40 Delicious Vegetarian Paleo Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Is it possible to be paleo and vegetarian? ›

Question: Is it possible to follow a paleo vegetarian eating plan? Answer: The short answer is that it's possible. But in entertaining this eating plan, you've got to examine your health goals, the plan's nutritional soundness and whether you can follow it long-term.

Paleo-inspiration is a paradigm shift that leads scientists and designers to draw inspiration from ancient materials (from art, archaeology, natural history or paleo-environments) to develop new systems or processes, particularly with a view to sustainability.

A modern paleo diet includes fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds. These are foods that in the past people could get by hunting and gathering. It doesn't include foods that became more common when small-scale farming began about 10,000 years ago.

The paleo diet requires you to eat foods that existed before the farming and agricultural revolution (around 10,000 years ago). On the menu is food that could be hunted, fished or gathered – so meat, fish, shellfish, poultry, eggs, veggies, roots, fruits and berries.

The paleo diet can be a healthy dietary pattern. However, like any restrictive diet, it may lead to some side effects. Studies show that some people may experience diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, and changes in gut bacteria when following a paleo dietary pattern.

Strict paleo dieters exclude all grains from their diets — including rice — primarily due to their high phytate content. Although it's technically prohibited, many people still consume small amounts of white rice while following a paleo diet because it's lower in phytates, compared with other types.

In terms of overall health, the paleo diet is high in saturated fats due to the increased intake of protein from animal food sources. Over time, people following the diet could see increases in cholesterol, particularly the less healthy cholesterol.

The Paleo diet focuses on eating nutrient dense, naturally occurring, anti-inflammatory foods that promote overall wellness and sustained levels of energy. From this perspective, coffee is technically not Paleo, but falls into one of the many grey areas of the modern Paleo diet.

If you're Paleo because you're a Crossfitter or you're restoring your gut health, bananas are an excellent part of your diet.

“The Nordic diet is similar to paleo in its focus on whole, real foods and high-quality animal products, but places a larger emphasis on plant-foods and wild seafood than meat.” Think river-caught salmon instead of farmed; foraged berries instead of cultivated; and pasture-raised eggs (in moderation). Why?

Why am I losing weight on the paleo diet? ›

Like what is keto diet allowed, the Paleo lifestyle is a low-carb diet, which means that you'll also be burning more calories than you would on a typical high-carb diet. This is because when you eat carbs, your body stores the excess carbs as glycogen in your liver and muscles.

Non-starchy vegetables are generally free to eat on a paleo diet. These include lettuce, spinach, kale, green beans, cabbage and celery. Some starchy vegetables are allowed every now and then, such as sweet potato and butternut squash, but their higher carb content means they are best eaten in smaller quantities.

But if you eat a vegetarian diet, you can still look after your heart by eating at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day, eating less saturated fat, and watching how much salt you eat.

Paleo doesn't have to be about wrapping your steak in bacon; it's perfectly possible to do Paleo as a pescetarian: someone who eats fish, eggs, and optionally dairy, but not red meat, pork, or poultry.

I have started on a Paleo diet which means that one of my favorite foods, hummus, is now off limits. Legumes are not part of the program, thus those little chickpeas gotta go.