I have now completed three whole 30 challenges, and am currently in the midst of a fourth. For each one, I basically shelve going out to eat, fearing potential additives that could be lurking in sauces or oils. So, I choose to cook all of my own food.
A few Mondays ago, I was a good little paleo eater. I had some time after work, so I made dinner (chicken with thai no-peanut sauce), and then made a bunch of food for the remainder of the week: a rendition of these egg muffins for breakfast and a giant batch of chili. I went to bed happy and ready to have low-prep meals for the week.
I awoke the next morning and went to grab the tupperware of egg muffins. It was warm. No, it was warmer than warm. It was hot. Like, sauna hot. I looked at the fridge, confused (it was early) and then devastated. As I looked at the melted butter running down the door, I slowly came to the realization that, at some point during the night, our fridge died a quiet death. And, for some reason, the inside light stayed on, making the fridge a giant box of festering warmth and bacteria. I left for work crestfallen and hungry.
Luckily, I have the best landlord in the world (seriously, he just might be the best landlord ever) and he arranged for someone to come and look at the fridge later that day. But, I was still at a loss for what I could possibly eat while the fridge was repaired/replaced. I scoured the internet for options...
One place I miss the most when eating paleo is Chipotle*. I LOVE Chipotle.
image courtesy of chipotle.com
What's not to love? Happy meat, locally-grown veggies (when possible), a TON of food, and relatively cheap. But, I had always ruled it out when eating strict paleo. Perusing the website, I found this listing of all ingredients! and this listing of food restrictions!
The limiting factor here is the soybeans: most of the meats and veggies are cooked in soybean oil, which is certainly not paleo. I had to weigh my options: sacrifice my strict paleo living or become a hangry beast at work and suffer from extremely low energy levels (and therefore low productivity).
It didn't take much to "convince" myself. My stomach was growling and Chipotle is one of my favorite things ever. I was shoveling the contents of a fajita burrito bowl (sans beans, rice, sour cream, and cheese) into my face shortly after their doors opened at 11 am. Hanger thwarted.
Oh, happy day! What started out as a tragedy (to a paleo eater) opened up my world to a new and convenient food option... Now, I wouldn't recommend running to Chipotle any time it's convenient (really, the only time it isn't convenient is after 10 pm when it's closed). However, if you're in a pinch and are willing to ingest a little legume-iness, it's quite useful to know that Chipotle is an option. If you know of other convenient "fast food" paleo options, I'd love to hear them!
*I am in no way affiliated with Chipotle. I do not receive financial benefits for praising them, though I wish I did**. Like Tina Fey and the writers of 30 Rock simply love McFlurries, I simply love Chipotle.
**If you are a representative of Chipotle and would like to sponsor me, that'd be pretty sweet. Even if it's just in the form of some free burrito bowl coupons.
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