As the saying goes – “Variety is the spice of life.” If your diet consists of the same protein sources, vegetables and other foods day in and day out you will not only get bored; but may be missing out on important nutrients. Life is too short to eat only eggs, chicken, spinach and broccoli. Explore new options and try unconventional food choices for meals. If your breakfast is always eggs with spinach, try salmon with kale and mushrooms, or just heat up some leftovers from last night’s dinner. If you go through more chicken then the KFC down the street, you’re missing out on the nutrition benefits and awesome flavor of grass-fed or lean beef, bison, elk, etc. and wild-caught fish. There is a whole world of food out there waiting to be tried. Every time you go to the store choose a new vegetable to try. Don’t leave with just your usual eggs and chicken as protein sources. Throw caution to the wind and expand your horizons. Your body and taste buds will thank you! Here’s a quick comparison of three different breakfast options and the nutrients each offers. If you “want it all” – variety is definitely key!
“The Usual Suspects” “Let’s Get Wild” “The Re-Run”(leftovers)
4 Eggs 6 oz. Wild Caught Salmon 6 oz. Bison Burger (grass-fed)
4 Strips Bacon 1.5 cups Kale 2 cups Brussels Sprout
1.5 cups spinach 3/4 cup Mushrooms & Onions 1 T Olive Oil (on Sprouts)
1 T Coconut Oil (cooking) 1 T Coconut Oil ½ Avocado
|
“The Usual Suspects”
|
“Let’s Get Wild” |
“The Re-Run”(leftovers) |
|
| Calories |
664 |
601 |
697 |
| Protein (g)/(%) |
45 / 28% |
41 / 29% |
53 / 30% |
| Carbohydrate (g)/(%) |
4 / 2% |
24 g / 12% |
29 / 18% |
| Total Sugars (g) |
1 |
2.6 |
5.6 |
| Fiber (g) |
1 |
11 |
14 |
| Fat (g)/(%) |
51 / 70% |
40 / 59% |
43 / 52% |
| Saturated Fat (g) |
24.6 |
16 |
9.9 |
| Monounsaturated (g) |
16 |
14 |
25.3 |
| Polyunsaturated (g) |
7 |
7 |
3.9 |
| Cholesterol (mg) |
973 |
94 |
121 |
| Sodium (mg) |
1161 |
137 |
174 |
| Potassium (mg) |
786 |
2032 |
1088 |
| Vitamin A (IU) |
5592 |
15668 |
647 |
| Vitamin B1 (mg) |
0.281 |
0.615 |
0.304 |
| Vitamin B2 (mg) |
1.3 |
1.02 |
0.579 |
| Vitamin B3 (mg) |
4.2 |
17.28 |
11.88 |
| Vitamin B6 (mg) |
0.639 |
2.04 |
0.94 |
| Folate (mcg) |
206 |
165 |
109 |
| Vitamin B12 (mcg) |
2.65 |
5.4 |
4.15 |
| Vitamin C (mg) |
12.6 |
134 |
145 |
| Vitamin D (IU) |
220.2 |
101.97 |
0 |
| Vitamin E (mg) |
3.65 |
2.1 |
4.4 |
| Calcium (mg) |
189 |
199 |
86 |
| Phosphorus (mg) |
698 |
556 |
414 |
| Magnesium (mg) |
77 |
126 |
68 |
| Iron (mg) |
6 |
9.7 |
8 |
| Zinc (mg) |
4.6 |
3.25 |
9.7 |
I love it! One of my favorite dishes to ever try was scrambled eggs with kimchi. You get the benefits of the fermentation of the kimchi, with the awesomeness that is the eggs.
That being said, sometimes it’s better to stick to a boring routine until you get everything dialed in, then start experimenting a bit. That is what helped me stay Paleo/Primal in the beginning.
I totally agree with keeping it simple in the beginning. When I was transitioning I relied pretty heavily on dairy, (I used raw organic grass-fed milk at least). At first I had a protein shake (with milk) for at least two of my three meals a day. I’m not saying it was the smartest way to ease into paleo, but it kept it simple so I could get off of grains. Now I enjoy dairy on a rare occasion.
I would love to add some variety in. This is my wife’s main complaint(yeah, I’m the cook in the house), I make the same thing all the time and it’s boring. The problem is having limited time(work gets in the way of life) and having a limited budget. It’s just really easy to throw some stew meat in the crockpot with a bunch of vegetable and I’ll have my food for the next couple of days. I see her point though, and i don’t want her falling off the paleo wagon, so I’m trying to mix it up a bit.
Variety can be as easy as just changing up the meat and veggies that you’re throwing in the crockpot. My new favourite thing is pulled-pork, with bagged broccoli slaw. After it’s good and dead (mmm…), the veggies just melt into it and it’s even less effort than stew.
Also, once a week cooking is God.
Exactly! Variety can be VERY simple. It doesn’t mean elaborate new recipes everyday! And I completely agree – once a week cooking is the only way!! 🙂
nice, good info. cant wait to implement this into my routine.
Great article…unless your deployed to Iraq :(…
Anyone want to send a live Bison care package?
Robb, your PODCASTS are enough to “Spice” us up through deployment!
Thanks for all you do!
I wish I could say ‘it’s in the mail’! As soon as you get back to the states I’ll cook up some bison for you 😉 And THANK YOU for serving our country!
You can never have too much Robb Wolf spice! Keep listening!
The “Let’s Get Wild” suggestion works great with canned salmon! Costco’s Wild Sockeye canned salmon isn’t fishy at all and comes in 6 oz servings, pre-cooked. I like to give it a light pan fry, but it also works well in a kale salad in the mornings or for lunch.
Trader Joes also has great wild canned salmon and tuna, both with no added salt. They are awesome for when you’re in a pinch for some quick protein!
The theorey is sound, but in my situation, it’s probably impossible. Of the twelve ingrediants listed above, I have a working acquaintence with three of them. The rest are so exotic and totally beyond my culinary experience.
I’m a 72 yo divorcee and was raised in the mid-west by a mother who could care less about cooking. Dinner usually was a meat with potatos and a vegetable from a can. In those days, as a Catholic household, fish was mandatory on Fridays. I’ve detested seafood ever since and the only “seafood” that passes my lips today is a McDonalds Filet-O-Fish sandwich.
An exmple of the problem is I don’t have a clue what to do with an avocado. I’ve seen them in stores but they’re too expensive to conduct tasting experiments.
I’d appreciate suggestions, but be aware, I have no circle of friends or family to share experiments.
Jon,
It doesn’t have to be exoctic! Do you have access to beef, chicken, turkey, pork, and eggs? How about bags of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, etc., and bags of pre-washed salad greens? Avocado – it’s good on salads, eaten plain, as a dip. You don’t have to do avocado though – try coconut oil, olive oil, unsweetened coconut, coconut milk, olives… There is not a great deal of ‘culinary experience’ needed – just simply prepared real and whole foods. You can do it!!
Hi Amy—
Your second sentence sound just like me. I have eggs and a meat such as bacon, sausage, pork roll, etc, every morning for breakfast. Lunch is a deli ham, turkey or roast beef sandwich on sprouted wheat bread with half a tablespoon of Smart Balance Omega Plus light mayo. For dinner I rotate between steak, pork chops, chicken breast/tenders and ham steak on my small George Foreman grill, usually three-four ounce portions, along with about a three ounce portion of brussel sprouts, broccoli, or cauliflower prepared in a microwave steamer. It hasn’t varied much from this for about a year.
The major problem in trying to introduce more variety is modern packaging standards. It’s all bulked up to serve big families. As a single senior I don’t want to buy a pound of carrots just to get the one or two I might be able to consume before the rest bad. I can’t say how many times I’ve bought something only to find 3/4ths of it rotting in the back of the regrigerator.
I do use olive oil and I’ve checked out coconut oil. The small quantity I finally able to locate sells for $9, and it freaked me out to find it’s solid.
Jon,
Are you looking to go completely Paleo? I ask because I see you mention bread and mayo in your lunch meal. As for the packaging – for carrots it’s easy – just pick up the small bags of baby carrots! For other produce, have you tried going to the grocery store salad bar and filling a container with vegetables to use at home? This would be a great way to control the quantity and it’s all pre-cut and ready to go for you! Also, many vegetables can be frozen for later use if you are unable to eat them fast enough. I have bought large bags of spinach and frozen some to be used in cooking at other times. Zucchini is another great example – just cut it into recipe size chunks and pull it out for cooking! Coconut oil is only solid until you heat it up! It’s like butter – it will melt when you cook!
Amy—
I’m on my way to complete paleo. I just picked up Davis’s “Wheat Belly” at the library. Terrific book! I’m a convert. I only have a couple of slices of sprouted wheat bread left and when it’s gone I’ll have to figure out a different lunch scenario. How do you change decades of habit?
I like your idea about the salad bar and I do make a big salad for dinner occassionally for variety. What is found at the typical grocery store salad bar are all the usual things I eat anyway, and from the grocer’s standpoint, the things that sell. Never the more exotic stuff.
It never occurred to me that fresh vegetables could be frozen. I’m long accustomed to freezing beef and chicken, but never vegetables. I’ll have to look into it.
Awesome Jon! You are really taking some big steps and you’re going to feel so good! Keep up the positive changes and you’ll get there! For lunch try wrapping your sandwich meat in large lettuce leaves and throw some slices of avocado, peppers, tomato, carrot, etc. in them too! Or just wrap some avocado and veggies in the sliced meat and make a ‘meat roll-up’! 🙂
Jon, I taught myself to cook after college. I used cookbooks, searching for things on youtube (how to mince garlic), watching the food network, etc. A little ingenuity and initiative goes a long way. TRY things. Grab an avocado, search “how to slice an avocado” on the internet, and do that. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Taste it. Do the same with other fresh, whole ingredients. Try adding garlic or onion. Drizzle with olive oil. Just try some things. It’s not so high stakes. You’re not going to bring down your entire house with one bad avocado experiment, trust me. 🙂
Hi Amber—
We’re on the same wave length. I recently signed up for a four session “Cooking For Singles” class at the local community college starting 05 October. Maybe I’ll be introduced to some of these things.
It’s frustrating to go to local farmers markets in my area (Baltimore) and not really recognizing half the things I see, let alone having any knowledge of how to prepare the stuff or how it’s even used/served etc.
Childhood memories make vegetables like eggplant, squash, zukini (sp?)repulsive. I have never gotten my mind to accept the thought of actually eating something called “eggplant”.
I recall going to uncle’s farm in the late 40’s when I was about seven or eight. He said we had to go the barn to get some chicken for dinner. I thought it funny watching him chase the hen only to see him take it to a chopping block and decapitate the thing. I didn’t eat chicken again until I was in the Army, and it was eat it or starve.
Maybe I need to find a mess hall somewhere.
Jon,for lunch lots of days, I just wrap slices of baked ham, turkey or roast beef around a thin slice of horseradish cheese (or no cheese) and a slice of bacon, and eat it like that. No bread.
I do keep hard-boiled eggs and already-cooked bacon in the fridge. My husband cooks about a pound for me at a time,and I have no problem finishing it before it goes bad. it is really easy to reheat bacon as you scramble eggs, I even like it cold as a snack.
When I have an avocado, I often wait until a relative or friend comes over and share it. One time I cut part of it off and left the other half unpeeled, because it turns brown if it isn’t eaten pretty soon.
I think you have a great idea to take a few lessons, and this online community is wonderful!
Maryanne