PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

So that stands for something like Particularly Prompt Paleo Preparation Prevents Peter's Peculiarly Piss Poor Paleo Performance or something like that. This post is about is how I've prepared.

So Barney's inspiring talk on his impressive pizza and curry eating prowess was yesterday and we were all given our PlanP booklets with our meal plans in. In a nutshell we'll be eating meat, fish, veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds.

Now to be clear about how I'm starting I took it upon myself to cut back on bread, rice and pasta a couple of months back and have been pretty good about sticking to that, at least at home. I am not good at sticking to it either at work or when I'm out and although 80/20 good/bad is the eventual aim I'm probably closer to 60/40. This month though I will be 100!

Meat

I will be sourcing most of my meat from Westdene Butchers but they're not open on a Sunday and they do not offer a gluten free sausage, at least when I was in there last. This morning I made a trip to Middle Farm as they ARE open on a Sunday. I'm pretty happy with everything I picked up there but I'm not 100% sure what the deal with a gluten free sausage is. Will the substituted ingredients be just as bad? Maybe I'l keep the sausages for emergencies or something.

I also noticed that there was salt involved in the curing of their bacon (salt is not paleo) but if there's one thing I can let slide it's a little salt. I do mean a little though. Salt in food will be the exception and even then I expect it low down on the list of ingredients.

Anyhow I have purchased a sirloin steak, some pork loin chops, some bacon, some chicken breasts, some gluten free sausages and a whole lot of steak mince, the last of which I have separated into packs of about 600g and frozen all but one.

Fish


If you didn't know, there is a great fishmonger just round the corner from the box simply called Fish! Now one of the things I have read about recently is Omega 3 and Omega 6 intake. There is a lot of discussion on the topic and most agree that Omega 3 is usually lacking in the average diet. Oily fish is one of the best natural sources of Omega 3 without being too high in Omega 6.

Why is Omega 6 a problem? It's true both are called essential fatty acids and that's because the body needs both and does not produce either but there must be a balance. Too much Omega 6 negates the positive effects of the Omega 3.

Good paleo foods that have a high Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio are fish, such as salmon, herring and mackerel, coconut oil, macademia nuts and flax seeds/flax seed oil (called Linseed in this country). The thing about all of these is that they are expensive so I will also be taking a fish oil supplement. Here is the fresh fish I have bought, of which I will try to have at least one decent portion a week (those Salmon steaks are deceptively huge!).

Mackerels at the front, salmon at the back

You'll notice a sneaky dressing in the corner there. I read the back of every bottle they had and this was the only one that fit paleo (mostly).

Salt I know but I will be using it sparingly

There is one non approved ingredient there at the bottom, salt, but I don't plan on using this too much.

Fresh Fruits and Veggies


A big shout out here to Abel and Cole who's website has really impressed me. A few clicks and I'd removed my usual dairy order and upgraded the size of my veggie box to make sure I had enough for a veggie heavy weekly diet. I've also got some 100% tomato puree from them and chucked in some fresh lemons and garlic for dressing and flavouring. Their box always includes potatoes but by putting it down as a 'dislike' I'll get a substitute veggie each week. Very quick and very easy to do and it comes to my door. Superb!

Here's the first delivery packed into the fridge.

Snacks

This time I've used a company called Healthy Supplies to have all my snack foods delivered (God am I lazy?!). Their website gave lots of information on ingredients that some others omit. Barney warned me that sometimes dried fruit is sprayed with sugar. I checked what I'd got and this stuff was all additive free. Phew!

It was expensive but I plan to recoup the money this month by not drinking alcohol! Here's what they sent me.

Fruit and nuts for convenient snacks.

There are a couple of sneaky extras in there. The honey is Paynes Farm honey from a local shop that I bought in passing and the Almonds are from the ethnic foods section in Tesco (Burgess Hill is the only place I've found them). I also have a pack of Linseeds (also from Tesco) that I forgot to add to the photo. I'm planning some kind of nut/fruit/seed mix with a vanilla, honey and nut butter 'sauce' for when I get the cravings for something sweet.

Well that covers the foods. Each week I'll restock on veggies and meats but the rest of it should see me through the month as I have very much bought in bulk.

I have to attempt to go fillet some fish for the first time in my life now so wish me luck. The challenge diary starts tomorrow!