I think that most of the time, the hardest thing about being Paleo is lunch. I won't lie and tell you that I don't wish I could just have a fabulous sandwich with some really crunchy sourdough toast most of the time. When I'm in the mood for a sandwich, I often roll turkey and salami up in lettuce with some vegetables and call it lunch, but that gets old really fast. 

Really, my favorite thing to do is to just have leftovers from dinner. I bring them to work in a Tupperware container and reheat them in the microwave at the office, but what if your office doesn't have a microwave? 

And also, what if you just want some sushi?

Maybe my family is weird because we randomly have seaweed and a bamboo mat for sushi lying around, but this was a fun, alternative lunch idea that I didn't even have to go to the grocery store to make happen.

 

Ingredients:

For the tuna salad

One or two cans of tuna

Mayonnaise (homemade is best)

Several tablespoons of chopped, pickled jalapenos

Salt and pepper

For the roll-ups

Avocado, tomato, lettuce 

Some veggie chips for texture

A package of seaweed sheets

Bamboo mat 

(Get the seaweed + bamboo together here)

1. Make your tuna salad the way you normally would (unless you would normally add something not Paleo; I use homemade mayo and usually some relish, but this time I added jalapenos instead. Also, Sriracha.

2. Put a sheet of seaweed on the bamboo matt. Add some tuna and spread it out down the middle. Layer your fillings on top of each other.

3. Roll the seaweed up. It helps to get your hands a little wet to get it all sticking together.

4. Cut them up and serve. Make three more batches when your family asks what you are doing and sees how awesome they are.

When life gives you lemons...

You know what they say.

Unfortunately, most lemonade has like, at least a full cup of sugar in it.

So I made a Paleo-friendly version with some agave nectar. 

And then I put raspberries in ice cubes, because when life gives you raspberries, you make ice cubes.

For the lemonade:

Makes about five or six cups.

About six lemons (or as much as it takes to make one cup of juice)

Four cups of water.

1/4 cup + one tablespoon of agave nectar (this didn't make it very sweet--you can add more if you want)

1. Mix the water with the agave nectar (it helps to use warm water so the agave will dissolve more easily).

2. Add lemon juice, taste for sweetness, and refrigerate until cold.

3. Serve with slices of lemon and raspberry ice cubes.

--

For the ice cubes:

A handful of raspberries

Ice cube tray

1. Put raspberry/raspberries in each ice cube mold.

2. Add water. 

3. Freeze. You've got this.

I'm all about frozen yogurt.

You know those little fro-yo shops that are all named something relating to frogs or bubbles and cherries? My internal five-year-old cheers, yes! every time I see a new one crop up. I first discovered the wonder that is frozen yogurt a little late, I think at age twenty-two, when my friend Emma took me to Berrybody in Williamsburg. With her guidance, I got the tart flavor with fresh fruit on top of it and was like, embarrassingly blown away by its majesty.

It wasn't until I started stopping by my local frozen yogurt shop for breakfast that I realized I might have a problem. Several yogurt-laden months later I went Paleo and cut out dairy, and as I wept for my morning lattes and anytime frozen yogurt, I realized that there were non-dairy sorbets available, which, to this day, I still eat in earnest. They make a good treat, but they're full of sugar and we know that and it's just not appropriate to eat dessert every single day like we might want to.

So let's make our own, and let's eat it for breakfast.

 

Ingredients:

Makes 3 servings

2 1/2 cups of fresh, ripe strawberries

1 ripe banana

1/2 cup of (canned) coconut cream

1 tbsp agave nectar

1. Combine ingredients in a food processor or a blender. Basically you're making a smoothie.

2. Pour the mixture in a container (I used a Ziploc bag) and stick it in the freezer overnight.

3. Take it out when it's solid but not completely frozen and you're ready to serve it. Scoop it out or, if you used a bag, cut a corner off and sort of "pipe" it into dishes. 

4. Garnish with a strawberry and eat while it's still mostly frozen.