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.
Oh that’s easy… SWEETS! Chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, or these crazy awesome whoopie pies with – vanilla sugar cookie (like a soft brownie-texture) with a vanilla cream filling.
If you like Kim Crawford you should try the Allen Scott Sauvignon Blanc. I like the taste better and it’s cheaper (still from New Zealand). But when I have a treat its usually red wine or tequila.
I live in Texas so anything with quest is greatly missed and pizza for sure.
Pizza, cheese Pringles or cheetos, kettlecorn, and dessert!
Juli, my fiance and I are trying the paleo challenge at our gym for 6 weeks. It starts this coming Monday the 28th. We keep a strict food log that a partner checks and for every cheat we do, our partner must do 50 burpees. This makes me sad for my partner as my birthday falls in this challenge and that means I must choose the torture of a fellow crossfitter, or the loss of my yearly amaretto cake. Mmmmmm amaretto cake! But I digress…… May I request more lovely crockpot recipes as we WOD at 6am, followed by work and a timely commute home which means dinner time is around 6pm. I love your recipes and am looking forward to this challenge (so I can squeeze my ass into a wedding dress for 1 day) and would love more time friendly food ideas if you have them. Thanks, Juli! You are the best!
Lol. I love this post because every once in a while I realize I am teetering on the edge of being the paleo-nazi with my kids and then I remember they are kids… Being healthy is my first concern, but having fun is important too. We tend to tolerate rice in moderation, and my kids live for sushi. So treat days include the kids faves: sushi rice, ranch dressing and the occasional gluten free pizza. For me, socially I normally only drink tequila on the rocks with a lime, but this time of year is our “Mardi Gras” we call it Gasparilla and I will definitely start my parade mornings with some bloody Mary’s!
I’m a poor example, BUT
Immaculate Baking Co. Gluten free chocolate chip cookies
Corn tortillas with eggs every morning
White sharp cheddar (you only need a little ;))
MOD Market’s gluten free pizza. Holy Jesus it’s good.
Almond Milk hot chocolates WITH Whipped Cream.
Gluten free brown rice pasta (Wal Mart style)
These are not really occasional siting in my diet. I have at least one of them every day… and I feel just wonderful :). Otherwise I will binge of gigantic chocolate desserts and entire bread baskets. True story.
Not into the whole corn thing. I have not eaten anything with corn (tortilla, chips, pupusas, etc) for well over 2 years. BUT my addiction is Pizza and Wendy’s Frostys. I am glad that I found a perfect, make at home, recipe for the frostys. Tastes EXACTLY like the ones I get from Wendy’s.
Any chance you could share this perfect recipe for Frosty’s? I’m already planning on cheating with one after my Whole30 challenge is up..lol.
Chickpeas (mmm hummus), peanut butter (esp in homemade bars…..), oats and brown rice (I bake a lot of breads that are split between oat flour and almond meal or brown rice flour/almond meal)…
Love this! And you are totally human, that is OK! My fave non-paleo foodstuffs are cookies and wine!