Going on a trip, whether within your own country or abroad need not mean taking a leave of absence from your healthy Paleo lifestyle! Unfortunately, I’ve found that lots of people feel a bit lost, however, when they leave the comforts of home and are faced with NEW food choices, some of which may be slightly to extremely unfamiliar.
As such, I thought it would be a great idea to have a series of articles dedicated to several different regional cuisines and how to order food within the realm of Paleo eating. So, whether you have a trip to France planned, or you’re simply heading out for a meal at your local Japanese restaurant, stay tuned!
To start, let’s go Italian!
The first thing you may think is that Italian Food = Pasta, so forget it, right? Wrong! Open any good Italian cookbook and you’ll see loads of recipes for fish, poultry, veggies and so on!
-When ordering, as always, opt for menu choices that are grilled, roasted and sautéed, and double check with your server to make sure there are no cream or cheese-based sauces that would otherwise accompany the meal.
-Start your meal with an Insalata Mista, and ask for olive oil on the side with a twist of lemon.
-Share an appetizer with the table of beef carpaccio with melon, or something along those lines.
-As always, ask the server what veggies are in the house that evening, that the chef might be willing to steam (or sauté in garlic & oil- delish!) for you. Be adventurous- try something new! Instead of the same old spinach, try escarole or rapini, two of my faves!
-For your main course, choose a shrimp scampi (this can be prepared without butter using olive oil, garlic, parsley and lemon) or a chicken piccata (which can me made without flour).
-Many Italian places will also offer house-made sorbetto as well- a pleasant way to end a lovely meal, without dairy, or too many calories!
Buon Appetito!
