Hi folks, sorry I've been
Hi folks, sorry I've been away!
startingupagain, I had to do a bit of skimming to get through all this, but I think you said you're eating a little dairy and some almonds and you're hungry all the time. I wanted to share with you that when I ate almonds I got REALLY hungry and I eventually gave up all nuts besides the occasional coconut or macadamia. Also, being hungry is usually a sign of - guess what ? - not eating enough! Once you get over this very modern idea that it's healthy to feel hungry all the time, it starts to make sense that you should eat more fat. Once you strike the right balance between fat and protein, you can really start to get a grip on the hunger. For me that means 65-70% calories from fat, and about 30% calories from protein. Not being hungry is actually my highest priority, over losing weight and being strong and fast.
I'm not sure anyone's mentioned explicitly that Paleo doesn't have to be low-carb. Loren Cordain recommends a particular ratio, but traditional diets from around the world are all over the map - from the Inuit who live mostly on salmon and seal fat, to the Kitavans who eat almost no fat at all (although about 90% of the fat they eat is saturated). I'm going with the theory that the best form of carbs is simple starches, because that's easiest for your body to absorb (and available year round) and less likely to promote unhealthy gut flora. So I'm gradually bringing starch back into my diet by stewing root vegetables with my meats - mostly carrots and radishes.
As for how to keep enough meat in the house, it is a major effort, but for me it's also a hobby. Plus, since I only eat once a day it's less work that it might be otherwise. But here's what I try to do every week:
Make a batch of beef stock (I start with a full 5-gallon pot, but by the end I usually have about 3 pints)
Make 6-9 pounds of roast (braised) beef in the crock pot, using the stock.
Grill hamburgers for quick meals (I especially love them with the homemade pickles in summer)
Grill steaks the rest of the time - our butcher saves unsold steaks for us and sells them to us at half price
I sneak a bit of the raw liver when I prepare it for jschwab, but I also like to fry a big ole quarter-pound slice for myself once or twice a week.
Occasional meals include beef heart, beef tongue, lamb's head (only tried that once, but I've been thinking about doing it again), pig's feet, lamb shanks, lamb leg and shoulder, etc. Last weekend I smoked a brisket and that was pretty fantastic.
I'm looking forward to cabbage season. We haven't had any homemade sauerkraut for a while.