I’ve been finding the commentary about the “eat wild” feat kinda surprising. Many people seem to be having a very hard time figuring out how to stay away from processed foods — and some don’t even seem to quite understand what that really means. Ok, yes, we know I’m a little OCD about the “rules” of each challenge (to the point where I’ll email the SW crew to get clarification) but this seems pretty clear cut: stay away from anything that was processed in some way by anyone but you. I can understand that vegans and vegetarians may have to think a little harder about how to substitute for some of the processed soy proteins they might be consuming — but there are options. Anyways, it’s only 12 meals! Make a smoothie and a couple of eggs for breakfast and you’re good to go! Have a salad for lunch! Grill a piece of chicken and sautee some broccoli and voila you’ve got dinner!

I feel like this discussion is representative of a larger issue — people are simply not connected to the foods they eat anymore. The fact that elementary school kids can’t recognize basic fruits and veggies is another example of this. I don’t really eat processed foods, but today I was thinking about the ways in which I’m disconnected from my foods. I buy convenience foods, like washed salad mixes…who is actually washing these? Is someone going through all that lettuce piece by piece the way I do when I wash my salad I buy at the farmer’s market? Doubtful. I buy my chicken breasts already sliced into cutlets. Who’s cutting this chicken? Where did the chicken come from? What did it eat? Was it healthy? Who shelled the nuts I munch on throughout the day? I vaguely remember reading something for my International Human Rights class way back when that people who harvest brazil nuts are basically the equivalent of modern-day slaves. How did that tropical fruit make it to my grocer? How did that frozen spinach get chopped up? There are a trillion things like that that I simply don’t think about on a daily basis.

Having gone paleo is a great first step towards narrowing the gap between what my body was designed to eat and what I actually consume. But, the simple fact is that when you go into a supermarket, visit your local fruit vendor, or even trek to almighty Whole Foods, you never quite know what’s happened to your food before it got there. For some reason that thought really bugs me. So, I’m adding another aspect to my D.I.Y feat. I’m gonna do a little research on some of the common foods I eat every day and see what is the likely way that it made its way to my plate. The next step will be to think about ways in which I can get away from eating the typical industrial foods that we can find at our local stores…is there a way I can get my foods straight from a farmer who can tell me how he raises his cattle? Can I find a way to afford to buy those farmer’s market eggs with yolks that are almost orange with nutrients…not pale yellow? What about my fruits and veggies — could I eat local and seasonal foods exclusively? Is that even realistic?

Of course these are just thoughts, and, fact is that I may not be able to eat the way I ideally want to. But, at the very least, I can start really educating myself on the intricacies of my food chain. Then, I can make a decision on how I want to go from there.

Very few of us have a healthy relationship with food. Some have healthier ones than others, but in general, a lot of our time is consumed with food thoughts. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that many of us are actually addicted to the eating / dieting / guilt roller-coaster. Feeling crappy? Oooooh that cookie looks great! Yummmm that was delicious! Feeling stressed? Ooooohhh salty, delicious, crispy chips you make me feel so much better! From there, some will decide to maybe compensate for this “indiscretion” by doing a little extra cardio. Others, may chalk up the whole day as a “crappy-eating-day,” feel guilty about it and vouch to do “better” tomorrow. But, there’s a certain amount of thrill involved in our eating. We are emotionally invested in and affected by the food choices we make, to the point where it’s becomes a form of rebellion, a way to assert control, or to actively manipulate our mood. By “being bad,” we can live the excitement of a food that’s forbidden, even if that food is followed by guilt. This puts us on a constant rollercoaster: highs followed by lows. All. the. time.

One of the big things I’ve realized is that by going Paleo I’ve effectively step off that rollercoaster. For one, I’ve removed a lot of the foods that I would normally turn to on an emotional-eating-kinda-day. I’m having that day right now, actually. Yea, maybe I’m bored…maybe I’m frustrated…maybe I’m overwhelmed…but the fact is that I’m not willing to compromise this way of eating. Physically, I feel way too good. So that leaves me with the option of munching on Paleo goodness — fruits, nuts, veggies, meat —- but, since I can eat however much of that as I want anyways, there’s simply no allure to eat when I’m not hungry. Hmmmm…so what do I do? I guess it really boils down to me having to actually deal with my…emotions?! WHAT?! That’s crazy talk!

My boyfriend and I went to Rouge Tomate yesterday for dinner, courtesy of the SOcial Workout October Challenge (he won a giftcard to the restaurant!) . First off: THANK YOU, SW! What an amazing meal it was! Even just walking into the place we knew we were in for a treat - a very simple, modern , yet colorful design was an essential reflection of also the type of meal we would be enjoying. Even though I was hoping to keep the meal paleo, I knew I’d make compromises for anything that really sounded appealing to me, so I wasn’t stressing it.

We started with a amuse-bouche of cauliflower soup and home-baked bread with an almond, broccoli spread. The spread was AMAZING and I’m so gonna try to recreate it. It turns out that none of the appetizers on the menu had any form of dairy or butter in it, so that was a big help in keeping the meal paleo-friendly. But, since I hadn’t had bread (or other grains) in a week, I decided to have some of that bread with the spread. DEEEELISH. We stayed on couse with our no-drinking-till after Feb 12th resolution by having drinks from their juice bar. I had the Red Tornado (Beet, Tangerine, Pineapple, Apple, Basil) and my boyfriend had the Amber Palmer (Jasmine and Green Tea, Rosemary-Grapefruit Juice, Mint, Seltzer). Seriously, if you’re off the juice for whatever reason and feeling deprived because of it, you HAVE to come to this place. The drinks were so fresh and clean and delicious.

For appetizer, I had the Wild Mushroom Panzanella and Farm Egg Salad, which was full of flavor (OMG the mushrooms were out of this world) and the bf had a very light and citrus-y brussels sprout leaves, pear, prosciutto and hazelnuts salad. Amazing. Again, bread in the panzanella was the only non-Paleo ingredient. One of our main courses was the Grass-Fed New York Strip with Squash Spaetzle, Brussel Sprouts, Trumpet Mushrooms, Black Truffle Jus (Spaetzle being the only thing non-paleo). I have to say that grass-fed beef is a total revelation to me…I HAVE to learn how to prepare it - juicy, tender and sooooo flavorful. We also had Alaskan Black Cod with pureed parsnip and kale and chorizo oil. I loved it (and totally paleo-friendly!).

Finally, dessert. We went pretty off-paleo here, which is no surprise. We had the Blood Orange, Pomegranate, Black Sesame sponge cake, Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream and Banana, Molten Chocolate Cake, Coffee Ice Cream and espressos.

I think this meal was the perfect representation of what a good restaurant meal should look and taste like. The individual ingredients were of exquisite quality and the simple preparation really highlighted them. We left the restaurant feeling absolutely amazing, satisfied, and on a bit of a high. What a treat! I know I’ll have to be back.