Primal Substitutes for Non-Primal Foods

It’s perhaps the most commonly asked question, both here in the forums and around the Primal/paleo blogosphere: what about bread/rice/grains/mashed potatoes/fish-and-chips/sweets? That is, what Primal foods can I eat that will satisfy my nascent urges for conventional “ comfort foods ”? In a perfect fat-adapted world, these urges would be non-existent. We would all be sated on nothing but meat, fat, vegetables, and a bit of fruit, and on a normal day I would stress the importance of desiring truly Primal foods rather than Primal approximations of high-carb, conventional fare.

Today isn’t a normal day, though. We’re in the middle of a particularly intensive Health Challenge, one that centers around making small (but doable) positive changes. For all our new members, finding alternate low-carb versions of the classic high-carb foods can be just the ticket to maintaining their personal health commitments under duress – and for that reason, I rounded up every low-carb food alternative source I could find. Strict PB pros and Primal stalwarts, forgive me, but I’m doing it for everyone’s collective good. Consider this my 80/20 moment. (wink)

Breads/Muffins/Cakes

Primal Spinach Bread

Carrot Walnut Bread

Primal Pumpkin Loaf

Flax Bread (Thanks for both of these, Get Primal!)

Coconut Flour Rolls (Thanks, Tim!)

Medicine Woman’s Roots: Golden Flax Bread

Gluten-Free Bread

Focaccia-Style Flax Bread

Oopsie Rolls (Gluten-Free Buns)

Low-Carb Meatloaf (Hey, it’s technically in loaf form. Thanks, Richard!)

Chips and Crackers

Primal Nut Crackers

Grain Free Almond Crackers

Primal Sweet Potato Chips

Sweet Potato Chips with Cinnamon

Pizza

Cauliflower Pizza Crust (Tim’s version)

Cauliflower Pizza Crust (Richard’s version)

Son of Grok’s Famous Pizza Crust

Eggplant Pizza (scroll down a bit)

Paleo Pizza (Thanks, Scott!)

Sunflower Seed Pizza Crust

Zucchini Pizza Crust

Rice

Cauliflower Rice Pilaf (Thanks, maba!)

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Cauliflower Pesto Rice (Thanks, Elizabeth!)

Pasta

Summer Squash Noodles

Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce

Low-Carb “Lasagna”

Noodleless Lasagna

“Spaghetti” with Meat Sauce

Eggplant Lasagna

Mashed Potatoes

Broccoli-Carrot Mash

Mashed Cauliflower (Steam, then into the food processor with salt, butter, and pepper – super easy)

Mashed Butternut Squash

Dairy

Coconut milk ( Smoothie )

Almond milk

Flours

Almond Meal

Coconut Flour

Breaded Fried Stuff

Coconut Chicken Fingers with Spicy Fruit Chutney

Coconut Encrusted Chicken Salad

Almond and Parmesan Baked Tilapia

Thickeners

Low-Carb Thickener

Pancakes

Almond Pancakes

Coconut Pancakes

Rick’s Primal Pancakes

Paleo Pancakes

Low-Carb Almond Meal Pancakes

New Almond Meal Pancake Variant

Snacks

Primal Alternatives to Non-Primal Snacks

Primal Energy Bar

Make Your Own Jerky

Make Your Own Dried Fruit

Spicy Almonds

SoG’s Primal Poppers

SoG’s Dinosaur Droppings

Desserts

Low-Carb Dessert Recipes (Almond Macaroons, Fruit and Nut Crumble etc.)

Primal Pie Filling

Flourless Pie Crust

SoG’s Gorilla Cake

Raw Walnut Cupcakes

Dairy-Free Custard

Whew. That should about do it. Thanks to everyone who graciously made their recipes available online, and thanks to the entire Primal community. We’re well over half way through the challenge – no more faltering! If you need it, consider this low-carb roundup an instant support system for those times of weakness. Oh, and let me know if I missed anything.

Grok on!

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Related posts:

1. Primal Comfort Foods
2. Primal Energy Bar Redux: Making a Better Bar
3. Son of Grok’s Primal Pizza Recipe