FOOD PHILOSOPHIES

MY LITTLE PONIES

I’m so excited to be here. Things are happening, life is moving and there are always about 3 more things to get done in a day than I actually have time for (oh shit, it’s 11pm). BUT, it’s certainly not the end of the world when my laundry sits in that giant blue IKEA bag on the floor of my room for another week.

So I have been working at my new (/old) place of employment for almost a month now and things are pretty swell. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ve made the best decision for myself, my future and my adrenal glands. I truly love, respect, and enjoy everyone I work with, and working for a cause I truly support down to my soul makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I actually look forward to going to work in the morning (well, in the most reasonable way possible).

So this place of employment I speak of, is GreenLite Medicine in Mountain View, CA. I actually began working there a few years ago, it was my first REAL job out of college. I was hired as an admin, with prospect of some marketing and design tasks as they came up, and it turned out they needed me a lot more than they even knew!

So started a pretty wonderful working relationship, and the most nurturing workplace any pony could ask for. I eventually spread my wings, moved to Santa Cruz. moved back. then started working at Zazzle. But when my life’s passion hit me on the head like a ton of bricks, I called up my old friends at GreenLite and asked if they needed any help, and serendipity would have it they did. My current life plan is to work part-time marketing, part time health coaching, learning the in’s and outs of small business marketing and gaining some basic coaching and communication skills, which will come in handy for my future nutritional practice. All the while saving up for nutrition school, so I can really get down to business in a year or so.

ANYWHO. As I will eventually begin training as a nutritional educator, I’m taking a stab at eating the “greenlite” way (so that I can teach it to people) this means lean meats, low fat, non-starchy veg. Now, it’s not TOTALLY that different from how I was eating before. BUT. I kind of fucking hate it. I mean, I being a total brat, dragging my feet the whole way, because the truth is I have a problem with tracking my food intake, and restricting it. As I’m writing this, I’m feeling like even more of a brat.

I think the problem is that It’s all just a change, it’s just DIFFERENT, and it just those lingering remnants of teenage rebellion hanging out inside my subconscious. But, a wise man once said (a.k.a I heard this on the bulletproof executive podcast) that you can’t change what you don’t track, and while eating coconut butter out of the jar with a spoon DOES give me my daily dose of Medium Chain Triglycerides, it’s not necessarily a habit that’s the best for a bangin bod (mypantsaresotight).

I think my subconscious wants this little experiment to fail, so I can be proud, and I can be right. Giving someone else, or a different program or ideology “Control” over my food, makes me feel uncomfortable. But at the same time, I kind of feel like a lameo failure, and if can’t follow the rules of this simple program, how can I ever expect to be a nutritional coaching BOSS. Le sigh. Eating is weird.

I believe that body composition is a result of hormonal regulation ( thanks to my friends Dr. Sara Gotfried and the amazingly adorable Johnathan Bailor) and while cleaning up your diet can typically elicit and regulate that hormonal response, a lot of us need more than just that. We’ll talk about this subject in future posts, including my own struggles with those big bad hormones (I’m not sure I even have those answers right now, but I’ve certainly had some major revelations) Watch this aweeeesome video for a primer.

So. Today, to maintain some of my own sanity, I’m writing my own rules. This is the Paleo Pony bible of food philosophy, of what I believe to be pure, true, yummy, and nourishing. Here goes.

I believe in whole foods (well, yes the store, but I’m referring to the original gangsta) and that boxes, cans and plastic bags should be avoided when possible.

I believe in food grown in the most natural way possible (and not specifically USDA ORGANIC CERTIFIED YADA YADA, because sometimes those things are bureaucratic bullshit)

I believe in eating healthy animals, that lead happy lives, that lived in outside nature and frolocked in the sunshine. Oh, and healthy wild sea creatures too.

I believe in eating as many vegetables that can fit in your belly (especially the green ones)

I believe that fruit is yummy, but it’s a sometimes food, the same way cookie monster feels about cookies these days (one day you’ll be on my level cookie monster…one day)

I believe in starchy tubers and squash when you’re an athlete warrior and when the weather starts to change and that you sometimes needs pumpkin pancakes for dinner.

I believe juicy tomatoes taste best when they’re lumpy and weird looking and picked right from the vine, especially when daddy grew them in the backyard with his homemade organic compost tea.

I don’t believe that grains are meant for human consumption (and yes, that includes quinoa)

I believe that sundays are perfect for pancakes (but only of the paleo variety)

I believe in organic dark chocolate (especially this one) and I believe in eating the whole bar.

I believe in bacon, and butter and avocados. Maybe within reason. or maybe as much as you like.

I believe in bone broth, and eating organ meats, and sardines and seaweed, and I know that eating those things make me feel like superwoman.

I believe in eating food that was grow as close as possible to where your home is, picking it with with your own hands when you can (dream life) and I believe that dirt is superfood.

I believe in variety, in eating colors, and making food FUN and pretty (and then instagramming it).

I believe in making the best nutritional decision, in any given situation, even if it sometimes breaks your own rules, because all you can ever do it your best, and then I believe in then moving on with your life.

I believe cooking is an art, and that it’s part of the digestion process, and that everyone on this planet needs those basic skills to nourish themselves properly and heal their relationship with food.

I believe that most of America has an eating disorder (myself included) which is partly the fault of our biology , partly the fault of modern agriculture, big food marketing and food engineering.

I believe that food can heal and food can kill. So pick your poison.

I believe that food can be nourishment, for the body, for the soul, for the emotions and for the pleasure receptors.

I believe that a good meal, in an amazing location, while the sun is setting and the weather is warm can be life changing.  But not solely because of the quality or quantity of the food consumed, but because of all the those contributing factors, and because of good company.

I believe that there’s something amazing wonderful and fun about road snacks (#obsessed..but why?!)

I don’t believe in counting calories, but I believe in eating within reason, and I believe in being honest with yourself and honest about your relationship with food. And that when it becomes a coping mechanism (which it so easily can and is practically ENCOURAGED in our culture) then it’s time to reassess, create some structure and break some habits.

I believe that fast food is a microwaved sweet potato, a can of sardines and some hot-sauce. (don’t knock till you’ve tried it folks)

I believe that eating WHOLE foods raises your vibrational frequency, which connects you with the earth, with the pulse of life and the universe and helps provides the compass for your day and your experiences (we are animals after all, and everyone seems to forget that)

I believe that learning how to optimally feed yourself, listen to your body and adjust according is the most fundamental part of being human. And I believe that probably about 80% of American’s don’t know how to do this (don’t hold me to this number, I can’t do math).

I believe that sometimes, this is fucking hard, and while it’s ACTUALLY, quite possibly, the most SIMPLE thing for us to do as human animals, in can very well, at times, seem impossibles, because our culture and society is ass backwards. #duh.

So. That’s what I think. I can’t say I’d take this to the grave, but I think it’s pretty reasonable and all in good fun.

I’m sure I’ll do part DEUX sometime as I can’t possible sum up my thoughts and philosophy on food in one place, but these ideas have been fluttering around in my mind and I feel so glad to share them with you. I’d love to hear your thoughts too in the comments below, because I believe in sharing and listening.

Here’s my Pony wisdom for this day, September 10th:

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” – M. Scott Peck

If you say so.

LOVE ya much.

Your Paleo Pony.

Paleo Pop Up Magic.

Friends!!!

It’s been too long! Last time I was here I wrote about the impending and super exciting and upcoming Against All Grain Book release party and Zen Belly Paleo pop up in San Francisco. Wellllllll, it happened, and it was magical. I met soooo many amazing people (Simone of Zen Belly (IN RL!!), Danielle From Against All Grain (of course), George of Civilized Caveman, Carla from Wise Roots Nutrition and even Mary from Grassfed Girl for a hot minute)  Check out Danielle’s recap of the event here (she was a VISION). It was located at Firehouse 9 in SF, which was just as charming and rustic as can be. The ambiance was wonderful, the company, amazing, the food delicious, the weather was even fantastic for the sometimes manic San Francisco cliimate.

I was a bit of a renaissance women that night, setting up the event, passing out hors d’oeuvres, helping out in the kitchen, serving dinner, sharing advice and gabbing with new friends  ( I even ran into one of my new co-workers!!) and of course, enjoying delicious, gourmet paleo foods created by Zen Belly herself.  Look at this gorgeousness!!:

Everyone had such a wonderful time and I was lucky enough to get a free copy of Danielle’s new book for my help!  Best of all, I came away with some really great new friendships and connections (Carla and I are KINDA BFF’s now) which I know will prove to be fruitful. I think what was most amazing was simply the feeling of community, sharing a mutual belief, cause and understanding that was paramount for in of our lives, and I have to say, I’ve only experienced that feeling few times in my life. So here’s to hoping for more of that in my future.

In other news, I’ve started at my new job. WOOT! It feel SOOOOooo great to be here. There’s lots of work to do, but it’s very exciting, motivating and encouraging to be a part of a wonderful little community. I’m actually still squatting on my work’s internet at the moment as I no longer have the perk of free internet (aka cyber squatting) at home. Ohhhh the perils of being a grown up. Alas, however, we’ve ordered internet and the comcast fairy will come in due time.

So here’s my wisdom for this week:

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.”

– M. Scott Peck

We are often drawn to turn away from fear and struggle, we’ve got a fear of fear so to speak. But I think when we learn to run face first into our fears, and accept our struggles whole heartedly in order to learn from them, that my friends, is the key to life, and most certainly the key to success. #growingupisweird.

Peace out playas.

Love,

The Paleo Pony

P.s. I’m still figuring out some things with this whole blogging, internet, time management scenario (WHERE DOES THE DAY GO). So I appreciate any and all of you reading this chatter. One day I’ll be spoon feeding you liquid gold health knowledge (while you laugh your ass off). In due time. Patience is a virtue Paleo Pony.

This is real life.

Hey GUYS!

How you doin? I’m hanging in there. I have 4 more days left at my current job (with a weekend sandwiched in between) and shit feels WEIRD. It’s a bit of struggle, especially since I’m trying to finish up a project that seems damn near excruciating (tedious, complex, complicated  blech). BUT I am trying to push through, follow through and follow up, but let me tell you, it’s certainly a struggle. My heart is most definitely in other places.

On a lighter not, check out these gorgeous little babies I created for myself and my new career/life:

Thoughts? Feelings? I LOVE THEM. Of course there are a few things I wish I could have tweaked, but I was rushing to finish these puppies to get them at a MEGA discount employee sale of 75% off at my current job. A twist of fate made it so we had our summer employee sale just before my departure and I was sure to stock up on some final custom goods.

This final week feels strange. That space right before or in between transitions is always the easiest. You don’t have to experience the fear or uncomfortable parts of the transition, but your eye and head are still focused on that goal, dreaming hard.

Tomorrow I’m going to be helping with the Against All Grain Book Party and the Zen Belly Paleo Pop Up and I am SO SO EXCITED. I will be working in the kitchen with Simone during the dinner! I’ve most definitely never worked in a real kitchen before, so that will be fun, I can get down in the kitchen for sure, but I’m not exactly sure what the playing field here is.

Check out the postcard I designed for Simone of Zen Belly! Isn’t her food gorgeous?! I can’t wait to meet her. I’m hoping to meet lots of new friends, help out make this event awesome and maybe even network! I think some serious Paleo blogger-stars may be there and I am majorly excited but mostly nervous!

On that note, my wisdom for today goes a little something like this:

“Each of us has an inner dream that we can unfold if we will just have the courage to admit what it is.”

Take that one, and let it sit with you, because it IS glorious.

Talk to you soon my loves.

Nicole the Paleo Pony.

BORN TIRED (living the dream)

GUYS. Lately I’ve been been living the life of this panda:

Baby I was born this way. You see. I’m currently still working full time at my “corporate” job, which is kinda life draining in and of itself. And I am also doing part time graphic design work for my blogger goddesses Diane of Balanced Bites and Simone of the AMAZING blog/restaurant Zen Belly. Mix that with 2 hours of commuting a day, a few residual health challenges (hormones, digestions, you know the drill) some minor sleeping issues, (made an emergency Target trip for blackout curtains this weekend, I had to hang said curtains above my window with thumb tacks. #ghetto. #desperate). Anyways, NOT TO COMPLAIN, the universe has catapulted me into my purpose, and I am happier than ever. but also tired(er) than ever. I’m a bit of a hot mess. So I’ve prioritized a few things, cut myself a bit of slack on this little blogging venture I’ve created, until I get into my new groove.

Because my new grove is coming ladies and gentlemen. I’m giving my 2 weeks notice tomorrow and I’m going to start working at a health and weight loss clinic in mountain view, doing part time marketing, and part time training as a nutritional educator. I plan on saving up to get my nutritional certification (most likely from the CHEK Institute) and mostly learning how to teach, communicate, learn science and sometimes stick someone with a needle (I’M SCARED)

Anyways, these last few days here at my corporate job are pretty rough, but I know I’ll survive. Things sometimes feel like life and death at this place and that’s part of the reason why I think it’s a good decision for me to move on. I’m just a sensitive pony, and while I’m working on hardening my exterior for the best, Rome was not built in a day. and stuff.

Here’s my little piece wisdom I’ll leave you with for today:

Fear and negativity exist for a reason; we must honor them and recognize them, but not dwell on them -The Daily Love

This has certainly been a struggle for me, it is always our task to learn from the obstacles in our way, especially when they are our own thoughts or beliefs. I think we can often feel a ton of guilt for the fear and negativity we have, which can snowball into dark territory. But if we try to look at the situation objectively, see what we can learn, feel these feelings and let them pass through us, we can always move forward, reaching towards our goals and higher self. To be happy, productive, successful, beaming rays of goodness.

Until next time,

Nicole

Blood Sugar Fun and The Graphic Design Gangsta

Hey Friends!

I have been the busiest bumble bee around town. I am working on two very exciting projects from some Paleo blogger goddesses and can’t wait to share them with all you kids once they’re complete and gorgeous. I am a graphic designer by trade (attended the University of San Francisco’s teeny tiny adorable Design School) and plan to spread and empower paleo rockstars with my rockin’ graphic communication skills.

Time seems to be a hot commodity for me these days but lots of amazing shifts are happening and doors are being opened that are the things of my dreams.

This weekend I learned the ins and outs of blood sugar regulation for some fun graphic THINGS I’m working on. Check out this AWESOME and easy to understand video by Sean Croxton (he is my main man!) that explains just why exactly blood sugar management is such a vital key to health!

I’m off to live the life of a pony, but i’ll see you kids sometime soon.

Some words for the road:

Ever since happiness learned your name, it’s been running through the streets trying to find you

-Hafiz

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Love & Hugs,

Nicole

Wednesday

Hey Kids,

Happy hump day! It’s almost Friday, kinda. Things are well here at Pony Place. My gorgeous cousin Sheridan spontaneously moved in to my little apartment and it has been a ball of fun ever since (just in time for our 21 day sugar detox too…the stars aligned). Today I wanted to share some of my eats, discoveries and an anticipated delivery!

Our 21 day sugar detox is going strong, and hasn’t been totally horrible. I mostly just miss my morning cup of sweet Earl Grey tea and almond milk. While almond milk doesn’t inherently have sugar, the boxed variety is more junk & chemicals than it is milk. And while I don’t normally have a problem with it, for our detox we’re getting back to basics. Black unsweetened Earl Grey is just not the same.

Anywho, here’s what my meals looked like today. (side note, please excuse my JANKY iphone photos for the time being, the pony gods are working on procuring me a REAL camera)

You’re up close and personal with my breakfast right here. I had some left over dinner of my pet food 🙂 with steamed kale and green beans (I topped off the veggies with some coconut butter…MMMMmm..don’t knock it tilyou’ve tried it ). My petfood (grass fed beef + organ meats) was sauteed with onions and coconut aminos. This meat is SOOOO delicious, organ meats add a a really rich umami flavor to the food, similar to  arich mushroom flavor. It’s perhaps an acquired taste, but i’ll tell you, this shit is magical.

My everyday is typically from the cafeteria at my work. Look at that rainbow! I usually get a grassfed beef burger from the grill (with no bun) topped with guacamole (I’ve made BFFs with the grill man, he HOOKS it UP with the guac). Then supplemented with some romaine lettuce, bell peppers, zucchini and onions from the salad bar. I topped this puppy with Cholula hot sauce as my salad dressing, I find that eating spicy things helps keep the sugar monster at pay (although this technique is not for the faint of heart). This was filling, easy and DELISH. I feel pretty thankful for my work cafeteria because they are rather conscious of food quality and ingredients, however there are still some food bombs to navigate there (oh taco day…..).

I stopped by Whole Foods (whole foods is my boyfriend) on my way home to pick up some hair conditioner  (they were out of my brand dab nabbit!) and picked up a snack for the road. I just LOVE sea snacks, they are so nourishing and delicious, plus I got a tasty green drink as I wanted a little treat (treat yo’ self). Greens are so important for healthy cells and digestion, and sea veggies are SUPA health promoting because they contain lots of Iodine, which is really hard to get in in our typical diet.

For dinner I sauteed some zucchini, onions, garlic and salt, and cracked two eggs on top (I found some soy free eggs at whole foods!). I put this little egg nest on top of kale and coconut butter. DELISH.

I also got a special delivery today:

TAMANU OIL! I read about the benefits of tamanu oil from my SISTAHS Liz Wolfe and Stacy from the Love Vitamin . It should help reduce some of my acne scars, do a little bit of resurfacing  and help heal any other acne that’s still lingering around. I’m excited to share my results with you folks in the future, I haven’t found my perfect “clean” skin care routine yet, but I love playing around and have found some amazing, natural products that have really changed the game in terms of my beauty routine. Paleo Pony skin care tip 1: OIL IS YOUR FRIEND. Good healthy, appropriate oils for your skin type help nourish and balance you skin and oil production. BOOM Did i just blow you away?

Anyways friends. I must prance off to sleep in pony land. But I’ll leave you with some words of love first:

People can only respond TO and love you THROUGH what you show them

Think about it. I like to say that communication is the secret to life, so first, make sure you’re communicating with your own head/emotions (which is hard in and of itself), and second, make sure you’re communicating with all you loved ones too, so they’re able to love you right back in the best way possible. This quote is from The Daily Love, another FANTASTIC daily email series, delivering love and wisdom to your inbox each morning. Highly recommended.

PEACE OUT LOVE BUGS,

Nicole

Farmers’ Market Fun & Blueberry Smoothies

Hello wonderful creatures. Yesterday was magnificent!

I visited the Campbell’s Farmer’s Market in my hood and bought some wonderful things!

1. Here we have some delicious green beans -the sampling man told me to eat one raw as I was walking by, I did. and I was SOLD.
2. Then we’ve got some giant green onions. At least I think they’re green onions. I saw them, and I needed them.
3. Below we’ve got some perfect little white and red onions. I discovered  pretty much the last bin of onions in all the whole market! I think they’re going out of season soon or something.
4.  Bottom left there’s the most FREAKING delicious bacon I’ve ever had in my entire life. It’s sourced from Prather Ranch who focus on sourcing high quality and sustainably raised  meats AKA this pig was living it’s life the way it was intended to and it therefore IS DELICIOUS. (side note-Kale+Bacon+Onions+Coconut Butter=Delicious Insanity).
5. Next we have some pretty little squash blossoms. They were just too cute and  I liked the idea of eating a flower (because I want to be one!). I just fried them on a skillet and put them on top of my bacon, coconut butter, kale concoction and they were GREAT! They have such a unique flavor, I’m not sure how to describe them but certainly recommend them.
6. And finally we’ve got the star of the show, my grass fed ground beef. Now if you were to read that little label there on my meat package, you’d see see that it says “Pet Food” and that’s because, folks, my grass fed beef has organ meats in it! ORGAN MEATS YOU SAY? why yes my friends. Organ meats are ideal for optimum human health (especially when looking to heal your body) they’re rich in b vitamins, essentials fatty acids, iron, folate…I could go on…and one day i’ll have my own awesome post on how I incorporate organ meats into my diet, but until then, read up on the amazing benefits of them here and here from some wonderfully intelligent people. They make me feel like a SUPERHERO. Liver is the OG super food, the grandfather of goji berry-maca mumbo jumbo. The cute little butcher man tipped me off to this trick, and assured me these were okay for human consumption. These puppies also run around $2-$4 an LB. So THERE’s a sweet little paleo budget tip for all y’all. Cheap and totally nutritious.

After the Farmers’ Market I hit up Whole Foods (whole foods is my boyfriend) for some supplementary eats to my farmers market finds for the week. It was HOT and I was HUNGRY so I got THIS bad boy:

BLUEBERRIES + BANANA + KALE + SPINACH + GINGER = MY JAM

JAM (n.) -A favorite activity, food, song or thing which brings immense pleasure or borderline obsession. 

This delicious little smoothie was also a farewell to fruit for a while as today was the 1st day of my 21 day sugar detox! My roomie/cousin/soul mate Sheridan and I will will be embarking on this detox journey for the second time and are excited to sort out some residual health challenges we’ve both been facing (more on that later too). We eat pretty clean as it is, as sugar doesn’t bode well for either of us (among other things), but we’re approaching this as more of a mental detox , looking to improve some of our relationships with food by weeding out our food crutches and mostly focus on the things we know will benefit us.  We’re looking to strengthen our digestion and rid our routines of any other foods we feel aren’t currently benefiting our health. I wrote down our goals and posted them on our fridge for encouragement, which ends with my lil’ motto “progress not perfection”. Such a gem.

The 21 Day Sugar Detox was created by my numba’ one lady Diane Sanfillipo of Balanced Bites and it is a SOLID, health promoting, NO BULLSHIT program that I highly reccommend.

Well my sweets, I’m off to bed, but I’ll leave you all with this wonderful quote that the Universe emailed me this morning:

You know you’ve made it, when you suddenly realize that there’s nothing in the world anyone might ever give you, no matter how grand or fabulous, that you can’t give to yourself.

If you’re drinking the same Kool-Aid as me (I.E. the Kool-Aid of LOVE) I think you’ll understand what this puppy is referring too. Remember to fill yourself up with love each and every day. I strongly encourage all of you to sign up to receive these lil’ nuggets o’ wisdom too at Tut.com.

Peace out pony lovers.

Nicole

Why hello beautiful being.

Welcome to the inside of  The Paleo Pony world.

I’m about to have a party with my fear and unleash my awesome all up in this place, to share some of the most important little life lessons i’ve come to adore in my humble 25 years on this weird place we call earth. I’m here to connect you with mind blowing knowledge, awesome philosophies and ideas, tips, TRICKS and some insight on the little life I’ve created for myself. This blog space is all about living an authentically healthy and balanced life. From the things we put IN our bodies, the stuff we put ON it, what we THINK inside our brains and how we ACT to the outside world.

Here is some insight on a few of the things you can come to expect from this fun and fantastic Paleo Pony love space:

• Serious knowledge bombs from the PALEO, ANCESTRAL and HOLISTIC Health community that will help your body function and thrive the way it was created for
• Crazy easy and fast RECIPES that will nourish your BODY & feed your SOUL
• Wonderfully natural BEAUTY tips and tricks to nourish your SKIN,TEETH, HAIR & NAILS to unleash the natural GORGEOUSNESS within you
• Major WISDOM I’ve discovered from a few amazing rockstar teachers on LIFE, the UNIVERSE, LOVE, BALANCE  and INNER PEACE.
• How to vibrate with the cosmos and simply BE all the amazingness that you are

NOW, check out this amazing and fantastic video from Marie Forleo on how to FEEL fear and let it fuel your fire in order overcome all that stands in your way. Which is exactly what’s happening right this very second as I type these words you are reading.

Peace out my beautiful baby ponies, I’m off to prance with my doubts and fears.

LIVE IN LOVE,

Nicole