The Paleo Diet Ground Rules
  1. All the lean meats, fish, and seafood you can eat
  2. All the fruits and nonstarchy vegetables you can eat
  3. No cereals
  4. No legumes
  5. No dairy products
  6. No processed foods 
The Seven Keys of the Paleo Diet
  1. Eat a relatively high amount of animal protein compare to that in the typical American diet.
  2. Eat fewer carbohydrates than most modern diets recommend, but eat lots of good carbohydrates—from fruits and vegetables, not from grains, starchy tubers and the refined sugars.
  3. Eat a large amount of fiber from non-starchy fruits and vegetables.
  4. Eat a moderate amount of fat, with more good (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) fats than bad (saturated) fats, and nearly equal amounts of omega 3 and omega 6 fats.
  5. Eat foods with a high potassium content and a low sodium content.
  6. Eat a diet with a net alkaline load.
  7. Eat foods rich in plant phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants
The Seven Keys to optimize health, minimize the risk of chronic disease, and cause excess weight to melt away. This is the way we’re genetically programmed to eat. High-protein foods that are part of the Paleo Diet:
  • Skinless turkey breast (94% protein)
  • Shrimp (90% protein)
  • Red snapper (87% protein)
  • Crab (86% protein)
  • Halibut (80% protein)
  • Beef sweetbreads (77% protein)
  • Steamed clams (73% protein)
  • Lean pork tenderloin (72% protein)
  • Beef heart (69% protein)
  • Broiled tuna (68% protein)
  • Veal steak (68% protein)
  • Sirloin beef steak (65% protein)
  • Chicken livers (65% protein)
  • Skinless chicken breasts (63% protein)
  • Beef liver (63% protein)
  • Lean beef flank steak (62% protein)
  • Lean pork chops (62% protein)
  • Mussels (58% protein)
Health-sustaining omega 3 fats from many foods found in the supermarket:
  • Fish and seafood, particularly cold-water fish, such as salmon, mackerel, herring, and halibut
  • Flaxseed oil, which can be used in several ways—as an ingredient in salad dressings, rubbed on lean meats, poured over steamed vegetables, or taken as a supplement
  • Liver
  • Game meat
  • Free-range chickens
  • Pasture-fed beef
  • Eggs enriched with omega 3
  • Salt-free walnuts and macadamia nuts (which are also tasty in salads
  • Leafy green vegetables
  • Fish oil capsules, available at healthy food stores
Supplements
  • Vitamin D (during short winter days) or
  • A spoonful of cod liver oil
What to Eat?
  • Lean Meats
    • Lean beef  (trimmed of visible fat)
      • Flank steak
      • Top sirloin steak
      • Extra-lean hamburger (no more than 7% fat, extra fat drained off)
      • London broil
      • Chuck steak
      • Lean veal
      • Any other lean cut
    • Lean pork (trimmed of visible fat)
      • Pork loin
      • Pork chops
      • Any other lean cut
    • Lean poultry (white meat, skin removed)
      • Chicken breast
      • Turkey breast
      • Game hen breasts
    • Eggs (limit to six a week)
      • Chicken (go for the enriched omega 3 variety)
      • Duck
      • Goose
    • Other meats
      • Beef, lamb, pork, and chicken livers
      • Beef, lamb, pork tongues
      • Beef, lamb, pork marrow
      • Beef, lamb, pork “sweetbreads”
    • Game meat
      • Alligator                                    Ostrich
      • Bear                                                Pheasant
      • Bison (buffalo)                        Quail
      • Caribou                                    Rattlesnake
      • Elk                                                Reindeer
      • Emu                                                Squab
      • Goose                                                Turtle
      • Kangaroo                                    Venison
      • Muscovy duck                                    Wild boar
      • New Zealand cervena deer            Wild Turkey
    • Fish
      • Bass                                                Perch
      • Bluefish                                    Red Snapper
      • Cod                                                Rockfish
      • Drum                                                Salmon
      • Eel                                                Scrod
      • Flatfish                                    Shark
      • Grouper                                    Striped bass
      • Haddock                                    Sunfish
      • Halibut                                                Tilapia
      • Herring                                    Trout
      • Mackerel                                    Tuna
      • Monkfish                                    Turbot
      • Mullet                                                Walleye
      • Northern pike                                    Any other commercially available fish
      • Orange roughy
    • Shellfish
      • Abalone                                    Mussels
      • Clams                                                Oysters
      • Crab                                                Scallops
      • Crayfish                                    Shrimp
      • Lobster
 
  • Fruits and Vegetables
    • Fruits
      • Apple                                                Cranberries
      • Apricot                                    Figs
      • Avocado                                    Gooseberries
      • Banana                                                Grapefruit
      • Blackberries                                    Grapes
      • Blueberries                                    Guava
      • Boysenberries                                    Honeydew melon
      • Cantaloupe                                    Kiwi
      • Carambola                                    Lemon
      • Cassava melon                        Lime
      • Cherimoya                                    Lychee
      • Cherries                                    Mango
      • Nectarine                                    Pomegranate
      • Orange                                                Raspberries
      • Papaya                                                Rhubarb
      • Passion fruit                                    Star fruit
      • Peaches                                    Strawberries
      • Pears                                                Tangerine
      • Persimmon                                    Watermelon
      • Pineapple                                    All other fuits
      • Plums
    • *Vegetables
      • Artichoke                                    Mushrooms
      • Asparagus                                    Mustard greens
      • Beet greens                                    Onions
      • Beets                                                Parsley
      • Bell peppers                                    Parsnip
      • Broccoli                                    Peppers (all kinds)
      • Brussels sprouts                        Pumpkin
      • Cabbage                                    Purslane
      • Carrots                                                Radish
      • Cauliflower                                    Rutabaga
      • Celery                                                Seaweed
      • Collards                                    Spinach
      • Cucumber                                    Squash (all kinds)
      • Dandelion                                    Swiss chard
      • Eggplant                                    Tomatillos
      • Endive                                                Tomato
      • Green onion                                    Turnip greens
      • Kale                                                Turnips
      • Kohlrabi                                    Watercress
      • Lettuce
 
  • Nuts and Seeds
      • Almonds                                    Pine nuts
      • Brazil nuts                                    Pistachios (unsalted)
      • Cashews                                    Pumpkin seeds
      • Chestnuts                                    Sesame seeds
      • Hazelnuts (filberts)                        Sunflower seeds
      • Macadamia nuts                        Walnuts
      • Pecans
*if you are actively losing weight, you should eat no more than 4 oz. a day Foods You Can Eat in Moderation §       Oils
  • Olive, avocado, walnut, flaxseed, and canola oils (use in moderation—4 tbsp or less a day when weight loss is of primary importance)
§       Beverages
  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Wine (two 4 oz. glasses; Note: Don’t buy “cooking wine” which is loaded with salt)
  • Beer (one 12 oz. serving)
  • Spirits (4 oz.)
§       Paleo Sweets
  • Dried fruits (no more than 2 oz. a day, particularly if you are trying to lose weight)
  • Nuts mixed with dried and fresh fruits (no more than  4 oz. of nuts and 2 oz. of dried fruit a day, particularly if you are trying to lose weight)
Foods You Should Avoid Dairy Foods
  • All processed foods made with any dairy products
  • Butter                         Cheese
  • Cream                        Nonfat dairy creamer
  • Dairy spreads                  Powdered milk
  • Frozen yogurt                  Skim milk
  • Ice cream                        Whole milk
  • Ice milk                        Yogurt
  • Low-fat milk
Cereal Grains
  • Barley (barley soup, barley bread, and all processed foods made with barley)
  • Corn (corn on the cob, corn tortillas, corn chips, corn starch, corn syrup)
  • Millet
  • Oats (steel-cut oats, rolled oats, and all processed foods made with oats)
  • Rice (brown rice, white rice, top ramen, rice noodles, basmati rice, rice cakes, rice flour, and all processed foods made with rice)
  • Sorghum
  • Wheat (bread, rolls, muffins, noodles, crackers, cookies, cake, doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, pasta, spaghetti, lasagna, wheat tortillas, pizza, pita bread, flat bread, and all processed foods made with wheat or wheat flour)
  • Wild rice
Cereal Grainlike Seeds
  • Amaranth
  • Buckwheat
  • Quinoa
Legumes
  • All beans (adzuki beans, black beans, broad beans, fava beans, filed beans, garbanzo beans, horse beans, kidney beans, lima beans, mung beans, navy beans, pinot beans, red beans, string beans, white beans)
  • Black-eyed peas
  • Chickpeas                        Peanuts
  • Lentils                        Snowpeas
  • Peas                        Sugar snap peas
  • Miso                        Soybeans and all soybean products,
  • Peanut butter                  including tofu
Starchy Vegetables
  • Starchy tubers                  Sweet potatoes
  • Cassava root                  Tapioca pudding
  • Manioc                        Yams
  • Potatoes and all potato products (French fries, potato chips, etc.)
Salt-Containing Foods
  • Almost all commercial salad dressings and condiments
  • Bacon                        Porkrinds
  • Cheese                        Processed meats
  • Deli meats                        Salami
  • Frankfurters                  Salted nuts
  • Ham                        Salted spices
  • Hot dogs                        Sausages
  • Ketchup                        Smoked, dried, and salted fish and meat
  • Olives                        Virtually all canned meats and fish (unless
  • Pickled foods                  you soak and drain them)
Fatty Meats
  • Bacon
  • Fatty beef roasts
  • Beef ribs
  • Fatty cuts of beef
  • Chicken and turkey
  • Fatty ground beef
  • Fatty pork chops
  • Chicken and turkey
  • Fatty pork roasts
  • skin
  •  Lamb chops
  • Chicken and turkey thighs
  • Lamb roasts and wings
  • Leg of lamb
  • Pork ribs
  • Pork sausage
  • T-bone steaks
Soft Drinks and Fruit Juices
  • All sugary soft drinks
  • Canned, bottled, and freshly squeezed fruit dinks (which lack the fiber of fresh fruit and have a much higher glycemic index)
Sweets
  • Candy
  • Honey
  • Sugars
Recommended Salad and Cooking Oils   Omega 6 to Omega 3            % MUFA            % PUFA            % SAT Best 1. Flaxseed                            0.24                        20.2                        66.0                        9.4 2. Canola oil                          2.00                        58.9                        29.6                        7.1 3. Mustard seed oil               2.60                        59.2                        21.2                        11.6 Better 4. Walnut oil                           5.08                        22.8                        63.3                        9.1 Good             5. Olive oil                               13.1                        72.5                        8.4                        13.5 6. Avocado oil                         13.0                        67.9                        13.5                        11.6 Bad 7. Almond oil                            no omega 3            69.9                        17.4                        8.2 8. Apricot kernal oil                 no omega 3            60.0                        29.3                        6.3 9. Coconut oil                            no omega 3            5.8                        1.8                        86.5 Bad (do not use at all) 10. Corn oil                                  83                        24.2                        58.7                        12.7 11. Cottonseed oil                      258                        17.8                        51.9                        25.9 12. Grapeseed oil                        696                        16.1                        69.9                        9.6 13. Hazelnut oil                        no omega 3            78.0                        10.2                        7.4 14. Oat oil                                  21.9                        35.1                        40.9                        19.6 15. Palm oil                                45.5                        37.0                        9.3                        49.3 16. Peanut oil                             no omega 3            46.2                        32.0                        16.9 17. Rice bran oil                        20.9                        39.3                        35.0                        19.7 18. Safflower oil                        no omega 3            14.4                        74.6                        6.2 19. Sesame oil                          137                           39.7                        41.7                        14.1 20. Soybean oil                        7.5                            23.3                        57.9                        14.4 21. Sunflower oil                       no omega 3            19.5                        65.7                        10.3 22. Tomato seed oil                  22.1                        22.8                        53.1                        19.7 23. Wheat germ oil                      7.9                        15.1                        61.7                        18.8 *MUFA = monounsaturated fat, PUSA = polyunsaturated fat, SAT = saturated fat   *Taken directly from, The Paleo Diet by Lauren Cordain, Ph.D.