Forbidden Foods Tricks

One of the hardest things about any diet is the forbidden food. Many times these forbidden foods are common sense. But other times the foods that you can’t have can be a little surprising.

For example if you are trying to eat vegan you know that you can’t hit the McDonalds drive thru but you might be surprised to know that you can’t have eggs either.

Many times, the foods that are off limits suddenly become the foods that we crave. As you can imagine, this makes it extremely difficult to stay on a healthy eating path and many times this causes people to abandon their healthy eating all together.

But there is good news if you are eating paleo. Even though there are restrictions on the paleo diet, there are easy ways that you can still enjoy your favorite comfort foods. Depending on what your favorite foods are, this might mean that you spend a bit more time in the kitchen, but it is well worth it.

Switch White Potatoes to Sweet Potatoes

The white potato, it is a very ‘gray’ area of the paleo diet. Some people swear that it is strictly forbidden while other paleo eaters believe that white potatoes are fine to eat every now and then.

The one thing that everyone agrees on is that white potatoes should be eaten in heavy moderation, if at all.

But paleo eaters love their potatoes and you can easily switch from white to sweet potatoes in most recipes. Paleo eaters are clever eaters and they have created an abundance of recipes that will easily substitute for your favorite white potato recipes. Some of these include:

• Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Cakes
• Sweet Potato Hash Browns
• Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Tots

The more comfortable that you get on paleo, the easier it will be for you to find new recipes that you can use sweet potatoes in.

Get Around the Grains

One of the hardest things to give up when eating paleo is the grains. We don’t always realize it, but grains tend to make up a good portion of the standard American Diet. Grains are known for making us feel full, and that is something that we all need in our busy lives. Between work and kids and errands life can get pretty hectic, and the best way to avoid the impulse decision of hitting the drive thru is to make sure that you don’t let yourself get hungry. This is when grains come in to save the day, unless you are paleo that is.

If you are following a paleo diet, you need to find ways that you can get around the grains. Even though this is a little bit tricky it can be done with a little bit of thinking outside of the box, and thankfully you can always learn these tricks from your paleo community.

Oatmeal Hacks

It isn’t easy to give up something like oatmeal. After all, it is easy to make and it can keep you feeling full all the way until lunch. While traditional oatmeal is considered a no-go on the paleo diet, there are still dozens of paleo recipes for oatmeal and they contain ingredients like:

• Bananas
• Coconut Butter
• Flaxseed
• Walnuts
• Nutmeg
• Almond Milk

While these ingredients might not seem that impressive on their own, when they are combined correctly they are a slice of paleo heaven.

Swap Rice for Cauliflower Rice

Rice is the base for so many popular dishes. Everything from casseroles to pudding has been paired with rice. It’ s no wonder so many people have a hard time giving this up. Thankfully, there is an easy solution.

Depending on how you prepare it, cauliflower can be a versatile friend in the kitchen. Many paleo eaters use cauliflower to create pizza crust and cauliflower mashed ‘potatoes’. But one of its most popular uses is as a rice substitute. Cauliflower ‘rice’ can easily replace any dish that has rice in it, allowing people to enjoy things like fried rice or sweet and sour chicken over white rice.

Dairy Switches

One of the biggest challenges to starting a paleo diet is figuring out how to ditch the dairy. So many of today’s most popular foods are based around dairy and if you regularly consume these foods then you might find yourself struggling when you can no longer have them.

While it doesn’t taste like the dairy you may be used to, you are still able to consume milk and cheeses as long as they are made from a plant based standpoint.

So let’s say that you really enjoy drinking milk. You have it in your cereal, in your coffee, and you love drinking it on its own. Even though paleo approved milks don’t taste the same as the milk you are used to, the switch is barely noticeable when you are eating cereal or drinking coffee. You may not want to drink these milks on their own, but for cooking and things of that nature they work wonders.

Some examples of paleo approved milks include:
• Almond Milk
• Coconut Milk
• Cashew Milk

The same goes for cheese lovers. Even though you can no longer have traditional cheeses, you are still able to make delicious cheese sauces that are healthy and paleo approved. For example, many paleo eaters have figured out how to make a cheese-like sauce from things like sweet potatoes, cashews, cauliflower, and even zucchini.
Whether you are just starting paleo or you have been eating this way for awhile these simple hacks will help you to stay on track while staying healthy.