From the L.A. Times (emphasis mine):
Cantina Power dishes will have almost 30 grams of protein per serving and drop high-calorie fillings such as creamy cilantro dressing, rice and beans, and replace them with reduced-fat sour cream and cheddar cheese.
...
Americans are also dabbling in protein-centric diets such as the Paleolithic, or Paleo, which encourages people to eat only whole, unprocessed foods similar to what humans ate in the Stone Age.This--and other examples being featured, like Panera Bread (from Bloomberg)--is a perfect example of a corporation taking a dietary trend it doesn't understand at all and then trying to capitalize on it. I have my doubts that Taco Bell is specifically trying to emulate any sort of paleo diet. Instead it's adopting some of the concepts of diets like paleo diets, combine them with what they assume is universal wisdom about dieting, and then using it to slap a bunch of half-assed crappy labels on their crappy food so that people--usually people who aren't actually paleo dieters but associate it with healthy eating anyway--buy it thinking it's a better option. It might be, but I'll talk about that a big later.
In response, the chain began selling high-protein breakfast items this year and is planning to test Greek yogurt with granola, as well as steak burritos and bowls in Omaha, Neb. The Greek yogurt will come from Three Happy Cows, a boutique yogurt supplier, and will cost $2.49.
It's really the media attention that's trying to slap the "paleo" label on this, and that's why I've put a lot of words in bold in my quote. "Reduced fat" is the last thing most paleo eaters want. Most of us would much rather get our calories from fat than protein, and those of us who eat dairy especially will usually favor whole-fat versions. You do not see lacto-paleo dieters drinking skim. It's an interesting thing that I read this today, too, because I was looking desperately for full-fat Greek yoghurt. But modern fat-phobia has made it that you just can't find full-fat dairy products in a lot of places.
Speaking of which, although many paleo eaters do eat dairy (I call this "lacto-paleo"), that doesn't mean it's appropriate to advertise dairy-heavy foods as paleo... any dairy, but especially reduced-fat dairy.
Again, paleo diets tend to emphasize fat, and good fat. That mostly means saturated animal and tropical oils. Lard. Tallow. Ghee and butter. Coconut oil. Palm oil. And, of course, fat that's in the meat we eat. A paleo eater who gets most of their calories from fat is not uncommon. And although it's vague from the description, just the fact that this is a fast food chain already convinces me that this is not going to be using quality lard or coconut oil, it'll probably be using "vegetable" oil from soybeans.
Also... granola? Mother of fuck. How do you even add "They're selling Greek yoghurt and granola for breakfast!" in an article maintaining Taco Bell is trying to pander to paleo eaters? It's outrageous and ridiculous.
This is not paleo. At best it is a slightly-less-shitty option than the rest of their menu.
That's maybe the one good part about this. Most paleo eaters are going to wind up in a circumstance where we wind up deciding between either fasting or getting something at a fast food place that isn't fully paleo. I've been known to get salads at Subway, for instance. I know damn well there is probably vegetable oil in there, fillers, and so forth. But it's better than getting a sandwich. I've been known to get lettuce-wrapped BLT "sandwiches" from Jimmy John's. My order also has vegetable oil. This is a trade-off. It's saying "Yeah, I understand this probably isn't perfectly paleo, but if I eat this I won't be tempted to go maul a loaf of bread later." So it's not a bad thing that restaurants are expanding their menus to include less bread and other egregiously un-paleo foods.
It's also important that as a dietary community we start really looking at what we get excited about as a community. I remember when Graze boxes first came to the United States and paleo forums I go to were loaded with invites and people looking for invites to get free boxes. But practically none of the options didn't have stuff like vegetable oil, added sugar, peanuts, or grain.
But more importantly, we need to be the community that doesn't buy something just because it says "paleo" on it, or some other buzzword, or just because it was described as "paleo." There are already products out there that are specifically advertised to the paleo community that aren't even close to what a paleo eater should be eating. Most "paleo" and "primal" meal replacements have either whey or sugar in them... not to mention they fucking exist to begin with.
So when you read things like this, take them with a heap of salt.
