The way to my heart is through my stomach ❤️

Feels so good to be posting for the first time in months!

On my second date with my now-boyfriend, he made me one of the most incredible appetizers I’ve ever had. He admitted to me that he was completely unaware of the paleo template prior to meeting me, so I was impressed with how it turned out. And it was easy enough to recreate on my own!

So, here it is:

   
 

Bacon wrapped avocado (two of my faves) sprinkled with paprika and cayenne. Definitely satisfied my cravings for anything savory.

  
And here is the man himself 😍❤️😘

The best kinds of salads

Okay first, wow I haven’t posted anything in a month. Happy to be an active blogger again!

Lately when I feel up for a salad, I throw together random ingredients lying around my kitchen and fridge and sometimes they end up tasting better than salads made from recipes!

Recent creations:

 Romaine, chard, avocado, bacon, bell pepper, tomato, fried egg, kraut

  Warm-weather inspired. Romaine, avocado, strawberry, bell pepper, jicama.

Both were dressed with a simple olive oil/balsamic! 

Paleo in Boulder

   

Boulder, CO is known for being a HUGE food town. And sure enough, there is Paleo food pretty much everywhere! Almost a year ago they opened an amazing Paleo restaurant called Blooming Beets where I went for lunch and dinner. For lunch I had their herb crusted salmon with sautéed greens and a side salad from the Whole Foods Market right across from CU’s campus.

 

 Bacon wrapped, cashew butter stuffed dates with a house made caramel sauce (almond butter, coconut oil, and maple syrup)

 Coconut flour wraps stuffed with chorizo sausage, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions. The side greens were sprinkled with ground cashews.

 Pork brisket, cauli rice, sweet potatoes

 Pulled brisket with sautéed greens and cauli rice

Herb crusted salmon with coconut-cucumber dipping sauce and side greens

Dinner was absolutely INCREDIBLE. My dad, my friend from CU and I went and ordered these 5 different dishes to split.

But the best dish of all was

 

Chia seed pudding with blueberry and that house made “caramel sauce” which was served with the dates.

Everything was so fresh and to die for! 

Paleo in Sacramento

   

Sorry for posting this rather late, but Happy Easter everyone! Hope your day was great. I had an excellent brunch up in Sacramento with family friends. My appetizer was to die for. Poke wraps with butter lettuce, tuna, mango, and avocado sprinkled with sesame seeds. I had to modify the chicken salad quite a bit by getting rid of the beans, cheese, and ranch dressing and I had to pick off the tortilla bits, but it was still pretty good!

Still cannot get over the appetizer though. There’s a similar recipe in AAG which I’ve been meaning to try and now have the incentive to!

Paleo in Tahoe

   

This weekend, my dad and I joined some close family friends up in Tahoe for the memorial of  his best friend who passed away in December (this man had such a warm heart and insisted on his death bed that we celebrate his life by throwing a party rather than arranging a funeral).

So we all got together at a lovely restaurant near Donner Lake which had EXCELLENT grass fed steaks and salads with simple ingredient dressings. My salad was a mix of spring greens with sliced jicama and sunflower seeds, with an olive oil/cilantro/cumin/coriander dressing and the Wagyu Bavet steak was perfectly tender. I barely had to modify anything!

Honoring my culture

When I went paleo I was a little heartbroken about leaving behind the traditional Korean cuisine. The sweet and savory flavors of sesame infused meat, noodles, and vegetables were always so comforting.

Tonight, I made the Korean beef noodle bowls from AAG for myself, my cousin, and one of my close friends and they were DELICIOUS. I commend the fact that Danielle Walker really does not allow deprivation of any sort despite restrictions.

   

     

Hidden artistic skills

Just kidding. I don’t have any physical artistic skills, but I love editing photos. On the plane coming back from Dallas yesterday I started creating some more potential “advertisement posters” for this blog.  

 

Paleo in Dallas

   

“Healthy food” is the first thing I type into Yelp or Google when I travel. While in Dallas, the first result (among many) was a Mediterranean restaurant called Medina Oven and Bar. From looking at the menu on the app I could immediately tell they were Paleo friendly. The salad from the TCU cafeteria didn’t really fill me up so I ordered the Salmon Tagine without sauce and subbed seasonal veggies instead of the potatoes. Very tasty.

Fort Worth understands me

Lunch at TCU’s cafeteria was relatively satisfying. Would have been more so if I had a protein along with it, but I couldn’t find any unprocessed options.       

However I did discover this marvelous whole foods-type market in Fort Worth which sells wild caught fish, grass fed beef and butter, pasture raised eggs, and a huge selection of organic produce.

My speculation that Texas food is pretty top notch (although may not compete with places like Berkeley or Boulder) was close to 100% accurate.

The sign also spoke very well to me 😉

Traveling Paleo (again)

And this time, it’s all organic!   

  

En route to Dallas/Fort Worth I stopped at the Plant Cafe Organic at SFO and picked up their delicious green curry bowl for dinner. I omitted the Jasmine rice and added some organic grilled chicken atop the mix of sautéed zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, red pepper, broccoli, and green beans (which I don’t believe are 100% Paleo but they are a much better alternative to actual beans or legumes). The green curry sauce was DELICIOUS. A warm blend of organic coconut milk, lemongrass, keffir lime, basil, and mint.

The Plant Cafe has several locations in the West Bay Area. I definitely recommend it!