Fruit, Smoothies and Pancakes Post Whole 30 .

[shelley417]

I just read an very interesting and provocative article by Angelo Coppola that appeared on the W 9 Facebook page. If i knew how to link it i would have linked it here.

I personally don't care about the politics of Paleo. I am too new to understand them and find them irrelevant right now. What I am interested in is my personal health. I am 53 days into a Whole 100 having completed a Whole 45 in October-November. I feel great and intend to follow a Paleo lifestyle for the remainder of my life. I love to cook. I have a large number of Paleo Pinterest boards ( including desserts that I pin but never make!!!). I also see that there are alot of recipes with maple syrup and nut flours that interest me. but I know that this time when I complete the Whole 100 that I will from time to time add some variety to my cooking style.

Being strictly W30 is a lot easier than figuring out the Paleo rules.

I am very curious about your thoughts on fruit in general. Also i am curious how you feel smoothies ( not as a meal substitute) and that banana ice cream with one ingredient-- bananas.

Also I am wondering why it's okay to make a vegetable pancake with sweet potatoes and ground meat or sausage but not a coconut pancake. I know it's SWYPO for the W 30 but what about for life.

[Tom Denham]

I moved this to the reintroduction section because the Can I have section is about what you can have during a Whole30.

You can eat anything you like after a Whole30, but nothing changes about what makes you more healthy and what makes you less healthy.

A little added sweetener does not cause serious trouble for many people, but added sweeteners do not make you more healthy.

Nut or coconut flour, at least in modest amounts, does not cause trouble, but none of the flours are health promoting foods. They are at best benign. You can only eat so many calories and I find that I am more and more concerned that I use those calories to eat foods that offer me a lot of nutrition. A sweet potato and ground meat pancake includes a lot more good nutrition than a coconut flour pancake. You see, the real problem with a coconut pancake is that it gives you some calories, but not much more, at least not in comparison to many other things you could eat.

I rarely buy fruit lately. Sometimes I buy some apples or oranges, but haven't bought bananas in almost two years. Bananas are not bad food, but there are other things that do more for me, so that is where I focus.

I actually have some frozen strawberries and blue berries in the freezer that have been there for at least 2 years. I may make a coconut milk, fruit, avocado smoothie with a few handfuls of kale just to use it up. I can't imagine eating food like that regularly.

I once actually made some carrot ice cream by accident when I first got my Vitamix blender. I realized I could make banana ice cream too. Again, nothing wrong with it except it means there are better things you are not eating.

So, you get my point. All these things are okay, but you have to decide how much of the really health promoting food you want to give up to make room for the just tasty stuff.

[shelley417]

Thanks so much!!! Your response was really helpful -- as always!