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.
I live 2 blocks from the Taza Chocolate Factory. And they have a factory store. And yes, you can taste every flavor there. It’s a good thing I have a packed schedule, or I’d be in there multiple times a week! 😉 I just finished a whole 30, need to get in there… I hear they have some new flavors for me to try! If you’re ever in Boston again, it’s a must visit!
For me, chocolate, corn chips and alcohol about sums up all my cheats. My body just doesn’t tolerate dairy, grains or legumes at all. Kind of sad, but for the most part I don’t miss much.
Um, FYI if you are in the Boston area ever, Taza does tours of their chocolate factory and you can eat all the samples you want. Did you get that? All the samples you want. It’s amazing! And, truth be told, you don’t even need to go on the tour (but you should) because all the samples are sitting in their store. They are awesome.
I am so glad to hear others on the Paleo diet that go back to non-Paleo every once in awhile! I didn’t do this diet because I had major problems with wheat or dairy. I just did it to be healthier and feel better and of course to drop a few lbs! But last night was my husband’s birthday. I made him a chocolate chip cookie cake, which is his favorite. I just couldn’t watch him eat it without having a taste! Well, let’s face it, a whole giant delicious piece!
Glad to hear this! I have talked to many paleo friends and they say the same! My husband and I have 1 cheat meal a week… Normally Friday nights because by then we are tired of cooking! Then it is back to paleo on Saturday mornings!
I actually ‘cheat’ a lot, mostly with dairy. This is because, much to my chagrin, after trying out the Paleo diet for about 3 weeks and loving all of your great recipes, Juli, I found myself breaking out in hives. Everywhere. I looked like I had some kind of disease.
As it turned out – I was allergic to coconut. Which is problematic for staying pure paleo, so now I tend to substitute coconut products for their dairy equivalent (coconut oil becomes butter, coconut milk becomes dairy milk). Not a perfect fix, but it’s the best I’ve got right now.
So nice to know you don’t eat perfectly all the time! I’m a cheese and wine glutton 🙂 Well, glutton is a bit extreme. I like to enjoy both about once/twice a week!
I just found your recipe and was interested to find what you eat that’s not paleo, found the Kim Crawford savvy and that what we make (and a lot of other wines) at work, we are a contract winemaking winery in gisborne New Zealand…so pleased you love the KC savvy, it’s one of my Favs too…
Mmmm NZ wine… how I miss thee. Any Pinot Gris from New Zealand is usually a win, they do it beautifully. Here in OZ my best find is by a band of rebel wine makers called ‘Some Young Punks’, particularly their Riesling called “Monsters, Monsters attack”. Seriously good in a, we’re way too cool to take our selves too seriously at all, kind of way.
Food: Gluten free “Bombay pizza”, indian spiced chicken, caramelised red onion, cashew nuts and banana on a mango chutney base, topped off with natural yogurt…. hello!
I saw this shirt that said 100% Paleo 80% of the time and laughed because its true. I give myself a free day every week. I work nights and usually do 3 shifts in a row. The morning of after my last shift I get a buenos Dias breakfast burrito. It’s so yummy and I’m nice and full and then sleep all day. I also love anything red velvet like cupcakes or frozen yogurt. I was horribly reminded that I can’t eat clam chowder anymore because of the heavy cream so no milk products for me.
OMG, love this post. This is my first time on your site. I will def be back. I’ve been playing around w/gluten and dairy free diet. But just recently started adding more paleo recipes in. I’d say I’m 75% paleo, cheating w/almond crackers and chips. Every now and then quinoa and quinoa pasta. But the one thing that has been the hardest…Beer. I love beer. Going to a beer fest next month in Boston. Switched over to wine mostly but I do enjoy it so. Oh well. I’ll keep trying! Making your carnitas this week! Thanks!