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12 Ways to Eat Paleo on a Budget

8 Comments/in Blog Posts, Cooking, Eating Out, Food, Paleo/by PaleoGirl

It seems to be a common belief that eating a Paleo diet is expensive. It definitely can be costly, but there are many ways you can eat good quality Paleo foods, without spending a fortune. There’s also the consideration of your future healthcare costs – I like to see my Paleo nutrition as an investment in my lifelong health (not to mention the cost of sick days I've not required). So, doing Paleo on a Budget?

These are a few ways I've found to keep it Paleo – and economical.

1. Buy less popular cuts of meat.

The popular cuts are expensive because everyone wants them. White meats like chicken breast and tender meat (from the parts of the animal that do little work) such as loin and fillet are the most expensive, as they can be cooked quickly with good results.

Whilst a lot of the cheaper cuts could be tough (if you cooked them in the same way as the expensive meats), when you change how you cook you can make the meat amazingly tender and juicy. Slow cooking is a great way to cook these types of cuts, without making them tough and dry. It almost seems a waste to make casseroles and stews without using mutton, shoulder, brisket, chuck, blade, skirt or topside steak! Most of the animals we eat can (and should) be eaten nose to tail – even the bones are great to make bone broths and stocks with.

Chicken necks – a cheap option

My butcher doesn't display the less popular cuts, but can always provide me with inexpensive cuts like forequarter chops, pork hock, beef and pork cheeks and organ meats like liver and heart. I've not yet been brave enough, but brains, onglet (from inside a cows ribcage), pigs trotters and tripe are also used in recipes and have great nutritional profiles! I get bones for next to nothing from my butcher. I've also found kangaroo to be a really cheap meat here in Australia.

2. Move away from the supermarket/ grocery store

Whilst it’s definitely quicker and easier to get everything you need from under one roof, it is rarely the cheapest option. They are less likely to have the cheaper, more unusual cuts of meat and non-uniform vegetables – and you’re not likely to have much idea where to produce came from. Where they may sell some items at very cheap, competitive prices – often the price reflects the quality. Look to butchers, greengrocers, farms, health food stores, online stores and farmers markets.

3. Research

Don’t just buy from the first place you find, ask around and find out about other local sources. Prices vary significantly between shops/ farms/ online stores – find out which source is best for which item. I was surprised to find a few things are actually cheaper to have shipped from America, instead of buying locally – even with the shipping fees.

4. Buy in bulk

Big-ticket items such as coconut oil vary wildly in price, and often have sales and discounts for buying in bulk. Look out for offers and stock up when there is a chance. Another great saving can be had by buying large quantities of meat – such as half a cow. If you have a freezer this will keep for a long time and you’ll have a great variety in different cuts. You can join together with friends to save even more by sharing the meat; perhaps you can even come to an arrangement where your friends store some for you (if you don’t have a big enough freezer). There’s also a time saving to be had as grocery trips won’t need to be so frequent with a fully stocked freezer.

5. Buy at the end of the day

Farmers markets and stores often reduce prices significantly just before they close for the day. If you delay your shopping you can often save a lot of money with some great bargains; just make sure you freeze or use the produce straight away before it passes its best.

6. Buy direct

Cut out the middle man and buy directly from the farm! There may be a CSA scheme near you, a farmers market, or a farm shop. Not only can this be cheaper, but you’ll know exactly where your food comes from and will have a lot more confidence in the quality.

7. Eat seasonally

If you want to eat strawberries in the middle of winter – you have to pay for it! Keep an eye on what is in season and adjust your menus accordingly. Not only is eating in season cheaper, the produce is likely to be local and there are many biological arguments to support only eating food that is in season.

8. Plan your week

So much food is thrown away – a huge waste of money. I now spend time at the weekend working out what I’m doing for the week ahead and planning what I will eat each day. I then buy just the food I need for those meals (or plan to defrost meat from the freezer). This has significantly reduced waste and saves a lot of time too.

9. Be flexible

If you’d planned beef, but lamb is on special – be flexible and take advantage of the offer. Not only will you save a lot of money, but you might also discover a great new dish you’d never have tried otherwise!

10. Make more

When I cook, I always make more than I need for one meal. I then either eat it again for dinner the next night (or even breakfast), or freeze it ready for an instant home cooked meal in the future.

11. Stop buying lunches and coffees

I don’t know how expensive lunches are where you live, but here in Sydney buying lunch is about $10 a day – and despite making a Paleo-friendly choice, I'm always dubious about the quality of the ingredients. I now make lots of lunches at the weekend and bring these into work each day. I've probably saved enough to buy a grass-fed cow since I've been doing this, as each lunch costs under $2 to make – and has far superior ingredients.

Fortunately I don’t like coffee – but I'm amazed how much people seem to spend on this each and every day, it seems like such an extravagance when they could easily make their own – or dare I suggest drink water instead (spot the non-coffee drinker)

12. Stop eating out

Eating out is so expensive and is so often such a compromise on nutrition – particularly when you have to please non-Paleo friends. I've recently been having friends over for dinner – and going to their houses for dinner. I find this so much more enjoyable. You get to showcase your cooking, make food that is Paleo, from great ingredients – and perhaps even demonstrate to your friends exactly what Paleo is. Once you rotate with a few different friends you’re likely to have saved a lot of money – and probably had far more enjoyable evenings!

Do you find Paleo expensive? What tips have you found to reduce the cost?

Paleo Lunch

23 Comments/in Blog Posts, Cooking, Eating Out/by PaleoGirl

Last year I got pretty bad about bringing my Paleo Lunch in from home. This meant, most days, I went to one of the many food courts near my office. Whilst I always went for the Paleo, gluten-free options – roast meat and vegetables or salad for instance, it really wasn't the best option. I'm careful with the ingredients I use and how I cook things. If I make it, I know exactly what’s in it. When I eat out, it’s probably a fair bet that the meat isn’t organic/ free range/ grass fed. The meal could even have been cooked with seed oils – if not it’s likely to have come close to foods that have. Food I buy in the city is always served in far too large portions – this is either a waste of food, or leads to me eating far more than I should! The other issue with buying lunch in the city is the cost – I’d usually end up spending $10 a day on a not completely Paleo Lunch.

I therefore decided to start bringing pre-prepared lunches into work every day. I'm normally really busy during the week, so need minimal effort each day. As good as a salad would be I know I’d run out of time to make it – and end up having to buy lunch. I have a fridge and microwave at work (I don’t even own a microwave at home, but in the absence of a gas stove, a microwave will have to do) – this means home made frozen lunches are a good lunchtime solution.

Last Sunday I had a huge cooking session where I made soup, beef hash and bean-less chilli, giving me a few different options to pick from each day. I used the largest pots I had to ensure I was making as much as possible. Once finished, I separated the dishes out into individual sized potions and froze them. I managed to make enough for 20 lunches in just a couple of hours of cooking. I take lunch out of the freezer in the morning, run to work – and by lunchtime it’s just about defrosted.

Other than microwaving my lunch, the only thing I'm not happy about is freezing the food in plastic bags. Whilst the bags I use contain no phthalates, polycarbonate or use Bisphenol A (BPA) – it’s still plastic. Glass or metal containers would be an option, but might result in freezer burn. I’d also be concerned about my lunch leaking over my suit as I run into work – not to mention the fact my tiny running bag wouldn't have space for a bulky container.

This solution is working well for me – but perhaps you have an even better lunchtime routine? How do you keep your work/ school/ home lunch paleo?

Making Flight Food Paleo

10 Comments/in Blog Posts, Eating Out, Food, Paleo/by PaleoGirl

I’ve just booked my flights back to the UK for a long awaited Christmas visiting my family. Australia couldn’t be much further from the UK, which means almost 24 hours of flying each way. One of the things I hate the most about flying is the very limited Paleo food options. Often airports limit what you can take through security and onto the plane – which makes it very hard to guarantee good Paleo options. Why can't they make Flight Food Paleo?

I usually fly with Qantas, which offers the following meal options:

Diabetic: High in complex carbohydrate and dietary fibre; low in fat; no added sugar; low salt.
Fruit Platter: Consists of fresh, tinned and dried fruits.
Gluten Intolerance: Do not contain wheat, rye, oats, barley or malt or any milk or milk products.
Hindu: Do not contain beef, beef derivatives, veal or pork. Meals may contain fish or lamb.
Kosher Meal: Prepared to comply with Jewish dietary laws.
Moslem (Halal): Do not contain pork, or pork by-products. All meats come from ritually slaughtered animals.
Vegetarian (Asian Indian Style): Contain egg and diary products and are suitable for Hindu vegetarians.
Vegetarian (Lacto Ovo): Do not contain meat, fish or seafood but may contain dairy products such as milk, butter, cheese and eggs or foods containing these.
Vegetarian (Oriental): Contain vegetables, fruit, rice noodles and can contain nuts.
Vegetarian (Strict Indian): Do not contain any eggs, dairy or bulbous vegetables and are suitable for Hindu vegetarians.
Vegan: Contain fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and pulses and do not contain any animal products such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs milk or honey.

On my last two international flights (to PrimalCon and the AHS), I’ve tried different approaches, in the hope that I could stumble upon the best Paleo friendly meal option.

In my option, Diabetic people should follow a Paleo approach, to stabilise their blood sugar levels, so when I went to PrimalCon in April, I ordered a Diabetic meal. I don’t understand why this is a low-fat, but hoped it would come with some good meat and some alternatives to the processed, sugar filled snacks that often go alongside plane meals. Some of the actual meals weren’t too bad, for instance a breakfast of eggs, tomatoes mushrooms and spinach and a main meal of chicken, broccoli, carrots and white rice. Some of the food however, left a lot to be desired. Rice crackers served with a soy based spread (whilst everyone else on the plane got proper butter) and a breakfast of cereal and soy milk (remember, this is aimed at diabetics).

In August when I went to the Ancestral Health Symposium, I thought I’d try my luck with a gluten free meal. My Paleo diet is completely gluten free, so somewhat optimistically I’d hoped for a good equivalent here. I actually found the gluten free option considerably worse than the Diabetic option. As I noticed at the gluten free expo, gluten free seems to be a huge industry of franken-foods. Gluten is omitted – but replaced with lots of processed ingredients I don’t want to consume. They still serve biscuits, deserts and other junk food, it’s just had the gluten removed. Not Paleo.

On the way back, I therefore changed my meal preference and went with the standard option, which was actually much better. Yes, there was a lot I wouldn’t eat, but most of the food was closer to “whole” food. Butter was butter and I was lucky to have an option of a “meat and veg” style meal, instead of a pasta based meal.

So for this trip, I think I’m also going to try my luck with the standard option. It appears I can bring small amounts of packaged food onto the flight, so I plan to try my luck and bring some jerky, raw nuts and avocados. These foods, along with any reasonable looking meat and vegetables I can salvage from the plane food should be plenty to keep me going. There’s also the very Paleo option of a coinciding intermittent fasting, should my food get confiscated at security!

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a Paleo meal option of organic, grass fed meat and not a processed product in sight? Perhaps one day…

I’d love to hear your plane food hacks. How do you keep it Paleo during a long flight?

Making a Non-Paleo Lunch Menu Paleo

6 Comments/in Blog Posts, Eating Out/by PaleoGirl

I went out for a farewell lunch with my team today. We went to a bar in the city centre, with a fairly typical bar menu. So – a Paleo Lunch?

I'm quite happy to go almost anywhere to eat, with the knowledge that on most menus, with a bit of staff interaction, a Paleo meal can be put together.

I start by ruling out any predominately grain based meals, such as pasta, pizza, pies and sandwiches. Of the remaining dishes I'm usually left with a few meaty options, of which I’ll try to identify the least likely to be fried (typically in vegetable oil), processed, coated (gluten), or marinated (often in sauces containing ingredients like gluten and sugar). Unless the menu is extremely limited I also rule out salads and vegetable based options, as I don’t find them filling and they often have many ingredients I wouldn't eat (like dressings, sauces, cheese and croutons).

At this stage today I was left with these options: –

Slow braised lamb shanks served with minted rich gravy & mash
Surf & Turf. 200g rump steak, prawns sautéed in garlic served with chive butter, fries and salad.
Grilled Barramundi fillet with creamy mash & asparagus served with a hollandise sauce.
Lamb Cutlets served with creamy mash, olive pesto & wholegrain mustard cream

I generally look at all of the menu options and mix and match my chosen meat with the vegetable and salad sides on offer with other meals. I've not yet been to a restaurant unable to accommodate my Paleo mix and match requests. Had there not been so many good options, I would have also considered things like the burger (without the bun, fries or sauces).

My Mix and Match Paleo Lunch

I went for the lamb shanks, as I knew they should be unprocessed and not fried. I asked for the lamb to come without the mash and sauce, but with plain vegetables instead. It arrived with roasted eggplant, capsicum, zucchini & mushroom (luckily I've not started my nightshade elimination experiment yet), which was a perfect Paleo meal.

I find pubs, bars and steak houses the easiest places in which to eat out, where there is usually a lot of reasonable options to choose from. A good Indian restaurant is often a surprisingly good choice too. I always ask the staff exactly what is in each dish, and there are often tomato based sauces or dry cooked meats, which are a great Paleo option. In my experience Chinese and Japanese can be a bit more testing. Quite often I actually find it easier to say I'm allergic to soy and gluten and ask for the staff to help me find a suitable option.

One of the things I enjoy about going off-menu, is the inevitable discussions it provokes from my pasta-eating dining companions – an excuse to talk Paleo is always welcomed.

How do you get a Paleo meal from a non-Paleo option? Do you find some types of restaurant better than others? I’d love to find out what tricks I'm missing!

Paleo Birthday Resolutions

12 Comments/in Blog Posts, Eating Out, Ex, Fitness, Paleo/by PaleoGirl

It’s my birthday today, which is the perfect time to evaluate my achievements this past year – and to focus on what I want to achieve in this brand new, unchartered year.

This past year can be summarised by one word for me: Paleo! I’ve travelled to America twice for PrimalCon and the Ancestral Health Symposium and met so many amazing, lifelong, Paleo friends along the way. I’ve refined my Paleo nutrition and found what works for me. My housemate and a few friends have adopted a Paleo lifestyle, which I am thrilled about. I’ve spent a lot of time this year researching and reading in the Paleosphere – and of course, I started this blog. My biggest personal achievement this year has been my fitness. I have never been as fit as I am now and it enhances almost every aspect of my life. Linked into all of these factors, my sleep has been another huge transformation this past 12 months. I used to really struggle to fall asleep, sleep very poorly, then struggle to wake up in the morning. The last few months however, I’ve been tired at bedtime, sleeping soundly and waking up before my alarm almost every morning!

It seems like a timely point to work out what I want to achieve between now and my next Birthday, with the help of some “New Years” resolutions. So, from tomorrow: –

1. I’m going to see the sunrise and sunset every day.

This is going to be quite a challenge, but it seems a really important link, to the body’s natural circadian rhythm. After all, we should live alongside the natural day; staying up until 4am isn’t good for us. Here in Sydney Sunrise is between about 5:15am (this month) and 7am in the winter months. This should be fairly easy. I’ll get up just before sunrise, so I should see the sunrise on my walk into work. The time of year will then determine how long I spend in the gym/ swimming pool before I go to work – or perhaps I’ll even start work early? Sunset will be a lot more of a challenge, as in Sydney it varies from around 4:50pm in June to about 8:10pm in the summer months (I do miss those long summer evenings in the UK!). I’m not sure how I’ll tackle this one in the winter, but the summer should be quite achievable.

2. I’m going to get rid of five things every day.

One Primal area I really struggle with is minimalism! I have a lot of “stuff”. My friend Lars over at Primal Minimalist has recently started a new daily habit of de-cluttering his house by five things every day. I could honest do this every day for the next year – and probably still have quite a lot left by my next birthday. So this is what I’m going to do!

3. I’m only going to eat local food.

I think I’m probably fairly compliant on this one already, when I eat at home. When I eat out however (which is all too frequently), I often have no idea where the food is sourced from. I need to know this. I think it’s really important to eat local food (and ideally, organic). This should also mean I am only eating seasonally, which is also important. I can hopefully achieve this by bringing in my lunch to work, and eating out less. When I do eat out, I’ll be very careful to select somewhere that uses local food – and I won’t be afraid to ask! One area that might not be possible is coconut oil; I’ll investigate further, but may need to make an exception here.

4. I’m going to up the ante on my chin-up & fitness mission.

By my next birthday I want to be able to do ten unassisted pull-ups and be working towards hand-stand push-ups! I also want to be considerably fitter and stronger than I am today. As I have never been as fit and strong as I am today, this is all very exciting new territory.

Are you still sticking to your New Years or birthday resolutions? Which new Paleo habits would you like to adopt? What do you think of my resolutions?

Paleo Barbeque

9 Comments/in Blog Posts, Eating Out, Events, Ex, Social/by PaleoGirl

Yesterday was the Sydney Paleo meet-up group’s Paleo Barbeque. We met at beautiful Tamarama beach, where there are a couple of public barbecues, which were in hot demand yesterday! The weather couldn't have been more perfect for the barbecue, with sunshine and beautiful blue skies!

I spent yesterday morning making a few dishes from the new “Make it Paleo” cookbook, to take along to the barbecue with me.

I made the guacamole to go with some raw vegetables I cut up.

I made the barbecue sauce, which went beautifully with the organic grass fed streak I took along. This had a bit of a kick to it with the mustard and paprika and proved very popular. I’ll definitely be making this one again over the summer.

I was really excited to try the Fennel & Orange salad. The combination of the anise flavour of the fennel and the peppery flavour of the radishes made for an unusual, but very enjoyable salad.

I grated up some carrot, which I mixed with shredded coconut (I love the combination)

Finally, I roasted some seasonal vegetables which were colourful and delicious!

It was great to see such a good turn out to the barbecue – Paleo in Sydney seems to be well and truly gaining momentum. Despite a few people attending for the first time, we were an easy group to spot; as the only party at the beach without bread, crisps and junk food!

I hope we’ll be able to have a few more outdoor Paleo meet-ups this summer – it seems so much more Primal!

Unhealthy Health Food?

1 Comment/in Blog Posts, Eating Out, Ex, Food/by PaleoGirl

I'm so disappointed with Iku. When finding out how I eat, a few friends have suggested Iku, which is a whole food, “healthy” outlet, with a few locations around Sydney.

I'm not disappointed with options like McDonalds, as I doubt anyone goes there to fulfil their aim of having a healthy, wholesome nutritious lunch. Iku however shares so many of my nutrition beliefs, yet tackles them with pretty much the polar opposite nutritional approach.

Iku strive on providing organic food, and local where possible. I completely agree with this approach and can’t think of any other food outlet that goes this far. This ensures produce that should be free from pesticides, fresher and being local, far more sustainable. Tick!

They also try to keep foods as close to their natural state as possible, with minimal processing. This is very in line with the Paleo approach.

Their foods are also all dairy free, additive free, preservative free and free from genetic modification – more Paleo approval for getting this right. So far, so good.

But, then it all starts to go wrong. They strongly believe in the nutritional prowess of grains and legumes, believing that they help to fight disease. This is completely at odds with Paleo thinking, where legumes and grains have been shown to increase inflammation and reduce gut health. Their ingredients “slow blood sugar responses”. Whilst Paleo, without grains, will take blood sugar responses out of the equation – surely this is far healthier. Their menu is also designed to “keep cholesterol levels in check”, which is a clear reference to the outdate lipid hypothesis, to which Paleo does not subscribe.

It then gets even less Paleo. All of their food is free of any animal product. I can’t find any explanation on their site as to why they (presumably) perceive this to be the healthiest way to live.

Their tagline is “Feel great, have huge amounts of energy and a strong immune system”. I'm not sure how I could possibly feel good consuming grains and legumes – and no meat. I know it certainly wouldn't give me much energy. I currently have so much energy on my (fairly strict) Paleo diet. As for having a strong immune system, this also puzzles me with all of those lectins, phytates & proteins like gluten in the grains and legumes.

I’d love to see a national chain of food outlets that would combine the local, whole, organic philosophy, with great quality meat – and not a grain or legume in sight! Perhaps I’ll have to open my own!

Do you have well meaning “healthy” food outlets where you live? That actually aren't what you would consider healthy?

A Typical Day in Paleo Meals

6 Comments/in Blog Posts, Eating Out, Food, Paleo/by PaleoGirl

Despite trying not going overboard talking about my Paleo diet, it often comes out, especially when I'm out in a group, quizzing waiting staff about exactly what is in each dish and how it’s cooked. It also becomes quite obvious when I'm the only person tucking into fish and vegetables – instead of eating pizza! I'm always asked (in disbelief) what a Typical Day in Paleo meals looks like.

I explain what I eat and why I don’t eat grains. This stage often seems to happen whilst the person asking the questions, is tucking into their grain based meal. Once they've got their head round the impossible – life without grains – they’ll almost always ask me what I actually eat.

So I thought I’d show some photos of a fairly typical working weekday, in Paleo meals.

Breakfast.

A Paleo breakfast of bacon, eggs & avocado

On this particular day I had bacon, eggs and avocado. I avoid supermarket bacon as it’s often very heavily processed with all sorts of ingredients I don’t want to eat. My local organic butcher makes the best bacon I've had since I've been in Australia. It’s fresh, made in store, with minimal ingredients. It comes from organic, non factory farmed pigs. And the taste really is testament to this. I cook this in coconut oil (I'm currently using organic, virgin cold pressed, unrefined Melrose Coconut Oil). Once the bacon is almost ready I cook the eggs in the same pan. I always use organic, free range eggs – and where I can find them I’ll also often get Omega-3 enriched eggs. I complete the meal with a few slices of avocado. This breakfast is a great source of great fats and protein. At the moment I'm trying to eat within 30 minutes of waking up and it really does seem to be making such a significant difference. You can read my Paleo breakfast post for more breakfast ideas.

Lunch.

Paleo Lunch in the City; Roast Beef & Vegetables

Lunch should be something bought in from home so I know I'm eating the best possible ingredients. However, in the real world I invariably don’t get round to making lunch every day. This was one such day, where I had to find the best possible Paleo meal in the city. In this situation, I often choose a roast dinner, on this occasion with roast beef and seasonal vegetables.

Dinner.

Paleo Dinner, Stuffed Capsicum

Dinner is the meal where all the effort, creativity and amazing ingredients go! I usually plan the week’s dinners at the weekend, then shop to make sure I have all the required ingredients. This dinner was stuffed capsicum (bell peppers) with a filling of minced beef and lots of veg, herbs and spices. I have something different most days as I enjoy trying different recipes, cooking and introducing a lot of variety to my diet.

And to Drink?

I drink water all day long with the occasional cup of tea, or hot water with a slice of lemon or lime thrown in for good measure.

How does a typical day in food look for you? Do you tend to repeat the same meals or go for maximum variety in your diet?

Handling Social Gatherings Whilst Remaining Paleo

6 Comments/in Blog Posts, Eating Out, Food, Social/by PaleoGirl

Throughout my “official” Whole-30 period, I found it really easy to keep on the Paleo-straight & narrow, without a single cheat. I think I'm especially fortunate living in Sydney, where many restaurants pride themselves on fairly whole, local (and often organic) food. I eat out fairly often, and continued to do so during the 30-day challenge. I've always avoided certain types of restaurant, so that wasn't a problem. In the restaurants I did eat in, without exception there have always been a few meals on the menu that are Paleo (for example fish and vegetables) and even more meals that I can “tweak” to make them Paleo (swapping the fries for a salad for example, and asking for no sauce/ dressing).

Last weekend however, I encountered my first Paleo difficulty. I was invited out for a friend’s Birthday as a Moroccan restaurant in the Sydney. However, as we were such a large group, we had to have the set menu. I’d been quite busy, so just had a cursory glance at the menu a few weeks ago. I saw “beef” and “chicken” and assumed I’d be able to make it work, and left it there. Had I looked properly, I would have called the restaurant ahead as often, with notice, they can be very accommodating. Fortunately I played it safe and had a late lunch on the day, a tactic I often employ before social events. I've found there is nothing worse and more challenging than being ravenously hungry, surrounded by less than optimal food options.

We started with bread and dips. One of the dips seemed to be egg plant, but with nothing to “dip” in it, I gave that a miss.

We were then presented with a Tabouli Salad, which after asking about the ingredients I dived into. It contained parsley, mint, onion, olive oil, lemon & something called Bulgar. After the first two mouthfuls I found out Bulgar is basically wheat, so didn't have any more of that. Why put wheat into a lovely salad?

With the salad came Halloumi Cheese (I’m avoiding dairy, as I’ve felt so good since I eliminated it for my Whole30), Fried Cauliflower with Eggplant jam (sugar!), pinenuts and yoghurt (more dairy). I was starting to get a bit embarrassed by this stage that I hadn’t eaten more than two mouthfuls, so I was very relieved when the next dish was BBQ Garlic & Harissa Octopus & Skordalia. Octopus – perfect. One of the things I love about eating out is having things like Octopus that I would never have at home. Octopus is supposed to have a good amount of Omega 3, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and selenium, so a good option. I’ve since found out that sometimes Skordalia is made stale bread in the puree; or potatoes, walnuts or almonds in olive oil; but I guess you can’t win them all. The other dish in this course was the Moroccan equivalent to Spring Rolls; spicy lamb & pinenut boreks, with yoghurt sauce. Didn’t have any of that either.

I was sat with lots of people I’d not met before, who were very interested in my “unusual” diet and why I was quizzing the waiting staff about what was in every dish. I love talking about Paleo, and it definitely helps to be upfront about what you’re doing. I always find it interesting to hear how others perceive Paleo – the main response I get time after time is how impossible they would find it to give up bread.

The main dishes would have to be more Paleo, surely! Fortunately they were, we had: –

Lemon Pepper Chicken Shish Kebab with Tomato Caraway Sauce, Served with Chickpea & Nut Pilaf Lamb Kafta Shish Kebab with Pomegranate Glaze, Served with Chickpea & Nut Pilaf
Beef Cheek Tagine with Sweet Potato & Caramelised Onions, Served with Carrot Steamed Couscous

Served with

Fattoush Salad Sumac and fries


The Chicken and Beef Tagine were great, and better still my fellow dinners were so full up on the bread, pastry and beer that there was plenty left for me. Luckily I realised the Fattoush salad contained pita bread pieces (why?) before I took any.Dessert was a beautifully presented sugar laden meringue with ice cream and lots of miniature sweets and cakes. I used to have such a sweet tooth, but I noticed my attitude towards food like this has completely changed. I wasn't even remotely tempted by these items. When I look at food like this, instead of the enjoyment and taste I used to see, I now see the unwanted insulin spike it will give me, the less than par feeling I’d get an hour later and the Gluten, Phytates & Lectins in the grains creating all sorts of problems I just don’t want. I left the meal $57 lighter, but feeling great – which certainly wouldn't have been the case had I indulged as I would have pre-Paleo. Going to a social event with non-Paleo friends soon? Here are my top three tips to make the occasion as Paleo friendly as possible: – 1.       Find out what food will be offered in advance – call the restaurant several days in advance to explain your requirements and see if they can help you out 2.       Be open with the people you’re with about what you’re doing & why 3.       Don’t go to the event hungry, this will make it much harder for you to find your way through the maze of SAD food to the best Paleo choices How do you manage social situations with SAD food? Are your friends supportive? Do you find particular social events better than others? Let me know in the comments!

1. Buy less popular cuts of meat.

2. Move away from the supermarket/ grocery store

3. Research

4. Buy in bulk

5. Buy at the end of the day

6. Buy direct

7. Eat seasonally

8. Plan your week

9. Be flexible

10. Make more

11. Stop buying lunches and coffees

12. Stop eating out

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Breakfast.

Lunch.

Dinner.

And to Drink?

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