PaleoLife Bars and Other Primal “Cheats”

As I am sure it is true of most families, life has been a little hectic lately.  While I have done a pretty decent job of sticking with the Paleo Meal Plan, I’ve slipped up a couple of times with regards to lunches and snacks.

We ate out lunch today (thanks, Dad, for the awesome gift card!) and, while I had grilled chicken and a sweet potato, I used the restaurants sugary butter.  The kids have had leftover meat and veggies for lunch almost everyday rather than the cool stuff I had planned.  One day I had to give the kids soup out of a can and I just drank the broth and then nibbled on turkey pepperoni later – probably not Paleo.  Then during several crazy moments when we didn’t make it on home in time for naps/snacks I relied on stashed granola bars for the kids while I snuck into my own secret stash of PaleoLife Bars.

I have been able to make it without cheating* so far (more on this below) but only because I have stashed extra here and there.  They are fantastic and filling.  So filling that I have found I can only eat half a bar at a time!  They are a little messy/crumbly in the car if I’m ravenous (just leaving the gym) and not watching what I’m doing, but that is the only negative thing I could possibly say about them.  They are yummy – delicious!  ”‘Licious” if you hear BulldozerBaby describe them and they meet all my Paleo requirements.

Here’s a description from the PALEOLIFE FOODS website:

PaleoLife™ Paleo bars are the world’s first REAL, ultra-premium Paleo-friendly HIGH-PROTEIN nutrition bars — and they taste INCREDIBLE. Imagine a gourmet fresh brownie-like chocolate with a bit of coconut and healthy nuts…

ALL-NATURAL and ULTRA-FRESH ULTRA-PREMIUM REAL ORGANIC FOOD INGREDIENTS!

• Made within DAYS instead of years (we only ship bars made less than 7 days ago!).
• High-Protein! 17g! Perfect post-workout or meal replacement, or snack.
• No Gluten or Wheat ingredients, No Soy, No Dairy, No Sugar or Agave-laden Garbage Ingredients!

Premium-sourced, highest-quality all-natural ingredients: Organic Cashew Butter, Organic Almond Butter, Organic Rice Protein, Raw Organic Walnuts, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Unsweetened Coconut, Cocoa, Organic Cacao Nibs, Organic Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Cinnamon, Sea Salt 

For me the most important part is No Dairy, No Soy, No Sugar, No Dates, No Gluten/Wheat – in that prioritized order.  Oh, and did I mention they taste FANTASTIC!?  That, too.

*So, let’s talk about “Cheating,” OK?

I consider eating chips or bread or pasta or white potatoes “cheating.”  Pretty much anything else I’ve considered only a mistake … or just plain survival these days.

Survival: Processed deli meat, almond “cheese,” coffee, organic/free-trade/dairy-free cocoa nibs, canned/boxed coconut milk, and regular roasted unsalted nuts have become such a fundamental part of my diet that I’m having a hard time going without them when juggling family, career and housekeeping.  I just don’t have the time to make my own almond flour and coconut milk or enough money to buy enough chicken to replace the deli meat the kids and I snack on during the day.  These are convenience foods that I’ve decided are worth the compromise at this point in changing to a Primal/Paleo “real foods” diet.  (Check out my post HERE to read where I talk about the planning phase and convenience foods I’d already prepared beforehand.)

Mistakes: Diet Coke – I have no excuse for slipping up with this one.  It wasn’t a “survival” convenience food.  It was a want.  A hedge against further temptation.   Going on four hours a sleep last night, I felt I couldn’t hold my resolve against the chips that DH brought home without caffeine so I broke into one of the Diet Cokes I keep in the fridge for my MIL when she visits.  Diet Coke is definitely not “real food” but it does have a heck of a wallop of caffeine and kept me from touching even one of those haunting, tempting, delicious BBQ potato chips sitting on top of the fridge…  Mmmmm,  Chips…  {I pause to wipe drool.}  So I count it as a mistake.

I could count it as “cheating” but that word always makes me feel like a total failure.  And total failure makes me feel like tearing into a bag of chips … and then a bag of M&Ms … which would then totally be cheating.  So, for now, I’m counting it as a mistake.  I’m going to hold up my head, stand strong (in the Lord) and continue onward.  How about you?

Have you cheated?  Or just made a “mistake”?  Tell me about it!

Disclaimer: PaleoLifeFoods provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.  If you order by clicking on any of my links I will receive a small commission on any purchases you might make using affiliate links.  View my full disclosure statement here.