Unqualified Product Review: Paleo Style

It's been a long time since I've shared some of my favorite things, and um...never since I have been Paleo. The following items have been staples, if not essential in the success I have been experiencing with Paleo.

Avocado
Click on the link for nutrition information on avocados. I always heard they were good for me, and always liked them, but WOW! What a wonder fruit. I have been eating approximately 1/4 to 1/2 an avocado a day since going Paleo (usually sliced on top of my meat/egg/veggie breakfast mixture). Or wrapped in bacon. Or chopped up in a salad. Or...you get the idea.

So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage


Before taking the Paleo plunge, one of my biggest worries was what I was going to do about my morning latte. I do live in Seattle after all, and well, coffee is practically religion here. Black coffee is just too harsh on my stomach, and I absolutely can not go without coffee. Paleo meant no more milk, so I quickly researched some alternatives, and found this...gulten free, soy free, sugar free, dairy free, everything not Paleo free, stuff to add to my coffee. I would not be shunned from the coffee church of Seattle!

Trader Joes Organic Broccoli Slaw- I couldn't find a photo of this, but OMG, this stuff ROCKS. Its just shredded organic broccoli stems and organic carrots, but I love it. It holds up so much better than cabbage does in coleslaw, it tastes better, and has way more nutrients. My boyfriend Dave taught me an awesome dressing recipe (1/2 small white onion, 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp honey, dash salt, dash pepper, 1/4 tsp. celery seed) throw all that into a cuisinart, stream in a little olive oil at the end, and Ta-DA! The best dressing ever. I also toss in some chopped walnuts and a handful of raisins to the slaw. It tastes better after sitting for a day or so. I eat ridiculous amounts of this concoction.

Larabars


My biggest fan mentioned Larabars to me one day, and I pretty much put them out of my mind since it seems like everything pre-packaged is out when following Paleo. One day a sale display of Larabars caught my eye in the grocery store. I picked one up, checked out the ingredients, and to my surprise, the only ingredients were fruit and nuts. I can eat fruit and nuts! So I bought one- cherry pie, and proceeded to eat it in the car on the way home. It was good. I wanted to try more flavors. I have since become Larabar obsessed...I look for them at every grocery store. My regular Safeway only carries two flavors- cherry pie and apple pie. My regular Trader Joes only carries 4 flavors...one of which is cherry pie, and another is peanut butter (which I can not eat since its a legume). So I went to Whole Foods and found the motherload of Larabar displays. My favorite flavor hands down is coconut cream pie. I love coconut though. Also, the names on these things are a little bit of a stretch, but hey, I have hardly had any sugar in 6 weeks, so they work for me! I had the banana bread one yesterday, and I like that one a lot too. Also the espresso chocolate, and the chocolate coconut...Mmmmmm...like Homer says to the donut.

Its amazing how much better I feel, and how much better I function on higher quality fuel. Its like my whole life I have been fueling up with Costco 87 octane gas, and then 6 weeks ago I switched to Cheveron Supreme. I used to think those people driving beemers paying more for gas were idiots...I couldn't have been more wrong.