The Paleo Diet According to Ice Age Meals, Part 1

Ask ten different people how they’d describe the Paleo diet, and you’ll probably get ten different answers. And that's cool. But as a company that sells its own Paleo meals, we want to share Ice Age Meals’ interpretation of the Paleo diet. We believe in being transparent and direct with everyone, and we think it’s important that you understand where we’re coming from when we’re talking Paleo. So here goes.

At Ice Age Meals, our interpretation of the Paleo diet is a very modern take on an ancient concept. We’re making meals that are free of grains (with the exception of our Paleo + Rice line), soy and dairy, with no added sugar. Our meals are heavy on the veggies, with the cleanest proteins we can get. And that’s it.

In a way, we’re kind of like modern-day hunter/gatherers. It would be nice to be able to order from foodservice purveyors and trust that what we’d get would meet our standards, but that just isn’t the case. That’s why we put so much effort into “hunting” for clean ingredients that are accessible on a scale to match our production. We can always go to the local farmer’s market and find the goods, but what happens when we need 4,000 pounds of yams?

One of the criticisms of the Paleo diet relates to means. Did “Paleo” man have access to things like canned coconut milk and cured olives? No. We understand that. He didn’t have an oven, either. But to us, the point of Paleo isn’t shunning modern conveniences in a misguided stab at authenticity, but recommitting to fueling our bodies in a way that does the least damage and the most good.

Our canned ingredients are a good example. It’s true that some of our ingredients are of the tinned variety, but we always, always source the cleanest canned ingredients we can find.

• Ingredient list on our canned tomatoes: Vine-ripened tomatoes
• Ingredient list on our green olives: Olives, water, salt
• Ingredient list on our raisins: Raisins

At the end of the day, we’re cooking for you as we’d cook for our families. We are chefs at heart and we’re dedicated to the constant improvement of the quality of our ingredients. Where most food manufacturers will cut corners to save a buck, we’ll do the opposite. And it’s all in an effort to produce meals that fit our interpretation of the Paleo diet.

We have more to say about this whole Paleo diet interpretation, so check back next week. We’re sharing more details about the selection of our ingredients and where we toe that Paleo line.