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.
Cheese!!!!!! When I’m about to get my period I crave salty things soooooooo bad and feta cheese does it for me 🙂
Try Kim Crawford’s Unoaked Chardonnay! You’ll get all the smack smack tartness you like in a Sauv Blanc, without the layer of butter. D-Lish!
Vodka? Three words: Martinis Are Good!
I LOVE Against the Grain crusts! So good, no stomach problems and I can top them with whatever I want!
Ok, I’m late to the game. BUT, it’s a really fun game, so I’ll play. First, I ADORE Tazo Chocolate but resent that the Whole Foods on 11th and Emerson doesn’t carry it. Super annoying. And BY FAR, the best GF pizza I’ve found is Panzano’s. The whole Panzano happy hour is downright miraculous. They make almost everything gluten free, and their brussel sprouts are orgasmic. Go there. Their mushroom GF pizza and their rabbit confit GF pizza are both incredible. Try the eggplant parmesan too. Cheers!
Hi!!! I just started reading your blog and I love it. I wanted to tell you that I really enjoy your website and thank you for all the wonderful recipes!
I also wanted to share my 4 favorite cheats….1. Ice Cream!!!!! 2. Pizza 3. Nachos! and 4. Chinese (mostly egg rolls). However, I always cheat with some kind of alcohol on the weekends, especially during the summer time. Nothing like a cold drink on a hot day.
I LOVE your outlook on enjoying life and food. It’s a hot topic for me because for medical reasons, I kept a really restrictive diet for a couple of years. It was socially difficult and not fun at all. Now that I’m a lot healthier, I think of myself as “paleoish.” I will eat the occasional corn or rice, and I do just fine with goat dairy – much better than with cow. I also like my alcohol, although it makes me giggle too! Anyway, I’ve done the whole really rigid diet thing. At the time, it was medically necessary. But I will NEVER do that again if I don’t have to. It’s nice to live a little!
thats really awesome that you like taza chocolate and you live in Denver!
I live in Somerville, MA where it’s made and it’s practically in my backyard. In faaaacct, it’s right near somerville crossfit so you should just come out and take a tour and work out!
Trader Joe’s sells a chocolate that is JUST like Taza Chocolate. I have had both and they taste equally as good as the other. Mmmm…
I love this! When I’m “cheating,” I’ve found that I can handle sugar, rice, chickpeas/beans (HUMMUS), alcohol and goat cheese without real consequences (it’s just not as good for me, and sometimes I can live with that). I wish SO MUCH that I could handle corn like you can. The world is a dark place when you’re passing on popcorn/corn chips/Mexican food, but corn ruins my skin in an ugly and painful way.
Honestly I cant be 100% paleo. I like cheese. not a lot but a little and I LOOOOOOVE pita bread, we are doing a paleo challenge right now and I miss Black Beans, Corn, Green Beans, Goat cheese, pita bread and the occasional Ginger Ale (bad me! i know) oh and BEER duh! LOL