It had been kind of a rough week around here and I wanted to write a positive post. When you are family that is trying to do the right thing nutritionally, it can really be an uphill battle. Like, it NEVER stops. So, let’s talk about some things I have notieced in the past couple of months that are making me feel like the tides are turning a bit. Eating healthier (especially from a Paleo or nutrient dense perspective) may no longer strand us over on “weirdo island.”
1. Paleo friendly & gluten free friendly products that I would see on Instagram, usually being shown by people in very big cities, are now showing up everywhere. I recently saw Hail Merry Macaroons & gluten free sandwhiches in a couple of airports while traveling. My local Schnucks, in Des Peres (St. Louis), has a huge gluten free section including kombucha, chia pods, coconut aminos and Hail Merry products. Those tarts will be the end of me. So good! Target carries kombucha, LIVE kombucha soda, Chameleon Cold Brew coffee & Applegate Farms products.
Local Target (Kirkwood, MO)
Local Schnucks (Des Peres, MO)
2. Affordable grocery stores like Aldis are opening up new locations, revamping old stores and offering more organic and clearly marked gluten-free goods. I grew up in a rural area and Aldis was one of our only shopping options. Now, everyone is shopping there. Just a few things that I get on the regular: coconut oil, gluten free pretzels and bread, organic frozen berries for smoothies, organic baby kale and spinach, fruit strips for my daughters lunch, 100% maple syrup, canned Wild Alaskan salmon, organic & gluten free Free Range chicken broth. The produce section is usually pretty well stocked, but not usually organic.
A sample shopping trip to Aldis.
3. Paleo cookbooks are everywhere. Seriously, it is a hobby of mine to peruse book stores all over the place and just see what is available. Paleo has hit shelves BIG TIME! Even my small town, local bookstore with a limited inventory had a couple of Paleo books. I like to check out Buck Books frequently, as they often having Paleo, gluten free or grain free events & you can download books for 99 cents. You can use my link, here, to get on their email list. I do get $1 for every person that gets on the email list, but it doesn’t seem to be adding up to quickly. Ha, ha! In the last couple of months I have got some great books like The Calorie Myth, The Perfect Health Diet, Paleo Manifesto, The Truth About Carbs and Sexy by Nature all for only 99cents each.
4. I ate at a completely Paleo restaurant in NYC. Granted, NYC isn’t the best indicator of what it is like in the rest of the country, but I am optimistic that it is a sign of things to come. Hu Kitchen had so many more options than I expected. Including a huge selection of grab and go take out items. I took home a Crack Bar (it tasted just like a no-bake cookie), an EXO cricket bar (dying to try one of those things) and some homemade kale chips for snacking. It was all Paleo and the place was HOPPING. Like a nightclub you could have breakfast at. The food was pretty reasonably priced, in comparison to what I pay to eat at home. Restaurants in general are making it easier to identify gluten free items and the whole farm-to-table movement seems to be here to stay. I am still the luckiest lady I know to be able to live near and work at the most Paleo restaurant in St. Louis, The HotPot. I eat there everyday and never get tired of it. It is so nice to have SAFE and DELICIOUS food for when I am not prepared to cook on my own. And sometimes it is just nice to have a hot plate, or bowl, of food served to you. Which is why every few months I sneak over to The Original Pancake House for gluten free pancakes, because what Mom ever gets to eat hot pancakes at home?
Hu Kitchen Visit, NYC
5. Let’s talk about broth. You can buy a cup of broth to sip at Bolyard’s Meat and Provisions in Maplewood & it is delicious. Broth has been written about in the New York Times and shops across the country are selling it like a hot cup of tea. This is some progress, my friends!
6. The availability of local specialty products is greatly increasing. I used to have to order my coconut oil based deodorant from Primal Life Organics. An amazing product, by the way! But now I have found a St. Louis option (Dave’s All Natural) and a Springfield, MO option (Sweet Girl Bath and Body). There are two options for Paleo meal delivery in St. Louis, a coconut butter company (My Coconut Kitchen) and a line of baking mixes(Think. Eat. Live.)! All coming out of our little Midwestern city! You can find out more about all these on my “Local” tab.
Think. Eat. Live. Brownie Mix
I am sure that plenty of my friends and family think that I am a complete lunatic when it comes to how I have shaped my diet. Especially since I have extra limitations with tomatoes, but I know how I feel when I stick to what works. There is no going back. Also, my kids haven’t needed a doctor’s visit in over a year, just saying. It is still nice to see signs of change, like Starbucks adding coconut milk as an option (even if it is kind of crappy coconut milk). It just shows we aren’t alone out there. We might still be weirdos, but not stranded on an island. Maybe more of a peninsula, like Florida. Florida actually sounds pretty nice about now. #donewithwinter #nomoreiceplease #idontlikebeingcold
Anything I missed? Any other “signs” that the food system is changing in the right directions? Please share!
