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.
Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc is by FAR the best white there is!!! Good choice!
Sugar. I can’t stop eating sugar. I have cut back a ton since going Paleo but I still have a small bit every day camouflaged as dark chocolate. I just can’t help myself. Then there is wine and beer. All the seasonal beers at the store get me every time. Also, popcorn. It’s my favorite snack, ever. But I have found a way to pop regular kernels, in the microwave, in a brown paper sack, without oil. Then I season it with all kind of different concoctions.
Love that you have admitted to your cheats 🙂
I raid the $3 cheese bin at Whole Foods. That, and corn tortilla tacos.
City O City off of Sherman has FANTASTIC gluten free pizzas. You have to go give it a try. The only negative is that they don’t have ANY meat products. BOO
I’ve always wanted to go there!! but for desserts lol
To the non Paleo world, my familiy’s diet is crazy. They say they could NEVER put so much work into what they eat and have such self control. To the Paleo world, my familiy is just a bunch of cheaters. It’s all lost on me, because I don’t care about anything other than good health, and that’s what we’ve got. We’ve been eating this way for a year and our 15-year-old has his life back because of it. He was home bound for 8 years. Deathly ill. But that’s another story. All that to say we avoid grains and sugar. We eat some corn chips and some popcorn. We eat gluten free pizza every Friday. AND, we eat french fries once in a while from Culvers (Midwest thing). Oh, we also ALWAYS have paleofied baked treats in the freezer (Thank you, Juli) because this is how you get a husband and 3 pre-teen/teenage kids to stay on board.
I am not at the point where I can cheat in my diet. I have diabetes and since turning 21 alcohol has screwed up my blood glucose control. 🙁 in the future I plan to cheat with alcohol, but less often than the past couple months when it was newly introduced in my life. And no more sugary/girly drinks that are terrible for me!! I learned my lesson and am paying for it now.
Barbara – I’ve been type 1 for 27 years (I’m 31 now) and have finally found a drink that tastes good & doesn’t mess with my blood sugar too bad. Give it a try & hopefully you’ll fall in love with it like I did: http://paleoblocks.com/paleo-recipe-robb-wolfs-nor-cal-margaritas/
We LOVE Nor Cal margaritas. We use the white or silver 100% Agave Tequila. The taste is smoother than the gold. Enjoy!
Barbara,
I’ve had Type 1 diabetes for almost 31 years (Since I was 12). I’ve run the gammut of alcohol – sweet drinks are no good for me either. Rum and diet coke (but I won’t touch diet coke now) didn’t effect my bs. Now I just enjoy some red wine – and I do well with it. Or shots. of Vodka 😉 Seriously, the wine is ok- I usually don’t have to even bolus with it. Good Luck
HOORAY and high five to the Kim Crawford Sav. New Zealand wine truly is the best in the world (I’m only a little bit biased as a New Zealander) 😉
-Oreos. Neapolitan flavored Oreos to be exact!
-Popcorn.
-Fried pickles w/ ranch dip.
-Buffalo wings w/ blue cheese.
-Cheese!!
how did you know that i ate 8 cake donut holes before i came over here?! that was a cheat for me. this is day 2 with gluten because i forgot to mention when we were invited to dinner that i don’t eat it, so i had pasta salad and a small italian beef sandwich. boy, was i gassy later AND today!
my main cheat is dark chocolate. thanks for bein’ real, as always.
I’ll do the occasional corn chip, but only from one local restaurant that i know/trust.
GF pizza i do from time to time, then curse myself for it as no matter what i get a stomach ache. it might be fine if i had just ONE slice… but i tend to pair it with a refeeding day and, well, have 5 slices. Sure gets me back in the mood to go keto for a while, though.
WINE! I’ll have a glass or two a week. Cider; the same. Occasionally even have a beer. I’ve become extremely gluten intolerant, though I can have a Pabst and be just fine. Now for a real drink; Scotch. A nice single malt whisky. Neat. It won’t even knock me out of ketosis…