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Paleo F(X) 2014

Thursday night, we finally got into Austin to head over to Barnes and Noble to see Melissa Joulwan, Michelle Tam, Diana Rodgers, and Arsy Vartanian do a chat and sign session. After many hours on the road, it was surreal to see them up close! I didn’t get there in time to get a wristband and I already had their books, so I listened to the discussion and then we left to find some dinner. It was late and we were hungry. It took us a while to figure out the Interstate/Frontage Rd system but we learned quickly to use parking lots to backtrack if we missed a turn.

Friday Morning, I was at the expo early to get my credentials and my first look at the expo. When I got to the sign-in table, the nice man quickly looked through the stack of nametags and said he couldn’t find mine. He passed me down to a lady who took out a sharpie and an index card and scribble my name (misspelled) on it. I was a little concerned since there is a HUGE price difference between all-access and expo-only tickets, but whatever.

The Expo was HUGE! I stood in awe while Stephen dug into my swag bag.

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I left him at the cooking demo section eating “vegan Pringles” while I rushed  to the first session.

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I found Russ Crandall, The Domestic Man and author of The Ancestral Table, talking about how our grandparents were Paleo before paleo was cool. He had some basic tips for cooking like our closest ancestors. Cooking with fats, acids, and sauces are traditional methods that are lost in many of today’s home cooks. He encouraged his audience to educate ourselves about these traditional methods of cooking like pan roasting.

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Next up was Sarah Ballantyne, The Paleo Mom and author of The Paleo Approach. She was talking about what is on our Autoimmune Protocol Plate. Autoimmune Protocol is a very extensive elimination eating plan to find out what is causing physical symptoms. It is like the Whole 30 jacked up about 10 levels. While it’s not easy, completing an autoimmune protocol can bring relief to people who have been told their symptoms are mental, they are not “allergic” to anything, and to just take some pills to feel better. Eliminating a food from the diet is easy if the results include living pain and symptom free. Her discussion centered around what people CAN eat while on autoimmune protocol. She got my attention with..ugh…organ meats like liver. I need to branch out to this..but I’m taking my sweet time!

The 3rd session of the morning was Melissa Hartwig, of Whole 9 Life and Whole 30. She was talking about STRESS! I learned through several sessions that the act of “being Paleo” can bring about more stress on the body. Obeying “rules” and trying to check off a list every day brings more cortisol to your system. Melissa brought some emphasis to the whole picture thinking. Balance to all aspects of health like sleep, nutrition, movement, environment, and stress management.

The rest of the day was hanging around exploring downtown Austin, attending some panel discussions like this one with Melissa Hartwig and Amy Kubal.

paleo panel

It was a fantastic first day and I have a big wish list for tomorrow.

The Paleo Approach Cookbook

Monday 25th of August 2014

[…] have been waiting for this cookbook for a long, long time. I saw the advance cards at Paleo FX after hearing Sarah Ballantyne, aka The Paleo Mom talk about what to eat on your AIP plate. I had […]