Review: Delicious Baked Foods From Paleo Crunch

Those of us who eat Paleo know how difficult it can be to find treats which fit in with our food philosophy. Sure treat foods should not make up a large part of our diets, whether they are Paleo or not, but wouldn't life be very dull if we never had treats?! 

The past few weeks have been pretty hectic for me. I had a big exam on Saturday last so the past few weeks have been taken up with studies at every spare minute. This left very little time for cooking - my husband pretty much took over all the cooking - so I have not had much time to spend making myself tasty treats. 

When Una of Paleo Crunch offered to send me some samples of her baked foods I jumped at the chance! We all know that studying usually leads to a little more comfort eating than usual and the odd treat is very much appreciated in between the constant stream of revision. It just makes things a little easier and more enjoyable to have a little something nice to eat when we are working hard. 

The package arrived and I ripped it open with anticipation! I had expected to get a couple of slices of her selection but was thrilled to find full cakes of a variety of baked foods - a banana bread, an almond and linseed bread, a multi-seed loaf, a carrot cake and a chocolate brownie. 

The food was delicious! My son (who is Type 1 diabetic and who I try to keep as close to paleo as possible) loved the food too. He brought the bread to school for his lunch and also enjoyed sharing the cakes! I also brought some carrot cake and banana bread into work to share and the girls really enjoyed it. So it will definitely be well received in any home - Paleo or not. It was such a treat to have healthy bread and cake available for me when I was short on time and it was equally nice to have them fit in with my food philosophy. 

The banana bread (pictured above) was moist and delicious with the right level of sweetness. The carrot cake was amazing - fruity, moist and so moreish. But the brownie was FAB! It was easily the nicest brownie I have EVER had, hands down. It was moist, chocolatey and just delicious. I was just sad it wasn't bigger!

I knew I would not be able to eat everything so I sliced the breads up and froze them on a baking sheet and then once frozen I put them into freezer bags. This was great as it meant I could take a slice or two out as I needed them. 

Una kindly sent me a list of ingredients for the foods I received:

Banana bread: Bananas Ground almond Coconut Coconut oil Mixed spice Eggs Honey

Ground Almond and linseed bread: Ground almond Linseed Coconut flour Eggs Coconut oil

Carrot Cake: Ground almond Honey Spices Carrots Raisins Walnuts Eggs

Brownie: Avocado Chocolate Cocoa Honey Coconut flour Eggs

Multi-seed Bread: Ground almond Honey Mix of seeds Linseed Eggs Coconut oil

Here is a menu of the foods she currently makes:

How Do I Order? 
Orders can be placed directly through the Facebook page "Paleo Crunch" by private message or by text on 0879044052.

Loaves start at €7 and brownies/carrot cake squares are 4 for €5.

I have already decided I will be ordering a Paleo birthday cake for myself next month from Una! I am already excited about it! :)

I would definitely recommend Una's food. She is an enthusiastic Paleo eater and is very active in her local Crossfit community. She is professional and easy to approach.

Check out her facebook page for great recipe ideas and tips to keeping it Paleo. It is so great to see others flying the flag for Paleo living in Ireland.

Restaurant Review: Sauvage Paleo Restaurant, Berlin

I am just back from a lovely weekend away with my husband in Berlin. We had a lovely weekend of sightseeing, relaxation, wine and delicious food. It is a beautiful city with so much to see and it is so steeped in history.

A highlight of the trip was of course my much anticipated Paleo meal on Saturday night! As those of us who eat Paleo food know, it is so difficult to eat out and have the type of food we like to eat. We are usually left to make do with whatever foods we can adapt to our needs and steak is usually the outcome. (not that there is anything too bad about a good steak!) 

So I was absolutely thrilled to discover that there was a 100% Paleo restaurant to be visited in Berlin (friends joked it was the ONLY reason I was visiting Berlin!) 

I was so excited to visit the restaurant and we hit off on Saturday evening for our reservation at 8.30pm.

The company have restaurants in two locations in Berlin - one called Neukolln in Pflugerstrausse which is more casual and views itself as both a dining place and a meeting place for health enthusiasts and which also holds Paleo cookery classes. The second is in Winnstrause and is called the Prenzlauerberg restaurant. We visited the latter and we really did get the refined dining experience promised by their website (here)  

The restaurant is set on a quiet street and is has a lovely intimate and slightly rustic setting which is very in keeping with the Paleo theme. Lit largely by candle light and decorated with minimal decor, the interior is also dotted with unique pieces of art work like the one above of our table of hunter gatherers tackling a bear to the ground. All of this added to the atmosphere and the general theme of the food. 

The moment I got my hands on the menu I got goosebumps! This might sound ridiculous for those of you who may not understand the passion of Paleo and good nourishing food. For me seeing a menu of food with excellent ingredients, nutrient dense super-foods and a philosophy so close to my own it is like I wrote the menu myself is so exciting. 

I think I could liken it to the thrill some ladies get from seeing a pair of Louis Vuitton shoes in a shoe shop window or purchasing the newest MAC Viva Glam Collection by RiRi before anyone else. For me, good, real food is my passion but unfortunately it is not always easy to find a restaurant which fits my philosophy so closely. This is the feeling I got as soon as I started reading the menu in Sauvage. 

You are first met with an introduction to Paleo and what it is about. It is a comprehensive explanation and well explained. Next you are met with a range of Paleo cocktails with such delicious and nutritious ingredients they make you almost forget they are alcoholic! I choose a delicious vodka, honey, kombucha and ginger one which was delicious (and possibly a little lethal!) 

My non Paleo husband also dined with me and choose an organic beer which he was very taken with.

We were also given a complementary amuse bush of a very tasty coconut soup, pate with onion marmalade and a Paleo cracker. It was tasty and warming. 

The menu was wonderful with several tapas style options which you could choose as a starter or order several if you choose to share. There was also plenty of variety. 

For starters I choose a duck consommé which came served with a Paleo cassava bread. It was delicious and fresh and felt very nourishing! My husband choose a pork belly dish which came served with a purple sauerkraut and a spiced apple sauce. He loved it and was definitely happy despite his non Paleo tendencies. 

Our main courses were just as delicious. I choose the grass-fed beef which came served with a macadamia crumble, coconut puree, wild broccoli and a licorice jus. It was delicious! Alan opted for a rack of lamb with pistachio thyme crust which came with a sun-dried tomato purée, stir-fried sprout and a cumin jus.

I also choose a lovely shiraz to go along with my steak at the suggestion of the waitress and it went very well. 

All in all my Paleo meal was amazing. I really enjoyed the whole experience and would definitely recommend visiting this restaurant. From start to finish it was so exciting to be in a restaurant where I could eat everything on the menu and all the items were chosen for their nutrient density. Each page of the menu had little snippets of information about the nutritional profile of the foods such as explaining the Omega ratios in grassfed beef versus regular beef.

If you love great food, are passionate about good ingredients and are looking for a real food experience in Berlin, visit this restaurant. You wont be disappointed. 

Competition Time! WIN A COPY OF PAT DIVILLY'S BOOK

7000 Fans! 

I can't believe my Facebook page has reached 7000 likes! It all started with a little blog in 2011 aimed at keeping myself on track with my new lifestyle but it has become a passion for me. Paleo is something I really believe in and I am thankful I can help increase awareness of eating real food in Ireland!

THANK YOU to all of you for your support so far.

To celebrate reaching this milestone I will be giving away a signed copy of Pat Divilly's new book "21 Day Jump Start". Pat is EVERYWHERE at the moment and is experiencing continued success in the Irish fitness market. His nutrition advice is very much Paleo influenced and he also includes little workout guides and meal plans. The plan is 21 days and is very achievable for the beginner. I love my copy and I am delighted to have a copy to give away to one of you!!

All you have to do is to share the link of this competition on Facebook (you must press "share" under the original post on my page, this is so I can keep track of  you!).

Thank you again for all your support!

Denise

THE WINNER WILL BE A FAN OF MY FACEBOOK PAGE