Posts: 3,817
9/18/12 3:12 P

There is a recipe for Cauliflower Hummus in Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook by Sarah Fragoso. It uses cauliflower and almond butter instead of the usual chickpeas and tahini.

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9/18/12 12:05 P

Thanks - I have missing the hummsu!

Posts: 42
9/18/12 11:59 A

I was searching for a paleo substitute for chickpeas and I figured sweet potato would have the right texture and compatible flavor. I still haven't found a recipe for it, so I made one up. I like mine savory but I suppose you could go sweeter if you wanted (maybe use cinnamon and orange juice instead of cumin and lemon juice).

1 medium baked sweet potato, skin removed
2 raw garlic cloves
2 Tbs walnut oil (or olive oil)
1/4 cup tahini
1-2 Tbs lemon juice
cumin (to taste)
fresh dill (to taste)
salt (to taste)

Process the garlic and oil in food processor until garlic is finely minced. Add tahini and lemon juice, process until smooth. Add dill, cumin and sweet potato, pulse just until smooth.

You can add more tahini or sweet potato to make it thick or add more lemon juice to make it thinner. I like more lemon flavor without making it too thin, so I add a little dehydrated (powdered) lemon.

Lots of room to play with this recipe! :)

SparkPoints: (29,405)
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9/18/12 11:49 A

Shaggy - Can you share that recipe for sweet potato hummus? Sounds yummy!

Posts: 42
9/18/12 11:32 A

Sarah from EverydayPaleo.com is very focused on including the whole family in this lifestyle change. Here's a post from her blog: http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/04/08/paleo-kids/

Until a few years ago, I was raising my kids on quick food even while I was eating well. I justified this because they don't suffer from weight issues. One day the lightbulb went off that I was giving them the wrong message: salads are for Mommy, fish sticks are for kids. We gradually switched to more protein, less carbs, 90-95% whole foods, and now they smile when someone refers to low-fat peanut butter as a healthy snack. My 9-yr old still asks for chicken tenders when we go out to eat and my 15-yr old gladly gobbles down pancakes with Nutella at her friends' houses, but I know they're in a much better place.

Some foods kids like to eat:
parsnip fries
carrot "noodles" (made with a spiralizer)
almond butter (I like Justin's Almond Butter squeeze packs)
frozen bananas
sweet potato hummus
sunflower seeds
turkey or chicken chunks wrapped in cheese
Nutiva coconut manna (yum!)
venison meatballs

SparkPoints: (29,405)
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Posts: 1,373
9/18/12 10:39 A

Welcome!
You will find a lot of information if you review various threads, or feel free to ask a question or two! I promise that it will not be me directly answering many at this time as I am fairly new at this, but have found the group very supportive and informative.
I started a 30 day trial, but was so sabotaged by life that I gave up for a few weeks with ample notice to my daughter who was my main nemisis in this that after Labor Day I was going all in.
While I was experimenting I felt better. I couldn't really tell you how or why until after I took the break, when various things came back with a vengence! I can now tell you that my joints don't ache, I am able to kneel again, I have more energy and less cravings. Oh - I have lost weight too! But the biggest bonus is that my duaghter has realized that "this" is working for me and is no longer upset at what I will not eat, and even has talked about modifying some of the favorites so that I can have them.

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9/18/12 10:31 A

Hey Beth,

Welcome to the team. There are lots of supportive people here with some diverse experience, so feel free to continuing asking questions - also share your experiences as we are all learning from one another.

While you are considering a nutritional plan, I would encourage you to look into not only Paleo, but Primal as well. I won't go into all the differences here, they are somewhat subtle, but can influence results as well as sustainability.

As to your point about a 3 year old a) what better time to begin influencing them in healthful eating - lifelong patterns are developed before 7 years of age b) there are a number of people on this board and just generally who are doing it - my kids are older so I had different challenges, but it is doable.

The paragdigm that meat and eggs causes high cholesterol which in turn is a factor in heart disease is very pervasive and has been hammered home to us for years, both by health professionals and marketers. I still occasionally do a double-take when I am sauteeing my veggies in bacon fat.

I have posted links to a couple of articles below that point to the science behind why the cholesterol/fat/heart disease link is just not accurate.

www.marksdailyapple.com/the-straight-dope-
on-cholesterol-10-things-you-need-to-k
now-part-1/#axzz26pcghv1R

www.marksdailyapple.com/high-fat-diet-heal
thy-safe/#axzz26pcu8usO

If you stay on this board and read the daily posts you will see many people who have dramatically improved lipid profiles while enjoying a consistent diet of meat, eggs, coconut oil, avocados all filled with "deadly" saturated fat.

Weight loss is a peripheral benefit of Paleo/Primal. The real goal is health. Below are links to some additional web sites if you want to do you own research.

www.livinlavidalowcarb.com/

www.fathead-movie.com/

Edited by: EGALITAIRE at: 9/18/2012 (10:34)

SparkPoints: (40,485)
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9/18/12 10:13 A

Hi! I've been looking into the paleo diet for some time. Still not 100% on everything. Just seems quite hard to do with a 3 year old lol I'm also concerned because I have high cholesterol and eating tons of eggs and red meat just sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen! So I figured I would join the spark team and see what anyone else has to say about this. Maybe I can start up sooner than later!

I would also have a hard time giving up condiments....so any info would be great!

current weight: 151.0

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