10 important tips for the paleo cook or baker

Eating the paleo way is both amazing and annoying at the same time. There are so many added health benefits to following a paleo lifestyle but it also comes with the added stress of having to cook with flours you’ve probably never used, eliminate some of your favorite sauces since many of them are not paleo and stop eating peanut butter. Yes I know! You can’t eat peanut butter! Sadly it’s not paleo but no worries because there are tons of other nut butters which will happily fill that craving and there are dozens of paleo sauces and flours that you can easily use to replace your non-paleo ones.

I have been paleo for about 2 years now an gluten-free for around 7+ and I can honestly say this has changed my life.

I became gluten-free because of my allergy to it so that lifestyle change was out of my control but following the paleo life was something I willingly joined and have been smiling ever since. Sure there are days that I nibble on peanut butter, flavor my chicken with BBQ sauce or even buy my favorite katz gluten free desserts and that’s okay! But the majority of my months are filled with delicious whole foods like my favorite oven baked sweet potato fries, or the best Paleo apple pie, and sometimes even my Paleo banana power healthy muffins.

Whether you are a seasoned paleo or a newbie like I was 2 years ago, this lifestyle is definitely one you will love to stick to and can have so much fun experimenting with. There are so many variations to your favorite recipes that you can easily tweak to make paleo. For example, if one of your favorite recipes is chocolate chip cookies here is my paleo take on those cookies using coconut sugar and this chocolate chip cookie recipe here that uses almond butter as your base instead of flours. Other recipes which are super easy to make paleo are BBQ Chicken, Meatballs, Brownies, Banana muffins, Apple pie and tons of other recipes! And by the end of this post you will have no doubt that you will be able to tackle any paleo recipe that comes your way!

These tips I am sharing below are designed to help you navigate cooking and baking the paleo way to help you gain a footing. If you have any tips that you think should be added to my list then leave a comment below and I would love to check them out!

I recently posted 6 important tips for the Vegan cook and/or baker that is a must-read post if you’re looking to tackle/ learn more about the vegan lifestyle as well! I also have a gluten-free, raw vegan and healthy version of this post going up in the future!

Download your FREE Paleo food shopping guide to help get you started! Download HERE!

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1. Know your flours

Regular all purpose flour and gluten-free baking flour isn’t paleo but there are tons of paleo flours on the market which can suit all your baking needs. Here is a list of them! I put a * sysmbol next to the most important ones.

• Almond four*
• Coconut flour*
• Cassava flour*
• Hazelnut flour
• Tapioca starch*
• Arrowroot starch
• Plantain flour
• Tigernut flour

• 14 must have ingredients for Paleo baking

2. Replace your nut butters

Sadly peanut butter is not paleo but no worries because there is a long list of other delicious nut butters that are! You can easily make so many recipes with these delicious substitutions or replace peanut butter with them in your baking!

Here is a list of paleo nut butters

• Almond butter
• Cashew butter
• Hazelnut butter
• Macadamia butter
• Coconut butter
• Sunflour Seed butter

If you want to make your own nut butters check out this guide on Paleo Leap for some helpful tips.

The best paleo almond butter chocolate chip cookies // soft & gooey {gf, df, paleo, healthy, flourless}

3. Easy sweet potato recipes

Regular potatoes are not paleo but sweet potatoes are. In my opinion sweet potatoes taste better than regular ones but for many this is not the case. I will admit that sweet potatoes do have a certain taste that if you are not a fan of will have a hard time liking.

Benefits of sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are ridiculously healthy and have a long list of health benefits. From giving you a highly nutritious potato filled with fibers, vitamins and minerals, promoting gut health, supporting healthy vision, enhancing brain function, supporting your immune system and maybe having cancer fighting properties. It’s safe to say that this food is one you want to keep on hand.

Here is my favorite recipe using them – Homemade oven baked seasoned sweet potato fries {Paleo, vegan, gluten-free, healthy}

For dozens more recipes using sweet potatoes check out this post, surprising ways to use sweet potatoes.

4. Oils

Using oils are a great way to add flavor to recipes or to complete a dish. But you have to be careful because it’s easy to go overboard and one thing that all oils have in common in that they are very calorie dense. But no worries because there are a number of safe paleo oils that are healthy (in moderation of course) and will benefit your weight loss journey or new lifestyle changes.

The healthy paleo oils are olive, coconut, macadamia, avocado and most walnut and flaxseed oils. All these oils are very beneficial for the body.

5. Add apple cider vinegar to your baking

To help breads, cakes and muffins rise, adding apple cider vinegar can go a long way.

Adding between 1-3 tsp of apple cider vinegar will react with baking soda and help your baked goods rise, making up for the lack of baking powder, yeast, and/or xanthan gum in your paleo treats.

6. Breakfast Foods that are Paleo!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day to not only start you off on the right foot but to prepare your body for the long and arduous day ahead and just because you are paleo doesn’t mean you only have to eat whole foods and veggies for breakie, yuck!

Here are my favorites foods that make the perfect addition to your morning

• Birch benders paleo panckae mix– one of my favorite brands that makes paleo, keto, gluten-free, plant-based and healthy pancake and waffle mixes!
• Eggs! Eggs are paleo so take advantage of making a delicious egg breakfast muffin, or paleo egges benedict. Pinterest is a great place to find yummy, healthy, diet friendly (gluten-free, paleo, vegan….) recipes!
• Bacon is paleo so load up your eggs with one, two or in my case five slices of that good stuff! 🙂 Just make sure it contains no added chemicals, nitrates or other non paleo ingredients.
• Or if you’re looking to get buff but your protein powder isn’t paleo then here is a great paleo protein powder option!

Here is my favorite delicious paleo breakfast muffin recipe- Paleo banana power healthy muffins {gluten-free, paleo, healthy}

7. Coconut sugar for the win!

Regular cane sugar, brown sugar and dark down sugar isn’t paleo but the good news is that coconut sugar is!

To replace regular white sugar for coconut sugar in your recipe, the ratio is 1 to 1 (use 1 cup of coconut sugar for 1 cup of granulated sugar). You might need to adjust the other ingredients and your baking time but with these tweaks you should have little problem substituting.

When using coconut sugar to replace light brown sugar you will want to use the ration 3:2 because brown sugar is actually a little sweeter than coconut sugar. Use 3 tsp of coconut sugar for every 2 tsp light brown sugar. Again remembering that cooking times as well as other ingredients may need to be adjusted.

• Paleo post- My favorite paleo chocolate chip cookies- best cookies in town
• The best paleo almond butter chocolate chip cookies // soft & gooey {gf, df, paleo, healthy, flourless}
• Avocado Chocolate brownies {paleo, dairy-free} // 600 followers Huge Holiday Giveaway
• Paleo apple pie – {Healthy, refined-sugar free, gluten-free, paleo}
• Delicious Cinnamon & Apple Loaf {paleo, gf, df, sugar free, heathy, soy-free}
• Paleo apple pie {paleo, gf, df, soy-free, sugar free, healthy}
• Paleo banana power healthy muffins {gluten-free, paleo, healthy}
• Paleo copycat Cinnabon rolls (MY FAVORITE CINNAMON ROLL RECIPE!)
• Paleo, vegan, gluten-free monkey bread- ooey gooey goodness

8. Stick to grass fed meats

When you buy your meats, beef, chicken, lamb, etc. try your best to buy these grass-fed because this means that the animals diet came from fresh pasture or dried grasses like hay. This is better for your body and health.

• Paleo whole 30 BBQ Chicken & Sweet Potato Bowls {gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, whole 30, vegan, healthy}
• Easy Chicken Tikki Masala (gluten-free, vegan, paleo, dairy-free, healthy)
• Easy gluten-free thai chicken pasta {Vegan, gluten-free}
• Curry and honey mustard baked chicken {gf, df, healthy, vegan, paleo options}
• Gluten-free chicken pot pie – {vegan, gluten-free, healthy}
• Paleo coconut curry chicken {paleo, vegan, gf, df, healthy}

9. Use liquids to replace butter

Butter is paleo but many people choose not to consume dairy on the paleo diet for personal reasons. If you are one of those people, like I am, then here is a list of all the alternatives to use in recipes. Keep in mind that with these substitutions you may have to change the other ingredients and/or baking times.

If the recipes called for 1/4 cup melted butter you can replace that with 1/4 of one of the alternatives.

• Maple syrup
• Agave
• Coconut oil
• Olive oil
• Paleo dairy-free yogurt
• Unsweetened applesauce
• Mashed avocado
• Hummus
• Shea butter
• Cocoa butter

For a complete list of paleo substitutes check out this post here.

10. Eating out

Eating out can be hard especially when you’re not only paleo but gluten-free, vegan, raw vegan or looking to loss weight. So I created a post on eating out on the gluten-free & paleo diet- my favorite tips so you can enjoy your meal that may be of help to you.

For a complete FREE downloadable guide to help you with paleo food shopping check out my guide HERE!

If you liked this post then give these a read!

• 20 must make paleo pies for Thanksgiving
• Eating out on the gluten-free & paleo diet- my favorite tips so you can enjoy your meal
• Homemade oven baked seasoned sweet potato fries {Paleo, vegan, gluten-free, healthy}
• 25 Paleo Easter Recipes
• Easy Chicken Tikki Masala (gluten-free, vegan, paleo, dairy-free, healthy)
• Paleo copycat Cinnabon rolls
• Paleo, vegan, gluten-free monkey bread- ooey gooey goodness
• 14 must haves for your Paleo Pantry
• The perfect gluten-free pie crust {gf, df, paleo}
• The best chili recipe EVER! {gluten-free, vegan, paleo}
• 25 days of paleo Christmas recipes
• Paleo apple pie – {Healthy, refined-sugar free, gluten-free, paleo}
• Gluten-free Halloween Treats {paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free}
• For tons more paleo recipes and tips click HERE! I also share dozens of gluten-free, vegan, healthy, raw-vegan and dairy-free recipes which can all be found on the “recipes” tab at the top of my blog.

My blog shares tons of paleo, gluten-free, vegan, raw vegan and healthy recipes so you will definitely have tons of recipes to choose from on this new lifestyle of yours. Or if you are already a seasoned paleo then you can add a few of my recipes to your weekly dinners because they are so good!

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Thanks for reading todays post! Have a great day! 🙂