After the first week of my most recent Paleo cycle, I happened upon a devastating revelation. Eggs + Me ≠ Compatible
I cried for two days.
Lest you mistake me for a melodramatic teenager, allow me to explain.
Devastating Reason #1.
The incredible (in)edible egg is the only fast protein source. With two little ones (one of whom requires more attention than your typical child), fast is the only way to go if I want to actually eat during the day. Unless I resort to processed and grain-based convenience foods (I won’t), I usually have to choose between cooking my meals and actually eating them. Speed is crucial to my survival.
Devastating Reason #2.
I can’t cook. I do cook, just not extraordinarily well. And especially meat. I sometimes amaze myself with how thoroughly I can ruin a decent cut of beef (not that I would even know what a decent cut of beef was…). The thought of every meal being a tremendous failure is not terribly motivating.
Devastating Reason #3.
I hate meat. Gasp! Many Paleo followers wear their meat-tearing canine teeth like a medal of honor. In my most pity-party days, I award myself the Red Meat Badge of Courage. I don’t like the taste, I gag at the smell of raw meat, I have such an aversion to touching it raw that my husband generally cuts it all up for me the night before, and I have more texture and psychological issues than I care to acknowledge. A life without meat suits me very well. Except for the whole “I get really really sick without it” fact.
While the majority of people struggle with Paleo because of the need to eliminate favorite foods, my biggest struggle has been the addition of meat. Eggs were my cheerleader. The protein source that secretly whispered, “You can do this. Just two meals a day. I will be with you for the third.” But in my time of greatest need, they too have deserted me. Autoimmune issues and egg intolerance seems to be pretty synonymous, but I was hoping to be the exception to the rule. I’m not. PCOS is so stupid.
I can tolerate fish fairly well, but between Deepwater Horizon blowing up in the middle of the Gulf last April and Japan’s nuclear plants pumping Chernobyl into the Pacific, I’m kind of running out of ocean. Which leaves me with beef, pork, poultry, game. No eggs.
So while I’m not a melodramatic teenager, I do get tired of sucking it up every day. Eggs, come back to me. Or at the very least, send me an equally quick substitute that leaves me with zero texture issues. Too much to ask?
Tags: Food Allergies, Paleo, PCOS, PCOS Cure, PCOS Diet, PCOS Nutrition, PCOS Symptoms, PCOS Treatment, PCOS Weight Loss, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Women's Health
I can certainly empathize. I go in and out with eggs… I had some at a fancy restaurant in LA when we lived there and fell head over heals in love, no idea how they made them taste SO good! Meat, eh.. I’m also in and out with that.. though I do try to eat it everyday. For me what it all comes down to is preparation. I LOVE very well prepared steak at high dollar restaurants, but when I try to emulate them, I just cant do it (yet!) ;P I have played around with the idea of forking out the dough to go to culinary school because I want to be able to cook *really amazing tasting food for my family..but I dont know if I can justify thousands of dollars to be the family chef. With as much time as I spend in the kitchen it seems like a good idea to me though ;D but for now, I’m trying to learn what I can via the internet and books. Great post as always.
Keep me up to date on your learning. I’m sure you work much better magic in the kitchen than I do. I think I would even get fired as a volunteer prison chef
Whole9 recently posted this book on facebook: Cree LeFavour’s “The New Steak” if you’re not quite ready to go to culinary school. Let me know if you try it out and like it.
Oh my, I am the worst at cooking meat! I too can somehow ruin every piece of meat I cook. Eggs are definitely my go-to food. So what made u decide eggs were no good?
I think if we are both meat-ruiners, maybe the husbands better cook if we ever meet
I got really lazy one week and was having massive texture issues, so I wasn’t making breakfast sausage or any other meat in the morning. I was eating half a dozen per day. After 6 days, I realized there was some nausea that I’d been experiencing in ever-increasing amounts over the week. I didn’t notice it at first, but after 6 days it got really bad. Then on day 7, about 30 minutes after I ate eggs, I was so sick and nauseous I laid down and took a 3-hour nap (only to be awakened by my hungry baby).
I’m curious, what symptoms do you experience that lead you to the conclusion that autoimmune issues make you intolerant? If I eat more than one egg my stomach hurts.
My hurting stomach is what makes me not eat them, and I imagine you probably don’t have more than one very often if you get a stomach ache as well. I’ve read from a few reputable sources (Robb Wolf, Loren Cordain, Whole9) that eggs are usually a problem for folks with autoimmune issues (particularly egg whites). I’m not sure why, but I have a consulting session with Whole9 next week and that is on the top of my Must-Ask list. I’ll keep you updated.
what do eggs do to you? how did you figure out they were the culprit?
have you tried ground chicken? I really really like it and it’s very healthy. I like it much better then ground turkey.
I really like ground chicken far better than ground turkey, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere. I usually have to run it through our food processor myself (which is not that awesome for a woman with meat texture/smell issues…gag).
Eggs make me pukey and tired and put my stomach in a lot of pain. Not to mention the headaches. I noticed after eating them every day for a week and my symptoms got progressively worse. I also started reflecting on other times when I would eat a single hard-boiled egg and not do so hot after it (like one time right before going to CrossFit…eww…they’re not called burpees for nothin’).
I was born and raised vegetarian (for religious reasons), so I can totally empathize with your meat texture issues. Funny how many vegetarians seem to go Paleo after the health issues caused by this “healthy” vegetarian lifestyle.
I struggled with this for a long time, and am finally starting to find ways to enjoy meat. Ground beef dishes like chili or bolognese sauce or meatballs with a huge side of veggies usually help me. Meat in general has to be cut into very small bites, although I’ve learned to love a good steak. Curries are great for small bites, as the meat has to be chopped up small and is usually surrounded by a sauce or veggies.
Hope these ideas help! I love your blog, we really seem to face a lot of similar issues!
Reshma, we are cut from the same cloth. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the suggestions-I will try all of them.
Do you have any trouble with the tomatoes in your bolognese sauce or are they generally okay for you? (Not texturally, but health-wise)
Fortunately I haven’t had issues with tomatoes, but if you do I’d just stick with curries and stews. Also, regarding eggs, I’ve noticed that when I eat just the egg yolks (an idea from Peter at the Hyperlipid blog), I don’t get nauseous like I used to with whole eggs. My husband eats the whites, so no waste and I get to have my eggs! Worth a shot. Let me know how it goes with the suggestions.
Hi Reshma, I have been toying with the idea of egg yolks only since you mentioned it. I haven’t done it yet because I am scared and an incredibly big wuss when it comes to being sick now! We’ve been doing more curries and stews and I think cutting everything itty-bitty is working (better). I’m also amazed at how much of a difference the grass-fed/grass-finished beef makes on my psyche. Thanks for supporting me through my meat-texture-phobia.