content must be avoided, such as potatoes and squash. Plus, you need to avoid any foods that contain salt, sweeteners, and artificial flavors.  Plus, there are many snacks that are no longer acceptable as part of this diet. The same also goes for alcohol, energy drinks, fruit juices and sodas are not acceptable. Dairy products, including cheese, Greek yogurt, and ice cream are not Paleo approved, and this is also the same case when it comes to many legumes and beans.

Ensuring that you have created the right food list under the Paleo diet is easy, so long as you know the basics. Being ready with the ideal food list for your situation will ensure that following this diet plan is a lot easier. Remember that having fun is part of any diet, so there is no need to be uptight and make sure you enjoy the foods you choose to include in your Paleo shopping list.