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Melissa McEwen
This blog is about the intersection between evolutionary biology and food. But also about practical applications, sustainable agriculture, and general tasty things. I originally started eating this way to heal from chronic health problems and...it worked!
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Fuck this, I'm getting the cassoulet
Scene 1: I'm at a party. There isn't that much to eat that won't upset my stomach, except some nice roast potatoes. Suddenly a girl appears smiling benevolently. Is she about to say "Oh, actually we have steak in the kitchen"? Nope. Instead she giggles and asks "Are you allowed to have those?"
I grit my teeth and spitefully add an extra helping to my plate.
Scene 2: I'm at lunch snacking on some delicious French raw milk cheese. A man comes up to my table and looks at my lunch with squinting eyes. "I don't think cheese is paleo" he blithely announces. I eat the whole block of cheese in one sitting out of pure unremitting malice towards those who question my love of cheese.
Yes, such is the peril of being known as a "paleo" girl. So henceforth, if you call me "paleo," I will have to banish you from this blog and all parts hence. And by banish, I mean maybe we should settle this in a dark alley.
I'm not "paleo" since that is short for paleolithic. For your enlightenment, I was born in 1986, which was well into the neolithic era.
Yes, I am quite interested in the paleolithic and I think to eat like the people in the paleolithic is a powerful tool for healing. But honestly, I'm not going to put in more effort than I have to. If butter seems to cause me no problems, you betcha I'm going to eat it.
As for it making you fat, that is pure and utter nonsense. I am but one of many butter-loving health bloggers. I have low body fat and do not wish to impair my fertility by going lower. I have informed some of you of my earnest desire to bear many adorable butter-eating babies.
I have so far deigned to engage in the cupidity that seems to have grasped the "paleo" world as of late. The vultures are already circling, publicists and producers, cawing out commands to simplify our language and distill our philosophy into something politically correct and "readable."
Vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas
I for one have nothing to sell. And I hope my writing style gets more and more obtuse and archaic. Soon I will start writing all my posts in Latin. Of course, I will never proofread anything, despite being certifiably dyslexic.
I was reading Tim Ferriss' new book yesterday. Like me, he knows the value of paleo principles, but he doesn't hew to dogma. I was very skeptical of this book, but he does what works and while I have some quibbles (egg beaters? eww, but maybe that's my inner snob), it was refreshing to see the lovely words cassoulet on the page. Until I see a study that shows that beans embedded with the ichor that is duck confit causes "leaky gut" or something in healthy adults, I will eat this wonderful food at least once a winter in a wood-paneled pub on the Lower East Side. I refuse to throw away such human accomplishments in the name of "paleo."
And honestly...where is the most innovative stuff coming from? It's from bloggers on the fringe of paleo who aren't out to make $$$ (yet)*. They don't call themselves paleo, but we all know who they are. I bet they are enjoying some cassoulet at this very moment in good cheer while in sad lonely loft apartments, some poor victim of "paleo" dogma is eating a pathetic skinless boneless chicken dressed with rancid olive oil.
Luckily because I'm not "paleo" I no longer have to pretend to be supportive or cheerful about such people and the promotors of such diets (who often eat certain "bad" foods while telling others not to).
*though I have nothing against those who do, as long as it's not at the expense of integrity...which sadly it often is
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I love this post and it
I love this post and it really shows that you can glean wisdom of a principle and not become dogmatic about it. We have found after eliminating conventional breads and pastas that we have expanded our pallet immensely while cleaning out our systems. Now even mere bites of cornfed beef and gluten/wheat based products cause major GI/bowel reactions. But we eat the hell out of grain alternatives that are "un-paleo"... It works for me and my family of five. Just yesterday was our treat where we unleash our sweet tooth to enjoy unlimited fruits, starches and grain free treats. I made almond meal based cream cheese stuffed pancakes with whipped cream and maple blueberry syrup!! Here's the food porn if you care to see it: http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=177628098941311&set=a.140249342679187.13645.103380206366101
What a great post! I love it!
What a great post! I love it! :))
Thanks so much for this post,
Thanks so much for this post, Melissa. It helps me to mitigate some of the feelings of outsiderness that I get when spending too much time reading up on paleo on the Internet - and I realize that there are multiple, but typically incidental, cases where I don't color within the orthodoxy's lines.
Taking your post very much to heart - in part because I had a piece of sushi today from the salad bar at a Brazillian churrascaria (Texas de Brazil) when celebrating a birthday with relatives. :)
The best stuff is always at
The best stuff is always at the fringes. Unfortunately, that's where the crazies also hang out, too. The mainstream usually has a hard time distinguishing between the two.
And to be fair, we have some borderline and not-so-borderline crazies in our midst, too. There is a fine line between "here is the research that shows that fluorinated water is actually not good for enamel" and "the government puts that evil stuff in our water to control our BRAAAAAINZ."
What pisses me off is that the mainstream buys most vegan "science" and thinks WAPF/Paleo science is "fringe."
Hear, hear. Or maybe I should
Hear, hear. Or maybe I should say, "F-ck, yeah!"
(Offensive vowel redacted.)
"I for one have nothing to
"I for one have nothing to sell. And I hope my writing style gets more and more obtuse and archaic."
I hope it does too -- I appreciate your perspective much more than any other.
The vultures are already
The vultures are already circling, publicists and producers, cawing out commands to simplify our language and distill our philosophy into something politically correct and "readable."
This happened within my religion roughly a hundred years ago -- it's had disastrous effects. As a Mormon, I also get the, "Are you allowed to do that?" sort of questions -- and as an anarchist, I likewise grit my teeth.
As I read this post again this morning, I realize what I like about it. It's anarchy. There is not definitive, authoritative dictionary defining my religion for me -- but I haven't felt that way about my diet until I read this. "Paleo" had its "rules" [in my mind at least], but not anymore.
You've now opened me up to being fully anarchic in not only my religion and politics -- but now in my diet as well.
Most people I know aren't
Most people I know aren't asking me about what's Paleo or not. Most people are questioning whether I'm eating Healthy or not.
But I'm still going to have my Eggs and bacon every morning. I'm still recovering from my grains addiction behaviour. And Grains do bother me a lot. Joint pain seems to be mostly from glutten and rice. Diary I'm not sure about for me personally. I suspect just because of acne. I may have it back eventually but I do have it once a week or two. I can eat peanuts but I have a mild allergy to them. My throat bothers me afterwards. I don't know about other legumes. In short, I plan to in the New Year get tested for food sensitivities and go from there.
My environmental allergies seem to have disappeared with Paleo eating. That probably means my childhood asthma isn't going to come back to haunt me either. And my blood sugar seems to be healthy for the first time in my life.
My diet is high fat, moderate protein and low carb. I wouldn't say that works for everyone, I just thrive on it. Personally, I think you have to go with what works for you. I find if I'm on with what works with me 95 % of the time then that 5 % doesn't bother me much at all.
I strive for progress not perfection in my diet.
I don't know, I've been into
I don't know, I've been into paleoeating since 2002, when I stumbeld on Staffan Lindebergs research (I'm a swede). Since then I've loved the hole evolution perspective on your life, and it has changed my life in many ways (from barefott running, to evolution psycology (S.Pinker is the man) to eating.
But foodwise, the hard thing has always been to keep in track, to not starting eating bread, pasta, candy (swedes love candy). I've been on the right track for a couple of years (wich has improved my health in so many ways), but only by being strict, and you may called dogmatic. If I start eating cheese, a couple of sandwiches will follow. Drinking milk will soon be a bowl of cereals. Potatoes give you the sugarrush that leads you to the candy store. I need my paleo identity to keep me going in the right direction.
But eating skinfree chicken is not paleo in my view. Fat is good for you.
I think that when a girl
I think that when a girl reference ichor and the desire to have many butter-eating babies in the same post, it is very sexy. However, as this is a label, I fear you will feel the need to reject it.
Are you allowed to eat that?
Are you allowed to eat that? is my new least favorite phrase. I am *allowed* to eat whatever I want, it's a free country.
great post.
Melissa, I heard the very
Melissa, I heard the very same knuckle-dragging sentence less than 24 hours ago. "Are you *allowed* to eat that?". Allowed? As if I'd recently sacrificed free will to sign up to some shonky dietary religion.
Given good health is increasingly a minority sport, it's a good thing to be different. Fuck 'em I say ;)
You know, orthodoxy is very
You know, orthodoxy is very boring to me, whether paleo or otherwise. It's great to share ideas about food and life with other likeminded folk but when it starts to become a limiting belief system then it's over for me.
Pragmatism wins for me (almost ;) every time.
YOU GO GIRL! Tell 'em! :D
YOU GO GIRL! Tell 'em! :D
This post is quite timely
This post is quite timely because I was just thinking we needed additional, and more nuanced labels, not fewer. I just read the post (and all 22 comments so far) so it looks like I'm the odd man out here. I discovered this diet in 2002 or 2003 when I read Cordain's book. I subsequently went "paleo" and had fantastic results. I still am paleo, but of the Cordain/Wolf variety, not the Panu/primal variety, which seems to allow unlimited fats of a certain variety. It is quite odd to me that we have people who all call themselves "paleo," yet have radically different diets. I personally do not consider the unlimited fat variety to be paleo, since paleolithic people just did not have access to all the fat they wanted. (Perhaps Inuits and Eskimos did due to their subsistence on blubbery marine mammals and high latitude land mammals, but they did not even have fire to cook or heat with for much of the year, aside from candles. This is a lifestyle outlier if ever there was one.) But perhaps this kind of thinking makes me dogmatic? In any case, I think that labels can be useful even if they cannot fully describe a person's beliefs. I know a "vegetarian" who also eats salmon. He would object if you told him he was not vegetarian, he would say that he's vegetarian with a caveat.
At the end of the day, however, we are all concerned about our health and painfully aware of the problems with certain neolithic foods. I think that our "paleo" understanding of diet has allowed us all to make more intelligent and informed choices about our diets, even if we disagree about a few things along the way. Also, if I were having a dinner party, I would prefer to know if someone is "paleo" or "vegetarian" so I could try to accommodate their needs. But I guess that sometimes this labeling can degenerate into stereotyping, which is annoying, but you have to call your overall diet something, don't you?
"I personally do not consider
"I personally do not consider the unlimited fat variety to be paleo, since paleolithic people just did not have access to all the fat they wanted."
That's exactly what I don't care about.
So, paleolithic people also didn't have access to books. I'm going to read them unless someone has a real study that shows that there are bad.
My diet is mostly paleo, but I just eat things that are good. Good for my body, tasty, and generally awesome.
eat the butter. i don't
eat the butter. i don't follow a "diet" but avoid certain foods that i choose and i eat plenty of grassfed yellow butter when i can and am not remotely overweight from it. i have always eaten butter and don't forsee stopping for any reason. yum!
I think it's important to
I think it's important to remember that PaNu is informed primarily by that doctor's reading of current nutritional research and his understanding of physiology and not by an anthropological perspective. If you look into the history of PaNu, you'll find it arose from the Atkins-Taubes strain of medical critique, not the Cohen-Cordain strain of anthropological critique.
Great post. I regret using
Great post. I regret using the "primal" moniker in my screen/blog name but at the beginning it was appropriate. At least it is less restrictive than "paleo". I am favoring the term "pastoral" or even "high-fat" at the moment if I need a term for the shorthand advantage.
That being said I find that I always just say that I eat meat and vegetables, no grain whenever anyone asks me in person.
Labels are so restricting and almost always ill-fitting.
Besides, if I decide that all that will make me happy is "X" then I will eat "X" and be done with it.
Latin nerds are the coolest.
Latin nerds are the coolest. I had my personal motto tattooed in Latin on my wrist. Not to say that I think I am cool, just that I aspire to be as cool as my Latin professor in college.
He was so cool.
Yes! Also: Yes.
Yes!
Also: Yes.
Best. Headline. Ever. Hey, at
Best. Headline. Ever. Hey, at least no one provoked you to eat a not-very-Paleo Crave Case from White Castle! :-)
More than a name! Glad to
More than a name!
Glad to hear you're not allowing yourself to be defined by how you choose to eat! Such labels are for small minds.
As any movement begins to
As any movement begins to gain in popularity, it inevitably attracts dogmatic adherants who seek to define the "pure" version of the movement. Oftentimes, several "pure" versions spring up making it that much more difficult for prospective new members to figure out which way to go. As you pointed out, the "purists" are the ones who will then attempt to monetize this version of "pure". Madness.
With regard to Paleo, I usually tell people I try to eat primarily non-processed, organic foods with an emphasis on healthy fats, moderate amounts of protein, and not too many carbs. If pressed on the carbs, I say that I get them mostly from vegetables and avoid all gluten grains. By this time, their eyes have usually glazed over. Paleo is never mentioned.
Your blog is really great and your attitude toward paleo correctness should, as an added benefit, heep cortisol levels low :)
Rick
Honestly I've never really
Honestly I've never really identified myself as paleo or primal, except in the company of others of a like mind. I tend to tell family and friends that I'm just eating real, whole, minimally processed foods, and avoiding as much junk as I can.
Then I (after completely avoiding it for a long time and then eating some in a recipe without knowing it) accidentally discovered that wheat/gluten actually DOESN'T agree with me, so now I have a valid excuse for that :)
(BTW, *love* the captcha!)
I've found Robb Wolf's Look,
I've found Robb Wolf's Look, Feel, Perform to be the best guidance in this area. Life is too short not to try some neolithic creation once in awhile.
Sadly, legumes fuck me up.
Sadly, legumes fuck me up. I'd like to eat refried beans once in a while, but it's usually not worth it.
The paleohacks people have a highly rated and woefully uninformed post about the four-hour body. It's clear that NO ONE HAS READ ANY OF IT, especially not the parts they are bitching about. I'm tempted to say something, but at the same time...I don't really care. Not my job. Tim Ferriss looks out for Tim Ferriss.
I'll probably review it when I get through more of it because it's chock full of interesting stuff.
Nicole: I'm the one who put
Nicole: I'm the one who put up the top-rated "answer" on PaleoHacks regarding Ferriss's book. I agree with your criticisms.
I regret my response, and considered deleting it, but then thought better of it. Let my mistake stand in public!
My revised stance on this is essentially that I think the book will be full of great content, and some gimmicks, as Masterjohn suggested in his review. (And in general, I will be more likely to refrain from commenting on books I haven't read!)
I stand by my initial stance that the marketing for the book is gimmicky. It rubbed me the wrong way, but ultimately I agree with Ferriss that "whatever gets people to read the book" is fair game. Once they read the book, they'll see (or not) that it contains some great content.
Wow, I feel better about
Wow, I feel better about complaining now. Ha ha.
Like any book, there's certainly marketing involved. I do think it sounds sensationalist, but the actual book doesn't come off that way.
Now doesn't that feel better?
Now doesn't that feel better? Sometimes you just gotta do what works for you and to Hell with toeing the "paleo" line.
Pass the butter please.....it makes my eggs taste so much nicer(wink)
Geo
People need to keep labeling
People need to keep labeling people and stuff in order to maintain the illusion of control over their world. This oversimplification is always wrong, and we who choose not to follow the conventional ways are always being bothered with this.
But hey, who wants to be conventional ;-)
Enjoy your cheese!
Thank you for this post. I
Thank you for this post. I always feel awkward when my dietary preferences become subject to inquiry and I never feel relieved when I invariable end up describing myself as "paleo". Until recently I couldn't figure out why, but having that label on me felt like wearing sweater with a tag that rubs the wrong way. I have been searching for a better way to describe my relationship with food and at the moment I feel more comfortable with something like, "I approach eating from a particular perspective. That perspective is framed in light of knowledge about human evolution and bio-cultural anthropology. My resultant food choices are in light of perspective, not because of it."
It feels much better to be wearing a perspective than a rigid label.
I hate labels. This is such
I hate labels. This is such a great post Melissa. I totally feel your pain. I don't even use the words paleo, primal, or low-carb anymore. I have started describing my eating habits as "traditional whole foods with limited grains". It's a mouth-full, but it gets people interested without being obnoxious or inflammatory.
Love it! And hence, I have
Love it! And hence, I have paleo in the title of my blog and my book and find myself getting more and more tired of trying to answer to folks who ask - "is this paleo, is that paleo, you said you ate coleslaw at the airport and I thought you were paleo?" Ugh!!! I recently wrote a blog post about "what is paleo"? And to me, paleo is what works for me, and now and then a big ol' plate of nachos really works for me!!! I say we all start a peasant uprising and call this paleo thing something different, we can call it "the paleo way in which we eat what makes us feel good and sometimes we eat cassoulet because we WANT TO diet!!" Keep up the great writing!
Hell yes! When I first
Hell yes!
When I first discovered "paleo/primal", I felt guilty enjoying lentils, black beans or corn on the cob, because *gasp* they weren't PRIMAL! After a few months, I relaxed and gave up trying to fit in perfectly. I don't enjoy them all the time, but I'll be damned if I don't enjoy them on occasion and other food that isn't necessarily paleo.
I love cheese, butter, the occasional piece of crusty french bread on special occasions, but I also love to eat simply and not eat processed, industrial foods. If that means I'm not a true paleo, fine!
Us unpaleo peeps can group together and share recipes and be fabulous.
Vulcan mind meld.
Vulcan mind meld.
It's funny, when people find
It's funny, when people find out I'm "paleo," they always start asking me a bunch of questions like "What is the paleo stance on cheese?" or "what is the paleo stance on green beans?" as if I have a moral problem with those foods. People expect me to have some rigid moral stance on everything as if I'm a vegan. I've started telling people that I base my diet on meat and vegetables, but I will eat any real and delicious food. I went to a taqueria last night and ate the shit out of some homemade tortillas. Really, I'm less paleo than I am gluten-free and generally sugar free. I avoid legumes because they often do upset my stomach, but hell if I'm going to pass up a well-made cassoulet, a lengua taco, or a nice, stinky Camembert. Great post.
thank you! it's always been
thank you!
it's always been tricky to talk about how i eat/was always kind of leery of explaining it as"paleo" for fear of getting lumped in with certain dogma.
Indeed. Paleo is but a family
Indeed. Paleo is but a family of dietary possibilities, not a single one and yet, as with many things, the perception among some that it can only mean one thing and one thing only leads to this binary conception of everything as either Paleo or non-Paleo only.
Hey, I am Cooper. Andres
Hey, I am Cooper. Andres daughter and I am 12.
I know how it feels with stomach problems.
There are certain wheats that I cant eat.
I get mad as well when people criticize me because I cant eat certain things.
I just got over a stomachache. It was because I ate two cans of Cashews.
I had to much at one time. But luckily it is over.
I also wanted to comment on your blog it was funny and truthful.!
My sister can eat a whole stick of butter no prob..
My family and I are on the low carb diet.
So I am having less stomach aches from the wheat content.
So thanks for encouraging me that I am not alone out there.
Lentils with salt pork
Lentils with salt pork tonight. Probably be drummed out of the paleo community so I will hide my identity for now.
Hell to the yeah! I usually
Hell to the yeah!
I usually toss off something to the tune of "I'm a grown-ass man. I'm *allowed* to eat whatever I want. I just *choose* not to eat shit. Go back to your Fritos."
If I'm faced with the occasional lovely Camembert or quality artisanal beer, I'll probably partake. It's the Budweiser, Velveeta and Wonder Bread that I'll be skipping, thankyouverymuch.
Bravo. Good for you. Two
Bravo. Good for you. Two years in and my closest friends and family still think I'm pulling some grand joke on them by not eating bread or pasta or any other wheat/grains. God forbid I have a little rice or potato anywhere near them. It's all "BUT YOU DON'T EAT CARBS I CAUGHT YOU 'FESS UP!"
I live in paranoia of my
I live in paranoia of my folks finding out about my odd piece of sushi - ..."BUT YOU DON'T EAT GRAINZZZZZZZZ!"
I like your style. I've been
I like your style. I've been having similar thoughts lately, and I agree.
Here's a great-sounding cassoulet recipe from Thomas Keller: http://bit.ly/9z1M0R.
Cheers...
Michael
P.S. And *I*--since it causes me no problems--am having some apple pie at least once this winter.
"I will eat this wonderful
"I will eat this wonderful food at least once a winter in a wood-paneled pub on the Lower East Side."
À votre santé!