WARNING you are about to read a merrymaker rant: paleo isn’t a dietary requirement. Whaaat?
We’re getting a little tired of hearing that paleo isn’t a dietary requirement. Today we are talking specifically about chefs, waiters and other foodies.
First, here’s a little disclaimer: this post isn’t about anyone in particular (it just goes out to a collective group of naysayers) and we know there are heaps of amazing cafes out there who do go above and beyond to create us delicious food.
We get it, we are the irritating customers who swap this for that, ask for the dressing on the side, question the oil used etc etc. But seriously is it really that much of an issue? And excuse us (the paying customer) for asking a few questions here and there!
When we eat sugar, gluten, wheat, dairy and vegetable oils we won’t keel over and die from one sitting, we won’t get an attack of hives all over our bodies, we won’t start violently vomiting… but we will feel sick, we will get bloated stomachs and we will get headaches.
We know when we eat food cooked in vegetable oil that it causes inflammation in our bodies.
We know sugar is addictive, spikes our GI levels, causes a bunch of chronic illnesses and makes us moody.
We know gluten makes us bloated, gassy, sluggish and just disgusting.
So please, remind us again… why isn’t paleo a dietary requirement? We live a paleo lifestyle because the benefit of feeling amazing (plus the rest of them) is too good to ignore. Sure, we’re not highly allergic to the foods we don’t eat… but we still feel negative effects.
We may cop some flak for this but the way we see it, choosing to follow a paleo lifestyle is just the same as making the choice to be a vegetarian or vegan. Each and every person has their own personal reason for eating the way they do… so to the chefs, waiters and foodies who say that paleo isn’t a dietary requirement, would you ever second guess a vegetarian? Question why they eat the way they do? We think not!
Moral of the story? Paleo IS a dietary requirement. Fact.
End rant. Phew!
We definitely can’t leave on that note! We’d like to make a special mention to a very unique café we visited: Tusmo Café and Bar.
We went for lunch with our good friends Chrissy and Alex from VSpot café along with Luciana and Jovan from The Fix: Cold Pressed Juices. This one table alone had 2 x vegans, 2 x paleos and 2 x just delicious (hehe, that means no requirements).
We sat down, scanned the menu and noticed the fine print…
Tusmo is aware of the challenges of food allergy sufferers;
Please ask us if you require special attention.
Well that’s a breath of fresh air! The chef Chris (who coincidentally follows a paleo lifestyle, clearly instant love happened right then and there) then came out to say hello and suggested the idea of a surprise menu! This would usually make us a little anxious BUT we 100% trusted him and when the Tusmo website says stuff like this you know you’re in for a delish, healthy lunch…
We have taken great pride in being able to provide top quality produce, using organic,
natural, chemical free growing and farming methods along with providing top quality award winning meats, vegetables, and seafood to our customers. Ensuring perfection at the point of growth
guarantees perfection at the table. Christopher Paul Toth – Head Chef
Even though Tusmo is on the other side of Canberra (at least a 30 minute drive which is forever away when you live in Canberra) we will definitely be back! The yum-ness and understanding of DIETARY REQUIREMENTS did not go un-noticed!
Another mention goes to Parlour Wine Room – we attended their new menu tasting and they paleo-fied everything! INCLUDING the pork belly, pate, roasted carrots and jamon (just to name our favourites!)… probably the best pork belly we’ve ever tasted.
We look forward to the day when it’s the norm for paleo to appear on the menu, just like vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and dairy free!
Have you ever experienced something similar? Or maybe you’ve kept quiet, worried what they’ll think? Share your story below!