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Friday Favorites 17~What I Found at Paleo F(x)

paleo finds

This past weekend, I attended Paleo Fx in Austin. One of the best parts of the whole thing was the expo floor. Vendors lined up and handed out samples, discount codes, contact information, and more freebies. Let’s just say I was a very happy paleo camper. But what was the best of the best? Which samples had me coming back for more?

1. First has to be Kosmic Kombucha. I had my first sample of kombucha using Kosmic and was sold with the first taste. After sampling a few more, I walked away with 6 bottles to bring back to Alabama. Unfortunately, they are only sold locally in Austin.

Photo Apr 12, 2 54 57 PM (1)

2. Kasandrinos Olive oil.

The big selling point with this is that it’s cold-pressed, not pressed with chemicals and it’s pressed within 48 hours of harvest and stored locally in Greece. That’s all well and good, but is the taste any different from the bottles on my store shelf that have been there for 6 months or more? Yes. The taste is definitely more complex. I have used my small sample bottle to drizzle over greens and roasted vegetables. I drizzle it just before serving and it really enhances the flavors.

Photo Apr 12, 10 41 41 AM

3. Tessamaes Sauces and Marinades

I was so excited to sample these, I didn’t get any kind of picture. I even tried to buy the bottles off the sample table. I hope I didn’t leave a terrible impression. Maybe a heartfelt letter of sorrow would help?

Dear Tessamaes Sauces and Marinades,

I apologize for scaring the nice people behind the sample table. It won’t happen again…maybe.

Sincerely,

Scary red-headed lady who tried to buy your entire stash and haul back to Alabama.

So what is the big deal about this company? Two words: real ingredients. And two more words: gluten free.  And a few more words: tastes like my garden but I didn’t have to do much work on the night when I’m too lazy to make my own. But if I did make my own, it would be the same ingredients as what is in these bottles.

If you can find these in the REFRIGERATED section of Whole Foods, you can’t go wrong with the original Lemon Garlic. I would use this on my weekly chicken prep, salads, in butter for a potato, drizzled over my seafood. In fact, I’m looking at a few bottles of different flavors to add some more variety to my weekly salmon and chicken. WITHOUT MUCH EFFORT. I’m doing a great job convincing the world that I’m super active and healthy but deep down, some nights all I want is a big bowl of something that only took a few minutes in a pan and a few drops of stuff from a bottle. And then sit on the couch. Everyone has those nights. Mine just happen about once or twice a week Winking smile 

4. Primal Pacs

Yummy stuff. This is beef jerky. And I like beef jerky. It doesn’t have that Slim Jim funk-next-to-the-jar-of-pink-pickled-pigs-feet-in-a-crusty-truck-stop-on-a-lonely-interstate vibe going on so that is the biggest plus for me. I could eat a bag a day of this stuff, especially the ones with mango in them. I’m saving my other bags for hiking 14’ers this summer. But add me to the Primal Pac fan club. They are made with grass-fed and finished beef, fruit, nuts, seasoning, salt, and that’s about it. Again, a product that we could and have made at home and would make it like this. Stephen makes deer jerky. I do not like deer jerky. So I have these. Problem solved!

 primalpacs

That’s my short list of the best of Paleo Fx 2014.