My New Favorite Charlottesville Paleo Spot

I have eaten in dozens of restaurants since I went Paleo and had plenty of good Paleo meals but nothing has really stood out.  In many cases even the soundest Paleo choice has some sort of cheat attached unless you significantly stray from the menu.  That was all true until today.  My wife had a doc appt this morning and by the time she was done it was well after lunch and we were starving.  We decided to try something new and I conducted my standard search for Paleo restaurants and came up with the same old results.  I had seen Eppie's pop up before but for some reason it never sparked my interest.  It was the only one I saw that we had not eaten at so we decided to try it out.  I was not disappointed.

Eppie's has a gluten free menu with a meat and veggies section that is perfect if your Paleo.  I chose the dark meat jerk chicken plate and since I dropped the cornbread got to choose three sides.   I chose collard greens, broccoli, and the sweet potato.  My wife got the white meat lemon pepper chicken with fruit, a salad, and broccoli.  Each of these plates was a reasonable $10 but the jury was still out.  I picked up the plates and took them to our table.  The food looked wonderful and there was a lot of it.  I started out with the chicken and it was perfect, the jerk flavors were awesome and the meat was perfectly cooked.  On to the veggies, with expectations of over cooked mush, these were the biggest surprise.  The collard greens had a hint of vinegar and were cooked just right.  The broccoli was bright green and also cooked just right.  Then there was the sweet potato, ok so I am pretty sure it came with a bunch of butter on it, but either way it was spectacular.

If I had any idea of how fantastic this lunch was going to be I would have taken a picture but then again it gives me a reason to get back to Eppie's as soon as I can.  This was hands down one of the best lunches I have had for $10 and easily my #1 Paleo choice.

Thanks for stopping by,
Chuck

Tortilla Chip Torture

I love tortilla chips so it really kills me to write this but this has happened to me more than once and I have to share.

We went to our favorite local Mexican restaurant.  We still head to this place from time to time and my wife and I usually split an awesome mixed meat fajita dish, ditch the tortillas, and substitute extra guacamole, lettuce, and tomatoes for the beans and rice to keep it as paleo as possible.  On this night my wife decided to eat very light so I was on my own.  I decided to go with the carnitas and sub extra guacamole, lettuce, and tomatoes for the beans and rice as usual.  These guys have known me for years and I am a sucker for their off menu hot chipotle salsa and chips.  This night I had intended to skip the chips and keep things completely paleo.  Just then mi amigo ran around the corner, threw out some of the special salsa and a fresh basket of chips.  He said something in Spanish that I translated to "I brought you the special salsa that you love and always have to ask for, because your a great customer, and I will be unhappy if you don't smile, say gracias, enjoy these bad boys, and tip me a little extra."  Being the nice guy I am I smiled, said gracias, and tore those chips up.  Guess this is a cheat night.  The meal was delicious and we headed on home.  It wasn't long after that my stomach felt a little upset.

I went to bed fairly early and didn't think much of it.  By about one in the morning I woke up to my stomach and whole digestive track in pretty severe pain.  This kept me up for a few hours before things calmed enough to sleep.  In the morning, I was still uncomfortable and it took almost 24 hours before I felt better.  I am sure the hot salsa had something to do with things and in the past I would have wrote it off to the salsa.  However, I have had chips several times since I started paleo most times with some regular pico de galo type salsa that I routinely skip the chips but still eat the salsa.  I have been fine every time except when I eat the chips.  Something about corn tortilla chips, the corn, the oil there fried in, or some other ingredient, sends my digestive tract into a fit.  I don't think corn tortilla chips are a problem for everyone but  have heard similar stories.  I have decided that corn based tortilla anything is now pretty much off the table for me.

Everyone has foods that they are not tolerant of but it varies widely from person to person.  When you eat foods that cause even mild alergic response there can be fairly serious second and third order effects.  You can be sure if you are in pain and discomfort for an entire day that other important processes in your body are disrupted, especially in your gut, and can include mood, hormone levels, nutrient absorption, toxin absorption, etc.  This is one of the key reasons it is so important to stick to paleo as strictly as possible for the first 30 days.  After a solid 30 days if you decide to incorporate some cheats here and there you can do so systematically and know definitively how it impacts you.  When you feel as good and as energetic as we have had with our experience then it is easy to make the tough choice to drop the chips.