How to eat Paleo when you love cheese

How to eat paleo when you love cheese. Photo Getty Images

The caveman diet gets a bad rap. It was recently ranked as the second worst diet in a list of 35 diets by a panel of 22 nutrition and health experts, commissioned by U.S News & World Report. But that hasn’t stopped the Paleo crowd from growing momentum.

Irena Macri gets more than 150,000 visitors each month to her recipe blog eatdrinkpaleo.com.au. We spoke to her about her success story, and why it’s OK to eat cheese once in a while.

Food blogger Irena Macri. Photo: Tony C French

The number one question I’m always asked…
It’s a toss up between ‘Is it that caveman diet? But didn’t cavemen die young?’ and ‘Isn’t so much meat bad for you?’

Because of its name origin ‘Paleolithic’, Paleo is often misunderstood and associated with the caveman era and tonnes of meat. In reality, Paleo is actually 70 per cent plant based and the protein consumed is always varied – eggs, variety of meat including nose-to-tail, poultry, game, fish, seafood, and even some healthy dairy.

So it’s not just steaks with every meal, I cook lots of vegetarian dishes.

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As for those cavemen, I remind people that they didn’t die young because of their diets but due to environmental factors, infections, injuries, lack of medical aid – things that are no longer applicable in today’s living conditions.

I agree that people make Paleo seem excluding at times
But the Paleo community is actually very supportive and many people follow their own version of Paleo.

I advocate something called ‘Cheeky Paleo.’ I believe in the 80/20 philosophy – you eat a clean Paleo diet 80 per cent of the time and adapt the other 20 per cent to suit your own needs, goals, biological uniqueness and social circumstance.

Cheeky Paleo falls in that 20 per cent and for some people it means adding a few special treats or incorporating white rice, white potatoes, some delicious healthy dairy or even legumes.

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These foods are not included in the 100 per cent strict Paleo protocol but they’re not so bad in small amounts. I think being able to be cheeky every now and then, and adapting the Paleo template is the key to a healthy relationship with food.

Paleo makes you very in tune with your body
The key is to learn how certain foods make you feel. After doing an initial Paleo protocol for say 30 days, you can try incorporating some of the not-so-Paleo foods to see how you react to them.

It’s often easier to stick to a healthy diet long term if you make it a little bit more flexible, and if that means having occasional dairy and chickpeas, then it’s still 100 times better than a diet of processed foods and refined carbohydrates.

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Even small changes make a big difference so if you can’t transition to a full Paleo diet, try and implement some of its principles like eating more fresh vegetables and good quality protein and ditching processed industrial oils and fats like soybean and canola oil and margarine in favour of coconut oil, olive oil, and butter

The most popular recipe on my blog is my Paleo lasagne made with layers of delicious meat sauce, vegetables and mushrooms is always a big hit because it’s hearty and comforting and people completely forget that it doesn’t have any pasta in it.

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And the chocolate brownies made with sweet potatoes and raw cacao are very popular because, well, they are chocolate brownies that are still good for you!

You can eat Paleo on a budget
Go for the best quality you can afford and when you see grass-fed meat or free-range chicken at a good price, buy in bulk and freeze in individual portions for later. Also remember, the portions of meat don’t have to be very large to get the nutritional benefits.

I also try and cook with cheaper cuts of meat and eat nose-to-tail - it’s all about expanding your cooking repertoire and not being afraid of trying the less appealing parts. They’re also very nutritious.

Frozen fish and seafood are good choices, especially if you make things like fish cakes or stews. The same goes for frozen vegetables and berries – they can often be cheaper and are great to use in soups, bakes, stews and smoothies.

When it comes fresh fruit and vegetables, buying in season is also the key to keeping the cost down.

If you eat Paleo for two weeks
You can expect more energy, better sleep, less digestive disturbances and you’ll never feel hungry and deprived. Your taste buds will also be very happy!

The Eat Drink Paleo cookbook is available now from Penguin books and check out Irena's recipes in our April issue, on sale now!

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