Before my pregnancy, I followed a Paleo / AIP lifestyle to offset my 40 + foods I’m sensitive to. However, when I was pregnant, the frequent heartburn I had, sensitive stomach I dealt with all magically went away for those 10 months. Eating and going out for dinner was exciting again. Mostly because I could eat anything I wanted. That streak continued until about three weeks ago, right after my son’s two month vaccines.
Every time we go on vacation, our biggest question tends to be : do we rent a hotel or do we air bnb it? For all of our trips, we take into consideration the city, time of year, the weather, and the days of the week. Before our last getaway to California, we were faced with that same question. However, although we have visited SoCal many times, there are two main reasons why you should stay in a hotel while visiting La Jolla:
Ugh what I would do to live in Italy. Although I’ve only visited twice, I’ve spent a good chunk of time there both times I’ve visited. As you can imagine, my favorite part of Italy is obviously the food. Don’t get me wrong, the sites are beautiful and the air is fresh AF, but the food is pure gold. I had ZERO stomach or skin issues when I was just there. None. I ate whatever I wanted, where I wanted, no limits on quantity either. And even though we walked around a ton everyday, I LOST weight. Yes, lost. Why? Again, the food is pure.
As you know, we live in a world where using shit ingredients like canola oil (in almost EVERY good on the shelves) , aspartame (in gum), food dyes, sodium nitrates (in normal bacon, sausages, etc.), and man-made ingredients is socially accepted. Why? A part of society doesn’t 1. read the ingredients, 2. doesn’t care about the ingredients, or (and the worst) 3. can’t afford to eat better. Sure, all of these foods in grocery stores AND in the majority of restaurants have super tasty food, but are they beneficial for our current and future health? EFF NO. Okay, I’m done ranting about the foods in our country (for now) and am veering back to the true purpose….
Although Chicago has started to jump on the clean-sustainable-ingredient-restaurant wagon, the gears are still slowly turning. The main struggle I (and everyone else with food issues) have is finding places to eat out where you can trust the quality. Unfortunately, I can count the places where I can “safely” eat in Chicago on one hand — which is extremely sad. However, after much research, I learned that I can now add Range Chicago in Lincoln Park to my inventory.
One thing I miss on AIP is definitely spicy food. I used to LOVE all types of ethnic foods, Ethiopian, Chinese, Peruvian, Thai, Spanish – the spicier the better.
Although I can’t technically have spicy, another thing I love just as much are colorful foods. Seeing only dark greens and bland colored potatoes during the colder months, it’s so refreshing to see bright colored foods at Whole Foods this week. Plus, I’m positive that eating a pretty plate induces happiness. Lord knows I need some sort of positivity in my life.
Now that winter is full blown here in Chitown, everyone and their mothers’ sinuses/respiratory systems are feeling the wrath. Plus, being bone chilling cold outside wants me to get a giant bowl of piping hot ramen (my favorite ramen place in the city is STILL Furious Spoon – not diet compliant). Since luscious ramen noodles and spicy food isn’t allowed on AIP, I had to compromise.
Now that the dust has settled and our moving boxes have been put away, the hubs and I ADORE our new neighborhood. There are no ambulances every 5 minutes, no busy streets with tourists, or at the mercy of annoying high-rise elevators. We love that we feel like we live in a “big kid” home now that we’re married. Plus, new neighborhood to us means new opportunities to eat out (as long as they meet my dietary restrictions). Fortunately for us, Artango Bar & Steakhouse is right in our hood.
