[PatLib]

So, I have been eating a paleo diet lately but I recently watch Forks over Knives and I am thinking of going vegan but I don't really want start eating bread or any processed foods that I was able to avoid on the paleo diet.

Is it possible to be vegan paleo and be healthy? Any tips?

[TripSwitch]

If you do a google search for "vegan paleo" it turns up some good blog posts that you might find helpful...

I know there is sort of a whole "Paleo vs. "Vegan" thing out there in the blogosphere, but personally I've always thought that really strict "paleo" people have a lot more in common with "raw vegans" than many would like to admit...

[PatLib]

Thanks, I did do a search and found some good stuff but most of it seems to vegetarian-paleo which allows eggs.

I sort of want to be a bit more extreme this summer and "clean out" my system. I know there are vegan egg substitutes but those do have preservatives and I personally think they taste nasty.

I guess what I really need it some sort of guide, I don't want to be unhealthy and I just wish I could find a recipe book to help me out!

[TripSwitch]

I would suggest taking a look some raw vegan cookbooks... since for the most part all of the ingredients will be "paleo" friendly... and you could also try looking up gluten free and soy free vegan recipes maybe as well for some ideas... and as far as vegan protein sources that are "paleo" well... you're going to be pretty limited... Nuts and seeds... But I would think that you would have to supplement with some raw vegan protein powders that are paleo friendly, so no soy or whey... So maybe pea protein or hemp protein powders...

[nelie]

You don't have to eat bread or highly processed foods to be vegan but would you be open to legumes/grains? You could do raw vegan but I think a whole foods vegan diet is a bit more balanced.

[flea]

I'm a vegan - I'm not sure what paleo is. I'm cutting out wheat gluten this week and this is what I have found already:

Less bloating in my stomach
Skin is a little bit smoother
Not hungry as much

oh, and by the way, 4 lbs gone.

Eating vegan is really simple when you reconsider the foods you were raised with and stop trying to "substitute" them. Instead of saying "I'll eat scrambled egg substitute", why not try oven-baked tofu steaks over a bed of kale and quinoa? Instead of reaching for a "veggie burger", why not try something new, like low-cal, high-fibre soba noodles? Instead of trying to make meat-based meals into veggie-friendly ones, get creative and make something totally new!

If you have any questions, or need some resources, send me a line! I'm so happy to help with this, and I love trying new recipes!

[PatLib]

I already decided if I do this that I will definitely add legumes back into my diet. I would be particularly excited to eat lentils and chickpeas (hummus here I come) again! But I think I still would cut the grains out, they really are my downfall, I have no self-control when comes to them no matter what their form.

[PatLib]

@Flea

Paleo is the idea of eating a hunter-gather way of life so only things you could gather or hunt are acceptable. I was successful on it but while I like meat and do not have not moral issues with eating it, I just don't think people should be eating more than 3 times a week. Eating it at every meal is hard and quite frankly I think having a negative affect not just on our bodies but on the earth. My problem with Paleo is that they sort of ignore that fact that hunting was difficult and failure happened more often than not and when no meat was caught, man's meal was basically vegetables. Paleo would make more sense if meat was limited to a few meals a week not at every meal.


Anyways, I don't really want to eat tofu or noodles, when I do eat them I just eat too much of it. I still have control issue when it comes to food so I am trying to avoid having somethings in the house that I will get out of control with. Tofu, if one of them for me, I use to make tofu with homemade pesto for salads but I would eat the whole container! Tofu can be counterproductive for some of us!

But if you have any good vegan vegetable recipes I would love them particularly if they involve garlic!

[nelie]

You could also try gluten free grains, unless you don't think things like brown rice, millet, quinoa, amaranth, etc are something that you could really introduce in your diet. I eat grains but I don't eat a lot of them. I usually concentrate on beans and veggies.

I don't eat noodles mostly because I don't care for them but love bread and limit it. When I do eat it, I eat sprouted grain breads like Ezekiel/Alvarado street. Brown rice and quinoa are probably the most frequent grains in my diet(quinoa is considered a grain-like seed), and eat them as part of a meal with legumes and veggies.

[PatLib]

I think I might add quinoa maybe two or three times a week. I don't tend to gorge on it the way I would with rice but I personally want to avoid grains.

But I found a great gluten-free/vegan breakfast recipe if anyone is interested.

Apples ‘n Spice Breakfast Lentils

http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/breakfast-lentils

[Suzanne 3FC]

Oh that lentil recipe sounds good! I've been looking for ideas to incorporate lentils into breakfast and that sounds perfect

[PrincessKLS]

Well I saw that too after my sister mentioned it and her and her family are extremely plant-based now, almost raw. From my understanding if you look into the raw vegan diet, that's basically what it is. I can overcome eating red meat and pork, and I rarely eat chicken or fish. But my biggest issue is consuming lots of sugar, carbs, and dairy in large settings And for me, I don't know if jumping into a vegan or raw vegan diet would help me overcome that or not.