[moose]

Hi all,

This might be thread-hijacking (apologies if it is - mods: can you move it?), but I wondered if anyone would like to share their experiences of 'going paleo' in a family setting?
For example, is it possible/easy to make a change like this when you have other family members to consider.

I've got 3 boys and a missus sharing meals with me - and our mealtimes are getting silly.
- Missus is virtually veggie, the rest of aren't (she's a runner - favours high carbs, low fat).
- The kids eat good stuff, but lots of rice/pasta/spuds.
- I'm trying to eat cleaner, but struggling to get the Pro:CHO:fat balance right (not enough Pro, too much CHO).
There are often 3 different meals being cooked in our house some nights. Crazy!!
We've tried going down the "make loads in one hit and freeze it" route - it just wasn't all that practical (well, it works for me - just not anyone else! ).

One meal to rule them all would benefit everyone.
Anyone been here before that has found the happy medium??

PS we get through gallons of milk - full fat/skimmed and everything in between!

[greg]

kids should be ok if they are running around etc.

convert wife to carnivorism? my aunt used to be a veggie, but realised it was only because my grandmother was a terrible cook.

i guess you could cook a generic veg based meal, (eg roasted veg), and then cook meat separately to go with it, and a small side of carbs of kids. you can added stuff like oil to your own plate

[Matt M]

moose, on Jan 11 2010, 05:04 PM, said:

Hi all,

This might be thread-hijacking (apologies if it is - mods: can you move it?), but I wondered if anyone would like to share their experiences of 'going paleo' in a family setting?
For example, is it possible/easy to make a change like this when you have other family members to consider.

I've got 3 boys and a missus sharing meals with me - and our mealtimes are getting silly.
- Missus is virtually veggie, the rest of aren't (she's a runner - favours high carbs, low fat).
- The kids eat good stuff, but lots of rice/pasta/spuds.
- I'm trying to eat cleaner, but struggling to get the Pro:CHO:fat balance right (not enough Pro, too much CHO).
There are often 3 different meals being cooked in our house some nights. Crazy!!
We've tried going down the "make loads in one hit and freeze it" route - it just wasn't all that practical (well, it works for me - just not anyone else! ).

One meal to rule them all would benefit everyone.
Anyone been here before that has found the happy medium??

PS we get through gallons of milk - full fat/skimmed and everything in between!

Hi Moose,

I have a little boy / misses and I'm following Paleo. To be honest, you just have to accept that you'll eat different meals unless you all want to go Paleo. Having said that, most meals share common things (meat, veg, etc) so there's no reason you can't cook up a joint on a weekend and load up on meat and veg and just skip the potatoes. Similarly, eggs and bacon is a good breakfast for everyone. Burger night? Make your own with good beef mince, skip the bun, chuck in some pan fried asparagus and a side of cooked red onions.

If you have a hectic house, then I wouldn't get too bogged down in the science. Just eat clean: favour protein and good fats, skimp on carbs, bin processed meals / carbs. Ditch bread and other starchy carbs.

It only takes a few days to form new habits, so hang in there.

[moose]

Matt M, on Jan 12 2010, 11:02 AM, said:

Similarly, eggs and bacon is a good breakfast for everyone.

Nice one!
I have been known to cook up some bacon the night before, ready for the next morning (short on time!).
And we do the egg thing most weekends now (when there's time), but I've taken to hiding the bacon... - it's unbelievable the amount of eggs and bacon my boys alone get through in one hit!!
Last time was 3 packs of bacon and 10 eggs, and that was their 2nd breakfast!!
"Almost-veggie" missus also partakes of the bacon (i.e. steals it)...
How bad is all the salt in the bacon though??

Matt M, on Jan 12 2010, 11:02 AM, said:

Burger night?

Another good call - it's ages since I've done this - the boys love 'Moose' burgers (no mooses are harmed in the making etc...)...and once again, "pretend-veggie" missus has been known to tuck in too (and she nicked my chicken for today's lunch out of the fridge yesterday - what kind of veggie is she??!!)

I can't believe I forget this stuff!!!! I'm getting old - Thanks for jogging my memory

I think I know what'll be a-cooking tonight... now, where's the chilli?

Cheers Matt!

[moose]

greg, on Jan 11 2010, 05:31 PM, said:

convert wife to carnivorism?

Ha ha, highly amusing! See my last post!!

greg, on Jan 11 2010, 05:31 PM, said:

my aunt used to be a veggie, but realised it was only because my grandmother was a terrible cook.

Even funnier! Reminds me of my gran - could only make soup & strawberry jam (not together, of course )!!

greg, on Jan 11 2010, 05:31 PM, said:

i guess you could cook a generic veg based meal, (eg roasted veg), and then cook meat separately to go with it, and a small side of carbs of kids. you can added stuff like oil to your own plate.

Good tip - and that's exactly what I did last night.
Skipped the leftover macaroni cheese the kids had - took the leftover veg (there was a good pile of it too!) and quickly cooked some chook to go with it.

This type of thing is clearly pretty obvious to a lot of you out there, and it may be staring me in the face - but I'm really thick when it comes to this sort of thing (many years of practice, eating any old thing) - keep the advice coming - it's much appreciated!

[Gubernatrix]

I live with my mum at the moment and we generally have separate meals although we sometimes share vegetables.

When I was younger my dad had different meals from the rest of us because he was trying to lose weight. After a while it just becomes 'what you do' as a family and you forget there's anything odd about it.

[Franz29]

We are the same; I eat Paleo, the wife is veggie and, when he is with us, my son eats whatever (but more paleo than not if I cook). It just becomes routine that the meals are different and you learn to adapt. I even eat at different times to the wife, as she is a "3 meals a day" person and I eat 6 so they rarely overlap. We just try to find other times to talk and discuss the day, not over dinner (which in the average household doesn't happen anyway these days - people eat in front of the TV!).

[FK Pimp]

As others have said it's just about thinking a bit more about it and forming some good habits.
Get breakfast sorted first and foremost, get up a bit earlier and sort what you view as a perfect breaky. As you do it more you'll find it is just part of the morning routine.

As for eggs - find a local source. I get 30 per week from a local farm shop.

[moose]

Thanks everyone!
You really are all very polite - I never knew how many nice ways there were to say - get your ar*e in gear and just get on with it!!


Regardless:
Eggs and bacon for the morning are quite literally cooking as I type.
(Sorry Pimp - I get up at 5.30 already, no way I'm doing any earlier - but the intent is the same - getting breakfast sorted - this works for me ! Cheers).

I'm looking forward to this...

[Franz29]

Strangely, I have got used to steak mince with egg white and onions for breakfast and eggs and bacon before bed.......

[Matt M]

Franz, that sounds quite nice actually.

Once you get past "breakfast, lunch and dinner" you're almost there. Breakfast doesn't have to be a bowl of processed carbs and sugar likewise dinner doesn't have to be pork chops and chips. Make it random, makes it more fun.

[moose]

This is fun![/b]

Half a pack of bacon for brekkie. Chicken/cheese for lunch. Smatterings of fruit throughout.
So far so good.

Got home from work early so I started to play...

...and "invented" my very own "[b]mooseloaf" - huge pile of lean steak mince & beans 'n' stuff. It's in the oven right now - houlde be ready about 7. Will let you know if it's edible...
Everyone else wanted beans on toast ( ) - so no riots on the food front tonight!

[mrbourgot]

Blog from a lady in a similar situation. Some good recipes also

http://everydaypaleo.com/

[moose]

moose, on 13 January 2010 - 06:01 PM, said:

mooseloaf

Update - Mooseloaf totally destroyed by entire family. Great success!!

[moose]

mrbourgot, on 18 January 2010 - 09:52 AM, said:

Blog from a lady in a similar situation. Some good recipes also
http://everydaypaleo.com/

Thanks for the link MrB.
Looks like good practical stuff!