Breakfast at Primal Pantry

Primal Pantry
http://primalpantry.com.au/ 

I went through a brief phase of being VERY interested in the paleo diet. I already 'attempt' to cut out refined carbs and sugars, focusing instead on fresh fruit and veg and proteins. I say 'attempt' because if you look through my blog, even briefly, you'll know my success is minimal. I enjoy eating out too much to be able to stick to a restricted diet.

It then helps to have cafes that cater to health conscious individuals. I've already blogged about Coco Bliss in West End. Primal Pantry goes a bit further by not just focusing on healthy eating but more specifically, paleo-style cuisine. Hungry Kittens isn't a health blog and I'm not a nutritionist so I'm not going to go into detail about the potential merits of paleo dieting, nor do I make any claims about it.

As an overview, to eat paleo is to eat based on what the cavemen (people of the Palaeolithic era) would have eaten. This means plenty of leafy veg, lean meats, fruit and minimal (or none) nuts or grains. That cuts out most carby food groups such as conventional bread, rice and pasta. If it sounds like all your favourite food groups are gone, join the club. It's thus amazing that Primal Pantry still manages to have so many appetising options on their menu.

Paleo toast - with avocado, poached eggs and basil mayo

I was planning on eating out several times last Sunday so I needed to keep breakfast quite small. I ordered the avocado on paleo toast with poached eggs and basil mayonnaise. This was actually a very filling meal. I couldn't even finish my second egg.

Runny egg porn

The flavours were nice, especially the basil mayo with the avocado, but there wasn't enough bread for the amount of avocado and egg. I ended up eating avocado on its own, which was fine because it was so fresh and creamy. The paleo bread was yummy; I'm not sure what they used to bind it together but it was very seedy and tasted similar to regular bread.

Hulk smoothie - pear, spinach, mango, lime, coconut water, ice

Saturday night was a big night for us so I felt quite depleted on Sunday morning. I ordered a green smoothie in an effort to absorb as many nutrients as possible. Green smoothies and juices can always be a bit of a gamble because of all the veggies they sneak in there. This one was very drinkable. It tasted primarily of lemon but there was a hint of spinach to remind me it had vegetables in it. I did feel refreshed after this.

Bulletproof coffee

Hien had already eaten breakfast that morning so he went for a coffee. He was instantly drawn to the Bulletproof coffee because he had heard about it from a paleo-enthusiast friend. The coffee had descriptions like 'grass fed butter', 'Upgraded MCT oil' and an extra of 'Brain Octane', that sounded extremely wanky to be honest, but I admit I was curious. When it arrived, I noticed it looked more bubbly rather than foamy like a regular latte. I had a taste and wow, it was strong to say the least. I felt like I was drinking pure espresso. Of course the trouble with getting an overly strong coffee at a paleo cafe is the lack of sugar available to disguise the taste. Poor Hien had to endure the whole drink as it was.

Jokes about Bulletproof coffee aside, I do like the food offerings at Primal Pantry. The service was fairly quick when we got there (around 10am on Sunday) and I was attracted to the lunch menu and dessert cabinet too. There are definitely things I'd like to go back for. Aside from the sit down menu, there are grocery and take-home items towards the back of the cafe.