Paleo Cafe opens in Bondi Junction!

Last Wednesday saw the opening of the new Paleo Cafe  in Bondi Junction. Paleo Cafe is a franchise (Paleo Cafe  Cairns opened in October).  It would be unfair to review a new cafe or restarant within the first month of opening while any (inevitable) teething problems are sorted out, so I'm just letting you know in this post that it's there and open for business on Oxford Street (midway between Just Organics and the mall) and to share with you what's on offer.

Ok, so there's breakfast from 7:30-11am and lunch is 11:30-3pm.

The lunch menu features soups ($9), curries ($17), shepherd's pie ($17), various salads ($14), grass fed steak ($22), a chicken dish ($22), salmon ($22), slow roasted pork belly ($18), desserts ($9).  The caveman's big breakfast looks good for $20 and there's a separate kids menu. The drinks menu has some lovely sounding juices and bullet proof coffee (black coffee blended with MCT oil - which is an extract of coconut oil- and butter).

I ordered the Shepherds Pie which had sweet potato mash on top (served with green side salad) for $17 and a bullet proof coffee for $4.50. My friend ordered the chicken mango macadamia nut salad which looked awesome.

The menu is gluten-free, grain/legume-free, dairy-free, preservative-free and sugar-free.

Here are the pluses (bearing in mind I've only been once):

• Pastured meats and eggs
• The only oil used to cook with is coconut oil- no processed oils used
• Staff were friendly, relaxed and happily took time out to chat and answer questions
• The new Lady J cafe next door was empty whereas Paleo Cafe was full (a sign that this is filling a need in the community)
• Lots of tables/space
• Quick service
• Paleo books and lifestyle products  for sale
• Bullet proof coffee is offered (great for those who can not consume lactose)
• Prices reasonable for eastern suburbs
• All food is available for takeaway

So the big question for me is going to be the provenance of the meat and eggs which wasn't something that the owner was able to go into when I asked him.

Clean wholefood places are hard to come by in the eastern suburbs so if I was in the Junction and looking for somewhere to eat, or wanted to catch up with someone over a meal or coffee, I would happily go back (and intend to!). Stay tuned for further updates on this one down the track. In the meantime check them out, share what you think, and kudos to Greg Sawyer for making this happen and bringing more wholefood choices to our doorsteps!

For more information call Paleo Cafe on 02 9386 0163.

'Like Me' on Facebook and get a free large packet of activated nuts!

November is not all about growing facial hair. For this month only, I'm giving away to Sydney residents 1 large 500g packet of activated nuts of your choice (valued at $26/$27 retail price) if you get a friend to Like my Facebook business page and to subscribe to this blog (if they haven't already done so). Just let me know the name of your friend and their contact details (inbox me at soulla.chamberlain@me.com or text me on 0407 871884) and let me now which activated nuts you would like (subject to that nut variety being available).

Why the fuss over Facebook? I basically only use this blogsite to post lengthier blogs, typically weekly or less frequently, whereas each day I post one or more very short update on FaceBook and Twitter on anything from:

• kitchen, cooking and parenting tips;
• nutritional and holistic lifestyle recommendations or inspiration;
• a question to ponder, or an issue to arouse or invoke discussion;
• organic wholefoods or eco-friendly products that are on sale for discounted prices in Sydney;
• photos and 1 sentence descriptions of a meal I made including kids school lunches and morning tea ideas;
• recipes;
• places that I frequent that come highly recommend.

If, like me, you are new(ish) to the world of social media, you might get a kick out of reading one of my earlier blogs about my thoughts (and trepidations) about it here.

You know you're a primal mama when....

Every so often I wonder what the ordinary bloke in Mainstream Street would say if they were a fly on the wall in my house overhearing conversations we have about food and lifestyle choices. So this post is dedicated to the somewhat unconventional community to which I (proudly) belong. As much as I am a details person and firmly stand by my nutritional and lifestyle choices, it is equally important (and fun) to stand back, look at the broader picture, and have a good belly laugh at ourselves every now and again. Here goes.....

You know you're a Primal Mama when your kids say.....

"Daddy you forgot to add salt in my water!"

"Mum where are you, why aren't you answering us?!? Are you oil pulling again?"

"No thanks,  we don't eat sugar"

"Is that fake food?"

"Please don't put that on us, mummy says we don't need to wear sunscreen"

"Mum can I add the epsom salts and coconut oil to our bath water tonight?"

"William! Don't drink water from the bubbler! It's not filtered!!"

"Mum, is there lambs brains in this again?"

"Do I have to eat all of my sauerkraut?"

"Can I please have a piece of bread- it's sourdough!!"

"But it was only a little teeny bit of screen time!"

"What's a vaccine?"

"Is this toothpaste fluoride-free?"

And even more kudos to you if your kids effortlessly rattle off the following terminology in casual conversation:

• "Cleos"
• "cod liver oil"
• "good bacteria"
• "bad bacteria"
• "bone broth"
• "raw cacao powder "
• "raw milk"
• "goji berries"
• "Steiner playgroup"
• "wholefoods"
• "co-sleeping"

If you can relate......then you're a healthy, vital, primal family!!! Congratulations!