Paleo Diet Menu Plans

healthinfi

Paleo diet is a diet repeating a model of caveman eating behavior lived in the Paleolithic (Stone Age). In those days, cavemen ate mostly meat, fish, root vegetables, nuts, fruits and berries.

Energy value of such diet was sufficient to cavemen could not only hunt daily, but also overcome the vast distances looking for food.

In addition, by eating mainly berries, nuts and meat, cavemen evolved. Therefore, many nutritionists say that paleo diet menu contains all the necessary for normal growth and development of modern man.

The uniqueness of paleo diet menu is that dozens of products that modern man is accustomed to consume daily are excluded. Therefore, choosing paleo diet, you should be ready to specific dietary restrictions that initially may cause discomfort.

  • The advantage of paleo diet menu is that it includes only natural products and semi-finished products, fast food, dairy fats, hydrogenated oils, soda, and other products that may affect metabolism and cause dangerous diseases, are completely excluded.
  • The disadvantage of paleo diet menu is that it practically does not include products containing synthetic sweeteners, flavor enhancers and preservatives. Therefore, the products included in the paleo diet menu weakly affect the taste receptors, and the food prepared from such products seems tasteless.

You can make up Paleo diet menu plan by yourself or find different variants of paleo diet on the Internet. When choosing paleo diet online, it is necessary to pay attention to several factors.

To the dietary restrictions do not cause serious discomfort; start paleo diet gradually. Paleo diet for beginners should contain more dishes that a person likes.

Junk foods can be gradually excluded from the paleo diet for beginners and then to include new products that can be consumed daily. When making up a shopping list for paleo diet menu, it is necessary to include in it different colored vegetables and fruits that will make the food look attractive.

You can choose from hundreds of different menu plans for paleo diet only those ideas that you like the most. Choice of recipes for paleo diet menu can be based on taste preferences, ease of cooking and cost.

  • Budget option of paleo diet menu should include inexpensive varieties of fish, cheap meat and poultry, inexpensive vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts.
  • The most expensive paleo diet menu can consist of lobster, wild salmon, marbled beef, exotic fruits and vegetables, truffles, olive oil, pine nuts.

Shopping list products that can be included in paleo diet menu can be found online in just a few minutes.

  • A variety of paleo diet menu recipes is published in cookbooks that potential buyers can order online in any country of the world (such as, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, United Kingdom).
  • Free paleo diet menu practically does not differ from the paleo diet menu published in expensive books. The most popular free paleo diet menus are published in author’s blogs created by dietitians or experts in the field of food and nutrition.

Real feedbacks about paleo diet menu can be found on online forums. Generally, paleo diet is used for weight loss and maintenance of healthy weight. Therefore, positive feedbacks about paleo diet menu are left by only those visitors of forums who managed quickly to reduce their body weight by means of strict dietary restrictions.

Paleo diet menu for weight loss may include hundreds of different products. So, obese people who have decided to lose weight by means of paleo diet should not worry that their food will be monotonous.

It is recommended to start weight loss program with a short-term paleo diet lasting up to two weeks (14 days). After evaluating the results of short-term diet therapy, paleo diet menu plan can be changed.

If your body weight was insignificantly reduced two weeks after the start of paleo diet, when cooking you should use:

  • Less oil, fatty meats and sugar
  • More vegetables, fruits, low-fat varieties of fish

If the short-term paleo diet provides a gradual weight loss, you should adhere to it as long as the body weight will no longer declining. The maximum effect of paleo diet is achieved a few months after the start of diet therapy.

For the maximum result, paleo diet should be combined with regular physical activity. Paleo diet helps to improve metabolism and physical activity accelerates it. Thus, affecting the metabolism by two different methods, the maximum results will be achieved in minimum time.

Despite the fact that paleo diet is not a low-calorie one, products containing a lot of calories (bread, soda-water, fast food) are excluded from it. Due to the restrictions of using high-calorie food, paleo diet can cause a severe hunger.

To control a feeling of hunger, the recommended daily calorie intake and energy spent on physical activity when planning paleo diet menu should be taken into account.

The optimal daily calorie intake for men and women is different. Therefore, paleo diet menu for men may differ from paleo diet menu for women.

Given that paleo diet does not include the consumption of dairy products, this diet is contraindicated in children. For normal child’s growth and development, dairy products should be consumed every day.

Remember that unbalanced diet does not promote weight reduction; moreover, it creates potential health risks. Therefore, any diet (including paleo diet) should include a sufficient amount of useful nutrients that contribute to the normalization of metabolism and maintenance of healthy weight.

The paleo diet is based on emulating the diet of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. It includes whole, unprocessed foods that resemble what they look like in nature.

Our ancestors were genetically the same as modern humans. They thrived eating such foods and were free of diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Several studies suggest that this diet can lead to significant weight loss (without calorie counting) and major improvements in health.

A Paleo Diet Meal Plan

There is no one “right” way to eat for everyone and paleolithic humans thrived on a variety of diets, depending on what was available at the time.

Some ate a low-carb diet high in animal foods, others a high-carb diet with lots of plants.

Consider this as a general guideline, not something written in stone. You can adapt all of this to your own personal needs and preferences.

The Basics

Eat: Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, healthy fats and oils.

Avoid: Processed foods, sugar, soft drinks, grains, most dairy products, legumes, artificial sweeteners, vegetable oils, margarine and trans fats.

Avoid These Foods

Avoid these foods and ingredients:

  • Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup: Soft drinks, fruit juices, table sugar, candy, pastries, ice cream and many others.
  • Grains: Includes breads and pastas, wheat, spelt, rye, barley, etc.
  • Legumes: Beans, lentils and many more.
  • Dairy: Avoid most dairy, especially low-fat (some versions of paleo do include full-fat dairy like butter and cheese).
  • Vegetable Oils: Soybean oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil and others.
  • Trans Fats: Found in margarine and various processed foods. Usually referred to as “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oils.
  • Artificial Sweeteners: Aspartame, Sucralose, Cyclamates, Saccharin, Acesulfame Potassium. Use natural sweeteners instead.
  • Highly Processed Foods: Everything labelled “diet” or “low-fat” or has many weird ingredients. Includes artificial meal replacements.

A simple guideline: If it looks like it was made in a factory, don’t eat it!

If you want to avoid these ingredients, then you MUST read ingredients lists, even on foods that are labelled as “health foods.”

Foods to Eat on The Paleo Diet

Base your diet on these real, unprocessed paleo foods.

  • Meats: Beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork and others.
  • Fish and Seafood: Salmon, trout, haddock, shrimp, shellfish, etc. Choose wild-caught if you can.
  • Eggs: Choose free-range, pastured or omega-3 enriched eggs.
  • Vegetables: Broccoli, kale, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes, etc.
  • Fruits: Apples, bananas, oranges, pears, avocados, strawberries, blueberries, avocados and more.
  • Tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips, etc.
  • Nuts and Seeds: Almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and more.
  • Healthy Fats and Oils: Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil and others.
  • Salt and Spices: Sea salt, himalayan salt, garlic, turmeric, rosemary, etc.

Try to choose grass-fed, pasture raised and organic if you can afford it. If not, then just make sure to always go for the least processed option.

Maybe Eat

In the past few years, the paleo community has evolved quite a bit.

There are now several different “versions” of the paleo diet. Many of them allow some modern foods that science has shown to be healthy.

This includes quality bacon from pasture raised pigs, grass-fed butter and even some non-gluten grains like rice.

Many people now think of paleo as a template to base your diet on, not necessarily as a strict set of rules that you must follow.

Sensible Indulgences

These are perfectly healthy in small amounts:

  • Wine: Quality red wine is high in antioxidants and beneficial nutrients.
  • Dark Chocolate: Choose one that has 70% or higher cocoa content. Quality dark chocolate is very nutritious and extremely healthy.

What to Drink When You’re Thirsty

When it comes to hydration, water should be your go-to beverage.

These aren’t exactly paleo, but most people drink them anyway:

  • Tea is very healthy and loaded with antioxidants and various beneficial compounds. Green tea is best.
  • Coffee is actually very high in antioxidants as well. Studies show that it has many health benefits.

A Sample Paleo Menu For One Week

This sample menu contains a balanced amount of all the paleo foods.

Feel free to adjust this based on your own preferences.

Monday

  • Breakfast: Eggs and vegetables, fried in coconut oil. One piece of fruit.
  • Lunch: Chicken salad, with olive oil. Handful of nuts.
  • Dinner: Burgers (no bun), fried in butter, with vegetables and some salsa.

Tuesday

  • Breakfast: Bacon and eggs, with a piece of fruit.
  • Lunch: Leftover burgers from the night before.
  • Dinner: Salmon, fried in butter, with vegetables.

Wednesday

  • Breakfast: Meat with vegetables (leftovers from night before).
  • Lunch: Sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables.
  • Dinner: Ground beef stir fry, with vegetables. Some berries.

Thursday

  • Breakfast: Eggs and a fruit.
  • Lunch: Leftover stir fry from the night before. A handful of nuts.
  • Dinner: Fried pork with vegetables.

Friday

  • Breakfast: Eggs and vegetables, fried in coconut oil.
  • Lunch: Chicken salad with olive oil. Handful of nuts.
  • Dinner: Steak with vegetables and sweet potatoes.

Saturday

  • Breakfast: Bacon and eggs, with a piece of fruit.
  • Lunch: Leftover steak and vegetables from the night before.
  • Dinner: Baked salmon with vegetables and avocado.

Sunday

  • Breakfast: Meat with vegetables (leftovers from night before).
  • Lunch: Sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables.
  • Dinner: Grilled chicken wings, with vegetables and salsa.

There is usually no need to track calories or macronutrients (protein, carbs or fat) on the paleo diet, at least not in the beginning.

However, if you need to lose a lot of weight then it is a good idea to cut carbs somewhat and limit your intake of nuts and potatoes.

If you want to see examples of some of my go-to meals, read this: 7 Healthy Paleo Meals in 10 Minutes or Less

How to Make Your Restaurant Meals Paleo

It is not very difficult to make most restaurant meals paleo friendly.

  1. Order a meat or fish-based main dish.
  2. Get extra vegetables instead of bread or rice.
  3. Ask them to cook your food in olive oil or coconut oil.

Simple Paleo Snacks

There really is no need to eat more than 3 meals per day, but if you get hungry then here are some paleo snacks that are simple and easily portable:

  • Baby carrots.
  • Hard boiled eggs.
  • A piece of fruit.
  • A handful of nuts.
  • Leftovers from the night before.
  • Apple slices with some almond butter.
  • A bowl of berries with some coconut cream.
  • Homemade beef jerky.

 Simple Paleo Shopping List

There is an incredible variety of foods you can eat on the paleo diet.

This simple shopping list should give you an idea of how to get started.

  • Meat: beef, lamb, pork, etc.
  • Poultry: chicken, turkey, etc.
  • Fish: salmon, trout, mackerel, etc.
  • Eggs.
  • Fresh vegetables: greens, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, onions, etc.
  • Frozen vegetables: broccoli, spinach, various mixes, etc.
  • Fruits: Apples, bananas, pears, oranges, avocado.
  • Berries: Strawberries, blueberries.
  • Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts.
  • Almond butter.
  • Coconut oil.
  • Olive oil.
  • Olives.
  • Sweet potatoes.
  • Condiments: Sea salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic, parsley, etc.

It is a good idea to clear all unhealthy temptations from your home, including sodas, pastries, cookies, crackers, bread, ice cream and cereals.

For more information visit us our website: https://www.healthinfi.com

 

0 200

You might also like

No Comments

Leave a Reply

Solve : *
9 + 13 =