Myth: The Paleo Diet is All About the Meat... Not So!

I think there is a misconception that people who eat a Paleo/Primal type diet are basically carnivores and eat the occasional vegetable... the truth is that is a myth. The bulk of my diet is produce when you look at my plates (as I'm sure you have seen on Instagram for my lunches at least- @reallifewithheather).
This week's produce haul for instance had:

• 3 bananas
• 2 apples
• 2 lbs strawberries
• 11 oz blueberries
• 6 large clementines
• 5 tomatoes
• 5 large heads of romaine lettuce
• largest box of 50/50 mix (I want to say this was about a pound but I don't recall and already mixed it into salads for the week)
• 1 bag of carrots
• 1 bag of sugar snap peas
• 1/2 lb mushrooms
• 3 cans of green beans (pantry staple, fresh or frozen is better but they didn't have any at the market this week)
• 2 large potatoes
• 1 large sweet potato 
• 1 large onion
• 2 C salsa

And my weekend is eating out for Friday's dinner as well as Saturday's lunch and dinner and Sunday's lunch as I will be at a conference this weekend! If it wasn't there would be even MORE produce on this list. Thankfully the conference is nearby so I can eat breakfasts at home but since it is at a hotel I didn't think bringing my own food would be appropriate other than snacks (as I'm sure it will be mostly pastries and cookies on offer then and there is no way to make that work in the paleo framework.) Main meals I can usually find something on the menu that is a decent option at the hotel's restaurant or wherever we are going as a group for the meal.

I also keep some Spirulina and Chlorella in the pantry (algae) along with shirataki "noodles" and sometimes veggie chips of various types if I'm feeling in the mood for a crunchy snack and they are on sale. You'll often also see cucumbers, celery (I can't actually chop this as the scent gives me a migraine- random I know- so it's mostly just for bone broth/stock use), zucchini, squash, pumpkin (I have some puree in the pantry and some sweet potato puree frozen in the freezer), radishes, red potatoes, the occasional avocado (not my favorite, yet!), peppers, various lettuces/salad greens, spinach, an assortment of mushroom varieties, and more on my shopping list... it just depends on what I planned meal wise for the week and what looks great at the market.

Of course, we don't just eat produce... there is meat, nuts, oils/fats, and etc. This week I have:

• 1 doz eggs for breakfast scrambles and omelets
• 1.5 lb chicken for my chicken taco lunches
• leftover chicken soup from my freezer... so bone broth and several ounces of chicken (but also more veggies!) for lunch on one day
• 1 lb of ham for dinners on two to 3 days
• 1/2 lb beef (ground) for a casserole
• 1/4 lb sausage for the same casserole
• 1/3 C olive oil for salad dressing
• 1/3-1/2 C ghee for cooking fat and tortillas
• 5-8 ounces of cheese (not Paleo but I choose to incorporate real cheese into my diet... this would be more a Primal mentality if we are getting picky on the issue)
• almond and cassava flour for tortillas and pancakes (breakfast for dinner was AMAZING by the way... and some maple syrup and butter for those pancakes but I didn't measure out how much, best guess 1-2 Tbsp of grass-fed butter and 2-3 Tbsp of pure maple syrup since I ate leftovers for breakfast the next day so had two servings)
• and potentially some of the nuts and seeds I plan on taking with me to the conference for snacking... with some fruit and veggies depending on if I am hungry or not.

If I was eating at home this weekend I would have about 1 lb more of meat most likely along with a lot more veggies. When eating out there is typically more a focus on the meat that the veggies as many options are offered that way (steak, chicken, pork chop, burger, etc. with x sides is how they are presented and veggies aren't plentiful on the plate as I'd prefer) but I try to get a good portion of veggies when available.

That's this week, things vary from week to week but when I plan meals I have one line for meat on each meal and 2-3 for veggies/fruit (and they aren't small 1/4-1/3 C portions for each veggie side either) so that should say something about how I eat. No two 'paleo'/'primal' eating plans are the same of course- I eat low carb and higher fat for instance so you will see a lot more fat rich foods on my meal plans and less starchy veggies but most of the people that I know buy their veggies (and fruit) plentifully and widely varied, many seasonally.