Public Holidays Make Me Sick!

Whisked off to New South Wales for the long weekend, with a tonne of primal foods in tow. One of the beau's workmates threw a bonfire party at his parents' farmhouse, so a bunch of us packed our sleeping bags and guinea pigs and tolerance of toddlers, and made the five hour drive up north. The battle began with the first two dinners:

They ate: Lasagna.

I ate:


Lamb chops, fried eggs, sautéed spinach, and roasted zucchini.

They ate: BBQ sausages (generic flour-padded meat in skin), roast potatoes

I ate: BBQ chevups (skinless sausages, minimal flour/dextrose), lamb chops, char-grilled capsicum.

Breakfast was easy, eggs and bacon, but on the second morning things went awry:

They were meant to eat: my tasty almond pancakes, but unfortunately the pancakes adhered firmly to the crappy frying pan that I had to work with, so no dice.

Instead, they ate: Shake 'N' Bake mix pancakes with maple syrup and bacon.

I ate: Bacon, and The Usual (which were also enjoyed by some of the others, so that's still a win).

And for our final dinner together,

They ate: Leftover lasagna, roast primal veggies & bacon. (Can you tell which part I cooked?)

I ate:


Aw yeah. "Brinner" - bacon, scrambled eggs, and sautéed mushrooms, with haloumi, brussell sprouts, eggplant, capsicum, zucchini, and spinach leaves.

I also foisted my Primal Mini Muffins upon one of the small children (who had already decided I was her bestest friend and followed me everywhere - including the bathroom, how awkward...), and she liked it. She even identified the flavour as chocolate, so that's a good sign considering I used no sweetener whatsoever in this batch. Her mother is extremely savvy when it comes to the health of her children, and they have been exposed to a wide range of foods, including chili! Thus, I take the approval of my recipe as both a bolstering of the deliciousness of healthy primal ingredients, as well as a sign that children can enjoy food beyond the mild, sugary junk that claims itself as "healthy kid's cuisine" in the packaged food industry.

Success!!

But then the lovely holiday took a turn for the worse, when I woke up with a nasty head cold. Perfect for a five hour drive in icy, wet conditions. Bleeearghh... Still stayed on plan even though my body was desperate for hot food - I never thought I'd say this, but Thank Gawd for Red Rooster!


That's my dinner - I ate half the Red Rooster roast chicken on the way home (lunch), and served myself the other half with a generous bowl of sautéed cabbage, and a pot of hot green tea. Who needs throat lozenges and Sudafed when primal ingredients can soothe just as effectively? Plus, I had left my cod liver oil and Vitamin D supplements at home, so now that I'm back I can build up my immune system again. Can't help wondering whether bringing my supplements on my holiday could have helped defend my system against this bug...

All in all, I'd say my first experience of having to explain and adhere to my chosen lifestyle in a social setting was a success! I even had the support of one of the other guests, who had 'gone primal' before, to success, but didn't stick with it as strictly as he started. But he definitely supported cutting grains and sugar, so it was very nice to have an ally - not that anyone questioned me whatsoever. Yay!