Slow Cooker Paleo Hot Cocoa Oatmeal…What?

Ok, this has gone way too far.

I’ve always spoken and written openly about my stance on faux-Paleo foods and recipes and how it troubles me to no end to see the growing number of products, books and blogs that are perpetuating “non-Paleo Paleo” and the subsequent disservice they do in terms of educating the masses about what Paleo really is.

I can, however, take a step back and acknowledge how one new to Paleo might view some of these items as being Paleo, even if by a long stretch; one can see how it might appear that a ‘cake’ made with almond flour, honey, dates and raw cacao would be a good part a daily Paleo regime if they understood that those foods might be (sort of Paleo), but perhaps missed the boat on the big picture of what True Paleo is all about (which is not ‘eating slightly less offensive (gluten-free) versions of treats found on the Standard American Diet, by the way).

Today, unfortunately, I came across a recipe tagged as Paleo that brings this whole scene to an entirely new level…and not in a good way.

On my google alert for the word ‘Paleo’, was a link to a blog with a recipe for ‘Slow Cooker Paleo Hot Cocoa Oatmeal’.

I did a double take; surely my eyes had tricked me, hadn’t they?   No, that’s really what it said.  OK, then, I assumed it would be a recipe for some sort of pretend oatmeal; something akin to the way I serve spaghetti squash in lieu of its gluten-laden counterpart.

Hesitantly, I clicked to the link and landed on a site which showed the following ingredients for the recipe:

• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 1/2 c. coconut milk
• 1 T. cocoa powder
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 T. coconut palm sugar
• 2 T. raw honey
• Nuts of choice, for garnish

Excuse me?  And this is Paleo…how?

So now anyone can just add the word Paleo to any recipe, product, blog or book and it’s OK?  

This is so out of hand and such a huge shame.  

Too many companies and individuals are overlooking what True Paleo is all about- a way to eat in a manner which emulates what our ancestors ate, and, as a result, achieve optimal health- and simply jumping on a trend that may, perhaps, be a way to sell product, regardless of whether said product actually has anything to do with the True Paleo Lifestyle.

Consequently, when someone tries this skewed, not-Paleo version of Paleo and doesn’t reap the benefits they’d experience if they were following True Paleo and then proceeds to tell everyone that ‘Paleo didn’t work’, those who might benefit tremendously don’t give it a try in the first place.

Can’t there be another word that everyone can band wagon on, that won’t cause such damage?

It’s getting to the point where I sometimes want to extricate myself from where this is going.

I won’t though; I feel far too strongly that the need to continue to educate about what Paleo really is all about is something I must do.