RESOURCES (this page is under development so check back again for more…)
Vibrant health is a lifestyle. Whether you prefer to adopt changes slowly, or to jump in and make big changes right now, the resources below will provide you with the information – science, suggestions, recipes, exercise routines, shopping tips, programs – you need to change your life and health.
The definitive book on the autoimmune protocol (AIP) is The Paleo Approach by Sarah Balantyne, PhD. If you have autoimmune disease, start there and with the AIP blogs I note below – they’re all fantastic.
Websites
There is an endless amount of health information online and a lot of it is crap. My standard is high for websites I regularly visit: a knowledgable author with a healing/transformation story, science-based information, heartfelt writing, innovative grain-free recipes, lovely photography, and suggestions for digging deeper. I count on all of these websites:
Autoimmune Paleo (AIP)
Phoenix Helix (AIP)
The Paleo Mom (AIP)
Meatified (AIP)
He Won’t Know It’s Paleo (AIP)
It’s Me, Charlotte (AIP)
Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind
Nutrition Books
Cookbooks
Podcasts
I am a podcast FIEND. I started listening to podcasts just last year and now I can’t stop. Between Audible books and podcasts, every previously mundane task like washing dishes, blow-drying my hair, applying make-up, and being stuck in traffic is now an opportunity to learn and “meet” new thinkers. I can not overstate that podcasts have truly blown my mind and I KNOW they are changing my life. I listen through both the iPhone Podcasts App and when it crashes (LOL, except not), I listen through the Stitcher App.
Some of my favorites:
The Paleo Solution Podcast hosted by Robb Wolf
Fat-Burning Man hosted by Abel James
Bulletproof Radio hosted by Dave Asprey
The Tim Ferriss Show hosted by Tim Ferriss
Phoenix Helix Podcast hosted by Eileen Laird (specifically autoimmune disease)
The Model Health Show hosted by Shawn Stevens
Revolution Health Radio hosted by Chris Kresser
The School of Greatness hosted by Lewis Howes
Smart Passive Income hosted by Pat Flynn
Happier with Gretchen Rubin hosted by Gretchen Rubin
Local Minneapolis/St. Paul Restaurants and Eating Out In General
I eat out at least once a week, often more. It’s surprisingly easy to eat out paleo-style and getting easier all the time as diners choose quality over quantity. Here are my general tips, no matter where you live:
- Search for farm-to-table-ish restaurants that change their menus often and incorporate local, seasonal, high-quality ingredients. Be aware that all of those terms are now buzzwords, and can often be meaningless, so look at menus online before you head out and see if they walk their talk. I look for restaurants that cook with healthy fats: olive oil, beef tallow, pork lard, duck fat, butter.
- I LOVE restaurants that offer plenty of a la carte and small plate vegetable sides and that have dishes where bread or croutons can easily be left off without compromising the dish.
- If you have food intolerances or allergies, call ahead and give them the heads up that you’re coming in. Don’t show up unannounced on a Friday or Saturday night and list off several foods you can’t eat. Equally important, be very honest about what challenges you face. If you say “allergy,” then mean it. Nothing makes restaurants crazier (and more skeptical about food restrictions, which hurts all of us) than bending over backward to specially prepare a gluten-free dish and then seeing you share a piece of cake for dessert. Gah! Be respectful.
Here are a few of my favorites, that meet the above criteria. I tag my choices #freshtartpicks on Instagram, so check out that gallery for inspiration and ordering tips. This list will grow as I develop it, this is just to get things rolling. These are by no means the only local restaurants that accommodate food restrictions – times they are a-changing fast and many restaurants are flexible – but these are places where ingredient integrity is high, service is amazing, wheat isn’t a focus of the menu, AND the food is absolutely delicious. And I am allllllllll about the delicious.
The Bachelor Farmer
Brasa (can request fried food cooked in lard, most of the menu is gluten-free)
Burch (specially printed gluten-free menu, grass-fed steaks, GF pizza, many vegetable dishes)
Corner Table (call ahead to request AIP meals)
Foxy Falafel (almost 100% gluten-free menu, daily AIP special)
Hola Arepa (almost 100% gluten-free menu)
The Kenwood (wonderful a la carte options, will cook with olive oil on request)
The Rabbit Hole (many gluten-free options, including condiments)
Restaurant Alma (specially printed gluten-free menu, ask for it)
Saint Dinette (always several gluten-free items on the menu, very accommodating)
Wise Acre Eatery (most of the menu is gluten-free)
World Street Kitchen (gluten-free items designated on menu)
Young Joni (gluten-free pizza, NA cocktails, several GF menu items)
