Is the Paleo Diet over?

Hi friend,

16 years into our careers as recipe creators, I've been wondering lately if the diet that sparked our journey is still relevant today. You might be wondering the same thing if you've been with us since the beginning. 

It seems the peak of the Paleo diet has come and gone. Many of its nutritional benefits are still widely advocated for, but not necessarily under the “Paleo” label. While Whole30 is still going strong, we’ve observed that many hardcore Paleo followers moved on to even stricter diets like Keto and Carnivore. Meanwhile, many of our fellow bloggers either left the nutrition space or evolved their views and no longer follow a strict Paleo diet. TL;DR: Paleo is no longer the buzzword people are searching for, and recipe creators aren’t using it to describe their dishes anymore.

Are we still following a Paleo diet?

To be honest, not really. We feed our kids gluten, dairy, and soy. Early allergen introduction is now recommended to help prevent food allergies, so it was important to me not to limit those exposures when they were babies. More than anything, I want our kids to grow up with a healthy relationship with food.

My own introduction to Paleo came from a place of disordered eating. Right before discovering Paleo, I had lost 30 pounds in 30 days on the HCG diet, and my mindset around body image and food was unhealthy. That’s why we make it a point never to villainize food at home. We talk about nourishing our bodies, highlight how healthy meals give us energy to play and grow, and moderate treats without ever labeling foods as “bad” or discussing body size.

Bill eats sourdough daily and doesn’t restrict gluten. I remain completely gluten-free, but at almost 41, my main focus is on maintaining muscle. I aim for 35 grams of protein per meal and 25 grams of fiber per day, incorporating rice, beans, corn, soy, and I often eat dairy daily alongside plenty of colorful veggies. I still keep my carbs relatively low (around 100–130 grams a day). Some of my meals are naturally “Paleo” because I feel great eating plants and high-quality meat, but I no longer follow a strict Paleo framework. (I’ll share more details on what I’m eating in my next post!)

Where can you find our recipes?

In 2021, we launched FoodSocial, a  recipe-sharing platform for creators and brands. The collaboration and community of the early “Paleosphere” are what lit us up when we first started blogging. But as short-form video content rose on social media, reaching our audience got harder.

Instagram used to be a place where we could organically share photos of our life, recipes, and products with people who chose to follow us. Today’s algorithms prioritize viral reach over true follower connection. You have to craft instant hooks to keep people from scrolling away in the hopes that the algorithm pushes your content to new viewers, viewers who often watch one video and move on without ever following. It’s a model that doesn’t feel supportive for creators or food brands. We created FoodSocial to bring back that sense of community.

As a user, you can follow your favorite foodie creators, see their newest recipes without an algorithm hiding them, filter by dietary needs, save ideas to custom collections, and build meal plans. You can even shop recipe ingredients with a single click or browse our growing FoodSocial Market.

Make sure to follow us there so you don’t miss anything. We share new, free recipes every week!

What’s the latest update with our spice blends?

Primal Palate Organic Spices just turned 11! We feel so grateful to have run this business for over a decade, and we appreciate your support more than words can say.

We have been working day and night behind the scenes lately to make some very exciting changes to Primal Palate Organic Spices, and we can't wait to share it all with you! Make sure you join our newsletter, because we share all the spicy updates there first!

Back in 2015, we launched our original Signature Blends: Adobo Seasoning, Meat & Potatoes, and Barbecue Rub and all three are still top sellers today!

Since having kids, we also developed our Little Palates collection.

These blends are salt-free (safe for older babies and toddlers), packaged in BPA-free plastic bottles so little helpers can’t break them on the floor, perfectly sized for small hands, and most importantly, delicious for the whole family.

Will we be blogging again?

It’s wild to remember a time when opening Instagram didn’t immediately launch a 30-second, cinematic video of a mouthwatering meal. But back in 2010 when we started our Paleo recipe blog, all we had was a basic website, a Facebook page, and a YouTube channel. (Cue the "back in my day..." groans!) These days, it feels like text-based blogs are a thing of the past. Everyone is heading straight to TikTok for quick video fixes from their favorite creators.

When I polled our Instagram audience about where to share my current health and weight loss journey, the overwhelming consensus was here and on YouTube. I’m still working on losing the last 15 pounds from my second pregnancy to get back to where my body feels its absolute best, so I’ll be documenting that process in blog posts and vlogs. (And for real-time meal updates, you can check our IG Stories!)

I’ll be honest: I really dislike filming full-day routines or “day in the life” content. I enjoy watching those videos myself, especially if there’s good ASMR! But creating them feels completely overwhelming to me. Writing here feels much more natural.

Thank you for being here. I have to say I’m really excited to connect with you through writing again. I missed it.

Hugs,
Hayley