Paleo Make Believe

Back in April, I read a post on Robb Wolf's blog entitled Veggie Burgers, Meatless Chicken and Paleo Bread.  It was a pretty interesting argument against the paleo folks who accuse the vegetarians of being silly for eating meatless meat, because in all honesty, that's no different than paleo bread. 

The most amusing thing to me was how annoyed some of the commenters were with how, OMG, paleo bread is so fake and why would anyone want to eat something that's not a whole food?  And why are there only paleo treat recipes out there?  And who would want to eat anything but hunks of meat and vegetables anyway?

I was a vegetarian for almost 14 years, so I get it why other vegetarians want to eat fake meat.  I hated it when anyone would make fun of me about it, because they just weren't listening to me when I would tell them I wasn't a vegetarian because I hate the taste of meat.

Of course, I found out that vegetarianism wasn't doing me any favors, and I switched over to a low carb diet.  And you know what?  When I first switched, I needed those substitutes in order to stick with my new way of eating.  I drank diet pop, and I ate low carb cake and sugar-free jello.  It was a really hard switch for me, because I was addicted to sugar at the time.  If I didn't have those low carb treats on hand, I'm almost certain I wouldn't have made it this far.

That's why it bothers me when people look down on folks who eat sugar free candy, or paleo bread.  It's not your place to decide what another person eats, and if you make them feel like a failure because they're not living up to your perfect standards, then they won't stick with it.  They'll think, "I can't eat this way if it means I have to give up everything I love.  If I can't be perfect, I may as well not do it at all," and they'll quit trying all together.  Isn't it more important that people are improving their health?  So what if they're eating paleo bread or low carb cookies?  It's their choice to make, and if it helps them make the transition, then all the better.

Also, to the commenter who complained that there are only paleo treat recipes on the internet...  Seriously?  How many ways are there to cook meat and vegetables?  Who gets excited by pot roast recipes?   Paleo/low carb treat recipes are popular because they're really hard to make and it's a niche category, whereas you can open any cookbook or cooking website and find out how to cook meat.