The cornerstone of the Primal Kitchen product line is the Primal diet. If you’re not familiar with the food, movement, and lifestyle pillars of the Primal way of life, consider this your crash course!

The Primal diet is the brainchild of our founder, Mark Sisson. As a former competitive athlete whose athletic career was cut short due to recurring illness and injury, Mark experienced firsthand the profound effects that food and lifestyle can have on one’s vitality and well-being. Once he discovered the transformative power of living the way humans are meant to do, Mark made it his mission to help others. This mission launched a movement, a blog, and a community… and eventually inspired the Primal Kitchen product line.

You don’t need to follow a Primal diet to appreciate Primal Kitchen products. You just have to love quality ingredients, good fats, and, most of all, delicious flavors! But read on to learn more about the Primal diet.

How to Eat a Primal Diet 

The Primal diet is described concisely in Laws #1 and #2 of the Primal Blueprint:

• Primal Blueprint Law 1: Eat Plants and Animals - Eat the meat, fish, fowl, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and sensible indulgences (like coffee and dark chocolate—yum!) that deliver the nutrients, building blocks, and energy your body needs.
• Primal Blueprint Law 2: Avoid Substances that Could Undermine Health -  Minimize or avoid potentially harmful ingredients.

Following a Primal diet is as simple as embracing high-quality animal proteins, produce, and good fats while avoiding excess sugar, grains, seed oils, and artificial sweeteners. Primal Kitchen products are made with this in mind, using ingredients with integrity, from trusted sources and carefully vetted suppliers. Eating great-tasting food shouldn’t mean compromising on ingredient quality!

A phrase we kick around a lot here at Primal Kitchen comes straight from Mark Sisson: “Eat Like Your Life Depends On It.” This phrase is the core truth of the Primal diet: Food choices have the power to impact your life, so every meal, product, and ingredient should be made and chosen mindfully. 

Food is also meant to be enjoyed. Preparing delicious meals and sharing them with friends and loved ones is a vital element of the human experience. You should love the food you eat, and you should feel great eating it! Anyone can dabble in a Primal diet. Do you prefer to follow low-carb keto profile? No problem. Are you dabbling with eating more plant-based fare? That works too. The Primal diet encourages you to take the two Primal Laws above and adapt them to your tastes and preferences.

Here’s a shopping list to get you started. You can find a whole host of Primal Kitchen product-inspired recipes right here on the Primal Kitchen website. Our search function lets you narrow the results down by diet and meal, so sourcing recipes is a cinch.

Happy eating!

Primal Diet FAQs:

What’s the difference between paleo and a Primal diet?

Both diets center on retracing our ancestral roots, so there are a lot of similarities between the two. There are also a few differences. Namely, paleo diets have historically restricted dairy and legumes, while the Primal way of eating allows for them provided that you tolerate them well. The Primal way of eating is also intricately tied to the other Primal pillars of movement and lifestyle.

Does the Primal diet prescribe certain macros?

Macronutrients, in case you aren’t familiar with the term, are the protein, fat, and carbohydrates in your food. Generally speaking, the Primal diet tends to be lower in carbohydrates than a standard modern diet because it focuses less on grains and added sugars, which are the main sources of carbs in many people’s diets. The Primal diet also embraces the fat naturally found in plant and animal foods. This includes the good fats from avocado oil and olive oil.

However, the Primal diet allows for a wide range of macronutrient intakes, from very low-carb keto diets to higher-carb diets that include more fruit and root vegetables, for example. The key is to find the balance that works best for you.

What if I have food allergies or intolerances?

No problem! The Primal diet is highly customizable not only to your specific needs but also to your tastes. Choose from the vast array of meat, fish, fowl, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and good fats to craft your unique expression of the Primal diet.