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A Paleo Diet Meal Plan and Menu That Can Save Your Life

February 19, 2014 by Jackie Ritz 7 Comments

[box]This is a detailed meal plan for the paleo diet. What to eat, what to avoid and a sample paleo menu for one week.[/box]

The paleo diet is based on emulating the diet of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. It includes whole, unprocessed foods that resemble what they look like in nature.

Our ancestors were genetically the same as modern humans. They thrived eating such foods and were free of diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Several studies suggest that this diet can lead to significant weight loss (without calorie counting) and major improvements in health.

Photo by Fit Bomb.

A Paleo Diet Meal Plan

There is no one “right” way to eat for everyone and paleolithic humans thrived on a variety of diets, depending on what was available at the time.

Some ate a low-carb diet high in animal foods, others a high-carb diet with lots of plants.

Consider this as a general guideline, not something written in stone. You can adapt all of this to your own personal needs and preferences.

The Basics

Eat: Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, healthy fats and oils.

Avoid: Processed foods, sugar, soft drinks, grains, most dairy products, legumes, artificial sweeteners, vegetable oils, margarine and trans fats.

This is a simplified paleo food pyramid:

Photo by Mark Sisson.

Avoid These Foods

Avoid these foods and ingredients:

Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup: Soft drinks, fruit juices, table sugar, agave nectar, candy, pastries, ice cream and many others.

Grains: Includes breads and pastas, wheat, spelt, rye, barley, etc.

Legumes: Beans, lentils and many more.

Dairy: Avoid most dairy, especially low-fat (some “versions” of paleo do include full-fat dairy like butter and cheese).

Vegetable Oils: Soybean oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil and others.

Trans Fats: Found in margarine and various processed foods. Usually referred to as “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oils.

Artificial Sweeteners: Aspartame, Sucralose, Cyclamates, Saccharin, Acesulfame Potassium. Use natural sweeteners instead.
Highly Processed Foods: Everything labelled “diet” or “low-fat” or has many weird ingredients. Includes artificial meal replacements.

A simple guideline: If it looks like it was made in a factory, don’t eat it!

If you want to avoid these ingredients, then you MUST read ingredients lists, even on foods that are labelled as “health foods.”

Foods to Eat on The Paleo Diet

Base your diet on these real, unprocessed paleo foods.

Meats: Beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork and others.

Fish and Seafood: Salmon, trout, haddock, shrimp, shellfish, etc. Choose wild-caught if you can.

Eggs: Choose free-range, pastured or Omega-3 enriched eggs.

Vegetables: Broccoli, kale, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes, etc.

Fruits: Apples, oranges, pears, avocados, strawberries, blueberries and more.

Tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips, etc.

Nuts and Seeds: Almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and more

Healthy Fats and Oils: Lard, tallow, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil and others.
Salt and Spices: Sea salt, himalayan salt, garlic, turmeric, rosemary, etc.

Try to choose grass-fed, pasture raised and organic if you can afford it. If not, then just make sure to always go for the least processed option.

There are some things you can do to minimize cost while still eating high quality foods. Read a great article on this here.

Maybe Eat

In the past few years, the paleo community has evolved quite a bit.

There are now several different “versions” of the paleo diet. Many of them allow some modern foods that science has shown to be healthy.

This includes quality bacon from pasture raised pigs, grass-fed butter and even some non-gluten grains like rice.

Many people now think of paleo as a template to base your diet on, not necessarily as a strict set of rules that you must follow.

Sensible Indulgences

These are perfectly healthy in small amounts:

Wine: Quality red wine is high in antioxidants and beneficial nutrients.
Dark Chocolate: Choose one that has 70% or higher cocoa content. Quality dark chocolate is very nutritious and extremely healthy.

What to Drink When You’re Thirsty

When it comes to hydration, water should be your go-to beverage.

These aren’t exactly paleo, but most people drink them anyway:

Tea is very healthy and loaded with antioxidants and various beneficial compounds. Green tea is best.
Coffee is actually very high in antioxidants as well. Studies show that it has many health benefits.

You Should Watch This Video

This short video is a must-watch, it will teach you everything you need to know about the basics of paleo.

A Sample Paleo Menu For One Week

This sample menu contains a balanced amount of all the paleo foods.

Feel free to adjust this based on your own preferences.

Monday

Breakfast: Eggs and vegetables, fried in coconut oil. One piece of fruit.
Lunch: Chicken salad, with olive oil. Handful of nuts.

Dinner: Burgers (no bun), fried in butter, with vegetables and some salsa.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Bacon and eggs, with a piece of fruit.
Lunch: Leftover burgers from the night before.
Dinner: Salmon, fried in butter, with vegetables.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Meat with vegetables (leftovers from night before).
Lunch: Sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables.
Dinner: Ground beef stir fry, with vegetables. Some berries.

Thursday

Breakfast: Eggs and a fruit.
Lunch: Leftover stir fry from the night before. A handful of nuts.
Dinner: Fried pork, with vegetables.

Friday

Breakfast: Eggs and vegetables, fried in coconut oil.
Lunch: Chicken salad with olive oil. Handful of nuts.
Dinner: Steak with vegetables and sweet potatoes.

Saturday

Breakfast: Bacon and eggs, with a piece of fruit.
Lunch: Leftover steak and vegetables from the night before.
Dinner: Baked salmon with vegetables and avocado.

Sunday

Breakfast: Meat with vegetables (leftovers from night before).
Lunch: Sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables.
Dinner: Grilled chicken wings, with vegetables and salsa.

There is usually no need to track calories or macronutrients (protein, carbs or fat) on the paleo diet, at least not in the beginning.

However, if you need to lose a lot of weight then it is a good idea to cut carbs somewhat and limit your intake of nuts and potatoes.

If you’re a vegetarian, then read this article for some tips on how to do paleo without meat.

How to Make Your Restaurant Meals Paleo

It is not very difficult to make most restaurant meals paleo friendly.

Order a meat or fish-based main dish.
Get extra vegetables instead of bread or rice.
Ask them to cook your food in coconut oil, lard, olive oil or butter.

There’s an excellent article on eating paleo at restaurants here.

Simple Paleo Snacks

There really is no need to eat more than 3 meals per day, but if you get hungry then here are some paleo snacks that are simple and easily portable:

Baby carrots.
Hard boiled eggs.
A piece of fruit.
A handful of nuts.
Leftovers from the night before.
Apple slices with some almond butter.
A bowl of berries with some coconut cream.
Homemade beef jerky.

Simple Paleo Shopping List

There is an incredible variety of foods you can eat on the paleo diet.

This simple shopping list should give you an idea of how to get started.

Meat (beef, lamb, pork).
Poultry (chicken, turkey, etc).
Fish (salmon, trout, mackarel).
Eggs.
Fresh vegetables: greens, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, onions, etc.
Frozen vegetables: broccoli, spinach, various mixes, etc.
Fruits: Apples, bananas, pears, oranges, avocado.
Berries: Strawberries, blueberries.
Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts.
Almond butter.
Coconut oil.
Olive oil.
Grass-fed butter.
Olives.
Sweet potatoes.
Condiments: Sea salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic, parsley, etc.

If you want a more advanced shopping guide, read this.

It is a good idea to clear all unhealthy temptations from your home, including sodas, pastries, cookies, crackers, bread, ice cream and cereals.

How to Find More Info

If you’re interested in more articles like this one, make sure to subscribe to free updates.

There is an entire world of information out there on paleo eating. Just google something like “paleo recipes” or “primal recipes” and you will find a ton of stuff.

These are some really excellent paleo recipe blogs:

*A Paleo Diet Menu Plan originally posted by Kris Gunnar and is republished with permission.*

Hidden Paleo Bargains at Ethnic Markets

February 7, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 12 Comments

I absolutely LOVE going into Asian markets and finding Paleo food items for dirt cheap. I usually find a ton of stuff for nearly half the price. Today I wandered into one and went in to shop. I found some great things! I would have found more, but my 18 month old was, literally, screaming his face off. I will definitely be going back in there sans kiddos soon!

Here’s a few things I found:

Aroy – D Coconut Milk ($1.59 for 13oz can!!!): the ingredients say it is 60% coconut extract and water! No other fillers, guar gum, or carrageenan!

Aroy – D Coconut Cream ($2.09 for 19oz can): the ingredients say it is 70% coconut extract and water! Another score!

Ginger Candy ($1.99)

Red Boat Fish Sauce ($8.79): this is the ONLY fish sauce that I have found that doesn’t have sugar. It is also Whole30 approved!!! I add this to my meat dishes for a deeper “unami” (the 5th taste which means “meaty”) flavor.

Tapioca Crackers ($3.29): I can’t read the ingredients on this so I thought I would give it a try anyways. My kids actually loved them and I topped mine with almond butter. They do taste like they have sugar in them though…not much, but a tiny bit.

Sweet Potato Noodles ($1.39 a package!): the only ingredients is sweet potato starch. We use this in place of spaghetti noodles and we love it on my homemade Paleo Mac n’ Cheese, Asian Lettuce Wraps, and Ground Beef Stroganoff recipes.

Quail Eggs ($1.89) Honestly, I have NO idea what I’m going to do with these yet, however for that price (the sign also said local), I will figure something out. Any ideas?

Some other things that are super cheap there that I didn’t get:

sesame oil
seaweed noodles
Nori chips
various Asian spices
sesame seeds
tapioca pearls
tapioca starch
minced ginger
whole coconuts
whole frozen duck
Kimchi
fresh fish
pork belly (ask to slice like bacon)
chicken feet for adding to your stock for added gelatin
produce
fish crackers
…and just so much more!

You really do need to take a look for yourself and let me know what you find!

Ridding Yourself of Paleo Guilt

February 4, 2013 by Jackie Ritz 6 Comments

As mothers and fathers, we carry a tremendous amount of weight on our shoulders. We provide, we nurture, we nourish, we educate, we protect, and we impact our children’s lives. However, at times, we fail, we give in, we give up, we don’t care, we make mistakes…we throw up our hands and feel like the biggest losers. We aren’t perfect, nor will we ever be perfect. We know this. We feel this. But, can we ever learn to accept this?

When we choose to change our family’s nutrition, we go through waves of highs and lows…and towels thrown on the floor in frustration. We so want to change our nutrition. We SOOOO want to give them the best. We SOOOO want to provide the top-quality products that we can. We try and we try to make room for it in our budget, but when things get tight and bills come in, we have to make choices.

Oh, the guilt. I know it, cause I feel it too. I remember making the most delicious, roasted chicken legs for my kids one night. They LOVE chicken legs. They love getting their fingers dirty and not being forced to use a fork. They relish every delicious bite. I hear my 18 month old going, “Mmmm,” slurp, “mmmm“, over-and-over that night, literally licking the bone…sucking on the delicious cartilage. I remember my daughter saying to me, “These are the best chicken leggies ever, Mommy”.

I should smile and be happy, right? My kids are eating chicken! They are eating Brussel sprouts. They are eating asparagus, for God’s sake! However, happy is NOT what I felt.

You see, we had just lost A LOT of money. I’m talking thousands and thousands of dollars. We had to make some serious budget cuts and buying grass-fed meat, free-range poultry, farm fresh eggs, organic produce, expensive raw milk…this stuff was the first thing to get pushed to the back burner. We just couldn’t afford it.

I know they tell you to make quality food a priority, but we were, literally, having to save any extra penny we could. Buying the best quality was not attainable for us.

So, as my son is gnawing on a chicken leg, I’m thinking about all the hormones, antibiotics, and preservatives that he probably was ingesting. Oh, the mommy guilt. Mommy guilt will crush you. It will crush your confidence in an instant. It will break every good thing that you have done for your family and tell you…you’re…just…not good enough. You’re just not smart enough. You don’t try enough.

LIES…

We make the best choices we can for our family and no one else can tell you that you could make better choices.

You see, our best, is relative to each person. You can relate this to lifting heavy weights. I often talk to other women about how I love to lift heavy weights. Some ask what my numbers are and when I tell them, they say they could never lift heavy weights. Then I explain to them that heavy is relative to each person. Heavy to me may not be heavy to you. Heavy to you may be heavier than someone else. However it’s all still heavy! However it’s all still our best!

When people start eating Paleo they think that they MUST buy organic, free-range, grass-fed, pastured foods. I don’t know how many have even been detoured from eating Paleo because they know that can’t afford this. More important than this, should be eating REAL foods. More important should be moving off of processed foods. More important should be that WE ARE ACTUALLY TRYING.

So, I bought my factory farmed chicken legs and I watched my kids eat them…and I felt it. I felt that guilt. But, when I saw my kids enjoying it and I knew that I had done my best to put the best food on the table that I could…I smiled.

I smiled back at them and said, “thank you” and I meant it. I kissed their greasy lips, and I really did mean it. And, you know what?

My kids still love me. Love me to the core.

Steps to making wiser choices when your budget is limited:

Check out how I save money here.

Buy whole chickens and make stock with the bones.

Shop at meat markets where preservatives are not used.

Order from Amazon.

Check Craigslist for local people selling farm-fresh eggs.

Shop at Farmer’s Markets. Remember local is, sometimes, better than organic that has come from across the country.

Don’t make meat the highlight of the meal. Incorporate it in to your meal.

Do the best you can and let go of the guilt!

Jackie’s Money-saving Paleo tricks

June 21, 2012 by Jackie Ritz 6 Comments

I’ve been doing Paleo for awhile now. It’s become a part of us, who we are. We are also very frugal people. We like to save and hoard our money instead of shopping for things we really don’t need. In fact, I hate shopping. However, I love grocery shopping and planning our meals. I love making it strategic to see how I can save, but also to see how much I can woo my family with the taste of delicious Paleo food.

So many are people are hesitant to give Paleo a try because they think it’s going to cost a lot of money. Which, honestly, doesn’t make sense to me because, eating Paleo, you are eating REAL FOOD. You’re not buying the crap in between, in the aisles of the supermarket…you’re just buying food. So, once you take all that processed crap away, you are left with a lot of extra money. So, no more “meals in a bag”, no more blown up air…I mean bread, no more pasta, and no more gluten-laden snacks. Trust me, it looks like you are missing a lot, but you really aren’t.

Anyways, I’ve put together a little list of how I save money eating Paleo!

1) I buy the whole chickens. I cook it in my crockpot and then I use the bones to make stock. We usually just eat 1 whole chicken a week. This is for my family of 2 adults and 2 kids. Then I make stock. I either make a soup that week or I freeze it (flat in a gallon ziploc bag). Read my post, “Good Broth Resurrects the Dead”: https://thepaleomama.com/2012/02/18/good-broth-resurrects-the-dead/

Stock 1 — Chicken stock simmering away in my crockpot!

2) I buy my beef in bulk. I buy 1/4th of a grassfed cow at a time. For 1/4th of a cow we get: 64lbs of ground meat, 8 rib eye, 9 TBone(some look like they may have NY strip attached), 3 Liver, 7 Sirloin, 4 roasts, and 7 cube steak. The cost was $4.50lb. This saves us a ton of money! https://thepaleomama.com/2012/02/15/my-first-cave-mama-kill/

3) I shop local and in season. I get lots of produce at the Farmer’s Market. I, also, keep the Publix and Kroger weekly ads and I plan my meals around what is on sale. I also use www.southernsavers.com to see what is on sale and if there are any online coupons I can print for things like coconut milk, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towels, and some food items. I usually have 3-5 coupons for each weekly grocery trip. Nothing like I used to have when I was extreme couponing! However, we were eating crap food.

4) I pick my own produce. This is a great way to save money and also to spend some good time outdoors. A great website to find local farms that you can pick at is www.pickyourown.org.

5) I shop on Amazon A LOT! My UPS driver knows me now and he is, literally, at my door 3-5 times a week. When you buy through there Subscribe & Save option, you really save some good money.

6) I shop at Sam’s Club to get things like nuts, Lara Bars, frozen fruit for smoothies, almond milk, olive oil, and spices.

7) I don’t buy much organic. I save my money that I would spend on overpriced organic produce that has traveled halfway around the world and I buy local meat and produce instead.

8) I prepare things myself. I make my own mayo, salad dressings, and stocks. I also make our own Paleo treats, like popsicles, cookies (on occasion), pancakes, and muffins.

9) I grow things myself. Last year I had a full garden with lots of vegetables and spices. It really does save a ton of money!

10) I shop at the local Asian market for things like coconut milk, tapioca, some seed oils, sweet potato noodles, fish sauce, etc.

11) I save money in other areas of our life so that I have money to splurge on food. I make my own cleaners, laundry soap, and skin care soaps.

I hope these ideas help you get started and show you that eating healthy doesn’t have to be so complicated and expensive.

25 lbs down and some before and after!

April 2, 2012 by Jackie Ritz 6 Comments

I thought it was time to write about how I am actually feeling and doing on Paleo. It has been nearly 6 months since I started my own personal Paleo journey. It’s been 3 months since my whole family has been eating Paleo. Since I started in October, I have lost a total of 25 lbs!!! My husband has lost 31 lbs since he started January 1st and has lowered his cholesterol enough to come off his statin drugs! I have noticed huge behavior changes in my 3-year-old daughter since we took gluten, sugar, and dairy out of her diet. And my 8 month old son, who weighed in at 20lbs a month ago, is thriving, happy, content and such a joy to be around. He eats everything I give him. His recent favorites are Paleo chicken nuggets, roasted asparagus, and grilled squash.

So I’m going to show my current before and after pictures. Seeing these are motivation in itself to keep going!

I tell people all the time that I feel amazing. I really do. There is no other way to describe how I feel with our new lifestyle. I have so much energy throughout the day…much needed energy since I’m chasing around a highly energetic 3-year-old and an 8 month old army crawler! My mind feels clearer. I haven’t had a headache since I started Paleo. This is now such a part of our life that I NEVER want to go back to what we were before. It’s become second nature and easy.

Do I cheat? Hmm, I like to call it indulging and, yes, I do indulge once a week on one meal. This week I had chips, dip, and Mojitos with my girlfriends and it was GREAT! Last week I had wings and pizza.

Do I let my kids cheat? I am not going to be able to watch every, single thing my kids put in their mouth. I’m also not going to be so strict that I don’t let them indulge in something that they love. Geez, I do! So, yes, I let my daughter eat gluten snacks at her preschool. I let her Papa give her ice cream every day that we were home a few weeks ago. I let my son have those organic puffs when I see them on sale. Life is too short to not have a little bit of indulgences in our life when it comes to food. You have to be able to find that balance to where you can indulge and be done with it. It took a few months for me to be able to do that without being tempted for more or without my body telling me I need more.

Do I workout? If you mean “going to the gym working out”, then no. I just love to be home with my kids. Our mornings are so great together and Frankie is in such a routine with his morning nap that I just don’t even want to mess that up. However, I am on my feet ALL day. So, I wouldn’t say that I don’t exercise, I just don’t do strenuous exercise. And I’m ok with that. Obviously my body is ok with that because I’m losing weight. I cannot devote the time to do any kind of crazy workout schedule, that’s why I could never do a diet that requires me to. Another reason why I love Paleo. It works with your body like nature intended.

What the heck do I eat if I can’t have gluten, diary, or sugar? LOTS!!! I have so many different types of new foods these last few months that I have never tried! I used to just make side salads to go with dinners before we were eating Paleo, but now I am making so many different types of vegetable dishes! We’ve had things like: coconut-almond green beans, roasted Brussel sprouts, kale chips, marinated and roasted beets, creamy cucumbers, mashed cauliflower, cauliflower rice, spaghetti squash, squash fries, sweet potato chips, roasted turnips, parsnip fries, leeks, fennel salads, Jicama home fries, and SO MUCH MORE! Does that sound restrictive to you? Eating Paleo has opened up my eyes to so many new kinds of foods. Once you get out of the “American” way of thinking that every meal needs bread, or that sweets can’t taste good without sugar, you can really start to see that there is so much more to food than starch and sugar. Eating Paleo has also liberated me. I have gone through times where I was obsessed about the number of calories I ate, or the amount of fat something had in it. I now know that fat-free means LOADED with sugar…and that fat is not bad for us. I have lost 25lbs eating fat. I eat lots of fat. I cook with coconut oil liberally. I eat avocados. I don’t feel guilty for reaching for a 3rd or 4th piece of bacon. I even sometimes don’t trim the fat on our steak off. Fat is good. Our brains are mostly fat. Our bodies need fat.

Do I spend more money on food every week? If you are comparing our weekly budget to what I spent when I was crazy couponing a few years ago, then yes. I spend much more. If you compare our budget to what I spent when we were eating real, unprocessed (but not completely Paleo) foods, then no. I spend the same. Thankfully, I do not have to be really strict with our budget. We are extremely frugal in many areas of our life. We buy everything used. We sell things we don’t use. I also try to live very naturally, so I make a lot of our cleaning and daily hygiene products from scratch. If we spend more than $100 one week, I don’t freak out. I spent $150 this week, which is on the higher end of what I spend weekly, however, we needed things like toilet paper, a few cleaning products, and paper towels (which we mostly use for the animals and our new, litter-training kitty is burning through them). I haven’t been able to convince my husband to give up toilet paper yet!

Do I eat all organic? Nope. In fact, I would venture to say that I eat mostly “un”organic. I do get organic vegetables IF they are on sale. We do eat grass-fed beef because we bought a whole cow and split it with a few families keeping 1/4th of the cow for ourselves. This costs us $4.50lb and will last us all year. I sometimes find pastured chickens on sale at a nearby grocery store and I snag a few. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about dairy anymore. I buy the So Delicious or Silk brand of coconut milk for my daughter to drink a few times during the day and for us also to use in our smoothies. I transitioned my daughter from raw cow milk to coconut milk when we went Paleo. Our eggs come from a local farmer (the same one we get our grass-fed beef from) that has free-range chickens and costs $2.50 dozen. We go through about 10 dozen eggs a month.

How do I feed my working husband? I boil eggs every week for him to grab. I have fruit always handy and ready to grab on the way out the door. I make a larger dinner and he takes the leftovers to work for lunch. I make hash, egg cupcakes, meat and spinach muffins for quick breakfasts on the go.

How do I have time to cook 3 meals a day and spend time with my kids? We eat easy breakfasts together. I grab our griddle throw things on it for breakfasts like eggs, bacon, sausage, or ham lunch meat. If we don’t have a griddle breakfast, then I usually make a smoothie for everyone. Even my 8 month old enjoys these. I always have frozen bananas or strawberries on hand and I just make a simple smoothie. I sometimes sneak in coconut oil, flax-seed, or raw egg yolks for added nutrition.

What do we drink? That’s easy…LOTS of water and an occasional milk. Me and my husband take a Fiberblend every night and we use apple juice for that (only because we CANNOT take it without juice…it’s really disgusting, like dirt). Our 3-year-old loves her coconut milk and I give her that about twice a day.

What do we snack on? Honestly, we don’t snack anymore. Our 3-year-old does, but me and my husband find that our protein and veggie packed meals really keep us full for a long time. For my 3-year-old I keep beef jerky, nuts, fruit leather, and fresh fruit on hand for when she is hungry. Her preschool teacher had a little meeting with me last week and told me that she has never seen a 3-year-old eat so much and so many kinds of healthy foods. She agreed that kids will eat what you give them, especially if you start them off right when they are young, like we did with Arianna. If interested, you can see some great kid lunch ideas on my Pinterest page: https://pinterest.com/jackieritz/arianna-s-lunches/ .

So there…there’s a look inside some of our Paleo life. I hope it helps you, encourages you, and motivates you to make some changes in your life, or to continue on the path you are on!

I Rendered Lard!

March 26, 2012 by Jackie Ritz 11 Comments

Before eating Paleo, we were “real food” eaters, following the guidelines and traditions of the Weston A. Price foundation and Nourishing Traditions cookbook. The use of lard was introduced to me as being healthy 3-4 years ago. Before that, you wouldn’t be able to convince me it was beneficial. However, I am now a believer in pig fat and cow fat (tallow). Not only is lard the original shortening that our grandmothers used to use, but it is also very high in Vitamin D, and anyone who has had their vitamin D levels checked recently, can tell you that we all are lacking in this essential vitamin.

Good lard is only 40% SATURATED fat, with 48% MONOUNSATURATED and 12% POLYUNSATURATED fat. Another interesting point to make is that lard’s fatty-acid composition is very comparable to breast milk which is 48% SATURATED 35% MONOUNSATURATED and 10% POLYUNSATURATED.

WE NEED SATURATED FAT IN OUR DIET: “It makes up over half of all cell membranes and gives cells stiffness and integrity. Bones require about 50% of the dietary fat to be saturated so calcium can be absorbed. SF lowers Lipoprotein-a in the blood, an inflammatory marker directly associated with the risk of heart disease. SF protects the liver from alcohol, toxins and drugs and they enhance the immune system. Omega 3 fats are retained in the tissue when the diet is rich in SF. Heart muscle contains rich deposits of stearic acid and palmitic fatty acids as they are foods the heart muscle uses and which are drawn upon in time of stress. Many SF have antimicrobial properties and protect us from harmful pathogens in the intestine. There is no scientific evidence to back up claims that SF causes “artery clogging” in fact arterial plaque is only 26% SF the rest unsaturated fat, over half of the plaque is polyunsaturated fat!

WE NEED CHOLESTEROL- it is only found in animal fat. In spite of being falsely accused of being the cause of atherosclerosis, heart attack and stork, cholesterol is actually a necessary substance in every body. It is a strong anti-oxidant and free radical scavenger. This is why cholesterol levels go up as we get older since we need more protection. Cholesterol makes up a large portion of the brain, is the root of all corticosteroids and hormones in the body, it is the precursor to vitamin D. It keeps our skin soft and moist, and makes the bile which we need to digest fat. Mother’s breast milk is very high in it (which should tell us something!). Our bodies make over 2000mg daily whereas a maximum of only 100mg can be absorbed from the diet, so it’s pretty clear how shaky and wrong the connection of heart disease to dietary cholesterol intake. It is oxidative stress that causes cholesterol to elevate in the bloodstream in response to excessive free radicals. In the skin, uv light causes the production of free radicals, known carcinogens and aging factor, which damage the vital phospholipids of the skin unless the cholesterol is there in adequate supplies to protect it. Cholesterol is required for proper function of serotonin (the “feel good” brain chemical) such that low cholesterol levels are associated with aggression, violence, depression and suicidal tendencies. Cholesterol lowering drugs, especially the statins, are intrinsically toxic to the liver, they deplete CoQ10, an enzyme needed by all muscles by (note that the heart is a muscle), and ultimately leaves us dangerously exposed to oxidizers, free radicals and other damaging agents” (quoted from here).

Ok, so enough trying to make you a believer, here’s my process of rendering lard:

1. First I pulled the frozen lard and chopped it into pieces.

Pork fatback from local, pastured piggies.

2. I used my dutch oven and put the chopped lard on my stove top and cooked it on medium-low heat. I stirred every few minutes until the big portion of the lard was cooked and melted.

cooking 2 — about 15 minutes into cooking

3. This took about 20 minutes. At about this point you will start to see the “cracklings” form. This is when everything starts spattering, so be careful. Once the cracklings are done splattering all over, they will begin to rise to the top of the bowl. This means you’re done!

cooking3 — All done and cracklings rose to the top

4. Next, I placed a colander over a bowl and poured my hot bowl of rendered lard into it. The cracklings were caught by the colander and the lard drained through into my bowl.

5. I transferred to a mason jar and admired my beautiful fat. The lard was yellowish/brownish color when hot and turned a nice, smooth white color once it cooled!

just drained — Just drained lard…hot and brownish in color

cooking lard — Cooling my lard. Picture taken a couple of hours after I put it in the mason jar. See how it’s changing colors!

all done lard — Still cooling and changing into a beautiful white color. Picture taken 12 hours after the whole process.

These cracklings or pork rinds are delicious and a wonderful Paleo alternative to bread crumbs (all crunched up). My daughter couldn’t get enough!!!

What do I do with my lard?

I use it to fry homemade chicken nuggets.
I use it in place of shortening in baking recipes.
I use it to saute vegetables.

***I have also rendered tallow the same way and it turned out delicious!

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