Wait WHAT?! Juli doesn’t eat completely paleo all the time?! What a fake. What a liar. What a cheat. I hate her.
Don’t worry, I feel the same way.
But here’s the thing, I’m not paleo 100% of the time. Because frankly, that’s not how I can live my life. That’s not as happy of a life to me. Especially if I’m not competing. I like doing fun things, and most fun things to me include food. So I wanted to share some of the foods that I have found eatable within my dietary restrictions.
So get this. I don’t deal with grains very well. I seem to deal with corn just fine. I can eat a little bit of cheese, but too much makes me break out. Sugar makes me break out. Nuts make me break out. Boo. Beans and rice make me chunky. Annnnnnd alcohol makes me giggle.
So let’s go over some of the food and drinks that I decide to put in my body when strict paleo food just won’t make the cut.
- Corn tortilla chips. If I go to Mexican restaurants, I will almost have some chips. Not the whole basket, but some. Because they are delicious.
- Arepas. Do you know what an arepa is? If you don’t, you need to figure out where to get one in your city and love life with them in your life. It’s a corn pita stuffed with meat and plantains. It’s ridiculous. I hunt down the Quiero Arepas food truck in Denver on Twitter to find out how often I can get my hands are one of those beauties.
- Pupusas. Ok, so I didn’t know what these little babies were until one day, while hungover sipping on a homemade bloody mary at The Hornet, did I notice them on the menu. And when Laura ordered it, I snacked off her plate multiple times. They’re awesome. It’s like eating an eggs benedict, when the english muffin gets all wet. Ew, gross word choice. But for real. And THEN, Laura and I found pupusas in the gluten free section. Awesome, just awesome.
- Pizza. Who doesn’t miss pizza when they go paleo? Well, I do. So I tend to order gluten free pizzas at some restaurants when I’m out on the town. BUT I’ve found that some pizzas don’t love my insides. So recently, Laura and I found this pizza brand that we absolutely love, and you can find it at Whole Foods. Sometimes we top it with sausage and arugula.
- Taza Chocolate. I’m obsessed with this stuff. Thank god it’s out of my price range or I would buy it all the time. It’s HANDS DOWN my favorite kind of chocolate. No seriously, I dream about this stuff. It kind of tastes like it has coffee grounds in it, which I dig. I like coffee that stays in my teeth for later. Don’t act like I’m gross. You know that sounds wonderful.
- Alcohol. Ok let’s get to alcohol. My favorite wine is Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. I love ciders. I love mimosas and I newly love bloody marys. But when I go out to bars, I just stick with vodka sodas or shots of vodka.
That’s about it. Or at least all I can think of. You should share in the comments what you like to eat when you don’t eat completely paleo. Because everyone likes sharing.
Hi Juli! it’s awesome to hear you are a normal human being and enjoy non-paleo food every once in a while. I think everyone should, personally, pure 100% paleo is not good for me. I have to have some gluten every once in a while or my stomach will go crazy. Anyway, I’ve been hearing a lot of craze about carb backloading and some of my CF coaches asked me to try it out, just not do it strictly or eat pure junk like it’s suggested. I’ve read a bit about it just wanted to know if you’ve heard/read/tried it or can give me some advise.
Thanks!
Ice cream! This weekend it was Cold Stone while at Breck but it is usually always in the delicious blizzard/blast form.
I’m with you Julie, pizza and beer for sure are my top two cheat meals. Ice cream and cheese are next. Other than that I usually don’t feel too deprived.
I checked out every one of those and I think I would love them as much as you do… in fact, I am going out to get some of the chocolate as soon as my Whole30 is over!
Although I have issues with dairy and grains (and processed sugar) I LOVE the little Brazilian cheese bread balls at Fogo De Chao, which luckily are naturally gluten free 🙂
I also have to have a piece of my grandma’s homemade apple pie once a year, even though I don’t feel well after. It’s worth is sometimes!
And of course, organic red wine. I can totally handle wine if it has no added sulfites. Plus no hangover then!!!
Peanut butter cups…or any combo of PB & chocolate. I know that there are almond butter cups but they are more expensive and hard to find.
And corn chips. I love Mexican food and cannot go out for Mexican food without eating the chips.
Stephanie,
I love the peanut butter chocolate combo as well. I’ll share something I did…Next time you make Juli’s Amazing Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies, top a piece with almond butter like “icing”!!! It takes her already Amazing brownies to a whole new level of Amazingness!! You must try!
I do the sweet potato brownie topped with almond butter combo… a-ma-zing.
I do PB2 chocolate peanut butter cups, they’re delish and since they are lower in calories I don’t feel guilty for the cheat! I also sometimes have hummus with lettuce. Yummmm (ya I have strange taste who gives
My rule is “never cheat with wheat.” I will cheat with alcohol, small amounts of dairy, and of course SUGAR! But if I eat wheat I break out into hives and spend 85% of my day on the toilet. I’m sure you wanted to know that. But it’s the truth. I think my fav cheat is creme brulee. *drool*
Once in a while I have some cheese, because ooey gooey melty browned on top cheese is kind of heaven. And ice cream, with brownie chunks in it (which I sometimes top with home made whipped cream – don’t you judge me!). Other than that, my alcohol of choice is whiskey, Irish whiskey to be exact. And El Presidente Margaritas (which is basically 7 types of alcohol mixed together into a beautiful concoction). BUT! These are things I (try to) reserve for special occasions, otherwise, I tend to go way over board, and then my husband has to deal with me whining about how I feel awful because I ate/drank to much and feel like poop. And then he has to feed me pepto bismol for my upset belly. I’m a great wife!
Honestly pizza never really did it for me anyway. So I don’t miss it.
I’m with you on the corn, I’ll do popcorn with my little girl when we have movie nights at home, it’s just fun to pop pop corn on the stove. Then sugar… I struggle with sugar, and keep a bag of dark chocolate chips I munch on occasionally, and I eat regular potatoes every few weeks.
Yay your favourite wine is from New Zealand! (my homeland).
I was thinking the same thing, yay! And so glad to hear you crave corn chips too, Juli. My nemesis!
Thank you for your enjoyable commentary and inspiration. If you like Taza Chocolate you should try to visit the plant when in Boston (Somerville). You might be able to get a better price there.