If you want to know all about our time at Paleo f(x) this is the article for you! Plus I’ve also included my Personal Paleo Meatloaf recipe. If you were at Paleo f(x) this is the recipe I demo’d and if you weren’t in Austin to see me on stage, once you page through this post you’ll feel like you were there. I promise you’ll love this Personal Paleo Meatloaf recipe because it uses minimal ingredients, minimal utensils and is super quick to make. And if you’re just here for the recipe scroll to the bottom and enjoy! :)
A week ago today Jeff & I were just coming home from Paleo f(x). It was the second time we had been to Austin in the last two months but this Austin trip was purely Paleo focussed! I was super excited and not at all nervous to present on the cooking demo stage until the day before we left (but more on that later).
Welcome to Paleo f(x)
Jeff & I had such an amazing time meeting so many people in the Paleosphere! Austin is always a blast because the town itself is filled with forward thinking, entrepreneurial people plus there is PLENTY of Paleo friendly food available like Picnik, Dolce Neve and of course – I have a whole host of other Austin Paleo restaurant reviews that are currently in the queue to review because basically anywhere you go you’ll find grass-fed beef, pasture raised chicken and the most amazing looking egg yolks especially if you take a visit to Yonderway Farm (scroll down for a picture of their amazing yolks!).
If Jeff & I decided to move away from Sweet Home Chicago, Austin is one of our top three choices…in line behind Mission Beach San Diego and North Beach Miami Beach (if you were curious…because yes, we love the beach!) :)
Unfortunately, getting to Austin this time was not so easy. We left our house with plenty of time to make our flight. Security stopped both Jeff & I to look through both of our bags. The TSA official I was with took out every single copy of Los and Pigskin Paleo that I was traveling with. I’m talking at least 30 books, and she just haaad to page through every. single. one. So annoying.
Signing copies of Pigskin & Los Paleo at Paleo f(x) after my cooking demo.
The TSA agent who was sorting through Jeff’s stuff pulled every single item out of his bag, and of course it was happening as slow as humanly possible. The woman who was working with me noticed I was on the cover of Pigskin Paleo (not everyone realizes it’s me) and asked if they were my books. She then proceeded to tell me that she had just written a play, her computer’s hard drive crashed and she had just lost 3 years of work, none of which could be saved. Horrible. I couldn’t image it. Problem was, time was a tickin’ for us and we were just about cutting it close thanks to the extended delay at security.
As soon as our bag raids were over we ran straight to our gate and met the agent just as she was closing the door. And nope, we were not on the correct side of the door and we had missed our flight!
Of course all the flights to Austin were packed so we were on standby waiting to board a couple flights before I was told that there is a rebooking station in the American Airlines wing. Basically you walk over to this shady location where it looks like pay phones used to sit, you pick up this unmarked, black pay phone handle and wait for someone to talk to you. You’re provided a real live person instantly to rebook your flights. Of course this wasn’t cheap but we got a flight rebooked, boarded our plane and Jeff slept all the way to Austin, as I continued working on what I was going to say for my cooking demo. When we landed in Austin we realized many other people had problems with their flights since Obama and Air Force One were in Austin.
A Quick Flash Back
Let’s jump back to a couple days prior. I was in our kitchen doing a run through of this Personal Paleo Meatloaf recipe for an audience of two (Jeff & Alpha) and I finished my demo in six minutes. Did I mention I needed to fill 20 minutes on the demo stage?! This was the point when I started to flip out. Having taught for six years and been on stage who knows how many times I had no problem up until that moment because I didn’t know what else I was going to talk about for the remaining 14 minutes. But no worries, it all worked out great…see! :)
“Hello Everyone” – Paleo f(x) Cooking Demo Stage
Made it to Austin!
After we arrived, we picked up our rental (not a Kia Soul this time), checked into our Airbnb and then went to meet up with Manuel & Lynette and headed directly to Picnik Austin!
After hanging with Randi & Naomi at Picnik and meeting Arsy from Rubies & Radishes, Sylvie from Hollywood Homestead, Karen from Holistically Engineered and Lindsey from Homemade Mommy we then went directly to Whole Foods to pick up some ingredients to make a lil somethin’ somethin’ to bring to the Balanced Bites party.
That night we talked to Diane Sanfilippo and met her fiancé Scott Mills along with Charissa, April, Nicole and all of the Balanced Bites girls.
We talked to Kevin and Denise who make The Granilla Bar, seriously one of the most amazing Paleo granola bars I have ever tasted. A non-Paleo eater would think it’s candy and never blink an eye. The story behind The Granilla Bar is fantastic. Denise was making them for her kids and one of them was like, “mommy you should sell this”. Boy was he right! I wouldn’t be surprised if The Granilla Bar makes its way into grocery stores sometime soon but for now you can order them straight from their website.
We also met Tony Kasandrino and talked olive oil, Paleo, the city of Chicago…you name it. After tasting their olive oil for the first time that night and also on the Paleo f(x) Expo floor, I’m super excited to finish off the olive oil I’ve got so I can pick up some quality Kasandrinos Extra Virgin Olive Oil. If you don’t know the details on whether your olive oil is real or not, Mark has a great article on how to pick real olive oil here.
There’s so many amazing people we met and talked to, like Melissa the Raw Foods Stylist, I just wish I could introduce you to them all but while we were at the BB party I was still so nervous about my presentation I don’t think I really was able to concentrate and communicate in a normal fashion because all I had was meatloaf on the brain. :p
Over the course of the weekend, everywhere you looked at the conference you saw a familiar Paleo face! We got some Paleo Denver restaurant advice from Juli of PaleOMG, met Matt & Stacy – the Paleo Parents and caught up with our friends Keith & Jen of West Coast Primal.
Marla with Keith & Jen of West Coast Primal at Paleo f(x)
Kombucha mixed with tequila was the hit drink at the presenters dinner, held at Springdale Farm. It was the cleanest and most organized farm I had ever been on and they decked it out with lights and a sea of picnic tables for everyone to eat at for dinner. We met Jimmy Moore of Livin’ La Vida Low Carb and Bo Duncan of Three Diets One Dinner while we were there and we ate dinner with Ryan & Kelly Seaton. We learned all about hunting in Colorado from them and Kelly told us about Once a Month Meals, who she was representing during her cooking demo right before mine. Once a Month Meals offers a monthly Paleo meal plan you purchase where they provide the plan and you spend an entire day cooking, preparing, freezing and separating your meals so that you’re prepared for the entire month. Pretty interesting concept, especially if you lack the time to prepare meals regularly.
At the conference each day it was extremely hard to choose which sessions to attend but we of course went wherever Mark was speaking. ;)
The Robb & Mark show was really fun! Listening to what they’re both currently working on and hearing their views on where they believe the Primal/Paleo movement will go next was just really inspiring. Another panel Mark spoke on that Jeff & I really enjoyed was called Don’t Let The Perfect Get in the Way of the Good.
Mark Sisson, Carol Salva, Sarah Fragoso, Sean Croxton and Jonathan Bailor all gave their two cents on Paleo Perfectionism and how trying to be Paleo perfect can get in the way of progress. Jeff & I both turned to each other after that presentation and said we were ready to go eat some Chicago-style pizza when we got home. 80/20 people, 80/20.
There were folks on the cooking demo stage while other amazing presenters were speaking upstairs so like I said, it was so hard to chose how to divide our time. We couldn’t possibly see everything but we did listen in on Tara Grant while she made her Magic Dough recipe along with Michelle Tam from NomNomPaleo and Bill & Hayley from Primal Palate on the cooking demo stage.
Bill & Hayley were videoing for their Paleo f(x) recap video and we caught them in the act of interviewing Josh Weissman from Slim Palate. Such an amazing kid, far ahead of the crowd and making a big impact for sure in the Paleo community with his recently published cookbook and he’s not even out of high school!
Check out the Primal Palate Paleo f(x) Video Montage Below
My two personal favorite discussions both took place on Sunday.
Melissa Hartwig moderated the women’s panel where Diane Sanfilippo, Stefani Ruper, Dr. Lauren Noel, Dr. Ruthie Harper and Dr. Deborah Gordon all chimed in about Ancestral Health for Women. The questions Melissa asked to lead the conversations were simply fantastic and just hearing everyone’s comments in person were awesome. There was a lot I could have taken away from the discussion but the one thing that stuck for me was the power of touch and how we should all give or receive 8 hugs a day. So go hug someone, especially if you’ve made it this far reading this post! (Then come back and you can finish reading the rest. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.) :)
Listening to Marjory Wildcraft’s talk titled Grow Half Of Your Paleo Diet In Your Backyard In Less Than An Hour Per Day definitely peeked my interest. I started a garden a few years ago, forgot about it and basically produced nothing but weeds. I was good at growing weeds. I have a huge interest in growing my own food, having a garden, having chickens for backyard eggs and now, thanks to Marjory, having rabbits as well. But there are a few things I personally have to research for our area. Chicago is not Austin. Laws are not the same in Illinois like they are in Texas and neither is the weather. I’m sure the neighbors in our suburb would not be too keen on me creating my backyard farm and although I don’t really care what my neighbors think, I still need to research everything before I start a huge project like Marjory was talking about.
Squats with the Onnit Primal Bells on the Paleo f(x) Expo Floor
The Amazing Expo!
The expo was simply fantastic. I’m not someone who would promote something I haven’t already tried and absolutely loved and almost every table we stopped at to talk to and discuss the products on the expo floor, well, they floored me with their taste, their passion and their story. Here are just a few that I highly recommend you check out if you haven’t already:
Ferment Me!
LIVE Soda Kombucha – It’s kombucha. It’s pop. And each flavor has a clean list of raw and organic ingredients, sweetened with stevia. Rootbeer was always one of my favorite soda’s when I drank pop and LIVE has the flavor down pat! LIVE is available all across the country.
Kosmic Kombucha – This Austin based company is my go-to kombucha whenever we’re in town. They can be found in a number of grocery stores in the Austin area, just another reason for us to go visit! :)
Oh Kimchi Austin – This delicious kimchi is a family owned Austin based business that you’ll find in a few different Austin locations, including on the shelves at Picnik Austin.
Get Your Chew On
Epic Bar – We tried all four varieties of the Epic bar for the first time the month before heading to Paleo f(x) and they are fabulous for traveling and having a great jerky when you’re on the go. You can purchase them online although if you take a look next time you’re in your local grocery store, they’re in select Whole Foods locations, I think you’ll be surprised when you spot them.
Primal Pacs – This was the first time we tried Primal Pacs jerky and their jerky/fruit pack. They offer a great packaged snack option and are sold online.
Make It Crunch
Jilz Gluten Free Crackerz – These crackers are the real deal. You’d never know they were Paleo and they satisfy that crunch that is often missing when you follow the Paleo lifestyle. They can be purchased in a few locations in California and online.
Jackson’s Honest Potato Chips – These potato chips are fried in coconut oil and taste fabulous and come with a great story. Parents making food for their family and turned their snacks into a business.
YAWP! – If you enjoy granola bars but like them crunchy, YAWP! is what you’re craving. There are three different flavors currently available in select locations but all are available online.
SeaSnax – After starting to read The Wahl’s Protocol I was interested in incorporating more seaweed into our diet. Seasnax are seaweed chips and they simply melt in your mouth. They come in four different flavors, original and onion are the ones I enjoyed the most. Check their site for locations near you to purchase or buy them online.
Liquid Love
Tessemae’s All-Natural – We had yet to try Tessemae’s until now so I was super excited they were on the Expo floor. Jeff & I love my olive oil and apple cider vinegar dressing that I use almost daily on our salads but after trying all the different flavors at their booth, I was ready to make my purchase online and give them a go for a change of pace. Our box just arrived actually so I’m looking forward to using the Honey Mustard, Hot Sauce and Matty’s BBQ Sauce real soon!
Maple Hill Creamery – Although I’m not big on dairy anymore I was happy to see a grass-fed dairy farm at the expo and hear about the process they’ve gone through to get where they are today. Their product is 100% grass-fed and organic so be sure to look for their yogurt in stores across the country.
Food Love
Eating Evolved – Rick & Christine are freaking fantastic! We hung out with them at Picnik’s first birthday and loved learning more about the chocolate making process. They have amazing chocolate bars that I highly recommend and they even sent us home with a gallon size bag full of chocolate! Shhhh don’t tell them I told you.
<a href=”https://paleoporn.com/loves/cappellos>Cappellos – I’ve wanted to try Cappello’s pasta since they first set up shop but I wanted to give it a taste before ordering. Unfortunately they didn’t have any pasta samples at Paleo f(x), but I did try the Primal Palate/Cappello’s cookie dough and came home and placed an order. So more on the pasta soon!
Base Culture – Base Culture is based out of Florida and I highly recommend the pumpkin bread. They also have a few more bread-like-products but the pumpkin was by far my favorite.
The Paleo Diet Bar – We got a sample of this meal replacement bar in our bags and the first kind I tried I was not in love with but the cinnamon was much better. It’s quite dense and taste’s a lot like the non-Paleo meal replacement bars. I have to say it’s not my favorite but if you’re in need for something simple and easy to take with you on the go, this bar may be your answer.
Exo – I came across the Exo bars before Paleo f(x) and was super excited to meet Gabi, one of the founders, and hear all about the cricket flour base. Apparently there’s a cricket farm where they source their crickets. They’re ground into a flour and used in the bars and no, you can’t taste the legs. ;) Dates are used as a sweetener and out of the three flavors currently available I enjoyed the Cacao Nut and Jeff’s favorite was the Cashew Ginger. If you’re cool with peanuts then maybe the PB&J is for you.
Eatology – These guys have premade frozen Paleo meals designed to meet your nutritional needs. They gave us a couple meal samples on Sunday at the close of Paleo f(x) and unfortunately we had to leave them with our Airbnb host because we couldn’t keep the darn things frozen on our flight home but I heard back from our host that she absolutely loved them (by the way she doesn’t follow a Paleo diet but she does eat healthy) and she said she’s already placed her first order!
Paleo Supplements
Vital Proteins – We walked up to the Vital Proteins booth, met Kurt and realized we lived about twenty minutes from each other! You can purchase and learn all about Collagen Protein and Collagen Peptides on their site and even try the Cherry Getalin recipe they were giving out at Paleo f(x).
Barefoot Provisions – These guys were one of my favorite booth’s in the Expo! Every day they had new Paleo foodstuffs to try. I signed up for their newsletter because they curate the products they sell to make sure they are Paleo friendly and when I got home I found out I won! Super exciting and Jeff said he wants to pick up $100 worth of Livin’ Spoonful Pizza flavored crackers. They taste like pizza bites and are super addicting! We went back daily to get a little taste of them. :)
The Bulletproof Executive – I talked all about Bulletproof coffee in our restaurant review of Picnik, so if you want all the details on creating a delicious morning meal, head over here for that recap.
Onnit – As you saw above we had a fun time monkeying around with the Primal Bells at the Onnit table. Before leaving for Austin we just picked up their Battleropes to use in our home gym but Onnit has a whole host of different curated supplements, food products and fitness equipment. I’ve found myself reading through their site for hours, just so you know, you’ve been warned. :)
Personal Paleo Meatloaf
This Paleo meatloaf is personal sized, meaning it’s good for small (or large) hands. Whether you have a bajillion gadgets and kitchen toys or a minimalist kitchen you can make this recipe. You can whip up a batch for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even a good protein-filled snack. With a few solid whole food ingredients, the use of your hands and a shredder/food processor this will become one of your go-to recipes in no time.
Marla playing with meat on stage at Paleo f(x)
P.S. You’re Awesome!
Why? Because if you made it to the end of my long winded explanation of Paleo f(x) you need a thank you! :)
One More thing!
If you weren’t able to make Paleo f(x) in Austin, you just may be in luck! Paleo f(x) part duex will be taking place in Denver, CO from October 10-12 so mark your calendar now because we hope to see you there! :)
As Seen on Stage at Paleo f(x)!
