I hope they were homemade fries, and not something done in a suspect vegetable or seed oil! You're welcome. Just standing on the shoulders of many smarter folks.
I myself don´t eat them as I need to lose weight. But my son who is 3 is doing much much much better SINCE I reintroduced white potatoes. He had hardly any energy before so it seems that he needs the energy they provide. I will never understand why potatoes are being made into the evil food yet we eat all other starchy tubers? I just limit them for weightloss but if i´d be my perfect weight then I would certainly have them from time to time..
Thats great to hear he's doing better with the starch in his diet! I can understand why potatoes are a fringe food for us (consider how they're largely represented in the SAD - instant mashed potato flakes, McDonald's fries, and Friday's loaded potato skins... ugh!) I think people smart enough to follow an ancestral diet are ALSO smart enough to incorporate them in a logical context. :)
I absolutely loved this post. Thank you so very much for weighing in on this issue! It is very reflective of how I feel about the lifestyle in terms of "ancestral", etc. Nerding out for a minute: as an analyst by trade, I appreciate the depth of discussion, research, and quality of writing for this post. :) That being said, I do have a question: I have a one year old who has been eating all organic, local, and Paleo since the day I started him on solids. He is a solid, intelligent, energetic kiddo, and before anyone panics, his pediatrician ran tests and backs his "diet" 100%. He eats (and loves) a ton of sweet potatoes, but besides that has entered a veggie rejecting phase. I've begun hiding them in meatballs and cooking them in a little bacon fat which seems to be peaking his interest, but have wondered about introducing him to white potatoes. I personally do not consume them as I have yet to reach my final goal (86 pounds healthier since I had him, thanks to changing to this lifestyle!) Should I treat them with care, and introduce them to him slowly to see how he reacts?
I would say intro white potatoes to him and see what he does. I have had to give my kids (3 and 1) at least 10-15 tries of foods they had previously rejected before they would eat them - OK, not the 1 year old, she eats anything I put in front of her, including crayons and sneakers. But I find my kids do well on white and sweet potatoes in addition to eggs, meats, and broccoli. I also feed them green peas with grassfed butter or bacon grease. Oven-baked French fries of the white or sweet variety are a current favorite, as are hashes made of grated potato and bacon or ham, leftover hamburger or sausage meat, and some red peppers.
Small bodies need energy like ours do not. I would recommend you do an n=1 with your child and determine those things to which he best responds. If white potatoes or other starchy veg do not bother him, then keep feeding. Once growth spurts stop, their appetite naturally decreases and they refuse food until they are ready to grow again, and eat accordingly. I thought on many occasions that my 3-year old was going to starve because she barely ate anything for weeks on end, and then suddenly she would feed every 2-3 hours like the world was ending. Pay attention to the cycles and feed accordingly. If you keep the food "real" and don't allow junk to hold sway, you've more than won the battle.
For me, I feel that focusing on the paleo-ness or un-paleo-ness of a particular food or ingredient misses the point. The big picture is that we should be eating primarily non-starchy veggies and animal protein. Potatoes are fine in moderation if they fit your macros but should not be a substitute for your meat and veggies. Something can be "paleo friendly" but that doesn't necessarily mean that you should eat it with reckless abandon.
Absolutely, 100% agree with your sentiment here, Erica. I wanted to be very careful in crafting this post not to make it "Pro potato" - but more a resource for people on the fence. I hope everyone reads your last comment, because it's spot on.
Paleo or not, I avoid potatoes like the plague because they do a real number on my blood sugar. I've been in very tight control for a while now, and tried a bit of sweet potato the other night. My numbers spiked over 200 and stayed high for several hours. I won't be doing that again.
We are not diabetic but also do not do well with the higher carb foods. We occasionally have fries but then I fry them in lard as heated oils do weird stuff to us too. I have considered also that maybe the extra B vitamins in the lard (homemade, no preservatives) counter something also since of course there are no B vitamins in fruit/vegetable oils. Strange but true. This is a treat though... maybe a couple of times a month.
And just because I know that many people would think I'm fat, I'm not. I'm 5'4", 125-135lb (depending on the amount of muscle I'm carrying - of course, more muscle, more weight but smaller size). My kids are also on the smaller side.
I did get fat at one time in my life, when I was eating a lot of grain and dairy... not really watching all the different sugars I was ingesting.
great post. ive recently started to incorporate more white potato into my diet. i have been eating a paleo/ancestral diet for about a year and a half, lost 40 pounds, and stalled out. i have another 30 pounds that i would like to lose, but have not budged for just under a year now. after reading "perfect health diet", i decided to do paleo, but to change my macros around so that im getting about 30% of calories from starch (and about 50% from fat and about 20% from protein). i was overdoing it on the sweet potatoes, getting bored, and concerned about the higher fructose content, so switching it up with white potatoes and even having the occasional rice noodles in my soup helped a lot. i have to say, i feel amazing. ive lost the weight gained over the holidays and my mood has improved immensely compared to when i was eating LC/VLC. im also getting less frequent and less intense cravings for alcohol and sugar. ill eat white potatoes a couple times a week- i like them sliced thin and added with spinach, mushrooms and bacon to a fritatta, or roasted with some duck fat. ancestral eating has no predetermined macronutrient ratios, and i have found that playing with those numbers within the paleo paradigm yields big changes.
While I avoid potatoes because of the blood sugar bump I get, my spouse can eat them, but I only buy the organic small red potatoes that have the lowest carb impact. And, of course, it is an occasional treat, like lots of other foods that might be paleo, but not wise for people watching their calories and carbs.
Paleo dieters are VERY opinionated, you already know that! But you have to do what is right for you, and experimenting is part of the process. I noticed a lot of potatoes in your photos too, but different ppl burn things differently have different levels of activity. Its good to know at some point I could add them back maybe. Potato, potato, tomato, tomato...
I'm trying to lose weight but I know when I get down to my appropriate weight, I will still have to stay away from potatoes. My body has never responded well to starchy foods and they cause me to be extremely sluggish. My husband, however; has lost a ton of weight since we started Paleo and he didn't really have much to lose. I think I am going to start buying potatoes for him again. He looks too thin now and needs to gain about 20lbs.
I agree with you that ancestral eating is not a one-size fits all way of living. We all come from different backgrounds with different genetic makeup. It is important to know your body and what fuels it in a positive way.
This is a very worthwhile post. I am so glad I saw the phrase, "my personal interpretation of paleo" since that is exactly what paleo should be! Paleo is not a "diet"; paleo is a diet - it's what we eat underpinned by the reasons that we eat that way. Ancestral eating takes us so far, but the science behind why we've eaten that way for hundreds of thousands of years is what make paleo what it is: a template.
Chris Kressler is very sound on this, and I recall reading something on his blog that I liked: "it is better to eat the wrong food with the right attitude than the other way around". That said, Chris has always maintained that paleo is a template, not a doctrine. Heck! We're not vegans!
The key thing with carbohydrate, as with all paleo food, is to pick the better quality. Starches are the better carbs; fructose and grain the poor ones. Keeping starch intake below the requirement for glycogenesis is the key, and one which the Jaminets are keen to impress upon people who see their 'Perfect Health Diet' as a higher carb version of paleo - it is not.
Potatoes are with us. Understanding their uses, understanding their downfalls (like solanine in the skins, although they're the really tasty bit) and understanding how they fit into our diets is really important.
Again, this is a really useful post.
What's next, guys? Some white rice? :wink:
While we're on potatoes, and you guys are considering them, please get a hold of some proper dripping and deep fry some chips (that's fries), but make them "fat fries" like we Brits do. You'll love 'em! Skinny chips, or pommes frites, (that's "your" fries) in duck fat for the proper European frites.
First of all, thanks for always having very kind, thoughtful comments on our blog. We always look forward to hearing what you have to say! :)
It's funny you mention Chris Kresser. I was taking running notes below the post as I wrote it and noted which of "the big guys" in our part of the world readily admit to eating potatoes. I wasn't sure if Chris did or not, but there is a whole slew of others who are on board with them. As you point out, they're a better carb source than fructose-laden fruits. Steven Guyenet, Kurt Harris, Richard Nikoley (to name a few).
Is white rice next? Truthfully neither of us are consuming it with any regularity. I've had white rice once in the last year, and that was with some sushi about a month ago. It was a welcome change, and I felt no worse for the wear afterward fortunately. I will do some more digging, but what I really like about potatoes that I do not like about rice is that potatoes are very clearly a food source. I'm not sure if I personally saw a rice plant I would "know" without a doubt it was something I could eat. In addition to all that, I read Andrew Badenoch's article on potatoes and rice (the link is at the bottom of our post), and he provides some pretty substantial research that condemns it. It's definitely worth a read, though a lot of it was over my head.
My own personal splurge as of late is boiling the peeled potatoes, mashing them with a little grass fed butter, forming them into little cakes, and then frying them in bacon fat. It's out of this world, my friend. Fries (US version) done in duck fat would be divine, I'm sure. I think that might call for some truffle salt as well. My gears are turning on that one.
Talk soon Paul - thanks for the thoughtful comments, as always! -Bill
To take your latest splurge to the next level, Bill, just mix with some cabbage for another British favourite - Bubble & Squeak! I made a "posh" version with leftover Aligot and Cavolo Nero! You can google those for the detail ... http://livingintheiceage.pjgh.co.uk/2011/12/posh-bubble-squeak.html
of course, the real treat in the potato calendar is Jersey Royal season - late April, early May for about a month of production only: http://www.jerseyroyals.co.uk/about-jersey-royals.aspx - lightly scrubbed, boiled and served with loads of pastured salted butter, what a treat! The flavour is like no potato you've tasted, or will taste!
Just prior to paleo, I went through a phase heavily inspired by a Baltic cruise and passed through my own delicate, but still masculine, culinary touch. I frequently made three courses - a sour starter with pickled, a salty soup and then a main with fish, or meat and few vegetables. One potato, three slices of carrot, that kind of thing. We really enjoyed that period and it did show that a single potato in a three course meal was quite sufficient - the rest of the food was actually ... quite straight down the line paleo.
I hear you about the identifiable food sources. People would dig up roots and try to eat them. I'm not sure I'd know rice out in the field either, but that's the rice I wouldn't eat - all husk and gastro-intestinal scraping! White rice is processed food, but mechanically removing the husk is one thing, processing with lab ingredients is quite another. It's prepared, rather than processed.
I'm still making my mind up on rice - it does seem to bloat me, but doesn't give me heartburn. I tend to eat it only maybe a couple of meals a month when enjoying a restaurant curry with friends and the alternative would be flat breads or a fork and scorn!
Take care, guys ... keep up the great posts. This no sugar thing has turned out to be a real adventure.
Thanks for the shout out. Yea, I don't make either white or sweets a dietary mainstay by any means, but a few, here and there simply helps to round out some meals and having generally great meals helps keep you on track.
No problem - I was happy to find your posts to mull over and reference. I especially appreciated your part II post - it really helped me tie all my thoughts together last night as I was wrapping things up. I'm with you on the big picture thing. I like the idea of adding in potatoes and sweet potatoes on a limited basis for some variety. More variety probably translates into more people getting on board (and staying on board).
Looking forward to your review of MIP.... just skip the recipe on page 56! Ha :) See you in Austin, Bill (and Hayley)
I can see why people avoid potatoes if they are trying to lose weight/control blood sugar (though I know plenty of people who lose weight fine on a higher carb level), but the argument "Grok didn't eat potatoes" has always struck me as silly. Grok didn't eat almond butter, coconut oil, most modern fruit, or coconut flour pancakes either. And I highly doubt you got ground beef unless you were a baby Grokling and your mom was chewing it up for you.
I spent my teenage years in Bolivia with my father traveling to the country trying to introduce the populace to renewable agriculture.
Potatoes in the US are NOT the only potatoes in South America. If you go to any market there you will encounter several different kinds of potatoes with different colors, sizes, tastes,and markings. There are different modes of preparing these different potatoes as well. Many markets carry the foot stomped, freeze dried kind. I've eaten the kind which are simply cooked in a pit of llama dung (then skinned). (I've also eaten guinea pig [a native wild animal of South America] filleted and skinned, then ...apparently....smashed)
My point is that I wish the full contingent of potatoes were available in the US for consumption. They really do represent an entire grouping of food. The "poor" in Bolivia are very primitive farmers who won't turn their nose up to anything. They eat what they can get and (given availability) would be considered "paleo" participants.
I'm reasonably active, and I add some nice starchy yams or sweet potatoes round out most of my meals. They do wonders for soaking up fatty, residual meat juices :D
I LOVE potatoes so much, but am highly intolerant to them :( But, my husband is not, and also adores them, so I sent this his way. We've had this argument a few times...I think you guys have the right attitude about it. Thanks :)
Potatoes have just persisted as my one "can't live without" since going Paleo, and lucky me, they aren't an irritant to me. Sooo happy to read your article! Thank you!!
I know for myself, I can't eat them. I have PCOS and have to keep carbs to a minimum regardless of being Paleo or not. They wreak havoc on my blood sugar. Thanks for the info on the skins. I always thought the skin was the healthy part. Now I know to always peel when making them for my family. Love your blog! Thanks for your dedication to clean and healthy eating.
You know, I had a couple fries off my husband's plate the other night and realized that I now considered potatoes a once-in-a-blue-moon treat.
ReplyDeleteI can live with that. :)
Thanks for the thorough and informative post.
I hope they were homemade fries, and not something done in a suspect vegetable or seed oil!
DeleteYou're welcome. Just standing on the shoulders of many smarter folks.
I myself don´t eat them as I need to lose weight. But my son who is 3 is doing much much much better SINCE I reintroduced white potatoes. He had hardly any energy before so it seems that he needs the energy they provide.
ReplyDeleteI will never understand why potatoes are being made into the evil food yet we eat all other starchy tubers? I just limit them for weightloss but if i´d be my perfect weight then I would certainly have them from time to time..
Thats great to hear he's doing better with the starch in his diet! I can understand why potatoes are a fringe food for us (consider how they're largely represented in the SAD - instant mashed potato flakes, McDonald's fries, and Friday's loaded potato skins... ugh!) I think people smart enough to follow an ancestral diet are ALSO smart enough to incorporate them in a logical context. :)
DeleteI absolutely loved this post. Thank you so very much for weighing in on this issue! It is very reflective of how I feel about the lifestyle in terms of "ancestral", etc. Nerding out for a minute: as an analyst by trade, I appreciate the depth of discussion, research, and quality of writing for this post. :) That being said, I do have a question: I have a one year old who has been eating all organic, local, and Paleo since the day I started him on solids. He is a solid, intelligent, energetic kiddo, and before anyone panics, his pediatrician ran tests and backs his "diet" 100%. He eats (and loves) a ton of sweet potatoes, but besides that has entered a veggie rejecting phase. I've begun hiding them in meatballs and cooking them in a little bacon fat which seems to be peaking his interest, but have wondered about introducing him to white potatoes. I personally do not consume them as I have yet to reach my final goal (86 pounds healthier since I had him, thanks to changing to this lifestyle!) Should I treat them with care, and introduce them to him slowly to see how he reacts?
ReplyDeleteCebon,
DeleteI would say intro white potatoes to him and see what he does. I have had to give my kids (3 and 1) at least 10-15 tries of foods they had previously rejected before they would eat them - OK, not the 1 year old, she eats anything I put in front of her, including crayons and sneakers. But I find my kids do well on white and sweet potatoes in addition to eggs, meats, and broccoli. I also feed them green peas with grassfed butter or bacon grease. Oven-baked French fries of the white or sweet variety are a current favorite, as are hashes made of grated potato and bacon or ham, leftover hamburger or sausage meat, and some red peppers.
Small bodies need energy like ours do not. I would recommend you do an n=1 with your child and determine those things to which he best responds. If white potatoes or other starchy veg do not bother him, then keep feeding. Once growth spurts stop, their appetite naturally decreases and they refuse food until they are ready to grow again, and eat accordingly. I thought on many occasions that my 3-year old was going to starve because she barely ate anything for weeks on end, and then suddenly she would feed every 2-3 hours like the world was ending. Pay attention to the cycles and feed accordingly. If you keep the food "real" and don't allow junk to hold sway, you've more than won the battle.
For me, I feel that focusing on the paleo-ness or un-paleo-ness of a particular food or ingredient misses the point. The big picture is that we should be eating primarily non-starchy veggies and animal protein. Potatoes are fine in moderation if they fit your macros but should not be a substitute for your meat and veggies. Something can be "paleo friendly" but that doesn't necessarily mean that you should eat it with reckless abandon.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, 100% agree with your sentiment here, Erica. I wanted to be very careful in crafting this post not to make it "Pro potato" - but more a resource for people on the fence. I hope everyone reads your last comment, because it's spot on.
DeletePaleo or not, I avoid potatoes like the plague because they do a real number on my blood sugar. I've been in very tight control for a while now, and tried a bit of sweet potato the other night. My numbers spiked over 200 and stayed high for several hours. I won't be doing that again.
ReplyDeleteWe are not diabetic but also do not do well with the higher carb foods. We occasionally have fries but then I fry them in lard as heated oils do weird stuff to us too. I have considered also that maybe the extra B vitamins in the lard (homemade, no preservatives) counter something also since of course there are no B vitamins in fruit/vegetable oils. Strange but true. This is a treat though... maybe a couple of times a month.
DeleteAnd just because I know that many people would think I'm fat, I'm not. I'm 5'4", 125-135lb (depending on the amount of muscle I'm carrying - of course, more muscle, more weight but smaller size). My kids are also on the smaller side.
I did get fat at one time in my life, when I was eating a lot of grain and dairy... not really watching all the different sugars I was ingesting.
There's a good point there... Why are potatoes held up as the 'anti-paleo' tuber and no body says anything negative about other root veggies?
ReplyDeleteWhat makes the potato so different from sweet potatoes, carrots, rutabegas, turnips, parsnips, radishes, etc etc.?
For what it's worth, I currently follow the Perfect Health Diet (Paul and Shou-Ching Jaminet), which lists potatoes and white rice as "safe starches."
ReplyDeletehttp://perfecthealthdiet.com/?page_id=8
This is a great blog, glad to have found you!
great post. ive recently started to incorporate more white potato into my diet. i have been eating a paleo/ancestral diet for about a year and a half, lost 40 pounds, and stalled out. i have another 30 pounds that i would like to lose, but have not budged for just under a year now. after reading "perfect health diet", i decided to do paleo, but to change my macros around so that im getting about 30% of calories from starch (and about 50% from fat and about 20% from protein). i was overdoing it on the sweet potatoes, getting bored, and concerned about the higher fructose content, so switching it up with white potatoes and even having the occasional rice noodles in my soup helped a lot. i have to say, i feel amazing. ive lost the weight gained over the holidays and my mood has improved immensely compared to when i was eating LC/VLC. im also getting less frequent and less intense cravings for alcohol and sugar. ill eat white potatoes a couple times a week- i like them sliced thin and added with spinach, mushrooms and bacon to a fritatta, or roasted with some duck fat. ancestral eating has no predetermined macronutrient ratios, and i have found that playing with those numbers within the paleo paradigm yields big changes.
ReplyDeleteWhile I avoid potatoes because of the blood sugar bump I get, my spouse can eat them, but I only buy the organic small red potatoes that have the lowest carb impact. And, of course, it is an occasional treat, like lots of other foods that might be paleo, but not wise for people watching their calories and carbs.
ReplyDeleteYou gave a good synopsis of the issue!
Paleo dieters are VERY opinionated, you already know that! But you have to do what is right for you, and experimenting is part of the process. I noticed a lot of potatoes in your photos too, but different ppl burn things differently have different levels of activity. Its good to know at some point I could add them back maybe. Potato, potato, tomato, tomato...
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to lose weight but I know when I get down to my appropriate weight, I will still have to stay away from potatoes. My body has never responded well to starchy foods and they cause me to be extremely sluggish. My husband, however; has lost a ton of weight since we started Paleo and he didn't really have much to lose. I think I am going to start buying potatoes for him again. He looks too thin now and needs to gain about 20lbs.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that ancestral eating is not a one-size fits all way of living. We all come from different backgrounds with different genetic makeup. It is important to know your body and what fuels it in a positive way.
This is a very worthwhile post. I am so glad I saw the phrase, "my personal interpretation of paleo" since that is exactly what paleo should be! Paleo is not a "diet"; paleo is a diet - it's what we eat underpinned by the reasons that we eat that way. Ancestral eating takes us so far, but the science behind why we've eaten that way for hundreds of thousands of years is what make paleo what it is: a template.
ReplyDeleteChris Kressler is very sound on this, and I recall reading something on his blog that I liked: "it is better to eat the wrong food with the right attitude than the other way around". That said, Chris has always maintained that paleo is a template, not a doctrine. Heck! We're not vegans!
The key thing with carbohydrate, as with all paleo food, is to pick the better quality. Starches are the better carbs; fructose and grain the poor ones. Keeping starch intake below the requirement for glycogenesis is the key, and one which the Jaminets are keen to impress upon people who see their 'Perfect Health Diet' as a higher carb version of paleo - it is not.
Potatoes are with us. Understanding their uses, understanding their downfalls (like solanine in the skins, although they're the really tasty bit) and understanding how they fit into our diets is really important.
Again, this is a really useful post.
What's next, guys? Some white rice? :wink:
While we're on potatoes, and you guys are considering them, please get a hold of some proper dripping and deep fry some chips (that's fries), but make them "fat fries" like we Brits do. You'll love 'em! Skinny chips, or pommes frites, (that's "your" fries) in duck fat for the proper European frites.
Have fun ...
Hey Paul -
DeleteFirst of all, thanks for always having very kind, thoughtful comments on our blog. We always look forward to hearing what you have to say! :)
It's funny you mention Chris Kresser. I was taking running notes below the post as I wrote it and noted which of "the big guys" in our part of the world readily admit to eating potatoes. I wasn't sure if Chris did or not, but there is a whole slew of others who are on board with them. As you point out, they're a better carb source than fructose-laden fruits. Steven Guyenet, Kurt Harris, Richard Nikoley (to name a few).
Is white rice next? Truthfully neither of us are consuming it with any regularity. I've had white rice once in the last year, and that was with some sushi about a month ago. It was a welcome change, and I felt no worse for the wear afterward fortunately. I will do some more digging, but what I really like about potatoes that I do not like about rice is that potatoes are very clearly a food source. I'm not sure if I personally saw a rice plant I would "know" without a doubt it was something I could eat. In addition to all that, I read Andrew Badenoch's article on potatoes and rice (the link is at the bottom of our post), and he provides some pretty substantial research that condemns it. It's definitely worth a read, though a lot of it was over my head.
My own personal splurge as of late is boiling the peeled potatoes, mashing them with a little grass fed butter, forming them into little cakes, and then frying them in bacon fat. It's out of this world, my friend. Fries (US version) done in duck fat would be divine, I'm sure. I think that might call for some truffle salt as well. My gears are turning on that one.
Talk soon Paul - thanks for the thoughtful comments, as always!
-Bill
To take your latest splurge to the next level, Bill, just mix with some cabbage for another British favourite - Bubble & Squeak! I made a "posh" version with leftover Aligot and Cavolo Nero! You can google those for the detail ... http://livingintheiceage.pjgh.co.uk/2011/12/posh-bubble-squeak.html
ReplyDeleteof course, the real treat in the potato calendar is Jersey Royal season - late April, early May for about a month of production only: http://www.jerseyroyals.co.uk/about-jersey-royals.aspx - lightly scrubbed, boiled and served with loads of pastured salted butter, what a treat! The flavour is like no potato you've tasted, or will taste!
Just prior to paleo, I went through a phase heavily inspired by a Baltic cruise and passed through my own delicate, but still masculine, culinary touch. I frequently made three courses - a sour starter with pickled, a salty soup and then a main with fish, or meat and few vegetables. One potato, three slices of carrot, that kind of thing. We really enjoyed that period and it did show that a single potato in a three course meal was quite sufficient - the rest of the food was actually ... quite straight down the line paleo.
I hear you about the identifiable food sources. People would dig up roots and try to eat them. I'm not sure I'd know rice out in the field either, but that's the rice I wouldn't eat - all husk and gastro-intestinal scraping! White rice is processed food, but mechanically removing the husk is one thing, processing with lab ingredients is quite another. It's prepared, rather than processed.
I'm still making my mind up on rice - it does seem to bloat me, but doesn't give me heartburn. I tend to eat it only maybe a couple of meals a month when enjoying a restaurant curry with friends and the alternative would be flat breads or a fork and scorn!
Take care, guys ... keep up the great posts. This no sugar thing has turned out to be a real adventure.
Thanks for the shout out. Yea, I don't make either white or sweets a dietary mainstay by any means, but a few, here and there simply helps to round out some meals and having generally great meals helps keep you on track.
ReplyDeleteBig picture.
No problem - I was happy to find your posts to mull over and reference. I especially appreciated your part II post - it really helped me tie all my thoughts together last night as I was wrapping things up. I'm with you on the big picture thing. I like the idea of adding in potatoes and sweet potatoes on a limited basis for some variety. More variety probably translates into more people getting on board (and staying on board).
DeleteLooking forward to your review of MIP.... just skip the recipe on page 56! Ha :)
See you in Austin,
Bill (and Hayley)
BTW, I hope to get to a review of your book very soon.
ReplyDeleteI can see why people avoid potatoes if they are trying to lose weight/control blood sugar (though I know plenty of people who lose weight fine on a higher carb level), but the argument "Grok didn't eat potatoes" has always struck me as silly. Grok didn't eat almond butter, coconut oil, most modern fruit, or coconut flour pancakes either. And I highly doubt you got ground beef unless you were a baby Grokling and your mom was chewing it up for you.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I loves me some potatoes.
I spent my teenage years in Bolivia with my father traveling to the country trying to introduce the populace to renewable agriculture.
ReplyDeletePotatoes in the US are NOT the only potatoes in South America. If you go to any market there you will encounter several different kinds of potatoes with different colors, sizes, tastes,and markings. There are different modes of preparing these different potatoes as well. Many markets carry the foot stomped, freeze dried kind. I've eaten the kind which are simply cooked in a pit of llama dung (then skinned). (I've also eaten guinea pig [a native wild animal of South America] filleted and skinned, then ...apparently....smashed)
My point is that I wish the full contingent of potatoes were available in the US for consumption. They really do represent an entire grouping of food. The "poor" in Bolivia are very primitive farmers who won't turn their nose up to anything. They eat what they can get and (given availability) would be considered "paleo" participants.
I'm reasonably active, and I add some nice starchy yams or sweet potatoes round out most of my meals. They do wonders for soaking up fatty, residual meat juices :D
ReplyDeleteI LOVE potatoes so much, but am highly intolerant to them :( But, my husband is not, and also adores them, so I sent this his way. We've had this argument a few times...I think you guys have the right attitude about it. Thanks :)
ReplyDeletePotatoes have just persisted as my one "can't live without" since going Paleo, and lucky me, they aren't an irritant to me. Sooo happy to read your article! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI know for myself, I can't eat them. I have PCOS and have to keep carbs to a minimum regardless of being Paleo or not. They wreak havoc on my blood sugar. Thanks for the info on the skins. I always thought the skin was the healthy part. Now I know to always peel when making them for my family. Love your blog! Thanks for your dedication to clean and healthy eating.
ReplyDeleteYes, I liked learning about the skin also. Very well done with that information!
Delete