Back in about 2005, when I was 26yrs or so, I tried the South Beach Diet, which promises rapid weight loss within 2 weeks, and continued weight loss through out. I tried it and it worked. I lost weight fast. I ate a lot of lunch meat, low fat cheese and absolutely no carbs (I think I even considered onions to be too high in carbs). There was no consideration, what so ever, about the nutrients within the foods I was consuming; it was all about the carbs. Protein was good, fat & starch were bad. Simple. I was super moody and constipated, but I was thin! Hoorah!
The Paleo Diet is often categorized as a low carb diet, but it's far more complex than that. It's far more complex than the South Beach or Atkins diet, because it's main goal is to improve overall health - not just promote weight loss. In fact, if done correctly, any weight loss should be more of a weight balancing. If you've got weight to lose due to high or fluctuating insulin levels, consuming foods that are inflammatory, not eating enough fruits & vegetables, not getting enough fibre or simply eating too much (mainly due to food cravings), etc...than you may lose the weight that needs to go. If you've not got extra weight to lose, you just might not lose any. But you will feel wonderful.
Here's who would benefit from having a go at a Paleo style of eating:
- Anyone experiencing food cravings
- Anyone with diabetes or Metabolic Syndrome
- Anyone with an Autoimmune condition
- Anyone with a low mood or mood disorder
- Anyone with hormonal concerns (ranging from insulin to fertility issues)
- Anyone with fibromyalgia or joint pain
- Anyone with digestive issues such as IBS, Crohn's or Colitis
1 whole sweet potato, peeled & chopped, in the steamer with a pinch of salt.
The reason for this is that the paleo style of eating aims to address a few important factors.
First, it supports digestion. In Holistic Nutrition, the state of the digestive system is the be-all and end-all of good health. It all starts in the gut. If you're consuming foods that create inflammation in the intestinal lining then you are not absorbing the nutrients in your food. Increasing your fruits & veggies and pairing them with good quality, digestible protein and fats is a great first step. Removing foods that are generally inflammatory is a great second step (in truth, I think the steps are equally good first steps).
Second, it aims to promote an appropriate hormonal response: think insulin. The Paleo diet aims to keep blood sugar balanced, thereby keeping the release of insulin low and steady. Insulin works very well with other important hormones like cortisol, glucagon and leptin. When our diet promotes chronic blood sugar spikes, insulin falls out of symmetry with these other important hormones and a domino effect occurs, leading to inflammation and weight gain (to put it simply).
Third, it supports a healthy and functional immune system. Again, we must avoid those foods that cause inflammation. Inflammation is an action of the immune system. Chronic, ongoing inflammation can weaken the immune system, leading to chronic illness, slow wound healing, blocked arteries and autoimmune conditions (to name a few).
In short, here's what the Paleo diet looks like:
Avoid
- Grains
- Sugar
- Beans & legumes (including peanuts & soy)
- Dairy
- Processed foods & trans fats
- Omega 6 fats & seed oils (with some exceptions)
- Alcohol
- Some may need to avoid night shade vegetables
Include
- Good quality meats & organ meats - do your best; grass fed, free range, organic, etc are best. Sometimes all I can manage is hormone & antibiotic free and that is ok!
- Wild caught fish & fish oil
- Most vegetables, unless you have a sensitivity. This list includes potatoes & sweet potatoes.
- Most fruit
- Coconut flesh, milk and oil
- Nuts - unless you have a sensitivity or allergy
- Eggs, if tolerated
- Fermented foods
Dice one red or white onion
I see a lot of folks who worry about the connection between food intake and cholesterol. The overall assumption is that food that contains cholesterol will raise your blood cholesterol, thereby putting you at risk for heart disease. The research here is starting to change. It's important to remember that the majority of cholesterol is made in the liver. It's made in direct relation to the body's need for it. If there's a lot of inflammation, there's going to be a lot of cholesterol. What causes inflammation? Everything in that "Avoid" list.
The degree of inflammation and damage caused is highly individual. I cannot stress enough the importance of seeking individualised help from a nutritionist and/or naturopathic doctor if you've got a serious condition that requires more than a somewhat generalised diet like this one.
Finely dice a clove or two of garlic
The Paleo Diet is also associated with building lean muscle mass and improving one's body composition. If you're generally healthy and want to experiment a bit with this type of diet, go ahead! You can check out my Natural Pain Relief write up for a bit more info, as well as a few good books and resources:
- It Starts With Food by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig
- Their amazing follow up cookbook, The Whole 30
- Their super informative website with a slew of info and print-outs
- The Paleo Approach by Sarah Ballntyne, PHD
- Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD
- Digestive Health with Real Food by Aglaee Jacob M.S R.D
For now, on to the recipe! We've started with one whole sweet potato in the steamer. While that's softening up , start to saute your onions & garlic. I've used a bit of lard as my cooking oil. As long as it's a good one, lard is really quite healthy. It's made up of about 60% monounsaturated (heart healthy!) fats. The rest is saturated. If the pigs were pastured, 1 tbsp of lard will contain about 1000IU of vitamin D! This is a good fat that does not oxidise and therefore, very safe for cooking with. Remember, don't buy any boxed lard off the grocery store shelf. Find a good butcher who renders the lard on site.
Onions and garlic are excellent for cardiovascular and immune health, fyi.
Now I'm only really Paleo-ish, so I've gone ahead and added a bit of tamari & hot sauce to the onions. If you're being strict, you might decide to go with coconut aminos instead.
At this point, your onions are softening with the garlic, tamari and hot sauce and your sweet potatoes are starting to get mashable.
Move your potatoes to a mixing bowl and mash away. I've popped in about 1.5 tbsp of coconut oil. It will melt as you mash and stir.
Allow your potatoes to cool just enough so that they won't cook the egg when you stir it in. Then go ahead and stir in one whole egg.
Stir and whisk until it's well combined.
Add about 2.5 tbsp of coconut flour to the potatoes. Coconut flour is an absolute lifesaver when you're avoiding grains. Sometimes you just want some pancakes or a muffin or some cake or crackers. It's far more absorbent than other flours, so definitely follow recipes that call for coconut flour before doing too much experimenting.
Stir in the coconut flour.
Add your onions and garlic to the potatoes
Stir them in!
Stir in one good can of tuna.
You are now ready to form your patties! Make them about the same size as a hamburger pattie - maybe a pinch smaller...you decide.
Once you've got them all formed and on the baking tray, you can oil them up.
I used avocado oil here, but olive would be just fine.
Bake them for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Let them cool on the tray before handling.
Gorgeous! Delicious! Sweet! Savoury!
These patties hold up really well. They are as delicious cool as they are warm, which makes them very handy to have in the fridge. They make for a great snack when you're no-graining-it.
Sweet Potato & Tuna Patties
- 1 whole sweet potato peeled and cubed - steamed until soft
- 1.5 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 red or white onion
- 1-3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tsp tamari or coconut aminos
- 2 tsp hot sauce of your choice
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 2.5 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 can of GOOD QUALITY tuna - the brand is up to you
- Avocado or olive oil for spreading
- Steam your sweet potatoes until you can mash them with a fork
- Transfer potaotes to mixing bowl and melt in 1 tbsp coconut oil
- While your potatoes are steaming, saute your onion and garlic with tamari & hot sauce
- Combine the onions with the mashed sweet potatoes
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes
- Add egg, stirring to combine
- Stir in coconut flour
- Stir in tuna
- Form into patties and place on a baking tray lined with parchment
- Brush with avocado oil
- Bake for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees
Enjoy!
